A.N.- Chapter one of this story is set shorty after Emma Swan arrives in town and time starts moving again. Chapter Three, the last chapter, is set on the night Emma Swan arrives in town. The contrast between Chapters one and three/four is supposed to show the huge change in the relationship between Jefferson and Persephone, in such a short period of time. To summarize, the more the curse weakens, the more Jefferson will begin to see Aurelie as opposed to Persephone. The timeline in Storybrooke will be continuous from this chapter on, except for random flashbacks if needed. The timeline in fairytale land however will tend to jump around, if only for the reason of contrast between the two worlds. And also, I plan on writing the Prince James/Charming/David storyline with Aurelie before delving into the Wonderland arch I have planned.
Disclaimer: Still own nothing. References are made that belong to Walt Disney, Once Upon a Time, Sophocles, and Lewis Carol.
Chapter Reference Quote:
"I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I
the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a
little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the
world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!" (Lewis Carrol) Alice, from
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The next morning Persephone awoke to a sharp, rather uncomfortable burning in her right palm. She sat straight up in her bed, clutching her palm to her in her pain.
"Shit!" She cursed, swinging out of bed and kicking her bedside table in frustration. As soon as the tantrum had rolled through her, it subsided just as quickly. Her own anger had surprised her, and she sat at the edge of her bed quietly in silence.
Count to ten. A voice in her head ordered her, sounding to her familiar to a mother's voice, which she had never had. Closing her eyes, she counted slowly in her head, taking deep breaths as her anger subsided. She didn't particularly like the reaction pain seemed to bring about in her.
As soon as her anger subsided, she set her sights towards getting ready for the day. She figured the sooner she was ready the sooner her father would take her to the doctor, and the sooner her pain would begin to subdue. It didn't take her particularly long to get ready for the day ahead; after all she didn't have anyone she wanted to impress. The only problem she had found was the fact that her clothes didn't seem to fit her as well as they normally did.
"Weird." She murmured, staring at herself in her floor length mirror. She looked down at herself, and upon realizing her pants were too short for her, reached into her closet for boots to cover the embarrassing situation. Luckily, or rather unluckily, she had plenty of both clothes and shoes. Persephone never had quite figured out where her father procured his money from, having never recalled seeing him work a day in his life. Grabbing her boots, she realized now that her feet must have grown as well, because they barely fit. She nearly found herself tumbling over her bed trying to put them on.
"Great." She mumbled, exhausted from putting her outfit on. "Now I have to buy all new clothes." Persephone sighed, and collapsed back in her bed, just wanting to curl up and sleep this nightmare of a morning away. Before she could put her thoughts into action, a sharp rapt at the door interrupted her thoughts. Before she could even answer, the door opened (which in her opinion ruined the entire point of knocking), revealing the weary face of her father.
"I heard banging." Jefferson stated, his eyebrows raised. Persephone grunted, standing up from her position on the bed.
"I have a multitude of problems this morning. Can we go to the doctor now? I think my hand might need to be amputated." She might have sounded like a whiny brat, but quite honestly she felt that maybe this trip to the doctor should have occurred last night. Her father only rolled his eyes at her dramatic antics, and nodded holding up his car keys.
"I figured as much." He stopped suddenly, staring at her strangely for a moment. "Did your clothes shrink?"
Persephone could only glare up at her father, who stood more than a foot taller than her.
"I think I grew overnight." She dryly stated, walking through the house toward the garage. Jefferson followed behind her, twirling the car keys in his hand.
"I'll give you money for clothes later." Her father stated, as they got into the car, and she groaned. For whatever reason, she didn't necessarily enjoy shopping for clothes.
"Thanks." She mumbled, if only to remain polite, but out of the corner of her eye she saw her father smile in amusement. He looked over to her as they pulled out of the driveway and then looked down to her hand.
"Remember to keep that hand elevated." Jefferson said, and even though she rolled her eyes she still put her hand up.
"It's becoming kind of numb. Maybe I don't need to go to the doctor after all…" Persephone trailed off, peeking under her bandage relieved that the pain was subsiding. The wound itself didn't exactly look pretty, so she quickly put the bandage back over the burn.
"I'm not a doctor, but I do believe pain is always a good sign. Besides, that burn did look pretty nasty this morning." Jefferson said as they turned into the hospital parking lot. Persephone scrunched up her nose, glaring at the building.
"I thought we were going to the doctor." She accused, glaring at her father. "You never said anything about the hospital."
Jefferson turned the car off and turned to glare right back at her.
"The doctor in this town is an idiot. I wouldn't trust that man with a head cold. Besides I called the Urgent Clinic this morning, and they said I should take you to the hospital to get checked on. We might have to wait awhile though." At his words Persephone's mouth pulled into a frown.
"Fine. Let's get this over with. You know how much I hate hospitals." Persephone grumbled stalking out of the car, heading toward the main entrance to the hospital.
"Right behind you." Jefferson grumbled to himself, before exiting the car and following his daughter inside.
The two 'Hatters' both entered the main doors to the hospital, and made their way to the nurse's station. Storybrooke General Hospital wasn't generally a very busy place. It was however pretty much the only place to go in Storybrooke to receive adequate medical care.
"Can I help you?" A nurse kindly asked, glancing quickly at the young girls bandaged hand, and the man standing beside her.
"Yes, my daughter burnt her hand and I would like to get it looked at." Jefferson replied, reaching into his pocket and removing two cards and a sheet of paper. He placed all three on the counter, and the nurse handed Jefferson a clipboard and a pen.
"Sign and date at the bottom please." The nurse instructed, getting up from her chair to make copies of the information. While Jefferson signed the form, and answered what seemed to be an endless stream of questions, Persephone swayed slightly in her spot before leaning against the counter for support. Finally the nurse asked Persephone for her hand, and attached a hospital bracelet to her wrist.
"Okay, it will just be a few moments until we can get you into triage. I'm going to page Dr. Whale now though…" The nurse trailed off, stealing a glance at the exhausted looking young girl. Jefferson followed her gaze and nodded, before having to practically carry his daughter to the waiting room.
"What happened to feeling fine?" He asked somewhat seriously, as she slumped in her chair. She lifted her head enough to glare at him, and he rubbed her back comfortingly. Sighing, Persephone leaned her head against Jefferson's shoulder, trying to concentrate on her even breathing. Her father stiffened for a moment, before he relaxed and gently patted her head.
"I'm going to get you some water." He stated after a few minutes, and she nodded shifting her weight from his shoulder to the chair. "Don't pass out while I'm gone." He said, and Persephone wasn't entirely sure if he meant it as a joke or not. She numbly nodded, and watched his retreating form as he walked away. After a few minutes of waiting for him to return, she decided to rest her eyes for a few moments at least. She wasn't planning on falling asleep, but closing her eyes was making her feel just a little bit more comfortable.
That was, until someone decided to yell in her ear.
"Hey kid you all right!" An obnoxious voice shouted, and Persephone nearly jumped out of her skin. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of a very bizarre looking woman. The first thing Persephone noticed was her rather eccentric wardrobe, consisting of a vintage dress that she supposed would have been nice if it had been clean, and knee high socks in two different colors. The woman was wearing no shoes, but had on various rings and bracelets that almost looked expensive. What most stuck out to Persephone however, was the enormous grin on the woman's face that didn't seem to falter.
"I'm fine." Persephone replied quietly, edging away from the woman now seated next to her.
"You don't look fine." The woman replied, tapping her chin and grinning again, before reaching forward and prodding at her hand. Never before had a stranger invaded her personal space so boldly, and frankly it made her quite uncomfortable. She pulled her hand away from the woman's grasp, and turned to look for her father who was still nowhere in sight. It was then that she realized the woman was still waiting for some kind of explanation to her wound.
"I burnt my hand. That's all, nothing too serious." Persephone didn't see why she owed this woman any explanation, so her words came out rather short.
"Seem's more serious than a burn to me. You know, I'd say that burn rather shocked you don't you think?" The woman said coyly, as if there were a hidden meaning in her words.
"What?" Persephone was beginning to wonder if perhaps the burn was playing tricks on her mind. Just looking at the woman it felt as though her head was underwater.
"I said I think you're going into shock kid." The woman replied grabbing her hand and studying it again. "Name's Alice, what did you say your name was again?" She asked, and Persephone straightened in her seat. Now something just seemed off, but she couldn't really describe the feeling.
"I didn't…Persephone. My name's Persephone." Her words were coming out broken, and she wasn't really sure why she was indulging this woman.
"Did you know that the name Persephone means destructive?" Alice asked, and Persephone turned to glare at the woman. "Just asking. Your parents must have really hated you when you were born."
The words struck a chord inside Persephone, and if she wasn't so weak she would have pounced on the other woman.
"My father named me after the Greek myth. He doesn't hate me." She argued, pulling even further away from Alice.
"Touchy subject, huh? The myth isn't all that happy either." Alice mused, still grinning like an idiot. Persephone felt the sudden urge to use physical violence to shut the girl up, but quelled it.
"You're much more interesting than most people who come in here…" Alice observed, looking her over.
"What do you work here or something?" Persephone asked Alice curiously.
"No of course not! I just like to come here and observe people." Alice replied dreamily, and something told Persephone she wasn't lying. "Would you like to play a game with me?" Alice suddenly asked, bouncing in her seat a bit.
"Not particularly." She replied shortly, turning away from the woman. Alice just grinned from ear to ear and continued to talk.
"Don't worry it's not a HANDS on sort of game. Just a few riddles." Alice replied, to which Persephone rolled her eyes. This woman must have known how much she hated riddles.
"Here's an easy one for you. What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?" Alice questioned, swinging her legs back and forth in her seat.
"Everyone knows that one. It's man of course." Persephone replied smartly, completely ignoring the fact that Alice did say the riddle would be easy.
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Alice asked, but it came out more as a statement.
"I could have handled anything but that riddle." Persephone replied hotly, clenching her good hand into a fist.
"That riddle is nonsense. Everyone knows that." A voice remarked, and Persephone turned her head to see her father had returned. He smiled at her, and then shifted his gaze to glare at the woman. Alice was still grinning, but she narrowed her eyes slightly, and looked Persephone directly in the eyes.
Suddenly Persephone felt as though her tongue was numb, and she opened her mouth to try to say something, but nothing came out. She was able to make a few noises in the back of her throat, but she felt as though she was mute.
"Cat got your tongue?" Alice questioned in a teasing manner, only seeming to grin more at her distress. Finally, Jefferson took one long stride toward her, and slapped her hard on the back, to which she gasped for air but found her voice returned.
"That was weird." She stated, taking the water from her father's outstretched hand to sip.
"Persephone Hatter!" A nurse called from across the room, and she rose to go with the nurse.
"Dad?" She questioned, towards Jefferson who was still in a stare down the woman, Alice.
"You go ahead, I'll be right along in a minute." He replied, eyes never leaving the golden eyes of the woman across from him. Persephone shrugged, before walking off to meet the nurse.
Jefferson, finally free from his pretenses, glared coldly at the woman.
"What the hell did you think you were doing? Trying to poke a bear with a stick?" Jefferson asked, jaw locked in disgust at exactly who was sitting across from him.
"Just seeing how the dear is doing these days." Alice replied, eyes wandering about the room as if she was seeing something the rest of the world wasn't.
"Stay the hell away from my kid." Jefferson warned, and to this Alice's head whipped around to stare at him intensely.
"She's not your kid," Alice countered back to him, and Jefferson finally looked away from her. "Hey! Look at me." He did, staring into her deep golden eyes.
"She's not your kid. Or have you forgotten that?"