Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. Sadly. Very Sadly.
Persephone's hand didn't hurt anymore. The fear of sitting in a hospital exam room, however, was starting to sink in.
Not to mention her presence seemed to make the nurses nervous. She could tell just by the looks on their faces, and that hurt more than any burn to the hand ever could. So, she kept her mouth shut, and tried to ignore the fact that they were probably all sneaking peeks at her file and gossiping in the hallways about her.
At least Doctor Whale was being polite to her, despite their history. Considering that the last time she had been in this hospital room, she had delivered a very sharp kick to his privates. It truly had been an accident, but she could tell that even now he was careful around her. That was the problem though, everyone was careful around her.
"Alright. We need to go over this again, because something is not quite adding up." Doctor Whale instructed, and she glanced at Jefferson for help, only to find him entranced in a book.
"Doctor Whale…I've told you everything…" Persephone replied, but the doctor had already turned to the nurse at his side.
"Cassandra, I need a CBC and an MRI ordered right away. And I also am going to have to have an EKG machine brought in here stat." Whale ordered, before the nurse hurried away. From her place on the bed, Persephone sat straight up, and even her father set his book down out of shock.
"Um…Doc, is there something you're not telling me?" Persephone questioned, glancing at her father who just shrugged his shoulders at her. Doctor Whale however sat down in the chair next to her bed and continued to examine her, a very serious look on his face.
"Persephone…I need you to tell us exactly how you got that burn on your hand." Whale ordered, and from behind him Jefferson's eyes narrowed to slits. Persephone was suddenly beginning to feel very scared, the same way she had felt as a child when everyone would glare down at her.
"I told you…I set my hand on the stove. My dad was Right there! He saw it happen!" Persephone replied, but by the end of her sentence her voice raised a few octaves. Unfortunately, her hysterical reaction only caused more of a commotion, and her father and Whale seemed to be the only one's not panicking.
"Okay. Okay." Doctor Whale said soothingly, patting her leg gently. "It's alright. I'm just going to talk to you okay? And all you have to do is listen, and try to help me out any way you can, alright?"
Persephone glanced out the window, to the men in white suits staring at her, back to the frightened nurses. "Okay." She replied in a small voice, clutching the bed sheet tight to her. "Please don't let them take me away again . I'm just afraid. I swear I haven't done anything bad this time." Persephone pleaded to him, probably sounding like a frightened child. Doctor Whale only nodded, and closed the curtains with one hand.
"Alright, you need to listen okay? I'm here, your dads here, no one else is in this room. Just people you know. And we're trying to help you." Dr. Whale assured her, and her panic level suddenly deflated.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what's come over me. I just feel so weird, and my hand doesn't even hurt anymore." Persephone explained, holding her hand up, which was turning an even stranger shade then it had the night before.
"I know." Doctor Whale replied, "Because that is not just a burn, it's an electrical burn."
"What?" She asked, feeling more and more befuddled by the minute. Doctor Whale sighed, and turned to her dad, who by now had abandoned his book.
"Jefferson, may I have a word in the hallway?" Whale questioned, and her father nodded, striding over and placing a kiss on her forehead.
"We'll be right back sweet pea." Jefferson remarked, before turning and gliding out of the room with Whale.
Persephone held her hand up to the light, staring at it. Whatever it was that was going on, she knew for once…she wasn't crazy.
Out in the hallway, Jefferson paced the floor in front of the calm and collected Doctor.
"Jefferson, did you see Persephone burn her hand? I mean did you actually witness it?" Whale questioned, hands in his lab pockets, staring at said girl through the glass window.
"Yes. I mean no, not really no. She reacted- to something, and I looked and the stove was on. So of course I'm going to think she burnt her hand on the stove, it was logical Doc." Jefferson said, though fibbing about the stove being on.
"I'm sure it seemed logical. However, the timing of her reaction might have just been a coincidence." Whale explained, and Jefferson stomped his foot down exasperated.
"What are you saying doc?" He questioned, leaning against the wall for support.
"I'm saying, that maybe she doesn't even know how she got the burn." Whale replied shortly, still observing Persephone through the window.
"I could understand that." Jefferson replied nodding to himself. "If that made any sense at all!"
"I mean, that maybe she shocked herself earlier in the day. I can't say how…but I can say that maybe it was an electrical outlet. Or something. And- that maybe- out of fear of reprimand, she just forgot that she had the burn." Whale tried to explain, but it sounded dull in Jefferson's ears.
"Like a blackout. She's been getting better Doc. Her memory is almost one hundred percent in tact now." Jefferson said, even though that too was a lie, considering the curse.
"Right. But Persephone isn't a danger to society mainly because she's reactionary. When something happens that she can't handle, her mind goes into override to block it out." The doctor explained, even though Jefferson didn't need to hear it. The image of Aurelie stabbing Alice in the chest was swimming in the forefront of his mind.
"True, but she's never done anything like this before. She knows better than to stick her hand in an electrical socket."
"That was just an example Jefferson. She isn't good with pain though, you know that." Dr. Whale said, and that only brought more images of the woman Jefferson hated to mind. Aurelie had hated pain too, much like the now innocent version of her image. If there was one thing that Jefferson knew for certain, was that he never wanted that kid to change. He would rather spend another 28 years alone in his house with only a young girl for company, than ever set his eyes upon Aurelie's face again.
That was Jefferson's worst nightmare. And he was afraid it was about to become reality.
Land of Camelot- Pre Curse
The hour was late when two cloaked figures scaled the castle fortifications of Camelot. The city was, for the most part quiet, but security was sound. This should have made it difficult for two foreigners to gain access to the castle, but these two had quite the reputation for stealth under cover of darkness.
However, as soon as they had cleared the castle walls, a sentry spotted them and moved to yell to the other guards. Needless to say, he had to be disposed of.
"What did you do that for? You know I don't approve of killing." One of the men, Jefferson stated, removing his cloak and throwing it over the now still guard. The other figure removed their hood, revealing a young girl, whose name was Aurelie.
"Do you approve of a trip to the dungeons? I hear they cut out your tongue for stealing. And we both know how much you like to talk." Aurelie bantered back at the man, who only rolled his eyes in response.
"Fine. Let's get going though, I'd rather not be covered in blood by the time we leave." Jefferson said, throwing his friend a hard glance. Aurelie just wiped one of her daggers clean of the man's blood, humming as she did so.
"Right behind you." She replied cooly, bending over and pocketing the guards change. Jefferson, growing a bit agitated, stomped away without her.
A few minutes later, Jefferson suddenly stopped in front of a very tall tower. Aurelie nearly bumped into him as he halted, having not been paying much attention to her surroundings.
"There," He stated, pointing a finger to a lone window at the top of the tower. Aurelie gaped for a moment, looking like a fish out of water, before finally composing herself.
"Can't we take the stairs?" She whined pitifully, even as Jefferson produced a grappling hook from his bag.
"And risk being seen? I think not." Jefferson retorted, glaring at her.
"Right, because no one will see us climbing the tower out in the open!" Aurelie hissed, crossing her arms in front of her.
"No one saw us climbing the wall." Jefferson shot back, swinging the grappling hook to try to gain enough momentum to throw.
"Do you really think you can throw it all the way up there?" Aurelie asked, eyes rolling at the mere thought. Jefferson could only snort in response.
"Nope, but you're going to help me." He replied, still swinging the hook almost playfully.
"What?" Aurelie questioned, taken aback.
"Do the thing!" He hissed out, stopping and moving his fingers as if he were conjuring a spell.
"Oh, right!" Aurelie replied, straightening out and concentrating on the lone window. Within' seconds the window swung open. And at last, Jefferson threw the hook into the air, which much as he expected it somehow found its way to the ledge. He tugged on the rope few times, just to make sure it was secure.
"Alright, ladies first." He teased, moving to hand the rope to his companion. Aurelie laughed, and glanced disdainfully up to the top of the tower.
"You know, sometimes I forget I can use magic." Aurelie stated, inspecting her nails, "Catch ya' later." And with that, she vanished away with a thick cloud of smoke. Jefferson, a bit put off mind you, coughed and turned toward the long climb up. He hoped that by the time he reached the top, his desire to strangle her would be lessened. He doubted it.
By the time he reached the top of the tower, Aurelie was already there waiting for him, munching on a few tea cakes (she must have stolen them: he thought).
"Thank you, for your help." Jefferson breathed out sarcastically, winded from the long journey up.
"No problem." Aurelie said, obviously not hearing the sarcasm in his tone (she actually had).
"Tell me something, has anyone ever tried to strangle you with their bare hands before?" He asked her, a bit red in the face from anger. Aurelie was actually a tad bit surprised smoke wasn't coming out of his ears.
"A few times actually. I try not to hold it against them; jealousy can make people do crazy things." Aurelie said, and Jefferson calmed down just enough to wonder if she was joking.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist Jeffy. I can't pop us both around…I'm not really sure how to do that yet." She said truthfully, tossing him a tea cake as a peace offering. Jefferson rolled his eyes at her, and finally turned to the lone item in the room.
It was a sword, beautifully crafted, lying atop only a slab of stone.
"Get the door, will you?" Jefferson half ordered, turning to his young companion. She nodded, eyes showing a gleam of interest at the sword on the stone table.
"What's so special about this sword anyway?" She finally asked, barring the door to the hall. Jefferson only shrugged and turned to the item in question.
"Does it matter? We're getting paid to collect, not ask questions." He replied, moving forward and inspecting the security system the sword seemed to have.
"Do you know how to get it? I may be wrong, but I doubt they would just leave it lying around for anyone to take." Aurelie questioned, peering from behind his shoulder to the sword on the table.
"If I had to guess, I would say its weight based. Remove the sword from its resting place, and lose a hand, or worse." Jefferson said, referring to the crossbows aimed over the sword.
"Tricky, tricky." Aurelie murmured, but Jefferson could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. Eyes locked on the crossbows, Aurelie moved forward and rested both hands on the table in front of the sword.
And nothing happened. Jefferson let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding, and leaned against the wall for support. Aurelie grinned at him, and grabbed the sword off the stone table.
Once again, nothing out of the ordinary happened, but Jefferson could only guess that was Aurelie's magic at work.
"Alright, let's go." Aurelie ordered, the two of them turning to the doors, which then flew open. Into the hall came numerous gaurds, as well as a man that practically aerated authority, which Jefferson assumed must be the King. Aurelie held up the sword in defense, but none of the guards moved to attack.
"I must say I'm impressed." The King stated, striding forward, though his guards were still immobile. "But I can't let you take that sword."
"Who said you had a choice?" Aurelie hissed, sword now pressed against the King's chest. The man laughed heartily, before waving his hand. To Jefferson's disbelief the sword flung itself away from Aurelie, somehow landing in the Kings grasp.
"So that's what it does." Aurelie remarked dryly, unsheathing her own sword slowly.
"For me yes. But I'm the King. It won't work for you." The King taunted, holding out said sword in front of him.
"We'll see." Aurelie countered, suddenly swinging her sword, only to be masterfully blocked by the King.
"Name's Arthur by the way." The King stated, almost jokingly, all the while smiling at Aurelie like they were old friends.
"Aurelie. Why aren't your guards attacking?" Aurelie questioned, gesturing to the numerous guards only watching the fight. Jefferson thought it was strange how such a conversation could occur during a swordfight, but somehow the two were making it work.
"Respect. Not from them, but from me. Any lesser thief would die by their hand." Arthur replied shortly, his blows stronger and stronger by the minute. Jefferson wondered if Aurelie's agility bothered him as much as it bothered other men.
Jefferson guessed it must, because the King began landing stronger and stronger blows with his sword. A few minutes passed, before the King finally managed to land a blow on his friend. Excalibur swiped Aurelie on the arm, clearly not the intended target, but she recoiled all the same. Arthur looked pleased with himself, pausing as Aurelie looked at her arm in shock.
"That answer's that question." Arthur stated, as Aurelie cried out in alarm at the wound on her arm. "You can get hurt." Arthur continued, and Aurelie looked up from her arm snarling at her opponent. "You get pretty steamed about it too."
Aurelie let out a cry and swung her sword hard at the King. Arthur grinned as their swords locked, and Aurelie glanced quickly behind her at the open window. Jefferson, sensing the direction this was going, managed to sneak away from the hall unnoticed. Besides, he had a book to steal.
Back in the hall, Aurelie was fighting a losing battle. The King was a strong man, and under usual circumstances she had her magic to back her up. That sword that he was holding seemed to be able to block her powers to an extent, giving him the advantage.
It took one last strong blow to send Aurelies sword flying to the side, Excalibur pressed against her throat.
"Do you surrender?" Arthur questioned, and she gave him a small nod. He removed his sword from her throat, gesturing for his guards to come forward. In one swift motion, Aurelie kicked the King in the groin, sending him stumbling back. Without a sword, and with guards approaching from all sides, she turned and ran toward the open window.
"This isn't over!" Arthur yelled to her retreating form. Aurelie looked behind her, grinning at the handsome King.
"You can count on it." And with those words, she flung herself out the window. She only hoped that by the time she reached the ground her magic would have returned. Otherwise, this fall was going to hurt like a bitch.
A.N: If this fairytale counterpart seems oddly placed, that's because it is. However this flashback is really super important to the story, because it is a sort of turning point for the character. I wanted to add it to show that Aurelie and Jefferson were in fact very good friends at one point. Also: she kicked both Whale and Jefferson in the groin area. That isn't as important, but it's a funny parallel.