Artemis rolled her eyes when she saw her companion approaching her with a sheepish look on his face. That made her angry. She waited for him for nearly two hours, and the only thing he did was look sheepish? Didn't he knew how important their work was that day? Stealing wasn't as easy as it looked! It was hard and very dangerous considering all the guards they had to evade and sometimes knock out and run from.

"You're late," she snarled, starting to walk away from him.

"And you're moody," Jefferson said back, to then apologise. "Sorry, I was...doing stuff."

"If by stuff you mean that redhead whore, then I know." Artemis replied rolling her eyes.

"She's not a whore, you know? She's my girlfriend," Jefferson said, and for the first time Artemis was surprised to hear him defending one of his 'girlfriends'.

"What does Grace thinks about her? Such a role model that redhead is for your child," Artemis said sarcastically and cruelly. After the whole thing of her babysitting Grace while Jefferson worked had made her start to like Grace, and not to talk about how confused she felt by the drunk kiss they shared that same night.

"What the hell is wrong with you, woman?" Jefferson scoffed, a frown on his face. He could never understand her, no matter what he did or what he said, she always had a sarcastic and cruel retort. Even when he tried to play nice.

For a moment they were in silence, and the only noise surrounding them was the one the leaves did when they both walked and crunched them. Artemis tried to calm her breathing, and once she did she realised how rude she was being. And for the first time in forever, she cared about what someone had to say about her attitude. "I'm sorry, I just...it's been a long day," Artemis said at last.

"Not my fault," Jefferson scoffed.

"Shut up."

Ahead of them, a big kingdom could be seen. It was truly a beautiful one. The grass surrounding it was very green, and the villagers all around the kingdom seemed to be all happy and nice and polite to everyone. The sun shined and everyone seemed to be bright and happy.

"You don't see the Evil Queen's kingdom being like this, huh?" Artemis noted the difference. While the Evil Queen's Kingdom was full of gloomy and scared people, this one seemed to be full of energy and love and happiness.

"Don't you say," Jefferson whispered back. Artemis was going to say something more, but she stopped when the big castle in front of them made her suck in her breath. Standing high in all it's glory the DunBroch castle waited for them, and it was the more beautiful building Artemis had ever seen. "By the gods..." she whispered. "It's beautiful."

Jefferson whistled in agreement. They crossed some villagers and feigned smiled to them.

Artemis turned to Jefferson once they were gone. "Remember the plan?" she asked.

"No, I'm completely stupid," Jefferson deadpanned, and Artemis rolled her eyes. "Of course I remember."

"Well then...let's get started."

Their plan consisted on pretending to be a royal couple from another kingdom, once inside the castle the only thing they had to do was feign dance at the ball, then when no one was looking one of them would scurry upstairs and steal the blue ball Rumple was looking for.

Easy, right?

Artemis removed her hood and folded it under her arm while straightening her exaggeratedly beautiful blue gown. At her side, Jefferson did the same with his dark clothes. Artemis took out the fake tiara from her satchel, and once putting it on her head, it was perfect.

Artemis started to walk towards the gates when Jefferson's hand on her elbow stopped her.

"Whoa, careful there, princess," Jefferson said.

"Excuse me?" Artemis turned to him, raising her eyebrows.

"Shouldn't I escort you? After all I am your husband, my dear princess," Jefferson smirked, enjoying the situation very much. He moved his hands all over her back in a sweet caress as they walked together towards the gates.

"My dear prince, if you touch me there again you will surely lose that hand," Artemis replied sweetly, and he removed the hand immediately. Artemis missed the contact instantly, and she gritted her teeth at her feeling. "What the hell is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself.

"Believe me, I've been asking myself that for a very long while." Jefferson whispered back, making Artemis glare at him.

Once they reached the gates, they smiled at the guards in a way that seemed polite but arrogant at the same time. "Hello," Artemis said.

"I'm Prince Jefferson, and this is Princess Artemis," Jefferson said, pointing to themselves. "We're from the Enchanted Forest."

"And we came for the ball," Artemis continued.

One of the guards shrugged in the direction of the one that asked him with his eyes if he should let them in. "Princess Merida invited nearly all the world," he replied, "Let 'em in."

As they walked with smiled and intertwined hands towards the inside of the castle Jefferson leaned towards Artemis ear. "Princess Merida?" he asked.

"The daughter of the King and Queen of here," Artemis explained.

"Is she hot?" Jefferson asked.

"I thought the redhead whore was your girlfriend," Artemis raised her eyebrows. "And Merida is 16, Jefferson, unless you're a pedophile..."

"Mmm, not really," Jefferson shrugged, and Artemis wasn't sure if he answered her about the girlfriend or the pedophile comment.

They greeted some royals that were passing over them, and for once Artemis took in their surroundings. The castle was even more beautiful on the inside.

"I'm so jealous," she admitted. "I want to live in a place like this."

"Ain't your castle as great as this one?" a voice with marked accent asked behind her.

They both turned, and saw a beautiful young girl with fiery and wild red hair and sparkling blue eyes. Artemis quickly recognised her as Merida, the princess. Jefferson, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off some bear statues behind the princess.

"What's with all the bears?" he asked, having a bad feeling about them.

Artemis rolled her eyes as Merida snorted. They've just met the princess and the only thing he could ask was about the bears. "Honey," she said, nudging him slightly. "Be polite, this is Princess Merida of DunBroch."

"Oh," Jefferson said, moving his gaze towards them then.

"Hello," Merida nodded at him.

Both impostors bowed slightly at the princess, a gesture she returned.

"Where do you guys come from?" Merida asked politely as she guided them towards the main room where the food was. "I've never seen you two before."

"We're from the Enchanted Forest," Artemis said. She took in the surroundings, the ballroom was enormous and very beautiful, as the whole castle seemed to be. Tables were all around the place, leaving just the very middle of the room for the dance that was going to happen after they all were settled in and have eaten.

Merida then turned to Jefferson. "About the bears," she said slowly, "It's a very long story, but lets just say its a family thing." at the family thing she smiled sadly about something.

They reached one of the empty tables at the place, and Merida smiled politely at them. "I must go now. Lots of people to welcome. It was very nice meeting you both."

"Likewise," Artemis and Jefferson said at the same time. They watched the princess walk away, and once she was out of their eye sight they separated like they were on fire. "Ugh," Artemis said. "Would you, like, not touch me?"

"You know you're dying for me to touch you," Jefferson whispered on her ear.

"Fuck off," she replied, rolling her eyes and turning away from him. Deep down her whole arm felt like it was burning. She very much liked to have him hold her like that, but, ugh, why does she feel like that?

Both of them waited a very long time for the ball to begin. Artemis ended talking to Merida and other princess while Jefferson was talking—or rather discussing—with some arrogant prince.

Artemis nearly snorted very unlady-like when Jefferson ended rolling his eyes and turning away from the prince as he went to the refreshment table to get more wine. After a while the princesses went away in search for their husbands, leaving Artemis and Merida alone.

"So tell me, Artemis," the redhead princess started, a polite smile on her face. "What do you want to steal from my family and me?" Artemis' blank stare was the only thing Merida was met with, and she had to smirk. "Don't give me that look, you think I haven't heard from the famous goddess Artemis and her sidekick the Hatter, more commonly known as Jefferson."

"I prefer to say she's my sidekick instead of me being hers," Jefferson said, appearing at Artemis side. Artemis turned to him with a small look on her eyes that held a warning. Now it was so not the moment for stupid comments.

She turned back to Merida then. "I knew we should've used fake names." she said.

"But you didn't," Merida smiled.

"Aren't you gonna call your guards?" Jefferson asked. "You know, to take us to the Dungeons and for us to escape...you know, the fun part."

"I hate that part," Merida said, "Why don't we skip that part..." she looked around, but no one was looking at them. "Why don't you both just tell me what you want, and I'm sure we can arrange some way for you to have it without any need of me calling the guards, or having my parents kill you both for even trying."

Jefferson and Artemis shared a long look. They seemed to talk with their eyes. Artemis was very much confused about the situation, and Jefferson simply didn't trusted the beautiful princess.

"Tell you what," Merida said, smiling at them in a tense way. "Why don't you both enjoy the ball...and we'll talk about whatever you want later." Another glance shared by Jefferson and Artemis made Merida more worried. She pursed her lips and tried to show them that she held no ill will towards them. "Just...don't go upstairs without me. Whatever you do...don't." With that the princess glanced at where her father was. The King of DunBroch was glaring at Merida with such force that she had to suppress a shiver. "We'll talk later. Enjoy the food, and please listen to my words."

Once she was gone, Artemis and Jefferson turned to each other discretely as the band started to play some catchy song, and couples started to move to the dance floor.

"I don't understand a thing she says."

"We're still going upstairs to steal the thing, right?" Artemis' eyes met Jefferson's. "Of course."

"C'mon, hun!" James said, grinning down at me. "Aren't you at least excited? It's not your birthday everyday, you don't turn 27 everyday."

Actually, I've been turning 27 for 28 years in a row. But obviously, James didn't knew that. I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't know, James," I said. "I promised to meet Henry—"

"Cmon! It'll be fun, I promise." James smiled at me, approaching me and hugging me. I had to sigh at how amazing being on his arms felt.

"I know, I know..." I said. "But it's really important my meeting with Henry."

James sighed. "Okay, whatever."

I peeked his lips before moving away from his grip. "I'll see you tonight?"

"You betcha," James smirked, and kissed me again, this time a little longer than intended. I heard Mr. Gold clearing his throat behind us, and we separated. James tried to smile at Rumple, but he was clearly intimidated by him because he simply left the store after smiling at me. I sighed happily and turned to my boss.

"Hey, Rumple, good morning" I said, passing over him and moving towards my spot behind the counter. I started to brush away some things and to clean when he approached me again.

"Happy Birthday, dearie," he said. I looked up with a big wide smile, and saw him smiling at me. He was actually smiling, not a nasty smirk or a knowing grin. It was a sincere smile. I loved it. He looked very handsome and nice smiling.

"Thank you," I smiled sincerely.

"I see you're happy with James," Rumple said, his smile intact. "I'm glad."

"Thank you," I said sincerely. "It means a lot to me."

"I know, but I must admit," he continued. "that I have not been completely honest with you about something very important. And that might be a problem in our relationship, and the relationship you have with the young fellow James."

"What do you mean?" I frowned, feeling suddenly very worried. He motioned me to follow him to his office. Once there we sat on one of his couches, and I looked at him expectantly. He seemed so guilty about something that it truly worried me even more. He was never guilty, not really, so it must be something very important for him to feel that way.

"You know you are very important to me," Rumple started, motioning with his hands. "You are the only person I truly trust, and the only one I can call a friend..." I smiled at that.

"I know that Rumple, you're very important to me too."

"I-I'm afraid I did something to you a very long time ago that may change your views towards me forever." he admitted.

I blinked a few times. I knew Rumple always kept secrets from me, but I didn't really cared cause that's who he was. But...the way he said it, that...that made me feel very worried. Why would he bring this up now after he said it had been a long time ago.

"What is it?" I asked.

Silence.

He rose with difficulty from the couch, limping a bit while he hold to his cane tightly. He purred a drink for himself, and one for me. "Rumple?" I raised my eyebrows. "What is it? What are you so afraid of?"

He gave me the glass, and I quickly drank a bit of it. It was too early for me to be drinking, but I sensed I might need it.

"It's about Jefferson," he admitted at last, looking down at me with regret on his eyes. I felt a pang on my heart as I recalled my dead ex lover. I was dating James, but to be honest I still wasn't over Jefferson. I still loved him. Yeah, I really liked James, but...Jefferson's always gonna be in my heart. And to know Rumple held some secret about him...I didn't really know how to feel.

"What about him?" I managed to ask.

"I did something that I'm very ashamed of, Artemis," Rumple said, like his attitude didn't left it very clear.

"Look, Rumple, the past is the past," I said, "He's dead. It can't be any worst than that, so if it's hard for you to tell me, don't do it. I—"

"Jefferson's not dead."

Soon it was clear why Merida didn't wanted them upstairs. The walls were all scratched by what looked to be some sort of very big claws, furniture was broken on every hall...the mess was incredible. There was not a hall left untouched.

"I'm starting to worry," Jefferson whispered.

"What happened here?" Artemis whispered as she looked around. Both of them were expecting a sudden return of anything monstrous or bad, but what they met instead was not so alarming. Blue light filled the hall then, and Artemis patted Jefferson's chest to stop him. "Are those...floating blue balls? Is that what Rumple wants?"

"Look closely...are they fairies?" Artemis said, moving towards one. "They have...they have a face, and...are those...those eyes..."

"Artemis, I don't think you should—"Jefferson started but was soon stopped when Artemis reached one of the blue things, and they seemed to jump on her. "Artemis!" he moved alarmed towards them, but a hand on his elbow stopped him. He turned his face towards Merida, and tried to break from her grasp. "Let me go! They have Artemis! I have to—"

"Stop and look," Merida commanded.

Artemis was staring at the little blue balls with wide eyes as they circled her. Then it clicked in Jefferson, those were the Will O' the Wisps. He remembered Rumple telling him about them, about how deadly they were. Those were creatures powerful enough to change fates. If that was what Rumple wanted...he did not wanted to know why would he want them. Jefferson was truly scared of those creatures. "Artemis, get away from them, slowly." Jefferson begged.

Artemis nodded—and Jefferson thank the gods she listened to him—and started to back away slowly, very slowly towards Jefferson and Merida. The Will O' the Wisps stared at them for seconds, to then settle their eyes on Artemis again, and disappear. Once he was sure they we're actually gone, he turned around and slammed Merida against a wall, making Artemis gasp.

"What—"

"You listen to me very carefully, your majesty," Jefferson snapped, making pressure on her neck. "I don't know why or when you started allowing the Will O' the Wisps in the Kingdom, but—"

"Shut up," Merida snapped, kicking him on his private parts, making him gaps and let her go as he groaned in pain. "You don't know shit about my life, so don't you fucking dare judge me. I did not invited the Wisps here. They came on their own. They came when my fate was in stake—"

"And let me guess," Jefferson managed to say, still gasping a little in pain. "They changed it."

"They helped me!" Merida said. "They changed my destiny for good."

"But what? There's always a but," Artemis said slowly, talking for the first time since her encounter with the wisps.

"They won't leave now," Merida admitted, sounding tired. "They refuse to go, and they change the fate of everyone that visits here..."

"I assume that not for good," Artemis said.

Merida nodded, her eyes full of unshed tears. "I'm tired of them. I just want them gone."

"Then it's your lucky day," Artemis said. "Our boss wants them."

"No." Jefferson said firmly before Merida could say anything. "We're not going near them again. No."

"I beg your pardon?" Artemis raised her eyebrows.

"Artemis, we're talking about deadly creatures that can change your life like this," he snapped his fingers, "And you want to go after them? It's not worth it."

"I prefer them to Rumple's rage," Artemis said. "He asked us for them. I'm not going to fail him."

"In this case I think its very much more important our fates than what Rumplestiltskin wants."

"Our fates?" Artemis asked, getting all hot and angry. "That doesn't exist! For heavens sake, Hatter, don't tell me you believe in having a 'happily ever after?'" Jefferson said nothing, which made Artemis scoff.

"You don't?" Jefferson asked slowly.

"I don't what?" Artemis snapped, hating how both Jefferson and Merida were looking at her.

"You don't believe in Happily Ever Afters?"

"No," Artemis said at last, sighing tiredly and angry "I don't. Look, my life's been pretty fucked up since...always. I don't see how I can have a happily ever after. It's impossible for me. I'm a villain. Villains don't get happy endings. I don't care what those Wisps can do to me, I'm sure it can't be worst than it is now."

For a long moment Jefferson was silent. He knew Artemis' story, but...he never knew she thought that of herself. She was beautiful and young, so young...no one should ever feel like that. It broke Jefferson's heart to know the woman he felt so confused about was broken inside in that way.

"Okay," he said at last. "We'll do it. Just...we'll be fine if we just don't touch them, right?" Merida nodded, and he turned back to Artemis. "Then we won't touch it."

"Why are you so worried about me?" Artemis whispered, truly confused. "Why do you care so much? It's my 'fate', and I don't even care. Why do you?"

Jefferson blinked. "I don't know."

Once Mr. Gold admitted how Regina told him Jefferson was alive back there on the Enchanted Forest, and when he finished his story, I lay the stunned, unable to speak or to breathe.

Jefferson had been alive all this time. He was alive. Regina hadn't killed him, she had trapped him on Wonderland. All this time, my Hatter had been alive...

"Artemis?" Rumple whispered. "Please say something. Anything. I am so, so sorry—"

"How could you?" I whispered, my voice breaking. I stared up at him, my whole face wet with my tears. I was more than shocked, I was heartbroken and angry and sad and surprised, but beyond any of that I was sad. "How could you do this to me?"

"Artemis—"

"I've always been here for you," I whispered in shock. "I've always helped you and trusted you. I-I...I was the for you when Belle died, a-and...you lied to me?" my voice broke again, and more tears poured out of my eyes.

"I know, I know," Rumple said with an uncharacteristic groan. "I'm so sorry, dear."

I covered my face with my hands, the sobs making my whole body tremble. I gasped, hating how my heart seemed to be tightening even more inside my chest. Everything suddenly seemed so different and everything was so...confusing to me. "Why?" I needed to now.

"Why what?"

"Why would you to this to me?!" I snapped, looking up at him. "Why-why-why would you lie to me about Jefferson? How could you do that, how could you see me cry and be so hurt and heartbroken and not say anything?" at the end I shook my head, "You know what? Don't answer me. I already now, you didn't cared about my feelings or about how Jefferson must've felt, or Grace. Oh my gods, did you even thought about Grace?"

Jefferson must've felt so desperate there on Wnderland. I coul only think of how we must've felt there all alone, desperate to go back to me and to Grace like he promised...

"I admit I never thought about Grace, but don't ever think I don't care for you—or for Jefferson. All I did was to protect you."

"Protect me!?" I snapped, incredulously.

"Yes! Protect you! You had no idea who else was in Wonderland—"

"The Queen of hearts!" I yelled, "I know! The dangerous bitch you hate so much. But do you realize how my life would've gone if I had gone and rescued Jefferson from there?" I made a pause in which I tried not to think about it too much, not now. "I would have been happy. Rumple, happy..."

"I am so so sorry."

"Don't be," I said coldly. I cleaned my tears away from my face. "That's who you are, and that's how you will always be. A cold monster that doesn't care about anyone else but himself."

That was hurtful for me to say, because even when Rumple was all of that—I still loved him, and...I hated how his eyes got teary when I said those words to him. But he deserved them, I told myself, he lied to me, and he let me grieve and mourn and be unhappy for years, so...he deserved all my hate.

"Artemis, please, listen to me," he begged. "I'm sorry. I've said it like a million times by now. Can't you please forgive me?"

I shook my head, once again too emotional confused to actually felt something else than hurt and confusion. "I don't think I can ever forgive you," I whispered. "Not this time." he lowered his head, and I found myself elaborating more, "I mean...what you did to me...it's the worst thing someone has ever done to me." and I looked at him. "And the worst is...I never imagined you would do something like this to me, Rumplestiltskin."

{...}

I left the place feeling more empty and broken than I've ever felt. I couldn't even think straight, it was so overwhelming this thing...I just...I just found out my best friend and father figure had been lying to me for nearly 30 years, and that the man I love is actually alive, and stuck in a place he hates with passion, and...I couldn't do anything about it.

"Melanie! Hey!" Henry's voice startled me. I turned around dumbly, and saw him staring at me with a big smile. "Happy Birthday!"

I only stared at him. "Oh...right, my birthday."

His smile dropped when he saw the state I was on. "Are you okay? What happened?" he quickly tugged me to follow him, and once I did he forced me to sit on a bench close to Granny's.

"I just..." I took a deep breath, to then break down crying again.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked again, taking my hand on his and giving me a reassuring squeeze. "What happened?"

"N-No, I'm not okay," I sobbed. "M-My best friend betrayed me, a-and, a-and Jefferson's alive..."

Henry gasped. "How did you found out?"

I gaped at him. "You knew too? Did everyone but me knew?"

"It's what I was going told you last night," Henry said. He then seemed to realize how much it hurt me to think about it, so he hugged me. I hugged him back, and for minutes I just lay there crying on a kids shoulder while I tried to let everything sink in completely.

Jefferson was alive.

"See," Artemis smirked. "I told you it'll be alright."

"We nearly die, Artemis," Jefferson stared at her, "How the hell is that alright?"

"We nearly die every time we go out," Artemis reminded him, "And look, we freed that princess chick from the grasp of those creatures, creatures whom are now gonna be on Rumple's hands. That will leave us in very good terms with him, and it'll give us more money. I don't see why are you so cranky."

"It nearly touched you, Artemis," Jefferson said exasperated. "If it touched you..."

"My fate would've changed," she rolled her eyes. "So what? I already told you I don't believe in that stuff."

For a second they both rolled their eyes and sighed exasperatedly at each other. Artemis glanced around then, and felt very awkward standing there with Jefferson when all the other couples were dancing and having such a good time. Merida smiled at them both with gratitude in the distance, smile that both returned with a nod and a wink.

Merida rose from her throne and clinked her glass with a fork, making everyone stop dancing and look at her. "Hey, goodnight everybody! Uh, I just really wanted to dedicate this last song to my two new friend, Artemis and Jefferson. Thank you so much for teaching me to be brave, and...I know I couldn't have done it without you. So thank you. Enjoy the party."

The whole room cheered, and the last song came trough. While Artemis smiled and winked at Merida, Jefferson frowned and leaned towards Artemis. "What does she mean by that?"

"Mmm?"

"The whole 'thank you' speech. What the hell was that? I was there with you both the whole time, I don't see how you made her be brave—" he was interrupted by a snicker coming from Artemis. He raised his eyebrows at her. "What? What's so funny?"

"You blacked out, remember? The Wisps threw you against the wall..." Artemis replied, smiling at him in a way that made Jefferson's heart skip a beat. She'd never smiled at him like that...

"Oh, right..."

They were lost for a second in each others eyes. Jefferson's blue eyes looked at her with such softness that made her heart jump, and she found herself smiling at him again, her own eyes softening. Jefferson's eyes somehow landed on her cherry lips, and he found himself tempted to lean in just a little more and touch them with his own, just to see if she would kiss him back...

Then he snapped out of it, "So," he cleared his throat. "What happened between you two?"

Artemis blinked, "Oh, uh..." then, as their little moment was broken, she returned to being the same cold and smirky woman she was. She smirked at him. "That's a story for another day. Let's just say our little Merida turned out to be quite the hero." her tone at the end softened again, and Jefferson wondered what could have possible made those two bond in the few minutes he was unconscious.

The silence returned, and they were just the two of us again. The rest of the room danced to the last song, the Wisps glowing slightly inside a jar in Jefferson's satchel, and Artemis looking around with a longing look.

"So, um..." Jefferson cleared his throat, making Artemis glance at him. "Would you like to...uh...you know...?" he gestured to the dancing couples as he scratched his neck.

"Yeah, why not?" Artemis smiled.

That smile again...Jefferson blinked a few times, trying to stop thinking about how beautiful she looked, and how that smile seemed to make him smile too.

He escorted her to the dance floor, and once there Artemis put her arms around his neck while he put his own on her waist. They started to move together in a slow pace. They lost themselves to each other's eyes again. Artemis tried to push down all those weird feelings she started feeling towards Jefferson, but she found it very hard now that they were so close and not fighting or talking. They were just...together. And that felt so good...the way they seemed to move together almost perfectly, and how her skin seemed to burn where Jefferson touched her, that made Artemis even more frustrated. What was she feeling?

"You look beautiful tonight," Jefferson whispered.

That compliment didn't helped extinguish those weird feelings Artemis felt. Instead, it seemed to increase them, since her heart jumped again and a warm feeling expanded on her chest and stomach. For once it didn't sounded like a joke or like some pick up line to get her into bed. It actually sounded true and nice. And she loved that.

"Thank you." she said softly.

He smiled at her. After a while Artemis rested her head on Jefferson's shoulder while they continued moving in rhythm. The embrace became more intimate, and none of them knew how to react. They both liked how if felt to be so close with each other, but it scared them at the same time.

When the ball was over, they bowed to each other with a smile, and Artemis was surprised when Jefferson leaned in slowly and kissed her cheek, lingering for a second there. She closed her eyes instinctively at the contact.

"Darling..." Jefferson started, and for once Artemis didn't complained about that pet name. "Happy Birthday."

"What a great Birthday I'm having," I sniffled.

My feelings were on edge, and my head was mixed with thoughts. I still didn't know how to react. My boyfriend was alive, and...probably suffering on Wonderland. That's what hurts me most, how Jefferson must've felt when Regina rejected him...Being alone in Wonderland, without Grace and...completely stuck there and alone...It broke me so much to know how he must've felt.

"I should've never given up on him," I said to Henry. "I shouldn't have believed Regina when she told me she's killed him. She was a lying bitch, I-I should've searched for him..."

"You did search for him," Henry reminded me softly. "For months without end."

"I should've searched more," I said miserably. "He hated Wonderland, you know? And...he's stuck there."

"Don't be miserable, Melanie," Henry told me. "There was no way for you to know the truth. You did what you had to do, you went back and took care of Grace, just as Jefferson would have wanted you too."

"I can't stop thinking about him," I admitted. "It hurts to now that he's alive and..."

Henry passed me more tissues, and I accepted them gladly. "It'll be alright, you know? Maybe he's here..."

I shook my head. Once in Wonderland the only way out was the looking glass and Jefferson's hat. Since Regina took the later and Alice broke the first, nothing could've taken Jefferson out of me, but...I didn't knew he was there.

Still, I marvelled in the idea of him being here, as impossible as that was.

"Even if he was here...he wouldn't remember me. And I think that'll hurt me more than believing him dead."

Henry patted my hand. "Hey, we'll make him remember if that's what it's needed."

"He's not here," I said. "It's just not possible."

We were in silence again.

"Sometimes I think we just weren't meant to be together," I admitted, staring into nothing as my heart shattered once again. I always thought that, but saying it out loud...that was harder than I thought. "You know, it took us years to get together and then we're separated. Always separated by realms..."

"Melanie," Henry said firmly, a resolution on himself stronger than any I've ever seen in such a young human. "Your love is pure and true—"

"It wasn't true love," I interrupted him. "Villains don't get that sort of things."

"Haven't your ever considered the thought that maybe you aren't a villain, Mel?"

I scoffed. "I am a villain."

Henry seemed like he wanted to argue with me on that, but he stopped himself. "Look, just...what I wanted to tell you was that a love like the one you two had is so pure and strong that...I don't think anything can ever break you guys apart. And, I'll help you find him again."

All my thoughts disappeared, and I could only think of the opportunity to see him again, even if a child was the one offering it to me. "How are you going to do that?"

"If he's here we just have to find him," Henry said.

"But if he's not here?" I said exasperated.

"Then we'll have to break the curse so you all can go back, and once there you can go searching for him now that you know where he is."

"You make it sound so simple..." I said, shaking my head.

"Isn't it?"

"Does Emma even believe in the curse?" I sighed, resting my head on my hand. "Is there any chance of her breaking it, like...at all?"

"I'm working on that," Henry said, and that made me sigh again.

"Okay...then let's get this damned curse broken so I can go search for my hatter." It was all that mattered to me now. If my hatter was indeed alive...I wasn't going to stop until I found him again. Not this time.

This time I'm going to take my chance to be happy, and I'm not gonna let it go so easily.