A/N: I figured since it took so long for me to update I would give you two! Enjoy and welcome to the promise of the premise!
Jefferson was busily working on his hat. He had to get it right. His grace needed him to be there for her. She had no one else. So he just kept trimming.
"I see the Mad Hatter has finally gone mad," a British voice laughed from the distance.
Jefferson looked up. He looked all around. He could find no one who belonged to the voice.
"Who's there?" He asked.
"Well, I'm not exactly there per say," the voice said, "Neither here nor there exactly. I could be up, could be down. Definitely not all around. But that's not exactly the question you're asking. They call me Cheshire… maybe?"
Jefferson stared at the hat in front of him. He was almost positive the voice had come from there. Maybe he had finally succeeded and returned the magic to it. His portal was back in working order. He turned around and screamed.
Standing where nobody had stood before, was a woman. This woman had black eyes and ruby red her lips. She was wearing a multicolored dress that hit each and every one of her curves. Her long dark hair was tied loosely in a braid down her back with a gold, sparkly trinket. And the most gorgeous smile that could ever be in existence cracked upon her lips.
"I'm Marian," she said. Then she extended her hand as if that was introduction enough.
"Marian," he said, taking her hand rather nervously, "I thought you said they call you Cheshire."
"In your world they do," she nodded, "but in my world, a world of magic and fairies, they call me Marian."
"Why do they call you Cheshire?" He asked. Honestly, what kind of name was that?
"It was the first name I could think of when I was interrogated by the Red Queen," she shrugged, "The name stuck. Of course, he helped that I had only just arrived from there. Why do you think my accent is so good?"
Cheshire, or Marian apparently depending on her mood, made a place for herself directly on the table. She flashed him another glance of her seductive smile and kicked out her legs languorously. She gave him a wave and then immediately picked up his hat.
"No!" He shouted, diving for the hat immediately. She seemed to think it was a game though. She just kept moving it out of reach before finally placing it on her head. "That's not for show. Please, don't ruin it."
She stared at him with assessing eyes.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, "This is just a hat."
"It's more than a hat," he explained, "It's my portal."
"Portal?" Now he had her interest.
"It's my way back home," he said, "So I can return to my daughter, Grace."
"Ooh," she squealed, clapping her hands excitedly like a school girl, "You have a little girl. How old is she?"
"Seven," he said. He didn't know why he gave the information. Everything could be used as a weapon in this world. This woman wanted something.
"Oh, that's precious," she exclaimed, "I have a little one myself, Icarus, he's eight. He's such a good boy. He loves riding horses and shooting his little arrows. He gets that from his father."
"His father?" Hey, she had information on him. It was only fair to return the favor for later.
"Robin," she said.
Robin rang a bell in the hatter's mind. He was a man that was familiar in many worlds. He was notorious for stealing little trinkets from those undeserving of their money and titles. He would often give the money and trinkets he stole to those less fortunate. But he couldn't be…
"You're not talking about Robin Hood are you?" He asked.
She nodded.
"That's my husband," she said.
He stared at her stunned. "That would make you…"
"Marian," she finished, "I've already told you that."
"But you're a…" he struggled for the word, "You're a portal jumper like me. That's the rumor any way. Robin Hood has a wife that can travel between the lands. When things get troublesome in one world they shift to another until the heat dies down."
"Well, it's a similar idea," she said, "Oh! I would assume that's why your portal isn't working then."
"Excuse me?" He was now very confused. How did that woman know his portal wasn't working? He barely even let it slip that his hat was the portal. How long had she been there?
"Your portal," she explained, twirling his hat with a wicked grin, "It's not working because it's missing something. Something I have that you could use. You do want to return to your daughter, don't you?"
Jefferson nodded enthusiastically.
"Well," she said, "You're missing my hair. Well, more specifically the hair of a… portal jumper as you so charmingly called it. That's what you need in order to get everything you desire."
"But the Red Queen cast a spell that won't allow me to leave this land," he said, "She locked me in here until I could get my hat working. I'll only be allowed to go where she wants me to go. I'll never see my daughter again."
"I'm sure we can think of something," she shrugged. Then she plucked a hair straight out of her head and gently wrapped it around the lining of his hat. "There you go. Leave your freedom to me."
She started to fade into the background. Her lovely olive skin was starting to blend in with the rest of their surroundings. She was disappearing. He grabbed her wrist and yelled.
"Wait!" He said, "How can I repay you?"
"You can't," she winked, "I haven't exactly done anything yet. Besides, I understand what it's like to be separated from your baby. Trust me, you're in safe hands."
She tried to disappear again but he refused to release his grip on her wrist. She gave him a very pointed look. He gulped but refused to meet her demands. Instead he pulled something out of his pocket.
"I know it isn't much," he said, "but it's all I can give you. It's yours. Just keep your word and I can promise more than even that."
He pushed a small golden locket into her small hands. Then he let her go. She gave him a funny look but inspected the little thing. Her eyes lit up with merriment. She nodded her head winked. Her bright dazzling smile appeared once again. She disappeared almost immediately. First her arms and legs. Then her dress and hair. The very last thing to leave was her bright, beaming smile. It blew him a kiss before it too disappeared.
%%%%
Nate entered Granny's with a vase full of roses. He was going to get red roses but there was something about the orange and pink colors that just popped to him. A small smile donned his face at the very idea of the grifter's reaction. He was so excited that he hadn't even noticed the lack of people in the inn. He had reserved a table for two in the diner but he figured the flowers would be more of an apology. Of course, Granny pounding on his room door wasn't a good sign. Then the mastermind realized Eliot and Hardison were trying to restrain the blonde thief. Everybody turned towards him with different levels of shock and worry on their faces. The vase of fresh flowers fell to the ground in a cascade of petals and glass. His feet forced him to the top of the landing in seconds flat.
"What happened?" He demanded even as his fingers flung towards finding his key quickly.
"I don't know," Granny replied apologetically, "I heard a scream and rushed up here as fast as I could. Eliot and Hardison were already trying to burst through the door when I got here."
"My key's not working," Nate howled in disgust.
"Neither is mine," Granny agreed, "I don't know why but nobody can burst through the door."
"It's like there's a magical barrier or something!" Ruby supplied from out of nowhere.
Nate ignored the weird exchange of looks between the two. He looked towards his teammates and silently raised an eyebrow.
"She tried to burn the door down when I couldn't break through," Eliot explained with a shrug.
Nate rolled his eyes at them. He ordered them to release Parker and ignored the many bellows coming from everybody else. His foot soon found its way through the solid door as if it were made of cardboard. He didn't even pause to puzzle over this like the others did. He rushed into the room calling out the grifter's name.
"Sophie!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
He looked right, left, up, down and everywhere. He could find no sign of the grifter anywhere. The place was a total wreck. Glass was scattered all around. The room was in complete disarray. The bedding was shredded. The dressers were missing their drawers, some of which were in pieces all over the ground. The lights flickered above his head.
The mastermind walked to the bathroom and stared at the leaking faucet. He turned the handle to switch it off and was immediately assaulted by the smell of blood. His stomach dropped at the sick smell. His eyes moved up towards the source of the blood, now dripping onto his hand. The mirror was shattered and tiny red droplets were seen just at the bottom of the medicine cabinet.
"No!" He screamed, rushing towards the room with keener eyes.
Blood was speckled everywhere. It was on the shredded sheets and in the crevices of the broken mirrors. Tiny droplets of the crimson liquid led a trail to the window. A shocking streak of red appeared on the top pane along with a circle of damaged glass.
"Nate," Parker called, her voice turning fearful.
The mastermind didn't need to turn around to know she was taking in the state of the room. He also didn't care. He forced the window open, what was left of it. Then he climbed through without a second thought.
"Where are you going?" Parker demanded in a sudden panic.
"She climbed out the window," Nate replied.
Then the mastermind elicited a yelp from the young thief by diving into the nearby tree without stopping. He surprised himself by making it without even breaking a sweat. He heard Parker's soft feet hit the branch above him without disturbing the leaves. He grinned at the extra pair of eyes.
"You're looking for a disturbance in the bark," he said, "Scratch marks are probably going to be the most tell-tale sign. She didn't bring anything but heels this time around."
"I'm not seeing anything," Parker huffed.
"Nate, what the hell are you doing?" Eliot's gruff voice called from somewhere above him.
The mastermind wasn't really listening at the moment. His mind was working out the mechanics of the grifter's escape. She was bleeding which made her movements a little stuttered. Something happened to set her in a panic so that only added to her shaking movements. She was shorter than him but in better shape so she should have landed on the exact same branch he was on. Parker wasn't finding anything above but that didn't mean she didn't use the tree.
The mastermind jumped to another branch beside him. There was moss growing on the base of the branch. It looked fresh enough but there was something else. There was a branch by the trunk that looked bent. It was right below him where she fell.
"Parker, two branches down," he called before he followed his own findings.
He jumped to the tree branch below like a man many years younger. He curled his body as he followed the broken branches, an amateur mistake for the grifter to make. A few droplets of blood streaked one branch after another, some were puddles instead. Something wasn't right.
"Her coordination's off," Parker observed.
Nate looked down to find she had already descended the tree properly. He raised his eyebrow towards the group of people rushing towards them. Eliot and Hardison were in the lead followed by Ruby and Granny. The two women were exchanging knowing looks but their worry wasn't a ruse. They knew something but what they knew didn't involve Sophie's departure. The mastermind jumped the last few feet to the ground with no effort at all. Parker stared at him in shock for some reason.
"The bleedings bad," Nate surmised, "If we don't find her soon she could die."
"I thought Sophie hated the woods," Hardison said, huffing and puffing as if he ran to catch up to them.
"She does but that amount of blood implies a slow leak," Eliot explained, "A slow leak implies-"
"Cut wrists," the mastermind nodded, "which means she was delusional before she broke out of the room."
"We did hear her moving in the room for quite a while before the silence started," Ruby nodded.
"We thought she collapsed," Granny agreed.
"Then why didn't you try to get her from the window?" The mastermind screamed towards them, betrayal deep in his voice for a reason even he didn't know.
"We tried," Ruby replied, "but we couldn't get down the stairs. It was…"
"Yes?" Nate growled.
"It was as if by magic," Parker cooed, "I tried to go out the window but it wouldn't open. I even tried to smash it. For some reason I was the only one who could move out of the hallway."
Nate took note of Ruby and Granny exchanging another series of glances. He rolled his eyes at their attitude. Whatever they were hiding would have to wait. So he grabbed Ruby roughly by the shoulders and stared her directly in the eyes.
"Which way did she go?" He demanded.
Ruby blinked at him. Then she looked towards Granny for some sign of what to do. He rolled his eyes and shook the woman until she faced him again. The look on waitress' face wasn't fear, it was surprise and amazement.
"She's heading that way," she said, pointing in the direction of the flower shop and at least half of the stores in town.
The mastermind took off without a backwards glance. He felt the thief rushing to catch up and put on a burst of speed. Thankfully the grifter wasn't heading in the direction of the former mayor's home. Instead she seemed to be heading towards the outskirts. The blood droplets weren't pooling out yet. They didn't seem to be stopping either because the blood trail was turning black. It only took the man a few more minutes to figure out the trail's pattern.
She was heading towards Gold's shop.
%%%%
Rumpelstilskin was cheerily walking towards his shop with a pep in his step. That pep disappeared the moment he noticed an odd smudge on his door. It was red and had the distinct markings of blood within it. The Dark One didn't even pause as he barged through the door. He delicately followed the line of blood to the figure bumbling about his shop.
"Sophie," he called, confusion filling his every sense, "What are you doing here?"
The grifter made no reply. She just kept searching through his shop's supplies as if she had the right to. Blood was dripping from her pale form and yet very little seemed to make it to the ground. Her clothes were looking soaked though.
"Sophie!" He shouted in a panic, moving towards the grifter with every intention of healing her up.
He jumped back when she pushed her hands right into another glass case, shattering the glass as if it was water. All of his magical enchantments to prevent that were worthless against her. There was only one thing that could mean.
"Marian?" He whispered.
The woman turned towards him immediately at the mention of her name. Her dark eyes were red with tears and stains of the liquid were on her pale cheeks. Her wrists were dropping blood freely, marring her arms and hands in the crimson red. Her clothes were torn in areas to imply the blood wasn't just dripping from her wrists. Her lips were moving with absolutely no sound escaping. She looked half-mad.
Rumpelstilskin moved forward immediately. He had every intention of healing her completely and dissolving those hideous marks before she died from them. But Marian stepped away from him with a look of betrayal and hatred on her features.
"Where is it?" She hissed.
The air around them turned to cold. Their breath was starting to become visible. Marian's eyes were glowing with the power coursing through her. Electricity was making his hair stand on end and panic filled his heart.
"Where is what?" He asked though he was certain he already knew.
"The locket!" The grifter screamed towards him, forcing the air around them to intensify again, "My daughter's locket. You had it in here yesterday. Where is it now?"
"I gave that particular item to your little thief," he replied softly, "It told me it belonged to her."
"Don't lie," Marian shook her head, "It only belongs to my child. Why would you give it to Parker? Did you curse it?"
"No," he said, "It told me it belonged to her. Why do you want it? What did you do?"
The grifter gripped his lapels suddenly. She pulled him to her with the aid of a very powerful magic. She glared daggers into him with fire blazing in her eyes.
"Where is the locket, Rumpelstilskin?"
The chaos in her eyes began to falter. Flecks of blood began to fall from her nostrils. Her steady heartbeat stuttered slightly.
"You need to go to the hospital, Marian," he cried.
"No," she cried.
She quickly grasped a shard of glass, ignoring the new blood it drew from her hand. The grifter raised the weapon high. Her intentions were clear. Rumpelstilskin had no choice but to push her away. He had only just managed to get to the phone when another presence became known.
"Sophie!" Robin cried.
The grifter stopped immediately at his voice. She turned towards him with horror in her eyes. She dropped the shard and squealed. She stepped towards the back, shaking her head in dismay. Robin stepped forward without hesitation. He grasped the shaking woman close, trying to calm her. She pulled away, stumbling in agony.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"
Rumpelstilskin jolted back to his senses. He quickly stared at the phone and debated the pros and cons of his actions. He finally made his decision.
"Yes," he called, "There's a woman with bleeding wrists in my store. It's Sophie and she looks on the verge of death. Get an ambulance over here as quickly as possible."
"Your name sir?"
"Rumpel… Gold. Mr. Gold. The victim is the former mayor's sister. Please, hurry."
"An ambulance is on its way, Mr. Gold."
"Thank you," Gold cried happily.
"Mr. Gold?" The operator called.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Does she remember?"
Mr. Gold turned towards the terrified couple. He watched as Marian finally gave into her exhaustion, collapsing into the mastermind's arms and going completely limp. The blood from her wrists pooled towards the ground finally being free.
"Is she…?" Gold began.
"She's still alive," Robin snapped, his voice conveying more hope than truth, "Her heartbeat is weak though."
"I've called for an ambulance. It should be here in a matter of minutes."
"Why did she come here?"
Rumpelstilskin turned towards the source. The blonde thief stood in the doorway, staring at the grifter's prone body. She was completely unaware of the necklace glowing around her neck.
You tricked me, Rumpelstilskin thought, you knew who she was all along.
The necklace glowed a little brighter. Then the thief grabbed at the thing around her neck. She squeezed it tight and drowned the light out. Rumpelstilskin smiled at the snuffed light. It deserved it for gloating. A quick movement out of the corner of his eye told the Dark One something more was happening. He turned to see Robin ripping his shirt and wrapping the strips around the grifter's pouring wrists. The ambulance's lights were flashing nearby.
"You're going to be fine, Soph," Robin whispered into the grifter's hair, "I promise."
%%%%
"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Icarus cheered.
His bright beaming smile was the first thing Marian saw. She laughed at his outstretched hands sure she would never tire of such a wonderful sight. She picked him up and raised him for all to see. She gave him a quick spin around before planting a kiss on his cheek. The boy's cheeks turned a violent red in embarrassment.
"Look at that kid. He's as red as a beet. You should really stop kissing him, Marian, before he stays that way."
Marian giggled at the stricken look that took over her son's face. Then she turned the disgruntled boy towards his father and let him loose. Icarus wiped away all evidence of his mother's kiss and cringed when his parent's kissed hello.
"Did you bring me a present, mommy?" He asked, "Did you go to wonderland?"
She smiled down at him and gave him a kiss. Then she pulled out the locket.
"This is enchanted so you will always find your way home," she said, "When you're ready it will glow and tell you who it belongs to. You'll know what to do."
"Is it something that will help me find my true love?" He asked. He made a face of disgust at the very idea of it.
"Of course not," she laughed, "With this your father and I will never be far out of reach. One day, it will reveal your destiny."
"Cool," the boy cried. Then he took the locket and placed it around his neck. He was gone within the blink of an eye.
Robin gave his wife a look but said nothing. He was suspicious of something but Marian hoped he didn't have a clue. She had a secret to keep. She couldn't tell him she was practicing dark magic again. But Regina was getting more and more out of control. Desperate times did call for desperate measures after all.
