Swallowing hard, Jefferson resisted the urge to scream. The pain in his chest had become almost unbearable, and the excruciating trek through the forest hasn't helped. He gasped for breath, the vice like grip around his ribs tightening. Giving the castle doors a shove, Jefferson staggered into the dusty hallway.
The thick curtains were closed, and there was very little light in the room. Suddenly the doors at from the potions room were flung open and the dark one strode out, but his purposeful stride was replaced with angry, or concerned, hurrying towards Jefferson.
"Where have you been? I said the evening off: not a bloody week!" Rumplestiltskin snapped, looking disdainfully at him, "where the hell have you been- and what have you done now? Anyone'd think you've been in the ogre wars!"
"I've only been gone three days," Jefferson said, though as he spoke he remembered how time changed differently in each realm, "I was in the land without colour, and I got into a fight with a vampire."
"And lost by the looks of things," Regina sniggered, appearing beside her mentor.
Jefferson scowled at Regina, leaning his rigid back against the wall.
"You know, a little magic would be really handy right about now," he said through gritted teeth, "I could only make a healing potion that would last an hour!"
"You made a healing potion- in the land without colour?" The dark one asked, suddenly interested.
Grinning slightly, he came closer to Jefferson: but not quite close enough to heal him.
Jefferson took a deep breath, ignoring the throb of his ribs.
"Yes. I used the hat to create portals to retrieve each item."
Rumplestiltskin seemed to consider his answer for a moment, nodding in approval. He raised his hand.
"I suppose that almost makes up for your disappearance."
Rumplestiltskin grew closer, pressing his hand to Jefferson's rib, his voice now a low whisper:
"If you were in the land without colour, I assume you have resolved your...issue?"
"Indeed," Jefferson said, looking Rumplestiltskin straight in the eye. He was the one person Jefferson couldn't lie to, though his reply was the truth.
'Just not in the way you want.'
The imp gave a curt nod as his magic flowed through Jefferson, who could feel his wounds healing for a second time. Abruptly, the surge of magic halted and Rumplestiltskin stepped away, his services no longer needed.
No sooner had Jefferson had a chance to breathe, Rumplestiltskin had produced a scroll of parchment in his scaled hand. It swiftly unwound to reveal a list of jobs and their corresponding realms.
Jefferson scanned through the list. Most of the tasks were simple enough and coincidentally or not, they were all many realms away from the land without colour.
Snatching a breath, Jefferson hurriedly pulled the green curtain of Oz across. He tugged the tail of his coat behind him as the flying monkeys screeched and scratched their claws after him. Dusting himself off, Jefferson pulled out the slightly torn list from his satchel and crossed off:
'observe and determine if the Wicked Witch of the West poses any threat.'
He checked the next realm; glad to discover his last task was also his final. In one day Jefferson had attended a royal coronation, stolen various items from kings, queens, magicians and market stalls, as well as spied on countless enemies of the dark one.
As Jefferson hurried to the final door with a renewed energy, he came back to Elizabeth's dilemma. Throughout his travels, she hadn't left his mind, though Jefferson was still no closer to finding an answer.
The oddly shaped door swung open and Jefferson stepped onto the golden-white sand. Beside him, deep-blue waves glistened underneath an orange sunset.
An ominous whistle whispered along the breeze from the palm trees, reminding Jefferson that despite its beauty, where he stood was far from safe.
He knew what he needed and how to get there. But Jefferson wavered for a moment, planning the best route that would avoid an untimely run-in with the lost boys. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from behind him. Before Jefferson could turn around, something smacked into his head.
Everything turned dark.
Feeling a pulsating migraine forming, Jefferson cautiously opened an eye. It was still dark, though brief flickers of light shone between the threads that covered his eyes.
Nausea lurched in his throat as he felt himself be thrown sideways, though his arms remained bound.
Once he stopped moving, someone roughly pulled off what Jefferson suspected had been a bag over his head. Blinking, the harsh sunlight glared into his eyes. He then looked around, quickly registering his location as the floorboards tilted again: a ship. As he scanned the deck, Jefferson saw an array of pirates stood expectantly around him.
"What shall we do with 'im captain?" Said one in an oversized red cap.
"Throw him overboard!" Another pirate yelled and several others roared in agreement.
"We shall do no such thing," a voice called from above them, proud and commanding.
The crew fell silent. All Jefferson could hear was the tapping of approaching footsteps on the wooden planks. But he knew who it was even before the pirate arrived.
"You must be that portal jumper with the hat? I've heard all about you- and who you work for,"" the captain announced.
"The name's Jefferson," Jefferson said, his civility not quite enough to hide the sarcasm, "You must be Killian Jones- also known as Captain Hook."
As he spoke, Jefferson glanced down at the silver hook that the Captain brandished.
"Indeed. Now, I've heard that you can talk your way out of anything," Hook said, giving a contempt smirk, "so talk your way out of not getting thrown overboard- tell me everything you know about Rumplestiltskin."
"I know he cut off your hand," Jefferson quipped.
Dissatisfied with his answer, Hook slide out his sword and pointed the tip at Jefferson's heart. Any lesser man would have quivered, though Jefferson remained unnerved. He knew whatever Hook did would only be half as bad as Rumplestiltskin's punishment for revealing any information.
Stood as nonchalantly as someone could be with their arms bound to a pole and a bunch of pirates surrounding them, Jefferson hoped Hook had realised this too, else he'd lose precious time stuck on the ship. But Hook's sword remained pressed to his heart, so Jefferson continued:
"I've heard other stories too..." Jefferson continued, pausing for effect before slyly grinning up at Hook,
"that you took his wife?"
Hook stiffened at that, his expression changing. The sword was suddenly against Jefferson's neck and the pirate hissed,
"But have you also heard of how Rumplestiltskin killed her- because she loved me, and not him?"
Jefferson swallowed, more than a little conscious of the sword pressed to his neck. His thoughts were elsewhere- he knew well what the dark one was capable of.
'Would Rumplestiltskin do the same to Elizabeth?'
"What are you thinking of? Worried the dark one'll turn on you?"
"Of course not," Jefferson snapped, "now, I think we both know that trying to get any information out of me is useless, so if you'll just remove your sword, perhaps we could do business?"
To his relief the sword slid from his neck to a safe position by Hook's side.
"You wish to trade?" The pirate asked, the promise of gold immediately changing his tone to a more agreeable one.
Jefferson nodded and Hook motioned to one of his crew, then to below deck. One pirate swiftly cut loose the ropes around his arms whilst the red- capped pirate scurried off.
Jefferson slid out a pouch filled with the gold that he kept on him, as well as a few small trinkets that he'd pick-pocketed to sell off. The red-capped pirate returned with a small selection of treasures and Jefferson studied each in turn. Most of them were pretty unimpressive: a few jewels, a map that looked pretty counterfeit and some potions. But there was one thing that did capture his attention.
A necklace: rose gold in colour, with a heart shaped pedant made from a peculiar glass that seemed to cast various colours, depending upon the sun rays.
Hook noticed him musing over the necklace. He slid the tip of his sword slid between the chains and lifted it up for Jefferson to see properly. As the pendant shook in the breeze, the inside twinkled with all the colours of the rainbow.
"So you do have someone special," Hook murmured, "I'd keep her away from your business partner if I were you, mate."
Jefferson ignored his comment, prising the necklace and studying it in the palm of his hand. He then tipped out a few gold coins.
"Genuine dwarf-stone, that necklace," The red-capped pirate suddenly piped up. With a sigh, Jefferson reluctantly added another two gold pieces.
"Nice doing business with you," Jefferson replied, slipping the necklace into the top pocket of his coat.
With a flourish, Jefferson removed his hat and lowered his arm as if to place it in the floor. Immediately, the pirates began to back away. To their surprise, Jefferson flipped the hat back onto his head and leapt up onto the edge of the ship.
Quickly tipping his hat in a mock salute, Jefferson jumped off the ship into the sea.
The water was colder than he had anticipated, but this didn't bother Jefferson: it had been too inviting to resist. Despite his coat weighing him down, Jefferson swam up to the surface with ease.
He took a deep breath, scanning the horizon for Neverland. The ship hadn't taken him too far from the shore, and Jefferson dove back down into the water.
He soon reached the beach and clambered out of the salty water. The sand was hot to the touch, prickling against his damp skin as Jefferson peeled off his drenched coat and loosened his cravat. Casting a cautionary glance up the beach, Jefferson saw that he wasn't alone. Hunched over a small fire was a familiar figure.
"I've been watching you," they called as he approached, taking a bite from the cooked fish in their hands,
"You gave those pirates quite a surprise when you fell overboard!"
"I didn't fall! I dived into the water," Jefferson retorted, settling down on the sand to warm by the smoky fire, his soaked belongings lain down between them to dry in the sun,
"Why were you watching me anyway?"
"'Cause I was wondering what you're doing here: Pan made it pretty clear you weren't to return."
Jefferson shrugged and took the second fish. His swim had left him rather hungry.
"I've stolen from plenty of other people- and when have I ever done what I was told?"
"You do what the dark one tells you. I guess he sent you, but what for?"
"I don't know, probably to get some more mermaid water. Regina's always breaking the potion bottles."
"He didn't send you for this?"
Jefferson turned to see what they meant to find that the necklace was no longer in his coat.
"Since when did you steal Bae?" Jefferson said, acting as though he was shocked.
He reached over to grab the necklace from the younger boy's dirty fingers, but Baelfire darted his hand away, keeping glittering pendant just out of reach.
"Since you taught me!"
"Indeed I did. I'm really not much of a role model am I?" Jefferson laughed.
"So, how is the dark one?" Baelfire asked, changing the subject.
"Same old, same old. Right now he's busy corrupting the queen Regina, and he's still making deals- nothing new really. But that's not to say that your father doesn't miss you."
"He's not my father," Baelfire muttered darkly, kicking the sand with a scowl,
"he gave up that right when he chose his power over me."
"Yes, but still-"
"But nothing! I know how you feel about it, but remember our agreement? You don't tell the dark one where I am: and I won't tell Pan you're here," Baelfire said, toying rather longingly with the necklace, "or maybe I'll keep this little beauty and sell it."
"Hey, I need that," Jefferson protested, "it's a birthday present."
"A birthday present? I didn't think you stayed with one woman long enough to get their name- let alone their birthday!"
"I might have to cast a spell on your tongue for that cheek!" As he spoke Jefferson finally managing to snatch the necklace back off Baelfire.
"What's her name?"
Jefferson took another bite of the fish, which wasn't too badly burnt, looking over at Baelfire. He knew he could trust him.
"Elizabeth."
"What's she like?"
"Well...she likes to read. Always has her head buried in a book," Jefferson said, smiling to himself as stared into the reflective glass stone, fondly picturing Elizabeth,
"She's very caring and compassionate. Wants to be an author and she loves to hear of all the different realms I've been to."
Baelfire absorbed the information and for a moment they were both silent as they ate the rest of their fish.
"Doesn't sound like your usual type of woman," Baelfire announced before teasingly adding:
"I thought you liked barmaids, mermaids, or princesses- actually let's face it, any attractive woman with more cleavage than common sense!"
'That's a slight exaggeration-' Jefferson thought, before realising Baelfire was right.
"Well Elizabeth's different," he replied, aware Baelfire was expecting an answer, "the feelings I have for her...they're, just... different."
"You love her."
"No. I don't. I can't love her. Love is weakness. People can use it against you. Love corrupts and poisons you, "Jefferson recited, Rumplestiltskin's voice saying each word in his head, "it's safer to only care about yourself."
"Enough!" Baelfire cried, lightly punching Jefferson's arm to make him stop.
"Tell me how you really feel- not what the dark one's been drilling into you."
"I do care about Elizabeth," Jefferson confessed, "I really do, but..."
"But what?"
"She's to be married in a week, to another, whom she doesn't love. I promised to help her get out of it, only the wedding was made her father, and his will that dictates the arrangement is pretty damn fool proof."
Baelfire picked at the fish bones that lay on the ash remains of the fire, frowning as he thought the problem over. Suddenly, he straightened up. His excited eyes looked up into Jefferson's.
"Isn't it obvious?" Baelfire said.
Jefferson stared blankly at him.
"Just do what you do best: steal it."