This chapter is huge! I think it might be the longest I've ever written!
Warning: for those of you who don't agree with the pagan religion, you might disagree with the beginning of this chapter.
Chess walked out of Granny's and down to the Pagan store, 'Planet Earth', at the very edge of the town. A bell sounded over her head as she walked in.
"Hello? Is anybody here?" she called out into the seemingly empty store and a woman wearing a very earthy toned dress stepped out of a back room. She smiled when she was Chess, her blonde waves covering parts of her face.
"You're new," she said simply and Chess blushed.
"Is it obvious?" she asked, a slight pink coloring her pale cheeks.
"No, I only noticed it because your aura is new to the town. It's slightly familiar though. Have you been here before?"
"Yes, I have, my mom used to bring me here when I was a little girl."
"So your mother was a believer?"
"Yeah, she was. I was interested in it too. I actually came here because I need help."
"What do you need?"
"I need crystals, incense, an incense burner, an athame, a white sage and lavender smudge stick, ritual candles, a cauldron, a whole bunch of herbs, an eagle feather, a mirror, a set of tarot cards, a chalice and a few beginners guides." Chess rambled and the woman behind the desk smiled.
"You're trying to learn and for that, I'm proud. I'm sure your mother would be too. Her spirit watches over you, I can feel it."
"I know. I can always feel her with me when I need her most."
"I'm Alice by the way. Alice Kingsley."
"I thought you looked familiar. I'm the Cheshire Cat."
"It's good to see you again Chesh. I had no idea what happened to you after the whole switching worlds thing. It seems Regina forgot to erase some of our memories."
"Yeah, it seems so."
Jefferson heard the clanging of footsteps down the hall leading to his imprisonment and ran toward the door. The guard didn't come in; he just threw Cheshire in with no warning. Jefferson caught her before she fell and she curled into a ball in his arms. She sobbed into his shirt for hours and he tried to soothe and comfort her.
She had calmed down around nightfall and the hatter finally asked her what happened.
"My mom… she's been leading the resistance. The queen found out and… she killed her in front of me. Do you know what her name was? Autumn Lynn Arthur. She was beautiful and she had an amazing life ahead of her. The funny thing is, she talked about my dad a lot. She described him to look just like you." She rambled and he put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Chesh, I think I might be your dad…"
Chess was afraid for her life as she stepped into Storybrooke middle school. She had just dropped off everything she bought at Planet Earth back at her room at Granny's and now she was about to face her biggest fear, walking into a high school.
She got stared at as she walked through the main hall and to the office but she just kept her head held high and her eyes focused in her destination. She stepped in the office and smiled at the receptionist as she put the filled out pack of papers on her desk.
"Hi, I'd like to register." Chess said and she took the papers before pointing to a seat. She sat down and while everything went through, she read through a book with crystal and their meanings.
She was done just as school was getting out and when Henry saw her in the office, he walked out with her. The two got some odd looks but ignored them and talked about the more important things.
"Any word on how long you have before the venom spreads through your body?" he asked as they walked out of the school. She shrugged.
"I'm guessing about two weeks. Maybe a little more. But guess what I found out today!" she told him and he grinned.
"What?"
"This town has a pagan store! My Uncle Epsilon sent over most of my stuff but a lot of it was old so I went out and got new stuff. I could show you later if you want," she added while she blushed because she realized that she invited Henry to see her room.
"I'd love to! Just let me ask Emma." He said and the blonde popped out of no where.
"Ask me what?"
"If I could hang out with Chess today because you have paperwork," Henry answered smoothly and she rolled her eyes.
"Have fun but please, don't be late back to Regina's tonight."
"He won't. I'll walk him home." Chess offered and Emma smiled.
"Thanks." She said and her walkie talkie went off. "That's my cue. Behave you two," she warned and Chess rolled her eyes.
"We will." She said and she pulled Henry toward Granny's. Ruby shot them a look as she pulled Henry into her room. She left the door open just a crack so no one would think the wrong things. She told Henry everything she bought, what it did and why she needed it and there were two things left at the end, the jewelry box and the crystal book. She opened the box and his mouth dropped open. There was one of every kind of crystal or stone that was in the shop and everything was on a chain. He asked about certain ones and she looked each one up and read it to him. There was one in particular that he was interested in though. It was a beautiful blue Dalmatian Jasper. She took it out of the jewelry box and put it around his neck before reading it to him.
"Jasper: Jasper comes in all sorts of colors and patterns, each with additional attributes. However, Jasper in general is known as the "supreme nurturer". It helps us assist others and provides protection. Balances your energies of the physical and emotional. Jasper is used in the treatment of tissue deterioration of internal organs, including disorders of the kidneys, spleen, bladder, liver, and stomach. Soothes nerves and helps regain sense of lost smell. Promotes health," she read out loud to him and he fiddled with the stone around his neck. He was fascinated by the pattern and she pulled her necklace out from underneath her shirt. It was a Lapis Lazuli that her mother bought her when she was a little girl. The played with the blue and gold crystal shaped stone, remembering her mother.
"What's yours?" Henry asked as soon as he tore his gaze away from his stone. She flipped to the page and read it out loud to him.
"Lapis Lazuli: Lapis Lazuli is a rich blue stone which is very prized throughout the world. It is connected to the element of Water and the planetary body of Venus. It promotes fidelity, joy, protection, courage, healing, and psychism. Lapis Lazuli is also known as the "Stone of Total Awareness"." She read and he smiled.
"That does sound like you."
"Eh, maybe. I have a lot of other jewels though. I wear this one a lot because my mom bought it. This one though," she pulled out another necklace from underneath her shirt, "is my all time favorite. It chose me. The stone chooses the person," she added at his confused look and he picked up the book off the floor.
He turned to the page he guessed the jewel was. He looked at the picture in the book and confirmed his suspicion. "Sapphire: Sapphire is connected to the elements of Wind, Earth, and Water, as well as the planetary body of the Moon. It promotes meditation, awareness, discipline, defense magic, creativity, sexuality, zest for life, and is known as the "Stone of Uniformity"." He read out loud and smiled even wider. "Yeah, that really does sound like you," he said and his stomach growled.
"I guess I'm not the only one that's hungry," Chesh laughed and Henry blushed.
"Wanna go get something to eat?" he asked and she nodded. They got up and just before they left, she poked him in the side.
"Wait a second, did you just ask me on a date?" she asked him and he blushed almost as brightly as she was.
"Yeah, I did."
"Then come on, let's go," she said before grabbing his hand. They walked to Granny's and sat in at the counter. Ruby smiled at them and put two cups of cocoa in front of them without even asking. Chess guessed it was Henry's usual thing and tried the cocoa. It was really good with cinnamon. They ordered and Ruby went off to go tell the cook. When she was done, she stayed within earshot but far away not to be noticed.
"Henry, do you still have the story book?" she asked after a minute of awkward silence between them and he grabbed his backpack off his shoulder.
"Yeah, it's in here," he said as he rummaged through it. She rolled her eyes. Boys will be boys, she thought.
Oh shut up, your room was worse then my backpack, he shot back and she giggled before rolling her eyes. He pulled his book out and put it in front of them. "What do you want to read about?" he asked her and she thought about it for a minute.
"The mad hatter after him and the Cheshire cat escaped," she said and he started flipping through the pages. The reason why she chose that in particular was because she needed as much information as possible to prove to Jefferson who she really was.
"There," Henry said as he stopped flipping. Ruby put their food on either side of the book and they munched on parts of their meals as they read the story about the mad hatter and Cheshire cat.
"It's impossible though. We'll never make it put of here," Jefferson said one day as he made yet another hat. Chesh rolled her eyes and turned to look at her newly discovered father.
"I've done it before. I can do it again. I'm getting you back home to Grace. No questions, comments or concerns allowed." She crossed her arms and he rolled his eyes at her.
"One try then. That's it. Your magic is still messed up and I don't want anything bad happening to you." He warned her. He was still worried about her and he didn't want her over doing herself. He just found out he was her father and he wasn't letting her go any time soon.
"Okay, okay, I'll be careful! Have a little faith man!" she told him with a giggle and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Go before I change my mind," he warned and she closed her eyes. She pictured Regina's castle and let her magic guide her mind around the castle until she found the hat. She focused all her magic at that point at she felt it swirl around her as she tried to transport to the hat.
Jefferson watched as the blue magic cloud that was his daughter's circled around her. His eyes were full of worry as the magic swirled around her like a tornado, blowing her hair in every direction. Her face was focused and didn't even seem to notice her power swarm around her.
A slight whisp of the wind, she was gone.
"Meow…" she whispered under her breath so no one but her heard it and with
Chesh, much to her dismay, didn't end up where the hat was. She ended up in a locked room. She turned around in circles, looking for a way out when she noticed a sleeping girl. She ran over to the figure and shook her awake.
"Who are you?" the girl asked, her accent heavily laced in her voice that was thick with sleep.
"Never mind that. How long have you been trapped here?" Chesh asked with desperation.
"About three months, why?"
"How much do you want to get the hell out of here and never come back?" Chesh asked again and the girl sat up.
"More than anything," the girl replied and Chesh held her hand out.
"Congratulations, you just met your escape buddy. I'm Cheshire, but call me Chesh."
The girl took her hand. "Belle," she told her before jumping up.
"Are you okay with magic?" Chesh asked and Belle nodded. She started walking around. "Well good because I happen to be the only power that we've got right now. I can tell by your aura that you're a negative on the magic side. Stand back from the door," Chesh warned and Belle stepped away. Chesh held out her hand, her palm facing upward. A glowing blue orb came to her hand and Chesh aimed while it gathered power. She curled her fingers around the ball and threw it at the door.
The door broke with a bang and they ran out of the room. Chesh's magic led them through the castle and to the hat. She grabbed a sword before entering the room. Guards were closing in on them and she picked the hat up out of the case. It spun around like a tornado and together, Belle and Chesh jumped in. The hat stopped spinning and disappeared with a whisp of the wind.
The girls ran hand in hand through the door that led to Wonderland. Epsilon saw her coming and got confused when he saw Belle.
"Who are you?" he asked, blowing a puff of smoke in her face. Belle choked on it as Chesh waved it out of her face.
"Never mind that Epsilon. I need you to magic us into the castle!" she yelled at him and he nodded before blowing the contents of his lungs at them. They smoke gathered around them and with a slight pop, they were gone as fast as they came.
Jefferson heard the pop that was indescribably them and he ran toward it. He looked awestruck when he saw Belle.
"Who is that?" he yelled and then he saw the sword. "And why the hell do you have a sword?"
"Never mind that dad! I'm gonna poof you guys out of here. Whatever you do, keep heading straight for that portal!" she yelled and she hugged her dad.
"Please be safe," she whispered and he nodded. He kissed her forehead before gripping Belle's hand.
"Jefferson," he told her and she smiled.
"Belle," she replied and Chesh forced her magic on them. They landed in front of Epsilon's mushroom again.
"Ep," Jefferson said with a tip of his hat and the caterpillar blew smoke at him.
"Hatter, don't you have orders?" he asked and the hatter nodded. He followed Belle into the portal. They ran into the door leading to the Enchanted Forest and were surrounded by guards once they landed. They fought them as best as they could but even when they got swords, it was uneven and they were defeated.
Both Chess and Henry looked up from the book at the same time. Cheshire and the Hatter's journey was only half over and they had been there for an hour reading about it. Their food was gone and each of them was on their fourth cup of cocoa. Emma silently came up behind them and scared them.
"What are you two reading?" she asked and they both jumped in their seat. They turned to face her with a glare.
"Mom!" Henry yelled and Chess giggled.
"We're reading about the mad hatter and the Cheshire cat." Chess told Emma and she looked at the book.
"He escaped form Wonderland?" she asked and both of the thirteen year olds nodded. Emma handed Ruby some money and went to sit at her normal table. Henry and Chess sank bank down and continued reading.
Chesh landed in Regina's castle next to the hat.
"Oh for fuck's sake," she said and Regina smiled at her.
She saw her father and Belle out of the corner of her eye.
"Don't try anything funny or they both will die." Regina warned and Cheshire curled her hand into a fist. Her other hand was grasped on the sword hit that was hanging off her waist in the strap.
"Oh calm down, I just want to talk. There's no need to be ready to pull out your sword at the first hint of danger."
"I don't trust you Regina. You've dicked me over before, I'm not about to let you do it again. Let them go." Chesh warned and Regina rolled her eyes.
"Sit and talk with me. I'll let them go when we're done."
"I want your word."
"You have my word."
"Then the deal is struck."
Chesh shook Regina's hand and the air around them rippled with the magic behind the deal.
Cheshire sat down on a chair Regina poofed up and she felt Belle's and her father's gazes on her. "So what is it you want with me?" Chesh asked the 'the queen of eternal darkness' as she is called in Wonderland.
"I want to know how you freed my newest prisoner, helped Jefferson get out of Wonderland, stole his hat and got here without the hat." Regina told her and Chesh explained it in one critic sentence.
"I have magic."
"Yes, but how did you get it? Yours has traces of power that can trump some of the strongest magical creatures."
"It's in my blood. It's been passed down through generations of my family. Only the pruest member got the magic. And somehow, that was me. Of cource, it got stronger with each generation. I have the strongest magic my family has ever had. People over generations have tried to take the magic from us but they all failed. If the magic was ever removed from my bloodline, it would wither away and die within five minutes." She told Regina because the queen's mind displayed her plan brightly enough for anyone with similar and more powerful magic to see.
"Well isn't that a pity. Looks like you'll just have to stay here."
"Over my dead body."
"No, over theirs." She pointed at Jefferson and Belle and Cheshire tensed up. Every muscle in her body was telling her to fight but her mind overruled her.
"We have a deal Regina. You know the consequences if you break it." She warned and Regina waved her off.
"Of very well, let them free." Regina told the guards and they dropped them. Chesh ran over to them and her dad held her close. Chesh gripped Belle's hand and projected a message to her.
Don't worry, I'll get us out of here, she pushed the message into Belle's mind and she nodded.
"We're done here Regina. Let them go." Chesh told her and Regina smiled at her. Chesh knew that it wasn't going to end well. Regina's plan flashed in her mind and she cringed.
Belle guessed her plan and knew what to do. She tapped her skull with her fingers and kept thinking the same thing. Chesh realized wheat she was doing and looked in her mind. She put a field around them so Regina wouldn't hear them.
Take my necklace and find a man named Rumpelstiltskin. He'll help you. Belle's voice sounded and the girl took her necklace. She put it in Cheshire's hand and nodded. Chesh put it around her neck. Her father gave slid his ring off his finger and placed it in the center of his daughter's palm. The blood stone shone in the light and she looked at her father carefully.
Chess fiddled with her bloodstone right without thinking as she read it, thinking of how it might make Jefferson remember…
"Are you sure?" she asked and he nodded.
"Your mother gave me the stone when I met her. Now, I want you to have it. The ring has been in my family for as far back as it goes."
"Thank you daddy," she said for the first time and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tighten than she ever hugged anyone. Then everything went to hell.
She broke the field around them, stood up and walked over to Regina. "A deal is a deal your majesty. Let them go."
"Oh very well. Take the prisoner back to her room and send the hatter back to Wonderland." Regina toldthe guard and Ches blocked her father and new friend.
"That wasn't part of the deal. You said you would let them go," she snapped and Regina's smile got wider.
"I am letting them go. They're going back to where they were before they met you. Speaking of which, I have another problem. I can't let you go like that Cheshire. You should know me well enough to know that. You need another form. Ah, I have one." She said and Chesh grimaced. "But first," she turned to a guard, "shove this down the Jefferson's throat. We don't need him remembering who Cheshire is." Regina said and Jefferson tried to make a run for it.
"Dad!" Chesh screamed and Regina turned to face the girl.
"Dad? Well this is a surprise. Make sure he takes the whole potion! Every last drop!" she yelled to the guard that was chasing him. Another guard pulled Belle away as Regina's magic froze Chesh.
"Have you ever heard the expression 'curiosity killed the cat'? Well, that's exactly that I'm hoping for. Ta-ta,' Regina said and with a wave of her hand, Cheshire was turned into a cat and thrown into the forest.
For weeks she stayed in that forest until she realized that she still might be able to use magic. It took four hours and all her focus to be able to go back into human form. Once she was though, she did the most dangerous thing anyone could have ever done.
"Rumpelstiltskin, show yourself you coward!" she yelled into the night air and the imp appeared in front of her.
"I may be a lot of things dearie but a coward isn't one of them."
"Are you sure about that? I know what you've done to people. You let your son go into a land without magic because you were too scared to go with him. That right there is the mark of a coward." She growled and the imp looked at her with a hellish gaze.
"Why exactly did you call me here?"
"I have a deal to make with you."
"You have nothing to offer me." He said simply and she pulled Belle's necklace out from under her dress.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked him, holding it for him to see.
"Where did you get that?" he asked with wide eyes.
"My friend Belle gave it to me just before something tragic happened to her."
"What… what happened?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you… She told me not to. But I'll make a deal with you. This is what my end of it is."
"I'll do anything for it. Name your price." He croaked.
"I need two things. Something to help me and a favor. And in exchange for one, I'll help you find Baelfire in the next world when the curse is activated."
"Do I have your word?"
"You have my word." She said and she felt her magic weakening. She only had a minute left before her magic collapsed. He handed her a vial.
"This will help you collect your thoughts and help you succeed in what you do. Take it every night before you go to sleep." He said and she nodded. She untied the string of the necklace and put it in his hand.
"Get out of here you imp." She said with a laugh and for the first time since Belle left him, he gave a true, warm, whole-hearted smile. There was an unspoken truce between the two, almost a friendship. She smiled back at him before he vanished into the night.
"Okay that's enough," Emma said, pulling the two teens from the story.
"No!" the both protested and she gave them a stern look.
"You two have been here for hours! I think Ruby is running out of hot chocolate because of you two! You can finish reading tomorrow."
"No we can't. Henry's going to be at Regina's tomorrow." Chess said and Emma cursed under her breath.
"How about this, Why don't you sleep over this weekend? I can trust Henry not to do anything stupid and you two can stay up telling fairy tales to your heart's content."
"That sounds cool," Henry said and everyone smiled.
"Oh and Hnery, Regina wanted you home early. Let's go," Emma told him and Chess marked the page in the book before handing it to him. Chess and Henry hugged before he left. On his way back to Regina's, Emma was smiling.
"What's got you so happy?"
"Nothing kid, just nothing."