Author’s Note

Hey!  This will be my last chapter of the week since I’ve decided to take weekends off.  I will continue uploading new chapters on Monday again though so no worries.  :)  If you watch the show and haven’t seen season 2: episode 5, I just thought I should warn you that Dr. Whale’s “fairytale” counterpart gets hinted at/revealed in this chapter.  Hopefully it isn’t TOO much of a spoiler; I promise it’s the only season 2 related thing revealed in this story.  Thank you everyone for your support, and remember to vote and comment!  It’s always appreciated and I like responding to comments.

Chapter VI

Standing before me is an enormous painting of a blonde haired, blue eyed girl.  The thing is; she looks exactly like me.   I step closer to get a better look.  The canvas looks old; it’s even ripped in a few spots leaving miniscule holes all over the painting.  Even her smile is exactly like mine.  She is wearing a very pretty blue dress with lace running down the sides and arms showing a thin layer of white underneath.  If that isn’t weird enough, there are still two other people standing in the painting.  To the left of the girl that looks exactly like me, stands a man, who looks just like Jefferson.  The only difference is that in the painting, his hair is longer and holding a slight curl to it.  In the painting he’s wearing an orange long-sleeved shirt, paired with a brown vest and brown pants.  He’s wearing a black top hat.  None of this was as shocking as the third person in the painting.  It was a young baby lying in my arms.  I stare at the baby, remembering what Jefferson said before I passed out in the forest.  We have a daughter.  I can feel my heart drop through the floor, and I look back at Jefferson who is leaning against the door frame watching my reaction, which, with good reason, is scared and extremely confused.  Where would he have gotten this painting?  And with me in it for that matter, or just someone who looks a hell of a lot like me.  My thoughts are interrupted when Jefferson speaks up.

“This was taken just a few days before you disappeared,” he explains, walking up next to me.  I shake my head, this is just all too overwhelming.  I don’t know what to say, but luckily he keeps talking so I don’t have to say anything.  “Simon, or Dexter, as he was called back then, actually painted it himself.  You said you were never going to let him do it again since he kept goofing off instead of painting, making it take a lot longer than planned,” he chuckles, also staring at the painting.

“I don’t remember,” I tell him, I can feel the tears pool into my eyes.  He looks at me.

“Do you believe it though?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I admit, “It’s a lot to take in, and as much as that girl looks like me, she doesn’t feel like me.”  Jefferson exhales, looking disappointed. 

“You can go,” he says, gesturing towards the door.

“What?” I ask, not sure if he’s angry or if he’s just giving up on the whole thing.

“You can go, on one condition,” he repeats, looking into my eyes, “When Simon goes to see Henry again, go with him,” he demands, placing something in my hand.  “Take this, to get you home,” he says.  I look down and see that it’s a key to what I’m assuming is his car.

“Okay,” I tell him.  I start walking towards the door.  When I get to the hallway, I look back at Jefferson who is still intently looking at the painting.  I turn back around and make my way to where I saw the stairs before.  When I get outside, I look around for his black car and see it parked out front.  I hurry to it in the freezing cold wind and struggle with the key, which obviously doesn’t fit in the lock.  I groan and look around for something else.  I see a small tan car sitting out of its way in the driveway parked next to a stone wall.  I walk over to it hoping that it is what the key unlocks.  Closing my eyes and crossing my fingers, I place the key into the lock.  I hear a soft click and sigh in relief, opening the front door and getting in the driver’s seat.  I carefully drive out of the alley and up to the end of the driveway.  I can’t help but look back at the house; most of the lights are off now, so Jefferson must have gone to bed already.  I glance at the digital car clock which reads almost 3:00 AM.  Yeah, it’s definitely my bedtime when I get back.

The drive back to Granny’s is tiring.  I’m so tired that it’s hard to stay focused on the road.  I can’t imagine why I’m so tired; I have been sleeping all day thanks to that mushroom Jefferson gave me yesterday.  I drowsily drive up a small hill, not realizing that I’m starting to cross the median until I see two bright headlights blinding my already tired eyes.  I try to swerve the car, but in my cloudy state of mind I rotate the wheel in the wrong direction, crashing hard into the driver in the oncoming traffic lane.

I hear a scream close by, but then realize that it is coming from my own throat.  All I can see is the ceiling of Jefferson’s car.  Jefferson.  I just crashed Jefferson’s car.  Will he be more mad about his car, or worried about me?  A sharp pain jabs my right side, making me wince in pain.  I can feel a warm liquid running down my arm and I try to twist my head to see where the blood is coming from but I can’t move anything.  The aftershock of the crash starts dwindling down and suddenly it feels like every bone in my body is broken, like every muscle is torn.  The pain makes it harder to stay awake, but I’m afraid that if I black out I will never wake up again.  I start crying, my salty tears stinging my face.  Out the shattered front window I see red and blue lights flashing as bright as a star exploding in the middle of the dark night.  With the promise of help, I shut my eyes and surrender myself to the darkness.

Mr. Alphonse Frankenstein walks me to the doors of his gigantic residence.  They are at least three times taller than I am.  He bangs the large knockers against the door three times and waits.  I look at him with confusion.

“These doors are a little too heavy for an old man like me,” he chuckles, with a sparkle in his pale blue eyes.  I smile, understanding.  Suddenly the large doors burst open, revealing a young boy, only looking about five years of age.

“William!” Mr. Frankenstein exclaims in joy as he lifts the boy into his arms.

“Put me down Father!” he squeals, laughing and trying to wiggle his way out.  I stand there feeling a little awkward, but he sets William down.  “Who is this?” William asks, referring to me.

“This is Elizabeth,” he explains, placing his hands on his hips, “she will be staying with us if she wishes,” he smiles.  I look at him, surprised at his offer.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a burden…” I start.

“Nonsense!” he interrupts, “We can surely find a room for you in a place as big as this!”  My heart warms at his generosity. 

“I don’t know how I could ever repay you,” I tell him.

“No payment necessary dear, everyone will be happy to have a new face in the house.  We are, after all, the only residence around for miles,” he chuckles.

“Okay,” I tell him, otherwise speechless.

“Great!  Now come on in and we can get you cleaned up before your tour!”  When we step in, he motions a girl over and whispers something in her ear.  I look around to see that the entrance is enormous.  There is a set of long curved staircases going up both sides of the room.  They both lead up to the same indoor balcony upstairs.  When Mr. Frankenstein stops whispering I look back at the two.  The maid smiles and nods, taking my arm and leading me up the right staircase.

“My name is Justine!” she tells me smiling, “It will be so nice to have another woman in the house.”

“I’m Elizabeth,” I tell her.  Then I freeze on the stairs, causing Justine to stumble a little.  Elizabeth.  That is what I told Alphonse, but it doesn’t sound like my name.  I think back to last night in the rain.  How did I get there?  My heart starts racing and I can feel an empty feeling starting for form in my chest, like I am missing someone, but I didn’t know who is out there for me to miss.  I can’t bring myself to remember anything before last night by the gates.

“Are you okay Elizabeth?” Justine asks, looking worried.  I snap myself back into reality.

“Yes, sorry, I’m fine,” I assure her.

“Okay,” she says skeptically, “Let’s get you cleaned up then, and into some new clothes.”

She brings me upstairs to the fanciest looking bathroom I’ve ever seen.  I didn’t even think people decorated their bathrooms, but there it was, detailed with red and blue curtains and a porcelain toilet.  She shows me where the different soaps are and leaves me to my privacy as she heads out to find me something nice to wear.  I look at the multiple bars of soap she laid out in front of me and I smell each one of them.  I don’t think I have ever been put in the position where I could choose between so many fragrances.  They all smell so good, but I decide to use the plain smelling soap.  I don’t need to use up their expensive soap, even if these people are very wealthy.

I get done bathing after about fifteen minutes and as if she’s psychic, I hear a knock on the door, “It’s Justine!  Are you ready yet?” she asks. 

“Come in!” I answer, wrapping a towel around myself.  She opens the door and lays a beautiful powder pink dress before me.  I examine it closer and gasp at the ties in the back.  “I have never worn a corset before!” I tell her nervously.  She giggles.

“It’s not that bad, and it will surely look beautiful on you,” she insists.  It just feels so strange to be among all these expensive items.  Surely this dress cost a fortune, the thought of it makes me feel slightly guilty. 

“Okay,” I tell her, with a little unease.  It makes her happy though as she helps me into the dress.  She assures me that it isn’t by any means a formal ball gown or anything, but still I can’t help feeling too fancy in it.  When she gets done she walks over and picks up my dirty blue and white dress.  “Please don’t throw that away!” I tell her.

“No worries, I will just clean it for you and hang it up in your room,” she explains.  I nod in relief.  She brings me to my room and explains to me where everything is.  It’s shocking to see how big my room is, and how beautifully decorated.  The walls have an ivory and white floral pattern around the entire room.  The bed is made of oak and the sheets are a deep shade of red with gold highlights around the bottom.  There’s a red silk canopy with gold flowers embroidered onto it.  I have my own wardrobe and vanity, made of the same wood as the bed.  I walk to the window to see a beautiful view of the gardens below.

“It’s all so lovely,” I whisper.  Justine smiles.

“Well there’s still another hundred rooms to see, so we had better get started,” she says excitedly.

“Another HUNDRED?” I ask, surprised.  She takes my arm and leads me out into the hallway.  She shows me only the rooms that she considers important for my knowledge, but even with their importance, I haven’t seen a single other person yet.  “Where is everyone?” I ask.

“Alphonse’s son Victor is working on an important project at the moment in his laboratory and everyone is down there to see if he succeeds this time or not,” she explains.  “Would you like to see?” she adds eagerly. 

“Sure!” I tell her, seeing that she looks like she really wants to know what the results will be of it first-hand herself. 

“Great!” she smiles, tugging me to where the lab must be.  We go down several flights of stairs, lighted only by the torches hanging on the stone walls until we finally get to the deepest point possible of the castle.  We walk into a large room with huge metal things and potion bottles filling every spare inch of room possible. 

“What is all of this?” I ask, never having seen anything like this in my life.

“It’s Victor’s equipment,” she answers, staring ahead of me at a young man whose attention seems to be on the table in front of him.  There’s something small on the table, I can’t quite see what it is.  Alphonse, William and others are standing behind one of his beeping metal boxes, whispering to each other.  Victor looks frustrated, but looks up when he hears Justine close the door behind us.

He quickly covers the thing on the table with a white cloth and walks over to us as he takes off his gloves.  “You must be Elizabeth,” he greets, holding out his hand.  He has short blonde hair and has dark makeup under his eyes.  He wears a long white coat like I’ve never seen before. 

“And you must be Victor,” I say curtsying.  He looks amused and puts his hand back down to his side.

“So is this where you make magic?” I ask him.  Justine giggles and Victor still looks amusingly at me. 

“No,” he says, “This is where I make science.”  Science?  What is science?

Starting to wake up, I feel like I’m swimming in a pool of molasses.  My whole body feels numb with the exception of my side, which is throbbing sharply.  I groan, but I can’t find the strength to open my eyes.  There are muffled voices around me but I can’t make out what they’re saying.  I can tell that I’m lying down on a stiff bed.  I groan as something causes my bed to jerk, I figure that I’m in the back of an ambulance.  Sure enough, right when I realize it I start to hear the sirens from straight above me.  Somebody injects my arm with a needle and I’m out again.

This time my surroundings seem calmer, I can’t hear any voices higher than a whisper, and I can tell that none of them are near my bed, which feels much more comfortable than the one in the ambulance.  In fact, all I can really hear is the beeping of the heart monitor next at my bedside, which is surprisingly calming despite the circumstances.  I bend my index finger slightly to test my muscle ability.  Satisfied, I open my eyes and jump when I see a crowd of people surrounding my bed.  From left to right it’s Jefferson, Simon, Ruby, Sheriff Swan and Henry who are all sitting there.  My sudden movement causes everyone to look up at me.  Simon is the first to run over with a hug.

“I’ll get the doctor,” Jefferson says, getting up.

“Elle I thought you were going to die!” Simon yells dramatically, wrapping his arms around my head in an awkward hug.

“Thanks Simon,” I choke out, trying to move his arm away from my mouth.  He lets go of me and I see Sheriff Swan looking at me with concern.  I remember the other driver and my heart drops.

“What happened to the person in the other vehicle?” I ask, trying to conjure up as much confidence as I can.

“The other driver was able to walk away without any scratches.  The car on the other hand is pretty banged up, but they aren’t pressing charges,” she explains.

“Who was the other driver?” I ask.

“Regina Mills,” she says sighing.  I drop my head back.  Of all people to crash into and it has to be her?  The mayor of the whole freaking city?

“So why are you here then?” I ask curiously.

“Henry wanted the chance to see you again, and Regina refused to take him here,” she explains.  I nod, turning my attention to Henry.

“I just wanted to talk to you with Simon…” he starts, “about Jefferson.”  He smiles, like he’s unsure of how I’m going to react.  Before I can answer, I see Jefferson appear again with another man at his side wearing a white doctor’s coat.  There’s something eerily familiar about him.

“Hello Miss Lucidia, I’m Dr. Whale,” he greets, testing my vitals.

“Hi,” I greet him as he shines a flashlight into my eye, making my eyes start to water a little.

“Well, I think you’re alright to go whenever you’re ready.  You just have a pretty big bruise on your right side, other than that, you’re in great physical condition,” he assures me.

“It was a pretty big crash though,” I question, not sure how I’m getting out of this with no more than a bruise.

“It may have seemed bad, with the shock of it all, but in reality it wasn’t more than a four on a scale from one to ten,” he explains with a smile.

“Okay,” I say, trying to get up painfully and unsuccessfully.  “I don’t think I’m ready quite yet,” I laugh.

Dr. Whale just smiles.  “Well, if you need anything feel free to give me a call,” he says handing me a small device with a single button on it.

“Thanks,” I tell him.  He nods and walks out.  There really is something familiar about him; I just can’t figure it out.  I look around at everyone again and my gaze fixes on Jefferson, my face reddens when I see that he’s looking at me also.  “Jefferson, I am so sorry about your car, I swear I’ll pay to get it fixed,” I hastily tell him, extremely nervous about what he’s going to say.

“Nope, this is partly my fault anyways,” he says, “I shouldn’t have let you drive home alone after… last night.”  When he says this I can see Simon giving me a funny look out of the corner of my eye, which turns the temperature of my face up a few degrees.  I look down at my hands.  Even with everything, I still feel obligated to do something to help.

“Can I…” I start, looking back up at him.

“No,” Jefferson says sternly.  I sigh, returning my gaze to my fidgeting hands. 

Eventually Jefferson and Ruby have to leave.  Sheriff Swan heads out into the hallway to wait for Henry as he waits behind with Simon to have that talk with me.

“So I assume Jefferson told you that you’re actually Alice right?” he says, getting straight to the point.

“Umm, yeah,” I look at Simon, “You don’t actually believe any of this do you Simon?”

“From now on, you may call me the Cheshire Cat!” he smiles, adjusting his invisible tie.  I roll my eyes.  Henry starts digging in his backpack, pulling out a large brown book, which he then places on my lap.  He turns to a page with a picture of a young girl on it.

“Do you recognize her?” Henry asks, looking at me.  I shake my head.  “It’s you!  It’s on your first trip to Wonderland!” he tells me.

“You believe in this curse thing too?” I ask in disbelief, “You believe that your own mother is an evil queen?”

“She isn’t actually my mom.   Emma, the sheriff, is my real mom.  I’m adopted,” he smiles.  I look at him, completely lost.  “It’s a long story,” he grins.

“But,” Simon cuts in, “Long story short, you are THE Alice from this story!” he says, pointing at the page.

“How do you guys know it’s me,” I ask.

“I just know these things,” Henry smiles.  “Anyways, just read the story tonight.  We will come back here tomorrow and see if we can unlock any of your memories.  You haven’t been living in Storybrooke for the past twenty-eight years so the curse might not be as strong on you as it is on everyone else.

“Okay,” I give in, “I’ll read it.”  Both Simon and Henry smile in satisfaction. 

“See you tomorrow then Elle,” Simon waves as they start to leave.

“Wait!” I yell after Simon.  “Do you remember being the Cheshire Cat?”  He stops. 

“I can’t directly remember anything, but ever since we got here, I’ve been having a single continuous dream of my Cheshire Cat life,” he shrugs, “Before we came here, I used to only dream about being in a forest.”

“Okay,” I tell them.  They leave, closing the door to my hospital room.  What Simon said gives me goose bumps.  I also have been having a single continuous dream since we got here.  Only, it had nothing to do with being Alice from Wonderland.  I stare at the picture in Henry’s storybook.  Storybrooke?  Storybook.  I shake my head, it MUST be a coincidence… right?  I shut the book and open it to the first page.  If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s starting a book from the middle.

It’s shocking to see the resemblance of the pictures of the characters and people in this town.  Regina really does look like the evil queen, and she has the same name.  Huh.  I read the adventures of Snow White and Prince Charming, but the story of Belle and Rumpelstiltskin has to be my personal favorite.  It amazes me how seamlessly all these separate fairytale stories intertwine in this one book.  Whoever wrote it has a heck of a lot of creativity.  After a few hours, I get to the story that’s apparently mine.  I read through it, but I can’t remember any of it happening.  I’m surprised to read that Alice and Jefferson, later known as the Mad Hatter meet in Wonderland and actually do get married and have a baby girl.  Jefferson has a magic top hat which works as a portal between the worlds while Alice has the power to transport between worlds using her mind, an ability given to her by Rumpelstiltskin.  Together they made a pretty powerful team. 

Alice disappears though, soon after the birth of their child during one of their “missions” to help the fairy godmothers get a hold of some crystals from “The Emerald City” because they are apparently the most powerful source of magic known in all the worlds.

The story of Jefferson continues with him growing up raising their daughter Grace and how the queen tricks Jefferson into going to Wonderland, then leaving him there, taking his hat and causing him to go insane trying to find a way back to Grace.  It’s a sad story, I have to admit, but none of it rings any bells. 

Finally I get to the last page of the story, and I flip the page to see that the very next story is of Dr. Frankenstein.  My heart just about skips a beat.  I start reading and realize that this story mirrors my dreams down to the last detail from the point that Elizabeth arrives and gets adopted into the family.  I can’t even finish the story I’m so freaked out, I just read to the point where my dreams leave off.  I carefully set the book down and lay in my bed.  I’m a little nervous now to fall asleep, but I’m more afraid to possibly find out in the morning that my dream is word by word the same as the book. 

My sleepiness gets the better of me though, as I feel myself drifting off.  Maybe things with Jefferson and Simon will make more sense in the morning, but I’m scared that I’m just going to end up causing everyone more stress than they are going to want to deal with.