(Takes place before the 1st Dark Curse and before Grace.)

When the moon began to rise again, you breathed a sigh of relief. You landed on the lake as the magic began to change you back. Your feathers melted away and you felt your limbs growing out once more. After a moment, you returned to your normal, human form. You stepped out of the lake and sat down to wring out the skirt of your wet dress. As you sat there, you felt yourself losing hope.

You'd been cursed this way for so long now, you doubted the curse would ever be broken. Of course, like everyone in the Enchanted Forest, you knew exactly how your curse would be broken. True love's kiss. Unfortunately, you had yet to meet your true love. That meant you would continue to spend your nights as a young lady and your days as a bird. A swan to be exact.

The sound of a breaking branch had you bolting up from your perch and spinning around. You were worried it was the sorceress who cursed you in the first place, but to your surprise, it wasn't. A young man appeared from the forest and stopped short. The man has short , brown hair that shot out in all directions. He wore dark clothing and in one hand he held a large black hat.

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting this," he said, his blue eyes boring into yours. You swallowed thickly. "Who are you?" you asked. He gave a sarcastic bow and introduced himself. "Jefferson. And you?" You curtsied. "Y/N." Jefferson smiled and it honestly looked a little crazed. It didn't scare you though. There was something about him that just captivated you and you hadn't even had a conversation with the man. That would soon change. "So, what is a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" You rolled your eyes, but answered him with a lie.

*time skip*

You and Jefferson grew close very quickly. He visited you every day for months. He only appeared at night, for which you were grateful. You hadn't told him about your curse. You didn't want to scare him away. You didn't want him to know that you had royally ticked off the Evil Queen and made her curse you this way. Much to your dismay, Jefferson would find out anyway.

You flew back to your place as the reflection of the moon hit the surface of the lake. The familiar feeling of stretching overtook you and you were soon human again. You waded out of the lake up to shore. "Y-You're a swan!" Jefferson's voice caught you by surprise once more.

He was staring at you with wide eyes. "Jefferson, you're early." You did your best to keep your voice calm despite the fact that you could hear the blood pumping in your ears. What would happen now? "How?" You sat down and patted the space next to you. "I was cursed years ago when I refused to reveal Snow White's location to the Evil Queen. Needless to say, I suffered her wrath."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked and you shrugged. "I haven't had a friend in so long, Jefferson. I didn't want to scare you away and lose you." He reached over and took your hand in his. You looked up at him and saw the usual crazed look in his eyes was missing. "I wouldn't have left. I know what it's like to be cursed. This hat is my curse," he whispered. You knew about his hat and how people used him to travel between realms.

There was silence between you for a moment. Then, you said softly, "I'm sorry, Jefferson. You should go." His brows furrowed. "Why?" Your tongue darted out to lick your lips. "Regina likes to come check on me at random and, now that you know the truth, I'm afraid she'll hurt you." Jefferson shook his head, adamant that he wasn't going to leave you alone after what happened. "Let me stay with you until sunrise. Then, if it will make you happy, I'll never return."

You reluctantly agreed and let Jefferson stay with you that night. You spent the time talking and laughing like you would never get the chance again. When you saw the sun beginning to peak over the horizon, you frowned. "You have to go now, Jefferson." You stood and moved toward the lake. "Y/N, wait!"

You stopped and glance back at him. He gently grabbed your arms and spun you back to face him. "I can't leave you forever without doing this," he said softly. You were about to ask what he meant when his lips covered yours. Your eyes widened in surprise before closing and you returned the kiss.

The two of you kissed for what felt like hours, but was probably only seconds. When you parted, you couldn't fight the smile that spread on your lips in spite of being out of breath. For a little while, you and Jefferson simply stood there, your foreheads touching. Neither of you wanted the moment to end.

Suddenly, Jefferson said, "Um, Y/N, I think there's something you should know." You opened your eyes and found his already on yours. "What?" Jefferson gave you a lop-sided smile. "I think your curse is broken." Only then to you realize that you felt the warmth of the sun on the back of your head. You spun around and saw that the sun was shining on the lake. You should have turned back into a swan.

You looked back at Jefferson with tears in your eyes. "You. You're my true love. You broke my curse." He chuckled lightly as you jumped and threw your arms around his neck. "Thank you," you told him through your tears. "You don't need to thank me. I had a feeling in my gut that it would work. I love you, Y/N. And that's something I never thought I'd get a chance to say."

"I love you too, Jefferson." He tightened his arms around you. "Jefferson?" He hummed in response. "Take me away from here? Please? I never want to see another lake again." Jefferson laughed heartily and pulled back. He took your hand in his and lead you away from the place that you had spent your cursed days. You didn't know what the future held, but you didn't care. You were free and you had found your true love.