riverview | text; un: goaskalice

[ The video turns on to show a little girl with a smile on her face. ]

Yup! So, I can ask my other grandma if we can have a tea party.

My name is Lucy, by the way.

[ Oh. She's so close to Grace's age, it hurts to look at her and think about his daughter. Though Jefferson's video feed is on, as well, he grimaces a little and looks down guiltily. ]

Other grandma... [ His voice is soft, and then: ALARMED. ] You don't mean Emma, do you?

[ He'll give his name in a moment, BUT FIRST. ANSWER THE QUESTION. ]

Yes, I do. I take it you know her? Maybe from Storybrooke? Victor’s here too.

[ She waves at him, but she does catch that grimace. ]

Did I upset you with the clues?

[ A W K W A R D. ] Yeah... In a sense. [ He perks up a little, now. ] I know Victor.

No. Not at all. [ He quickly smiles. Lying to her, masking his feelings, it comes as naturally now as it did with Grace. ] You reminded me of someone, that's all.

[ MOVING ON. ] So. Storybrooke. You grew up there like your dad?

Edited 2018-02-05 00:51 (UTC)

I’m sorry. I should’ve said I was joking, or made it clearer that I was playing.

You do? He’s here and he’s really nice. He said he’d help me with school.

[ Lucy stares, not convinced, but she doesn’t want to press on. ] Let me guess...Regina?

[ There’s a shake of her head. ] I grew up in an Enchanted Realm. Similar to the Enchanted Forest, with same names for people but different stories.

No, it's fine. Your grandma-- Emma-- might not be my biggest fan, is all.

He's a smart guy. You could do a lot worse for mentors. [ Thank goodness one of the others here is like. ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE JEFFERSON LIKES.

As to her question, Jefferson shakes his head. ] Oh, no. You don't remind me of Regina at all. You remind me of Alice. She liked asking questions, too. [ He says it with a smile, fondly, even if he's totally lying to avoid talking about Grace. Alice, at least, was a bright spot in Wonderland. ]

Oh. I know that place.

Because you’re upset all the time? Hence... ‘Mad’ Hatter?

Oh, I know. I could have Ivy as a mentor and I would be thrilled. She’s.....my step-aunt.

[ Her demeanor changes a little. She’s being compared to the Alice? It’s enough to make her smile a little. .] Well, we are similar—asking questions, and going into places we probably shouldn’t go.

[ And now she’s staring at him. ]

You do?! Have you been there in a while? Is Tiana’s castle still there?

...the other definition of 'mad.' [ CRAZY. ] Which I'm not. By the way. [ HE'S NOT CRAZY.

...

He's a little crazy. ]

That's Alice, all right. She's got a knack for going where she shouldn't.

[ His smile falters. ] The last time I went was... probably long before you were born. Your father wasn't even born yet.

Ah, that is true. I was thinking more of the ‘anger’ part of that and not the other. But, okay you’re not crazy.

I haven’t read her story in a long time. I would love to hear your take on it. If you’re not busy.

Oh... [ And now her smile falters too. She misses home. She misses her parents being together and spending time together. ]

...thank you. [ He means it. Sincerely. It means a lot to hear somebody say that he's not crazy. ]

I can tell you about Alice. I'm not busy.

[ He recognizes that look, that homesickness. It's something he's felt keenly for decades now. His expression's softer now, gentle. ] How long have you been away from your home?

Edited (PUNCTUATION) 2018-02-05 03:35 (UTC)

...you're welcome.

Not just about Alice...about you too.

[It's homesickness and doubt that lingers in her heart about the curse ever being broken. That her parents would kiss and break the curse. Her gaze is downward, unable to face the camera.]

In this place? Maybe a month...but if you mean where I was before here? Longer than that. [She hasn't told Emma yet about the curse, or anyone else.]

I haven't seen 'home' in a long time.

My story isn't as exciting. I was just a hatter. [ LIES LIES LIESSSSS. ]

...oh.

[ He switches the feed to PRIVATE now, for the rest of this. ]

You've been taken from your home. To Storybrooke? The land without magic? [ He leans forward, looking at the camera with some intensity. ] What happened to your land?

Edited 2018-02-05 03:48 (UTC)

No one is ever 'just' anything. You started somewhere and became the Hatter.

[Private conversations are always fun....no, no they're not.

She doesn't say anything for the moment, continuing to look down at the camera until she takes a deep breath. It's starting to hit her, how homesick she is and how much she misses Henry and her mom.]

Not Storybrooke, another place, Hyperion Heights. It's still a land without magic. We were all cursed, and no one remembers--not even Henry.

[ Jefferson sighs, though... there's a part of him that appreciates her calling him out. It's been so long since anybody was interested in the man he was, once upon a time. ] It's not a pretty story.

[ Jefferson watches her, empathy in his eyes. ] But you remember.

It's still part of who you are, but....we don't have to talk about it yet. When you're ready.

[She looks up to meet his gaze and nods her head.]

I do...and Henry doesn't believe I'm his kid. [Which stung, but she did her best to not take it personally, that was the curse and not him.]

[ Jefferson nods, considering for a moment that he might tell her the story sometime. Later. But then Lucy confirms what he'd been dreading, what he was hoping hadn't been the case for her.

She's like him. She's like him, but she's a child, and she's done nothing to deserve it. He can feel a stinging in his eyes, from tears threatening to drop. It's hard enough to be a parent, forced to watch a daughter who doesn't remember you. It's quite another torture to be a child, with a parent who doesn't recognize you. ]

I remembered, too. [ He tries not to sound completely haunted as he admits it, but it's there, the weight of 28 years of torment is in his voice. ] In Storybrooke. That was my curse: to be the only one who remembered. [ He swallows. ] My own daughter doesn't-- didn't-- remember me.

[Lucy's eyes widen from shock, but then understanding and empathy replaces the emotion. That had to hurt so much, to see his child and not be able to tell her anything.]

I'm sorry...I'm really sorry that was your curse.

[But he knows. He understands the pain of it, of trying to break the curse so your family could be together again.]

Henry...I went to Seattle to bring him to Hyperion Heights. He doesn't remember being in love with my mom, or that I'm his kid--his curse...he thinks his wife and daughter died in a fire. He apparently visited their graves--which shouldn't exist, but they do! This curse...it's more powerful than any of the others.

Your curse... sounds worse than mine was. [ He swallows and shakes his head. ] I'm sorry.

[ That's just horrifying. And it's... odd. It doesn't sound like something Regina would do to Henry. For as much as Jefferson despises her, he knows she loves Henry-- at least, as much as she can love anyone. ]

Regina... didn't do it.

[ He says it as it occurs to him, as this is the first time he's even considered that she might not be responsible. Regina wouldn't do this to Henry, or to her own granddaughter. So who did? ]

...It's not your fault.

[Another shake of her head.]

No, she didn't. She's actually a hero now--she's grown a lot.

[As for who did, Lucy doesn't want to say, because it then makes her think back to the last conversation she had with her step-grandmother and how the curse won't be broken.]

Doesn't matter...I don't think the curse can be broken.

[ That's such a weird thing to hear. Later, Jefferson might not be so surprised. He had known Regina before she was the Evil Queen, after all. He remembers her being kind and soft-hearted.

Until he helped create a monster out of her.

But right now, all he can remember is her screwing him over, yet again, keeping Grace out of his reach again and again. To imagine Regina as a hero just doesn't compute right now. So he just makes a face at that and moves on. ]

All curses can be broken. Just... not always in the ways we'd expect.

[There's a shake of her head.]

The only way for the curse to be broken is for my mom and dad to kiss. [Because True Love's kiss can break all curses.] And Henry....he left Hyperion Heights, and my mom kissed someone who she believes is my 'dad,' but he's my cursed dad.

Yeah. True Love's Kiss. [ YEAH, he knows all about that. He also knows that it's not just romantic love that can break a curse. Emma proved as much when she finally lived up to her role as the savior. Jefferson shakes his head. ] Henry's your father. [ He swallows. God... He misses Grace. He should have run to her when he had the chance, the second he flipped the table and bolted away from Charming.

Now he's here, and she's out of reach. Again. Again. His voice cracks. ] He'll come back.

Edited 2018-02-05 05:27 (UTC)

[There's a hard stare from Lucy.]

And he left. He didn't even say goodbye or anything.

[Which means...he's not coming back. So she failed.]

That doesn't mean-- [ Annnnd there we go. Just as he's regretting hiding from Grace, he remembers why: she'll hate him for what he did. He left her.

And Henry left Lucy. ]

He could still come back for you.

[...Lucy just stares at him. She wants to believe him, but....right now, she can't. After learning Henry left, and seeing her mom kiss someone else...she really doesn't think the curse can be broken.

Step-grandmother: 1, Heroes: 0.]

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royalpassport - 2018-02-05 15:50 (UTC) - Expand

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