Rose Red [Jefferson Hatter || OUAT || Mad Red #1]

Chapter 9

Flashback

A crowd was gathered around a puppet show, while everyone was directed, a young boy pickpocketed various people. He went unnoticed and snuck away.

After the puppet show, the boy emptied out the coins he had stolen onto a box, showing his parents.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Careful! Careful!" Martin said, the boys' father.

"Don't let those coin roll away," Myrna said, the boys' mother.

"No, they might..." Martin did a magic trick, making the coin disappear in one hand, "Disappear," Martin said and made it reappear in his other hand, "Whoa, whoa. Look at that!" He said.

The young boy pulled out a small cage with a cricket inside, "Oh, a cricket! I love crickets!" The young boy said.

"Crickets are trouble. Noisy bugs," Myrna said.

"But they get to do whatever they want! Hopping from place to place... They're free," The boy said.

"You're free," Myrna said.

"To do what we want," Martin said.

"To be who you are," Myrna said.

"And you are who you are," Martin said.

"Well, maybe I want to be something else. Maybe I don't want to steal. Maybe I want to be good," The boy said.

"All that from a cricket," Martin said.

"Told ya, trouble," Myrna said.

"Good is another word for weak," Martin said.

"Let us do the thinking for you," Myrna said.

"That's what parents are for," Martin said.

"To help you," Myrna said.

"You are who you are and there's no changing, Jiminy. Right?" Martin said.

"Right," Jiming, the young boy, said.

"Right. Problem solved," Martin said.

End of Flashback

Sarah woke up in her shop's backroom and sat up, Jefferson's coat slipped off of her and she looked at it confused.

Jefferson walked in with a takeaway bag from Granny's, "Oh, you're up! I brought breakfast," Jefferson said as he walked over to her.

Sarah watched him, "Jefferson?" Sarah said.

Jefferson looked at her, "Yeah? what is it?" He asked.

Sarah looked at him and tilted her head a little, "Nothing... Uh, sorry about yesterday," Sarah said.

"Don't be...It's okay," He sat beside her, "You're entitled to have a cry over... Over the loss of your family, it's natural," Jefferson said.

"Yeah... I guess... Thank you for staying with me last night," Sarah said.