All the magic (OUAT Peter Pan)

Chapter 30: Haunted by the past

"Hey, come on, wake up Amelia." a familiar voice said as they lightly tapped Amelia's cheek. She began to stir and opened her eyes to find herself in what looked like a little girl's room. She tried to move but her arms and legs were tied to a chair. Standing in front of her was Jefferson, with his happy, fake smile on his face.

Instantly she began to panic and thrash around. She tried to yell but there was a cloth tied around her mouth so she couldn't talk. "Hey! Calm down Kid!" he yelled, making her stop. He saw the fear in her eyes and tried to calm down as well. Jefferson grabbed another wooden chair and turned it around so the back was facing her. He sat down facing her and told her slowly. "Calm down Amelia, I'm not going to hurt you. Can I take off the gag without you yelling?" She slowly nodded trying to stay calm but, hot tears burned behind her eyes. He grabbed a little handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed the tears away. He walked behind her and untied the gag.

"Why did you kidnap us? Is it revenge for accidentally tapping you with my car? Because I swear I didn't mean to do it!" she told him with a panic in her voice.

Jefferson sat back down in front of her. "No, I didn't do it to take revenge. You didn't even hit me. You were slightly loopy when you found out my limp was fake. I needed Emma and you just happened to be with her. I need her help, the help of the Savior."

Amelia gasped and asked, "You know about the curse too?"

He stopped and changed completely. At first, he looked calm and had a plan in play, a mask of cool swagger on his face, the same one Matt wore. After the curse was mentioned he looked like deer in headlights, frantic and excited. "You know about the curse? I'm not the only one? Ha! Who are you!? When did you wake up!?" he yelled at her before stepping back to calm down. "Sorry for yelling its just- for twenty-eight years I've been the only one who is awake. It makes you feel so alone." He sat back down in the chair and took a calming breath to keep his emotions in check. Something Amelia had seen Matt do so many times before.

"Well, I'm not awake exactly. But I know about the curse and the Enchanted Forest, and many people's stories. I basically know the main events but nothing about my life. I know others who also know about it. Some people are awake and some are still like me, not asleep but not awake."

Jefferson tilted his head up and looked on the verge of a mental breakdown. "Who! Who are the others that are like me? And who are you and the others who aren't awake or sleeping? That's a stupid thing to call them, come on Hatter, come with a better name, you can do that. All the times Gracie would ask you to name her animals because I had a way with names. I could call them half-knowing, no that's even worse. I got it! I can call them dreamers. Who are the other dreamers? The ones like you?"

Amelia knew at that moment he really wasn't a bad person. He was lonely, confused, and kinda broken. He was no danger to anyone but maybe himself. She gave him a gentle smile. "You have been alone for so long haven't you? You knew all this information that no one would have believed if you dared to tell them. Who were you?"

"I was a father. We hunted mushrooms to sell at market. We would play games as we worked because Grace loved to play games." He told her. "The Queen showed up one day. I shouldn't have ever gone with her. Grace begged me not to go. I hear her voice every day saying 'Whatever she wants you to do, don't do it!' she cried. She warned me, my smart Grace. 'All I need is you, Papa. Please stay.' Oh, I should have listened to her, but I thought I knew what was right, I thought I was doing what was best for her. The last thing I told her was that I would be home for her tea party. I promised I would be home in time for tea." a sob-like sound caught in his throat. "But I didn't make it back for tea, I never made it back to her. The Queen trapped me in wonderland, away from my little girl. Do you know how heartbreaking it is to see her every day with her 'new parents' and how cruel it is to hear her say papa but when you turn around she is looking at someone else?"