We're All Mad Here (Jefferson x OC)

Chapter Fourteen

(Might be a bit of a touchy subject at the end of the chapter. Mentions depression after finding out Sam wasn't able to have children.)

Jefferson jumped into the portal, making a quick stop before returning to The Land Without Color. He searched through the portals, deciding to grab something from Agrabah. He's had his eye on a certain jewel from there for a while, and he wanted to give it to Serena before bringing her back to Regina.

Without a second thought, he stepped through the door. The heat instantly hit him as he landed in the sand. He hated Agrabah. Although it was a great place to steal jewels, the heat was almost unbearable. How people lived there? He had no idea.

He slipped through the crowded market streets, pocketing anything that caught his eye. He knew how Serena would react if she found out he stole something. Scratch that; a lot of things. His bag was almost entirely full by the time he got to the right stand.

"What are you doing here, Hatter?" The shop owner questioned him. "I don't want whatever you've stolen."

"Woah! I'm not here to sell you anything." He held his hands up in defense as he grabbed out a bag of coins. He instantly spotted the jewel he wanted, the thought of it around Serena's neck making him smile. "I was wondering how much that necklace is?"

"Unlike you. Why?"

"Let's just say there's someone I want to gift it to."

"They must be really special if you're not going to steal it." She said as she grabbed the necklace and started wrapping it up. She was an older woman, who had been working with jewels for a very long time and knew Jefferson by then. "Who's the girl?"

"What? What girl?"

"The one that was able to bend your morals enough that you wouldn't steal this jewel." She answered. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been eyeing it for the past few weeks."

He blushed a bit while handing her the money. "I have been looking at the jewel, but if you must know, the girl is a princess and I'm just taking her home."

"Mmm-hmm. I'll believe that when you actually take her home." She said as she handed the necklace to him. "Just don't hurt the poor girl. I know how you are with women, and I don't trust your sudden change of mind because of her."

"Don't worry, I'm not even interested in her. I'm just dropping her off, then I'll never have to see her again." He responded as he took the bag. "Thanks for this. I have to go, I'll see you soon."

"Please don't." She said as he backed away from the stand, accidently bumping into someone. Stolen jewels fell out of his pocket, including the pendent Rumpel had given him.

"Shit." He muttered as he scrambled to grab the pendent. He didn't care about the other jewels, he would leave those, but the guards were coming fast and he needed to get away. He pushed through the crowds to get away, knowing his reputation in Agrabah wasn't good.

He finally reached the portal, barely jumping in as an arrow flew past his head. He let out a sigh of relief as he stood up, grabbing his bag to make sure the pendent was still in there. Fortunately, it was and so was the necklace for Serena.

A knock on the wooden door of Serena's room abruptly woke her up. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes before there was another knock.

"One second!" She quickly dressed and opened the door to find Victor holding a tray of food. "Hey, sorry it took me a while. I just woke up when you knocked."

"It's okay. I would've sent Igor, but I sent him to town." He said with a nod. She nodded as he handed her the tray. "Jefferson should be back soon."

"Thank you, Victor." She told him before he left. With a sigh, she closed the door and walked over the bed. She sat down, setting the tray on the bed. She looked over the food, seeing a bowl of porridge, an apple, and some other stuff she really didn't care about.