We're All Mad Here (Jefferson x OC)

Chapter Sixty-Seven

"Where are we going?" Jefferson asked, following Scarlett through the woods. "You said we were going on an adventure. This doesn't seem like an adventure."

"How can we go on an adventure when I can't travel?" She turned around to look at him. "I need your help stealing something so we can travel. So we can go to different lands."

"Different lands? What does that mean?"

"You ever heard of a place called Oz?"

"No."

"Exactly." She stopped abruptly, holding out her hand to stop him as well. It was then he realized they were stopped at the Queen's highway just as King Leopold's carriage passed by. From Jefferson's understanding, it was named for his late wife.

It didn't make much sense since a new Queen had just been crowned. Honestly, he was sure the only reason they married was because he needed a queen. There was no love between them and he was sure the only reason she agreed to it was for the power.

"We're all clear." Scarlett said, emerging from the bushes. "The hat is being kept in a house not too far from here."

"A hat? I thought you said we were taking something to help us get to other realms." He spoke, jumping down into the middle of the road.

"We are. The hat is magic. It will take us to other realms." She explained, walking down the road.

"Magic?" He repeated in question. He had never dealt with magic before. He assumed only certain people were given magical objects. Like wizards or sorcerers. "How's that even possible?"

"What? For a hat to be magic? You take magic fabric and create a hat with it." She responded as he followed after her. "Don't ask how the rest of it works. For that, even I'm not sure."

"Alright, so how do we get the hat?"

"Well, you're a thief, aren't you?" She asked and he nodded. "Then you should have no problem stealing it. Oh, and if you find any money, you can take some of that as well. He owes me. A lot."

"Good to know." He mumbled, following her until they reached a small house. She pulled him away from the house, making sure they wouldn't be seen.

"Now, if I need you to go in and get the hat. Break a window, go through the back door, whatever you have to do." She told him, confusing him.

"Why can't you go?"

"Like I said, he owes me. And he won't be happy if he finds me trying to break in to get my hat back."

"The hat's not yours, is it?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." Scarlett shrugged, "The point is, we can't go anywhere without it. Besides, our line of work involves a whole lot of taking things that aren't ours, now you wanna have morals?"

"Believe it or not, I do have morals." Jefferson responded. "Unless we have a real reason to be stealing this magic hat, I'm not doing it."

She sighed, thinking for a moment. "Well, if you must know, the man who has it is an asshole. He likes collecting rare and magical items. He uses them to force people to do what he wants. A lot of people have died for going against him. So you wanna keep arguing or do you want to go get the hat from him? If I remember correctly, you were the one who only steals from wealthy people. This guy's as wealthy as it gets."

He looked over at the house, wondering if she was lying or not. The house didn't look big enough for a collector, but what did he know? Maybe it was just as magical as the hat. Finally, he responded.

"Fine."

-Storybrooke-