Hello, It's Mrs. Hyde

Prologue:Ch.10: Echoes of Storybrooke

Jessica (Narration):
*"They came from a place I'd never seen...

And somehow, they knew everything about the pieces I'd tried so hard to forget."*

Time passed strangely in the cells — minutes like hours, hours like fog. Jessica sat on the edge of her bench, hands clasped loosely, watching the group beside her.
It was Snow who finally broke the silence.
"You're quieter than I expected," she said gently, moving to the bars between their cells. "Considering Killian said you bargained with Pan."
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "And you're warmer than I expected. Considering you're supposed to be some fearless hero, married to a man named Charming."
David gave a soft huff of a laugh. "We've heard worse."
Killian shrugged. "She grows on you."
Snow tilted her head. "What made you come back, Jessica?"
Jessica hesitated. "I had... something to finish."
"Something," David echoed.
Jessica's expression tightened.
Snow exchanged a look with her husband, then leaned her arms on the bars. "You know... we live in a place called Storybrooke. A small town tucked away in Maine. It's quiet, peaceful. Full of people with long histories and even longer memories."
Jessica glanced over at her.
"You'd hate it," Snow added playfully. "But you'd love the bakery."
Jessica smirked faintly. "What's the catch?"
"Everyone there has a past," David said. "Some more tangled than others. But we try to live forward. Together."
Jessica studied them both.
Snow continued softly, "Your brother lives there. Jefferson."
Jessica froze.
David stepped closer. "He's good friends with our daughter. Emma. He told us about you. Said he had a sister — a girl with magic in her fingertips and fire in her heart."
Jessica's lips parted, breath shaky.
"He talks about Alice," Snow said gently. "And you."
Jessica looked away. "How... is Gracie?"
Snow softened. "She's beautiful. Just like her mother."
Jessica's voice turned colder, hiding the shake beneath it. "And does she know of her aunt?"
"She asks about you," David added. "Jefferson's told her stories."
Jessica closed her eyes. For just a moment.
Then, like a gate closing, her voice returned sharp and dry. "Must've been nice. Growing up with fairy tales."
David and Snow exchanged another glance but said nothing.
Jessica sat back, gripping the edge of her bench.
"They're lucky," Snow said quietly.
"They're alive," Jessica muttered.

Time passed.
Trust took root — not fast, but honest.
Jessica eventually asked, "So, how'd you all get stuck here again?"
Killian launched into the tale — the stolen crystal, Henry's rash decisions, Zelena's botched portal. Jessica absorbed every word with careful calculation.
"So your grandson steals from the Dark One," she murmured, "and the magic in your world starts falling apart."
David nodded. "That's the short of it."
Jessica leaned forward. "If the serum works... if Hyde is finally free from Jekyll... I'll help you get home."
"Just like that?" Snow asked.
Jessica's gaze darkened. "If it means stopping Rumplestiltskin... I'd burn ten worlds."
But in her heart, she wasn't thinking of worlds.
She was thinking of Belle.
Of a woman who somehow saw the man who murdered Alice and thought him worthy of love.
Jessica stared into the stone wall ahead, jaw clenching tight.

The door creaked.
Boots echoed.
Jekyll entered.
Jessica stiffened immediately — rigid, every muscle alert.
Killian noticed.
He watched her retreat toward the back wall, silent and strained.
"Why is she...?" he began, but Snow gently tugged his arm.
Jekyll stepped toward the cells, that sickeningly polished smile on his face. "Ah, my favorite collection of misfits. Still comfortable?"
Snow frowned. "What are you doing here? One of your guards dragged you out earlier."
Jessica's eyes flicked to her, a knowing smirk tugging at her lips.
"They don't know," she murmured to herself.
"What was that?" David asked.
Jessica didn't answer.
Jekyll moved to the bars, peering in like he was shopping.
"I came to help," he said, eyes cold despite his warmth. "I heard your wand's broken. You need magic."
"There's no magic in this land," Jessica snapped. "The Warden forbids it."
Zelena pulled the wand from her coat. "There's some magic left in the core. But it's unstable."
Jekyll's eyes lit with hunger. "Then we fix it. I can help. There are traces of old energy in the lab, but it must be done discreetly. If the Warden catches me..."
He reached for the wand.
David grabbed his wrist mid-motion and raised a sharpened wood shard from the bench — holding it inches from Jekyll's face.
"That's our only way home," he growled. "Why should we trust you?"
Jessica stepped forward. "You shouldn't. He's lying."
"Don't be bitter," Jekyll said smoothly. "You were the Warden's favorite until he tossed you away."
Jessica's voice sharpened. "Because of you."
Jekyll smiled to the others. "I used to be a doctor. A healer. Until I was locked away and made a scapegoat."
"Liar."
"It's the truth."
David and Snow exchanged a look.
David asked Snow softly, "Who do we trust?"
Snow looked at Jessica. Then at Jekyll. She sighed.
"Well..she is working for the guy who locked us up but..What other choice do we have?"
Zelena frowned, but with clear reluctance, she held out the wand.
Jessica scoffed. "Brilliant idea. Let the liar handle the explosive stick."
Zelena muttered, "I hope you two are right "
Jekyll snatched the wand and left without a word.
Jessica stared after him, arms crossed, heart pounding.
"He's going to destroy us all," she said darkly.
The others stood in uneasy silence.
Jessica leaned against the wall, closed her eyes.

*"I wasn't ready to lose another home.
But somehow, I knew...

The end of the story had just begun."*