Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 100 - Hedge Maze

Jefferson and the Queen walked through a giant round room, the floor made of dark marble with golden patterns and surounding was dozens upon dozens of strange, colourful, mystical entrances, doors and looking glasses.
Regina looked around the room in amazement. "I forgot how magnificent you are."
"I'm not here to relive the past, I'm here for my daughter."
There voices echoed around the room.
Jefferson walked towards a looking glass. "Here."
The Queen followed qnd looked at it warily.
"This is the entrance."
She sniggered.
"It's important that we stick together. Same amount of people that go through have to come back. No more, no less....... It's the hat's rule, not mine."
The Queen touched the golden frame of the door with her black gloved hands. "I understand."
She watched him as he slowly reached out his hand and touched the door with his finger tips, they sunk into the mirror, creating ripples around them. Then he glared at his reflection and stepped through the mirror, disappearing from sight.
Regina stared at the fresh ripples in the mirror, fear in her eyes, then she stepping through the mirror too.

They both stood on a stone path leading between long, bright green grass, growing higher then themselves. Behind them the looking glass stood next to the giant red toad stools, by the edge of the dark, tangling forest.
They looked ahead, into the distance, miles of path and grass ahead, the sky blue with white, fluffy clouds drifting and little, strange birds flew accross it, chirping loud and sharp.
Jefferson began to walk, slowly ahead and the Queen followed, fearful of what lay ahead.
He looked up at a toad stool and the Queen gasped when she saw a huge, blue caterpillar, sitting on top, puffing on his pipe.
"Who are you?......." said the caterpillar, puffing ripples of smoke into their faces. "Who?......"
The Queen stared at the talking blue caterpillar, her eyebrows raised, her eyes wide in shock.
"Who?......."
"I hate Wonderland." said Jefferson, walking away.
The Queen followed, taking his arm and staring fearful at the strange creature being them, puffing his pipe.

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Emma stared at the tools and fabrics on the table in front of her.
Jefferson walked towards her again and threw some back, patterned fabric in front of her. "Make one like that." he pointed to the top hat on the table. "
"You want me to make a hat? You don't have enough?"
"Well, none of them work, do they? Or else you wouldn't be here." he sat down opposite her.
Emma picked up some thread and a needle.
"Now make a hat and get it to work."
"I don't......."
"You have magic. You can do it."
Emma looked up and spotted a tray of tea in the corner of the room, she then looked around at the hat's in the lid up shelfs. "The hats.....the tea.......your psychotic behaviour. You think you're the Mad Hatter."
"My name is Jefferson."
Emma put down the scissors and fabric. "Okay, you've clearly glommed onto my kid Henry's thing. They're just stories. The Mad Hatter is in Alice In Wonderland. A book. A book I actually read!"
"Stories....... Stories?" he smiled and looked up at her. "What's a story? When you were in high school, did you learn about the Civil War?"
"Yeah, of course."
"How? Did you read about it, perchance, in a book?"
Emma sighed and rested her head in her hand.
"How is that any less real than any other book?"
"History books are based on history."
"And story books are based on what? Imagination? Where does that come from?...... It has to come from somewhere...... You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants a magical solution for their problems, and everyone refuses to believe in magic." he held up his gun again. "Now get it to work."
"Here's the thing, Jefferson. This is it. This is the real world."
"A real world." he stood up and leaned forward against the table, closer to Emma. "How arrogant are you to think yours is the only one? There are infinite more. You have to open your mind. They touch one another. Pressing up in a long line of lands. Each just as real as the last. All have their own rules. Some have magic. Some don't........ And some need magic..... Like this one." he stood straight and picked up a pair of sharp, shiny scissors and held them up in front of her. "And that's where you come in..... You and your friend are not leaving here until you make my hat." he said threateningly. "Until you get it to work." he put the scissors down in front of her and sat back down.
Emma picked up the scissors and began to cut at the fabric. "And then what?"
He sighed. "Then I go home." he said, staring at her snipping the scissors at the fabric, trying to at least make the shape of a hat.

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Jefferson and the Queen stood outside a giant, green hedge maze, that went on to as far as they could see, it's turns and dead ends impossible get through.
"You want to go in there?" asked Jefferson.
They stood under a giant red heart of roses and two crowns made from the green hedges that the wall of the maze were made from.
"What I want is a short walk through."
"A short walk? You know who this belongs to."
She turned and looked at him. "The Queen of Hearts. She's not one for subtlety."
"This wasn't part of our deal. You know what she does to anyone that crosses her?"
"Indeed. Better than most." she began to walk into the maze, but Jefferson stayed. She turned back. "You can't leave Wonderland without me. Two go through. To go back." she stepped closer to him. "You're not gonna let the Queen of Hearts keep you from returning to your daughter, are you?"
Jefferson stared at her, then swallowed, looking ahead.
"That's what I thought."
They began to walked into the maze, but Jefferson grasped her arm.
"Wait." he picked up a branch that lay on the ground and through it at the green hedge of the maze. Once the branch touched the green leaves they untangled and drew the branch inside. "Stay away from the walls." he warned.
The Queen glared ahead. "I've got a better idea. The walls should stay away from me." she said, stepping forward and throwing a huge fireball down the hedges ahead. The walls all burned to a crisp and they walked arm in arm down the patterned ground through the path she had just created.
They continued walking down the path and soon below them there were infinite grey stone stairs leading to nowhere, floating in the air, upside down.
They stopped when they reached a little grey building with a heart at the top of the golden dome in the middle of the maze.
Regina looked ahead at the huge double doors of the vault, then waved her hands to open the doors. They flew open and she walked up the steps and into a room filled with little golden draws. Jefferson stood outside, keeping gaurd. She raised her hand and one of the little draws lit up and opened. She took the little chest that was inside it and turned back to Jefferson.
"Okay? You got what you need? Shall we?" he held out his hand, indicating to the path behind them she had created.
She stepped from the vault and they began to walk quickly down the path.
Then from around the corner half a dozen gaurds dressed in red and black apeared. "Trespassers! Halt!" shouted one of the gaurds.
They turned and ran in the other direction from the gaurds holding spears high. They ran around a corner and the hedges behind them grew, preventing the gaurds from following. They continued running through the maze until another two gaurds appeared, their faces hidden behind black vales.
"Halt!"
They turned the other way, but another gaurd stood in the way.
The Queen then waved her hand and the gaurds were knocked back into the hedge and strangled by the leavey branches. The other gaurd ran towards them and Jefferson tackled him and pushed him into the wall and he too was dragged inside, screaming in agony.
The Queen and Jefferson ran down through the maze again then they heard another gaurd.
"Stop!"
"Don't let them get away!" their voices called but they kept running as fast as they possibly could.
They stopped when they reached the end of the maze and Regina waved her hand and was grew as they were about to throw their spears.
She laughed, staring at the pathetic spears caught in the branches.