Checkmate || OUAT Fanfic || DISCONTINUED

Chapter 27; Gods & Goddesses

"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

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Alice's P.O.V

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"Wait. So, you're telling me that all the stories are true? That all of the fairytales and all of its characters are real?"
I bite my bottom lip as I contemplate how I'll be able to convince the two girls in front of me that I'm not crazy. "To sum it all up, yes, all of them are real, but not all of their stories are how we thought they were."

"So this, Peter dude, he was your boyfriend?" Jo asks.
"Soulmate." I correct. "But that's not the point. I swear, I'm not crazy, and I didn't just make everything up."
Jo reaches across the table, placing her hands over mine. "No one's saying you're crazy, I've known you for almost two years and of you say it's real, then it's real."
Tia nods in agreement. "I'm with your friend on this one."

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that I won't have to worry about convincing them that I'm sane anymore.
"Actually, I've seen quite a number of things in the time I've been in Storybrooke, so fairytales being real doesn't surprise me," Tia says. "Like for example, did you know that Mr Gold, the owner of the pawnshop, is actually a powerful sorcerer named Rumpelstiltskin?"

"And you've known that how long exactly?" I ask.
"Since I stepped foot into his last week," Tia replies. "He's a collector of many strange items so it didn't really surprise me to find out that they were magical."
"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask.
"Oh, because that would've been such an easy thing to do," she says sarcastically.

"Hello, Alice, nice weather today, don't you think? Oh, did you know that everyone in this town are characters from different fairytales and our mayor is the evil queen who sent them here?"
"Fair enough."
"So, how are you going to find Cassie?" Jo asks, bringing the conversation back on topic.

"I honestly have no idea," I answer truthfully. "From what I was told, I have to wait until Regina and her family figure out where Emma was taken because that's most likely where Cassie will be."
"But you're not just going to sit around and wait for them to figure it out."
"Of course not," I say. "Which is why I needed to tell you guys, I need all the help I can get."

"Well, I'm definitely going to help you. There's no way I'm going to let you do this all by yourself," Jo states.
Tia nods. "Yeah, you can count me in, too."
"Thanks, guys."
"So, what are you going to do about Will?" Jo asks.
"I don't know." I shake my head. "Ray and the boys are looking for him as we speak but I'm still worried."

"You don't think they'll find him?" Tia asks.
"No, I'm worried what they'll find when they do."
Jo furrows her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, he came back in the middle of the night all bloody and bruised, doesn't that make you the least bit suspicious?"
"You're not suggesting that-?"

I shake my head. "I don't want to think about it."
"Think about what?" Jo asks. "What are you guys talking about?"
Tia sighs, turning to face Jo. "Alice thinks that Will might be in a gang."
"That can't be true. It- It's just can't be."
"That's what I keep telling myself," I say. "I don't what to believe that, but there's too much evidence against him for me to not consider that."

"What does Ray think about all of this?" Jo asks.
"He blames himself." I sigh, rubbing my temples. "He thinks that this could've all be avoided if he didn't abandon Will when he was a child."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him the truth," I say. "That it isn't his fault and that Will wouldn't push him away if he really needed his help."