In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold strives to be the man Bae used to love--until Belle is kidnapped to Neverland. If he resumes his Dark One powers to save her, can he control them? In the Enchanted Forest, Emma battles ogres, zombies and her ex to get back h...
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Jefferson the Mad Hatter: Two lives in our heads, cursed worse than ever. (We Are Both)
Mr. Gold slid his knife through the fennel seed, rosemary, and crushed garlic crust into the tender porchetta. This invitation was his first decent meal in weeks. Though he enjoyed cooking, since Belle had left, he hadn't had the heart to turn on his stove. As he savored another bite, he saw his host smile. I'm expected to make dinner conversation, he reminded himself.
"This is excellent. Where did you learn the recipe?"
"From Mamma, back in Cortona. That's the village in Tuscany where I was born." The smile faded from Geppetto's face. "Except that I wasn't born there, was I? Even though that childhood seems, so real to me—Mamma baking brutti ma buoni in the kitchen, Papa carving angels for the tourists."
Not to mention that picturing imaginary parents in Italy is happier than remembering cursed parents in the Enchanted Forest. Mr. Gold swallowed then attempted a smile. "I could swear I studied at the University of Glasgow School of Law. I remember chilly lecture halls, towers of books, endless pots of coffee." And nearly being expelled for cheating on the Conveyancing exam until I found dirt on the professor and struck a non-interference deal. Even my sham past is disreputable.
Pinocchio continued scooping pork, polenta, and peas into his mouth but his glances at his dinner companions were keenly interested. Wiping his chin with his red checkered napkin, he said, "Before I wrote Jakarta Never Forgives, I created bios for all my characters. I amassed a lot of detail to make them true to life, but that doesn't mean any of it actually happened."
Dr. Hopper laid down his fork. "At first, I thought our cursed personas were—were purely imaginary. But last week I—I had a visit from Sir Frederick and Princess Abigail. You'll remember... her Storybrooke self, Kathryn Nolan, was married to Charming's. Without going into their—their personal issues, I can say that as Kathryn Nolan, she was—was accepted to Boston College Law School. But how could she be? Not unless her Vassar transcripts and LSAT scores really—really exist."
"I don't think anybody knows everything about how the curse came off," Mr. Gold replied. "I don't think anybody has worked out all the details logically." He glanced from Marco-Geppetto to Hopper-Jiminy. Did either of them know the part he'd played?
Dr. Hopper's eyebrows knitted together. Then he cleared his throat. "I—I've been wondering whether we've all, maybe, replaced people in this world."
There he goes again—Storybrooke's most decent man seeking reasons to feel guilty. "That can't be it. For the most part, everyone looks as they did in the Enchanted Forest., so we're notinhabiting other people's bodies—nor their lives. Pinocchio's—or should I say August's—theory is better. Like a writer, the curse constructed fake biographies. To make them believable, it added documentation as well as memories."
