Off With Her Head

"Can I help you?" I was a bit nervous to talk to him.

"Yes, my name in Annaline. I was walking along and I saw your house and I was wondering if I could come inside so my cat could warm up?" I pull Cheshire out of my pocket and he was shivering in my hands. He just looked at me and sighed, like I was interrupting something important. Maybe this was a bad idea....

"Alright, come on in," he said as he moved aside. I slowly walk in and pull my hood down. The man walked out of the room. I just stand there waiting for him to come back and say something. I look around his living room and it is absolutely stunning. It looked so sophisticated, yet abstract like a fantasy. There were so many colors swirled together with black and white.

The man walked back into the room with a towel and he wrapped Cheshire in it.

"Thank you so much, sir."

"What were you doing out in the rain?" He handed Cheshire over to me and I bundled him up as much as possible, holding him close to me.

"I was walking, trying to find a motel or something, but I found your house," I said still awestruck by how beautiful his house was.

"Are you an artist?"

"No, why?" To be honest, I felt kind of bummed to hear that, I'm a painter myself.

"The walls and the artwork are very abstract and so out of the box. I was just wondering if you painted all of it."

"No, the house was already like this." We just stand there quietly.

"You can make yourself comfortable if you want." I hand him my cat and I set my bag down, remove my jacket and boots. I don't want to track mud through his house.

We sit on his couch and Cheshire crawled out of the blanket and started playing with the buttons on the man's vest.

"She sure is playful," he said with a smile.

"It's a 'he.'"

"What's his name?"

"Cheshire, like the Cheshire cat from Wonderland." His smile faded slightly.

"I'm familiar with the story." He now seemed melancholy. I was almost too afraid to speak.

"Well I think we're warm now to keep walking. Thank you so much again Mister...." I said hoping he would tell me his name.

"Just call me Jefferson."

"Well, Thank you again, Jefferson. I'll just be on my way."

"Why don't you spend the night?" What?

"I couldn't impose. I could just stay somewhere else."

"I insist. You and Cheshire shouldn't go out in this weather. Wait until morning and I'll take you into town," Jefferson said with a smile.

"If you're sure a wouldn't be a bother."

"It's fine. I have plenty of room." Just then his mouth gave a tiny but noticeable twitch.

"I can't thank you enough," I said hesitantly.

"No trouble at all. I'm making tea soon, would you care to join me?"

"That sounds nice, I'd love to." Cheshire runs into the room, jumps back on the couch, and curls into a ball to sleep.

"He's adorable. Where did you find him?"

"I found him a week ago. He was scratching at my door. So I brought him inside and fed him. I put posters around my neighborhood, but no one claimed him. He's been sticking to my side ever since."

"Well, you can let him sleep while we go to the kitchen." Sounds a little pushy, but okay. We go into the kitchen he pulls a chair out for me.

"So tell me how you came to Storybrooke."

"I ran away from home. I packed my bag and my cat and left." He seemed intrigued.

"Why did you run away," he asked as he poured water into the tea kettle and placed it on the stove.

"My mom wanted me to buckle down and stop having fun." I think back to all the times when mom yelled at me.

"Why do you say that?"

"I told her I wanted to go to art school instead of Harvard Law. Our family is very well known, we had a reputation to maintain. She wanted me to be prim and proper, but I wanted to have a life of my own, so I ran away."

"Sounds depressing. I bet she's missing you right now."

"Sure she does, and I also have the ability to fly," I said sarcastically.

"I think any parent would miss their child."

"You don't know my mother. I don't know why I told you all of this."

"You seem to trust me enough to open up to me," he said taking the hot kettle off of the stove and pour the hot water into two white teacups.

"Thats how I always am, I trust people too much. Its my nature." Jefferson takes the teabags out of the cups and throws them away. He put milk and sugar in one cup and only sugar in the other. He gave the one with just sugar to me.

"How did you know I like my tea with just sugar?" He stops, then turns to me.

"You told me." He takes his cup of tea from the counter and sits down in the seat across from me.

"I don't think I did."

"Then, how would I have known?" I must've told him and don't remember. my memory must be getting worse. I shrug and take a sip of my tea.

"Its delicious." I take another sip. Jefferson takes the teacup to his lips and gulps the tea down. I didn't really want tea anymore.

"I think I should take Cheshire and just go. Thank you for the hospitality, but..." I said getting out of my chair and feeling very dizzy. Something is very wrong here. I felt like I was about to collapse.

"Whats wrong?"

"I-I don't feel so well." Jefferson gets out of his chair and picks me up. He carries me to the couch and sets me down.

"You'll be alright, I'll get you some water." My eyes got heavier and heavier. I'm extremely tired and I want to just sleep where I was, but I had to stay awake. I heard Jefferson go upstairs. I thought he said he was getting me water. I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, I shut my eyes and I fell into a deep sleep.