Caught Red Handed

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Home is Where the Heart is || Mad Thief

[madness-of-a-father-blog]

“I don’t want to either,” he admitted. A building pressure of fear rose in him at the simple thought. It had been far too long since he was last in her company and he didn’t like the thought of leaving it for even a moment. But even so, he knew it was for the best. 

“Woman?” Ever since he opened that door, logical thought had abandoned him. Of course, Regina had brought Pris to him. Something he’d have to thank her for later. Much later. For now, he couldn’t care less for the people outside of his family. “It’s.. difficult to explain.” It was a long story, after all. Technically, Grace has been alive for much longer than thirteen years. Magic always did have a way of complicating everything. “We were caught in a curse which froze our natural aging. It has been.. much longer than that,” he spoke with a breath of sadness. Perhaps Grace had been spared the pain of awareness, but Jefferson hadn’t been afforded that luxury. He assumed Priscilla hasn’t either. “But.. yes. She’s fifteen. A young woman, really.. I see you in her.. She really is her mother’s daughter.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Priscilla offered a gentle, bittersweet smile at him. "It's hard to part after so long... But I'll be here. I promise. I'll take down an army before I leave this place." She offered a proper grin. She was only half joking. She was a good figher- and with the passion as part of the equation... well, one would be a fool to face her. "As much as I don't want you to leave... We all deserve a proper family reunion." Grace and Jefferson were her world. Even if it'd been so long since they'd been together.

"Regina, I believe her name was." She shrugged, she'd really only listened to the woman to keep her from hurrying her to get to Jefferson's place. Pris would have rather ran there than walk. But she was grateful for some of the information gained. "She explained. She didn't go into depth... but I understand there was a curse in place. And that time has passed somewhat similarly for us both if my time keeping here has been correct. "She is a young woman... but... I still get to see some of her youth. I can still be there for her." Tears stung at her eyes once more. It was a gift - despite the curses cons... Priscilla was grateful for some parts of it. "I'm sure she's more like you than you realize... I'm certain you're an amazing father... you always were."

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Practice Makes Perfect || Pris & Guin

[ironicallycampbell]

Guinevere knew better than to follow someone, her conscience scorned her as she watched the two women fight, but she couldn’t look away. It was a beautiful dance, the way one would advance as the other retracted or countered the move. She was aware that her own defenses were poor and she could barely swing a sword for more than five swipes before the blade grew too heavy and she had to stop. Arthur had promised years ago to assist her. Then Lancelot. Just thinking of the latter made her eye twitch. She had learned of Priscilla through others in town. Mostly, she was known as The Mad Hatter’s Wife. Ah, sexism at its finest. As if a woman was nothing more than her martial status in this place. However, when she caught ear of someone speaking of Priscilla’s fight tactics and abilities, Guin couldn’t keep herself from looking into it. Plus, the name sounded familiar. Priscilla was far from ordinary for name, but she couldn’t be the same person. Guinevere hadn’t heard a word on the ghost Priscilla she did know in…years. Probably close to ten.

The queen couldn’t believe her eyes as she studied the auburn haired woman. It was Priscilla. Priscilla of Camelot. While her stunt to grab the crown had annoyed Guin at the time, now she found amusement in it. It was just a crown with no sentimental value. It was then in that moment that Guinevere realized she never saw Priscilla again. Of course, stubborn to try and better their awkward acquaintances, Guin decided to follow. Keeping her distance as she tried to think of something to say to her. 

“Priscilla,” Guinevere took a step back as she suddenly came face to face with the other woman. “I heard you’re one of the best fighters and swordsmen of the town. Your skills are impressive. I was wondering if you could help me? I don’t have much interest in playing a damsel in distress if the time came for me to fight. Plus,” she paused, “I wondered if we could catch up.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Jefferson had mentioned that some of the people of Camelot were here... but she never thought they were the people of her Camelot. Sure she assumed they were alive but the chances that they’d end up in the town her husband had? And she certainly didn’t expect that they’d hardly aged a day. So when Guinevere turned to face her Priscilla stopped herself in her track sand stared at the woman. It was Guinevere, the same woman she’d befriended shortly before leaving Camelot for good.

“Guinevere?” She knew it was but it still caught her so off guard the name spilled from her lips before she had a chance to stop it. “You haven’t aged a day.” She smiled, it was meant as a compliment. She had been dead for some odd fourty years or so. Maybe fifty it was hard to keep track between here and there and Wonderland.

Then her words sunk in and a smirk tugged at her lips. “So, I’m getting a reputation of my own now? I like that. Best swordsman in town... not sure of that, but I certainly can hold my own. Been doing it down here long enough. I can definitely teach you... Would you rather catch up or train first?” She grinned, she was up for either. Jefferson wasn’t expecting her back yet, nor would he mind when she explained. “And do you have a sword or should we get you one?” One tailored to her would be best, but Priscilla had some that could be almost perfect. Though, daggers were her favored weapon they did little against the demons of this world.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Home is Where the Heart is || Mad Thief

[madness-of-a-father-blog]

Reaching up, Jefferson brushed away her tears with the pad of his thumb, mesmerized the smooth skin under his touch. It had been far too long since he had this luxury. At the mention of Grace, Jefferson’s breath hitched. He’d been so caught up in the reunion, though he doubted Priscilla minded the time together. It had been an eternity since he’d last seen Priscilla, but for Grace, it had been a lifetime. “We will,” he promised, taking her hands in his and placing a kiss against her knuckles.

Stepping backwards, he gently tugged for her to follow. “Grace isn’t here right now. But I can go get her. Just.. I’m going to have to.. explain it to her gently. Are you okay to wait here for me?” It actually hurt to ask such a simple request. He’d only just gotten her back, and now he had to leave, even if it were for such a short while. But Grace was too young when Priscilla died, and he was certain Grace wouldn’t recognize her. The reunion they deserved, it belonged away from prying eyes. “She looks so much like you,” he breathed, the pressure in his chest crushing him at the thought. 

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Priscilla smiled gently at him. Oh gods did she love him. So much. The way he so gently brushed away her tears, despite the fact that they had both been crying. She loved Grace, she did. But she knew her daughter was okay. She knew Jefferson had taken good care of her. Thanks to the woman that brought her to Jefferson in the first place. She loved him, and as long as Grace was okay, she could wait a few more moments before they reunited. She enjoyed the time with her husband. It was better without their young daughter there. She knew at two she was hardly remembered. Maybe a faint recollection but not vivid. Not so she would understand.

She followed him without any question but her heart dropped at the thought of him leaving again. Last time he did, he didn’t come back with her alive. “I don’t want you to leave... but I understand. I can wait here.” She said softly.But her eyes lit up when he said she looked like her. “Does she? The woman who brought me here said she’s only fifteen... is that true?” Fifteen was quite different from two... but still. It’d been so long...

[underworldknave]

“Does tha’ mean I should call ya mayhem?” Will’s face split into a horrifically cheesy grin at his awful joke, but the quip was more a show of trust than anything. Sure, he joked about anyone and everyone, but the more personal the joke, the more familiar he was becoming. “I gotta… girl, Belle, ‘s the only other person I trust down ‘ere. Though her and Jefferson had some interesting interactions, from what I heard.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Priscilla laughed at the man's joke. "That wouldn't be wrong in either sense." She responded, it was true honestly. She was just as much chaos and mayhem as Jefferson was. She liked Will, she hoped to form a proper friendship with him, and would like it if Jefferson could as well. "Belle? Pretty name. She keeps good company." Her brows furrowed though, at his words. "They did? Such as what?" Had Jefferson dated after her death? She didn't mind, she was just curious. She wanted him to be happy so she couldn't fault him if he had.

[tasteyourdread]

Tasting Fear || Priscilla & Jabbers

[tasteyourdread]

This conversation was proving to be increasingly duller as time went on, especially with the wild accusation and false ‘realizations’. There were better people out there to mess with, and she rolled her eyes in realization that the only way to leave the conversation was to dissipate. Boring.

“Fear, actually, though of course someone with your intelligence would see it as nothing more than poking fun.” She was suddenly very glad  to have not put forth any effort with the woman; her fears would have probably been boring anyways. “Don’t make assumptions when you don’t know the full picture, little one.” This woman didn’t deserve to know where she’d come from, who she’d been before being cursed with her current form and powers. “Good luck with your… after life, I suppose.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

"Fear? That's what bullies thrive on. You are nothing more than a glorified bully" She laughed, actually properly laughed at the creature. Priscilla found the creature pathetic. Picking apart people's minds to find the things they feared most. Reducing them to tears more often than not. What did that achieve other than some sick and twisted form of entertainment? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Priscilla rolled her eyes and bit back a retort of telling the woman exactly where she could shove her words. She was done with this conversation, thoroughly and completely done. She just crossed her arms though. She would let this... thing leave so as not to spark anything from it thinking she was running away.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Practice Makes Perfect || Pris & Guin

@dutybeforedesire

Priscilla had been sparring with a young woman named Lizard. They knew this place was dangerous and they should keep in shape. So when they got talking they’d decided to spar for a bit. Keeping each other on their toes. Sparring with the creatures was different, but sparring with someone else helped. And was safer than seeking out the creatures that lurked further out from the town.

However, the spar had ended moments ago and Pris was aware of a woman who’d followed her. She didn’t think she meant harm, she’d seen her watching them and it was curiosity evident on her face. However, her caution was high and Priscilla decided to speak up before heading to her home. She had a daughter to protect and like hell she was letting a slip of her trust put her in danger. As she rounded a corner she took a few steps into an alleyway and rounded around behind the woman. She’d already gained a good layout of the town... and perhaps she wanted to show off a little bit. Also catching the woman off guard would be better for her just in case she wasn’t a friendly face.

She slipped down the alley and down another, ending up behind the woman. Silent, quick foot steps brought her out just before the woman would make the corner. She took a few steps forward and leaned against the brick of the building. “Is there something I can help you with? You’ve been following me for a bit now..”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

[tasteyourdread]

Tasting Fear || Priscilla & Jabbers

[tasteyourdread]

Was that a crack at her age? The Jabberwocky knew full well that there were people who still lived that were older than her. Though she wasn’t about divulge her age or history to someone she barely knew; even those she called ‘ally’ didn’t know how she came to be. Only one creature in all the realms knew her whole story any longer, the others having died years before (mostly by her own voice- the fewer people who knew her beginnings, the better). Sympathy was not someone she wanted to play off. A single moment of weakness had led her to ally with someone other than Jafar, but that was in the past. Things were far different now.

“It’s funny that you think yourself above me. Only one of my kind has ever been killed, but we’ll all made differently. Last person who tried to mess with magic to end me blew up a small village.” There was probably some phrase about playing with fire to be had, but her eyes just flicked to the woman’s hair before she cocked a brow and went silent.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Priscilla was only bringing age into this because of the Jabberwocky’s own contribution to the conversation earlier. She wanted to turn it around on her, she was fed up with this creature. All it did was live to bully and Priscilla had never ever taken well to bullies. She just knew the creature was older than most that existed in the many realms she had seen in her own time. She wouldn’t back down. Especially because she was dead, this creature could do nothing to her. She wasn’t afraid of her thoughts. She’d been stuck with them for so long as it were.

“I only think myself above you because you’re a creature that thrives on… what? Bullying people to tears? To crying and screaming? You won’t get that from me, I assure you. I explore my thoughts enough without your help. So I hope you’re having fun. It can be done, that’s all I need to know” Priscilla wasn’t afraid of a little fire. She’d always been compared to it, both for her vibrant red hair and for the personality that went along with it. Fear was something she’d faced and conquered many times.

[notyourdamselindistress-blog]

“The only type of magic I believe in is that of the gods. I don’t think anyone should have that type of power beyond them, and even some of them don’t deserve the power they do have,” Meg told her, firmly believing in the words she was speaking.

“Mad as in insane?” She knew of the other term for mad that people used interchangeably with anger and upset but she didn’t like it. Mad used in place of insane made much more sense to her.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

“I’ve seen good and bad magic. I’ve seen it drive the good to do bad… it’s a scary thing realize the full gravity of.” She sighed gently. Magic had driven many a human or otherwise over the edge. Madness or darkness, it didn’t matter. 

“Mad as in insane.” She nodded, it was the more common usage in the places she’d lived. Though she’d heard the other definition used more than once.

[underworldknave]

Will snorted, “Pro’lly has something to do with the whole double life bit he had going before Emma broke the curse. People thought he was off his rocker. Then he caused a bit ‘a mayhem.” He wasn’t about to get into what exactly happened in the earlier days of the town; he still felt like some of the inhabitants deserved it. “Then I’d be right at home with ya. Pretty much the only kinda people I can trust anymore.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

“Probably.” She nodded slightly, Jefferson had explained somewhat of what he had been through. “That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Mayhem and my husband go hand in hand.” It was why she and Jefferson got along so well, frankly. They were chaos embodied when they were together. Well, until Grace came along. But oh, she did calm the storm that was the couple. “Exactly, some people just can’t handle the honesty of thieves.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

underworldknave:

Will’s brows knit together as he smiled, the thought not one he had come across. “You trying to set me up wit’ your husband on some kinda friend date or somethin’? Not something I’ve come across before.” Most people told him to stay away from loved ones, but this woman seemed… almost happy to have him around. It really was something else. “Not that I don’ appreciate the blind faith, but people tend ta not like having me around. Something about the company of thieves.”

Priscilla couldn't help but laugh at Will's interpretation of her comment. "Well it wouldn't hurt him that's for sure. Jefferson doesn't seem to have many friends in town." She wanted her husband to be happy, and though he was content in solitude, friends wouldn't hurt either. "Well fortunately for you, if neither my husband nor my self kept the company of thieves we certainly wouldn't be married. We met on a heist... in the treasure room of a castle in Camelot. Thieves happen to be about the only company we do keep." Minus Grace of course.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

notyourdamselindistress:

Meg shook her head. “I am not a fairytale character. Though, I’m not really sure what a fairytale is, it’s just a word I’ve heard floating around since they came here. I wouldn’t really know.”

“What is a Mad Hatter?”

"From my understanding they're tales of a magical realm, which happens to be the realm I'm from. The work this town was in is from a world without magic." She shrugged a bit though she wasn't quite sure she understood right, but it sounded like what Jefferson had explained to her.

"A Mad Hatter is... well the title they gave him. In the story he was a quirky hatter, who'd gone a bit mad, apparently." At least, that was what she understood from the story Grace had shown her.

[tasteyourdread]

Tasting Fear || Priscilla & Jabbers

[tasteyourdread]

“You’d be surprised what people convince themselves of. Everyone’s a liar, but oh, humans tell themselves the most lies of all.” Was she talking about herself as well in a broad sweeping motion that included an entire species, or was it an outside observation? This one hadn’t seemed to question her humanity just yet, though she was trying to stiff upper lip routine the Jabberwocky had seen one too many times. There was no need to scare her half to death (this realm had enough fear wafting through it that she was beyond satisfied), but she was trying to pay tough. Hilarious.

“The blade is a weakness, but it’s not just a slice or a cut or a snicker snack that would do me in. First you find it, then you learn how to use it. And you, little one, don’t strike me as the magical type.” She knew full well the woman didn’t have magic. There was a ting of lavender on the fears of sorcerers, a vibrant tint that spoke of confidence and the unwillingness to give up when all seemed loss.  

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

“Is that so? I suppose in all your experience” It was a taunt, coming from the red head’s lips. “You’ve found that to be true as well?” Raising her eyebrows, regarding the creature before her. Priscilla found there were two types of people. They fell in line with the natural human response to fear, or danger. Fight or flight. Priscilla always reacted with fight. Left alone as a child? Steal her way through and fight anyone who tries to confront her. Left alone and kicked out of the orphanage? Find herself a job, keep herself stable. Work on the skills she had. Found a man who was crazy enough to fall in love with her? Oh you bet she fought for him every single time it was necessary. Through arguements, and honest life or death situations. Heists gone wrong, or heists gone so right. When he disappeared trying to make money for her family, she didn’t just carry on. She went to Wonderland intending to search the realm to find him. She’s been fighting her whole life, why should she stop in death?

“Thanks for the instruction manual.” She smirked. “Maybe there are some things still unknown to you.” Priscilla wasn’t a scorceress, no. But she’d trained in magic, a few spells here and there. She could work at it. And if she had the drive of her hatred against this creature she might be able to do it. But for now, she’d let her believe what she wanted.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

secondchancecassidy:

"Eh….depends on how loud it is I guess. I drool when I sleep,” he admitted with a smile.

"It's not loud, and I've done that before... but my husband doesn't mind too much. So I've gotten over caring really. Who else do I care to impress?" She laughed. She wasn't one to care about others opinions too terribly much anyone. Jefferson was the only one she reall wanted to impress, and she'd done that long ago. Well, at least enough to end up married to him that is.

[notyourdamselindistress-blog]

“Are you one of those Storybook characters?” Meg asked, looking the redhead over. She hadn’t seen her around here before either, but she didn’t socialize all that much.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

“No, I'm just... me. Apparently I’m married to one though.” She laughed. “My husband seemed to have gained the moniker, The Mad Hatter. What abot you? Are yo a character from the fairytales?” Noth that she would know... she wasn't as familiar with them as these townsfolk seemed to be.

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

Priscilla looked up at the woman who’d spoken to her. Shaking her head. “No… I don’t know who that is… I’m not really from around here though…?” She offered.

[tasteyourdread]

Tasting Fear || Priscilla & Jabbers

[tasteyourdread]

“Hate to break it to you, little one, but you’re dead. Even if that husband of your’s drags your soul back to the land of the living, do you think it’ll be the same? Death does things to people.” This really wasn’t that hard of a concept. It was like teaching children when she was explaining these things. 

The threat pulled a hallow laugh from her chest, the sound bubbling to the surface like she’d forgotten long ago how to find joy. “You think you can stop me? One blade in all the realms can do such, and it’s not even in this world. It’s with someone I trust, an ally to protect me by keeping the blade away. So unless you can prance your way there, there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

[shotthrxughhtheheart]

"Do you think I don't know that I'm dead?" She scoffed. "Thanks, but you're a little too late." Priscilla was just about done with this conversation. She'd debated seeking out and killing this creature years ago. There were rewards offered... gods how she wished done it. She knew it was possible, there were rumors of a woman who'd already killed one. "We'll get through whatever death does. I assure you of that." Certainty permeated her words. She wasn't afriad of that. She loved Jefferson with her heart and soul and he loved her just the same. She'd conquer entire lands to return to his side. In fact, she was just about ready to challenge the Queen of Hearts in her final, fatal visit to Wonderland before she'd figured out Jefferson's wereabouts.

A mocking, bitter laugh was the response from Priscilla. "You think that can stop me? You think that a silly little blade being in a different realm can stop me? I've traveled many realms. I've seen more lands than you know exist. I assure you, that's of little consequence to me. I've stolen hundreds of prized possessions from wealthy, and powerful people... sometimes I visited twice. If you touch my husband, you will have to find a better way to escape me than simply handing off your precious little blade to a friend."