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[Jefferson toys with the idea of publicly announcing his arrival for a long while. He had lived too long a hermit outside the fringes of Storybrooke society, and the idea of rejoining the thriving masses does not sound very appealing to him. Besides, there are other dangers to consider. Would the Queen of Hearts still be looking for him? Is the same Queen even in regency? He knows full well that nothing ever remains the same in Wonderland, and to expect the same as when he was here before would be absurd. He finally decides it is worth the risk.

How could he flush out his target without causing some sort of stir?

The video begins with Jefferson facing the camera directly, hands folded calmly in front of him and a darkened room behind him. He smiles easily, but there's something a little nervous in his demeanor. As far as anyone knows, he is new to Wonderland after all. A certain amount of uncertainty is to be expected. Little does anyone suspect how much time this man has spent in this nonsensical place. Or, at least, a fair facsimile thereof.]

Greetings, residents of Wonderland. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Jefferson, and I am a merchant by trade. Mostly rare fungi, but occasionally I dabble in trinkets... and hats. [He pulls a black silk hat into view of the camera briefly to illustrate his point.] I seem to have lost something of mine, and I wonder if any of you have seen it. It's about the size a breadbox. Cylindrical. Soft. Shabby-looking, I'm afraid, but very sturdy. If you feel you have found it, please contact me. I would hate for my something to cause a problem for anyone, so the sooner it can be back in my hands, the better.

[The smiles comes back, a little wider and more confident.]

And now Wonderland, I must ask you a very important question....

How do you take your tea?

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Jeffer-

[Looks like Bucky before the whole brainwashing thing, sounds like Bucky only not. That horse metaphor seems fitting and yet definitely 80 different kinds of wrong.

Chuck on top of that tea and hats and color her confused.]

Say what now?

[For some reason, out of all the people from home Henry expects to see, Jefferson isn't one of them. Maybe because he knows that back home, he's with Grace and he sort of...never sees him. To be honest, he isn't sure what to even think of Jefferson, what with the kidnapping his mom and grandma thing. Still, everyone gets another chance.]

...Hi, Jefferson. Do you remember me? Henry.

[Congrats, man. This sort of video Neal has to play more than once, which is saying something given his background. Then again, out of all the fairytale characters that have shown up, how many of them have actually been from a story set in Wonderland? Granted, it's just Neal's hunch that this guy is, but come on. A hatter asking about tea? He's just a self-proclaimed "mad" away from lighting up a neon sign.]

Jefferson, huh? Name's Neal. [Assuming that his guess is right, the next question is, what version of Wonderland is he from? Even among the characters from fantasy stories there are different worlds represented. So whether or not this guy has ever heard of Storybrook is completely up in the air.] Sounds like you just got here. Anyone tell you how this place works yet?

[What is this, "dredge up Regina's past" week? How does this go again? Ah, yes.]

I'd say you're looking well, Jefferson, but... well, you remember.

[Bitter because he got his happiness before she did? Maybe.]

Your hat's not going to help you here, I'm afraid.

[Even if it was a decent chance at her own escape, she sounds just a little too happy about that fact.]

[Jefferson knows damn well that the way he's introduced himself probably doesn't make much sense to most people. That is kind of the point.

He smiles.]

Don't tell me. You're a coffee drinker.

[Oh thank whatever gods there are that this happened at such a fortuitous time. Gold's down a lot of luck right now, which is why instead of the standard greetings, all Jefferson gets is:]

We have a bit of a situation.

[Hi. Lovely to see you. I NEED YOU TO DO A THING FOR ME.]

[After Steve's sudden return, after his conversation with Bruce, after everything he's had to do today, this is really the last thing he'd been prepared for.

He'd reunited with Bucky earlier today. In fact, he'd been the first person Steve had contacted after he'd regained his footing here in Wonderland. So he's all too aware that this person isn't Bucky, even before he opens his mouth. But he looks just like him, his hair is styled more like how Bucky used to, and his voice is exactly the same on top of it.

The way he speaks isn't, though, and everything that he talks about is foreign to Steve, from his name to his profession to the personal item that he's looking for.

So what the hell is going on here?

When Steve sends his reply, he doesn't look upset or angry so much as baffled, and a little bit wary.]

Where are you from? Originally, I mean.

[Not the friendliest greeting. Steve narrows his eyes. The resemblance is uncanny and it's weirding him out beyond belief.]

[Any reaction other than this would have been too weird for Jefferson to process. Despite Rumplestiltskin's reputation, Jefferson hasn't had many transactions with him that have gone any way but professionally. He respects a man who keeps to the deals he makes.]

Ah, Mister Gold. Or is it Rumplestiltskin again now? [Lovely to see you, too.]

Other than the obvious? What is it?

[In the onslaught of memories that Jefferson has in his head, what he doesn't remember is meeting with Henry and the subsequent reunion with Grace. As far as he knows, being dragged back to Wonderland is just Fate intervening once more to keep him from his daughter. Before starting the video feed, he'd tried to work out the worst of his frustration about the situation so he could keep a calm facade in front of everyone else.

It is a tenuous grasp.]

You're the mayor's adopted kid. The kid with his book of stories.

[Holy crap. So. Jefferson doesn't know anything. Wow. Wow.]

Uh, yeah. Um. This is going to be a weird question but...do you remember anything about a curse breaking in Storybrooke?

[The strange but convenient thing about Jefferson's former line of work is that he rolls with timeline discrepancies rather well. He's aware that he's going to need a time/location primer.]

Yeah, I do. The Queen's curse broke because of your mom. [He'll be taking no personal responsibility for that mess with the apple.]

What are you doing in Wonderland?

[If it isn't one of Jefferson's least favourite people in all of the realms. Unfortunately for him, the Hatter doesn't have it in him to just ignore the message and this woman's existence entirely.]

I remember. You made sure of that.

[He actually doesn't know yet about his reunion with Grace. He had been on his way there when--

Jefferson is seething and is simply trying to keep his cool in front of the Queen. She knows how much she gets under his skin, and he knows he can't do anything about it.]

Ever since you kept my hat and then Prince Charming crushed it, it hasn't been much help to anyone. [salt in the wounds]

[Regardless whether or not it's the truth, you won't even hear Jefferson call himself mad. He knows the truth. What's crazy about that?

This seems like a friendly guy. Jefferson will respond in kind. He'll figure out the details as the conversation progresses.]

Neal, if anyone can explain how Wonderland works, I would love to see him try. [He laughs softly, but there's an edge of desperation in it.]

I just got here, but it's my third "visit" in one way or another. [Hopefully this one will go better than the last, but he doubts it.]

[Depends on what you define as the truth? Either way though. It's hard not to feel a little bad for the guy, given the way he laughs. Neal glances off to the side, idly scratching the back of his neck with his free hand.]

Well I mean, you want the mechanics of it, all I can say is "magic;" even the people around here who are really knowledgeable about that stuff can't explain how things actually happen in this place. [And most of the ones Neal knows aren't in a position to try at the moment.] But there are certain things we're sure of that you probably want to hear about.

Starting with the fact that this probably isn't the Wonderland you're familiar with. [Although it's possible the guy has been to this version of the realm before, it's more likely he's familiar with some other universe's variation.] There's alternate versions of the same realm out there, Wonderland included. So unless you remember being in the one where no one stays dead and we all go through some messed up event based on someone's memory every other week, this isn't the one you're thinking of.

This isn't the same Wonderland. I mean, I guess it's a Wonderland. And there's a Queen of Hearts. But it's not Cora.

[Yeah, he knows about her.]

We all came here the same way you did - without wanting to.

Milk. No sugar.

[A smile.]

Did you say you were a merchant? I was one back home. Well, of a sort.

strong, preferably with peppermint.

[ any man who speaks of tea is a man she favors ]

[Nice to meet you too, mysterious blonde guy. Right to the point, aren't you?]

I'm a bit of a traveler, but I suppose I'd call home a little town in Maine called Storybrooke. Or a realm called the Enchanted Forest. Whichever you choose to believe. [His tone makes it sound as if he's joking, and the accompanying flash of a smile appears friendly-- but something about it seems insincere. It's as close to a true answer as the portal jumper is willing to admit.]

I quite frequently take my tea that way as well.

[A straight answer to a silly question. He smiles in return.]

A merchant "of a sort". Whatever could you be implying by that?

Edited 2015-05-13 06:08 (UTC)

[She is welcome to talk or take tea with him any time. A fellow enthusiast is always welcome.]

Peppermint is underrated. It's delicious, and it's good for your health. Plus it's hardy and will thrive even in difficult conditions. You have excellent taste.

Edited (sorry for edits) 2015-05-13 06:48 (UTC)

[Jefferson listens intently. In the back of his mind, he's already trying to think of ways to make a new hat that works just enough to get him back to Storybrooke. He isn't hopeful, but he can't leave Grace... not again.... Even if Fate didn't want them reunited, he should be there to watch over her.]

I've never known Wonderland to abide by any rules, even the rules of magic. Even it's own rules. [but Neal is right. This couldn't be the same Wonderland he'd been to before. That would be too simple.

It may be noticeable that he's taking this all in stride, completely comfortable with the fact that everything he's being told is true. Jefferson is a pretty good liar when he needs to be, and he knows what to look for when someone's genuinely trying to be helpful. Not staying dead and alternate versions of realms? Old news. But the memory thing...? Jefferson covers his mouth with his hand to hide his expression. Memory is his curse. Nothing good would come from a realm like this.]

No way to escape, I assume. No magic portals or enchanted mirrors? It's never that easy.

I never knew the Queen of Hearts by her name, only by the blade of her axe. But I can't imagine it makes too much difference.

[He doesn't find the distinction between "the same" Wonderland and "a" Wonderland to be comforting in the slightest. Of course there are different versions of each realm. What were they teaching children these days?]

People don't just wake up in other realms one day. That's not how it works. [Except apparently that it did. It's happened to Jefferson twice.] Another curse?

[She is hard to ignore, it's true.]

You could get it back from the vendors, if you're truly that attached to it. Even in one piece.

[Hmm, to tell him about the price or not?]

And you've got what they require in return in abundance.

[Storybrooke. Home to Emma Swan, Snow White, and Steve can only assume a host of other fairy tale characters. It doesn't take long for the gears to start turning after that, and realization falls over his face as everything slots into place.

From Storybrooke, an interest in hats, and that question about tea -- who else could it be? Jefferson isn't a name that Steve's ever heard associated with the Mad Hatter, but...

Steve tilts his head to one side as his eyes slowly narrow.] If you are who I think you are, then you're probably pretty familiar with this place already, right?

That's kind of how I think about it. It's easier. We've all been cursed again and time is frozen. Except it's not just people from the Enchanted Forest or...other places we know from home. There are people here from places that don't even have magic, too.

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