Realign - Jefferson (Mad Hatter) Once Upon A Time

Merry My Ass

(A/N) The picture is the main character. I think she could be Regina's sister; with a different father.

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I ducked behind a bush, seeing two horses lug a carriage. Behind the carriage was a single guard riding a horse. My guess is that they're noble people; not royal-- rich. And they're travelling to a nearby city, in Nottingham-shire. Sherwood Forest isn't safe for travelers, and I'm about to give an example as to why. I jumped out of my spot in the bush and jumped in front of the carriage horses, causing them to stop. The guard behind the carriage came around with his sword drawn. "What do you want, wench?" he asked, "I'm no wench" I said, leaving my weapons sheathed.

"Why have you stopped us?" he asked, "To take all your stuff" I said, jumping forward towards the horse and throwing my hands in the air. The horse jumped up on its hind legs in fear with a neigh, throwing its rider off. The horse ran off, and before the guard could move I grabbed a rock and hit him in the head- not hard enough to kill him- just to knock him out for a while. I threw open the door and saw a single man in robes. "Ah, no sweet dear, please- don't kill me" he pleaded. "I'm not here to kill you, just to take your stuff" I said, grabbing him by the hem of his top and pulling him out.

He had no weapons on him, so I left him. "Please don't take my jewels, I'll give you anything you want" he said. "This is what I want" I said, digging through his possessions. "Please, just marry me and you can have all you want" he said. "Marry you?" I asked, trying to hold back a laugh. "I'm on my way to meet my betrothed, and I hate her. Please, marry me and you can have all the riches you desire" he said. "Marry my ass" I said, smirking. Robin came out of the bushes with little John. "Hold him back while I search" I said.

"Tsk, tsk, Raven. I thought I raised you better than that; it's MERRY not MARRY" Robin grinned. I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face, "This is no time for your jokes, Robin" I said, moving aside a nice cloak. "Every time is a time for jokes, we're Merry Men" Robin said. "The Merry Men of Nottingham-shire" little John said. I continued to search through the carriage and saw something of value. "Got it" I muttered, pulling out a chest. The noble man gasped, "No! Please! Don't take that! Its magical and its been in my family for years!" he said. "Magical?" I asked, turning the chest over in my hands as it was relatively small.

"Yes, and if someone takes it who is not of my blood will be cursed" he said. "Cursed? Ooo, scary" I said, putting it down. "I wouldn't mess with magic, Raven" Robin said. "I'm not, don't worry" I said, continuing to search through the carriage. I found another box, coming out and holding it in my hands. "Is this one cursed too?" I asked, opening it. "No, I suppose not" he said, defeated. I grinned and opened the box to reveal gold coins. "Thank you for your custom" I smirked, handing the box to little John, nodding my head to Robin who released the Noble with a slight shove towards his carriage as we ran into the place we called home; the forest.

I ran through the trees, leaves from smaller shrubs brushing against my covered legs. The smell of dirt and woodland in my nose and the breeze from running against my face. The trees above left patched areas of shade on the ground I ran across in my boots. I knew every root in this forest and jumped on or over every one. Robin and I have this thing we do where we race home after a good raid. I've never beat him, but there's a first for everything. After all, he has been in these forests a lot longer than I have. I arrived at camp to see Robin sitting on a rock.

He had a grin on his face and tried to seem relaxed; but I could see some sweat on his shirt and pink in his cheeks from running. "I thought I'd have to wait up for you" he said a little out of breath. So I hadn't beaten him by far after all. "Please" I said, rolling my eyes with a smile. At the camp fire were our Merry Men. "Alas we are back with a hit" Robin smiled, placing the box into a small stash we kept under a tree root. I had carved a symbol into the nearest rock to signal 'treasure nearby' (though, only Merry Men knew what the symbols meant). And I carved another sign into the tree that meant the same thing.

Evil laughing came from behind me and I jumped to see the man from the carriage. I whistled but he held a hand up, silencing me with magic.  "You don't know who I am, do you?" he grinned. I tried to say something, but couldn't. "I'm a very important man. I deal with important people. You, however, aren't important. Or so I thought. I've dealt with Rumpelstiltskin and Royalty, but never a bandit- until now. Apparently, you are of... Great importance, Raven. You see, you have a sister. Well, technically more than one sister but we'll not get into specifics" he said, waving a hand about.

"Now, back to why I'm here. Not for my gold, but you- but I guess you had already guessed that" he said, pacing as he spoke. This guy doesn't make any sense- he's mad. "Of late I have made a deal with Royalty, so I'm sending you to live with your mother. You remember her, don't you?" he grinned. If I could speak I would have yelled, 'no'. This man saw the unease on my face and grinned, "Oh yes, you're going to Wonderland to see the Queen of Hearts, Cora" he said, waving a hand as a cloud of smoke appeared from around me. The last thing I saw was his smirking face.