♡ - Heart of the Matter || Open to Both Courts

[knavishness]

Video of A Memory

It's a rather peaceful scene that appears in the locket. Woods filled with the sounds of nature and mushrooms that might make you grow or perhaps shrink. In the middle of these woods sits Will, waiting and clearly worrying over something that is beyond his control. This is a Will who still has his heart and still feels as deeply as anyone can who has found true love. A rustle of leaves and his excitement shows, only for his smile to fall as he sees who appears: The Queen of Hearts.

"Will Scarlet I presume?"

Their interaction doesn't last long, but her words have rebroken a heart that had nearly mended at the idea of being reunited with his love. Whatever hope he had was taken from him and the pain that he feels is simply too much. The idea comes to him in a flash. The Queen of Hearts alone has the ability to fix what she broke and so he asks:

"I know what you do. I know what you do to people's hearts; I want you to do that to me."

It's a request born of pain and desperation. Now heartless, Will is off to become the man he is in this world.

{ooc: video of memory}

Comments

voice;

[digophelia]

[ She keeps this to voice, to spare him, if only a little. He is not the knave she knew, Alice has accepted that much. He is at least he's not like them, the card guards. And so she breaks her silence, because he is of Wonderland and Alice will protect anything from Wonderland.

As much as she has vowed to destroy it, too. ]

Love is far from a weakness, poor knave.

voice

[knavishness]

[He doesn't answer for a long time. There's no embarrassment or even shame at having something so intimate revealed to this new world, but that doesn't mean he immediately wants to talk about what was shown.

When Will finally replies his voice is calm and he holds the attitude of one who doesn't care that his secret is no longer so secret]

Poor? I'll have you know that this leather jacket cost a pretty penny.

[Did he mention he was a thief?]

Don't go worryin' about me; got my own Alice in enough trouble. And on that note, love is nothing but a weakness and that's on a good day.

voice

[digophelia]

You are of Wonderland and I am still permitted to look after you.

[ How she says it denotes that it is in both a protective manner as much as it is destructive. The red realm has yet to run out of its weirdos, apparently. ]

I don't care if you are not the knave I knew before. Love gives one strength and meaning.

[knavishness]

[He hears that tone and he'd be offended if he didn't agree that Wonderland was full of weird and probably did need looking after]

Yeah, I'm afraid you're a bit late for being my hero. 'bout 27 years give or take a few.

[There aren't too many calendars in the Enchanted Forest]

Really? Seems like love gives folks nothin' but a lot of trouble. Trouble with queens, sorcerers, genies, oh yeah, and doctors. Most trouble I had 'til me Alice showed up was a few wanted posters.

[digophelia]

I particularly don't care how many years have passed. I have defended Wonderland, well beyond falling in the rabbit hole.

[ She doesn't care, she will do it whether he likes it or not. That much is clear. While her relationship with the red queen has always been strange, she will not allow the red queen to die out, not completely. Especially now, since she had been the one to rejuvenate Alice's memory. ]

And so has grief, anger, and greed. Emotions are emotions. If I were to say to you that none of those did not come without trouble, I would be a fool. It's better to feel and not become a complete doll, knave.

[bythewaves]

"Will?"

Quiet and with only the faintest hint of curiousity (perhaps a touch of accusation too - You knew what being heartless is like)

"Did you ever have your heart returned?" Maglor thinks he knows the answer - and it would explain an awful lot.

[knavishness]

Will's not ashamed of what he convinced Maglor to do; he firmly believes emotions are nothing but trouble. The lack of shame doesn't mean he's going shove that wish in the elf's face or anything so immature.

"Alice, my Alice, stole it back and now it's safe where it can't hurt anyone." There's no reading between the lines, he clearly never put it back in.

[knavishness]

Don't really feel those either.

[Except for Lizard, but even those feelings of grief were short lived without a heart]

Also don't think I'm all that doll-like. Plenty of folk get on just fine as they are, heart or no heart. Not that any of this matters since I'm here and my heart...ain't.

[digophelia]

Well, why not? Why doesn't it matter?

private because he figures Will'd prefer *not* to broadcast his genie status

[bythewaves]

"Even you, I suppose" he murmurs softly. "I suppose it might make your life as a genie a little easier, so far as such things may be made so. I would say I am sorry, but you seem content enough with your decision. Is it worth it, Will?"

And he might be asking for himself, or Will, it isn't truly clear.

Mags always looks out for Will

[knavishness]

Will sighed and thought about all the trouble that seemed to follow him since Alice's re-arrival in his life. Yes, he full put this Draub world nonsense on Alice's shoulders since Will was very certain that if he hadn't gone off to fulfill some obligation to her, he'd be back in Storybrook.

"It's worth it to me." Even with all that thinking he's trying not to think of her. "Maybe most is stronger than I am, but I can't live with that nonsense inside. I meant what I said when I told you emotions make you weak, and I don't think this is a place anyone can afford to be weak."

[knavishness]

Why does it? Why's everyone seem to think that this makes me some sort of non-person?

[digophelia]

Because you have lost part of yourself and that is very sad.

[knavishness]

Still got me mind, and some would say that's even more important.

[digophelia]

Is it? How can you be so certain of that?

he tries!

[bythewaves]

Almost sharp "You are stronger than you think, Will Scarlet. Would a weak man have tried to fight that serpent, even though he did not know his comrades? Would a weak man have tried to comfort me in my madness?"

Quieter. "I wonder about that, but if you are content I will not press. And there may be many forms of weakness eh?"

"That is powerful magic she wielded." He adds, thinking Dark. "Is she like you?"

[knavishness]

Look Alice, I know who I am, an' no matter what the Queen took out, I'm still me, only better.

[knavishness]

"First off, that was more about me not wanting to be eaten by a giant worm and second, helping you was, again, helping me. We probably wouldn't have done as well if you were off in your madness." Will will never accept that he's anything but selfish and Maglor's comments about him being strong makes him feel more than a little uncomfortable.

"Sure, but I find most can be avoided if folks weren't so hung up on their emotions."

Mention of the Queen being a genie makes Will laugh. No, she'd never be something so passive as a genie. "That's the Queen of Hearts and what she does is more dangerous than a bit of wishing."

[digophelia]

Then why not go back? Do you fear it?

[bythewaves]

"Perhaps - and yet you did not have to do either of those things Will." Maglor reminds him. "You could have fled from the worm, after all. And you would have managed - we would have managed - we were out of the forest by then, and a sword arm does not take much to wield." But he'll leave it at that.

"Queen of Hearts?" A small curl of his lip and another raised eyebrow. "A fitting name, it seems. Your world is a dangerous one in general, it seems."

video

[notavirtue]

[That was definitely not how hearts worked, but Javik found he couldn't really argue after seeing that. Asking for details would just lead to the answer 'magic', and he'd had enough of that.]

I begin to understand what made you so defensive about the elf.

video »

[aphrodisiacs]

[ alisha's not quite sure what to make of this — a bloke with an accent familiar to hers, dressed funny, being approached by a woman who is dressed even funnier, like the shit out of those fairytales she used to devour as a kid. none of it quite makes sense, the manner of which he speaks about love, the way the woman's mouth curls into something even alisha thinks is distrusting. ]

[ her voice is loud. she wants to move past this as she has with a lot of other weird broadcasts, but she finds her voice escapes her before her fingers turn her locket off. ] ... What the fuck did she do to you?

[ when people have their hearts removed, they sort of drop dead to the floor and remain as still as a corpse. he's a bit paler than he was with the organ inside his chest, but, he's not immortal. would nathan die if his heart was removed? ]

[knavishness]

Don't fear much of anything anymore, an' don't see any reason to go back.

Don't you like me as I am?

[digophelia]

I am not sure; I pity you, in some way.

[knavishness]

Maglor's words were still too close to complimenting for Will to be comfortable with, but he figured that if he simply acted as though Mags had said nothing, then this conversation could be saved. Luckily the elf seemed to think the same or at least was being kind enough to drop the whole "good man" talk.

Will did offer a grin at Mags' comment on the Queen. "Oh, I don't know, Wonderland ain't so dangerous if you stay under the radar." Something Will wasn't very good at doing, especially traveling with Alice. "And, word is the Queen lost her head, or finally just got tired of the whole royalty shtick."