Title: Not So Commonplace.
Fandom: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
Rating: General.
Length: 1109 words.
Content notes: None.
Author notes: Written for the On the Outside challenge in fan_flashworks.
Summary: With a simple glance it was nothing more than a brass bottle, a pretty item for a shelf. Yet within, Alice knew there had been something far more valuable and not because of the wishes he gave.


Such a simple looking item; pretty on the surface with the red design adorning the centre of the brass bottle. It looked pristine; as if time had not touched it and was made only recently. Perhaps to be used as a vase for fresh cut flowers or more likely just a pretty item to put upon a shelf to gaze at every so often. To her eyes it appeared to be quite valuable judging by the surface alone.

Turning the brass bottle over in her hands, smiling with admiration as it gleamed every so often as the early morning light caught on its surface, she found it almost funny how it appeared to be worth a great deal and yet it was what to be found inside that was priceless. How many people had picked it up in the past with no idea, simply putting it up for an unknown amount of time without being aware of what they'd found.

Rustling on the grass a few feet from where she sat caught her attention, blue eyes darting over to see her new found friend was moving in his sleep. Alice smiled, watching as he rolled onto his side facing her, his dark eyes fluttering for a moment before she heard a soft sigh and he settled once again.

Her head canted to one side, marvelling at how different he looked when lost in dreams. During the waking hours they shared her genie seemed so old, to her mind. It wasn't completely in how he acted; Cyrus had manners that would impress her father back home she was certain, but it was in his eyes. Within their depths she could see the cares of the world, or at least what he'd seen of it through his travels.

Tapping her right forefinger lightly against the lip of the bottle's opening, she wondered what all he had seen. It had only been a few weeks since she'd used his bottle as a hiding place, they didn't know each other that well. Yet when Alice had gone off the defensive she had realized within the genie she had found something she had yet to in Wonderland or England: a kindred spirit.

Cyrus understood loneliness, somehow she had a feeling he was better at dealing with it. After all his entire existence had been spent alone in a bottle, with maybe a few masters who saw him as someone to talk to instead of just use for his magic. Her usual tactic to combat loneliness was finding some adventure to throw herself headlong into; how else would she have found Wonderland in the first place if that rabbit in a waistcoat hadn't seemed like a perfect friend? At least he had to her youthful mind, not that he hadn't in the end. A spur of the moment idea that had led her into a world of adventure and eventually to the one friend who may understand her better than she did herself.

Still, in moments such as this she wondered about him. While sleeping, all his cares left his features and Cyrus looked almost boyish. There was nothing of the centuries old genie to be seen, if his binds were covered by the sleeves of his shirt it would be easy to mistake him for a young man travelling through the realm. He was at ease in these moments, no longer guarded or with the hint of worry that showed often in his brown eyes when he thought he heard something in the distance. It was always a flash, nothing more, but Alice normally caught it before it would vanish again.

There were many books and stories of genies back home in England, not that Alice had ever thought she'd meet one. Then again, she never fancied she'd meet a talking cat that disappeared before her very eyes, only his uncanny smile remaining for a split second to prove he'd been there. The hookah smoking Caterpillar was certainly odd; food and even drinks that changed her size more so. The royalty that took delight in beheading people who slighted them even in the smallest of ways was nothing new; history in her world had such monarchs (or uprisings where the citizens flipped the roles).

Memories of those stories were hazy, most read in books on a languid summer's evening to pass the time before bed. She'd been far more intrigued with tales of princesses, princes and adventures then the magical creatures to be found in oil lamps, so had not committed any of it to memory. What she did recall was genies were to be feared, they bore very little resemblance to humans in any description she could recall and they delighted in tricks.

Cyrus had proven good at slight of hand once or twice since their meeting, trying to cheat her in a card game or two and failing miserably. He thought he was clever, but she was one better at counting cards. She felt no reason to be afraid of him, if anything she felt safe with him around. Far safer than she had in a long time and as to having nothing human in looks he was probably the most human being she'd met in Wonderland.

Aside from the Knave of Hearts that is, the royals were beastly in nature so she didn't truly count them. Hard to think of them in a positive light with all the suffering they liked to cause.

Blue eyes moving to the bottle again, her attention drawn to it when the sun caught its polished surface once more, it amazed her how simple it seemed just by glancing at its exterior. Pretty and commonplace, yet concealed within was something absolutely amazing. Someone who should mean more than the wishes he gave. A kindred spirit she wanted to keep in her company for as long as she could, and she could read within his eyes that he wanted her to withhold using her wishes so he could stay with her as well.

“Good morning Alice.”

The dulcet tone of Cyrus' voice dragged her out of her thoughts, setting his bottle aside for a moment as she leaned back on her elbows to look at him. “Good morning Cyrus, I trust you slept well?”

He nodded, a few stray locks of dark curls falling forward into his eyes. Alice reached over and gently brushed them back, resisting the urge to fix how unruly looking his hair was after a night's sleep. Her smile brightened when she noticed his own at the feel of her finger tips lightly brushing against his forehead.

“What adventure shall we have today?”