Title: Simple Truths.
Fandom: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
Rating: General.
Length: 1549 words.
Content notes: This is a little off canon, and contains some headcanons and such I have concerning Cyrus' life before he was cursed.
Author notes: Written for the Confession challenge at fan_flashworks.
Summary: Secrets often helped protect oneself, but in certain cases a simple confession or two can give a great deal of freedom and understanding.


Sometimes secrets were good.

Alice knew that well enough, everyone kept something from others and often in a way to protect themselves. Like in her childhood days, the ones before she fell down a certain rabbit hole, she had broken a vase in the upstairs hallway.

It was ugly, possibly the ugliest thing in the entire house and that was saying a lot. Her father had acquired quite a few oddities in his travels, but so far as she was concerned that particular vase was the most hideous thing in the house. Completely black with strange swirling designs in varying shades of yellow; it was an eyesore and she hadn't been completely sorry her imaginative play had ended with it shattered to pieces on the polished wood floor.

At least until she heard footsteps ascending the stairs moments after the accident. Then she'd been sorry it lay in pieces, but not that she'd never have to lay eyes on it again.

The lie had been simple: dashing to her room to play with her dolls, there was a housekeeper and there was little doubt in her five year old mind the older woman would take the fall for the mess.

She felt guilty later though, and considered telling the truth but as much as she wanted her father to actually pay attention to her, negative interactions were low on her list of ways to get the man's attention.

That secret had been a little harmful, but in the end the housekeeper still kept her position and it turned our her father wasn't too heartbroken over the vase being shattered. Had she been pressed, Alice knew she would have confessed to being the culprit but her father had never mentioned it to her. Either it never occurred to him that she may have accidentally broken it or the housekeeper diverted his speculation from the possibilities it may have been his daughter.

There was a difference between that secret, and the ones her genie kept. Those ones she tried to respect, but ever since the night under the falling stars Alice couldn't help the questions that raced through her mind.

How long had it been since he was made a genie? What was his mother like? What of his father, did he have siblings and was he the sort that had many friends or only a few? She mulled over them as she propped herself up on her elbow, glancing over at Cyrus.

She was always wondering if he ever slept, but that was on the lower end of the never ending questions that drifted through her mind. It only popped up then as she'd been woken by the sound of a strong wind blowing over the Outlands. The large bed always felt a bit much, why he wouldn't at least sit with her as she slept was a bit of a mystery.

Then again, she knew back home it was improper for men and women to be alone without a chaperone, the very idea of him so much as sitting on the bed with her might be scandalous. The fact he stayed in the room might be enough to make a few of her stuffy aunts faint dead away. Alice couldn't help the grin at the mental image, but it seemed it was likely Cyrus' values were close to the same as when he'd fashioned their little home there had been a daybed as well.

Alice had wondered about that, but left well enough alone. He seemed to have decided the large bed was her's, and he took the daybed. For what she was never sure, the young adventurer was convinced genies didn't sleep. Or at least not outside of their bottle.

Looking towards him, she could see he was holding a cloth bound book in his hands, or rather one hand held it open as it rested on his lap and the other was holding a piece of charcoal. By the light cast by the lanterns in the room she could make out an expression of concentration on his eternally youthful face, his brown eyes focused intently on the page before him as his hand moved subtly.

Alice pushed herself up, legs swinging over the edge of the bed and softly she walked over to Cyrus. Slowly she sat next to him on the daybed, leaning over to see what he was sketching. Eyebrows knitting together, it was not hard to guess it was a woman. A very beautiful one at that, and a slight surge of jealously swelled inside once again. Something like when he'd confirmed the compass he carried with him was a gift from another girl.

Until he'd cleared up it was his mother that had given it to him.

“Is that your mother?”

Cyrus startled, so lost in thought he'd not heard Alice wake up. Even the dip on the daybed next to him hadn't registered, so much for always being alert. It seemed the safety and comfort of the small home they now had gave him no reason to feel a need to be constantly aware of his surroundings, considering the only person who could take him by surprise was Alice.

Setting the piece of charcoal aside on a rag, he laid the book flat on his lap as he grabbed another rag to clean off his hands. “It is,” he confirmed, glancing to Alice with a bit of a shy smile. “My memories of most of my mortal life are hazy at times, but she remains a constant in it all and never fades.”

Alice smiled, resting her head on his shoulder as she curled closer to him. “Agrabah is a place you would like to return to because it was your home, not just because it was a beautiful city you found yourself in through various masters, isn't it?”

The genie sighed; she had him there. As much as he wanted to lie, he couldn't. “It was, a long time ago. Mama is gone now, but her memory would still linger.” A lot had changed over time, but there were still shadows of the past around every corner.

“Was there anyone else?” Alice asked, reaching over and gently turning the pages of the book. More sketches of the same woman, whom Cyrus had confirmed to be his mother, but also some young men and another young woman.

That one caught Alice's attention, not just due to the detail but how Cyrus seemed to stiffen a little when she flipped to the page. She couldn't help the soft laugh, lifting her head to give him a light kiss on the cheek. “This one is special to you as well, I can tell my dearest Cyrus.”

A soft sigh came as her answer, she felt his shoulder sag a little as though in defeat. At first she felt a bit of guilt until she realized he was playing her with that reaction. “I am not going to be angry at whatever you have to say, you know. When I thought you were only a genie, I assumed your entire life was granting wishes and nothing more, now I know different.”

Cyrus' eyes met her's, all the questions to be found in their depths yet he still voiced them. “It does not change your opinion or feelings?” he asked, knowing the answer already. If she no longer felt anything for him, she would have left when he had given her the option they both walk away from the relationship.

“No, of course not. We all have a past, why would I judge you based on that? Whatever you confess to me Cyrus, I promise to be understanding. You don't need to keep secrets from me, you're not my genie and nothing more,” she assured him, taking one hand in her's and giving it a light squeeze. “You're my Cyrus, the man I love.”

Cyrus felt his face warm, ducking his head down in his usual habit to hide how self conscious he felt at such words. “Would your mind change if I confessed there was someone I had possibly loved before you?”

A playful pout tugged at Alice's features, her blue eyes sparkling a little. Of course she felt a bit of jealousy, but it had been a long time ago. She had no reason to doubt Cyrus' love for her, there was never a need to prove his love and she knew he felt the same. “The only thing I would want to know is what she was like, and if she was anything like me.”

Head canting to one side, Cyrus couldn't help but ask her why. A smile began to form as she laughed, once again placing a feather light kiss on his cheek. “Call me curious,” she teased, to which he chuckled as he leaned over to brush his lips against her forehead. “I may be a little jealous, but you have said before you had never met anyone quite like me. Was she the same?”

Cyrus smiled warmly, reaching over and cupping the side of her face in one hand. “Alice, you and Parisa share many a similarity, but I can assure you there will never be another that is quite as wonderful and clever as you.”