Title: Altered Plans.
Fandom: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
Rating: General.
Length: 2258 words.
Content notes: Basically takes most of what happened on the show and tosses it out the window.
Author notes: Written for the flight challenge in fan_flashworks.
Summary: Anastasia starts having second thoughts about her alliance with Jafar, she wants to change the past but maybe there is a reason it can't be changed.


It was all for nothing.

Anastasia was not easily shocked, and when she was she wouldn’t let it show. But in the last few minutes she’d been stunned beyond the ability to speak, she could hardly believe what she’d just seen happen before her very eyes.

She had known when she’d joined forces with Jafar to break the laws of magic that he was a ruthless man, someone not to be trusted. Yet she had forged ahead, keeping that in the back of her mind with every word he spoke. She thought he spoke rather lofty and he may well be overestimating his abilities, but the idea of being able to turn back the hands of time and fix a mistake that had cost her a love she felt could never be replaced was far too alluring.

All she had to do was watch her step and keep a wary eye on the sorcerer. She was the one who caught the genie, she found his bottle and she was the one who finally lured Alice to them. But this was not what she’d expected, in the least.

This was beyond cruel, and yet she couldn’t understand how he’d done it. “I thought you couldn’t change the past,” she stated, trying to keep her tone even and not betray her surprise.

Jafar turned to her and smirked. “I didn’t change the past, now did I? If you’d look over at that pathetic genie you’d realize nothing has changed except Alice’s memories. She remembers everything, all her adventures in Wonderland, her friendship with the Knave and all her encounters with you and every other aggravating inhabitant of this miserable realm. Everyone but the genie, as he doesn’t exactly belong in Wonderland, now does he?”

“Well, no, he doesn’t,” Anastasia stammered, glancing over to Cyrus. While Alice looked a bit confused with everything going on, the genie looked completely heartbroken. He’d been distressed enough when Jafar had brought Alice into the dungeon area he kept the hanging cages, but that had only intensified when the woman he loved made her first wish.

It was for something small, of no note really so far as Anastasia was concerned, but the way Cyrus had reacted was. He’d looked completely betrayed that Alice had used a wish, and for something small and pointless. He had almost spoken up, but instead bowed to what was expected of him.

And it actually made Anastasia feel her heart break a touch.

Maybe she wasn’t sure about the whole true love thing, she’d tossed it aside herself after all, but just because she was angry over a mistake she’d made in the past did that give her the right to destroy someone else’s happiness?

But still, she stood there silently as Jafar spoke words dripping with honey to get Alice to make her last two wishes. She kept an eye on Cyrus, and even glanced over to the Knave once in awhile, who was slumped against the door way. She had done all this to have him back, but now she was questioning it.

Maybe the past couldn’t be changed for a reason. If she’d just gone to find him she would have had her answers all those years ago, but now he was changed. He almost seemed heartless, although she could tell he cared about Alice at least, as a friend. He’d tried to fight Jafar off, not that it did him much good. Some might see that as an overture of love, but she’d seen him in love before and recognized the signs. He was a devoted friend to Alice, and nothing more. She actually questioned if he could love still.

It was all wrong, and she blocked out the sound of Jafar’s voice as he talked Alice into making her last two wishes. Even she wasn’t cruel enough to wipe someone’s memories, and she knew the spell to do so. She’d been tempted to cast it on herself just to forget the pain of what she’d done, and erases her longing for a man she could never have again.

If she’d done it, they wouldn’t be here now. But that wouldn’t have been a healthy choice, she had to deal with her choices and the pain they’d caused her and move on.

At that moment, she wished she had.

**********

Cyrus jolted awake when he felt his bottle being jostled about. That struck him as a bit odd, all his observations of Jafar gave him the impression that he normally was very careful with anything he had in his possession. After all the trouble the sorcerer put into acquiring the last genie he needed, he thought he’d at least be a little more careful with the bottle he was imprisoned in.

But then, he might have been expecting too much. He never thought Jafar would be heartless enough to use a spell to make Alice forget him, although his last glimpse of the woman he loved made it obvious the magic he’d used was only temporary, as the horror on Alice’s face over what she’d done was more than evident while she watched him vanish in an orange mist as he was drawn back into his bottle.

He could only hope that at least she’d been sent back to her own world without any other harm done. He was certain she’d blame herself for all of it, when it wasn’t her fault in the least. Cyrus always knew one day Jafar would catch up with him, and would own his will at some point. It was always just a matter of when, not if, which had made him reluctant to pursue a relationship with Alice.

Still, he didn’t regret it. He did regret how it ended, and any anguish she was now suffering over the horrible thing the sorcerer had done to force her into making her wishes. Hopefully she would be able to move on, as this time there was no coming back to rescue him from whatever fate awaited.

A familiar pull came over him, causing him to wonder why Jafar would be summoning him from his bottle. The spell he longed to cast was likely possible without having any of the genies required standing before him. He longed to fight it, but he really had no choice in the matter.

His confusion only intensified when he appeared outside of his bottle and instead of being in a dark room, which seemed to be something Jafar favoured, he was greeted with daylight and a warm breeze. Cyrus glanced around quickly, and his dark eyes widened in shock when he found himself standing before the Red Queen, who had his bottle in her slender hands.

There were so many questions he had, but he knew the rules. “Mistress mine, my will is thine. Tell me your wishes three,” he recited, and gestured his hand towards her. In a soft glow three ruby like jewels appeared in her hand, three wishes with so many possibilities.

“Yes well, enough of that. We need to get out of Wonderland and the sooner the better,” Anastasia said, shoving the wished in her pocket. She smirked at the rather perplexed expression that washed over Cyrus’ features. “What? Were you figuring I was going to stick you back in your bottle?”

“In all honesty, yes. Where is Jafar?” he inquired, not completely sure what to make of this turn of events. The woman had been dead set on whatever she wanted to do with the laws of magic broken, why would she steal his bottle, and essentially him, away?

Anastasia wrinkled her nose in disgust at the name of the sorcerer she had been aligned with. Supposedly this genie was perceptive, she thought he might have figured it out on his own that she had cut ties with the mad man, but then it had only been a few minutes so he likely hadn’t caught on yet. “I don’t particularly care where he is, but I’m not keen on finding out how long before he catches up with us either. To make a rather tedious story short, I’m no longer working with him. We need to get out of Wonderland and the sooner the better, so follow me. Unless you want to hang around and find out how long it will take him to locate you and toss you back in that lovely cage again.”

That was enough to get Cyrus to follow her, even if he had no idea where she was going. To leave Wonderland would require a portal jumper and the only one he knew of was the White Rabbit. He could remember tales of someone called the Mad Hatter who had at one time the ability to move from realm to realm, but he’d not been seen in Wonderland in quite some time.

Anastasia didn’t speak as they walked through the wooded area. She could talk to the genie all she liked later, and tell him of her plan once they were safely out of sight. She couldn’t help but muse how strange this was for her, when it came to the concept of fight or flight, normally she’d stand her ground. But she was no fool, in this case running was the smarter option.

She frowned as she thought there likely was no end to this. Even once they found the White Rabbit and were safely out of Wonderland there was no reason for Jafar not to track Cyrus down again. He had the other two genies still in his possession, and he was nothing if not determined. There had to be some way to hinder his plans, if not for a little while.

But that could wait until they were hidden away inside the rabbit’s home, which she could see up ahead.

**********

“Look bunny, I’m not going to ask nicely again. Either you dig a hole to get us out of here or I’m going to make your life miserable. And I mean worse than I have already,” Anastasia snapped. Why did everyone have to be so difficult?

Cyrus looked at her, trying not to smile. “I don’t think shouting will get you anywhere.”

“Neither will asking politely it would seem, but if you want to try that out, you’re welcome to it,” she grumbled, glaring darkly at the offending creature. She’d just told him where to locate his family once he helped them escape, what more did he want? A written apology on gold lined parchment?

The White Rabbit glanced at the two, having never expected to see them standing near each other willingly. He really had no reason to refuse, at least not if Cyrus asked. He owed the genie for telling him years ago to leave Alice for her own good. The words had been well meaning, but at the same time he should have kept that to himself. Or at least worded it better, in hindsight it hadn’t been overly kind to tell someone that spend countless years solitary that he should return to that life once more.

He sighed, it would likely be better if he just did as the Red Queen requested. She had told him where to find his family, it was a small move towards making amends. “Where do you want to go?”

A satisfied smile lit up the queen’s face. “The place you took Alice after she made her wishes, that’s where,” Anastasia instructed. She fancied that would have been obvious, but then she knew better then to assume much with anyone.

Cyrus looked at her questioningly. “What good is that going to do either of us? I doubt she’ll be happy to see you, and I have no idea what to expect from her now.”

“She will be overjoyed to see you, and once I make the three wishes, be them simple ones, she can have your bottle and you back. Simple as that, she’ll be your mistress again and you can both carry on being annoyingly in love,” she explained, to which the genie frowned. “What? It’s a good plan. There is no way you can argue with it.”

“I can find fault actually, she can never be my mistress again. Give her my bottle if you please once you make your wishes, but all she’ll have is a bottle with a genie trapped inside. A genie can never belong to the same person twice,” he explained, slightly surprised she didn’t know that. He had thought Jafar would have told her all there was to know about genies.

“Brilliant. I guess I’ll keep you as my genie, but please, the two of you can refrain from all your hand holding and kissing around me. I won’t use any wishes so you can remain out of your bottle and with her,” she promised, meaning every word. There was the problem of the other two genies that Jafar had in his clutches, and when he’d come looking for Cyrus, but she’d cross the bridge when she got to it. With any luck they’d find some new allies to help them against the power mad sorcerer.

Cyrus nodded, it was not an ideal situation but it was far better than the one he’d been in recently. He turned to the rabbit and smiled. “Where are we going?”

The White Rabbit motioned for them to follow him outside, so he’d have somewhere to dig his hole. He would not even consider doing so in the house, his wife would kill him. “Storybrooke, you’re going to Storybrooke.”