Chapter Text
Scarborough was fond of its magic and existence of unusual creatures of habit, and it was horrible timing for a young woman to be the eldest sister. To her, everyone after just follows in your footsteps. Except that wouldn't be the case for the Hatters.
Maya Hatter, the eldest of her sisters, was a very example of this living predicament. Her family ran a woodworking shop in the town's square, and it was a wide success, despite her mother's death. She passed when Maya was around four, and when her little sister, Cadence, was around three. The youngest sister, Leslie was the result of Maya's father meeting a slightly younger woman, named Nydia.
The two sisters would bicker at each other, while Maya would supervise them as she carved out wooden toys for them, which would usually satisfy their playful needs for a while. Alongside braiding their hair, and resolving their conflicts, Maya was seen as the first person each sister would report to in a situation involving the other. And as much as it would be an interruption to her secretive studies, she seemed like the only choice every time.
Despite these challenges, Maya remained ordinary in her work. She was in the middle of smoothing out a surface of a small wooden box when one of her colleague's knocked on her open door to her workshop, which stored all the supplies she needed to succeed in her calm and quaint work.
"Ms. Maya, the shop just closed. Why don't you come with us?" The woman, a little older than her suggested. Maya would give a small smile and shrug off the offer.
"I have to finish this," she would begin, "go have some fun. The festival is today, isn't it?" The colleague wouldn't insist (she would've lost to Maya's determination,) and she left with a small wave.
"Well, I'm off. See you later, Maya!" Several other women working in the shop started to follow her league, before rushing back to the windows at word of one man.
"My goodness, James' castle is outside! Come look!" One after one woman would shriek about the sensation, crowding at the windows outside of Maya's door.
"Look how close it is! You can see it from here!" At the conversation, Maya soon became interested herself and gazed outside of her own windows. She watched as the moving contraption disappeared back into the fog, making its loud wooden creaks as it stampeded through the moor outside the town. Planes flew past as she returned to her work, and the ladies presumed their conversation about the castle hiding from the jets. But the conversation went on.
"Remember Leslie? Everyone said that the man tore her heart right out!"
"How mysterious, I've never seen him before, but to think of that.. it gives me shivers!"
"Oh, please, he won't come after yours!" The ladies laughed, before departing from the hallway, mumbling teases in the distance. Maya found herself chuckling a little, but that did not distract her from her smoothing of the wood's surface. The train passing by and dispersing smoke rattled the building's structure failed too. She only had stopped her project when her eyes raved over the other blocks of wood she would soon have to carve out, and she felt the exhaustion take over her mind. She took off her apron and hung it, and dusted off her baggy pants, and she unraveled her sweater's sleeves. She looked at herself once in the mirror of the shop, and undid her small ponytail, a little embarrassed at herself for her messy hair.
She left through the entrance, and headed across the square, in which she stumbled upon the festival taking place. She swiftly rerouted through a couple of alleyways, and argued with her mind that she was not getting lost. After all, this was the address to the bakery her dear sister Cadence worked at. To get there without any interruptions would be ideal, that's before she walks right into a soldier.
"Hey there. You lost, little birdie?" he remarked as she looked up with a doeful expression. She stepped back.
"Not at all, sir." She pressed her lips together firmly to indicate that she didn't want to talk.
"Fancy a cuppa? You don't seem like you're in a rush."
"No.. no thank you."She tried to walk past, but then was stopped by another guard.
"She sure is a cute little bird." At this point, Maya felt uneasy at the close interactions, and she didn't want to speak no more, feeling her eyes grow a little wider.
"How old are you? Do you live nearby?" The two men kept asking questions, until Maya's meter ticked over.
"Leave me be!" she declared. The first guard looked at his friend tastefully.
"You always scare all the girls away with that beard, mate," he chuckled.
"So what about it? I say she looks cuter when she's so frightened." The two soon look up above Maya's eyepoint.
"There you are," a firm voice spoke, causing Maya to involuntarily flinch when a hand is placed over her shoulder, and a body comes to contact hers, "I was looking everywhere for you." The two guards looked annoyed, and respond directly.
"Do you mind? We were in the middle of something." The man behind Maya just chuckled.
"Oh, were you really? I thought you would've been on your way." With a firm motion and flick of the wrist, he had directed the two men to robotically march out of their way. Once they were dismissed, he looked down at Maya, in which she felt a little intimidated herself. He soon rested his hand back on her shoulder.
"Where to? I'll escort you," he offered with a sharp smile. Maya slowly relaxed her shoulders and eyes, becoming a little more comfortable in his presence.
"Oh, no need. I'm only heading to a bakery.." Despite her words, they didn't seem to faze him. He swiftly leaned in with narrowed eyes.
"Well, I'm actually being followed, act natural," he whispered. "Let's go," he said, dropping his hand to interlock with her arm. She instinctively grasped his arm. She started to walk stiffly in line with him. Unbeknownst to her, there were dark figures following after the two of them.
"Hey, sorry I got you involved with all of this." She didn't understand his words at first, before noticing the figures slouching towards the both of them. She started to hold his arm tighter, eyes growing more wide. More figures started to form outside of the walls of the alley in front of them, he quickly redirected them to a different direction, picking up the pace. As more figures summoned, he scooped his arm behind her.
"Hold tight!" He advised, before they floated high above the alleyway, gliding on the sky. Maya folded her legs, looking down constantly. Her mouth was agape at the sight; They were flying! Although she was shaky at the sensation, she felt comfort from the hold around her back and the hand interlocked with hers.
"Drop your legs," he chuckled, "you have to walk like you normally would, love." Listening to his advice, she aligned her pace with his once again. She became very thankful for wearing pants today, and her arms were lifted up by him. They floated down, and she noticed him speak up again.
"Very nice," he praised. She shyly looked back and smiled at his compliment, and he smiled softly back. They walked over the crowd and festival, watching people celebrate esctatically. She soon was lifted down onto the veranda of the bakery.
"I'll draw them away, you stay here. Okay?" He stood on the railing of the place, and it was a miracle that his height was able to fit under the roof. Maya herself worried that he would fall back, but he didn't. Her hand lingered on his for a moment, and she strangely beamed.
"I will," she had promised. He smiled at her compliance.
"That's my girl," he spoke, before floating back and dropping magically. Her eyes widened and she rushed towards the railing, looking to where he could've landed. But he was nowhere to be seen. Inside of the bakery, it was crowded and Cadence had men crowding her at the counter. She soon got word of Maya, and instantly left her counter to greet her on the second floor. Once she saw Maya, who was busy looking outside, she greeted her with a gracious hug, and held her hands after.
"Hey, Cady," Maya greeted back, giggling. Cadence soon asked;
"How did you get here? I didn't see you come in through the doors." Maya soon reflected back on the last occured events. They changed their talking spot. The two of them sat in the storage room behind the kitchen, on a couple of crates.
"Flying, huh? He must've been a wizard," Cadence said, intrigued at the information Maya gave. Maya looked up again, still feeling her tangled hair from the wind. "Hopefully not one of the bad ones," she grumbled.
"He was kind, and charming," she began, "he protected me." Cadence made a stubborn expression.
"Of course," Cadence mumbled, "you got lucky. If it was that great wizard James, he would've swallowed your heart whole!" Maya glanced back.
"I don't think that would happen to me," Maya confirmed, "James only goes after beauties." Cadence rolled her eyes at Maya's claim.
"Why are you still talking like that? I'm being serious! It's more dangerous now, even the Wizard of the Waste is back out there." Maya mindlessly stared forward, feeling hopeless. "Are you listening?" Maya looked back, lips still parted. A nearby worker soon informed Cadence, and Maya stood up, dusting her dress off from the crate's sawdust.
"I should get back to the shop. I'm glad you're doing well at work," Maya stated abruptly. They walked out to the backdoor, and Cadence held Maya's hands.
"Maya, are you really going to stay in the family business?" Maya glanced aside, feeling a little ashamed of the fact.
"It's what our father would've wanted, innit? And, I'm the oldest. I should be the one responsible for it. It's no big deal." Cadence frowned a little.
"I already know what he wants, I want to know what you want." Maya offered a simple smile.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be on my way." Before Maya could leave, her hand was taken by Cadence again.
"Please look out for yourself, Maya!" Cadence requested, and Maya slipped away. Nearby, the spirits that trailed after Maya all returned to a small slip, returning to their origin..
Maya returned to the shop at evening, and she entered through the front, and she locked the door behind her. She lit up the store, and settled her belongings on the front desk. She was soon notified by the front door opening. The "customer" didn't look much older than her, was dressed in a dark suit, and he possessed a calm demeanor. Maya soon spotted him, and frowned a little, narrowing her eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, sir, but the shop is closed. Please come back tomorrow." She mumbled a 'I thought the door was locked after all..' The man smiled at the sight of her. He soon looked around.
"What a ridiclous little business," he had a heavy accent, and he grazed his hand across one of the birdhouses, "in this day and age, working with wood is frivilous." He soon chuckled at her meek appearance, and Maya got a better glance at his face, mostly obscured by his fedora. "Now that I think of it, you look like the most ridiculous thing here." Maya scrunched her nose, and firmly pouted her lips.
"This is a woodworking shop, and nothing more," she walked past him, and opened the door to the cool breeze outside, "I'd like to ask you to leave, now." The man turned to face her again.
"It's very daring for you to take on the Wizard of the Waste, you're tougher than you look." At this confession, Maya's eyes widened.
"The Wizard of the Waste?" Maya repeated to herself, before feeling a sharp wind past her as he walked past. Her hands flew to guard her face, and he was out the door again.
"Good luck on telling anyone about that curse," he stated, before cackling, "my regards to Jimmy.." And then before Maya could speak up, he left as swiftly as he entered, and the wind shot the door to close suddenly.
Maya loosened her body language, and looked back up to see the rest of the room unaffected, but when she looked down at her hands, she noticed how they had grown aged and faded. Now that she moved, her body reacted slowly, and felt fragile. She felt her face to feel wrinkles and flaps. She hurriedly paced (but it was more of a stagger) to the mirror of the shop. She really was cursed! A curse that transformed that older sister to an elder sister! She turned her head slowly, and noticed that her jowls made it harder to speak.
"It is really me!" She exclaimed, silently mourning her blonde hair in the mirror that faded into a soft grey. She paced away from the mirror in a panic. "I've got to calm down."