A/N: So I had a random idea for a story plot a couple of weeks ago, and seeing as though we will have to wait four (now three thank God) weeks until the show starts, I wanted to start on this story. This story is completely fan-made, the characters belong to their respective owners. However, the character Aminali is completely mine.
This will probably be a five chapter story, maybe six. I haven't figured it out yet. Enjoy
He watched the man come into his shop and look at the mobile with fascination. He did not say a word for many seconds, content to watch the confusion rise and fall over the man's face, especially his eyes. The look of a man lost stirred emotions in him that he had not felt in years.
Not since she left. He silently chuckled at the thought and opened his mouth to speak. The words that followed were ones that he would regret afterward because they did not inspire any memories.
After David Nolan left, he strolled over to the mobile. Smiling sadly he shook his head and looked at the windmill.
"When this hell is over, Regina Mills, you will regret what you have done to them," he whispered into the dark of his shop. Looking down into one of his cases, he saw a familiar sapphire necklace. Without hesitating, he took it out and put it into a safe location. He knew the true owner would come for it soon, and as adept as he was about knowing her, he knew it would be with a large figurative fire behind her.
The boy would prove invaluable to the cause, especially because he was the reason everything started happening. She would be mad when she found out the instigating he had done, but there had been no other choice.
That statement, he thought to himself, was amusing. There was always a choice; at least his old self would have said that. She had tried to teach him that things happened for a reason, a reason that could not be understood until afterward in the process of reflection, but those who knew instinctively about the process bend to it quicker than those who resisted.
As he watched his creation, one he thought would restore everything he lost, transform itself into a hell that not even he could imagine, he found himself thinking of her throughout the twenty eight long years.
He was running from the royal palace. Something had gone wrong, something he could not identify. He did not understand why everyone he knew had suddenly turned on him. Even his own skin turned on him. He was transforming into a creature that he hated and could not accept.
The guards were closing in on him on the main road when a person stepped into it, completely missing him. He turned his head slightly to see if the figure had survived the stampede coming behind him and blinked at the image he saw.
The horses and soldiers stopped and looked completely at ease with the figure in front of them. One even dismounted and bowed to the figure. The hooded figure gave a nod in return and pointed to him. The soldier motioned his hands and spoke rapidly to the hooded figure. The hooded figure shook their head once and the soldier quieted. The soldier after a long pause gave a short nod. The figure patted him on the shoulder and bowed magnificently to the other soldiers. They all bowed in their saddles, and to his extreme astonishment, the horses bowed their heads down low as well.
He started running away when the soldiers turned back toward the palace. He heard footsteps behind him and kept running blindly into the night. He found he could not see anything when he entered the forest. The footsteps were still behind him and all he could do was run forward.
And run he did. Right into a wall.
A soft laugh came from behind him and he groaned in pain. The hooded figure knelt down beside him and looked at him. Throwing back the hood, there was an elegant woman squatting before him. Her black ebony hair trailed down to her middle back, but it was her green eyes that entranced him.
"When one encounters a location spell, one must always find a way out of it or fall trap to something like this," she said and smiled mischievously at him. She helped him up and they walked around the large all and into a courtyard. "My twin sister and I live here. We will help you… she was actually the one who wanted to find you a long time ago, but I told her to let you develop your powers naturally."
He saw a beautiful garden beside a small manor ahead and saw someone in the garden tending it. The woman with the black hair shook her head again and the figure looked up. He paused when he saw insightful sapphire eyes lock with his. He could not move from his spot and the woman with the black hair sighed.
"Aminali, do not frighten the poor thing," she called out. The woman broke contact and knelt down into the dirt again. He looked at the woman with the ebony hair. "Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves. I am Bryndis. What is your name?"
"They called me Rumpelstiltsken," he replied quietly. Bryndis smiled tenderly.
"A very unique name, dearie," she said and grabbed him by the elbow and showed him the manor he would call home for the next five hundred years.
Blinking away the confusion, he looked at the sapphire once again. A mischievous smile met his lips as he realized the outcome of the plan. She was smart, but she was not crafty. Regina would certainly have enough on her hands with the son, but the mother was a completely different league.
She was far more lethal, and she would do the job correctly. The boy was the reason she came, but the boy would be only one of the reasons she would stay. Her memories would return to her, and if she did truly remember him, he knew his time for explanations had come.
She sat on the front steps of the apartment building and she looked up at the sky. Looking up and giving a long sigh, she saw the clear starry night. She saw one of them shoot across the sky and found herself closing her eyes and giving a silent wish.
"Please let them meet," she muttered to the sky. She was about to get up when a piercing pain coursed through her head. Gasping, she touched the pounding spot and groaned as the pain grew worse.
"What's wrong?" the voice that she didn't expect to hear said. She looked up and saw David Nolan standing awkwardly in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" she growled. David shrugged and looked at her apartment.
"I was wondering if she was with you," David said sadly. Emma's eyes shot toward his and she took in every thing he was saying silently and she shook her head.
"Even if she was with me, I wouldn't tell you," she growled again. She groaned when the pain became piercing again and she felt a hand put pressure on her head and it lessened. She looked up at him and glared. "I don't need your help."
He flinched back as if she burned him. "Do you always give people this attitude?"
"No. Only ones I don't like," she said scornfully. She looked at him and glared hard. "You hurt her, and I don't like that."
He did not respond but watched her as she went into the building and she turned around before she entered the building. "You need to get your priorities straight before you even attempt to talk to her again."
He stood as she closed the door behind him and wiped the tear away. My baby.
He froze his thoughts as he ran back to Mr. Gold's shop. He tore open into the shop and stopped at the mobile.
"Magnificent craftsmanship, is it not?" Gold said from behind him. David turned and looked over at him. He saw the crafty smile and the man lean back against his glass counter. "It is for sale. For a price, of course."
"Who made it?" David asked curiously. Gold smiled at the mobile and then thoughtfully considered his answer.
"Many small people," he said cryptically. David's eyes narrowed and he looked at the mobile again. "It was apparently made from love for the child it was supposed to go to."
"A baby girl," David murmured. He did not see Gold's relieved smile, but was still watching the mobile as an image of a woman with black hair and a smile so bright and tender that it would warm him in the coldest of nights. He looked to a calm Gold. "Where is she?"
"I do not know who you are talking about, Mr. Nolan," Gold replied cryptically. David's eyes narrowed as he envisioned the man before him with gold skin and golden eyes.
"You really took the name 'Gold'?" he asked sarcastically. Gold blinked at him and pretended to look confused. David's eyes narrowed, just like his daughter's did when she looked at him, and he gave a small sigh. "Where is she?"
"Mr. Nolan, I have no idea what you are talking about. I believe your intellect can put the pieces of your mysterious past together," Gold said and he gave David a long look. "Remember, Mr. Nolan, there is always a choice."
"We think so, Mr. Gold, but there is always a reason why things happen," David murmured. Gold smiled happily and clapped his hands together.
"That is a lesson I have learned again recently, Mr. Nolan," he quipped. He smiled at David and ushered him in. "I always welcome guests to the shop, and I hope that you come again tomorrow. You would be surprised to find what is here."
He ushered David out without answering any of his questions. The man would have to figure out his own past, just like he had the pleasure of doing. He was not one to do favors for free, even if he learned the lessons he should have when he came here. Nothing was free. Except for one thing, the one thing that he needed the most and was not in his life. Anymore at least.
She silently regarded him the first one hundred years. He could not believe one person could stay silent for so long, even with her own sister. Bryndis didn't talk to her either, for some unknown reason to him, and she did not rush the silence away like most women did. She talked and bonded with him and taught him the basic lessons of magic, particularly the magic that was needed to control his unique gifts.
He was practicing in the garden one day at a basic energy spell when something went wrong. He began drawing in too much energy and the energy was beginning to expand his presence. He was about to cry out when a finger went to his neck. He felt a rush of energy leave him, even more than he had drawn in, and slumped to the ground.
He looked up as Aminali went to check her plants with a soft wave of her hands. The plants glowed in response; she nodded and looked at him. Her gaze held his for many moments and he did not dare break contact.
Images of red came into his mind and he gasped in the pain of the experience. The pain grew until the initial level of pain was like a dull ache. Finally, when he put both hands to his head, the pain vanished.
"That is what your spell did to these plants," she said briskly. He groaned in pain, not even registering that she spoke to him, and she just shook her head at him. She walked away and waved her hand again and the plants stopped glowing.
Bryndis rushed out and knelt before him. Before he could stop her, she yelled out to Aminali, "How dare you!"
Aminali paused and looked back at her twin and her eyes narrowed. The plants began to glow red and she came up to them both raising both of her hands. She raised him off the ground and Bryndis as well. She looked at Bryndis for a long moment and Bryndis broke eye contact first. They were both lowered to the ground and Aminali walked away.
Bryndis looked at her sister's retreating figure and looked at him. She gave him a weak smile. "You are to report here at dawn tomorrow morning."
He groaned as he walked the first steps.
That next dawn, he walked to the gardens to see Aminali cross-legged on the ground with her eyes closed. He watched the particles of dew slowly circle their way around her. He stood transfixed as she calmly opened her eyes and the dew settled back onto the plants that they came from.
She rose from her position and looked at him straight in the eyes. She nodded to him and pointed to the ground.
"Why do you not speak?" he asked her crossly. "You have kept one hundred years of silence toward your sister and I, even though I cannot comprehend why." She smiled and sat down in the cross-legged position. He mimicked her and she nodded. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He did the same. This ritual repeated for four months before he learned the lesson he was supposed to.
Nature and energy, despite the desire for it, was not only one person's gifts to command, but rather divine presences that needed respect to be used. When he learned that, she would demonstrate movements to him. Flicks of the wrists, bows toward certain objects and breathing. She did it silently, not giving into his need to hear the oral instructions.
From that he learned where he went wrong in the spell. He had not asked, but rather taken, and the plants reacted negatively, and that was why she reacted to him negatively. She stopped him before he did something he should not have done.
The lessons continued for ten years before she spoke to him. He started to learn to control his own powers, and with his lessons from Bryndis, was able to connect the dots faster and faster with each lesson. If she was surprised, she did not show it. If she was pleased or angry, she did not show it. She did not show anything. All she did was observe.
One day, when his anger overwhelmed him, she finally spoke. He was lashing out his energy on his environment at their normal dawn meeting time until she snapped her fingers.
"Stop the disturbance," she growled. He blinked. "Even if you are reacting to something your lover said, you should not react negatively by lashing out at the environment that meant you no harm. This environment is a second home to you and it respects you. Do not violate that respect." He blinked at her statements and she sighed.
"Anger is your weakness, and overcome it we will," she vowed. She turned and walked toward the house. "Well, are you coming? Since you finally mastered the basics, we can start with the harder stuff. But you will need to learn basic history first."
He followed her without thought and they came to a room he had never been in before. It was a bare and deserted study. He looked at her as if she was crazy and she smiled at the room. She flicked her right wrist and the room transformed. Books appeared before him, a large fireplace appeared and three huge chairs next to it. A desk with a chair also came up near the bookcases. She went behind the desk and pulled a large book from the shelf. He approached warily and saw the title.
"Balancers?" he asked with confusion. She took a smaller book and settled into one of the chairs silently.
"Read and I will answer your questions," she said quietly and gazed into the fire. He sat down with the book at the desk and read the book.
The next morning, Mary Margaret stared blankly at the wall and sat slowly down on the steps. She sighed sadly as she felt the familiar ache within her spring up to life again. The part of her that felt as if she was missing a key ingredient and the yearning for whatever it was to come back to her again. She knew what was wrong. She had no courage, a very huge insecure streak, and a false smile.
She heard the door open and wiped her cheeks. She looked up and saw Emma standing in the doorway and felt a deep happiness run through her. Emma gave her a small smile and Mary Margaret cried again. Emma went into the kitchen and started making hot chocolate for them both. Mary Margaret walked over and sat down at the table. Emma handed her the Kleenex box and Mary Margaret wiped her eyes clean.
"Didn't go well, huh?" Emma asked as she set down the cups of hot chocolate with cinnamon sticks. Mary Margaret grinned as she saw the cinnamon sticks. Emma grinned and sighed loudly.
"What happened to your night? I thought you would still be in bed," Mary Margaret stated quietly. Emma gave a small snort. Mary Margaret saw Emma's expression turn hard.
"Graham is sleeping with Regina," Emma nonchalantly said. Mary Margaret put her cup down before she put it to her mouth and gave Emma a big-eyed look. Emma smiled sardonically. "Yup… I don't know how I feel about it."
"Was Henry in the house?" Mary Margaret asked quietly. Emma gave a short nod and Mary Margaret shook her head at the situation. Emma grinned and shrugged. She looked at the countertop in front of her. Mary Margaret shook her head at her friend's indecision.
"Maybe now you can see what is really happening to you," Mary Margaret said. Emma's head snapped up.
"I have no feelings for him," Emma snapped. Mary Margaret sighed and lectured her friend and roommate about emotional walls.
Less than two nights later, Mr. Gold contemplatively looked at a curious Mr. Nolan. He watched the man pick at the mobile and sighed as he realized the man hit a bump in the road. When he was about to ask the man something, the universe shifted. He blinked and heard a piercing cry from within his soul. He growled at the pain and David saw him grasp the countertop. He looked up at David's expression.
"The police station," he growled. "Hurry, boy. She needs you." David didn't even hesitate and ran toward his daughter. Grimacing, Gold went into the back of his store and took out a sapphire pendant. He got his cane and hobbled to the police station. He needed to protect her, even if she would not appreciate it until she remembered his promise to her.
Emma cried into Graham's chest and pounded it as she realized his heart stopped. She didn't hear the door open or feel arms encase her. She cried into the familiar protective scent. A low rumbling in the chest she was leaning against soothed her. She cried harder as the feeling of safety encased her. She didn't even realize who it was until the door opened again.
"That witch," Gold muttered. Emma looked and saw him look down at Graham. He knelt down awkwardly and put a necklace to Graham's chest. She saw him mutter a couple of words and then he let out a chain of curses. "Goddamn it… I hope you make it in time to see the immortals, boy."
He sighed and then looked at Emma. He held out the necklace. She narrowed her eyes and he forced it into her hands. She gasped when the pain came again. She never heard David's shout to her.
A large cave stood in front of her. She heard a cackle behind her and turned to see a man with golden skin and brown clothing smile at her cynically. She narrowed her eyes at him and he bowed mockingly.
"He is in there waiting for you, dearie," he said mockingly. She felt her back stiffen and before she had the chance to question it, her right-hand fingers snapped. The man fell to the ground and she advanced on him, snapping her fingers twice and he was able to get up. She smiled and walked into the cave. She never turned to see his relieved smile.
She approached the center of the cave hesitantly, but saw a woman in tunic and trousers, with her back turned, looking toward a coffin type bed. The woman turned and Emma saw sapphire blue eyes that held a soul deep sadness.
"He has not woken up in one thousand years," the woman's voice echoed through the chamber. Torches immediately lit up and the light shined off of white walls. Emma approached the woman slowly and the woman turned back to the person in the casket. Emma walked slowly up to the coffin and gasped when she saw the figure. "He had slept until the curse came."
Emma approached the casket and didn't realize tears were falling down her cheeks. Her hand shook as she reached out to touch the casket. The other woman caught Emma's hand in time before Emma touched the casket.
"You must not touch it," she said quietly. The woman turned and touched her hand to Emma's shoulder and put Emma's hand on her own shoulder. The woman muttered a few incoherent words and Emma gasped in the same pain she felt on the steps of the apartment building. "You are ready."
They were transported into another setting. This one was a garden and the man with the gold skin appeared with them. The other woman looked at him and nodded. He bowed gracefully and sat on the ground. Emma and the other woman looked at each other.
"You know who I am," the woman said to Emma. Emma closed her eyes and then pictured the face of the person in the coffin.
"How is it possible that he has been asleep?" she asked the woman. The woman smiled at the question and the refusal to respond correctly to the statement.
"He has been asleep because he took the evil of the world upon his shoulders and began to restore faith. He promised that he would awaken again, but it would be when the time was right," the woman responded cryptically. She knew the man in the coffin, but could not place where she knew this woman. The woman smiled as Emma almost voiced her thoughts. Emma looked into the woman's eyes and saw the same inner strength that she knew to be her own.
"Why?" she said. The woman looked down and looked at the garden around her. Emma looked at the huge tree. The woman put a hand up to the golden skinned man, even though Emma did not notice, and they both watched as Emma approached the tree. A huge oak tree stood in front of her, with bench built onto one of the branch, and Emma gave the sight a huge smile.
"I didn't think I would see this sight again," she muttered. Hearing a whistle, she looked up and saw Graham walking toward her. She felt tears running down her cheeks and he came up to her and hugged her. She held him close until her sobs subsided. "How?"
"You wished me here," he answered. He smiled sadly and Emma gripped his cheek. He shook his head to her. "I am not coming back, Emma."
"Why?" Emma asked sadly. Graham smiled softly and sat down on the bench. Emma joined him, but somehow a part of her did not feel right sitting on this bench with this particular man.
"That feeling is the reason," Graham stated. Emma looked at him confusedly. "You are not comfortable with me completely, even if we have a unique connection."
"Then how did you die?" she asked bitterly. Graham laughed softly and took her hand and played with her palm.
"It was my time, Emma," he said softly. She snorted and he grinned at her suddenly. "My purpose of life was done. I am free of the curse, Emma."
"That curse nonsense," Emma muttered. She shook her head. "Knowing my luck, this is all a figment of my imagination."
She looked up and saw a tall shadow walking toward them. She felt Graham tense, but her eyes were on the shadow. The person stopped in front of the bench and knelt down. Emma saw familiar hair and familiar silver eyes stare back at her. She instantly let go of Graham's hand and hugged the figure kneeling in front of her. The figure smiled happily and Emma smiled into his shoulder.
"I am sorry, Huntsman," the deep timbre of his voice echoed, giving Emma a sense of strong ease. "She will say goodbye... but in her own time." Emma watched Graham reluctantly get up and start backing away.
"Graham," she called out. He turned back before he began walking toward the mist. She gave him half a smile. "I am so happy you are free."
He gave her the widest grin that he could muster and a wave. He disappeared into the shadows and they heard a wolf cry in the distance. Emma didn't say anything as the arms that encased her let go. She watched silently as the person took a seat beside her and look out at the scenery in front of them.
"This was the easy part, love," he said sorrowfully. She smiled and took his hand. He kissed hers.
"As long as I remember you, this fight is worth it," she said. She looked around once again and the scenery changed to the cave. The man leaned on the casket and shook his head down at the body within it. "When will you be able to leave that cursed casket?"
"Soon," he said. He breathed in a huge breath and kissed her on the mouth tenderly. The kiss lasted for more moments than Emma could count. When he let go, she sighed and fell against his chest. "My sleep is almost up, love. I will be back at your side soon."
"Until then, I can protect our son," Emma stated. He blinked at her and grinned happily. She gave a single nod. He hugged her tightly in response.
"I will see you soon, Emma Aminali," he vowed quietly. She lifted a hand to caress his cheek and nodded.
"I will see you soon, Duncan Leon," she vowed in return. She felt her eyes opening and gave him a final quick kiss. "When you come into that world, you will need to explain a lot of things."
the last thing she saw before she woke up was his smile.
Emma blinked her eyes and saw Mr. Gold and David standing over her. David had a protective stance while Mr. Gold stood observing the rest of the room. Emma blinked and saw the emergency technicians, first responders, and the mayor. She froze when she saw the mayor, but David's hand clasped her shoulder.
"He died of his natural heart palpitation, Madame Mayor," Mr. Gold's voice called out in the quiet room. Everyone turned toward him. "His heart gave out, just like Dr. Whale told him it would, and he over exerted himself. As we all know, he was becoming a little crazed the last couple of days."
Everyone in the room looked toward Regina. She silently regarded Mr. Gold, but more importantly looked at David's hand on Emma's shoulder. She nodded silently in response at Mr. Gold's statement. She ushered herself out of the scene with a glare at Emma. Emma sighed in relief.
The trio watched as Graham's body was taken out. David knelt down by Emma when the rest of the people left and Emma handed Mr. Gold the sapphire. She looked up at him and shook his head.
"I am not ready yet," she told him. she took a deep breath in and smiled at the ground. "I remember the basics. Give me a couple of days… please, Rum."
"As you wish, Emma Ami," Mr. Gold murmured and took the sapphire from her and put it in his pocket. "It is time to get ourselves home. We need to get our bodies rested for tomorrow's exciting activities."
Emma walked along the street, all too aware of David walking behind her. when she got to her apartment, she watched him walk by and give a small nod. Emma nodded in return and entered the building. She sighed in relief as she closed the door.
Climbing the stairs, she entered her apartment. Mary Margaret was waiting on the couch. She saw Emma's tear strained cheeks and rushed up to her. "What happened, Emma?"
"Graham had a heart attack," Emma muttered. Mary Margaret hugged her tightly and Emma sagged in relief. The same protected feeling she felt in David's arms returned. My mother and father really are my age. She snorted at the thought silently, but held Mary Margaret closer.
Whatever tomorrow brought, she knew she had them both, even if they were at odds with each other. And that thought was the best thought of all.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. There will be one put up soon, as soon as I finish the final chapter of my other story that I am working on, or have been working on in my spare time. Now that I have some actual time to spare, I can work on the stories until I'm done them. I love vacation, even if it is getting caught up on my stories that I had to put in the back seat until I finished my workload.
Anyways, I hope you leave a review, or add this story to your alert list if you like it Happy Holidays!
Until Next Time!