The Dragon's Secret
Chapter 1
Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or its characters, just my imagination.
A/N::: I have this theory that I am trying to write into this story. This time I will try to slow down the pace of my story. Sometimes when I get excited, I tend to speed things up when I come up with other ideas to put into this story so try to bear with me. I have this whole theory with the situation of Emma's darkness being put into Lily. That's a part of Emma inside her… They are forever connected. I feel like the writers of the show did not really fully explore this some more. Like how Emma's darkness inside Lily potentially connects them on a deeper level. How maybe they could really be sisters in every sense of the word. I feel like the Charmings got away with it. And that is where the price of magic comes into play. On with the story…
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It had been quite a while since Belle had her fight with Rumplestiltskin. She'd had enough of his crap, his power play and how he had played with everyone's lives. He chose power over True Love. Belle thought she had gotten rid of him by getting him across the town line out of Storybrooke, Maine. People had finally moved on with their lives, getting back into the swing of things once again. It was easier for everyone not to have to worry about bad things happening again without Mr. Gold, aka Rumplestiltskin making trouble for them again. Occasionally, there were barroom fighting, theft, and minor crimes taking place, but they were far and very few in between. Belle kept herself busy in the library and sometimes at the pawnshop. She didn't feel comfortable being at the pawnshop. But she had taken over to help run the business in Mr. Gold's absence. She loved Rumple so much it had hurt her to use the dark one's dagger against him to get him out of their lives. But Rumple had chosen the power he wielded over true love over and over again. At least Belle had thought what they had was True Love. It had broken her heart to have to do something like this to him. But she was tired of him hurting her friends. Enough was enough. She'd commanded him to cross that line separating their magical town from the rest of the world. He had begged her not to make him do this. But he had no choice except to comply.
In, New York City, Mr. Gold strolled the streets and used the subway or the bus to get around. He had his trusty cane to help him as he limped along, looking for some familiar faces. He found two, one who had just been evicted from her house, Cruella DeVil. Rumple had a wicked smirk on his face but persuaded her to join him. He'd also found Ursula working at the aquarium. He had to make deals with the two queens of darkness in order to get them to join him. He was most definitely not done with Storybrooke or its inhabitants. He already had a backup plan to get back into his town. And those two were going to be his ticket back home. Once they got back inside Storybrooke, he needed one more person to help him set the rest of his plans into motion.
Emma was with Regina taking care of business. And they were talking about how their day went.
~Flashback~
They shared a son, Henry. Emma was his biological mother and Regina had adopted Henry when he was a baby. Emma had not been able to raise him or to be a part of his life because of her stint in prison. She'd been committed for a crime she didn't commit. The father of her son had set her up to take the fall for what he did, stealing watches and other jewelry. She had been a pawn in his heist. While the cops arrested her, he'd taken off and never once contacted her or come forward to confess to his crimes. Emma had been in prison alone when she found out that she was pregnant with Henry. She had never had the chance to be his mother for the first ten years of his life. But one day Henry found her and brought her to Storybrooke where she met his other Mother, Regina who just happened to be the Mayor of Storybrooke. Their first meeting was very uneventful. But later, over time, they'd become best friends and agreed to be civil with each other for the sake of their son. Emma had made the decision to stay in Storybrooke and had become the sheriff. And after breaking the curse which Regina had placed on everyone in Storybrooke, in the land of no magic, she had finally realized who Regina used to be, the Evil Queen. Emma was the supposed savior prophesied to break the said curse. It had been very overwhelming for her to find this all out this way while finding out that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. To find out that her son had eaten the apple turnover intended for Emma, she'd almost lost Henry because Regina had not thought of the consequences of her actions. Henry had tried to convince Emma that everything he knew to be real, was true. He had known about Regina being the Evil Queen and had known about the curse on Storybrooke and its inhabitants. It took Henry going into a coma and slipping into death for Emma to be at her son's side and telling him how much she loved him before she gave him a kiss, breaking the spell on all of Storybrooke. She then confronted Regina and forced the mayor to tell her the truth. But she could see the remorse on the evil queen's face when she realized she had almost killed her son. Emma wasn't going to forget what happened. But the moment people got their memories back, she knew that Regina would be in danger. Henry had begged Emma not to let anyone hurt his mother. Emma knew right then, that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to Regina. No matter what anyone else thought, she would do whatever she could to protect the Mayor, and her son's mother.
~End flashback~
The phone rang and Regina answered. As she answered, she shared a look with Emma. "It's Ursula." After talking a few minutes with her, she looked at Emma again. "They want to come inside my town. She's with Cruella and they both claim they want a second chance, to prove they've changed." She was debating with herself on whether or not to let them into her town. She knew exactly what they were capable of doing.
Emma sighed and shrugged. "You changed. Not everyone gets a second chance at life. I got mine too. But if they slip, we can take care of it right?" She watched Regina's reaction. "Do you trust them?"
The brunette shook her head. "No, but with the two of us together, we can keep them in line. We'll just have to keep an eye on them." Regina and Emma decided to take a chance. "Alright, we'll be there." Regina hung up and then she and Emma headed to the townline where they could see Cruella and Ursula waiting on them to be let across the line. Regina shared another look with Emma before she tossed the scroll across the line, where it rolled to Cruella's foot.
Cruella picked it up and smiled at Ursula before they got inside her car. Soon, they drove across the line and waved at Regina and Emma, thanking them. Unbeknownst to the Mayor and the Savior, Rumplestiltskin was hidden inside the car and had returned to Storybrooke right under their very noses.
Soon Regina and Emma went back, not knowing how their lives were about to change dramatically soon. Nothing was going to prepare them for what was going to happen in the near future.
Not long afterwards, Mr. Gold along with Cruella and Ursula were inside the caverns under the library. They'd arrived by magic. He did not want to come face to face with his beloved Belle just yet. Not when there was something important he needed to do first.
"What exactly are we doing here?" The two queens of darkness asked out of curiosity.
Gold smiled mysteriously. "We need to bring back one more friend to join our little group."
"Why do we need anyone else?" Cruella asked.
"Because we need her." Gold smiled as he walked toward a pile of ashes and took a vial he had, pouring its contents over the ashes.
"Who do we need?" Ursula asked.
"Maleficent." Gold had a truly dark smile on his face. He had big plans. Real big plans, and only Maleficent could help him to move things along. He backed up as the ashes began to come to life, forming into a swirl of smoke before Maleficent the true Queen of the Darkness appeared. She had fury in her eyes, intent on vengeance upon those who had wronged her. That was exactly what Rumple needed.
"Finally! I want my vengeance and nobody is going to stop me!" Maleficent stalked forward. She had every intention of making certain people pay for what they put her through. She would not rest until she'd taken them down.
Gold smiled knowingly. He could see how pissed off she truly was. "First things first. We need to talk. There are some things you need to know, dearie." He had dark glee in his eyes. He knew that what he had to share with the dragon would set into motion things he needed to happen. He had seen several potential paths of the future, and several he did not want to see happen. This time, he was going to take a different path. He was not going to make Maleficent wait to find out certain things. No… He wanted all the cards out on the table, and he wanted Cruella and Ursula to bear witness to what was about to happen. He had some new information for Maleficent. One he knew the author missed, and he was going to take advantage of this, especially if they were going to get their happy ending. For a while, he had waited for the author to mess up and now that he had, Rumple had seen a loophole and discovered something so deliciously twisted that people would not expect. He knew that Maleficent being as angry as she was, would take this information and set the wheels into motion. This was the kind of news Maleficent had been waiting a long time to hear. News he had kept to himself long enough. It was time.
Maleficent rolled her eyes, impatiently. "What do you know Rumplestiltskin? What is so important that it cannot wait until I…" she grunted, wanting more than anything to set her vengeful plans into motion. He was hindering her right now and that nearly caused her dragon to lose its temper.
Rumple giggled as he waved his hands. "Everything dearie! And believe me, you will want to know what it is." He had a wicked grin on his face. "It's the price Snow White has yet to pay!"
That got Maleficent's attention. She turned to look at the imp, wanting to know everything Gold had to say. "What's the catch?" She knew that he wouldn't reveal anything for free. She didn't trust him.
"No catch this time. Because in the end, we all win. You most of all dearie. Everything you've ever wanted is going to be yours for the taking. And there is nothing our little Snow can do about it." He giggled happily. He proceeded to tell her everything he knew about Storybrooke's very own blonde sheriff. He told her about what the Charmings had done and what her connection was to Emma Swan.
Maleficent had a truly evil smile on her face as she listened to everything Gold shared with her. Now that she found out the whole truth of what happened that day Snow White and her Charming trespassed in her cave, she was going to do what it took to bring them down. She was not going to rush into getting her vengeance. No, she was going to deal with them herself by making them suffer first. And they were going to suffer long and hard. Her hand tightened on her scepter, her eyes dark with fury.
Cruella and Ursula had their jaws open in shock as they remembered that day. Only everything Rumple had shared with them turned out to be so much more than they had expected. They laughed. They were very much looking forward to seeing what would happen and very soon. They joined Maleficent and they began to make wicked plans.
Gold then left to take care of some things, leaving the Queens of Darkness to do what they wanted to do. He had given the dragon the ammunition she needed to get the ball rolling. Maleficent got them all out of there in a puff of smoke and they reappeared in the middle of town, not too far from the library or the pawnshop. She relished in the wave of fear she felt coming from the people who were now noticing they were there. She had a glint in her eyes. Oh now they were aware that the Queens of Darkness had arrived in their little town and they were not going to leave anytime soon. Maleficent chuckled, seeing how scared the people were.
It was Ruby who decided to call Emma, having seen who made their appearances outside of Grannys. "Emma? Its Ruby, you'll never guess who is all standing out in the middle of downtown…" she had a very clear view of the Queens of Darkness from where she was standing.
"Yeah Rubes." Emma nodded. "We know about Cruella and Ursula, they wanted a second chance and we decided to give it to them so…"
Ruby was shocked to hear that Regina would allow them into their town. "What about Maleficent? You killed her right? How is she back?" She continued watching them through the window as she talked with Emma on the phone.
Emma's eyes widened at this revelation. "I have no idea. She's alive? I'll look into it. Thanks for the heads up Rubes." She hung up and then called Regina to let her know about the new development. The mayor had gone back to her office to finish up her work there.
Mary Margaret and David Nolan had finally come face to face with the trio of villains. They'd paled when they realized Maleficent was back. Mary Margaret also known as Snow White, had then pleaded with Maleficent, begging for her forgiveness. She tried to reason with the dragon. For so long, she had been haunted by what they had put Maleficent through and she had hoped that Maleficent would have had time to think about forgiving them and perhaps giving them another chance.
Maleficent scoffed. She had not forgotten what the Charmings did to her and ever since Gold had revealed some very interesting facts about what really had happened, there was absolutely no way in hell she would offer them any forgiveness. Not that she ever would consider it. "I only care about one thing, your pain, and that it be as long and terrible and unyielding as my own. The pain YOU caused." Maleficent stared coldly at her, very unforgiving and harsh. It was very clear she wasn't going to let them forget anytime soon. She wanted them to be very aware that she wasn't going to let it slide. They would have to watch their backs from now on,
Mary Margaret shivered and moved away, thoroughly shaken to her core. She was unnerved by Maleficent's threat and they hurried away. She needed to find her daughter and warn her about them, especially the dragon. They were not safe. Not anymore. Maleficent had made that very clear to them.
Ursula chuckled, having enjoyed the confrontation with those people. "I forgot how much I missed her." She looked at Cruella. She loved how Maleficent put the fear into the Charmings.
Cruella smiled darkly as she agreed with her. "It's going to be so entertaining." She had missed being a part of this trio even though they had not always gotten along. She had a feeling, this time around, things would be different.
Maleficent smiled with satisfaction as she looked at them. "Now we have them running scared. It's perfect. They know I'm here to make them suffer and now I'm just getting started." She chuckled. They headed back to the cabin in a cloud of smoke to begin getting ready for the next phase of their plan.
Regina and Emma then met at Granny's diner where they could hear people talking about what had taken place earlier. Regina was surprised to hear that her old friend was back. But before she could say anything to Emma, the Charmings ran inside, panicking about the whole situation.
"You'll never guess who we ran into! We saw Cruella and Ursula and…and Ma...Maleficent." Mary Margaret panted, looking visibly shaken and upset about their encounter with them. David was very worried but at the same time, he was trying to comfort his wife.
"We know about Cruella and Ursula. But Maleficent is an unexpected surprise." Regina nodded. She wanted to find out what she was doing back there. She would need to get to the bottom of this and get some answers.
Emma nodded, "Yeah, I thought she was dead. I mean I did kill her. So I don't know how or why she's back…" Emma started.
"Wait! Wait a minute. How did you know about Cruella and Ursula, but not...not t..the dragon?" Her parents asked, interrupting them.
Emma shared a look with Regina, wondering if their arrival had something to do with Maleficent's arrival as well. "Well, we let them in." She then wondered. "Do you think it's possible they could have…"
"Are you out of your mind?! How could you let them in?! Now we're in danger! All of us! You know what Maleficent is capable of! She's going to kill us!" Mary Margaret was in full on panic mode right now. "What did you think you were doing when you welcomed them back into Storybrooke?!"
The Mayor lifted her hands as she looked at the Charmings. "Calm down. I'm sure it may not be as bad as it seems. We can deal with this, and if something does ha…" Regina started before Mary Margaret went off into another tirade of panicking over what Maleficent could do now that she was back to terrorize them.
"No no no no! You're the Mayor of our town! You don't get to make such decisions without it affecting the rest of us! Maleficent is not going to… She has threatened to..." Mary Margaret was arguing with Regina and not letting the Mayor get a word in. She was going on and on about it, her voice getting higher. "How could you do this?! Maleficent…"
Emma was starting to feel aggravated. She was trying to think and Mary Margaret kept interrupting their train of thought. It was their job to figure this out and to ensure that no harm would come to them with the Queens of Darkness now in their town. She was the Sheriff and Regina was the Mayor, but yet Mary Margaret was not letting them speak. The woman was a broken record. It annoyed her to no end and caused her to yell. "SHUT UP!" She snapped and then sighed deeply when she saw the tears in her mother's eyes. "Sorry, just… Please let us figure this out. Okay?" She then looked at Regina and sighed deeply. "Is it possible for Cruella or Ursula to have the power to bring Maleficent back?"
The mayor's lip twitched when she saw how Emma had snapped at Mary Margaret. She shook her head. "No, they don't have that kind of power. Obviously someone else is responsible for her return. Somebody else is clearly helping them. But who? The only person I can think of has been banished from Storybrooke. So unless he has found a way back…" She sighed.
"Gold. You think he found a way through…" Emma's eyes widened in realization. "You don't think…"
"We're screwed! Maleficent isn't going to rest until she…" Mary Margaret started.
Emma snapped her head around and looked at her mother. Enough was enough! "What the hell happened with you two and Maleficent? You're obsessing over her. Why do I get the feeling something big happened with you two and Maleficent? What are you not telling me?" She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's clearly gotten under your skin and you're just so riled up about Maleficent's presence. Why is that?"
"We have bad history with her. It's not good…" David tried to explain to their daughter, but his wife elbowed him.
"No David! You can't…" Mary Margaret's eyes grew wide with fear. She didn't want David to tell their daughter what happened in the past to lead to Maleficent wanting to harm them.
Emma narrowed her eyes at the petite dark haired woman who was supposed to be her mother. It was so obvious that Mary Margaret didn't want them to know what was going on. "What don't you want me to know? If Maleficent is coming after you two, I need to know what happened. Otherwise I can't help you or protect you." She pointed out. "Tell me… Why is she after you? What did you do?"
Her mother shook her head vigorously. "No Emma, you don't need to know what happened. We will take care of this ourselves. We don't need to get you involved in our mess." Mary Margaret insisted.
"No Snow, we need to tell Emma everything. She's the savior and she can help us." David tried to reason with his wife.
She shook her head and snapped. "No we can't! If we tell her, then everything will be ruined!" She pleaded with him to let it go. She had tears falling down her cheeks.
Emma's jaw tightened as she stared at them hard. She knew they were hiding something from her and it set her off. "You don't get to decide what I am allowed to know or not. I'm not a child anymore. So if you're not going to be honest with me about what happened, I can't help you. You didn't raise me. I'm a grown up and capable of protecting my family. I know you're lying to me about something so unless you tell me what it is, I can't stop Maleficent from hurting you. I won't be able to protect you." She stormed off, leaving them gaping after her. She wasn't happy with them keeping things from her, especially when it would put their lives in danger.
Regina looked at them. She couldn't help but to wonder what they had done to piss her old friend off. Something big had to have happened to warrant Maleficent wanting to go after them. The Charmings had clearly crossed the dragon. And now Mal was very pissed. It piqued her curiosity. She wanted to find out exactly what had happened.
"Regina! Please talk some sense into Emma. She needs to stay out of this situation…" Mary Margaret tried to get Regina to see things her way.
The mayor shook her head. "No, Mary Margaret. Emma is right. If something happened to get Maleficent this angry with you, Emma deserves to know the truth. Even if the truth hurts. You just got your daughter back. Don't push her away with your lies. I'm going to go find Emma." Regina left to find her.
Not surprisingly, Regina found Emma at the Sheriff's department sitting in her office with her head in her hands. She could see the blonde clearly was upset and feeling very frustrated with the whole thing, especially her parents. "Emma, I may have an idea, but I will need your help. I think we can get to the bottom of this and then I would be able to find out exactly what's going on with Maleficent and the others. I want to find out why they wanted to come back here."
Emma nodded, letting out a breath of air. "Alright, what do you have in mind?" She asked, she was willing to hear her friend out.
Regina smiled. "I may have to go undercover and see if I can get them to trust me enough to let me join in on their plans."
Emma shook her head. "But won't they know you're not the Evil Queen anymore?" She pointed out. She didn't want to risk Regina getting caught. She cared too much about her to let that happen to their son's other mother. She was protective of her.
Regina smiled wistfully. She knew Emma was going to say that. "That's why I need to pretend like I'm Evil again. I have history with Maleficent. So I think I can get her to trust me again. If anyone knows how to be evil, it would be me." She smiled and winked at her wickedly.
Emma sighed. "I can't let you do this alone. Let me at least help you."
Regina looked at her friend and patted her hand. "They know you are the savior. Listen Em-ma, I promise I will keep in touch with you and keep you updated on what's happening with them. But you're going to need to be careful and do what I say, no question asked. I might have to go dark. But I'm doing this for you. I'm going to need you to keep me grounded. Do you trust me, Emma?"
Emma nodded, knowing that Regina had made up her mind. If they were going to do this, they needed to do it her way. "You know I trust you. I will make sure Henry is safe. Maybe he can stay with Ruby and Granny. I don't think it's a good idea for him to be around Mary Margaret and David. Not as long as Maleficent is threatening them."
"Yes, that would be the best way to keep our son safe." Regina agreed. They set about making sure their plan was foolproof. They were going to make sure Henry would remain safe and out of harm's way. Their son's safety was their priority. At the same time, Regina also wanted to find out what Maleficent had on the Charmings. Emma needed to know the truth if what happened and she disagreed with Mary Margaret keeping secrets from Emma.
