Once upon a time fanfiction
Chapter 1- Turned Tables
Once upon a time…that's how the stories start. But that's in fairytails. It's not real. Or at least we've been led to believe It's not. It's what I was led to believe my whole life; up until one night, on my twenty eighth birthday when a knock sounded at my door. Some might call it a coincidence; I like to call it fate. The events which have taken place have shaped me into the person I am now. I have done things; incredible things, unbelievable things in the past years. Things I thought only lived inside the pages of books. Things children dream about at night. The kind of things that have the ability to make you stronger. Belief is a powerful thing. In order to do anything in this world, we have to believe in ourselves. It's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way; but I wouldn't do it any other way.
I wake in the morning to sunlight streaming across my face through the thin curtains. Henry stayed at Regina's last night which meant I could have the bed. I really do need to look into getting my own place. I glance at the clock, seven fifteen. My alarm isn't set to go off for another fifteen minutes; but since I'm awake I better get up. I get dressed quickly and head downstairs quietly, I don't want to wake Mary-Margaret and David. But of course they beat me to it. David is standing in the kitchen pouring coffee into two mugs and hot water into the third for Mary-Margaret. He looks up when he hears me and smiles lightly. Mary-Margaret is in the living area with Neal; rocking him gently in her arms. She doesn't notice me when I walk in, but I don't mind. I watch her for a few seconds. I see how intent she is; how happy she is. I see the love in her eyes and in her smile. It makes me think about Henry, how I didn't have any of that with him when I should have done. I look back to David who is staring at me with concern; he tries to mask it with a smile but he isn't very successful. My parents are about as subtle as a brick to the face.
"What?" I ask trying my best to make it seem like I have no idea what he's staring at me for. He raises his eyebrows; I forget how well they know me.
"You okay?" he asks anyway; I take mine and Mary-Margaret's mugs and place them on the coffee table; finally Mary-Margaret looks up and beams her ridiculously happy smile at me. It's far too happy for this time in the morning without coffee in my system yet.
"Good morning" she smiles; I can't help but smile back at her, no matter how much I might not want to right now.
"We'll see" I sigh, remembering the current problems of Storybrooke arising. After finding the Author and Regina getting the ink for him he disappeared to Rumpelstiltskin; as far as we know all he's done is heal Gold because when we tried to get into his shop it was protected by a spell; one so strong that not even Regina and I together couldn't break through. Regina is worried, with good reason. All we know is that Gold wanted the Author to rewrite everything so that the 'villains' got their happy endings at the 'heroes' expense. I glare down into my coffee mug trying to work out what Gold's plans are; but I come up blank which frustrates me.
"Is it hot in here?" David asks but I barely hear him. How can I possibly stop Gold if I can't even get into his shop? If my light magic can't even break the seal along with Regina's dark magic, how are we going to get in there? Right now I don't even think Belle can talk Gold round.
"Emma" David mutters and puts a hand on my shoulder; I jump and I realise it is actually pretty hot in here. Was it me? Did I let my magic get out of hand again?
"Sorry" is all I can say, I glance over to Mary-Margaret who seems completely oblivious. I stand up then and head for the door; I'm not going to find my answers sitting around here all day.
"I'll go with you" David says before kissing Mary-Margaret goodbye, she looks after him longingly; it's sweet, but still gross in the parent/daughter kind of way, which I guess I'm happy for, it's refreshing to know that not everything is quite so messed up. Even in a world full of magic, there are still some normal things. I get to the coat rack and stop as I'm about to pull my red leather jacket off the peg. I stroke the material for a moment. This jacket has been through so much with me. It's a reminder of everything I've faced, everything I've overcome and the dangers that are still out there. I grin as I swing it on.
David stops by Granny's as I wait at the bus stop for Henry to arrive. I promised to see him before he left for school. Regina doesn't think it's a good idea sending him to school when the danger is still out there, maybe it isn't, but we need to at least try to make things as normal as possible until the danger really strikes. Regina and Henry round the corner and Henry runs to me; throwing his arms around me when he gets close enough. For the first time all day I smile, really smile.
"Hey kid, have a good time?" I ask when he pulls away with his hair ruffled
"Yeah" he beams. He tells me about his night and Regina watches him with adoration in her eyes; if I ever doubted her feelings for him, now would be proof that I was wrong. The bus pulls up and he gives us both a quick hug before getting on. We watch it pull away; the same as we do every day.
"So" Regina starts, it's never good whenever she starts a conversation with 'so'
"So…?" I ask as I unlock the sheriff's station and attempt to busy myself with paperwork that I've already done.
"So what are we going to do about Gold?" she asks sounding irritated
"I don't know what we can do; we've tried breaking the seal around the shop, what else is there?" I say leaning on the edge of my desk; she flips her dark hair out of her face and sighs loudly.
"Well what if we had more than just our magic?" she says quietly with a hint of mischievousness in her voice; I narrow my eyes at her slightly and she takes a deep breath.
"Maleficent" she answers my unspoken question
"Are you crazy? What makes you think she would even help us?" I exclaim and she holds her hands up in mock surrender.
"Maleficent is one of the most powerful people I know, apart from us and Zelena, but since Zelena doesn't have magic anymore we don't have many more options, unless Mary-Margaret found a way to harness all that hope she keeps rambling on about" she explains; I hate to admit that it makes sense. But the only problem is actually getting Maleficent to help us in the first place. She just got her daughter back and is probably more focused on catching up with her rather than helping us break into Gold's shop. But like Regina said, we don't have many more options.
"Okay fine, you go talk to Maleficent and I'll ask Belle to see what she can dig up about it" I sigh as we both head out of the station. We run into David with two cups of coffee on the way out. He hands me one.
"Where are you going?" he asks looking slightly confused
"Regina thinks Maleficent might be able to help us and I'm going to recruit Belle, again" I tell him, he nods once. Something seems to be bothering him; I know he'll tell me in his own time but I don't like feeling that people keep things from me, especially my own parents.
"You go on, I'll catch up with you later" I tell Regina and she leaves without a word, she's become very understanding lately, it's almost unsettling.
"What's wrong?" I ask a little more firm than I had intended. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair as he continues into the station; I follow.
"It doesn't feel right" he says, vague, as always.
"Well yeah, Gold has the Author locked up in his shop protected by a spell we can't crack, it would be weird if you felt fine with this going on" I answer and he looks at me, something crosses his face but I'm not entirely sure what. Worry? Fear?
"I mean it doesn't feel right bringing Maleficent into this, she's not exactly been on our side through all this" he frowns and takes a sip of coffee. He's right, of course. I still don't know where she stands with my parents, but that's not my business. I haven't even had a chance to talk to Lilly since we've been back and I don't know how they're getting on. If things had gone horribly wrong then Maleficent is going to be far less cooperative; but if she and Lilly figured things out I'm hoping she'll be more inclined to stop Gold. Damn I sound like my mom.
"We don't have very many options. If that seal is too strong for both me and Regina, then something else is at play here" I explain and he dips his head.
"I guess we're stuck doing the only thing we always do, waiting and seeing what happens" he mutters, this does not sound like my father. My parents are forever going on about hope and how we have to fight because we're 'heroes'. This defeatist attitude isn't my father.
"No, we do the thing we've always done, we fight. Have hope" I say quietly, he looks up with widened eyes then and a small smile playing on the corners of his mouth. He hugs me tight. It seems as though all the anger I had for my parents only a few days ago never even happened. But it made me miss them. It made me realise how much I need their constant optimistic attitude and their rambles about hope and heroes. I just missed them. I pull away and give him a reassuring smile before walking out of the station and toward the library.
By the looks of things Belle isn't here yet. But the library door is unlocked. Belle is the only one who has a key. I unclip my gun holster and put my hand on the handle; my finger curled around the trigger. I push the door open with my free hand and walk inside. The shelves are stacked neatly. The trolley with the books yet to be put away is empty. Did someone break in here to clean? I hear a footstep and then Will walks around the corner. He jumps when he sees me and I clip my holster back up.
"You've really gotta stop breaking in" I sigh as he smirks at me.
"It's not breaking in when you have a key" he answers back quickly
"Belle gave you the key?" I ask narrowing my eyes slightly; I know Belle and I know how much she loves this library, I know she would never give that key up to anyone, not even her new boyfriend, or whatever they're calling each other.
"Well not exactly, I kind of borrowed it without permission" he grins as he puts a couple more books onto the shelves.
"To tidy up?" I ask incredulously
"Figured I'd help Belle out" he replies with a gentler town and a soft look in his eyes; it's refreshing to see someone like Will who is usually so macho and tough become soppy over someone. But then again Belle has the ability to do that to men; look at her and Rumpelstiltskin, he was the last person I expected to fall victim to a woman's ways.
"Well in that case I can't arrest you again" I answer and he laughs a little.
"I'd just convince your dear mom to let me go again" he chuckles, I decide to ignore this comment because it is kind of funny, not that I will show that. I go to walk out but stop halfway and turn to him again.
"Tell Belle I'm looking for her, please?" I ask and he nods in agreement.
I go back to Gold's shop. There must be something with the protection spell that I'm missing. Usually protection spells appear only on the doorways. I walk around to the back of the shop; the fence meets with the wall so I climb up. I'm hoping to see whether the roof has been protected, if not then we might be able to create some kind of hole to get through. I reach out to grab hold of the drain pipe to climb up but the protection spell explodes from my hand and launches me backward. I hit the concrete hard; the air is knocked out of me and I'm left choking.
"Emma! What happened? Are you okay?" a pleasantly familiar voice shouts as he runs to my side; I can't speak so I just nod and scramble to my feet. Killian wraps his arms around me. He smells like grass and soap; not exactly what I imagined a pirate smelling like, but then again he hasn't been at sea for a while now.
"I'm fine" I gasp when I catch my breath while I glare at the building.
"What were you doing?" he asks sounding worried
"I was trying to see whether the protection spell covered the whole building" I tell him and he looks at the building with curiosity.
"Aren't most protection spells white?" he asks as if he realised something
"Yeah, why?"
"Just then, when you touched it, it was black" he mutters. He's right, I throw a pebble at the building just to be sure, the protection comes out as black before throwing the pebble back across the road. It's obvious this is no ordinary protection spell. Not only does it keep physical beings out, but Regina can't even teleport into there with that purple smoke thing she does. It blasts anything that touches it; it's all the way around the building and it's black. I call Regina.
"What is it? Did something happen?" she asks sounding her usual impatient self
"Kind of, can you come to the station?" I ask and she takes a moment to answer
"I'll be there soon" she says and the line goes dead.
Killian and I rush back to the station. David is leaning on his desk with the tv remote in his hand glaring at the screen. Black and white images show Gold's shop.
"Did you find anything?" I ask as he looks up when we walk in.
"No, nothing. Nobody has gone in or come out of that shop" he grumbles and rubs his temples.
"What did you find?" he asks
"The protection spell isn't white like normal, it's black" Killian answers
"Black? What like dark magic?" David questions
"Yeah but even dark magic protection spells come up as white when touched" I tell him as he strokes his chin a little. A few moments' later Regina, Maleficent and Lilly walk in.
"What is it?" Regina asks cutting straight to the point as I expected her to. We explain to her about the protection spell and she's silent for a moment.
"A protection spell like that can't be done by just one person" Maleficent says after a few minutes of silence.
"Well he's done it" I shrug; just then my phone rings.
"Belle?" I ask immediately
"Yeah, what's up?" she asks sounding worried
"I need you to try to find something, anything on this protection spell on Gold's place, it's all the way around the building, it's black and it_" she cuts me off
"I think I know what it is, it's not just a protection spell, it's a blocking spell; it blocks out magic, if someone were to be in there, they wouldn't be able to use magic" she explains hurriedly
"But nobody has come out or gone into the shop for days" I protest
"Then he must still be inside, regaining his strength for when you actually do break through, but here's the thing; it takes three dark magic users to create the spell in the first place, which means only three dark magic users can bring it down" she says
"Which means I can't use light magic" I sigh heavily; I can feel every pair of eyes in the room watching me as I pace back and forth listening to Belle.
"Exactly"
"Okay, thanks Belle" I say and hang up the phone.
"Well?" Regina says; her being so impatient really is annoying sometimes.
"It's a blocking spell, meaning anyone inside can't use magic until it's been broken" I tell them
"So that would mean he's useless in there until we get through?" Killian asks and I nod once
"He's biding his time" Maleficent sighs as if she's gripped by sudden realisation
"Not just that, apparently it takes three dark magic users to create the spell and no less the bring it down" I explain
"So how would he be able to put it up in the first place?" Regina asks with her brow furrowed in frustration
"All we can assume is that the Author made him stronger; which is a problem for everyone" Maleficent replies
"So why don't we just leave him in there? If he can't use magic in there then what's the problem?" Lilly asks
"Because he still has the Author, he could still get him to write whatever he wants from inside that shop" I answer
"So how are we going to break through when only two of us can use dark magic?" Maleficent asks sounding bored; Regina's eyes light up then and a smirk pulls at the corner of her mouth.
"Oh I think I know" she says slowly and looks toward Lilly. The rest of us follow her gaze. It's true, Lilly is the only other person who can use dark magic. We know she has the ability since we've already seen her turn into a dragon.
"What? You're joking" she protests with wide eyes
"Think about it, you're the only other person who can use dark magic, we need to get into that shop" Regina says firmly
"Well find another way because I can't do it, I don't even know how to use magic" she says half shouting in what sounds like fear.
"No offence but you've already been a dragon" Killian points out and her lips press into a hard thin line.
"Because I lost my temper"
"We'll just have to teach you to use it then" Regina smiles; Maleficent seems to be nodding along, she hasn't disagreed like I half expected her to. They argue about it for a few more minutes before Lilly finally gives in. I don't know how long this could take, but we need to get into that building. We head our into the woods where nobody is likely to be hurt when Lilly loses control, which she will because it's her first time trying and nobody is perfect on their first time. Killian and David went to see if they can find something, anything which might be useful to us.
Regina and I sit on a fallen tree while Maleficent tries to teach her the basics. For Regina it's all moving too slow; I kind of agree. Magic is daunting, I get that, but Lilly has already shown potential when she turned into the dragon.
"Is there no way to speed this up?" Regina grumbles under her breath
"We're open to suggestions" I mutter back as I watch Lilly trying to set a small bunch of twigs on fire and Maleficent being nicey nice about it. It's strange seeing her like this. Both of them really, it's odd seeing Maleficent so soft with that motherly look in her eyes which I see in Mary-Margaret and Regina. And Lilly, looking so childlike and frail for once. This is a lot for her to take in, I know that, but I hope she understands why we're doing this, why it's so important for us to find the Author before he writes the 'villains' into 'heroes' and vice versa. Regina sighs loudly.
"This is taking too long" she snaps and holds out her hand with her palm facing upwards and her fingers curled slightly; I know that sign all too well. Fire gathers in the palm of her hand and without warning; she aims it at Lilly's feet and releases. Lilly jumps back and turns her glare on Regina.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Maleficent snaps; she reminds me of a lioness protecting her cub at that moment when she steps in front of Lilly, shielding her from any more fireballs.
"I'm giving her motivation; dark magic is rage, we get her angry, she can use it, you should know that" Regina reasons, it's scaring me how much I'm actually inwardly agreeing with her lately.
"Maybe fireballs isn't the best way to go about it, unless you want a dragon rampaging through town" I say and she gives me a sideways glance; I can't let her think that I actually do agree with her.
"Thank you" Maleficent gloats
"Well find a way to speed it up, we don't have time for this" Regina says surprisingly calmly
"I'm trying to teach her how to control it" Maleficent rolls her eyes
"Teach her that later, we're in a hurry in case you haven't noticed, all we need her to do is stand there absorbing the energy creating that spell" she explains in a raised voice while Lilly stands glowering at her with her hands on her hips. The small pile of twigs begins to smoke.
"You expect me to get my daughter riled up?" Maleficent argues
"If it gets the job done some time this century, yes" Regina snaps
"Guys, I think she's getting it" I say with a small smile as I stare at the twigs which is now a small fire. Maleficent turns around and grins at her daughter, Regina sits there looking smug, as you would expect.
Outside the shop Lilly seems nervous. There isn't much I can say that can make her feel better; so I don't try. They stand in a row with their hands out. Regina even looks nervous and I don't expect that from her. Lilly copies them and then the magic starts pouring into their hands; leaving the building. Their hands all start to shake at the overload of power. A small bead of sweat drips down Lilly's forehead. Time passes painfully slowly. The three of them are struggling to keep this up. Lilly looks almost in pain and Regina looks like she's getting more determined by the second. Finally, after what seems like forever, they break through the protection spell. Lilly drops to her knees, Maleficent rushes to her side panting. Regina just looks at me and we both rush into the shop. I have my gun in hand and aiming straight ahead. There's nobody here. I check the back room, still nobody. How could they have gotten out? Nothing was shown on the footage of anyone leaving.
"I don't understand" I mutter under my breath
"So where is Gold?" Regina asks aloud, more to herself than to me.
"It was a distraction" a male voice sounds from the door; I swing around to see Killian standing in the doorway looking very serious; trying not to get distracted by the intensity in his eyes is difficult at the best of times.
"While we were busy finding a way into here, he's had time to hide" I finish bitterly.
"Any ideas where to look next?" Regina frowns and looks at me for the answers I don't have. I don't know where he is. I don't know how he got out of here without being spotted. I don't know and it's irritating me. I'm supposed to know these things. All we can do is concentrate on finding Gold and the Author before something terrible happens.