Lily stared out the window from the back passenger seat of her father's Cadillac. She knew it was going to be a long trip back to New York City from Storybrooke, but the events that had brought her to Storybrooke in the first place was enough to keep the little seven-year old occupied for hours. Thoughts swarmed her brain as she rehashed the extraordinary tale and it was filled with unbelievable thoughts.

Lily survived by her parents and grew up in New York City. All was fine and well when suddenly she woke up from a provocative, persistent and incredibly vivid dream. She had envisioned her parents in this town called Storybrooke. A magical town in which she had never visited before, but somehow knew quite well. In the vision, Lily was kidnapped by a man named Henry, who called himself Arthur because his body was being occupied by an egotistical entity known as The Author. The Author needed Lily's father to make a grave choice; a choice between happiness and magic. With the help of a small boy named Neal Nolan they were able to help her father choose and in the end Mr. Gold chose happiness. The details of the vision were so clear that Lily believed she was envisioning an alternate universe. The incessant dream no longer was a dream when she realized certain valid particulars about her parents and it was in those details that reinforced what she already believed in. That those events had actually happened. Magic was real. Her parents are fairy tale characters. Her parents are Beauty and the Beast.

When Lily woke from the dream she questioned her parents about the existence of magic and it was her father who immediately discredited her attempting to make her believe it never really happened, but he wasn't successful. His odd reactions to her telling them about Storybrooke only motivated her to go to this mystical place. So she ran away from New York to find this magical land and prove it to them. With the assistance of Belle's mother, Mary Poppins, who had recently come to visit them in New York one whimsical afternoon, Lily Gold managed to safely cross the few states and successfully into Storybrooke, Maine.

Proof of magic was what Lily needed to bring back to her parents in New York and Cogsworth, the enchanted realm-jumping timepiece that Henry carried around, was perfect. Lily was hesitant about Henry. Although Henry was older than her through time displacement and magic, he was also Lily's nephew, but it didn't misplace the fact that he was also the same person who had kidnapped her in her vision so she continued to be wary of him. Through the vision Lily knew she was a child of magic and it was in that knowledge that Lily was able to confidently overcome Henry and take Cogsworth, despite her actual limited experiences with it. However, when she stole Cogsworth she attempted to save her friend Neal Nolan as well, but he didn't recognize her. What she didn't realize was that because he didn't know of her vision he didn't know her which meant that he didn't feel rescued, he felt kidnapped. Mistakenly, Lily thought that Henry was still the Author from that alternate universe she reacted accordingly, but Neal didn't know of this vision and ran away from her. He interpreted Lily's heroism as villainy and his first impressions of her weren't amicable, but hostile. In the end, it was Mary Poppins who rescued Lily from her difficult and saddened disposition. Mary took Lily to her grandfather's flower shop where she was reunited with her parents and the Author was vanquished. So now, they were returning home from that adventure.

Lily continued staring out the window of the car and up at the graying skies. It looked like it was about to rain. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Lily really liked Neal. They were friends in her dream. He was magical to her. Helpful. Wonderful. But now, they were nothing. Were they enemies? She couldn't tell. Their last parting words to each other before crossing the town line were quite disdainful. Lily wept a little in the car as she thought about him. In her dream, they were friends and he kept her grounded when things were too unbelievable. That vision was real. Why wasn't their friendship?

Lily could hear Neal's voice still linger in her head. "We are not friends… …I barely even know you… …If you were truly my friend you wouldn't tell… …threatening to share people's secrets is not how you make friends…"

Perhaps moving to Storybrooke was a bad idea. No, she thought to herself. She couldn't allow herself to think that way. Storybrooke was where her family belonged and magic was embedded in her family's history. She had to believe in her friendship with Neal. She could prove that she was worthy of him, but how? Make amends with Henry? Lily supposed that was a good start.

She thought about Henry and her relations to him. How odd, Lily thought, that her brother's son would be the one who'd frighten her so much. Her brother… Neal; Baelfire, father of Henry. In the dream, Lily had learned about the boy Baelfire, but what of the man? Who was this unsung hero? How could she be the hero like him? How would he have handled her situation? What exactly happened to him?

As a few droplets began to splatter on her window Lily looked around the small cabin space of the Cadillac. Her mother was deeply engrossed in the journal she had written about her dream and her father was extremely focused on the road before them. Lily shifted in her seat and the slight stirring of his daughter prompted Gold to look up from the road and glance at his review mirror. Gold adjusted the mirror to get a better view of his daughter and spoke nonchalantly, "Is something the matter? You haven't said a word since we departed."

Lily appeared pensive, fidgeting as she searched for a response. Belle twisted around in her seat to get a better look at her daughter and asked, "Are you hungry? You must be tired. Rumple, we should probably pull over and have something to eat."

"Who's Neal?" said Lily abruptly.

Gold glimpsed up at the review mirror again and his eyes were met with his daughter's staring back at him. "D'you mean the little boy that was there?"

"No. I mean… my brother?"

Silence fell in the car for a moment when Belle interjected, "Well, according to your journal… you already know who he is."

"I know of Baelfire, when he was boy with you Papa. I-I know that he was Henry's father, that he died a hero by sacrificing his life to tell you about a witch. I know that his bravery was the reason why that other boy was named after him, but… who is Neal? What exactly did he do after escaping Neverland? How exactly did he die? Was he always a hero? What did he like? What did he like to do?"

After a brief moment of remembrance, Gold said, "In this world, the name he chose for himself was Neal Cassidy. Bravery was something he was always known for, even as a child. Bae-Neal… always brought hope for me, as I'm sure he did for others." Gold paused again as if debating in his mind whether or not to proceed with the rest of what he knew about his son. "As far as the exact circumstances that led to his death, well, it all happened before you were born. And at one point during that time I had died. Neal was tricked by the witch into using magic to bring me back to life. What he didn't know was the price for doing so and that… was a life for a life; his life for mine. After he resurrected me, there was a brief moment as I watched Neal's life drain away in my arms when I saw my choice. Up until that point I had searched for him for so long… I wasn't about to let him go. So in order to save him I had to, through magic, share a body with him and as a result it rendered me useless. The stasis spell I used on the two of us was only supposed to be temporary.

"Unfortunately, it was the only spell I could think of at the time that would save us both. The magic worked and did as it was intended, but it wasn't perfect. We were oscillating back and forth over the use of the body and it was Emma who discovered later our dual occupation. Emma needed me for what I knew about the identity of the witch but in order for me to tell her she needed to separate us which put her in a difficult situation in regards to Neal. As soon as Neal realized her dilemma he convinced her to separate us. Only this time, knowing full-well the price of our separation. So reluctantly, Emma consented to separating us... and that was how he had died a hero."

Belle took the reigns over on the conversation and continued with what she knew of Neal Cassidy. "Not many of us knew of what happened to Neal after he left Neverland, but the only person that could possibly know would be Emma Swan, Neal's love and-"

"Henry's mother… I know," said Lily briefly cutting off her mother. Belle resumed her thought, "You know there was a time when I got to know your older brother."

"Really? What was he like?" asked Lily who was now intrigued. Gold glimpsed over at his wife who appeared just as interested as his daughter was.

"He was always very supportive, encouraging me and bringing me up when I felt low." Belle turned fully in her seat to get a better look at Lily and wrapped her arms around the car's head-rest for support. "He was honest… even when I didn't want to hear the truth. He was very loyal… especially to his loved ones, but also incredibly stubborn." At Belle's last comment she shifted her eyes towards Gold's direction as if signifying that he, too, was also incredibly stubborn.

"He sounds wonderful. I wish I had gotten the chance to meet him," remarked Lily sadly.

"He was an incredible man. You would have loved him… and for the record," Gold replied raising his finger out of protest and directing his comment to Belle, "stubbornness isn't necessarily a bad thing. It means that you have strength in your resolve, and when utilized correctly it can be an effective skill to bring about change in your favor. Mark my words, Lily… never be satisfied with the status quo!"

"Don't confuse stubbornness for ambition, Lily. They're not the same thing," corrected Belle. Belle rolled her eyes at her husband and continued, "As I've said, Emma Swan would probably be your best bet to answer some of your questions you have about him. Probably more thoroughly since she was the one who spent the most time with him. If you really are that curious about him, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you asked her when we move back to Storybrooke."

"When are we moving back to Storybrooke?" Lily inquired.

"There's much to prepare," said Gold. "We intentionally moved away from Storybrooke's magic in the first place to get away from the temptations of it. We moved… intending on never coming back."

"What your father is trying to say is that we have a lot to pack. You still have to finish school, so I would imagine sometime during the summer after your birthday."

… …

Lily's birthday had come and gone and the summer waned. It was nearly time to leave. Belle began removing pictures of the family down from the walls of the condo and with each frame that passed through her hands she stared down at the images with incredible fondness. As she placed each frame carefully inside the cardboard box a smile would grow on her face as she cherished the memories. Lily's second birthday with her rosy cheeks and chubby fingers smashing into the cake in front of her. A family photo of the three of them eating together at a patisserie in Paris. Lily smiling joyfully at the baby kangaroo nuzzled in her arms during their trip to Australia. A picture of Lily holding one of the ribbons belonging to a ribbon dancer after a performance during their time in China. They had traveled and seen the world like she had always wanted. So many wonderful memories, but now… now what? Back to contention. Back to being trapped, to being… imprisoned. It was how she was beginning to feel.

Belle knew that the town's curse was broken by Emma, but the cursed sentiment was still there. The whole stipulation for being brought to the land without magic was the cost of imprisonment. Imprisonment… like the time she was imprisoned by Regina. The recollection of the memory made her instantly fill with dread.

Belle shook her head of these awful thoughts. She tried to reassure herself. Both of her parents were there and there was no longer magic in Storybrooke. As far as she knew, there weren't any threats. The last threat that plagued the town was a self-absorbed, parasitical and omnipotent entity claiming to be the Author; their Author to their story, but before then nothing. The past eight years in both Storybrooke and New York have been quite peaceful. Since there wasn't magic anymore, what could possibly threaten their happiness now? Belle wondered. Perhaps this paranoia was just all in her mind. One thing she knew for certain, only she was in the way of her own happiness. As long as she was with her family she was happy.

Lily brushed quickly past her mother without saying a word which startled her from her reflecting. Without looking up Belle addressed to Lily, "Are you done packing those books I asked you earlier?"

"Yes," answered Lily shortly as she searched through the many boxes around the condominium. Lily moved quickly from box to box scanning the descriptions to each one. Surprised by the brief response, Belle looked up from what she was doing and watched her daughter curiously.

"Can I help you find something?"

"I need a towel. I'm going to go take a shower."

"A shower? By yourself?"

"Yes, mama. I'm not a baby anymore," declared Lily.

Belle huffed at the earnest response and replied, "I suppose you're not, but you'll always be my baby." Belle continued watching her daughter and asked, "Are you in a hurry for something?"

"Papa's coming home. The sooner he comes home the sooner we can get going to Storybrooke."

"Well you can just slow your horses because we won't be leaving until tomorrow. So you can just relax."

"Where is he by the way?"

"A particular item he had been looking for a very long time was being auctioned off in Kansas. His flight isn't due back for another forty-five minutes. He'll be home shortly," Belle said as she folded the cardboard box in front of her. She looked around the home and for the first time it truly felt barren.

"Another piece of pricey junk?" said Lily incredulously as she moved a box with her foot to get closer. "Doesn't he realize that he'll be retired from the Pawning business when we move?"

Belle shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm sure he has his reasons. Who knows with your father? Perhaps it's something he wants to offer to Henry, as a sort of peace offering."

"Henry…" Lily echoed back to her mother trailing off as her mind traveled elsewhere. The thought paused her in her tracks as she thought about her nephew. A shiver ran down Lily's spine as she thought about him. To avoid her mother's gaze Lily stared at the ground as she thought of him. Even the sound of his name made her quiver.

Belle could tell by the way Lily looked that she still had her reservations toward Henry. Belle knew it was going to take a lot of gentle encouraging and patient understanding for Lily to get over the trauma of seeing her adult nephew as a relative rather than an enemy. She had to get her daughter to think lighter of him. Belle bent over sideways to get a better look at her daughter's perturbed face and said, "He really is a good person."

Lily looked up more confidently into her mother's eyes as she continued. "Once you get to know him, you'll know it to be true." Lily hesitated to respond which prompted Belle to push. "What is it? What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid!" Lily replied defensively, but even as she tried to recover her voice trembled and the following words ended up coming out like a stutter. "It's just- it's just… there's a lot of history that I was… suddenly made aware of… and-and for some reason, I just can't trust him. He's unpredictable and he has magic now."

"There's no more magic in Storybrooke," assured Belle. "Thanks to your grandmother, the only magic he has now is limited to his enchanted pocket-watch, Cogsworth." Lily stood frozen in her spot. Her glazed hazel eyes staring off into empty space meant that she was reliving the trauma of her vision's kidnapping. Belle saw this and moved closer to her daughter. She placed a caring hand on her shoulder and then knelt down in front of her. Belle deliberately placed herself in her daughter's gaze until their eyes met. With two hands she caressed her daughter's arm and hand and said assuredly, "He's not possessed by The Author. Ok?"

When Lily didn't respond Belle asked again, "Ok?"

Without saying a word Lily finally acknowledged her mother and nodded slowly. Seeing that she understood, Belle said, "Good." Knowing exactly where the towels were, Belle looked over at the box beside the couch by the bay window and nodded. "Clean towels are over there."

Lily turned around slowly and then bucked and dodged between boxes to get at the desired box by the couch. Once she plucked a clean towel from its depths she scampered away and as she left the room Belle looked on and realized something. She was right. Despite her best efforts at having cast her mother's Impossible Possible spell to eliminate magic for good, somehow Belle knew there was still magic in Storybrooke. The little seed of doubt was enough to make her worry and she was quickly succumbing to dread. What exactly were they moving back to? What dangers and turmoil waited for them when they arrived

Belle returned to the box of happy pictures and memories they had made here in this world. This world, this real world, was all she could have ever hoped for herself and her family. She gazed upon the dozens of pictures she had yet to pack away and noticed the happy trend of smiles on both Lily and Rumplestiltskin's faces. Genuine smiles. Belle couldn't remember ever seeing Rumplestiltskin this happy in their world. As far as she saw, the Rumplestiltskin in the picture frames and the Rumplestiltskin she knew back in Storybrooke were totally different people. As a family, they had changed. Would he revert back to his old ways? Would she? Belle could already sense that she was. Would they still be this happy once they arrived to Storybrooke? Belle had to force herself to believe that this was the case, despite the little voice of dread telling her otherwise. It was what her family wanted. It would be what would make them happy and she had to play her part and try to be happy with them.

Suddenly the door opened to their condominium and Mr. Gold walked through it. "Hello? Belle, Lily, I'm home," greeted Gold as he entered the barren foyer.

"Oh good! Lily will be excited to see you," said Belle as she greeted her husband with a quick kiss. "I take it you were successful with your trip?"

"Very," said Gold briefly as he placed another small box along with his keys on the cluttered kitchen table. He paused looking around the myriad of boxes in the living room and inquired, "Where's Lily?"

"Taking a shower. Apparently she's all grown up now. Doesn't want my help," remarked Belle with a tone of surprise as she placed her hands on her hips. Gold acknowledged Belle with a smile and nodded compliantly.

"Unfortunately, that is one of the many side effects of being a child. They grow up." Gold looked around the dozens of boxes that were scattered everywhere and remarked, "You know, I don't remember bringing nearly this much stuff when we first moved here."

"We didn't bring much at all, actually. Only what we could fit in the Cadillac." Belle heaved a heavy nostalgic sigh as she too looked around the same living space. "But life happened. New memories were made and new things filled the gaps and spaces. I suppose I'll miss this life. Call me sentimental, but some part of me wants to bring this life back with us to Storybrooke."

"We can still bring this life with us," he said hopefully as he reached for Belle's hands and held them delicately in his own. "Now that magic is gone, life won't be so different there. And besides, the magical barriers that once protected the town will be gone too. So that'll make our re-entry into Storybrooke a lot easier."

"I know. It's why the movers are now able to bring our things into town." Belle glanced down at her husband's attire and noticed he was still wearing his trench coat. "Why don't you take your coat off and stay a while. Here, let me help-" she said as she attempted to help him out of his coat when he stopped her. He immediately took a step back away from her and replied, "No, I-I got it."

She took notice of Gold's curious behavior and continued staring at him as he made his way to the coat rack by the door to hang up his coat. Next to the coat rack stood a large vase that hosted all of the canes he used to need but were now collecting dust. It had been months since their last visit to Storybrooke and that long for Belle to get accustomed to seeing Gold without a cane. She knew that it took the Author possessing his body to heal is damaged leg. But really what it took… was magic.

It took Belle's silence for Gold to finally turn around from the coat rack and face her. He noticed her disgruntled face and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Is something wrong? Of course there is. She was reluctantly moving back to Storybrooke. His careful observation of her startled her back into a forced grin and she coughed to clear her throat, changing her sullen demeanor. She needed to change the subject. "No. I, uh, I'm curious as to what's inside the box that had you travel all the way to Kansas to get it," she said as she placed a gentle hand on the box large enough to fit a bowling ball. The box was made of hard oak and had a worn, warm look to it like it had been passed through many hands. "Let me guess, it's for Henry, isn't it?"

"You would be correct. Open it."

Belle opened the box and was surprised to see… "Corn? You went all the way to Kansas… for corn?"

She pulled a couple of ears of corn out of the box and held them up with a confused look on her face. "Couldn't you have just had this mailed? You went all the way out there personally to get vegetables?"

"Souvenirs," he replied with a serious face. He stared at Belle's face and waited a beat. When he couldn't keep a straight face any longer he instantly cracked into a huge smile and he began chuckling uncontrollably. "The box. I'm bringing the box with me to refurbish when we reach our new, well, old residence. It'll give me something to work on when I finally start my retirement. Besides, I bet it's been quite some time since Henry's had fresh authentic crops outside of Storybrooke. It'll give us something to talk about."

"Corn? You're giving Henry… corn?"

"From what I hear it's one of the state's most popular staple. I was hoping to perhaps invite Henry over one night for dinner. Perhaps use this as one of the side dishes."

Belle slowly placed the ears of corn back down in the box and continued looking at Gold quizzically. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" she asked as she attempted to feel his forehead.

"I'm fine," Gold assured her as he gently brought her hand away from his face.

"And there's nothing else that's special about this… box?"

"Someone's very skeptical this evening," he remarked as he realized the doubt that plagued her face. He shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly replied, "It's an antique, as are most of the items I come across at work. I'm sure someone will want this box once it's been refurbished."

His answer felt unsatisfactory because nothing about the box seemed valuable. But what did she know about the value of antiques? He was very talented in finding value in even the most non-valuable items. It was certainly beyond her expertise and most definitely within his line of work. However natural it was for him to collect items of unseeing value, something in the back of Belle's mind made her believe otherwise. He was up to something and that something was something Belle just couldn't point out, let alone articulate. In all the years that she had known him, silliness was never something he was known for unless it was a ruse of some kind to misdirect you to something else. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could still hear the demonic giggle he once possessed. What was most unnerving about the whole situation wasn't the phantom snicker in her mind, but the fact that it had been years since she felt this way about him. Doubtful.

She didn't have all the answers and she had to believe that what he was saying was true. She had to fight this trepid feeling that they were both reverting back to their old selves. She wanted to convey her concerns and confess her doubts to him, but suddenly she couldn't. To place doubts in him when she had doubts about herself didn't seem fair. So for the time being, she let his poor explanation for the corn slide and instead said sheepishly, "Ok."

"Come," he said while still holding her hand as he loosened his tie with the other, "come talk to me in the bedroom while I change. I wanted to go over the logistics with you in regards to our trip back…"

Belle nodded, leaving the mysterious box behind as she allowed him to lead her back to their bedroom. Just as the two adults entered their bedroom, Lily exited the bathroom and approached the secretive box she had overheard her parents talking about. She could still hear her parents talking in the other room as she discreetly opened the box on the table. She lifted the lid and discovered the ears of corn she had heard her mother question her father about.

This can't be it. Lily thought to herself. Lily knew as much about her father's love for tricks and puzzles as Belle did for reading his behavior. Lily removed the lid exposing the materials inside and lifted the box. It wasn't suspiciously heavy, but it was curiously heavier for six ears of corn. She checked the dimensions of the box and noticed that there was depth to the box that was unaccounted for. Lily removed the ears of corn and dug her hand into the box hitting the supposed bottom. She felt the corners and along the sides of the inside of the box until she felt an exposed lip whose gap was about the thickness of a fingernail. After carefully removing the dressings, she saw the lip and clawed at the edge using her fingernails. With ease, she pulled the trap door open and saw inside…

Shoes. Glittering silver shoes. For Henry? From her father? For her mother? What was he doing with these women's shoes and why was he hiding them? Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the rocks and pebbles that were embroidered on the outside were so perfectly even that the exotic design even felt enchanting. She recalled her father mentioning that the box was meant for Henry and she instantly became jealous.

After leaving the box to appear untouched, she quietly took her book bag which was close by to her bedroom door and quickly stuffed the shoes inside.

Hello! And Greetings to both Old and New Readers! Welcome to Part 3 of the Lily Series. (Part 1 - "Lily" and Part 2 - "The Author"). While I did try my best to encapsulate what happened in the previous stories, I do recommend you check out the first two before embarking on this one. However, you're going to read whatever you want to read and I applaud you for starting with this one. As the chapters go on, I will try my best to make this as much of a stand-alone story as possible, but I can't make any promises.

I intend on posting a new chapter every Sunday from now until OUAT S6, or until I've run out of chapters to write. But who knows? I might even throw an additional chapter in the middle of the week if the Sunday's chapter was too short. Again, thank you for reading this story and I look forward to hearing your review. Until then, happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Skitzoeinhoven