Melody
With a startle, Melody moved fast as her hand hit the buzzer off button her alarm clock. Groaning, it was 6:30 in the morning. It was also a Monday, the start of a new year at school. Getting up, she looked around the place and had looked straight at the mirror grabbing her hair. What had just happened? Did she dream of cutting her hair to her shoulders? Her hair was now below her shoulders. Something was off. "I must have just dreamed it; I'll do it again when I get home." Melody said to herself as she got out of her bed, and walking away from her bed and opening the door to the hall.
"Daddy, mom are you here? "She called out. There wasn't an answer. That was surely strange, why wouldn't they answer. Looking out the kitchen window to the beautiful ocean, she saw her father's boat was not in the docks. "Thanks for not giving me a notice you two were leaving." She said. But there was no smell of coffee, and it didn't smell like her dad's clone in the master bedroom. However she didn't have time to worry about that. She quickly hopped into the shower and started of her day. Getting out she ate breakfast and finally got dressed and went out to the garage to get her bike and rode to school.
She kept looking down at her phone, surely her father would text her or call her. However her mother had just entered the town, it was the first time she had even seen a cellphone when she had arrived in Storybrooke after learning of where her husband and daughter were. It felt like that was the last time she had seen her parents. "Mel!" she heard her friend call. "I thought you cut your hair, I was with you." Chrissy said. "I did, two days ago. We both must have dreamed it." Melody said and shrugged. "Do you want to go to the beach? We can make a snowman?" She teased. It was however winter, but at the moment, it wasn't all that cold. Melody laughed, "No thanks, I have to go home. My parents are probably home by now. They were gone this morning." She said looking at her. "I'll call you when I get home."
Melody walked to her locker and did the combination and grabbed her books and put them in her sea blue backpack and put on her jacket. It was going to be a cold ride home. She was lucky, that it was a straight shot to the water, where her home was. She didn't have to travel a long time. She also didn't have to work at Granny's that day. She had the day off, after working twice her hours as a minor should be working.
Finally arriving home, she put her bike next to the porch and locked it up on the fence that went around the deck. After locking her bike up, she went inside. However this time it was different. The door was broken, literally. The door was off its hedges. She wasn't sure what to do, she slowly took her backpack off her back and held it as if to throw at whoever was inside her home. Not hearing anyone, she slowly walked into the house stepping over the side and towards the kitchen. She didn't want to make a huge noise, as she grabbed a kitchen knife out of the drawer and made her way to her parent's room. She slowly went inside it and quickly shut the door and locked it as she heard moving from her bedroom. She slowly pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the only number she knew; it was Mary Margret's number.
"Hello," she heard the other answer. Melody talked as quietly as she could, "Snow its Melody," On the other line, Mary Margret could hear the sound of tears and stiffness in the girl's voice. "I think somebody is in my house, I need help." Before Mary Margret could answer, she heard on the other line a scream. And the phone call ended. "Melody!" She Looked at David, "You need to Eric and Ariel's home now." She said. The husband could tell just by looking at his wife that something was terribly wrong.
Melody tried with all her might to keep the door closed. The man was strong; he was able to push the door open. Without a second thought, Melody kept her knife in her hand, and stabbed the guy in the leg before pulling it out. She quickly re-locked the door and heard someone leave the house. Grabbing the knife, she went into the closet.
Emma
"This cold weather is not doing so well with me right now," Emma complained, and rubbed her hands up and down her arms to bring heat to help bite back at the cold from the change of the season.
"It's not so bad," Mary Margaret, her mother, had replied holding that wide childish smile on her face with pure happiness to match her vibrant features. She was spending time with her daughter—a rarity at times when Emma was caught up with the job she was given or more so promoted to when she proved her use and skill in tracking—and catching crooks.
Emma could easily disagree and she did. She was not a woman that enjoyed the cold so much because it brought back those terrible memories of when she was alone as a child—breaking into building to sleep for the night in order to steal the heat before she was forced back onto the streets. That wasn't the only reason—she didn't really care much for the holidays. Christmas—Thanksgiving though at times she could make an exception for Halloween and that was only because she abused her costume as a thief to really take what she needed from local convenient stores.
It was later in the day and due to the overly hours she willingly placed in on her day to day shifts—Emma was let home early but still the time for violence or the need for the Sheriff, never was really over just because she left the office and locked down the building. People of StoryBrooke still had her number and sometimes abused that by calling her late hours—mostly her sleeping hours to report disturbing noises. Emma could thank the dwarves for that—Grumpy if anyone wanted to toss a name out.
"We are home." Mary Margaret's excitement to be home had formed a soft smile on Emma's lips.
"Home," she repeated. It had a nice ring to it. Now she could say it without wondering how a real home would be if she really had it. She was with her real parents—son and had some awesome friends that supported her through thick and thin. Yes, this was home and she would do anything to protect her home. This world she was in now was a world she had only dreamed about as a young girl—to be with her parents and loved by them truthfully, without the magical creatures and stories that came with it.
Emma hung up her coat—the door to their apartment was shut behind her. In the distance, both her parents stood hugging sharing those adorable kisses of true love and absently fading into those hypnotizing stares their eyes played a part in when they stood there for a good few seconds before being interrupted by either her or Henry.
Speaking of Henry, "Mom," the boy rushed from his back room to give a tight hug to Emma—his way of welcoming her home. "Do anything fun today?"
Emma smiled and sighed. "Paperwork mostly, kid." She shuffled her hands through his dark strands. It was soft just like Neal's—the thought made her sigh with a slight frown. It didn't last long when she saw the coco cups on the table stack next to each other. One was already sipped on. Emma could tell by the cream.
"And, what is this?" She asked, observing.
"We thought we would have family night and stay up drinking some coco. It's a cold night as it is," David explained, wrapping his arms around Mary once more. It looked huge on her shoulder. "What do you say, Emma?"
She grinned. "I say, I am in."
Alarming as it was—Mary's phone sung loudly enough to catch everyone's attention. Silence thickened in the room, swallowing the voices of her family and the excitement that came with it. Everyone—especially Emma watched as her mother spoke on the phone, Her tiny hand trying to cover parts of the device to help sharpen the panic sounds of a person on the other line. People only did that when something was happening. Emma brought her attention to David, who returned the same stare they both shared as daughter and father.
Mary's short breaths followed where her eyes matched up to David's. "You need to get to Eric's and Ariel's place. It's Melody."
There was truly no rest for heroes. "That sounds like us, David—Dad." She wasn't sure what to call him yet. She usually used David when they were working together but now that they were home—well, she didn't know what to use. "Keep those coco's warm for us when we get back. Hopefully it's not too bad." She grabbed her jacket again, kissed Henry on the head and followed David out of the apartment door.
Obediently, they arrived at Eric's and Ariel's home. Strangely, Emma noticed right away the empty parking space. She was curious—where were the girl's parents? Why would they leave her home alone? The situation was already looking bad.
"Looks like we're dealing with a break in," David was leaning over the steering wheel—car door opened and soon afterward he was standing outside closing that same door shut. "Let's see if Melody is safe. Let's hope she was smart enough to hide.
Emma adjusted the buckle of her holster, leading them both to the door where the sound of shattered glass was heard breaking under the weight of her boots. The place looked dark- shrouded by very essence they swore to fight. The decoration inside of the home seemed out of place too—furniture was slightly readjusted and all this Emma knew just by using her eyes. She broke into enough places to tell when things were out of place. Her cautious meter was high and with every step—she was listening out for unmatchable movements that didn't match hers or David's.
"Okay—you go check the parent's room and I will try to check Melody's." That was the first order she gave for the night. She knew she would be here longer than she wanted. So much for family night, it wasn't going to happen now. Emma tip toed her way to the daughter's door. She had stepped in something wet—noticing it seconds before she gave an attempt to wiggle the handle of the door. It was too dark for her eyes to see what it was. So she ignored it—lifting her eyes and praying for the best.
"Melody," softly but silently she called out. Her ear pressed to the door. The handle was wiggled—locked. "Melody, its Emma. If you're in there, open up. We're here to help."
