The Ruffian's Wrath
Part I
The Queen and The Snake
Emma and Ruby walked down the street towards Granny's Dinner. Ruby was unsure how to act around Emma since the argument. The memories she had grown with Emma in Storybrooke were indeed pleasant, but the Red Riding Hood in her had a lifetime of memories with Snow White. To see Emma dismiss Snow's suggestion so easily bothered Ruby. She felt torn between her two friends. At least Snow had David; that was the main reason why Ruby decided to follow Emma.
"It was just so weird Ruby. I mean, Cora WAS Lancelot and she WAS Regina. How can we trust anyone?" Emma asked and then looked at Ruby suspicious, but joking around. "Do you really think that Regina and Gold are that powerful?" she continued as they walked down the slightly dark streets of their little town.
Ruby smiled and then replied, "Well, I've seen Regina and Rumplestiltskin's magic up close. I've never seen Cora's, but she seems pretty powerful. I guess another thing is that she's still been practicing these 28 years. Maybe Regina and Gold are rusty."
"Gold seems confident, but Regina is still scared of her mother, I think. I would be too if I were her. Cora is the most evil person I ever, well, never mind." Emma said as they entered the dinner.
Emma took a seat at the bar and took off her blue leather jacket. Ruby grabbed them each a drink. Emma sighed and leaned her head on her hand looking a bit disappointed. She finished half her drink rather quickly.
"So… have you talked to Snow since this morning?" Ruby asked awkwardly.
Emma grinned and replied, "Nice icebreaker Ruby. No, I haven't." She paused and thought for second. "Do you think I'm wrong? I mean, the whole reason any of us have anything to be afraid of is because of magic. I definitely don't want to learn from Gold, much less Regina. And mother superior? Give me a break. I feel like there's no middle ground here. I could see why Mary Margret would think it comes in handy. It came in handy with finding the truth about Archie, but not even that was the truth with Cora's tricks and it only made Regina use her magic against us again. I don't know. Magic seems like trouble." She paused and sipped her drink. "If I go with Gold or Regina, they're going to teach me, like, dark magic. If I go with that nun, I'm gona be expected to do no wrong. I feel stuck between a rock and a bigger rock." Emma explained as she sipped her drink.
Ruby giggled. "Emma, no one expects you to be perfect. You saved everyone. You broke the curse. You got back home, but you didn't do that by being perfect. You did all of that just by being yourself. I understand why Snow thinks it is useful for us to have someone we can really trust using magic, but the decision is yours. If I had the choice to have my… power or not, I would have to think long and hard before I made a choice. Take your time. Nobody is going to rush," Ruby was interrupted by the door opening.
"Good evening Ruby, Ms. Swan. Any decisions made yet?" Mr. Gold asked as he joined them in the dinner.
Emma rolled her eyes and took another swig of her whiskey. "No, and it's not going to be any time soon either. I don't want to be the "Dark One's" apprentice. That's like giving into Darth Vader or something."
Mr. Gold seemed annoyed with her reply. "Well then, I assume learning from Regina isn't an option either. Time is of the essence Ms. Swan. Who knows what Cora is planning in her part of the forest," he added, but received no response from Emma. "I suppose your magic wouldn't work in that bubble Cora has built either way."
The door opened again as Mary Margret and David entered the dinner. They approached the bar to hear the conversation.
"How do you know?" Mary Margret asked in a concerned tone.
"I examined the bubble. It's rather large, isn't it?" Gold replied sarcastically.
"You did? Did Cora see you?" David asked a bit dim witted.
"Someone had to do it. While you sweet and noble Charmings are off having your family quarrels, I gathered some information. Cora is not after only Regina anymore. Now that she has lost all ties with her daughter, she is after all of us. The list Mary Margret found had the names of the people she wants. Now that she did not get Regina, she is going after what she has always been after: power. She wants to rule this land, possibly all of us, and she wants to be the most powerful of all, which of course, is not going to happen as long as I am around." Gold explained.
"I hear that's debatable." Emma said, sipping the last of her whiskey.
"Emma, how much of that have you had today?" Mary Margret inquired with a disapproving tone.
Just as Emma was about to start up another argument, Ruby interrupted. "Where is the list Snow?"
Mary Margret pulled out a small scroll from her white coat and handed it to Mr. Gold.
Regina Mills
Snow White
Emma Swan
Rumplestiltskin
Red Riding Hood
"My name isn't on there." David said as he looked over the list a bit puzzled.
"Perhaps Cora realized just how useless you are." Gold replied.
David gave a firm stance, as though he was going to come at Gold, but Mary Margret stopped him.
"Look, whatever Cora is planning, she needs us out of the way. This list makes it perfectly clear." Mary Margret stated and then paused for a moment. "Where is Regina?" She asked in a soft confused tone.
Emma suddenly had another full glass of whiskey in front of her. She stopped drinking when she realized the question was directed to her. "She's at the Mills Mansion with Henry. He wanted to divide some of his stuff, like have some at our place and at hers. I'm getting him back in the morning. We are all gona have breakfast together here."
Mary Margret grew upset at the explanation and headed to the door. David followed behind her, already knowing why his wife was bothered. The rest of the group looked confused.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked Mary Margret before she made her exit.
"I don't know how you still trust her with your son Emma. What has she done for us to trust her? What if she is working with Cora again or worse, what if she doesn't give Henry back?" she replied.
Emma rolled her eyes. "That is not going to happen. We came to an agreement and I believe her, so does Henry. Maybe the only reason she hasn't done anything for us to trust her is because we haven't given her the chance. The only reason she reverted before was because she was framed for Archie and Cora tricked her, but now that she has cut all ties with Cora, her own mother, I think we all owe her a little bit of trust. She IS trying."
Mary Margret ignored her daughter's comment and left Granny's. Emma finished her drink in one gulp and followed quickly behind. Needless to say, the whole group found themselves heading to the Mills Mansion. As they left Granny's, Belle approached reading a book. Mr. Gold told her to wait at the dinner. He wanted to discuss Cora's list with Regina and thought he would only take a moment. He did not want Belle to visit the woman who kept her imprisoned so long. Granny offered to keep Belle company as she waited for Mr. Gold to return.
They reached Regina's house in no time. Emma was slightly stumbling up the steps. Mary Margret stood in front and rang the doorbell. They could hear laughter coming from inside the house. Mary Margret rang the doorbell again. Regina answered the door. At first, she was alarmed at the sight of the mob at her doorstep, remembering her dream from a while back, but that quickly changed to her getting rather annoyed with everyone cutting in on her time with Henry.
"Don't tell me. The end is near." Regina said mockingly as she stood before them in a black slacks and a dark blue blouse.
"Where's Henry?" Mary Margret asked impatiently.
Henry ran to the door from behind his mother. He looked at Regina confused and then turned up to his mother. "I thought I was staying with you tonight."
"No Henry, you are coming with us. Go get your things." Mary Margret answered.
"Just a minute Henry, you are staying with me tonight. Ms. Swan and I came to an agreement. Isn't that right Sheriff?" Regina asked looking in Emma's direction.
Emma looked up at Regina with her semi-drunk eyes and nodded her head rapidly. She hoped her son's other mother would not notice anything odd about her state of mind, but Regina could tell Emma had been drinking.
She turned to Mary Margret and said, "So this is how you gain your daughter's obedience; you enable her into alcoholism."
"Henry, go get your things," Mary Margret said again as she tried placing her hand on Henry's shoulder.
Regina stopped Mary Margret's hand and nudged her slightly with magic. Instantly, David, Ruby and Emma were on a defensive mode. Regina raised an eyebrow at the sight of their reaction.
"Sheriff, a word," Regina said, offering Emma a seat inside the house. Emma entered dragging her feet and then sat down on the living room sofa. "What is going on Ms. Swan? You wanted to make a deal; I made a deal. You want to have Henry stay with you instead of me; so be it. If I wanted to, there is not a court in the state that would not take my side on this matter. Who will believe that I am the Evil Queen and that this is made up town? I am trying Ms. Swan. I am trying to hold in my feelings, but it is coming off rather difficult when that flake of snow comes marching up MY steps trying to take MY son home with her. What business is this of hers?" Regina stated firmly.
Emma looked at her wide eyed, as though the words went in one ear and out the other. She recognized that Regina was waiting for a response and snapped out of her slightly drunken haze. "I know Regina. I'm sorry. She's worried that you are working with Cora again or that we can't trust you at all."
Regina's nostrils flared at the response. The fire behind her black eyes grew quickly. She gritted her teeth and let out a short. "Is that so?"
Either Emma was drunker than she thought or Regina still had the talent of intimidating her with simply three words. "Kinda… But I will deal with them. You can trust me. I won't break our deal. Henry is yours tonight. Mary Margret is just super worried about Cora and that damn bubble, especially now that we found that list."
"What list?" Regina asked, with her face immediately full of concern.
"Oh crap, I forgot to tell you. Mary Margret found a list after you picked up Henry with all of these names on it and Gold said that she wants to get us all out of the way so she can be the almighty powerful person or something." Emma explained.
"Emma, how could you not tell me this? Where is the list now?" Regina inquired.
A moment later, Regina was inviting all of them into her house so they could discuss the situation. Regina looked it over. She and Gold talked privately in the kitchen, away from everyone.
"What were you two doing?" Mary Margret asked, placing her hand on her grandson's cheek.
"We were playing board games, but my mom made all of them into real little moving pieces. I won at battleship and right now she is winning at Monopoly, but I have a plan on how to win." Henry said with a cute smile. He turned to Emma who had been trying to sober up at the edge of the sofa since she sat down. "Am I going home with you tonight?" He asked.
Mary Margret and David looked at Emma waiting for an answer more eager as Henry. She looked at them irritated with their mistrust in Regina.
"No, Henry. You are staying with Regina tonight." Emma replied.
"Why? Do you want to come home with us?" Mary Margret asked.
Before Henry had the chance to answer, Emma replied, "No, Mary Margret. You don't get a say in this. He is mine and Regina's and we have already made arrangements. We are both trying our best to keep our word here and you are not helping."
Emma stood up and headed towards the kitchen, only to find Ruby listening outside the door. She signaled Emma to wait and whispered that they hadn't said anything important yet. At that instant, the door swung open. Mr. Gold and Regina stood staring at the two girls with aggravated expressions on their faces.
"Care to join us dearies?" Gold asked.
"You'll hear much better in here." Regina added.
Ruby and Emma remained still. Regina walked passed them and rolled her eyes. They all sat in the living room to devise a plan. The conversation started getting quite heated between Regina and Mary Margret. Henry grew a little upset at their constant arguing. David offered to take him out for an ice cream to break the tension. Regina disagreed, but after a little persuasion from Emma, Henry and David started their walk towards Granny's.
"But how will we know for sure Emma's magic won't work either?" Mary Margret asked.
"How many times does he have to repeat himself? The bubble surrounding Cora's part of the forest is pink. That means whatever dark magic or good magic goes through will be sucked into the bubble and given to her until the person walks out of the bubble." Regina snapped very aggravated with her adversary's questions.
"What about Ruby?" Emma asked. Everyone turned to her confused. "She doesn't have magic, she has a curse, like a power. You told me that earlier Ruby. The bubble can't suck that away from you because it's not magic, it's a part of you. She can go through and fight Cora as the wolf." Emma explained.
"There's an idea. Good thinking Sheriff, except, it is going to take more than the big bad wolf to defeat Cora. She could simply wave her hand and turn her into a puppy." Gold replied.
"Who else has powers that are similar to Red's?" Mary Margret pondered.
Regina sat up as though a light bulb went off in her head. "What about the powers of the elements and different animals. Surely Cora cannot fight back a hurricane or a monsoon." Regina said.
"You brought her here?" Gold asked. "I've never seen her."
"Well, I haven't either, but I designated a spot for her here. Her alleged brothers are here." Regina answered.
"Who are you talking about?" Emma asked.
"Someone you don't read about in fairytales Ms. Swan." Regina added. She stopped everything, realizing Henry and David had been gone almost two hours. "Mary Margret, where is David?"
Regina and Emma ran out of the Mills Mansion and onto the streets of Storybrooke. David was not answering his phone. They all made their way to Granny's. When they entered the dinner, it was completely disheveled. Upon further investigation, they found that Belle, Granny, David, and Henry were all missing. Regina argued with Emma about how she knew leaving Henry with David was a bad idea. Ruby and Mary Margret held each other, realizing that Cora had taken their loved ones. Mr. Gold sighed. He could never have anything he loved without it being taken from him. That truce was null and void since Cora did not get her daughter back. He could hear the Storybrooke citizens arguing behind him.
"Enough! This will not do any of us good. Regina, if the Princess was cursed, she should be here. There was no way to avoid it. We just need to know where to look. Where are her brothers?" Mr. Gold asked.
Meanwhile, deep inside the forest of the vast little town, Cora sat on her thrown watching her prisoners through a looking glass. She examined each one. David slammed his shoulder against the magic walls. Belle searched for a loop hole, calmly placing her hand against the magic and Granny shouted her lungs out, but none of their efforts were of any use. Cora smirked at their frustrations. She turned to her right hand. There, stood a tall, well built, slightly tanned man with a thin mustache and goatee. His hair was jet black and his eyes were so green they were yellow. He held his staff and observed his prisoners alongside his Queen.
"Jafar dear, bring me my grandson," Cora said to the very handsome man.
The young and powerful sorcerer bowed his to his Queen and walked into another part of the castle. Henry sat chained to the floor of a room identical to the one he had at his mother, Regina's house. Jafar approached the young boy cautiously. Once he was only a foot away from the child, Henry swung his chains trying to hit Jafar, but with a wave of his hand, the sorcerer turned the chains into snakes and Henry was hopping away from them.
"What do you want?!" Henry exclaimed.
"Your grandmother wishes to speak to you boy," Jafar answered in a deep mysterious tone.
"That witch is not my grand…" Henry stated, but before the words left his mouth, Jafar had silenced him with magic.
Jafar brought the young boy before Cora. The Queen of Hearts waved her hand and a miniature thrown sat next to her. She smiled at her grandson. Henry remained speechless.
"Have a seat my little Prince," Cora said, but Henry did not budge. She pushed him down with magic and added, "I see you needed a little nudge. Do not fret, Grandmother will always be there to see that you excel in life. Tell me, how was your mother when you last saw her?" Cora asked.
"What are you doing here? Why have you taken everyone?! Leave my mother, leave both of my mothers alone! She's trying to change! Why can't you just let her…" again, before Henry could finish his sentence, Cora had him up in the air, bound with magic.
"If it is one thing I did not tolerate from my daughter, it was insolence. I see you inherit that from her and probably your other half, this Ms. Swan. Again grandson, worry not, for soon this little Storybrooke will be more than a mere city. It will be a kingdom," she whispered. "A kingdom for you, my daughter, and I to all rule over, as a family." She added with a smile. She turned to Jafar and added, "Oh yes, and Jafar of course." As she placed him back down on the thrown.
"You're Jafar… like from the Aladin?" Henry asked.
"Please child, do not mention this riff raff's name. I have a deal pending to get rid of him and his wench of a wife." Jafar replied.
"But, weren't you turned into a genie? Shouldn't you be stuck in a lamp?" Henry asked.
Jafar rolled his eyes and remained silent.
"Now, now Jafar, keep calm." Cora replied and then added, "Jafar made a deal with a certain god, Hades. Perhaps you have heard of him. Well, they plan on working together to take care of two very devious enemies. Hades is working on his portion of the deal, while Jafar helps me with my dilemma and then I can help with his part of the deal." Cora said.
Henry looked at them disgusted. He had no words to say to either of them. The little prince looked down and felt his ankle chained once more. He looked at Cora very disappointed.
"What dilemma do you have?" He asked softly.
"Why, I am so glad you asked dear. You see, since your mother refused to rebuild our relationship, I have decided to give her a very good reason to want to come back to me: YOU. Once she sees that you approve of me, the power we will have and all the things that come along with being royalty, she will come running into my arms." Cora explained. "You and I are going to get along very well in the coming days."
"And what about him?" Henry asked looking at Jafar.
"He is going to help us because I am going to help him." Cora replied. "Now, I want you to be ready for lunch in an hour. The three of us will eat in the dining hall. It is time you learn the correct etiquette of a Prince. I will not have you in the dungeon with the other prisoners." She explained and then sent Jafar to escort him to his room.
Jafar returned and looked at his Queen with concern. "I do not understand how he is of any use to us. He will only get in the way and I have a short amount of time to complete my deal with Hades or else the deal will be broken." Jafar said with a stern deep voice and his slight accent.
"Enough, I know what I am doing. The boy is an asset. You see, Regina was willing to change for him. She wanted me to do the same for her, but if her son and I are alike, well, there is no reason for her to think ill of me. I cannot get into her head, but I will not fail with Henry. Children are like clay. They younger they are, the easier it is to mold them into whatever you would like." Cora explained.
"Understood, but what about my half of our deal? I need that lightning sword to cut open the universe and bring Hercules down here. The girl, the one you said, she is not here. I looked for her. She controls the weather, yes? Well, how is she going to help me if she is not here?!" Jafar exclaimed.
"Silence! Our deal is not done. You have not retrieved anyone on the list I gave you. I need them to take over this town. Get them to cross this bubble willingly and their powers will become mine long enough for me to take their hearts, then they can leave and convince the town to submit to me." Cora turned to her colleague with disgust and then added, "You have not brought me any collateral for me to ensure you the Princess," Cora replied sternly.
"Once I get you these people, the ones you plan to lead your army of the Heartless, how can you be positive the girl is powerful enough to summon the sword?!" Jafar exclaimed.
"The girl works off of her emotions. Once she is on our side, all you have to do is get her to feel one of two things: an extreme amount of hatred, which will be quite easy to do, knowing her past, or extreme love. The choice is yours." Cora replied.
Miles away, in Brooklyn, New York, Leetha Ruiz sat in front of the musical styling's of Pam's Labyrinth. She looked upon the dim witted blonde girl completely repulsed. Leetha wore black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a black fitted vest over it. Her long black hair was in a pony tail. Her tan glossy skin glowed, even under the dim lights. She took a deep sigh as the young girl "performed" her song.
"I've heard quite enough dear. You are not what we are looking for." Leetha said as she stood up, putting away her things. "Ms. Sanders, please look up what scout found this young lady and have him fired." Leetha added as she made her way to the door.
"Wait, that's it? You're not going to give me feedback? Why don't you want me? I sounded just like," the small girl was stopped.
"Just like everyone else. Yes, that is why," Leetha interrupted with her deep stern voice. "If I have to hear one more song about how some seventeen year old is getting drunk till five in the morning and then repeats the same four lines for an entire song, I am not only going to shoot myself, but I am going to shoot the person who made the "song." Have a nice day."
Leetha slammed her office door. As soon as the door closed, she felt a pain on her face. Leetha placed her hand on cheek near her eye. There was something wrong. She only hopped it was not the same thing that had started happening on her right leg, right abs, and right shoulder. She looked in a mirror and there it was another small snakeskin scale. Leetha fiddled with it a bit. She had been growing them for months, at least two a day. The curse must be broken, she thought, but why the scales? She was supposed to be curse-free. Damn that Emma. Damn that Snow White. Damn that Storybrooke. No matter how far she seemed to find herself, or how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to stay away from them. Instantly, Leetha put on some sunglasses and went to the closet in her office. There, she had kept an emergency suitcase packed, in case anything out of the ordinary happened that she would have to flee to Storybrooke. It seemed to be the perfect day to use it. She changed into some leather pants, leather boots, and a purple dress shirt. She let her hair loose and tried to cover the scale. With no shame whatsoever, Leetha marched out of her office.
"I am taking a leave of absence. Send the letter to Mr. Parson that I have a sick family member and I will be taking all of the time off I have saved. I will try and stay in contact, but I am not sure exactly what to expect when I get there." Leetha said to her secretary.
"Where do I tell him your family is?" the secretary asked.
"Storybrooke, Maine." Leetha replied.
Part II coming soon…