A quick one shot which adds a little more depth and insight into how Ashley came to make her deal with Gold, consider it practice until I feel I can hold onto the characters enough to make a decent real fic. involving everyone's favourite deal maker ;D
I of course do do not any of these characters or anything to do with Once upon a time. Those belong to their respective actors, directors, writers and general team members who bring creations such as them to life for our viewing pleasure.
"I know it's hard to take in...and...well imagine what I feel! Look my mom's comng so I gotta go. No we have to talk about this later sean, I can't hide it forever..I gotta...Oh yeah, love you too sweety, by!"
Ashley's tone changed the moment her mother walked into the room, having heard the tell tale sounds of the brand name heels clicking down the hallway of the manor just outside Storeybook, almost as big as the mayor's and happily fully paid off in the family name. A name that now belonged to the head of the household, Mrs. Eleanor Boyd.
"Oh, traffic is murder out there Ash!"
The fashionable woman huffed dramatically, pushing several plastic bags onto the granite counter as she kicked her shoes off. The woman was almost thirty, a younger companion to suit Asheley's father's midlife crisis. In her mid twenties she had been stunning, but time was not doing her any favours, nor had the two twin girls from a previous mishap...or marrige, Ashley was not privy to the details.
"Help me?"
"Of course Mom, let me get that for you just.."
"Oh thank goodness, I was so tired, you know. Work is such a bore"
It never occurred to the good natured teen that her step mother was as useful as a mop bucket in a desert, so she didn't mind being left to deal with the groceries while Eleanor flounced into the living to sit down.
"Are Anna and Ella back yet?"
"Huh? Oh no...I haven't heard from them since yesterday"
Two years Ashley's seniors both Anna and Ella Boyd spent copious amounts of time and money on their appearance and were often out in the town doing so.
"Well they'll show up sooner or later, just make sure there's something to eat when they get back 'kay? Oh and I think there's some laundry that needs doing and it's not mine."
Ashley laughed to herself despite the situation she was in. Y'know sometimes she wasn't sure if she was sister or slave in this household.
There was nothing subtle or hidden about the bump now blossoming underneath the loose fitting garments that the petite blonde had started to wear of late. The town was rife with the news. Teen mother, not fit to raise a child and barely out of her own infancy. Together with Sean they had told his father of their impending expectation. He'd been livid.
It had been weeks since she'd seen her baby's father, her lover, boyfriend...fiancee after she'd told him the news, not that it mattered much now she supposed since he was folding under the pressure of his father's rule to have nothing to do with the baby, or it's bearer.
"I...I just can't do it any more Ash"
"but what about us, what about out baby, our life, our-
"Ash!"
His tone had been broken, unsure but determined to go through with the only decision that he could latch onto, even if he wasn't sure it was the right one.
"We're kids. I can't...I can't be a father."
"So? I didn't think I could be Mother, but y'know what? I don't have a choice. This baby is coming, weather we like it or not. But we can choose to be there for it, don't you want see?"
He stopped and for the briefest of moments she wondered if he had decided to stay with her, but the prolonged silence said enough for him. She wiped tears from her eyes, glad that they'd snuck out into the woods to talk for once instead of going into town like she asked.
"You're embarrassed of me, you don't even want to be seen with me and now...now."
"That's not true! You know I..."
"What? What Sean, what do you want huh?"
And he'd remained silent then, and she had realised he wasn't going to say those words, tell her it was ok and demand his father take her in so they could raise their family in a nurturing environment like it deserved.
"You know what it's like living with her, how often I told you, what she thinks of me"
Eleanor. Kind sweet Eleanore, who had turned into an overbearing monster of a stepmother since Ashley had confided in the only person she'd had left to turn to. Looking back Ash wondered if she'd ever actually been kind at all.
"Well you know what? Forget you, just...go home and I'll stay out of your life Sean. I can look out for me so don't worry."
It had been the last time she'd seen her boyfriend, she'd stormed off into the brush to the place she called home only to lie on her bed unable to sleep. It was the first of many restless nights and she could only imagine it would get worse.
Her hands shook with the memory, tears blotting out her vision and she pushed her sleeve up her arm with her nose and wiped the salty drops away with her elbows, unable to do so with her detergent covered hands lest the soap sting.
Brusquely Elanore's voice floated down the stairs and into the basement which housed the laundry.
"Ash? I saw you were doing laundry and I wanted to remind you that almost all of those clothes need to be handwashed otherwise...Oh"
Blue eyes met dark brown as step daughter and step mother surveyed each other with a mixture of hatred and disdain.
"Yeah, I know, they'll shrink."
A cold smirk crossed the older woman's face.
"Yes well, the colour runs so I hope you used that detergent I told you about."
"And if I didn't?"
It was unlike Ashley to rise into a debate with anyone nowadays, her fire diminished since the world had seemingly deserted her for a common mistake born of teenage first love, but the memory of Sean's betrayal had left her hurting more than she could voice, and an argument gave her reason to yell. Her mother raised an impeccably plucked and styled eyebrow to show her surprise at the back chat
"Excuse me?"
"What if I didn't, huh? What if after cooking and cleaning and washing and gardening and doing the rest of your nightmarish pile of laundry made me so damn tired and exhausted that I 'accidentally' chose the regular detergent? All those channel suits, all those precious egyptian cotton bedshetts..gone! Like that"
She waved her hands around, letting soapy bubbles float in the air as she she'd just magiced away all the precious items she described.
"Evening dresses, those designer pyjamas you pay more than this damn, bloody, old and clunky washing machine you leave me with to do all this with cost"
By now her voice was hysteric and for reason's she couldn't explain she was almost crying. Something bad was coming, something bad was happening for somehow she felt like she could only walk towards it, like it was dragging her like a child's toy and this...this slave labour was just the beginning.
Eleanor stalked down the stairs, hands on hip and eyes aglow with fire that hardly seemed justified directed at a teen mother who was also her daughter. Quicker than was traceable her hand was suddenly across the blonde's cheek, leaving a red and throbbing mark where its path had been. This time the tears fell freely as she stood shocked out her step mother's audacity.
"Listen to me! Now I took you in. You, eighteen, almost nineteen and pregnant. No one wanted you, not your boyfriend and not anyone else in town. You father may have owned this house, bless him, but he died a long time ago and now it's mine and frankly after this little display I've half a mind to throw you out."
"You treat me like a slave!"
"Quiet! All I ask if a few favours every now and again and this is how you repay me? No rent, no bills, no judgement..well. That's all changing from here on out. Starting tomorrow you'll get a job and pay me every cent for harbouring you and if you have a problem with that I suggest you move out Missy, but good luck renting with no job, no support and a baby on the way."
Silence deafened the small room as the words sunk in with the sting of reality.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Say? Say? She wanted to break down in tears and cry for everything she had lost, least of all the father she'd lost, the boyfriend who had deserted her and the child she carried who she no longer knew the future for.
"Yes stepmother."
Days flew by quickly after that, Ashley found a job with Granny's Bed and breakfast looking after staff uniforms, darning them when needed and keeping the reds from the whites; which included granny from her daughter Ruby sometimes in the heat of arguments. Ashley liked working for them, they had a dysfunctional relationship but she saw beyond the harsh words and recognised love when she saw it. She pined for it.
In the evenings she found she could keep the house tidy enough just by dusting since most of the rooms were barely touched other than the dining and living room, just the laundry always seemed to be piling up, she'd fall asleep to the sound of the dryer rumbling around and the washing machine filling with water. She measured the growth of her belly with her hand span and sang to it gently, unsure who it was more comforting to. Only in her dreams she found solace, thinking of another life and fancying herself a princess and Sean her prince, living the happily ever after life, but mornig would always wake her.
The money she earned went to two things, Eleanor and doctor visits, but neither was cheap and more than once she'd skipped an appointment only to have Ruby slip her some extra bills so she could reschedule. She hated what she had become but for her baby, her Alexandra as she'd recently found out, she took the handouts to keep everything in check. She still didn't know what would happen when nine months was over.
It was during one of her weekly trips to the store she felt the first kick, it took her by surprise and she felt a rush of emotions. Joy, happiness, love and crippling fear. She had buckled at the knees more from surprise than pain and found herself idly sitting down and rubbing her hands over her bully, pulling the cottony T-shirt up so she could feel for another sign of movement.
'Pushing me forward aren't you little one? But...where? I can't help you any more than I can help myself.' Another kick sent tears down her cheeks as she realised the hopelessness of her predicament. Eleanor was right, nobody wanted her, everyone knew she couldn't be a fit mother, even Sean. She had no business keeping the baby, she just wanted it to be like it was before. When everything was right and the baby would be...
"Out for a stroll miss Boyd, or should I call for an ambulance?"
The languid voice with a gentle accent caught her off guard and she looked up into the crooked eyed smile of resident town con artist, or pawnshop dealer if you looked at it another way, Mr. Gold. She wiped her tears away quickly and pulled her shirt down, unsteadily trying to get up on her feet.
"Oh, no, no...I just..just..."
She found it more difficult than normal to stand and was embarrassed to be found in such a state, inwardly she cursed the hormones. A long slender cane was held out to her, the owner of said item looking on in mild interest. Nervously she smiled and took it as an aid to help her stand.
"Just needed a little hand didn't you?"
"Oh, yes...yes. Of course"
Now steady on her own two feet she was anxious to be away from the strange older man and his twinkling eyes. She had never understood but she felt an aversion to him, and not just because of what she heard about his so called 'deals' around town. She had met him only a few times personally , usually in a large group where she could get away.
"I'll be going now, things to do."
"'Course, of course." He stood smiling, non-threatening as she turned to leave, taking a few confident strides away.
"Are you sure that's all you need? Just a little hand?"
That phrase, somehow it seemed to hold her to the spot and her mind reeled with her previous thoughts, about the deals people made with him, about how he could make almost anything happen. She turned, slowly, and observed his nonchalance with the same stare a a mouse might do a mousetrap.
"The baby...it..she," She was unused to the phrase, as if to name her child was to give it life, "She kicked, for the first time"
This time a bemused smile crossed Gold's thin lips and he walked closer, she did not back away.
"I..I wanted to tell someone. No one else knows...no one else cares."
Despite not having thought through the words she found them to be true. Someone should know, if not the father, someone. He congratulated her with a curt nod of the head then bowed it in thought for a moment.
"May I?"
His hovering hand the universal gesture to touch her rounded belly to feel for that timid sign of movement, she shrugged indifferently not sure that it would happen again any time soon.
His hand graced over the stretched fabric of her shirt, resting on the widest part of her once toned abdomen. It was barely a minute before she too felt the sudden jolt just under his hand, as if he'd known such a thing would happen. Her features lit up in a dreamy smile again, this time however she did not feel the need to sit down. Her initial thought was that he would remove his hand as soon as he felt that kick but it lingered long enough for her to look into his eyes filled with questions, questions he seemed happy to dangle answers in front of with her own eyes.
"Amazing isn't it? Human life..."
Ashley stepped back now, unsure as to why she had felt so inclined as to let him get so close but now eager to be on her way to the store and back to the house, the only time she had been eager to get back to that cruelty of a lifestyle. Her thoughts still rested somewhere between two worlds, one with her child and the hardship and joy it offered. The other with the life she could lead without such a burden.
"I guess..."
"It must be hard, facing all that judgement and suspicion alone?"
She nodded, gulping as she did and feeling the emotion ball up within her throat. The whole town knew she was doing it alone, that she was abandoned. She wasn't so sure if they knew the injustice she faced from her own 'family' but somehow she thought worse of them for not knowing it already, like they should have saved her long ago...saved her from a mistake.
"Wouldn't it be nice if it could all just...go away?"
Ashley snorted and laughed, unsure if he was joking or not, horrified that she could consider it. The laughter turned into tears and she was doubled over, clutching not at her belly but her legs, her clavicle, anywhere not bloated and weighing her down. Part of her realised she should say no but another wondered if maybe she'd been asking for this all alone, wanting someone to take everything away, her away, solver all her problems.
"Yeah, like that could ever happen."
"What if it could?"
That made her stop. It made her stop real quick and scrutinise him, from his salt and pepper hair to the too shiny shoes on his feet. His face was the mask of the kind business man, there was no joke and his tone conveyed how seriously he had meant it. She noticed suddenly that no one else was around on the streets of storybrooke, not that this was out of place for the small town.
"What?"
He rolled his eyes impatiently.
"What if I could just take it away, put your life back in order? You could own your father's house again y'know? Back in school with all your friends and none of this...work" He raised a hand to motion towards the direction of the store, her home and the town.
"I'm sure Mr. Hermann wouldn't mind his son being with a girl with a college scholarship either, have you thought of where you want to go yet?"
Her heart skipped a beat. It was like he had opened her heart and found her deepest desires, reminding her of what the baby had cost her, what her father's loss had caused and how she had fallen. College had been a dream she'd given up on when Eleanor had turned on her and school was no place for a mother.
"You can't do that."
"Oh Miss Boyd, you'd be surprised what I can do."
As if on cue he sidestepped around her, ambling along with that limping gait everyone around town had come to recognise and she knew that with him left the chance of ever getting those things back, those dreams.
" Wait. Please, wait. My life… It's wretched."
It was now his turn to stop and turn.
"I know about your deals, I know they can go..."
Gold coughed politely and Ashley stopped midway through her sentence, suddenly mindful of what she was saying and acutely aware that she had to say it right.
"Please. I will do anything to get out of here. Anything. Just...help me, what do you want?"
As if frozen she waited with baited breath for his reply, it seemed an eternity as he edged back closer to her.
"You understand this would be a...discreet contract?"
"Yes, yes of course" Her voice grew desperate, she could almost hear the sound of a school bell, could see herself kicking Eleanor and those hags of sisters out of her house for once, the looks on their faces would be priceless.
His face inched closer to hers, close enough so she could taste the slightly rustic scent of his breath, entwined with something else she could only remember and never name. His stance and request for discretion now made her nervous, what would he want? Money couldn't be it, the only thing she had left to offer anyone was...Her heart hammered as thoughts of strange requests he could ask of her in private settings, away from the public eye, took hold of her. His fingers once again traced along her stomach making the hair on her neck stay up.
"Oh, nothing you'll miss..."
He backed off as confusion dawned into understanding, her hands reflexively curling around her enlarged stomach as if to protect it from this man and his deals.
"No, no I can't do that, she's...There must be-"
"No, it's my only offer I'm afraid Miss Boyd, I promise I only want to help"
There it was again, that little twinkle in his eye, the fox watching the hen house...
"Well, I'm afraid then we have no business young lady. I believe you had some business to attend to. Please, give your mother my regards."
The implication of his words echoed within her mind long after he left, long after she'd gone to the grocery shop and returned home to find Eleanor furious that she'd been late and had 'forgotten' certain products she had only thought of while Ashley had been out. It grew later and later into the night and still Ashley had washing and dishes to finish off. Her bones ached from the strain, her mind reminded her she had work tomorrow that would only result in what little pay she had lining the silky pouches of her step mother's louis vuiton purse. Ruby would give her that pitying stare and Sean? Well...he wanted nothing to do with her. She patted the belly occupied with her unborn child, singing to herself as she fell asleep though no dreams comforted her now.
When morning came she was up early before anyone could notice her absence, she sat down at the front of a familiar mahogany store, it's windows filled with strange and old merchandise nobody wanted.
'Like me.'
She thought to herself, letting her tired mind distract her from what she was doing.
A slight jingle and click of a down opening struck her out of her reverie, a long cane was dangerously close to her cheek where it rested against the wall.
"Need another hand Miss Boyd?"
Mr. Gold, seemingly from nowhere, up bright and early, dressed in a pristine suit, regarded her with the same interest he had always seemed to hold whenever they were in the same room.
"Mr. Gold. I'd like to make a deal with you."