Summary: We take off where the previous chapter ended. A few questions will be answered such as: What happened to Regina? Did she manage to survive? What about Emma and Snow? What's become of them?
Author's Note: Thank you, dearest readers, for your continuous support. This fic is becoming more and more fun to write, so expect quite a few more chapters :) How are you enjoying the story so far? Wouldn't it be awesome if you could just answer the question in the reviews tab? It doesn't cost you a thing, so help out a fellow author. Well, I won't keep you any longer, just enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 3: Welcome To Millstown
Just as quickly as she had passed out, she had regained her consciousness once more, except for one thing: her body didn't follow the cure. She felt like a ghost, hovering above her own inert body which was somehow lost between unconsciousness and death. Not knowing what to do at the time, Regina Mills found herself dealing with yet another unexpected situation. There is always a first time for everything, she thought briefly, right before sensing another presence behind her.
A woman, appearing to be in her mid-thirties, with fairly tanned skin, jade green eyes and with no less than a hundred long dark and waist-long braids stood there, observing Regina. The stranger was dressed in a knee-length olive green tunic, where a distinct floral pattern had been etched. She was barefoot, the former Mayor noticed, after an inaudible step was taken towards her by this mysterious woman. She had a warm smile already formed on her lips even though Regina was eyeing her suspiciously.
" Regina Mills… What a pleasure to be able to finally meet you. I've heard and seen a lot regarding your ruling time." The strange woman said, calmly and unhurriedly, with her smile still firmly in place.
This was certainly not going accord to plan, what the hell was going on? Who was this strange woman who knew who she had been in the past and her misdeeds. A million questions clouded Regina's mind and since she got no answers just by thinking alone, the brunette knew she had to at least voice some of them.
"Which kind of witchcraft is this? Who are you? Speak this instance!" She ordered, finding that bluntness was the best way to hide the shock she was feeling for the first time she had arrived to that realm.
"Just calm down, Regina. I mean no harm, rest assured of that. I am Juno, goddess of Nature and all its dominions. But, to you and the other mere mortals, I am best known as Mother Nature." Juno uttered, still not letting her smile fade completely from her lips.
"What? Why should I believe you? This can't really be happening! What have you done to me?" The brunette asked, clearly on the verge of snapping. At the moment she just wished to run away, flee from this nightmare. Incredulous and not really buying the bull the other woman was trying to throw at her, Regina decided to clear her head and ignore whatever was happening. She had to figure out what was happening so she turned on her heels and made a move to leave Juno talking to herself.
"It's your choice whether you believe me or not, but you cannot ignore something you cannot control. You will stay here and listen to what I have to say until the very end. Any attempt to leave will be pointless." This time Juno wasn't smiling as she talked, her facial expression had changed dramatically from friendly to dead serious in what seemed like a millisecond.
Regina found that then she had no control over herself, so she went back to her initial position as the goddess had demanded. Her magical powers were nonexistent compared to those of that mythical being therefore she internally made the decision of seeing where this all was going to lead to. After all, she didn't have a better choice.
"I have come here because, as much as I hate to admit it, I need your help." Juno declared, matter-of-factly, and seemingly resigned to her fortune.
"What? Am I hearing correctly? You, a grand and mighty goddess, want help from a mere mortal such as myself?" The brunette asked, disdain clearly dripping from her deep voice.
"You may not be aware of it just yet, but a great peril threatens this realm. This world is crumbling, and soon, there won't be anything left. You see, twenty eight years ago, when you still ruled this land, everything was, shall we say, reasonable and us, gods, tolerated your brutality and austerity. Then you cast the curse and everything changed. Someone took over the throne, a person even more wicked and cruel than you. A great deal of harm has been already done as that someone has taken advantage of endless people just to achieve his goals, however insignificant and meaningless they are. And most importantly, that person does absolutely anything just for power, at whichever cost. Atrocities such as massive murder, imprisonment and execution of innocent people, destruction of entire villages, fertile lands, and even much needed food are only a small number of crimes committed by this ruler. And it is only getting worse with time." The goddess explained, frowning more and more as the story progressed.
"As I've said before, very soon, there won't be anything left. You must help us. You must defeat this evil. They must not stand!" She exclaimed, desperate to make the former Mayor understand the magnitude of the situation.
"Why me?" Regina asked, trying to figure this all out but failing miserably.
"You are the right person for this because you are the one who knows this ruler the best. And you are the only one that has the power to defeat her." Juno merely stated, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.
"Her? So she is who I was thinking. My mother has risen once again to torture everyone around her. Not surprisingly, I must add." The former Queen uttered, somehow expecting her mother to turn up eventually in the picture.
Great. Now she had to deal with her bitchy mother, like if she hadn't got anything else to do at the time, or worrying her for that matter.
"So… Will you help us?" The goddess asked nervously, ending the awkward silence that had slowly started to cling into the conversation.
"I must decline. I'm sure you understand that I've other things to attend to far more interesting than deal with my own bloody mother." Regina answered frankly.
"Yes… Emma Swan and Snow White. Interesting indeed…" Juno mumbled more to the other woman than to herself and nodded almost imperceptively. Then she continued. "You'll see that those two will soon become your most trusted allies. And I should rather let you see things for yourself but since you brought it up… I think I am in the liberty to tell you."
"Tell me what?" The former Mayor asked, thinking that no good was going to come out of that mouth.
"Someone, although I have my suspicions, has put a curse on you. You were stripped of your magical powers since you entered Fairytale Land through that mirror. That's all I know, but whoever cursed you certainly wanted you to stick around permanently and never go back to where you came from."
"What? I have no magic? How am I even supposed to throw my mother away from the throne?" Regina asked rhetorically, yet earning a response.
"I'm confident you'll find the answer to that. Meanwhile, I must haste. You see, time is of the essence when you're a goddess. We will meet again, Regina Mills." Juno waved her right hand seconds before vanishing into thin air.
The encounter had begun and ended in the same way. Regina found herself lying once more on the same ground where she had passed out. Except, this time, her body had agreed to cooperate with her. She tried to stand up with success. She realized where she stood for the first time: The Stables. The place brought back old memories, especially angst ones. She would leave this despicable place be for now. It was time to visit her childhood Estate after more than 28 years of abandonment.
As she finally left the stables and observed the surrounding world, she couldn't help thinking of how much this place had changed and wondering what else would the future have in store for her.
Fairytale Land sure had its charms. The thing was, Emma Swan wasn't finding it so charming after what had seemed like a whole month – but was actually a two-week period - lost in the depths of the Enchanted Forest. Shortly after their arrival to what seemed to be the ruins of an ancient and majestic castle, Emma had relied solely on her mother's navigation abilities as she legitimately claimed to know more about that land better than Emma did. Surely, at the time, it had sounded like the best rational plan to get them out of there, but two weeks afterwards, Emma was somewhat reluctant to give in and trust those so praised skills.
However, that wasn't what distressed her the most. The blonde missed dealing with the people she was used to, right back at home, her "real" realm. It could and most certainly would sound strange to admit it, but Emma Swan missed certain encounters with certain individuals, especially those who were responsible for making her life undoubtedly more interesting. What surprised her at that time, though, was the fact that she actually missed those enraged confrontations with Madame Mayor, which had such an effect on the blonde that were unexpectedly able to make her blood boil endlessly, or her snarky remarks, for that matter. That strange feeling suddenly recalled to mind that she had pushed Regina away from the Wraith which was sent to specifically hunt her down, and how the other woman was able to perform magic after she had subtly touched her on the arm.
Emma Swan did her best to discard those inappropriate and ridiculous thoughts out of her head. It wasn't the right time to be dealing with meaningless issues that somehow insisted In involving Regina Mills in the picture. As she shoved those thoughts away, she came to a sight that overjoyed her for the first time in weeks. Yet, she didn't have much time to properly see it before two arms came around her and shook her firmly.
"Emma!?" Snow White uttered while eyeing her daughter carefully. "Have you listened to what I've just said?"
"Yeah, sure I have." The blonde answered somewhat awkwardly, not knowing what to say, which didn't convince much the other woman, earning a glare as a result. "Alright, you caught me. Come again?" She asked, raising her hands and trying to divert the attentions away from herself.
"You're insufferable, Emma, do you know that?" Snow paused to add more effect to her words. Then after a few seconds, she continued. "I was just saying I think there's a village up ahead."
"Yeah, I kind of noticed." The blonde answered dryly, opting to ignore the criticism. "There are some weak lights over there. I think they come from torches; we should definitely check them out."
And so they headed out towards the lights, feeling hopeful for the first time in weeks. Eventually they had come across an old stone trail, leading both women to a sinister and dim village. As they came nearer to the first few rows of wooden shacks, a stone sign informed them of their whereabouts. Its engravings, almost unreadable, had aged with time. Yet, it was still possible to be read: "Welcome to Millstown."
As much as they were pleased to have finally found signs of civilization, it didn't bring them any closer to returning to Storybrooke. All that sudden hope vanished eventually as they started to explore the village further.
Like all small villages, there was a main street, if you could even describe it as a street, and wooden shacks. These were all scattered around the main street, connecting the whole village. There were no barracks or soldiers to be found. At least, they didn't run the risk of being arrested just because they were outsiders.
The villagers weren't much talkative either, they noticed, as in the same second they had spotted Snow and Emma they had hid themselves inside their shacks.
"Puff… Well, what do ya know 'bout that? There are also scumbags in this world." Emma stated matter-of-factly while her mother desperately tried to find someone decent enough amongst the townsfolk to help them.
"Emma… Don't be rude." She scolded her daughter. "It looks like everyone is scared. What are they scared of? Us?"
"Probably. But the thing is, they don't know who we are. So the question should rather be: Who do they assume us to be? They are clearly afraid of someone, and perhaps they think we are those people."
"Could be. As of right now, I'm not sure of anything at all." Snow White nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, me neither." The blonde uttered while looking around her. After a while, she finally spotted something worth a visit . She called her mother and pointed at the dark building, where a sign with the shape of a horse was on the outside.
"A pub? You wanna go drinking now ?" The brunette asked, confused.
"A pub which is, conveniently, also a place where we can sleep properly in a freaking bed. Can't you read "The Black Stallion's Pub N' Inn" in the sign?"
"Why, Miss Hotshot, how are you planning to pay the bills?" The pixie-haired woman asked in a know-it-all tone.
"Well, perhaps with the money I borrowed from those lowlife thieves we encountered last week." The blonde said with a mischievous grin on her lips.
For the first time in two weeks, Emma saw Mary Margaret, rather than Snow White, laugh out loud. She was beginning to fear her best friend was gone but this was just a reminder that she was still there. She hadn't faded. She laughed along with the other woman until the latter started to walk towards the pub.
"You don't have to tell me twice, Emma." The brunette uttered as she took the first step with Emma beside her.
The Black Stallion's Pub N' Inn was, like the rest of the town, a shady place. Bad lighting and at least 10 rounded walnut tables and chairs stood west of their position. There was also a counter and stools in the left end of the pub. A flight of stairs next to the back door showed both women that that was the entrance to the lodgings of the inn. Truth be told, the almost inexistent and old-fashioned décor gave the pub an air of an ancient saloon, if one of those had actually existed in that realm.
There was a rather large and ginger haired lady behind the counter who greeted them noisily upon their arrival.
"Howdy! My name's Samantha Jo, but everyone calls me Sammy Jo around here. I'll be serving you tonight. What can I get for ya?" Sammy Jo said vibrantly, with a mild southern accent and not certainly showing the same fear as everyone else had shown.
Mother and daughter thanked the thoughtfulness and sat at one of the nearby tables as they answered the question.
"I'll have a glass of Jack, how about you?" Emma said, happy to have finally found a place where drinks were served.
"Yeah, I'll have the same as she." Snow White uttered after a while thinking on her own choice.
"Gotcha. I'll be right back with your booze, ladies." The pub keeper answered, right before disappearing behind the bar.
As they waited, both women noticed the sideways glances that the other costumers were giving them. However, they looked away if one of the females looked directly at them. Cowards.
"I'm not liking this one bit, Emma." The petite brunette admitted while fidgeting her fingers.
"Yeah. I can't say I do either, but listen, it's kinda natural, don't you think? After all, they don't even know us." The other woman said, trying to keep logical but still aware of her surroundings.
Soon enough the pub keeper came with those drinks.
"Here you go, ladies." She said as she placed the glasses on the table. "I don't think I've ever seen you girls around, what business brought ya'll here?" Sammy Jo asked, curious about these women.
Mary Margaret blushed slightly, not knowing what to answer. On the contrary, Emma knew what had to be said.
"We're travelers. You see, we were told that the land here is magnificent for collecting medicine ingredients and we decided to check it out for ourselves." The blonde said smiling.
Her mother quickly decided to help in and cooperate on the story. "Yeah, we do make a habit of visiting and studying different regions and its resources, herbs, plants, ingredients for medical ointments, you name it."
The busty woman seemed to have bought the story. "Oh, good for you. Perhaps in the future I'll have some use for your skills and knowledge. Oh, and since you're not a local, I assume you don't have a place to stay?"
Both women nodded affirmatively. "We don't. We were hoping to stay here tonight at your Inn." The brunette answered first.
"That's wonderful! I have two newly vacant rooms which would suit you like a glove. That is, if you can pay five gold pieces a night. Each." Sammy Jo said, a tad greedily.
Mary Margaret opened and closed her mouth several times, surprised. As for Emma, she just smiled.
"That's a reasonable price. We'll take it." She uttered, leaving the inn keeper to retrieve the keys.
"What? Are you serious? Do we even own that much gold?" Her mother asked, thinking that that amount of money was preposterous.
"Yes, we do. And excuse me for wanting a real bed just for one night. My back's killing me just in case you haven't noticed." The blonde answered sarcastically.
Just in time, Sammy Jo brought in the keys. "Alrighty, everything is set. You can go up if you want. Rooms number two and three. Up the stairs and to the left. Now, if you'll excuse me I have other costumers to attend to. I wish you both a good stay." She said as she handed the keys to Emma. After having collected the money from the drinks and the rooms, Sammy Jo returned back to the bar that was now crawling with drunken costumers.
"I'll take room number three. Three is my lucky number." The blonde said, handing over the key number two to the other woman. "I'm gonna go up now, my feet are also hurting now." She almost whined as she got up from the table.
"Oh, I'll go with you. These guys are weird." The brunette said, earning a suppressed laugh from Emma. "What?" She asked, not seeing why that was so funny. Emma didn't answer her and just kept walking at a fast pace, leaving the brunette needing to hasten the pace to catch up.
As they made way to their rooms, Emma Swan could already smell the scent of clean sheets, well, she hoped them to be all clean and shiny but in this hellhole, who could be sure of anything? Both women said their good nights and went inside their rooms. Emma only had time to lie down, as the second after she had, she was already reaching dreamland.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: A great thanks to my beta-reader, Nate, without whom it wouldn't be possible to upload these chapters! Stay tuned for the next chapter and, as always, don't forget to review! :)
