CHAPTER THREE: DREAMS

Graham drove her back to Mr. Gold's. They sat in the car in silence. So much had happened in that one night and neither knew how to deal with the new found information.

I don't think we should tell anyone about it. Rosalie finally decided to tell him. We can try to pretend that nothing happened, so the mayor doesn't know. We can't do anything about it.

"But what if she finds out? What if she decides to... dispose of us?" Graham was right. If they didn't tell anyone what they suspected, then Regina could get rid of them cleanly. Even if Henry decided to tell. Even if Henry was the mayor's son, no one would believe a child and his fairy tales over his grown-up reputable mother.

Mr. Gold knows. If anything happens to us, I'm sure he'd know.

Graham frowned. Mr. Gold didn't have a good reputation in Storybrooke. He was not known to be the hero - more like the villain of the story. "Would he do anything if he finds out?"

Rosalie knew that Mr. Gold wouldn't allow anything to happen to her, but Graham... She'd have to do something about it. Don't worry. He will. He won't let anything happen to us.

He looked at her, not knowing what to think. Why would Mr. Gold help them? But why would Mr. Gold offer a girl shelter, food, and clothing? That man couldn't possibly be one of those... closet perverts, could he? "Does he do... anything to you?" he couldn't help but ask.

Rosalie raised a pale eyebrow, wondering what he was implying. What do you mean?

"Does he, you know, touch you in any way?"

She continued to stare at him before breaking out into silent laughter. When she calmed back down, she wiped beads of tears from her eyes. Of course not, silly!

He breathed a sigh of relief and let out a small laugh of his own. He felt foolish to think of something like that, but after what happened today, who knows?

He would never do anything like that. I trust him.

"Of course." He gave her a chaste kiss. "You should probably... you know..." He motioned to the door.

Rosalie glanced at his watch and paled. They were an half and a half late! Mr. Gold was going to kill them! She quickly gathered her bag, righted her coat, and raked a hand through her hair.

When she was in front of the door, she was hoping to be able to sneak in. Unfortunately, just as she was about to insert the key into the slot, the door opened, and a not so amused Mr. Gold stood in front of her. He had an eyebrow raised.

Sorry, she mouthed.

He glanced behind her at Graham who was standing awkwardly by his car. The sheriff gave the older man a weak smile and wave before ducking back into his vehicle.

Mr. Gold stepped back and Rosalie entered. She fully expected to get a lecture for staying out late, but he merely walked away.

Awkwardly, she stood at the entrance by herself. Was he angry with her? She didn't mean to stay up so late, but something important had come up and... She needed to tell him about it.

Quickly, she ran downstairs to where he spent the majority of his time when he was not sleeping or in his shop.

"What are you doing down here?" He was spinning thread, again.

She knew that he didn't like to being disturbed when he was down here, but she really needed to tell him.

Can we amend our deal?

"I'm afraid that's not possible, dearie," he replied without hearing her out.

Please. Graham just found his heart, again, and I think the mayor will be after him - us.

He stopped. "And where did he find his heart?"

She bit her lips and fiddled with a few trinkets on his desk. We were following this wolf that we believe was his companion in the past or another life. The wolf led us to the cemetery where the Mills mausoleum was located. She began to open the box, but Mr. Gold snatched it from her hands. It seemed like a normal place at first, but then, we discovered a hidden room and inside was a vault with hearts. Her hand wandered over to play with another object, which Mr. Gold promptly snatched from her hands, again. I held his in my hands and it was so strange. How could a live, beating heart be stored in a box and how could Graham live without one? I mean, I could feel it in his chest before. There was a heart in there already.

"Of course there is," he stated in an annoyed voice. "He'd be dead otherwise."

She frowned, waiting for him to explain.

"It's magic."

She was still confused, but decided to store it in the back of her mind for another day. Would you please help keep Graham from being obliterated by the mayor?

He sighed. "Fine. Fine. Now, leave me alone."

She grinned widely at him and complied without another word.

…

The next day, the mayor burst into the shop with a furious look on her face. "Did he tell you?"

Rosalie tilted her head and looked at the woman in confusion. Who tell me what?

"Did Gold tell you?"

Tell me what?

"How did you find it?"

"Regina, is there a reason you are harassing my employee?" Mr. Gold was standing beside Rosalie with his cane in his hands.

"You broke our deal, Gold," she hissed, glaring at him.

Mr. Gold smiled at her and tilted his head. "I don't believe I have. It seems that there had been a commotion at the mausoleum last night and the sheriff was there to check it out. The only thing my employee might've done you wrong was stealing him away from you."

She sneered back at him. Her hands were clenching and unclenching.

If the mayor was able to do magic as she could in Henry's book, Rosalie wouldn't doubt that she would be dead a thousand times over, by now.

"Now, if you're not looking for anything, would you kindly leave."

Regina gave them one last glare and stomped out.

Thank you, Mr. Gold. She looked worriedly down at her feet. Do you think she'll go after Graham?

"Perhaps."

I'm taking my lunch break, now! She didn't wait for him to reply before running out to the Sheriff's station. When she arrived, she was relieved to find that no one but Graham and Emma were inside.

They looked at her with alarm when they saw her frazzled appearance.

"Rosalie, what's wrong?" Graham had walked over to her and held her close, trying to calm her down. She rested her head on his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath

The mayor knows.

"What?" Graham looked at her with alarm.

"What's wrong?" Emma, too, had gotten up with a concerned look on her face.

She must've found out after we left the mausoleum. She visited me at the pawn shop, but thankfully, Mr. Gold was there. I thought she might come here, right after. I was worried.

He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry. I'm alright."

Please, be careful.

"I will." He turned to Emma. "I'm planning on quitting and you'll be the new sheriff, Emma."

Emma looked at him, confused. "What do you mean. What's going on?"

"Indeed, sheriff. What is going on?" The trio turned to see Regina leaning on the wall with her arms crossed. "What has brought on to this sudden... change of heart."

Graham looked at Rosalie before confronting Regina. "I'm quitting, Regina. I'm through with being your puppet and with my departure. In two weeks, the role will automatically go to Emma."

"Oh, really?" She raised her eyebrow at them before smirking at them. "That is true unless the mayor appoints someone else within the time period, which I'll definitely be doing. He will arrive first thing tomorrow."

The three watched as Regina walked away.

Graham looked frustrated and slammed his hands on the desk. "I'm sorry, Emma. I thought you'd be the sheriff. After everything, I just can't stay."

"Whatever happened, you guys can tell me."

Rosalie shrugged at Graham. According to Henry, Emma was the saviour, so what harm would it be to tell her?

Unfortunately, they didn't anticipate how adverse Emma was to the idea that anything from the fairy tale was true. She thought they had fallen into the same delusion that Henry had.

We can show you. The vault of hearts is in the mausoleum. We can go tonight.

"You guys..." Emma shifted her stance. "I really don't think we should be going near anything that belongs to Regina."

"Emma's right," Graham agreed. "She's on to us. I don't want her to actually find us there."

Then how are we supposed to prove to you, Emma? We found Graham's heart in a vault that was shown in Henry's book. It's very possible that everything else is real, too.

Emma sighed and rubbed her face. "Can we not talk about this today? I still have to worry about who Regina's going to bring tomorrow."

Please give it another thought, Emma. We have no reason to lie to you. With that, both Rosalie and Graham left Emma to her own thoughts.

Once outside, Graham turned to Rosalie. "Do you think she'll believe us?"

Rosalie looked doubtfully back at him. I don't know.

…

"Madeleine?" She crawled over to the fallen form in front of her. "Madeleine?"

The older woman was motionless on the ground with the feathered end of an arrow protruding out of her chest.

"Madeleine, wake up!" No matter how hard she tried to get the brunette to wake up, the form remained still. "Madeleine, don't leave me. Please."

"I think I got it!" She cringed as she heard the male voice from just outside the door. "Let's go bring it back to the King."

Her heart dropped. It was all true. Madeleine was right. Her father wanted her dead.

Bang!

She scrambled back as the wooden door trembled.

Bang!

She had to hide. Looking around, she realised that the only place she could retreat to was under the bed or into the wardrobe. There was nowhere else to go.

She peeked out the window. There was still a band of men just outside, waiting.

"Please... I don't want to be here. Let me be free."

…

Rosalie slipped out of bed and looked into the mirror. With the dreams always invading her sleep, she hadn't been able to get proper rest.

Sluggishly, she made herself presentable enough to go to work. At least at the shop, it was much less taxing than working at Granny's. Sure it was lonely sometimes because no one would actually come here, but... It was good just to have a book in hand and she'd be able to fall into the numerous adventures that could not be had in her real life.

As noon arrived, Rosalie stretched her stiff muscles and yawned. As expected, there had been no visitors. She put her book down and grabbed her bag to go to Granny's for lunch.

Inside, she saw Graham and Emma sitting in a booth. Instantaneously, she felt an ugly feeling of jealousy grip her. Why were they together?

Graham chuckled at something Emma said before his eyes met Rosalie's grey orbs. He smiled and waved her over.

A sense of relief washed away the jealousy. If they had been on a secret date, he certainly wouldn't be inviting her over.

She slipped into the seat next to Graham and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Hey, Rose." He grinned at her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Something about the name made her frown and she couldn't stop the compulsion to correct him. Rosalie. I don't like to be called Rose.

He looked a bit shock, but nodded nonetheless. If she didn't like to be called that, then he wouldn't push her.

What are you guys doing here?

Emma sighed. "I bumped into Graham after the mayor fired me and brought in Sidney Glass. He's a reporter."

He's qualified to be a sheriff?

The other blonde rolled her eyes. "He's only there because she has him wrapped around her fingers."

I'm sorry, Emma.

"It's alright."

Ruby came over to give Rosalie the milkshake that the blonde had ordered.

"You should eat more," Graham whispered, squeezing her waist gently. "I swear if you get any thinner, I'd end up with a paper cut."

Rosalie whacked him in the arm. I'm too tired to eat, today.

"Haven't been sleeping well?"

She nodded. But don't worry about it. They're just dreams.

Graham frowned. "Do you think maybe it could indicator something from your past?"

She shrugged. Probably not. There was a king involved, somewhere, and I think he was the little girl's father.

"Maybe you're a princess." Graham grinned at her.

She shook her head with a smile and quickly finished her milkshake before getting up. I should be going back to the shop. Mr. Gold wasn't happy after I went home late the other night.

Emma raised an eyebrow at them. "I don't want to know, but I'll go with you. I need to talk to Gold about something."

Rosalie nodded and the two of them bade Graham goodbye. He pulled Rosalie to a quick kiss before finally waving her off.

"The two of you are really serious, aren't you?" Emma asked her as they walked down the street.

Rosalie nodded.

"Did he tell you about... You know, the kiss?" Emma had a guilty look on her face, but Rosalie smiled back at her and patted her arm to reassure her.

He told me. I also know that he had been sleeping with the mayor. That was more disturbing than him kissing you.

Emma laughed. "I'd imagine. We weren't really serious. The kiss meant nothing."

I know. Don't worry, Emma.

They entered the pawn shop where Mr. Gold was putting something into a shelf.

"Ms. Swan," he greeted the woman. "Just the person I wanted to see."

"What a coincidence," Emma replied. The lighthearted mood she had been in was gone. Dealing with Gold was always a risky situation. He was known to be manipulative and his prices are usually quite steep.

Rosalie went behind the counter to pick up her book before slipping into Mr. Gold's office. She knew that he would rather have this conversation private and besides, she could hear perfectly fine from inside, as well.

"I heard about what happened," Mr. Gold started. "Such an injustice."

"Yeah, well, what's done is done." Emma refused to show any weakness, especially in front of this man. "I don't know what chance I have. She's mayor and I'm, well... me."

"Ms. Swan, two people with a common goal can accomplish many things. Two people with a common enemy can accomplish even more. How would you like a benefactor?"

Rosalie's ears perked. Why would Mr. Gold offer to help Emma? Regina may be a menace, but even the brunette seemed rather fearful of the man. What was he hoping to gain from helping Emma?

"A benefactor?" Emma asked.

"You know, it really is quite shocking how few people study the town charter." Rosalie could just hear the smirk in Mr. Gold's voice.

"The town charter?"

"Well, it's quite comprehensive and the mayor's authority? Well, maybe she's not quite as powerful as she seems."

Rosalie put down her book and put all her focus on what he was going say.

"Perhaps you'd like to read it for yourself."

Rosalie hung her head in disappointment. She was really hoping that he'd reveal what it was he knew about the boundaries of the mayor's power. Maybe she'd be able to find it somewhere? Where would one find information on the town's charter?

She heard Emma leave the store and walked out to the counter. Mr. Gold had a very satisfied look on his face. What is she going to find?

He turned to her and gave her his tight smile. "You'll see."

She pouted and sighed. He never makes anything easy.

…

"Here is a magic bean," the small blue fairy told her. "It will take you anywhere as long as you really put your heart into it."

She hesitantly took it. Can this little thing really take her anywhere? Even if it did, she didn't know where she wanted to go.

Bang!

She started and stared at the door in fear.

"You must hurry, lest they follow you," the fairy warned her before disappearing.

She clenched the bean tightly in her hands. She didn't know if such a place exists, but anywhere was better than here. With one last look and a soft apology to Madeleine, she threw the bean down.

The portal was green and it scared her how endless it seemed.

Bang!

She jumped.

…

Rosalie woke up with a start. Where had she gone? Where did the bean take her? She fiddled with the silver bracelet around her wrist. Touching it had always comforted her. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, again. Perhaps the bean had taken her to a place where she was happy. Perhaps it had taken her to the person who gave her the bracelet.

But how was she so sure that the girl in her dreams was her? There had been no indications that it was anyone specific. What was the girl's name?

She raked a hand through her hair and got out of bed. There was too much on her mind. Maybe a glass of water would soothe her.

As she stood by the window, looking at the sky, she couldn't help noticing how bright the stars were. What would it feel like to soar through the sky and just touch one of them?

She took a deep breath and slipped back into bed. Those were nothing but dreams. It was impossible.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello! Posting a chapter now to celebrate that I have just finished writing everything up to the end of Season One! I am sooo happy and will start on Season Two very soon.

At the moment, I also can't seem to stop listening to "Rise Like a Phoenix" from the Eurovisions. No matter what people say about him, the song is just really, really good and in a song competition, the song should be the only thing being judged.

My appreciations to:

Silent Whispering: Peter Pan is just so devilishly likeable, isn't he? Your vote has been taken into account and thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter!

Also, thank you everyone who has read, followed, and favourited this story! It's always wondering getting the notification.

Moving on, I hope the story is moving along to your liking so far. For all of you who are not in favour of a Graham/Rosalie pairing, don't worry! The poll is, of course, still active!

Love interest poll:

1.) Graham

2.) Hook

3.) Peter Pan = 1

4.) Rumpel = 2

5.) Other?

6.) Permanent Triangle? (I've never/rarely seen a story actually end with the main character having both romantic interests. Since it's a fairy tale, I think I have a little more freedom in terms of morals and laws.

Peter Pan! He's one of my favourites. I'm hoping that he'd come back somewhere in the future, somehow. I just love how his eyebrow moves. Even after the switch, the actor couldn't seem to stop moving them! Sorry for the spoilers for everyone who didn't want to know that Peter Pan's eyebrow moves, yet.

On the topic of spoilers, this story WILL have spoilers, obviously. It will progress with the canon storyline, so eventually, it will go to the more recent episodes. This will ALSO have spoilers for my Doctor Who fanfic, so if anyone wants to read that, please read that FIRST. Otherwise, as I said in the prologue, this can be a stand alone story.

Until next time!

Echo