Hey, folks. Just a reminder, cast your vote on my poll for the woman Nicholas is destined to be with. The link is on my profile page and its called Nicholas's Pairing. So far Ruby has the lead and Belle is just one vote behind. Now I know most of you have told me who you want via review and I'm very appreciative for the feedback, however, I have no way of knowing if you actually voted on the poll or not. So if you if you want the woman you think is best for Nicholas to win, you'll have to officially vote.
Look at it this way, for those of you readers who are American much like myself, this'll be the least stressful election of the year :) Remember, polls close as soon as I finish season 1. As soon as I post "A Land Without Magic" I'll be closing it and tallying the votes.
I bet a lot of you are wondering how Nicholas will play his part in this story once Cora comes to town, right? Believe me, it'll be juicy~! Also, Nicholas will have a saga of his own that I'll start right where the season 5 finale left off. I don't want to wait too long to get to his story and I want him to be able to bond with Zelena on a sibling level and what better time to do that when after she and Regina finally become close as well.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I'll be done with this season more than likely by the end of the week; most likely before Friday.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters.
A few days after Gold revealed the return of his memories, Regina and Nicholas found themselves in high spirits. So much in fact, they decided to get a gift for Henry since he was still upset over the loss of his book. On the coach in Regina's office, Henry sat between his adoptive mother and uncle with a metal tin with a blue bow on top in his lap.
"Go on," Nicholas urged with a smile on his face, "Open it up."
"What's the occasion?" Henry asked.
"The occasion is that we love you." Regina said in honesty with a smile of her own. Henry opened his gift and pulled out an old video game, "Now we know you miss your book, but with this, you can do the heroics."
"You can save the princesses. You can be the hero." Nicholas added as he pulled his nephew into a hug; though, he still looked depressed.
"Henry," Regina said gently, "You have to believe me. When I tore down the playground, I did it for your safety. Please don't be upset with me. I really didn't mean to destroy your book."
"It's not just the book." Henry replied.
"Okay. Then what is it?" she asked.
"It's Emma. I want to see her." he said just before Kathryn Nolan busted through the door.
"Regina, you got a min-" she said only to stop herself as she saw Henry and Nicholas, "I'm sorry."
"Oh, don't worry about it." Regina gently waved off.
"Why don't we head home so you can get started on your homework, okay, kiddo?" Nicholas asked as he led Henry out of the office. The next day, Kathryn went missing after it was revealed that Mary Margaret and David were having an affair. Two days after that on Miner's Day, David was brought to the sheriff's station for questioning.
OUaT
In the Enchanted Forest, Flamel wondered through the snow covered hills of the area he was in. It was just only two weeks after Snow White escaped the Huntsman and his sister's wrath. That being said, he wasn't in pursuit of the runaway princess; he has no desire to help his sister take revenge/Snow's life. Instead, he was on an expedition of his own for his research.
The region he was currently in was notorious for its monthly wolf attacks. He had studied the books on similar stories before venturing out into the wild so he had an understanding of what he was getting himself into. Plus, seeing as he was immortal, he figured he didn't have to worry about his life being on the line if his theory was correct.
Wearing a fur-lined red cloak over his winter clothing, he treaded down a steep hill where he saw two young women by a well, one wearing a red hood and the other a white one, looking in horror at a gruesome massacre.
He was just about to go over to them to ask what happened when he caught a glimpse of the woman in white; it was his step-niece Snow White. Thankfully, she didn't notice him so he quickly took the chance to use his alchemy to turn himself into the first thing that popped into his head, a black cat. Why? It was just the only option he could think of.
"Red, the wolf did this?" Snow asked in horror as Flamel walked over to them.
"They were last night's hunting party." her friend informed, "They came to our cottage just before setting out hoping Granny and I would help." she said as Flamel gave a convincing meow. Snow looked at him with fondness and picked him up so she could cuddle him.
Later that day, the three of them along with Red's granny attended the village's meeting over what was to be done with the wolf. "The one thing I know," the villager who called the meeting said over the shouting, "Is that last night was the very last massacre. You know, if I had stayed with that party for another ten minutes, I, too, would be among the dead. And when I think if I'd only doubled back, maybe I could've caught it in the act. Maybe I would've been able to slay the creature."
"You would not." denied Granny, "This creature is more powerful than you can imagine. You wouldn't have a chance. Stay inside. Hide your children. Forget your livestock." she warned.
"You've said all this before."
"But I haven't said how I know." Granny retorted, "Nearly threescore years ago, I was a child with six older brothers-big as oak trees, all of them veterans of the second ogres-war, and my father-the biggest of them all. Come one wolfstime, he decided to go out and take on the wolf. A different wolf back then, of course, but just as fearsome. They went out there to protect me. I was supposed to be asleep, but I crawled out on the roof to watch and lay down in the thatch. They had the beast surrounded, the seven of them, with spears all pointed in at it.
"And then it started. It was lunging-not at the men, at the spears, grabbing with its teeth, breaking the shafts. They stabbed it with the splintered end, but it didn't matter. It tore their throats so fast that not a one of them got a chance to scream or pray…or say goodbye. When my father died, I tumbled from the roof, and I landed in the blood in front of the wolf. I felt its breath on my face. Then it clamped its hot jaw on my arm, and I rolled away." she said as she revealed deep scars on her right forearm.
"Then it looked at me with eyes so black they weren't even there, and it walked away. You ever see a wild animal just turn its back and walk away like you don't matter?" she asked the crowd, "If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. It's already won just by existing in our world. You don't kill it. You just hide."
"So your granny's kind of intense." Snow pointed out once she, Red and Flamel were back in the cottage.
"Yeah." chuckled Red, "A bit. I feel like a rat in a trap." she confessed.
"Is this trap keeping you from being with someone?" Snow asked as she stroked Flamel's fur.
"How did you know?" Red asked.
"Well, I saw some looks exchanged back there, and I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't subtle." Snow said causing Red to giggle.
"Yes. Peter. We've been friends forever, but now things are…well, changing."
"That must be nice."
"Do you have someone?" Red asked.
"Oh, no. Uh, I'm not sure that's in my future." Snow replied, "You're lucky, Red."
"I know." she nodded before leaning in to whisper, "And we're talking about going away together. But I don't even get any time with him. Granny's too afraid of the wolf to let me out alone. You saw what the wolf did. Sometimes I wonder if she's right."
"Oh, she's right about the wolf," Snow agreed, "But she's wrong to use it to keep you from love."
"That all depends on if my theory is correct or not." Flamel thought, "From what these people have said, it may not be the type of wolf most are accustomed to."
"You think that's what she's doing?" Red asked slightly hurt; Snow didn't know how to respond. "Let's kill the wolf." she declared.
"Hang on."
"We'd be heroes."
"Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed." Snow argued.
"But they go at night when it's got the advantage." Red reminded, "If we go now, we could find it slumbering in its den and kill it in its sleep. Come on."
"Red, I don't know."
"I'm going, with or without you." she informed, "But you're right. I can't let her keep me trapped forever."
As Red grabbed her hood and snuck out, Snow followed in pursuit leaving Flamel in his cat form on the bed. Roughly five minutes later, Granny kicked the door open and shot him with her crossbow.
"I know that didn't kill you, whatever you are." she said as she glared at the cat, "So why don't you just come out and show me what you really look like. I can smell the evil coming off of you."
"What you call 'evil' others, if there were others who knew of what truly happened, would call it an unfortunate accident." Flamel said just before taking on his true appearance and yanking out the bolt from his chest.
"You're him, aren't you?" Granny asked as she reloaded her weapon, "The queen's brother. I've heard stories about how you have even unholier magic than she does."
"It's not magic." Flamel denied, "It's the science of alchemy."
"Like I give a damn what it's called." Granny snapped, "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to study that wolf that's been causing trouble for this area." he replied, "Looks like my theory on it being a were-wolf was spot on. Little did I know that it would have such a pretty face when not in the moonlight."
"How do you know that?"
"You're not the only one with a keen sense of smell. Despite it being faint, your granddaughter reeked of blood when I met her." Flamel informed as he tapped his nose, "Though I wouldn't expect any less from another were-wolf, albeit an elderly one."
"I swear to the Gods, if you put one hand on my granddaughter-"
"You can relax, ma'am. I'm not going to harm her." Flamel soothed, "I only planned on experimenting on the wolf if the person was aware of their condition and enjoyed tearing out the throats of innocent people. That being said, it's dark out, so Red may just wind up doing just that."
"Agreed." Granny nodded as she lowered her weapon and put on her cloak, "We best go and find her, then."
"Yeah. Last thing either of us want is to see her make a meal out of Snow." Flamel said before wincing as he realized his slip up.
"Snow?" Granny asked, "Snow White?"
"…Well, seeing as my sister has her wanted dead or alive right now, you can't really blame the poor girl for using an alias." he defended.
"…Yeah, I'll give her that." Granny bluntly shrugged as they left the cottage. It wasn't ten minutes later that they found Snow who was trying to look for Red as well; although, she wasn't aware of the fact that she was the wolf and not her boyfriend Peter like they suspected.
"Snow!" Flamel called out softly. At the sight of her step-uncle, Snow's face filled with fear just before she tried to run away, "Snow, wait!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her arm before they both fell into her namesake. "Snow-Snow, listen to me!" Flamel pleaded as she tried to get away and slapped at him, "I'm not here to capture you!"
"Why should I trust you?!" she cried as tears formed in her eyes, "You did nothing to stop Regina from killing my father. Why should I believe that you aren't going to take me back to her?!"
"Because I don't want to see you dead!" cried Flamel causing the runaway princess to stop her struggling, "Snow, I admit, I did nothing to prevent your father's murder and for that, I am sorry. But I do not want to see you die because of my sister's blinding hatred and needless desire for vengeance. I did not come here to take you back. I came here to study the wolf; and both Granny and I know for a fact that Peter is not the wolf; Red is."
"…She is?" Snow asked as Flamel helped her up, "You knew?" she asked Granny.
"Of course I knew." Granny said as they continued to trudge through the snow, "Her mother was one, too, before a hunting party killed her. I thought maybe Red didn't get it, but when she was 13, it started."
"Some teenagers get pimples, some deal with body odder, but Red was lucky enough to get excessive hair growth and cravings like no other." Flamel bluntly joked.
"I paid a wizard for that cloak." Granny continued to explain, "Keeps her from turning, but she doesn't wear it, and she's found some way out of the house."
"Why didn't you tell her?" Snow asked.
"I didn't want her to have that burden. It's a terrible burden."
"That story you told," Snow remembered as she pieced the puzzle together.
"That was her grandfather. He marked me that night, then came back, found me, and turned me."
"Turned you?" Snow asked, "You're…Granny? How are you tracking her?"
"By smell." she replied, "I still have that, even though the rest of it has faded away. Gods, I was a fool to think I could keep this from her. I am a fool and I have cost so many lives."
"But you didn't mean to." Snow defended, "That's the main thing."
"Is it?" Granny asked as they all heard the sound of a wolf's howl. Granny then pulled out her crossbow, ready to use it. "A silver-tipped arrow will drop her." she said as she hardened her heart.
"Oh," Snow whimpered.
"Shh." shushed Flamel, "Stay quiet. We're approaching from downwind, so we have a chance. Best hurry though, that hunting party may be on her tail as well. Uh, no pun intended." he clarified as he saw Snow's look.
They then came across the sight of Red as a wolf feasting on the remains of Peter; the sounding of his entrails and organs squishing between her fangs could easily be heard. Unfortunately, Snow gave them away as she stepped on a twig and gasped. Just before Red could pounce, Granny fired her arrow and Flamel tossed the cloak over her.
"It's too late." Snow said as she looked at Peter's remains, "He's gone."
"Who's gone?" Red asked as she struggled to get to her feet.
"Get up, girl." Granny advised, "Get ready to run."
"What's going on? Who is this?" she asked in a daze as she looked at Flamel.
"They are coming." he warned as the hunting party could be heard.
"Come on, Red." Snow pleaded, "We have to go."
"Go?" Red asked, "I don't understand."
"No, I'll explain it later. We must hurry." stressed Snow.
"What? I'm confused. What's happened?" she asked before finally noticing the sight behind her, "Where's Peter?"
"…He wasn't the wolf." Snow said sadly.
"Granny?" Red asked as guilt and fear began to consume her.
"I was wrong to keep it from you." the old woman admitted, "But now you have to go. Red. Go."
"It's me?" she asked as he lips trembled, "Oh, gods, it's-it's me."
"Red, you must get away from here." Flamel urged as he took her face in his hands so to keep her eyes off of the gruesome sight, "They will kill you otherwise. Now go! Snow!"
"I'll get her out of here. Red, come on!" Snow said as she pulled her sobbing friend away and into the woods.
"They want a monster?" Flamel asked as he began to transform, "I'll give them one."
As Snow led Red away, she caught a glimpse through the tree branches of a terrifying, giant beast kill the men giving them time.
OUaT
Two days following David's questioning, Nicholas walked into Granny's Diner craving a nice cup of coffee. He had heard a rumor about Ruby quitting after a fight with her grandmother, but it seemed they were wrong when he saw her happily working the register. Although, she wasn't wearing her usual skimpy clothes or jewelry or even the over amount of make-up. Instead, she wore black leather pants, boots, and a red plaid shirt over a white tank-top. Along with that, she only had on one wolf ring, a simple necklace and only one red hair extension; the most make-up she had on was just an average amount of what most women usually have on.
In blatant terms, she finally dressed herself like a grown woman her age and not a rebellious teenager. "Hey, Nicholas." she kindly greeted, there wasn't even the faintest sound of flirt in her voice.
"Hey," he said back while surprised at her appearance, "I heard you quit."
"Y-yeah." Ruby admitted looking embarrassed, "I did. But then I realized what I wanted to do with my life. Turns out, it's not dressing like a tramp and flirting with every guy I see."
"Oh, come on," Nicholas said gently, "You didn't dress like a tramp. Yeah, you sure as hell were a flirt," he chuckled causing Ruby to do the same, "But definitely not a tramp."
"Thanks." she chuckled.
"Although,"
"Although?"
"…I have to admit; this is a better look for you." said Nicholas sweetly.
"Really?" Ruby asked feeling flattered.
"Yeah. It's just that your last one didn't seem like it matched your real personality. Well, at least that's what I thought, anyways. Not that there was anything wrong with it, I just think that a person's clothes should also their personality."
"And what's mine?" Ruby asked with a smile.
"Well, that's easy." he replied honestly, "You're a caring, kind person who wants to make everyone she sees smile when she thinks that their day could use a little ray of sunshine."
"Wow. That's really sweet, Nicholas. Thanks." she said with warmth.
"I call them as I see them." he replied as she got him his coffee. Later that day, Nicholas found out that Ruby found a human heart while she briefly worked with Emma. To make matters worse, it was found in a box that had Mary Margaret's finger prints on it.
