Ok, recap! We found out what Regina and Azalea were doing during the four days between Regina's outburst/our first encounter with Azalea up to the time that Azalea leaves to start their diabolical plan. (They were plotting the whole time.)

In the fairytale world, Regina asks Azalea to be her lifetime servant after she finds out her power makes her really useful.

Ok, I don't own OUAT but I do own Azalea Lockes!

Ch. 10

David Nolan Part 3

The stairs were kind of hard to walk on.

Well, they were made of ice. David kept on until he reached the top, where it split off in two directions. Both hallways, one left and one right, were identical. There was a door directly in front of him, so he timidly opened that first.

Of course, it was locked. How an ice door was locked-that was beyond him.

So he chose to go right. Every single door he encountered was locked. He made it to the end of the hallway and sighed. But then he felt like someone was watching him.

Blocking his path was a young woman with blonde hair so white, it looked like snow.

Not his wife, but...well you understood.

Naturally, he went right into defensive mode. He had a gun, but he didn't want to use that unless he had to. He gripped the rock salt tighter.

"Where is my daughter?"

The blonde frowned. She took a step forward, and her blue dress shimmered with the movement. "She's here. But she tried to kill me!"

David thrust his hand into the rock salt and flung a handful at the woman. She stood, face blank and eyes closed, as the tiny bits hit her face. Nothing happened.

"That was just stupid."

David had to agree with her. What was Emma thinking? Clearly this ice was magical, and wasn't going to be melted by plain rock salt.

Suddenly, David was no longer in the hallway, but in one of the ice rooms of the castle. The salt was in his lap, and he noticed that his hands were frozen together. He looked up to see Emma, Rumple, a girl with reddish hair and...

Impossible.

She hadn't seen him yet, but he saw her. He had so many questions, but those thoughts were chased away when Emma said his name. Impossible girl looked up, and their eyes met.

"About time." Rumple sneered. "Hold up the rock salt."

David was still staring at impossible girl, but he reluctantly took his eyes off her. Emma noticed the exchange.

David used his elbows to shove the salt up, and Rumple closed his eyes in concentration.

David looked to his daughter with a questioning look.

"Her ice is too strong to break through with just his magic. He needs something that already has the power to destroy the ice. Then he'll enchant it, and it should be strong enough."

David nodded.

Rumple opened his eyes. "OK."

David shifted the bag, until some salt came out onto his lap. He put his wrists on the salt, and it quickly began to melt. He silently cheered as the last of the ice became water. He did the same with his ankles, before getting up and helping everyone else. When he got to Impossible Girl, he stared at her as he poured out some salt.

"I remember you."

She just laughed.

"You're the guy I thought was a ghost. Shows what I know."

He finished her ankles and helped her up. They all headed towards the door, and David looked at her. What did she mean by that?

Everyone stopped when they heard screams from the lower level, and a very distinct voice saying, "Where is the girl!?"

Looks like Regina came to play.

Regina was gone in a cloud of black smoke.

His sword clattered to the ground as the wedding guests began to stir with panic. Everyone was terrified of Regina, most definitely. He didn't want his people (he was still getting used to saying his people) to live in fear.

A few months later they were riding through the forest. Snow had stayed behind for the baby.

David couldn't contain his excitement. He was truly going to be a father. This was something he'd only dreamed about. If only his mother could have lived long enough to see her grandchild.

There was a loud snap of a twig. David heard the word imbecile as footsteps approached.

His men aimed their arrows toward the noise. Horses whinnied at the intruder.

Then, out from the shadows stepped a woman holding a mirror.

She had a long veil over her face, concealing her identity.

The men kept their positions. David got off his horse and strode to the girl.

"Who are you?"

She only stood there, completely still. He stepped even closer, and saw a face on the mirror. Could this woman wield magic?

"I said, who are you?"

The woman took a step closer to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. The men tightened their bows, but he told them to stand down. Who was this girl? She stepped away, and stood still once more. David retreated back to his horse. He was holding the reigns when he heard it.

One word from the lace of the veil.

"Impossible."

His eyes widened, and he turned around to see her retreating form. The men asked if she should be followed.

He just shook his head. One day he'd meet her.

One day he'd know what exactly was impossible.

And apparently, she wanted the baby healthy, because there was a bottle labeled "Healthy Pregnancy" in his pocket when he returned.