"Looks like you're out of luck, your majesty," Mr. Gold smiled across the counter. Danielle was at school and Regina had just walked into the shop.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Oh it's just that your boy, Henry, just lent the book to Danielle," he said.
"And that concerns me how?" Regina asked, disinterested.
"Well it should, she's already starting to remember her true self in her dreams. Now she may just dismiss them as mere dreams, but once she reads the book, she's going to start remembering," he said.
Regina just chuckled and rolled her eyes. "You think I care if she remembers or not? No. I don't care if she's dead or alive, all that matters to me is that Emma doesn't break the curse."
"Well, if you don't care, then why did you take her as your daughter?" he asked.
"Simple: I like to torture you," she smirked. "To have something of yours, to dangle something in front of you when it's just out of your reach, knowing you can never fully have it. She's not yours. It fills me with such pleasure to see you suffer, Rumple. You're like a little pet, you are."
"I'm not a dog on a leash, your majesty," he said. "You don't own me and you sure as hell don't own her. When this curse breaks, 'your daughter' won't be yours anymore, and you can be the pet on a leash with Emma dangling Henry in front of you. Because, let's face it, he's not yours either."
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At first, Danielle was going to ignore the book Henry had lent her. It was just a fairytale book. What was so special about them anyway? But as the day wore on and the more she glanced at it, the more her curiosity built, and by the time she was back to her room at the inn, she was dying to crack it open.
She was still unsure if she should read it though. What if she went crazy like Henry? Well… she didn't totally think her brother was crazy, after all he was only ten. Maybe he was just letting it go to his head.
She sighed and sat on the bed. She looked over at the book on the desk. She stared at it for a minute before she finally reached over and grabbed it.
"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this…" she sighed and opened the book.
Once Upon a Time…
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The first day of traveling was the longest day of Rose's life. Huntsman refused to answer more questions and when she started humming or talking to the wolf, he told her to be quiet. She had no game, no craft, no way to keep her entertained. Just to get his attention she pick-pocketed on of his arrows and ran around with it. He chased her for half a minute before he threatened to not help her find Rumple. She gave it back very quickly after that. Finally it was time to sleep for the night.
First, Huntsman made a fire and told Rose to pick a sleeping spot. Then he took his bow and arrows and wolf to find food, leaving Rose alone. The forest can become a very big, scary and rather unwelcoming place to a child. Rose was fourteen, but she had been in that dungeon for four years. She had no experience in the world, she still had her ten year old fears and an even bigger fear of the dark. It wasn't welcoming. The dark was cold and enclosing and without happiness. She wished she could never be in the darkness again.
Huntsman came back a while later with a wild turkey and the three of them ate in silence.
"Try to get some sleep," the man said when they finished. "We have another hard day of traveling to get through tomorrow."
Rose sighed. "Is it going to be like this the whole week? Always silent?" she asked.
"…I don't spend time around people, I don't like talking," he said.
"Yeah you said that, but I've been locked up in a dungeon cell for four years," Rose said. "I need something to do while we're traveling."
The Huntsman looked at her for a long, long moment. "…Get some sleep," he repeated. "I'll have something for you tomorrow."
Rose nodded and eventually found sleep between two large roots of a tree. The next morning after a breakfast of leftover turkey, the Huntsman handed her something small and wooden. It was a small pipe, no longer than Rose's hand, and carved roughly out of a tree branch.
"There are rules," he said. "You can't blow it loudly in my ears or simply to irritate me. And when I tell you to stop, you stop immediately or I take it away. Do you understand?"
Rose nodded and smiled at him softly. He nodded and they set off again. Rose twirled the pipe in her hand over and over again, looking at it. Then she raised it to her lips and blew. It made a very sweet sound, and she smiled as she moved her fingers on and off the holes, making different little melodies. She smiled and held it in her hands.
"Thank you, Huntsman," she said, and she thought she saw him smile.
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This was getting ridiculous. There was no way these stories could be real, could they? Danielle had been reading for over an hour and it was starting to make her head spin. These stories were so different from the movies or even just the regular stories. That was enough to throw her off, but then the pictures. She could match the people in the images to the people in the town. Ms. Blanchard was Snow White, David Nolan was Prince Charming. Regina… The Evil Queen. Mr. Gold. Rumplestiltskin. In the pictures of the book, he looked exactly like the man she had been seeing in her dreams. There was no way this was happening. This just couldn't be. But she couldn't put the book down. She was almost done anyway. She would just finish the book, go to bed, and give it back to Henry in the morning, telling him it was ridiculous and forget she ever read it. She turned the page.
Rose.
She stopped. That was the name that the couple in her dreams called her. She didn't know what to think so she read the story.
Rose was the daughter of Rumplestiltskin and Belle. She had been captured by the queen and kept in the dungeon for four years before she escaped. She spent the remaining time before the curse was enacted looking for her father while her mother remained in the cell, hoping that one day they would all be reunited.
Danielle didn't know what to think. Then she turned the page to the picture. She froze. There was no mistaking it. That was an exact picture of her.
She slammed the book shut, threw it across the room and pulled the covers over her head. No. No way was this happening. This wasn't real. When she would wake up in the morning it would all be better.
But how can you wake up in the morning when you can't fall asleep? Her troubles were far from over that night. She tossed and turned long into the hours, having dreams of being trapped in a book and the book snapping shut, the letters of the pages engulf her, suffocating her. She woke up several times and even fell out of the bed twice. In the morning her elbows were scraped up from the wooden floors, a bump on her head and dark circles under her eyes. And she had to go to school and then work. How did adults do it?
Danielle dragged herself out of bed and took a hot shower. Today was not going to be a good day.
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"Danielle wake up," a voice said as hands shook her shoulder. Danielle jolted awake. She was in her math class, but the room was empty except for her teacher and Todd, who had been shaking her awake.
"God, you look horrible." Todd said. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"Oog, no," Danielle yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Where is everyone?"
"The lunch bell rang," Todd said. "Come on. Maybe if we get some food into you, you'll wake up." He helped her gather her things and they headed out of the class room after Danielle apologized to her teacher for falling asleep.
"What's the matter Danny?" Todd asked. "You look like you've got a cold or something. Should you be at school?"
"No, I'm not sick, Todd," Danielle sighed. "I had a really bad night."
"Well that's obvious," he said. "I'll make sure the boys leave you alone today."
"Thanks," she attempted a smile but it was more of a grimace.
"…I guess this would be a bad time to ask you to the movies later, huh?" he asked sheepishly.
She looked at him. "Oh, Todd, I'm sorry," she said. "Today's not a good day and I still have to work after school. Maybe some other time."
"I don't think you should go to work today, Danny," he said. "I mean, look at you, you're like a zombie."
"And I'm gonna eat your brains," she joked. "I have to go to work, it's payday. And I'm not even sick, I'm just tired. I'll be fine."
Todd sighed and looked at her. "…Alright," he finally nodded. "But remember, if you need anything, I'll always help you out, ok?"
"Thanks Todd," she nodded with a half-smile.
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Rose was very good with the pipe. She didn't play it too loud and she always stopped when Huntsman told her to. It mad the next few days go by a lot faster, making up little tunes to play. She became very good at it, but the Huntsman never said anything about it.
"Huntsman? How much longer to the castle?" she asked one afternoon.
"We should be there tomorrow," he said.
She smiled happily and nodded. She couldn't wait to see her father again, after so long…
"…You excited to see your papa?" the Huntsman asked slowly. Rose looked up at him and smiled.
"Yes," she said. "I can hardly wait. I know you'll be happy to see me."
"You're ah… You're very lucky to have someone who cares about you." He said.
"Thank you," she said.
For a while, there was just silence. Just peaceful silence where the bird calls were calm and the breeze whispered to the trees. Then it stopped, and there was the snapping of branches and growling. A huge black bear emerged from the bushes.
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DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN
Stay tuned to see if Rose will be eaten by a wolf!
New chapter, yay! And Todd is back, so that's fun. hope to see you all in the next chapter, we're getting really close to the end, only a few chapters to go.
hugs and loves,
darkonesroses