I jump up in the morning and I start getting dressed. David walks in the room.
"You are already up!" he says and he looks really surprised.
"We have so many things to do, we need to talk to everyone and ask them to stear clear of the reporter, find Belle, talk to Regina..."
"Yes, we do," he smiles and he interrupts my long to do list with a kiss. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes?" I hesitate.
"Don't worry, it's not pancakes," he replies and I laugh.
Leroy joins us on our way to the Abbey.
We walk inside and are greeted by a frowning Mother Superior.
"Blue!" I cry out and I reach for her.
"Excuse me?"
"You are the Blue Fairy. You are from a different realm as am I, as is my husband and Grumpy. You were the strongest and most powerful fairy and I need you now, because I have several people that need their hearts back, a pocket of magic and no time to loose," I say and I realize that I'm saying everything too fast and she will probably ask me to leave the premises, but she doesn't.
"You are Snow White, aren't you?" she says looking at me, sizing me up.
I nod.
"I've been waiting for you."
"You remember?" I ask.
"I remember nothing. But I've heard about you talking to everyone and I wondered when you'd come, and who you'd say I was," she smiles."I'm afraid I don't remember how to do what you are asking of me, but I'm willing to try."
I walk around and meet all the women of the Abbey. I recognize all of them, they are all fairies. No sign of Rumpelstiltskin's mystery woman.
And then out of the blue Leroy walks up to sister Astrid.
"I want to take you out to dinner," he says.
She looks at him a half smile, gracing her face.
"I'm a nun!" she replies.
"And I'm a dwarf, sister, and I don't care any more!"
She looks at him, her eyes wide open.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I'm taking you out to dinner, I don't care who you are!" Grumpy says roughly and I wonder if sister Astrid will think that he has lost his mind.
Sister Astrid smiles.
"Pick me up at seven?" she asks and now it's Grumpy's turn to be surprised.
"Really?" he asks.
I walk away from them laughing.
David and I head to Granny's.
"It is very important that nobody talks to reporters. Just in case..." I start saying to Granny and Red.
"Too late!" Red says pointing to the blond woman sitting on a both with king George.
"And then she usurped my throne," King George says "and turned my own son against me... People think Snow White is a hero, but really she is a villainous as they come..."
"What? How is this even possible? When did this happen?" I ask.
"About half an hour ago. She asked to talk to whoever is in charge here and he was happy to oblige."
"Who told DA Spencer that he is king George?" David asks.
"I have no idea. Look ever since you started taking to people, I see more and more people, people you haven't even talked to, aware of who they are. They don't remember much, but they are aware" Red replies.
"That would be great news if King George wasn't talking to the reporter! We are too late!" I say.
"I might have seen him walk out of Mr Gold's earlier," Granny adds.
"I need to have a word with him," David frowns and that's when king George turns and points right at me.
"There she is right now. That's Snow White!"
The reporter looks at me and she gets up of the table. She places a smartphone right in front of me.
"Hello Mary Margaret!" she smiles. "Or is it Snow White? Are you a retired cop? Is it true that you are telling these people that you are a fairytale princess?"
I stand there frozen my eyes wide open. What do I say?
If you want people to believe that they are from different realm, if you want them to believe that they are heroes, meant to do great things you have to be honest with them at all times. I cannot go on record and deny everything. Then again if I tell her the truth then Storybrooke will be swarming with reporters and it will be come a theme park. It will never be the same again.
"What is it exactly that you are asking me?" I try to stall.
"You heard me," she smiles. "Are you a fairytale princess?"
"Are you publishing the story in the Boston Herald?" I ask.
"Does it matter where the story is going? The people deserve to know the truth! Are you an impostor taking advantage of these people? Are you asking them for money? Are they part of a mass delusion? Are you starting a cult?"
I stand there completely stamped as her questions get more and more outrageous. I frantically search my mind for a vague enough answer that will satisfy this woman. I got nothing.
David pulls me away.
"Let's go," he says once we are well out of earshot."There's no right answer for this."
We step out of Granny's.
Emma calls me on the phone. "Graham and I visited the recluse that lives in the end of the forest. "
"And?"
"And she used to be a sea witch. She remembers everything. She is not Belle."
"Really?"
"Yes Mom."
"Well then we are probably looking at one of the more sinister options... Also, the reporter is here, talking to George!"
"Oh, no! What are we going to do? she asks.
"I have no idea," I reply. Things are unraveling too fast. This isn't how things were supposed to go.
"Where to next?" David asks.
"The worse option possible," I reply."The Storybrooke psych ward."
The Storybrooke psych ward is located in the basement of the Hospital and it is the stuff nightmares are made of. Small padded rooms underground, no windows, no natural light. I sudder to think of anyone stuck here for the past twenty eight years.
"First of all, I can't give you any information due to patient doctor confidentiality rules," the nurse on shift says.
"Really?" I ask impatiently. I do not have time for this. "What's the doctor's name?"
"Dr William " the nurse says pointing to the picture on her desk. I look at the people pictured there. I see Dr Whale, who I still cannot place, several nurses and Dr William.
"Wait, I know that guy," David replies. "Dr William was a court jester for king Midas."
I'm so relieved David remembers him because I'm drawing a blank.
"Well then," I take over,"he is not a real psychiatrist, now please, tell me who do you have locked in here?"
The woman glares at me."I don't know who you think you are Snow White, barging in here doubting the doctor's credentials but I'm not telling you anything!"
"You are Moira," I reply. "The fairy who stole babies on behalf of the Black Fairy and disappeared when she got found out. Hand me the keys or I will call Blue and she'll deal with you!"
The nurses face goes white and she hands me the keys from her pocket. She grabs her purse and she walks out of the psych ward as fast as she can.
"Shall we?" I ask.
Turns out that the psych ward is mainly empty.
David opens the rooms one by one and then on the last room he opens we find a woman sitting on the floor, with big blue eyes and dark hair. If you take into account that she's been locked in here for twenty eight years, she is a real beauty.
"Belle?" David asks."Princess Belle?"
She blinks a couple of times and she looks at him then she looks at me.
She tries to talk, but her voice doesn't come out at first. Then she coughs.
"You shouldn't be here. I'm very dangerous. I need to be locked up."
"What's your name?" I ask.
"I don't know. It doesn't matter. I am too dangerous, I can't be around people," she says and her hands begin to shake.
"Who told you that?" I ask using my most soothing voice.
"She said I killed everybody around me...you can't be here...please, go...please! I'm begging you..."
Our presence here is agitating her rather than making her feel better. We step out of her room.
"They didn't bother telling her her name but they told her she is a murderer?" David asks."What do we do?"
"Call Archie or Rumpelstiltskin?" I reply.
"Not Rumpelstiltskin. At least, not yet. If she is Belle and he sees her in this condition, there is no telling what he will do. Call Archie."
Archie shows up really fast. He walks in the room alone, he talks to the woman, trying to soothe her. Then he calls down a nurse, asks her to give her a sedative and has her moved to a room upstairs, away from the psych ward. As the nurse moves past me I wink at David and I point to the nurses direction with my head.
"Excuse me!" David says and he smiles at the nurse, "I had the pleasure of staying at the hospital for a while and I have a few questions..."
The nurse smiles and while she is busy talking to David, I reach out and grab the sedative from her pocket.
"Thank you so much," David says and the nurse walks away.
"Good job Charming!" I whisper.
"Resorting to banditry, are we?" he whispers back.
I have a lot more to say on the subject of charm and banditry but Archie turns to us, a very concerned look on his face.
"I don't understand," he asks. "Do you recognize this woman?"
"I do not. But I have a very strong suspicion of who she might be."
"Somebody drilled it in her mind that she is dangerous. It will take me a long time to get to the bottom of this."
"Maybe we don't have to get to the bottom of this. If we break the curse, won't she go back to her normal self?" David asks.
I nod."You are right. " I sigh. "But if Rumpelstiltskin sees her like this, he is going to seek revenge against Regina before he does anything else, before he he tells us how to break the curse...What do you think Archie?"
"I don't know. Does she know Rumpelstiltskin? A familiar face might help speed up her recovery. Give me a day to talk to her, let her rest in these new surroundings and then we can decide," he replies.
I shake my head. "I don't even know how much time we have. There is a reporter in town asking weird questions about fairytales..."
"Even so, sort of using magic, she is going to need time." Archie replies.
"Alright," David says. "See what you can do today and we'll talk again tomorrow."
My phone rings again.
"Lilly is in town Mom!" I hear Emma's voice."Meet us at the library."
"We are on our way."
We meet Emma, Graham, Red, Neal and Lilly at the library.
Lilly is looking good, she is wearing her usual dark hoodie, her eyes are glowing and she seems both nervous and excited.
"I have waited for this moment my entire life, Snow" she says. "I hope this works."
"It's going to work," Sheriff Graham says and Lilly turns around to get a better look at him.
"Who are you?" she asks.
He points to the badge in his belt.
"I'm a huntsman really," he says " curse pretending to be a sheriff."
"What do you like to hunt?" she says taking a step closer to him. Her eyes are glowing, her cheeks are flushed. I've never seen Lilly like this before..
Graham looks at her closely, a halfsmile on his face and doesn't reply.
"Have you ever hunted a dragon?" she asks and again he looks at her and doesn't reply.
I want to explain the plan to them, but I do not want to interrupt, whatever this is. Lilly and Graham then. Why not? She deserves happiness after all that she's been through. But he needs his heart in order for any of this to work. I glance at Red. She is looking at them, eyebrows raised an incredulous look on her face.
"So, what is the plan, Mom?" Emma asks.
"Let'stalk about this down there,"I reply pointing to the elevator.
Neal helps us all in the elevator and he lowers us down.
"Alright," I explain."We think that this tunnel is a pocket full of magic. The first thing we want to try and do is to give Sheriff Graham back his heart. Red, did you bring it?"
Red opens up the bag in her hand and pulls out Graham's heart.
I look at it and I look at Graham.
"I've never done this before," I say and I hesitate, then I have an idea. "Lilly? Your mother is a powerful witch. Chances are that you've inherited some of her powers. Would you like to try?"
"What do I do?" she asks and she takes Graham's heart from Red's hands.
She looks at his heart, pulsing, beating inside her hand, and then she turns to face him. I'm not sure if its the air of the tunnels affecting her or if she is a natural, but Lilly know what to do next. She raises his heart to her lips and she whispers something, none of us can hear, but I know Graham hears it because his eyes get wider and there's a thin line of a smile on his face.
Lilly holds his heart with both hands and she takes a step closer.
"Ready?" she whispers and he nods.
She takes a deep breath and pushes his heart into his chest with both hands. There's a flash of red light and Graham takes a step back and groans, then he bends over panting.
She takes a step forward and places her hand on his shoulder.
"Breathe!' she says and he does. He takes a deep breath, looking at her.
"Again,"she says, her voice confident and commanding. "Don't panic, keep your eyes on me and breathe!"
He looks at her and nods, he then takes deep breaths over and over and he stands up straight.
"Did I hurt you?" she whispers and he shakes his head.
"I'm alright," he says, mostly to her and she breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you!"
"Anytime," Lilly smiles, an unmistakable invitation in her voice and Graham looks at her again.
"So far so good," I say trying to get back to the plan. "Now Emma, take this," I say and I take off my ring and hand it to her.
She places my ring on her finger. There is a faint glow on it.
"This ring was enchanted along time ago. You say out loud who it is you are looking for and the ring will glow. It will lead you to Maleficent. And when you get there Lilly, talk to her, tell her who you are, ask her to come out of the tunnels with you. This should work."
Lilly nods.
"The tunnels are very confusing." David explains. "Be very careful. Do not try to remember your way out. When you are ready to come out wish to find your mother, and the ring will lead you out of the tunnels so you can get to her. You know what, it's better if I come along!"
Emma shakes her head.
"That wasn't in the plan Dad! Lilly and I got it. Mom needs you!"
"If my Mom is mad at you, it's better if you are not the first person she sees anyway," Lilly replies.
"Fine, take this," David concedes and hands Emma his sword.
"Dad! I'm not going to use a sword on her mother!" Emma replies and now Lilly is really glaring at him.
"Just in case...-" he says but now both Emma and Lilly are staring him down, so he shrugs and he steps back.
"Good luck!" I smile.
Lilly turns to Graham. "You are coming too, right?"
"Of course," he replies.
"Good," Lilly smiles.
"Alright," Red says,"Call us as soon as you are out."
Emma looks at the ring and smiles. "Alright this is really weird. Magic ring," she says using a very dramatic tone of voice,"I wish to find Maleficent!"
I roll my eyes. "No need for the theatrics," I try to say, " but the ring glows brighter now. Emma and Lilly gasp excitedly and they follow the glow.
"I should go first,"Graham tries to say.
Lilly turns to look at him.
"No!" she states simply and she takes off.
Graham follows them, a big smirk on his face.
David, Red and I get back in the elevator.
"I really hope this works," Red says.
I look at her.
"Are you okay with all of this?" I ask.
"Yes," she smiles. Then she adds, "Lilly is not very subtle is she?"
David laughs. "No."
I look at Red all concerned. I thought a sensed a spark between her and Graham a while ago. I wonder how she is feeling now with Lilly now in the picture.
And then Red looks at me."Stop looking at me like this, Snow. I like him, but he is not really my type. I like them handsome and broody but I need someone who says more than three words a week!"
And that very accurate description of Sheriff Graham makes me laugh.
"I just wanted to make sure that you are okay," I reply.
"I'll be fine," she shrugs.
As soon as we are back in the library we pull Neal to the side.
"There is a reporter in Storybrooke!"
"I know, Emma told me."
"How is this even possible?" I ask."How did they get in?"
"It's not possible. The only thing I can think of is that, maybe you've weakened the curse by telling all the people who they really are."
"Weakening the curse allowed the reporter to enter? Are you serious? I don't know how to handle this!" I reply all frustrated.
"If there is anything I can do...Definitely keep her away from my father! When he feels threatened he attacks!" Neal warns me.
The next item on my to do list: A meeting with Regina.
I call her on the phone.
"I'm ready to give you your heart back," I say firmly, but it will be on my terms, by my rules. Meet us at the docks."
I hear the clicking noise of her heels hitting the sidewalk before I see her. Once again she walks right at us, immaculately dressed, not a hair out of place.
"State your terms!" she says and she crosses her arms.
I pull out the sedative I swiped from the nurse.
"You take a spoonful of this, and you fall asleep. If this works, when you wake up, you will be in your house with your heart in your chest. Once you are awake you tell me everything you know about the curse. You do not leave anything out."
"You can't be serious! How naive do you think I am?" Regina scoffs.
"I will not give you your heart back under any other circumstances!"
"I fall asleep and I end up tied up in a dungeon somewhere!" she says getting louder.
"Locking people up in dungeons is what you do!" David replies firmly. "You are forgetting Regina that Snow has your heart. She could be ordering your heart to do this, she could be crushing it, right now! She is giving you a choice. This is our offer, take it or leave it!"
"Well, look who is back!"Regina says staring at Charming. "How! How are you doing this! First you deage than he remembers! How is any of this possible!"
"We are not here to satisfy your curiosity," David replies. "Take Snow's offer, or don't. If you ask me, she is offering a lot more than what you deserve!"
Regina shakes her head. Then she glares at me and sighs.
"Fine," she replies.
I hand her the sedative and she the takes a small sip and she sits down on a bench.
I count to ten and by then she is completely passed out.
David lifts her up and we walk to the beach cave next to the docks.
We walk inside, I pull out Regina's heart and I look at it. It was only a few days ago but it feels like it was so much longer, the night I spent getting drunk, contemplating all the awful things I could do to her. I lift up her heart to my lips.
"Remember," I say quietly."Remember how you lost your heart! Remember who you used to be!"
Then I hold her heart with both of my hands.
"Ready?" I ask David.
He nods.
I push Regina's heart into her chest as hard as I can and it works, the heart goes straight in there. Regina tenses up in her sleep and then she sighs and relaxes again.
"You did it!" David says.
We rush out of the cave, straight to my car. We place Regina in the back seat then we drive straight to her house.
Once again David lifts her up. I go through her purse to find the keys and unlock her front door. We take Regina upstairs and we place her in one of the upstairs bedroom. Her house is so austere, so void of photographs, and memories and life, its hard to even guess which one is her bedroom and which on is her guest room. I look around realizing that she spent twenty eight years in this house empty of life and I am not sure that this is much better than the cell in the psych ward that Belle was trapped in or the endless sleep David was imprisoned in.
I watch as David lays Regina on her bed. She is laying still, looking pale and so serious, even as she sleeps.
The Evil Queen trapped herself in this beautiful tower all alone, with no one to love, no one to laugh with. A curse she, herself could not break. A fancy prison cell. She is still asleep, sedated, so our conversation will have to wait. We walk downstairs and we are about to head out the door when I hear a scream.
I look at David.
"Maybe I did something wrong, maybe I gave her the wrong heart!" I say frantically.
We both rush up the stairs, back to Regina's room to find her kneeling on the floor, her hands clasping her chest, sobbing.
I kneel right next to her.
"What's wrong!" I ask.
"My heart!" she says through her sobs. "I can't. I feel so many things, it hurts, it hurts so much!" She grabs onto both of my hands."How do I make it stop? How do I stop the pain Snow White? You understand pain! Help me!" she says her eyes pleading.
"You don't stop the pain Regina,"I whisper. "You embrace the pain, you learn from it, you grow!" i smile sadly. "You let the pain make you stronger!"
"But I did so many things," she cries, "I really hurt people, Snow, it really hurts!"
"I know," I reply. "You will be fine in time Regina. Can I get you some tea?"
David heads downstairs to make tea and when he comes back he finds Regina laying back on her bed, her eyes closed, tears still streaming down her face. I'm sitting on a chair by her bed.
He places the tea cup on her nightstand.
Regina sits up and takes a sip.
"I didn't create the curse, it was given to me. But it did require a sacrifice, a sacrifice I had to make. It required the heart of the thing I loved most. I did that," she says and she pauses. "I did that. That was on me. I did that. I don't know how to break the curse. It probably requires true love, or a act of sacrifice, or, I don't even know. It requires acts of love or selflessness, I no longer understand..." she looks at me wistfully."I used to understand love... Anyway, I was told that the curse would be unbreakable but that's was a lie. All curses can be broken," she says. "That's all I know."
"Who gave it to you?" I asks.
"I stole it from Maleficent, but it wasn't hers either. The curse came from Rumpelstiltskin."
I gasp. "Why? Why did he want to do this? Why not cast the curse himself?"
"Crushing the heart of the thing you love most takes a lot out of a person. I'm guessing that it was a price he wasn't willing to pay."
"Whose heart did you crush?" David asks.
Regina closes her eyes, her body racked by silent sobs.
"My father's!" she whispers.
I'm crying now too.
"You took my father from me, to punish me, and then you killed your own father to curse me? Do you not see how self defeating that was?" I ask my voice cracked.
Regina shakes her head.
"I do now. I didn't then."
We stay silent for a while, both of us crying. David places his hand on my back, sharing my burden, trying to make sure I'm okay.
"What about the woman in the psych ward? Who is she?" he asks.
Regina opens her eyes and looks at David all surprised.
"How do you know about her?" she asks then she shakes her head."You know what, I don't even care how you know. The woman's name is Belle. A princess Rumple was in love with."
"You call him Rumple," David asks making a funny face.
"He was my teacher once. We were on friendly terms for a while..."
"What were you doing with Belle? Were you the one who told Belle that she was a murderer?" I ask.
"Who? Belle? A murderer?" Regina laughs. "She is as heroic as they come. She wouldn't hurt a fly! I told her no such thing! I haven't talked to her in twenty eight years!"
"You left her with no human contact for twenty eight years?" I gasp.
"Then who did?" David asks.
"Moira,"I sigh. "She must have done it."
"Moira the rogue fairy? Yeah that sounds just like her," Regina replies.
"Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything helpful about the breaking of the cures, or why Rumpelstiltskin wanted this to happen at all?"
"I can't think of anything else."
"Alright," David replies and he helps me up. We are on our way out of her room.
"I was hoping you would come," Regina says. "As much as I hated you, two years into the curse, I was hoping that you would come into Storybrooke, break the curse and put me out of my misery. You never do what's expected of you, do you?"
I look at her one last time and then we exit the room.
David holds my hand and pulls me back as soon as we get out of Regina's front yard.
"Snow, are you alright?" he asks.
I nod first, then I shake my head. I'm not alright. This was too much. He pulls me in his arms and kisses my forehead.
"You are not responsible for Regina's choices" he says quietly and I hold him closer. I want to argue that this is partially my fault, but I don't. I let him pull me back to the light. As he holds my hand and walks with me to the car, I cast one last glance to Regina's mansion. I see the curtain in her bedroom moving. She must have been watching us. I should be feeling uneasy about this, but I understand why she is doing it. The same reason I watched couples in the park for twenty eight years. She is trying to remember what it feels like to have someone willing to stand by you, willing to hold your hand, through the love and the pain, willing to save you from danger, willing to save you from yourself if necessary.
"I love you Charming!" I say and he looks at me a little surprised.
"I love you too!" he smiles and then we drive off, away from Regina and her pain.
Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for reviewing. You know I love hearing from you, so talk to me!
baratta jennifer chapter 13 Oh Paul you screwed up big-time
Did he ever!
Guest chapter 13 That was really cute. 28 years of anniversaries missed that's needed to be celebrated for sure. I'm glad that David has his memories now. Now onto getting Belle back, I wonder if she's in the hospital or not. Oh Paul Paul Paul... you truly put your foot in your mouth there. Why would you do that.. Get the hint she's not interested! But I'm curious how this will turn out? Because you said earlier in the story that you can only enter storybrooke if someone invites you and I wonder how the journalist will enter if she doesn't get invited? I hardly think Regina will invite her. Hmmm.
Thank you! She got in. (Thanks for bringing up the potential plot hole just in time from to patch it up :P
Guest chapter 13 You lull us I into a belief that things are calming down and then hit us with a two by four. Your two by fours are always well written. I like the way you worked Paul back into the story. Someone who carries a torch for that long does not go down easy. Can't wait to see the next part and how they will find Belle.
That might be my favorite review of all time. A two by four, huh?
I contemplated slowing it down and letting the story drift away gently, but then I thought this story started intensely. It needs to go out with a bang.
Austenphile chapter 13 The beginning scenes with Snow and Charming were so cute. And now they have an idea where to look for Belle. Love the nod to her Fiona cursed personality. Paul is the ultimate creep. The one who keeps thinking he will get the woman even after being rejected numerous times. But does not really believe it until she is with someone else then whines to everyone including the woman in question. Just awful.
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the beginning Snow/ Charming scene. I'm always worried that I'm doing too many, but I love making up conversations for them.
Guest chapter 13 What a delightful chapter! Now that David has his memories back they can actually start the fighting. I love that like Snow said they have their own little council in their farmhouse with Wilby and soon cough baby Neal. But they should find Belle first before anything like that can happen. If it'll even happen now that Paul really messed things up there. I wonder what Lilly can do about it? Or maybe Reginas protection wall can do something. Anyways this was really cute and I'm excited for what's next. Maybe the other shoe will drop?
Lilly can't really help. She is just on Snow's list of things to fix and now that she feels that she doesn't have time she is speeding everything up...Trying to get it all done