Chapter 14: Accusations Afloat

Seeing Brant for the first session had been eventful to say the least. Mr. Gold had been sent away almost the moment he entered the room. Brant did not want to speak to him, not yet anyway. Mr. Gold had gritted his teeth but as the therapist, Dr. Hopper, had been adamant that Brant's boundaries be respected he had left. Emma had stayed and when she came to meet him later on, it turned out they had already discussed the subject of the baby…

Mr. Gold was not amused. How was he going to influence Brant's decision if he wasn't allowed in the room? Not to mention the time it took to get here, and the horrors of sitting in Emma's small car!

He was fuming at Emma, not noticing her face or mood in the least.

"My own son! Boundaries, ha! I'll tell them about boundaries! What about my boundaries? No-one cares about them!"

"He is afraid to meet you, I think," Emma said, "and probably ashamed as well. He does look up to you…""

"Ha! I don't believe you," Mr. Gold sneered. "He hates me, he doesn't look up to me at all. I wish he did!"

Emma sighed and continued: "The two can exist simultaneously, you know…. Dislike and admiration… probably quite common even."

Mr. Gold was silenced for a while. She could be right. He sure knew of his share of guys he admired and detested in his past… Jealousy being quite the motivator, for good or bad. Feeding one's own ambition or feeding hatred against another instead.

"He sure never says anything about admiring me," he mumbled.

"Would you though?" Emma asked with a smirk, "Tell anyone, your dad or older brother for instance, that you did?"

Probably not, no. There was something degrading in it, not that there should be. He smiled back. He began to like this Emma more and more. He smiled and looked at her when he noticed her red-rimmed eyes. That's right, she had been crying in the car… and now she'd had her first talk with Brant.

"What did he say..?" he cautiously began, "about the baby, I mean?"

"Not much… He doesn't know what to do.. Too hard of a decision, I guess.."

"Did he say that you could decide?" Mr. Gold wanted to know.

"In so many words, yes… which leaves me in quite a pickle…"

"Your own dilemma to sort out… I understand," he said.

"Really? When were you last pregnant? I'd like to hear about that!" she snapped.

"Look here now, Brant has an addiction to recover from, babies…. Not such a good timing.. Believe me, I do know… Not to mention still being in college…"

"So you had Brant when you were young?" Emma figured.

"I wasn't, no… His mother was and… well, not sure that was the best idea…"

"Don't tell me, she got pregnant and you got married. Doing the right thing…"

"In a nutshell, yes. I'm not sure she would have chosen me otherwise, except for the money of course," he said bitterly. "I don't want Brant to make a similar mistake, that's all."

"I'm not Milah, and no 'fence, but Brant isn't you." Emma stalked away.

Great, just great, Mr. Gold thought. He would have to travel back with her… He couldn't see how that would not end in a murder attempt or two on both sides… He chucked joylessly. Their fiery tempers would sure make the return trip interesting as well…

Gus was celebrating the triumph at his work, drinking his heart out. As a mole, he needed to find the drugs. The same that had been provided so abundantly for Brant and the other players. It was vital for Mr. Gold's schemes. Today had been his lucky day.

Hard worker as he was, he didn't mind doing a bit of overtime on occasion. The King had noticed and pulled him aside.

"You seem trustworthy enough… Let me show you a little secret. The very secret that pays for your, and mine, royal salary," he laughed. He had taken him to a small room in the very back of the warehouse.

"This special supply is for our star players," George said. Gus smiled. Finally he had found it!

"We keep it separate, only the best for them.." he continued, his voice filled with pride.

Gus had received the key to the small room, in case access was needed when George wasn't around. He had acted the grateful employee and they had drank a beer to seal the deal. George trusted him and liked to cut down on his hours. Everything was simply perfect… and very ready for the next stage of the operation.

Belle had just finished giving the toilet a good scrub, when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Milah standing there, meticulously dressed in white, with a bright, though not so innocent, smile.

Hesitantly, Belle let her in, although she explained that the owner wasn't at home. "Never mind, my dear, it's you I want to talk to. You see a little bird told me… well, anyway, I have come to warn you. My ex-husband may seem like quite the catch—charming, powerful, rich—but isn't at all what he seems…"

She peered into Belle's face trying to read her thoughts.

"How do you know…? Who told you?" She clasped her hand for her mouth. Belle had already said too much.

"It's doesn't matter now, does it? What matters, is to get you out of his claws…"

Apparently Brant had guessed their relationship, or perhaps Emma had informed them, either way Belle's liaison, budding as it still was, with Rupert was no longer a secret.

"You see, my dear, I fear you have bitten of more than you can chew… Rupy.. he's a bit of in a league of his one, you might say.. Someone to be handled with care… You might not be altogether… appropriate for the job."

"I'm sorry?!" Belle replied angrily. "Rupert and I can make our own decisions.. we don't need some jealous ex-wife…"

"Jealous?" Milah laughed scorningly. "Whyever would I be jealous? Look at who I've got now! Kenny is ten times the man old Rupy was…"

"Then why are you here?" Belle asked sneakily. "What's it to you whom he dates, or doesn't date?"

"I'm only looking out for you my dear…" Milah retorted affronted and conspiratorially. "He is… he dabbles in… Dark Magic…" she whispered.

"Magic?" Belle almost rolled her eyes. "You are joking right?!"

"No, I am not. Surely you have seen the animals.. the artifacts… the hidden door that mustn't be opened..?"

Belle fell silent.

"Alchemy… The way he talked about it, making it sound like ancient pharmacy or something… It's not true.. He is evil at heart, I know it. And now… Brant is in pieces and…"

She began to cry. Belle gave her a handkerchief. As far as she could tell Milah was overwhelmed with sadness and a deep longing to blame, someone, anyone..

Who'd better fill that particular position than an ex-husband?