Gold:
He was beyond frustrated. He was pissed. He understood that last night had been a terrible storm. He understood that it was seven-thirty in the morning. But that didn't mean Belle had the right to just not show up to work when she was supposed to. He started to dial her number, until he realized in irritation that he had never gotten a phone number from her.
He flipped the sign on his door to closed and limped angrily down the sidewalk. He needed tea. Fast. Or he was going to go murderous.
He limped into Granny's and slid into a booth, mumbling angrily to himself. Ruby glanced at him before slowly making her way to him.
"Earl Grey tea. Now," Mr. Gold muttered angrily before she could even say anything. She huffed away, but at least had the intelligence to huff away quickly. He scowled at the wall until she returned with his tea. He took one sip and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Ruby was still standing there. Her expression had changed slightly.
"I know you're not one for gossip, Mr. Gold, but did you hear the news?" she asked, her voice low.
Her words went right through Mr. Gold. For a second he was horrified. What if Belle didn't come to work because something happened to her? Oh God. What if she was dead? He hadn't even considered that!
"Graham died last night," Ruby whispered. Her words shot right through them. He was relieved. Belle wasn't hurt.
He was relieved, that is, until he remembered how close to Graham Belle had been. He turned in his seat more towards Ruby, about to ask her if she knew how Belle was, when he saw her.
Belle.
She was huddled in a booth in the corner of the store, wrapped in a blanket, hair a mess. And she was shaking slightly. Ruby's eyes followed his and she shook her head sadly.
"We found her on the doorstep to the inn this morning when we woke up. She was soaked and shivering. Granny escorted her into here, and then heard the news about Graham. She hasn't had the heart to say anything to Belle yet, or ask her to leave," Ruby said lowly.
"Did she say anything?" Mr. Gold asked, alarmed. Ruby started to shake her head, but stopped.
"She asked for a drink. An alcoholic drink," Ruby recalled. She shook her head as she said it.
"Granny wouldn't let me give it to her. Said she couldn't bear allowing the girl to poison herself anymore," Ruby said. She shook her head once more and started walking away.
"Wait! What drink did she ask for?" Mr. Gold asked. Ruby shook her head.
"She asked for Apple Dreams. We don't serve it. But apparently Granny serves it to Belle and Belle alone. I've even seen her slipping it in her other drinks before, but I'm pretty sure that was on request," Ruby said before walking away.
Apple Dreams. The poison. Just how often had Belle been slipped it? Granny wouldn't do that to her, he knew. She had to be being controlled by someone. By Mal.
Mr. Gold stood up and gripped his tea in one hand as he limped over to the table Belle huddled at. She looked up, wide-eyed, when he sat down. He pushed his tea over to her. Belle stared down at it blankly.
"Drink some. You need something to wake you up," he said gruffly. With a very shaky hand, Belle reached out and brought the tiny cup to her lips.
"You're a mess," Mr. Gold observed when she put the cup down.
"You don't look so lovely yourself," Belle retorted drily. Mr. Gold didn't even bother to hide his smile. She was responding. That was a good sign.
"What happened to you? Ruby says they found you on their doorstep?" Mr. Gold inquired. Belle tilted her head at him.
"I didn't want to wake them up at four in the morning," Belle said.
"Why would you need to wake them up that early?" Mr. Gold asked, intrigued.
"Because after we brought back Graham's body, the landlord learned that he was dead and told me I had ten minutes to pack my things and get out," Belle said, her voice apathetic. Mr. Gold's anger rose.
"He did what?" Mr. Gold asked, angry. Belle shrugged.
"Apparently the only reason he allowed me to live there was because of Graham. I think Graham helped pay my bills without me knowing it. So the moment he knew Graham was dead, he kicked me out," Belle said.
"He can't do that," Mr. Gold said adamantly. Belle shrugged, taking another drink of his tea. Her shaking hadn't stopped, but she looked a bit better.
"He just did." Her answer was so matter of fact it infuriated him. But he bit back his anger.
"You didn't show up for work this morning," he said, trying to change the subject.
"I lost my job," she said glumly.
"I didn't fire you," Mr. Gold said, confused. Her head shot up.
"Oh. Yeah. That job. Sorry," she muttered.
"You got fired last night too?" he asked, cursing internally. It had obviously not been her night. She nodded.
"Lacey showed up at the bar during the storm and I was fired cause I had to walk her home. We got lost on the way home. Then, while looking for us, Graham was killed by a falling tree," Belle said, her tone monotonous as she summed up her night.
"And you guys came back and you were evicted?" Mr. Gold added. She nodded.
"Where do you plan on living now?" Mr. Gold asked her. Her head shot up. That question obviously hadn't flickered through her head yet. He could tell. He could also tell she didn't have the money to live at Granny's indefinitely. She didn't even have to say anything.
"You know, I have about five empty spare rooms. If you wanted, you could stay with me," Mr. Gold offered before she came up with some bullshit answer of what she was going to do. She stared openly at him.
"Stay with you?" she asked dubiously.
"Yeah. If someone asks, you can claim you're my housekeeper," Mr. Gold said. Belle shook her head.
"That pretty much translates into whore," Belle told him. Mr. Gold flinched.
"That's not what I'm asking of you," he said quickly. She nodded and flashed him a brief but genuine smile.
"I know," she murmured. He stood up and held out his hand to her.
"Come on. You look like you could use a shower and a bed for a few hours of rest before you do anything else," he said. She stared at him for a moment before tentatively smiling and taking his offered hand.
She was still shaking when they got to his house.
"Are you cold?" he asked. She shook her head.
"I just feel really shaky. And antsy," she admitted. Mr. Gold's blood ran cold.
"How often do you drink anything at Granny's?" he asked, worry seeping into him.
"I always start out there with tea. Or something stronger. Depending on the day. And I come back at lunch, and halfway through the afternoon. I usually stick to drinking at the bar after that," she said. She scrunched up her nose.
"The hot chocolate they gave me this morning tasted funny," she admitted. Mr. Gold was infuriated. Not only had they been giving her the poison, but they had her addicted to the stuff.
"When was the last time you had something to drink?" he asked.
"Last night, before I left the bar," she admitted. So she was already going through withdrawals. She needed something in her. But not that poison. Never again. He opened the door and made his way to the kitchen, pouring her a shot of scotch. He pushed it over to her and she stared at it disdainfully.
"You're going through withdrawal. I'm not sure exactly what it's from, but we'll try to get a bit of alcohol into you so you don't go into shock or anything," Mr. Gold said. He knew little to none about withdrawal. He knew some of the symptoms and that was it.
Still, Belle downed the shot and the shaking started to subside. He led her to a spare bedroom and she was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. He sat her backpack on the ground next to the bed and left the room.
He was only out of the room when he heard someone banging on the door. He opened the door before it would wake up Belle, only to see Emma standing on his doorstep.
"Have you seen Lacey?" Emma asked, the deputy badge on her hip reflecting the early morning sunlight.
"No. Can't say I have," Mr. Gold said flippantly, but his heartbeat was already accelerating.
"Have you seen Belle? Do you think Lacey could be with her?" Emma asked quickly. Mr. Gold swallowed and shook his head.
"Miss French is upstairs, asleep. Alone," he clarified. Emma's eyes widened. Before she could say anything else, Henry was halfway up the steps.
"Hi Emma. Hi Mr. Gold. Where's Lacey?" he asked brightly, clutching a large book. One that looked suspiciously like the one Lacey always carried around.
"Missing," Emma said grimly. Henry's eyes widened.
"But I just got the correct book! How am I supposed to trade out the real book for her fake book when she's missing?!" Henry complained, obviously exasperated.
"What's going on?" Belle's voice asked quietly. Mr. Gold spun around.
"Belle! You should be in bed!" he lectured gently. She was staring at Emma.
"Lacey's missing," Emma told her grimly. Belle's eyes widened.
"She made a phone call, while we were in the cabin in the woods," Belle remembered. Mr. Gold's eyes widened in turn.
"A cabin in the woods?" he repeated. Emma nodded as well.
"That's where we found Lacey, Belle, Mary Margaret, and David early this morning," Emma said.
"Then I can be of assistance. Did she use the old wall phone?" Mr. Gold asked. All Belle could do was nod. He whipped out his cell phone a dialed the phone company. A moment later he hung up.
"Someone made a call to a New York City cell phone," he stated. Henry's face lost all color.
"She's trying to find her brother," Henry said. Mr. Gold and Emma both had wide eyes at that. Emma spun briskly.
"I'm going to find her before she finds him," she promised. She was in her car and pealing out of the driveway before anyone could say a word.
"Bae's in New York City?" Mr. Gold asked Henry, his voice low. Henry nodded.
"He has next to no memories. Except a hatred for you," Henry whispered.
"Who's Bae?" Belle asked. Both turned to her, noticing how her face was scrunched up, as if she was trying desperately to remember something. Or someone. Bae.
"My son," Mr. Gold managed to say. Belle's eyes widened.
"So you are Lacey's father," she murmured. Mr. Gold had no answers.
"Lacey and Bae are…half siblings," Mr. Gold was finally able to say. It was the truth. Belle nodded but said no more.
"Henry, can you run home?" Mr. Gold asked as he moved from the door to Belle's side. He helped her to her room, glancing over his shoulder once to see that Henry had left and closed the door behind him.
Rose:
She woke up much earlier than she'd hoped to, but that was just how life was. She felt sick with worry for Alice, and – to her confusion – the Knave. She hurried out of the room only to see Jefferson waiting for her.
"Want to find breakfast?" he asked. Rose shook her head and closed her eyes. A moment later she heard a gasp. She opened her eyes to see Jefferson staring at the food she'd conjured with wide eyes.
The two of them ate quickly and Rose magicked them close to the castle.
"You know, I can still take you home now. You don't have to do this," Jefferson whispered as they approached the wall. Rose smiled ruefully at him.
"I do, actually. I feel like…I feel like this is my destiny," Rose said. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized just how true they were. This felt like her destiny. This WAS her destiny.
"Fine," he said, but he smiled as he said it. He picked up the hat that had somehow landed on Rose's head and ruffled her hair affectionately before replacing the hat.
"I like my hat better," Jefferson said lightly, but Rose could hear the worry behind his words. He was terrified. For her.
Rose led him to a weak spot in the wall. She didn't know how she knew about it; she just did. Then, instead of breaking through it like she had just decided she wanted to do, she magicked them right inside.
Right inside of a prison cell.
"Rose!" Alice cried out quietly. Rose's eyes widened.
"Alice?" she called out. Her eyes darted around the room quickly, but saw nothing.
"Where are you?" Rose called out.
"The cell next to you! I felt you arrive!" Alice said. The words seemed confusing to Alice, and they were more so confusing to Rose.
"Hide!" Alice instantly hissed. Rose and Jefferson slunk into the shadows. They heard the rattling of the cell door next to them.
"Off with her head," a male voice said. The voice sounded absolutely crazy and Rose listened intently. Nothing. Except the sound of Alice being drug away.
"We should have magicked out there and kicked butt!" Rose berated herself as she magicked them out of the cell.
"Come on!" she cried to Jefferson as she took off running through the castle, following nothing but her instincts. The instincts led her to a tower with a balcony overlooking a gorgeous stone courtyard. In the center of the courtyard was Alice, tied and thrust to the ground. A man with an axe was standing over her, and the slutty woman Rose had seen the day before was watching gleefully.
"OFF WITH HER HEAD!" the Red Queen shouted. Rose threw herself off the tower and appeared behind the axe man. She waved her hand at the axe and it turned into a lovely bouquet of daisies. Another wave of the hand and Alice was undone. With a quick glance at Jefferson, she magicked the three of them back to the Queen of Hearts' castle.
When they landed, the room spun. Rose collapsed to the floor.
"Rose?" Jefferson asked worriedly, and Alice repeated her name as well. Rose shook her head.
"Dizzy," she murmured.
"You overdid yourself, you idiot," Jefferson lectured her, but he was grinning. He scooped her into a hug.
"You're amazing!" he cried.
It was only then that Rose realized something was seriously wrong.
"Where's the Knave? And Cyrus?" Rose asked. Alice's slight smile faded instantly to be replaced with a worried expression.
"The Knave was locked somewhere else. And Cyrus is trapped in his lamp," Alice moaned.
"His lamp?" Rose asked, completely lost.
"Yes. Cyrus is a genie. Was a genie. Is now a genie again," Alice said, trying to figure out her words as they left her mouth.
"Sounds complicated," Jefferson mumbled, only for Rose to slap his arm in irritation.
"Then I guess we gotta go back for them."
Bae:
He still couldn't shake the feeling that the call made to him was important. More than important. Dire.
Wendy was over once more. She was always over anymore, and Bae really couldn't find a way to tell her he wanted to be alone. Needed to be alone.
Maybe this was what Rose didn't like about her.
She was talking to him about something, but all he could think about was that phone call.
"And I was thinking we should maybe move in together. Since we're together all the time anyway," Wendy was suggesting. That shocked Bae out of his stupor.
"Wait – what?" he asked. Wendy shrugged, examining her nails.
"Well it would make perfect sense," she said. Bae felt overwhelmed. He felt more than overwhelmed. He was irritated, horrified, disgusted. Rose was missing. His sister, the only thing he had left of his family, was gone, and Wendy was trying to talk about moving in with him?
"There isn't really much room in the apartment, and I really don't want to move anywhere else," Bae said awkwardly. Wendy sighed.
"Neal. We're engaged. We're going to have to move somewhere else soon anyway. And I'd be in your room. It's not like I'm asking to have Rose's room," Wendy scoffed.
The thought sent a red flash of fury through Bae's vision. He slammed his fist against the table before picking up the closest object –a glass cup – and throwing it against the wall as hard as he could.
"Damnit, Wendy, I said no! I've got too much to deal with right now!" Bae roared, furious. Wendy glared openly.
"You should stop acting like an asshole. The brat probably ran away for attention," Wendy snarled right back. Bae was done.
"Get out."
"What?" Wendy was taken aback. It was clear on her face that she hadn't been expecting that.
"I said get out. We're done. Rose is my everything. If you're going to treat her like that, we are finished," Bae said angrily. Wendy glared at him, snatched up her purse, and stomped towards the door. In the doorway, she spun around.
"You're going to regret this," she promised him before slamming the door violently behind her. A picture frame tumbled to the ground from the wall at the force of the door.
Wendy:
"And he told me to get out! What are we going to do now?" Wendy complained, irritated.
"This is a problem. A serious problem. We needed someone inside," Tamara said, running a hand through her hair.
"If we hadn't been the ones to rescue you, I'd suggest you go in after him," Greg suggested. Tamara nodded, shaking her head.
"This is not the time for our plans to be going to hell. We need things to be perfect right now. This is our endgame," Tamara said.
"What about the puppet?" Greg asked suddenly. Tamara turned to him quickly.
"What about him?" she asked.
"What puppet?" Wendy asked. Tamara waved her hand impatiently.
"August Booth. He's turning into wood. Turns out the bastard's Pinocchio," Tamara said flippantly.
"Well. We could offer him something. Something that will keep him human. If he acts as our spy," Greg suggested.
"Do we have something like that?" Wendy asked, eyebrows furrowing together. Tamara scoffed at her.
"Of course not, fool! But he doesn't need to know that," Tamara said.
"That won't work," an older voice said from behind them. Everyone turned around to see Wendy Darling rolling herself in in her wheelchair.
"Miss Darling," Tamara said, bowing her head slightly.
"It's a thoughtful plan, Greg, but he's not the typical Pinocchio. If he was, he would have given us information long ago," Wendy Darling suggested.
"Then what do you want us to do, Grandma?" Wendy asked sarcastically.
"Let him go. Then follow him," Wendy Darling suggested.
"Just…let him go? With a tracking device?" Greg asked dubiously. Wendy Darling nodded.
"Yes. We'll forget about Neal Cassidy for right now. Instead, let's focus on the larger scheme of things. Like where Lacey disappeared to. And Rose, for that matter," Wendy Darling said.
Wendy smiled at her grandmother and the others before quietly excusing herself. Neal would feel sorry for treating her like that. She would make sure of it. She would personally be the one to kill him.
No one broke up with her.
Henry:
Henry sat at a booth in the diner, staring at the book. Now what? He didn't want to go home just yet – his mom was busy for awhile yet today. But what could he do? His only playmate was gone. Stupid Lacey. Why'd she have to run away?
"You look deep in thought," a voice said as someone slid into the booth across from him. Abigail.
No. Kathryn.
"Hi," Henry said shyly. Kathryn smiled at him.
"Hey. You look like someone just ran over your puppy. What's going on?" she asked him. He liked her. He always liked Abigail.
"Lacey ran off and now I don't have anyone to play with," Henry mumbled. It was only part of his problem, but he couldn't very well tell her the entire problem. Kathryn propped up her head with her hands.
"Tell ya what. I'm kinda lonely right now too. Want to play with me? We can go to the castle," Kathryn offered. Henry's smile appeared on his face.
"That'd be awesome!" he said, jumping up quickly. Kathryn laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately before wrapping her arm around his shoulders.
His day just went from horrible to okay.
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I know it took so long, and I'm sorry. As I said before, Camp NaNoWriMo is kicking my butt! But, at the same time, I'm up to 34,150 words for it of 50,000! So I'm doing fine!
I am trying with this story. I do have an outline; it's just finding the time to crank this out for you guys. Please leave me reviews. I was rather discouraged by my distinct lack of reviews from last chapter.
Let me know what you think and what you think will happen!
Andi