As usual, I do not own any rights to ABC's material.
Hope you enjoy!
~~Previously on "To Carry On"~~
~In the Enchanted Forest, a king name Rolph once ruled all three of the kingdoms Eliza and Andrew know today, but in trying to do what he thought best for the kingdom, Rolph betrayed his first wife, and then his eldest son. The result split the kingdom into three, leaving Rolph with but a remnant. In current times, Rolph's line seems to have disappeared – until one young boy, Felix, meets his Uncle Damian. Because of his uncle's stories, Felix eventually makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin for the proof of his lineage, which allows him to become the leader of the Royalist faction. Since he is a direct descendant, he is the first to have any true hope of uniting the kingdom. He believes that having a son, Robert, will help to secure the throne, since there is already an heir. He does not yet know that the boy is not his son, but rather was switched at birth.
~In Storybrooke, Paige wonders if David is too distracted by personal matters to be a good leader for the people. She feels he is putting far too much faith in Jefferson's hat, especially since he doesn't seem to understand how the hat really works.
Also, she has revealed the true identity of the father of her child to Dr. Horne and the Blue family. Horne believes she should choose to deny her daughter the right to rule for political purposes, and the Blues are quite adamant in stating that they would not want to be ruled by the Dark One's child. Ed Grove, who was a knight from her kingdom in the other world, is in love with his princess. The short young man awkwardly promises that he will marry Paige if it becomes necessary – if she chooses to give her daughter the chance to prove herself, and if Mike still refuses to marry her before she gives birth.
Mike has reconnected with an old friend, Mark. The Curse gave them memories of having lived next door to each other when they were children, but they lost touch when Mike's family moved away in the wake of an accident at Mark's house, wherein Mike's father, a volunteer fireman, rushed to save the life of Mark's younger sister, Jade.
"I do not believe that Wolfs truly exist, Father," Robert said, his voice imperious. At the age of eight, he was already acting like a spoiled prince, but Felix found it quite endearing. Besides, the boy should be a prince, and hopefully would be before he came of age. Felix was slowly but surely gathering support. Everyone in this kingdom was quite tired of the constant fighting, but until Felix's ancestry had been discovered, every faction had refused to follow the intended leader of any other faction. But an actual descendant of the royal line, well, that was a different story. Or so Felix was trying to convince the other factions.
Amused by his son's proclamation, Felix asked, "And what of the stories I've told?"
"They're only stories, Father," the boy replied, his voice patient, but with a slight edge of exasperation, as if Felix were being intentionally stubborn.
"Ah, but I have seen a Wolf with my own eyes, son," Felix said, fighting a smile.
"I tell you, Father, there is no such thing!" Robert crossed his arms. The look on his face seemed to be daring his father to keep insisting that Wolfs were real.
But before Felix could reply, little four-year-old Ember piped up. "No such thing!" She, too, folded her arms over her chest, her little face set in an angry pout.
Felix couldn't contain his smile any longer. Not with that adorable little face glaring up at him, fire in those green eyes. Her hair was so blond it was almost white, but if it was anything like his own hair, it would darken over the years to a more sandy shade of blond. Robert's grey eyes held a challenge, and Felix began to wonder what exactly his children wanted from him now. Usually, they fought, but when they were both interested in something, they were quite adept at teaming up against their father until he gave in.
"Well, it seems we have a problem. My children, the fruit of my own loins, believe me a liar," Felix said, trying to pretend he was being serious. "Whatever shall we do about that?"
Robert's face went shrewd and calculating, which Felix found even more endearing. "Hmm," the boy mused. "Perhaps you can think of something, Father? After all, you're the one accused."
"Oh, is that so?" Felix was surprised at the boy's boldness. "Your lessons have been sadly lacking, son. These days, we believe burden of proof should fall on the accuser. Innocent until proven guilty, my boy!"
Little Ember seemed bored with all the grown-up talk, and began to amuse herself by walking on the cracks between the large stone tiles that made up the floor. She held her arms out, swaying as if balancing on a rope high in the air. Felix chuckled. It was adorable the way children could use the simplest things to entertain themselves.
Robert seemed taken aback, but Felix knew that the boy was after something specific, and sure enough, Robert spoke up rather quickly. "Well," he said, trying to pretend he had just come up with the idea. "Perhaps you could take Ember and myself out to see a Wolf. After all, seeing is believing, Father."
Ember turned from her make-shift game to punctuate her brother's point. "See a Wolfie!" She threw her head back and let loose a howl. She had only ever heard a regular wolf howling before, but her childish, innocent attempt at sounding like a wild creature brought a smile to Felix's face.
"See a 'Wolfie,' eh?" he asked, his mind reeling. How on earth had his children come up with such an idea? But their pleading expressions melted his heart, while at the same time, the honesty of their words chilled him. They truly did not believe that Wolfs were real. "Hmm. I cannot make promises, but perhaps I can arrange something for you," he said. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Your mother isn't going to like this one bit."
Paige was glad Mike had agreed to accompany her and translate, even though he didn't agree with her. She knew Dr. Horne would have done it, but it meant a lot to her that Mike was there. He still hadn't decided what to do about their relationship, and it showed as he hesitated over deciding to hold the door for her. In the end, he did hold the door for her, because it was a polite and gentlemanly thing to do.
David looked up and asked, "What can I do for you?" His face was open and friendly, and Paige felt a little guilty for what she was about to do.
She steeled herself and signed to Mike, who said, "First of all, she wants me to tell you that I disagree with what she's about to say. I have no issue with you taking up a leadership role in this town, but…"
"But you do?" David asked, addressing Paige. When she nodded, David said, "Well, I hope you'll let me try to prove myself. By the way, where are you two from? I can't put my finger on it, but for some reason I don't think you're from a kingdom I know."
"Actually, you might have heard of Paige's kingdom," Mike said. "The Blueberry kingdom?"
"Oh, wow," David answered. "You're right, I have heard of that." Addressing Paige, he said, "You didn't mention that the other night." Then he turned back to Mike. "But what about you, ah…"
"Mike. Well, in this world. In the Enchanted Forest I was Andrew, a prince of the Wolfsbane kingdom. But the Wolfs seem to have stayed far closer to our borders with the forest; when I met Red and Snow, they had never heard of Wolfs. Anyway, my brother is the king there, and I was betrothed to Eliza, whom you know as Paige."
"I didn't realize the Blueberry kingdom was on the same continent," David mused. Then he noticed Paige's somewhat impatient expression. "But you came here to explain why you think I shouldn't be running this town. Please, enlighten me."
Mike explained that he would translate directly, and Paige signed. "Why should we follow a shepherd? Spencer may have gone about it the wrong way, but he does have a point. What right have you to lead us? There are plenty of others here trained to rule. Tristan, known here as Noah." Mike paused in his translation for a moment to explain, "That's my brother, by the way," before he continued speaking Paige's words for her.
"Also, I've heard that Ashley was Cinderella, so her prince has been trained to rule. For that matter, her father-in-law was a king in our world." Mike felt that Paige had left out someone very important, so he added, "And Paige is the heir to her father's kingdom, and will rule it when he is no longer with us. Although she and her father both let personal concerns rule them for the last few years." There was a touch of bitterness in his voice, and the hurt look in her eyes made him sorry he'd said that aloud. But he didn't try to backpedal, he just translated as Paige's hands moved again.
"That's exactly why I didn't mention myself." He made a face and said, "I mean, that's what she's signing right now. I don't mean me personally. I know I'm not cut out to be a king. I'm just a simple soldier."
"You'd be surprised at how often simple men turn out to be the best of kings," David said softly. "But I'd like the chance to answer Paige's concerns, unless she's not finished?"
Paige shook her head and raised her hands again, and Mike spoke. "I know that I let personal concerns – the welfare of my brothers – come before that of my people. And I worry that you're doing the same thing. That hat – you can't use it. There are rules – the same number of people that go into the hat must come back through. So if you bring Emma and Mary Margaret back here, you have to strand two others in whatever may be left of our world."
David seemed taken aback. "I… I didn't know. But it doesn't matter anyway. Spencer – well, he destroyed the hat."
Looking relieved, Paige signed again. "Maybe that's for the best," Mike translated.
"Maybe," David said, but it didn't sound like much of an agreement. "But let me tell you how I came to be a prince. I grew up a simple shepherd. My mother and I ran the farm, and it was hard. We were always poor, and it seemed like every year, we were just a little deeper in debt. Until Rumpelstiltskin came. I found out that I had a twin brother – Rumpelstiltskin took him when we were just infants. He grew up as King George's son, but he died, and the king needed me to pretend to be his son, to get paid for my brother's skill as a warrior. They didn't mean for me to face the dragon, but it was killing them." His voice was earnest and sincere, and Paige could sense his pain at remembering the knights dying while he was supposed to do nothing. "So I saved the one man I could, and I killed the dragon. I don't know where that came from – I never knew I had it in me. But it felt so natural, so right. And I was happy I'd made the deal with Rumpelstiltskin. Until I realized just how corrupt King George was. But as soon as I broke away from him, I made no secret of my origins. I rescued Snow and we started winning back the kingdom, and everyone kept calling me a prince even though I didn't feel I deserved it." He paused, then added, "Besides, King George's original heir was my brother, also born a poor shepherd. He hadn't a drop of royal blood in his veins, either, and George was lying to his people about it."
Reading Paige's hands, Mike replied, "But he was raised as a prince. He was taught about all the duties and responsibilities of a king.
"But that doesn't mean he would have been a good one," David countered. "I've heard a few things about him, and it seems like he was arrogant, selfish. If there's one thing I've learned from Snow about leading people, it's respect. You have to have respect for the people you rule. If you can't understand that they are every bit as important as you are, you'll never be a good ruler. Treat them as you would want to be treated – it's just common decency. Some people are born with it, but most have to learn it. But there are some who couldn't care less, and I get the idea that my brother was one of those. And for the ones who don't care about the people, all the training in the world is just… a waste."
David looked pensive for a moment. "And I know that I'm letting my emotions get the best of me right now, but Mary Margaret – Snow – she is my heart. And Emma – I just got my daughter back, and she's already been ripped away from me again. The last time I saw her before the Curse broke, she wasn't even an hour old. I fought my way to the wardrobe and sent her through, condemning her to a life alone in this world. And with her gone, I can't even try to make up for that. So yes, I'm putting two people ahead of everyone else more often than not, but I'm doing it because I care. Because I love them both very much. And if I ignore love, what kind of man would I become? As David, I ignored it once, and I hurt Mary Margaret badly. I'm still ashamed of that. Ruling doesn't necessarily mean ignoring your own heart. It's… a balance. And I may not be very good at it, but at least I'm trying. I didn't save Ruby just because she's my friend. I also did it because I knew that I couldn't let these people put the murder of an innocent on their consciences. Yes, I wanted to save my friend, but I also wanted to save them. It just worked out that following my heart and pursuing the good of the people meant doing the same thing this time."
Paige looked more relaxed than she had at any time during this conversation. Mike, watching her hands, said, "Alright. You are worthy. But David, you can't keep doing it all. Sheriff and prince? You'll run yourself into the ground trying to do both, especially since you're also trying to save your wife and daughter."
"If that's what I have to do, then that's what I'll do," David said, shrugging. It seemed simple to him. "And if you have a problem with anything I do, any decision I make regarding the townsfolk, come and talk to me about it, like you're doing right now. Just give me a chance, Paige."
After a long moment, she simply nodded.
Felix sighed. "You know as well as I do that the very edges are not so dangerous. That is where the lone Wolfs lurk, those shunned from the pack. The pack will not go near them."
"But m'lord," an anxious knight said, "The children are far too young to be put in such danger. And if all of you are killed, what of our chances to reunite our kingdom? You and your children are the last descendants of King Rolph. It's too dangerous!"
"My uncle took me to see a Wolf when I was a boy." Felix's voice was soft.
His wife Dorcas spoke up. "You were fifteen. Nearly a man. You knew how to use a sword. Robert is but eight, and Ember? She certainly cannot go!"
"They do not believe in a danger that could well pose problems for us in the future," Felix said, still speaking softly. "If that disbelief is never challenged, they cannot prepare for the possibility. Also, if Robert should ever have to opportunity to… reclaim the so-called Wolfsbane kingdom, to regain what should, by rights, be ours, he will definitely need to understand what would be required to protect his reacquisition. They need to know the truth."
"You can disabuse them of their childish notions when they grow older," Dorcas snapped.
"Can I?" Felix asked. "Who can say what the morrow will bring? If fate conspires to leave them somehow unable to learn the truth in the future, everything we've worked for could be destroyed. The Wolfsbane kingdom has held the Wolfs back for centuries, but what if the Wolfs grow too numerous? What if the elder twin's kingdom falls and our forces are unprepared?"
Several of the knights in the room shifted. The man who might well become their king had a point. Sometimes, putting something off until later led only to regret.
Looking wildly around the room, Dorcas shrieked, "You cannot be taking him seriously! They are helpless children!"
"The young Lord Robert is already beyond his age-level with the sword, m'lady," a slender young man said. He had been raised to knighthood less than a year ago, but he remembered playing at swords with the other pages when he was Robert's age – at that point, the boys were given little in the way of sword-training, but being Felix's son, some of the trainers let him learn with the older boys. It was well-known that Lord Felix approved of the boy learning the sword, no matter that Robert was so young.
"But my daughter would be helpless!" Dorcas was not usually given to hysterics, but she did not approve of putting her innocent daughter in needless danger.
"I will take no less than a dozen of our best knights, Dorcas," Felix said soothingly. "We will have reinforced wagons. I will pose as a merchant attempting the dangerous trek past the Wolfs to the kingdoms on the other side, but I rather doubt our ruse will even be necessary. It seems unlikely that we will meet with others." He spread out a map. "We will camp here, just outside the borders of the Wolfsbane kingdom, and well outside of even the fringes of Wolf territory. From there, we will assess the state of affairs, find traces of an outcast Wolf, and study the situation. If we cannot find a safe way to allow the children to observe it, we will kill it and bring the carcass back to camp."
Dorcas shuddered delicately. "How dreadfully grisly! You'll give them nightmares!"
"Not only is this what they want, it is something they need to know, to understand. They cannot be allowed to take Wolfs for granted. Their lives, and the lives of everyone in this kingdom, could one day depend on this knowledge." Felix met his wife's eyes, and she could see that he would not be budged.
"Two dozen knights," she insisted.
"Eighteen. Too many guards for a merchant caravan would look suspicious," Felix replied.
"Two. Dozen. No less," Dorcas hissed. "And I want six of them assigned to each of the children, to never leave their sides. If you must endanger our children, you will aspire to keep them as safe as possible."
The assembled knights and advisors, thirteen men in all, turned. Felix's closest advisor spoke for all of them. "We find ourselves in unanimous agreement with the queen. Two dozen knights shall accompany you."
"Two dozen, on one condition. The mission we are on will not leave this room. Only those here, and the men who accompany us, will know what the true mission is."
"But how shall we choose the knights?" asked a middle-aged knight.
Felix smiled. "Simple. We shall hold a tournament. We will announce that we are selecting a group of elite knights to protect the royal family on a trip. If anyone questions it, we'll tell them that it's for the good of our kingdom's future, and allow them to believe that this is a campaigning trip." He inclined his head toward Dorcas. "All know my wife's health waxes and wanes, so it will not be a surprise to anyone when it turns out that she will not be able to accompany us. Then during the beginning of our journey, the knights who were chosen will be briefed on the true nature of this mission."
The thirteen knights and advisors conferred briefly. "Very well," said one of the advisors. "We would still like to make it known that we do not like this idea, but we will support it under the conditions you have proposed."
Felix held his smile in check – well, mostly. He couldn't believe that he had gotten them to agree so easily. Dorcas, however, gave him a withering look as she stalked out of the room, and he knew she meant to punish him. He would have to remember to try to get her to talk to him on occasion. It wouldn't do for her to realize that he sometimes preferred her silence. He loved her very much, it was true, but he had found that it was sometimes better not to get into a shouting match with her.
Mike didn't speak during the car ride home. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't have insulted Paige the way he had, but he couldn't find it in himself to apologize. When they got back to the duplex, he was surprised that Paige followed him into his side of the house.
"What do you want, Paige?" he asked, sounding impatient. "I've already told you that I'm still deciding." He winced as soon as he'd said it. Why did he keep saying stupid, hurtful things to her?
I just want you to know that you are not my only option.
Mike blinked. "What does that mean?"
If I decide that I want my daughter to have the opportunity to prove herself, and you won't marry me? Ed will. Paige's jaw was clenched.
"Wait, Ed? As in, Ed Grove? Sir Elrick from our world?" Mike seemed incredulous. "You'd marry that shrimp instead of me?"
Don't be so insulting, Mike. Ed loves me so much that he would gladly accept my daughter as his queen someday, she signed. He would do anything for me, unlike someone I could mention. She gave Mike a meaningful glare.
Mike laughed, a loud belly laugh that startled Paige. "You'd never marry him, Paige. Don't think you're fooling me."
Oh, won't I? What you said in front of David was insulting, but you're right. I let my personal feelings come before the needs of my kingdom, of my people. I'm still ashamed of that. But this time will be different. Mike tried to say something, but Paige held a finger to his lips for a moment. When he closed his mouth again, she pulled her hand back to sign, Please let me finish. My kingdom was founded on the principle that everyone can become whatever they wish, so long as they are able. And that includes the first-born child of the ruling monarch or the heir to the throne. By that principle, the daughter I'm carrying should have the right to prove herself. I have to decide what is more important – my kingdom's founding principle, or my heart. My heart wants me to wait for you, but my head tells me that I should marry Ed if that is what's required. I listened to my heart last time, and by doing so, I abandoned my people. What should I do this time, Mike?
He swallowed hard. "By the gods, Eliza! You're serious about this!" He was truly shocked.
As serious as I've ever been.
"But… you don't love Elrick. Ed. Whatever his name is. You don't love him!" There was almost a pleading note to the last sentence, as if he was afraid she did have feelings for the short knight.
No. But it would hardly be the first time a princess married for political reasons and not romantic ones. And he is devoted to me. Paige paused for a moment. It would break my heart to marry him instead of you, Mike, but my heart is what got me in trouble last time, and you clearly disapprove of me following my heart.
"No! That's… that's not what I meant, Paige!" Mike cupped Paige's face in one hand. "I love you. It… it made me uncomfortable to have to rule your kingdom in your stead, especially since both you and your father were in good health, at least physically. But I don't resent it, and I don't disapprove. I just… felt like you'd put me in a very awkward position. I understood why, but I still felt like I wasn't up to the task. I… I don't think I deserved your trust. If it hadn't been for Nerean, I know I would have screwed it up. I'm not cut out to be a ruler, Paige."
Paige brushed a tear from his cheek. She stared into his eyes for a long moment before signing, I never knew you felt so incompetent. Dr. Horne told me almost exactly the same thing right after the Curse was broken, but he said that he would have ruined things if not for you. I think you're both far more capable than you realize. But the fact remains, Mike, that I have to get it right this time. If I mess things up again, I'm not sure I can call myself the Crown Princess. I'm not sure I would deserve to be my father's heir.
"But marrying someone you don't love – your father was so against that idea! That's why he came to my brother and arranged for us to meet," Mike said urgently.
I know that, Mike. But my father's wishes for me take a back seat to what's best for my kingdom. Father knew that, and I know it. Paige looked away, her face sad.
"I promised you something a long time ago, Paige. Back when you first played your violin for me. I swore that I would help you not to lose yourself in the duties of being Queen." Mike hesitated. "Well, I'm going start making good on that oath right now, even though you're not actually Queen yet. You can't decide solely on the basis of what's right for your kingdom. If you do that, you will resent your decision. If you jump into this, you're going to end up hating him, and maybe even resenting your daughter, since you're doing this for her sake. I know you, Paige. You don't like to be forced into anything. So if… if you decide to go through with this, make sure you're doing it because it's what you want, okay? Not what you think you have to do." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't make that decision in haste."
But she's due in about sixteen weeks. There isn't much time.
"Just promise me you'll really think about it. From all sides, not just the political viewpoint." Mike took Paige's hands in his own. "Promise me!"
With no other way to communicate, Paige nodded tearfully.
The camp was as well-fortified as they could make it. They had even put up a crude palisade of sorts, to make the spot that much more defendable. Felix and the dozen knights not assigned to the children had been out scouting for almost three days. Felix had seen more Wolfsign than he'd expected, but he told himself that most of it must be old by now. They had finally located a lone Wolf, but they were still learning its habits, trying to discover where it bedded down at night.
Two of the knights were going to remain, the two who were best at scouting in the woods. Felix and the other ten headed back. Instead of re-tracing their rather circuitous route, they judged by the position of the sun and took a straighter route. Suddenly, Felix stopped dead, closing his fist in a silent signal to his knights. He had come across the tracks of humans! There were at least a dozen of them, perhaps more. In hushed tones, he conferred with the group's best remaining tracker.
"No, sire, these do not belong to us. And they don't look the tracks of the men we left with the children, either. You see," the man said, squatting down to gesture at the footprints, "the heels, and even the toes, of the boots are shaped differently than those of our kingdom's uniforms, but they're all the same, even these smaller ones. That suggests a militant group. Not mercenaries, though, they wouldn't all wear the same boots. I'd say this is a patrol of the Wolfsbane kingdom."
"You're probably right," Felix agreed softly. He didn't know what to do. Should he pack up and head home without showing his children a Wolf? His cover-story about being merchants seemed awfully flimsy and unbelievable now. Why would any merchant skirt the Wolfsbane kingdom? Why not travel in safety as long as possible before braving Wolf territory?
But before he could come to a decision, he heard the shrill scream of a little girl – Ember!
Leaving Archie's office the next day, Paige wasn't sure if she felt better or worse. Archie had, like before, refused to offer his own opinion on what Paige should do. He just kept telling her that only she could make this choice. She knew that, but she wanted as much advice as possible. Because she was realizing that she was entirely too close to the situation to consider it logically. Her emotions kept getting in the way.
She saw an odd trio leaving Granny's – Gold, Belle, and… Regina? Why would the three of them be together? Then she noticed Belle's body language, and the way her eyes kept nervously flashing toward Regina before she tried to pretend she wasn't looking at the former mayor. Gold seemed tense and worried, and Regina looked almost… scared. Paige doubted most people would use that word for Regina, but she could tell that something had frightened the woman.
Walking slowly, Paige watched them. Regina pulled out her cell phone and made a call. Paige was too far away to hear anything, so she didn't know who might be on the other end. While Regina was distracted, Belle put her hand on Gold's arm and said something to him, every line of her body conveying an urgency to be away from whatever was happening.
Gold turned to Belle, his face tender. He stroked her cheek gently and murmured something to her, which made Regina roll her eyes. Belle managed to walk almost sedately away, in the direction of her library. Gold made for his shop, Regina tagging along and speaking urgently into the phone. Just before Paige lost sight of them, Regina went a different direction. Paige wondered where she could be going.
On a whim, Paige went to the library. She walked fast enough that she made it just as Belle was struggling with the key, her nervousness making her clumsy. Paige smiled at Belle, then put her hand on Belle's arm as the lock finally clicked open, letting her concern show on her face.
"Please," Belle said, motioning Paige to follow her into the building, "come in." As she made her way to the light switches, she added, "I'm actually glad you're here. I, ah, don't really want to be alone right now."
Paige had already gotten out her notebook. She wrote, then handed it to Belle as light flooded the library.
Belle gave a ghost of a fond smile. "I was actually just with him. We, ah, we had hamburgers together. But… something important came up, and I... um, I didn't want to be in his way."
Taking the notebook back, Paige wrote that she hoped everything was okay.
"Me, too," Belle said, but she seemed reluctant to discuss it. So Paige wrote a much longer note, confessing that she had seen Belle and Gold leaving Granny's. She told Belle that she had seen that tender, loving look on his face. At the end of the note, she thanked Belle.
"For what?" Belle asked, confused. When Paige handed the notebook back with a reply, Belle repeated part of what was written as a question. "For the way he looks at me? Why should that matter to you – oh!" Suddenly, it all seemed clear to Belle. She stared at Paige in horror. "You're… you're her. The one carrying Rumpelstiltskin's child. You… you lied to me?"
Paige shook her head emphatically. She wrote that she hadn't realized at first that Belle didn't know the whole truth, and that she was sorry Belle had been kept in the dark.
"That doesn't change anything. You should have told me!" Belle felt almost sick to her stomach. "All that time we were discussing poetry, and you were just laughing at me, weren't you? Because you've had something from him that I haven't!"
Her mouth dropping open, Paige tried to write neatly, but she was also writing as fast as she could, trying to explain that it wasn't like that. When she realized Belle didn't know, she had thought that she could get to know Belle, to see if Belle would be good for Mr. Gold. She added at the end that the look on his face today had proven that they were well-matched. Belle brought out a goodness in him that Paige hadn't been able to see until after the Curse was broken.
"I… I don't care what you think," Belle said, nearly crying now. "Please, just leave."
Paige raised a hand toward Belle in a pleading gesture.
"Go," Belle said, almost shouting it.
Her heart sinking, Paige left.
Felix and his men had thrown caution to the wind. As they came closer to their own camp, they could tell that the screams were coming from beyond the latrine pit they had dug, a small distance outside the make-shift palisade.
When they burst into a clearing, Felix saw the six men who had been assigned to Ember. Four of them were on the ground bleeding, but trying to pull themselves painfully toward the little girl. One man stared sightlessly at the sky. The sixth man was still fighting the grizzled Wolf, and at his side was another man.
Almost before he could take all of this in, Felix saw several other men burst in from the far side of the clearing. Felix's man flew through the air as the Wolf bashed him with a huge paw, and the stranger stared after him, only for a split second. But that was too long. The Wolf's claws raked the stranger's stomach, and things began to spill out that should never, ever come out of a man's body.
The men on the far side of the clearing rushed toward the Wolf, as did Felix's men, but Felix was searching for a much smaller figure. At first he couldn't find Ember, but as the stranger fell, Felix saw her. The strange man had hidden her between the huge roots of a gnarled old tree and stood in front of her, so the Wolf could not get her.
When the Wolf saw all the other men rushing at it, it turned and ran away, bleeding from where someone's sword had lopped off the tip of its left ear.
Among the strange men were two boys – one about fourteen, and one about Robert's age. They ran to the stranger, reaching him just before Felix scooped up his daughter.
"Father!" the younger boy cried, tears flowing.
"Please, Father," the older boy wept. "Don't leave us! I am too young, I cannot rule!"
The men with them were trying to stanch the blood, but by their grim faces, they already knew they could not save their king. Felix felt his stomach drop. They could not discover his true identity. He prayed Ember said nothing to give it away, but for now, she was weeping piteously against his chest. He caught the dying man's eyes.
"Thank you," Felix said hoarsely. "I'm… I'm so sorry this happened, but… thank you!"
The man nodded and turned back to his sons. "You will be… a great king, Tristan," he croaked. "And Andrew… can lead your… brother's armies." He coughed up blood. "I am… so proud of… you both." The king died, with a smile on his face as he regarded his sons for the last time.
Suddenly, Robert was there. Looking up, Felix saw that the knights assigned to his son were gathered around, as well. "We watched from the woods, um, sir. We wanted to help, but we knew you wouldn't want your son in danger, too." The knight then realized he might have said too much, but instead of trying to correct it, he simply shut his mouth.
His arms around his sister, and his father's arms around both of them, Robert looked at the two other boys. The older one was staring in the direction the Wolf had gone, tears running down his cheeks as he swore to one day avenge his father. The younger boy had tears on his face, but his eyes were now dry and hollow. He was staring at his father's body, but he looked up, meeting Robert's eyes. But Robert doubted the boy even saw him with that hollow gaze.
"Please, Father," Robert said softly, "let's go back home and never do this again."
"Don't worry, my son," Felix said, releasing his children so he could stand. "That's exactly what we'll do."
Paige sat at her spinning wheel. She had done this enough that she no longer had to concentrate as hard, so she was able to think about what Mike had said the day before. He was right about one thing – if she married Ed just to allow her daughter the right to rule, she probably would end up hating the young man. Especially if she did it purely out of necessity.
But at the same time, how could she let her heart lead her astray again? How could she believe herself worthy of the throne if she did that? How could her subjects believe her worthy?
She stopped spinning. Why was this so hard? Her basement, which was a finished one, was divided into two rooms, with a simple archway connecting the two. She moved into the other room in the basement, which was now set up as her new guest room. The nursery furniture Mr. Gold had promised would be ready in a week or so, and to get ready, Dr. Horne and Ed Grove had moved the guest room furniture down to the front basement room.
She lay down across the bed, crying nearly silently. Even though she wasn't close to Belle, the hurt and betrayal in the young woman's eyes had stung Paige deeply. She had lost Ruby over this, the Blues didn't approve of Gold's daughter taking the throne, Dr. Horne advised against it, and Mike had refused to marry her before the child was born. Ed was willing – no, eager, to marry her and allow her daughter the right to rule, but her own heart counseled against that, and so did Mike. Of course, Mike's motives were mainly selfish, but then again, it was selfishness that made her heart ache at the thought of marrying a man she did not love.
She couldn't do this. This was just too much for one person. Or, well, two, technically speaking. She had both Paige and Eliza in her head. But she sat up suddenly, realizing that she didn't have to.
From beneath a large bush, Paige stared at the people patrolling the town line. They were here to keep people from doing exactly what she intended, but they weren't really expecting anyone to actually try, so they were rather lax in their patrols. She saw her chance, and she burst out, running. She was able to do it very quietly because of her fairy ancestry, so she knew they wouldn't realize until it was too late. But at the last second, she stopped dead, skidding a bit. She took a deep, almost sobbing breath, and she knew she couldn't do this. Oblivion was so close, the sweetness of only one life in her head. But she couldn't make herself cross, and it wasn't because of her brothers. She knew, deep down, that this was wrong. She couldn't just run from her problems.
"Paige!" a voice yelled. But Paige didn't acknowledge it in any way. She sank to her knees, crying. "Paige," the voice said, behind her now. "You can't, you'll forget your true self!"
Paige turned and flung herself into Fawn's arms. Even though she had spent some time at Andrew's castle, she didn't feel as if she'd really gotten to know Ayala, but she did know that Tristan's queen, who was known as Fawn in this world, would comfort her without demanding explanations right away. And Fawn did just that, holding Paige tightly and stroking her hair. The odd thing was that Fawn didn't speak to her or shush her at all, she just sat there, silent. But then again, Fawn wasn't human.
There were other voices, but Fawn spoke to them, reassuring them. After Paige had cried herself out, Fawn helped her stand and led her to the car.
Fawn made a quick call after she shut the passenger door of her car. Paige seemed listless, but Fawn kept an eye on her just in case. "Noah," she said softly when her husband answered. "There's a problem at the border. Paige – your brother's fiancée? She tried to cross." After listening for a moment, she said, "I know, me too. But Noah, she's pregnant. And I'm not sure," she added hesitantly, "but I don't think it's Mike's child." She paused, but her husband didn't seem to know what to say, so she asked, "Can you see if Vicki can watch Will for an hour or two? I'm bringing Paige to the house." She listened again and smiled warmly. "Great, thank you. As soon as someone arrives to replace me, we'll head over." She paused for a moment. "I love you, too," she replied before hanging up the phone.
When she turned around, Mark was walking over to her. "Hey," he said. "They said you needed to leave early?"
"Yes, thank you so much," Fawn answered. She knew he was curious, so she said, "It's a family thing that just came up."
"Oh, well, I hope everything's alright," Mark said politely. He did a double-take as he recognized Paige. "Hey – that's Mike's girlfriend! She's… family?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Fawn replied, sounding surprised. "Mike is my husband's brother."
"Mike and I were… friends here, in Storybrooke," Mark said slowly. "But… in both worlds, his father died to save my little sister's life." He made a face. "Well, I guess she was never really my sister." At Fawn's questioning glance, he added, "I was… switched at birth, and no one knew, except the mothers of the two children."
"Oh," Fawn said. "I imagine that must have been difficult to come to terms with."
Mark gave a wry chuckle. "I still haven't," he replied. "Especially now that Sammi found – oh, but that's all pretty complicated, and I'm sure you want to get Paige home. Sorry, didn't mean to unburden on you."
Fawn smiled kindly at Mark. "Not to worry. We all need to talk sometimes. Perhaps, if you still need someone to listen, we can get together another time." Then something occurred to her. "However, I am a Golden Hind, not a human, and that does make some people uncomfortable." He looked surprised, and Fawn added, "I thought you should know."
"Wow," Mark said. "Um, that's – wait, this all means that your husband is Tristan, king of the Wolfsbane Kingdom, right?"
Fawn nodded, saying, "That is correct."
"So that makes Paige… the Blueberry princess." Mark looked thoughtful, almost distant.
"Indeed," Fawn remarked, not sure what else to say. She could tell this news had impacted him powerfully, but she wasn't sure why. And she wanted to take Paige home and find out what was wrong, because she knew that Eliza would never have done something so drastic. "I should be going now," she said gently. "Remember, I don't mind listening if you need someone."
Mark nodded, and she took that as a farewell. Fawn got into the car and put on her seatbelt. She had to remind Paige to do the same before she put the car in gear.
Felix had spoken to the men, and to his children. Fortunately, only the one man had actually died, but five others were coming home injured. After discovering that the men had felt it inappropriate to watch the little girl while she used the latrine, and that she had obviously slipped away while they weren't looking, he hadn't the heart to upbraid them. Instead, he commended their bravery in her defense. It was not their fault; it was not really anyone's fault. But they would have to tell the people something. More, they would have to tell Dorcas something. So Felix asked everyone not to mention the strangers who had been there. The knights agreed to heed his request, but Robert had to be convinced.
"But Father, he died. And he did so for Ember, who was a stranger to him!" Robert seemed aghast at not crediting the man with saving his sister.
"He was a good man," Felix agreed. "But son, he was the king of the Wolfsbane kingdom! If the truth gets out, if his people learn that we were the ones involved, they might believe it a plot of ours to kill their king."
"We had no such plot!" the boy said firmly, but then his brow wrinkled. His voice was hesitant as he asked, "Did we, Father?"
"Of course not!" Felix asserted. "We do not even have our own kingdom's throne yet! It would make no sense to assassinate any other leader. It is certainly not to our benefit. I can only hope those boys have good advisors. Their kingdom defends us all from the Wolfs. Killing their king would not be beneficial at all."
"Oh," Robert said softly. "So who do we say saved her?"
"We shall give the credit to the efforts of the six knights who protected her," Felix said.
"And especially the one who died?" the boy asked.
Felix smiled. "That's right, son," he said. "Especially him."
Noah paced his living room. "Something's not right here," he said, more to himself than to anyone else. Fawn looked at him reproachfully. He wasn't being much help, and she didn't know most humans very well.
Paige wrote in her notebook, explaining that she had realized at the last minute that she could never have actually crossed that line.
Fawn smiled gently. "I already knew that about you, someday-sister," she said. At Paige's confused look, she explained. "Someday you will marry Andrew, and he is as a brother to me, so someday you and I will be sisters of a sort," she said.
Fawn read Paige's next note. "I believe you will marry him," she replied. "You are a young woman who lives by her heart, and that is a beautiful thing. You make sacrifices out of love, not necessity, and this other man you speak of marrying would be of the latter kind."
Taking the notebook back, Paige wrote again.
"Yes, it would seem like love was driving you to this other marriage, but there are other, better ways to prove that you love your daughter." Fawn looked at Noah again, trying to get him to come over and help her explain to Paige, but Noah was agitated by something.
But suddenly, he did come over and sat down facing Paige. "Look, this law – you've got it all wrong," he said. "The law was meant to ensure that a child would be raised in a loving home, by two parents, but sometimes life doesn't work out that way. All rules, all laws, have some exception. Some… loophole. According to this law, what would happen if a ruling queen married and became pregnant, only to have her husband die before the child was born? That should not affect the child's right to rule, should it? That queen would have meant to bear the child in wedlock. So why should you have to marry just for the sake of being married? From what you told me of the law's history, this is supposed to be about a loving home. A single parent can provide that if it becomes necessary, and no one should be forced to remarry while grieving simply because of some law." He clenched his jaw, clearly frustrated. "I know that's not the case here, but what I'm saying is, you should be able to marry someone you actually love without giving up your daughter's future. Please, talk to your advisors, find that loophole. It has to be there. And if it's not, maybe you can make one."
Paige swallowed hard. Could he be right? Could there be some kind exception that would give her everything she wanted? But what would Mike do if she married him only to deny his child the right to rule?
Before she could ask that question, the doorbell rang. At the same time, the door burst open and little Will came barreling in, singing a nonsense song about playing at Vicki's house. Fawn narrowly dodged him, smiling at Vicki.
"Sorry," Vicki said, "I knew there was some kind of trouble, but I just couldn't keep ahold of him." She shifted the baby on her hip. Her own son was only sixteen months old.
"He's getting so big," Fawn remarked, looking at the baby. "And don't worry about Will barging in like that. It's just… Mike's fiancée has been having a rough time lately, and she just needed to talk. Well, sort of. She's, ah, mute, right now."
"Oh," Vicki said, startled. "You mean Paige? She comes to one of my classes at the gym! Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yes, she's just rather upset over some things that have come to light recently. And being pregnant, well, you know how it is," Fawn said, smiling.
"Yeah," Vicki replied knowingly. "Everything seems so much worse with all those hormones going crazy." She smiled back at Fawn. "Well, I hope everything turns out alright for her."
"I'm sure it will," Fawn said.
"Well, this one's getting hungry," Vicki joked as her son fussed quietly. "I'd better get him home and feed him. Take care!"
"You, too, Vicki!" Fawn closed the door and went back into the living room. Will was chattering away happily at Paige, and she was smiling at him. She seemed much less depressed now, and Fawn hoped the girl did find that loophole Noah had spoken of.
Gold stared down at David's unresponsive form. Henry was anxious. "Come on. Come back," the boy murmured to David. Then Henry turned to Regina and asked, "Should he be in there so long?"
Swallowing, Gold didn't really pay attention to the comforting words Regina spouted, but when she looked at him, the question heavy in her eyes, he gave a small shake of his head. If David were coming back, he should have done so by now. Had the prince been unable to find the room with all the flames? Perhaps that room couldn't even be entered until the person had already been woken from the sleeping curse. But if that were the case, then Emma and Mary Margaret didn't stand a chance.
He watched closely, hoping for any change that might tell him what was going on in the netherworld. But a part of his mind was racing. He couldn't let Cora win. Not now, not with Belle back in his life. He would do whatever he must to keep Cora from ever finding out about Belle. Even if that meant doing something that Belle would disapprove of.
A few notes:
This chapter takes place during the episode "Into the Deep."
I have put up a poll for this story - it can be accessed from my profile. However, you do have to be a registered user to vote in the poll. The question is whether or not Eliza/Paige's daughter should be allowed the chance to prove her worth as a potential heir to the Blueberry throne, so if you're not a registered user on this site, feel free to leave a review with your opinion (or if you're a registered user who simply wants to voice any reasonings/thoughts/etc you may have on the matter!)
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, please, PLEASE review!
