Chapter Twenty-Nine—"Love and Revenge"
Well, that wasn't a sight that Storybrooke saw every day.
Emma almost ran into the pair leaving the Sheriff's Station, and Cora's smile immediately put her on edge. Regina stood slightly to her mother's left, scowling as her mother smirked, but aside from their expressions, mother and daughter seemed to match perfectly. They both wore immaculate gray suits, with their dark hair styled just so; if Emma didn't know better, she would have thought that Regina was trying to emulate her mother. They really did look alike, like powerful women who went after what they wanted and didn't look back. The difference, Emma supposed, lay in what they were after. And in now they chase those goals.
"Sheriff Swan," the mayor purred. "I was just looking for you."
"Were you?" Emma asked, now thoroughly on her guard. So far, she'd managed to avoid getting dragged into any of Cora's little jobs, but she knew that her luck wasn't going to hold forever. Graham was a good man, and he'd still been sucked in, despite his personal inclinations. Since Emma didn't believe any of the nonsense about Cora having Graham's heart, no matter what Henry said, she instead understood that the mayor was both smart and ruthless, and would undoubtedly find a way to force Emma to her will if Emma wasn't careful.
"Of course I was. I just happened to run into poor Moe French inside Granny's, and he's terribly worried for his daughter." The mayor paused, looking at Emma with raised eyebrows and clearly waiting for her to get the hint.
"Yeah, I've heard," she replied dryly.
"Well, then what are you going to do about it?" Cora demanded.
"Excuse me?"
"I asked what you were going to do about it, Sheriff," was the cold response. "A respectable business owner is concerned about his daughter's safety, and you're prancing about town with my grandson. Why don't you do your job instead of trying to steal my daughter's son?"
"Mother," Regina protested, but Cora shot her a glare and she fell silent. There was a subtext there that Emma was missing, but she could hardly ask with Regina's mother present.
"I talked to Lacey," Emma retorted defensively, glaring back at the mayor. "So, unless you know something helpful, that's all I can do unless she complains about Gold."
Cora might be able to cow her daughter, but Emma was another story, and she faced the older woman squarely, daring her to order her to do something illegal. Emma would have relished that, but unfortunately, Cora was not so stupid.
"You really no nothing about this little town you're supposed to protect, do you?" Cora replied acidly, but there was a smirk behind the vitriol that worried Emma. "Mark my words, dear. Gold will hurt Lacey terribly before this is over, and if you do nothing, it will be on your head."
4 Years, 4 Months Before the Curse
The pathetic little lovebirds had George in their corner. But of course the ambitious son of a bitch would back Snow over Cora; he wanted his nitwitted son to inherit two kingdoms, and he didn't want to wait for Cora to die to accomplish that. Had George been a little more patient, he could have wed James to Regina, but no, he preferred war. If it's war he wants, war he shall have, Cora seethed, standing in the clearing and trying not to pace. She had put up with this foolishness for over a year. She had turned a blind eye while George sheltered her traitorous stepdaughter, only striking out at Snow and not at George or his kingdom. Or his precious boy. She hadn't tried to harm James, either, and that little kindness was far more than George had earned.
Cora had actually contemplated killing George for some time, although she'd eventually decided against it. For now. While she was certain that his untested son would not prove nearly as ruthless or as intelligent as his father, now was just not the time. James be easy for Regina to control after they married, and perhaps then Cora would act to make him king. But not before. First, she wanted to rub George's nose in his failure. George had backed the wrong contender, and Cora was going to make sure that her fellow monarch knew that before she disposed of him.
"You called, dearie?" a high-pitched voice came from behind her, and Cora turned, smiling as her onetime lover—the only man she had ever actually loved—appeared in a swirl of red smoke. She hadn't been certain that he would come, but she knew that she could make this worth his while, and had infused that confidence in her call.
"I did," she purred, stepping towards him and relishing how her ornate dress swished around her. Cora had come so far from the first days Rumplestiltskin had known her, and she would not falter now.
He giggled, all sharp edges and darkness and so very desirable. It was all Cora could to do keep her hands off of him; his dark core had always been what drew her in, and watching him embrace it gave her the chills. "And what did you want? My patience is limited, particularly when it comes to you."
"Still sore, Rumple?" Cora asked gently, stopping an arms' length away from him. "Perhaps someday you will forgive me."
"Not before you have your vengeance, though, hmm?" he tittered, and she loved how well he could read her. What did Rumplestiltskin care for Eva's daughter, anyway? He would help her. He always had, even when he was angered by her betrayal.
"You know me too well," she smiled.
Rumplestiltskin snorted. "That's not hard," he snapped, and yes, he was clearly still sore. Part of Cora treasured that, treasured knowing that she'd hurt him so deeply because he still cared for her. He'd come around eventually, or she'd find a way to get his dagger and then get what she wanted despite his objections. "What do you want?"
"A curse," Cora replied, ignoring Rumple's temper. He wouldn't lash out at her. If he had ever been going to do that, it would have been years ago. "The most horrible curse that you have."
"Ooooh. Now we're talking. Want to destroy your little stepdaughter, do you?"
"Of course."
Scaled and clawed hands rubbed together, and Cora felt excitement rise within her. Her own knowledge of magic and curses was extensive, but nothing could compare to Rumplestiltskin's centuries of study. She didn't want to settle for a sleeping curse or an aging curse; both were too mundane and not nearly horrible enough to suit her needs. Cora didn't even want to turn Snow into something nasty; no, that would be too easy for the little brat. She'd contemplated turning Snow to stone, or trapping her inside a mirror as she had the foolish genie, but she was certain that Rumple had something better.
"And how terrible of a curse are you looking for, Your Majesty?" the imp asked, twirling his hands excitedly. She always loved it when he gleefully embraced his inner darkness, and Cora found herself smiling unrestrainedly for the first time in years.
"The worst you have, of course."
Blackened teeth flashed in a feral grin. "It's going to cost you."
"It always does." She met his reptilian eyes easily and repeated the question Rumplestiltskin had asked a few minutes earlier. "What do you want?"
"A favor," he replied immediately. "Of my choosing. When I choose. No exceptions."
Cora was no fool, and she weighed the pros and cons of offering him a carte blanche carefully. Rumplestiltskin was clever, cleverer than anyone she had ever known, and he could see the future. It was very possible that he was already aware of the situation in which he would use such favor, and odds were good that it wasn't a time Cora would like to grant him one. She had to balance that against her present desire for vengeance, decide which was more important to her. She could brew up a sleeping curse for Snow without Rumple's help, and then be free of any future demands of his. Or she could take a chance.
But in the end, Cora wanted more. She always did.
"Agreed. Provided your curse measures up."
"A Nightmare Curse," the Dark One volunteered immediately, and Cora perked up. She had hoped he would come up with something deliciously nasty, but that…
"You have the recipe?" she demanded a little breathlessly.
Rumplestiltskin smiled. "Of course I do. Do we have a deal?"
"We do."
Somehow, Emma had wound up eating dinner with the Nolans. Again. She hated imposing like this, despite the fact that David and Regina told her repeatedly that she wasn't. But refusing their invitations was always hard, particularly when Mary Margaret was grading class projects this evening and not very good company. Besides, having multiple friends rather nice, even if the entire idea was kind of new and startling. Common sense said that Emma shouldn't befriend the adopted parents of her child, but since when did anything in Storybrooke make sense?
"Where's David, anyway?" she asked Regina as she helped the other woman put a salad together. Emma had been regulated to chopping vegetables, which was about the limit of her cooking prowess, but she was all right with that. It freed Henry up to do the homework both of his mothers wanted him concentrating on.
"Working a bit late at the animal shelter. He still hasn't found someone to take on Graham's volunteer shifts, so he covers the evening feedings before he goes home," Regina replied with a shrug. Then she smiled. "That's why I drafted you to help with dinner."
"I bet he's more useful than I am," she snorted.
"Not really," Henry replied, looking up from his English homework. "Dad's not really good with cooking."
"Well, I'm not, either, kid."
"I can tell." Henry grinned, and then pushed his textbook aside, replacing it immediately with the fairy tale book. Biting back a groan, Emma racked her mind for a conversation topic that didn't involve the curse, and finally landed on the one that had occupied her morning. Somehow, she managed to get in before Henry started in about some fairy tale character or another, asking Regina:
"So, I've been meaning to ask you something, particularly after your mother brought it up so nicely this morning," she started, and waited for Regina to nod before continuing. "What's the deal with Lacey French? Everyone talks about what a nice girl she is, and how horrible it is for her to be working for Gold, but no one seems to have any actual information."
"She's Belle from Beauty and the Beast," Henry piped up immediately, and Emma gave Regina a look.
Regina just smiled crookedly. "I don't really know her, honestly. I know she worked for Gold in his shop a few years ago, but that's it. I have no idea what would make him hire her, particularly as a live-in maid. He's not usually into charity."
"There seemed to be something between them when I saw them at the hospital the day Ashley gave birth," Emma contemplated.
"I don't know. Honestly, I'd be surprised if there was. Gold isn't…well, he's not exactly what I'd call a ladies' man," she said dryly.
"You can say that again," Emma snorted, only for Henry to interject again.
"He's the Beast, Emma," the ten year old said solemnly. "Don't you see it? He hired her because the curse is weakening, and because they're True Love. It has to work out for them. They're each other's happy endings."
There were times when she really wanted to strangle the kid, but at least Regina got in before Emma could say something she could regret.
"I don't know that story, Henry, but I do know Gold. And I'd be very surprised if he's your Beast," the older woman said, only to prompt their son into rolling his eyes.
"You only know Gold, not the Beast."
And wasn't that just the way that Henry saw the world? Emma managed not to groan, but barely. She loved the kid, she really did, but did every answer have to be rooted in that damn Book? She was too frustrated to notice the calculating look on Regina's face, however, particularly once Regina changed the subject.
"What is your game, anyway?" Regina demanded, striding into the shop the next day as if she owned the place. She wasn't big on subtlety, this former student of his, but sometimes Rumplestiltskin felt that Regina had made an art out of rudeness.
"You're going to have to be more specific when you ask what game I'm playing," he told her with a thin smile. "There are so many to choose from."
That made her snort with amusement, but Regina sobered quickly. "Lacey French. Why hire her?" She paused to glare at him. "And don't tell me it was out of the goodness of your heart. I'm not convinced you have one of those."
"Oh, I'm hurt," Rumplestiltskin replied, putting a hand over his heart with a hint of his old flair. "Do you really think so little of me, Regina?"
"You know I do," she shot back, and Rumplestiltskin bit back a smile. Yes, sometimes it was good to exchange barbs with an old friend. Regina had steered clear of the shop for too long, and although he'd never admit it, particularly not where she could hear him, he'd started to miss her.
"Well, I do believe that's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black, my dear 'Dark Princess'. Don't you?"
Regina snorted. "Are you this much of a smart ass with my mother?" she asked, and then shook her head. "Don't answer that. And don't change the subject."
"I didn't know I had," he answered, letting his lips twitch into a slight smirk.
"Bullshit," his former student retorted, but her tone was almost cheerful. Her eyes, however, were worried. For me? My, this is a little new. Cora must be frightening her with her threats; Regina is trying to protect everyone she's ever cared about, now. "Back to my point. Why did you hire the sweet little librarian? Everyone seems to think you're screwing her, but we both know she's not your type."
Rumplestiltskin almost laughed aloud, and in the end let himself chuckle ever so slightly. "What do you think is my type, anyway?" he had to ask, curious.
"My mother."
That made his amusement vanish in a heartbeat and a scowl cross his face. "Whatever you think is between your mother and I, Regina, rest assured that it's nothing of what you think."
"Sure it isn't," she said dryly, and then looked him straight in the eye. "So? Are you going to answer my question or not?"
"No, I'm not," Rumplestiltskin replied honestly, figuring that Regina deserved that much. She trusted him, after all, even when she shouldn't. "I have my reasons."
"I'm not in the mood for games, Rumple."
"What a coincidence. Neither am I."
Regina glared; Rumplestiltskin met her gaze levelly, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Regina had never been long on patience, and it never took much to set her off. Rumplestiltskin was half looking forward to it; with Regina avoiding him due to her fear that Cora would figure too much out, he'd had few opportunities to pit his wits against someone else smart and snarky. But the expected outburst never came. Instead, Regina just sighed and looked away.
"Try to be careful," she said heavily. "If you hurt the girl, there's nothing anyone can do to protect you once the curse breaks."
"I'm not that kind of monster." Twice in one afternoon, Regina had managed to poor ice water on his good temper. Why was it that people always assumed he was some despoiler of fair maidens? If I was some ravisher of young women, you would never have been safe with me, Rumplestiltskin almost added, but managed to stop himself in time.
"I know that," his student replied heavily, surprising Rumplestiltskin. "Just…be careful, okay?"
"I always am," he said seriously, and Regina nodded once, choppily, before turning to leave the shop. Rumplestiltskin watched her go silently, leaning against the counter and wondering, not for the first time, how Regina had gone from student to something approaching a friend. She'd almost been his daughter, a fact he'd mulled over more than once, and something in him sometimes almost wished she'd been.
"That went well," another voice cut into his thoughts, and Rumplestiltskin turned, a smile tugging on his lips.
"About as well as can be expected, I think," he replied, watching Belle slip out of the back room. She and Renee had come to visit him for lunch, and their daughter was finally down for her afternoon nap on the bed in the back.
"Do you trust her?" his wife asked.
"As much as I trust anyone. Excepting you, of course." Coming around the corner, Rumplestiltskin met by the cash register, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. If anyone asked, Lacey was there to help do inventory in the shop, but in truth, Belle had just come because, even though they were finally able to live together, they could hardly bear to be apart.
She smiled, turning her head to kiss him on the lips. "Of course."
"Why do you ask?"
"You could tell Regina about us," Belle suggested. "It might make everything easier."
Rumplestiltskin shook his head. "Cora has too much of a hold on her. Back home it was Daniel, and here it's Henry. Or even Mary Margaret or David. Cora won't hesitate to threaten any of them, and she'll make good on those threats, as you already found."
"You really think that she burned down the library to hurt Henry? He's ten. And he's her grandson!"
"Morality isn't really something that Cora considers within her decision making processes, sweetheart," he reminded her. "She has no heart, remember?"
"I remember," Belle said quietly, throwing him a worried look. Rumplestiltskin tried to ignore it, but she took his hand, anyway. Her next words were a whisper: "I just hate the way they all think that you're somehow forcing me."
"I am a monster. It's not exactly a surprise."
"You're not a monster. Don't say that."
"Belle…"
"No," she cut him off firmly, her eyes fierce. "You're not. I've seen you at your worst, remember? I know what you are, Rumplestiltskin, and I know that you would never force me. Or anyone."
Stepping close to him, Belle kissed him gently before Rumplestiltskin could object, and he allowed his eyes to close and his body to relax. He was a monster, but at least he'd never been that kind of monster. Belle was right about that, if nothing else. Rumplestiltskin would never have forced her, no matter what had happened between them. He still wasn't sure how in the world he had managed to earn the love he was still certain he did not deserve, but Rumplestiltskin did know that Belle loved him. She was his light, the one thing that kept him grounded amongst his darkness, and he loved her more than words could express.
4 Years Before the Curse
David had never seen a fairy before, so he watched in awe as the fairy woman flew through the open window to his chambers in George's castle. She was so small, barely bigger than his hand, clad in a sparkling blue dress and with dainty wings almost like those of a dragonfly. The fairy was beautiful in an ethereal and maternal kind of way, but she was so alien that David found himself staring, unable to even dredge up any words of greeting. Finally, she smiled and said:
"Greetings, Prince James. I am the Blue Fairy."
Somehow, David managed to keep his jaw from dropping. He'd heard of the Blue Fairy, of course; everyone had. She was the oldest and most powerful fairy in all of the Enchanted Forest, a legend. And now she was here, visiting a shepherd-turned-prince who still felt like he was an imposter…even after a year as a prince.
"I'm honored to meet you," he replied, bowing.
The Blue Fairy smiled. "And I have long wanted to meet you. Has Princess Snow told you that I am her family's patron fairy?"
"No, she didn't mention that." David's adopted family had once possessed a patron fairy, but she'd died mysteriously and George didn't seem overly concerned by that. The very idea of a royal family having an assigned fairy to call upon was still hard for David to wrap his mind around, though. He supposed that he'd been a peasant for too long for it to make sense.
"I'm not surprised. Snow is modest, and the last year has been very hard for her, following her father's tragic death."
That was putting things mildly. David remembered how many nightmares Snow had when they'd been on the run, how she'd whispered time and again how she should have saved her father somehow. King Leopold had spared Snow from having to commit patricide by drinking the poison himself, but Cora forcing Snow to take a part in her father's death had traumatized David's love greatly. She spoke of it rarely, now, but David knew that the wound in her heart would never fully heal. Just like mine wouldn't if someone forced me to kill my mother, he thought to himself, and then turned his mind back to the fairy with an effort. Thankfully, she was waiting patiently.
"Were you looking for her?" he asked. "I can get her—"
"No, that won't be necessary," Blue cut him off, something flashing through her eyes that David couldn't quite read. "I came to see you."
"Me?"
"Of course." Her laugh was light and gentle, but there seemed to be a bit of tension in her that he would not have expected out of the world's oldest fairy. "You have proven yourself to be consort worthy of our brave princess, and I wanted to give you a gift."
David blinked. "A gift? I didn't know fairies did that."
"Of course we do, although it's very rare. Here." A wave of her wand created a glittering swirl of purple fairy dust, and when it vanished, a beautiful, jeweled comb lay on the polished wood table to David's right. The comb was silver and covered in deep purple amethysts and dark blue sapphires, beautiful and easily valuable enough to feed a peasant family for years. It was worthy of the greatest of queens, simple and yet elegant, and David knew even George would approve of it.
"It's beautiful," he said honestly, not sure what else to say.
"And enchanted," the Blue Fairy replied. "This comb will protect the wearer from all manner of darkness, provided she is pure of heart."
"Which Snow definitely is," David agreed. She'd been hurt desperately by her father's death, but David was sure there was nothing that could harm the innate goodness within Snow White.
"Of course," the fairy agreed. "Give it to your love, and protect her in my name."
"Thank you," he finally remembered to say, and was rewarded by a motherly smile.
"You are most welcome, Prince James," Blue said, rising higher in the air and flying towards the window. "I will see you again soon."
David watched her go, noticing that the fairy disappeared after she was past the window frame instead of flying away like he would have expected her to. He'd always been taught that fairies had some abode within the clouds, something unreachable and mythical. Perhaps that was just a story, but he couldn't imagine the Blue Fairy going to some home here in the Enchanted Forest like any other mortal. He would have thought that she had to fly up to leave, but what did he know? He was probably thinking like a peasant again, making foolish assumptions about things a real prince would know.
Shrugging, David turned to look at the comb. It was one of those that doubled as a hairpiece; noblewomen wore them here at George's court, and it would certainly outshine any of the others David had ever seen. Snow wasn't as vain or as obsessed with jewels as many of those women, but she did like to look her best, so David expected she would like it. Even if she didn't, the fact that the Blue Fairy had enchanted it to protect her was plenty of reason to wear the comb, particularly after the Evil Queen's last attempt to kill Snow. Just thinking about that made David rub his shoulder reflexively; he didn't regret jumping in the way of that crossbow bolt—not for a single second—but the poison had nearly killed him. Cora hated Snow, and they all knew that the Evil Queen wasn't done trying to hurt her. Anything that stood in her way was a good thing, then.
The door opened just as he reached for the jeweled comb, and David turned to watch Regina stride in. He'd known that she was visiting again (quietly and not for long, so as to not let Cora notice), but he'd expected his prospective sister-in-law to spend all of her time with Snow. It wasn't that David didn't like Regina, because he did, but he hadn't been expecting to see her in his chambers.
"What's that?" Regina asked before David could ask why she'd come in.
"A gift for Snow. The Blue Fairy just left it for her," he answered, picking the comb up to show it to Regina. She was a woman, and a princess besides. She'd probably appreciate it a lot more than he did.
An odd expression crossed Regina's face, compelling David to add:
"She said it's enchanted to protect Snow from dark magic."
"Oh, it's enchanted all right." Without warning, Regina's hand came up, glowing red. She waved it over the comb, and much to David's surprise, the tips of its teeth started smoking and blazing a dangerously dark red. The entire comb suddenly felt heavy and dirty, and David dropped it in surprise, only to find it hovering in midair a foot beneath his hand when Regina caught it with magic. Snow's stepsister smiled darkly. "Just not with anything good."
"What are you talking about? The Blue Fairy—"
Regina cut him off with a snort, laughing bitterly. "If the Blue Fairy gave you this, David, she's a lot darker than anyone thinks, because this is dark magic. Very dark magic."
"I thought that fairies didn't do that," he objected.
"They don't." Regina's fingers twitched, and the comb started turning a slow circle in the air. "This is my mother's magic. It's some curse, though I can't identify exactly what."
Suddenly, everything made sense. The little tensions, the tick in 'Blue's' face when he had mentioned Snow, her eagerness to be gone before Snow—who knew the Blue Fairy—could arrive. They all added up to only one possible conclusion, and David felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. "You think that was your mother impersonating the Blue Fairy."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Regina replied with a shrug. "She hates Snow because she hated her mother, and Mother's always been good at holding a grudge. She didn't like the fact that you saved Snow last time, so I imagine she thought it would be particularly delicious to use you to hurt her."
"I'm not letting that happen," David said immediately.
"Neither am I."
Their eyes met, and for the first time, David felt truly close to Snow's sister. He'd had his misgivings in the beginning, particularly given how little his adopted father trusted Regina. George expected Regina to turn out just like Cora: a ruthless sorceress with power who was not afraid to hurt whomever she pleased. Of course, David disagreed with George on many things, but he had wondered if Snow's childhood love for her elder stepsister was blinding her to the truth. But this was twice now that Regina had interfered with her mother's plans to hurt Snow, and David realized that Snow's trust was entirely justified.
He wasn't a fool. David knew that he stood very little chance of stopping Cora by himself. She had powerful magic, and even with all of George's armies at their disposal, Cora would be hard to beat. But with Regina on their side, perhaps they'd be able to do actually beat her.
Sometimes, his mom was entirely too easy to manipulate.
Henry had planned everything carefully, though, so it wasn't a surprise when things worked out. After all, if Mary Margaret and his (grand)dad could start seeing one another, Regina deserved a bit of happiness, too. Cora had done too good of a job denying her daughter a happy ending in the Enchanted Forest, but Henry's grandmother had less power here. There, she'd been able to lock Daniel away and control Regina through him, but here she couldn't do that. To be honest, Henry hadexpected to find Daniel in the asylum, but when that hadn't happened, he'd started searching for his adopted mother's True Love. He'd started to lose hope when Regina refused to volunteer any information on him, until he'd remembered the man who had jumped in the fire to save him, Lacey, and Renee.
Then Henry remembered how his mother and Mr. Forrester had started to look at one another, and Henry knew True Love when he saw it. Regina might have been trying to be careful, too keep Cora from knowing, but Henry could see it. He was the grandchild of Snow White and Prince Charming. He knew, and that meant he needed to help the two of them out a little bit. Of course, Daniel couldn't possibly remember who he was. As far as he knew, he was just Errol Forrester. But that didn't mean he couldn't fall in love all over again, and Henry could make that happen.
He started subtly, hanging out at the fire station and making friends with Mr. Forrester under the guise of doing a project for class. It wasn't exactly a hardship—he liked the firefighter—and besides, Daniel was sort of his adopted father, anyway. Henry wanted to get to know him, and Mr. Forrester was brave and true, even if he didn't remember anything about who he'd once been. He was also very interested in Regina, although he tried really hard not to let on that he was. But the firefighter perked up when Henry mentioned his adopted mother, and it was easy to get him to go to Granny's with Henry so that Henry could 'interview' him about being a firefighter. Of course, the fact that he'd arranged to meet Regina there at the same time wasn't important. Not at all.
"Henry, what's this?" Regina asked, interrupting Henry's question about how you could safely run into a burning building to rescue people.
He looked up with a grin, trying not to laugh at Mr. Forrester's surprised expression.
"Homework," he answered (mostly) honestly. "Mr. Forrester is helping me with a school project."
"I see. And did you forget our lunch date?" his mother asked pointedly, and Henry knew he had to play this one carefully. Regina wasn't under the curse, so he had to be clever.
"Nope. I thought you could join us," he said as innocently as he could manage, noticing how the firefighter smiled.
"I don't bite, I promise," Forrester said to Regina, whose lips twitched into a smile.
"I didn't think you did," she assured him, slipping into a chair next to Henry. He hadn't sat in a booth for a reason, though, and sure enough, Ruby sauntered up before anyone could say another word.
"Hey, Henry, Emma just called for you," she said right on cue, and he gave her a big smile. "She was wondering if you could drop by the Sheriff's Station."
"Thanks!" Henry replied, and then turned to Regina. "Do you mind, Mom? I bet it'll be quick, and I'll be right back."
"Someone has a busy social life," she replied dryly, and then made a shooing gesture. "Go on."
"Love you!" Henry told her with a grin, and then darted out, leaving his adopted mother with her True Love. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud on his way to the Sherriff's Station, knowing that although Emma didn't expect him, Henry would easily find a way to stick around and let his mother and Mr. Forrester eat lunch without him.
Operation Love Bug is a go!
4 Years Before the Curse
"Can she do that?" Snow asked quietly after Regina and Charming were done explaining.
Her sister nodded. "It's called a glamour. It's a hard spell to master, but once you have, you can make yourself look like almost anyone. Mother's always been good at things like that."
"Right." Snow couldn't remember any other time she'd known of when Cora had disguised herself as someone else, but she wasn't surprised. Cora was the woman who had tried to make her kill her own father. Surely even impersonating the Blue Fairy was minor compared to that.
"Hey," Charming said softly, reaching out and squeezing her arm. "We stopped her. We'll stop her again, too, how every many times it takes. Regina and I are here for you."
Looking at the two people she loved most in the world united made Snow smiled slightly, but she couldn't shake the cold feeling that filled her soul. Cora wasn't going to stop, was she? Not until I'm dead, Snow knew, and even though Charming and Regina both tried to cheer her up, she couldn't make herself feel better. Charming had almost been killed protecting her last time. He might have been this time, too, had Regina not walked in when she did. And even if he hadn't, he would have been put in the same position Snow had: being Cora's pawn and forced to hurt someone he loved. Snow wouldn't wish that on anyone, but particularly not on Charming, who was the sole reason she'd managed to go on after her father's horrible death.
And Regina was in danger, too, all because of her. Because of Snow, Regina had chosen to oppose her mother. However quietly she might do that, Snow knew that Cora would eventually make her pay the price. And Daniel. How can I forget him? Snow had only met Regina's stableboy once, but she knew how much Regina loved him. He was in danger, too, and all because of her.
She wasn't going to let this stand. She had to do something.
The down side to having jetted out of Granny's so fast was that Emma didn't know he was coming and was therefore not alone. Henry supposed that he should clue her in on his plans—or some of them, anyway—in case Regina asked her what she'd wanted later on. Henry had been caught in enough lies that he knew better than to leave loose ends like that laying around, but the fact that Emma wasn't alone inside the Sheriff's Station put a bit of a cramp in his plans. He wasn't able to tell who it was from outside, but once he opened the door, Henry could hear two male voices answering Emma's rather irritated comment of:
"Look, unless someone actually files a complaint or comes up with some evidence of wrongdoing, I can't do anything for you. I told you that before, Mr. French. It hasn't changed in the last week."
Henry's brow creased thoughtfully as he came into the main room to find Tony Rose there alongside Mr. French. What were they doing here? Had something happened in the flower shop?
"I can register a complaint," Tony was saying. "I know Lacey, and I know she wouldn't work for that monster unless she was forced. I say he kidnapped her and made her stay there."
"Lacey says otherwise," Emma countered, looking annoyed. "She says she's there by choice, and that nothing inappropriate is going on. You're going to have to do more than voice baseless accusations, Tony."
Both men scowled, and Mr. French tried again: "Tony is Lacey's boyfriend. He would know."
"Are you?"
Henry's birth mother was no dummy, and he could see her narrowing her eyes at Tony Rose and using her superpower. Henry was sure Tony had been Sir Gaston back in their world, and he'd tried to steal Belle away from the Beast there, too. Things in Storybrooke really were kind of predictable now that time was moving; people seemed to be trying to do the same things they'd been trying to do back home. Henry just wished that Emma could believe that!
"Of course I am," Tony snapped, looking proud of himself.
"I'm not sure I believe that. She certainly didn't seem very concerned with you when she told me that she's happy with her job," Emma retorted.
"She can't possibly be happy there, Sheriff," Mr. French protested. "That—that—monster has to be frightening her into saying such things."
Sighing, Emma rose. "Look, I'll admit that I think the situation is a little strange, and if you come up with any evidence that anything's wrong, I'll be happy to investigate. But my hands are tied. Until something happens, I can't do anything for you. I'm sorry."
Both men left, still grumbling and unhappy, but Henry just greeted them cheerfully. Mr. French at least offered him a wan smile, but Tony only scowled at the ten year old. Not that it bothered Henry; he knew that Tony was a big oaf, just like Sir Gaston had been. No wonder why Belle fell in love with the Beast. At least he appreciated her intelligence! Henry tried not to snicker, trying to imagine Lacey French carrying on an intelligent conversation with Tony. Tony would never have been able to keep up.
"They're wrong, you know," he told Emma with that thought still firmly in his mind. "Gold's the Beast, so Lacey's in the right place."
"Not that again," his birth mother groaned, turning to look at him tiredly.
"What? It's true."
"The real world doesn't always work like that, kid. I know you think that Gold is some 'Beast' out of a fairy tale, but he's a dangerous man," Emma replied. "Mr. French has a legitimate concern. If Lacey was my daughter, I don't think I'd want her living with Gold, either."
"That's just stupid," Henry said, rolling his eyes. "Mr. French hasn't talked to her in years, and besides, Lacey and Gold belong together. They're True Love, just like Mary Margaret and Dad!"
"I wish I could believe in that kind of happy ending, but I'm afraid that Lacey and Gold are going to end in disaster."
Henry shook his head. "It won't. You'll see."
A/N: Alas, Henry can't be right all the time, and we all know that Errol Forrester is Robin Hood, and not Daniel. But poor Henry doesn't know that.
For anyone who noticed, I accidentally gave the summary for chapter 30 after the previous chapter, so I apologize for teasing people! Next up is the actual Chapter Thirty: "Worth Fighting For," where Emma confronts Gold about Lacey, Henry tries a new tactic, and Emma and Graham spend some time together. Back in the past, Snow does the wrong thing for the right reasons, Cora prepares her final vengeance for her stepdaughter, and Regina tries to resist her mother.
If you haven't come on over to my tumblr yet, please do! I'll be posting FOTS snippets and other goodies as this story continues. There's a link in my profile, and my blog is called "To See How the Story Ends".
