Which way is right, which way is wrong,
How do I say that I need to move on?
You know we're heading separate ways
.oOo.
I watch from the roof tops as the so called evil queen interrogates a village about the whereabouts of someone called Snow White. I don't know anyone here but I appreciate the hatred the absent criminal inspired in the queen. I hear the queen command her black knights to kill everyone and take it as my cue to leave. I could save the villagers but I have things to do elsewhere and I'm not some charity worker. I hop silently off the roof I'm standing on and walk away heading for the next village ignoring the screams behind me. The only sign I hear them is the snow that begins to fall lightly as I retreat into the night.
I'm saving more lives by keeping the bounty on my head lower. The less people that come after me, the less people I have to kill. Well, that's what I tell myself when I hear a child's cries from behind me, howling over the winter storm enveloping me.
"Henry? Henry what's wrong?" I ask as Henry storms into my studio.
"I-I don't know. I just-I'm missing something," he says worriedly. I set down my paint brush after twirling it around in the water a bit and set it on a paper towel next to my water color painting.
"What do you mean?" I ask glancing at him quickly as he claims a stool across from me.
"I was just taking to Mom and I think I was talking to her earlier but I wasn't and now I just feel like I'm missing something." I frown knowing the feeling and look down at my painting of this golden swirl. The swirl of a portal, only this one is golden. I don't know how it fits into any of this though.
"Well, I'd guess your memory was recently messed with. I doubt it was Mom because she's trying to get on your good side and wait, did she still try to kill Mary Margaret?" I ask glancing up to catch him nod before returning to my painting picking up my brush again and adding to the gold. "I don't know how to retrieve the memories that were messed with if that's what happened, but I do know how to keep it from happening again," I offer.
"What do you mean?"
"A long time ago I came to the conclusion that my mind was messed with, memories altered and stolen, that sort of thing. I knew recovering them wouldn't be an option as I didn't know who messed with them and didn't wish to get help seeing as whoever did it might be who I'd get the help from, cough Rumpelstiltskin cough. So I froze my memories. Only I can mold my ice so the ice would act as a barrier and keep anything and everything out of my head unless I allowed it."
"Do you know what happened?" Henry asks.
"Nope, but it was thanks to my ice that I remembered who I was during the curse," I point out.
"Will it help me?" I shrug and he bites his lip. "I don't really think I'll need it," he concludes and I shrug once again.
"So what's up?" I ask cleaning off my brushes at the sink.
"I don't know. I think I'm going to go find my Dad," he says thoughtfully.
"Well, I am going to go talk to Regina and see if she had any reason to mess with your head. Then I'll try Gold, got it?"
"Scar, don't worry about me," Henry says.
"Dude, that's my job, and I'm sorry but as your adopted older sister, it's in my job requirement to worry about you. Now out, I've got work to do," I say leading him outside my studio. I drop him off at the apartment and then head to the mayor's office.
I frown when it's empty but I notice the new plant that's taken residence. The same plant in the fields. Magic beans. Ten bucks Regina told Henry then made him forget. I head back down main street toward Gold's shop. I kick the door of Gold's shop seeing that it's empty yet again and huff walking back down Main Street. I see Henry and Emma leaving Granny's so I join them stealing Henry's hot chocolate.
"So what's up?" I ask sipping the hot chocolate.
"Operation Cobra. Tamara's the person August was trying to warn us about and we're going to prove it," Henry says and I look at Emma who gives me a look.
"Good I thought it wasn't something crazy," I say sarcastically following them to Emma's bug.
"You're gonna help us?" Henry asks excitedly.
"Yeah, I love snooping on Bae and as for Tamara, I don't trust her," I say claiming shot gun.
"You and me both," Emma says and I smirk.
"Okay so, Operation Cobra was about breaking the curse. This is about keeping Storybrooke a secret. We need a new name," Henry says and I think for a moment.
"Operation bloody murder," I suggest and Emma gives me a look. "When we say it, it'll sound like we're really mad, or they'll think we're planing a murder. They'll be off by a lot."
"No. Operation tiger," Emma says and I roll my eyes.
"Why?" Henry asks.
"I need a why? You never need a why," Emma complains.
"I want something like the town. Something that hides in plain sight. Something like a preying mantis," Henry says smoothly.
"Yay bugs," I say with a signature smirk.
"Oh, duck," Emma says and that we do. "Oh, no, it's not them," she says and we get up.
"Stake outs are fun," Henry states.
"Not usually. But this one? Fun," Emma confirms.
"I thought by now we'd be having adventures. Over there, you know? Riding horses, shooting bow and arrows. This is cool too."
"Yeah running from ogres. Sounds perfect," I say dryly.
"Is that still something you want?" Emma asks softly and I know for a fact she's in on the magic bean thing. "I mean, if there was a way to...go back to the Enchanted Forest?"
"Is there?" Henry asks and I look out the window.
"No don't be crazy," Emma says and I sigh giving her a look.
"Emma, there's always a way. You just have to find it," I say managing to not give anything away.
"So there is! A way back! The-a bean or something. The giant brought it, didn't he?" Henry says excitedly.
"You are a smart kid," Emma confirms and I laugh a little. "What about you Scar? Would you go back?"
"No I'd head somewhere else. Somewhere I haven't been," I muse.
"What do you mean? You'd leave us?" Henry asks alarmed and I smile a small smile.
"Henry, I'm an immortal adolescent. I was raised jumping realms every few years and traveling around that realm constantly before moving onto the next one. I can't travel this world and I've been living here for 28 years, it's time to move on. As for the Enchanted Forest, I'm sure I'll return there someday but right now, there's too many people it would remind me of. Duck!" I shout seeing Neal and Tamara come out of Granny's.
"Operation preying mantis is on," Henry says with a smile momentarily forgetting my "I'm not staying here forever" speech. I'm sure it will come up again but maybe if I'm very very lucky, it will be too late when it does and I'll already be gone.
Besides, I need to keep moving or he'll-wait. He's dead. I-I...am I free? I realize with a start that I am indeed free of all connections with the clan. It was probably taken over a long time ago by some other, stronger clan, but still. No one from my childhood can come searching me out expecting me to do something about it. They're probably all still scared shitless of me. I do have that effect on people.
"Hang on, I almost got it," Emma says as she fiddles with the lock on the door to Neal's room.
"I could just open it the easy way," I offer as she struggles. She shoots me a dirty look and I roll my eyes leaning on the wall next to the door.
"Once we find proof Tamara's evil, I guess the wedding's off?" Henry says hopefully.
"Henry, if anyone knows your father it's me and I'd guess he just bans women from his life completely when we find the proof. I'd give him a week, probably less, before he decides to move on. He's such a drama queen," I say.
"Neal and I are not getting back together. You know that right," Emma says with conviction.
"Yeah, I mean, it's Neal for crying out loud. I have no idea what you saw in him in the first place," I mutter sarcastically earning another look from Emma.
"Well, I mean, once he's single, it could happen. Thrown together, moonlight, wine," Henry says and I fall on the floor laughing.
"Henry, I'm onto Tamara because of other reasons. Not because she's with Neal, okay?" Emma says encouraging me to laugh even harder. "Scarlet calm down we don't want to alert the whole town."
"Okay, okay I'm good. But that's actually what fueled my mistrust of her. I mean. Come on. What do you two see in him? Anyone that is with Neal willingly is either a stupid, b has ulterior motives, or c all of the above."
Emma's about to call me out but finally gets the door open and shoos me and Henry out while she goes to snoop around. "Stay here, you've got to be look out," she says stopping us and I roll my eyes.
"What should we do? Whistle?" Henry asks eager to help.
"I can't whistle," I mutter.
"Whistling's too obvious. You gotta hit the door," Emma says because that makes perfect sense.
"Yep, because everyone just get's mad at doors," I say my voice laced with boredom.
"No, just like, kick it like you're bored," she says demonstrating how to kick a door because it's not like the description is right there. "Or like stumble into it like you're bored."
"Or knock and pretend you are looking to get into the room. Then act totally surprised to see Neal/Tamara," I say wondering where Emma went to school.
"Just hit the door," she says and I sigh leaning back against the wall.
"Hit the door," Henry nods going to be the good little look out. Henry starts playing on the rug obviously bored and I walk over catching a glimpse of someone down the hallway. The someone is Neal. So I knock on the door three times as Henry just runs into it attempting to be bored. I snicker and then wipe my face clean turning around and pretending I hadn't seen him coming.
"Henry? Kali? What are you doing here?" Neal asks and I smile trying to not burst into a fit of laughter.
"Uhm, looking for you actually," I say as Henry hits the door again because the message didn't get across the first time.
"Oh, hell no. I taught her that. Emma!" Neal says recognizing what's going on. It's not my fault. He opens the door and we follow him in.
"So you weren't here and the door was open and we just," Emma says and I roll my eyes. Rule number three of breaking in and entering, know when you've been caught. Rule number one, don't get caught. Rule number two, always have an exit plan.
"Emma, what's-what's this about?" Neal asks and I scheme up a lie because I know hers will be terrible. No, better yet, she'll tell him the truth.
"Tamara, I think she's playing you," Emma says and I sigh rolling my eyes.
"She's playing me? How?" Neal asks disbelieving.
"I think she's the "she" August was trying to warn us about. I didn't want to tell you until I had proof," Emma says and I sigh deciding to take over.
"Emma give it up, just tell him," she shoots me a look that I was counting on and turn to Neal. "Look, people don't like Tamara, and as your friend, seeing that you like her, I along with Emma and a few others decided we should throw a party so the town could get to know her. They might stop complaining all the time about how she's untrustworthy if people know her. We were here looking for party ideas," I say. "We didn't want to tell you and hurt your feeling because you have a poor taste in women." Aren't I just a joy?
"As long as you broke in to spare my feelings," Neal says sarcastically and I want to start laughing at how gullible he is. I mean seriously. Who breaks into someone's apartment for party ideas? And when in hell would I voluntarily do something nice for someone other than Henry or I? I'm sort of a bitch.
"He warned us about a woman," Emma says.
"Yeah which covers half the world. The people Tamara's met have liked her," I face palm at this part, "I mean you roped the kid into this?" Neal asks and I roll my eyes.
"She lied to me. Remember I had that thing with the lies?" Emma asks and I sigh rolling my eyes wishing I was somewhere else.
"You thought you had a thing with lies. I never bought it," Neal says.
"Really?" I ask sarcastically. "Kind of like how you never bought the fact I would break into an apartment for party ideas? Or that I would throw your fiance a party because no one liked her. Actually I would do that, accentuating the you have no friends part," I add as an after thought. No one ever said I was a good person.
"Listen to me Neal, she's got a list of fairy tale characters and who they are. Whoever she's gonna give that to, that could blow this whole town wide open," Emma says. I could be at my studio right now. I could also be in the diner drinking hot chocolate. But life is sucky and I'm here.
"Emma, I helped her make that list. To help her come to grips with this place. It's not easy, you know?" Neal says with a shrug. "I mean, she's trying to deal with it for me." Oh this is nauseating.
"Okay, I know what this looks like, but it isn't that," Emma says convinced she'll get somewhere with Neal right now. "Do I look like a jealous ex?"
"I do not need to be here!" I shout walking out of the room and down to the diner. Well that was a waste of time. I spend the rest of the day doing useful things. Normal things. Things that'll be of help to me. I don't visit the graveyard and I don't spend the rest of the night drinking hot chocolate (I only spent an hour at Granny's thank you very much). But really all I did was paint. I finished an odd sketch of Gold and someone I didn't recognize, Gold was killing the other though and I didn't know what to think of that. The only scary thing I drew, well painted, was my dead body.
I suppose it should creep me out. Well, I should at least be a touch worried but I'm not. Not even the slightest. Unfortunately I have no idea how I died in the picture. There's a lot of blood though in splatters over one side of my cheek making my pale flesh even more sickly looking. The piece overall is actually pretty neat in a creepy black and white, the only color being the red of the blood sort of way. If any of my artwork is getting me to that mental hospital it's this piece.
At the end of the day I lock up the light house after a quick clean up and walk back into town with my ear buds in. I don't question Regina's absence from the house and I most certainly do not notice the shadow following me. At least not until I walk into my room. I notice it then and flip it off making the glowing eyes narrow in confusion before I slam my bedroom door. If this was Supernatural I would put salt along the doorway but sadly this demon will still get through so I call upon my ice girl powers and seal myself in a layer of ice coating the door.
"I win," I mutter.
I truly hate it when my computer decided to catch a virus. Or several. But yeah that's why this update took so long.
Lilly, I have a very interesting scene planed in my head for when Kai and Dana meet. I think it will be quite funny and just what you're looking for. I don't think you'll see Dana in Neverland though, sorry :(
A few questions for all you readers,
1. How mad would you be if I changed our dearest Peter Pan's back story?
2. On a scale from one to ten how confused are you in the subject of Kali/Scarlet's family tree?
3. Captain Swan or Swanfire?
4. Most favorite character?
5. Character most wanted dead?
Feel free to answer my question there is no right or wrong answers and please don't start a fight in the reviews again.