Chapter 54: A Haunting
Warning: This chapter does have a major spoiler from the most recent episode.
In the morning, Belle went to the animal hospital and hesitantly approached the counter. "Is Morwen here? I'd like to talk to her, please."
So the person behind the counter found Morwen and brought her to the front. "Belle?"
"Good morning, Morwen. Can we talk for a few minutes?"
"Sure." She told the person behind the counter to put her down for her fifteen minute break. "This way, please." She walked back to the break room. She wasn't sure about this; she didn't know Belle very well. The only time they really spoke was when she needed that bard sign interpreted, and she didn't really get to know her that time. She knew Belle and Rumpel didn't have any pet, so she didn't need her advice about that. Telemain told her about Belle a few times, usually more when they were at odds. Maybe she was having trouble with her husband. So as they sat down, all Morwen could think to say to begin the conversation was, "What can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to talk to someone, you know, woman to woman. Mary Margaret or Emma might be my first choice, but they're not here right now."
"I see. What is it?"
She looked down, plainly uncomfortable and embarrassed by the conversation. "Well, it's been a while since . . . since my . . . it's been a few weeks."
Morwen nodded; she was somewhat sure what she meant. "Uh-huh."
"And lately I've been feeling tired, sore . . . in certain areas, weak. I've been taking long naps and still feeling tired, I just can't shake it. And earlier today, I had waffles at Granny's, and I love waffles but . . . it just didn't taste right. There was something off." She leaned in a little closer and said in a softer voice, "I think I might be pregnant."
"Well, if I were you, I'd go see Dr. Whale to confirm it, but it does sound a lot like you re. Congratulations!" And she gently hugged her.
"I just don't know what to do. This has never happened to me before. I just wanted to talk to someone who's been through it, and I thought of you."
"Most new mothers feel that way. You just need to take care of yourself. When you feel tired, you just gotta rest. Take it easy. Be careful with what you're putting into your body; remember, you're eating for two now."
"I wish Rumpel were here."
"I know how you feel. When I learned I was pregnant with this one," she pointed to her stomach, "Telemain was in Camelot. Oh, have you told Telemain?"
"I asked him where I could find you, but I haven't told anyone else yet."
"Would you mind if I told Telemain?"
"I suppose not, but keep it discreet."
"Of course. And if you want to ask me anything else, feel free."
"Thank you so much. I'll go see Dr. Whale."
In Halloweentown that evening, Jack was putting together a potion in the fountain. "Now, this is a selective haunting. Only those you want to see you will see and hear you."
"Well, how does it distinguish that?" Daystar asked.
"All you need to do is call their name."
"OK. And how do we get back?"
"There's a password, isn't there, like 'hopscotch'?" Emily said.
"Well, usually the spell wears off on its own by midnight, but if you need to go back before then, there is a password—a scream."
"A scream?" Daystar asked doubtfully.
Jack grinned mischievously. "Nothing's scarier than hearing a scream in the dead of night and not finding anything there."
"So, even though it's not Halloween, you're dedicated to scaring the daylights out of people."
Jack shrugged. "It's what I do. Are you ready?" Daystar and Emily nodded, and he took her arm. Jack put the last ingredient into the fountain, and a thick mist rose from the waters, surrounding them. When it dissipated, they were standing in the woods outside of Storybrooke. Emily looked up in wonder and started dancing in the moonlight. Daystar admitted it looked lovelier than he remembered, and it felt cooler than he was expecting (but then again, he just came out of limbo).
"Wait here," he told Emily. "I'll go get him."
"Oh no!" Emily grabbed his wrist. "I learned my lesson last time. I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Well . . . OK." He wasn't sure how people would react, but since this was a selective haunting, it probably wouldn't matter. He took her hand and led her into the town.
"You have such a pretty town."
"Yeah. It's nice. It's not home, but it's nice."
"Where's your home?"
"Well, that's a long story. We got eternity; I'll tell you about it later."
They waited outside Granny's until Lewis came out with Leroy. They talked for a while in the parking lot. Daystar wasn't sure what they were saying, but it sounded like they were talking about Belle and she wasn't doing well. But then Leroy said goodnight, and added, "Watch yourself, man. Remember, it's Friday the 13th," and he left. That was when Daystar made his move.
"Leeeeeeeeeeeeewiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis, Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis." That sounded a lot creepier than he meant it to be, but it did the trick. Lewis looked around for who was calling him, and then he saw Daystar and jumped.
"Kid! What's goin—? This isn't—you can't be—!" He got really pale and started to back away.
"Hey, Lewis, Lewis, calm down. It's OK. I'm not here to frighten you. I just wanted to let everyone here know I'm alright, and I wanted to see you because I met somebody."
"You met somebody?"
"Yeah. Emily, this is Lewis. Lewis, this is Emily." Evidently since he introduced them, he could see her two, because he looked at her.
Emily looked like she was surprised that this was the guy Daystar introduced her to. "Oh. Hi."
"Hel-lo," Lewis said smoothly.
"I think he's impressed," Daystar said.
They found a place to sit where Daystar told him more about the situation. Emily barely spoke and looked away, but Lewis found himself staring at her. "You finally find an eligible bachelorette for me, and she's dead. Just my luck, huh."
"Well, you're a gargoyle. A lot of magic doesn't apply to you, so maybe you can find a way down to her."
"Sorry, I don't know the way to . . . you know, whatever it is."
"Maybe you can find out."
"I guess I could try." He then looked hard at Daystar. "But what are you doing here anyway? Don't you know your fiancée is looking for you?"
"Shiara? But she saw what happened."
"Yeah, and she went after you."
Daystar was stunned. "She killed herself?!"
"No. Look, it's the talk of the town, kid. Nearly half of Storybrooke took a trip to the Underworld. Let's see—Emma went, and so did Regina, and their kid, and that pretty boy, Rump-face, that woman with the short black hair—"
"Mary Margaret?"
"Yeah, and her husband, what's-his-face."
"David."
"Right. They all went down to look for you, and Hook, and they plan to get you back here."
"How are they gonna do that?"
"I don't know! Oh, and just after all them left, both your folks disappeared. They're probably looking for you, too. Course, none of them's gonna find you if you're up here playing matchmaker with me!"
"I haven't seen any of them. I didn't know."
"Then maybe you should go back down and look for them."
"I guess I should. Well, anyway, I'm in this town that's crazy about Halloween. So, if they don't find me and I don't make it back up here, I'll at least come once a year. Maybe a few times a year if they'll still let me do this on Friday the 13th."
"Halloween? That's a few months away, and we're not much of a Halloween town, are we? Maybe they'll find you sooner than that."
"I can't get away that quickly. They want me to do a wedding."
"I thought there were no weddings in the afterlife."
"Well, maybe this is the first. But I've been learning that the afterlife isn't always what we thought." A fly started buzzing around, and Daystar raised his hand to shoo it away. As he moved his hand, his fingers brushed past his nose, and it fell off. Lewis groaned in disgust. "Well," Daystar said quickly scooping up his nose, "I guess on that note, we should go. Anyway, if anyone asks about me, tell them I'm doing alright."
"OK. He got up and looked at Emily again. "Nice to meet you, Emily."
"Yes, nice to meet you," she said shyly.
Daystar and Emily retreated back to the woods. Daystar looked at his nose. "What in the world is that about?"
"You're starting to decay," Emily answered.
"Well, people in that Storybrooke-facsimile weren't decaying."
"But everybody in Halloweentown is."
"Maybe that's the price we pay to forget our unfinished business."
"Perhaps."
"I can't afford to forget it now. Shiara's looking for me! Maybe I should go from Halloweentown and see if I could find her." But then he looked at her. "But anyway, what did you think of Lewis? You didn't say a whole lot."
"Daystar, I appreciate you introducing him, but . . . I don't think he's right for me."
"What's wrong?"
"Well, he's much older, and he's so . . . he's . . ."
"Ugly?"
She looked like she didn't want to admit it, but that was the right word.
"Well, Lewis is a gargoyle, and he's got a little of a salty personality, but he's kind in his own way. And he's lonely. He needs somebody, and I just thought since you need somebody too . . ."
"Yes, I understand. I'm just . . . not sure about him."
"Well, I guess, maybe you should think about it." They stopped. "Ready? On three—one, two, three." They both screamed, and in a puff of smoke, they vanished.
The next morning, Belle greeted Telemain as she was leaving for the library. "Belle, a word, please?" he said. He pointed to the sign on the door, and it flipped to "closed." He then looked at her and folded his hands. "Morwen told me the news yesterday evening. Congratulations."
"Thank you," she said.
"She mentioned to me that you were concerned about what to do. I don't know if you know this, but although Morwen and I have been married happily for many years, when she told me she wanted to start a family, we . . . had difficulties. Both of us were amazed when we discovered Morwen was pregnant with our son. But because of these past experiences, I have been fiercely protective of my children. I took extra-special care of my wife when she was pregnant, making absolutely certain nothing went wrong, no complications, no miscarriages. Since I have discovered she is pregnant again, I did some research, and I have found some spells to protect the child. If you wish, I can perform them on your progeny as well."
She seemed a little amazed at the proposition. "And that would keep the child safe from . . . anything?"
"Well, I would still be wise, you know, continue to abstain from alcohol and caffeine or anything else that could be dangerous. And of course, in the end, God's gonna do what He's gonna do. But it does give a little bit of assurance that the pregnancy will go smoothly and the way it should."
"Well, that sounds great! Of course, I would be interested."
"Very well. Um, you should know, however, these spells, well, they are a bit . . . delicate and . . . intimate. I've had no trouble doing them with Morwen because she's my wife, but—"
Belle put her hand to her mouth. "Oh my goodness."
"It does not involve physical contact. However, it does involve . . . exposure. Now, if you're too uncomfortable, there is nothing in the spell that says I can't close my eyes."
"Well, maybe you should teach it to Rumpel, and he can do it with me."
"That . . . may not be wise."
"Why not? He's not the Dark One anymore."
He had forgotten that she didn't know about the dagger, so he tried to find another way to explain. "Unfortunately, he still associates primarily with dark magic, and dark magic tends to destroy rather than preserve life. Until he is swayed otherwise, I would not feel certain of this power being in his hands. Besides, we don't know when he's coming back."
"You're right about that. He said he'd be gone a day, and it's been at least three." She sighed. She looked like she didn't like it, but she said, "OK. Do it."
"It shall be done. Morwen and I make a bi-weekly thing, usually on Thursdays. I'll let you know so you can come down."
"Alright," she nodded. She started to leave but stepped back and looked at him. "What would you charge?"
"Oh, no charge. It's a favor to you, as a friend."
"No, Rumpel always says, 'Magic always comes at a price.'"
"Didn't he ever tell you we have a differing philosophy there? I believe 'It takes magic to make magic.' Using my powers to do a good favor increases my power. But that's not why I'm doing it, of course. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do, to preserve human life."
"Alright. Well, if it works, I'll be forever grateful. I'm sure Rumpel will be, too." Then she left.
