Author's Note: Here's the next one! I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think by pressing the review button once you reach the end of the chapter. Thank you! xo
14 | Media
BLANCHARD HEIRESS IN STORYBROOKE
Mary Margaret was in the middle of eating her cereal when Killian unceremoniously tossed the newspaper on the table in front of her. Under the headline were two pictures of her in the cemetery yesterday, donned in a hat and a big jacket, one was when she was waiting for him with two cups of coffee while the other was her on the passenger seat as David drove the car away from the scene.
A mixture of rage and panic swirled within her as she glanced up at Killian. "What the hell is this?"
"Read it," he said, taking the seat adjacent to hers. She pushed away her bowl and devoured the words on the page. The whole article, written by a Sidney Glass, contained an extensive background about who she is and her connection to Regina Mills. Every article on every page of the newspaper had a piece of information about her and was framed in a defamatory manner. One even had the gall to say that she had been the one to extract the heart from the mausoleum, the heart coming from no other than little Henry himself, in order to exact her revenge on her stepmother.
And the only sin Regina has committed was marrying her father and taking a part of the fortune that was supposed to be inherited entirely by the spoiled princess.
Anger was slowly turning her vision red as Mary Margaret brought the newspaper down to meet Killian's eyes. He let out a nonchalant shrug and a sigh, "I have thought about it and this is the best course of action for the papers. Blame everything on the newcomer. Imagine if they splashed the actual news that Regina might be a murderer who keeps human hearts in her family mausoleum, and she might be responsible for killing their mayor. That will be pandemonium."
Mary Margaret's hands slowly turned into fists clutching the newspaper a little too hard. "Killian, please do not tell me you're defending her." Her words passing through gritted teeth. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but the rising anger was preventing her to do so. "Please tell me you're on my side instead of this fucking town's!"
The whole table shook when she brought both her fists down angrily, her eyes flashing with rage enough to make Killian recoil. She folded the paper hastily and threw it onto his chest before walking away with both hands on her waist. Beneath the anger was a bubbling pit of panic, and she resisted the urge to throw up her breakfast.
"Of course, I'm on your side!" Killian replied, his tone rising as well. The sound of his chair scraping the wooden floor indicated he had stood up as well. "Why the hell would I defend Regina or this stupid town? They don't matter to me. You matter to me!"
Mary Margaret let out a humorless laugh as she turned around to face him. "Oh, that's rich coming from someone who hasn't taken even a minute to ask me how I'm doing. Since the moment you stepped into this town, you've done nothing but make me feel like the little girl back in Boston who knows nothing and has to follow every single thing her daddy wants her to do. Well, Killian, you're not my father, so stop bossing me around!"
"All your father wants is for you to be safe," Killian explained in an exasperated tone and was starting to look frustrated. "And he specifically requested me to bring you back as soon as possible. I'm just doing my job, Mary Margaret. Please don't throw your frustrations at me! I just want you home."
Her hands were starting to shake, making her curl them into fists. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going home?" she started to shout, throwing caring if other people might hear them out the window. "I don't want to go home. I don't feel safe there, no matter how hard you try to convince me that security will be there to take care of me. You don't know her, Killian! You don't know what she does behind closed doors."
"And you do?" he challenged.
The haughtiness in his tone made her reach for the nearest vase and throw it at his head, but his reflexes were quicker. It smashed against the wall behind him. "Why the hell do you think I ran?" she screamed, feeling the force of it scratch her throat.
"MM," Killian started, holding up his hands in surrender.
Mary Margaret reached for another vase. "Do not call me that!"
"What in the world is going on in here?" Ruby's loud voice towered over everyone else's in the room. Then Mary Margaret felt an arm behind her and someone taking the vase from her hands. She recognized the smell of his soap and cologne, so she didn't have to look up to know who it is. "The cameramen outside are going crazy with all the shouting."
"Cameramen?" Killian repeated before rushing towards the window. He subtlety pushed the curtains aside for a look and his expression immediately turned sour. His phone started to ring and whoever was on the other end made him curse. "We have to get out of here."
"I am not leaving," Mary Margaret warned him as he briskly walked towards the exit of the dining room.
"And I'm not asking anymore," Killian shot back before he answered the call outside.
Mary Margaret found herself back in her room with Ruby placing a weighted blanket around her shoulders and David handing her a cup of his mother's cocoa. Her friend gave her a quick kiss on top of her head before leaving her alone with the deputy. These days, she wondered how she was able to live all her life without Ruby Lucas. Mary Margaret was watching the cream slowly melting into the cocoa as the bed dipped when David took a seat beside her.
"You have quite an aim," he started after a few seconds of silence, making her look up at him in confusion. "The vase. If he hadn't ducked, it would've sailed directly at his head."
Mary Margaret let out an ugly snort, making him chuckle. "You certainly know how to break the tension."
"My mother says it is a gift," he grinned.
The thought of Ruth made her smile disappear again. "Have you told her?"
David in turn turned sober as well, and then she noticed the bags under his eyes. "I did. I thought it'd be better she hear it from me than hear the gossip first. We had a long talk. She needs some time to process the news, so she's cleaning and has kicked me out of the house this early."
They were both quiet for a few seconds before she broke it with, "The newspapers painted me as a spoiled daughter of a billionaire and made Regina look like a saint. And Killian thought it'd be a grand idea to rub it on my face that there is some truth in it."
She took a sip of the cocoa as David studied her. "And he wants me to go home, back to all that bullshit, and it just makes me sick," she continued to say. She paused to contemplate for a moment. "Maybe there is some truth in it. Maybe I am just a spoiled little princess throwing a tantrum by running away and trying to ruin her stepmother's reputation."
"Don't let him get inside your head, Mary Margaret," David immediately answered. "I've read the papers. They're – they're vile. None of those articles are true."
Her eyes were starting to turn watery as she said, "You don't know that."
"I do," he said, looking straight into her eyes. "The Mary Margaret Blanchard I've got to know this past month is not what they have described, and anyone who thinks that there is an ounce of truth in what they have said does not know you at all."
His words made her heart flutter and made a few of her tears roll down her cheeks. "I don't deserve you."
David cracked a small smile before meeting her halfway for a kiss. She pulled back after a moment to tell him, "I don't want to leave. I want to stay right here with you."
Before he could reply, the door of her room was opened with enough force to bust the lock of the doorknob. Killian walked in with Ruby hot on his trail, shouting, "I told you to leave them alone for a few minutes, and you go and destroy hotel property. We're putting this on your tab, Irish man."
"Just got a call from the others back home," Killian proceeded to report directly to Mary Margaret as if he didn't hear a word from the brunette behind him. "The story has reached the Boston papers, and everyone is eating it up. Your father is furious, and Regina has gone into hiding."
"Which means she could be anywhere by now," Ruby added in horror. "What do we do?"
"We need to go," Killian answered, blatantly ignoring Mary Margaret's sharp glare. "Go back to Boston or go into hiding ourselves. Your choice. We just have to go somewhere that isn't Storybrooke."
"How do we know that she's going to be safe if she leaves?" David spoke up. "She has the entire police force here to protect her. Ruby and Granny."
Killian looked at him like he was out of his mind. "No offense, mate, but are you telling me that you're risking her safety by putting your trust on a small-town sheriff and two innkeepers?"
"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed in offense.
"All I'm saying is that I trust these people more than I trust you," David explained, standing up to look him squarely in the eye. "I'm not going to let Mary Margaret out of my sight until all of this is over."
Killian barked out a laugh. "I'd like to see you try. I was trained in the Navy and it is my job to protect her and bring her back to where she belongs. Every second we waste not packing up our bags and leaving is another second closer to Regina finding her. I don't know about you, but I'd like to keep her alive and keep my job."
"And there's the difference between me and you," David immediately replied. "For you, her safety is your job. For me, her safety is everything. I don't want to lose her, and I will do anything to make sure she's okay. Can you get that through your head, mate?"
Ruby let out a low whistle.
"Okay, that's enough," Mary Margaret said, standing in between the two men and pushing them apart. "This is getting nowhere. Yes, we have to plan our next move, but we are doing it with my approval."
David's phone began to ring, causing everyone to pause momentarily. Mary Margaret caught a glimpse of the caller ID before he brought it up to his ear. "Emma."
"David." Mary Margaret could hear her sobbing through the static noise, making her look up at David in worry.
"Emma?" he asked, his brow knotting. "Emma, what's wrong?"
"Graham," her voice sound like she was couldn't breathe. "Graham's been stabbed."
"Stabbed?" David repeated in shock, gaining the attention of the entire room. "Emma, breathe. Tell me what's going on?"
"Graham's been stabbed," the sheriff repeated, her voice clearer this time around. "Regina. Regina's here."
Let me know what you think by clicking on the Review button! Your feedback is the best. Thank you all so much for reading.