See previous chapters for summaries and warnings.
Thanks for the incredible response to this fic! Keep the reviews coming.
Once more, it is important to remember that Cora has cursed Kathryn to be this way and she is the Evil Queen here. She married Leopold. Regina and Snow are step-sisters and love each other. Thanks for all the reviews. Except the negative troll reviews. I delete those and respond to them accordingly. Seriously, I don't tolerate bullshit very well, especially not the negative garbage that was left in the last chapter. I have an inkling that I know who the Snowing troll is. They were critical of this story in the beginning with the age thing and have since deleted their account so they can go leaving their negative crap against true Snowing fans anonymously. But like I said, now I just delete you. I actually can't delete signed reviews. But anonymous ones, I can so you're wasting your time, troll.
The curse has lasted 20 years in this verse until they found Storybrooke.
Here are individual responses:
MerlockVonBaron: Yep, Cora is definitely out for blood. That will become very clear. :)
AnonSnowing: Yeah, it would be too easy, but they do discuss it a bit in this chapter. Yeah, trolls suck. He or she is too narrow minded to accept a story where Snowing has an age difference. Yep, I'd say Snowing making out and telling each other they love each other makes it a Snowing story! Yep, Regina won and Cora's going to be desperate to get back at them. Yeah, I'm glad Leopold is dead too. Yeah, David and Mary would have fallen in love, no matter what. Unfortunately with Cora, no one is off limits. Yep, there is no one else for David than Snow, no matter what. Sure, I'll give it a look when you post it. Just let me know. Thanks!
Grace5231973: I know, right? Three cheers for Leopold being dead. Yeah, Sidney and Cora will be up to no good. Glad you liked the Rumbelle scene. You will really like the scene with Rumple in this one. :)
Jennifer Baratta: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Number Ten: Yeah, poor Regina. She crushed her father's heart to try and keep the curse from being cast, but it happened anyway here. She has another very intense scene with Cora in this chapter too. I know, but I like when The Golds and the Charmings work together. It's more fun to me. Yes Cora will be desperate to make them pay.
Concerned Guest: Then don't read that part. Nothing says you have to read my responses, but I'm not someone that lets people bully them. If someone is going to troll me, then I will troll right back. That "guest" is a troll. And your "Concern" kind of just makes me think that you're actually the troll. If you're really "concerned" then leave a signed review. #sorry #notsorry
Sexystarwarslover: Yes, they are finally together again! Yep, Regina won, which is good, but a little bad since it's going to make Cora desperate. Yep, we got a little back story there just before the curse. Yeah, Leopold needed to die for that comment and so he did. Yep, lol finding out who Whale really is and you're right, Keith did deserve it. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Beth1980: Yeah, Neal's probably not going to like all the things he will find out from the people about what his father was up to after he left. Yep, David can still feel it when she's in trouble. Yep, a little 7x15 moment in there. Yeah, Cora is infuriating and that doesn't get any better. Glad you liked how he got his memories back. Nope, I won't be shying away from what they both went through. I liked the moment where Regina realized David was back too. I'm glad you liked David's first interactions with Emma and August too. Henry Senior was probably a good way to keep Regina in line so that's probably why Cora let him live as long as she did. Cora has information that Snow already knows and I can't say much, but let's just say that you know how much I love when the real world meets the fairy tale world. Emma, August, and Neal all have pasts. Snow does too, but most of hers revolved around her kids and in this, Emma and August stayed mostly on the right path. Neal on the other hand...and that's all I'll say for now. I think Cora knew if she fixed the election that it might cause even more people to revolt at this point. Cora and Regina actually have a very intense conversation about her mistake in making Snow and David so desperate in this chapter. Their physical rekindling will be slow, like it should be for these circumstances. Yeah, I really don't take that kind of crap from people. As for Snow thinking David would be safe, she actually chides herself for that and talks about that in this chapter too. :)
A Darker Curse
Chapter 18: Ready to Fight
Snow mewled and stretched, as she slowly woke up. She looked at her phone and was shocked to see that it was almost ten in the morning already. She hadn't slept that well in years or that late for that matter. She shot up and heard a voice in the kitchen and peeked through the curtain. And the sight she saw melted her heart. David had their grandson in his highchair and was currently cleaning him off following a breakfast that little David looked like he enjoyed given the evidence was all over him.
"I think we're going to have to put you in the bath, buddy. You even got syrup in your hair," he said fondly, as he tried to clean him off.
"He loves his pancakes," Snow said, as she made her presence known. He looked up at her and smiled.
"Hey...did you sleep well?" he asked. She smiled back.
"Better than I have in years," she replied, as she pecked him on the lips.
"How about you?" she asked curiously.
"Better than usual," he assured, as he kissed her again.
"Nana!" little David called, as she kissed his head.
"Good morning, my sweet boy," she cooed, as she picked him up.
"Emma went into the station already and August was eager to get to the office," he said.
"I offered to stay with him. I can hardly get enough of him," he added. She smiled.
"I know what you mean. When Emma had him, I was only too happy to take night shifts so I could stay with him while she worked during the day," she told him.
"That must have been hard...waitressing," he said. She nodded.
"It was at times, but it was about the only thing I could do without any documentation. I finally managed to get a GED through the school system and thought about going to college when the kids got older...but it just never worked out," she said.
"I'm sorry...when I insisted on sending you through the wardrobe with Emma, all I could think about was making sure you were safe from the curse. I guess I didn't think about what kind of world I was sending you into," he lamented.
"Charming...there was no way you could have known and knowing Cora, my life under the curse would have been worse. Especially if the life she cursed you with is anything to go by," Snow said.
"I kept thinking that even though you'd be cursed...at least you were safe. That's what I kept telling myself anyway," she said, now thinking that had been terribly foolish. But he took her hand.
"If it helped you deal with everything, then I'm glad you were able to think that," he said.
"But you weren't safe," she said. He swallowed thickly.
"Neither you were...a lot of things could have happened to you out there. There's always all kinds of horror stories about crime in the big cities and I'm sure being a single mom of two kids wasn't easy. I'm sure other families were judgemental of you," he mentioned. She smirked.
"Oh yes...there was plenty of that and I could hardly tell them that I was merely separated from the love of my life by a curse," she replied.
"But none of that matters now. We're together again," she said. He smiled.
"We are...and I don't want to spend anymore time thinking about our time apart. I want to focus on all the time we have ahead of us," he replied. She beamed at that.
"Me too and we can start by giving our sticky grandson a bath...together," she said. He smiled and they headed for the bathroom.
Emma walked into the station that morning, after morning patrol, with a drink holder full of coffee cups from Granny's. Neal was already there, surprisingly visiting his father, and she handed them both some coffee, as well as Graham.
"Hey...do you think you can run patrol? I'd like to take the lead on this case," she requested. Graham smiled and grabbed his jacket.
"Sure," he agreed, as he watched her turn back to Gold. He felt a pang in his chest; one he wanted to ignore, but couldn't. Regrettably, he obeyed what the impressions tingling in his mind were telling him to do and unknowingly placed the listening bug on the underside of his desk, before leaving without another word.
"I called Spencer and he's digging his heels in about dropping the charges. But I'm sure Regina will press him to drop them," Emma said.
"She had better. She may have won, but Cora won't take this defeat lightly. She'll be even more dangerous now," Rumple warned.
"Any idea what she might try to do?" Neal asked.
"With her...it's hard to say. But now that she can operate in the shadows, rest assured that this is only the beginning of this fight," he said.
Emma debated on telling him that her father was awake, but decided to let him reveal that on his own. Hopefully, it would be a welcome surprise to the Dark One. Her parents were ready to fight so that's exactly what Cora was going to get.
"We're ready to fight," Emma assured.
"I just hate that I'm still in here, because I assure you that she's going to strike sooner than you think," Gold growled, as he paced.
"Then it's a good thing that Spencer will likely formally drop the charges soon," Snow interjected, as they turned to see her arriving with David and August, along with Emma's son.
"Hey…" she said, as she hugged her parents and her son, whom her father was carrying.
"You two look like you've been busy," she mused. August smirked.
"Oh they have and if Spencer doesn't get his ass in gear to drop the charges, he'll be in a cell next to you," August said, as Emma punched his arm.
"You can't swear around the kid. He's gonna start repeating everything we say," she chided. He smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah...cause your mouth is so clean," he argued.
"Anyway...thanks to David, I think old Albert Spencer will be looking for a rock to crawl under," August said.
"Really?" Gold asked.
"Do tell…" he said with interest. Snow and David smiled at each other, as they recounted their earlier run in with him.
An hour ago
Snow kept giggling, as they were practically both in tears.
"We are soaked," she said.
"Yeah…" David said, as he changed into a dry shirt.
"He had no interest in his bath toys. Splash grandma and grandpa was way more fun," he said, as she diapered their toddler grandson and he giggled and squirmed.
"Oh you think that's really funny, don't you silly boy," she cooed to him and he gave her a big belly laugh, as she blew a raspberry on his tummy. She managed to get his shirt on and his little pants, while David wrangled his squirmy form and Snow got his socks.
"No socks…" he complained.
"Sorry buddy...you have to wear socks," David said, as his wife put them on. He tried to pull them off, but not before they got his shoes on.
"Such a pill," Snow admonished, as she kissed his head and they heard a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," he said, as she continued packing his diaper bag for the day. He answered it and every muscle in his body tensed, as George, or rather, Albert Spencer stood on the other end.
"What the hell do you want?" David asked. He had to be careful. His cursed self had rarely talked back to this man, but part of him didn't give a damn. He wanted so badly to go off on him, but he would hold his temper. However, he was about to show him that he was done bending to his will and he was going to tell his "father" to effectively go to hell.
"We need to talk, boy," Spencer said gruffly.
"First of all, I'm a man and we don't have anything to talk about. I'm not your son, never was, and we both know that I can ruin you," David retorted. The surprise on the older man's face was enjoyable, but he showed his asinine nature by barging into the loft.
"Get out," David snapped.
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere and you're going to listen," Spencer snapped back. Snow crossed her arms over her chest and sided up to him.
"But this conversation should be had just between the two of us," he added.
"Nah...I think you better just say what you want to say so you can go," David refused.
"Fine...you need to stop this, especially with your lawyer in jail," Spencer said, as he slapped the file down on the table. David opened it and was pleasantly surprised to see a divorce decree.
"Nice...I guess Gold got it done before he was arrested," David said, as he flipped to the last page.
"I'll get you pen," Snow said, as she kissed his cheek, which only made the old man in front of them fume.
"Don't sign that," Spencer warned.
"This marriage was never my choice in the first place," David reminded.
"If you dissolve this marriage...I will be relentless! You will have no peace...and neither will she," he threatened.
"Don't threaten her!" David snapped, as she took the baby from him.
"Do I really need to remind you that I can ruin you?" he asked. Spencer smirked.
"You don't have the guts," he claimed.
"You sold me...and now that my sham of a marriage to Kathryn is finally over, you have to pay her father back all that money he gave you," David reminded.
"No...I don't, because you're going to stop this foolishness and go home to your wife," Spencer argued. David had never wanted to scream so much in his life. He wanted to scream that he was already home with his real wife to this man, but he knew he couldn't do that yet.
"No, I'm not and you're done. Get the hell out," David said.
"Don't you dare cross me...you'll regret it," he warned.
"Too late so you might as well just drop the charges against Gold and have Kathryn sign these papers," David said, as he scribbled his signature and slapped them against the other man's chest. Spencer smirked.
"Gold is under arrest for assault and I'm going to throw the book at him," he promised.
"Yeah I doubt that. Our new Mayor is going to order his release. From what Emma told us, he was defending a woman against some unwanted attention. Keith was asking for it if you ask me," David argued.
"No one ever asks you," Spencer said with malice.
"You're nothing...just a naive farm boy with a pretty face that made me a very rich man," he said, as he tore the papers up and tossed them away and then proceeded to pat David on the face.
"Yes...pretty and only good for one thing, from what Kathryn said," he leered.
"You need to get out now unless you want to leave in a body bag," Snow growled. She was ready to rip his head off at that point. But Spencer only smiled smugly.
"No divorce for you. I still own you, boy…" he said, as he looked at Mary Margaret.
"Enjoy his...talents while you can, Ms. Swan. I'll see to it that he goes home to his wife soon enough," he promised, as he left. David started to go after him, as the rage in him boiled over.
"David...wait!" she called.
"I know he would deserve it if you went down there and ripped him apart and to be honest, I'd cheer you on for doing it, but I think there is a much better way to make him pay," she said.
"I want to do it. I want August to publish the whole story that the bitch cursed me with. It may not have actually happened, but I remember it all. I want them to all pay, damn the consequences," he admitted. She nodded.
"And they're going to," she replied, as she picked up her phone and dialed her son.
Present time
"Revenge usually isn't our way...but he should pay for what he did," David said.
"Ah, I'd say it's more like Karma coming to bite him in the ass," August said.
"I agree. Besides...if anyone has earned the right to revenge, it's you and Mom," Emma replied.
"Well, well...welcome back, Prince Charming," Gold said, pleasantly surprised. David looked at him and approached.
"You are the last person I thought we'd ever be teaming up with...but you really came through with those papers," he said.
"For what it's worth...I did not foresee Cora putting you in the position she did. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, least of all you," Rumple admitted sincerely.
"So...how exactly is King George going to fall from his Throne so to speak?" Neal asked curiously.
"With this," August said, as he presented tomorrow morning's edition of the Storybrooke Mirror.
"This is quite bold. You need to be ready for the backlash," Gold warned.
"We are. You once told us that the final battle would begin as soon as the curse was broken and we're going to be ready for it," David said.
"Which begs another question. The curse is very specifically designed so that the product of your true love is the only thing that can break it," Rumple replied.
"There are only a few ways I can think of that could restore your memories beforehand," he added.
"It was our sapling...a true love sapling that we didn't even know about," Snow explained.
"No one knew about it...but after you mentioned it last night, I think I went into one of my author trances, because this was in the book this morning," August said, as he opened it and showed the Dark One.
"Remarkable...for all the things I see, I didn't see this one," he said, as he looked over the pages.
"Does Cora have any inkling that this sapling exists?" he asked.
"We don't think so...it's safe for now," David replied.
"You need to keep it that way. This sapling is pure magic...true love's magic," he realized, as he recalled the potion he had made from their hairs. He had no idea that they themselves had created a physical form of their love without even knowing it. Other than Emma, of course. But the sapling was as powerful as the potion he had managed to bottle and there was a chance it was even more powerful. To what end, he didn't know, but he knew he needed to get it before Cora did.
"Do you think...the sapling could break the curse?" Snow asked. But he shook his head.
"As powerful as it is...the curse is written with very specific language. I must confess that I bottled a potion made of your true love and hid it...for a rainy day," Rumple replied.
"I know...my son is the author," Snow said, as she flipped through the book that showed an illustration of the bottle made from their true love.
"Wait...that was what was in the golden egg you made me hide in Maleficent?" David questioned. He nodded curtly.
"But there's no dragon in Storybrooke," Emma said.
"Sure about that, dearie?" Rumple questioned and her eyes widened.
"You brought a dragon to Storybrooke?" she questioned. He smirked.
"No...but the curse did. She's...asleep, for now," he answered.
"Okay...so I think the question I'd like to know is, how do I break the curse? Cause we've been here for a while and I still have no idea how to get it done," Emma said.
"Sorry dearie...I didn't foresee how you do it. I only saw that you do," he answered.
"Well, that's maddeningly unhelpful," she quipped. He shrugged.
"The future is rarely what it seems and never shows its full hand, so to speak. I've gotten mildly adept at reading it, but it's not an exact science so to speak," Rumple replied, as Regina finally came in.
"Okay Gold...you're free to go," Regina said, as she put the order on Graham's desk and Emma unlocked the cell.
"You two must have really spooked George, though he'll never admit it. He was pretty quick to sign this," she said.
"How big of a fit did your mother throw?" Snow asked. Regina smirked.
"My new office is trashed and she made a lot of threats, but I didn't back down this time," she replied, as she recalled her earlier confrontation with Cora.
Earlier that day
Regina walked into her mother's former office that morning. This was now her office, but she gasped at the state of it, though she probably shouldn't have been shocked at all. There was broken glass everywhere and liquor stained the walls. There was files and papers strewn about, the artwork on the walls was ruined, and the glass on the door was broken as well.
"Well...I see you had quite the tantrum. That's okay...I was going to have it redecorated anyway," Regina said, as she knew her mother was in her chair. Cora turned her chair and Regina felt a chill go down her spine. She was clearly simmering in her own skin and ready to explode.
"You look like hell," Regina commented. Goading her probably wasn't the best idea, but damn if she wasn't enjoying her mother's misery.
"You've hurt me deeply, Regina," she said in a broken-like voice. But the younger woman rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to fall for her mother's pathetic pity party.
"And I can't believe you're trying to act like the victim in all this," Regina accused.
"I AM the Victim!" Cora roared.
"We are both victims of that spoiled, stuck up, bratty little Princess!" she added.
"She's my sister and I love her. She is the real victim in this. She and her whole family, thanks to you," Regina stated coolly.
"She isn't your sister!" Cora snapped.
"I sacrificed everything to marry King Leopold to give you a better life! Princess Eva's little retch has been a constant thorn in our side on our quest to power and luxury," she said.
"No one ever told you to marry Leopold. I was just fine with the life we had. And you may hate her, because you can't get past something her mother did to you, but I love her. She's my family and I never cared about power. I'm nothing like you and for that, I'm eternally grateful," Regina spat in return.
"So this is how it ends? With your complete betrayal of your own mother," Cora said.
"Wow...now you're going to try guilt tripping me. That's fine though, because it's not going to work. You've lost, mother…" Regina replied. Cora stood up and glared at her daughter with fire in her eyes. Years ago, this same look would have made Regina shrink away and she wasn't surprised when Cora grabbed her arm and squeezed. But she refused to cry out or wince like she would have as a girl.
"You can't bully me any longer, mother," Regina said bravely.
"I'm warning you, Regina. Crossing me like this will not end well for you or anyone you love," Cora threatened.
"You should have cursed Snow and David into safe lives. They might have been more malleable then. They might have been less willing to fight, but you just created two desperate people that will do absolutely anything to be together now, protect the people they love, and see that you go down in flames," Regina warned. Cora smirked.
"We'll see who goes down in flames," Cora sniped, as she stormed out of the office.
"Wow...so she's definitely coming for us," Emma said.
"It's okay...we'll be ready," David assured.
"So...do I still run all story?" August asked.
"Yes...she's going to be down and dirty so we have to be too," Regina replied.
"You two need to go after that sapling and bring it to me. I'll be able to put it in a safe place," Gold said. Snow and David joined hands.
"We'll go get it and then meet you at the diner," Snow said, as she hugged her children.
"Okay, I'm going back to the office to put the finishing touches on this story," August replied.
"I'll take Henry and see all of you at the diner later," Emma said.
"I'll go with you," Regina agreed, while Gold left for his shop. He had some reading to do. They needed to break the curse and though he didn't know how Emma would do it, that didn't mean there weren't things he could put into play to speed up the process.
Cora sat in her car in her driveway and she dialed a number on her cell phone.
"Sheriff," Graham answered.
"Did you do what I requested?" she asked sternly.
"I did...it was wrong and I still don't know why I did that for you. But it's done," Graham answered. She smirked and got into her car.
"Good boy," she cooed condescendingly, before she started the car and turned the radio into tune into the bug that she had forced the Sheriff to plant for her. If they wanted a fight...then they were going to get one.