Chapter 28: Message in a bottle

It was a beautiful sunny summer day. The few clouds in the sky were reflected in the azure of the sea. Gentle waves lapped the beach. Behind him lay the harbor and the city. And at the very top, the battlements and turrets of the castle rose out of this sea of roofs.

Neal walked along the beach, bubbling with pride because he had managed to outrun the wolf. His sitter wasn't quite as fast as she used to be, but it wasn't often that she lost sight of him. Actually, he loved her, but sometimes she worried a little too much about his welfare. Then he needed some rest and tried to escape.

Afterwards, he would surely have to listen to scolding tirades again, that he was the heir to the throne and should behave according to his rank, blah, blah, blah.

And he would smile and promise to obey while making the next plans.

He knew why they were like that, he had often heard the story of his missing sister, who had saved them all these years ago and had fallen through a portal into another world with her lover, a pirate.

The story fascinated him because it was so beautifully tragic and adventurous. Sometimes he tried to imagine what his sister must have been like, since he couldn't remember a bit about her.

He often dreamed of a stately pirate ship on the sea sailing through a storm chasing a merchant ship. He then imagined himself boarding the other ship with the pirates, drinking rum and singing naughty songs with lots of swear words.

What a great life that would be.

But it was just a fantasy and soon he would have to return to the castle and do homework. But not yet.

A week ago he had picked up from a servant that parts of a wreck had washed up five miles south of town. They had not been able to determine which ship it was from, because none was missing from their fleet. He really wanted to see something like that in real life. So he had sneaked out of the castle in the morning with a bag of provisions that he had prepared during the night, and had now been marching south for quite a while. He had packed an archeology book with which he wanted to determine the age of the ship. Who knows, maybe the parts had been floating around for hundreds of years until it drifted here on the beach.

Neal reached the bay in question around noon and was quite excited that he could already see some wreckage from further away. A huge mast had been washed up with parts of a sail still hanging from it. Enthusiastically, he opened his bag and pulled out a magnifying glass to inspect the fabric more closely. These were certainly not the sails that weavers made in the Enchanted Forest. He had never seen anything like it. He walked up and down the beach, looking for more pieces. Even if the fishermen had already removed everything of value, the wreck was still a goldmine for him. Most of it was broken wooden beams, but also scraps of cloth that must have come from clothes. However, he had to realize that it was quite unusual clothing, cuts that he had never seen before. A few steps further he found a coin with an equally strange imprint. He slipped it into his pocket to show it to the treasurer later.

He walked further down the beach to the water line and noticed something what could have been the remains of a locker. When he bent a board aside, he was amazed. Underneath lay a small chest. It was decorated with a large swan surrounded by roaring waves. Excitedly, he tampered with the lock. A gush of dirty seawater splashed against him as the casket burst open. Inside were scraps of cloth, something like an embroidered handkerchief that had turned to a greenish gray color from the algae on it. But then he realized that something was wrapped inside. He eagerly unwound it and held a corked bottle in his hands.

Neal held his breath. Inside the bottle was a rolled-up paper. A message in a bottle!

With slightly trembling fingers, he uncorked the bottle and rolled up the paper. A delicate necklace slipped out of the roll. He caught it just before it fell into the water. He would take a closer look at it in a moment. First, he wanted to read the message in the bottle. The person had written hastily, in a small, spidery script.

Dear Uncle Neal...

Neal's heartbeat skyrocketed. What a coincidence it was that the addressee shared his name. It was starting to give him the creeps. Feverishly, he read on.

Please don't be afraid. I dreamed that you would be here and read this. I have had these dreams ever since I can remember, but they are getting stronger. I see you all in the castle and you on your adventures. My parents say I am imagining all this, but I know that these dreams are real. I have seen everything. How my parents came here. Everyone thought they had lost their memory in an accident when they were found on the beach in our town with the man who works in the pawnshop next door. He always looks at me so strangely when I walk by his store. I think he remembers everything and that he knows that I know.

We need your help! Mom and Dad need to remember who they really are.

I got into Mr. Gold's store last night through a window and stole this strange bean from him. I've seen in my dreams what you can do with it. But it doesn't work from here. That's why you have to use it.

Neal noticed the bean at the bottom of the bottle and turned it upside down. He held it up to the sun with two fingers. He only knew it from illustrations in books but it actually looked like a magic bean.

I don't know if it will work, but I just had to try it. If you get this letter, please try it. Think of me and speak my name.

I hope to see you soon!

Love,

Hope Jones

Neal stood rooted to the spot. Could it really be real? Did Emma have a daughter who had magical dreams? How had she known he would be right here at this exact time?

"Neal!" he heard a familiar voice. Behind him on the beach stood Aunt Regina, his bodyguard Ruby and Mr. Ramsay. They must have used a locator spell again. But, at the moment he was much too excited to get angry about it.

"Neal, how many times have I told you to let me know when you're out roaming," Aunt Regina began. But she stopped immediately when she saw the look on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He hurried back into the dry toward his family.

"You've got to see this!" he called, holding the items out to them.

"Really, Neal, sometimes I feel like there's a little demon inside of you that's deliberately making other people's lives miserable. You know how bad my knee is by now," Ruby said. "I really don't know why you're do-"

Then she looked at the things in his hand. Her eyes widened as she spotted the necklace. She snatched it out of his hand. Her face went white.

"That was Emma's! "

Neal handed it to her. Ruby's eyes darted over the lines while Regina and Ramsay read along over her shoulder.

"Bloody hell," escaped Ramsay's mouth.

They stared at each other for a moment after the finished.

"It can't be," Ramsay said again in disbelief.

"I'm quite sure it's Emma's," Ruby said with a flash in her eyes.

"They had a daughter," Ramsay said quietly. "Can it really be true?"

"A seer," Regina said softly. "She was born there in their world. But if she was already conceived here the curse might not affect her."

"And how is that even possible?" Ruby asked.

"The curse includes all people born here in the Enchanted Forest. But if a part of her has been here before, and she had magic in her, she still has it. A hidden back door that Rumple forgot to close in the construction of the curse."

"She even knows Neal's name," Ruby said in awe.

"She writes that her powers are getting stronger," Regina agreed, "And that Rumple knows it. Mr. Gold," she smiled. A fitting name."

"If Rumple knows, it could be a trap," Ruby growled. "Maybe his back door to this world."

"Then he deserves to get his ass kicked." Neal had never heard his stepmother speak like that.

Regina took the magic bean from Neal's hand. She grabbed him by the shoulders.

"My boy, I have never been so pleased in my life to see you disobey me."

Neal grinned up to his ears and Regina ruffled his hair.

"Does that mean I'll get to meet my sister...and Captain Hook? And Hope?"

Regina turned to Ramsay. "You need to go back to the castle and let everyone know. Ruby, Neal and I are going to take a little trip."

"And how will you get back?"

"We'll find a way," Regina said.

Ramsay nodded. He hugged Ruby tightly, then Neal.

Regina made a hand gesture transporting him back to the castle.

"And I actually get to come?" asked Neal excitedly.

Regina took his hand. "Hope seems to have a special connection with you. Because after all these years, it's you who received her message. I think she used a locator spell to find you without knowing. I've never heard of a mage being able to do that without training. This girl seems to have strong magic in her."

"She is the child of true love," Ruby said proudly. "It doesn't surprise me at all."

Regina smiled wryly at her. "That was the nicest thing you've ever said about Hook."

"I don't have to like him to know their love was real. I've always known."

"Well then, let's not waste time," Regina spoke, handing the bean back to Neal.

He looked at her in surprise.

"Come on! The letter says it's your job."

Neal took a deep breath and looked at the two of them. Regina nodded at him encouragingly and Ruby looked at him with sparkling eyes.

So, he braced himself, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and imagined his niece. Then he tossed the bean and spoke, "Hope Jones."

He felt his hair flutter up. He wrenched his eyes open and stared toward a portal of glistening light. Regina and Ruby grabbed his hand and after another deep breath, they leapt into the depths of light.

The End