AN: I do not own OUAT
Some of you have been saying that I should've kept the plot where Snow and Emma go to the EF and kept the scene where Snow and Charming are trapped in the fire room, but personally I didn't want everything to be the same, I wanted to make changes so you could see something new.
I know Emma called her father David last chapter and I did that only for the feel of the chapter, usually she'll call him dad. Also this chapter is going to be a long one.
Taino Delsan13: What will happen next?
Continue to read and you may be shocked at what will happen in the next few chapters.
Chapter 25: Child Of The Moon
It was another day in Storybrooke, Granny and Ruby still worked the diner, David was out being sheriff (Still on the watch for Will), Snow was having a morning stroll with Neal, Henry was at school, and the Dwarfs were hard at work in the mines, using their pickaxes trying to find a small amount of magic that may have returned since the curse broke, Charming and Snow were counting on them so they could bring their family home.
It was now noon, which meant it was time for lunch! Of course, the only Dwarf who noticed was Happy, he wasn't much for work, Sleepy did more than him.
"Pickaxes down, brothers! First round at Granny's is on me!" Shouted Happy as he pushed a full cart out of the way.
Everybody put down their axes and started to whistle and cheer, except for Leroy, the grumpy Dwarf.
"Come on Leroy!" Shouted Doc, "We're gonna miss happy hour!"
"Granny's running a two for one special on mead," Said Happy. It was the only other alcoholic drink he would have, other than a beer of course.
Leroy did not put down his ax, and he wasn't going to until he found just a little bit of fairy dust, it was his job after all and he wasn't one to quit until it was all done. "Just because it's called 'Happy Hour,' Happy, doesn't mean you have to be there," Leroy spat, "Besides we have a duty to be fulfilled."
"But you're tired, we all are...and hungry," Said Happy, they had been working none stop for almost a week now, they needed to rest sometimes.
"Charming and Snow asked us to mine for dust-fairy dust, to help bring Killian and Emma home, and that's..." Leroy started to pound away back at the rock, "What...I'm...going to...do!" He hit at the end of every word, and by his last strick he ended up busting through a rock wall and falling down on his face.
All Dwarfs looked into the hole that Grumpy had fallen through, they were amazed at what they saw...Charming and Snow had to see this.
Snow was walking along the main street, wheeling Neal in his stroller, it was a calm day, the birds were chirping, the breeze was just right, the sun was up high in the bright blue sky, and David was racing towards her with his sirens on...wait, what?
"Snow, jump in, there's an urgent call from the Dwarfs," David exclaimed as he jumped out the driver's side and helped his wife fold the stroller up into the trunk.
"Wait, what do you mean? What's going on?" Snow placed Neal in the rear view car seat they had installed in the back of the sheriffs' car just in case something like this happened.
David jumped into the drives seat and strapped himself in, "I'm not sure, but it sounded quite important from the way they were talking...then again it was Happy I was talking to," He said with a chuckle making his wife look over at him with a playful grin.
The drive over was intense, neither of them knew what was about to happen, they didn't know if they were going to get good news or bad news, they just knew it was going to be some kind of news and whichever it was...they didn't know if they were prepared for it.
Once they had actually reached the entrance of the mines, Snow had Ruby who was standing outside hold Neal, she didn't want to bring her baby into an environment filled with dust and a structure that could collapse at any moment.
"Alright, where is he?" David asked as he marched into the mine and followed the trail until he met up with the Dwarfs, Happy showed him the hole that Leroy had fallen through when he shone the flashlight inside, he saw all other dwarfs looking up at him smiling.
"We did it," Said Leroy with the biggest smile you would ever get from somebody named Grumpy.
Snow poked her head through and saw the diamonds sparkling, they were everywhere, there was so much of them. "Is that?" All Dwarfs nodded, everything was finally turning for the good. "David, call Mother Superior, tell her it's urgent."
David nodded and ended up stepping out of the way, he called Blue and told her about how the Dwarfs found the diamonds and they needed her down at the mines as soon as possible, she immediately agreed that she would be over as quickly as she could.
"Hey, what's going on?" Henry peeked his head between Snow, trying to look inside of the hole.
"Henry? What are you doing here? You're supposed to take the bus home" Snow stated, she didn't understand how he could have known they were even here.
"Ruby texted me, told me what happened!" Henry said with a smiled, he was a cheerful little boy. All he wanted was his parents home and he knew that this was probably one step closer to that happening, they'll be home again soon.
"Of course she did," Mumbled Snow under her breath.
Henry jumped into the hole past Snow, the Dwarfs immediately started patting him on the back and telling him how his parents would be back soon. Snow only hoped that they weren't giving him false hope.
"I came as quickly as I could, where are they?" Blue said as she barged into the tunnel and down the hole where everybody else was, Snow and David followed in behind her, so they were able to hear everything Blue would say, she knew most about these diamonds.
"Are those?"
"Diamonds, they're back. The magic brought them back," Blue said with a smile as she looked up at all the magic being held inside.
Henry read about these in his storybook, diamonds were what gave fairies their power. "You mean the kind that becomes fairy dust?"
"Indeed. We just need to grind them up somehow," Said blue as she turned to David, "Do you still have the remains of Jefferson's hat?"
David went into his jacket and took up the torn and scrunched up hat, passing it over to Blue.
"You lock this up, keep it safe because, by this time tomorrow, we'll have enough magic dust to make it work again," Blue said as she held the hat in her hands and looked up at the diamonds, so many diamonds...it had been so long since she saw them.
The sparkle that was once in Henry's eyes lit up once again, "So does that mean my parents..."
"That's right, kid, we're bringing 'em home." David patted his grandsons back, this was the best news that anybody had gotten since the curse had broken.
Snow watched everybody cheers, she was happy she was going to be able to see her daughter again. She only wondered what would happen if she would've been the one that jumped through the portal instead of Killian, would they be back by now? Or would they be still stuck?
All the men had drinks in their hands, it was a celebration at Granny's the diamonds were back and soon Emma and Killian would be too. Music was playing around the room, Waitresses were serving more and more drinks by the minute, the Dwarfs and David were sipping on their beer with laughter on the other side of the room as Snow held Neal in one of the booths with Henry across from her, he was looking at the storybook, rereading his parents story.
"Hey, you know they'll be back soon, right?" Snow said as she took a sip of coffee. She saw how sad her grandson was looking, with the sadness in his eyes.
Henry nodded slowly with a fake smile, he knew his parents would be home sooner or later, he just didn't know when. He knew that his grandparents were going to use the diamonds to make Jefferson's hat work again, but this is how the stories always went, they seemed good and then something bad happened again, throwing everything off course.
David sat down next to his wife and son, he smelt a bitterness around Snow, and then he looked down at her mug, "Is that coffee?" Snow nodded, she didn't drink coffee for years now, probably before Emma was even born. "Trying to stay awake?"
"I can't go back asleep David, you don't understand what it's like in that room," Said Snow, "It's like all your nightmares put into one, with no way out, you can't escape."
"Hey, it's alright, just remember I'll be right there, next to you, so if you were to return to that place again, I'll be right there," David told her as he then places a soft kiss on her cheek.
"What's this room you're talking about?" Henry asked curiously, he's never read anything about a room in his book before.
David turned towards his grandson, "How about you go get yourself a hot cocoa, and go talk to Grace over there." David pointed over to the little girl who was sitting down at the counter, she was looking over at Henry, if David didn't know any better he would say that Grace had a crush on Henry.
Henry smiled and closed his book as he grabbed the money from his grandfather and walked over to Grace, immediately they started laughing and talking, it was young love.
Ruby watched the two young children communicate, she remembered her first crush...of course Granny wouldn't allow it, and then she ended up eating him, but that was all in the past, she was no longer that out of control wolf, at least she hoped anyway. As she walked over to a table, she started to pick up the empty mugs of alcoholic drinks, this place needed more workers.
"A mouse."
"What? Where?" Jumped Ruby as she searched the floors, she hated those disease infested vermin.
Billy than walked out from around the corner, he and Ruby had not had time to really talk ever since the curse had broken. He remembered that when they were cursed Ruby would always flirt with him, so, he was quite curious on if Red would feel the same way, maybe something could happen between them.
"No," Chuckled Billy as he walked up to the beauty, "I meant me. I was a mouse. My name was Gus, I lived in Cinderella's pantry, I ate cheese and gnawed on wood, but I preferred the cheese."
Ruby smiled widely, her cursed self-remembered watching the movie Cinderella and seeing the little chubby mouse GusGus that wore a yellow shirt and wasn't scared of Lucifer, Lady Tremaine's cat.
"Why are you telling me this?" She wondered, she wasn't just walking up to anybody and telling them she was a wolf, even though everybody probably knew by now.
Billy stepped slightly closer, his hands were in his pockets and his eyes were on those beautiful dark brown eyes, "Uh, we haven't had a chance to talk since things...changed."
Jefferson sipped on his drink alone in a booth, watching the petit man talk to Ruby, he didn't know if he was flirting with her or if he was just talking to her, but whichever one it was, was starting to make him very jealous, he didn't quite understand why.
"So, can I still call you Billy? Or do you prefer GusGus?" Ruby asked with a slight giggle as she thought of the cartoon movie.
Billy blushed, "You can call me whatever you want, as long as you let me buy you a drink after your shift."
And there it was, Jefferson's eyes widened. He was asking her out! Jefferson could feel his heart sink down into the pit of his stomach, it was beating rapidly and the only thing he felt like doing was marching up there and saving Ruby from this...that was if she wanted him to, so far it seemed like she was fine with this man flirting with her.
Ruby's smile then disappeared, he wanted to meet Red, he and everybody else already knew Ruby. But unfortunately, as much as she would love to get a drink with Billy, tonight wasn't a good time for her. "I'm sorry, I can't, I actually have plans tonight."
"Oh, with who?" Asked Billy. A side of him could see that she was lying to him but another was seeing she was telling the truth.
Belle had heard everything, "Me actually," She said walking up next to Ruby, " We have plans."
"That's right, it's girls night," Smiled Ruby as she placed an arm around her friend, "I'm bringing the cheese...which has nothing to do with you being a mouse, it has to do with the...wine."
"Okay, um...maybe next time then." Billy walked away with a shattered ego and a shattered heart, from what Ruby acted like around him when she was cursed he could have sworn he had a little chance with her.
Both waited before Billy had disappeared back behind the corner, of course, Belle wondered why Ruby was turning such a lovely boy down. "Don't worry, I can spot a girl in trouble...he seems really nice."
Ruby looked up at the clock hanging on the floral wallpaper of the diner, it was almost time and Rubys' heart was racing. "It's-It's complicated." She then left Belle and walked into the kitchen where Granny had already started taking out the frozen food.
"Don't worry Ruby, this will work," Granny assured her grand-daughter, she could tell just how much stress she was under.
Jefferson smiled at his seat as he took another swig of his ale, Ruby had turned the man down and he was proud. He had never thought about going with other women after his wife had died but with Ruby, he felt different. She was a young, beautiful and smart lady, he wanted that. But not many women especially young women wanted him due to the fact that he had a daughter, many women just didn't want that responsibility.
George had been watching his 'son' and his wife all night, just waiting for that right moment to go up to them. Right now David and Snow were enjoying a family moment together, admiring their newborn infant...Neal, he had always wondered where they had picked out such godforsaken name. He wanted nothing more than his revenge, they should have gotten rid of him back in the Enchanted Forest after they took over the land.
David was admiring how beautiful his son was, he missed having these moments with Emma, he wished his little girl was still a baby, or at least she was still here. He missed her so much. Right then and there, his thoughts were taken away as he saw the man he never wanted to see sit down in front of them...George.
"Congratulations...sheriff. Quite a celebration," Spoke George as he sat down with his tankard in his hand.
David suddenly felt threatened, why was this man suddenly sitting down in front of them? After everything this man did to him and his family in the past, he was lucky to still be alive. "What are you doing here?" He asked through his gritted teeth.
"You may have taken care of me in the old world, but in this new one, we have another go at each other," Threatened George as he looked between his 'son' and daughter in law.
Snow had started to rub Neals back who started to stir in his sleep, which meant he was now waking up. "Whenever you're ready," Spoke Snow as she propped her infant son on her shoulder and continued to rub small circles on his back. It was hard to sound threatening whenever you had a baby in your arms.
Geroge stared at Snow, he had remembered the time he kidnapped her and poisoned her so she could never conceive a child in her life, but somehow she found a way around it, considering she already had a twenty-year-old daughter and a one-month-old son. "It's a big celebration for you both, isn't it? On the way to getting your family back to whole again, must feel exciting." He would never know the feeling, he lots his son and never got him back, instead, he got a shepherd that betrayed him.
David looked cold into the man's dead eyes as he leaned back in the booth and spoke, "Yeah, it must be hard for you, to watch good win again."
He had to laugh, this man pretending to be prince actually thought he was good. "Good? Don't be so full of yourself. I know the truth, you're still a shepherd pretending to be a prince, and you're just a bandit pretending like you know the first thing about being a princess. You both weren't even fit to run the kingdom, and you sure as hell aren't fit to run this town."
"I'm sure the people of Storybrooke would think otherwise," Spoke David, mostly everybody in this town was there when Snow and he destroyed Geroge and the Evil Queen, they saw what they were capable of doing.
George smiled wickedly, "Today they do. But I'm going to see to it that they see things my way, that they see for who you two really are," Threatened George, "By the time I'm done with you, you wished you killed me when you had the chance."
David then stood up and helped Snow out of the booth who had a blanket draped over her shoulder, which only meant she was breastfeeding Neal. They were going to leave they had enough of Geroge, "The people of this town already know who we are, and they've seen us defeat you once before," David said as he then bent down and looked dead in the eyes of the demon, "So if you want to try and take us down, they'll see it again." He then walked off with his tankard in hand and arm around Snow's waist.
Grace and Henry saw the whole thing, " You're grandparents are pretty cool, Henry."
"I know right," Henry smiled at her as she smiled back, he didn't know what this feeling was that he felt inside but it was warm and tingly.
It was the end of the party and everybody had mostly cleared out of the diner by now, which made it a lot easier for Snow and David to hear the crackling coming from the kitchen, ultimately they thought that there was a fire, like anybody would think, but when they walked in through the steel kitchen door they saw Granny wearing a welding mask and welding the hinges on the door with Ruby watching.
"Ruby, Granny? What's going on?" Snow asked as she tried burping Neal.
"We're making a cage, know anybody who might want thirty-eight frozen lasagnas" Answered Ruby sternly as she helped Granny with taking out the last perishables from the freezer.
Snow gasped, "Granny, your lasagnas are frozen?"
"I know, nobody would believe you if you told them my lasagna is frozen," Spoke Granny in a joking way.
"Wait, why are you making a cage?" Asked David not really caring about the lasagna but more about the fact they were literally welding a cage out of the kitchen freezer.
"Tonight's the first full moon since the curse broke, which means it's the first wolfs night," Spoke Ruby nervously, all that she could think about was what would happen if she wasn't locked up, it was easier to hide it in the Enchante Forest because she had an entire woods to run around and hide in but here she was trapped in a town, full of people she might hurt or worse...kill.
"But Red, I thought your mother taught you how to control the wolf in you years ago?" Asked Snow curiously, she remembered how Red made her run away when she got a tear in her red cape, and then when she ended up finding Red she was with her pact...her family, she had found her mother.
Ruby nodded, "I have, but thanks to the curse, I haven't turned in ten years. I might be rusty. I can't let what happened the last time-what happened to Peter-happen to anyone else"
Jefferson was listening outside of the door, he always heard stories about the humans that turned into wolfs during full moons, but he never suspected Ruby to be one of them. He didn't know Ruby well, but he knew well enough that she wouldn't hurt anybody.
"What about your red hood? That could stop you from turning," David asked, surely it came over with the curse just like everybody else's belongings.
"If I had it," Said Ruby, "I looked everywhere, I even went to Gold. It's not in town, I don't think it came over with the curse."
"Ruby, we know you. We trust you, Emma and Killian trust you. Wolfstime or not, you won't hurt anyone tonight." David knew Ruby wasn't one to hurt people, Peter was an accident, she didn't know she was the wolf then, they thought Peter was the wolf.
"Maybe, but I can't afford to take any chances," Said Ruby with fear in her eyes, "You have a newborn baby, you have to protect him from me, same goes for all the children and Storybrooke, I can't hurt any of them or their parents." Ruby then Walked over to the freezer and went inside, she was terrified of what was going to happen, she didn't even know if this plan would work, she had no idea what the wolf could do, it's been so long now.
"Papa" Grace walked up to her father who was standing next to the door that leads into the kitchen, he seemed stranger than usual tonight, "I'm ready to go home."
"Uh, yes, I'm coming." He wanted to stay and listen to more, but he knew he had to leave if he didn't want to get caught. Was it strange for him wanting to help out Snow and Charming? Just not long ago he was locked up, himself at the station and now all he wanted to do was go and help Snow and Charming, protect Ruby.
Henry, Snow, and David had left the diner and immediately went home. Henry, of course, ran straight up to his room with his storybook, he thought he was being sneaky but everybody knew that he was actually staying up late, hiding under his blankets with a flashlight and looking at the pictures of his parents. He wondered what they were doing in the Enchanted Forest if they were about to jump through a portal and be home but then he told himself that he was just giving himself false hope, that it would be a lot more complicated than that.
Snow, on the other hand, was only running off of the very little boost she got from her few sips of coffee. Every time she blinked she could just see the fire, the heat on her skin, the fear that consumed her, she had enough of that place when she was under the sleeping curse and a few months after that, she didn't want to go back.
David had helped Snow take off her jacket and was about to go and get the bed ready when he looked over and saw Snow sitting down on her rocking chair in the living room. "Are you coming to bed?"
Snow looked up, she desperately wanted to feel her body sinking into the cool comfort of the memory foam, orthopedic mattress but the fear of going back to the red room was too much. "I'm actually going to stay down here for a bit, put Neal to sleep."
"Are you sure? You didn't get much sleep last night if you want I can put Neal to sleep and meet you upstairs," Said David as he walked down the very few steps he climbed and walked over to his wife.
Snow nodded, "No it's alright, I'll meet you up there in a bit."
"Oh, alright. Come get me if you need anything." He bent down and gave a kiss upon her forward before he left her alone downstairs.
Snow smiled as she watched him disappear up the stairs. "Oh Neal, I wish your sister were here right now." Neal ended up making little gurgling noises in response to his mothers' voice, to her that meant that he missed his sister too, even if he was too young to understand what was going on right now.
Henry looked out his window and up at the night sky, the stars were brighter than ever. He wondered if the stars he saw at night were the same ones that his parents saw in the Enchanted Forest...they probably weren't, but it made him happy just to think about it, it made his parents seem closer. "Goodnight mom, goodnight dad...please come home," Henry spoke very softly, soft enough nobody would hear.
Granny had one of the best rests she had in a long time, knowing her Ruby was safely locked up was all she needed. The freezer should have been strong enough to hold, even if the inside held a thousand pound wolf.
Walking into the diner this morning everything seemed fine, nothing was out of the ordinary and nothing was broken. "Ruby, you up yet?" Granny asked more to herself rather than Ruby, considering Ruby probably wouldn't be able to hear her.
But as Granny walked into the kitchen, getting the key to unlock the freezer door her worst nightmare was right in front of her. "Oh, no." The freezer door was completely ripped off with nothing my claw marks all over the door, even on the inside was dug to pieces. The only thing Granny could now think about was where was Ruby now and what did she get into when she lost control?
Snow opened her eyes, she must have fallen asleep. She hadn't of gone to the red room which was a good thing, maybe now she could actually start getting some rest again. But that's when she noticed...she was in the red room. The flames were higher than ever, it was hot, and she couldn't breathe. "Help! Help!" She shouted through the crackle of the flame.
Why was she here? She didn't understand, it had been years since she awoke from the sleeping curse.
As Snow looked around the rooms, the places where the flames were weak she could see that girl again, the girl who was there with her last time. Was she the reason she was returning? Was this girl in trouble and she needed to help her?
"Hey! Hey!," Shouted Snow trying to get this girls attention, "Who are you?!"
Snow?
Who was that? Snow looked around, she could hear her name being called out. That voice sounded so familiar, who was it?
Snow, wake up!
There it was again.
Snow opened up her eyes and this time she was in the comfort of her home, Neal was in arms still asleep, she must've passed out early and forgot to bring Neal to his crib. As she looked up she met cold dark brown eyes staring down at her. "Regina? Wh-What are you doing here? Where's David?" She asked as she sat herself up, rubbing the sweat off her forehead.
"He got an emergency call this morning, and he asked me to come by, saying you were going back to the red room and he was worried when he found you asleep this morning down here," Said Regina as she sat down on the couch across from Snow.
Snow looked petrified that David would even let this woman into their home after everything she did to them when they were cursed, because of her Neal could have gone into the system and would've grown up without a mother or father...his real mother or father.
Suddenly Neal woke up and started to cry, he was probably hungry considering he must've slept all night if Snow never woke up once, other than in the red room.
Snow tried to bounce Neal more into her arm so she could have a better grip on him as she fed him but when she did a stinging and hot feeling went through her arm, it felt like she was roast alive.
"Is everything okay?" Regina asked Snow.
Snow couldn't ever trust this woman, but she knew that she was trying to change, she saved Henry and the whole town from Daniel just the other day. "Regina, can you hold Neal for a second?"
Regina was shocked, "A-Are you sure?" She didn't think Snow would've trusted her with any of her children, but once Snow nodded she gladly took Neal from her arms. She never had this kind of feeling before, she never got to have any children of her own, not ever since she poisoned herself after her mother tried tricking her into thinking a certain man was her true love.
Once Snow had passed over her bundle of joy, hoping Regina wouldn't poof away with him, she rolled up her sleeve where she felt the burning and as she did she saw how her skin was bubbled and blistered, she was burned. "Regina..."
Regina was looking down at Neal, giving him smiles and rubbing his chin softly with her finger as she bounced him. "Yes?" She questioned as she looked up, her smile immediately changing into a concerned look as she saw the burning. "Is that a burn? How did that happen?"
"You tell me, it was your sleeping curse that put me in that hell!" Exclaimed Snow. She didn't think this place would hurt her, it was mostly she a nightmare, wasn't it?
When David had woke up this morning he was scared not to see Snow on the spot next to him, he figured that maybe she had just gotten up early and was downstairs but when he went downstairs he had only seen her sleeping in the chair he left her on last night, did she try to stay up all night and didn't want to tell him? When he was about to go and wake up his wife he had gotten an urgent call from Granny, she was in a panic so he immediately left and not wanting to leave Snow alone, he called up the only person he could think of...Regina.
When David had arrived at the diner Granny was in a panic, she was going on about Ruby not being around that she had escaped from her so-called cage they had made last night. David eventually had gotten her calmed down and due to her wolf senses she was able to smell a piece of clothing of Rubys and they were now tracking her sent through the woods.
"Over here," Granny told David as she walked ahead of him, she never understood why but she always felt safer carrying her crossbow everywhere, that's exactly why she was holding it with her now. She was really picking up on Ruby's sent, and that's when she spotted her sleeping under a fallen log, "Ruby, wake up!"
Ruby opened her eyes, she was in the forest, how? "What happened? Where am I?" She questioned as she looked around.
"You're in the forest, You must've fallen asleep here last night," David told her as he helped her out from under the log.
"I don't understand. You locked me in that cage!" Said, Ruby, as she started to panic. She should have still been in that freezer, it should've worked.
"The freezer was torn to shreds when I came to check in on you this morning," Granny tried telling her grand-daughter in the easiest way possible.
Ruby took a deep breath as she felt her heart start pounding. She lost control and didn't even know what she did when she was under, what if she hurt somebody? This is why she wanted to be locked up, so she wouldn't have to worry about these things, but her plan failed.
"Ruby. Ruby, it's alright." David tried to calm her down but a little talking to was not going to help with something like this.
"No! It's not!" Ruby exclaimed, "I don't remember anything from last night. This is exactly what I was afraid of!" She panicked as she looked around the forest, then it hit her...David was here, the sheriff...what did she do? "Oh my god, did I do something last night?"
David had to calm her down before she started to over freak out. "Ruby, all we know is that you escaped and then ran into the woods, there's no reason to assume the worst," And right on cue, his phone started buzzing.
Taking his phone out of his jacket he walked off a couple of feet away and answered his phone, "Sheriff...Yeah. Okay, I'll be right there."
Of course Ruby was freaking out, she ultimately assumed that the phone call was about something she could've done. "What is it?"
"Somebody left their car double parked in front of the cannery. I gotta go check it out on our way to town," David told Ruby as he could see how uptight she was, he could swear he heard her heart beating, "Hey, calm down, everything's alright."
Snow had been sitting at the dining table, breastfeeding Neal as Regina sat across from her, the room was taken over by a storm of awkward silence. Regina hadn't said much after they discovered the burn, of course, they were both curious on how Snow could have gotten burned from a room made by the sleeping curse...you're not actually there, it didn't make sense.
So, of course, Snow called up Mr. Gold...or Rumplestiltskin, whatever you wanted to call him.
Snow cleared her throat, "So, um...I just want to thank you for saving Henry the other day."
"Oh yeah...it was nothing." She was trying to change, she really was. It was the least she could do for Henry...she was the reason his father ended up in the hospital those several months ago.
Once again, everything went silent, so silent you could hear the ticking of the clock that was on the other side of the house. Once Neal had finished up and Snow had burped him, she placed him down in his swing where he sat silently as knocking started at the door.
Regina answered the door knowing entirely well who it was.
"Regina, what a surprise to see you here," Gold said as he walked away smugly into the home where Regina gave him a fake smile. "Mrs. Nolan, As I heard you're going back to the sleep realm."
Snow nodded, 1'yes, and this morning I woke up with this burn on my arm." She lifted her arm up so Gold was able to examine the burn, she desperately hoped he would be able to help her.
"Ah yes, you were quite right to call me," Gold said as he looked carefully at the burn, "You see, this so-called dream as you and Regina refer it to is actually certainly not just that, it's far from a dream actually."
"Then what is it?" Regina asked with her arms folded in front of her as she stood next to Snow.
Gold looked at Regina almost dumb-founded, "A side effect. You know Regina, it's remarkable you'd cast a curse you know so little about."
"My victims are not supposed to wake up. So I certainly never cared about what happened to them," Regina spoke coldly as Gold and then at Snow who was glaring at her with a death look, she could understand why.
Gold walked over to his briefcase that he had brought with him, inside were different sorts of potions and ingredients, certainly, for this kind of case, he didn't need much. just a couple drops of magic. "When people fall under a sleeping curse, the soul simply travels to a Netherworld where it resides until awoken," Gold explained as he started to get the 'cure' ready, "Now, this world his between life and death, and it's very real."
So the place Snow was going to wasn't a dream, she was actually physically going there all because of...Regina.
"However...even when the curse is broken, sometimes in sleep, the victims find their way back to that world," Gold spoke as he placed a couple of drops of his potion into the charm of a necklace, "Victims like you."
"This world is tormenting me once again every time I sleep, I want you to give me something that can keep me from that place, please Mr. Gold, there must be a way," Begged Snow. Then that's when Emma popped into her head, Emma was under the sleeping curse almost a week ago, what if she was going to this place too? She desperately hoped her little girl was safe from this Netherworld.
"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible Snow White, I can, however, provide you with something that will allow you to control your actions whilst in that world. And once one controls something, one no longer need fear it," He explained to the Queen as he held up the magical object that was going to do just as he said.
Snow gave him a confused look, "A necklace?" What was that going to help, she had a dozen of those upstairs on her nightstand.
"You wear this while you're sleeping, once you control the journey, the fear will stop. And then you can come and go as you please," Said Gold as he went to place the necklace into Snow's hand but before he could, he was surprised to see Regina reach up and stop her, "What is it now Miss. Mills?"
"Everything comes at a price with you, why should this be any different?"
Snow was confused on how come Regina was so against her taking the necklace, before if it even had the slightest chance of killing her in a way Regina wouldn't have stopped her one bit...but now, she seemed like a changed women.
"This one on me," Gold said with a wink as he placed it in Snow's delicate hands, watching as she eyed it up. That's when he noticed her little bundle of joy in the corner, they were so cute at that age, it only made him think of his Bae...his sweet Bae, he only wished he could turn back time and jump through that portal with him, but of course he was too weak, he couldn't give up his magic.
When David, Granny, and Ruby all arrived at the docks, Ruby got even more anxious when she saw Billys tow truck there. Of course, she knew the call was only because somebody left their truck double-parked at the cannery so she assumed that it was just Billy, but where was he?
"Great, who do I call to tow a tow truck?" David asked as he stepped out of the sheriff car and onto the docks looking around, "And where is Billy?"
Ruby walked out of the car with Granny behind her but she immediately stopped when she got a frightening sent from the air. "I smell blood." Immediately the worst thing came to mind, what if the reason she smelt blood was that she did something? What did she do?
Granny walked around the truck, she smelt something strange too. When she got to the front of the truck the sent was horrendous...when she looked down she was frightened at what she saw...Billys upper half, he was dead, blood was surrounding him. "I found Billy."
To David, Granny looked frightened so ultimately he walked over to where she was and saw the horrible sight...poor Billy. Suddenly an ear killing scream was heard from Ruby, immediately both he and Granny ran over to her. "Ruby, what is it?" The sight only got worse, it was Billys bottom half coming out the dumpster.
"It was the wolf! It was me!" Ruby cried out, she was terrified, she knew it was her, there was no other explanation for what could've happened. She killed an innocent guy in cold blood.
David ran to her side, he knew Ruby wouldn't have done something like this, wolf or no wolf, he knew her. "It had to have been something elseRuby."
"No, I did this! We both know it!" Exclaimed Ruby, she wanted to be put away for her crimes, she was no longer safe.
David shook his head, he refused to believe it was her, "No. Almost a month ago everyone thought Mary-margaret was guilty of murder. She needed someone to believe in her, which a lot of you didn't. I am not going to make that mistake Ruby!" He tried to tell her all he could to calm her down, but he didn't know what else to say.
"Snow never killed anyone before, I have" She tried telling him as a tear made its way down her cheek, to this day she still has nightmares of what she did to Peter.
"I know who you really are, Ruby, even if you've lost sight of it." What else could he tell her to make her believe she didn't do this crime.
Ruby shook her head, "That doesn't change the fact that I am going to change again tonight, and somebody else could get hurt."
"Maybe this isn't the place to talk about this, maybe somewhere more private" Granny noted as she pointed her head in the direction where all the townspeople were standing and watching them, by now they probably heard about what had happened to Billy.
"It's okay, I'll protect her," Said told Granny as he began to walk away.
"No! Lock me up," Ruby cried out, "If the freezer couldn't hold me then maybe a jail cell will. I don't need to be protected from other people David, other people need to be protected from me!" And with her final words spoken she turned around and was lead into the sheriffs' car by Granny.
The ride back to the station was more than awkward, Ruby couldn't see the fact that she didn't kill Billy, she only saw that she was the wolf so she must've done it. David had ended up getting a text from Snow telling him all about what had happened and what Gold had told her, he was glad that he gave her something to control it, but he was frightened to hear she was actually getting burned from going there.
Jefferson was taking a walk down Mainstreet when he noticed David, Ruby and Granny all get out of the sheriffs' car and walk inside the station, of course, he was curious about what was going on so he ended up crossing the street and running inside where he saw David locking Ruby in a cell that had chains wrapped around the bars.
"You'll be safe in here tonight," David assured her as he locked the cell door.
Ruby nodded, "Thank you."
"Thank me in the morning, by then I would have found you really killed Billy," David said as he walked into Emma's office and placed the keys back into the secured drawer.
Jefferson was stunned at what he heard, Billy the tow man was dead? The man that was flirting with Ruby last night at Grannys. Ruby was being framed for something that she didn't even do and everybody only saw what was right in front of them.
"Jefferson...what are you doing here?" David asked as he saw the man standing in the hallway.
"Oh, Well...I saw you three walking in here so I got curious," He said with a grin and a shrug.
Ruby looked at him from the cot in the cell, she remembered when he was locked inside and she came to deliver food, of course like her cursed persona she started flirting with him. "I killed Billy."
Jefferson walked up closer to her cell, it was a bit different for him to be on the outside and talking to an innocent on the inside. "I may not know much about you Ruby, but I know you would never kill anybody, somebody framed you and me and David are going to find out who."
"Uh, excuse me, who said I needed help?" David questioned, this man was bad luck. First, he kidnapped Emma and Snow, then helped Regina put Emma in a sleeping curse, and finally, his hat was the reason his daughter and son in law weren't here.
Jefferson walked up to the man and patted him on the shoulder, "Believe me, you're going to need all the help you can get to find out who killed Billy."
"You already have" A deep old rusty voice was heard as the sound of the station doors slammed shut, "That thing, the she-wolf"
Jefferson suddenly felt anger at this man and him calling her that, she was nothing more than a beautiful creature. Besides, how would he know that she killed Billy?
"Get out!" David snapped as he slapped the drawer shut and walked up this menace, "Whatever issues you have with me don't involve her."
"There's no proof Ruby had anything to do with Billy's death," Jefferson stated, trying to back up David against the excuse of a man. He remembered the days this man ruled over the kingdom well, it was a nightmare before people started calling it the White Kingdom they called it the Dark kingdom...or at least he had.
George looked this hatter in the eyes, he saw that sparkle, he once had it a long time ago for his wife, love. "It seems to me that you're allowing your emotions to cloud your judgement, you have feelings for this she-wolf, I can see it in your eyes."
Ruby's eyes lit up, was this true? Did Jefferson have unspoken feelings for her? Immediately she wanted to back him up, "Leave him alone!" She shouted. She felt a strange feeling in her gut, it was warm and tingly, did she had feelings for Jefferson too? No, she couldn't have, they were complete opposites.
"Protecting your friend at the peril of everyone else. I knew you'd slip up, shepherd, it was only a matter of time," George spoke in his regular cold, dark voice as he stared straight at David.
"What do you want for me?" David questioned with his arms folded across his chest.
Geroge walked slightly closer to his adopted son, "Justice," Geroge said loud enough only the two of them could hear, "Hand that over to me and let the town decide her fate, whether she dies or not."
David shook his head, did this man really think he was that stupid to do such a thing, he trusted him once before, thinking he was only helping him with a simple task but then come to find out that this man put him up for marriage and then killed his mother for choosing his own life path. "Never, I know exactly what kind of justice you want and you're not getting it."
"This town is bigger than you may think, Charming. I start telling people you're putting their and their children live in danger to protect your own interests, you'll have a mutiny on your hands," Said George, he knew all too well about this kind of thing, this is why he should've still been the rightful King.
"We'll see," David stepped closer to this man and stared him straight in his eyes, he may have been scared of him before, but not anymore, "You want her, then you have to go through me."
"And me" Jefferson added in coldly as he stepped next to David and stared into the man's dark eyes as well.
George looked at the two of them, he could tell this was going to be an interesting night. "I look forward to it."
David waited for the man to leave the station, they needed to change plans. Thinking carefully he could really only think of one thing. "Alright, I got it, here's the plan." The next half hour the group discussed what they were going to do and how they were going to help save Ruby, they all knew she was innocent.
Geroge was back, and this time he came with a mob, an angry mob. He had all told them what this monster had done to an innocent citizen of Storybrooke and how their believed Prince Charming was hiding her, he was against them, putting their lives in danger.
When they had returned the station was chained up, nobody could go in, or come out at the looks of it. He knew that wolf was inside just waiting in her cell, she knew was coming for her. "We won't cower in fear over this creature any longer! We know who she is! We know where's she's hiding! So why is she still alive!"
The mob started to cheer at Geroge's word, they were sucked into to believe what he believed.
"Because she's been harboured by one person...David Nolen!" Exclaimed George, "How many more people have to die before our prince decides to act! If he won't protect you then, I will!" He told the crowd as they cheered him along. Motioning to the man with the chain cutters he walked over to the chained door and broke the lock.
Everybody stormed in all at once, Geroge leading the rest. This was his moment, he was getting his revenge, he was getting his kingdom back.
As they all rounded the corner getting ready to jump on top of the she-wolf they saw nothing but an opened cell with nobody even in the station, not even the sheriff. Once again, this 'Prince Charming' had fouled him.
"Thanks for letting her hide here, the sheriffs' station isn't safe," Spoke Jefferson to Belle. So this was the girl that the dark one loved? She was a beauty.
Belle nodded as she walked up to where Granny and Ruby were getting the chains ready. "Of course, It,'s uh, it's not every day your friends..." Before she even got the chance to finish Ruby had cut her off.
"A monster," Said Ruby as she finished up on the chains with her arms folded across her chest. She was blunt, she knew what she was and nobody could tell her otherwise.
"Hunted, I was going to say 'hunted'" Belle corrected her. She knew what a real monster was more than anybody and she knew that they weren't always what you thought, it's what was on the inside what counted rather than on the outside, if she thought the other way, she would never have left with Rumplestiltskin and ended up falling in love with him...oh Rumple.
Granny could sense the mob getting closer, their screeching was picking up. "The crowds about six blocks from here, they'll be here any moment."
"Wait, you have wolf hearing too?" Belle asked amused by this newly found trait.
"It's not all rainbows and unicorns, especially when you run a hotel," Joked Granny, she heard many things in her cursed years
"Alright, I know what to do" Said Jefferson as he sat down at the large table quite, debating on what was going to happen.
David turned to him knicking his eyebrows together, "Haven't you done enough already Hatter? Every encounter we had with you, you put my family in danger somehow."
"Trust me, this is a good one. I know it'll work" Jefferson said. He understood why David probably didn't trust him, he did kidnap his wife and daughter and then help with the murder of his daughter which of course failed, and then he got his daughter and son-in-law stuck in the Enchanted Forest with no way back.
David was quiet for a moment, debating on what to do as he looked around at everybody in the room, they were looking at him as to give him a chance, it was all they had. "Alright, what is it, Hatter?"
Jefferson arched his eyebrows and gave the prince a nod, surprised at how he actually was giving him a chance. "Alright, so the only way this mob is going to back off is if we prove that Ruby had nothing to do with the murder of Billy," Jefferson explained.
Everybody looked at him as if he was hot-headed, had he not been listening for this entire time.
"What?" He didn't understand what he did.
"We already said that's what we had to do! Literally, I've been saying that ever since the station!" Snapped David, he knew this wasn't going to be a good idea to let this crazy man help.
"David, at least he's trying," Ruby told her friend.
"You didn't let me finish, we need Granny for this," Jefferson said as he pointed over to the old women who still had her crossbow in hand, "We should probably go now before anybody suspects where we are."
David didn't know why he was doing this if Killian or Emma were here they wouldn't have let Jefferson in on this case. "Alright, fine. If the mob finds where you are, call us."
Belle nodded her head, she understood well.
Granny and David started to walk out when David stopped and noticed Jefferson wasn't following, why? "Jefferson, you coming?"
Jefferson looked at Ruby, she was frightened, "Uh no, I think I'll stay here, just in case anything happens."
"Well, what the plan then? Why is Granny so important on this?"
"Her sniffer," Jefferson said as he pointed at his nose and smiled as he sunk down into his chair with a cheeky grin.
Then it made all sense to David and what was to happen.
It had been a long day and they both knew it was going to be a long night. They all eagerly wanted to know who really was the murder and to actually get help for Ruby, this mutiny wouldn't end until then.
"David! David!"
David turned his head to see Snow running down the street waving to him with Neal strapped to her chest. "Snow, what are you doing here?"
"What? Do you think I'm not going to help find the person who's framing my best friend?" Ask Snow with an arched brow.
David smiled and didn't bother to fight back, he knew he would lose, Snow always won anyway.
"This way," Granny said as she sniffed a piece of Rubys clothing she had found in her closet...there was terrifying things in there, the most terrifying was some wand that would vibrate...what was the use of that?
David and Snow both followed Granny, having no idea where she was taking them.
As the ran down the street and rounded a corner, they slowed down as Granny stopped in front of a car. "The trunk," Granny said as David popped open and searched the entire area...he didn't see any red cape, that was until he saw a hidden dash that was under everything, that's where the cape laid with a hatchet on top.
Granny gasped, somebody truly did try to frame, Ruby.
"The wolf didn't kill Billy," Said David as he grabbed a hold of the red fabric and held it in his hands.
"So she'd be forced to change back into a wolf and this person could blame Ruby so everybody could turn on her," Snow spoke as she bounces her boy, she was glad he was asleep right now.
"So whoever killed Billy cold pin the murder on her," Said David.
"Who would want to hurt my Ruby?" Granny questioned, she had thought that everybody was good with Ruby, they all knew who she was, they loved her.
David looked around, his mind was all over the place with this case. Taking a crowbar that was laying in the trunk of this person car he went and smashed the drivers' side window.
"What do you see?" Snow asked as she covered Neal, making sure no glass flung over to him.
Once he found the registration, everything made sense to him now, "This isn't about Ruby, it's about me," David said, "Spencer, he needed a way to take back his power from me and Snow, so he created one."
"By going to Ruby?" Snow questioned, why was this man so cruel? First, he helped Regina go after her with the Kathryn case and now he's going after Ruby to get back at David and her.
Suddenly they all heard a loud howl coming from down the street...Ruby
I'm going to upload this chapter into 2 parts because I found this getting quite long.
I hope you guys are enjoying so far, we're going to see some MadWolf/RedHatter next chapter so I hope you enjoy that. Then, we'll be getting back to the CaptainSwan.