Chapter 33
Be A Good Girl
(Daniella's POV, two o'clock in the morning)
No matter how many times I tossed and turned, I couldn't get to sleep. When I asked Emma what they were going to do with mother, she said that she didn't know. I knew that they wouldn't kill her because of Henry and I. However, I didn't know when, or if they would release her from prison.
I let out an annoyed breath and got out of my bed, which was just a mattress on the floor. The apartment was small and since Snow and Charming occupied the bed on the first level, Emma and Henry slept in the bed on the second. It was a little chilly in the lounge room upstairs but at least, it was far from everyone. Even though they were snoring loudly, I was afraid that my tossing and turning would wake them up. I left Adelaide on the mattress and quietly went downstairs. Then, I retrieved my clothes from the bags that sat near the doorway. After lunch, Emma had driven Henry and I to the mansion to collect some things. She had risen an eyebrow when I came out of the house clutching my doll. To my surprise, she hadn't questioned me. Instead, she started talking about how she couldn't bear to let go of her baby blanket. I wish I could have had a glimpse of what my life looked like as a baby. But, that was impossible since the king ordered all of my possessions- clothes, blankets and toys to be burnt after I had been taken away.
Shaking my head, I rid myself of the thoughts about the past and padded softly to the door. Maybe I could sneak over to the Sheriff's station and see Mama. When I had put on my shoes and a jacket, I quietly opened the door and left. The streets were chilly and dark but I still had a vague idea of where the centre of town was. Turning left, I started to jog down the path under the yellow glow of streetlights. At the corner of my eyes, I realised that something else was glowing in the leaves of the trees that lined the streets. I stopped and approached one of the trees in curiosity. "Fireflies..."
I gasped in excitement. Even though my magic was taken away, magic of true love remains. I breathed out a sigh of happiness as I whispered to the critters, "Can you take me to Mama?" As the fireflies flew up into the sky and started heading in the direction that I was headed, I smiled. Thank you, mommy and daddy.
I followed the fireflies and tried my best to ignore the dark shadows that hid the end of the path in front of me. After minutes of walking, I became nervous. What if I was a fool in believing that the fireflies would lead me in the right direction? What if I was too hopeful? I exhaled loudly but continued to follow the fireflies. Soon however, the road beside me got wider. Moments later, I found myself on Main Street. The ground was a little wet from rain but under the yellow streetlights, the quietness of Storybrooke brought a smile to my face. I chuckled after realising that I was starting to like the town.
I knew that the Sheriff's station was close since it didn't take very long by car to go from Mr Gold's pawnshop to the station. Sure enough, I soon arrived outside the building. After watching the fireflies disappear into specks of stars in the sky, I approached the glass doors at the entrance. To my disappointment, they were locked, and couldn't be opened by key either. So, I ran around the building in hopes to find another entrance. Since there were none, I came back to the entrance. That's when I noticed a little keypad with numbers on it next to the doors. I frowned. Is this how doors are locked in this world?
I prodded one of the numbers and the screen above the pad lit up. Please enter security code.
I bit my lip and thought. Would the code have been set up by mother? If that's so...I entered the date that the curse was enacted. Error. Please try again.
I tried not to let panic settle in my stomach as I put in my mother's birthday. It didn't work either. Then, I tried every single possible password that could potentially have a connection to my mother. None of them worked. Eventually, I gave up and walked around the building again. That's when I heard a soft humming noise. I followed the noise until it lead me to a small window that was located high up, beside the leaves of a small tree. I paused on the garden bed and listened. I immediately recognised my mother's voice. She was humming the lullaby that she had used when I was a baby. My mouth dried up. "Mama?"
The humming stopped. "Mama?"
There was a pause. Then, a muffled reply, "Daniella?"
Smiling, I faced the wall and said louder, "Yes Mama, it's me-"
"Daniella! Oh, my darling firefly...how are you here? Are you alright? Wait, where are you?"
I hugged myself against the chill of the night and answered, "I'm outside. I...I can't get in."
"Your magic-"
I kicked the wall of the building and answered, "They got the gnat to put a cuff on me. I don't have magic now."
"What?!" Then, there was a long pause followed by, "I've got one on my wrist too. Daniella, are you alone?"
I hesitated but answered truthfully, "Yeah..."
"I thought-"
"They don't know that I'm here."
"Daniella, it's three am! You shouldn't be on the streets alone! It's not safe, considering everything that has happened recently."
My heart pounded as I replied hastily, "I couldn't sleep and I needed to see you! How can I get in?"
There was a short pause. Then, my mother continued, "There's a pinpad on the-"
"Yeah, I saw that. What's the password?"
"Your birthday, actually."
"What?!"
"Firefly, is there a problem?"
"No, it's just...I've already tried that. I've tried every single date that you could have used and none of them worked! Mama, didn't you set up the password?"
There was a growl. "They must have reset it with a new password."
My stomach dropped. I lowered my voice and breathed, "So I can't see you?"
"Daniella...I love you, but you've got to go back. It's not safe for you to be out on the streets by yourself."
I shook my head only to realise that she couldn't see me. "Mama I don't want to go back! I don't want to watch their...happy ending whilst you're sitting in a prison cell!"
"Firefly, this is only temporary. I'll find a way out. They weren't able to hold us in last time remember?"
"Yes I do, but..."
"This time it'll be different. I'll escape."
I frowned and looked around to make sure that there was no one around on the streets. Then, I asked softly, "How? You and I don't have magic right now."
"Yes, so it's simple isn't it? In order to deal with that problem, we'll have to get rid of the cuffs."
"But the Blue Fairy's the only one who's able to do that. And, well...after what happened this afternoon I doubt she'll even listen to me speak."
"What happened, firefly?"
I leaned against the wall and answered quietly, "She called me evil."
"Oh, firefly..."
I closed my eyes and huffed, "Doesn't matter. Anyway, how do we get our magic back?"
"We still need the Blue Fairy's magic to take away our cuffs, and well...in the Enchanted Forest, I managed to bottle some of her magic."
"But the Enchanted Forest doesn't exist anymore!"
"Says who?"
I frowned, "Charming said that you told him that..."
I heard my mother scoff, "No my dear, it does exist. If we return to our castle, we'll be able to take off these barbaric cuffs."
"But how do we get back? We need magic to open a portal..."
"In my vault, I have a few trinkets that should allow us to make Jefferson's hat work once more."
"But last time you were barely able to retrieve the apple!"
"Yes, that's because there was no magic in Storybrooke then."
I smiled and got up from the wall. "Great, so I just need to get the portal working-"
"No, you are not doing that by yourself!"
"Mama-"
"It's not safe, I will open it and go back to the Enchanted Forest with you."
I inhaled loudly as mother continued, "Daniella...promise me that you won't try and open that portal by yourself."
I sighed. "Ok...I promise."
"That's my girl. Now, you've seen my skeleton keys haven't you?"
"The ones that unlock the vault?"
"Yes. One of them should unlock my cell here. If you find them and bring them to me somehow, I can get out and make that portal."
I crossed my arms just as a gust of wind blew past. "Where are the keys?"
"In my office. But if you go there, make sure that no one sees you. Those keys cannot be stolen from you, understand?"
"I understand."
"Good." Then, mother sighed. "Firefly, you really have to get back, it's late and probably cold outside."
"Mama..." My voice wavered as I continued, "I don't wanna leave you."
"I know, I don't want to hear your voice leave either but we'll be together very soon if you accomplish your mission."
I chuckled, "Mission? Like one of Henry's operations?"
"I guess."
"Wait, Mama?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you still love Henry?"
There was a moment of silence. Then, mother answered, "I've raised him as my son for ten years." Sensing my silence, she added, "Why do you ask? I love you too, Daniella...you know that! You're what I have left of Daniel."
I twisted my hands together and replied, "Nothing, I just wanted to ask. I love you too, Mama."
Mother's voice softened as she whispered, "Daniella, you've got to go back now. Daniella...?"
I sniffled. "Alright. Good night Mama."
"Good night, my little firefly."
(At the apartment, in the morning)
Someone shook me awake softly. I expected to hear the gentle soothing voice of my mother. However, I was greeted instead by a high pitched, "Morning, Daniella."
I frowned in realisation as I felt my memories rush back into me. Mama's locked up and I'm put under Snow White's care. I groaned a reply to Snow just to make her go away. When I heard her footsteps exit the room, I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. I had slept less than four hours because of my trip to the Sheriff's station in the dark hours of morning. Even though I could barely keep my eyes open, I was happy that I had talked to mother...and formulated a plan. My school uniform lay folded on the chair beside my bed. Slowly, I put it on and padded across the cool wooden floor. Before I walked down the stairs and into the dining room, I paused. I sat at the top and put my hands over my face as I listened to flamboyant chatter that came from the dining room. A happy family.
I tried desperately to fight against the tears that threatened to fall down my face. As I swallowed, I flexed my wrists only to remember that there's a cuff on my arm, restricting me of my magic. I'm trapped, and I cannot escape. I continued sitting at the top of the staircase until I heard Emma's voice ask, "Where's Daniella?"
"I don't know. I've woken her up. I'll go get her." Snow's nearing footsteps forced me to stand up even though my limbs felt as if they were going to fold back into a ball at any minute. I trudged downstairs to meet Snow's concerned face. Without saying a word, I strode past her and towards the dining table. When I sat down, the loud conversation immediately died down. Henry had already finished his breakfast so after giving me a brief glance, he left. Charming had collected Henry's bowl and taken it to the kitchen so I was left in Emma and Snow's company.
"How did you sleep, Dani?"
I glared at the saviour and growled, "Why do you care?"
Snow immediately nudged me and gave me a look. I resisted an eyeroll. I'm living in a house with three people who have nearly killed me. How do you expect me to be cheerful, especially in the morning?
I ignored my pounding heartbeat and focused on the food in front of me. Despite how many times I told myself that I needed to not show any weakness in front of Snow's family, I was internally scared. Just watching David wash the knives in the kitchen gave me an uncomfortable feeling deep in my stomach.
Soon, Snow announced that it was time for Henry and I to follow her to school. I didn't want to go there. I didn't want to go and face all the people who would either edge away from me or whisper behind my back. But, I didn't have a choice. Silently, I grabbed my schoolbag and waited for Snow outside of the apartment with Henry. She came down after what I assumed to be a 'quick' kiss with Charming.
As we walked closer and closer to school, I lagged behind. Henry noticed and turned around to wait for me. However, I stopped. I couldn't. I just couldn't go. Snow realised that we weren't following her and she walked back to me. "Daniella, are you alright?"
I took a barely noticeable breath and forced my head to nod as if it had been programmed to do so. Snow frowned and I could see that she wasn't convinced. She turned to Henry and said, "We're not that far away from school...you know the way. You can go ahead, I'm sure your classmates will be looking forward to seeing you after the break due to the curse breaking."
Henry smiled and ran down the path as Snow turned back to me. Then, she asked softly, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
We continued walking and soon, the school gates came into view. In front of us, was a swarm of students walking to school. When they saw us, they whispered amongst themselves. I did my best to ignore them, planting a frown on my face. At least I was with Snow now. Without her, I could only expect to be confronted by people. When we were within the school gates, Snow turned to me and said, "There's going to be an assembly first thing in the morning. However I have to duck into the staffroom just to take care of a few matters. I trust that you'll be alright by yourself?"
"Yeah," I breathed shakily. Snow mustn't have noticed the hesitation in my voice for she walked away, leaving me in the courtyard by myself. Immediately, I felt the air become tighter. The cuff on my wrist was clawing at my magic; my only source of defence. I glanced nervously around me only to see that everyone in the playground were trying to sneak subtle glances towards my direction. I scanned the grounds and tried to spot anyone who I knew. Well, I certainly knew some people but I wasn't brave enough to approach them. When I finally convinced myself that I had to stop standing in the middle of the courtyard, I walked slowly to a group who used to be nobles back in the Enchanted Forest. I remember that they were either from King Midas' or George's kingdoms. When they spotted me approaching however, they suddenly started whispering amongst themselves. Then, the whole group migrated slowly away. My cheeks flushed red. I bet everyone in the playground saw what had happened. And I was right. When I whipped my head into the opposite direction, a couple of girls were caught off guard. They looked at me with fear in their eyes before scurrying away.
During assembly, I sat next a girl who seemed to be very uncomfortable with the fact that I was next to her. I was originally going to sit with Maria but she was surrounded by her friends. I settled at the back of the hall, close to where the teachers sat themselves.
Snow and the principal talked to the school about the slight changes that will be made to the curriculum due to the broken curse. Of course, new school rules were naturally added.
"No magic may be used on school premises, whether it be light or dark."
There were some heads that turned towards me as this statement was read out by Snow. I sighed and ignored them. I wish they would remember that I physically cannot perform any magic, thanks to the cuff on my wrists. I tried to tune out of the environment. It's going to be a long day until school ends.
*Flashback*
(Enchanted Forest, 6 months after Regina's marriage to the King, 3rd Person POV)
Lisa weaved past people with her hands pushing a cart of flour on her way to the kitchens. When she reached the storeroom, she heard loud voices inside. Opening the door, a group of five women looked up at her. Lisa frowned, "Was I interrupting something?"
One of the women shook her head. "No, of course not. Come join us, Cummings. Johanna's just having a little rant, aren't you?" She nudged Princess Snow's nanny who crossed her arms and huffed. Whilst Lisa heaved the bag of flour into it's place in the room, Johanna continued, "That girl doesn't know what she's doing! She doesn't know how to be a mother to Snow! She's acting like a brat, parading around in Eva's jewellery. She's-"
Lisa opened her mouth and cut in, "Are you talking about the Queen?"
Johanna snapped, "Yes, I'm talking about that girl."
Lisa looked around and saw that the expressions on the other servants' faces matched her own. She hastily whispered, "Don't let anyone hear you disrespect the Queen, Johanna. She's not Eva, but she's still King Leopold's wife."
Johanna huffed, "She'll never reach Queen Eva's standards. Nor will I let her-"
"And how to you plan to accomplish that? She's the Queen, she can do whatever she pleases."
"She's a girl! Barely over the age of eighteen!"
Lisa shrugged, "The King wanted to marry her, so it isn't our place to question his decision."
Johanna responded with a snort. "Mark my words, all of you. That brat married the King for power. She wants what Queen Eva had, but she'll never get it...despite that child she's brewing in her womb. The kingdom won't love her child as much as Eva's. She's fooling herself if she believes that we'll ever bow down to that child, instead of Snow."
Lisa sighed. "Come on, we can't stay here all morning. Also, I just hope that your opinions stay to yourself, Johanna. I don't want to be accused of siding with you if anyone finds out about what you said."
Lisa, Johanna, nor any of the women in the room realised that just a few seconds before they left the room, there was a rapid patter of footsteps running away from the door of the closed storeroom. The footsteps died down to let the girl who carried them catch her breath. After a few seconds of resting, the girl slid behind a suit of armour in an empty corridor and cried as she gently rubbed her pregnant belly.
*Present day*
(Daniella's POV)
For some reason, I couldn't spot Maria in the playground anywhere. She just seemed to have disappeared after class. She interacted with me a few times but was always pulled away by her friends each time there was a moment of silence between us. Snow was still our teacher so no one dared to say anything unpleasant to me. That however, was not the case during lunchtime.
I was walking along the side of the school building when Leyton and his gang came in the direction that I was headed towards. I knew I couldn't turn away, since it would just demonstrate that I was afraid of them. So, I set my face into a glare and continued walking, hoping that they would choose to ignore me. Unfortunately, they had other plans.
"Look what we have here, boys."
I rolled my eyes and tried to walk around them. However, they formed a circle around me and came closer. "We have the little freak! She hasn't changed much has she?"
I looked up to Leyton and seethed, "What do you want? I see that you haven't changed either."
"Oh, I want nothing much. Just wanna see if you still squeal when we push you over-" With that, I felt a sharp shove of hands on my back. Caught offguard, I fell onto the gravel ground and scraped my chin.
"What the hell do you-" I was silenced when someone kicked dust into my face. I spluttered and put my face down as I turned away.
"Look boys! She still squeals!"
I growled and stood up. When I saw a smudge of blood on my fingers after brushing them across my chin, my anger got the best of me. I screamed, "Don't you know who I am?"
The commotion must have attracted attention for I felt as if I was suddenly surrounded by more than just Leyton's group of boys. Someone at the back of the crowd scoffed and answered, "Of course we do, you're the daughter of the Queen! The Evil Queen!"
The crowd seemed to be moving me back against the wall. In a panicked tone, I commanded, "Stay back! Or I'll make you regret it!"
Leyton laughed out loud. "With what? Mommy dearest isn't here anymore to make sure you don't get hurt!" Someone else shouted, "Her magic is gone isn't it? She's powerless now! Just like the Queen!"
My heartbeats grew louder as the sound of blood pumped through my ears. My voice wavered in a reply, "Powerless? You'll think differently when I rip your heart out and crush it to dust!"
To my embarrassment, the crowd simply sniggered. Then, Leyton came towards me with his fist. I dodged it and tried kicking my way through the crowd. However, they held me back. Leyton chuckled as he walked closer. I snarled at his wide smiling face. No, I won't be humiliated in front of him again.
I pretended to falter, only to kick him as hard as I could in the vicinity of his groin. The crowd gasped as he buckled. Taking this opportunity, I advanced on top of him, feeling the rage unleash itself from my blood. I threw fists into his surprisingly skinny body. Around me, there were shouts and cheers. "Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight!" I bite back a smile since Leyton's efforts in getting me off were useless under my punches.
I pushed him down onto the gravel with all the strength I had, and as his face collided with the dust, I roared, "How does this feel, huh? Eat dirt you disgusting peasant!"
Leyton turned slightly as if he wanted to respond but I didn't give him a chance. I slapped him hard on the face, making it slam against the gravel again. I saw a tiny trickle of blood from his nose but it didn't comfort me yet. I hit him over and over again, distantly aware of my lunatic behaviour. Amongst the cheers, I heard someone scream, "Oh gods, she's gonna kill him!" I smiled at that and gritted my teeth. One punch came down. "That's for you and your gang at the orphanage!" Another. "That's for the stupid curse!" Another. "That's for my magic!"
I wanted to continue but suddenly, I felt a set of hands roughly grab my torso. I was heaved up and turned around to face a shocked look on Snow's face. Still feeling the adrenaline in my blood, I pushed away her hands from my body and glared at her. Another teacher had gone over and helped Leyton up. Snow scanned the crowd in horror and demanded, "What on earth happened here? Daniella? What did you do?!"
The playground was silent. I snarled at Leyton's bloodied face and seethed, "He deserved it." My cheek stung before I could register that Snow had raised her hand and swept it across my face. With my head turned down, I felt blood rush up to my head. "Daniella, you will follow me to the principal now."
I crossed my arms and bit back, "And what will she do? Send me home? Oh right, I don't have one because of you."
I ignored the murmurings of the crowd but instead of Snow replying, the other teacher stepped forward and sternly spoke, "You will go to the principal's office because your teacher, who also happens to be the Queen of the Enchanted Forest now, told you to do so."
My chest tightened as I glared at the teacher. Snow whispered something to her before turning back to me with a piercing look on her eyes.
I huffed and stormed off in the direction of the school building. The crowd parted easily, as if one step closer could kill.
