AN: Warning: Mentions of sexual assault

Edited: 25/07/2022

Introducing Mike Colter (Luke Cage) as Lance


After his afternoon shift at the Hidden One's, Lance the bartender sat at Granny's diner looking to find something warm and homemade to eat before he ended back out patrolling the borders of Storybrooke with a few other fellow former mercenaries to stop people from accidentally stepping over the border.

He had known the assassin for years working for her for years leading up to the dark curse. When she returned to the dying city after years of neglect he was the first to offer the mercenaries to help her overthrow Tybalt, it seemed to be the best decision of his life as he had enjoyed the redhead's loyal friendship ever since. Throughout the good and bad times she always had his and his brother's best interests at heart, something Tybalt never once cared about during the years he had been left in charge.

So to repay her, he and his men would help whenever they could with her vengeance against the other assassins. Wherever she was they would be there throughout the Enchanted Forest, only a wave of her hand away from helping her out of tight situations. The same went with the thieves that ran out of the city she protected.

Their loyalty remained in the Land of No Magic, he was cursed as the bartender and manager of the Hidden One's. He and few other mercenaries and thieves had been employed at the bar while only a few had a job in town.

Now uncursed and back to their regular self's, they were stuck patrolling every night for the Prince that only saw them as hired soldiers and criminals. They were in for another long night as even the drink and money Amelia was offering wasn't even doing anything from refusing to show up at the troll bridge to start the patrol.

Only at the moment she didn't seem to care what they did.

He didn't know what happened, but the redhead was refusing to come out of her office, only to go home to her apartment at the end of the day. Whatever happened involved the bruise that she didn't bother to hide around her neck. She would often show up with cuts or bruises back home and nothing was said about it more, but this time he saw the haunting in her eyes. She hadn't even gone to see the Queen. Which was highly unusual for the woman.

As he tucked into his meal his attention was deviated from the hot meal in front of him to the sounds of cheers and glasses being clinked together as he looked up to see none other than the Prince with a wide smile and a glass of mead in his hand with the dwarfs. Pausing he also saw Mother Superior celebrating with them.

"Hey Red" he called over the werewolf who was working bar. The she-wolf sauntered over to him with a friendly smile that did little to lighten his mood.

"Luke, you know you can call me Ruby" she told him with a friendly smile.

He mirrored her smile before continuing "What's happening over there?" he gestured to the rounds of cheers

"Didn't you hear? The dwarfs found fairy dust in the mines. Blue says she can use it to bring Emma and Snow back"

The mercenary rarely felt his stomach drop, but it did then.

"That's where they've been all this time" he spat in disbelief as his fork clattered onto his plate. Food forgotten as he fell back in his seat. He and the other's had been pulling double shifts for day's busting their ball's while the heroes were mining for fairy dust.

"Didn't..Amelia know?" Ruby hesitantly replied to the large built man seeing his simmering anger.

"Know what?"

"That they've been in the mines all this time"

"There's only one way to find out" he huffed as he threw a twenty-dollar bill on the table telling the waitress to keep the change. Angrily snatching his jacket from the coat rack his shoulder bumped into Albert Spencer's on the way out throwing a small 'sorry' back towards the former King heading straight to the bar looking for answers.


Sitting behind her desk in her office she drowned herself in paperwork, finding any excuse to not see anyone outside her bubble, which meant, No David or his allies. No Regina and No Henry. The last part made her heart break knowing he's been itching to see her again since their time in the stable's from the text's she gets from his grandfather. Before they were attacked by her childhood friend and Regina's fiancé. But she didn't want him to see the hand shaped bruise that wrapped around her neck.

Luckily for her she had always seemed to heal faster than the average person. The bruise that still remained was faint, but it was still there is she looked close enough. In the meantime, she had doubled her appointments with Dr. Archie since she killed her only childhood friend from hurting the woman she still loved and hid herself in her office and apartment.

The unhealthy choice as Dr. Hopper would like to put it.

The peace and quiet she gained from her choice was abruptly disturbed as the door to her office was burst in. Glancing up from her paperwork without stopping she saw that it was Lance's large figure filling the doorway "Please do come in, I've been looking for any excuse to punch someone lately" she drawled to the mercenary.

"Do you know about the dwarfs?" he started as he slammed shut the door behind him.

"That they are shorter than the average man. Yes, I did. I know we have all been cursed. But there's no need to point and stare"

"No" he said stomping towards her desk before leaning down with his hand resting wither side of her desk "While we've been breaking our backs pulling double shift, hardly seeing our families patrolling the border, they've been mining for fairy dust"

"And how much beer did you have to drink before this grand discovery" she replied before Lance closed fist hit her desk angrily making her look up forgetting her paperwork.

"I am not drunk" he lowly told the assassin who looking like she was about to stab him let alone punch him "The Prince and the dwarfs were celebrating their find at Granny's"

Amelia paused as Lance's anger towards her simmered down as it dawned on her what the Prince had done with her back turned "That's why he took them off patrol duty, he wanted to find the fairy dust for that damn hat" her bartender and friend summarized for her "Well? What are we gonna do? We can't stand for this"

The master assassin took pause thinking about her next move. She had to do something "Call the boy's on patrol tonight, tell them to go home. No more patrol's. I'll deal with the Prince myself" she coolly replied. Her answer seemed to do the trick as Lance let a sigh from his nose before leaving her office.

The Prince lied to her, and her mercenaries, the people who out their trust in her were hurt. She tried to warn the man and he didn't listen. His own gumption will be his own downfall if he is not careful.


The next day she tried to get a meeting with the David, only to be brushed off by an emergency, instead she had been sent to the loft. Henry had been having nightmares. She knew what they were like. Except she had to face her nightmare every day in the training ring and it was a matter of life or death that she got over them.

Stood in front of Charming's loft door she gently knocked on the wood already knowing who was on the other side minding her son, knowing she would have to face the music sooner rather than later.

"Melia" she heard the surprise in the dark brunette's voice seeing the redhead on the other side.

"David told me that Henry was having nightmares" Amelia told the woman "He's been asking for me"

"Or...he asked you to check in his own mother looking after him while he's gone" Regina retorted.

"He didn't mention you at all actually. I came to check in on Henry, having had experience's in them after all"

It was true, there were many nights the redhead would suddenly wake up in a cold sweat after a night terror, she would leave her bed and didn't return. Instead, she found fatherly comfort in her own father, she would often find them speaking in the garden at the apple tree. She never knew why she couldn't turn to her for the comfort. One of the worst one's she had was when she was suddenly awoken by a tight hand on her neck.

She didn't even know what she was doing until Regina had sent her across the room, waking her from her violent daze. That time she didn't return for a whole week. She knew who she was dreaming of, but she never spoke their names or what they did to her after she had crossed them off her list.

"Come on in" moving to the side she let the redhead slip into the loft hearing the door shut closed she found the boy in question sleeping soundly in the bed downstairs "He's been sleeping mainly" she informed her joining the redhead at the breakfast bar that was replied by a hum from the redhead.

The silence stretched between the pair as Amelia made herself comfortable at the breakfast bar with Regina on the other side. She was wondering this was also a clever ploy to get the women to speak against since what happened the stable's. They needed to talk about it, but the redhead was waiting for the brunette to start them off.

"I…didn't know you knew Daniel" Regina broke the silence between them as she slid a mug of coffee towards the assassin.

"He was a friend" she told her "His father ran the stable's in Monteriggioni, I met him when I started lessons, we were friends until his father got another job at a Duke's estate. I didn't realize he was your Daniel. I'm sorry"

Regina opened her mouth to speak after hearing how the redhead knew her fiancé when she was interrupted when Henry started to scream in his sleep. Jumping from their places the pair rounded the bed as the dark brunette roused her son from the nightmare.

"Henry? Henry, wake up. It's okay. It's okay. You're okay" Regina coaxed him out of his sleep as Amelia walked to the other side of the bed and sat down at the foot as Henry sat up awake with sweat covering his face. The first thing he saw was his mother and Amelia with him instead of his grandfather.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he panted out "Where's David?" he asked the pair

"He got an emergency call this morning, and he asked me and Melia to look after you" Henry looked towards the redhead at the foot of the bed who gave him a gentle smile before looking back to his mother "He told me you've been having nightmares. It's okay. You can-"Regina continued as she takes his left hand into her's in comfort only for him to recoil in pain.

"Ah!" he hissed in pain making Regina a grab his hand again to see a burn.

"Is that a burn?"


"Oh, yes. You were quite right to call me" Mr. Gold said to the pair of woman as they stood either side of Henry at the breakfast bar. The older man had received a frantic call from the boy's mother asking for assistance surprised to see the redhead already at the loft. But any comment about the united front they put on for the boy were put in hold when he saw the burn on his arm

"So y-you can help?"Henry asked him "It was just a dream"

"Well, what you're describing's certainly not a dream" Gold tells him

"Then, what was it?" Amelia asks him getting impatient with the mans riddles "I couldn't find anything magical that could've caused it" as soon as the burn happened her blinked her sixth sense to see any residual magic around the hand that might had caused it, but there was nothing. Her concern made the man smile to himself seeing how much she cared for the boy since the curse had broken. She was easy to read when it came to the people she cared about. One of her weaknesses. With her other one stood next to her trying to help her son.

"It's uh something your little trick won't be able to pick up on I'm afraid" he says making the redhead roll her eyes at him "A side effect" he stated his eye flickering to Regina "You know, it's remarkable you'd cast a curse you know so little about"

"Our vic-" she started only to get interrupted by Amelia clearing her throat, to correct the former Queen "My victims are not supposed to wake up. That's why I certainly never cared what happened to them after. …Until now" she looked down guiltily to her son. Gold turned and went to his bag that sat on the table behind him. The redhead watched the man's action's closely as he started to take various items out including a few vials of liquid and an old necklace as he spoke

"When people fall under a sleeping curse, the soul travels to a Netherworld, where it resides until awoken. Now, this world is between life and death, and it's very real. However, even when the curse is broken, sometimes, in sleep, the victims find their way back to that world. Victims like you" Gold tells Henry looking at his with some sympathy

"Victim's like Snow you mean?" Amelia spoke up from her spot.

"Certainly Miss Montague" he confirmed to the redhead as Regina escorted Henry to the man.

"This other world is tormenting my son every time he sleeps. I want you to give him something that will keep him from going there" Regina demands out of the man

"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible. I can, however, provide you with something that will allow him to control his actions whilst in that world. And once one controls something, one no longer need fear it" He holds up the finished product to the eleven year old – a necklace

"A necklace?" the boy questioned the man

"Yes. I gave Amelia here something like this back home. It allowed her to face the sources of her nightmares head on so to speak" he informed the boy. Regina glanced towards the redhead as Gold continued, the assassin didn't seem to flinch at the story. It was true "You wear this while you're sleeping. Once you control the journey, fear will stop. And then, you can come and go as you please" He tells the young boy as he extends the necklace to Henry, but Regina stops him from taking it.

"Everything comes at a price with you. What do you want for this?" the former Queen asked

"For a house call? You couldn't afford it. But this is for Henry. This one's on me" He hands the necklace to Henry, who, this time, takes it.

"Thanks' old man" Amelia spoke up from the breakfast bar making him look to her, with a nod.

"I'll uh see myself out" the old man announced before packing up his bag and leaving the three to themselves.

"Lia?" Henry called out the assassin making her look to him "Is what Mr. Gold said true?"

She knew there was no good lying to him. Or to his mother. "Yes Henry, it's true" she say's as she feels her phone buzz in her pocket, taking it out to see a text from David asking her a bizarre favor.

"Did it work?" his voice distracting her again

Letting out a sigh she pockets her phone and approached the boy, looking for comfort in what Gold had just given him, crouching down to his level "Henry, what I was going though wasn't a side effect of a sleeping curse" she started "It was a side effect of the things I was doing while I was awake. But the potion Mr. Gold was speaking of allowed me to take control of them while my mind slept, so yes it works, you can trust him on this, okay?"

Henry nodded with a tight-lipped smile at the redhead before throwing his arms around her neck in a tight hug that was quickly mirrored. Leaving a comforting kiss on his crown she pulled them apart and looked him straight in the eye.

"I've got to go and hold your grandpa's hand for a while, be good you your Mom okay" giving the assassin a firm nod she stood up and left the loft.


Once she left the hospital she headed straight to sheriff's station to present her findings to the former Prince. Ruby had gotten out during her wolf's time. And Billy the mechanic was now dead. David needed to her to have a look at the corpse and determine if it was actually a wolf. She was tempted to tell the Prince where to go after the previous night, but when he mentioned Albert Spence was gunning for him, she quickly forgot what she was mad about and told her she would help.

You see, Albert Spence wasn't just the town's Attorney General, he was formally King George. And she'd been waiting for an opportunity to get him back for what Prince James once did to her when she was only sixteen.

As she stepped into the station she was met with the sight of Ruby sat in a jail cell with chains tied around it's door as David turned around to see her. His shoulders physically relaxed as he let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the redhead as he crossed the bullpen "Amelia" he sighed out "Good you're here"

"Well as least someone's is" she replied as Ruby didn't even try and look up to see her as the sheriff directed her to the small office clsing the door behind him giving the she-wolf one last look of concern before focusing on the assassin in front of him.

"What did you find?" he asks her crossing his arms across his chest.

"Other than the look's I got from the orderly's, the cut's aren't animal, defiantly human" she reported to the man "Billy put up a good fight from the defensive wounds I found, whoever it was did their best to make it look like it"

"Are you sure?" he said giving the she-wolf another looks.

"Wolves use their teeth to take down their prey not their claws. If it was a wolf or a werewolf out of control, they wouldn't leave their food untouched there would at least be some bite marks and like I said Billy put up a fight."

A furrowed brow grew on the sheriff's face as he took in the new information "What could've they used, to make it look like it?"

"From my experience and there is a lot of it, it looks like an axe from the shape of the cuts"

"Your experience?" a curious brow rose of his face.

"Don't ask" she says opening the door back up "I'd reckon you'll have Billy's real killer by the morning" she says letting Ruby overhear her as Albert Spencer walked into the station making her skin crawl at the appearance of King George.

"You already have" the former King addressed the pair "That thing. That she-wolf" he sends the words towards Ruby.

At the Kings appearance David stormed out of the office to face the man head on "Get out. Whatever issues you have with me, don't involve her. There's no proof Ruby had anything to do with what happened"

Albert's eye's trailed across the redhead and the werewolf in cell, before landing back on the Prince "It seems to me, that you're allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment"

"Leave him alone" Ruby yelled from the cells only for the older man to ignore her.

"Protecting your friend at the peril of everyone else" Albert tells David "I knew you'd slip up, shepherd. It was only a matter of time"

"What do you want?" David demanded out of the man.

"Justice. Hand that over to me, and let the town decide her fate"

"Never. I know exactly what kind of justice you have in mind"

"This town is bigger than you think. I start telling people that you're putting their lives in danger to protect your own interests? You'll have a mutiny on your hands" Albert threatened the man.

"Yeah, we'll see. You want her, you have to go through me" David tells him

"And me" Amelia said without a beat, making the man look at her. Scoffing at the woman he turned back to the Prince.

"I look forward to that" at that he left the station


It was decided between the assassin and prince that the station was too dangerous to stay at the station, she couldn't take on an angry mob with spilling too much blood, which was no good for anyone. So, the safest place for Ruby was currently being cuffed to a radiator in the library. While David sorted out the arrangement with Belle and readied Granny to start their search for Billy's real killer, the assassin was left to her own thoughts as they drifted towards the former King.

She wondered if he even recognized her. It had been more than a decade since she and her father had met the King and his 'son' James. She never met the man again before he became distracted with David and Snow White. Even his alliance with the Evil Queen never involved her only when there was actual fighting between his armies and theirs. She made sure she stayed away from the man. He had always called her by her other name not Amelia, maybe he hadn't made the connection. Whatever it was he was keeping his cards close to his heart for now.

"You ready to go?" David's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"As I'll ever be" she went to leave only for the man to get in her way.

"Wait. What was that back there?

"Back where"

"At the station. With my father. You seemed to tense up seeing him"

Amelia scoffed at the man "Please, that man is not your father, I know what Rumple did"

"Then what is it? I know you fought for him back home"

"My business with him goes further back. From even before I met Snow and Regina. It's messy and I don't even think he even remember's me. So can we drop it until we can prove Spencer wrong" accepting her answer David nodded knowing that it could be answered another day, now they had to prove his friends innocence with a woman he once called his enemy.


With Billy's overall's in hand and Granny's keen sense of smell David and Amelia followed the grandmother through Storybrooke on the moon lit night as she followed the scent. The prince had tried to get Amelia to use her 'special gift' she exhibited while on the hunt for Belle days ago only to let the Prince down telling him it only came in handy when following an actual person or a trail of blood, which either was not available to them at that moment.

The grandmother had led them down the street leading them to black car to the trunk Granny guided them as she heard the angry mob the King George had promised them.

"You might want hurry up there Sheriff" Amelia gently reminded the prince as he managed to unlock the trunk door. It looked like just any other trunk, nothing incriminating as Amelia switch on her sixth sense. A faint gold glow emitted from the spare tire compartment as she pushed herself forward between the pair to pull it open "Wait, underneath"

David looked to her, taking him by surprise to see her eyes almost glowing in the darkness. That must be her gift then. Doing what she told him he opened the compartment on the floor of the trunk to find a bloodied hatchet and Ruby's signature red hood from back home. She was right.

"The wolf didn't kill Billy" Amelia tells them as her eyesight went back to normal.

"Ruby's hood" Granny gasped as the Prince took it out of the trunk.

"So, she'd be forced to change back into a wolf. So whoever killed Billy could pin the murder on her" David easily deduces.

"Who would want to hurt my Ruby?" Granny asks them.

"Present company not included, hopefully?" Amelia inquired as she snatched up a crowbar from the trunk, rounding the car with David following her as she flips the bar in her hand before sending it into the drivers widow, smashing the glass before leaning in, ignoring the small shards of glass as rifled through the glove compartment until she pulled out the driver's licence and papers, pulling herself out as David joined behind her reading who the owner of the car was.

"This isn't about Ruby. It's about me" David says taking the licence from the redhead "Spencer"

"King George?" Granny said.

"David" Amelia caught the sheriff's attention "He needed a reason to wrestle power away from you, so he created one" she tells him just as they her a wolf howling in the distance.

"She's out" Granny stated the obvious.

"The mob. They're going to kill her" David said and the three went running.


Splitting from the grandmother and the prince the assassin easily tracked the mob until they came to a chain link fence that partitioned the street from an alley Red was using to hide from the angry mob in her wolf form.

Leading the group around the corner, Albert found the she-wolf cowering between industrial bins only to stop when Amelia sauntered out, putting herself between the werewolf, King George and his torch wielding mob.

"You arranged an angry mob without inviting me? How rude" she said to the former King

"Step aside Widow" he spat out the last word "this has nothing to do with you"

"Oh, I think it does" she calmly retorted

A smirk grew on the man face as a chuckle escaped "Look at you. Trying to be the hero" he drawled "You have more blood on your hand than that thing does, and yet you stand here to stop justice run its course"

"There is no justice here, not when we know who the real killer is" murmurs came from the angry mob as doubt started to spread. Planting the seeds to Albert's downfall.

"Enough!" the former King bellowed at the crowd as he slowly rose him arm up aiming the gun he held at the assassins head as a growl is heard from the wolf herself "Let's see if you can beat a bullet assassin"

Holding her ground the redhead stared down the barrel of the gun as she waited for the King to pull the trigger. The gun goes off just as a crossbow bolt hit it sending the bullet into something down the alley making it explode. Her left ear rung out as she ducked her head as she saw the source of the crossbow and her new saviour Granny, who was standing on top of David's sheriff car with her weapon in hand.

"The next one goes between your eyes!" Granny warned Spencer as David pushes his way through the crowd.

"Listen to me! Ruby didn't kill Billy" David addressed the crowd turning to Spencer "He did. He stole her cloak and killed Billy in cold blood to make it look like a wolf. All to get you to think I wasn't leading this town as I should." The wolf suddenly growled making the crowd start to move forward but David stopped them. "Hold up! Somebody already died because of what this man did. Let's not spill more blood. She won't hurt anyone. She's just scared"

To prove his point, he turned and walked down the alley slowly approaching the werewolf with the red cloak in hand "Ruby?" he called out to his friend "I know you're in there, so listen to me. It was Spencer, not you. Don't let him trick you into thinking you're a monster" he says only to make her growl "Alright, alright. Poor… Poor choice of words. Please. Ruby. I know you. I know the real you, and I know you can control the wolf. Ruby. Ruby? Ruby" David's hand is now inches from Ruby "It's me – David" The wolf stops growling and obediently sits. David quickly throws the hood over Ruby, transforming her back into a human.

Amelia was transfixed on the scene in front of her how he managed to talk through to her in her worst form. She didn't know why she was so drawn to it.

She was watching the scene so intently she hadn't realized that Spencer had ran away from her before she heard a small commotion behind her to see Granny on the ground. Running forward, she, David and Ruby helped the older woman off the floor.

"What happened? Where's Spencer?" David asked the grandmother.

"He's gone" she tells them.

"Go" Amelia tells the man making him look at her as Granny kept a tight grip on her hand as she got her bearings from being pushed on the concrete "I've got everything here. Go" she insists.

David nods at the assassin "Okay" at that the Sheriff ran after the man with Ruby following close behind him leaving her with the elderly grandmother.

"Thanks for the save Granny" she tells her as she assists the older woman on her feet "But between us, you should've gone with between the eye's"

"Your welcome dear" Granny huffs at the redhead.


The hat was gone. Spencer destroyed it. With it any hope of using it to get Emma and Snow back.

So, this is what it felt like to get back to square one. It sucked. Something she had never let herself feel that sort of disappointment before. David caught up with her at the station telling her not to give up hope. Blah. Blah. Blah. Honestly she didn't listen to it, she just wanted to get away from the prince and finally face the man that was partly responsible to what happened to her by his son.

David needed Spencer in a more secure place after he arrested him. She knew the perfect place to put him

With David returning to the loft to be with Henry. Amelia headed to the hospital where she was let into the building's basement, she was greeted by Nurse Rachet who sat behind a desk like it was the most normal thing in the world as a zombie like patient mopped over that same stop of tiles.

Taking herself down the hall she quickly found the cell David had told her Spencer was in, she let herself into the cell with him still dressed in his own clothes sitting on the uncomfortable looking mattress, she let the door shut behind her as she broke the silence that had engulfed the pair.

"Enjoying your new home, Spence?" she greeted the former King.

"Widow how nice of you to visit" he replied "I expected you'd come sooner to see me in this...hole"

"You should be pleased with this one" she states casually pacing the small room "I called in a favor with the Mayor to make sure you get one of the best. We were friends once"

"Yes, I remember" he answers her "I also remembered your reluctance for such a partnership. I've always wondered why"

"Well, it was her decision to make, I was only there to advise, it was up to her to listen which wasn't much"

"You know you have an uncanny resemblance to a girl I once knew" he suddenly says "We came to meet when she and her master saw to seek refuge from a storm that had swept through. My son James took a liking to her straight away, I tried to discourage it. But you know young boys, they don't listen"

She knew the next part of the story, she remembered it every night and day after it happened. It's what made Claudius accelerate her training by a few years, he couldn't risk his best apprentice falling pregnant with a Prince's bastard just as she was showing signs of being the Master Assassin she was prophesied to be. Not that she wanted it to happen. He was too strong for her. She was only thankful that Paola the madam of the brothel she lived in saw the pain she was in, she knew the look best.

"Is there any point to this story?" the redhead interrupted him.

"You thought I wouldn't recognize you Amelia" the smile that grew on his face made her stomach churn, it was the same one he used to welcome her and Romeo into his castle all those years ago.

"I did punish him once I found out what he did to you. When the Brotherhood of Assassin no longer want to trade with you, it can only be for one reason for it. It took a while, I must admit, but then I remembered the look on your face when you left. You were broken"

"Do I look broken now?" the redhead asks him holding his gaze.

"You look like a woman that's accomplished her mission. But I still don't understand why you would want to help the Shepherd. Regret perhaps?"

"Trust me Your Majesty. The only thing I regret is that I wasn't the one that killed James. And I would've enjoyed it so much" with those last words the assassin left the man to his cell.


AN: Hello!

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