Chapter 4:
Bella spent the entire day reading the storybook, taking notes on people and events, and she was just finished when Emma called her to ask if she wanted to join Henry and her for a hot chocolate after his session with Archie. Of course she agreed and, taking the Storybook to give it back to the boy, she went into the dinner, ready to show Henry the last page and ask him what he knew about it.
"So, what do you think Bella?" Henry asked Bella as soon as she arrived.
"Did you see this?" Bella asked him in return, showing him the very last page of the book and the short paragraph that spoke about her without answering his question.
"What is it?" Emma asked her, worried about her best friend's suddenly very serious face.
"I did… At first I didn't know who it was until you introduced yourself when I went to get Emma." Henry replied while Bella pushed the book in front of Emma so she could read it.
"Don't tell me that you're going to believe this curse theory just because of this thing?" Emma asked Bella after having read it.
"I can't help it Emma… When I held the book, everything made sense and… I don't know how to explain it but I…" Bella stopped, looking for the right words.
"What is it?" Emma and Henry asked.
"I've seen this book before, a long time ago, in a dream… Remember Emma, the dreams I told you seemed like memories trying to come back? Well, I've seen this book in one of them." Bella explained.
"So maybe the author of the book is your father." Henry exclaimed.
"I don't know, but if what's on this page is true, then we need the curse to be broken before we look for him." Bella shook her head.
"Oh come on…" Emma rolled her eyes, but was ignored.
"You can't look for him, it's written right here that someone else will have to look for him. We'll need to find out who the Truest believer is and ask him or her to look for your father." Henry reminded her, pointing to the right sentence on the page.
"If you and I have magic why didn't anything weird happen to us before?" Emma asked, trying to prove her point.
"Because magic isn't natural in this world. Maybe you just need to concentrate harder or something." Henry suggested.
"I've been thinking… The curse was cast by the Evil Queen but it's Rumpelstiltskin who created it to be able to come here and find his son again. Something tells me that he might know exactly what's going on here and how to fix it." Bella told Henry.
"You think he wasn't touched by the curse?" He asked her.
As they spoke, Emma looked in the book to a picture of Snow White, pregnant, and Charming by her side. So what if Snow White looked like Mary-Margaret and Prince Charming looked like David Nolan? Even if Bella believed, the fact that Bella's instinct had never been wrong before wasn't enough for Emma to believe as well. She needed more.
"I think it's a possibility. Do you know who he is in this town?"
"No, sorry…" Henry shrugged his shoulders.
"He's made a deal with the Evil Queen to have lots of properties and he likes to make deals… Shouldn't be too hard to find." Bella told him.
"What about Mister Gold?" Emma asked, surprising herself by involving herself with something that couldn't possibly be real.
"You're right, he'd be the perfect Dark One." Henry exclaimed.
"I'll check him out tomorrow then." Bella decided.
"Be careful Bella. I don't know about evil wizards, but he's definitely a dangerous man here." Emma warned her friend who nodded.
"So, Bella, you're in on operation Cobra then?" Henry asked the young woman.
"What's Operation Cobra?"
"It's the name of the Operation to break the curse." Emma informed her.
"Then yes, I am. Who else is a part of it?" She asked him.
"Well you, Emma and me. Archie as well." Henry informed her happily.
"What about Mary-Margaret?" Bella asked.
"I don't think she's ready to believe." Henry shook his head before he looked at the clock and told them that he needed to go.
"Can I keep the book a while longer?" Bella asked him and he nodded before waving goodbye and running through the back door to leave.
"You really believe in this, don't you?" Emma asked her friend.
"I do… Please just give us a chance to convince you Emma. All you have to do is be ready to believe and hold the book."
"What's that going to do?" Emma asked her.
"Well, when I held it, it was like… I don't know… images rushing in my head, making sense… After that, I knew when I saw Ruby that she's Red, that Mary-Margaret is Snow and that the widow Lucas is, well, Granny." Bella told Emma.
"I just touched the book to turn a few pages, it didn't do anything." Emma tried to argue.
"Try it again, please. Hold it with both hands, open you mind and your heart, be willing to believe." Bella pleaded and with a deep breath, Emma did as she was asked.
Emma closed the book, which was still open in front of her and she took it in both of her hand, doing as she was asked and opening her mind to the possibility of magic and the curse being real.
Just like Bella had tried to describe, Emma was surprised by a rush of fairy-tale images. Her father, fighting black knights with her in his arms so he could get her to safety, her mother's tears as she realized that she'd have to leave her daughter, Regina ripping the Huntsman's heart out… everything was suddenly becoming real and making sense.
Bella smiled when a single tear started to drop from Emma's eyes.
"Are you okay?" Bella asked her.
"I… I don't know… I think I need some air…"
"Come on, let's take a walk." Bella offered and Emma nodded, the book still clutched in her arms.
The two young women took less than 10 steps before they were interrupted by Sheriff Graham.
"Emma!" He exclaimed.
"Graham… Bella, this is the Sheriff." Emma introduced them, a torn look on her face.
"Emma, we need to talk." He said after a nod in Bella's direction.
"We have nothing to talk about." Emma replied.
She had let herself open up to him and start having feelings for him but he was having an affair with Regina. Of course, now she knew that Regina held his heart but still, it disgusted her to even think about it.
"It's not what you think, I don't feel anything for her!" He pleaded.
"I… I'll go wait over there Emma." Bella said, grabbing the storybook and stepping away to give them privacy.
She tried not to listen to their conversation but it was obvious that Graham was confused and when Emma asked him for explanations, he simply grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her before he stepped away, eyes wide open.
"What was that? Did you see that?" He asked Emma.
"I think that you need to get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." Emma told him, in a softer tone.
"Emma…" He started but she cut him off.
"Get some sleep Graham. I promise we'll talk tomorrow at the station. It will all make sense."
They both watched as the Sheriff nodded and turned to go home.
"So, you want to talk about this?" Bella asked Emma.
"This is too much to take… First this curse thing is real, now Graham… I mean, he saved my mother's life so I wouldn't even be alive without him, and now I'm starting to have feelings for him, feelings I don't want by the way, and I find out that he and Regina are having an affair. But since the curse is real, then she holds his heart, which means that he might not be truly willing. Man, Regina is one twisted woman." Emma shook her head as they walked.
"Did you see his reaction when you kissed him?" Bella asked her.
"Yes, I did. So what?" Emma asked, confused.
"Maybe magic does exist here, even if it's rare. I think you made him remember part of it. He might remember more after sleeping." Bella suggested.
"How would I have done that?"
"Well, you're the product of True Love and True Love's kiss can break any curse. Now that you believe, maybe you made him believe part of it with this small kiss…"
"If you tell me that I have to start making out with everyone in town to break this curse, I'll kill you." Emma threatened her.
"No, I think you'll break the curse with a real kiss of True Love but until then, it might be good if he remembered. We could look for his heart, give it back to him and have him on our side…" Bella suggested.
"Well, we're not going to find out anything until tomorrow..." Emma started to say before her eyes fell on Mary-Margaret who was on the other side of the road.
"You want to tell her about this?"
"She wouldn't believe it." Emma shook her head, looking like a lost little girl once more.
"You shouldn't underestimate her. Come on, let's go. We'll try it. Start by telling her about who Henry 'thinks' you are and how people are supposed to believe. Maybe she'll be willing to try, if not, then we'll pass on to another subject and try again another time." Bella suggested and Emma nodded, knowing that nothing could stop Bella when she had something on her mind.
.
The sorcerer's thoughts
I think things will move on quickly now... At least I hope it does. Maybe Bella won't have to speak to the Dark One on her own, maybe she'll be safe enough to bring someone along. He better behave himself though or he'll end up being nothing more than another star on my hat. I won't allow him to hurt her or anyone she cares about.
He once showed me that he could redeem himself, that he could be a good man if he had the right person in his life. This is his chance to do it, in this world, in this town. I included the story of Regina locking Belle away in her tower in the storybook for this reason exactly. They save Belle, give the Dark One hope for a happier, better future.
As they made their way to Snow White's loft, I smiled at how hopeful my daughter was being. Her hope and faith in good would save them all, I know it because my hope and faith is what helped me hold on for so long. It's the reason she's here.
She might be my daughter, but she's also the daughter of hope and faith because she has them in her and without them, she wouldn't be alive. That alone would make her more powerful than the savior.
.
When he arrived back to his apartment, Graham noticed that he had a message waiting on his answering machine and he recognized the number as Regina's. He decided to ignore it and to do what Emma advised him to do: get some sleep. He trusted her, for some reason, he trusted her and he knew that she'd explain everything the next day like she promised she would.
While he slept, images kept on rushing through Graham's mind.
Snow White, the Evil Queen. Mary-Margaret, Regina.
His heart being ripped out of his chest by Regina because he had saved Snow White, being forced to do everything the Evil Queen wanted of him.
This explained why he couldn't stay away from her, she held his heart, physically, and he needed to get it back or she'd be able to crush it and kill him or worst, to force him to hurt Emma.
Another image haunted him: his wolf.
It forced him to think back to his walks through the woods and to the wolf who often followed him with a distance. It was his wolf, his friend. He had to find him, let him know that he remembered, that everything would be fine. Also, didn't Emma say that she'd seen a wolf the first night when she tried to leave this town? Was it his wolf or another one?
So? Liked it? Hated it? Tell me.
;-)
Lorelei Candice Black