Chapter 17:
Jefferson had prepared everything to leave Storybrook with Grace. The hat that Bella had made worked and he'd be able to go to Wonderland, where he had a nice house ready to welcome him and his daughter. He had already made a few trips with boxes and bags while his daughter kept on packing. They'd be together and have a nice life because the inhabitants of Wonderland were always ready to spend lots of money in order to have his hats. They'd also be away from Regina and that was something he desperately wanted. To make sure the Evil Queen wouldn't be able to hurt his daughter ever again.
"When are we leaving, Papa?" Grace asked him after he came back from his final trip.
"Tonight. I need to speak with the Savior first. Pack everything else you want to take with you." He told her and she nodded, smiled and rushed to her bedroom to pack everything she wanted to take with her, from dolls to tea-sets and fluffy toys.
While she packed, Jefferson called Bella and asked her to come see him with Emma as soon as possible and so the two young women arrived less than an hour later to see what he wanted.
"Hey Jefferson, what's going on?" Bella asked him.
"Well, magic is back and the hat you made for me works so I'm going to us it to go back to Wonderland with Grace. We're leaving tonight and I just wanted to say goodbye, thank you, and give you my house." Jefferson told them.
"You're welcome and what? You can't give us your house, it's yours!" Bella exclaimed.
"Except I won't be using it anymore and I don't need it. Might as well be used by someone and since you helped me and you broke the curse… You both deserve it." He argued.
"That's very generous of you, thank you." Emma replied, thinking that this house would definitely be large enough to fit her parents, her son and her boyfriend in it.
Then, Jefferson gave them a double of the keys, telling them where he'd leave his set before he left and the two friends left him to his packing.
"You can have it, Emma. I like being on my own for now and it'll be better for you and your family." Bella told her with a smile.
"Thanks, just this morning we were talking of looking for a bigger roof." Emma smiled.
"Well you have one now."
"Maybe you can move in the loft, then." Emma suggested as they made their way back in town where Graham, Snow and Charming were waiting to find out what was going on.
Emma explained everything and everyone agreed that her idea was the best one yet. Bella would move in the loft the next day, with the help of August and Ruby, while Snow, Emma, Charming, Henry and Graham would move in to Jefferson's house with the help of the seven dwarfs.
"Leroy suggested that we took Regina's house since she took everything from us but it didn't feel right. I don't see myself happy in that house." Mary-Margaret informed them.
"I can see why." Bella nodded.
"But you're still taking leadership, right?" Henry asked.
"Well, someone needs to be in charge and since everyone I cross just assumes that David and I are in charge, I guess we will be. We're planning on going to the mayor's office this afternoon to sort everything out." Snow replied.
"It makes sense, you would be queen if it weren't for Regina." Bella nodded.
"If it weren't for Regina, my father would still be alive and I wouldn't need to be queen, I'd still be a princess." Mary-Margaret replied with a hint of sadness.
.
Leroy and his 6 brothers had been back at working in the mines for a few days now. Everyone needed fairy dust and even though he was still a little uneasy with Blue after what she forced him to do, he knew that fairy dust would be useful not only to Blue but also to Snow and her family.
After the curse had been broken, Leroy had been torn. Even without any memories, he had managed to fall in love with Nova, Astrid here. That surely had to mean something, right? He had tried to talk about it with Archie but the good Cricket didn't really know what to tell him. The usual advice would be to follow his heart but when the object of his affection was a nun/fairy, that seemed to be bad advice, so he had done his best to avoid her.
It hadn't been easy, especially since she came to the docks everyday and sat by his boat, waiting for him to show up. He managed to stay away for a few days before he gave up and went to talk to her.
"I thought you'd stay away longer than that." She said as soon as he stepped out of the shadows to join her.
"I tried, but I'm not strong enough apparently." He replied.
"You lied to me. Back in the Enchanted Forest I mean." She mentioned, surprisingly not angry.
"Yes, I did." He admitted, guilt evident all over him.
"Why?"
"Because Blue managed to convince me that I would destroy your future, that you deserved better than a dwarf. That I would prevent you from becoming a fairy godmother. I thought I was doing what was best for you." He replied honestly.
"Did it hurt? Did you want to go with me?" She asked him, needing to know that it was all still real between them.
"Of course I did! Why do you think my name went from Dreamy to Grumpy?" He asked her in a slightly brusque tone.
"I was so heart-broken…" She whispered before he joined her on the bench and sat by her side.
"So was I."
"I still am."
"Me too. I… I still want it, it still hurts not to be with you, but Blue… You're still a fairy Nova." He replied in a low voice, afraid of being overheard.
"I still love you too. I… I need some time. I need to try and free myself from Blue without consequences. I don't know what but I think that something is going on with Blue and her lieutenants, her more trusted fairies. It's like there's something I don't know going on and I don't like it. I need some time to try and figure out what's going on and how to leave." She confessed.
"What if that means you lose your fairy powers?" He asked her.
"I don't care about my powers. If I keep them then it's great, if not then too bad but being happy is more important. I also believe that as long as I keep on believing in myself, my fairy powers won't go anywhere." Nova replied.
"Well, I'll always believe in you, and my brothers will be on our side." Leroy added.
"You're okay with waiting then?" She asked him nervously.
"I've been waiting for years, what's a few more weeks? Plus, it'll give me the time to get my place ready for you." He smiled happily.
"It might be best if we aren't seen together too often in case we're being watched by Blue." She suggested.
"You're right, I'll get my brothers to accidentally run into you every day, maybe Snow and her family will even help, I know Henry will. They'll be able to pass messages for us." Leroy nodded.
"Thanks. I have to go now or I'll be late. I'll tell you when I can join you as soon as I know." She assured him before she stood up.
At that moment, they both felt like kissing but knew that they couldn't, not yet. So instead they smiled and she turned around to walk away.
"It must have been how Romeo and Juliette felt when they couldn't be together." Leroy muttered to himself before he jumped on his boat to start on working on what needed to be fixed before he had to join his brothers for dinner at Granny's.
.
The next day, once Bella had moved out of her room at Granny's and in the Loft while the Charming family moved out of the loft and into Jefferson's large house, everyone met at Granny for a well deserved meal.
August and his father were there as well, they had helped Bella move in and surprised her with a beautiful hand crafted desk that they had made together, just for her, so she could have a nice place to write her books. Belle and Gold had also joined in and helped them, mostly with magic to speed things up a bit.
"Something wrong Leroy?" Bella asked him.
Granny was officially closed so nobody they didn't trust would hear his answer and Leroy told them of his conversation with Nova.
"See, I knew I had to have a reason not to like Blue!" Bella told Emma with a small smile.
"I had no idea she was capable of breaking two people up just for her own gain…" Snow shook her head.
"It doesn't surprise me. I never liked her. There was a time, well, several times truthfully, where she could have helped me and she chose not to. I'll never forgive her. It's her fault I became the Dark One, it's her fault I lost my son, it's her fault I grew up afraid of everything." Gold replied, adding the last part in a whisper.
.The sorcerer's thoughts.
Locked in my house, I frowned as I heard the new subject that came up.
Blue.
I never liked her and she never liked me, it's the one thing we agree on: we don't like each other. She doesn't like me because I know her, I know her secret, I know her fears and most of all, I know why she never went to Rumpelstiltskin's help when she could have. I'm surprised that with all of his Dark one's power, he never found out the truth but then again, he never tried to look for it. If he knew, if he was to find out, it would change everything.
If the truth about her ever came out, Blue would lose the faith of the people she'd lose her fairies, she'd lose her influence and maybe even her powers.
She could have helped him early on in his life, she could have prevented him from becoming the Dark One, from being left by his father, from becoming a coward, from being left by his wife, from losing his son… She could have prevented this curse from ever taking place.
Without Blue's actions, everything would be completely different because she created a chain reaction that made life as it is now. Regina, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Hook, Cora,… everything is her fault, even my having the let go of the woman I loved and of my little girl.
I hope my daughter figures out the truth eventually and reveals it to everyone but even now, I can feel that Blue is planning something against my baby girl. I don't know what but she's going to try and hurt her, one way or another. I just hope she can be stopped before she does anything too bad.
.End of the Sorcerer's thoughts.
That night, Bella went back to the loft with August, who spent the night there with her. She knew that she was falling in love with him and she could feel that they had a bright future ahead of them. They fit together perfectly and he was everything she ever wanted in a man.
.
In her office, Blue wasn't happy at all. She hated that Bella had helped August turn back into a man of flesh and bone. Who did she think she was going around breaking curses that weren't hers to break? That power belonged to her only, she was the one who was supposed to be the only one capable of breaking the spell she had placed on Pinocchio.
With a plan firmly in place in her head, Blue went in town and found Bella having lunch at Granny's with August, Marco and the complete Charming family. It wouldn't be easy to still look good to everyone after what she wanted to do but she knew that she could pull it off. The law was hard but it was the law and she knew that August hadn't told everyone the complete truth he had confessed so to her before the curse broke.
"Blue, do you want to join us?" Snow offered as soon as the fairy came inside the dinner.
"Thank you for this kind offer but I've already eaten. I'm here on a serious matter." Blue replied, looking grave.
"What's wrong?" Graham asked.
"August, Pinocchio." Blue stated, looking at the man that should still be made out of wood.
"I'm fine. What did I do?" he asked her, standing up, followed by his father and Bella.
"You know as well as I do that you shouldn't be back to being of flesh and bones Pinocchio. You might have been brave and unselfish since coming back in town but you haven't been completely truthful. You're still keeping a secret and you told me yourself that it was a big one, one that a lot of people would need to know. One that hurt Emma and would have changed her life." Blue said as Emma stood and everyone looked at him curiously.
"What is she speaking about August?" Emma asked.
"He's planning on revealing that secret, whatever it is. He's just waiting on the right moment to do so." Bella argued, feeling like something bad was about to happen.
"The right moment was the first time he saw her. Now it's too late." Blue replied, shaking her head sadly.
"You can't turn him back into wood! It would be unfair!" Bella argued.
"Please don't hurt my son, Blue." Marco pleaded at the same time as Bella spoke.
"I should turn him back into wood, but since magic is so tricky here, it might just turn him into a man size wooden puppet, it would kill him, so instead, I've decided to give him another chance. A chance to do better." Blue spoke.
It surprised Bella and August but they were glad. Maybe Blue wasn't that bad after all.
"Thank you, Blue." August nodded, hugging Bella to his side.
"As I said, I'm going to give you a second chance, one to do better, to be better. A chance to be a good boy." Blue replied, insisting on the last word, before she waved an ancient looking wand, one that was still charged with fairy dust, and turned August back into an 8 years old Pinocchio.
"What did you do?" Bella exclaimed when she saw her boyfriend turn back into a child.
"I gave him a second chance. I have to go now, do better and be a good boy Pinocchio." Blue said before she left the dinner and went back to the convent, satisfied that she had once again control over Pinocchio and that she had hurt Bella in the process.
.
As it turned out, the little boy didn't remember being the man and even though Marco was happy to have his little boy back, Bella was heartbroken.
"Bella…" Emma started to say but her friend shook her head.
"Please don't. Not now. I… I just want to be alone for a while." Bella replied before she made her way to her loft.
"I can't believe this… How could she do this…" Snow shook her head.
"Poor Bella." David added.
"Marco seemed happy though. I wonder what August's secret was." Henry declared.
"I don't know and whatever it was I forgive him for it. His life wasn't easy either and if he believed he was doing what was best for me, then I can't really blame him. Whatever he did got me here with you all, now. That's all that counts for me." Emma replied.
"Maybe you should give Bella some time alone but still go back to check on her later today." Graham suggested.
"You're right." Emma nodded.
.The sorcerer's thoughts.
Blue had really outdone herself. Turning August back into kid Pinocchio to hurt my daughter and pretending that she was doing it to give him a second chance and not to make his father suffer was deviously brilliant but then again, it was her way.
I hated seeing my daughter sad or heartbroken and I hated not being able to do anything to help her. I hoped that this wouldn't be too much for her, that it wouldn't be the one experience that made her decide not to believe in love anymore. I wanted her to keep that heart of hers, to keep on believing in love and in the fact that she deserved it. I wanted her to be happy…
I smiled with relief when, after her shift at the station, Emma joined Bella with ice cream, burgers and a bottle of wine. My daughter wasn't alone, she'd be fine.
What did you think? I know, Blue isn't good here and she won't be. Can you guess what her big secret is?
Don't forget to review please!
Lorelei Candice Black