Chapter 18:
About three days after August was turned back into a child, Bella finally left her loft and was seen in town again. She had received visits from a lot of people, mainly Emma, Snow White, Maleficent, Ruby, Belle and Granny and they all tried to cheer her up, to help her see the brighter side of things. Even Henry came over with a basket full of wine, chocolate, ice cream and DVD. He had googled up how to get over a break up and figured it would work for Bella as well. As touched as she had been by the boy's gesture, it hadn't been enough.
It's Marco who finally helped Bella out of her funk.
The old man felt terrible to be happy and to have completely overlooked how Bella must be feeling. He had dropped Pinocchio off at school before he came over to speak with her, hoping she would be willing to speak with him.
"I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner, Bella. I was so happy to finally have my boy back that I completely ignored how you must be feeling…" He started to say once she let him in.
"I understand, Marco. It's not you I'm angry at. You happiness is natural and well deserved, I assure you." She replied sincerely.
"You're kind. I want you to know that he did love you, he told me so on several occasions. He told me that he saw a future with you, one he didn't think he deserved but was looking forward too nonetheless. I… I brought you a bag he left at my place with all of the researches he has on Henry's book. I know that he had gotten them before coming here and that he has been looking into it once more since meeting you. He was hoping to find a clue about your father's identity in this… I don't think he did but it might still help you." The old man declared as he handed a bag to Bella.
"Thank you. I… I'll look into it later, or maybe get Henry to work on it, I think he will love having something like this to work on." She smiled, even though it didn't reach her eyes.
"Don't give up, alright?" He told her.
"He's not coming back for another 28 years and by then I'll be 28 years older than him. The other way for me to stay his age would be to put the sleeping curse on myself until he could wake me up and that would be selfish because this town needs my help. I have to give up. I'm sure we could find a way to bring him back with magic, Gold offered to do it, but it would only take him away from you and it would be selfish too. I know that he missed you growing up and he probably loves having the opportunity to do it all over with you." Bella replied.
Indeed, the very day it had happened, shortly after Emma had left her, Gold and Belle came over and the Dark One offered to change Pinocchio back into a man, stating that he could do it and had everything he needed to do so but Bella refused politely.
It would have been selfish to accept and she knew that it wouldn't be right. She just had to accept that she had lost him and try to move on.
"I wasn't speaking about August. I know that you're not the kind of person to try and get him back to who he was just for you. Gold came to see me after seeing you and told me of the offer he made you and of your answer. I was speaking of Love. Don't give up on Love, it's who you are. You deserve it more than anyone I know and I know that you'll get it eventually. Seeing me and my boy might be difficult for you in the coming days, maybe even months but I want you to know that I'm here for you. You were important to my boy and that makes you family. Whatever you need Bella, I'm here. Think of me as an uncle of sorts, alright?"
"Thank you Marco, I… I'm sure it won't be so hard soon. I just need time to adjust." Bella smiled, touched by the old man's offer.
"Don't ever think that you're alone, alright? You might not have any blood family in this town yet, or at least not that we know of, but I want you to know that I consider you family. I'm here for you." He assured her before she went closer to him and hugged him, feeling like she was being hugged by a beloved uncle.
Eventually, Marco had to leave and Bella went to shower. Once she was done showering, she sat at her desk and did the one thing she knew would help her move on: she wrote. She wrote for 8 hours straight, without pausing, and finished her last book in one go. Finishing her book had helped her sort through her thoughts and when she was done, she felt ready to face the world once more and, maybe, even take on Blue.
.
Maleficent was slowly finding her place in Storybrook and she found it surprisingly easy to be good, well, at least not to be evil. When she heard that the Blue fairy had turned Bella's boyfriend back into a child, she had rushed to her first friend's side to see if there was anything she could do, a move her new therapist, Archie, said showed growth.
Bella hadn't needed anything other than company and hugs, which Maleficent happily provided but it made her miss her daughter even more. Had she gone through something similar? Was she alone to deal with it or did she have someone with her? What was even her name? Did she have a job she loved or a life she desperately wanted to escape?
Desperate for answers to all of her questions, Maleficent went to see Rumpelstiltskin and asked him to help her locate her daughter. Using his powers, it was easy enough for the Dark One to find the name of the child. Her daughter's name was Lilith Page and she had been found and adopted in Minnesota.
Gold couldn't magically find anything more recent but he advised her to ask Emma for help, explaining that finding people was what she used to do for a living and that the Savior might be able to find more information about Lilith, much faster than Gold would by using magic. Since Emma was busy helping Bella move on, Maleficent decided to wait a while and look on her own at first, using the Internet, which Doctor Hopper, her therapist, was helping her master.
She went to see him as soon as Gold showed her what he could and asked him not to speak of it to Emma and Bella for now, they had other things on their mind for the time being and she didn't want to bother them. That request had greatly impressed Archie, who complimented her on her progresses.
.
Bella needed something to concentrate on that wasn't August and her heartache and so she decided to help Belle opening up the Library. It needed lots of work to be back in shape but they were both decided and ready to work hard to achieve it. Their love of books was on of the things they had in common and Bella was touched when Belle placed her books on a shelf with the new discoveries.
"Thank you for your help Bella, I really appreciate it." Belle told Bella as they moved a heavy shelf together.
"Don't mention it, I needed to get my mind off of things anyway." Bella replied with a smile.
"It's more than that. You're special Bella. Just the way you've helped Rumple open up and be a better person… You trusted him with your friendship, you didn't treat him like he was an evil Dark One but like a friend from the beginning, like anyone else and it helped him see how it could be if he were better." Belle explained.
"Well, if I had any influence whatsoever in his changes, then I'm glad." Bella smiled.
"Things will get better for you Bella. You keep on spreading good and happiness around you and it will eventually all come back to you. You'll find your happiness eventually." Belle reassured her.
"I know, it's hard sometimes to keep faith but I do. I will find my father and maybe even my mother. Concerning Love... I guess we'll see." Bella nodded.
Bella and Belle got along pretty well and soon became friends.
Belle was aware that she owed her freedom to Bella. She had been the one to convince the sheriff and the savior hat finding her as soon as possible would be a good things. She's the one who helped Rumple keep his anger in check and try harder to be good. She's the one who impressed the Dark one enough that he wanted to stay on her side.
.
After a brief stay in the jails of the sheriff's department, Regina had been transferred in the padded cells under the hospital, the very same cell where she had locked Belle in for 28 years and she wasn't happy at all. She was fed but didn't have any form of entertainment and nobody would even try to talk to her, that's what she got for trying to make everyone miserable.
Her confinement had one bright side she hadn't been expecting: she was able to work on her magic. It was different here and it took her a while but she did it. She had overheard that Gold was working with the fairies and the dwarfs on a jail where magic wouldn't work so she could be locked up and her time was limited, so she worked hard, day and night, stopping only when she could finally work it and when she was able to start her first fire ball, she exploded in laughter and broke out of her cell, injuring a few people as she did so but she didn't care. She was free now and she'd get her revenge on them all for daring going after her, breaking her curse and locking her up.
.
"I think that we can do magic." Bella told Emma as they ate lunch together that day.
"What makes you think so?" Emma asked her.
"Because you're the savior who broke the town's curse and even though I don't know who I am, I made the magical hat so Jefferson could go back to Wonderland. I think we should try to find out how it works and work on it." Bella replied.
"I don't know… I'm not sure I want to have magic or to use it… I'm not ready." Emma shook her head.
"Fine, I'll try it on my own then. Gold told me that it's always linked to emotions, whether we're talking about negative ones or positive ones. He thinks that if you and I have magic, it will be triggered by positive emotions, like love." Bella explained.
"Tell me how that goes, okay? I have to go back to the station now, see if we can locate Regina before she hurts someone else." Emma declared before she ran off.
Bella knew that if she wanted to make her magic work, she'd need peace and help. She decided to try and go back to her loft first. As she entered her building, an old man she had never seen before was walking out. He was medium sized and had long bushy grey hair that fit well with his long bushy grey beard. She couldn't help but feel that he was a friend, that she could trust him with her life without ever talking to him or seeing him before.
"Good afternoon, miss." He told her with a smile as he walked pass her.
"You too." She replied, confused at the way he made her feel.
She felt around him like one would feel around on uncle or a grandfather, around someone familiar and friendly. Shaking her thoughts out of her head, she made her way to her door and was surprised to find a fancy looking back on the ground in front of her door.
Curious, she opened it and found a book. It was the same model as Henry's storybook, except on it was written: Once Upon Magic, for Bella.
It took Bella only a second to understand that the old man had dropped it off for her so she kept the book and the bag in her hands and ran back outside, hoping to catch him and ask him some questions but he was gone. She tried looking for him in the surrounding streets and didn't find him anywhere.
Planning on asking Emma's help to look for him once Regina was back in custody, she went back to her loft and settled on her couch with some warm tea where she opened the book.
As an introduction, there was a message, similar to the one on the back of Henry's book, that helped Bella guess that the one who had written it was her father, or someone very close to him. It seemed taken out of a longer text, with something missing in front of it and something going afterward.
"…If he couldn't be there to show his beloved daughter how to use her magical potential to the fullest, he would do his best to guide her. He'd guide her on the use of her magic, teach her where it came from, the different types of magic, the powers she could master and the ones she should stay away from. He'd use a book to teach her everything he would have loved to teach her in person but couldn't, hoping that one day soon, the Truest Believer would reunite them so that he could show her more, teach her more. Until then, this book he was working on would be her teacher. He knew that she was ready to read it, to practice and to eventually master her art. She was destined to be one of the greatest sorceress in all the realms, to have pure magic and do good with it. This book would teach her how to become who she could be."
Reading this, Bella couldn't help but have tears in her eyes. She quickly texted Henry to come over to the loft once he was out of school and warned Emma that she had ask the young boy over before she started reading.
The book had several parts, all of which Bella couldn't wait to read.
The first one was on history, the history of magic and of several legendary great sorcerers, gods, wizards, witches and warlocks, good or bad. There were even some family tree drawn to help her understand the Gods families. The second part was on dark magic, what made it, how to fight it, how to avoid using it. The next one was on White magic in general, how it was created, how to make it more powerful, how to master it and how to know if you had magic. A small chapter after that explained what was the price of magic, when it was demanded and the consequences of not paying it. The part after that was on Savior Magic, a chapter Bella made a mental note to photocopy for Emma. Another part explained how to cast spells, another held some potion recipes. One of the chapters had a list of ingredients used in magic with everything it could be used for. All in all, it seemed very complete, very informative and extremely interesting.
Bella couldn't help but notice that it had been written especially for her, holding references to the people in Storybrook like Rumpelstiltskin, Regina or Maleficent as well as magical objects like Jefferson's hat.
Bella started reading from the beginning, starting with the history of magic, learning about great sorcerers, gods and other people she always thoughts were just legends like Zeus, Merlin or Poseidon.
After reading a few pages though, Bella stopped to wonder who was the old man who had dropped the book off. She could feel that he wasn't an enemy, he was definitely a friend and an ally but why didn't he introduce himself? Why had he dropped the book off for her and why did he look so familiar to her? She was sure that she had seen him somewhere before but couldn't remember where exactly.
Bella was about to go back to reading the book when Henry knocked on the door and came in before she could open it knowing that he was always welcome in her home.
"You know, you don't have to pretend you have something to show me to keep me away from the search for Regina. I wasn't going to look for her, I was going to stay at Granny's like I promised mom I would." Henry told her when he came in.
"I wasn't pretending, look at what was dropped in front of my door earlier this afternoon." Bella announced, showing the book and the bag to Henry before describing to him what happened earlier with the old man.
While Henry, really interested, examined the new book, Bella looked at the bag. It looked ancient, fancy, expensive and really well taken care of. It was just big enough to hold one storybook and nothing else and it made her wonder if maybe it had been made to protect just this book, just for her.
"It's so cool! You know what it means?" Henry asked her.
"That I have magic?" She asked him back with a smile.
"No! I mean yes but that's not what I mean. It means that your father is somehow watching over you and that he did this to help you because he couldn't be there. It also mean that this old man knows him." Henry explained.
"I know, but looking for him will have to wait. Emma and the entire town is currently looking for Regina before she hurts someone else. We have to prioritize." Bella told Henry who nodded, understanding what she meant but he also made a mental note to keep an eye open for this man on his own.
.The Sorcerer's thoughts.
I couldn't help but smile at Henry's enthusiasm. I really hope he looks for my faithful apprentice and finds him.
I knew that my daughter was ready to learn magic, her very instincts were pushing her to master her powers and I was finally able to help her. The light that shone in her eyes as she discussed the book with young Henry gave me hope and made me smile. She was perfect and I knew that she'd learn how to use magic very quickly.
It will also be perfect to help her move on from August. I tried looking into the future but it's foggy, undecided. I have a feeling that she'll see August again, that somehow, he will turn back into a man sooner than naturally planned but will it be for good or temporary? Will it only hurt her some more? August wasn't a perfect man, but I thought that he was perfect for my baby girl. They made a great couple and he would have guided her on the right track. I was considering making him an Author until Henry grew old enough... Blue really screwed up and I can't wait to be able to show her true face to everyone.
I don't know if Emma will eventually learn how to use her powers but for the time being, I wanted to concentrate on my daughter and watch her as she read about me and other powerful beings.
What do you think of this book? I wish I had a copy of it at home ;-)
Most of you guessed what was Blue's secret.
A little review please?
Lorelei Candice Black