S8, E3: Wooden Feelings
At A Secret Patch in the Garden...
After she realized that no danger will harm her family anymore, Snow White planted a royal garden in the United Realms. It was mostly of flowers, and she even planted the flowers her maid Johanna planted for her years ago in her honor.
Surprisingly, Hope took Snow's interest in planting flowers. But Hook knew his daughter would never do such a 'ridiculous' activity like that without a reason why. Young Hope told her father that she like planting dandelions to insure hope for everyone, but people need to find it.
So now, there is one secret dandelion patch that only Hope owned and that her family and friends knew the location of. Just for the feeling of hope.
And Hope Swan-Jones sure needed that right now.
She was crouching down in front of the dandelions, wearing her usual attire. Her hands touching the swirls carved in the pavement around her garden.
"Please help me," Hope cried, "Please..."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the swirls around her lit up grey. Hope widened her eyes in shock. She knew she didn't have the magical abilities her mother has. How can I do this? she thought.
Then, the swirls turned a blinding white and vanished as soon as the secret door unlocked. Hope quickly stood up and saw her Wish half.
"Hello, Hope! Whatcya doin'!" Alice Jones said cheerfully. Since Alice and Hope both had the same father (kinda) and half-personalities, they were considered Wish halves (even though both girls constantly say they are not exactly copies of each other!). Hope's tricky mind always inspired Alice's Wonderland-ful thinking, while Alice's happiness inacted Hope's awfully cheery-ness that no one had ever seen since she was a little girl.
But even Alice can't help her now.
Alice quickly studied Hope's face and realized, "Is it about Weaver?"
Hope widened her eyes, first at Alice calling Wish Rumple with his past-curse name, and second for knowing what it was. Wish Hook, Robin, and Alice had been granted to spend a quiet life together, just like Will (until about a year ago) and not attending any royal ceremonies. Zelena, however, visits her daughters time to time bring news or gifts. And for the latest visit, I'm sure news was the latter.
"Mhm. I believe so..." Alice suddenly circles around Hope, "Well anyway, a man told me he somehow knows the way to Weaver's castle. He said he is a friend of yours..." Then, she leaned over to whisper, "He is acting pretty drunk."
As if on cue, the garden door slams wide open and a man stumbled and fell on the ground, missing the dandelions.
Oh how Hope knew who the bloody hell was this man.
With a smirk, she crouched down beside him and yanked his head off the ground with his dirty blond-tipped hair.
"OW!!" the man yelled. Hope quickly released her grip and he fell on her shoe. He opened his eyes, beautifully sea greenish-grey, and gave Hope a matching smirk.
"Hope Swan-Jones. What a lovely way to see you."
Hope slapped his face, "Yeah, you jerk! Why have you drunk again, Finnian!"
Finnian (or Finn), who's name is actually Asher, suddenly realized what he has done, "I'm sorry. I won't do it again when you are in need. I promise."
Hope pulled Finnian back up, "Ha! That is a promise you will never keep." It was funny how Finn, an adult male at the age of 21, was acting around a 16 year old, who is not an adult at all, yet.
"Anyways," Finn looked at both Hope and Alice, "let's go to hell." Still drunk, he walked away from the two toward the sunlight.
"He really doesn't know where he is going?" Alice asked, turning to Hope questioningly.
"I trust him. But if you hear how we met, you could have asked why would I," Hope laughed at the memory, even questioning herself why.
But if Emma was able to trust a drunk, 300 year old man, then so will Hope.
Laying on a meadow at night...
"Now can you tell me what's going on?"
Finnian gave Hope a look, who was lying down on the grass, looking at the stars. Alice was sleeping in a tent they set up, but both Hope and Finn weren't up for that.
"No. You need to tell me why have you drunk. Especially on a day like this?!"
Finnian laughed, running a hand through his hair (now brown as his roots in the dark). He was always charming, to the point of being flirtatious and seductive to every girl he met. But his tragedy was that even though he was breathtakingly handsome, he had nobody but a 16 year old to talk to.
"When you have relationship issues and you're old enough to drink, you will use it to great extent!" Finnian suddenly started giggling very hard.
"HEY!" Hope sat up and yelled, completely annoyed. Finn stopped giggling. She was surprised it worked, but then again he didn't have anyone else.
"You. Are lucky that we were able to have permission to go with your sorry a- of a head," Hope poked his head, making him fall down to the grass.
"True that. True that," Finn put his hands on his head, his elbows sticking out, "Tell me what's happening." Finnian doesn't know much about the royal lives of the people living in the castle as much as the common villager.
"We had a...normal...dance with everyone...as usual. But then Rumple, the Wish-version, came in and said of a prophesy about me. He told me, laterr that night, to visit him for the full story."
For some reason, Finn shivered at the name of Rumple. This was unusual. Finn was always steady when he heard of other villians as scary as Rumple.
"And that's what we are going to find out, yes..." Finnian suddenly got up in front of Hope and gave her a piercing look, "But I knew something else is wrong, even before he.." Finn shivered again, "came."
Hope sighed. No matter how much she guarded her feelings from him, Finn knew everything.
"It was Will. He was being suspicious. As if he likes me."
There it was. The truth. Under Finnian's gaze, she felt vulnerable, naked.
"And now with the prophesy saying that my 'true love' is prophesied and he will 'guide' me...I have a feeling it's..."
She couldn't continue anymore. If Will was her true love (and if Will actually loved her), it would have been chaos. Hope knows she doesn't love Will the way Emma does to Killian.
"Oh god..." Surprisingly, Finnian quickly pulled Hope into a fierce embrace, "Hope...this prophesy...your true love...the hell, man..."
Still in shock with drunk Finn being sane and compassionate, Hope didn't say anything.
After awhile, Finn released her and put his hands on her shoulders, "To help you, I'll lead the way to Rumple's castle. Okay?"
Hope remembered what she was going to ask Finnian, "Yeah, about that...how do you know the way to his castle?"
Suddenly, Finn looked confused, "I...don't know..."
After much silence between them, Finn proposed that they should go to bed. Hope said she'll go to her tent later.
As she looked to see Finnian walk toward the camp, Hope pondered on with this mystery between Finnian and Rumplestiltskin.
How did he know the way? The only people that enters his castle are people that want a deal or, in her and Emma's case, a prophesy.
Wait, Hope suddenly realized.
Did Finn have a deal or a prophesy with Rumple??
