AN: See chapter 1 for story notes and summary.
See Chapter 1 for the long version of the notes and summaries.
Ships: Snowing, Rumbelle, Swan Believer, eventual Swanfire, and a delightful Golden Mad Charming BroT3. :)
Thanks for the reviews. Here are some individual responses:
Barratta Jennifer: Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Emma: Thanks
Rose: Thanks, I'm glad you appreciate the parallels between Persephone, Snow, and Emma. Hope you continue to enjoy!
Guest: I've already responded to your rudeness on my blog. Hopefully you're true to your word and you leave me alone.
Haylie Myers:Thanks, so glad you like it and my writing! Hope you continue to enjoy. Yeah, Neal's death was a huge mistake in the writing. This story will be Swanfire. It is a ways in the future yet, but it's definitely coming.
Beth1980: Jefferson is fun to write and keeps things fun. Glad you liked the part where Mary thought David and Emma looked alike. It reminded me of the scene in season 3 where they're putting the crib together when I wrote it. Yeah, that's always been my problem with Regina. She blames her victims for everything. Glad you liked Emma's intensity. I wish we saw her get this intense with protecting her parents in the canon. Yep, I touch on Zelena and Hades more in later chapters. Glad I could provide you with some distraction and Charming family feels. :)
Sara K M: Glad you liked the scene with them waking up together. I liked the intimacy of it too. As for Mary Margaret, she is starting to respond to their attempts to build her up, but it's also that she's kind of used to the unfairness that goes on in this town. The rich and powerful can get away with anything, while people like her are usually miserable. But this time, despite the injustice, she's not alone so it's easier to take, if only a little. Glad you liked David's reaction. He's getting pretty frustrated. There's all these villains and not much he can do about it yet. He and Snow pushed him and Regina out of power once and now they're back in, so Charming is a bit frustrated. You'll see that a little in this chapter. :)
Dreaming Out Loud
Chapter 10: That Still Small Voice
"So...I'm sure you've heard by now?" Jefferson said, as he joined them in behind the counter.
"That that bastard is walking free again?" David growled.
"I warned you. Regina will never let one of her cronies be locked up. Circumventing the law in this stupid town is easy for her," he said.
"There has to be something we can do," Charming said in exasperation.
"Well, aside from killing him, I don't see what other option there is," Rumple said.
"We tried that back in the Enchanted Forest. How did he survive that? I watched him burn," David replied.
"I know of only one way to bring someone back from the dead," Rumple revealed.
"Wait...you always said there wasn't a way. It defies the laws of magic," Jefferson said.
"It does...but if Hades wanted to revive him, he could make it happen," Rumple revealed.
"Why would Hades want to bring Deimos back to life?" David asked.
"Deimos is his most evil nephew and is a very loyal henchman. As you know, he's kept Hades in business and sent many to the Underworld," Rumple replied.
"No...there's more than that," David said.
"And when the curse is broken, the time for you and your wife to know everything will come. For now, he's still Damon Tromera," Rumple stated.
"And he's still obsessed with my wife. He wants to hurt Mary Margaret and I don't care if they do throw me jail, I'll stop him by any means necessary," David said.
"Yeah, I have a feeling it's a good thing the curse happened to give you a license to practice law," Jefferson drawled, looking at Gold.
"I do still own most of this town and will be ready to go head to head with Regina when the time comes," he said. David saw the time on the clock and sighed.
"I'm going to go surprise Mary Margaret at work and try to take her mind off all of this," he said.
"See you later, lover boy. I won't expect to see you home again," Jefferson teased.
"You tease me, but he's the one that just gave Belle the library," David teased back, as he and Wilby left through the back way. Jefferson smirked at him.
"Not a word," he growled.
"The Dark One's got game," Jefferson commented.
"Get out," Gold spat. Jefferson chuckled and made his way to back exit.
After Regina called him about the shuddering that was rippling through town, he had received several more calls and it was determined by several citizens that the source of the rumblings seemed to be coming from the old mines.
"What's the Emergency?" Emma asked, as she arrived, joining Graham at the mouth of the old mining tunnels.
"I didn't call for you Miss Swan," Regina snapped.
"But I did...she is my deputy," Graham replied, as the curious townspeople gathered around.
"What happened?" Emma asked.
"One of the old mining tunnels had a cave in," Graham explained.
"Yes, I want you to petition this whole area off," Regina said, as she turned to the people.
"These mines are no longer safe. I plan to have them demolished and paved over. Then there will be no more danger," Regina explained. Emma took out her phone and stepped away for a moment, dialing her dad.
"Hey...some of the mining tunnels caved in. Queenie wants to demolish them all and pave over them. Any idea what she might be trying to hide?" she said when he answered.
"It could be anything. The mines were the source of all the diamonds the dwarves used to mine and then the diamonds were ground into fairy dust for the fairy wands. She could have hidden any number of things from our land in there. Losing the mines could be very bad. If Regina ever got her magic back, we'd have no way to combat it other than relying on Gold," David explained. Emma sighed.
"I'm not sure I can stop her," Emma lamented.
"Well, if the mines are anything like the ones back in the Enchanted Forest, they go for miles. It might not be a bad idea for me to go in and see what's in there," David said.
"That sounds way too dangerous, Dad. But I think I might have an idea. You said that you met Belle the other day and that she's a bookworm, right?" Emma asked.
"Yeah...Gold gave her the library. She's going to be opening it up in a few weeks," David replied.
"Do you think you can ask her to read up on the town charter? The mines might be a landmark," Emma said.
"I'll call her, but what exactly does it mean if they're a landmark?" he asked.
"Well, in some towns, especially small towns, sometimes things like old mines or rock formations or other things along those lines are sometimes declared landmarks. If that's the case, a landmark has to be preserved and cannot be destroyed. It's not exactly an official law, but demolishing landmarks is a very unpopular thing to do," Emma explained.
"Okay, I'll call Belle and ask her to look up landmarks in the charter," he said.
"Thanks Dad," she said quietly.
"Anything for you, princess," he said, as they ended the call and she went back to helping Graham partition off the area.
As Mary Margaret finished up her lesson for the day and dismissed her students, she wasn't too surprised to see that Henry lagged behind.
"Henry...is Emma picking you up today?" she asked.
"Um...Mom told me I'm supposed to take the bus straight home. She's making me go to my appointment with Archie tonight," he muttered.
"Oh...well, the bus is going to leave without you if you don't hurry," Mary urged. Archie was a nice man, but Mary would be lying if she didn't think putting Henry in therapy was unnecessary. So he had a wild imagination. So he thought she was Snow White. It was cute...he was a child. She was positive that Regina saying he was crazy was far more damaging to him than his insistence that fairy tales were real. She didn't dare voice those opinions. Regina had only been too happy in the past to tell Mary that she had no idea what was best for Henry, because she was alone and had no children of her own. Regina loved to point that out as often as possible.
She watched the boy fidget though and started to get the feeling that his reluctance to leave had little to do with Archie.
"Henry...what's really wrong?" she asked.
"I...what if that bad man comes back and tries to hurt you again?" he blurted out. She felt her heart break at his concern.
"Oh honey...I'm going to be fine," she tried to assure him.
"I heard some of the older kids talking and they said Mr. Spencer made Sheriff Graham let him go though. How come he isn't getting punished? He did a really bad thing," Henry said.
"He did...but sometimes things aren't quite that simple. He's...he's a very rich man and though it's a hard lesson to swallow, sometimes when people have money or they are in positions of power, they can use that money or power to make their problems go away," Mary explained.
"But that's wrong," Henry said. She smiled and had to fight the urge to brush his messy brown hair away from his forehead.
"I know sweetie...life's not very fair sometimes though. It doesn't always have a happy ending. That's why I gave you the book, because happy endings start with hope," Mary explained.
"Are you going to have your happy ending with Mr. Nolan?" he asked bluntly and Mary couldn't hide the blush that colored her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip.
"Well...I really hope so. That would be wonderful I think," she admitted.
"You will, Miss Blanchard. He's your Prince Charming, I know it!" Henry insisted. She cocked her head to the side, looking at him affectionately.
"I really hope you're right, Henry. You better scoot though. I don't want you to get in trouble with your mother," she urged.
"Okay," he grumbled, as he gathered his things and she helped him put on his backpack.
"Bye Miss Blanchard," Henry called.
"Goodbye Henry," she called.
Outside the classroom, Persephone had heard the whole heartwarming exchange and she watched her great grandson go with pride in her eyes.
Adapting to this world so far hadn't been too difficult, though it helped that she had educated herself through books for the last twenty-eight years. Athena's temple was full of books from all the realms and she made it a point to know how this world worked.
Before she left, Athena had gifted her with all the necessary items one needed to integrate into this world. A new identity, a career, complete with a college degree. Being the goddess of vegetation afforded all the knowledge and then some to pass easily as a Professor of Botany. Slipping her name into the employee roster as the part time high school botany teacher had almost been too easy. It was perfect. The town wasn't that big, so the school housed kids from K-12 grades, She would be on the other side of the building from her daughter and since there were only so many teenagers in a student body that never moved or got bigger, it meant she would only have two classes a day, leaving the rest of her time free to forge a relationship with her daughter. She took a deep breath and went inside the classroom.
"Excuse me...are you Miss Blanchard?" she asked. Mary looked up to see a beautiful woman with raven colored hair, much like her own, though this woman's hair cascaded down her back in waves. She also had green eyes, behind a pair of smart looking black rimmed glasses that seemed to fit well with her pressed pantsuit.
"I...I am," she said. The woman smiled.
"I'm Stephanie Kore, the new high school botany teacher," she introduced herself.
"Oh...it's nice to meet you. I can't even remember the last time we got a new teacher," Mary said with a smile.
"It's lovely to meet you too. I am going around to the other classrooms to introduce myself. I only have a couple classes a day and so I've been looking for more students to help with the gardens I want to plant on campus. Unfortunately, none of the other teachers seem much interested in devoting precious class time to such," she said. That was a fib. Mary's class was the only one she had been to so far.
"Oh that's too bad...but I'd love to volunteer. Planting a garden sounds like a wonderful experience for my students," she said. Stephanie smiled.
"Wonderful...I'm so glad," she replied, as David peeked his head into the room.
"Oh...I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asked.
"Not at all. I need to get back to my classroom. I'll e-mail you and we'll figure out times," she said. Mary smiled.
"Okay, it was nice to meet you Ms. Kore," she said.
"The pleasure was mine, Miss Blanchard," she replied, as she passed David and Wilby.
"Hey…" she greeted, as he closed the distance between them and eagerly welcomed his lips on hers.
"Hi…" he said, as their lips parted.
"This is a wonderful surprise. I didn't think I'd see you until later," she mused. He smiled.
"It was my early day at the shelter so I thought I'd come surprise you," he replied, as he kissed her again.
"Mmm...this is the kind of surprise I could get used to," she said.
"Good...I was hoping that if you're ready to go, then you'd join me on a walk with Wilby. Then maybe...dinner?" he asked. She smiled and grabbed her bag.
"I'd love to," she said, as they joined hands and left with Wilby trotting along in front of them.
Henry pouted, as Regina drove up to Archie's office. She sighed and turned off the engine. He didn't need to see Archie. He wasn't crazy. Emma not only believed him, but she knew everything about the curse. And David...he had his real memories. He knew Emma said they had to be patient and very careful, but Henry was getting impatient. He just wanted the curse broken and he wanted to be with his real family, especially after Mary Margaret had almost been hurt and nothing was being done. With the curse, the villains would always win and Henry was anxious for the heroes to win.
"I'll pick you up after your appointment. Maybe we can get ice cream," Regina suggested.
"No thanks," he muttered.
"Don't mumble Henry and what's with the attitude? You love ice cream," she responded.
"Not with you," he said sourly, as he got out and started up the stairs to Archie's office. Regina sighed and then drove off.
Ten minutes later, Henry came running down the stairs, in tears, and headed for the old mining tunnels. Archie had told him he was delusional; that there was no proof to the curse. But Henry knew he was wrong. As long as the curse was active, the villains would always win and Henry needed to find something to turn the tides in the heroes' favor. He had to find something to help Emma in the mines…
Ten minutes earlier
"Henry...how are you?" Archie asked, as he let the boy into his office.
"I'm here," Henry answered, as he dropped his backpack and went to pet Pongo. Archie saw the book that was believed to be the source of Henry's problems poking out of his bag. He was well aware of what the mayor wanted him to do, but he wasn't in the business he was to crush a child's dreams. The Mayor was very clear though. If he didn't do what she wanted, she would ruin him.
"Henry...I think we need to talk about deciphering what's real and what's fiction," Archie said, easing into the conversation.
"You mean where I tell you the stories in my book are real and you tell me they're not?" Henry asked bluntly. Archie allowed himself a small smile. This was truly a bright child and he should have known better by now than to attempt subtly with him.
"Henry...you are a very smart boy and I know that you must understand why we worry about the damage these fantasies may be doing to you," Archie said.
"It's not fantasy if it's the truth! Emma and David believe me!" Henry blurted out, but then suddenly realized his error. He was supposed to say quiet about that, but he had forgotten. He had just been so happy to finally meet, not just David, but his Grandpa Charming. But it was supposed to be a secret; Emma had been very adamant about that. Spending those few moments with Charming and having that interaction had made him all the more determined for the curse to break so they could finally be a real family.
Having that confirmation from Prince Charming himself made everything all the more real. He wasn't crazy. He had been right all along. But now if his mother found out that David had his real memories too soon...or worse found who Emma really was...it could wreck everything.
"David? David Nolan?" Archie asked.
"Um...I saw him at the diner with his dog yesterday," Henry said, trying to think of a way to diffuse this conversation.
"Henry...I don't know why Emma or Mr. Nolan have chosen to indulge you, but it can be very harmful," Archie chided.
"They were just being nice! Which is more than I can say about you and my Mom!" Henry blurted out.
"Henry…" Archie started to say.
"You won't believe me, because you're cursed and it won't let you. But it's real! It's all true!" Henry pleaded.
"Henry…" Archie pleaded back.
"You're Jiminy Cricket and your best friend is Geppetto, but he goes by Marco here!" Henry implored.
"Henry stop!" Archie snapped angrily, watching the boy's eyes widen. He had never raised his voice to anyone, let alone a fragile child like Henry.
"This is all very damaging to you and believe me, I'll be having a discussion with Miss Swan and Mr. Nolan about indulging such delusions," Archie said sternly. The last word slipped out before he could stop it and he quickly saw the damage it did. The look on Henry's face was soul crushing.
"You think I'm crazy too," Henry said sadly.
"Henry…" Archie said, realizing he had done exactly what Regina wanted and crushed him belief...or so he thought.
"Fairy tales aren't real...as much as we would like for them to be," Archie said gently. But Henry stared back.
"They are real...and I'm going to prove it!" Henry announced, as he got up and rushed out of the office.
"Henry! Henry...come back!" he pleaded. He was nearly panicked now. Regina had gotten under his skin so much that he had not only hurt Henry deeply, a child he cared for so very much, but he had done exactly what Regina wanted, as cruel as it was.
He knew he should call her, the boy's legal mother first, but something inside implored him instead to dial the Sheriff's station. He had a feeling Emma was the only one that could make this better.
Mary walked along the path by the lake with her hand hooked on his elbow and he smiled over at her. It was still surreal to her at times. She had been so alone for so long and then he had quite literally swept off her feet by him. Maybe Henry was right. Maybe he was her Prince Charming. Still...in the back of her mind, she was waiting for something to go wrong. She was waiting for Regina to do something to make sure she ended up alone again.
"Hey...are you okay?" he asked. Mary looked over at him and smiled.
"I'm fine...but if I'm honest, I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop," she admitted. His brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'm happy...so I'm wondering how long it can last," she said sadly. He reached over and caressed her face, causing her to look up at him.
"Mary...I promise I'll never hurt you. I'd rather die than hurt you," he said. She nodded.
"I think I know that...I do know that. I don't think it's you hurting me is what I'm worried about," she replied.
"Then what is it?" he asked.
"Is this about Damon? Because I'm not going to let him touch you again," he promised.
"I know...I think that's part of what worries me. He'll try to hurt you," she fretted.
"Hey, I promise I'll be fine," he tried to assure.
"And Regina...she's not going to let me be happy. I mean...she hates me. I have no idea why, but she hates me," she added. He put his hands on her shoulders.
"The only way Regina can keep us from being unhappy is if we let her," he insisted. She gazed at him uncertainly.
"I'm not saying it will be easy. I'm sure she's going to throw all kinds of things at us, but we don't have to let her win. I know we can overcome anything if we do it together," he said. She smiled.
"Together," she agreed, just as the ground shuddered beneath them.
"What was that?" she wondered, as he held her close and his phone rang.
"Hey Emma," he answered, but his smile quickly fell, as he listened to her explain the situation in a near panicked voice.
"Okay...we'll be right there," he said, as he hung up.
"What's happened?" Mary asked.
"It's Henry...he wandered into the mines," he said gravely. She gasped.
"But they might cave in!" she cried. He grabbed her hand and they started running.
"Come on Wilby...we're going to need you," he called, as Wilby ran alongside them.
Henry climbed through the mine tunnels with his flashlight.
"There has to be something," he mumbled, as he searched. Suddenly, he heard crunching beneath his foot. He looked down and saw that it was a piece of glass.
"I knew it," Henry said, as he carefully picked up the shard and put it in his backpack. He was about to descent further into the cavern when the ground shuddered violently beneath him and he cried out, as he slid down a slope, the ground caving in around him.
"Henry!" Emma called into the mine shaft.
"Oh God...Henry's in there?" Archie asked, as he arrived.
"Yes...I've got to go in after him," she said.
"This is my fault," Archie admitted.
"What do you mean?" Emma demanded to know.
"I didn't want to...but Regina pressured me. She wanted me to find a way to make sure Henry stopped with his delusions about fairy tales. But his belief is just so steadfast and I'm afraid I was cross with him. He ran out of my office saying he was going to prove he was right," Archie confessed. Emma looked horrified.
"He's just a kid! I'm pretty sure him believing in something is not nearly as bad as telling him he's delusional!" Emma snapped angrily. That word struck a painful chord in her. How many times had they told Emma she was delusional over the years, before she learned she had to be quiet about her dreams.
"Hey guys...get this. Emma says she sees her parents in her dreams," the boy called in amusement.
"I do see them!" a six-year-old Emma cried back.
"Really? Is that why they left you on the side of the road like trash?" he asked, as the other kids laughed.
"They didn't mean to leave me! They're trapped by a curse, but they love me!" Emma shouted. This only caused all the kids to laugh harder at her.
"Wow...you're more delusional than I thought, Swan,"
"Emma...we got here as soon as we could!" David called, snapping her out of that painful memory. She looked at him and pushed the tears that were threatening to fall back. She didn't have time for this right now. She had to save Henry.
"Henry went into the mines and they're collapsing. I have to go in after him," she said.
"Not alone. Do you have anything that belongs to Henry with you?" he asked.
"He left his scarf behind in my office," Archie offered.
"Perfect," David said, as he took the scarf and put it to Wilby's nose. He barked and took off for the entrance to the mines. They followed and David removed his jacket, handing it off to Mary.
"I'm going with you," Emma insisted. He wanted to protest, because she was his little girl. But he knew it wouldn't do any good, for it was Emma's little boy inside that mine, so he could only nod.
"What the hell is going on here?" Regina shouted, as she arrived with Graham. Emma saw red.
"This is your fault!" Emma snapped, as she got in the Mayor's face.
"What the hell are you talking about? Where is my son?" she snapped.
"He's in the mines, trying to find proof about the curse! And all because you told or probably threatened the doctor to find a way to crush his dreams!" Emma shouted.
"My son needs to learn about the difference between reality and fantasy, Miss Swan and I won't take parenting tips from the likes of you," Regina snapped.
"He's ten! He's supposed to have an imagination! You two telling him he's delusional did more damage than anything ever will!" Emma screamed. David was nearly crushed by the pain on his daughter's face. She had told him what other people thought of her when she let it slip that she could see them in her dreams. This world had been so very unkind to his baby and he hated it.
He hated all of this. He hated that they couldn't be a real family yet. He hated that the woman that had made his wife's life hell was raising their grandson. He hated this curse and it's fake memories that kept everyone under her control. He hated most of all that he was very limited in what he could do about it. Emma was the Savior and he hated that too. He just wanted her to be Emma, their daughter. This world had been nothing but cruel to her and he hated it too.
Regina surprisingly shut her mouth after Emma's short tirade, as she marched to the opening of the shaft. They both started putting on the harnesses Graham had brought and Mary looked on nervously.
"Please be careful," she pleaded. She felt nearly panicked, for she didn't know what she'd do without any of them. The three most important people in her life were about to be down in that unstable mine shaft. If something happened...well, she was somehow positive it would kill her. She'd rather die than lose this little family they had made together. If the mine swallowed them, then she was pretty sure she'd beg it to take her too.
David briefly looked up and squeezed her hand, before pressing his lips to hers in a quick, but passionate kiss, missing the pure murder in Regina's eyes.
"We will. We'll get Henry and we'll come back to you," he promised, as he carefully followed Emma down the mine shaft...