Cora's Scrapbook, Chapter Five: Recharge
With the ousting of Gold, the citizens of Storybrooke enjoy a period of relative calm.
Author's Note: This chapter takes place in the six week period between "Heroes and Villains" and "Darkness At the Edge of Town." I hope you enjoy!
Characters:
Cora Mills
Regina Mills
Henry Mills
Killian Jones
Belle French
Emma Swan
Archibald Hopper
Leroy
David Nolan
Will Scarlett
"Eat up, Captain," Cora insisted, placing a freshly-baked, blueberry muffin on Hook's plate. "Someone needs to make sure you're eating properly."
Hook rolled his eyes. "Pickled herring with orange juice is a proper breakfast."
"Maybe for swashbuckling on the high seas," Regina said. "But you need brain food for research, and blueberries are an excellent brain food."
"She's actually right about that," Belle said between mouthfuls of omelet.
After Regina told Cora about the excruciating research regimen that Belle and Hook had subjected themselves to in the interest of freeing the fairies from the Sorcerer's Hat, Cora had insisted that they let her make them at least one, good breakfast a week. Both of them were eager to get on with their work, but they knew better than to refuse her invitation, so here they sat around the kitchen table.
"I wish I could do more to help," Cora lamented. "I've heard legends of The Sorcerer, but I have never made a study of any of his magic. Now I wish I had."
"I heard that you've been doing some learning of your own," Belle said.
Regina snorted with sudden laughter, and subsequently covered her mouth with her napkin. Cora glared at her. "What did you tell them?" She looked inquiringly at their guests.
"Cora, there's no reason to be embarrassed," Hook interjected. "I still don't really understand how to use mine."
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Cora huffed. "I have managed an estate and ruled a realm without one. Why does Emma suddenly think it's necessary for me to be tethered to one at all times?"
"It's what all the kids are doing now, Mother," Regina said.
"Which absolutely baffles me! Henry is an intelligent boy with plenty of better ways to occupy his time without giving himself dog ears and showing his friends. If he really wants to look like a dog, I'd happily transform him for a few hours and he can see what it's like."
"It would certainly give him something to discuss with Granny," Belle laughed.
"She keeps locking herself out of it," Regina said, giggling with Belle.
"I have more important things on my mind than remembering four digits so I can use a silly device!"
"Seriously?" Hook chortled, breaking into a roguish grin. "You can remember complicated spells and potion recipes, but you can't remember your passcode?"
Cora magically called Hook's phone to her hand. "At least I can enter it without cracking the screen." Indeed, there was a veritable spiderweb of cracks on Hook's phone.
"Here, let me take a look at that," Regina said, taking the phone from her mother. She waved her hand over it, causing it to glow blue. When the glow subsided, the cracks were gone. "I've enchanted your phone so that you can operate it with your hook without damaging the screen."
"Thanks, love," Hook said.
Cora laughed. "It's ridiculous really, the way people are so tied to them! It's like everyone has a Dark One dagger that gives them their power and controls them-" Hook coughed loudly and Regina shot her a look as Belle looked down at her plate. "My apologies, Belle. I didn't mean to be insensitive."
"It's alright," Belle said, moving a bit of onion around with her fork.
"Have you had any time to… move past it?" Regina asked.
"Not really," Belle replied. "I'm just focused on getting Blue and the others out of the hat. Afterwards, I'll sit down with Archie."
"Just remember, we're all here for you," Cora smiled, taking Belle's hand. And then, sensing that this wasn't a discussion Belle wished to dwell on, "Hook, have another muffin."
"Come in," Archibald Hopper called, looking up from the patient file he was reviewing.
Cora walked into his office suite. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kidnap you."
Archie laughed. "I know you by now. If you were going to, you wouldn't come as yourself."
"That is true," Cora chuckled.
"What can I do for you, Cora?" Archie asked politely, moving to sit on his armchair and motioning for Cora to sit on the couch, which she did.
"To be honest, I was wondering if you had a bit of time to talk."
"Of course! What's on your mind?"
"I'm feeling a little lost, to be honest," Cora said softly.
"I wouldn't blame you if you were," Archie replied.
"Oh?"
"Well, I can't vouch for your lifestyle before you arrived in Storybrooke, but since you've arrived here, you almost died, had to step in as mayor, got whisked back to the Enchanted Forest, had to work to defeat your wicked daughter, and had to oust your former lover to help his wife. You haven't had a lot of down time."
Cora nodded in agreement. "I don't claim to have been as active as my daughter, but I have been busy. I'm sure that you've heard that I've been training as a police investigator with Emma, but still, I'm starting to feel… bored."
"It seems like you're finding ways to occupy your time," Archie said. "You're doing good things in the community, you're spending quality time with friends and family you're… embracing new technology." Cora could tell that he was holding back a laugh and inwardly cursed Regina. "Did you really think that blasting a fireball at it would switch you over to front-facing camera?"
"Getting back on track…" Cora said loudly. "I'm very thankful for every opportunity I've been given, especially after effectively cheating death. I'm afraid of boredom because I don't want to dull my edges."
"Life always has a way of sending us back into the woods," Archie nodded. "I'm sure your adventures are far from over. Still, this has been a good two weeks."
"That's not the only thing," Cora explained. "Two weeks ago, just after the Snow Queen's spell, I sensed a dark, magical presence near Regina. It pulled back from me when I tried to feel it more closely."
"Who or what did you think it was?" Archie asked.
"Whoever it was clearly recognized me," she pondered, folding her hands on her lap. "It wasn't Rumple, and Zelena, the Snow Queen, and Pan are all dead."
"I don't pretend to understand magic, so I won't speculate," Archie said. "What are your suspicions?"
"I don't know what my suspicions are," Cora sighed. "I haven't felt it since that day."
"I think it's safe to say that if whoever it was hid from you, you're more powerful than them."
Cora chuckled. "Perhaps. But it doesn't pay to be complacent."
Archie smiled. "You don't have to be complacent, but I do want you to try and relax a little more."
Cora grimaced slightly. "If I have to."
"You'll thank me, I promise."
"I should be going. I don't want to be late for Emma." She stood, as did Archie. "Thank you for your time, Archie."
"Don't be a stranger," he waved, moving back to his desk.
Cora rounded the corner into the sheriff's office, where she saw Emma, Henry, and Leroy talking animatedly in the center of the room. When they saw her, they all went silent.
"Hey, sister," Leroy greeted her, his perpetual scowl softening slightly.
"Hello, Leroy," Cora grinned. "What's going on in here?"
"We were just talking about the weather," Emma said quickly.
"I don't think it's supposed to do anything today," Cora replied, raising her eyebrows suspiciously.
"You never know when it's going to storm, Grandma," Henry said, choking down a giggle.
Cora inhaled sharply and put her hands on her hips. "When you told me to charge it, I assumed that I needed to use a bolt of lightning to do it. How else would you charge something?"
The three burst out in hysterical laughter.
"Plug it in the wall!" Leroy howled.
Cora moodily waved her hand, magically pushing Leroy against the wall and encasing one of his shoulders in the plaster. "Then you should be filled with energy when you get out of that."
"We're just having a bit of fun, Cora," Emma said.
"I'm so sorry for all of you that I didn't come over during the curse and have all of this figured out for me," Cora said sarcastically. "At least you've had lots of entertainment at my expense."
"But Grandma, you can do so many things that no one around here can do!" Henry interjected.
Cora folded her arms. "I'm listening."
"Yeah!" Emma jumped in. "I mean, no one can use a transformation spell as well as you. I can still barely use magic. I doubt I'll ever be as good at that as you."
"And you fended off the Dark Curse singlehandedly!" Henry added.
"You stopped Gold from crushing Hook's heart!"
Leroy shouted, "You protected us all from yourself during the Snow Queen's curse!" Emma, Henry, and Cora glared at him. "Hey, self-control is its own power!"
"Very well," Cora sighed and released her spell on Leroy. "What are we working on today?"
"Well," Emma said, sharing a look with Henry. "Today, I thought we would start on self-defense."
"I think I'm quite capable of defending myself," Cora laughed. "You've experienced that yourself, Emma."
"Yeah, she's not the only one," Leroy grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.
"Not with magic, Grandma," Henry said. "Hand-to-hand combat."
Cora laughed harder. "Me?"
"Let's not forget that Pan was able to counteract magic," Emma said. "Zelena was able to block my magic too. Ingrid was able to use my own magic against me."
"Fair point, I suppose, though I can't imagine what kind of unsavory characters we need to be worried about."
"How about this one?" came David Nolan's voice. "Caught him trying to steal aspirin from Sneezy's pharmacy." The thief's head was down.
"Not you again," Emma groaned.
"I have a headache, mate!"
Cora gasped. She knew this thief. He looked up, and his eyes met hers in terror and he struggled against David's grip. "Will Scarlett!"
"No, not her! Anyone but her!"
"You know him, Cora?" Emma asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Oh, I know him very well. He was my Knave."
Will fainted, falling to the floor.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed my latest chapter! If so, please follow, favorite,and review!