7:15 AM AU - Things go a bit differently in the cabin during 7:15 AM. With memories returned, how will this change things?
Face Claim for Narcissa: Eileen Davidson
Face Claims for the three good fairies:
Flora: Maggie Smith
Fauna: Linsey Godfrey
Merryweather: Jackee Harry
Thanks for the amazing response to this story. It's a lot of fun. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the twists and turns. Season 1 can be very fun to play with. Enjoy this latest and keep reviewing! Here are individual responses to reviews:
Jennifer Baratta: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Ghostwriter: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. Yeah, the fairies did what they could, but not enough to stop Narcissa forever. Glad you like all the nuances.
JDubReaderWriter55: I loved the scenes between Emma and David too. Really happy with how they turned out. Emma is curious and that's a good sign. There's another really good scene with them together in this chapter. Yep, Eileen as Kristin Dimera was my inspiration for Narcissa. Glad you like the face claim and glad you're enjoying it!
Guest: Yep, Snow senses something is probably amiss down there and Emma is curious. David may be getting through to her. Glad you like the three good fairies. Merryweather is a fave it seems for many. :)
Number Ten: Glad you like the fairies. I really like them too and expanding on them. Yep, they are looking over a different princess this time. Yeah, hopefully Snow can uncover some certain secrets down in the basement of the hospital. :)
Grace5231973: Yep, Snow needs to go down to that basement! You may know or I may surprise you. We shall see. ;)
Sexystarwarslover: Yep, that was just part 1! Yeah, Narcissa is becoming more and more unhinged. Yeah, she did, but then it's Nurse Ratched. Mary Margaret was shy, but Snow is not afraid to tell her off. Yep, I think Nurse Fawn might be Fauna. Nope, this Bo Peep was nothing like the nursery rhyme. Emma is curious, which is a good sign and David being poor resonates with her. Yep, Emma and David on patrol will be interesting. Yep, Narcissa is unhinged. Yep, they're going to banish her eventually. Glad you're enjoying it!
AnonSnowing: Yep, the real reason she was doing rounds and delivering flowers was a certain John Doe. Yep, Snow is not shy and will not hesitate to brag about her man either. Yeah, we know who Snow will find if she ventures down into the basement. Yes, Emma is curious about David's life, which is a good sign. No, it didn't take him long to fall for Snow. Yeah, they just wanted to raise Emma. They didn't care about the rest. Yep, Snow is the perfect name and Narcissa is unhinged. I love Merryweather, lol. Glad you enjoyed it!
Clarity
Chapter 23: Piece By Piece, Pt 2
Neal sighed, as the Inn door slammed in his face and he made his way down to the diner. He had another huge fight with Tamara, after she gave him an ultimatum. He had to move back to New York or they were done. He was sad, but not as sad about losing Tamara as he thought he might be. Which gave him more questions than answers. They were engaged and he was devastated, but not at the prospect of losing her. At the prospect of leaving Storybrooke and Henry. And his father...and admittedly, Emma.
He decided to take a walk to clear his head, as he wasn't too hungry. It was Henry's evening with Regina and he knew his father's opinion on Tamara.
Though it had taken years, he thought he had finally gotten over Emma and moved on with his life. Then they had run into her again in New York, literally and the way he felt about her came rushing back. The fact that they had a son together only seemed to help reignite of his feelings for her. But it still bothered him that he barely felt anything at the prospect of it being over with Tamara. It wasn't supposed to be like that for someone you thought you were going to marry. Which made him wonder what the hell he was even doing with her in the first place.
He hadn't dated anyone in years, not since Emma. He had managed to find a program, get the equivalent of a GED, and get a decent, entry level job after that. It had been in the mailroom of a corporate office for a publishing company. He managed to get his life on track and then started taking a few night classes. That's where he had met Tamara and they started dating not long after that. A couple years later, they were living together and not long before he had discovered he had a son, he had proposed to her. But now, looking back, he could tell he had just been going through the motions of what he thought was expected of him in a relationship. If he was being truthful with himself, his heart had always been beating for Emma Swan, but he was sure the damage done between them was too extensive. He had hurt her badly, and she went to prison, because of his actions. August, who was still hiding, despite having popped up briefly to publish a story or two in the Mirror, did have a hand in all of it though. He wished he had never listened to him and stayed with Emma. But it was done now and he was left picking up the pieces of her heart.
The question remained though if she would ever let him back in behind her walls and let him repair the heart he had broken. He thought it was hopeless and then he saw something that gave him hope in that moment, as he found himself down by the Cannery and the docks.
Emma and David patrolled the town and she showed him the ropes. Eventually, they arrived down at the docks and the Cannery, which was a major source of jobs, food, and economy for the town. It also tended to be rough too.
"This place always has trouble. Something tells me they don't vet their employees well and I suspect there's a lot of undocumented money exchanging hands and probably drugs. I've just never found anything or been able to prove it," Emma said.
"Doesn't mean it's not happening. I assume we're talking about Land Without Magic types of drugs?" he asked. She looked at him.
"What else is there?" she asked. He smiled.
"Back in our land, it was Poppy dust," he replied. Her eyes widened.
"Poppy dust?" she asked. He nodded.
"It can get you very high," he replied. She scoffed.
"I thought they put you to sleep, like in the Wizard of Oz," she said. He nodded.
"Red poppies do. They're a bit more rare though and only grow in certain places. It's the pink ones that will get you high. A lot of people grind them up and sell the powder. Then people either snort it or roll it up in leaves to smoke," he explained.
"Wow…" she said.
"Surprised?" he asked.
"Guess I didn't think you had those kinds of problems back there," she replied.
"Trust me, if there is a vice in this world, we probably had a version back there too," he said.
"My Mother used to say that pink poppies would only grow in the presence of evil and that's why there were so many of them. But then she said that also meant there was just as much good too, even if it didn't seem like it," he replied.
"She...she sounded wise," Emma mentioned. He smiled.
"Oh she was...and tough as nails," he agreed, as they heard someone yelling and hurried over to the cannery.
"Figures...this is Max Waters, he runs the Cannery and he's belligerent as hell," Emma said.
"Yeah…I know him, just not by that name," David replied. She looked at him again.
"Who is he really?" she asked.
"Rivers...one of Regina's top Black Knights. Trust me, I've had plenty of run-ins with this guy and I know the one he's yelling at too," David said, as they approached.
"You idiot...you probably ruined an entire batch, because you're such a moron!" he yelled, as the cowering man made a few hand signals.
"Don't give me your dopey hand signals, you idiot!" he yelled.
"Hey!" David called to get his attention, before helping the other man up.
"You okay?" he asked, but also signed to him. The other man seemed surprised that he knew how to talk to him at first, but then nodded and signed back to him. David nodded and then looked at Max.
"He's mute, not deaf...you don't have to yell at him," he said sternly.
"Who the hell are you telling me how to run my cannery? Like I need advice from the coma patient," Max hissed, as a few of the other guys that were observing chuckled at that.
"He's my deputy...so you better listen," Emma interjected.
"Sheriff Swan…" Max leered, as he started to approach, but a growl from Wilby stilled him in his tracks.
"You can't arrest me for disciplining one of my employees," he said.
"Looks like you were about to do more than discipline him," she replied.
"But I didn't," he said, as he turned to him.
"Get back to work!" he bellowed. David patted his shoulder.
"If you need something...you can come to me," he said, signing to him at the same time. The poor man stared at him for a moment and blinked. Emma guessed he probably wasn't used to anyone trying to help him. He slowly nodded and went back inside.
"You should be nicer to your employees," David said sternly.
"Being an asshole isn't against the law," Max replied, as they glared at each other.
"But being abusive is and if you keep it up, some of those employees might file complaints," Emma said.
"Oh trust me...none of them are dumb enough to do that," Max replied, as he went back inside.
"That guy…" David said.
"So...how do you know that other guy?" she asked.
"That was Dopey," he replied and her eyes widened.
"Seriously?" she asked. He nodded.
"And he's really mute?" she asked. He nodded.
"He can hear, but uses signs in response so we always used them to communicate back. Your...Mary Margaret taught me," he replied, catching himself. They were making progress with Emma lately, so he was trying to call her Mary Margaret in front of her. He almost slipped though and called her what she really was to Emma. Her mother.
"He seems nice," Emma mentioned. He smiled.
"He is. Of all the dwarves, he's the sweetest and he doesn't talk, so he's less annoying than the others," David replied.
"Hey…" Neal said, as he found himself passing them, as they returned to the main road.
"Hey," Emma greeted.
"Nice badge," Neal mentioned. David nodded.
"Thanks," he replied, noticing the tension between them and decided to exit the situation.
"I think I can finish patrol and head back to the station if you want," he mentioned. She nodded.
"Uh yeah...I think you get the just of it. Thanks," Emma replied.
"Come on Wilby," he called, as the dog followed him, while Emma stayed behind.
"Listen…I was going to tell you earlier, but things got away from me today. But I ran into Tamara this morning," she said.
"I know...we had a huge fight. She's leaving and going back to New York soon," he replied.
"And you?" she asked.
"I'm staying, Emma," he replied.
"Oh," she said awkwardly.
"Well...that's good," she added. He raised an eyebrow.
"It is?" she asked.
"Well yeah...I mean we can't move Henry to New York. I mean...he would hate leaving this place," she replied.
"Right," he agreed.
"So...you have a new deputy," he mentioned. She groaned.
"Look, I don't need you to give me a bunch of crap for it and I hired him, because the dog is part of the deal," she said, as he laughed out loud.
"If that's what you need to tell yourself," Neal teased.
"David said he's a bloodhound. He'll make a good K-9 cop," she replied.
"And your father has slayed dragons...I'm sure he'll make a hell of a deputy," Neal said. She scoffed.
"Will you not call him that?" she asked.
"Fine. David has slayed dragons, among other things. He'll make a hell of a deputy," he corrected.
"Dragons aren't real," she said.
"Yes, they are. So are trolls and ogres, fairies, and unicorns," he replied. She rolled her eyes.
"Whatever…I need to get back to the station, but I guess I'll see you tomorrow for the beginning of the trial," she replied. He nodded.
"Yeah…Dad is pretty confident in our case and said we need to be ready," he said.
"You mean for Regina's inevitable retaliation," she said. He nodded.
"And that means you need to watch your parents too...they'll be right in her line of fire," he replied.
"Not my parents, but I will," she said. He shook his head.
"Keep denying it all you want, Emma...but I know you," he called, as she turned away and walked back to the station. She rounded the corner and passed by the new clothing store, owned by the blonde woman she had briefly met this morning. But something pink caught her eye on the sidewalk. She stopped and looked down at the small pink flowers that had grown up between the cracks of the pavement. They were not there this morning and it was an odd place for flowers to pop up. Then she remembered what David told her earlier about pink poppies. She looked into the window of the new clothing store, but then shook her head. It was crazy. Flowers did not just sprout up in the presence of evil and if they did, it begged the question as to why Regina's yard wasn't filled with them. No...it was all nonsense. David might make a decent deputy and even if it was all true, this world was very different from the one he came from. Not that she believed he did. She put it out of her mind and continued on back to the station.
Tamara packed her things, preparing for the next phase of the plan. She was going to make Neal think she was living and then Narcissa said that it was time to execute the next step in her plan. She didn't know what that was yet, but she was prepared for anything. Her phone rang and she smiled, seeing the caller ID read simply the word "him," as she answered it.
"Hey…" she said.
"How is it going?" the voice on the other end asked, a male voice.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that Neal and I are pretty much over. Ms. Blake said it's time for the next phase," Tamara replied.
"And what exactly is the next phase?" he asked.
"No idea yet...but she promised that we will destroy this whole place and any magic with it," Tamara replied.
"I can't believe we finally found it...I hate not being there," he growled.
"Patience...when we complete our plan and have the Queen, you can come and make her pay yourself. But we can't interfere with Ms. Blake's plans for her own nemesis. She is the reason we've even gotten this far," Tamara said
"Fine...I'll wait, but keep me posted. At least I know you won't be sleeping with him anymore," he griped. She smirked.
"Don't be jealous...you know I could never love someone that's from there," she replied.
"I know...see you soon," he said, as she hung up the phone and got her stuff. She was meeting with Ms. Blake that evening for further instructions...