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
New Face Claims:
Lucian Blackwater: Graham Greene
Malachi Wolfe: Scott Adkins
Will Rainwater/Billy Truheart: Lou Diamond Phillips
Monica Rainwater: TBD
Sam Rainwater/Mathias Firebird: Zahn McClarnon
Tigerlily: Sara Tomko(same as the show)
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:
Ghostwriter: Yeah, Regina is probably going to do something bad. Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer Baratta: Yeah, everyone is probably going to need some luck now. Glad you're enjoying it.
Grace5231973: I know, Narcissa is Mayor now. That means things will probably get way more dangerous and complicated. Glad you're enjoying it!
Zariah: Yep, someone who is clearly mentally unstable is in charge now. Perfect. Yeah, we just need a true love's kiss from Emma to break the curse. Glad you're enjoying!
Sexystarwarslover: Yep, Snow and David will defeat Narcissa in the end! Yep, it's midnight so obviously there's some Snowing loving happening. Yep, she may win battles, but they'll win the war. Yeah, Narcissa is seriously deranged. Yep, like her name suggests, she wants to be the center of attention. Yes, unfortunately, Narcissa is the new Mayor. Yeah, the curse is really hanging on. Yep, way worse than Regina. Glad you're enjoying it! :)
AnonSnowing: Yep, Snowing cannot keep their hands off each other. I know, the curse needs to break. I feel we're getting close soon. I'm doing things a bit differently here and think it's interesting to have people awake, but the town still cursed. Yeah, it makes you wonder if the mirror purposely toyed with Narcissa all her life and twisted her into what she is. I feel a bit bad for Regina too, but she always resorts to her old ways when she is losing. Which never goes well for anyone. Yep, they will defeat her in the end. Glad you're enjoying it!
Clarity
Chapter 48: Face Off, Pt 1
Henry came down that morning and was a little surprised to see that no breakfast had been made yet. Even on days they had to be quick, there was usually a quick bowl of cereal or oatmeal waiting. But not this morning and the mood seemed very somber.
"Mom?" he asked, as he approached her in the living room and saw an empty glass on the coffee table, next to an empty bottle of hard cider.
"Mom?" he asked again and she finally turned to look at him.
"You didn't win?" he asked.
"No…I'm afraid not," she replied.
"We can fix it though," Henry said.
"I lost the election, Henry…the only way to fix it is with another election. Until then…we're stuck with this result and a new Mayor," Regina replied.
"No…I mean we can fix it when Emma breaks the curse," Henry said. In that moment, Regina had instant regret as soon as the words left her lips, but they couldn't be taken back.
"None of this would be happening if not for Emma," she spat with venom dripping from the words. The look on his face though made her wish she could take those words back. She really felt that way, but realized her error in expressing them to him. Henry was only ten, but she could see that he took that as her blaming him indirectly for everything.
"Henry…I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she said.
"Yes you did…you just didn't mean to say it out loud," he replied, clearly deeply hurt and she called after him, as he rushed out of the house. She was about to go after him, but her son ran right past Narcissa and her mouthpiece from the debate last night. The one that had called her out for murder and reminded her of the little boy, who's father she had taken away. Could it really be? Could this man really be little Owen Flynn?
"What do you want?" she snapped. Narcissa smirked.
"This is the Mayor's mansion…you're no longer Mayor," she said, as she handed her a neatly folded document. Regina snatched it away and unfolded it, her eyes widened as she did.
"Eviction?" she asked. Narcissa smirked smugly.
"You have twenty-four hours to get out of my house," the blonde said.
"You already have a house here!? It's as big as mine," Regina said, referring to one of the empty properties that Narcissa had purchased upon arriving.
"I know…but I want your house now. Maybe you can stay with your daughter…or I'm sorry, step-daughter, you know the one you hunted like an animal and tried to kill?" she asked.
"You hate her as much as I do," Regina retorted, infuriated by Narcissa's smug smirk.
"Very true…but I'm actually not disappointed that you failed to kill the little bitch since that would have deprived me of doing it myself," Narcissa replied. Regina smirked.
"Even without their memories and with most of the town thinking she's a homewrecking tramp, most still love her. I've never figured out how she does it…but they love her. If you kill her, you'll become very unpopular," Regina warned.
"And if the curse breaks, the whole damn town will take up arms against you for her," she added, with a bit of annoyance. Narcissa only smirked though.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill her yet. She hasn't suffered enough. But she will," the blonde answered and Regina almost felt a pang of fear. Not for herself, but for Snow…for the little girl she had once known and loved. She shook that away though and poised herself in the moment, like the Queen she was.
"You can have the house and my seat as Mayor…but it won't last. You think you're evil…but you're an amateur. I'm the one they called evil…I am the Evil Queen," Regina said. Narcissa laughed.
"Oh sweetie…I was evil before you were even born. I was always meant to sit on the Throne of the Evil Queen," Narcissa said.
"Evil is almost never born…it's always made, as they say," she continued.
"But once in a while, evil is born…and your Throne was meant for me," she replied.
"Why do you even want Storybrooke? You are a household name in this world, you have a fashion empire and more wealth than anyone here ten times over," Regina said.
"The sheep out there worship people like you…they have no idea who we are and if they did, they wouldn't believe it or care. You have what you want. Fame, wealth, and beauty. Storybrooke is of no use to you," she added. Narcissa smirked.
"You're probably right…I suppose they consider me one of the fairest in this world and no one knows about my niece. She's a nobody here…" she said reflectively.
"Then go back to New York…and revel in that fact in your penthouse mansion, knowing that your niece makes minimum wage and is considered nothing more than a tramp and a whore that stole a married man," Regina replied. Narcissa thought about it for a moment or so she pretended, before she smirked.
"No…I don't think I will, because you see, I can have both. I am and still can be everything you said, while at the same time making sure my niece is everything you said. No…I won't have to lift a finger to destroy her. Public opinion will do that for me," Narcissa said. Regina smirked.
"They'll never turn against her. They may think she's a tramp for now, but David is divorced and their hatred of her is quickly fading. And once the curse breaks and she cries her sweet little tears, they'll grab their pitchforks and it won't be me she sends them for now…it will be you, with Charming leading the charge, all in the name of the one they want to crown Queen over us," she warned and fury came over Narcissa's features. But Regina continued.
"And what do you think will happen when the world finds out that you have a darling niece? Even if you tell them that she's adulterous and play the victim, they'll still see her and as usual, you'll disappear into the background behind her. Believe me…I know. I was Queen and the Kingdom only loved her," she goaded. Narcissa clenched her teeth.
"We'll see," she growled.
"I suppose we will," Regina said, as she looked at the man next to her.
"You're going to prison for what you did to my father," Greg announced. But Regina smirked smugly.
"You have no proof that I did anything to your father," she said, enjoying twisting the knife in him.
"For all you know, I let him leave town and he decided not to bother with you and start anew," she goaded.
"That's not what happened!?" he shouted.
"Then prove it…oh wait, you can't," Regina said, as she slammed the door in their faces.
"We're going to just let that go?" Greg asked.
"Relax…I'm in power now and once I decide to flex my new power, she and everyone else will feel it," Narcissa replied.
"So…she did it. She's the freaking Mayor now," Emma said, as she looked at August's morning edition.
"Yeah…gotta say, I never saw her coming, though I thought you believing in the curse would be a long shot too," August mentioned.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Emma grumbled. He smirked.
"It wasn't a dig at you…it's this place; this world. I don't have to tell you what it can do to people who believe in anything," he said. She nodded and they cast a glance to the curtain.
"How did she take it?" he asked.
"As well as she can. My…David seems ready to protect her and do battle at the same time," she replied. He smirked.
"He's always ready to fight…guess that hasn't changed. Reminds me of someone," he said to her.
"Don't start with me," she muttered, as her phone rang and she answered it.
"Sheriff," she said.
"Uh..okay. Yeah…we'll be right there," she said, as Snow and David came out from behind the curtain, hand in hand.
"Trouble already?" he asked.
"Maybe…that was someone from the reservation. I didn't even know we had one, but that was their Sheriff. He said his name was Sam Rainwater," Emma replied.
"Rainwater…is that who you met at the hospital?" David asked. She shook her head.
"No…his name was Will Rainwater. It's probably the brother that Merryweather told us about!" Snow said.
"Then you should come with us. You already made a connection with Mr. Rainwater and his daughter and if they're calling us in, it must be bad," David replied. She nodded.
"Yeah…these kinds of communities like to police themselves and don't like outside interference," Emma agreed.
"Mind if I tag along?" August asked.
"A reporter on the reservation? I guess, but if they are agitated by you, then I need you to scram," Emma replied.
"Understood," he said, as he followed them out.
Belle followed Rumple along the sidewalk, wondering where he was taking her. In her short time having her memories back, she had made good use of the time and read as many books about this world as she could. She still had much to learn and many things were still strange to her, but she was happy to know that books seemed to be one constant that each of their worlds shared.
"Rumple…where are we going?" she asked.
"We're almost there…it's not much further," he replied.
"I would have thought you'd be more upset about Narcissa being elected," she said.
"Oh I'm livid…but I still have my power in this town and we'll be ready for whatever attempt she's likely about to make to wrestle it away from me. But she's distracted for the moment in rubbing salt in Regina's wounds," he replied.
"And you know this how already?" she asked. He smirked.
"I have a few people on my payroll within the courthouse. She drew up eviction papers for the Mayor's mansion this morning. I may take pleasure in Regina's pain for what she did to you…but I don't in Henry's. That has been his home all his young life," he replied.
"However, thankfully the boy will have a place with Neal at our place and with Emma at Snow and David's residence," he said. She smirked.
"I think I'm enjoying you as a father and grandfather," she mentioned.
"Don't think it means I've gone soft. Regina is only alive, because she is the lesser of two evils," he said. But she knew better. She had asked him not to seek revenge and though she was well aware there was no magic at the moment to tempt him to carry out his need for revenge, she liked to think her opinion carried great weight with him.
"We're here," he said, as he unlocked the door to the building and they walked in.
"It is dusty and needs a lot of work, for which I've hired a crew. But it's yours," he said. She was stunned and looked at him in surprise.
"The library?" she asked. He nodded curtly.
"It's remained closed all these years with no one to run it…but I thought it may be the perfect occupation for you. I know you like to be busy," he replied and was met with a hug. He was still slightly stunned by the physical contact, but eagerly hugged her back.
"Thank you," she said, as she planted a kiss on his cheek and began to wander the place curiously. He watched her and looked at his phone, reading his texts.
One was from David and it almost gave him pause for a moment. Lately, he and the Prince had maintained something of an amicable relationship and he found that he didn't hate it. If he was being completely truthful, he had much common ground with the shepherd turned Prince. They both came from nothing and faced down those that made them doubt their worth. Him with his village that had branded him a coward and David with the warlord Bo Peep and her threats to enslave him. He had risen above it by becoming the Dark One, but David had risen above it in the way he had always hoped he could. Now, they shared a grandson and their children still had something between them, even if they denied it. Family was very important to the Prince and Rumple decided that was probably the only reason he was willing to work with him, let alone have an alliance with him.
"Is something wrong?" Belle asked.
"Just some business at the reservation it would seem. David and Emma are on their way there," he said, as the cleaning crew arrived.
"Do you think it's trouble?" she asked.
"Perhaps…but it's nothing you need to be concerned with," he replied.
"We should still see what's going on. It must be something if he sent you a message," she said.
"And I suppose you'll insist on going too?" he asked. She smiled.
"Of course…the cleaning crew can handle this and I'll be back later to sort through my new books," she said, as they headed out together.