4: Cora's Spellbook
Her first night at Granny's B&B went off without a hitch, and she was so glad too because she was fucking exhausted. Between her car crash~which, to be honest, was a little traumatic~and seeing Emma again she'd had a hell of a day. The next morning, she hobbled back down to the diner for breakfast. God, those bruises were killing her. Mrs. Lucas, or Granny as she liked to be called, was kind to her. A little suspicious, yes, but kind all the same. So when Jennifer sat down at the bar Granny smiled at her and asked what she wanted to order. Hash browns and a sunny side up egg. Yeah, that sounded really good right now in comparison to hospital mush.
Storybrooke, from what Jennifer's observed so far, is a quaint little town in the middle of Nowhere, Maine. There are never any radios on or TVs dialed into news stations. They are, in a sense, completely isolated from civilization. She supposed that once and awhile it's just nice to get away, but she couldn't imagine living here her entire life, let alone Emma living here. Emma always said she wanted to live in a city with hundreds of yellow cabs and neon lights and glistening glass towers. But maybe what she really wanted was people. And, who knows, maybe she found her people here in Storybrooke.
As she ate, she noticed that those same people seemed unusually weary of her. They weren't overtly suspicious, just curiously unnerved. And they kept staring at her. She hated people staring at her. She hated them gossiping about her.
Not to mention that she was terribly self conscious of the stitches running over her left eyebrow and down to her temple. It was red and puffy and hurt like a bitch. Normal, yes, but embarrassing all the same. She'd checked Dr. Whale's handiwork in the mirror last night (looking for a reason to hate him) and was surprisingly satisfied. If everything went smoothly she'd barely have a scar. But it didn't make her any less self conscious now. Letting a curl fall over her eyes, she just tried to ignore them.
Breaking the whispered conversations they thought she couldn't hear, the bell above Granny's door chimed. Swallowing a mouthful of hash browns, she glanced over. A woman strode in and, as she did, the diner grew even quieter in the warm, morning sun. Her black heels clicked rhythmically on the linoleum as she walked, cutting effortlessly through the judgments of Granny's patrons, an entity all her own. Jennifer admired that. For a moment the woman's gaze raked around the room before her eyes settled on Jennifer. Wait, what? She hated to admit that her heart sped up as the woman approached. Her silky black hair, blood red lipstick, and piercing, rich brown eyes were both intimidating and attractive. She was beautiful and regal and way, way out Jennifer's league.
The woman's lips spread back into a tight but sparklingly polite smile as she neared. "You must be the other Swan." She drawled, her voice sandy and thick as she stood next to Jennifer at the bar. Her eyes were calculating and quick and frigid, and Jennifer thought it was such an interesting choice of first words. She seemed threatened by Jennifer, and it was coming out as contempt.
The gap between the woman's words and Jennifer's absent reaction must have been slightly too long because the woman was staring at her with an expectant~and slightly annoyed~gaze. Embarrassed, it immediately ripped her from her thoughts.
"It's Alexander, actually." She corrected, trying not to focus on the blush that was surely spreading across her cheeks. The woman raised her brow, verging on impatient. She swallowed. "Jennifer." She continued. "...Alexander." She finished awkwardly before holding out her hand to shake. The brunette eyed her outstretched hand before finally taking it in her own. Her grip was firm and her hand cold.
"Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke." Regina. How...regal. "I heard that you're staying in town for a few days." She stated in an attempt to make conversation.
"Yeah, I am." She confirmed nonchalantly. "Just until my car's repaired though. I was, well, supposed to be at this conference in Portland yesterday, but that's not happening anymore." She explained then frowned as she processed what Regina had said. "Hold on, who told you I was staying? I mean, it's like the whole town knows." She protested, glancing out the window before meeting the mayor's gaze expectantly.
"Storybrooke is...a small town. Word travels fast." Regina offered with a feigned smile and a seemingly helpless shrug. Jennifer hummed, her suspicion apparent to Regina now. In response, the mayor's eyes narrowed momentarily.
"The town's been whispering about me all morning." Jennifer added with a disapproving shake of her head. "Swan this and Swan that without even asking my name."
"Emma Swan is a very popular person. We rarely get strangers in Storybrooke so when that stranger happens to be connected to Miss Swan, well, let's just say Storybrooke likes to gossip." Her nose crinkled when she said that last part, leaning forwards like it was a dirty little secret. Regina's eyes sparkled, and Jennifer's lips turned down and her brow crinkled. Her life was her life, not the town's.
"Look, I get that Emma's important to Storybrooke. She's the sheriff or what the hell ever. But I am not a Swan, and I don't appreciate gossip." She stated firmly.
Regina could see the annoyance in Jennifer's pale blue irises and leaned back against the counter, a furrow in her brow. Curious. "Miss Alexander, by addressing you as the other Swan I didn't mean to offend. I was simply expressing the sentiments of Storybrooke. As for the gossip, I can only ask that you don't shoot the messenger."
Her tone was friendly, almost suspiciously so. Something was off about Regina. It was like the world was slightly tilted on its axis around her. Everything twisted to how she wanted it. Jennifer didn't know if she liked it or was frightened by it.
"Right, sorry." She hated that that was the only dumb thing she could think to say, but Regina did have a point. It was the way she talked: articulate and musing and directed towards her and only her. She was cold and persuasive, gorgeous and regal, intimidating yet polite. And Jennifer didn't know what to make of it. "You're right. I'll shoot Emma." She joked as Regina raised her brow. "I mean, of all the towns she could live in and all the roads I could have driven…"
"You think it's fate?" Regina asked with a ridiculous sort of laugh.
"Coincidence." Jennifer corrected. "I don't believe in fate."
"You do sound like Emma." Regina muttered under her breath.
"Do you, Ms. Mills?" Jennifer inquired. Regina glanced at her. "Believe in fate." She clarified, throwing Regina off balance. No one's ever asked her that. It was a rather personal question, she thought. With an uncomfortable smoothing of her blazer, she cleared her throat.
"It's almost 8:30. I should be getting to work." Regina breathed. "Have a good day, Miss Alexander." Jennifer wanted to say goodbye, but Regina had already begun to walk away. And after she left Jennifer was still staring at the door.
Regina intimidated her. That was for sure. The thing was, she couldn't help but like it. She liked the low drawl of Regina's voice and the smoothness of her skin when they shook hands and the way she held herself, tall and powerful. She was enthralled by this woman. Regina was gorgeous. Her outfit was impeccable. Her regality was beguiling. And that scar above her lip was practically delectable.
"Hmm." She hummed curtly, curiously.
. . .
Instead of heading to the office like she told Miss Alexander, she went to see Gold. She didn't know why this all felt so urgent. Maybe because it was. Maybe because this Other Swan unnerved her.
Something about her was different. Different, at least, than anyone in Storybrooke~in the Enchanted Forest. Different was unpredictable. And unpredictable was dangerous.
In all honesty, she'd never bothered to figure out how the protection spell over the town worked. It was Rumple's idea to use old magic after all; all she did was cast it. At the time, all she cared about was that it worked. Now she wished that she'd taken more initiative instead of whittling her days away under the temporary comfort of victory. Most spell books were were written in new elvish. However, the one that Gold was using was written in an ancient form of elvish that she couldn't read. She wished she'd taken the time to learn it because now she had to rely on Rumpelstiltskin.
With gritted teeth she strode through the door, the bell chiming overhead. She tried to look powerful when she walked, especially in Gold's presence because he knew things that she didn't. She hated him for it. She dreaded not having the upper hand.
Gold sauntered in from the back. "How did your chat go?" He asked with a sharp lilt to his voice as she approached the glass counter that separated them.
"Fine. Short but fine. Jennifer Alexander is…" Regina hesitated, trying to find just one word to describe the enigma that was Miss Alexander. The mayor took a breath and brought her gaze back to Gold's, "far from ordinary."
And it was the truth. Regina legitimately couldn't think of anything better to say about her. They had had a two minute conversation, and what she had learned was that Jennifer was acutely aware of other people, slightly awkward, very thoughtful, and annoyingly curious. Regina thought about saying that, but the words died on her tongue.
Gold raised his brow. Seeing the cogs turn in his head, Regina shook her own. "...But not threatening. Our conversation was brief but she wasn't looking for conflict. I think it's safe to assume that she'll be leaving just as soon as she can." Regina supplied with a confident nonchalance to her demeanor, slightly pacifying Rumple. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that everything she'd just said was everything Emma had said to the town. Her satisfaction faded. He might as well have gone to the damn meeting himself!
"Why am I here?" Her voice was suspicious now, and Gold picked up on it.
"I was getting to that." In one swift movement, he pulled Cora's spellbook from under the counter and set it before her. She stared at it then back at him before shaking her head.
"I assume you're using that to repair the protection spell." She reasoned.
"Indeed." He confirmed with a small nod.
"And I take it you're no longer worried about this Other Swan. She'll be leaving in the next few days if I have anything to do with it. A little memory wipe will take care of her."
Gold took a breath and dragged his thumb along the spotless counter in front of him, his face cool. "That might not be ideal anymore, Madam Mayor." He looked up at her, and she furrowed her brow. "Last night I was checking on the integrity of the protection spell. It's falling apart."
Immediately, Regina's eyes widened in surprise as she thought about the hell that would be raised if outsiders found out about this town. But she was still confused. "What does that have to do with Miss Alexander? Why would you want to keep her here?"
"That, dearie, is just as complicated as what's causing this." He told her. "But first…" He pushed the book toward her. "...the protection spell. Though it was my idea to use old magic, I can't wield it myself. You, like your mother, can, however."
She raised her brow and scoffed. "I can't read old elvish." His face dropped.
"What do you mean you can't read it? You cast it!"
"I'd seen my mother cast enough old elvish to figure it out, but she never taught me." She shot back, and he scoffed, turning away from the counter. It was clear that he couldn't read it either. She frowned.
"The rest of the curse is built on principles of new magic. Remind me how are the two even compatible?" She was frustrated and confused as she placed her hands on the countertop and leaned forward. Maybe there was a clue somewhere in there to help them. He turned back to her, trying to control his frustration.
"Old and new magic are like oil and water, but when combined together correctly, they can be unstoppable. Old elvish is less predictable, rawer, but also more powerful than new magic. But new magic is more precise. If the spell was cast correctly, and it was, then it should be virtually unbreakable. Since you were the one to create this town, I'd expect that anything that altered the spell so severely would come from your hand. However, since it clearly did not, I can only look to Miss Alexander for answers."
"I highly doubt that she has anything to do with it~at least consciously."
"You think she has magic?"
"No, she's not from our world." She frowned, remembering that Rumple can see into the future. "Something this big...did you know this was going to happen?" Rumple almost laughed at her question and answered with one of his own.
"Are you asking if I think it's fate?" Her frown deepened. Miss Alexander's words floated to the surface of her mind, echoing loudly in her ears. Do you believe in fate?
No. No. It's absurd. Improbable. It's not fate.
"I didn't think you believed in fate." Gold added, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"I didn't think you did." She put forth, trying to conceal her unease. He chuckled.
"Regina," he leaned forward, "I create fate." A shiver ran down her spine. Gold pulled the book towards him again. "The protection spell's very purpose was to keep anyone not from the Enchanted Forest out. Because Sheriff Swan came through with no damage to the spell, it proves that she's from our world. Miss Alexander shouldn't have been able to get through, yet she did. The question is: why? Though you may have taken a shining to her, we can't exclude the possibility that this Other Swan may have caused this."
"I have not taken a shining~!" Gold glared at her, and she sighed in annoyance, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, rolling her eyes. He continued.
"And until we can rule her out, we have to keep her here." Regina stared at him for a moment when he fell silent. His cryptic words, his guesses...
"You have no idea how this could have happened." She shook her head. His gaze turned to her, cold and blank. He was hiding something.
"All I know is that it's either you or her." His stare unnerved her. She took her hands from the counter and stepped back, sighing, clearing her head. "And now that I know you can't read old elvish I suppose I'll have to work on translating it." He continued. The mention of the book again piqued her interest. Cora's spellbook. She wondered how Rumpelstiltskin had acquired it. If she knew her mother at all, she knew that Cora wouldn't give up something as valuable as that.
"Speaking of, how did you get this?" She asked, stepping towards the counter again. "That spellbook used to be my mother's, and I doubt she'd just give it to you." Though most would find her Evil Queen persona rather intimidating, it did not amuse Rumple. Calmly and coldly he spoke, leaning forward across the counter.
"Don't you have a town to run...and now another Swan to shepherd as well?" He inquired dismissively. She bristled but didn't retaliate. To Regina, her mother had always been confusing but predictable in her conniving ways. She was never mysterious though. And that was intriguing.
Gold's refusal to address the subject made Regina want to do everything but drop it. Nevertheless, she gave Gold one last suspicious glare before turning and striding out of the pawn shop. Unearthing her mother's final secret was one of the many bullet points on her ever growing to do list.
