Author's Notes: I do not own Once Upon A Time which is a show on ABC we may be drastically veering from depending upon how much everyone likes the last scene in Apocalypse Now. I haven't gotten back to anyone about your reviews which I appreciate and apologize for. Thank you again for the reviews, faves and follows. Please let me think and happy reading!


It was another unsuccessful day of fairy hunting. Even without the help of magic, Mother Superior somehow managed to elude them again.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I don't know what happened," said Ruby.

Emma shrugged as they entered the sheriff's station. "Hey, I guess we just have to keep looking."

"I can't believe Mother Superior did all that," said Ruby.

"Oh, believe it my dear lupine girl, you have so much to learn."

Emma and Ruby looked up to see Merlin sitting at one of the desks in the sheriff's station.

"Hey, Merlin," Emma said cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting with our friendly local pirate here," said Merlin, motioning at Hook in his cell.

Hook nodded. "Yes, I have enjoyed my conversation with the wizard here. His company is superior to that of Gaston's, but no match for your lovely presence, Swan."

Emma frowned.

"I should get back to the diner before the dinner rush," Ruby said excusing herself.

"Why is Gaston sleeping?"

"Because he was boring me," said Merlin. "He'll wake up. Though that's not why I'm here. I want to volunteer."

"Volunteer?," asked Emma.

"For the posse to hunt down the blue trollop."

Emma sat down on the desk and eyed Merlin. "Did Gold tell you about the deal I made with him?"

"Yes, he did, which is why I'm here."

"She killed Belle's mother. You can't tell me you're not angry about that."

"Indeed I am quite angry, but she and I have been adversaries for so long that I have had to learn to take these things in stride."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Listen, Rumplestiltskin will not break your deal, but he is also very clever. He will find a way to make that tart come after him and then he will kill her because frankly he's wanted to for several centuries and while I may share the sentiment, it which would not help me."

"Why not?"

"Because I need some information from her."

"What kind of information?"

"That's my business."

"And making sure I don't get double-crossed is my business."

"Long ago, she cast someone from the Enchanted Forest and I believe to this land. I've never been able to find him."

"Who is he?"

"Beatrice's True Love."

Emma arched her eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"Would I jest about that?"

"Where's your sense of romance, Swan?," asked Hook.

"Nobody was talking to you, Hook. I don't know. True Love and... she's just a kid!"

"I'm not marrying her off," said Merlin. "Beatrice is the product of fourteen generations of True Love. Her future happiness will depend on having it herself. The sparkling winged trollop cast this person away as a boy with the obvious intent that even if Beatrice was born, she would be miserable."

"Did you tell Gold this?"

"Alas, he is quite protective of his princess. Fathers rarely wish that their daughters have their own loves. So I decided not to tell him." He shrugged. "Until the day when I inevitably have to in order to save the boy's life."

"Aye, that day will come as sure as the north star..." said Hook.

"Do you mind?," asked Emma. She turned back to Merlin. "Says the guy that let his daughter marry Rumplestiltskin."

"You think they're married?"

"Okay, this is more information than I need..."

"Who would perform the ceremony? Who could they even find to print the invitations?," asked Merlin.

"Who would be there to receive the invitations since he's driven away or killed everyone he's ever cared about?," asked Hook.

"You did steal his wife," said Merlin. "You do remember that, don't you? And please don't wax poetic about Milah yet again."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, I guess you can help. It's not like anything else is working."


The topic of the day's fairy meeting was inevitably Rumplestiltskin and how the Dark One seemed determined to go on a rampage.

"This can all stop, you know," said the Gold Fairy, once the others had gone.

Blue turned. "And what do you know about it?"

"Rumplestiltskin is hurt, he's mourning the loss of his True Love and I think we both know he need not be."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Have some sense, Blue. The revolt in Avonlea rages. How much more suffering must there be for this land because you are terrified of an infant?"

"That infant is a monster."

"Perhaps. Then again perhaps not. Either way, I have a solution."

Blue watched as Gold opened her hand.

"A magic bean?," asked Blue. "Where did you get it?"

"From a gentle giant who knows all too well the pain of being alone."

"And what do I do with that?"

"You go to Rumplestiltskin, you tell him where to find Belle and how to awaken her and you give him this so they can go to the Land Without Magic and find his son."

Blue scoffed. "He would never give up his power."

"He only needs it to find his son. That's what this has been about. That's what this has all been about. Give him the chance to have his True Love and his children and he will take it."

"You don't know him."

"I think I do." Gold handed her the bean. "I have to go. The hour has finally arrived for Cinderella's ball."


"Good Morning, Storybrooke!"

"Good morning!"

"I'm Goldie Loxley."

"And I'm Hart Archer."

"We'll have the weather report as well as the big happenings in Storybrooke for this holiday season and a gift-giving guide to find one that's just right for everyone on your list!"

"Looking forward to that, Goldie, but first the big story that everyone is still talking about. Fairy Hunt '12."

"Oh, God, they made a graphic," said Beatrice motioning at the TV as Gold handed her a plate of pancakes.

"It's Day Twelve and Mother Superior a.k.a. the Blue Fairy has been evading Sheriff Swan by hiding in the woods. We went to Sheriff Swan for comment."

The broadcast went to a video of Emma. "What? Are you guys serious? No comment. You're worse than Sidney."

"We'll go back to the Sheriff's Office for more developments as they occur," Goldie promised.

Beatrice looked at Gold. "If the outside world could see this, do you think they'd figure it out or just think this town was the biggest cosplay ever?"

"What's a cosplay?," asked Gold.

Beatrice shook her head. "Never mind."

Belle entered. "Rumple, turn the TV off. I don't even know why you got one for the kitchen," she said, sitting next to Beatrice at the counter.

Gold motioned at Beatrice. "Because if I want to see her face while BBC America plays Doctor Who for five days, this is apparently what I must do."

Belle looked at Beatrice. "Off."

"Ah, but what if we miss Fairy Hunt '12?"

Belle grimaced. "I don't even want you thinking about that terrible woman."

"Um, I kind of have to," said Beatrice. "Since we're arch enemies or something."

"You needn't have arch enemies, sweetheart," said Gold. "You have me."

"Yeah, what's your plan?," ssked Beatrice.

"Emma is going to find her," said Belle. "Besides, she's powerless. She can't hurt us. Right, Rumple?"

Gold nodded as he sipped his coffee. "Quite right." He tapped his watch. "Eat up."


Beatrice really wondered why she came to Granny's.

Oh, right. Because she lived in Storybrooke and Granny's was the only place she could come and play on her iPad while she drank coffee, ate pie and not be accosted by someone who had sold their first-born or feared "The Dark Princess," whatever that was. Granny and Ruby didn't stand for it, even if they weren't Gold's biggest fans.

Granny and Ruby were not here today. They were at Fairy Hunt '12.

That left Ashley Boyd.

Ashley was also known as Cinderella. The girl who Beatrice had realized at the age of three was an idiot for not reading that contract. She had not gotten an order of Beatrice's correct since her arrival. Beatrice had naturally attributed this to her intelligence or perhaps forgetfulness. One time she had given Gold a grilled cheese instead of a cheeseburger and he had been certain to mention it.

Contract law for him also extended to the dining experience.

So the order mistakes had never happened with him again. They didn't happen with Belle. They didn't happen when Granny or Ruby were in the diner. It had taken Beatrice this long to put together the pattern that they only occurred when Ashley was in charge and Beatrice was alone.

She had tried to give the benefit of the doubt, she didn't want to give Ashley a hard time for picking on her if it was just idiocy.

Days on end of Fairy Hunt '12 had given her significant doubts. Emma needed Granny and Ruby for the search and that meant more often than not Ashley was in charge.

Beatrice stared at her empty mug and the empty space where her cheeseburger and fries should have been. She looked back up at Ashley as she talked on her phone to her husband.

"Ashley?," she asked as she noticed the meatloaf that Archie and Marco ordered after hers arrived.

"One second," she said dismissively. "No, I miss you... No, I miss you more."

"Ashley?"

Ashley gave a dismissive look and turned away.

"Ashley, do we have an ETA on that cheeseburger?"

She didn't answer, only giggling as she spoke to her husband.

"Right," said Beatrice.

Ashley giggled again. Beatrice picked up her mug and stood as the restaurant patrons began to stare, save for Ashley.

She marched over and put her mug on the counter. She picked up the order pad and wrote her order down pushing the slip across the pass to a very confused cook. She then took the pot of coffee and refilled her mug as the others stared at her.

"Does anyone else need a refill?," asked Beatrice. It was only now that Ashley turned. She held the pot out. "Archie? Marco?"

"No, thank you," said Archie.

"I'm fine," said Marco.

"Right. Awesome," said Beatrice. She looked at Hart Archer sitting at the counter. "Your iced tea looks low. Let me top that off for you."

She took the glass from a befuddled Hart and Ashley quickly excused herself from the phone.

"What are you doing?," she asked.

"I am waitress-ing." She refilled the tea and gave it back to Hart. "Here you go."

"Do you have any Splenda?," asked Hart.

Beatrice passed him the caddy of sweeteners.

"Get out from behind the counter," said Ashley.

"No, no, no," said Beatrice. "You're busy on the phone. I've got this."

The door opened. Leroy entered with two of the other dwarfs.

"Hey, guys," said Beatrice. "Welcome to Granny's. Go ahead, sit anywhere you want."

"Why are you doing this?," asked Ashley.

"You can figure that out yourself," said Beatrice. She took the pad and walked to the dwarves' table. "So, guys, do you need a few minutes with the menu or do you know what you want?"

"What's going on?," asked Tom, just before he sneezed.

"Yeah, do you work here now?," asked Walter.

"Doesn't Gold give you an allowance, sister?," asked Leroy.

"You can't do this, you can't take orders!," said Ashley.

"It seems to be going quicker this way," said Beatrice. She looked back at the dwarves. "Guys, what about drinks?"

"Coffee, please," said Walter.

"Coffee."

"Coffee, sister."

"She is not a waitress!," Ashley protested.

"Three coffees coming up," said Beatrice.

Archie threw his mediator hat into the ring as Beatrice got mugs of coffee. "Now, Ashley, I did hear Beatrice ask about her food a few times before she got up. Maybe you didn't hear her?"

"I wasn't on the phone that long," said Ashley.

"Yes, because time is a relative construct," said Beatrice, giving the dwarves their coffee.

"You got any cream, sister?"

Ashley scowled as Beatrice's comment went over her head. She looked back to Archie. "I was asking about the baby. The one your father tried to steal."

Beatrice handed Leroy his creamer as the tension in the restaurant grew thick.

"And here we go," said Beatrice. "How long did you make it in that argument before you played the baby card? A whole two minutes?"

"Seemed like less," said Tom, sneezing again.

"Now, Beatrice, Ashley does have some reasonable anger," said Archie. "Even if it is misdirected."

"Misdirected?," Ashley sneered. "Mother Superior is a fugitive because of her."

"Or because she tried to kill me or because she cursed me or because she killed my grandmother. Or because now she's powerless and totally scared," said Beatrice, shrugging. She looked back at the dwarves. "Guys, how are we coming with those menus?"

"What's the vegetarian special?," asked Walter.

"That would be the FLT with faux bacon, lettuce and tomato on a sourdough bun," said Beatrice. "I would order it with avocado because the faux bacon usually leaves me wanting."

"How did you know that?," asked Ashley.

"It's on the chalkboard, it's not nuclear launch codes," said Beatrice.

"I'll have the hamburger," said Leroy.

"And how would you like that done?"

"Ashley, you can't blame the sins of the father on the child," said Marco.

"He's a monster," said Ashley.

"That was three minutes for her to play the monster card," said Beatrice. "Tom? Walter?"

"I want the FLT with the avocado like you said," said Tom.

"I'll have that, too," said Walter.

"What? You guys are gonna be vegetarian now?," asked Leroy.

Beatrice took the ticket to the pass. "Next order!"

Ashley took her argument back to Archie and Marco. "What? The daughter of the Dark One isn't a monster?"

"Wow, didn't even hit four minutes," said Beatrice.

"Look, Ashley," said Leroy, "I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but Mother Superior isn't all she's cracked up to be. Besides, if Gold's good enough for Belle, there's got to be more to him, it's not really our business anyway."

"Everyone always thought Belle was strange," said Ashley.

"Yeah, I know," said Beatrice. "It's crazy how she does things like reading, which I know some princesses have serious trouble with like if it's a contract."

"Cheeseburger's up!," called the cook, breaking into the silence.

"Beatrice, Ashley knows she made a mistake-" said Archie.

"He tricked me!," said Ashley.

"Yeah, really owning up to that," said Beatrice.

"Could we just get our check?," another customer asked from the corner.

Beatrice went back and collected her cheeseburger from the pass as Ashley threw her apron down, took her coat and stomped out, almost slamming into Doctor Whale as he entered.

"Ashley-" Archie called after her.

"Did she just quit?," asked Beatrice, eating a fry.

"Uh, check?," asked another customer.


"Uh, what's the point of this?," asked Emma, following Merlin into the woods as he carried a statue into the woods.

"Concordia."

"Yeah, still no clue," said Emma.

"Not much for Classics?"

"What? Like Casablanca?"

"Tragic ending, that, but much older." Merlin put the statue down and waved his hand. "Viviane, I speak to you under the auspice of Concordia."

The statue lit up and beamed a bright light into the trees.

"Wait, that statue is magical?," asked Emma.

"With it, we are kept from doing each other harm. Isn't that right, Viviane?"

There was a sigh and Mother Superior's voice echoed. "What do you want, Merlin?"

"I believe the Savior wishes to speak with you."

Emma awkwardly stepped forward. "We need to talk about your surrender."

"For what?"

"You confessed to killing Belle's mother. We can't let that go," said Emma. "You have to know that."

"There are issues at play you couldn't possibly understand."

"Okay," said Emma. "So, I'm not fully versed on fairy tale rivalries. I do know bail bonds, though, and I know about being on the run and I know that the longer you wait, the worse it always is. So, come in with me now and I promise nothing will happen to you."

There was a long pause.

"And why do you want to help her, Merlin?"

"I'm in a generous mood."

"What do you want?"

"I want to know about the boy. Where did you send him?"

The light vanished from the statue.

"So, I guess she doesn't want to help you," said Emma.

"No, I suppose not."


"Hey," said Belle, walking into the shop. "Did you get it?"

"Did I get what?"

"Rumple, please don't torture me."

Gold smiled and put a box on the top of the case. He took off the lid and Belle peered inside.

"You got it," she gasped.

"Much Ado About Nothing from a 1632 folio, remarkable condition."

"Do I want to know how much it cost?," asked Belle.

"A bargain at six thousand dollars."

Belle gasped. "You never said it would be that much!"

"You asked me to get the oldest edition of Much Ado About Nothing I could find. The perfect gift for our daughter, though I thought you would want one she could read without you worrying about nail polish."

"She's read it, she knows the whole thing." When Gold looked surprised, Belle shrugged. "David Tennant and Catherine Tate did a production on the West End. She has the download and everything."

"Well, she'll appreciate this," said Gold, taking it out.

"Shouldn't you have gloves or something?," asked Belle. "At the library, we always kept things like this in the archives."

"I've enchanted it," said Gold. "It will never age, it can't be damaged."

With obvious delight, Belle took the book in her hands. "It's so beautiful," she said. "We need a box she can keep it in."

Gold nodded.

"What is it?," Belle asked, detecting a note of unhappiness. "Was it really too much?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Gold motioned at the book as he put it back in the box for safekeeping. "It's simply that you are getting our daughter a Christmas gift that celebrates her namesake and lets her know how special she is in your eyes and I've managed to secure a talking TARDIS cookie jar."

"Rumple..."

"No, no..."

"You love her. It's not about the gifts. Besides, you just got her a car."

"A token from a man that doesn't know her that well."

"Why don't you share the book with me?"

"No, it's yours."

"I never would have gotten it without your help. Perhaps it's too big anyway, we should save it for something like high school graduation."

Gold frowned. "High school graduation?"

"Well, it's not so soon, Rumple-"

"Two and a half years."

Belle smiled. "Then you ought to take advantage of them. Christmas break is coming up. You can spend more time together."

"Doing what?"

Belle took a breath. "I know it's a sensitive subject..."

"Belle, no."

"Merlin says you haven't taught her anything since you returned from our land and that's been months."

"Magic is a dangerous path-"

"But if it's her path to follow, Rumple, she needs to understand it and you can help her."

Leroy entered the shop.

Gold sighed. "And what can I do for you, dearie?"

"I just thought you would want to know Beatrice is waiting tables at Granny's."

"She's what?," asked Gold, acting more like he had been told she was pole dancing.

Belle shook her head. "Beatrice doesn't work at Granny's."

"Uh, I'd check again, sister."


Gold and Belle walked into Granny's. The place was busy as the lone waitress hurried to and fro. It took them both a minute to notice that the waitress was in fact their daughter and only took Gold a second longer to notice Whale watching her, giving a little too much appreciation to Beatrice's black tights and tartan miniskirt.

Gold gripped the doctor's shoulder and Whale straightened up, immediately guessing whose hand was on him.

"Leave now or I will rip out your arteries with my teeth," said Gold.

"Rumple..." said Belle.

Gold turned back to her, fully expecting to hear an impassioned argument about why he shouldn't threaten to rip out the doctor's arteries and instead all she said was, "Make sure he pays his check."

"I only have a twenty," said Whale.

"Leave it," hissed Gold.

Whale put the money down and left, just as Beatrice turned to see the twenty.

"Did Whale leave that?," she asked, picking up the bill. "He only got coffee."

"It's a tip," said Belle.

"Sweetheart, what is going on?," asked Gold.

"Well," said Beatrice, "I was just trying to get a cheeseburger when Ashley Boyd wouldn't stop talking on the phone..."

"Could I get some ketchup?"

Beatrice took the customer the ketchup. "Anyway, so I took some initiative which led to the inevitable 'your dad tried to steal my baby, your mom is weird and you're probably evil' line of argument..." She picked up Mrs. Schuman's check and payment as she led her children out. "Hey! Did you seriously mean to leave a three dollar tip on a party of ten?!"

Mrs. Schuman hurried her children out.

"Beatrice, what do you mean the inevitable-" Belle began.

"Uh, the usual, inevitable? Not to mention I think Ashley had intentionally gotten every order of mine wrong since the Curse broke. Then you know, I accused her of not reading..."

"A fair point," said Gold, eliciting a look from Belle.

"And then she stomped out and quit at which point there was no waitress, so I felt kind of bad, so I kept waiting tables and I tried to call in the other waitresses, but I get the feeling they don't answer the phone on their days off. Also, I have made almost fifty dollars in tips. That TARDIS cookie jar is so mine."

Gold looked at Belle. "Oh, sweetheart, don't spend your money on that," he said futilely.

"I've been waiting on my vegetarian lasagna forever!," another customer complained.

"I told you that item is made to order," said Beatrice, cleaning up the Schuman table. "Why do we not have a busboy?"

Beatrice walked away. Belle turned to Gold.

"I have the feeling we should be angry," said Belle.

Gold scoffed. "I don't."

"Well, maybe not so angry..."

"Let's take her home."

"This restaurant is full, Rumple," said Belle. "Granny and Ruby are out there hunting for Mother Superior. I hate to have them lose out on this much business."

Before Gold could figure out what she was hinting at, she took her coat off and went behind the counter.

"Belle..."

"You can work the register," said Belle.


It was unlike Blue to have a pang of conscience. She had gotten rid of it long ago. There was that which was necessary for the good and there was that which was not necessary. All else was superfluous.

Yet the Gold Fairy's death elicited that attack of conscience. Perhaps there was a way to dispense with Rumplestiltskin.

So Blue visited the Sage, told the old woman of the proposed plan and asked if it would work.

She waited hours for an answer as the Sage consulted crystal balls and incense.

"Yes," said the Sage, her eyes obscured so that she might more clearly see the future, "yes, that might well work. If you embark on this course of action, things will go as you wish. The Dark One will leave and the child will be born into the Land Without Magic."

"Thank you," said Blue.

"Save for one."

"Who?"

"One of the first ones."

Blue felt relief. "Merlin is not a factor."

"No, it is not Merlin's wrath you should fear. This anger comes from a power above him."

"Above him?"

"Directly above him." The sage turned to Blue. "And you know the things she will do to make certain one of her daughters has her True Love."

"True Love? The Dark Princess has a True Love?"

"He is a but a boy now, but someday they will meet and he will know her for what she is."

"Where?"

"It's unclear. A darkness clouds the vision and two realms will intersect."

"Who is he?," Blue demanded.


It was two hours after Gold and Belle arrived when the restaurant finally thinned out. Granny, Ruby, Emma and Merlin entered, completely befuddled by Belle and Beatrice waiting tables while Gold sat by the register.

"Ah, finally," said Gold, not wasting a minute leaving the register behind. "This adventure in the food service industry is at an end. Belle, Beatrice, we're leaving."

"What happened?," Granny asked.

"Mostly Ashley walked out," said Beatrice, untying the apron she had confiscated. "I may have criticized her never putting my cheeseburger order in and her talking on the phone and then from there it went where it usually goes when I talk to people."

"So, what?," asked Ruby. "You ran the diner?"

"She had a little help," said Belle.

"No dark magic, I hope?," asked Granny.

"Well, if your busboy hadn't called out, there wouldn't have been," said Beatrice.

"We don't have a busboy," said Ruby.

"I stand by my decisions."

"Let me guess," said Gold, gathering his coat as he walked towards Emma and Merlin. "No sign of Mother Superior?"

"I'll find her," said Emma.

"Well, let's hold out hope," Gold said with a smirk.


"What about a tie?," asked Belle as she put the returned books on a cart.

Beatrice scowled from her spot behind the circulation desk as she did her homework.

"What?," Belle asked.

"Sixteen years and you think my first Christmas present to the guy should be a tie? How predictable is that?"

Belle had to remind herself to not laugh out loud at her daughter. How she couldn't wait for Christmas Day to come so she could tell the two of them how alike they were.

"Beatrice, you're over-thinking this. Your papa will be thrilled with whatever you get him." Which was the truth and she knew it.

"Great, mediocrity can be the hallmark of our relationship."

"Well, think about what he likes."

"Right. Spinning wheels. Gold. First-born children..."

Belle smiled. That was when Ashley Boyd came in pushing her daughter in a stroller. Beatrice hid her face. Belle collected herself to be friendly to the woman.

"I was just returning these," said Ashley, holding out a selection of children's books.

Belle smiled as she took them. "And how did Alexandra like these?"

"Fine."

"Beatrice just did a wonderful Christmas display in the children's section," said Belle.

"No, thank you," she said crisply.

"We're having a Christmas party next week," said Belle.

"I don't think we can come," she said, looking at Beatrice.

"Perhaps Sean could bring Alexandra."

"What?"

"Because I would hate for her to miss out because her mother insisted upon acting like a petulant child."

Beatrice looked up. Ashley was in shock.

"Excuse me?," said Ashley.

"My daughter has done nothing, but some people in this town like yourself seem to insist that she be treated like the worst kind of criminal and I am really not in a mood to tolerate it anymore."

"Then maybe you should have thought about that when you made your deal with that imp."

Belle put the books down. Beatrice knew it was getting serious.

"My deal with Rumplestiltskin- which is his name by the way - was to save my land from Ogres, not to get to a ball to meet a prince."

"And we know how you got out of that."

Belle scoffed. "If you think sex could get me out of eternal servitude to the Dark One, you obviously don't know him that well."

"Oh, ew..." said Beatrice.

"Well, now we all know what you really did," said Ashley, she said pointing her eyes in Beatrice's direction.

"Is your worldview so dim that you think that I would carelessly trade away a child for comfort just because you did?"

"How else do you explain it?"

"My daughter is the product of True Love, not a deal, not a demon, not any of the hundred other things stupid people have said since we arrived," said Belle. "So, why don't you go gossip about that?"

Ashley shoved the stroller around and left in as much of a huff as she could manage.

Belle turned back to Beatrice.

"So, where did that come from?," asked Beatrice.

"It's what I should have done all along," said Belle. "You have nothing to be ashamed of and you don't need to take any more abuse from morons. Is that clear?"

"Clear," said Beatrice.


Blue hovered outside the cottage. It was comfortable.

They weren't poor. They weren't desperate. The parents were both scholars, even the mother most unusually. Three sons and it was the youngest she had to look at.

So she had to try to reason with the parents.

She hated trying to reason with people. Of course the parents would be the only people in the Enchanted Forest dependent on reason.

"I just want to make certain that I have this right," said the man, glancing over at his wife. "There is a Dark Princess who has not yet been born and our youngest son is to be her True Love?"

"Yes."

"So, you think we should send our youngest son through a portal to another realm because..." The mother just shook her head. "Do people just normally do whatever you say when you show up?"

"She will be a terrible darkness."

"Do you have any more specifics on that terrible darkness?"

The Blue Fairy did not.

"Well, thank you for coming..."

The boy had one downfall that the Blue Fairy easily discovered.

He was terribly curious.

So if a portal opened he just had to see where it led to.


"How do you two know each other?," asked Emma.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me," said Emma as she and Merlin trudged through the woods. "You and Mother Superior. The Blue Fairy, whatever. Beatrice thought once she was your ex and Henry's book has this story about you and an evil fairy you have to keep your daughter safe from. The daughter sounded an awful lot like Belle."

"Well, savior, you've used your miraculous truth telling powers to discern that I slept with her. No wonder they made you sheriff."

"I get the idea it was more complicated than that."

"Things always were more complicated in our circle."

"Your circle?"

"Yes, the blue tart and I are part of a very exclusive club. We were there at the beginning."

"The beginning of what?"

Emma didn't get an answer out of Merlin because Ruby shouted out.

"I've got her!," Ruby shouted.

They hurried up to where Ruby and Granny stood frozen.

"What? Why aren't you guys going after her?," asked Emma.

"We can't."

Emma and Merlin's gaze went down to the demarcated town line.

"She saw it," said Ruby. "She saw it and just went over."

"What are you talking about?," the clipped tone of Mother Superior came from across the line.

Emma hurried over, grabbing the nun.

"Sheriff Swan, what is going on?," she asked. "What are we doing out here in the woods?"

"Come on," said Emma, taking her by the arm. "You're going back to the station."

"You evil soul," said Merlin.

"Do I know you?," Mother Superior asked in shock.

Emma took Mother Superior.

Merlin turned to Granny and Ruby. "Did she say anything before she went across?"

"It didn't make sense," said Granny. "Game, set, match?"

"Not by a long shot, Blue," said Merlin. "Not by a long shot."