SMOKE AND ASHES
Over breakfast, Gold and Elspeth officially solidify their relationship as father and daughter. Much to his consternation, Elspeth presses him to make Miss Belle her new mother. Later Ashley takes little Elspeth out to buy some new shoes and (among others) the child selects a pair of sparkly shoes; she announces that she intends to wear at Gold and Belle's wedding. Archie warns Gold that he is being watched; Gold surmises that it is Maurice's people, but tells no one. Gold then takes his daughter out for a little father-daughter luncheon bonding time, enjoying both his daughter's company and the admiring glances she brings.
Gold also shares with Belle that he suspects that her Fae mother is likely still alive and, later, Belle is able to track down a picture of her mother. Gold recognizes Belle's mother.
ASCENT
Chapter 35
Gold staggered and held onto the back the chair he was standing behind. Belle moved quickly to stand and helped him to sit in the chair that she had been occupying.
He did not want to accept what he was seeing. Belle immediately sensed that something was wrong -very wrong.
"Darling, what's the matter? Do you know her?"
"I do," he managed to get out.
"Who is she? Do you think she's still alive?"
"Oh, she's still alive," he assured Belle. "I do know her." He looked at Belle, "We have a history – your mother and myself."
"This doesn't sound good," Belle announced.
"It's not," he confirmed. "We go way back." He closed his eyes and took some calming breathes. "But it doesn't matter. It doesn't affect how I feel about you."
"How could it? Why would it?"
"Why? Of course, it shouldn't," he began back-pedaling quickly. He didn't want to alarm or upset his Belle. "You didn't do anything. I certainly wouldn't hold you responsible for your mother's behavior any more than you hold my father's behavior against me." He looked at her. "You don't hold my father's behavior against me, do you?"
"Well, of course not," she reassured him. She stood close to him, allowing him to lean into her, gently stroking his hair. All of her empathic skills were on high alert. He was in pain. She was quietly, slowly allowing her healing energies to wash over him.
"Daddy ok?"
They both looked up. Elspeth had pulled herself away from the Nick Jr. show she'd been watching and had come over to check on her father. Whether she had heard something or had just sensed that her father was in pain wasn't apparent.
"Yes, darling. I'm ok," Gold answered her. Elspeth came up to him and put her head in his lap and attempted to hug him around the waist.
He nearly choked up and managed to pat the child's head, "Thanks dearest. You help make it better."
"Daddy ok now?" Elspeth lifted her head, her bright little face full of concern.
"Daddy's . . . managing," he responded, unexpectedly feeling tears well up in his eyes. "I . . . my girls are helping me. Thank you darling. Thank you both."
Elspeth seemed to be comforted and returned to the television show.
"Sweet girl," Belle told him.
"Two sweet girls," he told Belle reaching up to put his hands on her arms. "I'm . . . fortunate."
"We are too," Belle kissed the top of his head. "Listen, if you don't think it's a good idea . . . me trying to contact my mother . . . I'll take your advice on this. I don't have to go through with this. I don't want to dredge up the past, your past, if it's going to hurt you."
Gold now took her hands and looked up at her, rapidly pulling himself back together for Belle's sake. "You know this last step . . . getting the scroll and dagger from the Fae . . . it's been the one step that I had no idea how to do. The Fae know well that I don't approach them unless I'm in crisis – the last time I contacted them was when you came to The House and I asked what the he . . . heck was I supposed to do with an Empath."
"Really?" Belle was surprised. "What did they say?'
"Pretty much that I needed to suck it up – that you wouldn't be at The House unless you were meant to be."
"You were that concerned about me?"
"Well woman, you were an Empath! I thought you would be a millstone around my neck. I had no idea at all the stuff you could do. I severely underestimated you . . . which come to think about it. . . people underestimating you is probably one of the things that makes you so powerful, if that makes any sense. People aren't prepared for everything you can do. There's so little about Empaths in our record books."
"So do you have an idea of what to do to get to the scroll and dagger now?" Belle asked him.
He smiled at her. "Maybe," he answered.
+ + + + Breakfast
Gold's first priority was to keep his promise to little Elspeth to take her to breakfast in the morning. Excited, the child had risen early, having spent another night in one of her father's t-shirts. She first spent some time chasing down Lovecraft and finally cornered the poor animal underneath one of Gold antiques, a credenza he had set against the wall in the formal living room. Elspeth had crawled under the antique and had patted the animal softly.
"Nice kitty, nice kitty," she had said.
Belle and Gold had heard her moving around and had quickly gotten themselves dressed. "We're going to have to start sleeping with something more on than the radio," murmured Gold, watching Belle slip from the bed to quickly put on some undies and find a skirt and top. She had tossed him some boxers and a t-shirt which he had put on while still in the bed.
Meanwhile, Elspeth had returned to her own room to select a purple flowered outfit for herself and put on her new multi-colored sneakers. She was proud that she could mostly dress herself but still needed help with her hair. She had gone into daddy's bedroom to enlist assistance. Elspeth got Belle's help in combing out her baby fine hair.
"I think we might need to get some clips to put your hair up and keep it out of your eyes," Belle observed.
"Put up like yours?" Elspeth asked.
"Just get it out of your eyes. Your hair is too fine to put up like mine. It'd fall out," Belle explained.
"My hair fall out?!" Elspeth was alarmed.
"No sweetheart, the clips would fall out," Belle clarified.
"Where daddy?" Elspeth then asked.
"He's gone downstairs to the shop," Belle told the child.
Soon enough Elspeth bounced down the stairs, holding her teddy bear, "I's ready!" she called out.
Gold winced and muttered, "How can she have that much energy . . . this early . . . without caffeine?"
"She's three," Belle answered him. She had followed Elspeth down the stairs carrying coats for herself and the child.
"Where we go?" Elspeth asked her father.
"I thought Over Easy would be a good place. It's the same place I first took Miss Belle when she came to live here," Gold told her. Eager, Elspeth alternately ran, galloped and walked with Gold and Belle up to the little café. Once inside and seated, Elspeth placed her teddy in a fourth chair, and with some help getting up, she ended up sitting tall on a booster seat.
The waitress greeted them, "Mr. Gold, so good to see you again. Now is the young lady ready to order?" the waitress turned to Elspeth.
"What I want?" Elspeth asked her father.
Gold looked over the menu. He suggested the Basic Breakfast which was two eggs and toast. "You get a side with that. Do you want roast potatoes or grits?"
Elspeth screwed up her face.
"You could get fresh fruit," Belle suggested and Elspeth beamed.
"Fresh fruit it is," Gold told their waitress.
"And how does the young miss want her eggs?" the waitress asked.
"Scrambled," Elspeth replied promptly.
It was Gold's turn to scowl. "Here you get scrambled. At home . . . ."
The waitress now turned to Belle.
Belle debated. She had gotten the Lavender French toast last time and it was delicious but she wanted to try something new so she opted for the croissant sandwich with egg¸ turkey bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato and dijonnaise.
Gold ordered his usual Sunburst Omelet with trout, caramelized onions, roasted garlic and goat cheese. He got tea to drink while Belle decided on coffee.
Elspeth had a difficult time deciding if she wanted milk or something else. After much discussion she decided she wanted a Strawberry Fields smoothie. which they made with milk, strawberries and honey for the child.
Gold enjoyed his meal with his two ladies. They were both pleasant, animated dining companions.
"You found the right time?" Elspeth suddenly asked him mid-bite.
Gold experienced a minor choking fit. "Working on it," he struggled to reply. "Miss Belle and I will have to go off on a bit of an errand. We may be gone for a couple of days. I'm going to have you stay with Aunt Zelena. If things work out, then I believe that after we get back," he made eye contact with Belle, "I'll find the right time."
"Goody. I want to wear my sparklee shoes."
"When do we leave?" Belle asked him.
"Probably right after lunch. There are a few arrangements I have to make first"
+ + + + One Last Assignment
"MIlah, I hear you have found a nice little place closer to where you work?" he was standing behind his counter in his shop. He'd called in the weather witch.
"Yeah. I hadn't really thought about moving out but Ruby started talking about it. She's pretty crowded with those two horses that she has staying with her. Anyway I started thinking about it. And this little place opened up. I've got more money coming in and this place isn't much more than what I'm paying you and I'll be able to walk to the shop so I'll save on gas . . . yeah I'm thinking about moving," she finished up.
"I think I just may miss you," Gold told her. "We've come a long way, you and I, and in a short time."
Milah smiled at him. "Yeah, I would agree. Belle coming into The House really helped me. I really began to understand my powers and my talents, all of them, after she got here."
"Belle's certainly made a difference for all of us," Gold agreed.
"Especially you," Milah told him.
He looked up. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you used to be a regular asshole, always coming down on people, never a kind word. You're almost a nice guy now."
He considered. She was probably right.
"I guess Belle has helped me," he agreed. "I need your help one last time."
Milah narrowed her eyes and looked hard at him, "How do you want me to make Belle look this time?"
+ + + + Results
"Miss Belle is bootiful," little Elspeth remarked as Milah put the finishing touches on Belle.
"You're quite the pretty girl yourself," Milah told her. She was putting in curls into Belle's hair so it fell around her shoulders in a furling mass of burnished waves and ringlets. She had applied a shimmering face powder and sparkling eye shadow to Belle's face. Lipgloss was next.
They had been out shopping earlier and found a soft flowing dress that might have been worn by a sixties hippie chick on her wedding. There was an embarrassment of lace and tulle and soft silk in a frothy candlelight white. Milah added some more shimmer to Belle's throat and chest.
"You look like a fairy pwincess," Elspeth announced.
"Thanks. That's the look I was going for," Milah told her.
Belle got a chance to look at herself in a mirror. "My goodness Milah. This is your best disguise for me yet."
"Think old Gold will approve?" Milah asked her.
Belle looked at herself one more time. "Oh yes, he'll approve. But we need something else to finish it off."
+ + + + Final Arrangements
Gold was sitting in the semi-darkness and the utter silence of his shop. He was making some final arrangements, writing out notes to Regina, Emma and Jefferson, his pen making scratching noises on the paper. His note to Regina was about what to do with Undertown if something happened to him. She wouldn't want it any more than he had – which made her the perfect one to oversee the damn place if he didn't return. Someone like David Nolen could do the administrative job but he wasn't tough enough, in Gold's opinion, to manage Undertown. If anyone could handle her mother, it would be Regina.
Before he could re-read his note to Emma, Archie came in and shared that he had talked with one of the Watchers. He confirmed that they were not locals. The accent reminded him what they had heard in Avonleigh. Gold thanked him.
Gold then re-read his note to Emma. He'd left instructions to her about what to do with The House if something happened to him. This was pretty much what he'd told her to do before he'd ventured into Undertown. He'd considered adding a note about Lovecraft but he figured he'd let Emma discover the truth about the cat when and if the time came.
He was not at all comfortable with this next step that he was taking. He was never comfortable going into the fairy realm. And now . . . going in with Belle.
What if they took her away from him?
What if they turned her against him?
He knew he made bad choices. All of his life was about bad choices. He would always choose power. Without power, he had learned, he was nothing. Without power, he was at the mercy of any entity that chose to push him around. Without power, he had no defense, no control. But he knew that in choosing power, he'd walked away from love and affection. Always before . . .
But now . . .
Now there was Belle.
What if he had to make a choice between power and Belle? And little Elspeth? What if something happened to him? For all that she really was a Primary Force, a dark spirit, at the moment she was simply a sweet little girl. He wondered how she would handle it if something happened to him.
He'd left instructions to Jefferson about Elspeth including the truth regarding her identity. Of all the tenants he figured Jefferson could handle knowing they were raising a demonic demi-deity with the least freaking out.
He closed his eyes. Was there anything he had left out? Was there anything he'd forgotten to attend to?
He heard the side door from the stairwell click and knew that someone had come in. He looked up and saw a luminous being sweeping into his shop. It took him a moment to recognize her.
It was his Belle. Milah had outdone herself this time. He realized that his jaw had dropped and he had quit breathing.
Belle was standing looking at him, "Well?" she asked him.
"I . . . you . . . I . . . you're beautiful . . . I mean . . . you were always beautiful but now. . . you're transcendent."
"So sweet," she smiled at him. "Thank you." Belle had taken the foaming white dress and had added golden touches to it¸ a belt, a golden shawl and golden slippers. Gold recognized that the touches of gold were subtle nods to him.
"You ready for this?" he asked her.
"I am. Elspeth has Auntie Zelena staying with her and, thanks to some efforts from Unca Jefferson, we now have cable tv, complete with Elspeth's new favorite channels. "
"Oh great, culture has come to town," Gold groused. He held out his hand to Belle.
"She'll be fine," Belle promised him, taking his hand.
"Glad she'll be fine," he told Belle. He walked her to the door. She stopped and looked him over. He was wearing his leather pants and vest with a black silk shirt. He looked every inch The Dark One.
"You're nervous," she told him.
"Can't fool you, can I? Yes," he admitted. "I'm very nervous. In case you haven't notice, I'm not a particularly brave person."
She leaned over and kissed him, her gentle perfume wafting over him, "Yes you are," she whispered.
At that moment in came Leroy, dressed in work pants, a plaid shirt and a stocking cap. "Ready to go?"
Belle looked at Gold.
"Leroy is coming with us," he explained without explaining.
"Da-amn Belle, you lookin' fine," Leroy told her.
"Thank you," she told him.
Gold turned off the lights and locked the door behind him. They turned left to walk down to Lexington.
+ + + + The Gate
"Where are we going?" Belle asked him. "I mean, I know where we're going, but how are we going to get there?"
"Past Dobra Tea, there is a little shop called Virtue. Next to it is a gate that goes back up into what appears to be a private garden."
"Wait a minute. You mean the entrance into the Upworld is just down from the entrance to Undertown?"
"Well, yes. The gate appears to be iron, but it's actually ionized silver, silver that's been turned black. I'm going to need your help, maybe Leroy's, in opening it."
"Ah," said Belle, "because it's silver?"
"Exactly. I have the power but I can't touch the damn thing without it causing me a lot of grief."
"Just show us what to do," she told him.
When they got to the little shop Belle looked at the garden gate and path going upwards in amazement. "I have walked by this place dozens of times and never noticed it."
"That's how it works, don't you know? How many times did you walk by The House, but you didn't notice it until you needed it," he explained.
"So how do we open the gate?"
"You just pull on it," he told her. "Or maybe push. I've never had it open for me."
Leroy stepped up, "Permit me." He first pushed on the door and then pulled on it. And the gate creaked opened.
"Ladies first," he said stepping aside for Belle.
She stepped across the threshold and things seemed to shimmer. She was now on a set of stairs but the garden area that had been apparent from the sidewalk had disappeared. She was now standing on a footpath that led up a rocky hillside. She looked back down and she could still see Gold and Leroy standing on the sidewalk.
Leroy was the next to cross over. "Shi-it. That was weird," he said to Belle. He looked back, "What's keeping Gold?"
Gold was pacing back and forth. He would reach out to the gate area and then quickly pull away as if he'd been burned. Belle could see him muttering. Then he would try again, holding his hand in the void, a bit longer this time, but then pulling back.
"Belle, you'll have to help me," she could hear him. "I can't get over the threshold by myself."
Belle went down the pathway to the gate and stepped out. "Hold my hand," she told him.
He swallowed hard and took her hand.
"Look at me," she told him. "Look into my eyes. You can do this," she told him and she stepped backwards. He closed his eyes and stepped across the threshold, his entire body feeling as if he'd been plunged into ice water or shocked with a strong electrical current.
He stumbled, falling into Belle. He felt something soothing washing over him, calming him.
"Whoa," he said, pulling himself up, looking around. "Interesting barrier they've got set up. Unless you're a true neutral or you're Fae, you have problems passing through."
"Are you still in pain?" Belle asked him anxiously.
He stood and shook his head. He looked down at his hands, "Damn," he said. He had suspected that this would happen, that the green-gold scales would return, that the blackened claws would be where his fingernails had been. He looked up at Belle. Now standing on the pathway, in full afternoon sun, he squinted against the bright light. As always in this form, he was able to see everything with perfect crispness, day or night. She touched the side of his face with her hand. "Are you still in pain?" she asked him again.
"No," he whispered his answer.
Leroy was looking him over. "Different look there, Gold," he remarked but didn't seemed particularly alarmed by the change.
"Yeah. I figured I'd get whammied," Gold responded.
"You'll be fine." Belle told him. "Now where do we go? I'm not seeing any road signs. No yellow brick road."
"Up along the trail. This is a bit different from Asheville. Some things are alike but a lot, a whole lot, has been changed. We're going to stay with a friend of Leroy's tonight."
"How far then?" Belle asked.
Gold shrugged. "Well, first we have to go up the hillside and over the top," Gold told her. There were steps now and again along the path but the steps began to get further and further apart. Now they were walking along a combination of bald rockface and patches of grass and sand. It was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. The air was crisp but not cold. The grass began to get more and more plentiful and soon enough they were walking along level ground, along a nice stone pathway. There were more and more trees along their path. They could see occasional cottages set off the path.
+ + + + The Sprite
This world . . . this world was so different from Undertown. No darkness, no fog, no rank dampness, no pervasive sense of heaviness weighing a person down. It was different from Asheville. Everything was sparkling clean and light and airy. The air seemed fresher. Gone was the chill of lingering winter, no breezes that cut through one's coat and went right to the bone. It was springier, if there was such a word, almost summerish. What was that word? Oh yes, Summerland – where good pagans would go when they died. This was like Summerland.
Belle glanced at Leroy. He was plugging along, not out of breath, but apparently impervious to the freshness and lightness of their surroundings.
She glanced at Gold. He was wincing with each step. Periodically he would pull back from something unseen. Sometimes he would swat at something like some invisible insect that was buzzing around him.
"Are you all right?" she asked him.
"These damn sprites are pissing me off," he complained.
"Sprites?" Belle asked. She looked. Yet another thing that she didn't see unless she was looking for it. There seemed to be these tiny winged creatures, less than ten but more than three swarming around Gold. They moved so fast, sometimes getting in his face, sometimes dive-bombing him, just generally being irritating. He would swat at them but they were so quick he never connected.
Belle clicked her tongue in disapproval and the little sprites backed off.
They had now gotten into a forest area with trees now along on both sides of the path. They hadn't been walking long when Belle heard something. It was a high pitched cry.
"Do you hear that?" she asked the other two.
They shook their heads.
She veered off the path. "Someone's in trouble. I'm going to see what's going on." They followed Belle and watched as she industriously searched and then had them look. "Someone keeps calling out 'Help.' They're in trouble," Belle insisted.
"How long we gonna delay here?" Leroy asked Gold.
"As long as the lady insists," Gold told him.
"Here she is. Oh, the poor thing," Belle called back, "I need something to cut her loose."
Leroy handed her his knife but she promptly dropped it. "I'll need one of you to use the knife to cut her loose."
Gold picked up the knife and peered into the leafy alcove that held Belle's attention. "It's a sprite," he said, a slight note of disapproval in his voice.
"Yes, the poor thing's gotten caught in a spider web. Let's get her loose."
Gold sighed. "You know this is one of those little vicious creatures that has been tormenting me," he told her even as he cut the little sprite free.
"They haven't hurt you," Belle retorted and took the little fairy into her hand. "She's been poisoned by a spider. Can you heal her?"
Gold looked at the fairy. "No, my magic is dark. It would probably kill her," he told Belle.
Belle, kneeling down, set the fairy gently on some of the grass. She reached up to Gold and took his hand. "I can channel it, clean it up."
"You sure?" he asked dubiously.
She nodded and Gold sent her some of his dark healing magic. It glowed purple as it left his hand but as it went through Belle it came out a golden light. The little fairy perked up.
It was just a moment before the little creature sat up, "Thank you, Princess." She looked up at Gold then back at Belle. "You control The Dark One?" she asked in wonderment, her voice high pitched but clear.
"No, he's my friend."
The little fairy was disbelieving. "But he's The Dark One. He's ugly and mean. He got funny skin and crazy eyes. He tries to kill us when he can."
"He's not going to harm you. But, if you don't leave him alone, well I shall be so disappointed in you. He's here on a peaceful mission, like an ambassador. You are to grant him diplomatic immunity, that means you have to leave him alone," Belle explained to the little sprite patiently. She held out her palm and the sprite jumped onto it.
"Are you sure Princess?" the little one asked her.
"I'm very sure, little sister," Belle answered. She'd stood, holding the little fairy up to her face to talk with her.
Leroy was watching the activity. "What's going on here?" Gold waved him off, intent on watching Belle with the sprite.
"She's talking with the sprite," he whispered quickly to Leroy.
"Oh!" Leroy answered. "What are sprites?"
Belle must have heard him, "Sprites are a proud, fearless line of fairies. They are often misjudged because of their size, but they are very powerful. They are also very beautiful."
The little fairy in her hand preened, obviously thriving on flattery.
"They're also notoriously mischievous," Belle was gently reprimanding.
"I like you. You're not so snooty like some of the other big fairies," the little one told her.
"Well, I certainly don't think I'm better than you," Belle told her. "Now, your people have been pestering my companion. Are you going to leave him alone like I asked? He's very important to me."
The little fairy scrutinized Belle hard as if she could not fathom why someone like Belle would like someone like the Dark One. "He has to promise not to hurt us," she finally said.
"Gold," Belle called him over. "She wants you to promise not to hurt the sprites."
"Oh really?" he whined. "All right," he agreed reluctantly. "I'm in for a truce. They leave me alone, I'll leave them alone," he agreed anything to get rid of the little nuisances. They were pests, vermin, as far as he was concerned. He'd never realized that they had any semblance of intelligence.
"Then I, Queen of the Air Sprites, promise that we will not bother The Dark One . . . unless he starts it," the little sprite told Belle.
Belle looked at Gold. "Your turn," she mouthed at him.
"Yeah, sure. And I promise that I won't hurt them unless they do something that irritates me," he promised.
The little sprite bowed and she flew off.
"I didn't know they could talk," Gold muttered. "She could have at least thanked us."
Leroy complained, "What the hell are you two going on about? I saw lights and heard little tinkling bells and then Belle starts talking to air and you start talking to air and then I see more light and hear more little tinkling bells."
"Sprite infestation," Gold explained. "Belle took care of it."
"If you say. Come on, we're losing light," Leroy directed his two companions.
They moved in to the outskirts of the city.
+ + + + Judgment
In a darkened room sat the Fairy Queen. She was sitting in front of a mirror. A companion stood behind her.
"Is that not proof that he has changed, Your Majesty?" the companion asked her softly.
"Perhaps, but I think it unlikely that he would have helped our little sister on his own. It was all Princess Belle's doing. I cannot accept that he has changed. Not yet. We shall have another test."
+ + + + The Cottage
They came to another small cottage, like nothing Belle had seen around Asheville. This one was whitewashed a pale cream with a thick roof of thatch, like something out of an old painting of the English countryside. There was a stone chimney with a thin tendril of smoke coming out of it. There were flower beds in the front of the house and vegetable beds along the side.
Leroy broke out into a run as they neared the cottage and a slender, dark-haired woman flung open the front door and ran towards him. The two embraced, the young woman crying.
Belle looked at Gold who just smiled.
As they neared the couple, Leroy and the young woman – fairy – broke apart. "Miss Belle, this is Nova. We met a long time ago and . . . well, it just happened."
Belle smiled at the young fairy. She was gawky and uncoordinated but her face glowed, lighting her up, making her beautiful.
"We fell in love," the young fairy gushed. "But it's forbidden."
"But I thought that fairies and humans sometimes. . . " Belle didn't finish.
"But not fairies and dwarves," Leroy explained.
"And fairies don't fall in love," Nova told her. "Even if they dally with anyone, they can't fall in love with them. We aren't allowed to."
They were walking back towards the house.
"I was expelled and my training put on hold," Nova told them. "Soon I will have to make a choice between my fairy powers or . . . my dearest, darling Leroy."
Belle was saddened to hear this. "You can't have both? Why not?"
"Because it's one of the Fairy Queen's rules. No reason," Gold told her.
Nova smiled winsomely at them, "It's no choice, really," she assured them. "No choice at all," and she leaned over to Leroy who hugged her.
"You knew about this?" Belle asked Gold.
"I did. For some time. I kept telling Leroy that it was foolish, that Nova wouldn't give up her powers for him, but. . . as you can see."
Belle stayed silent for awhile. She sat down in Nova's cozy kitchen and watched the little fairy bustle about. Nova had offered them tea and now both she and Gold were having a cup. It was such a homey little place with some crocus blossoms set in little bulb vases along the windowsill, and candles set hither and yon. Nova had evidently been baking bread and had put some of the dough aside to make cinnamon buns. There was a large black pot set on the black stove that Nova would stir from time to time.
"Leroy tells me that you will need a place to spend the night," she said. "I hope you don't mind bean and potato soup for supper. We eat very plain fare around here."
"Sounds delicious. We really appreciate you putting us up for the night," Belle told her.
"You've brought my Leroy back to me. That's all the thanks I need," Nova told her.
Thank you, thank you to my loyal reviewers: RoxyMoron, RaFire, Robin4, MyraValhallah, CharlotteAshmore, orthankg1, cynicsquest, jamie. wan. kanobi, EevyLynn, jewel415, deweymay, Grace5231973, Chauchi, spacecats, Aletta-Feather (33 & 34), Erik'sTrueAngel (Guest) and OUATWhoLook
Anne Andrews (Guest): sorry I didn't exactly reveal Belle's mother identity – but the evidence does seem to be mounting.
FYI Readers: Just as there really is a Carolina Lane downtown Asheville that is not on most maps of the city, there is actually a shop called Virtue (with a gated pathway to a garden next to it) that is on Lexington. I had walked by it no end of times but when I went to Asheville specifically to look for a likely entrance to Fairyland, well, there it was. Just as these characters walk through the city without seeing, I didn't see until I needed it.
NEXT: Truthfully I haven't written it yet. My outline says: Gold has his mettle tested, so we'll see how this works out for him.