A/N: So I'm really tired so I apologize for any major spelling and grammatical errors, but I said a chapter a day and I'm sticking with it! Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter! I appreciate you! Only one chapter left! Enjoy!
Ruby leaned against the diner counter feeling exhausted in the best way. Looking around the empty diner Ruby knew it would about another ten or twenty minutes before their regulars would start slowly filing in for breakfast. Standing up Ruby stretched out her body feeling deliciously sore. She had spent the night with Henry and Ellinor helping what it seemed like both of them replenish their strength.
To be honest, they both had impressive stamina for being magically spent. She blushed momentarily at the memories of what they'd done last night and well this morning before she had to come to work. She'd woken up with Ellinor nearly sprawled across her body and Henry lying on his stomach next to her with an arm thrown on her abdomen. She had surprisingly been comfortable and a part of her wondered just how often the future her had woken in similar situations.
"Ruby! Child are you just going to daydream all morning or are you going to set the tables for the breakfast rush?" Granny yelled from the kitchen as Ruby blinked and turned to look at her grandmother.
"Everything is all set to go." Ruby called back as Granny walked out from the kitchen and looked around at the dining room.
"Oh, well then c'mon back here and help me out!" Granny said as she turned to go back into the kitchen. "Just who has you daydreaming so heavily child?" Granny asked as Ruby felt heat rush to her cheek as she started mixing batter for biscuits.
"I uh, n-nothing Granny." Ruby lied as Granny checked on the bacon.
"I smell them on you Red. You don't have to lie, I…just be careful, whatever you are getting yourself into with them, be careful." Ruby stared at her grandmother unsure of what to say. "Her scent was strong that day she brought you to me. It's something I could never forget. I knew she was your soul mate, but I'd already made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin for your cloak. You couldn't be near her because she would do things to you, she may have been your soul mate but I'd made the deal to keep you safe and keeping her around wasn't part of that deal." Eugenia breathed looking into her granddaughters eyes.
"She could have helped me, Granny."
"Like I said, I made a deal. The decision was made before I knew the consequences. But I do know that she and that Henry are here for a reason so I'll stay out of it."
"They're here to save Regina…and I guess you." Eugenia cocked a brow at her granddaughter before turning back to her food.
"Emma, she's going to try and kill Regina. From what I've been told she ended up being successful and it leads to others deaths including yours among others." Ruby explained as Eugenia shook her head.
"Then I will truly stay out of it unless asked to help."
"They're both my soul mate." Ruby nearly whispered as Granny looked at her.
"That's rare to have two." Ruby nodded as she started placing balls of the batter on to a cooking sheet.
"Yeah it is, it's also weird to know that Henry, who've I known since he was a baby is one of my soul mates." Ruby spoke as Granny nodded with a chuckle. They talked until Ruby heard the bell chime alerting her to a customer. Walking from the back she smiled as she saw that it was Emma.
"Hey Em, what's up?" Ruby asked as Emma sat down at the bar and Ruby started to get her usual.
"I uh, feel weird, just had to get away from Killian and off the Jolly Roger." She spoke as Ruby nodded, this was going to be easier than she thought.
"Well how about you go out with me and some friends tonight? We were going to Rabbit Hole to play pool and just relax." Emma looked up surprised at the offer, the last time she and Ruby had gone out together had been before the curse had broken.
"Um, sure that sounds like fun, who is all going to be there?"
"So far it was just myself, Belle and Ellie."
"Ellie?" Emma asked as Ruby set her hot chocolate with cinnamon down in front of her.
"Yeah, she uh is a gypsy." Ruby supplied from what Ellinor had told her about herself.
"Was her name before the curse Esmeralda?" Emma asked as Ruby shrugged.
"I didn't know her back in the Enchanted forest, I think she might have been one of the many who came back with the new curse." Ruby added as Emma shrugged this time.
"Sure I'll go out with you guys, just text me and let me know when you head there." Ruby nodded as she noticed some others had walked into the diner during their conversation.
"I'm going to take orders before Granny yells at me. I'll be back with a bear claw in a moment." Ruby smiled as she walked around getting orders. It was an hour into the breakfast rush that Ruby felt more than saw Henry and Ellinor enter the diner.
"Good morning Red." Ellinor winked at her with a smile as Henry nodded his head as they grabbed a table.
"Morning, I'll be right over." Ruby spoke as she picked up the decaf coffee and made her way over to Archie and Marco.
"My grandparents are here this morning with Little Uncle." Henry leaned forward to whisper as Ellinor briefly looked around and saw the Snow was looking at her as she fed her newborn son.
"Aaaand she's staring at me." Ellinor bit her lip to keep from smiling.
"Probably because you called out to Ruby as Red," Ellinor rolled her eyes as Henry shook his head.
"I've always called her that, a trip to the past isn't going to change that sweetheart."
"Do you think we should tell her?" Ellinor furrowed her brows in slight confusion.
"You switched stations Hen, I'm not completely sure who you are referencing. Should we tell Snow that her daughter kills Regina which leads to the eventual death of her son and husband? Then no, we shouldn't tell her, especially since we are going to prevent that from happening."
"I meant tell Ruby, about the wedding. Our wedding?"
"What? Why would we do that? You'll ruin the surprise, besides she'll find out in ten years anyways." Ellinor looked back over to Snow who was still feeding her son but now talking with her husband.
"I just feel that we owe her, I mean we've already told her a lot." Henry supplied as she waved him off.
"Doesn't matter, besides if you tell her it would take the fun out of the proposal and Hon, that's one thing you shouldn't take from a woman. Especially one of your True Loves."
"What about True Love?" Ruby asked walking back over to their table as they turned and smiled to her.
"Just that it is amazing, wouldn't you say?" Ellinor smiled at the recovery as Ruby shook her head.
"It will be in thirteen years." Ruby huffed as Ellinor chuckled.
"Seven," Henry corrected as she looked at her soul mates.
"No way, now that I can handle." Ellinor laughed loudly drawing attention to their table momentarily.
"Were you seriously going to wait?" Henry asked as Ruby shrugged.
"I mean why not? I know what it's like to be with the two of you. No one is going to make me feel as alive as I do when I'm with one of you. Even now I feel warm and well, complete being near the both of you." Ellinor reached out to grab Ruby's hand giving it a quick squeeze before she took Henry's with her other hand. She muttered a short incantation as their hands glowed momentarily.
"Ellinor," Henry sighed as she ignored him and kept her focus on Ruby.
"Red, honey, when we are done here you're not going to remember us." Ellinor looked around the diner. "No one is, except for Emma and Regina. You're memories of our time together will return to you when you meet me in the future. You'll meet a few others, you may even fall in love before meeting me, but you'll be complete. A life waiting for the three of us to come together isn't a life." Ellinor watched as the glow softened but she didn't let go of either of her soul mates hands.
"Why do Emma and Regina get to remember?" Ruby asked blinking back the moisture in her eyes.
"Because it would take a lot of magic to lock their memories away, magic that I don't have to waste if I'm to return Henry and I to our future when our task is complete." Ellinor explained as Ruby nodded.
"Well I guess it better than pining away." Ruby chuckled as Ellinor squeezed her hand once more before letting go. "So what can I get the two of you for breakfast?"
"I'll have a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and a glass of orange juice." Ellinor ordered as Ruby nodded not bothering to write it down.
"Milk for your oatmeal?"
"Yes, whole milk please." Ruby nodded once more and looked to Henry.
"The big breakfast, sausage links and ham for my two meats, and I'll have scrambled eggs." Henry told her as Ruby smiled and was about to turn away.
"To drink?" She asked.
"Oh, um, a cup of coffee and a glass of water please." Ruby brought them their drinks before she headed for the kitchen to put in their food orders. "You didn't have to do that you know." Henry said as soon as Ruby was out of hearing range.
"But I did, she would have waited, we both know that." Henry sighed knowing what she said was true.
"Hello, have we met before? I can't help thinking that you both are so very familiar but I can't seem to place why." Both looked up to see Snow what standing a few feet from them with a very friendly smile.
"Yes we have, Snow." Henry knew he was going to have to lie as to when and where but that wouldn't be a big deal.
"I'm Ellinor we met when you were a teenager." Ellinor smiled as Snow looked at her trying to remember. "I attended your coming of age ball." Henry looked at his fiancée, she'd never told him that before.
"Yes, your eyes, I remember them vividly." Snow smiled as Ellinor nodded.
"You commented on them then as I recall, you called them unusual and then apologized because you felt that was rude." Ellinor chuckled as Snow's cheeks warmed at the memory. "This is my fiancé Danny Miller, I'm not sure if you've ever met him."
"He seems familiar, but I do not recognize the name, it is a pleasure to meet you Danny and congratulations on your engagement."
"Thank you, now if you'll excuse us, Red is returning with our food. We will have to catch up later." Ellinor commented as Snow nodded in agreement before returning to her own table. Ruby sat their food down and told them to call out to her if they needed anything.
"You never told me you knew my grandmother." Henry buttered his pancakes as Ellinor mixed her oatmeal.
"Actually Snow and I have had a similar conversation when I first met her in the original timeline." Ellinor explained as Henry raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you were having a conversation with David about March Madness at the time when Snow asked if we'd met before." Henry stared at her as she shrugged taking a bite of her breakfast. "Don't get all pouty with me mister, you're the one who ignored us instead of joining in on the conversation."
"Well, I want to hear more about it now."
"Eh, maybe later." She smirked as he huffed in mock annoyance.