Chapter 3

Note: This chapter is purely from Ruby's point of view. I have a general sense of how this story shall proceed but I am still open to suggestions and ideas. And any feedback would be most appreciated. Hope you like it.

"Granny, what are you planning to do when we get back to our land?" Ruby asked one day.

Her grandmother looked at the girl over the rim of her glasses and then shrugged.

"Why, what we've always done, I suppose," the old lady replied curtly. Before Ruby could ask for any more details, a customer took away Granny's attention.

What we've always done, the words echoed in Ruby's head as she tried to figure out what they meant. She ran through a list of the things everyone had been busy doing just before the curse.

They had stood by Snow and her family, fought with her, protected her, defended the kingdom, and supported Snow in trying to thwart Regina's plans. They had all worked together to make sure that evil would not prevail.

And they were still doing that. After twenty-eight years in the dark, the fight continued.

Of course we'll keep doing that, Ruby thought. If they manage to defeat Regina and Rumplestiltskin (who she still believed was a threat in spite of all that had happened), there would always be other enemies to face and everyone in Storybrooke would face these new threats together, as they had always done.

Together, she thought. All those years under the curse were not so bad for her because she was still with her family and friends.

She understood now how painful it was for Emma to have been torn apart from her family and how difficult it now was for Snow and her family to repair the damage. But somehow, slowly but surely, they were making up for lost time. They were together now, and that was what mattered.

Ruby knew how terrible it was to be alone in the world and it was a fate she would never wish on even her worst enemy. For so long she struggled to find a place where she belonged, to accept who she really was, what she was, and it had taken a long time. But eventually, through the support and love of people around her, she found her place.

But after all that had happened, was the Enchanted Forest still the place where she belonged?

She had never doubted that until the day she spoke to Viktor about going home. And for the past few days, their last conversation continued to haunt her thoughts. She had not seen him since then because he was too busy at the hospital and in a way, she was relieved. Recently, she enjoyed spending time with him but at the moment, she could not face him.

She still didn't know how to explain what she told him the last time.

"I would want you to do whatever made you happy."

She was sure that she had meant every word. He had become her friend ever since that night at the docks and she truly wanted him to be happy. But she now realized that their circumstances were very different and his going back to his land would not bring the same joy that she expected when she returned to hers.

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted being so insensitive to him. After all, she had known all about his painful past and yet she still suggested that it would be good for him to go back. She had meant well, of course, but now she saw that how difficult it was for him to even think of going back, after all that had happened. She wanted to apologize but she knew he would say that there was nothing to apologize for.

But it was true that she wanted him to be happy. She knew she cared about him. She was beginning to realize that these feelings ran deeper than she had expected. In such a short time, she had learned more about him than she had about some of her closest friends. They had shared secrets and stories they had never shared with others before and so they had somehow fought their demons together. They had grown stronger in their time together.

"Would you have me go back?"

If it wasn't going to make him happy then he shouldn't, she thought.

But no, there was more to it than that.

If he went back, there was a chance that she would never see him again. One could hope that there would be enough magical beans to enable frequent transport between magical realms. But everything was complicated enough and there was no knowing what would happen once they all left Storybrooke.

From what she heard from Snow and Emma about their land, it was no longer the home that they had always known. Time had taken its toll on it and things were never going to be the same. No doubt there were similar circumstances in Frankenstein's world.

If he goes back, you might never see him again.

She frowned as she thought about this. The idea would not leave her head. It refused to be ignored; it had to be faced. How would you feel about that?

She needed to be honest to herself about this. The harder she tried to fight it, the less she was able to deny it.

I want him to stay, Ruby admitted finally, I don't want him to be all alone again.

And? The little, nagging voice in her head persisted. What else?

Ruby sighed, finally giving up the struggle that had raged within her, the waves of denial that she had tried to use to suppress what she had been afraid to admit. She was well-acquainted with internal struggles but this was something new to her. She had always been open about her feelings before and she wondered why she was having difficulty admitting them now.

Probably because this was the first time they were ever this deep. And the power of her emotions was both thrilling and frightening because, for the first time, there was a horrible risk. So much was at stake and everything was about to change. She needed to be clear and honest about how she felt before it was too late.

She could not bear even the thought that she might never see him again.

I want to stay with him, Ruby thought with fierce determination, it doesn't matter where we end up, as long as we're together.