When the swirling cloud of magic cleared, they were standing in front of the mansion formally inhabited by The Apprentice. Emma looked towards the street, not sure how she should feel about the lack of her mother's car. Obviously time wasn't on their side as Belle and Henry were yet locked away in the library, and a cold chill went down her spine as she turned to glance at Gold.
Regina had told her about Belle's pregnancy, and her decision to terminate. She had no doubt that Regina's prediction of Gold's reaction was the most likely if he found out about what Belle was planning to do—or had done. Gold hadn't spoken since she'd arrived, and it wasn't clear what his feelings were about Belle, but Emma hoped she could keep him from bringing her up until she had a plan.
To her left, Liam dusted his hands to get off the last of the magical cloud clinging to his fingertips.
Liam. Emma had of course believed him, it wasn't that far a strech. He looked like the perfect combination of her coloring and Killian's good looks. Add to that his accent, and a more subtle guy liner than his father preferred, and she knew, like she'd known the moment she's seen Henry, that he was her son.
He looked to be much younger than Roland, the man he obviously had an intimate relationship with, but he seemed older than Apple. She guessed he was around twenty, and though not as muscular as his father, he was taller.
As if sensing her looks, he glanced over at her. He smiled, but it was guarded, not quite making it to his eyes, which seemed wary and cold. She was good at reading people, and she read distrust. It shot a stab of pain through her chest. Giving Henry away had eaten at her every day of her life, and she'd always imagined he'd hate her for it. But not once had Henry ever looked at her like his brother now did.
He was about to say something, opened his mouth to show perfectly white, straight teeth, when Roland finally got his bearings and quickly ascended the steps, causing Liam to turn away from her.
She felt unbidden tears fill her eyes as Liam walked away without a word.
"Roland wait; we need to figure out our next step." Neal had appeared on the first step of the porch, and had done a quick head count to make sure he had all the Circle Points and his friends and family. Roland's determined march towards the front door reminded him they need to organize everyone to make this work and release Anna.
"You figure out our next step, I'm going in." Roland was at the bottom step now, Liam not far behind, and it took a giant leap for him to get in front of them both. He knew it was dangerous, but with tensions already running high they needed a plan.
He dropped his hand square in the middle of Roland's chest and heard Apple draw in a fearful breath. "Rolan—"
Two fists grabbed the edges of his jacket and pulled him bodily down a step, until he was nose to nose with a seething Roland of Loxley, "Get out of my way, Neal!"
But he struggled, he had to, they needed everyone's cooperation, and while Apple raced forward to grab one of her brother's arms, and Liam took the other trying to reason with him, Neal raised his voice and issued his command.
"Stand down, Captain!"
A bitter conflict fought behind Roland's eyes, but Neal held his ground, commanding Regina's Captain of the Guard as only a future king could. It was a long three seconds of Apple tugging in vain, and Liam pleading, but eventually, Roland shoved him away, and turned to catch Liam into a one armed embrace, holding him tight as he looked up at the house longingly before burying his face in Liam's neck.
"Shhh," the blond soothed, his hands instantly going to the back of Roland's hair, "shhh, we're going to get her. We're going to bring her home and we are never, ever letting her go again. Fate be damned! I swear it, Luv, I swear it."
Apple too was seeking comfort in Neal's arms, and he leaned down to kiss her temple before turning towards the Circle Points. He addressed Regina, their leader, first. "Inside the mansion there's a hidden library filled with Books of Fate. They were gathered, unfilled, by the Sorcerer in his bid to control the destiny of Camelot and the nine realms. With help, he gave Zelina, your sister, the spell which allowed her to go back in time. We think he wanted to kill you to prevent the Circle Points from being created, but we're not sure, things didn't go as planned," he glanced over at Marion, sadness filling him at what he needed to say for the greater good. "My sister, Emma, instead traveled back in time with Killian Jones, and brought Elsa and Marion to Storybrooke. Elsa's presence did not disrupt the flow of time, but Marion's did. The Circle Points—our great magical council—knew the only way to fix things was to send a group back to remove the time obstruction," he couldn't say "kill" with Little Roland clinging to his mother's hand in confusion.
"But there was a problem," he continued, "the Circle Points had no anchor point to send us back to, as time was writing and rewriting itself over and over again because of Marion's presence."
He paused and glanced over at Liam and Roland, who were now both watching him with painful eyes. "That's when Anna, our friend, rewrote her own fate. She caused the Sorcerer and her mother to attack her, locking her away in a time spell. The spell made her appear in Storybrooke, but when is unknown. We know she's here now because the Circle Points used her as an anchor point to send us back in time so we could free her, remove the time obstruction, and return home."
He was surprised when Liam's pain filled voice added, "We don't know how long she's been in there. Trapped, all alone. It could have been three months, three years, three hundred, we just don't know." He shook his head when Roland tried to comfort him, "The Circle Points sent Neal and Apple first, which is why they were able to arrive in Storybrooke, but their very presence altered time again, and Rumplestiltskin ended up outside the town line. Since he needed to be in the town, Roland and I were sent outside to gather him and the others and get them here to break the spell."
"The spell around this Fate, Anna, The Author," Ursula asked, speaking for the first time since Neal had seen her.
It was Apple that replied, "Yes, there's a powerful time spell around Anna. All of the Circle Points as well as Liam and I are needed to overwhelm the wards and bring it down so Anna can be released."
Maleficent stepped forward, more at ease now that Apple was giving answers, "And these Circle Points, your magical council, who exactly makes up this little book club?"
"My mom," Apple named, looking at each, "Rumplestiltskin, you, Ursula, Cruella, and Emma. The five strongest magic users working for the side of good."
"The side of good, Darling? I've never worked for the side of good, wouldn't want too." Cruella sneered, stroking the fur lapel of her long white and black coat.
"Not here you don't," he replied, squeezing Apple's hand, "Zelina's spell altered time, broke it. But in our time, Anna sent Henry to find you, and offered to write you a happy ending to come home and lead. She'd foreseen the necessity of the Circle Points, and made you and Ursula the offer you took."
The people outside the mansion were silent for a moment, all lost in their thoughts, but it was the often quiet Rumplestiltskin that broke it first. "A compelling story for certain, but there's one little problem, Dearie, while these Queens of Darkness might be swayed by a promise of a happy ending, I wouldn't have been. The idea that I'd join a magical council is doubtful."
Roland took a step from Liam to face the Dark One. "You didn't just join the Circle Points, you created it. You had something worth defending Mr. Gold, something more important than individual power."
"Such as," Gold drawled, unconvinced.
"Your daughter. You had your daughter to protect." Roland answered back.
"Another problem, Dearie, I don't have a daughter, a son, once, yes, a daughter, no." He waved away the ridiculous notion.
"Wrong." Roland stated, and the sharpness of his objection had Gold locking eyes with him. "You do have a daughter, a daughter born to the Traitor of the Realm, Belle Gold. A daughter more special than any child born in an age, because she possess the greatest gift and the darkest curse, she is The Fate, Morganna Lacey Gold, The Daughter of Destiny, and it is she, Mr. Gold, who is trapped inside that house; and that is why you, are, going to help us get Anna out."
She'd put her clothes back on only minutes before she heard Dr. Whale's violent protest, and her hospital door had slammed open to reveal Hook, Mary Margaret, and Henry.
"Belle!" Henry cried, walking quickly into the room and pulling her into a tight hug. "I've missed you so much, but right now we have to go. My mom says something bad is happening at the town line, and Grandpa might be trying to get back in—"
He continued to talk, but she no longer heard it. Instead, a violent tremor began at her core, and vibrated out to her extremities in a matter of seconds. Her breathing became gasps as Rumple's face swam into the vision of her mind's eye and refused to leave.
A sharp pain on her cheek, and a loud crack brought her back to reality to see Hook glaring down at her, seconds before Mary Margaret pushed him out of the way with a startled cry, "Killian, how could you! Belle? Belle, are you OK?"
"We don't have time for this," the pirate began, "if she wants to fall apart over the Crocodile she can damn well do it in the car. Regina said Henry is in danger, and that means she's coming with us whether she wants to or not."
"You didn't have to hit her!" Henry yelled, and she saw a look of concern enter the boy's eyes that she didn't like. It stirred something in her, and she turned to focus instead on Mary Margaret who was fussing over her.
"What's happened?"
The queen's eyes softened. "We're not exactly sure, but someone's doing something to the town boarder, and we think it might be your—it might be Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret tried diplomatically. "Regina thinks the safest place for you and Henry is a magical room we found in a mansion just outside of town. Apparently, Gold never found it."
"I can't believe you did that," Henry screamed, getting between her and Killian, and his tone distracted everyone. He was nearly Killian's height now, Belle thought absently, "You just go around hitting girls? Would you hit my mom?"
Horror crossed Killian's handsome face, and he recoiled as if he'd been slapped himself. He shook his head wordlessly for a moment before he found his voice, his one good hand reaching out towards Henry. "No, never. I swear it on my life, Henry, I would never hurt your mother."
"Just anyone else then," Henry turned his back on the pirate captain, "Leave her alone. Stay away from my grandma." Squatting down, he offered her a soft smile, "I'm so sorry, Belle. But right now, my mom thinks we need to get to that special room, so will you come with me?"
If her husband was coming back to Storybrooke, she couldn't see him, not like this, not after what she'd almost done—what she had done!
Nodding, she let Mary Margaret and Henry help her to a standing position. She caught Dr. Hopper's eye as he stood in the doorway and shook her head as he wisely remained silent while her two companions helped her into the hallway. As they passed, Killian tried again to connect with Henry, but a final, "Don't!" had the dark haired man trailing behind them wordlessly.
The four of them filed down the hallway. But once outside, Mary Margaret went to get the car, and Belle turned to Henry, "Go with her, Henry."
He took one look at a morose Killian and shook his shaggy head, "I'm not leaving you alone with him."
From the corner of her eye, Killian flinched, but she placed her soft hand on Henry's shoulder and directed him after his grandmother, "Go on, I need to talk to Hook." That brought suspicion to Henry's eyes, and a startled look from Jones, but she held her ground until eventually, a glaring Henry, turned away from his mother's boyfriend and walked reluctantly after Mary Margaret.
She waited until he was out of earshot to turn towards the pirate. "I know you have a flask, give it to me," and she held out her hand expectantly.
He furrowed his brow, but reached into his pocket and gave her the sizable metal container. It was heavy in her hand and by the sounds of it, full. Wasting no time, she unscrewed the cap and swallowed the entire thing before she drew another breath.
His look when she handed it back to him was telling. "You wouldn't be the first wife of his to end up taking comfort in a bottle."
There was a time she might have glared, but she didn't have it in her. Instead she turned away from him as if he didn't exist, and obligingly climbed into the car when, minutes later, Henry held the door for her.
Something was happening. The single strand of thread was pulsing. Luminescent blues and pinks beat to some mysterious rhythm. It caught her attention only moments before the room shook violently; massive tombs imprisoned for centuries falling from the haphazard stacks Bae's sister had left them in around the room.
When it was over, she found herself beside the strand. She was shocked to see that a second strand was now connected to it. This one was black, though it glittered in the soft light from the fire. She recognized it instantly because only the line of a Fate was black. But it was unheard of for her own line to appear before her. Somewhere, hidden away in the Gods' Realm, were her three sister Fates who could see her thread, but she had never seen it herself.
With shaking hands, she reached out and ran her finger along the black strand.
When she finally let her hand fall away, tears dripped from her chin and she trembled so violently that she lost her footing and fell to the hard wood floor with a thump.
They were coming, nearly there-Roland and Liam, Apple and Bae-and they would stop at nothing to free her from her prison.
And if they did, if they let her out, the Sorcerer would win.
She had to stop them!