"Why don't you just start at the beginning," Snow suggested. "Tell us how you came to be here. In Storybrooke, I mean."
She leaned back so that Red could place her breakfast in front of her, along with all the other plates as well.
Belle shook her head. "No, I think we need to go further back. If I'm to decide whether or not Rumple comes back, I need to know how he got the box."
"And it wouldn't hurt to know what the box is capable of," David added.
Dora stared mutely at all of them, but Archie gave her a gentle nudge.
"Go on, Dora," he encouraged. "We're friends here. We want to help."
Dora looked at David. "Why would you help me? I nearly killed you."
"Look, none of this is your fault," David said. "You didn't ask for all of this, anymore than we did. Did you?"
Henry scrunched up his face apologetically. "She did open the box."
"No, I didn't."
Dora's words hung for a moment, then she looked down, as if she'd spoken out-of-turn. Archie reached over and gently lifted her chin.
"Start from the very beginning, Dora," he said. "Tell us everything. No one will judge you here."
Dora took a hesitant breath.
"I had been a foundling," she began. "And Athena had brought me to Olympus. They raised me there, and many of the Gods gave me gifts as I grew. Athena taught me to weave and to hunt. Hermes gave me the gift of travel - showing me how to cross portals. Apollo gave me a light that can transcend any darkness. Aphrodite gave me beauty, but then added weariness to my lot when it appeared I might become as lovely as her. For the most part, I was happy there."
"So you're a god?" Henry asked, his eyes wide.
She smiled at him indulgently. "No, Henry. I am human. Just like you. Though my life was extended during my time on Olympus. Time moves very differently there, as it does in some realms."
"What brought you back to our realm? he asked.
Dora's face grew weary again, and the name fell from her lips.
"Zeus."
Belle's face clearly showed her understanding, while the others were still in the dark.
"Zeus was a known womanizer," Belle explained. "And as the most powerful of the Gods, no one was out of reach. Let me guess...he noticed you."
Dora nodded. "He was very flattering, and I knew nothing of men. Hera made him so discontented, and when he was with me he seemed...more carefree, somehow. I thought I could change him. Make him happy." The word was bitter, and she continued on. "But Hera noticed, of course. She was all-seeing, and very used to Zeus and his meanderings among the humans. She tried to kill me, but Zeus intervened. Instead, he removed me from Olympus, making me a gift to Epimetheus.
"He was a Titan, and a selfish man. He acted recklessly, and was nearly always regretting his actions. He had wealth due to his position, and a certain protection that went with being an original inhabitant of Olympus, but he was no one of real consequence, and often overlooked by the gods. Zeus thought I'd be safe there, as Epimetheus's bride. He sent the box along with me, charging me to keep it safe. It held great power, and he didn't want it falling into Hera's hands, or the hands of the mortals who were starting to question their Gods."
"Did Zeus tell you what was in the box?" Snow asked.
"No," Dora replied quietly. "He only told me that it must not be opened."
"So you were forced into a marriage with Epimetheus," Archie reiterated. "Then what?"
"Zeus continued to visit me for awhile," she said, smiling softly. "Always when he'd sent my husband off on a task or a journey. I thought that surely, he must love me. Then one day, he stopped coming. I learned later later that someone named Europa caught his eye. And then someone after that. And another after that. I was only one of a very long line of women, some human, some not. None of us special."
"I disagree with that," Archie said, then when everyone looked at him, he blushed furiously. "I mean...I can't believe he treated you like that."
"Thank you," Dora smiled. "It was hard to accept at first, but I did. I even tried to make the best of it, trying to get to know my husband better, but Epimetheus was cold and selfish. He felt he'd married beneath him and he reminded me of it constantly. I refused his attentions, and it only made him angrier, as he felt he was owed them. He had many consorts, however. For a short time, I thought we might live peacefully, if not truly as husband and wife.
"What happened? Did Zeus come back?" Belle asked.
"No. And on one of his journeys, Epimetheus did a terrible thing - he stole from Zeus something of great value: fire."
"Fire?" Belle asked. "But didn't his brother steal fire? That's why Zeus punished him."
"That's what everyone thought. Prometheus was innocent. Epimetheus made it look as though he had taken the fire, and given it to the humans, but it was Epimetheus who'd done it. And this wasn't the fire you know. This was magic. A magical fire that could be summoned and used as a weapon."
"Regina's fireballs," Snow said. "Fire magic is some of the hardest to master."
"And Epimetheus released it into the mortal realm. He'd thought when Zeus blamed Prometheus, he'd gotten away with it, but Hercules released Prometheus, and the truth was going to come to light at any moment. Epimetheus came home terrified, only to find my secret waiting for him."
"Your secret?" Snow asked.
"My child. Zeus's daughter." Dora's voice grew wistful, sad. "My husband was away for much of the time that I was increasing. I gave birth to her while he was gone and I named her Hope. We had only a few short months together before Epimetheus returned, and when he saw my daughter, he was angry. So angry. We fought, and when I tried to take Hope and leave him, he locked us in a room, taking the box. He was going to trade it to a powerful magician in return for a protection spell that would hide him from the gods."
"That would be Rumple," Belle said. "Rumplestiltskin. His records show that he gave Epimetheus a protection spell."
"I followed him, along with Hope. He didn't realize a locked door wouldn't hold me, thanks to gift that Hermes gave me. I thought if I could steal the protection spell from him, I could use it on Hope. I wanted her to be protected from Hera - if she knew Hope was a child of Zeus, no place would be safe for her. So I followed Epimetheus, but he discovered me, and in a fit of fury - he opened the box."
"So he unleashed all the troubles of the world?" Henry asked, his eyebrows raised.
"It felt like it. The box didn't contain everyone's troubles, of course," Dora explained. "Mankind is quite adept at making its own trouble. But it held a powerful curse, that brought trouble in its wake. It landed on me, and it sent me straight to Hera."
"What happened to the baby?" Snow whispered.
Dora's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know. Hera imprisoned me in Tartarus - it was the only place I couldn't escape from. She put me in a burning room, where I suffered for centuries, eons...never knowing...always wondering..." Her voice broke, and Snow put a hand to her mouth, horrified.
"How did you manage to free yourself?" David asked.
"One day, the door suddenly opened. There was no explanation. That was decades ago, and I began searching the realms, looking for my child. It became apparent that the curse was still upon me, hurting people, causing calamity. I need to find the man who has the box, this Rumplestiltskin. If we can remove the curse from me and put it back safely in the box, I can search unfettered. Perhaps I can find her."
"You've been free for decades?" Belle looked confused. "You don't look like you've aged."
"I believe so. It's hard to be sure. For a brief period, time stood still. I was trapped in another realm, and when time began moving again, decades had passed."
"You were in the Enchanted Forest," Snow said, nodding. "Cora froze part of the realm during the original curse upon the land. You must have been caught in it. By the time you were released, Rumple was already here."
"The divinations finally led me here. Can I speak with him? Please?" Dora pleaded. "I'll do anything. I just want to find my daughter."
Archie looked at her with a wealth of sympathy in his eyes. "Dora...what makes you think she's still alive? If it's been eons?"
"She's a demi-god," Henry pointed out. "She could be."
"Or she may be in Olympus," Dora replied. "You can only get into Olympus if a god escorts you. The realm is hidden from all others. I haven't yet met a god in my travels, but they do visit the other realms for sport and amusement."
"Could Epimetheus have her?" Archie asked. "Maybe he took her to Zeus? In an effort to get back in his favor?"
"No. I don't believe so. He'd be just as likely to incur Hera's wrath. And Zeus never much cared for his offspring, one way or another. We all knew that." Her mouth twisted wryly. "I just want to know," she said. "I just want to know what happened to my daughter. Can you understand that?"
Snow reached out, grasping Dora's hand. "I understand," she said. "David and I lost our daughter, too. It took years for her to find us, and break the curse that separated us. We'll do whatever we can to help you."
Belle nodded. "I can start in the library. Perhaps there are stories passed down about a demi-god named Hope. We might be able to figure out where she went from there."
"I can help!" Henry volunteered.
"And Emma has already talked to Rumplestiltskin, who might have some further information for us," David said. Snow gave him a nudge in the ribs with her elbow, and her eyes shifted to Archie, who was smiling down at Dora, showing her how to put syrup on her pancakes.
"Regina is meeting us at the library in five minutes to talk about strategy," Snow said, giving Belle a pointed look. Belle, who was also looking at an enraptured Archie, gave her a secretive smile.
"Yes, we do have to be going," she agreed. "Archie, you'll stay with Dora? Show her around town?"
"Maybe if she meets everyone, and gets to know us, the impact of the curse won't be so bad," Henry suggested. "Once she started talking to us, nothing happened."
David looked nonplussed. "He's right. Why is that?"
"Hope." Snow said it softly. "You named your daughter well. Hope is the one thing that's broken the curse for each of us, and it seems to work for you, too - on a temporary basis. Once you're getting to know someone, feeling hopeful about them and about fitting in..."
"Everything becomes...normal." Dora said it with wonder. "I can almost say sometimes that I'm happy."
"We want you to be happy," Archie said. "I like you happy."
She looked up at him, and the smile she gave him made him forget what he was saying. He reached blindly for the syrup and poured his coffee over his pancakes instead.
Snow took David's arm and Belle put a hand to Henry's shoulder, and they all filed out, heading down the street to the library. Once inside, Belle leaned back against the counter as Regina walked in.
"So what's the story with the walking calamity?" she asked. "I've been at the office all morning, trying to undo the mayhem."
"She's been cursed," Snow replied. "The box held a curse that stuck with her. She's hoping that if she finds the box, she can contain the curse again."
"And that means...Rumple." Belle said.
"Rumple." Snow repeated. "He's got all the answers."
"We have to let him back in," Belle said. "If there's a chance of her finding her daughter. Or having a normal life."
"She's got a daughter?" Regina asked.
"The curse separated them," Snow replied. "My heart breaks for her. No wonder she took such good care of Neal."
"We don't even know if it'll work once we find the box," David said. "We know it can suck people in, but curses? What if that was a one-way trip?"
"I was in there, remember?" Henry said. "Once that thing is opened, nothing gets away until it's released by magic."
"The dagger." Belle chewed her lip. "I don't trust Rumple not to find a way to take the dagger back. He's done it before."
"Regina?" Snow looked at her. "You're the obvious choice."
Regina backed away, holding up a hand. "No. Oh, no. That's exactly why it can't be me. And with my history? You really don't want to tempt me with a dark dagger."
"You're not like that anymore," Henry said. She reached over, pulling him in for a hug.
"So who can we trust with the dagger?" Regina said.
Belle tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I have an idea."
###
Archie held the door open for Dora, and she stepped through, pausing to feel the sunlight on her face.
"It's good to feel warm again," she said. "The forest can be cold. All that shade."
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Archie asked. "The park is lovely, and so is the beach. We might even meet people along the way."
She looked nervous again, and he reached down, taking her hand. "We'll take it slow. All right?"
She curled her fingers around his. "All right."
He led her down the steps, and something flickered - Dora caught it out of the corner of her eye - causing her to look up. There, on top of a nearby telephone pole, sat a large, golden bird. Dora's eyes widened, and she stumbled. Archie slid an arm around her to steady her.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes," she replied, and her gaze flitted to the bird again. Archie's eyes followed their track and he stared in amazement.
"You know, I've never seen an eagle in Storybooke," he said. "He's a big one."
"Yes, he is," she agreed, still not breaking her gaze. The bird, as if sensing he was being talked about, flew away.
"Shall we go?" Archie said, reaching down to take her hand again. Dora let him lead her along, but her eyes kept returning to the sky.