"You should invest in cooking lessons." Eirys says coming back to their table with another plate of deliciously homemade French toast. "Or maybe you could go to Granny's sometime; you're going to eat me out of my house."
Mr. Gold puts half of the freshly made French toast onto his plate, drenching them in some nice maple syrup. "It's too much work. I am a busy man after all." It wasn't totally untrue; he had been busy the past few days with the whole Mary Margaret business. And then with Kathryn Nolen showing up 100% not dead, well, it was easy to say that things were getting kind of sticky.
Eirys puts her hands on her hips. Perhaps saying that he was busy trying to convict her friend wasn't the best thing to say. "Don't even think about going there, Mr. Gold. You better apologize to her." She pours another cup of spice tea, which went very well to dampen the sweetness of his breakfast. "I'm going to start charging you for food. Do you know how much money I spend on you?"
"You don't have to do anything." Mr. Gold says, his stomach finally satisfied, but he knows that if he asked for it, Eirys would feed him again. She wouldn't just let him starve in his pawn shop all day. Or she would and when he stumbles into her place after not eating a while, she'd just throw her arms up in submission and make him something to eat. "But I really must be going." The grandfather clock was nearing nine, and he would like to avoid meeting up with that Ashley Boyd character if he could help it. There was always this awkward tension when he accidentally stays too late and they happen to meet. "Have a good day."
"Highly doubtful," Eirys says staring at the dreary sky. Mr. Gold did read somewhere that certain people were more tuned to nature than others. They got visibly depressed when there was a lack of sun. Eirys was obviously one of these people. She sighs and slowly starts to get the shop ready for any potential customers who would venture out of the warm homes to buy flowers. "You're going to come tonight, right?"
Tonight, what was happening tonight? "Oh, Miss. Blanchard's welcome home party?" He was only 'friends' with Mary Margaret because Eirys was friends with Mary Margaret, if not, then he would really rather not have anything to do with the school teacher. Eirys tends to drag all of her friends around her to do things together, whether they actually like one another or not. She's probably the one who asked if Mr. Gold could be invited as well, and they're just too nice to say no.
"What do you think I should get her?" Eirys asks. She was always a planning type of person, all organized with everything. Sure the whole, Mary Margaret didn't kill Kathryn Nolen thing was kind of unexpected and surprising, but she had plenty of time to find a good present. "I could make a nice bouquet for her."
"I think she would prefer something to eat." Mr. Gold suggests hoping that Eirys would think of something sweet like cookies or banana bread. Not that Mr. Gold had any affinity for such things in the first place.
Eirys gives him a look that says that she knows what he's aiming for and she's not falling for it. "I'll make punch, and I'll get her a new jewelry box from your store. It cam be a collaboration since we're all friends."
"Yes, well, I'll have a look around and see if anything seems…suitable for Miss. Blanchard." Mr. Gold says finally leaving store when the grandfather clock chimes the hour.
Ashley brings Alexandra to the store and they kind of make a day of it. Despite the early morning's storm, the weather outside isn't particularly nice. "I hear classical music stimulates baby's brains, makes them smarter." Ashley explains swaying to the soft music filtering in from the CD player. "The doctor says that it's surprising that she babbles so much, but it can't be a bad thing."
"She is going to be a wonderful little girl." Eirys says fixing and refixing the positions of the flowers she was arranging. It's not often that she had commissions for flower arrangements, which meant she had a lot of time to practice for friends. "You think this will be good?"
Nothing seemed to be big enough to match the amount of relief Eirys felt when Mary Margaret was finally released from jail. This party had to have an amazing centerpiece and an even better punch. "Maybe you should spike it?" Leave it to Ashley to voice the idea that's on everyone's mind.
"I can't, Henry's going to be there." Darn that little ten-year old, but perhaps it was a good thing. Eirys knew for a fact that Ruby would be there, and that girl should not be allowed to throw parties where alcohol is involved, bad things happen. "Regina would kill me if anything like Henry accidentally getting drunk at a party that she doesn't even want him to go to happens."
And Regina can basically do anything get away with it. She's got her hands down some very deep pockets; Emma's even flirting with the idea that Regina has something to do with the whole Kathryn Nolen disappearance and the framing of Mary Margaret. "You and Regina seem to be really good friends." Eirys says looking at the antique stuff that Mr. Gold has around his shop.
Mr. Gold laughs in his usual way as if he really didn't find her statement amusing, so she's never sure if he actually thinks it amusing or not. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that we're friends." He a tricky one, Mr. Gold, but he really did have some nice stuff. "What do you know about that stranger?"
"Who? August?" There have only been one or two strangers in Storybrooke since, like, forever, and Emma's one of them. "He's a writer, I don't really know anything besides that, and he's also friends with Emma." If Mr. Gold has an interest in August, that's the perfect way to get him to go to the welcome back party for Mary Margaret. "He's going to be at Mary Margaret's party."
Mr. Gold gives her a look that says he knows what she's planning. "Well, since I have nothing better to do." He must really want to know about August. Something must have happened between the two of them, but then again, a lot of things happen with Mr. Gold and inside Mr. Gold's pawn shop.
Sometimes when Eirys is really bored, she'd watch the people who go in and out of the shop. Recently it's mostly been Emma and Regina; both of them usually stomp out of there in frustration, and they never buy anything. Tricky Mr. Gold, always playing both sides of the game and always coming out on top.
The party is not the most exciting party but it's homey and delivers the right atmosphere to welcome Mary Margaret home. "I can't believe all these people are here just to welcome home." Mary Margaret says, watching Eirys pour her punch in small crystal looking cups.
"You have a lot of friends." Eirys says simply as Mary Margaret goes to serve her friends with the punch. Everyone seems happy, talking amongst themselves, Mr. Gold hiding beneath the stairs because he's too shy to come out and say that he's glad that Mary Margaret didn't kill Kathryn Nolen. Ok, so that is just wishful thinking but one can never really know with Mr. Gold as a friend.
"Hey, I have something for you." Henry says after some urging from August, something obviously going on between the two of them. Something along the plotting lines.
"Well, thank you." Henry gives Mary Margaret a large red card, presumably made by the rest of Mary Margaret's students, and he has a little rectangular present. "'We're so glad you didn't kill Mrs. Nolen'" she reads. This earns a laugh from the entire group.
"You should come out from under here, once in a while you know." Eirys says poking her head under the stairs. It appears to be the only place in the entire apartment that is relatively hidden.
Mr. Gold nudges Eirys to give Mary Margaret their collaborated present. Besides the fact that Eirys was the one who actually paid for the present, wrapped it, and then dutifully wrote a long letter about their undying friendship on some nice stationary. "Henry's not the only one with the great ideas."
"Speaking of which, I think we should get you home before your mom finds out." Emma says steering Henry towards the door. Eirys almost misses the shared glance between August and Henry, those two, are without a doubt, up to something.
Mary Margaret seems to be enjoying the collaborated present, or at least, Eirys thinks she is before she sees David at the door. Unfortunately for the troubled guy, Emma is the one to answer the door. "Are you sure you still don't want to talk to him?" Eirys asks softly so the other guests don't feel bad for him. Apparently no one else saw David's rejection from the party.
"Just a while longer." Mary Margaret assures, which means that Mary Margaret is going to ignore him as long as possible until they unfortunately happen to bump into each other. "More punch?" or David goes out of his way to talk to her because she's blatantly ignoring him.
Mr. Gold seems to have made his move away from the area under stairs and talking to Emma. By the direction he's pointing in, he's probably asking her about August. Now, what exactly did August do to make Mr. Gold so interested in him? Another thing that Eirys will have to keep an eye on.
Things between Mr. Gold and August have gotten slightly out of hand in Eirys's eyes. "So, you're going to 'carefully observe' him based on a hunch you have?" Now, Eirys may sometimes be called simpleminded, but she is not stupid. Mr. Gold almost never tells her the entire truth when he's about to do something…shifty. And right now, it looks like he's going to do something shifty, which means he's hiding something from her.
"I just want to know what he's up to here." Mr. Gold says simply, lying between his teeth. He drinks his tea quickly and silently stashes some scones in his pocket. Eirys sometimes wonders if Mr. Gold underestimates her or just assumes that she is really that naïve and dense about the world. "I just came to tell you not to expect me for the rest of the day."
"Do you know how to get rid of magic, powers?" Bae asks suddenly. The two friends were lazing on a grassy hill. Nothing to do, nothing needing to be done, and nothing happening.
Ivy glances over at him. "I suppose magic could get rid of magic, negate it somehow. But why would you want to do that?" Ivy couldn't think of life without hearing the melodies of the trees and the soft whispers of the mountains. Of course there were aspects of her power that she would love to live without, hearing silence in places where music used to sing for one.
"Just a thought." Bae says simply. Returning to staring up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by without a care in the world. "I once had a so—a friend—I changed once I got these powers. He wanted them gone." Ivy knew what Bae was talking about.
He'd sometimes get very, intense? His anger fueling his need for more power, and he doesn't always keep that under control. Most days he's just silly and goofy like he usually is, and others, he just disappears to do things that Ivy might find questionable.
Ivy didn't know much about his past or where he came from, but she did know that he didn't like talking about it. He'd get very quiet and sad, the type of sad that came from loosing someone more important than a friend. "Where is your friend now?"
Bae shakes his head. "I don't know."
"I could give you advice on where to look for him. Even if fairies don't help humans, we always try to part some advice onto others." Ivy says recalling something like this in a book she once read in school. "To help educate humans about good and dark magic."
Bae nods along with it, having heard the words before whenever Ivy had to talk to a human. "I don't think he's part of this world anymore, but he's out there." This person, whoever he is, must have somehow transcended the boundaries of their world and passed into another. There is limited magic that could allow such a thing to happen. "You wouldn't know of where I could get a magic bean, would you?"
"A magic bean?" Their magical properties are very rare, even the fairies have problems getting a hold of them. "I know that some are distributed amongst the fairy godmothers. In case they come across someone with a dire need for magic. But I think Saphira already gave hers away."
"Oh really?" he doesn't sound too surprised by it. The Blue Fairy name is famous throughout the lands as the most influential and magical fairy in all the lands. Her name is spoken as a name of legends and stories, a name passed down from generation to generation, the legacy growing with each passing year. But what no one usually suspects is the passage of the name to only the brightest and most powerful gift granting fairies. "She wouldn't happen to know where the bean takes people, now would she?"
Ivy shrugs, "Who really knows the power of those beans?" Who really knew how many worlds were out there, coexisting parallel with their world. Worlds with magic, worlds without magic, and worlds that have even stranger things that their own. "Are you trying to find your friend?"
Bae glances back at her. His large dark eyes were slightly watery and little redder from unshed tears. "Always." There is a final sounding tone to his voice and it ends the entire conversation. "Do you know how to get from this world to another?"
"Some magically portal maybe?" Ivy says. "I don't really know too much about that type of magic, perhaps asking someone with greater capabilities than myself." There are only a handful of people who even possess magic, let alone greater magic than a fairies or Bae's own. Another option could be to ask the Queen, but she could never agree to leaving this world unless something happens to make her.
"What about a curse?"
Naïve little fairy, that's what she is. Ivy thinks about it. "It can work, I suppose. But there are always other options than dark magic. You're smart, Bae, I'm sure you'll figure something out."
Bae seems to have something on his mind as they return to their contemplation of the shapes of the clouds above them. But then again, there seems to always be something on his mind, or at least, Ivy seemed to think he did. But as she had said before, he was a smart person; he'll know not to do something stupid like that.
Eirys may not really seem like it, but she's a worrier. She worries like no other. The only reason why people tend to not know about this worrying is because she usually frets within the boundaries of her own home, which usually includes pacing back and forth, massive cleaning sprees, and the habit of talking to herself. Eirys does all three until she sees the headlights of Mr. Gold's car pulling up in the parking lot outside her shop. "Are you ok? No broken bones, right?"
Mr. Gold pushes past her fussy hands. "I'm fine, just very tired." He seems to have had an adventure since the last time Eirys saw him. "And I'm hungry."
"Well, I have sandwiches, and soup, and tea." Eirys says, and Mr. Gold had realized a bit too late in their friendship that she really did only eat sandwiches. It seemed to be her favorite food for lunch and dinner despite her apparently ability to cook and bake. "Here, sit down and then you can tell me exactly what you've been up to."
Mr. Gold doesn't resist, even though he really doesn't like those sandwiches. "He went to the nuns." Mr. Gold really did not like the nuns, something he didn't even try to hide. And Eirys knew from past experience that he would not tell her why; just give her a cryptic answer like he always does. "Then I talked to Dr. Hopper, and then I met Mr. August Booth at my little cottage."
"Why would you need to talk to Archie?" Really? She had to go and ask that question. It's usually not difficult to talk to her, she'd just receive all the information he told her as fact, because she never assumes a need for him to lie to her. Not that he makes it a thing to lie to her on a daily basis or anything like that. "Are you in some sort of trouble?"
"Of course not, why would you think that?" Mr. Gold asks rhetorically drinking his soup. "But as it turns out, Mr. Booth isn't as interesting as I first believed him to be." But Mr. Gold seems slightly disappointed with that fact for some reason.
Eirys mindlessly refills Mr. Gold's bowl, it's like second nature by now, "Oh, while you were gone, Sydney confessed to kidnapping Kathryn and trying to frame Mary Margaret. It all seems very strange though. You know, too convenient or something like that."
"Yes, how very interesting." Mr. Gold agrees, like he doesn't really believe that whole story about Sydney being the bad guy. Emma and Mary Margaret don't seem to believe it either, both of them still thinking its Regina, but without any real proof, everything is circumstantial. "And this new business with Henry."
"You heard as well?" Words get around quite easily in a small town like Storybrooke, and Mr. Gold seems to have ears everywhere even when he's not here. And it's not like he has his contacts coming into his store, Eirys would know that for sure. "Emma wants custody of Henry; did she come to you for legal advice on it?"
Mr. Gold shrugs. "Sort of. Though I haven't done anything yet, and Regina is not happy."
"Well you are going to help her, Emma, right?" Eirys asks. Mr. Gold shrugs again, not committing himself to a single side at the moment. "You keep thinking about it. Do you want to go visit the school tomorrow? Welcome Mary Margaret back?"
"I think I've had enough celebrations for a while." He replies getting ready to leave. "See you tomorrow."
"I don't suppose you need my help with anything anymore." Ivy says moodily. She and Saphira, with their work, and now with the Evil Queen's curse, bump heads a few times. But they would always trust one another, with everything and anything. Or at least, Ivy thought they were. "So, I can't imagine what you could possibly be doing here, Saphira."
The Blue Fairy shifts from one foot to the other, one of her nervous tics that Ivy's come to recognize over the years. "You know there's no way of stopping her; all the happy endings will the lost if we don't do something."
"Saphira, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you." Ivy clears away their clay tea cups. "There is no place in this realm for people to hid, this world will be replaced by this magicless world the Queen wishes to go to."
Saphira walks around the table, "You know about Snow White's baby, right? Then you must know that the baby is our only chance at stopping this plot. Or do you want this world to disappear?"
"We lost, Saphira, this world will be destroyed by the curse." Ivy voices the one thing that will never change now. "And we won't even know because we'll forget everything about this place. About the magic because the curse will erase everything."
"Ivy, you know something that can help us." Saphira says firmly and in her face. She always had that type of personality, even when they were younger. "Why don't you want to help us?"
A few reasons flash through Ivy's head in that instant. All of her troubles, or at least a lot of them could be traced back to Saphira. But then Saphira became like this, all nice and wonderful, the perfect fairy Godmother. "I have my reasons." Ivy says stiffly knowing that she was being the mean one after all Saphira's put her through. "But there might be something we could try."
Ivy doesn't look at Saphira when she says that, because then she'll see the relief in Saphira's eyes. "I knew you were a nice person, Ivy." Saphira gushes out like she always does when Ivy gives into her demands.
"It's a magic tree, the last one probably." Ivy says pulling a dusty old map from one of the shelves she never touches. The old parchment crinkles as she unrolls it. "It should be in this forest, right here." Ivy taps the area on the map. "I'll take you to it in the morning if you want."
Saphira nods. She would make sure that the tree is still there and well enough to be of use. And then she'll go and tell Snow White and everyone like it was her idea. Stealing all the glory for herself, she's always been like that.
The next morning, Ivy waits at the edge of the Fairy Grounds in her evergreen cloak waiting for her blue claded friend to come. Saphira silently makes her way through the streets, and the two of them slip out. After they get a safe distance from the Fairy Grounds, they hide their cloaks under some bushes and spread their wings to fly.
It takes a while to get to their destination. A loud silence is stretched between the two of them. All of Saphira's attempts at a conversation has either been shot down or ignored by Ivy. Just because Ivy has to help Saphira save the realm and such, doesn't mean she has to do it nicely. Ivy drops down into the forest and looks around.
"Are you sure there's a magic tree in this forest?" Saphira asks glancing at every tree she passes as if there is a symbol signifying the tree. "How can you even tell? All the trees look the same to me."
Ivy secretly rolls her eyes and keeps walking, letting Saphira fall behind. And people actually think she's smart. Well, she is clever, but not overly intellectual. "I found it!" Saphira doesn't seem to overly impress by the old tree. Its trunk has weird twists and turns in it. And it's much shorter than the tall thin trees of the forest. The magical tree sits in a slightly clearing like area. The other trees having been removed or didn't grow there because they could feel the magical properties of this one tree.
"We have to fasten it into a wardrobe, so that Snow White can be safely transported to their land without magic." Saphira says walking around the tree. "Do you think it would work?"
Ivy shrugs. When she presses her hand against the trunk or steps on one of its exposed roots, she can feel the magic flowing into her. All the other trees coo sweetly from the magic they feel. "We can't protect the entire royal family with this one tree. Its magic can only protect two people, at most."
Saphira sighs; this is obviously not what she wants to tell everyone. "Then we will have to make due with only two people." The only other thing that is needed for this plan is someone to fashion the tree into a wardrobe. But Saphira's probably found someone by now. "Ivy, I know that I'm not the best friend you thought I was but, thank you for helping." She sticks out her hand for a handshake.
"I know." Ivy replies accepting the handshake. "Maybe we can be friends in this new world, without magic." There are so many possibilities that could happen due to their curse, not even magically foresight can predict what could happen.
"You'll come to the meeting, right?" the meeting where Saphira tells everyone about the magical enchantment the tree can provide. Where she has to tell the others there that it can't save them all that the curse will eventually win out? Something along the lines of these thoughts must have appeared on Ivy's face. "This may have been my idea, but you found the tree."
Ivy sighs, "I guess I could go." She hadn't really seen the royal pair or anyone else in a long time. She didn't even know most of them. "I'll be there, to support you. Just like old times, right?"
"Right." They have a final shake on the promise.
And in a few days time, Ivy found herself at a round table, filled with knights, other important decision making characters, and the royal family. She knew some of the others, but not many. Saphira would do most of the talking, explaining their plan with the tree.
"But there is a catch. Yes the enchantment is strong, but all magic has its limits. The enchantment has only enough magic to protect one person." Saphira explains, her eyes shifting over to an old man, the one who will create this wardrobe. Ivy knows of the story where Saphira turned a wooden boy into a real one. This is that boy.
That boy may or may not be turned back into wood in this world without magic. After all, he was created from magic in his entirety. "A choice must be made." Ivy says when Saphira falls into a slightly awkward silence, watching the royal family's fallen faces. Saphira gives her a look of thanks as they flutter next to each other.
And the choice is made, and of course, everything has to go wrong when everything seems to be alright. "Here, Doc, this could help her feel better." Ivy says conjuring up some minty tea leaves.
"We can only hope that the wardrobe is finished in time." Doc says seeping the leaves in the boiling water. Snow White is so close to labor and the wardrobe is so close to being finished, everyone is on edge, just waiting. "Shouldn't you get back to help with the preparations you are having?"
Ivy nods staring out the window. "I'm supposed to go back with the Blue Fairy; we can put it off for so long." Outside, the storm clouds of the curse are slowly getting closer; everything is just about getting closer. Everything is just so close. "Do you hear that?"
They had been hearing Prince Charming's soft whispers, but now they are accompanied by Snow White's screams and the worst possible situation is upon them. "Snow White is going to give birth." Saphira whispers and rushes off.
"Oh what are we going to do, Doc?" Ivy whispers hovering over Snow White who has gotten very flushed and sweaty. Outside the storm is getting closer and there is not more time left. "I'm sorry but I have to go. Make sure Snow White and your daughter gets into that wardrobe." Ivy says to Prince Charming as she flies out the window.
Saphira flies up to her and they make their way towards the Fairy Grounds.
"So you let August take her somewhere?" Eirys says raising an eyebrow over the events that Mr. Gold had just told her, about Emma and not helping her and how Eirys had seen the pair ride off somewhere on his motorcycle. "Were you even thinking about what could happen to Emma?"
Mr. Gold sips some nice caramel flavored black tea. "He wanted to help her with something and she obviously wasn't going to listen to him because of this custody battle, so I just helped him." Eirys is baking cookies, another gift for Mary Margaret no doubt.
"And you trust him, why?" Eirys asks not bothering to stop him from snatching a still very hot cookie from the cooling rack. Not only did Mr. Gold burn his fingers, but his tongue as well. "I thought you didn't like him."
"I was suspicious of him, and now, he's no longer a problem." Mr. Gold says avoiding the question with a nice side-step. This is obviously part of one of the elaborate plots Mr. Gold seems to always be a part of. "And why all the worrying, she is the sheriff after all."
Eirys nods, but even Mr. Gold assurances aren't enough to keep her from worrying. "Well, I guess you burning your tongue are enough to make me feel better. But I better see Emma tomorrow at the sheriff's station. Maybe I'll bring her some muffins."
Mr. Gold perks up slightly. "I look forward to tea then."