It had been four days since Nemo was abandoned by her mother and apparently adopted by this strange clan of bear people. The child had tried asking questions the night before on how they were capable of doing this, only to get the answer of going to sleep and that everything would be better explained in the morning. So she had listened, falling asleep rather quickly in the cavern that was now her home.
The next morning she was the first to wake up, and waited patiently until she could have the thousands of questions in her mind to be answered. It didn't take long until one of the women of the group, one of the two that had found her actually, to wake up and finally explain how they were the way they were. She picked the child up gently in her arms and carried her out into the clearing where the morning sunlight was just beginning to make the trees around them visible.
"We are not like everyone else in the world little one, and this world is a dangerous place for people like us. If you told anyone outside of this family about us and what we are, they would not understand. And those that don't understand are naturally afraid, and fear leads to hate, hate leads to danger for us. It is a sad cycle in life, one that many in the past chose to ignore this, but then become a victim of it because of that. It is a cycle that you have to understand, as it is one that rules this world,"
Nemo looked up at the woman holding her in her arms, nodding softly as she was informed of what would later be one the most important lesson she had to learn about this world. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as it made her small little heart hurt really badly, but was comforted before the tears could slip out by a hug from the woman before she was sat down on a smooth rock nearby as the explanation continued.
"What we are, are called the Beorn, people that have the abilities to turn into bears as you saw. There are not many like us in this world, so we are very few in number. All that become a part of the Beorn stay in a family that is created, and we are all led by the Mother Bear that made us what we are. We are a family and stay together no matter what as the sense of loyalty to our Mother Bear that keeps us connected. We feel each other's pain because of our connection, and so because of that we must keep each other safe and united,"
She was still a little too young to fully comprehend what the woman was talking about in its entirety, but did feel somewhat happy that there was a family like this that was so connected, and wanted to really be a part of. Of course later on in life she would better understand what the woman had been talking about and feel something other than happiness at the prospect of it. However at this time the child felt happy to see such a close family and said only one thing after everything had been explained to her.
"Can I be a Beorn too?"
That sense of family, complete loyalty and no chance of being abandoned, Nemo wanted that.
So why was the woman shaking her head?
Lydia felt as though her feet were made of lead since they seemed to be slowing her down. The teenager had been running like a wild fire through Storybrooke towards the hospital, ignoring the looks and talk that she got from the townspeople as she sped past, not caring even in the slightest if they looked at her or judged her, she had stopped caring about stuff like that when she was younger. All that was on her mind, the reason her mind was leading her straight towards the hospital, was her friend and her friend's child.
A child that could be taken away any moment after its birth, by Lydia's father.
There was no mistake that the teenager hated her father a bit for doing something like that, even planning it, especially since Ashley had changed her mind and wanted to keep her child. Lydia was always an advocate for a child staying with a mother that loved them, especially since she had grown up without one. She didn't want this child to live the life that she had without her mother, to feel that emptiness in their heart as they watched everyone else be loved by their mothers all around them. And yes, there was a chance that maybe the child would be given to another loving family through the foster system, that there would be a woman there to love that child like a mother should.
But some day that child would find out the truth, that they were adopted, that they were abandoned, and Lydia did not want that to happen for this child, especially since Ashley did not want to abandon them. Lydia knew that there had to be more that she could do, more to help her friend that she had neglected so far in her pregnancy. Her feet tried to move faster, but so far it seemed that this was the speed she could travel at, and it wasn't enough.
She needed to get there before her father did, needed to talk to Ashley, to anyone in a way that could save this child from being taken away from their loving mother.
It was as the teenager was beginning to seriously panic in not getting there in time, that she heard a car horn from behind her, she quickly looked back, seeing a yellow bug car drive up next to her. And while that frightened her at first, she was calmed almost instantly when she saw the driver was Emma, and then panicked again when she saw her passengers.
"Ashley!" The car was quickly stopped as the teenager slipped into the back with the pregnant woman, quickly slamming the door behind her and grabbing Ashley's hand as she was breathing harshly. The car then continued to speed off towards the hospital. Henry was also in the car, looking genuinely freaked out, not that Lydia could blame him since if she was his age she'd be freaked out to. She talked encouragingly to Ashley, assuring that they were nearly at the hospital and that everything was going to be okay, while also assuring Henry whenever he asked that the baby and Ashley were going to be okay.
"They're going to take my baby," Ashley sobbed in between contractions, Emma and Lydia being quick to calm her that that was not going to happen as they finally pulled into the Hospital car park. Lydia helped the pregnant woman out of the car and with Emma's help quickly got her into the Hospital emergency waiting room, quickly singing Ashley in and getting her into a Hospital room and await for her to be ready for the birth.
Emma then took Henry and Lydia back into the waiting room, where the two blondes then had to constantly assure the boy that everything was going to be okay. As soon as Emma had managed to get Henry to watch some of the children's programs that were on the waiting room television that was bolted into the ceiling, she pulled the teenager to the side to talk, the topic of the conversation already known to Lydia before Emma even spoke.
"Did you know that Mr. Gold wanted me to take the child from Ashley?" Okay, the teenager was not excepting that to come first, a raised an eyebrow at it in confusion as she replied back. But then again Lydia figured that she shouldn't have been all that surprised that her father would manipulate Miss Swan like this so that the child would be taken, mostly because Emma didn't seem like someone who would take a child from their mother in full understanding of what was going on.
"You didn't know that?" This seemed to be enough for Emma as she nodded her head then continued back to the conversation that Lydia was expecting.
"How can I change Gold's mind to not take the child from Ashley?" Lydia rubbed at her temples, her mind speeding as she tried to think of something, knowing that at any minute Mr. Gold could walk through those doors and take the child. The teenager had been expecting the question, it was the answer that was troubling her, and she knew her father better than most people, which did tend to happen after living with him her whole life. Watching every horrid deal that he had made with the people of Storybrooke…
"Wait…" The blonde teenager quickly grabbed Emma's hand just as the woman was about to walk off, thinking that Lydia couldn't help her. It was just as she was about to answer that she looked to the front doors of the Hospital, seeing her father's car pulling up. It took seconds for him to exit the car and walk through the doors, Emma gripping her arm back as she quickly talked.
"What, what can I do?"
"Make a deal with him in return; say you'll owe him something for giving up on this deal," Emma gave a look as though this was not a choice that sounded all that appealing, but it sure did sound appealing to Ashley keeping her daughter. After a few seconds Emma nodded and let go of her arm, the blonde teenager quickly rushing off so her father wouldn't now that she was here and had helped him fail on getting this deal. If he found out she wasn't all that sure what he would do, especially since they weren't really getting along at the moment anyway.
Lydia walked quickly to the other side of the waiting room, where she was sort of out of her father and Emma's sight, but could still somewhat see them having their discussion that could make or break Ashley being a mother. It was a frighteningly short conversation, which ended by her father walking out of the Hospital again. As the teenager walked back over to Emma she began to feel a horrid mix of hope and fear creating a pit in her stomach that could either be filled back up or be never ending. Her answers were given to her as she talked to Emma again.
"How did it go?"
"Ashley's going to be a mom," Lydia looked ready to burst into tears of relief, but managed to hold them back as a nurse came towards the two of them and informed them both that Ashley had given birth to a healthy baby girl. It was after the nurse walked away that the tears of relief fell at last with no shame behind it. The two of them were invited back to Ashley's room to see the mother and child. It was a short walk to the room, but to Lydia it felt like an eternity of walking like her feet really were made of lead once more.
Finally the hallways ended and they were back in the room, Ashley smiling sadly at them with her daughter now in her arms. Lydia looked to Emma, who gestured for her to go first to talk to the new mother. The teenager carefully sat in the chair next to Ashley, who looked at her so sadly, as if she was waiting for the younger teenager to tell her that this was the first and last time that she would be holding her daughter. Lydia took a deep breath and answered the silent question.
"Emma made a deal with Mr. Gold, and he's dropped your deal in return," It seemed to take a few seconds in which Ashley didn't fully understand, so Lydia prompted her a little more by continuing to explain with one sentence that was explanation enough, as her reaction was nearly immediate.
"You're keeping your daughter,"
Ashley was next to fall into relieved tears, holding her daughter close to her as she softly kissed the baby's forehead, tears falling gently on the baby's soft skin, which the daughter reacted to by scrunching up her small nose. Lydia grinned at the adorable action, Emma walking over so she was now standing next to the sitting Lydia, looking over at the child they managed to keep with her mother, a small smile spreading across her face also.
"Thank you," Ashley managed to say between relieved tears as her daughter slept on soundlessly, her tone so truthful, so genuinely filled with gratitude to both Lydia and Emma, that it made the teenager feel important and worth it. If this was what it meant to actually help someone in their life to make it better, than Lydia wanted to do this more often, it felt great. Just that sense of warmth that she could best describe as real happiness that started from her heart and flowed out to the tips of her fingers and toes.
"What's the little girl's name?" Emma asked while looking over the child, Ashley smiling up at the both of them as she answered.
"Alexandria," Lydia had never really believed in names sticking perfectly to people, her own name feeling somewhat off to the teenager, but for some reason on this occasion it seemed to fit the child perfectly, and told the mother so, Emma agreeing with her. The two blondes remained with the mother and child for another hour, the both of them getting to hold the small bundle of joy for a few moments before handing her back to Ashley. When the hour was over Lydia heard a knock on the open door behind her, and turned to see one of the last people she was expecting to see today.
Which was interesting since it was Shaun, the father of Alexandria.
Emma had already sensed that the father wanted to be alone with Ashley and his daughter, and had left for the waiting room where Henry was no doubt still watching the television. Lydia watched him from across the room with a glare that could freeze him on the spot. Ashley managed eventually to convince her that everything was fine before the curly haired teenager got up to leave, taking a moment as Shaun and Lydia walked past each other to say one sentence, determined to say nothing more to this man after this point.
"You mess this up, and I will ruin you," The expression on her face and reputation of her father made her comment not a threat, but a promise. One that Shaun quickly nodded in understanding and agreement with as soon as she had uttered it. Sensing that she had made her point, Lydia left the Hospital and walked back home, the sun having set completely by this point so it was only the street lamps and closed shop lights that were accidentally left on to guide her through the streets back home.
The teenager had decided to walk home for a time since she didn't want to bother Emma with taking her home when she already got the feeling that the town's mayor would already be waiting impatiently for her son to come home. Eventually however it came to the teenager's attention that she wasn't really going to be able to walk the rest of the way home when the street lamps and store lights began to run out as the suburban areas started to take hold. Admitting at least one defeat for the day after such a great victory, Lydia pulled out her phone and called back the number that had been intentionally missed by her twice.
"Hey Sir, can you come pick me up, it's getting pretty late to walk on my own," There was a pause of silence from Lydia as her father spoke on the other side of the phone line, the teenager's hand falling subconsciously to the letter in her pocket, the letter that could destroy everything she thought she knew. Eventually after some talking and convincing he agreed to come and pick her up in front of the pawn shop, the teenager sighing with relief as she hung up the phone and walked back to the shop where she would begin waiting, all thoughts of the success that she had helped with today fading with every foot step as one notion remained.
She needed to confront him about this letter, tonight.
It has been five years since her real mother abandoned her, and Nemo hasn't had a single thought about her since, instead enjoying her time being with the family that had taken her in not long after she was left behind. Her skin had become tougher in her opinion, thicker to all that would try to hurt her and her family, even though in reality she was around seven to eight years old and probably couldn't hold up much of a fight against anyone else. But, there was the truth in that her skin was tougher, her muscles stronger with all the tree climbing that she did whenever the Mother Bear wasn't looking, since she didn't approve of the action.
Mother Bear was exactly that to Nemo , a mother like she hadn't remembered having before. She worried and fretted, punished Nemo when she disobeyed and rewarded her when she was good. The old woman comforted the girl when she was scared and laughed with her when she was happy. All in all the Mother Bear made the child feel as though she belonged most days, but then there would be days where she would watch the others of the family transform into their bear forms, and feel hurt.
It hurt to think that she still wasn't one with the Beorn like the others, that for whatever reason whenever she brought it up to the Mother Bear or anyone else in the family, there would be nothing but a denial or sometimes even being told that she had to wait until 'she was older'. At first that seemed to be enough for Nemo , who was patient like she knew a good girl should be (as Mother Bear had told her) and waited for some time. But after some years of watching everyone else be so connected and happy, it became unbearable to the child, so she brought it up again.
The last time Nemo had ever talked about it, she was five years old and after thinking about it too much had caused herself to become very upset and jealous to the connection that everyone else had but she apparently couldn't be a part of. Now that she as bringing it up again, for whatever reason, whether it be that it was two years later or that Nemo was now a little more mature than she had been when she was five, the Mother Bear for the first time ever heard her out as she pleaded her case to become one of the Beorn.
Knowing already that the argument in wanting to just feel like she really belonged in this family was pretty useful, the child also knew she had to pull out all the stops. Nemo so badly want to be one of Beorn, to feel the love that the family had for her in her heart as she shared their comforts, their pains and fears. She wanted to protect them like she had been protected by them, to feel that sense of loyalty and for them to know that she was just as loyal. Nemo knew and wanted all of this, at seven years old.
She wanted all those things, but mostly she wanted to know for certain that she was loved.
Mother Bear listened to all of this, heartbreak often flashing through her wrinkled expression when her emotions weren't completely under her control. The thought that this child wanted to make this rather life changing choice so early in her life just to be certain that she was loved by somebody right now made the old woman's heart ache. Eventually the child's reasoning came to an end, leaving Nemo to stand quietly and wait for an answer that would either give her want she had always wanted for years, or leave her feeling left behind once again.
"Dear child, are you sure that you know how seriously a commitment you would be making if you joined the Beorn?" Nemo didn't think for one second after the question was asked by the Bear Mother and nodded her head enthusiastically in reply. The old woman looked down, eyes closed in thought as she started making her decision that would so profoundly affect Nemo 's life in the future. There were mainly two choices to decide on, what that would make the child feel only more abandoned to the loneliness the old woman already knew she felt.
Or, Nemo could become one with them and their family at last, and feel the love that they all knew they had for her at last. But, there was more to becoming part of the Beorn than just that never ending sense of love and loyalty for each other, that that was really just the good side of everything. The bad side existed so there could be good, and the old woman now had to wonder if this child was ready to accept and understand that bad side and enjoy the good.
The mind was soon made up, and Mother Bear looked back to small girl, seeing how wild her green eyes were through her brown matted hair, a grin of excitement and love spreading across her face as she waited for an answer that the old woman could tell that she so wanted to hear. The silence was palpable as the Mother Bear took the small child's hand, walking her back into the cavern that they all lived in together, ignoring some of the imploring looks that others of the family gave her, (they had always wondered themselves when Nemo would be included in the loop of their family, something that Mother Bear seemed to avoid in the a conversation with complete ease).
Nemo and Mother Bear walked quietly to the center of the cave, some of the family circling around them as they cared, just like the child, to wonder if today was going to be the day, today would be the day that she would know how loved she truly was. Since the child was mostly good at one thing, and that was believing that she wasn't wanted by anyone, that she wasn't loved by anyone. They knew that making Nemo one of them, and one with them was the only and best way to convince her that she was wrong.
Today might just be that day.
The drive was quiet, as it had always been before.
Lydia was sensing that Mr. Gold might be annoyed at her, either that or he was hungry; she wasn't that great at reading his features like she was with most people. The teenager was really hoping that it was actually the latter, and that he would just have dinner when they got home instead of picking back up on the argument again, except this time it would be evolved into what happened today, if he knew about it, Though Lydia was pretty damn sure that he knew she was a part of it despite her attempts to hide from him.
Still, she would defend her actions today until the end of that shouting match because she knew she was right in what she did. Her father might want to fight against that thought, that the foster system and adoption was the best way for that child, and if he did she had a weapon of her own to rebut that argument. The letter that was still burning like hot coals in her pocket, screaming to be opened, to be read where the truth was printed underneath.
The headache that had been a product of the last argument started to make a comeback as the car started to pull in their house, and Lydia started to get the idea that she did not want this argument to happen again. Maybe she would pull that secret weapon a lot sooner to defuse the situation, though the teenager was getting the feeling that it would do nothing of the sort and instead just maybe make this worse. Still, Lydia squared herself for a fight, wanting to confront him on this letter as soon as possible.
It wasn't until they walked out of the garage and into the kitchen that anything happened, Lydia sitting down on one of the stool chairs by the bench, remaining eerily silent as her father did the same, remaining silent as he pulled out a cold plate from the fridge that had once been Lydia's dinner and placing it in front of her.
This usually happened when she came home late and he was also there, the emotional manipulation of eating the food that he had apparently made for the both of them, (and by made that obviously meant collaborated the usual of a mix of store bought salads and left over Chinese Take-Away, since neither of them could cook without the food looking toxic and dangerous to the human digestion), which was now cold and always tasted somewhat bitter to the tongue.
What was different about this time was that instead of the usual action walking away to leave her to eat alone and 'think over what she had done', Mr. Gold leaned on the bench by his elbows, looking back at his daughter as though he knew everything that she had done, but Lydia didn't care about that and wasn't going to let the conversation start from there, she needed to be direct.
Lydia's hand pulls out the letter, slamming it harder than she intended on the bench by her dinner, not breaking the apparent staring contest going on between them as she did so. The staring was broken when Lydia took a bite out of the Honey Chicken Breast on her plate, the father meanwhile picking up the letter that she had placed on the bench, her secret weapon that she could hold over him like he held the cold dinners over her. Before he even got a good look at the printing on the envelope, Lydia spoke up.
"I found it on the floor of the shop last night, it must have fell out of the safe when Ashley broke into it," Her heartbeat was going crazy in her chest, even though nothing had even happened yet, and it was because of that that she tried to calm herself down. Time seemed to be going as slow as possible as Mr. Gold looked over the envelope before looking back at her, any sense that he had wanted to start a fight now held back as instead his expression was blank to her.
"Is it true?" The teenager hated how small her voice had become when she asked that question, especially when she felt so small at the same time. She wanted to shout it, to scream if it was real, or if this was all just some messed up dream and that she was still sleeping in the forest, that the last few days were a fiction of her mind. Lydia wanted this to not be true, because otherwise it just didn't make sense to her, nothing that had happened between them would make sense.
His answer was taking forever, even though it might have really been a few seconds. It was possibly slow deliberately, dragging it out like he had whenever she asked for something from him; she remembered her asking for a job at the pawn shop and how he waited several days before getting an answer. Lydia did not want that to happen with this question, since it was agonizing enough to think this might be true, she didn't want to continue being this way for another day. Eventually Lydia's repressed anger and upset at this situation finally snapped in the few seconds that he wasn't answering her.
"Jesus, just tell me if it's true! Why are you doing this to me? I don't understand why…" She wasn't sure when her head ended up in her hands, though she was somewhat relieved since tears were starting to sting at the corners of her eyes , and if it was one thing she didn't want to do right now, it was crying in front of him, especially when he was the cause of the pain. Her strength had been all used up, since she was already exhausted by the emotional roller coaster of the day and fact that she had run half of Storybrooke in an attempt to get to the Hospital.
She just wanted to go to sleep now, but at the same time Lydia wanted her answer, she wanted this seemingly endless thing, even though it began a day ago, to just stop. Of all the things she wanted, another would be for her to stop crying right now since he was still in the room and the one causing her the pain. Lydia wondered if she lifted her head again, if he would be no longer in the room that he felt so awkward to her pain that he just left.
What she wasn't expecting that he would be standing behind her, hand on her shoulder in an almost comforting way, which felt so strange to her. The teenager looked back at her father, biting her lip as the few tears she couldn't manage to hold back escaped from the corners of her eyes, her expression now mixed with confusion and upset. She hated crying, feeling as though it were an ugly process, so it felt worse now that the one person she didn't want seeing it was standing right behind her.
He was being surprisingly kind and gentle now, the hand that was not on her shoulder cupped her cheek, brushing the tears away with his thumb. It certainly was screwing with the teenager's head, since she never remembered him being this… parent-like. Not that Lydia didn't appreciate the action, since it did make her feel much better, at least enough that the tears stopped for that moment. Even though she hated crying, Lydia was starting think that there were apparently upsides to it.
Still, he could be as kind as he wanted right now; the question was still rattling around in her head, so she asks again.
"Is it true?"
Lydia watches his reaction as Mr. Gold takes a slow breath and closes his eyes; her heartbeat goes faster as she beings to feel anxiety building up in chest. This was scaring her so badly, she wanted to run away, but felt trapped in one place by his hand on her shoulder and still on her cheek. Her breath was speeding up with the heartbeat as again she was left to sit and wait. It didn't take too long for an answer this time, though the teenager truly wished it had taken an eternity.
"Yes, it's true,"
"Nemo , being part of the Beorn has its commitments and its downfalls. I understand that most in this clan agree that you should join our family, but I want to make absolutely sure that you understand what this means. It is not too late to change your mind." The child listens intently to Mother Bear as she spoke, her older voice mostly quiet due to being aged from time.
Her wrinkled eyelids closed over century seeing eyes when the child says that she still wants to be a part of their family. It was not as if the Mother Bear did not want Nemo to be a part of this clan, but unlike the others members of this family, she knew that anything could possibly happen, and any of the downfalls that happened when being a part of the Beorn, had every chance of happening. She had been alive long enough to know that for certain.
Mother Bear's heart was certain, but her head felt conflicted. Eventually the older woman took a deep breath, opening her eyes once more to see the small child looking back up at her, her eyes wide with expectation and begging. So, with her heart set and her mind decided, the Mother Bear began to explain what the child would be expecting in the life she would have as part of the Beorn.
"Being a part of the Beorn means that you, will live so differently from those of the outside world. Being able to change into a bear is only one of the many things that can arise. For instance, you will age much slower than any human child or adult, meaning that a decade will pass for you in growth where it would take them a year. You will live essentially forever, barring accidents and if you ever stray near humans." Placing fear in this child's heart was not the Mother Bear's intent, what she wanted was to educate this young child in the life she could be expecting from those that did not understand Beorn.
"Because humans do not understand us, they fear and hate us, and if they ever found out that you were a part of the Beorn, they will feel the same way about you. It is a natural order of life that we all live by together as a family, a family that I protect with all the love and loyalty in my body. Do you understand, that if you become a part of this clan, that you cannot make contact with humans?" The child looks frightened now, but still nods in reply, Nemo 's want to belong and be loved apparently overshadowing any fears she might now have.
Mother Bear looks at the child with more appreciation that she had ever expected to feel for a seven year old child. But still there were so many other things that could go wrong in becoming part of the Beorn, all of them now feeling like too much to explain to the child at this moment, since she was still too young to the old woman. At the same time she still wanted to make absolutely sure that the child knew that this was what she wanted. She was backed into a corner, though eventually her decision had to be made.
And now, her mind was made, no matter how much she might not have liked it.
"My decision has been finalized; Nemo will become one of us,"
The celebration from the child and others of the clan was expected, but the bad feeling that hid in the back of the old woman's mind just wouldn't disappear no matter how much they cheered.
As it turns out, Lydia was perfectly capable of fleeing the situation; in fact that was exactly what she did. The teenager retreated all the way to her room, her feet carrying her in where she locked the door behind her and blocked it further with a chair in front of it. Lydia wasn't completely sure why she had bothered with locking and blocking her door; since she knew Mr. Gold well enough that he wouldn't follow after her.
But then again, Lydia thought he was her father and she was clearly wrong about that, so for all she knew he was going to kick the door down any minute. She tried breathing slowly, trying to collect her thoughts instead of just letting them fly off in a tornado of emotions like she usually did, it was that sort of reaction that got her into trouble, which was now something she could no longer afford. She sat on her bed, biting her lip with such force to stop it trembling, but of course that didn't work.
There was no kicking down of the door though of course, but there was a knock. Lydia glared at the door, as if the person on the other side of it could feel the intensity of it, and leave her alone. Of course that didn't happen, as the soft knocking on wood continued on for a few short seconds. All the while, the teenager though was thinking on the pros and cons on climbing out of the window and finally leaving Storybrooke.
Of course that would be a behavioral issue and would land her a one way ticket into Juvie, but Lydia tried to convince herself that that would only happen if she got caught, trying to ignore the feeling in the back of her head saying that she was going to be caught before she even managed to get out of the suburb, let alone Storybrooke as a whole. Ignoring that feeling got her to the window, pulling the glass pane up until there was enough room for her to climb out.
It was only as she was looking down to the ground she would be jumping out to below, that Lydia felt some of her emotional control leave her again, not just sadness this time however, but anger as well. She wanted to turn back and rip that door back open, her voice that was at this point trapped at the back of her throat, wanting to scream the questions that were now in her head at him to a volume so he could understand how much this was tormenting her.
But Lydia decided, possibly at the last second, to not do that, and instead started climbing out of the window and dropping to the bushes nearby that thankfully broke her fall before it could injure her legs in any way. The teenager tried to think that she wasn't running away from her problem, and that she wasn't that cowardly, but she was never that good at convincing herself of a lie, which was possibly what got her in this situation in the first place.
Lydia bit her lip again, then started carefully walking around the grounds of her 'father's' house so as to stay out of sight, hoping that Mr. Gold would just continue to believe that she was still locked up in her room. However, just like she was never very good at tricking herself into believing a lie, she was never very good at convincing him either, so the teenager knew that despite her hopes he was going to find out eventually, it was what Mr. Gold would do afterwards that Lydia was really worried about.
It was also where she was going to go now that Lydia was conflicted about, until she eventually decided, after she had managed to leave the grounds of the house and a few blocks away from it, to walk through her only favorite place in this town, the forests that surrounded it. At least she would be there to safely stay there and not be seen or judged for any tears that might come out while she was there.
At least that was the destination she had in mind until Lydia felt the earth move completely underneath her feet. Knowing what an earthquake was by principal but not by experience, Lydia freaked out and worried that the ground beneath her was going to split apart into huge cracks or something. Thankfully that didn't happen and the slight tremor that it was died down pretty fast. Still, the teenager felt rattled inside as she looked about in confusion.
The hell was that?
Goldilocks had returned once again from one of her many thieving jaunts, this time managing to bring back quite the amount of treasure, the large gold, jewel encrusted crown that was sitting a little crookedly on top of her head being only the beginning of the loot she had managed to grab. A proud grin spread her way across her face as she tried to relax her breathing, having been running very fast before she managed to teleport back to Rumpelstiltskin's abode.
The Dark One himself tried not to show that he was also happy with how much treasure the gold haired girl had managed to collect on this occasion, as instead of saying anything that might give away how he felt, he gestured for her to place all the loot on the table as per usual. The girl obliged, taking all the gold rings of her fingers and placing the rather large knapsack filled with gold coins onto the table as well.
As the girl's hands grasped on the crown to take it off her head, a thought struck across her mind of how good it always felt, to take from those that she felt didn't deserve it. It made her feel powerful, like all this work beforehand finally led to her getting the foothold she didn't even know she had always wanted before this point. She took the crown off her head and held it in her hands, fingers moving across the leaf patterns and encrusted jewels in the metal.
"Power feels good doesn't it?" She nearly jumped at the sound of Rumpelstiltskin's voice, The Dark One apparently having changed his mind on remaining silent as he stood from his spinning wheel where he usually worked and walked to the other side of the table, across from the still pondering Goldilocks. The girl nodded slowly in reply, her eyes still planted on the crown in her hands before eventually she looked up to The Dark One, her question somewhat hushed as she was unsure of herself.
"How do you do it? I mean, I see you hold crowns like this in the past, all that power it represents, yet I can see that you have other things in mind, a different motive that doesn't have anything to really do with power. How are you not led astray with the thought of that power?" Goldilocks was very good at reading people sometimes; at least she liked to think that she was. With The Dark One however, he seemed to be closed inward often, only opening to allow what he was really thinking whenever he must have guessed that she wasn't noticing.
But she was always watching, and whenever those moments arrived the thief could see that there was something he was truly wanting, something that obviously meant more to him than any of the crowns or royal jewelry in all the land. And because her curiosity still seemed to burn with no end, the girl was always intrigued as to what it was that meant so much to him, though at the same time she had the inkling that she might never know. Still, it felt like enough to Goldilocks at this moment that her thoughts of his main motive was true, as he confirmed that at least with his answer.
"Easy dearie, you don't allow yourself to be led astray. You keep your eye on the ball," He pulled a golden orb from her knapsack, passing it from one hand to the next as he continued to talk, "No matter what goodies might try to lead you away." His hands moved over orb faster until suddenly it turned into a large golden polished surface, which he then held up so she saw her reflection staring back at her as he said his last piece of advice.
"You remember who you are, and be absolutely sure of what it is you want most,"
Feeling restored in her beliefs, Goldilocks smiled to her reflection, her voice a little more confident than beforehand, which was mostly because she wasn't looking The Dark One in the eye.
"Thank you,"
The girl moved to leave the room, but stopped when she heard Rumpelstiltskin clear his throat for her attention. She was expecting him to tell her what it was she would be stealing tomorrow, but instead he handed her the polished golden plate, the thief holding the reflective surface as carefully as she could manage as he spoke once again, looking for the first time that she had ever met him, a little awkward in this situation.
"Here, your complexion is always so unseemly, a mirror might help. Now off to bed dearie, you'll have more to steal tomorrow," Despite his attempt to make this seem like a backhanded gift, Goldilocks was still thankful for him giving this gift to her. Especially since of all the loot she had stolen before this point, she had never been allowed to keep one piece of it, that and this was the very first gift she had ever received from him. The thief gratefully accepted the gift and turned to leave the room.
"Goodnight Rumpelstiltskin,"
The room that she slept and basically spent most of her time in, at least when she wasn't out thieving, was still a dungeon cell. Not that Goldilocks minded all that much, since she had certainly spent her time in worse places. As the thief walked into her room, she noticed that there really wasn't any loose brick or nail to hang the gold reflective surface off of, so instead she placed it so it was leaning against a wall in one corner, so that when she sat in front of it, she could see her face in its reflection.
For some time that was exactly what Goldilocks did, sat and looked at her reflection. Her eyes looked back at her for half of that time, the complete determination and confidence that were now placed back into her heart causing the green orbs to shine with a new vigor. Then, only after the thief had taken a moment to look so that The Dark One wasn't standing behind her or something like that, something happened.
Her eyes, that were once sparkling and energy filled, turned completely black. Any evidence that there had been an iris' in her eyes disappearing into the darkness that her eyes had become. A toothy grin followed after the now black eyes as her hand moved to the space just above her breast, moving the shirt material back to reveal the flesh that covered her heart.
There was a mark there on the skin, a large scar-like mark in the shape of a bear footprint.
"I miss you Mother Bear and I will have my revenge, for you,"
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