3.06 A Romantic Atmosphere
Neverland—Present Day
"How much longer do you think we'll have to wait here in Neverland?" Tamara asked Greg.
He shrugged. "Dunno. I guess until Wendy says we can leave."
Tamara shuddered at the mention of Wendy's name. For many years she had dreamed of meeting Wendy, the powerful woman at the head of the organization. But she had not been what Tamara was expecting at all. For one thing, she had made Greg and Tamara bring Henry to Neverland, which, compared to earth, was a land where magic practically ran rampant. And now that they were here, Tamara failed to see how any of this was going to help them destroy magic. What was even worse was Wendy's odd behavior—she would disappear from the lair for hours at a time and come back without an explanation as to her whereabouts. And she was constantly mixing strange ingredients in a cauldron over a fire. When asked, she claimed to be making a special kind of medicine, but Tamara suspected that she was secretly practicing magic.
"I think that this situation isn't as it seems," Tamara whispered to Greg so as not to wake Henry.
"I know what you mean, but what can we do?"
They both fell quiet as the door opened and Wendy walked in. She appeared to be in a good mood, because although during the last few days she had been restless and irritable, she was now whistling and walking with a swing in her step.
"What is it?" Greg asked excitedly. "Have you found out something about how we can finally use the boy to destroy magic?"
"No, even better! We're going to have company!"
Tamara and Greg exchanged confused looks.
"I have been bored for so long," Wendy continued, "But now I have a game to orchestrate and play." She paced around the room while muttering to herself, seemingly having forgotten all about the pair.
"A game?" Greg asked cautiously. "What kind of game?"
"Oh, are you still here? Well, I don't need you two haddocks right now, so you're going to have to disappear. And where's that boy? He'll be the guest of honor at the party I'm going to throw. And where did I put my cursed knife? I'm definitely going to need that! Ooh, I can't wait! Playing with lives is so much fun!"
Greg suddenly felt his arms snap to his side. Looking down, he saw that ropes had seemingly sprung out of nowhere and tied him up so he couldn't move. The same had happened to Tamara.
"I'm just going to have to hide you two in the broom closet so you don't wreck my game," Wendy chuckled.
Greg opened his mouth to protest, but a gag appeared over it before he could say anything.
"Whee! This will be such fun!" Wendy suddenly looked fifteen years younger. "But in order for this to work, I'll have to use all my magic to create the illusion for the game. And I'll need other party guests too. I know! I'll invite the lost souls from Fin to partake!"
What is she talking about? Greg wondered as he was pushed into a closet. His last thought before suffocating darkness closed in all around him was that perhaps Tamara was right. Perhaps Wendy wasn't who they thought she was.
Neverland—Present Day
"The witch's lair is just around the next bend," Geoffrey whispered to Emma. She nodded without taking her eyes from the river. Geoffrey had decided to help guide the expedition to the lair, but after the previous night, Emma did not quite trust him, especially around Regina.
"All right, what's our plan of action?" Mary Margaret asked Emma.
Emma shrugged. "When we get there I think we should just rush in and save Henry."
Mary Margaret looked at her daughter in exasperation. "That's your plan?"
"Yep. Unless you've got anything better."
The crew was silent as the boat made its way around the bend and onto a wider stretch of river. On the shore in front of them was an old and decrepit hut.
"That's it?" Emma questioned. "That's where Henry's being kept?"
"Aye. That's the witch's lair," Falkner whispered. "But remember, looks can be deceiving."
They docked quietly next to the shore and Emma sprang out of the boat. She quickly walked through the long grass to the hut. The blood was pounding so loudly in her head that she hardly realized that Regina was keeping pace with her, both women desperate to rescue their son.
"What do you think we should do now?" Regina asked Emma once they got to the front of the house. The door was hanging crookedly off of its hinges and one of the windows was smashed. Emma carefully looked through the door. Besides the sunlight streaming through the slats of wood, the house appeared to be unoccupied.
"I think we should check it out," Emma whispered. "If Henry is or isn't here, we'll know soon enough."
The two women stepped over the risen doorframe and into the house. They were in a dusty kitchen. Emma walked over to the first room and glanced inside. A chipped sink and moldy bathtub met her eyes. "Regina," she whispered, "This can't be the witch's lair. No one has lived here for years."
"You're right. Henry isn't here. Let's go."
They turned around and began to walk back toward the door.
"Wait!" Regina hissed. "I sense something. There's magic here!"
"There's magic here? Can you sense if Henry's here?"
A look of appalled realization crossed Regina's face.
"What is it?" Emma asked her.
"Where's David? And Mary Margaret?"
"I suppose they're still outside with the crew. Why?" Emma gave Regina a weird look. Since when does she care about my parents?
"But why aren't they in here? I would think that David would have been right behind us, if only in an attempt to protect you from danger."
She's right. Emma ran to the door and smacked face-first into an invisible barrier. "Ow, my nose!"
"Emma, it's a trap," Regina said in a terrified whisper. "We have to get out of here. Now!"
"Regina, look at the river." Emma could see through the invisible barrier that the river was swiftly rising and covering the hut, effectively preventing anyone else from approaching. Miraculously, not a drop of water slipped through the slats of wood. "What are we going to do? How are we going to get to Henry?"
"It appears that we have to go on."
Emma looked at Regina in confusion. "Go on?"
"Look." Regina turned around and pointed toward the back of the house. A hallway that she couldn't recall seeing before had appeared, and even Emma, with her limited knowledge of magic, could sense that they were supposed to travel down it and go through the door at the end.
"I think Henry's behind that door. I can practically hear him calling out to me."
They slowly walked over to the dark hallway. Emma had learned from every horror movie she had ever watched not to go down dark hallways in decrepit old houses, but she knew that this time she had to summon all her courage in order to rescue her son.
"Emma, take my hand."
"What?"
"I mean, otherwise we might get separated. And I think we'll be stronger together."
They joined hands and walked to the far door. "Ready?" Emma asked.
Regina nodded, and Emma opened the door. They stepped into another hallway. At the end were two doors. Between the doors was a tapestry with words embroidered on it:
Only two may pass here
Through the left is life:
She who gives life will keep it.
Through the right is death:
She who deals death will earn it.
Both or none shall pass.
"Ah man, it's a riddle. I don't like riddles," Emma complained. She turned to Regina and noticed that the other woman was stark white. "What's wrong?"
"Emma, you gave birth to Henry and so gave him life. You must go through the left door. I will go through the right."
"But hold on. It says that through the right door is death!"
"Emma, don't you want to get Henry back?" Regina asked harshly. "Then do as I say. We both have to go through in order to save him. Besides, I think my magic is more than a match for whatever the witch can throw at me."
"But, your magic hasn't been working too well in Neverland."
"Just do it!" Regina hissed.
Emma obediently walked over to the door on the left.
"And Emma?"
"Yes Regina?"
"Promise me that whatever happens, you will save Henry."
"I promise. We will save Henry."
Emma then took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, and went through. Opposite from her, Regina did the same.
Atlantica—In the Past
After swimming upward for several minutes, Ursula's head finally broke the surface of the water. She looked around for a sign of land, and after catching sight of a blurry dark spot on the horizon, began swimming toward it. All things considered, she was not in a good mood, especially because it had not been as easy to travel to Atlantica as she had thought it would be.
Years earlier, when she had healed Vanessa in the Enchanted Forest, the brunette had spoken of the land as a place without magic—where it would be very easy for a witch to assume command and rule as queen. Ursula had feigned disinterest, and then she had casually asked Vanessa how one might cross over to different worlds such as Atlantica. Vanessa had patiently explained how it was possible to sense threads of magic in every world (Even Atlantica had remnants of magic) and then peel the threads apart to form a doorway.
When the day came when Vanessa left the witch's lair, Ursula had secretly followed her and watched as Vanessa had closed her eyes, stretched her hands out in front of her, and searched for something. Then, Ursula's eyes had widened in amazement as Vanessa appeared to step through the air into emptiness; vanishing to a land she assumed was Atlantica.
Ursula had hurried over to the spot she had last seen Vanessa and tried to also sense the opening. But she sensed nothing. The witch repeated her attempts for days, convinced that if she could just hone her magic enough, she would be able to leave the Enchanted Forest. Finally, she gave up trying to sense her way over to Atlantica. But she wasn't completely through yet. Ursula then traveled around the Enchanted Forest in an effort to gain more knowledge.
Finally, she found what she was looking for. Someone who claimed he could talk to animals said that the fish spoke of a large gateway on the floor of the sea that led to another world. Ursula then researched a transformation spell so she could swim down to the gateway. And now, after all of her effort over the years, here she was.
Neverland—Present Day
The darkness pounding at her mind slowly subsided, and with a groan, Regina opened her eyes. To her surprise, she was laying on a bed in the kitchen of the shack.
"Are you all right?"
Startled, Regina jerked her head to the side and looked up at the woman standing there. "Who are you, and how did I end up back in this room?"
The woman shrugged. "I don't know. This is where I found you."
Regina studied the woman's face curiously. She resembled someone back in Storybrooke—one of the tarts.
"Anyway," the woman continued. "I was walking through the corridors when I came across you here, and I thought it was strange that I don't recognize you at all."
Regina made a quick decision to trust her. "I'm looking for my son. His name is Henry. Is there any chance that you know where he is?" As she spoke, Regina sat up and got out of the bed. To her bewilderment, she saw that she was dressed in a flowing silver ball gown.
"That dress...they must want you to go to the masquerade," the woman said with distress.
"A masquerade? I have no time for dancing!" Regina said indignantly.
"If she wants you to dance, you'll dance. It's all part of her game, bringing you here to this so-called funhouse."
"Do you mean the witch?"
"Yes, the witch. Now tell me who you are looking for, and I might be able to help you."
"It's my son, Henry. The natives told me that the witch had him, and that this is her lair."
The woman looked thoughtful. "Your son? I have heard of a boy who has been keeping her occupied for the past few days. Maybe it's him."
Regina grabbed the woman by the shoulders. "Keeping her occupied?! She's not hurting him, is she?"
"No, nothing like that. He needs to be whole."
"For what?"
"I'm not certain. I hear only whispers of a plot."
"A plot?"
"That a boy is to play a large part in. A boy made of light and darkness."
"There is no darkness in Henry," Regina countered indignantly.
The woman shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I know. Anyway, the witch is attending her masquerade ball right now. Because she exchanged your clothes for a dress, I think she wants you to go to the ball too."
Regina's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why? What does a ball have to do with anything?"
"It's just her idea of twisted fun. The witch wants to show you off at her party, just to prove that she's not afraid of you. And I predict that her plan is to make you think you are close to saving your son right before you fail."
Regina shook her head. "I will not fail. There is nothing I would not do for Henry."
"All the same, you just got here, and you are ill-prepared to deal with a witch you know next to nothing about. You also do not have a mask, which you would need to successfully maneuver the ball."
"What am I going to do then?"
The woman pulled a bear-mask out of her pocket. "I will go in your place and rescue Henry."
Regina stared at the mask. "No, give that to me and I'll go. It's my task, not yours."
"But you know nothing of this place, or its inhabitants. Besides, the witch will be expecting you, but she will not be expecting anything from me."
"How do I know that I can trust you?" Regina asked, her resolve breaking down.
"You are just going to have to. Anyway, maybe it was fate that brought me here to you. Maybe it is actually my destiny to find Henry." She put the bear-mask on and walked over to the hallway leading deeper into the house. "Wait here until I get back."
"Wait...who are you, anyway?!" Regina demanded.
"My name is Linnea. I'm the savior. I'm going to save you and your son."
Neverland—Present Day
A flash of white light temporarily blinded Emma. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw that she was in a room of mirrors. Eight ceiling-to-floor mirrors surrounded her and turned her reflection in on itself an infinite amount of times. Even scarier to the blonde was the fact that her clothes were different. She was now wearing an old-fashioned outfit meant for a man. Her legs were shorn in tight leather pants that Ruby would have been jealous of, and to her chagrin, she saw that her jacket had been replaced by a white ruffled shirt with a black sparkling overcoat.
What the hell is this? She wondered. She walked over to a mirror and began examining it, hoping to find a way out of the room. Walking carefully around the perimeter, she finally found a small seam in one of the mirrors that opened to reveal a doorway.
Emma exited the room and saw that she was in another hallway, one that stretched to her left and right. She decided to walk down the right path, and after a minute of walking, the hallway split into three more paths. She had only paused for a second when an owl suddenly flew up from behind her and flew down the middle path. This is a really strange house, Emma thought as she decided to follow the owl. The hallway split mazelike several more times as she walked, and each time, the owl perched on the side, as if it was waiting for Emma to catch up before it continued its flight.
After several minutes, a man wearing a wolf-mask walked out in front of her from a side corridor. "Emma, we meet again."
Emma reached for a weapon before she remembered her outfit had completely changed. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she demanded.
"My name is Raoul. Christine introduced us at the inn. Remember?"
"The inn?"
"In Fin," Raoul prompted her. "You know, the land of the cursed."
"Am I in Fin right now?" Emma asked in alarm. She hadn't thought that she had left Neverland, but anything was possible."
"No, we are not in Fin. This is all an illusion created by the witch who cursed me."
"A witch cursed you? Is that witch here right now?!" Emma asked in relief. Perhaps Raoul was somebody that could help her find her son.
"Yes. And Emma, I need you to kill her and set me free!"
Emma stepped back in alarm. "Whoa, I'm not looking to kill anyone. All I want is to find my son."
"Your son? Is he about eleven or twelve with brown hair?"
Emma turned back to Raoul with excitement in her eyes. "Yes! Have you seen him?"
"Yes, come with me."
Emma followed Raoul around several more twists and turns of the maze until they got to a large translucent glass door set into the wall. Emma could see that beyond the door was what appeared to be many dancing couples.
"The witch is in here, along with your son," Raoul informed Emma.
The two entered through the doors, and Emma found herself in a large and ornate ballroom. The center was filled with twirling and cavorting couples, all masked and dancing to strange and frenzied music that came from an orchestra in a corner. The ceiling high above was decorated with murals of people who appeared to be staring down with soulless eyes. And worst of all, the walls were made up entirely of mirrors, each one hundreds of times bigger than the mirrors in the first room.
Great. What have I gotten myself into? Emma wondered.
A man grabbed her hand and attempted to pull her into the dancing crowd.
"Leave her alone! She is not here for the festivities!" Raoul snarled at the man as he pushed him away. Then he turned to Emma. "I need to find a mask for you to wear."
"A mask?" Emma asked curiously.
"Yes. This is a masquerade ball, and they'll leave you alone if you are wearing a mask. Right now you stand out too much and they can tell you are clearly an outsider."
Raoul started walking away, seemingly in pursuit of a mask for Emma.
"Wait!" Emma called after him, "Who is they?"
"They—the people all around you. Well, most of them, anyway. Ah—hello!" Raoul reached out, grabbed the arm of a woman who was passing by, and ripped the mask from her face. He handed it to Emma. "Here. Put this on."
But Emma was staring at the woman in surprise; surprise about how much her features resembled Ashley's. "Hold on, don't I know you?" But before the woman could say anything, her neck snapped back and she began to float upwards. Emma watched in alarm as the woman appeared to float into one of the people painted on the dome ceiling.
"What did you just do? Did you kill her?" Emma asked Raoul.
He shrugged carelessly. "Nah, she's only dead right now. She'll be back next time, unfortunately, but at least I stopped her from causing any trouble this time around. Now put that mask on."
Emma thought about arguing, but the thought of becoming a ceiling mural made her think twice. "Fine, you win." She looked down at the mask in her hands and saw that it was the visage of a bear. Reaching up, she carefully secured it on her face.
"And now, you must kill the witch if you want to save Henry."
"What is it with you and killing people?!" Emma protested.
"It is the only way, Emma. Do you see that door over there?" He pointed across the room at an inconspicuous door set into the wall. "Henry is in there, with the witch."
"Okay," Emma said cautiously, "So how do I go about defeating the witch and rescuing Henry?"
"My time here is almost up! Go now!" He pushed Emma toward the door. "And the password is labyrinth!"
"Wait, but what do I do?!" Emma turned around to ask more questions, but Raoul had already slipped away. Not knowing what else to do, Emma decided to try his advice. She carefully maneuvered around the dancing couples as she made her way over to the door. When she stood before it, she tried the handle but found that it was locked. "Oh right, the password," she muttered to herself. "Labyrinth."
The door slowly opened inward. Emma found herself at the edge of a dark and narrow staircase. Nervously, she looked behind her, but the couples danced on, seemingly unaware of Emma's presence. She took a couple of deep breaths, said "Henry, here I come," and started descending into the unknown.
Storybrooke—Present Day
"Belle, are you really going to do this?" Leroy asked as he jogged after Belle.
"I don't know. I want to protect the town, but..."
"But you don't know if you're willing to sacrifice someone?"
They passed Granny on the street. She was nailing a poster showing a picture of Ruby and the words MISSING to a tree.
"Don't you think you should help look for Ruby right now instead?" Leroy panted as he raced after the determined Belle. "I mean, I don't want to stop you, but this cloaking spell sounds kind of suspicious to me."
"Leroy, tonight's the new moon. I have to enact the spell tonight?"
"Wait, what does the moon have to do with anything?" the dwarf asked her in bewilderment.
"The riddle said that 'one needs peace.' And we figured out that 'one' refers to the ocean. I found a book in Mr. Gold's shop that was about tides, and it said that during a night when there is no moon, the high tides are especially high and the low tides are especially low. So I figure that I have to time it exactly right, when the tide is low, to put the cloaking spell over the town."
"I'm not quite sure that I'm following you, Belle. But, I trust you, so if you say that tonight is the perfect night, then tonight is when we should enact the spell. Where are we going in such a hurry, anyway?"
"Regina's vault," Belle promptly answered.
"Regina's what?" The pair stopped in front of a mausoleum. "Belle, how do you know about this?"
"Mr. Gold told me about it once. He had a spare key also." She carefully placed the key in the lock and opened the door.
"What are we doing here?"
"Regina keeps a collection of hearts here. And we need a heart right now." She walked down the stairs and into the main room. They were surrounded by shelves full of boxes.
Leroy gulped nervously. "So, what you're saying is that there's a heart in every single one of these boxes? Nah, you're kidding me. This must be where Regina just keeps her shoes, right?"
In answer to his question, Belle removed a box from the wall and opened it, revealing a beating heart.
"Gah!" Leroy leaped back in disgust. "Who would do such a thing? And whose heart is that?"
Belle closed the box and gently put it back in its place. "I don't know whose heart it is. It might belong to an innocent town citizen. Leroy," she turned to face him, and he could see fear and sadness in her eyes, "I just realized that I can't do this. I can't kill somebody, even if it is for the good of the town."
His shoulders relaxed in relief. "That's good to hear. I was worrying that I was going to have to go back on my promise about helping you. Now let's leave this place."
"Wait! What's this?" Belle walked toward a small table partially hidden in shadows in the corner. Resting upon it was a heart box. "I wonder why this was left out? Unless—" Her eyes scanned the shelves—"There's not a place for it to go. It must be newer than the rest of them."
Leroy chuckled nervously. "Wow, that's great. Great observation. Now let's go." He swiftly walked up the steps and waited at the top for Belle. After a minute had passed, she finally joined him. "What took you so long?"
Belle gave him a shifty look. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Come on, Leroy." She shifted her backpack over her shoulder and started walking away.
"Belle, you didn't take one of the hearts after all, did you?" Leroy asked suspiciously as he once again struggled to keep up with her.
"Of course not," Belle squeaked. "Now let's go to Granny's Diner. I'm starving."
Atlantica—In the Past
A slender woman with flaming red hair walked along the beach next to the water. She was deep in thought and paid no attention to the countless seagulls that waddled away from her approach. Messengers from the palace had brought news to the village that morning that the prince of the land was married to an imposter, and a large reward was being offered for anyone who could provide information as to the whereabouts of the real Ariel.
Suddenly, the raucous cry of seagulls grew louder and the woman looked up in surprise. The birds were circling around a dark mass that had washed up on the shore. As she watched, the object moved slightly, causing a few of the birds to back away warily before they resumed their attack.
The woman ran toward the birds and yelled "Get away! Shoo!" The seagulls indignantly glared at her as they retreated a safe distance away to watch the proceedings. It appeared to be an old woman lying on the shore with a large black tarp wrapped around her torso and legs.
"Are you all right?" The redhead asked in concern as she tried to turn the woman onto her back.
Her eyelids fluttered feebly. "Vanessa, she's the key," she muttered deliriously.
With repulsive horror, the redhead suddenly noticed that what she had taken to be a black tarp was actually eight black tentacles attached to the woman's body in the place of legs. "Triton's tail! What are you?!" she exclaimed as she quickly backed away.
The octopus-woman groaned and then slowly raised herself on her elbows. "I need...assistance. I offer you no harm. My name is Ursula."
Her rescuer carefully walked back to her side. "Did you say you were looking for Vanessa? Do you come from the same magical land that she came from?"
"Help me back into the ocean. Then I'll talk with you." Once Ursula was submerged in water, she said "Yes, I am looking for Vanessa. I need her help to change back into a human. A transformation spell I was attempting went wrong and now I'm stuck in this hideous form."
"Oh, you poor thing. Well, you're in luck, because I do know Vanessa. Because of me, she's married to the prince."
"You...know Vanessa?" The elderly woman's head slumped exhaustedly toward the sand. "Urgh...I need...medicine," she said wearily. "Where's my bag?"
Ariel looked around at the surrounding beach. Something sticking out of the sand caught her eye, and she jogged toward it. "I found your bag!"
"Could you reach inside it and bring me medicine?"
Ariel opened it and stuck her hand in.
"Just make sure that you don't..."
Ariel looked at Ursula in confusion. "Make sure I don't what?"
"Make sure you don't...that you don't..."
"Ouch!" Ariel dropped the bag.
"Make sure you don't cut yourself on my knife."
"Well, thanks for warning me," Ariel replied bitterly. Her hand was bleeding profusely from where she had cut it.
Ursula shook her head worriedly. "Oh no! This isn't good at all!"
"Yeah, I know. Now my hand really hurts!"
"It's worse than that! That knife is enchanted! In three days' time, you will die."
"What?!" Ariel looked at Ursula with horror. "This knife is enchanted?"
"Yes, and that's why I'm here. I need to kill Vanessa in order to reverse the enchantment."
Ariel sat down on the sand in shock. "I thought you said you wanted to find her because she could help you transform back into a human."
"Well, I need to kill her after I get her help."
"Why do you want to kill Vanessa?"
"Because if I don't kill her, I will die instead. And now so will you!"
Ariel looked at the octopus-woman in a daze. "Could you explain all of this to me, please?"
Ursula just about smirked. She could tell that she was reeling Ariel in like a spider capturing a fly. She kept quiet for a minute as she composed her next lie to deceive Ariel, and then she said "Well, I knew Vanessa when she lived in the Enchanted Forest, and she was a powerful sorceress there. But, like all powerful people, she had a weakness. She had a knife that had two sides; a dull side and a sharp side. If anyone got even the slightest cut from the dull side, they would be doomed to die in three days. But the sharp side behaved just like a regular knife...except that it was the only blade able to kill her. And if someone was cut by the dull blade and then managed to kill Vanessa with the sharp blade before they died, they would be cured."
Ariel cut in. "And that magical knife was in your bag? That was what I just cut myself on?"
"Yes. You see, when Vanessa left me to travel here, she left her knife with me. And just this morning, I was cleaning my house when I accidentally cut myself on the dull blade. I realized I had no choice but to travel here and kill her to cure myself. And now you're also infected with the curse."
Ariel stood up. "I don't believe you. I don't believe there is a curse."
"Once you start growing weaker and weaker, you will wish that you had believed me."
Ariel started walking away.
"Wait," Ursula called after her, "Take the knife. By tomorrow morning, you will know that I am right."
Ariel turned around and looked doubtfully at the other woman. Although her hand had stopped bleeding, Ariel was starting to feel kind of light-headed. Maybe there was some truth in the old woman's tale. "All right," Ariel consented. "It won't hurt to take the knife. Although I don't plan on killing anyone."
Ursula smiled to herself as she watched the red-head walk away. She already knew what the final outcome would be. And if Ariel was foolish enough to willingly give up the throne to Atlantica, she deserved whatever happened to her.
Neverland—Present Day
Regina anxiously sat on the edge of the bed as she waited for time to flow by. She was regretting entrusting Henry's fate to a total stranger, even one who claimed to be the savior. Honestly, she thought, it seems like nowadays every blonde woman with a pretty face believes she's the savior. Hold on—blonde woman...and suddenly, Regina realized why Linnea looked so familiar. She could have been Ashley's twin. This thought did nothing to reassure Regina, whose memories of Ashley consisted mainly of the Storybrooke wench boo-hooing about her misfortunes.
Suddenly, a faint tapping noise reached her ears. It seemed to be coming from the end of the corridor. Regina nervously stood up and walked down it, thinking that perhaps Linnea had come back. She cautiously opened the door and a large bird flew at her face. Regina shrieked and dropped to the floor. With a metallic ping, a small object hit the ground in front of her. It was the ring that Emma always wore around her neck.
"Emma," Regina breathed. She looked up and saw a barn owl perched on the door frame above her head. "Do you know where Emma is?" she asked it.
In response, it spread its wings and flew back through the doorway.
"Wait!" Regina put the ring in her pocket and then ran after the owl without pausing to think about the absurdity of chasing a bird. To her amazement, she saw that the house was suddenly different. Before, when she was with Emma, there had been a room with two separate doors, one for each of them. However, she now found herself in another corridor, one that ran to her left and right. The owl had flown down the left path and was perched on a ledge near the ceiling, eyes staring at her expectantly.
"Do...do you want me to follow you?" Regina asked hesitantly as she caught up to it. The owl once again took off and flew further away.
Regina followed her guide for several minutes. Occasionally, they would come to a fork in the path, and each time, the owl seemed to know exactly which path to take. As she jogged, Regina couldn't help but notice the magic that pulsed through the walls, almost as if they were alive.
"Are you lost?" A man in a wolf mask suddenly stepped in front of Regina and caused her to flinch in surprise.
"I'm not lost; I'm just following—" Regina started to point at where the owl had been but put her hand down in consternation when she realized it was no longer there.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," the man chided her. "It is not always safe. Please, come with me." He took her hand and started leading her down the passageway.
"Where are you taking me?" Regina asked him.
"You have been expected. There is a ball in your honor being held right now."
Regina tried to pull her arm away from him, but his grip was tight. "I cannot go to the ball! I...I don't have a mask!"
The man chuckled. "A mask? You're the guest of honor! You don't need a mask!" He half walked and half dragged Regina to the end of the passage until they arrived at a set of glass doors. He opened the doors and a cacophony of music met Regina. Then he mock-bowed to her before pushing her through the doors.
Regina stumbled into the ballroom and nearly upset a row of dancing couples, who stopped and stared at her. Panic clawed its way through her chest, and she quickly spun around to leave. However, all she could see was herself, reflected hundreds of times on the walls, which were giant mirrors.
"The door," she gasped, "Where did the door go?"
Nobody answered her. Instead, the dancers closest to her quickly stepped away, effectively forming a semi-circle in front of her. Regina choked back a sob and pressed her body against the glass behind her in an attempt to put some distance between herself and the crowd. She moved her head frantically from side to side, looking for an exit. Far across the room to the left, she spotted someone very familiar to her.
"Emma!" Regina cried out in relief. She hastily leapt away from the wall and ran toward the woman she was bonded to. The throng of partygoers parted away from her, leaving her a wide berth. "Emma!" Regina called again. However, the din from the orchestra drowned out Regina's calls, and Emma appeared not to notice her. Before Regina could reach her, Emma opened a door set into the wall and disappeared into the space behind it. The door closed behind her.
Regina arrived at the door moments after Emma had walked through it. She futilely tugged at the handle and called Emma's name, but the door remained stubbornly shut.
"No, no, don't leave me here!" she whimpered. She desperately looked around her and then noticed that there was writing painted onto the mirror above the door:
At my heart a monster
Though no simple beast am I
Frozen in time, I cannot seek you
Though I invite you to seek me
And stranger, lose yourself in my veins
To win, get a 'clew'
"Another riddle," she said to herself, "that I need to solve to go through the door. Oh, however did Emma do it? If only I had some help." In her despair, she covered her face with her hands and crumpled to the ground.
Neverland—Present Day
Emma made her way down the stairwell as quickly as she could. She was guided by dim light that shone from cracks in the ceiling above her. After a minute, the tunnel leveled out so she was walking on flat ground. In the distance in front of her was a tiny square of light that seemed to beckon to her. However, after a minute of walking, she realized that the square of light stubbornly remained the same size. No! This can't be happening. Why am I not getting anywhere? Emma increased her pace, and as if on cue, the grey walls around her suddenly lit up with moving images from the masquerade ball she had just left. Emma was once again in the midst of the careless dancers. In a panic, she started running frantically. Suddenly, her foot caught on an upraised cobblestone and she fell flat on her face.
"Emma, that mask isn't going to fool me. I see you just as you are."
The unexpected voice brought Emma back from her despair. She lifted her head and saw that she had left the hellish hallway and was now in a small room. In one corner sat a beautiful woman. But what really caught Emma's attention was the small boy lying asleep in a bed in the middle of the room.
"Henry!" Emma joyously ran over to him. "Henry, wake up! I'm here to take you home at last!"
"He will not wake up," the woman informed Emma.
"Oh, I know! A sleeping curse, right? Well, I know how to deal with those." She bent over and kissed him on the forehead. However, this failed to have the intended result. "I don't understand. Why isn't he waking up?"
"How did you like my ball, Emma?"
Emma removed the bear-mask from her face and then turned to face the woman. "What did you do to Henry, you witch?!"
"Witch? That's hardly a very nice thing to say to someone who took the time to arrange such a gathering, and all for your benefit."
Emma took a step toward the woman. "You will wake him up!"
"I, for one, love balls. I find them very romantic."
"I can do magic, you know. You will be defeated!"
"Emma! Could you stop thinking about Henry for one second? It's not like he's going anywhere. And what did you do to your clothes? There's dirt all over them."
Emma fully looked at the other woman for the first time. To her surprise, she noticed that she looked similar to Lily from the outpost on the river.
"Ah...silence. That's better. My name is Vanessa, by the way, and I am very pleased to make your acquaintance at last. I have just been longing to meet the mother of Henry and the love of Regina."
Emma gave Vanessa a weird look. "What do you know about Regina?"
Vanessa stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "I know that she has been tragically single at my ball. Having to dance all alone is one of the worst fates I can imagine."
"Regina's at the ball?"
"Take a look." Vanessa pulled out from beneath her robe a crystal ball. "See, here she is."
Curiosity got the best of Emma, and she leaned forward to look into the crystal ball. Regina, clothed in a beautiful silver gown, appeared in the middle of it. She was standing in front of the door that Emma had just passed through and trying in vain to open it.
"Silly thing," Vanessa laughed, "No amount of pushing is going to open that door without the password. You see, Emma, I created a romantic atmosphere because I knew that you two needed an extra push to admit your feelings for each other. But it wasn't very nice of you to leave her all alone."
"I don't have feelings for Regina."
Vanessa smiled slyly. "I see you also need a push admitting it to yourself."
"Really, I don't! And that ball wasn't romantic—it was horrific, like being caught in a nightmare."
The brunette frowned. "Well, I suppose I can't change what you feel. And it's just as well, considering the circumstances."
Emma glared suspiciously at Vanessa. "What circumstances do you mean?"
She shrugged guiltily. "Well, there's the small detail that you're going to have to kill Regina in order to save Henry."
"What?!"
"You should be relieved. You'll soon be out of a marriage that it seems you don't want any part of. After all, you just told me that you don't love Regina."
"Why would killing Regina save Henry? And how did you even convince Greg and Tamara to bring Henry to you?"
"I killed a woman named Wendy and stole her form, and from there, I was able to convince those two fools that I was on their side. And you need to kill Regina because...it's the only thing that will save your precious son from death." Vanessa stood up and walked over to the boy. She rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and pointed to a small cut on his arm. "See? This was made by a cursed knife. The only way to save him is to kill Regina with the knife before he dies."
"I don't believe you! How would stabbing Regina help Henry recover?"
"Because it's how this curse works. Regina is a dark being—the darkest person here, in fact, and the knife is attracted to darkness. You could say it practically belongs to her. Like all blade-curses, the one way to counteract them is to kill the owner."
"You lie," Emma said through gritted teeth. But she secretly worried that Vanessa was correct. The worst thing she knew about Vanessa was that she was holding Henry hostage. Regina, on the other hand, had once murdered scores of people.
"Regina once dealt death," Vanessa continued, "And now she's earned it. This is justice that you will carry out."
"Henry wouldn't want me to," Emma whispered.
"Henry will die if you don't!" Vanessa snapped in a sudden fit of anger. "Would you really sacrifice Henry to save a woman you don't love?"
Emma shook her head.
"That's what I thought. Now, go and do your duty." Vanessa glanced over at Henry. "I estimate that you have until the clock strikes six to save your son."