The first chapter has been rewritten! So check that out yo
When the curse was finally lifted, Leigha told Henry she had fallen out of a tree and the East Wind had send her sprawling into the open sea.
"You stink" He had said jokingly, wrinkling his nose and stared unamused at the older girl. The ends of her dress were still dripping wet but her hair looked like it had been through hell and back.
He didn't comment on how she seemed to be missing one shoe.
Leigha had only given him a semi insulted look before Mary Margaret had rushed her into the washroom and made her change into a clean set of hospital issued scrubs and slippers. To say she was happy at the sentiment was a bit of the stretch when she reemerged from the bathroom.
"Now I stink like hospital," she said lightly and made a show out of trying to administer ibuprofen into his exposed forearm.
The strangled scream that erupted out of the small boy was the only warning she got before she had to quickly discard the makeshift weapon when the Charmings came rushing into the room. He had to hold back a snort as Papa Charming, himself, held up a DIY sword he quickly made out of an unused IV stand and scared the ever-loving shit out of the younger peasant girl.
Thinking back to the days before her accident made her sick right down to her stomach and reminded her of simpler times when she had only wondered what wonders her first life would hide instead actually living it. Now all the combined memories made her head throb painfully. She had wanted to throw up when the sea finally washed her ashore, wanted to just spend the day doing nothing but wish for another chance in a brand new life when the East Wind materialized beside her.
The curse had left her wanting nothing of Sigrid's- not even the new sense of saccharine confidence was enough to sway her to its favour.
Her former life had been filled with enough heartache to last a lifetime. The memories alone were enough to turn her back to any kind of good being Sigrid did leave her with.
Even if that moment's happiness was Bear.
(if that was even something Bear could even offer now)
The second she woke up from her accident, she wanted to fall back into an ill sleep. The putridly sweet scent that wafted around the room made her eyes water, the browning flower petals that littered the floors made the room a mockery out of a sad place, and the usual shuffling and clicking buzz that filled the silence was gone but for a mumbling voice.
Leigha felt like the shrapnel of an explosive train wreck.
There were cards scattered all over the floor, folding over the feet of her IV stand and peeking out from under her upturned pillow. Cards filled with pretend sentiment and wishes for better health.
Really the whole situation left a bitter taste in her mouth when she rolled over and glimpsed upon a note with the two names of the only family she'd ever known in this quaint town etched onto it. A huge weight settled into her chest when the door opened slowly and the hushed hum resonated louder into the room.
Whatever happened after her quiet wakeup call happened like the denouement of a classical play, there were voices- all hushed and steady, and polite fingers that poked and lacked any kind of sympathy as they danced along old bruises and new cuts. She remembers doors opening and closing and long sighs and long whispers and frowns that lock into her heart long after the checkups are finished.
She remembers one whisper all too quickly in the dead of the night when only the night staff are there to keep her company.
"What do we do with her now?" It's the only hint of worry that graces her ears during those long hours. It's a change in the professional routine amongst the nurses who don't show anything close to an emotion when it isn't concerning the main characters to this town's story. "Where will she go now that they're gone for however long?"
The next day Ruby comes to fill her discharge papers, and doesn't say a word when instead of taking her to Granny's like she promised the hospital staff, she runs along side her into the forest until the sun sets into the horizon and the forest child is out of breath.
"How much did I miss?" The words fall out of her mouth before she makes an effort to actually look embarrassed. Ruby only stares at the younger girl as she steadly swings from tree to tree and Leigha notes that she likes the softer look the waitress adopts after the curse was broken.
"Nothing much," is all she says and as hurt as she may be, the blond girl lets it slide.
Because really, once the two of them head back to the diner and after Granny shoos them off into their respective rooms ("I have a room at home though." She had said in protest. "Doctor's orders." "You're only keeping me here because you're sweet on Dr. Whale." The look Ruby had given her was enough to sent her jolting up the stairs two at a time), there isn't anything the two of them can say to keep her from staying there throughout the night.
Even if she shows up the next morning with a sprained ankle and leafs entwined in her hair, Storybrooke would only turn their heads on her attempts at trying to find ways to ignore the unsettling feeling bubbling in her stomach.
So when a sudden memory surges through her memories one day, it's no wonder that the one time she lets herself be caught trying to find Sheriff Graham's old pixie stick stash is the day Papa Charming waltzes back into the station with a tired look on his face and a hand clenched against a reluctant sleeve in the doorway.
The words barely escape out her lips before she has a chance to regret they were the first ones to come to mind in the first place.
"I swear to god, I didn't break in. The old Sheriff gave me the keys when he caught stealing his pixie sticks- which I might or might not have been attempting to do until you walking through that door..."