AN Sorry for the slow update. This chapter was about ready to go. I needed to fill in a couple of blanks.
This chapter has a lot of TWAU references. This may be the only chapter with a strong TWAU background. I just wanted to get that out of the way. It contains a bit of violence (not that violent don't worry) and has a bad word or two. Just a fair warning.
Chapter 4 will come soon. This chapter is slower than others because I've changed this one up a bit.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer- I do not own Twilight, OUAT, or TWAU.
Ch. 3
In my dream it was very dark, and what dim light there was seemed to be radiating from Edward's skin. I couldn't see his face, just his back as he walked away from me, leaving me in the blackness. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch up to him; no matter how loud I called, he never turned. Troubled, I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep again for what seemed like a very long time. It was a good thing fables can function with little sleep. After that, he was in my dreams nearly every night, but always on the periphery, never within reach.
The week that followed the accident was uneasy, tense, and, at first, embarrassing.
To my dismay, I found myself the center of attention. Tyler Crowley was impossible, following me around, obsessed with making amends to me somehow. I tried to convince him what I wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it — especially since nothing had actually happened to me — but he remained insistent. He followed me between classes and sat at our now-crowded lunch table. I tried to be as polite as possible, but if it continued then I'd have no other choice.
Charlotte would at times come to my rescue, coming over to my table to check up on how I was doing. I was grateful for that. As predicted the Cullens practically ignored us. I eavesdropped at times at some of their conversations at lunch, but I was never mentioned, or the accident.
In class I saw he pretended to ignore me. He would look at me when he thought I was not paying attention but I saw and felt his gaze. I would give him some space, but it would not last long.
At home I finished my homework at my speed then focused on the murder. From what they have gathered so far, her name was Faith. One of the last people who had seen her was the Woodsman. Bigby was there at the scene. Apparently she was a "working girl" whose head was left at the doorstep at the Woodland Apartments. Home to the "higher class" fables. Bigby has been working night and day. They had gone to Mr. Toad's apartment to find one of the Tweedles lurking and then headed over to another lead, Faith's husband, Prince Lawrence.
When they arrived, they found him dead and another Tweedle had been lurking in the closet. Bigby chased him, but ended up being knocked out by the Dum. At the end of the day they had found Snow's head on the doorstep, and Ichabod Crane had to wipe out the memory of everyone at the police station. The day after I was practically aloof. The surprise I got late at night when I heard that it was not actually Snow's head. That was Thursday. On Friday, Bigby went to go investigate at the Trip Trap Bar (again), the Pudding and Pie, and then the Open Arms.
I was sickened to learn that Crane had been reliving a fantasy with a glamoured Fable to look like Snow White. He disappeared with a shard from the magic mirror which prevents us from looking for him. The only lead we had was an address Bigby found among Lilith's things. The bartender's sister, Holly, who was a troll and died with the glamour of Snow White. Holly was devastated and I felt really bad for her. The trouble that was going on brought out the worst of Fable town.
I had spoken with Snow once. She confessed that she felt horrible now that she has seen much more of the outskirts of Fabletown. Snow was secretary to the mayor. It was Regina, but she was out of town for a while, spending time with Henry. Snow told me that she was the gatekeeper, only letting those passing through the back door through. Those doing it the right way she had to put through paperwork and time.
I felt bad as well. Not everyone had the same luxury, and I was about to experience it as soon as I got out of school on Friday. I would have gone immediately but Charlotte insisted that I go bright and early the next morning. I did so hardly getting any sleep and my way over to Storybrooke.
Bigby and Snow were focused on finding a witch that Crane was going to, to get his glamours. They spent the entire day before and had found the meeting time. When I arrived they were just setting off to meet her. We were a few minutes late because they had barely found the address.
Auntie Greenleaf, we discovered, was a notorious witch known for using magic to produce items to later sell in the black market. The wooden tube, carved with her symbol lead us to her. Of course, who else would the black magic come from. I recall having met her a few times in my lifetime but she always seemed like the grandmotherly type. Bigby, Snow, and I walked towards Greenleaf's apartment. Emma could not join us because there were some issues to attend to at home.
We arrived in front of the apartment without really moving. We just looked back and forth at each other.
"So, who's going to knock? " I asked
Knowing there would be no response I knocked on the door.
"Wait!" Snow tried to stop me from knocking but it was too late.
Again we stood still and silent. For a few seconds we heard nothing. Then there was a slight shuffle behind the door. The door was pulled open abruptly. I was expecting to find an elderly lady on the other side of the door, but I was surprised to find a little girl looking up at us. Shock flitted through our faces before we quickly composed ourselves.
"Hi sweety. We were wondering if Auntie Greenleaf lived here?" Snow was the first to speak
"Oh! She's not here at the moment. If you'd like you may come back later and I'll tell her that you stopped by." The little girl replied back.
Bigby spoke next. Rather harshly I might add. "Do you mind if we look around?" Snow and I gave him a look.
I quickly added, "We won't take long, I promise. As a matter of fact we could also keep you company while we're waiting for, well...excuse me, is she your grandmother?" This little girl does not seem to be like her daughter yet more her granddaughter. I couldn't recall Auntie Greenleaf telling me about any children she might have which made me suspicious.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you in. To answer your question, yes, she is my grandmother. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She seemed to rush her words.
"We'll be brief. Well just have a look around and then we'll be out before you know it," Snow reassured her.
I stepped inside first then Bigby and Snow followed much to the little girl's dismay. It was evident on her face that she was not pleased.
"Please, don't touch anything! My grandmother will be very upset with me if she found out!"
Bigby, Snow, and I began scanning the room. A moose head was hung on top of a fireplace with various pictures of the little girl and Auntie Greenleaf around it. I also saw a picture of Gold with Greenleaf. Surprisingly it looked as if Rumple was smiling a genuine smile. At the far end of the room there was a tree. Yes, a tree potted next to the window and it seemed to be well kept. Snow was looking at it to.
"An interesting plant to keep in an apartment. Does your grandmother like to garden? Does this tree produce any type of fruit?" Snow inquired.
"Well, no actually. My grandmother likes to keep it here. Says it brings some life into the house. I agree with her since we do live in a small apartment in the middle of the city."
"What's this?" Bigby interrupts as he holds up a replica of the wooden tube we found.
"Where did you find that?" Snow asks rushing over to him.
"It was on the desk here, among other pieces of wood and a carving knife."
"Please don't touch that!" The little girl wails.
"My grandmother will get mad if she knows you touched that! Please put it back!"
"Why does your grandmother have this? Does she do this as a hobby or as a business?" Snow asked but in a colder voice.
"No, I don't know! She never wants me to be involved in anything she does! Please just don't touch it anymore!"
"I think we will wait for your grandmother to arrive home. This just seems far too suspicious. It looks like your grandmother also knows Rumple. You do know who that is right?" I spoke to the little girl.
The little girls voice changed as she spoke startling us. "Of course I know who he his dearie. In fact, that other person who is in that picture is me." The little girl transformed into no other than Auntie Greenleaf herself.
"Auntie Greenleaf?" My voice sounded strangled.
"Hello again Bella," she motioned to the other two, "Snow, Sherriff." It was like the calm before a storm.
Her face was unfathomable and yet you could tell she was furious.
"How dare you come into my home and just go about poking your noses in where they don't belong! I thought better of you Bella. Now my previous judgements of you have been corrected. Why did you come prodding about?"
"When it concerns the safety of Fabletown I cannot leave anything out. Their safety is my priority and I had to reassure myself that you did not have anything to do with it. My own judgements about you has changed. Explain this wooden tube and how it ended in her possession?"
"Whose possession? Why do you want to know, and what does the safety of Fabletown have to do with all of this?"
I got frustrated and I yelled at her. "Lillian! For crying out loud Lillian! Holly's sister is dead! Now it's my job to figure out who did this and punish whoever did this for their crime!" Greenleaf flinched at my words.
"I didn't know it would come to this." Auntie Greenleaf sighed. She looked tired now and say herself on her sofa.
"What was I supposed to do? Leave those Fables who needed my help out in the streets? They would have gone to the farm by now if it wasn't for my help. Guess whose fault is that?" Guilt struck me as she spoke.
"We can do nothing about the past now but I will tell you this much. It was the Crooked Man's doing. Rumple had really nothing to do with it. He was blackmailed by the Crooked Man."
"Ok Auntie Greenleaf, I'll bite, but what does the Cooked Man want? Why is he doing this to poor fables?"
"That I cannot tell you because I do not know. I also do not know where the Crooked Man is located. That you will have to figure out on your own."
"Thank you Auntie Greenleaf." I looked at Bigby and Snow. "It looks like our business is done here."
It seemed to Bigby and I that it was, but to Snow it was not.
"Wait! This woman has committed a crime. She has been selling these unstable pieces of magic to other fables through the black market. I also sense you are not telling us something."
"Snow-" I tried speaking to her but she cut me off.
"This woman must be punished." She looked at the tree. "That tree is how she made and will continue making those tubes. I suggest we burn it down."
Auntie Greenleaf gasped and looked at Snow with wide eyes. Immediately I sided with Greenleaf.
"Snow, think about this for a minute. It isn't right that we burn down her tree! It's how she makes a living!"
"There are other ways." Snows voice was hard.
Greenleaf ran over to her tree standing in front of it.
"Wait! I'll tell you! Crane was here to use my ring! It is the Ring of Dispel. He is going to try to use it on the girls at the Puddin' and Pie to get around the protection spell they have to prove his innocence."
"There Snow, she has told us everything now!" I tell Snow,
"Snow..." She turned and gave Bigby a glare.
"Snow, listen to her. She's just a poor old woman."
"This is a slap in the hand compared to what she has done!" Snow replied.
"We are not burning the tree Snow. Come on, let's go." He headed out.
"Let us meet under better circumstances Auntie Greenleaf. Until next time." I followed after Bigby.
"This is not over Greenleaf." Snow said before leaving.
We rode back to the main part of town in silence. We were going to fetch Emma then head straight for the Puddin' and Pie. When we arrived I was introduced to Elsa. Talk about out of place! She was wearing a dazzling blue dress with snowflake patterns on it.
"Nice to finally meet you!" I offered her my hand.
"Yes, you too." Her hand reminded me of the Cullens' hands. They were cold.
"Where is Emma, if you don't mind me asking?" I addressed Elsa.
"She said she was going to go look for someone, Regina. She said she had some ...pic..tures to show her." She was confused by the word.
"When she returns, can you tell her that we went to the other side of town to look for Georgie?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, and could you also tell her not to worry about it." Snow told her. Elsa nodded her head.
We decided to not wait any longer so we drove to the Puddin' and Pie. We arrived in record time. Crane's car was parked out front. Good thing he has always been one to take his time. Bigby, Snow, and I stormed in. The person in charge, Georgie, was talking to someone on the phone.
"Come to smash up the rest of my place?" He looks at Snow and I.
"Oh, I see. Come to audition your bitches." We glare at him.
"Where is he! Where is Crane?" Bigby asked Georgie.
"How should I know? Fellas like him don't come 'round places like these!" He spoke to soon for you could hear Crane's voice just on the other side of a door.
Just before entering I heard Georgie say, "We got a problem." I would have to keep a lookout.
We made our way over to it and opened it, revealing Crane on the other side Vivian, and Nerissa (a relative of Arial aka the little mermaid). Nerissa was against the wall while Crane was pointing his ring at them. He was shaking her, demanding for her to tell them who killed the girls.
"Stop!" Bigby shouted as he pulled Crane away from them.
The look on Crane's face was priceless. Shock, mixed with fear, and a hint of anger.
"What do you think you are doing!" I was livid. These poor girls had suffered enough. They came over to us and currently I was hugging Nerissa and Vivian was also trying to soothe her.
Bigby was holding him back. He was extending his clenched fist with the ring on towards them.
"The ring does not work anymore. It lost its power." Crane tried even more furiously after I told him this.
"No! It can't be! This ring will work. They will speak and you will all know I did not kill those girls!" Crane put more effort into it.
"Tell me! You know who killed those girls!"
Nerissa looked up for a fraction of a second. It was enough to reply back, "My lips are sealed."
Crane slumped in defeat, knowing it would be no use. Bigby immediately began to
"Snow!" He abruptly turned to her.
"Please, I may not be Prince Charming, but I only did this because I love you." I was disgusted and Snow was as well.
"That is no excuse Crane! What you did is inexcusable!" Her voice was cold.
He began weeping on the floor and Snow approached him. Can a man like this really have killed those woman?
"Bigby, I don't think he killed those woman." Bigby looked surprised.
"What! How can you say that? If you only saw the proof."
"Just look at him." We just stared at Crane who was now crying silently.
Bigby spoke up for a couple of seconds. "What are you thinking of doing."
"We can't punish him for a crime he didn't commit." Cranes head snapped up then he wrapped his hands around Snow.
"Thank you! Oh, thank you Snow!"
"Get off me! I didn't say you would go completely unpunished. Crane you are now under arrest for harboring Fabletown funds (Bigby found he was using the money illegally) and are under our custody for the suspicion of murder.
We walked out of the place and I looked for Georgie who was no where in sight. This felt wrong. Something was about to go down.
Crane walked in between Snow and Bigby while I walked a bit behind them. It was dark in the alley which just made the feeling of unease grow more pronounced. Just then a car turned into the alleyway. We hurried our way to exit through the other end. It was too late. Another car was being parked there obscuring our path.
Out came Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, followed by a woman in which I never hoped to see again. She held Woody's axe in her hand and she walked towards us then leaned against the axe for support. The Tweedles were not as calm. They held rifles in their hands and were pointing them at us. Well, they were mainly aiming at Bigby. He must have made a "great" impression.
"Crane is not worth much, so why don't you just hand him over and we can finish this quickly." She smirked and I got this nagging feeling in my head. She looked familiar.
"You are meddling in official Fabletown business. He is in our custody." Snow confidently said.
"You don't have the right to! So why don't you just fuck off!" Same old Bigby. I stayed quietly in the background knowing that something was going to happen.
"See! Told you he wouldn't let go easy!" One of the Tweedles spoke.
"On the contrary, you see, the Crooked Man wants his property, and you, right now, have it. The Crooked Man gets his property no matter what." Her voice was menacing. It was like several sharp shards embedded in her voice.
"I don't think so," was Bigby's reply.
"Dum, why don't you tell them my nickname."
"Um, what?" He was living up to his name.
"Tell them the name that the muddies gave me." Her voice was sharp, cutting.
"Oh, Bloody M-"
"Bloody Mary." Her voice was sickly sweet. Now I knew why she was so familiar.
"Kids at slumber parties think it's so funny to say my name three times in front of a mirror. They stop finding it funny when I appear. It's become a hobby of mine. You guys should get one." She sickened me.
"Ok, look, we are not going to give Crane up. He is coming with us and you guys have no right to stop us." Snow was beginning to get angry now.
"Your choice." Bloody Mary said. She still had that smirk on and I just wanted to wipe it off her face.
She gave a look to the Tweedles and immediately they fired at Bigby. We all ducked behind an object. When I turned to look, Bigby had managed to knock one of the Tweedles down but the other had shot him. Before Bigby could get up, the Tweedles fired at him, then one of them hit him and he flew across to the other side hitting the wall. I could not stand behind the trashcan and do nothing so I lunged for Dee who was closest. I caught him off guard. He was stronger than me, but I was quicker and had faster reflexes. He managed to get some punches but I got more. Dum was attempting to fire at me while Bloody Mary just looked amused.
Finally I was grabbed by Mary and punched to the ground. I was not done yet, but before I could recover I was shot at. I dodged many but I received a bullet to my stomach, one to my left arm, and one to just under my rib. I hissed in pain and I quickly joined Bigby at the wall with a hard thud. He was already beginning to morph and I knew this would not end well. He sauntered forward while the Tweedles shot at him. He received so many bullets, I did not know how he endured them all.
When he was close enough to the Tweedles he attacked them. One was knocked to the ground while the other he held up by the throat and punched repeatedly. I thought it was the end for that Tweedle but Bigby put him down. I should have paid more attention to Mary. As soon as Bigby placed the Tweedle down, he was shot with a silver bullet, courtesy of the gun held in Bloody Mary's hand. Bigby slumped to the ground. I ignored the pain and rushed over to him.
Bloody Mary sauntered over to us with the axe in her hand. I did not try to make a move. We were outnumbered an injured. Even if I tried to become more powerful now, who knows the advantages Bloody Mary had now. She walked towards us and stopped in front of Bigby. With an evil glint in her eye she raised it.
Before I could say anything, Snow was the one who yelled, "Stop!"
Bloody Mary grinned and stepped away.
"You can have Crane, just... don't hurt us." Snow finished saying it when I heard the whirring of a window being opened. A hand poked out motioning something to Mary. Whoever was in the car was hidden in sight.
"No. Don't let Crane get away." Bigby said with as much as much volume as he could muster.
"It's your lucky day. Looks like the Crooked man will let you go, but before I let you go," she proceeded to step on Bigby's arm breaking it. The bone showed through and Snow quickly came to his side. I wanted to so badly do something, but if I attempted anything, I would make it worse. The next time we meet, I would not be as kind to Bloody Mary.
Crane did not glance at us as he went to goes seat himself in the car. The Tweedles and Bloody Mary left but not before she left a threat.
Snow and I lifted Bigby and proceeded to carry him as best we could to the car. Snow drove as fast as she could while I phoned Dr. Swineheart. He was usually the one we called if we needed a doctor to come at home. Dr. Whale was the main doctor at the hospital. Another reason I called Swineheart was because Bigby was a regular for him. Back at the Woodlands, we carried Bigby to his apartment. Dr. Swineheart was already waiting for us at his floor. We settled Bigby into a chair and the doctor got to work.
The doctor worked diligently as he removed the bullets, then moved on to remove the silver shards from his body. The silver bullet had shattered on impact, and for Bigby this gravely affected him. He was unconscious the entire time and I attempted to support his broken arm as best as possible. After a while, Bigby opened his eyes and grunted when he felt the tweezers take out a shard. I quietly sucked in a breath when I saw him move his injured arm.
"Doctor, his arm. Please, Bigby could you refrain from moving it." Snow was worried and slightly revolted.
"This injury I am taking care of is a bit more hazardous to his health, but if it bothers him that much then he may set it himself." Dr. Swineheart had a good point.
Bigby carefully, yet forcefully moved his arm so that the bone would be set in place. He failed on his first attempt and had to stretch his arm a second time. When the arm was back in one piece, I let out an unnecessary breath, which reminded my own injuries.
"Not bad." Dr. Swineheart complimented Bigby on setting his arm properly.
By that time I decided to leave and I told them I would be in the business office. I took off my shirt so that the injuries would be visible. I sat there thinking about how things could have gotten worse. Bigby did everything to protect us and I felt weak. I understand he is a bit stronger than me, but I could have tried another way to save us. I even felt that something bad was going to happen.
Before I could delve deeper into my thoughts, David entered with Snow, and Dr. Swineheart. Two of my injuries were healing already. The bullet passed through my arm and through my stomach but the one under my ribs was still there. I winced as Dr. Swineheart looked over my wounds. He had cleaned his instruments and was now using his tweezers to remove the bullet.
I could tell that the bullet had really gotten wedged because the doctor had to poke and prob before taking it out. Besides hurting it felt very uncomfortable. After I heard the clink of metal, Dr. Swineheart cleaned my injuries and bandaged me up.
David broke the silence. "What happened?"
Snow replied to hastily. "We ran into some trouble around the outskirts of town, that's all."
"If Bella returned like this, I can only imagine what Bigby looks like." David was slowly loosing his composure.
"David, we just had a little run in with the Tweedles," Which was true. I did not sound fully convincing though.
"It was not just a run in with the Tweedles!" He has now lost his calm composure.
"We gathered more information on who is working for the Crooked man and found the witch." Snow was wary and had a look that pleaded for David to go with it.
"Fine, but you will tell me everything later." If Snow did not tell him then Bigby definitely would.
"How is Emma?" I asked wanting to change the subject.
"Well, she said she had to go take care of something with Elsa. They found a lead that involved the ice cream place. She didn't mention a name but she said she would be able to take care of it." Emma could take care of certain things. With Elsa's company, she will be fine.
"Doctor Swineheart, how is Bella doing?" Snow asked as the doctor finished patching me up.
He looked up at me. "She is healing and will continue to heal well. You will be sore for the next couple of days so I recommend you get plenty of rest. I can see you have not been sleeping properly, but being a fable is no excuse to not get sleep."
"We will make sure she does doctor. After all, she is not going to be accompanying us to on our other trips."
"Snow, you can't ask me to do that. Bigby is not going to be on the sidelines and neither will I."
"That was not a request, it was a demand." I was about to protest but Snow spoke.
"I already phoned your sister and she will be here in the afternoon as soon as you get rest." She was gentle yet firm.
"Fine." I decided to give in since I knew Snow would not give up easily.
"I mean well Bella. Get some rest. Have a good night everyone." He left the room without another word. He always appeared stoic but it was only his expression.
"It's settled then. You can stay up in our room." I had no choice but to grab my shirt and accompany them to their apartment.
It was a pretty spacious apartment. It was two floors except the second floor was a mezzanine with a bedroom, bathroom, and mini living room while on the bottom floor was another bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and mini dining room.
"You can sleep here." She said motioning to the bed on the second floor.
"Do you mind if I take a shower?" I asked not wanting to soil the bed.
"Of course. Use the bathroom upstairs. Towels are in the cupboard and I'll bring you some of my pajamas to borrow.
"Thank you," with that I went upstairs and quickly stripped off all my clothes.
The hot water felt good and unknotted all my muscles. I was careful to be gentle with my still healing wounds and used a soft stream of water. When I was done I left the bathroom in only a towel and found the pjs on the bed. I took the, with me to the bathroom. I dried off using my speed and put them on then went downstairs. Snow was waiting for me with a hot cup of tea in her hands.
"I hope you like chamomile. I thought you might like some to sleep." She handed me the mug.
"Thanks Mary Margaret, for everything." I was sincere.
She smiled. "Your welcome, now go get some sleep."
I did not expect to doze off but I did. When we got to the apartment it was already almost Sunday. I was sleeping when I began to awaken at the presence of someone in the room.
"Hey Charlotte." I spoke not moving form the position I was in.
"Don't do that to me!" She was at my side at an instant and hugged me.
"You can't get rid of me that easily." I was going to chuckle but held it when I saw her expression.
"I am sorry for scaring you. I will not make any promises that I won't happen again." I was sincere about my apology and the last bit.
"Come on. Get dressed, we are going home." I saw she had brought some of my own clothes.
"Where is everyone else?" I asked while dressing.
"That's none of your concern. They will keep you updated and you can rejoin them once you are fully healed."
I sighed. I really needed to brush up on my fighting skills. Once I was dressed, Charlotte led me up out to the car.
"If I would have left the car and someone knocked at the door, they would have found no one at home."
"That's fine. Let us just go home." She was the one who drove and we actually made it in one and a half hours. Impressive for her.
"We're here! Now no arguing about you getting rest. I don't care what you say but I want to see you in bed."
"Yes mother. Whatever you say mother." She ignored my sarcasm as she usually does.
For the rest of the day I stayed in my bedroom. I had not actually started my homework so I quickly did that to get that out of the way. When I was finished I grabbed the files sent to me by Emma and just went over them without getting caught by Charlotte. By the time it was nightfall, I felt so rested by my slumber back at Storybrooke, that I only got a few hours of sleep that night.