The good news...this chapter is not as bad as I thought!
Agai, thanks for noticing my errors and enormous plot holes. When I wrote this, I knew writing was not my strong suit, but I am pleasently surprised that people like what I am doing.
Many people were askimg about The Blind Witch...last time we saw her she was being char-broiled. (A) Keep in mond it is MY AU, which means I can bend the laws of physics even more than H&K ever could on TV and (B) The first part of our story explains all.
I know...ARE WE THERE YET? Almost kids.
Disclaimer: Some very distrubing images, along with a few raw words. One of our characters has a potty mouth!
OUAT is a property of Disney/ABC. This is fan fiction for fun, not profit.
something big: Part 4
Once Upon A Time...
It was the bones.
The sight of human bones surrounding the fire. That's what made her snap.
Regina, Queen of the Realm, had done some pretty evil things, she would admit to that, some proudly. But she had one rule: never harm the innocent. And to Regina, children were the innocent.
Hansel and Gretel were no angels, and they were crafty and wily. But they were still children.
She sent the pair in to get something the witch Ginger stole from her. Ginger was sightless...legend said that that her blindness was caused by children playing a vicious prank that caused her optic nerves to disconnect.
She warned the kids not to eat the pastries. Somehow it was the only thing she could do, and how she did it sightless was beyond her, but she made the pastries as lures, The end results lay in front of the fireplace.
But kids being kids, Hansel bit on a cake and soon they were trapped. Regina was back at her castle and her mirror allowed her to see everything. but then Ginger said that damning phrase, "Butter or gravy." Asking a kid how he or she wants to be coated before they're eaten. It triggered all the abuse that Regina suffered. She cheered when the tykes put Ginger in the oven, and then, through the mirror, she shot a stream of searing flame into the oven.
"Would have gone gravy." Regina had no pity on the woman.
The legends further say that a woodsman found Ginger and brought her into town. It was amazing she was still alive, but there were doctors who had skills in treating things like burns. She was alive but disfigured. Then, according to those same legends, Rumpelstiltskin came into the picture. The deal: she would return to her normal beauty in exchange for two things: the prerequisite favor...and that she never eat children again. The first was easy. The second was an addiction.
She was going through withdrawal when the curse hit. According to legend. And how accurate IS legend, anyway.?
Day 8, 7:53 am Sheriff's office.
Regina Mills sat in the outer office looking in on the blind blonde woman in shock. She had been seen around town. People knew her as Miss Ginger...no last name. Not uncommon in Storybrooke. People thought of her as loopy, but mostly she kept to herself. She did seem to go out of her way to avoid children, as if they were a curse of some sort.
The mayor knew why, of course. As queen of the Realm, she knew of Ginger's addiction. All she could feel for her was blind hatred at what she did to the innocent. But 30+ years in the human realm gave her the realization that not everything was what it seemed. That, maybe Ginger, like many in Storybrooke, was damaged, and that maybe, here, she can be healed.
The Sheriff came out of the office, leaving Ruby in the room with the blonde, and shooed her boss/fiance to a corner. The shoo seemed urgent.
"Ginger is the broadcaster. She's the one who sent us the dreams and visions." Emma Swan was talking just above a whisper to Regina.
"How much does she know?"
"She knows that Gold is in Boston. He's using magic to hide things, but he's ready to go at any moment.
Emma paused a couple of beats. "Graham's with him."
Graham. Just the mention of his name slammed her like an oncoming brick wall. "With, him? Why."
"That's what I intend to ask him when I see him."
"You mean when WE see him."
Emma, then, took Regina's hand and squeezed as she looked into her dark chocolate eyes.
9:23am. Granny's Inn.
"...9am tomorrow. We'll be there." Regina hit the red button on her iPhone. She knew Boston's finest would not be prepared for living breathing dragons, so the next thing she could come up with was a lame story about a possible terror attack by a group called Red Dragon that seemed to be based in Maine. The Mayor was imagining "Ghostbusters" and the scene where the 'Busters were trying to convince the mayor of impending Armageddon. She imagined herself as Bill Murray but...nah. Not her style. Emma can be Bill Murray.
But as she was sipping hot chocolate with her morning apple pie across from Emma who was doing the same, the mayor realized that this was not a movie. That an evil force was set to destroy Boston. She also was starting to slowly realize that Boston may not have been the end game. And now she was worried about Storybrooke. About her son.
Emma sensed the older woman's concern. "If you want to stay, I'll go and you can stay with Henry." A year ago, that sentence would have been a victory for the mayor, but that was before she fell hopelessly in love with the blonde.
Regina's response was direct. "No, dear. Look, I'm the one with the most experience with magic, so if for nothing else you need me as back up. I'm just starting to worry that...well..more to this."
"Well, you can add THIS to your worries..." Snow White in Mary Margaret mode was joining the table giving cheek kisses to both her daughter and stepmom. "How do we get out of town?"
"Mom, I thought we had that cleared up last night," replied Emma, to which Snow responded, "I meeean...actually getting there. Regina's SL only holds two, and your bug barely holds you, let alone five."
Regina lamented, "God we need a car dealership in this town."
Ruby was overhearing the conversation as she was bringing more coffee to Regina and Emma and hot chocolate for Snow. "I think I have your answer...right...over...there" Ruby pointed to near the fireplace where rather handsome young man with well-groomed dark hair was sitting in T-shirt and jeans, drinking a cup of something along with a young girl similarly dressed, probably in her early teens.
One look at the pair and the face of Snow read "what the hell is HE doing here" written all over it, while the faces of the mayor and sheriff lit up like searchlights as the called the pair over.
"JEFFERSON!"
9:45am. The house of Henry & Cora Miller.
"MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!"
Cora Miller was beside herself on the phone with whoever it was. Her husband, Hank came into the living room as Cora ranted and made hand and arm gestures to try to calm his wife down...to no avail. The woman disconnected the call and threw her iPhone against the wall. No damage, but it was clear the auburn-haired woman was beyond pissed.
"That fucking blind bitch is still alive, Goddammit!"
Hank: "Look Cora, we don't need to do this. Why can't we just get what we came here for and leave?"
Cora turns to her husband with a sneer. "yes, and one of the reasons YOU came was for revenge. Correct..?" The woman looked at her husband. The look she got back was not one of submission. It looked more like resolve. "CORRECT.."
Hank Miller looked into the eyes of his wife. The eyes of a woman who had long since eschewed anything close to sanity. Yes, he wanted revenge. But more and more the man realized that he did not want that anymore. His wife's actions and anger were more than he could stand. He was realizing that his personal revenge may not be worth all the suffering it would cause.
"No."
All that came out of Cora Miller was heaving breathing and seething. She did not like to be defied. Suddenly the woman's gaze became intense. Her eyes had become bright red. Her body giving off tremors as she directed her vision into the eyes of Hank Miller.
Outside, the home, it was a warm sunny tranquil day in the woods. But if anyone were to pass by the house at time, they would have heard a man's screams that were beyond blood-curdling...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Patience..we're getting there. Next chapter our heroes will be in Boston...it will take about 2 or 3 chapters to deal with the dragons...but then the real stuff hits the fan. TRUST ME!