Past Lives, Present Futures
Chapter 4
"Gold, where are you, you smarmy bastard?" Regina called as she breezed into his shop like the whirlwind she was. Another night of little sleep had made for a very angry mayor.
"Ah, your majesty what can I do for you this morning?" Said smarmy bastard called as he walked out from the back with his oily grin firmly in place.
Regina narrowed her eyes, "You know why I'm here." She snapped.
Gold's eyes didn't shift from her face as he cocked his head slightly one side. He shifted bringing his ever present cane around as it clicked on the hardened flooring of his pawn shop.
"I'm afraid I don't dearie. So why don't you enlighten me? It appears as though you haven't been getting much sleep and we both know you wouldn't have a sudden attack of conscious so what is it that brings you here?"
Regina stepped towards him her own heels clicking menacingly but the former imp didn't so much as flinch just allowed her to get closer. The little unicorn wind chimes that had once hung above Emma's bassinet tinkled as the air seemed to move out of the way of the former queen's anger. Neither paid attention their eyes stuck on each other.
"You know why I'm here." She snapped again. "Now tell me why the hell you've decided to plague me like this? I thought we were in this together."
"And what exactly am I plaguing you with?" The man leaned across the counter folding his arms as he rested his cane against the glass and hard plastic of the counter.
Regina stared hard at him. "You don't know do you?" She cocked her head dark eyes boring into his and with a smirk she turned, "Then I won't inform you." She walked out satisfied with her visit.
Aine raced towards the clearing pushing her horse to its limits. She could hear the animal's beating hooves as it kicked up dirt. Its breathing was strained and even now she was certain it would die if she didn't slow it down but at the moment she couldn't think about that. She had to get to Selene. Selene, her beautiful Selene. She was all that mattered at the moment.
When she broke through the trees, the sea foam green leaves and their branches catching on her face and loose hair she leapt down from the horse's back not at all concerned about how she looked. Selene would understand when she heard her news. "Selene!" She yelled her lover's name looking around their clearing as the beautiful brunette appeared, looking as beautiful as she had the first day she'd seen her.
"Aine, what's wrong?" Selene raced forward as Aine ran towards her pulling her tightly up against her body.
She breathed in the scent of Selene's perfume elder flower comforting and light. Fitting of a woman born of the moon that hung above their heads that night, she closed her eyes feeling her heart beating so quickly inside the cage of her ribs beginning to finally slow to a normal pace now that she knew Selene was safe.
"Selene, we have to leave. Tonight; we can't go back. Not ever."
"What are you talking about Aine?" Selene asked pulling away enough to see her lover's face.
"My tribe; they know about us. Someone found out Selene. They told the elders and now they know why I wouldn't agree to be Ailil's high queen. They want you dead Selene, they want me dead too."
"How do they know? We've been so careful." Selene's gasp puffed past Aine's ear in a soft burst of heat for just a moment.
"I don't know. But they know and we have to go Selene."
"Aine, where are we going to go? This is our home."
"This isn't home Selene not anymore. My home is with you and as long as I have you then everything will be okay."
Selene's fearful countenance faded as she smiled softly at Aine. "You're my home too."
"I love you so much but we have to go. Underhill isn't safe for us anymore. If they find us we're dead. We can't ever come back here."
Selene took a breath staring at her lover for a moment before she nodded, "So be it."
Aine pulled her back in for a quick hug and kiss before she pulled away. "I'm going to get us out of this Selene. I swear on my life and that of the sun I'm born from. I won't let them hurt you."
"Aine?" Selene called her name softly as the woman turned around looking for something from her horse's pack.
"What is it?" Aine turned back to her, her warm eyes glowing in the ethereal light of the moon.
"Marry me?"
Aine paused staring at her. Her mouth fell open and then closed once, twice before a large grin broke across her honeyed features. "Yes, yes, yes."
Selene grinned as she ran towards her. They embraced under the moonlight surrounded by the dangers of Underhill but for that moment none of it mattered. They were together and as in love as two people could possibly be.
Emma sighed as she opened her eyes staring at the ceiling before making a decision. She slid to her feet going to her laptop which rested on the little chest of drawers underneath the single mirror in her room. It was all Mary Margaret's doing. She pulled the computer with her climbing back onto the bed careful not to squeak the bed too much. The walls were thin and she didn't want to wake Mary Margaret. No best to let at least one of us get some freaking sleep, Emma thought sourly.
She pulled open the beaten up Dell laptop and hit the button immediately muting the sound so it wouldn't make so much damn noise when it came on. She really hated that about computers. Couldn't they just be silent so when one was trying to be sneaky it wasn't an issue of searching quickly for the sound button? Sometimes she felt like Mary Margaret was her answer to the necessary teenage rebellion. Like getting up in the middle of the night with her laptop was going to get her in trouble or something. She rolled her eyes and sighed. In a lot of ways Mary Margaret was like a sister to her and sometimes she got this I'm slightly older than you so do what I say from her vibe but that was about it. Though if she were to listen to Henry's arguments Mary Margaret was her mother which made her shudder and not in a good way. It was freaky enough to think that someone that looked to be her age could be her mother let alone that she was the fairy tale character Snow White.
She waited patiently while her computer booted up the eerie whitish glow the only light in the little room since she'd actually remembered to shut the damn blinds stupid room faced the sun and when she was actually trying to sleep in aka on days she had to meet Madam Evil herself she would forget and the damn sun which was like a cop's flash light after you've been drinking too much shining in her eyes made for a very unpleasant wake up call.
She took a deep breath releasing it slowly before bringing up internet explorer and typing into the search engine the words Aine, Selene, Underhill, and Ailil Ausom. The little hour glass appeared for a moment as the internet began to search out the key words she'd typed.
She scanned through the pages until she came across an out of print book shop online. Scanning the sight she quickly found what had drawn her there. A book bound in much the same fashion as Henry's with the same gold leaf print on the front cover. She stared at it not even glancing at the price as she clicked the button to purchase it and set it for the quickest shipping option. Maybe now she'd have some freaking answers about what she was seeing.
Selene stepped softly into the warm golden fields of Underhill. It had been so long since she'd been here. The air still smelled the same she noted, different from the enchanted forest, a bit lighter with a light scent of jasmine and pine that clung to the entirety of Underhill. She could never explain it fully to someone that had never experienced it. She only vaguely knew where she was recognizing the hillside and the trees surrounding it but not quite placing it in her memory. She missed her son terribly as she began to walk, already feeling a gaping hole in her heart that would only be filled when she returned to him.
"Selene?" A voice called softly as she crested the hill and she turned around facing someone she'd thought she'd never see again.
"Lugh?" She stared as he moved towards her looking a bit battle worn but still the beautiful boy she remembered from all those years ago when they were children.
He had been her only true friend growing up most people avoided her not feeling comfortable in her stony gaze but not Lugh. He had never been bothered by it and his easy smile and quick intellect made him appealing for Selene. She knew most people in their village had believed the two would marry but it would never come to pass she'd left with Aine long before that could ever happen.
"What are you doing here Selene?" The man asked his bright green eyes widened behind the silver of his helmet. His long spear was being used as a cane she noticed as he limped towards her.
"I came home for a bit but I will be leaving shortly. I just need to get something."
"It's not safe here Selene. Not anymore. Ever since you and Aine left things haven't been good here in Underhill."
"I've heard. Ailil Ausom is now high king."
"Indeed he is and not by our choice. The villages want another King but he's too powerful. We cannot fight him and with Silverhand dead…"
"How did he die?" Selene asked, "And why was Ailil allowed to take over?" Though she already knew the answer to it she wondered how much her childhood friend knew.
"He was beheaded in battle. As for how Ailil took over well he has some sort of magic that no one in Underhill has ever seen before. It's strong and dark. No one can fight him now."
Selene folded her arms across her chest turning, "Where is our village Lugh?" She knew why this place looked familiar now. It was close to the place she grew up not her home but still a special place none the less.
"You're looking at it." Lugh pointed down into the valley at the charred ruins that had made up their home. The high stone walls were torn down, ashes and burned ground were the only thing that remained. High x-frames stood on the outskirts of town and Selene felt sick when she noticed the skeletons strung up there whitened by the sun.
"What happened Lugh?" Selene's bright eyes now sparkling with tears turned to face him.
Lugh shook his head, "I joined Silverhand in the battle that ended his life against Ailil. I barely got away but everyone knew that I was there especially Ailil. This was my punishment you see. To watch as our friends and family burned. I'm glad you weren't here Selene. I wouldn't have been able to watch you die too."
Selene turned away from the scene feeling bile rise up in her long white throat. "No I was away living out my happily ever after."
"I'm glad you were. You deserve that Selene. Especially after everything you went through."
"Yes after everything I went through I still ended up having to come back here."
"I'd heard that you'd left with a huntress Aine of the Sun. She was supposed to be a great beauty not to mention Ailil's high queen."
"He tried something unsavory with her and she retaliated. We left because of that."
"Is she still away?"
"She's dead Lugh. She died giving birth to our son."
"Oh Selene," Lugh's boyishly handsome face was drawn with true sadness. "I'm so sorry for your loss." "Thank you but Lugh I need your help; I can't do this alone not now."
"What is it? You know you can ask me anything."
"I need to steal Ailil's power source. It's my only hope of being reunited with Aine."
"You can't Selene. He keeps it so closely guarded. You'll never be able to get close to it."
"I don't have a choice Lugh. I have to. Now will you help me or not?"
Lugh stared at her for a long moment trying to read her stony expression before he nodded, "You know I will. But we're going to need help ourselves if we're to get there let alone get in to steal it."
"I'll do anything it takes." Selene's voice broke a bit the only sign of emotion she ever gave to anyone other than Aine.
"Anything," Lugh asked his green eyes boring into her blue ones.
"Anything," Her voice was steady, low and firm in its resolve.
Author's Ending Notes: HAHA! I'm amazing. I managed to get this finished and now I'm working on other things. Don't worry guys Destiny will be updated as well. I got a request earlier for a story I've been posting on my Tumblr to be posted here. It's called Helpless and it's EXTREMELY dark. I didn't think it would do well here which is why I made the decision not to post it here. But uh if you guys want to read it it's on Tumblr under the name BellaHeat. It has a mature rating so be warned. I may get around to posting it here if you guys want me to. Just let me know. Anyways as always I appreciate reviews so let me know what you think of this thing and I will get to working on it. Destiny will be worked on during the course of the day along with Helpless the story I mentioned that's on Tumblr. Uh yeah other than that I hoped you enjoyed this installment.