Chapter 3: Awakening
We race the magic to the edge of town. Its power is a cold dark hand caressing my cheek as it surges past. I don't think I have ever known fear, or pure raw terror, but looking out from the edge of town I know it now and pause. I see a sea of people, some stunned others embracing as they shake off the vestiges of the long dark sleep the curse cast over them. It is not their joy that overwhelms me but how it turns to anger then to rage. A mob is forming.
"Come," says Gold, gripping me painfully as he pulls me forth and into a small dark building near the center of town. As soon as we are inside Gold locks the door and begins looking feverishly, tossing aside items I now recognize as being from our time on the other side.
"What are you looking for?" I ask, but he pushes brusquely past me.
"Gold!"
But he has found what he wants and puts it in his pocket.
"Hurry," he says. Something in his eyes sends a chill up my spine, "there's no time!"
I am rushed from the shop and back to the road where the mob has gathered outside Town Hall. They are calling out, "Regina, Regina."
They are calling for blood! A blonde haired woman I do not recognize is trying to calm the crowd but to no avail. As we approach the door is broken down and the entrance is rushed. Moments later a handsome man calls down from high above, "She's not here!" It is Charming!
The crowd looks to Charming as he bursts back onto the street. His eyes are wild and his brow furrowed in anger turning his better features into a grotesque mask. Gold pulls me past him, through the crowd, who press me in so tightly I cannot breathe. I fall gasping to the pavement.
It is then that I feel a wind envelop me. Gold's hands glow with magic that reaches out lifting me from my knees and guiding me to his side. His eyes shine with golden warmth, no longer dark shards but sparkling lights. I feel my heart jump. I float into his arms reaching up to brush his lips in the briefest kiss. But for a moment it lasts, suspended in the magic, and then the feeling is gone. I look into Gold's eyes and see something there that's, troubling, almost apologetic.
We run again, leaving the mob, to the outskirts of town. Silence fills the air before the old mine and hangs in deathly stillness, like a tomb. A grating has been hoisted from its spot opening into a deep dark shaft. It is here that we stop. Gold takes a small coin from his pocket turning it over in his finger several times before tossing it into the shaft. It disappears tumbling into the depths.
Nothing happens.
I look to him expectantly, his fingers tightening on mine. Then from far below the sound of a gear turning on rusty tracks rises growing louder and louder as it emerges from the ground. It is an elevator, a golden cage. Suddenly, it's meaning dawns on me and I look wildly at Gold. His eyes are resolute. I try to break free but his grip is an iron vise on my wrist.
"No!" I cry, I cannot!"
"I wont lose you again," he replies, pushing me into the cage.
The elevator begins to plummet deep into the shaft, "No, do not leave me," I cry. But the only sound that returns is a tittering laugh, and the grinding of the crank as I descend into darkness.
Regina stood at the window a slow smile splaying her lips then turning down as she remembered what she'd lost. "Henry," she gasped. A figure emerged from the shadows of Henry's room. "Jefferson!" she said, bristling at the sight of the menacing dark figure, "What do you want?"
"Me?" he snorted, taking a step closer, his words like breath on her cheek. "I want my Grace!"
"Well, you can't have her," Regina replied, turning away. Jefferson grabbed her wrist, and she spun back, her face reflecting surprise and alarm. She began to speak.
"Quiet!" said Jefferson, twisting her arm painfully, "I came to give you a message. Belle is back, and Gold knows what you've done!"
"What!" gasped Regina, falling back on the bed as Jefferson released her.
"He knows," Jefferson growled, "and when he finds you, there's no telling what he will do."
Regina's hands flew to her throat.
"If I were you, I would run," he said, his voice lingering as he faded into the shadows.
"Jefferson!" shouted Regina. But he was gone.
Then a terrible pounding shook the house. Charming was trying to knock down the door. "Come out, Regina!" The mob began to chant. Regina glanced out the window. At the front of the mob, standing alone behind Emma's outstretched arm, was Henry. "Henry," she whispered. Then a terrible splintering cracked the night. The door shattered and the mob rushed inside.