Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've had severe writer's block with this story! But here's the next chapter.
Chapter five
"Vasilisa, the fair" said Henry.
"What?" Said Emma "Gold said that her name was Vanessa..."
"Well, he lied" said Henry "or he made a mistake, either way, that girl's name is Vasilisa; and that hut in the background belongs to-" Henry turned a page in the book "-her." He pointed at a picture of a bony-legged woman with scraggly white hair, sharp yellow eyes that glowed in the dark, a tattered orange gown and jewelry made out of what appeared to be human bones, teeth, and fingernails. She rode a mortar and pestle in the same way the Wicked Witch of the West rode a broomstick.
"Baba Yaga" said Henry.
"Who's she?" Asked Emma
"A witch" said Henry "she lived alone, in a forest. She lived in a little a hut on chicken feet; she liked to eat children, and yes, those are real bones and fingernails she's wearing."
"A witch?" Asked Emma "Gold left out a lot of stuff then; he didn't say anything about a witch..."
"He likes to play with words you know" said Snow, standing up "when he 'told you' what had happened, did you ask him to tell you everything?"
"No" said Emma "I just asked him what had happened between him and the match girl..." Emma paged through the book, eyes wide. She grabbed her coat, "I have to go and talk to him..."
"Not right now!" Said Henry, "look!" He pointed out the window; Gold hadn't just brought a light dusting of snow to Storybrooke, he had brought a blizzard.
Emma stared out the window for a second, "great." She muttered, "yeah, this'll probably bring Vanes-Vasilisa out of hiding, assuming the hypothermia doesn't kill her first!" She groaned "good plan, Gold."
"Rumpelstiltskin did this!?" Asked Henry, gesturing out the window.
"Yes, or that's what he wants me to believe, either way..."
It was at that moment that Emma's father, David, burst into the house, his shoulders were soaking wet, some snowflakes remained. "We've got a blizzard on our hands!"
"We've noticed" said Emma.
"I hope it clears up soon." Said David.
...
It was all over by the next morning. A thick layer of snow coated the ground, at least three feet of it. The family sat around the table, eating a warm breakfast of scrambled eggs. "This does not look like a pleasant day to go for a walk..." Muttered Snow, glancing out the window.
"Do we have any snowplows?" Asked Emma,
"We have a snowplow" said Snow, shivering, "but it's going to be a few hours before all of the roads are plowed."
Emma sat on the couch, "then, we wait."
...
By about nine o'clock, the first of the roads had been plowed. Ruby was just leaving home as her Granny had insisted on opening the café, because "everyone could use a warm meal, today of all days." She walked down the street, when she heard something, a muffled whimper.
"Hmm?" She said, looking around; there was no one there. Her ears pricked up, and she followed the sound to where it was coming from; and saw a small figure, curled up, skinny frame wrapped tightly in a blanket. "Hey!" Shouted Ruby, walking towards the small bundle, which turned out to be a girl. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked, giving her a quick shake, the girl certainly did not look okay.
Her face was almost blue from the cold; her dress and blanket were wet and did little to nothing to shield her from the snow. She did not wear gloves or shoes, and the expression on her face suggested illness. She gave a little shake of the head which may have been a feeble attempt at "no."
Ruby pulled the girl out of the snow; she was too weak to protest. Suddenly, a little box next to where the girl had been lying caught Ruby's eye. Matches? Thought Ruby, picking the box up from the ground, I wonder… "Come on, let's get you someplace warm." Ruby dragged the girl into the café, Ruby's Granny turned around and immediately saw the girl. "What happened to her was there an accident?"
"Granny, call an ambulance! This girl's very sick!" The elderly woman nodded and ran to pick up the phone.
Ruby sat the girl down in the chair, "what's your name, honey?"
The girl, who appeared almost sleepy from hypothermia, groaned "Vanessa…Vanessa Sarafino."
"Any parents?" Asked Ruby, the girl shook her head, "no."
"Granny, can you sit with her?" Asked Ruby, "I need to call Emma."
That name clearly meant something to Vanessa "no" she tried to stand "I need to go…"
"You're not going anywhere," said Granny, gently but firmly pushing Vanessa back into the chair.
Ruby picked up the phone and walked into the back room.
"Hello?" Said a voice on the other end,
"Emma, its Ruby."
"Hey Ruby, what is it?"
"Those matches found at Gold's shop" said Ruby, opening the box of matches; sure enough it was two short of a full set, "was there anything special about them? Like, a brand name stamped on the box?" Not that this would have helped as the box was unadorned.
"Well, yeah" said Emma, "no matter how often you light it, it won't get any smaller." Said Emma, directly quoting Mr. Gold, "why?"
"I found a girl outside the shop in an alley; she was carrying a box of matches, similar to the one we saw at Gold's shop."
"What does she look like?!" Asked Emma, excited.
"Uh, blonde hair, white dress, no shoes, a scar…"
"That's her!"
"That's who?"
"She set Gold's shop on fire!"
There was a long pause. "I'll explain later," said Emma, "wait, strike one of the matches."
"Okay" said Ruby, picking up a match and lighting it,
"Now blow it out!"
Ruby did as she was told, "Is the end charred at all?" Asked Emma
"…No" said Ruby, staring at the match stick for a long time.
"Is she still there?"
"Yeah, but the ambulance is on its way, she's sick; meet me at the hospital in 15 minutes, okay?"
"Okay."
...
Emma was the first to hang up. "She's been found." She said, turning to the group.
"Vasilisa?" Asked Henry,
"Yeah, she's at the cafe, but she's being taken to the hospital." Emma picked up her coat, "I'd better get going."
"Good luck."
...
Ruby stood, impatiently, in the hospital lobby as Emma walked through the door. "Emma, you're here!" Shouted Ruby.
"How is she?" Asked Emma,
"Not good- better than we thought though." Said Ruby, "the doctor says she has moderate hypothermia, the odds are in her favor, but only time will tell if she pulls through." She glanced to the right, "and, somebody else came here before we did."
Emma turned to her right, standing near the door was Mr. Gold. "Hello, dearie." He said, with an uncharacteristically blank expression.
"You...planned this!" Shouted Emma, walking purposefully towards him.
"Of course I did." He said simply,
"If that girl dies..." Started Emma,
"Oh, she's not going to die..." he looked at the door, about two seconds later a young nurse rushed out, smiling from ear to ear.
"She's going to pull through!" She said to Gold, "she'll have the shivering-shakes for a while, but she'll be okay!"
Gold forced a smile, "that's wonderful." He said simply "may we go see her?"
"In just a moment" the nurse went back inside, they heard the sound of muffled talking, and then the nurse came back out. "You can come back in now; she's asleep though."
"Thank you." Said Gold, he gave Emma a look that said "follow me" and the two of them stepped inside.
"Vanessa?" Asked the nurse in a whisper, she gave Emma and Gold a nod and left.
Vanessa lay on the bed in an almost comatose sleep. Her long blonde hair trailed off of the cot in tight, matted clumps. She was peaceful, and almost silent.
Emma turned to Gold "okay, Gold. Come clean with me right now; what really happened that night?"
"What?" Asked Gold,
"That girl's name is not Vanessa, it's Vasilisa; and there's more that you haven't told me..." Snapped Emma,
Gold nodded, "the book..." He turned to face her, "yes, her name is Vasilisa; but at the time she told me that her name was Vanessa."
"And the witch?" Asked Emma,
Gold sighed, "very well, I suppose this is what she meant by 'sin of omission.'"
And before Emma could ask when "sin of omission" had come up, he began.
...
Vasilisa stared at her feet, "what do you want now?"
"Is there an inn around here?" Asked Rumpelstiltskin.
"Uh, yes, just down the road." She said, pointing down the dark street.
"Walk with me." He said, Vasilisa cringed, clearly she didn't like that idea but she obeyed nonetheless.
She lit a match, "that's a bit better, I wish I had a lantern." She muttered, walking down the street, following the reptilian man down the dark streets. A squat building with broken windows sat at the side of the road, the sign read "Crescent Moon Inn." "Here we are." She said, opening the door.
The Inn was probably the shadiest place in the village. People sat at the tables, clinking tall flagons of beer as a scantilly dressed waitress with too much makeup and black pigtails walked around, playfully flirting with some of the men.
"I'm sorry, but it's the only Inn we have." Said Vasilisa, with a hint of glee in her voice at the prospect of causing her tormentor any type of discomfort; she glanced at the waitress "Polly isn't so bad, it's the fleas that'll get to you!" She gave a little shiver.
He glanced behind Polly at a tall, beefy man with greying hair and a sizeable beard. "Dearie, who is that?" He asked, pointing at the man.
"Oh, that's Mr. Davis, the Innkeeper; not a very nice man either." Replied Vasilisa,
"Do you think that you could steal the key tied around his neck?" He asked, gesturing to the large bronze key tied to the piece of rope around his neck.
Vasilisa gave him a confused look "all that key leads to is the wine cellar; why would you want that key?"
"That's my business, dearie." He replied, "do you think that you could steal his key?"
Vasilisa thought for a moment, "...maybe, but I'd have to wait until he was asleep; and he never takes it off, even then!"
Rumpelstiltskin thought for a moment "...steal that key for me." He said, as if still considering it.
"What?" Asked Vasilisa, "why would I do that!? I've already kept up my end of the deal..."
"How's this for a deal?" He asked. He pointed at her one, milky eye, "you can't see out of that eye, can you?"
She self-conciously covered her eye with one hand, "...no" she said,
"Steal that key, and I'll fix your eye."
Vasilisa stared at him in amazement "you could do that?"
"Yes" He said, "get me that key by noon tomorrow and I'll fix your eye, if not, I'll pretend this conversation never happened, and the eye will stay as it is."
...
"...But, why would the key to a wine cellar interest you?" Asked Emma, cutting him off,
"He had an alterior motive..." groaned a voice behind them, it was at that moment that Vasilisa the Fair woke up.