Title: Vengeance, Sacrifice, and Forgiveness
Author: AoN
Word Count: 3,625
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please and thank you! Let me know what I'm doing right or doing wrong.
Summary: With the Evil Queen's curse weakening and Regina struggling to keep Storybrooke under control, hidden secrets and lies from long ago are beginning to surface – and they want their happily ever after.
Chapter Three
Her eyes were red, stinging with all the crying she had done due to the events of today and from the tears she was currently shedding now. Sitting in front of her window, little Snow White buried her face into her arms which were resting on the seal . She had tried so hard, ran so fast, but, in the end, it simply had not been fast enough. It was a fate she did not want to accept, that no one in the castle wanted to accept, but there was no changing the outcome. There were just some things that magic could not fix and this was one wish no fairy in all the lands could grant, little Snow was aware of that – a tragic lesson to learn at a the young age of ten.
She jumped up with a gasp at the sound of knocking coming from her bedroom door. Was it one of her father's men again to offer their condolences? Well, if it was, then she did not want to grant them entrance. Their words had not been helping, they had been making everything worse. She had already felt terrible, why did they want to rub it in?
Believing that if she stayed silent that the knock would go away, Snow grew more upset when she saw the door open without her permission. Why could they not understand that she wanted to be left alone? However, when it was her father, the king, standing in the entrance to her room, Snow's demeanor quickly changed. She cried more openly and freely, knowing full well her father would not just offer condolences. He would also give her the comfort she had been seeking.
Leopold crossed the bedroom and sat down next to his daughter, not saying a word. Eyes locked as he held open his arms. Snow examined his face, so full of weary and sadness. She welcomed her father's embrace and closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to forget the events that occurred earlier in the day. For the time being, Leopold remained silent and allowed the little girl to express her grief.
"It's all my f-fault," Snow stuttered when she had finally gained the courage to speak. "N-None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me, Daddy!" she cried, finding it impossible to look up at her father as she confessed herself to be the blame for the sadness that not only those in the castle were feeling, but the entire kingdom. "S-She'd still be alive if it wasn't for me," she said, her voice breaking. Hearing herself speak of the one thing that was without a doubt true caused her heart to hurt and break into a million little pieces. Their whole life had changed and it was all because of her.
King Leopold held his daughter even tighter and Snow buried her face into his chest. "Snow White," he addressed her softly, but his voice did not shake from emotion. He was calm, he had to be. "My precious little girl, it's not true, what you speak of," he reassured. "Accidents happen and that's what happened this morning – an accident."
"But!" Snow began to protest.
"No," Leopold quickly interrupted. "My darling, this was not your fault and I will repeat it until you believe it to be true."
"Daddy, I wish it were me instead-"
"Snow White, that is enough."
Now the king's voice sounded heavy, raw with the emotion he had been hiding from his daughter. It hurt him to hear her speak like this. He could not imagine losing her also. "It's painful, I know, and we will continue to mourn, but… if we wish to honor her life, my little Snow, we must live our own admirably," he said softly, lifting her chin with his hand which forced her to look at him. "Can you do that? For her?"
He gently wiped his daughter's tear stained face. Her puffy red eyes were still watery, threatening to spill over at any moment. She bit down on her lip and nodded before closing her eyes and hugging her father close, tightly once more, not wanting to let go.
xxxx
The afternoon lessons had gone by slow enough. If they had dragged on for Mary Margaret, she could only imagine how the children felt. Also, at the end of the school day, it had been difficult to convince Henry that going to the sheriff's office was not a good idea. Considering her interaction with Lucy, Regina would have Mary Margaret's and Emma's heads. He had badly wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman he thought to be Rapunzel. In the end, he had decided to listen although Mary Margaret could tell he was slightly upset to be going straight home when there was Operation Cobra stuff a foot.
Before entering the office, Mary Margaret knocked. She found Emma at her desk, where various documents and articles were laid out. Before Emma could greet her roommate, Mary Margaret's eyes had locked onto the cell where the woman was sitting on the bed, with her arms wrapped around her legs which were drawn to her chest. Lucy was staring absently at the floor, not moving a muscle. She had not heard the door open; she was off in her own world beyond this limited space in which she was confined. Mary Margaret took a couple steps forward. Emma stood up and watched her roommate who seemed to be in some sort of trance as well.
Feeling eyes staring, Lucy snapped back into reality and met Mary Margaret's gaze. She sat up a little straighter and frowned slightly. Emma watched the stare down between the two. Mary Margaret had mumbled something, but all Emma had heard was the initial 'L ' and the ending 'Y' of the girl's name. Odd behavior.
Picking up the key from her desk, Emma walked over and unlocked the door. "Lucy, this is Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret, Lucy."
"Pleasure," Mary Margaret automatically replied. "You… I'm sorry, but you look familiar," she confessed.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "I kinda have gone in and out of town on occasion," she replied and then turned to Emma. "You're letting me go, sheriff?"
"I know what you did was not malicious so I'm posting your bail," Emma answered.
"And," Mary Margaret spoke up. "We wanted to offer you a place to stay so you don't have to go back to the forest."
Emma tried not to look surprised as Lucy glanced between her and her roommate. Mary Margaret's sudden offer caught her off guard, especially considering their conversation. What had caused her to change her mind? "Until you can get on your feet," Emma added.
"You mean until you could figure me out," Lucy corrected. "Not exactly an act of kindness."
"Hey, I just bailed you out," Emma pointed out a bit heatedly.
"And I thank you for that, Sheriff, I do," Lucy replied. "But are you telling me I won't find anything proving me wrong on your desk?"
"We just want to help-"
"Help?"
"What Emma means is," Mary Margaret began. "It's going to get cold outside – that storm outside the other day was only the beginning and you don't even have a jacket. Everyone needs a roof over their head, a warm bed to sleep in or in this case a couch, and a hot meal," she explained softly. "And the only thing you truly have to worry about is if your roommate will destroy your kitchen appliances."
Emma forced herself not to roll her eyes. She destroyed the toaster and Mary Margaret would not let her live it down. The last sentence got a smirk out of Lucy. Emma could tell she was reconsidering the offer. Mary Margaret had said something convincing – roof, bed, meal. That was difficult to turn down. To add good measure, Emma pulled the extra brown leather jacket from the coat rack and held it out to the woman. "You said red wasn't your color," she replied.
Lucy stared at the jacket before looking at the two women. Her gaze lingered on Mary Margaret for a second longer. She wanted to say a million things at the moment but limited her response. "You're both okay with accepting a complete stranger into your home," she stated.
"You do realize that I'm the sheriff, right?"
"I trust you," Mary Margaret added.
"You trust me," Lucy repeated slowly. "You've…" her voice trailed off, but she shook her head. "All right then…" she reached out, took the jacket from Emma, and slipped it on. "But, Sheriff Swan, no digging."
Emma frowned. "No digging? Don't you want to know why?" she added. "Why you were left behind? Or even who?"
"Do I want to know the people who left me all alone to die because they didn't love me enough? No," she responded. "That was the angle you were looking at, wasn't it, Sheriff? I wasn't left anywhere and I know I was loved," she stated, heading towards the door to leave. "I appreciate the offer, I really do, but no thanks – got the jacket I needed."
Mary Margaret was taken back. Emma, on the other hand, was upset. "You were right," Emma murmured. "And I'm out a jacket. She's not telling us something."
"Emma, don't – she's a stranger, let it go," Mary Margaret advised.
"You were quick to trust her too, Mary Margaret," Emma pointed out.
"Yes, I was," her roommate admitted. "A-And I don't know why, but Emma-"
"What did you call her?" Emma asked, closing up the empty cell. She turned back to Mary Margaret. "It wasn't Lucy. It was close, but it wasn't."
"I didn't even notice," Mary Margaret murmured, eyebrows furrowing as she pondered the fact. "I guess I didn't… I called her Lily," she admitted. "I've had a long day at school, but what's that got to do with anything?"
"Nothing."
xxxx
They had been waiting only a little while, Red sitting on a fallen log with the wolf laying at her feet, when Snow had appeared to pick up the goods. Normally, their visits were usually quick. Red and Snow would exchange a few words, Snow would pet the wolf, and they would all be on their own separate ways. However, Snow had taken notice at the wolf's lethargic ways and the injury soon after.
"Oh, you poor thing," Snow cooed, kneeling down to the animal's level. "What on earth happened?" she asked, turning her attention to Red who had sat down once more on the log.
"We were attacked about a week ago," Red answered.
"Attacked?" Snow repeated, sitting down in front of the wolf. Gently, she began to pet the top of the wolf's head. "Attacked by who? The Queen's guards?" The mentioning of the Queen riled up a whimper from the wolf. "I know, sweetie, the Queen's evil – making a sporting event out of hunting wolves."
For a split second, Red smiled. The interaction between these two were always so sweet and gentle. The wolf had taken a liking to Snow. Red often wondered why the wolf did not just stay with Snow. "It's a force more sinister than those guards – and, yes, a force like that does exist," she added before Snow could comment. "There's a creature out there, Snow – incredibly dangerous."
"A creature did this? What type of creature has claws this large?" Snow asked.
"A wolf – a giant one," Red rephrased her answer. "It stands on its hind legs and uses its claws as hands. It picked up this little one and tossed her around as if she weighed nothing."
"Poor thing," Snow repeated, leaning in to give the wolf a gentle hug. "What about you, Red? Are you okay?"
"Thanks to this one, yes, I'm fine," Red said, reaching over to run her had down the wolf's back. "But its still out there, Snow. Please be careful. We're working hard to slay it, but, since she got hurt, we've had to stop for the time being."
"We as in your entire village?"
"We as in the two of us," Red corrected.
"The two of you? Red, are you mad?"
"The rest of the village is frightened. They have no reason to go into the forest and, therefore, they won't track it down," Red pointed out. "My grandmother lives in the forest, Snow, and I can't stand the thought of losing her or of anything happening to her because of that beast. She's done so much for me throughout my life. I just want to protect her."
Snow nodded slightly. She admired her friend's courage, especially in regard to protecting her family. It was a trait she wished she had when she was younger. Her father, bless his soul, would be so upset if he knew not a day had gone by where Snow had not considered the what if's and what should have happen's . She had been such a coward on that terrible day. If only she had… If only she could change the past. Her present would have been so much better.
"Red, you can't do this alone," Snow stated firmly.
"I know I can't," Red agreed. "My companion's still injured-"
"I mean, I want to help you."
"Snow-"
"No, I will help you," Snow insisted. "You've done so much for me and I want to do something in return."
For a silent moment, Red continued to watch Snow continuously pet the wolf and the wolf lean forward slightly to lick Snow's chin. Without a doubt, there was something different about this wolf, this gentle creature. Tamed, but wild at the same time – a complete opposite of the beast that was lurking in the forest. When Snow looked up and caught Red's eye, Red smiled.
"Thank you."
xxxx
Although every part of her urged to just sprint towards the forest, Lucy forced herself to walk, reminding herself that she was a stranger in this town, even if she had been here as long as everyone else. It would look odd if a stranger was bolting towards the woods. She did not need more unwanted attention at the moment, not when she desperately needed to conceal herself among the tall trees. If anyone tried to stop her now, everything would end terribly.
The pains were growing steadily worse. A sharp sensation erupting from her chest caused her to gasp and nearly double over. She thought she was more than capable than staying like this, but the pain was proving itself to be too much to handle. She had to give herself credit – a whole day, but now she knew her limit. There would have been no way she could have stayed with those two – Emma and Mary Margaret.
They had been kind to her. They had no excuse to trust her, neither of them. She had even looked forward to the comforts of a home for a split second. How long has it been since she slept in a bed? Or a couch? Anything that was not the ground? And to be among people again… She had wanted it so badly, but then the pain started. It was only a tingle at first, that started soon after Mary Margaret called her 'Lily.' She called her 'Lily.' At that point, Lucy began to lose control.
She could not have kept it in check, at bay, like she had forced herself to do during the night. For mere moments, she had convinced herself that it would be okay, but the tingle had quickly developed into the sharp pain it was now. Lucy had to think fast to get out of the Sheriff's office. In the end, Lucy was positive she had made Emma second think her decision to post bail, but Lucy, unlike she lead the two women to believe, had been extremely grateful to get out of the little cell.
Had she not, they would have witnessed something unbelievable.
"Ah!" she whimpered, arching back. The pain was resonating from her shoulder blades. It felt as if someone had stabbed her in the back and they were slowly turning the blade. She had made her way to the popular hiking destination – this was good enough. Lucy quickly ran off the trail and ran through the thick trees with a little difficulty. The low branches which she could normally easily evade were scratching at her as she stumbled forward, still willing herself to continue ahead. The further she went, the less of a chance there was of something witnessing.
The pain was growing, muscles were seizing. They could not handle this anymore and Lucy wanted to give in. Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded from behind her eyes, more so in her right, momentarily blinding her, but she did not stop running until she collided into and tripped over a fallen log. Her momentum flung her body over the dead tree. She hit the ground hard, face first. Teeth grinding together, Lucy rolled herself over onto her back, eyes closed tightly in pain. She had to have run far enough – she must have. She did not have a choice; she could not fight it anymore. She had to give in – and that was exactly what she did. Lucy relaxed both her body and mind. The pain soon disappeared.
She rolled over onto her side and hoisted herself up on her feet, all four of them. The wolf that took the place of the woman arched her head up towards the sky and howled before releasing a small gruff. This was the form she was used to, the form in which she had spent the majority of her life. The first time she had transformed back into a human was the exact moment she had lost her connection to the huntsman. Their connection had only returned for a couple days before it disappeared and when it had, her memories came back in full instead of the bits and pieces she had for what felt like an eternity.
The wolf gazed over its shoulder, perhaps to reassure herself that no one was there, and trotted off deeper into the forest to finally get some much needed rest after all the events of the last twenty four hours.
xxxx
Swirling the wine in her glass with one hand, Regina examined the necklace she had taken from the sheriff's office earlier this morning in her other. Her fingers ran over the charm, feeling all the engraved markings. It was exactly how she remembered it from all those years ago. She never believed she would see the piece, not after…
Regina shook her head, releasing a shaky sigh as she placed the necklace down on the dining room table where she currently sat. It seemed real. The engravings on the front were correct. The original piece also had something on the back, but she had not looked at it. It was impossible for the piece to be here. It could not be here. It had to be a fake – a rather decent one at that also. She could easily determine its authenticity by flipping the thing over. If it was a fake, she would be giving her hopes up. If it was real… what would that mean?
After taking a sip of wine, she set the glass down. Regina closed her eyes and sighed once more. Without looking, she picked up the charm and turned it over on the table, exposing the back. She lowered her head and opened her eyes. Her breath hitched, caught in her throat.
The engraving she had been expecting was shining in the gold metal – it was the cursive letter L. The image burned in her mind, that letter. This necklace. The last time she saw the necklace was that one terrible morning that changed absolutely everything – and it was all that wretched girl's fault. If only she had listened, none of this would have happened.
Regina picked up the necklace once more and rushed the nail of her thumb over the engraving, almost hoping it would wipe away, and revealing it to be a replica, but the engraving remained. She still could not grasp the notion that it was real and in front of her. She shook her head and slipped the necklace back into the evidence bag for safe keeping – not to mention, Regina simply could not look at it any further. She did not know what it meant. Therefore, she did not have control.
Regina was not a fan of not having control.
Too many unexplainable things were occurring in Storybrooke. First the stranger arriving in town and now this robbery from another. Needless to say, these were both events that never should have happened. People do not come to this town. They had not until that Emma Swan showed up. She was the first and, according to Regina's definition, the absolute worst.
She stood up from the table and picked up the evidence bag, abandoning what little wine remained in her glass. Regina tucked the bag into one of the pockets of her briefcase which had been placed on another chair. Tomorrow was Wednesday and every Wednesday she paid her late father a visit. She would take the necklace there for safekeeping, where no one would dare attempt to steal it ever again.
To be continued…