Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or it's Characters, they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own Storm and her alter ego as well as Striker and his alter ego and their story line. This has come from the haunted, depraved, tortured darkness that is my mind.

Opera123: Aw, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, thank you.

tigger64: Hmm... Yes, I honestly had no intention of writing it like that as for their date lets see where it goes shall we?

shippoove828: Pics may take a while longer, my muse for them seems to have run away =(

Awesome Fat Kitty: Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for, I didn't realize I'd repeated myself so much until I actually went back and read it properly, busy working on a rewrite for it now.

Considerations

=Mr. Gold's P.O.V=

I looked to Theresa as I placed my rook down taking one of her knight's in the process, this was our third game of Chess and so far I'd won each game, something was off, she wasn't concentrating, there was a look in her eyes that said she was focused on something else other than the game at hand. "You look troubled dear"

She looked up giving a soft 'Hmm' as she placed her queen down taking my rook. "I'm fine"

"Obviously you're not," I stated checking her king with a bishop. "You're not concentrating at all"

She moved her king out of the check sacrificing a rook to me in the process before shifting her queen to check my king. "It's nothing," She murmured, cheek resting on her fist as she watched me move my king out of check. "Really, I'm fine" She moved her queen taking my last bishop.

"I won't take no for an answer dear," I moved one of my pawns and took her queen before reaching over the board and tipping her chin up, her eyes were tired, a dullness behind them and an inkling of confusion. "Now tell me what's wrong"

She shook her head moving her king and sacrificing a pawn to my rook. "You'd think me crazy if I told you love"

"It honestly can't be any crazier than some of the things that go on around here"

She looked up, her last rook poised above the board, a contemplating look in her eyes before she placed it down. "Check mate"

I looked down to the board and nodded. "Well played"

She nodded before stretching slightly as she shifted, spine popping as she began to reset the board, the bell in the front of the shop tinkling as the front door opened.

"I'll be right back"

She gave a nod resuming her position from before with her cheek resting on her fist as she continued to place the pieces back on the board.

I stepped into the front of the shop and stepped behind the counter looking at David Nolan as he peered at the mobile of small glass unicorns that was hanging over the second counter. "Charming"

He looked up as if he'd been caught red handed doing something wrong. "I'm sorry?"

"The mobile, isn't it Charming?" He moved towards the counter where I was stood. "Exquisitely designed, masterfully crafted, I could get it down if you like"

"No, no," He shook his head lightly looking to the map in his hand. "No I mean it's... it's very nice but I'm actually looking for the toll bridge, the mayor said there was a fork in the road by your shop, but..." He trailed off shaking his head lightly.

So she sent him this way did she? I glanced towards the back room before looking back at him. "It seems Ms. Mills had led you astray"

He gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, you'd think the mayor would know her own town"

"One would think," I looked to the map and then back at him. "Out of the door, turn right, two blocks, you'll find the trail, can't miss it"

"Thank you" He turned quickly rushing towards the door before stopping and staring at the dusty old windmill beside the door.

I watched curiously, I was interested to see where this would go. "See something you like?"

"Where did you get that?" He motioned to the windmill walking towards it slowly.

"That old thing? It's been gathering dusty for... forever"

He stepped towards it slowly before pushing the faded red blades making them spin. "I think..." He trailed off slightly. "This belonged to me"

"Really? Are you sure?" I asked, watching him watch the blades spin, a smirk beginning to creep to my lips.

"Yes" His answer was so soft I almost missed it. "I remember" He turned rushing out the door, the bell rattling as it slammed behind him.

I turned heading back to the backroom and looked to Theresa who was sitting with the black queen between her fingers, eyes fixated on it. "Who was it?" She murmured lowly, eyes never moving from the chess piece in her hand.

"David Nolan, he needed directions" I stated as I sat down opposite her again.

She nodded lightly transfixed almost on the piece between her fingers. "I think I'm seeing things," She stated. "Or going insane, I'm not quite sure which it is yet, possibly both... probably both"

I felt a wave of confusion. "'Seeing things'?" I needed clarification.

She nodded narrowing her eyes lightly at the black queen, a glimmer of hate in her eyes. "Those headaches I keep having..." She twisted the piece around. "I keep having visions with them, it's a split second of blinding pain and in that second I have a vision, a... a memory," She glared again at the queen. "They're all fragments, pieces of a larger puzzle that I haven't pieced together yet but there's always different people, different places but always the same woman," She sighed placing the queen back down on its square. "Hell I've seen a horse that looks like my Gunner only his eyes... his eyes are a blood red, a fiery type of red like hers like that woman I always see," She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before swallowing roughly. "I had one yesterday, it's the reason I packed up early," She shifted unzipping her hoodie and sliding it from her shoulders, across her chest was a deep pronounced jagged scar. "I remembered that woman getting this scar and it appeared, bleeding wet on my chest," A look of fear crossed her eyes. "I... I watched it heal right before my eyes in the mirror, love, I watched it heal as if it had always been there, as if it was supposed to be there," She clutched at the hoodie in her lap. "Every time I have one of these, these flashes I can't help but think perhaps Henry's right, maybe his book is truth and not just fairy tales..." She paused groaning and put her head in her hands. "See and now I sound crazy," She murmured lowly shaking her head, heels of her palms pressed against her eyes. "I can't help it though, it's stupid little things that trigger it sometimes, like the other morning when I burnt my hand, I had one of the flashes after you called me your Songbird," She groaned lowly massaging her temples. "See there's a man, always decked out in the finest of leather, an odd man, strange but in the kind of way I find actually quite attractive," Her cheeks flushed slightly. "He referred to the woman as his Songbird," She rubbed at her eyes. "And if you go by Henry's book, the woman, the one with the red eyes, she's the Thief," Her fingers idly moved to the star around her neck. "And the more I think about it the more I see things we have in common," She sighed softly. "According to the book she stole a star from the night sky," She dangled the pendant out from her chest as she leant forward not only giving me a good shot of the pendant but down the low cut tank top she was wearing too. "Had it fashioned into a necklace just like this one so she could keep it on her at all times"

I nodded lowly, I knew the tale, I knew far too well, I'd been there, oh yes I'd been there, in the shadows of the filthy little pub when my dear little thief had come back to the boasting idiot who'd claimed it couldn't be done, I still remembered the look on his face, the absolute shock she'd managed to reach the stars and find the brightest one of the lot, I even remembered trying to trade things for it but she never let it go, the only time she ever had was for me to fashion it into the necklace she wore, the one she never took off.

I could still remember her swearing she'd never trade it or her stallion for anything, she didn't want what I could offer, she didn't want magic, something she proved time and time again without fault, she wasn't as materialistic as everyone else, she didn't want riches, she didn't want a big castle or even to marry a prince or a king all she wanted was to roam, be allowed to be free never trapped by the confinements of society or trapped into a marriage to someone she didn't love.

I remembered when I first mocked her with true love, she'd scoffed and said she would never know true love because no one would ever love her, she'd said no man would ever take her as his wife because she was scarred, flawed, she was too strong and had yet to find her match.

I idly touched my lips staring at the chess board before me, I remembered the tingling of my magic slipping, leaving, something I'd only felt once before but that love had died and then my little thief had come back, scarred and even more flawed. Ten years was all it had taken for her to come back, ten years and she rode in one the back of a stallion as dark as the night, eyes a blazing bloody red to match her own, when I'd laid eyes upon her there was no doubt it was her, no doubt it was my little Songbird but when I'd first laid eyes upon her after so much time it surprised me how much she'd changed, her anger flared easily, body long since filled out into her womanly curves, the same body she could bend to her will when she fought, muscles hardened and trained, skin flawed with ten years worth of scars but most of all it was the look in her eyes, that haunting hardness that entered them at times that made me see she had indeed changed to some degree.

I looked up at Theresa, her eyes resting in a narrow glare at the black queen in her hand. That's it, come back to me, remember all the things she made you forget, remember me, remember us.