Chapter 18 Connected
They all went out for pizza as Henry said he was hungry and Emma quickly agreed. Neal made a comment about Emma's eating habits being passed onto Henry but all that gave him was a glare from Emma. When they got to the restaurant, Rumple, Neal and Henry went in while Emma stayed outside to make a phone call.
Inside, they sat down at a table, Neal and Henry sat on one side of the table, while Rumple sat by himself next to a spare chair for Emma on the other. Neal sat across from Rumple and said "remember, one chance".
Rumple nodded "I know. And I thank you for that chance".
Henry smiled as he looked between them and said "don't worry if he messes up, Arya and Belle will short him out".
Rumple smiled and said "of course they will".
Neal gave them a confused look and said "whose Belle and Arya?"
Rumple looked down to his lap, while Henry said "Belle is his wife and Arya is his daughter".
Neal's mouth made an O shape "I have a sister?"
Rumple nodded and there were a few moments of silence till Henry said "she's the most feared child in Storybrooke".
Neal laughed and said "nothings changed from when I was a kid".
Henry gave him a strange look and said "there not afraid of her because of him".
Neal looked between them then said "please tell me this Belle, isn't evil?"
They laughed and Rumple said "she's anything but that. Belle is one of the kindest souls I know, she brings out the goodness in me" Henry nodded.
"So why is everyone scared of Arya then?"
Without them knowing Emma walked towards them and said "because that kid got crazy power" she looked at Rumple with a phone in her hand and said "just talked to Snow and she told me that Belle is at school picking up the girls. She wants to talk to you".
Rumple took the phone from Emma and walked outside. When the door closed, he put the phone to his ear and said "hello".
"Rumple" Belle said
He smiled and said "hello, darling".
"Have you found Bea yet?"
"Yes we have...he's coming back to Storybrooke with us".
Belle made a noise that made him laugh and knew she would have a smile on her face. After a few moments, she calmed down and said "is anything wrong?"
"No, why?"
"Because Snow here is giving me a weird look".
Rumple sighed and said "it seems this trip has uncovered some truths to my sons past. He is Henrys father".
"What? I'm sorry can you repeat that. Did you just say that Bealfire and Emma had a child?"
"Yes".
"Well that would explain why Snows like this".
He laughed and said "could you tell the rest of the family?"
"Are you sure you don't want to tell them?"
"I think it would be better if they knew before we got back, so there are no surprises".
"Okay. Listen, I have to go but I'll see you soon".
"Okay darling, I love you".
"I love you too". He then hung up the phone and walked back into the restaurant.
He sat down next to Emma and handed the phone back to her. Emma said "does she know?"
He nodded and said "yeah she knows. She's telling the rest of the family later".
Neal narrowed his eyes and said "rest of the family? I thought you only had a wife and daughter".
"Well there're not blood related but I have a friend who is like a brother to me and he has a daughter Arya's age. In this world and in the other, we lived together and class ourselves as brothers".
Neal sighed as he took all the info in but then Emma said "don't worry, the other kid is named Grace and she doesn't have magic...although, her dad is a portal jumper and is mad".
Rumple and Henry laughed and Rumple said "that is why he is called the mad hatter".
After they ordered what they wanted, they ate in silence. When they finished eating, Henry made it his mission to get the family talking. Eventually, they were in full conversation for an hour and the family were laughing. Neal and Emma exchanged looks at each other but tried not to keep it there more that a second.
While they were in New York, in Storybrooke Arya and Grace was making it hell for there peers. Not many kids would look at them and even the teacher was a bit cautious of the family. Eventually, strange things started to happen in the class and because Arya and Grace were always smiling when it happened, the teacher suspected them.
After three hours in school, it was finally lunch. In the dinning hall, the girls were getting strange looks from the people. Grace looked at Arya from across the small table they were sat at and said "how long do you think it will be before they stop staring?"
Arya shrugged and said "I don't think there'll ever truly stop".
Grace laughed and said "I bet you they think were eating children".
Arya also laughed and looked down at her dinner. Arya had a ham salad, while Grace had an Egg salad. She said "I don't think my mother would let us".
They both laughed while Grace said "I don't think Aunt Belle would approve of our diet".
After they finished their lunch, they went outside for some air. They walked past all the students who were playing games with balls. They walked towards the back of the playground, where there are lots of trees. There is a fence that separates the school from the forest and the girls walked right up to it.
Grace looked at Arya as her eyes turned gold. She then said "what did you do?"
Arya smiled and said "it's not what I did, its what I can see".
Arya held out her hand for Grace to take. When she took it, she gasped in what Arya could see "when did you start to see this?"
"When I brought back Mama's memories and my eyes turned gold, it started from then...now whenever my eyes change, I can see".
Grace laughed and said "it's beautiful" they continued to stare at the forest.
Arya and Grace looked to the forest and its all slowed down. The trees waved in the wind slower and they could see the wildlife and the birds. They could also see a strange gold light that connected to everything living thing; they suspected it was magic.
They stood near the forest for what felt like an hour but then Snow walked up to them and said "Girls" they turned round to face her and Grace let go of Arya's hand. To them the world went back to normal "what are you doing?" she narrowed her eyes.
"Nothing" they replied. They went back into school and Snow followed them.
During class, they weren't paying attention as Arya's eyes turned gold again and she held Grace's hand to show her. They looked around the classroom and still saw the gold light. By the end of the day, they left school and met Belle at the front. She was on Snow's phone and when she handed it back, the girls ran in and embraced her.
When they pulled away, Belle and Snow had shocked looks on their faces. Belle said to Snow "we'll tell the family later".
Snow nodded and said "do you want to come round mine and we'll tell them together?"
Belle shook her head and said "thanks but I think I should do this alone".
That night after the family had their dinner; Belle sat them down on the couch. Hatter was giving her a weird look and said "Belle, has something happened?"
The girls had worried looks on their faces and Belle said "no, nothing like that, don't worry...Rumple found Bealfire".
They all smiled and the girls began to jump. Arya said "when are they coming back? I want to see my brother".
Grace said "and I want to meet my new cousin".
Belle smiled and Arya could tell that something was wrong and said "what's wrong with Bealfire? Is he dead?"
Belle quickly shook her head and said "no of course not. Bealfire wasn't the only thing they found in New York...He's Henry's father".
They all gasped and Hatter said "you mean Bealfire and Emma?"
"Yes".
Arya had her eyes wide open and said "Henry's my nephew".
Belle gave her a nervous look and said "yes".
Arya nodded and said "okay".
