The Stable Boy
Regina Mills the mayor of Storybrooke could be found standing in front of the window, but instead of watching the people walk by her attention was held by a ring that she rolled between her fingers, lost in memory. "Remembrance of things past?" Came Gold's voice from the entrance of the office. "What do you want?" she asked as she closed the ring into her fist. "I need a favour." He replied moving to stand behind the mayor. Turning around Regina mocked "You need a favour from me?" she scoffed knowing that it was hurting his pride to acknowledge the weakness.
"Well, as you know, there are battery charges against me, pending. I really don't relish the thought of spending any more time locked up in a cage. Now – someone with your influence could make the D.A suddenly realise what a flimsy case they have." He explained as he walked over to her table. "Isn't that right… your majesty?" he mocked as he picked up an apple from the bowl in the centre of the table. "What do I get out of it?" she questioned trying not to respond to his taunts. "Help with your Mary Margaret problem. You see, I've noticed that no matter how hard you seem to try to stop them, she and her charming friend just keep finding ways to be together." He smirked.
"What are you suggesting?" the mayor asked as she sat down to listen to the pawn broker's idea. "If you want to inflict pain…" he began as he set the apple back down. "Then you must inflict pain. If something tragic… were to happen to David's wife, and if Mary Margaret should take the blame –"he trailed off for Regina to finish. "She'd be ruined." She acknowledged trying to conceal her enjoyment of the plan. "And you'd have your victory, at last." He stated knowing that she was going to take the deal. "A trail could be very messy." She said finding flaws in the deal maker's offer.
"A trail? Now who said anything about a trail? No, once Miss Blanchard has been incarcerated, you can plant one of your lovely skeleton keys in her cell. And once she tries to leave Storybrooke, well… we all know what happens to people who attempt to leave town." He explained his complete idea of a full proof deal. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you." Regina stated leaning forward from where she sat. Standing up from where he was sat, he took the apple into his hand. "Because I always honour my agreements. Do we have a deal?" he asked as he tossed the apple at Regina. As Regina caught the crisp, red fruit a smile came to her face as she thought about finally getting her revenge.
Serafina ducked yet another hat that Jefferson threw at her as he ranted about what a stupid idea she had devised. "YOU ARE SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR PAIN!" he yelled as he looked around for other things he could throw at her without the chance of actually hurting her. "It's always a good idea to have people who are willing to help you, Jefferson." She reasoned as she picked some hats up from where they had landed and put them back onto the display case. "They could hurt you Vena. And I don't care about having people help me." He muttered as he folded his arms over his chest with a childish pout. "You know that's not the only reason, hatter." She said as she finished setting the hats back onto their rightful place. "They won't remember you and that will only cause you pain!" he tried to reason with his ward as she made her way toward the kitchen.
"I have to know him again." She said over her shoulder as she put the cooled down muffins into a woven basket that was sitting on the counter ready to be filled with the homemade treats. "And, what if you slip up and use your magic that you shouldn't have?" he questioned as he fished out a chocolate chip muffin from the basket. "I will deal with that when and if that happens." She muttered as she placed a kiss onto his cheek as she passed him with the basket in the way to the door. "I don't know when I'll be back." She called as she closed the front door behind her chuckling when she heard the crash of him destroying some plates in frustration.
Knowing that her best chance of finding her previous captives was the Sheriff's department, Vena headed there with a bright happy smile on her face at being outside of the house to do more then by groceries. Arriving at the station Vena stopped before she turned the corner as she heard Gold's voice sound as she pressed herself into the wall in an attempt to tame the butterflies that were in her stomach. After failing to calm down she decided that listening to the conversation may help instead. "Why aren't we going after Regina, she's the one setting up Mary Margaret." Emma questioned from around the corner. "And what proof do we have of that, sheriff? Just because you found the mayor's skeleton key in the cell doesn't mean we can prove she put it there…" Gold replied trying to convince both females to accept his plan – "So what's your plan?" Emma asked accepting his reasoning for the time being. "I believe our best chance of winning this case is to employ our most valuable asset." Gold informed them. "What's that?" question Mary Margaret.
Deciding that it was now or never, Vena took a deep breath before turning the corner and join the conversation. "That's you. A sweet, kind elementary school teacher. Doesn't exactly fit the prototype of a killer." She said as she set her basket on the table and gave everyone a muffin. Deciding to ignore the woman who had kidnapped and let her go Emma decided to continue questioning Gold. "That's how you're going to get her acquitted? By using her personality?" Emma questioned, hoping that wasn't gold's plan. Clicking her tongue at being ignored Vena came to a stop behind the blonde and whispered "perception is everything." Into Emma's ear before sitting on the table next to the basket.
Looking at the muffin he held in his hand, Gold placed it on the table after deciding that he did not trust the new arrival. "As such, I'm sure you can imagine how the jury would perceive Miss Blanchard if she agreed to cooperate with the district attorney. These things engender trust. It shows the jury she's at least trying –"Gold elaborated on Vena's statement only to be interrupted by a call of "Emma!"
Turning to see who had interrupted the most powerful man in Storybrooke, Vena saw a coloured man enter the office with a vase full of flowers in his hands. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt, I just, uh, came by to drop these off. I thought they might brighten the place up." He said walking forward.
As Emma headed into the main office with the man Vena turned to see Mary Margaret. "Who is he?" she asked offering her a drink from the basket. "That is Sidney Glass. The town's reporter and probably one of the only people I don't trust." She informed her after gulping down some of the offered orange juice. Nodding her head at eh newly gained information Vena brought out another cake for the woman as she yet again apologised. "again I am really sorry about what Jefferson did." She said as she passed the treat to the woman. "Everyone deserves a second chance." The female said as she accepted the baked good.
At the mention of Jefferson, Gold looked at the woman that had brought the baked goods to see the similarities between the woman and his old ward that he had lost, before he remembered that the curse would cause her to lose all of her memories. "I'm going to do it. I'm gonna talk to the D.A." Mary Margaret suddenly said as Emma re-joined the trio. "Are you sure?" the blonde questioned after she saw the determined look on her friends face. "Mr Gold's right. I know I have nothing to hide, but no one else does. I need to let people see me for who I am." She told her friend, knowing that she was worried for her. "Excellent decision, Miss Blanchard. My name is Spencer, I'm the district Attorney. Shall we begin?" the D.A asked as he entered the station followed by Regina. "Sure." Mary Margaret said as
Vena muttered something about getting herself something to eat.
As everybody moved to the area that they were needed Gold looked at the muffin that he had placed on the table. Deciding that it was not in any way poisoned, picked it up and took a bite, only to widen his eyes as he found that it was his favourite flavour of mixed sweet and sour dried cherries.
Arriving at Granny's diner, Vena slumped into the closet booth as her breath caught in her throat. Seeing the waitress heading over to the booth Vena tried to control her breathing enough to order hot chocolate and quick burger. Knowing that she was going to be absorbed into a flashback, Vena played with everything that was on the table top to distract her mind until her food arrived. "If you need anything just give me a call. My name's Ruby." Said the waitress as she set the order down in front of Vena. Smiling at the Female Vena allowed herself to be absorbed into the thoughts if the past.
{Enchanted Forest – Past}
As the tiny Faery Serafina came to she noticed that all around her was darkness and a continuous sound of someone screaming in agony. Gathering her strength the tiny teen tried to fly out of whatever confinement she was trapped in, only to let out her own agonised wail. Falling to her knees she managed to look behind her to see one of her wings was bent to an awkward angle and sent shooting pains through the entire right side of her back. Letting out a frustrated whimper filled with pain, serafina kicked one of the sides of her confinement.
After the army medic had patched up Rumpelstiltskin's leg as much as possible he informed him that he would have to return home the next day as he was now unable to fight, and to rest as much as possible. Thinking that he would now be there for his wife and son Rumpel felt content to deal with the pain. It wasn't until he felt a tiny pressure on his side that he remembered the tiny girl he had tucked away into the safety of his pocket.
Reaching into said pocket he grasped the tiny girl into his hand and raised her to eye level before whispering "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." not knowing if his voice would hurt her delicate ears. As she raised her head from her arms Rumpel noticed that she had been and still was crying to herself. "Hey don't cry little one. What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he questioned gently as he set her down on his knee.
Knowing that to a human she would just sound like a tiny tinkling bell, she decided to try and communicate through gestures instead. Seeing the girl's motions of smoothing out a feather and pointing behind her Rumpel figured that she was asking him to straighten out her right wing that was bent at an awkward angle. Raising his thumb and fore finger behind her, he gently took a hold of the injured wing and smoothed it out while watching her tiny face scrunch up in pain.
After he had his hand he had dropped his hand back down to his side the tiny girl scrambled off his knee and fell onto the floor, where she was consumed by a fiery smoke. Once the smoke had cleared Rumpel could see that the Faery was now the size of a human and had no wings?
{Storybrooke}
Coming out of her flashback Vena looked down at her plate to find that while she was absorbed by the past her body had gone through all the motions of being normal. Looking around herself she decided that it was time for her to get back to her Mad Hatter.
After paying and thanking Ruby for her service Vena headed through the town, passing different shops, only to stop when she noticed Emma sitting on a bench with a large book open on her lap as she stared down at it not noticing the man approach from behind her. After seeing the man join the blonde and start up a conversation Vena decided it was worth the risk to apologise to the female and offer her help.
Approaching the pair she noticed when the make handed a newspaper to his companies whose expression suddenly became defeated. "Every time I go down a path I think n I think leads me somewhere, it ends up being a dead end. Used to think I had these great – instincts. Superpower. Now I don't know." She heard the blonde sigh as she stopped behind the bench. "Maybe someone is just hiding the doors from you." Vena said as she placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, causing her to jump. "I'm sorry by the way and am going to make it up to you, somehow." She added as she saw the male study her.
"Sounds like you've got a case of writer's block. Only without the whole writer's block." He said as Vena snorted while Emma muttered a quiet "maybe." Not really knowing what to say to either of her companions. "You know when I get struck by a block? I usually reread what I've done. Rather than plough ahead blindly, sometimes I find there'll be a little nugget if inspiration left behind." he told the pair trying to help in his own way. "You mean start over?" Emma asked trying to understand what he was saying. . "When you start writing, you usually have one idea but then in the middle? You make it another idea, and… things are different." Vena explained for the stranger. "So your perceptive changes." Emma stated.
"Exactly. When you started this investigation, what was it about?" he questioned trying to lead the blonde to her answer. "A missing person." She answered not understanding what he meant. "Now it became a murder. And then a cover up… if you knew that then, maybe you would have approached things… differently." He said trying to make the blonde understand, only to be startled when she stood up. "Where are you going?" he questioned already knowing the answer. "Scene of the crime." She said as she started to walk off, with the stranger following after her, leaving Vena sitting there chuckling to herself.
The first thing that Serafina heard as she arrived home wasn't a happy greeting of welcome home but rather a call of "Finally I was beginning to think they'd locked you up in a cell."
"How was your trip my friend? Very entertaining thank you Jefferson." She muttered to herself as she walked into the living room to see her long-time companion sitting in his chair while sipping from a teacup as she stared at the path leading toward the front door. "There is no point in asking that question when I already know how it went." He muttered not moving his eyes from the path. "And, pray tell, how did my day go hatter?" she asked as she refilled his cup and placed an affectionate kiss onto his cheek. "You gave your delicious treats to them as a peace offering, he didn't trust you and it hurt your feelings that he would not acknowledge your presence so you left before getting consumed in the memory of the first time you met." He muttered not meeting her eyes, already knowing that he was right.
"Were you spying on me, Jefferson?" she demanded angry that he did not trust her not to do something stupid. "I had to make sure you were okay. I know how much it hurts to not be remembered." He said placing his cup down and standing across from her, a stern but hurt expression on his face. "He wouldn't even look at me, Jefferson! It was as if he remembers and hated me for going with him!" she cried as his arms enveloped her into a protective embrace, shushing her whimpers as her tears soaked through his cloths.
{Enchanted Forest – Past}
Now that he could see the female clearly8 he could see that she had a round but perfectly symmetrical face with amber eyes that held a hidden flame and perfect bow shaped lips. Her face was framed by her wild brown hair that had streaks of different shades of reds and oranges. Her dress however is what shocked him the most. It left her shoulders bare as the only thing holding it in place was the bindings of her corset the skirt of the garment looked like a handful of different sized purple leaves that revealed a deep purple and black garter on her right thigh. Feeling a blush rise from his cheeks Rumpel looked at the floor to stop any unwanted thoughts that might arise due to the female's attire, only to see that she was bare foot with triangular pieces of material covering the top of her feet.
!"My name is Serafina." The female in front of him muttered nervously as she played with her fingers not looking at the male. "Excuse me." Rumpel spluttered not knowing that the female could talk. "My name is Serafina." She repeated a little louder. "Serafina is a rather unusual name little one." He replied gently, moving so she could sit down beside him. "I am not truly so little. Surely you can see that sir." She replied looking scornfully at the space she was indicating that she sit on. "Indeed, but you are still younger than me child." He spoke with a smile on his lips. It only appears that way." She replied before taking the offered seat.
After spending several hours talking Rumpelstilitskin felt the urge to ask the question that had been sitting in the back of his mind. "Do you have anywhere to go my lady? I am sure my wife would not mind if you stayed with us." He offered feeling a fatherly love toward the young girl. "I am not sure if I couldn't bear to be such a burden on you." She protested as he had already done enough for her by taking her in and healing her wing. "Nonsense, when I return home you will join me as my ward." He smiled taking her hand.
{Storybrooke}
Feeling his friend slump into him, Jefferson looked down with a sad smile as he sawe that she had exhausted herself into a slumber. Cradling the teen to his chest he moved into her bedroom and laid her down to rest peacefully until she awoke. Placing a chaste kiss on her forehead he left the room to return to his telescope and watch the story unfold around the cursed town of Storybrooke.
From his window Jefferson watched as the stranger and sheriff discovered the once missing wife od David Nolan as the she wolf screamed at the thought of finding a corpse. Smirking to himself Jefferson welcomed another cup of tea into his stomach knowing that this world was going to get interesting after all.
