Love and Mischief
Chapter 5
"The Blue fairy has disappeared. Tinkerbelle is trying to track her but she's found some kind of spell that distorts her trail" Emma looked irritated.
"Damn!" Regina exclaimed. "I know that spell, there's not an effective counter to it."
"Is there something though?" Snow asked.
"Not good enough."
"Perhaps we should refocus on the dream caster then. If they can be found" Robin suggested.
"We might stop the nightmares then." David stated.
Henry walked into Regina's formal dining room, where this discussion was being held. "Good news is Neal's nightmare wasn't like ours, just a normal kid nightmare." Henry got his young uncle calmed down enough to get a coherent version of the child's nightmare.
"So they aren't targeting the kids, yet, but we have no guarantee they won't." Regina said letting some of her anger cool.
"Has that fox had any luck tracking, he claims he has some kind of special magic that can help us?" Killian said, annoyed. He didn't believe that spirit, god or whatever he was actually going to help them. At best he just was doing something till he figured out how to go back to his home on his own. But since he was brought here to cause some kind of problems for them and he had magic, Killian didn't trust him one bit.
Belle glared at Killian's tone. She trusted Inari. He'd always been honest with them. He missed his daughters and she'd do what she could to help him get back home to them. "He knows what type illusion spell the nightmare maker is using to hide herself."
"So Maleficent was right, it's a woman?" Regina asked, neutrally.
"Yes, Inari almost caught her two nights ago. He could sense it was a woman."
"What happened?"
"She disappeared while under the illusion spell."
"That's definitely powerful, using two strong spells like that at once. She 'poofed' away without showing it either, so maybe even three spells at once." Regina mused aloud.
"Rumple can teleport like that sometimes" Belle replied.
"Because he's the dark one. He has illusion powers as well, but even he's not on this level."
"Yeah. I've been researching, and the only beings I've found that have powers on that level are gods."
"So we have another god running loose, giving us nightmares about bad stuff we better fix before it happens, who can hide herself anywhere from anyone. And the only people who have even briefly caught her trail are a dragon and a fox that may or may not be a god and may or may not be helping us." Killian snapped.
"He is helping!" Belle exclaimed.
"Oh like the Crocodile did, huh?"
"No! Inari has always told us the truth!"
"As far as you know! Your ex-husband fooled you lots of times didn't he?"
"Enough!" Regina shouted "You might want to consider your own early history here, pirate!"
Emma groaned, that would just set Killian off again.
"And what about you, your majesty, the evil queen who cursed a whole town for 28 years, on top of all your other crimes…"
"Like you're innocent!"
"Stop!" Emma did the silence spell "Look at us, fighting instead of working together, we need to stop this petty name calling about the past and focus on right now."
Regina let her temper go and nodded.
Belle let a silent breath out and nodded.
Killian grudgingly nodded.
Emma released the spell. "Okay, from what Belle says, Inari has given us our best lead. I think we should trust him."
"He's done nothing so far that makes me doubt him. We should remain cautious but for now yes, we see what he can do." Regina said
"Agreed" Snow and Charming chorused.
Robin nodded as did Belle, then she continued her earlier comment. "As I said, from what I've researched the only beings that seem to fit what we've seen are some gods. There's only one of them that is female though."
"So we may know who she is? This is great information. It gives us an advantage we didn't have before." Regina smiled.
"Yes, there's a Hindu goddess called Maya. She has a number of aspects."
"Aspects?" Robin asked
"Forms. It's complicated but Hindu deities can have numerous forms. Somehow they are all tied together, but they can be separate too."
"Now I'm lost" Killian mumbled.
"Yeah it's complicated. But I'll just concentrate on the form of Maya that could be our dream caster as Robin put it."
Robin grinned.
"This Maya is a goddess of illusion-"
"That's for sure." Emma commented.
"What makes me think it's her; Maya sends people dreams to lead them to enlightenment."
"Having nightmares about how you could die in the next week isn't exactly what I'd call enlightenment" Killian grumbled.
"But it saved each one of our lives or health, hasn't it?" Robin gently countered.
"Aye. Just didn't like how vividly it depicted my falling from the top rigging of the Jolly Roger and hitting the deck, because I missed a bit of rotten rope. Multiple times, until I hit on the right thing to do so I wouldn't fall."
"Nor did I like seeing Regina harmed…" Robin couldn't bring himself to speak again of the first nightmare where she died; he quickly shut off the memory of that awful dream.
"We all hated the dreams."
"But Maya isn't malicious. She doesn't mean to harm but to help, but she is sometimes called the meddler god because of the dreams."
"I can see why. Thank goodness she didn't 'meddle' with the dreams of the children." Snow replied.
"It was traumatizing enough for the adults. And we're still dealing with some who haven't had theirs resolved." Regina looked at Belle.
"Its years away for mine. Maybe Rumple will change his mind too."
"I wouldn't count on it, but we'll do what we can to stop it. If Bae wants to go to him when she's grown, that's one thing, but Rumple stealing her from you when her power manifests in a few years, that's unacceptable." Regina said firmly and garnered a chorus of affirmative responses.
Belle smiled at her friends "Thank you."
"So we have a meddling but well-meaning goddess who gives people nightmares to help them. And a fox god who just wants to get back home to his kids. " Emma stated.
"And a missing fairy who likely caused this chaos to cause us problems because we've undermined her power in this town." Regina replied.
"But how did she come to pick these two? Neither are from the Enchanted Forest." Snow mused.
"It just points toward evidence she's working with someone. Someone that has a grudge against us but isn't from the Enchanted Forest."
"I'd say that means our earlier speculation that it could be Isaac, is likely." Robin mused.
Regina nodded "If she found him, she could have brought him across the town line and had him hide somewhere."
"But where, if it is him?" Emma questioned.
"That's the question. If it is him, then it's likely she's used the same spell to hide him from us that she's used on herself. So finding Maya, if that's who we're looking for is where we start. And as we've already decided Inari is our best chance at finding her."
"Shouldn't one of us go with him when he searches?" David asked.
"If they can make it obvious they aren't on a mission to catch our elusive dream caster, yes."
"Think that rules you out, mate" Killian looked at David with a smirk.
"Same goes for you" Regina said to Killian "You've made your hostility to Inari nearly as public as Phillip and Aurora"
"So who can go?"
"Belle obviously. Same for Granny. She knows we are looking for the nightmare sender too."
"Who else?" Emma asked.
"You, possibly. Robin, me…"
"What about me, mom?"
Regina nodded. "You too, just be careful."
"I will."
The next morning Regina walked with Inari, using the pretense of being the mayor of Storybrooke as her excuse to accompany him on his search. As mayor she decided it was her responsibility to be the first one to help Inari with the search for this dreamcaster, Maya.
Inari smiled at his companion of the day. He'd heard about this woman's dark past and her painful but determined journey back to the light. He could see the soft red glow of her light magic surrounding her. "I can see why you are so happily married. Not only are you lovely in appearance, but your heart as well."
Regina laughed. The fox spirit was quite a flirt, but was keeping it harmless, with her. "You wouldn't have thought so if you'd met me seven or eight years ago."
"I've heard stories, but you aren't that person now." He could see what looked like fading scars on her magic aura. That was exactly what they were. The remnants of great pain, fading over time to faint lines.
"A lot of regrets, sacrifices and struggles got me here. Along with a lot of support from my family and friends."
"Yes, family does help if they are supportive. My daughters have kept me from becoming a bitter and shut off god. The kindness of many people of your town has restored my desire to help those afflicted by the powerful. And your kindness in particular has reminded me that not all those in power are tyrants."
High praise indeed, especially as when she cast the curse she had been a truly awful tyrant. But her supposed victory over her enemies proved to be an empty life, in the matter of three days. Then had come the tragic encounter with little Owen and his father. Even in the depths of her madness, she had realized something was truly wrong with her. She had promptly begun therapy sessions with Archie and had thrown herself into the work of making this town a decent place to live. She didn't realize then, but she had stumbled upon the foundation of what would eventually bring her to the person she was now. "I want to be a good leader, and a good leader is a public servant. I serve the needs of my town, they don't serve mine."
"Yes. I have tried to be to be that kind leader in my realm. "Inari grinned "Fox spirits do not respond well to autocratic rulers. I'm afraid we are a bit too chaotic though, we don't work together quite as well as your town… but I try."
"But are they content?" Regina wondered aloud.
"It appears so. They let me keep the little order our realm has and generally without complaint."
"It sounds like you are a good leader then." Regina smiled. She recalled the irony of the curse, at least after that first week, when she had decided to pour herself into making Storybrooke work right. Instead of destroying their happiness, she had ended up giving almost everyone a far better life than they'd had in the Enchanted Forest. And even the few she'd actively caused problems for- mostly Snow and David, had embraced their new identities and the town after the curse broke. Both lives mattered to them and the rest of the town. Gradually, as she reformed, they all began to fight for this town and their better lives together. Storybrooke had become their home far more than the Enchanted Forest had ever been. When she took that trip to rescue Robin in New York, she realized she had made a town better than any town in this world. Emma had even told her that during the drive down.
"Thank you. I hope I am." Inari stopped abruptly. He sensed residual illusion magic nearby. Sensed the presence of another powerful magic user. He nodded to Regina and pointed with his hand still at his side.
Regina nodded back.
They cautiously approached a small cave. Inari pointed to himself and motioned toward the cave.
Regina understood, he would go in first; she would follow a few seconds later. She had nullification cuffs in her pocket. Regina didn't know if it would work on someone as powerful as a goddess, but that was the best plan they came up with.
Inari found a woman asleep in the cave. Apparently like him, deity or no, she required sleep, just like mortals. He knew some gods didn't, but apparently that wasn't the case here.
Regina looked relieved when she saw the woman was asleep. She crept up and quickly put the cuffs on.
That woke Maya up. Her power had been taken from her, in her sleep! She began to shout and struggle with her captors "Let me go! I've done you no harm!"
"Not intentionally, but you've caused a lot of emotional pain." Regina said calmly.
"How? I was helping you!" Maya said with heat as she still struggled to get free.
"You may have intended it that way, but you did it the wrong way." Inari said gently.
"How else could I have saved many of you from harm?" Maya replied, glaring, but no longer fighting to flee.
"Perhaps not so graphically."
"But would you have done anything then?" Maya said defensibly.
Regina sighed. She could feel her patience fading. "Perhaps you'll understand better if you hear from more of your victims."
"Victims? I was only trying to help!"
"Please come with us; just listen to what others have to say." Inari said. He understood Maya's feelings. But as well intended as she was, she had unleashed a painful chaos on these people. That wasn't the right way to help.
Reluctantly, Maya let them lead her out of the cave.
"We'll go to my office" Regina said as she got in the front seat of her car. Inari helped Maya into the back seat, then sat beside her.
Unfortunately, even after hearing other people's stories, Maya still firmly believed she had done the right thing; she refused to concede that maybe her method had been too harsh. Belle was the only one who still had the patience to keep trying to get through to her. Even Inari was exasperated with her.
Belle offered Maya the storeroom, which she had converted to an eventual bedroom for her daughter. For now Bae still preferred to sleep in her toddler bed in the same room as her mother. Very few magical items had been left in the storeroom when Rumple had come back the last time. She had asked him point blank to take all the most dangerous magical items with him, now that Bae was walking.
He had readily agreed, but still asked again if she would reconsider her choice and the two of them could leave Storybrooke with him. Again she told him that she loved him and he could see Bae any time he liked, but she just couldn't be with him anymore. She had thought they had parted amicably. But that dream, that Rumple would take their daughter away when she began to be able to use magic… Unlike the others, Belle was sympathetic to Maya. She was glad she had been forewarned. She was sympathetic even about how strong a warning the dreams had been. But she understood her friends feelings too. Maybe she could get Maya to gradually understand.
As she helped Maya settle in for her stay until they could figure out how to get her home as well, Inari walked in the front door of the store.
He motioned to Belle to come into the shop. She glanced back at Maya but she was engrossed looking at the few generally harmless magic items that remained on the shelves. Belle walked out into the store floor.
"Perhaps I can help enlighten her as well. I think it may just take time." Inari whispered.
Belle nodded. "I think so too. The others just don't have patience. I can understand why. But I understand what Maya was doing as well."
"So you don't think her methods were too harsh, for you at least."
"No. I appreciate the warning. Rumple is very powerful and becoming moreso. He keeps craving more and more power. He might want to be as powerful as his mother. Maybe he wants to take over her realm."
"Who was his mother?"
"She goes by the name the black fairy. She consciously chose to go to dark magic, just like Rumple."
"Ah, I see why you could not stay with him, nor your child. Dark magic exists in my realm too. The only fox spirits that have been banished from returning were those that turned to dark magic. I accept the chaos that goes along with fox spirit magic, but darkness must not take hold."
"I kept hoping he'd choose love over darkness, or at least let love be stronger than his drive for power. Sometimes it seemed like he would but always he'd choose power over love. He can love and I know somewhere inside he still does love me and definitely loves our child. I just fear his craving for power will harm all of us, including our child."
"Yes, lust for power leads to darkness. That darkness overwhelms everything else, eventually."
"So you think Rumple is doomed?"
"If he can give up his quest for power for love, no. Otherwise..."
Isaac paced the floor in annoyance. The blue fairy had left him high and dry. He supposed he should be glad that the spell that hid him, even from the other fairies, was still in effect. He couldn't get their next chaos maker here without her.
The heroes had found Maya, and while they still had the townspeople's anxiety about unresolved nightmares, they'd soon find the culprit meant them no real harm. Lingering doubts about Inari would fade as the news he and Regina had caught the dreamcaster. They needed someone else to cause more chaos. The one he had in mind would be perfect, not much in the way of magic, just a god level brawler and warrior. Now that would really create some chaos and fast.
It was tiresome bouncing around from one abandoned place for sale to another; hiding in basements, cellars and backrooms of permanently closed stores. The kind of chaos Finn McCool would unleash in Storybrooke should allow him to come out of hiding. But he could do nothing right now but hold onto the storybook that had his story. If the fairy removed that spell and allowed the heroes to catch him while she disappeared… He'd figure out some way to get back at her.