Enjoying the story so far? I hope so =)

R

The next morning, Watcher came down to see Mary-Margaret and David. David making breakfast.
No words were exchanged between them, but David did look between the two women confusedly, wondering about the silence.

Watcher exited the Loft and made her way, awkwardly, down the stairs and out the door.
Standing on the street she wondered where she should go...if there was anywhere she could go.
She made her way to Granny's. She needed to talk to someone, maybe Ruby knew someone.

"I never could keep you from getting hurt"

She looked over her shoulder to the voice of Regina.

"And obviously I still can't"

Regina approached Watcher smiling like a child at Christmas, but seemed to be stiff with cautiousness "I can heal that you know. You want me too?"

Watcher shook her head "I can manage myself thanks. I've been managing myself for ages now"

She started to hop down the sidewalk and Regina fell into step beside her.

"Where's out 'Dear Mother'? I thought she'd be the one to talk to me"

"Our mother feels it's within her best interests to, remain out of sight"

Watcher scoffed "Was there a reason you were tailing me?"

Regina blinked down at her little sister "I wasn't tailing you. I had business I needed to attend to at the docks, I saw you and thought you might enjoy some company"

Regina stared out in front of her waiting for a reply, when none was given she continued "Besides, you look like you need to talk"

"I do, but, not to be rude, I don't want to talk to the person I want to talk about" Watcher stated imperturbably and forwardly.

Regina looked downtrodden, but only for a few moments and she replied with a simple 'Oh'.

Regina stopped, but Watcher kept moving.
Regina watched her sister hobble away and thought she could at least do one thing for her, before everything rolled downhill again.
So waving her hand, a purple smoke wound its way around Watcher's ankle, healing it.

Watcher stopped and turned back to Regina "Um, thanks. I suppose"

"Not a problem" a genuine smile graced Regina's features and she felt her heart thump heavily in her chest.

"Uhh...the crutches. I kinda don't need them anymore..."

reality set back in and with another wave of her hand the crutches disappeared.
Watcher gave her a wave and turned away again walking away quite happily, an unknown smile on her own face.
Regina turned in the other direction and walked away, her magic curling around her in its coloured smoke and when it disappeared, so had she.

Watcher decided against going to Granny's and instead found herself walking a path next to the river.
A cold mist hung in the air making light clouds out of her breath.

She stopped at out the front of a house, white with green shutters.
In the yard was a patch of Snowbells and Watcher couldn't help but stare at the cute little flowers. She wished she had a camera.

As she stood staring an older woman wandered out of the house with a shovel and gloves. Neither of them noticing each other until the shovel was put down, Watcher not realizing she was that deep in thought.

"Oh! Hello" the woman smiled at her.

Watcher returned the smile "Hi. I was just admiring your flowers. They're so pretty"

Watcher didn't know a smile could widen that much "Well thank you. It's always nice to have a complement start your day"

She moved over to Watcher and held a hand out to her "Johanna Mayson"

Watcher gripped it gently but firmly "Watcher. Johanna...were you the maid to Snow Whites mother?"

Johanna looked at her dumfounded "How could you possibly know that?"

"I'm A Watcher; surely you've heard the rumours in town? Plus I'm friends with Mary-Margaret, or at least, I think I am. I don't think we're on good terms at the moment"

Johanna looked at her sadly "Well it won't last. You'll be friends again in no time"

Watcher faulted for a brief second before asking something she normally wouldn't

"I know we've just met and all but, do you think we could talk? I mean, I need someone to talk to and I don't really want to talk to Dr Hopper or Mary-Margaret..." she could feel the tears stinging at the back of her eyes.

Johanna gripped her arm and placed her other palm on her cheek "Dear child, of course! Come on, come inside and we'll have a nice cup of tea"

The inside was as cosy as the house looked on the outside, with comforting colours of browns, greens and blues.
It looked kinda Grandmother-ish, but Watcher had never had a Grandmother so she wouldn't really know.

She'd been raised between carers, which was pretty much Their version of the foster system.
All teenage Watchers eventually had different carers and mentors when they came of age to travel between dimensions, which was usually about the age of fifteen. But she'd been a special case...and she'd always thought she'd been abandoned by someone of The Home Dimension.
She'd started travelling to other dimensions twelve years ago at the age of eleven.

Johanna entered with two steaming cups of tea on a tray, along with milk and sugar in the appropriate jug and bowl.
Watcher filled her cup with milk and sugar to her liking and settled back into the chair in which was seated, curling her legs up underneath her and just staring into her cup.

Johanna took a sip of her tea, eyeing the young girl over the rim.
She set down her cup again before she spoke.

"Now, tell me. What seems to be the problem?"

Watcher sat in silence for a few more seconds "In my line of work, Watchers are privy to information that can affect the outcome of a situation in any given story. There was a girl who accidentally crossed the town line a few nights ago, you may have heard..."

Johanna nodded as Watcher continued

"Her name was Belle. She was my friend...but I knew what was going to happen to her...and I couldn't do anything to stop it" Watcher stared down into her tea again.

Johanna took a breath "Why couldn't you stop it, dear one?"

"Well. It would've affected the story and I affected the story anyway by letting myself be found out. It was supposed to happen in the night the day she met me in Granny's...if that makes sense. But I changed everything and it happened later and I didn't know until the Sheriff told me it had"

"Well if you didn't know it had happened how were you to stop it?"

Watcher felt she had a point, but that didn't ease the guilt she felt. She came to the sudden realisation that she had read Johanna's name somewhere in the documents, but she couldn't remember where or under what circumstances.

"There's more..."

'You're probably going to hate me later' Watcher almost didn't want to say.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Johanna nodded to her again

"I found out later that day that...Regina's my sister"

Johanna stiffened and a look of panic flitted through her eyes.
Watcher knew that look, Mary-Margaret wore it, so did Emma, Watcher herself even had to practice in front of mirrors to perfect it.

She placed her cup down on the table and made to leave.

"I'm sorry for imposing. I'll leave"

And she did, but she made her way into the woods where she knew her mother and sister would be, looking for the Dark Ones Dagger.

When she reached their spot, she already found Regina digging and Cora standing by with her back to her.

As Watcher approached, she stepped on a root and slipped on the wet leaves that had settled on and around it; she squealed as she went down and wasn't surprised when she looked up and saw Cora holding a fire ball.

Regina chuckled at her misfortune.
Watcher poked out her tongue at her sister and told her to 'Shut up'.

Cora helped her up with a bit of magic "What're you doing here? How did you find us?"

"Watcher, remember"

"Unless you're here to help, I don't understand why you're here" Cora stated

"Can't I just hang out with my mother and sister?"

"No!"

"Yes!" Regina looked at her mother incredulously

"Besides, I think it's only fair you know that Hook is now on his way to New York"

Cora rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in exasperation "Of course he is"

She turned back to Regina and told her to keep digging. Ten minutes later they still hadn't found the Dagger, as Watcher knew they wouldn't.
She seated herself in front of a tree stump and watched as her sister and mother moved to a new area to dig, as a bird took flight.
Another five minutes and the Dagger was still nowhere to be found.

"And you're sure this is where we're supposed to did?" Cora questioned Regina.

Regina halted digging and sighed as she unfolded the map "Yes. Hook marked it clearly. Rumplestiltskin's Dagger is here!"
She refolded the map and began to dig again, giving a grunt as she lifted a particularly heavy patch of dirt.

Cora then put forward an interesting idea "Unless Hook lied to us"

Regina stopped digging and sighed again "Well then, this map is useless. Gold is the only one who can translate it"

"Oh don't worry, sweetheart. Hook could've saved us a lot of effort with honesty, but the truth is we don't need anyone."

Regina and Watcher looked at her somewhat disappointed and wondering what was going to be said next.

"I can reconstruct the map. It'll just take a bit more time" Watcher could see the determination swelling in her sisters eyes as Cora spoke on

"And when we find it, I promise you, I'll use that dagger to force the Dark One to kill anyone you like" the smile on Cora's face and the evil glint in her eye sent chills down Watchers spine

'Someone care to tell me why, I wanted to hang with them?'

They magiced their way back to Regina's house and the first thing that Watcher said was; "I'm hungry, got anything good to eat?"

both women laughed lightly at the younger one and Regina led her to the kitchen.

"As it happens, I made apple turnovers this morning. I'll warm one up for you" she said to Watcher, a large toothy smile across her face.

"Sounds good" Watcher replied, looping an arm around Regina's waist.

Regina sent her a gentle look which went unnoticed by the young girl, but not by her mother.