Chapter 14: The Stench of Secrecy
In which Ruby receives a strange request
The following morning, Ruby is running into the convent, searching for Blue. She encounters many nuns, but it takes a while before Mother Superior is found. "You have to come. You have to help. David has passed out." She is still catching her breath. "That's sooner than anticipated." Blue manages to keep her head cool. "Emma, Rumplestiltskin and Regina haven't rescued him yet?" she can't help asking. Ruby answers with a foul look. "Would I be here if they had?" "No, of course not. Why should you?" She suddenly realizes something. "You have a good sense of smell, don't you? I've got a whole bunch of books here but it's taking me ages to find the right spell. If you can smell any ink that smells, well, fishy, we may still have time." Ruby obeys the odd request and starts smelling pages and pages in various books. Most of them are mouldy or dusty.
Belle has brought the news that David has collapsed into unconsciousness. She isn't too pleased to hear that Regina hasn't left the house during the night, but there's no time to lose to quarrel about it. The three of them go to the shed, where most of the village has gathered. Emma is stroking Mary Margaret's back and Henry runs crying towards Regina. "Please help him. He can't die." Daniel is standing a little further away, refusing to make eye contact with her. "We've found a spell for the trap on the door but we can't lift the other one, and that needs to happen first," Rumple states.
"Could this be it?" Ruby asks. "It smells a bit like sardines." Blue quickly checks the written content of the spell. It mentions locked rooms which cannot be opened unless this "magic releases the hinges." It must be it. "We'll give it a try. It's the best we have." The two of them leave the convent with haste.
An argument starts between Blue and Emma as soon as they arrive. Emma is terribly hesitant about Blue performing the spell and Blue feels the same about her. Rumple grabs the spell book out of their hands, and releases it from the page. It definitely smells like nasty squid ink. The spell flies to the shed and engulfs it; they can see a ripple as the spell releases the veil. Regina is ready to perform the spell on the door. The door blasts open on the outside, instead of inside the shed, and they can see David lying on the floor, unscathed by the blast, but still unconscious. Dr. Whale takes over.
David is kept in hospital for observation but has regained consciousness. He and Mary Margaret joke that they really should stop meeting like this. Emma is happy that he is saved, since the guilt of his being taken hostage under her watch has been quite unbearable. Both her parents try to push her into apologizing to Blue, but she is stubborn about it. "She'll come around," David predicts as they watch her leave, but Mary Margaret isn't convinced. "They seem to almost hate each other now. I hope it won't cause any problems in the future."
Apologize. What are they thinking? Just because Blue finally, just in time, found some spell, that she probably had all along, doesn't suddenly make everything sunshine and roses. It only makes Emma more suspicious. It still means she is orchestrating everything, pulling the strings. Just like she had sent Emma away to live in this world, all on her own, to deal with things kids shouldn't have to face alone. She is determined to investigate her further. Surely Mr. Gold or perhaps even Regina, will know less positive stories about her. They could shed some light on the mystery that is Mother Superior.
Belle is not too pleased with Rumple's new friendship with Regina. Not because of the magic, but because of a new sense of jealousy that has awoken inside her. Regina spending the night with Rumple —not that anything had happened except crying, on Regina's part, and drinking, by the both of them— is absolutely unacceptable to her. Rumple has already had an earful of it.
Daniel is avoiding Regina like the plague. He has heard about the sacrifice that had enacted the curse and it has horrified him. How could his Regina have turned into this monstrous person? She is stalking him, but he is clever and has various tactics to avoid her. Besides staying out of her way, he has another pressing matter to attend to. He wants to know how he came to be here, and how he can leave again, preferably back to the Enchanted Forest.