Early the next morning, the dreamshade poison in Gold's body returned, rapidly spreading towards his heart. It took very little convincing from Riley that Marcus was the cause for the poison's sudden reappearance, blaming it on an enchantment on the drinks at the party. Emma did not question her suggestion that Marcus sensed the poison and reversed Riley's healing spell to get the last laugh if they managed to survive his sadistic idea of entertainment. With Hook tied up in the supply closet, they decided to take his ship back to Storybrooke before Gold succumbed to the poison. Their hope was that with his magic, he would be able to cure himself. The plan to take Hook's ship led to a shocking surprise for Emma. Meeting Neal's friend to borrow their car, she learned that the 'friend' was actually his fiancee, Tamara.
Riley slightly regretted her plan to gain Emma's trust because it now meant having to deal with personal chats like the one she endured after Emma found out about Neal's engagement. It was not that she was jealous, but seeing an ex-boyfriend in a new relationship was extremely awkward. Feigning sympathy, she told Emma that it was important for Henry to have his father in his life and all the awkward tension between her and Neal would pass over time. While she comforted Emma, she was laughing on the inside, enjoying the drama. It was like being part of a real life soap opera. Upon their return to his shop in Storybrooke, Henry being sent off with Ruby for his protection, they prepared for the inevitable attack from Cora and Regina.
During their adventures in New York, the two women had plotted to find Gold's dagger in order to control him and get what they desired: Henry for Regina and most likely power for Cora. Though Mary Margaret and David located the dagger first, thanks to information from Gold, Cora used one of Mary Margaret's old servants against her, threatening to crush the woman's heart. Their inability to let an innocent person die forced them to hand over the dagger. Losing her servant caused a shift in Mary Margaret's morals, who wanted nothing more than Cora's own death for her role in killing not only her servant but her mother when she was a child. Though she was more than willing to take part in the fight, more to watch them smack each other around than out of any concern for Gold, Emma wanted her to stay far away from the shop. She was worried that Riley had used enough magic to protect them in New York and did not want to draw more attention after the supposed attack at the town line.
Riley managed to keep an eye on the fight while catching up with her friends at Granny's. She had expected it to end one of two ways: Regina and Cora's imprisonment or Gold's death. Not one of her possible scenarios lived up to what had actually happened that day. Mary Margaret used an enchanted candle to curse Cora's heart and tricked Regina into sticking the heart back into her mother's body. The curse led to a trade of sorts, leaving Cora dead and Gold alive. Her risky decision rid the town of the Cora problem but reignited the feud between her and Regina and every resident was on edge, refusing to walk anywhere alone or at night in case they bumped into an enraged Regina.
Riley was brushing her hair in the bathroom. Her friends had gotten a little overprotective after her return from New York. Vivien being the only person to know that the attack at the town line was a lie, the rest believed that the assault was the reason for her sudden departure from the town. The boys, especially Ethan, had gotten particularly protective, not leaving her side for more than a minute unless she was in her room at the inn. She became a regular visitor to their training sessions in the woods, watching them hit each other with wooden swords for hours.
"Are you ready to go, Riley?" she heard Ethan say.
"Yea. I just need to get my—"
Opening the bathroom door, she saw him holding a porcelain music box with painted white doves and white roses. He lifted the lid and a soft melody began to play from the box. She snatched it from him, making him nearly jump out of his skin.
"Why are you touching that?" she asked, shutting the lid.
"I was just—"
"I don't like when people touch my stuff."
"I'm sorry. Let me put it back."
"I'll do it."
Riley placed it on the nightstand carefully, repeatedly moving it in different angles. "Riley?"
"It was facing the window a certain way."
"Does it matter if it's not—"
"Yes. Everything's supposed to be a certain way or…"
"Or what?"
"I just like it that way, okay? It's a habit," she replied, tensely.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I know it's been hard to deal with what happened at the town line and honestly, I still don't understand everything you said about those covens and magic being possible outside of Storybrooke. Are you worried that whoever attacked you will cross the town line?"
After the 'attack' at the town line, Riley was unable to maintain the cover story created by David. She confessed most of the truth to her friends, telling them as much as Emma knew, from the covens spread throughout the world to why she had driven into Storybrooke. Her friends, at first, thought that she was pulling a prank but a little display of magic, just a simple color-changing charm on her hair, while she stood on the other side of the town line was enough to prove she was being honest. They struggled to understand how people from the Enchanted Forest had traveled to this land centuries ago and why some covens, like the one led by Marcus, wanted to spy on the town.
"I don't want to think about that. Can we go?"
Riley followed him down to the woods. "My mother had a music box when I was younger. It wasn't as nice as yours but she always used to play it to help me sleep. Have you had that one for a long time?"
"Since I was three. My mother gave it to me," she said, pushing back a tree branch.
"I guess she's not around anymore. I didn't—I need to work on thinking before I say something. Is there a spell for that?"
"It's okay. She died about a year later after I got that box."
"What about your dad or any other family?"
"They're not around either."
"Were they magical too?"
She nodded. "Did um whoever is after you kill them?"
"No. The covens are like feuding families. My mother used to say that after they had to leave the Enchanted Forest, each one blamed the others for having to flee and it just led to bad blood. My family got caught in one of the fights. I was a lot younger than my other siblings so I was stuck in the house. That's why I have people like Emma to watch over me now."
"I can't even imagine what it must've been like growing up here. I mean, back home, magic is everywhere so no one had to hide it but in this land, they'd probably dissect you if they saw you so much as levitate a pencil."
The other knights were in the midst of practicing in a large clearing. Alec tossed Ethan a wooden sword and while they had a pretend duel, she conjured a picnic blanket to sit on the grass. Riley quickly grew bored and played games on her phone. Her slaughter of a horde of zombies was interrupted by a text message from Seth. The message had no words, just a picture of an angry cat with the caption I found Marc's doppelganger in Paris. A small smile tugged at her lips but it was soon replaced with a scowl.
"He does this every time. I'm not falling for it," she muttered, deleting the message.
"Falling for what?"
Ethan was standing in front of her. "A game I'm playing. It's trying to trick me into this abandoned hallway but I know that there are just hundreds of zombies waiting to kill me there."
"Instead of zombie killing, why don't you practice with us?"
"I'm not a knight, Ethan."
"You don't need to be one to learn how to fight."
"Don't think wooden swords are going to do much damage against someone with magic."
"You never know. Come on, it'll be fun."
He grabbed her hand and lifted her up from the grass. Handing her a sword, he showed her fighting stances and basic techniques.
"Ready to try an actual fight?"
"I guess so," she said with a shrug.
"I'll go easy on you since it's your first time."
The boys placed bets on how long Riley would last in the fight. Alec had the most confidence in her, betting that she would strike Ethan at least once. She moved her feet into the fighting stance. Ethan attacked first, swinging his sword. They went back and forth for several minutes until she disarmed him in one swift movement.
"Nice one," said Alec, smiling.
"Beginner's luck. Besides, Ethan was going too easy. I'll have a go," offered Charles.
"Be careful, Riley. Charles is known for his sneak attacks."
"Sneak attacks? Is that what you call it when someone is just naturally better than you?"
Charles took Ethan's place, flourishing his sword. She brushed her hair out of her face and was startled by the sight in front of her. Instead of Charles, Hook was holding the sword though it was not made of wood. The only differences in his appearance were his attire, which was a naval uniform instead of his usual pirate garb, and his hair, tied up in a short ponytail. He looked younger, possibly his early twenties. Raising the sword slightly, he smiled at her.
"I have a confession. I may have been letting you win all these years."
"Is that so, lieutenant? Sounds like a lie to me. You simply don't wish to admit that I will always be the better fighter. If it weren't for my lessons, you wouldn't be able to slice a piece of wood in half, let alone hold that sword."
"Shall we make the usual bet? If you win, I will sneak you into the castle for an hour. If I win, you have to start calling me by my name, not lieutenant."
"I hope you are prepared to cover for me. You will need quite the story to explain to the prince why his clothes have been torn to shreds and why one of your medals was left in his room. I look forward to hearing your latest tall tale."
They fought far more roughly than she had with Ethan. He showed little restraint despite her being a girl. Dodging his sword, she shoved her shoulder into his chest, knocking him into a nearby pond.
"You cheated. Bad form," he said, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.
"Thus why you will always lose to me, lieutenant. In a real fight, no one cares about good form. They only care about winning, no matter what it takes…"
"Hey! I'm pretty sure this is cheating!" she heard.
Her surroundings changed back to the clearing. All of the boys were levitating in the air, some of them upside down. She waved her hand to reverse the spell, causing all of them to fall onto the ground. Charles rubbed his back.
"Was I getting too good so you had to use magic? Not fair."
"I…spaced out. Sorry. Do you want to start over?"
"No, too hungry. Let's get to Granny's before it gets too dark. I don't want to be out if Regina decides to conjure a dragon to burn down the town," he said, earning a smack upside the head from Ethan.
Two days had passed and Riley could not get that strange daydream out of her head. She found herself unable to explain how it felt so real or how she even thought up such a weird image. Part of her wondered if it was due to guilt from leaving Hook behind in New York but she quickly dismissed that theory, doubting a centuries old pirate would get her to feel remorse for the first time in years. She reminded herself that abandoning him was for the best, to ensure that her plan was a success. To keep her mind off the daydream, she focused on her lessons with Gold. He started off with very easy spells to test her knowledge and Riley pretended to struggle in the beginning to downplay her true abilities.
Riley was walking towards his shop. She deleted a barrage of texts from Seth, over a hundred sent since midnight, not bothering to read any of his pathetic attempts to gain back her trust. As she passed the ice cream shop, a pair of hands covered her eyes. She smelled a familiar lavender scent.
"Guess who."
"You know, saying something kind of gives it away."
"Buzzkill."
Vivienne lowered her hands and gave her a whole wheat bagel with strawberry jam. "Strawberries were always your favorite. I thought this would be easier to eat during magic lessons than a bowl of them."
"Thanks."
"Okay, what's going on with you? Ever since you got back from New York, you've been acting weird. Did something happen?"
"When I was at the training session, Ethan offered to teach me how to use a sword. I was practicing with him and then Charles wanted a turn but instead, I saw Hook…but it wasn't Hook."
"That's not vague at all."
"It's hard to explain. I don't even know how to—it was him but he looked younger and he was fighting me instead of Charles. It felt so real. It was almost like a memory."
"Pfft, that's insane. I think you'd remember meeting someone like him. Why would you even—that's just silly. It's not a memory. You were probably just feeling guilty about leaving him there. Not that you should feel guilty. I'm glad you decided to leave his worthless ass in that closet."
Riley looked at her, strangely. She was used to Vivienne's gleeful tone about the subject of leaving Hook in New York. Her dislike for him came from him being a pirate and his reputation back in the Enchanted Forest. What was strange was how fast she spoke, as if she wanted to immediately change the subject.
"Why are you so happy that I left him there?"
"Because he's a stupid pirate and I never trusted him."
"That's all?"
"And I didn't like how he looked at you."
"Pretty sure every time he looked at me, he was imagining me being eaten by a pack of wolves."
"Besides that. I know his reputation with women. You're beautiful, smart, fiery…why wouldn't he try something?"
"Because I would have cut off his other hand. Maybe I should talk to Gold about it. I'll just say it was someone else besides Hook in the dream and—"
"Don't!"
"Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?"
"You can't risk that. Gold's not as naïve as the rest of the people in this town. He'll see right through you if you're not careful. It was a one time thing. Just forget about it."
"Viv—"
"I need to stop by the flower shop. I'll see you later."
Before Riley could question her about her strange behavior, she disappeared behind the door of the flower shop. Taking her advice to forget about the daydream was easier said than done. She opened the door to Gold's shop. He was in the back room, flipping through a dusty book. Hiding behind the wall, she peeked at the title of the book: Origines Magia. She had first heard about the book from her mother, who had her own collection of magical tomes. The book detailed the accounts of how the first people were given magic, leading to the creation of the magical bloodlines in the Enchanted Forest.
"Mr. Gold?" she said, using a spell to shut the door again.
He folded the top corner of one page and closed the book. Placing it back on the shelf, he left the back room. Riley pretended to examine a ship replica on the counter.
"Miss Renato, ready for today's lesson?"
"Are we doing something more exciting than turning a rat into a teacup?"
"I think we can move onto something a bit more challenging."
"What is this, a makeup lesson?" she asked as he conjured a compact mirror in her hand.
Gold chuckled. "Not exactly. Are you familiar with mirror magic?"
"Yea, it lets you see anywhere. It's mostly used to spy on others. I learned that when I was five."
"Impressive but our lesson is slightly different. Magic to gaze into the past…any moment from this land or another."
"What do you want me to find?"
"Anything. It can be quite difficult. The spell requires great concentration. While you focus on achieving that in this mirror, we need to make a short visit. Follow me."
He brought her into one of the mausoleums in the cemetery. She remembered that Regina's underground vault was hidden inside and was one of her well-known hiding places. Since her mother's death, no one had seen Regina and Ethan suspected that she was spending time in the vault. Descending down the staircase, she spotted a teary-eyed Regina placing a red rose on top of a coffin. Judging by the fury in her eyes, her anger was not just directed towards Mary Margaret. She blamed Gold for her mother's death, the enchanted candle coming from his shop.
"If you've come to gloat—"
"I came to pay my respects," he said, placing another rose on the coffin.
"And what exactly is she doing here?" she asked, referring to Riley.
"Miss Renato is my newest pupil."
She scoffed. "You must be joking."
"Not at all. She's a fast learner. She may just be my best student yet."
"Sorry about your mom. Doesn't look like it but I am weeping on the inside. It's such a tragedy," said Riley, staring into the compact mirror.
"I don't need feigned compassion from an insolent child."
"I'd probably sound more sincere if I actually gave a damn. Don't have to be a seer to know she would've ended up here somehow."
Gold kept Regina back with a small invisible shield. "Miss Renato, let us not speak ill of the deceased. Why don't you go upstairs and keep working on our lesson?"
Riley stopped halfway up the staircase, eavesdropping on their conversation. "I see right through you, Gold."
"And what does that mean?"
"I learned the truth about her from Alaric…who learned it from Ethan after some persuasion. You're not offering these lessons out of the goodness of your heart. How long before this precious student dies at your hand?"
"I have no intention of harming her. Miss Renato is a gifted young girl. Why would I destroy such a promising talent?"
"Keep up the charade. It can only last for so long."
The conversation shifted to Regina's thirst for vengeance. In her mind, it could be sated by Mary Margaret's death. Gold attempted to dissuade her, insisting that she could not get her vengeance and Henry. She simply denied that a choice between the two was necessary, her mother's death sending her into a state of delusion. Realizing that it was pointless to reason with her, he sent Riley back to the shop while he visited Mary Margaret's apartment. She sneaked into the back room and picked up the book he left on the shelf. The page he had been reading contained inscriptions for a spell, the words in a strange language. Beside the words was a intricate drawing of a brain. Hearing the door open, she waved her hand over the mirror. An image of a young girl climbing a tree was reflected in the glass.
"I don't recall the lesson involving a book," said Gold, entering the back room.
Riley blushed. "I was um—they all look so interesting. This one in particular but I don't even know what language this is so I've just been looking at the pictures."
"It's the language of your ancestors. They wrote the first spellbooks after they were bestowed their gifts. You know, at the time that they seemingly perished, I had only been the Dark One for a few months but in that short time, I learned some of their secrets. After their defeat, there was looting in their castles for days. Everyone was scooping up all the treasure they could carry but I knew the true treasure was contained in these books. Unfortunately, I did not know until it was too late that every single book in their libraries was written in this language. Your ancestors were quite clever. They made sure that only their descendants could learn the language and only they could uncover their contents."
"Then why keep them?"
"Because they contain very powerful, very dark spells…spells that are secret even to myself. I was hoping to find the answer to Belle's memory problem in that book but alas, my magic cannot break through their enchantments. Do you know this language?"
"My mother mentioned it once. Cyn—cynth…"
"Cyntaith. I suppose you've never learned it but I do have this from an old friend. He was a purveyor of rare objects. This is a key to deciphering the language. I'm sure you're thinking why I haven't used it to translate the spells in these books but as I said, your ancestors were clever. It can only be read by descendants of their bloodlines," he said, grabbing a thick red journal.
He handed the journal to Riley. "I can see that you're good with mirror magic. Here's your next lesson. Learn this language until you are able to translate the memory spell."
"You want me to learn an entire language?"
"Will that be a problem for you, dearie?"
"No. I learned to speak thirty languages fluently by the time I was seven. How hard can a dead language that hasn't been spoken for centuries be?"
"That can wait for now. I'm afraid we have other business to attend to at the moment."
Leaving the shop with Gold, she was surprised to see David outside on the sidewalk. He shared the same expression and looked between the two of them.
"Riley, what were you doing in the shop?"
"I've been giving her a few lessons," said Gold.
"Does Emma know that?"
"I hardly see why Miss Swan would object. My teachings could help Miss Renato protect herself from whatever malevolent force seeks to harm her. She hasn't been slaughtering puppies to summon dark spirits, if that's what you're thinking."
"Oddly, I don't think she'd need to be your pupil for me to believe her capable of that."
Riley rolled her eyes. "You do know that I saved your daughter's life, right?"
"One good deed doesn't suddenly make you a good person."
"Because you are just a paragon of virtue yourself."
"This isn't the time for this discussion. Let's go."
Returning to Regina's vault, they searched for any clue to her plans. A small corner of the vault, filled with Cora's belongings, was ransacked, broken vials and torn dresses scattering the floor. Riley noticed two empty spaces in a case of potions ingredients. Gold believed that the missing ingredients were for the curse of the empty-hearted. When he explained the effect of the curse, how it made a person love the caster, to Emma and David in their apartment, both looked confused.
"Doesn't that break magic laws? You can't bring someone back to life, you can't force someone to love you…"
"It's not actual love. It just makes someone think they're in love with whoever cast the curse. Besides, those laws aren't really laws. I've heard stories of people doing those things. There was this one rumor of some crazy lady using a curse like this on some guy and after she popped out like ten kids, she lifted the curse because she thought he would fall in love with her on his own…but he just freaked out about magic being real. I think it ended with him killing all of them and then turning the gun on myself," she said with a giggle, twisting open an Oreo.
Emma crossed her arms. "Why would you think that's funny?"
"Other people being stupid makes me laugh."
Henry was at the bottom of the staircase. "She's going to use it on me, isn't she?" he asked, referring to the curse.
"Obviously. If she really goes full on psycho, she might just kill the whole town until it's only the two of you and then…well, you might need to get started on sex ed a little early."
"Riley!" said Emma, glaring.
"I'm just preparing him for the worst."
"I have a better idea. Don't talk."
Being a stubborn brat, he refused to not know the truth about the curse. Gold explained that one of the ingredients was the heart of the person the caster hated most and with the curse, Regina would get both Henry and her revenge on Mary Margaret. He had no interest in helping them stop her from casting the curse. Though he owed Mary Margaret a debt for her role in saving his life, he suggested that warning them about Regina's plan was enough payment. He showed very little concern for her life or Henry's, despite the latter being his grandson. Emma and David wondered if the only option was to get rid of Regina permanently, the very idea scaring Henry and making him run out of the apartment. Emma grabbed her coat and chased after him.
"I don't care if you think that debt is paid. Until we deal with Regina, you need to keep her safe," David said to Gold.
"Do I?"
"If it wasn't for her, you'd be dead right now. I'm not asking you to stop Regina yourself but at the very least, you can make sure she doesn't get anywhere near Mary Margaret's heart."
"I believe our lesson is over for today, Miss Renato."
Gold walked over to Mary Margaret's bed, where she had been laying for the past week. "Riley, you should go find Emma and Henry."
"What, no doggy treat?" she asked David.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't need to be ordered around like some pet. You clearly have a problem with me despite the fact that I saved Emma's life. I mean, I could've let her die that day…Henry too."
"Exactly why I don't trust you."
"Do enlighten me."
"You were butting heads with all of us for days then you go to New York and you suddenly turn over a new leaf? You showed concern for Emma dying before but then you saved her life at that ball. I know your type, Riley. People like you don't do something out of the goodness of their hearts. It's because they want something."
"You're right. I did have an ulterior motive for saving her. By now, everyone knows about that fight and they won't even try to come to Storybrooke. I'm tired of moving from place to place after I lose a guardian."
Leaving the apartment, she searched for Emma and Henry, eventually finding them at Granny's. Henry was sitting in a booth with Neal while Emma was at the counter, waiting for a coffee. Riley sat beside Neal in the booth as Henry accused him of bribing him with a large sundae.
"Hey Riley. Since Henry doesn't want this awesome sundae, why don't you have it?"
"Not enough hot fudge," she said, pointing her finger at the sundae.
The spell added more fudge over the ice cream and she grabbed a spoon. "Is that a spellbook?" asked Henry, interested.
"Yep. I got it from Mr. Gold for my lessons."
"You're uh taking lessons from my dad?" asked Neal, concerned.
"Nothing too advanced. He wants me to practice a few spells in here."
"But it's just a bunch of weird shapes," said Henry, squinting at the crudely drawn symbols on the page.
"It's a magical language."
"Can you read it?"
"Of course. How could I practice spells if I didn't know it already? This line here says that it's a spell to make you smarter," she said, running her finger along the top line of the page.
"Cool. Could you teach me to read it too?"
"Heh, let's talk about something else, huh?" said Neal, clearly not wanting Henry anywhere near magic.
Half-listening to their conversation, she waved her hand over the page. The symbols began to alter themselves until they resembled English words. It was a translation for the memory spell. Neal offered to bring Henry back to New York until they settled the Regina problem. With Regina unable to use magic outside of Storybrooke, she could never cast her curse on him. Henry had a different solution in mind: get rid of the magic in Storybrooke.
"It would solve everything. Don't you think so, Riley?"
"Oh yea, you should totally get rid of it…like blow it up. I can't see how that could possibly have any bad consequences."
"Well uh until then, why don't you come with me?" asked Neal.
Henry agreed to stay with him in New York. Getting out of the booth, he headed towards the bathroom, carrying his backpack.
"Listen, you should be careful around my dad."
"I told you that I'm just learning little spells."
"That doesn't matter. He saw what you could do in New York, Riley. As much as he wants me to believe he's changed, I still feel like he hasn't and these lessons could just be an excuse."
"For what?"
"Something bad. If he sees you as a threat—"
She giggled. "A threat? Neal, I may have magic but I could never compare to the Dark One."
Emma walked over to the table, holding a cup of coffee. She seemed surprised that Henry agreed to Neal's offer.
"Wait, where's his backpack?"
"Uh he took it with him."
"To the bathroom? Did you really fall for that? He's your son."
"He's running," he said, finally putting two and two together.
"Genius deduction," replied Riley, reading the ingredients for a spell.
"Did you know—why didn't you say anything?"
"He's your kid, not mine. A+ parenting, by the way."
"Neal, go talk to Ruby. Maybe she can track him or something. I'll tell David to meet us."
As Neal spoke with Ruby, Emma gripped her shoulder. Riley mentally prepared herself for a lecture about something like not keeping secrets.
"I have a favor. You've been in the woods, right? When Ethan and the others do their little training sessions?"
"Yea. They drag me there all the time."
"So I bet you know all the hiking trails. I was just thinking that maybe you could go on the trails and if you just happen to bump into Greg Mendell—"
"The guy who drove into town?"
"Yea, looks like he's staying for awhile. If you see him, maybe you could talk to him. Who better to find out why he's staying than someone as smart as you?"
"You want me to flirt with him."
"I never said—"
"You could only be more obvious if a sign was flashing above your head. You just can't do it yourself because if Henry sees you, he'll get all grossed out and bombard you with questions. What do I get out of it?"
"The satisfaction that he won't find out about magic and possibly expose you to the world?"
"Is that the best you've got, Emma?"
She sighed. "What do you want?"
"I want you to let me leave the town for one day, no questions asked."
"Why—no questions asked, right. Fine. Only one day but if I hear about anything bad that can be connected to you, you'll be lucky if you can leave your room to get a latte."
With a flick of her wrist, Riley transported herself to the woods. She conjured a camera in her hand and walked along one of the trails. Hearing Henry's voice, she hid behind a tree. Breathless, he was speaking to a man in his mid-thirties with short dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. Henry lied that he was in the woods for boy scouts. The man looked suspicious but did not question him further, continuing down the trail. Leaving Henry to run in the opposite direction, she followed the man. While he was busy taking pictures of some bird, she moved farther up the trail and waited for the right moment to purposely bump into him.
"I'm so sorry. I should've been watching where I was going," she said, apologetically.
"It's okay. I think I'll live," he replied with a chuckle.
"I'm such a ditz sometimes. I get so caught up in taking pictures that I zone out. You're not from around here, are you? It's just that I rarely see anyone else in these woods."
"I'm uh the guy who crashed his car outside town. Dr. Whale thought it would be good for me to get on my feet so I thought I'd take some pictures."
As he spoke, she peeked inside his head. She glanced at the picture on his camera.
"That's such a good shot of a palm warbler. I never get that lucky."
"You like nature photography too?"
"It's a little hobby. Is that the time already? I need to get to Granny's before my friends freak out. It was nice meeting you…"
"I'm Greg. Nice meeting you too," he said, shaking her hand.
The minute hand on his watch began to spin rapidly. "You might want to get that fixed. Have fun on your hike."
"T—thank you. I uh never got your name."
She smiled. "Maybe I'll tell you next time."
Giving him a small wave, she left the woods. Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. Knowing that it was Emma, she answered the call.
"Hello?" she asked, flicking her wrist.
"How did it go? Did you uh see him?"
"Yep. We talked and I left."
"What? You were supposed to—"
"It's called playing hard to get, Emma. It took like less than five seconds for him to get a hard-on so he'll want to find me again. These things take time."
"Fine. Did you see Henry in the woods?"
"No. Why?"
"Because he apparently grabbed dynamite from the mines for his plan to get rid of magic. I figured that he was heading for the well. It's where Gold brought magic to the town."
"Didn't see him. I'd come help but I promised to work on something for Mr. Gold. Good luck," she said, entering the mines.
Riley stopped at the end of the main tunnel. The rocky wall vanished, revealing six red silk coffins, a map that extended across the back wall, and a full-length mirror. She opened the coffin closest to her. Marcus was resting inside, his eyes shut and his skin dark grey. The thin black dagger stuck out of his chest.
"I should've dropped this into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean the moment that dagger pierced your heart but I thought you'd want to have some family time. Gabe's here and so is Melanie. It was difficult to find them but I did it. I know you missed her most of all. Soon, we'll all be together, just like Mother wanted, and you'll get a chance to fix your mistake…the one you made all those years ago."
The glass in the mirror shimmered brightly, the image of the mines replaced by island scenery. She watched a boy around sixteen with tousled sandy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes move through the trees, holding a spear. His thin frame and baby face features made him look even younger though the dirt on his face helped to give him a rugged appearance. He carefully tracked a wild boar until it got caught into a snare trap.
"Ca coo!"
A group of boys arrived at the same spot, carrying various makeshift weapons like knives and spears.
"Ooh, so macho. Hunting down a pig."
Vivienne was standing at the entrance to the hidden passage. The image faded, returning the mirror to normal.
"Did they believe you?"
"Yep. I pretended to have a nasty stomach virus. Celeste is all paranoid that Regina cursed me. She thinks she knows all about illnesses because she's a nurse. They won't bother me for days."
"We won't be gone long. I'll text Emma once we're already past the town line. She's busy with her idiot son so she probably won't read it until tomorrow morning."
"And what are we doing?"
Riley handed her the book from Gold's shop, tapping a specific page in the middle. Vivienne's eyes slowly widened to the size of grapefruits as she skimmed the page.
"I've got most of them already. The last ingredient is a little tricky."
"A little? More like impossible. They were abundant in the Enchanted Forest but in this land, I doubt it."
"I thought so too until I got a little voicemail."
Leaving the mines, she played a recent voicemail from Seth. "You can't avoid me forever. I know you're trying to ignore my messages but eventually, you'll cave and you definitely want to listen to this one. I heard a rumor about a little emerald hidden in this land. Imagine what we could do with it. We don't have to tell Bash but I won't tell you until you call me back."
"Tell me you didn't call him."
"I'll never be that desperate. I've been keeping an eye on them and had someone close to him find out what he knows. We just need one more little thing to get to it. Call it killing two birds with one stone."
Together, they quietly walked back to the inn, making sure to avoid most people on the street. Riley opened the door on the passenger side of her car and tossed Vivienne a small pouch. Inside the pouch was a potion, modeled after the one used by Gold to leave Storybrooke.
"Pour it over something that means a lot to you. As long as you have that object, you can pass over that line without losing your memories."
Vivienne reached under her shirt, pulling out a golden dove-shaped pendant attached to her necklace. The gold around the dove's wings was slightly rusted. She watched Vivienne pour the potion over the pendant.
"You still have that?" she asked, surprised.
"It was a gift from you. Why wouldn't I keep it? Do you remember when you gave it to me?"
"You were freaking out over a bad dream and I said it would protect you."
"I knew that as long as I had this, I'd see you again."
"We should go before anyone sees us leave."
Vivienne proved to be a restless passenger. Never having ventured outside Storybrooke, she was fascinated by all the different sights during the drive. She also asked hundreds of questions and as it passed midnight, Riley was growing tired of them.
"Where are we going?"
"A little town in Pennsylvania. You're going to need to brush up on some old skills. I doubt you used them much since you were frozen in a loop for twenty eight years."
"It's not something you forget but I could practice now."
Leaning across the seat, she pecked Riley's cheek. She began to leave a trail of soft kisses along her jawline while one hand rested on her inner thigh. Riley kept her eyes on the road, trying to ignore the hand disappearing under her dress. As Vivienne's lips reached hers, all politeness seemed to vanish, the kiss becoming far more passionate. Riley found herself giving in, tasting her strawberry lip gloss, until she shoved her back into her seat. Breathing heavily, Vivienne turned towards her.
"What was that?"
"I'm focusing on our mission. Practice on some teenage boys at the gas station."
"Why are you acting like this? Is it someone else?" she asked, visibly upset.
"Don't start. It isn't anybody else. All I care about right now is getting what's in Pennsylvania. I didn't bring you with me so we could rip off each other's clothes in the backseat like a couple of horny teenagers."
"Well, when you get it, maybe we could…"
Riley scoffed. "All these years and you're still the same. My plan relies on a lot more than an emerald. Until it's finished, it's all I care about, Viv."
"Except for what's in New York," she muttered, bitterly.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. Did you have one of those weird daydreams again?"
"No. Like you said, it was probably a one time thing and I shouldn't feel guilty. He was just another part of my plan, that's all."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Vivienne let out a relieved sigh. By the next morning, they arrived in the small town of Hillford. Though Seth's friend had given her the location of the emerald, actually retrieving it required a little more effort. Hillford was a very close-knit community and it did not take long for her to track down someone who was friendly with her real target.
"It's Emma again. Should I let it go to voicemail?" said Vivienne.
"Hello?" asked Riley, answering the call.
"I know you said no questions asked but it wouldn't hurt if you told me that you were leaving town last night."
"Slipped my mind."
"I can't ask where you are or what you're doing but—"
"I am visiting a friend. We're sitting in his apartment, watching some scary movies."
"Seriously?"
"Yep. Contrary to what you think, I do have friends. Are we done, mother?"
"And you swear that you're not hurting anyone?"
"Cross my heart. I have not laid a hand on a single person. I'll text you when I'm on my way back."
Riley hung up the phone. "That's not good enough, sweetheart. A little further."
A man in his late thirties, with graying dark hair and a construction uniform, was sitting in the backseat of her car, a metal pipe through his stomach. He groaned in pain as he pushed on the pipe.
"I did tell her that I wouldn't lay a hand on anyone. I never said they couldn't do it themselves."
Vivienne giggled. "I don't know where he is," said the man, speaking with a Southern accent.
"That's a lie, Oliver. Let's not play this game. You people never win. You think you have it so much better in this land but anywhere you go, you'll always be the lapdogs. It's tragic. Instead of trying to be all tough, just tell me where I can find him."
"No."
Riley patted his knee. "I know you've got that whole pack loyalty thing and I admire that but for once, think about yourself. I bet you'd hate to leave your kids fatherless."
"I honestly don't know where he is right now. He's been training the younger ones ever since we lost Elena and a few others. I don't know where he goes for the training."
"Then I'll have to bring him to me, won't I? You can take that pipe out and leave now."
He removed the pipe from his stomach. Within seconds, the wound healed though the blood stains remained on his uniform. As he left the car, she cast a locater spell and followed it to a bar five miles outside the town. A group of teenagers, some as old as Vivienne, were sitting at the tables. Riley waved her hand over the window and all at once, the group fell unconscious. Riley grabbed a bottle of rum from behind the counter and poured it into two shot glasses.
"You'll need that more than me," she told Vivienne.
"Just because I can't use my magic out here, it doesn't mean I can't handle a pack of puppies."
"That's not why. He'll be here soon. Come on."
Taking Vivienne's hand, she led her into the back room. Moments later, the door swung open and a redheaded girl around fourteen, her hair in two braids, entered the bar. Vivienne nearly dropped her shot glass when she saw the boy who walked in behind her. He looked exactly like Ethan, down to the last detail, except that he dressed in a more rocker style, with a leather jacket and combat boots. Riley placed her hand over Vivienne's mouth to keep her quiet. Seeing the unconscious teenagers, the girl grabbed a gun from her coat pocket.
"I—is it him, Vince? Maybe he was angry that we wanted out. I told you that it was a bad idea."
"This isn't his usual style. If it was him, there would just be a pile of body parts."
"Always the clever one, little Collins."
Riley stepped out of the back room. "It's my fault. I just hate crowded places. They're not dead, if that makes you feel any better. Just knocked out…"
"Get the hell out of here," he snarled.
"So hostile. You know, I prefer your latest one. He's not as much of an annoying twit."
"Latest what?" asked the Katie, looking between her and Vince.
"Does she not know? I guess you do keep it a secret in case you piss off one of your puppies and they want to use it against you. You doppelgangers are just so useful but rare. I'm here to collect on a favor. I did save your life that day, Vince. If it weren't for me—"
"I wouldn't be stuck like this forever."
"True but you'd be dead."
"You're just like him. I know you set it up so I'd have to owe you that favor. Don't even bother asking me. The answer is no, you manipulative hag."
Riley's right eye twitched in anger. Vince was hardly the first doppelganger she met in his bloodline but she always despised him the most, mainly for his annoying personality. He never had the talent to back up his arrogance, even as a werewolf. When she knew that doppelganger blood was required to retrieve the emerald, her first thought was to find Vince instead of taking Ethan along on the trip. Through her many connections, she had learned that Vince was the leader of her pack and he had recently moved them to Hillford for a fresh start.
"I don't remember saying that I was going to ask you anything. I would've to be nice but I'm fine with brute force."
Katie pointed the gun at her face. "You're not taking my brother anywhere. I don't care if you think he's a doppelwhatzit. If you want him, you have to go through me. I'm not afraid of witches."
"Aren't you brave, sticking up for your brother? If only he shared that loyalty...we have that in common, Katie. Family who couldn't give a damn about us no matter how much we care about them."
"Get out of here or I'll summon Marcus here. He'd love to deal with you," threatened Vince.
"He's currently rotting in his own underground prison so he won't be much help. Did you not tell your little sister about your plan? An old acquaintance that we share told me all about it. My friend here seduced him back to my car and it didn't take very much for him to sing like a canary. How you were planning to give over your pack so that he could lift your little curse and not be stuck in your twenties anymore."
"T—that's not true. Vince wouldn't do that to the pack. He knows how much we hate working for—you're a liar. Both of you leave or I'll shoot."
Riley appeared in front of her. Grabbing her wrist, she pointed the gun right over her own heart.
"Go ahead."
"Y—you're crazy."
"Your brother would say that I probably invented the term. Prove that you're not all talk. Shoot me."
Her hand trembling, Katie lowered the gun. "See, Viv? This generation is such a disappointment. All talk, no action. Here's a lesson for you, Katie. If you're going to threaten someone, be prepared to follow through with it. I'll give you an example. I am going to snap your neck."
With a quick snap, she collapsed to the floor. Vince stepped towards her, angrily, but was repelled by an invisible shield. She grabbed him forcefully by the ear and transported herself, him, and Vivienne out of the bar. They landed inside a small cavern. Walking along the dimly lit passage, she cast a spell to prevent him from channeling his werewolf strength.
"Where are we?"
"A series of tunnels under the town. I need something here and you just happen to be the key to getting it. Maybe I'm just fortunate that you happen to be in the same place."
"You never rely on luck."
"You know me so well. I may have used some friends to make sure that you ended up here, little Collins."
"Stop calling me that," he hissed.
She stopped at the end of the passage, the wall covered in runic markings. In the center of the wall was a small hole. Vivienne examined the strange markings, her fingers tracing over one of the rows.
"To get in, I need a little doppelganger blood. You know how powerful that is, little Collins."
"You just need my blood?"
"That's all."
Reluctantly, he placed his arm through the hole. "Ow! What's happening? I can't move my arm."
Riley silently pulled Vivienne away from the wall. Two corpse-like hands shot out of the ground, grasping his legs in a vice-like grip. Blood trickled down his arm and all over his body, his veins blackened. He slumped against the wall.
"G—get me out."
"Isn't this what you wanted? You made that deal because you wanted to die. Deny it all you want but it's the truth. I'm giving you what you wanted without putting your little puppies in danger. I'm sure someone will step up in your place."
"J—just…please make the pain stop," he whispered, blood dribbling down his chin.
Riley collected the blood in a vial. "Would that make this easier?"
"Please."
"I would love to but I've been waiting for this moment since you rejected my offer that day. I'm going to enjoy every minute."
His arm was released from the hole and the hands vanished beneath the dirt. Riley stepped over his lifeless body. One by one, blood traveled along the wall, surrounding each of the runic markings. The wall emitted a faint green glow, when each marking was coated with blood, and slid to the side, revealing a wooden chest on the ground. Opening the chest, she picked up an oval-shaped emerald.
"What do we do now?" asked Vivienne.
"Now the real fun begins."
Riley had barely left her room since her return to Storybrooke. She continued to 'struggle' with learning her ancestors' language, pretending to only understand a little over a dozen words. Gold seemed to be growing impatient but he could hardly voice his frustrations since she was the only one capable of deciphering the language. Emma had stopped breathing down her neck as well, wanting to enjoy the brief moments of peace since they stopped Regina from casting her curse. Regina had, by no means, forgiven Mary Margaret for her role in Cora's death but the town was relieved that she was not actively plotting their demise. Very few people had seen Regina, who holed herself up in her office, except for those closest to her like Vivienne, Ethan, and his father.
Riley was sitting in her hidden closet, holding the jar of glittery black powder. All of the runic markings had vanished from the silver ring and the powder had grown three times in size. She added another ring, taken from Gold's shop, into the jar. The powder rose like a wave, engulfing the ring completely. Her phone vibrated on the floor.
"If you're going to ask me about Greg again, don't. I haven't found out anything yet."
"Do you like bagels?" asked Emma.
"What?"
In a single breath, Emma told her how Neal had invited his fiancee to Storybrooke and he wanted Emma and Henry to meet her. Adding to the bad news was that Hook had escaped the supply closet in his apartment building. Emma suggested that Riley needed to pretend to be her sister since Tamara, clueless about Neal's actual past, could not hear the same story as the rest of the people in Storybrooke.
"Why do I need to be in the middle of all that awkwardness?"
"It won't be awkward."
"Then you don't need me there."
"Fine. It might be a little awkward but just come and I'll tell David to stop thinking that you slaughter puppies in your spare time."
"Alright. I will pretend to be your prettier, younger sister who you are insanely jealous of for my many talents."
"Just being my younger sister is good enough. We're at the inn."
Riley cast a cloaking spell over the closet and walked down the staircase. Emma, Henry, and Neal were all sitting on separate couches.
"Riley, hey. Since you're here, why don't you join us for breakfast? You can meet Neal's fiancee," said Emma, hardly sounding convincing.
"Uh sure. I love some awkward tension in the morning."
"Heh, such a joker. You know, I never got to ask about your visit to your friend. What did you do?"
"I think that's a little R-rated for Henry's ears."
"Hilarious," she said, a fire in her eyes but a smile on her face.
"What does she m—"
"Nothing, kid."
Hearing a knock at the door, Neal stood up from the couch. "That must be Tamara. Riley, why are you pointing your phone at me?"
"Because when you tell her the truth, her reaction will be priceless and I want to capture every moment. Is she the type to throw stuff when she's angry?"
"Nothing bad is going to happen. She'll understand."
"That optimism will only make this video funnier."
He opened the door to the inn and hugged a dark-skinned woman in her late twenties. His arm around her waist, he introduced her to Riley, as Emma's sister, and Henry, already having met Emma back in New York. Tamara placed a bag of bagels and toppings on the coffee table.
"What the hell is she feeding, a village?" muttered Riley, earning a stifled laugh from Emma.
Riley had expected some awkward tension but it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop on the floor. Part of her hoped for at least one fight. Tamara mostly spoke to Henry, the only one unaware of the awkwardness between the three adults. Riley busied herself by looking at the calendar on her phone. There was a circle around the date in ten days.
"Are you in college, Riley?"
"No. I dropped out when I realized that when you're this pretty, there's no need to get an actual job. I figure that I can just snag some rich old guy."
Emma let out a fake laugh. "She's kidding. She's on a little break right now."
Henry changed the subject, asking Neal how he met Tamara. The awkward tension in the room grew worse, no one making eye contact. Tamara eventually spoke up, telling a cutesy story of Neal offering his scarf to her after he spilled coffee on her blouse.
"I have to drop Henry off with his grandpa and Riley's helping me out at the station. Thanks for the bagel."
"Ten bucks says he chickens out," whispered Riley as they left the inn.
"He won't. He knows that it's worse if she finds out the truth on her own."
"Because she won't freak out if it comes from him? You're both delusional. I'm not going with you to the station."
"I wouldn't mind the help."
"I have better things to do."
"Like what?"
"Anything is better than hanging out with you."
"And here I thought after what happened in New York, we were getting along and you might actually open up to me a little."
"I'd sooner tell my life story to Gold."
Riley lied that she was going to the woods to watch another training session but once Emma disappeared around the corner, she headed to the mines. She spent what seemed like hours in the hidden passage, staring at the mirror. Casting a spell over the map, she created six small dots in various locations. Three of the dots were in Storybrooke, two were in New Orleans, and one was on the other side of the map, on an island. Tapping the two dots, she changed the image in the mirror to a dingy bar. A man was pinned to the wall, his face stained with blood, cuts, and bruises. Multiple darts pierced his body, another one hitting his neck. Seth walked over to him, sipping a glass of whiskey.
"You look like you're in pain. If you want me to stop, tell me where I can find a doppelganger. I can hear your heartbeat so if you lie to me, I'll know."
"You also must know how rare they are…even in magical realms. Another may not pop up for centuries."
"I'm aware but the spell I did says that there have been a few born here and I need one for something very important."
"There were rumors of one in Pennsylvania, a small town called Hillford."
"I heard that rumor too and it was a dead end. There were some werewolves for awhile but werewolves can't be doppelgangers. Nothing magical exists in that town. Try again or the next one goes through your skull."
"What do you want me to say? I may be a seer but I can't make doppelgangers appear out of thin air. I know what you seek, you little monster. That jewel may give you power and the loyalty you desire but nothing else. Your curse merely reflects the monster already inside. You could make amends for the rest of your life but it will never undo the selfish act, the worst of all, that you committed thirteen years ago."
Riley was interrupted by a phone call from Greg. He wanted to meet her at Granny's to talk about their shared passion for nature photography. She returned the mirror to normal, erasing the image of Seth gouging out the man's eyes with a knife, his last words You won't be seeing much anymore echoing throughout the mines. Conjuring a camera and several fake photos, she transported herself to the alley beside the diner. Greg was sitting in a booth by himself and as she walked over to him, he glanced up from his phone with a grin.
"Glad you decided to come."
"Well, I was a little surprised that you knew my name…or had my number. Are you stalking me?"
"Heh, no. I uh asked the woman who owns the inn. You're a little bit of mystery yourself. You didn't check in much earlier than I did."
"There was a problem with my apartment so I've been staying at inn until it gets fixed."
"Are you hungry?"
"A little."
While he ordered at the counter, Riley picked up his phone. She scrunched her nose at his pictures of food and nature. His texts were much more interesting, many of them sent to Her. Judging by the lovey dovey messages, she assumed that Her, possibly a weird nickname, referred to his girlfriend. The most recent message said how excited he was to see her again in Storybrooke. His last two emails easily caught her attention. Sending it to the same contact, both emails contained videos but not of the town's woods. One video showed Regina knocking Belle unconscious with a spell then making the belongings in her purse levitate in the air and the other video showed Regina ripping out Mary Margaret's heart outside her house. A text message, from Her, popped up on the screen: You were right about this town. The Home Office will be pleased. Casting a quick spell over the phone, she placed it back on the table. Greg returned with two slices of apple pie.
"I forgot how good these are," he said, taking a bite.
"Forgot? Have you been to Storybrooke before?"
"I uh had some last night in my room. These pies are that good."
"Yea, Granny's is the best."
"Have you always lived here, Riley?"
"I was born here. It's a nice, quiet town. I can't imagine living anywhere else."
As he showed her some of the pictures from his hike, Emma entered the diner. She glanced over at their booth.
"Anything?" she mouthed.
Riley subtly shook her head. Pretending to be amazed by a picture, she noticed that he continuously checked his phone. He apologized, telling her that he was texting his boss from his computer job. On her lap, her phone displayed the same messages.
"He was worried about me after my car accident. I told him that I would be back in a couple weeks."
"A couple weeks, huh?"
"Maybe shorter. Depends on how quickly I recover. That accident really rattled me."
Another message popped up on her phone: She's definitely one of them. The sensor on my watch went crazy when we met. I bet the office will want to meet her in person. I can easily get her alone and maybe we can run some tests.
"Riley? You've got a little nosebleed."
She grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood under her nose. "Sorry. It must be the weather. Is that the time? I have to get to work. Thanks for the pie."
"I hope we can meet up again. Maybe somewhere more private like my room at the inn?"
"I'd like that. I'll see you later."
Leaving the diner, she opened her compact mirror. Spots of dried blood were caked under her nose but what was more pressing was that her eyes were flickering between their usual dark brown color and silver. She reached into her purse and pulled out a contact lens case. Putting in the contacts, she looked at herself in the mirror, her dark brown eyes staring back at her…
~Emma~
Emma, Mary Margaret, and Marco were walking through the woods. Earlier in the day, Mary Margaret had been in the woods for some private time, shooting arrows, when she found August in an abandoned trailer. After the curse broke over the town, he was nowhere to be found but he was just hiding out of shame, having turned completely wooden. Mary Margaret silently led them down the trail. She had not said a word since slapping Marco after his confession that he had sent August through the same enchanted tree as Emma. Emma understood her anger, since she was forced to grow up alone because of the lie, but was surprised by the slap.
"You sure you're okay?" she asked Mary Margaret.
"Yes, I'm…I didn't mean to do that."
"These past few weeks have been rough. Don't beat yourself up about it."
"What was Riley doing with Greg Mendell? He doesn't seem like her type."
"I may have asked her to spy on him."
"Emma," she whispered, shocked.
"I just—I thought something was off about him and she seemed like the best choice to find out what he's hiding. So far, she's got nothing."
"At least you two seem to be getting along better."
"Sort of. I thought New York would change things but she's still closed off."
"Sounds familiar."
As Marco opened the door to the abandoned trailer, they discovered that it was empty. They searched for any clues to his whereabouts. Emma opened up the closet in his bedroom, digging through the piles of clothes and boxes. One of the boxes contained a stack of folders and her eyes were drawn to a folder marked Covens. She opened the folder, finding pages of information about the different covens in this land and even a map with each of their locations. X's had been drawn over most of the covens and she wondered if he had traveled to them for help with his wooden problem before arriving in Storybrooke. She skimmed a drawn out family tree that traced back each coven's origins from their first ancestors, along with their family crests. The surname Renato, with a symbol of a snake eating its own tail drawn beside it, was first written in the 1600s and she traced the line down to the bottom.
Pierce Renato (1951 – 2001?) and Karina Renato née Gable (1952 – 1994)
Children:
Marcus Renato 1971 – (New York)
Melanie Renato 1971 – 1978
Gabriel Renato 1973 – 1985
Lukas Renato 1982 – (Another realm?)
Sebastian Renato 1985 – (Last seen: Paris)
Seth Renato 1990 – (Last seen: Paris)
Marina Renato 1990 – 1997?
Emma stared at the name of the oldest child listed, Marcus. With August mentioning that he was in New York, she assumed that he was the same Marcus that led the coven, which meant that Riley was somehow related to him. She was confused why Riley's name was not written down on the tree. Attached to the family tree were several newspaper clippings. A few of them were articles about deaths in random places and he connected them to the second oldest child, Seth. To add to her confusion, some articles were dated all the way back to the `1700s in places like Europe and North America but not all of them were connected to Riley's bloodline, the names written by August all different in first and last name. The bottom sheet appeared to be added most recently, all about Riley and her mysterious background. Circling her name, he drew a line to a message at the bottom: Back from the dead or never died at all? Why is she really in Storybrooke? Need to protect Emma and Ethan.
"Emma? Did you find anything?" asked Mary Margaret.
"No. Let's check around the area. He couldn't have gotten far," she said, folding the papers and stuffing them in her coat pocket.
As she helped with the search for August, she could not shake the nagging feeling in the back of her head…