Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 5

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

In the distance, a great castle lit up with fireworks. The king had announced a grand ball where the prince would choose a wife. Cinderella wanted to go. Instead, she was stuck sweeping the courtyard, forced to watch as her wicked stepmother and two ugly stepsisters rode off in a carriage to the ball. They had always been so mean to her. When Cinderella's mother passed away, her father remarried. He strongly believed that his young girl needed a proper mother figure to help her grow into a good young woman. His second wife brought with her two young daughters of her own to the family. However, upon his untimely death, the dark vanity of the stepmother and her two girls became known and poor Cinderella went from a life of privilege to a life of poverty. She was forced to work as the maid and perform menial chores every day from early morning until late at night.

Cinderella was not allowed to go to the ball. Instead, her stepmother was determined to have one of her own flesh and blood girls marry the prince. All hope seemed lost as the carriage drove away. Moments later her salvation arrived. Her fairy godmother appeared and offered to help. She was a dark skinned beauty dressed in a shimmering yellow gown and opulent fairy jewels. She carried with her a long and slender wand of fairy magic. She was going to send Cinderella to the ball where she would enchant and marry the handsome Prince Thomas.

However, before the Fairy Godmother could wave her magic wand and make all of Cinderella's dreams come true, the fairy was consumed in a ball of fire and was dead in a second. Her magic wand fell to the ground. A gruesome looking, gnarled hand reached down and picked up the magic wand. The hand belonged to The Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin.

"You killed my Fairy Godmother," Cinderella said, frightened. "She was going to send me to the ball."

"Now, now…, I got what I wanted," he said in return. "Do you know what this is?" he asked her holding up the wand, a gleeful smile on his face.

"Pure Magic."

"Pure evil! All magic comes with a price," he warned her. But Cinderella desperately wanted out of her horrid life. He instructed her to change it herself, but she could not without magic and bade The Dark One to grant her that wish. He conceded if she were willing to sign a contract. In exchange she would owe him a favor. He wanted something she would come to possess in the future.

"I care not for riches," she insisted. To get what she wanted, all Ella need to do was sign the contract, which she did in earnest. Waving about the wand, Rumpelstiltskin granted her wish, providing a beautiful ball gown, a magnificent carriage and of course the memorable element of her story, glass slippers. Soon she was away to the ball and her destiny.

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

It was morning and Henry was walking down the main street to the school bus. He was accompanied by his birth mother, Emma Swan. She was not afraid of Henry's adopted mother, Mayor Regina Mills, and gladly walked with him in broad daylight. He was impressed. Everyone in town was afraid of Regina except for Emma. Henry decided that they should each have code names, but Emma wasn't sure what to call herself, so she settled on "Emma" until a better code name could be devised.

After seeing Henry off in the school in his bus, Emma began walking to Granny's diner, but was stopped by the sheriff's cruiser. His siren was blaring to get her attention.

"Are you going to arrest me again?" she asked.

Actually, he was impressed by her detective work finding the missing coma patient and was offering her a job as deputy. Emma declined saying she already had a job. Graham noted that there was very little call for a bail bonds woman in Storybrooke. She countered that there wasn't much need for another law officer, either.

"You can get a close up look," he answered. "There's dental."

Emma agreed to think about it. She was reluctant to take the offer because Regina seemed to have her hands in everything, including the Sheriff's office and didn't want to be under that woman's thumb. However, Regina would never authorize Graham to hire her, so his offer must be going against her wishes, stated or implied.

~O~

Emma went to Granny's where she ordered a hot chocolate drink with cinnamon. A young man with blonde hair entered the diner. Emma noted he was wearing the garb of a mail carrier. He dropped off some envelopes, picked up a few letters from Granny and then left. Widow Lucas opened up one of the letters and muttered "bill." She did the same with second. Then she came across the third and threw it aside. "Blasted thief."

Ruby picked up the letter and began to read it. A moment later she pulled her grandmother aside and asked her to read it through. "Well, I'll be. She didn't do it after all. Ruby, hold down the diner, I've got to make a call. And show this letter to everyone." Granny went into the back hallway and grabbed the phone. She dialed, a moment later she started talking.

"What was that all about," Emma asked Ruby.

"Oh, here." Ruby put down a letter in front of her. The envelope was from Winter's Heating. The letter enclosed explained that Claire Kensington was not responsible for Desiree Collingsworth's missing iPad. It was simply misplaced. The news article that should have cleared up the mistake was printed in the classified section of the Monday edition. Included was a copy of the original news story, a magnified copy of the second article and a sympathetic photo of Claire Kensington. The letter closed with this appeal.

Mrs. Kensington was inadvertently accused of stealing, but she was not the culprit. Please support this widowed mother of two and her small business with your patronage.

With humble thanks, Hartley Winter.

"I'm not surprised it was under the car seat," Emma mumbled. "First place I would have looked." She handed the letter back to Ruby and thanked her. Granny walked back to the counter and Emma overheard her say that she couldn't reach whomever she was calling. Ruby told her to try again. A moment after, Ruby returned with Emma's hot chocolate drink, setting it down on the table with a friendly smile.

She took a sip of her drink and began to read the morning paper. Mayor Mills then came in and sat down next to her.

"Did you enjoy your walk with Henry this morning?" she asked Ms. Swan. Emma looked shocked. Regina made it known that nothing in this town happened without her knowing about it. She had eyes and ears everywhere. But there was another reason for stopping by.

"I came to tell you I'm not afraid of you spending time with Henry," Regina told Emma. Mayor Mills had done some research and found out that Emma had lived at seven different addresses in the last decade before coming to Storybrooke. And she never stayed in one place for more than two years and that was in Tallahassee, Florida. She was living a transient lifestyle. Regina no longer felt threatened because she was certain that sooner or later Emma was going to leave Storybrooke, and Henry, for good. Probably sooner.

Emma retorted that she had found a place with Mary Margaret. But she paid no rent, Regina reminded her. For something to grow it needs roots and she had none. Whereas the other residents had a home or a business or a full time job, she had nothing to keep her here. Mayor Mills then advised Emma to consider ending her relationship with Henry once and for, possibly with a clean break. After all, her history showed an unwillingness to stay in any one place for long and it would only hurt Henry once she left town.

Mayor Mills then bid her good day and left the diner. Emma was so furious with Regina that when she stood up, she accidentally spilled her chocolate all over her shirt.

"Really?" she said, exasperated.

"Eesh!" Ruby said as she walked up with a towel.

"Do you have a laundry room I could use?" Emma asked her.

Ruby pointed her to the laundry room used by Granny's Inn to wash all of the linens. Emma headed towards the hallway that lead to the inn when Widow Lucas ran past Emma saying, "There she is, I'll be right back, Ruby." She stopped to watch Granny run across the street, talk to and then embrace a middle aged woman. That same women that was in the letter she had just read. Emma then proceeded to the laundry room.

~O~

"Claire, Claire wait," Granny shouted. Widow Lucas hastened across the street, dodging cars and waving an envelope in the air.

Claire had come to another shop on the main street. She was nicely dressed and held a sheet of paper in her hand. It was a résumé. Widow Lucas knew right away that Claire was job hunting.

"Look at this." The restaurant owner handed over the envelope that was addressed to her diner. "Read it," she said, not really breathing hard.

Mrs. Kensington took the envelope and opened it. She read the letter inside and the two news stories. "That was where the article was hidden? In the classifieds? Hardly anyone reads those." Claire took special note that it was Hartley Winter who had sent out this notice.

"I know, I'm so sorry for not believing you on Monday," Widow Lucas said with genuine reconciliation on her face and in her heart. "And I apologize for calling you a thief. I should have believed you then and I didn't. How could I think that a nice lady like you would do such a thing? We widows have to stick together through thick and thin. Can you ever forgive me?"

Claire smiled and wept. Her friendship with Granny was back on solid ground. "Of course, but there is nothing to forgive."

They embraced like two friends reunited after a long separation. "Now come with me, I want to make it up to you. I won't take no for an answer. Breakfast is on me today."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I ate at home this morning," Claire told her. "I'm not hungry."

"No matter, bring Valerie and Tina with you for lunch. On the house," Granny instructed. "I expect to see you there and you can count on seeing this letter in my window where everyone can read it."

Just at that moment, the shop right in front of them posted that very same letter in its window. The shopkeeper noticed Claire standing on the sidewalk and greeted her with a smile and an enthused wave. Claire waved back, laughing with Granny at the coincidence. "It looks like everyone got one of these."

Granny and Claire embraced once again and the restaurant owner added, "Oh you've got yourself a real guardian angel in that Hartley Winter."

The mother of two sniffled with happiness and said, "Yes, I do." When the two women separated Claire confirmed that she would be at the diner for lunch. "See you then." Granny then stepped in a little closer and whispered, "You know, I think Hartley's taken a shine to you. He's a fine man if you ask me."

Claire just laughed. Granny bid her goodbyes and then walked back across the street, dodging cars like a much younger woman and then disappeared back into the diner.

Yeah, he is a fine man for doing something so noble, she thought. "Oh, I forgot to call him back the other day," she remembered. Claire tossed her resume into her minivan and climbed in. She was going to call up Hartley just to thank him. While dialing his work number, several passersby would smile and wave to her or give her a thumbs up signal. Leroy even walked up to her window and after hemming and hawing a bit said, "I'm sorry. You're no thief. I'm an idiot."

"No you're not, Leroy," she answered him, smiling. "Thank you so very much."

"Here," the janitor handed her ten dollars. "So you can eat at Granny's."

"Oh no, Leroy, you don't have to do this." She tried to hand it back to him, but he insisted in his own gruff way.

"I was a real ass to you the other day." He then wrapped her fingers around the ten dollar bill. "You need it more than I do," he said and walked off.

"Thank you," Claire shouted to him. Underneath that hard scrabble exterior lay a good heart, she thought to herself. Claire then finished dialing Hartley's number.

~O~

Emma Swan made her way to the laundry room of the inn. She pulled off her shirt and angrily threw it and her jacket into the empty washing machine. She added a bit of soap, slammed the lid closed and started the wash cycle. Then she grabbed a clean blouse that was hanging from the lines and put it on. Emma was so furious at the mayor's latest attempt to sabotage her relationship with Henry that she almost didn't hear the sounds of sniffling and whimpering inside the room.

"No, no-no-no," a young and pretty blonde woman cried. "The sheets, their pink." Indeed, the bed sheet she pulled from the dryer was very pink. It was supposed to be white.

"Try bleach," Emma told her off handedly. Then she noticed that the woman was very pregnant. "Oh."

"I felt a contraction last night," she told Emma. "The doctor said the baby will come any day now."

The girl, Ashley, was a nineteen year old mother to be with no husband and no prospects for work better than as a maid at Granny's Inn. Everyone kept telling her that there was no way she could possibly take care of the baby on her own. She wasn't old enough, not mature enough, not well enough employed, and everyone seemed to be pointing out that she was all alone. At least that was how Ashley told the story. At first, Emma didn't want to hear it, but as the maid spoke she felt for the poor girl.

"No one thinks I can do anything," Ashley sniffled. "Maybe they're right."

"Screw 'em," Emma advised.

"What?"

"Screw! Them!" she replied with emphasis.

Emma pointed out that she had a child when she was only eighteen and had to endure the exact same talk from those around her. Everyone loved to tell her what to do, particularly with a child on the way. Ms. Swan advised Ashley that no matter what her decision, the choice was ultimately her own. When others try to tell her what she is or isn't, she needed to push back and tell them they were wrong. If Ashley wanted others to view her differently, she needed to make them by way of her decisions and actions.

Ashley was responsible for her own life because in this world there were no fairy godmothers who can wave their magic wands and make things all better. That was all fairy tale nonsense and this was the real world. Only Ashley could change her life, if she wanted it bad enough.

Ashley the maid thought long and hard on what Emma told her and decided to take action and make a meaningful change in her life.

~O~

During the lunch hour, Claire brought her two daughters for the noon meal. Valerie and Tina stopped at the door and read the letter that Granny had posted in the window. Tina was elated by the news. Valeria lowered her head, looking almost contrite. She began to wonder if her decision to leave was premature. She thought that her mother's world was about to collapse in on itself and Valerie wanted out. This letter changed everything.

Inside, the atmosphere was almost festive for the Kensington family. They were greeted with smiles and nods from every diner in the room. Granny personally took the order from them. Claire didn't want to be greedy with Granny's generosity, but the older woman wouldn't hear of it. Widow Lucas insisted that they all order bigger meals. Claire settled on grilled chicken breast plate with mixed vegetables and a water. She had to watch her blood pressure. Tina ordered a bacon cheeseburger with chips and a Coke while Valerie ordered the same thing but with a Mr. Pibb. And an extra pickle. She glared at her sister when adding that last detail. Granny put in the order and then added a slice of pie for each one.

"Thank you, Granny," Claire told her. "But this is too much."

"Oh no," Widow Lucas replied. "It's not enough. But I hope it will do."

"It's plenty," Claire answered.

~O~

Later that evening, Mr. Gold closed up shop. He hobbled away, using his cane to help him with his lame right leg. Moments later, Ashley snuck up to the front door and smashed the glass so she could open the door from the inside. The interior of the shop was filled with strange and unusual objects. A windmill lawn ornament. A mobile composed of miniature glass blown animals. The craftsmanship was outstanding, almost like works of art.

There were two marionette dolls. A male and female that looked as if shock or terror was permanently carved into their faces. The hand of one doll was gripping the hand of the other. Like two lovers permanently trapped in wood.

Ashley kept looking for something when she heard her name called. It was Mr. Gold. He must have heard the crashing of the glass and came back to the store. "What are you doing?"

"Changing my life," she said right as she spritzed pepper spray into his eyes. Mr. Gold cried out in pain. He fell backwards, losing balance and knocking his head against the sharp edge of a chess set. Gold lay on the ground, unconscious. Ashley went through his pockets and found a key. She used it to open a safe in his wall and removed a piece of paper before leaving the shop. From there she went looking for a friend.

~O~

At about the same time, Mayor Regina Mills sat down to her desk at home and started sorting her personal mail. She came across the letter from Winter's Heating. She opened it and began reading it. Regina expected a coupon or a friendly reminder for service. Instead, she found the letter freeing Claire of any responsibility. Regina's slight smile turned into a frown. Then she wrinkled her face into a sneer and anger pulsed through her veins. She crushed the letter, pounding it into a tiny ball before hurling it into the wastebasket with disgust.

"You win this round, Claire," she grumbled. "And it looks like you have an advocate I didn't know about."

Then Regina's frown turned back into a wicked smile. Regina was okay with this news. Now she was aware of Hartley as Claire's protector. Next time Regina would be prepared. Hartley had to be removed from the field of battle first before tearing down Mrs. Kensington. It all came down to strategy and tactics. Know your enemy better than they know themselves.

"Next time, you won't have a friend in town who will come to your aid, my little fairy queen. And that is when I will get my revenge."

Whew, I managed another chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.

Scorecard

Ashley Boyd = Cinderella (aka Ella).