Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 5
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
Mary Margaret waited for David Nolan under the old toll bridge where she had found him, lying face down in the water after waking up from a coma. It was a cool autumn night and she wore a sweater to protect her against the chill. Her prince charming, David Nolan soon arrived. Her heart leapt with joy, only for it to come crashing down with the worst news possible.
He remembered. David's memories had come back and he remembered that he loved Kathryn and the life they shared together. Mary Margaret was absolutely crushed.
On his way to the bridge, David had asked Mayor Mills for directions. However, the route she gave him took David to Mr. Gold's pawn shop. The bridge was nowhere in sight. David went inside to ask where the bridge was. He noticed an elegant mobile, made from expertly blown glass.
"Charming," Gold said, describing it.
Something about it seemed almost familiar, but David had other priorities. He learned that the directions given to him by Mayor Mills were incorrect. Mr. Gold gave him proper directions to the bridge. David thank him and turned to walk out the door. When he did, David noticed a small windmill decoration sitting in the shop. It easily could have been the one that used to be in front of his house. He became enthralled by it. Suddenly, David's memories came crashing back.
At the bridge David apologized to Mary Margaret. He had decided to give his marriage with Kathryn another try. It was the right thing to do, he told her.
The right thing to do, Mary Margaret answered, was not to lead her on. Not to drag all the way out here just to break her heart. She walked away, embarrassed, humiliated and furious both with David and herself.
~O~
After dinner Claire retired to the guest bedroom on the first floor, which she was using as an office for the contracting business. She stared at the telephone for a moment, thinking about what she planned to do. She had no clue as to when to invite Hartley for dinner, or what to serve or what she would do with her two daughters.
Dating as a single mother was hard. With no family in Storybrooke she couldn't find a sitter. Though Valerie had appeared to settle down, but Claire wasn't comfortable asking her to babysit her little sister just yet. Worse yet, Thanksgiving was this week. Maybe it was a good idea to wait. Most likely he was deep in his own preparations for the holiday.
Claire had already reserved her own turkey at the local meat market. It came precooked with all the sides and trimmings ready to eat. Not the most traditional way to do things. Claire remembered those days when she and her mother spent hours in the kitchen baking the turkey and cooking all the food that went with the dinner.
No, she would wait.
What about next week? she asked herself. You could make a date with him for after the holiday. Agreeing with herself, Claire picked up the receiver and dialed his number.
THE ENCHANTED FOREST
Before leaving his mother for the last time, she gave him a ring. The ring, which was a silver band holding a green gemstone, was to lead him to his true love, she had told him. David refused, but she insisted. It had been in the family for a long time. It had drawn Ruth's parents together. It drew Ruth to her husband. Now it would help David find his love.
He confessed to not loving Princess Abigail. Ruth told him he could learn to love her. It was the magic of the ring. No matter what, he would find his true love as long as he kept it near.
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
At Granny's Diner, sitting at the counter was a thoroughly dejected Mary Margaret. She was fiddling with the ring on her finger. It was a silver band holding a green gemstone. She had been crying off and on. She knew going in that this was how it would turn out, yet she ignored her own counsel and plowed ahead anyway. Dr. Whale, who had joined her and was talking with her, sympathized. He offered to buy her a drink in consolation.
~O~
Claire listened anxiously to the ringing tone. She almost hoped Hartley wouldn't answer. She had not been this nervous since she was first dating Charlie. Maybe that was a good sign, she told herself.
When he answered, Claire just about hung up the phone. Nervous nausea almost overwhelming her.
"Hello?" he said. Claire said nothing at first. She could barely speak.
"Hello?" he asked again.
"Hart…, Hartley?" she finally managed to spit out.
"Claire? Is that you?"
"Yes…, yes it's me."
"What a strange coincidence, I was about to call you," he told her. "Would you like to go out to a movie tomorrow night?"
Claire let out a huge sigh of relief. She had wanted to invite him to dinner, but thought that perhaps he might find it too forward so early in their relationship. Did they even have a relationship? So far she and Hartley had been on one official date. Their second "date" was a chance meeting at the Nolan's party. A dinner invite to her house might make him uncomfortable. In fact, she might look desperate. That would drive this man away.
No, a movie was a perfect compromise. A neutral location where both could be comfortable.
"A movie tomorrow with you would be perfect," she said.
Claire and Hartley talked a while longer, discussing what to see and when he would pick her up. When the call ended Claire placed another call. This time to Clarence. He asked him if he would be willing to "babysit" Tina and Valerie. After a momentary pause, Clarence agreed.
Claire trusted the boy implicitly. She had no idea what Tina and Clarence had once planned to do. She was oblivious to their mutual attraction and to her young daughter's burgeoning sexuality. Had she been aware, Claire would never entrust her two girls to the young man. Clarence had always been the responsible type. He seemed mature beyond his years. It was why Claire thought so highly of him. Yet for all his supposed maturity he could still give in to the desires of a nineteen year old boy.
That was something that never crossed her mind.
THE ENCHANTED FOREST
David, now forever having to go by the name of his dead brother, Prince James, met with his adopted father King George and his new ally King Midas. He was to escort his bride to be to their destination. Their new home. James decided to take the scenic route, rather than the more direct path. Perhaps by spending some meaningful time with the princess he could find qualities in her he could love.
On the ride through the forest, Princess Abigail did nothing but complain. The path James had chosen was too long. The ride too bumpy. Not a single word of praise or kindness escaped her unhappy lips. The carriage in which they were riding and the contingent of mounted guards came to a stop. There was a roadblock ahead. Unbeknownst to them, waiting high in the trees was the thief, Snow White, waiting to pounce on her unsuspecting prey.
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
Emma was patrolling the town this evening. Graham had promised no night shifts, but he asked her to cover for him. He explained that he volunteered at the animal shelter. The shift supervisor was ill and Graham was needed to feed the animals overnight. Emma agreed, but only because he had bribed her with a Bear Claw.
While driving through the upscale neighborhood, Emma saw someone jumping out of the Mayor's house. She stopped the car and apprehended the intruder. It was Graham. The window he had jumped out of Regina's bedroom. Emma was sickened that he and Regina were having sex while Henry was still in the house.
Graham tried to justify himself by saying that Henry was asleep and had no knowledge of the affair. Emma didn't care to hear it. She was too disgusted by Graham's bad judgment. She told him he could finish the night shift. Emma was going back home.
PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Romano-British Period on the Mainland)
"Did you get what you wanted?" A tall, wiry man asked. The man, dressed in a long coat and wearing an exaggerated top hat, was named Jefferson. He was a portal jumper. His hat used the ambient magic in any environment to open portals between realms. The only places off limits to him were worlds and realms without magic of their own.
"Not that it is any of your business, but yes. I did," Rumpelstiltskin answered. He dangled two small bags, one contained golden pixie dust, the other blue pixie dust. Jefferson did not know why he needed this dust, there was plenty of Pixie Dust that could found on dark Never Land. Why he had to come to this alternate Never Land was beyond him.
"Good, then we can go home," Jefferson said. "I want to see my daughter."
"Oh were not done yet," Rumpelstiltskin told him. "I have many more jumps to make."
Jefferson did not look happy. "You said we would only be here as long as was necessary."
"Yes, I did, and it is still necessary for me to be here," The Dark One replied. "Don't worry, you'll be paid handsomely for your work. Then you can get your wee little one anything her heart desires."
"Her heart desires being with her father."
Rumpelstiltskin felt that comment sting. It was an unpleasant experience. "Spin your hat, portal jumper. We are going to another Never Land realm. One different from this one."
Jefferson looked confused. He thought that this was the alternate Never Land that The Dark One needed.
Rumpelstiltskin was not one to sit on his laurels and let others have the knowledge he could use to his own advantage. Knowledge, like gold, was power. The Dark One coveted power. He had read through all of Jefferson's maps and journals and was keenly aware of all the magical realms and universes that existed beyond the Enchanted Forest.
"Where are we going this time," Jefferson asked, needing a specific place and time for the hat to work properly.
"It's a Never Land just like this one," Rumpelstiltskin observed. "However, the fairies who live here call their home Pixie Hollow. Where we are going, they call it Fairy Haven. I suspect I will find someone there who can help me accomplish my goals."
FAIRY HAVEN, NEVER LAND (Contemporary times)
Mother Dove lay in her nest in the Hawthorne Tree. Beck, the animal fairy, flitted about caring for the sweet bird. She brought Mother Dove anything she needed. Food, water, companionship. The dove pecked gently at her plumage. She cooed gently her appreciation for Beck's dedicated service.
Mother Dove could not move from her nest to get the things she needed to survive. Her egg was special. It was responsible for keeping everyone who lived on this Never Land from aging. If the egg broke all the fairies, people and creatures that lived on Never Land would grow old and die like normal.
Beck understood how important her role was. Protecting Mother Dove and her egg meant protecting Never Land and all the fairies of Fairy Haven. Beck helped Mother Dove to keep her feathers looking pretty and well ordered. On this Never Land, the Pixie Dust Tree no longer existed. Instead, Mother Dove's feathers were used to create pixie dust.
Every year, Mother Dove molted and all of her feathers were collected and brought to the pixie dust mill where they were ground into dust and carefully distributed to everyone. The annual pixie dust harvest had to last all year until the next molt. Protecting the dust, and Mother Dove, was essential to survival.
This Never Land, unlike the one Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin had just left, was different. This Never Land was alive. It constantly moved, preventing anyone from randomly finding it. When a baby laughed for the first time, that laugh would eventually become a fairy. But many kinds of fairies existed. Never Fairies, Great Wanded Fairies, Lesser Wanded Fairies and so many more. If Never Land didn't want the laugh, it would move and not let it come to the island.
But when Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin arrived, Never Land had no choice. They arrived unexpectedly. Never Land could not move to avoid them. Even if Never Land tried, the portal would always find its way to the island. But that didn't mean the magical island couldn't fight back. It convulsed and blew powerful winds. It moved and spun trying to remove the unwanted visitors. Yet for all its complaining Never Land could not dislodge the two.
Mother Dove was in tune with Never Land Island. She could feel what it felt. Knew what it knew. She keenly understood.
"What is it, Mother Dove?" Beck asked her. "Why is Never Land is so mad?"
Mother Dove straightened her neck and listened to the island. Then she spoke. "Evil is here."
This is the end of Episode 6. I hope every has been enjoying this story.
The final section, which takes place on the Never Land with Fairy Haven, is from the book universe of the Disney Fairies franchise. It should be considered another alternate or parallel universe Never Land.
The book universe consists of many of the young reader books beginning with Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (2005), Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand (2008), and Fairies and the Quest for Never Land (2010). All three were written by Gail Carson Levine who is probably best known as the author of Ella Enchanted.