Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 12, Chapter 5
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
Vidia was sitting alone in the kitchen eating a late dinner. Several half empty boxes of Chinese food sat on the kitchen table. When she and Tina returned home from Penny's house earlier that day the young blonde retreated to her bedroom immediately without saying another word. The strange outburst earlier had left Vidia's mind spinning. Adoption or not Tina did not appreciate being told, even by implication, that she and Valerie were not sisters. But never before had she reacted so irrationally.
The swinging door opened and Tina slowly entered. Valerie looked directly at her, but Tina averted her eyes. The younger girl slid over to the other side of the table and checked the boxes of food.
"Moo goo gai pan?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah," Vidia replied cautiously. "It's surprisingly good."
"Delivery?"
"Uh huh."
"Can I have some?"
"Go ahead."
Tina took some of the moo goo gai pan, fried rice and an egg roll. In a bowl she spooned some of the egg drop soup. She sat down at the table and began to nibble at her food. Remembering she needed a drink Tina stood and pulled a can of Dr. Pepper from the refrigerator. "May I?"
"Sure."
Tina ate without making any eye contact with Vidia. She wasn't angry or irritated. To the contrary the girl seemed deeply saddened or depressed. Half way into her dinner tears began to roll down Tina's cheeks. She sniffled through a few more bites before speaking.
"Val. Are we still… sisters?" She could barely squeak out the words. It was as if she was afraid of what the answer might be.
Vidia didn't really know how to answer that. She knew that Tinker Bell and Periwinkle were the real sisters. But here in Storybrooke she and Tina were the siblings. To answer truthfully Vidia had to think about her friendship with Tinker Bell from Pixie Hollow. They, along with Silvermist, Rosetta, Fawn and Iridessa had formed a close knit friendship. Among humans in this century that might be enough to be loosely described as "sisterhood." She decided it was enough to justify her answer.
"Yeah, we are," Vidia quietly answered.
Tina said nothing, but she did appear relieved by that response. "I'm sorry," she finally spoke, her voice barely audible. "I'm sorry for saying all those terrible things about you, Val. You've always been there for me."
Vidia nearly blurted out the words I have? but caught herself, afraid to induce another violent rebuke from Tina. "I'm sorry for all those bad things I did to you," she answered instead, effectively apologizing for all the unpleasantness she had visited upon Tinker Bell in Pixie Hollow before they had become close friends at the home of Lizzy Griffiths.
"When…," Tina began before chocking up. "When I was in grade school some girls hated me because I was different. I was a bit of a tomboy and liked fixing things. One day they followed me home. Those girls started to insult me, calling me lots of terrible things." Tina didn't want to remember with too much clarity that moment. She had always been viewed as strange and was sometimes an outcast among her peers at school. These memories were clearly painful for her to recall. "Then they ganged up on me, hitting me on our front lawn. You saw them. Do you remember what you did?"
"Um… refresh my memory."
"You ran outside and started punching those girls as hard as could, kicking and clawing at them until they stopped and ran off," Tina recalled. "You told them that if they ever bothered me again they would have to answer to you. Then you brought me inside and we had some cereal. You said those mean girls just wanted me to feel bad because I was good at something and they weren't. You made me feel better about my tools and tinkering."
"I did all of that?"
"Yeah. I never forgot."
Tina then told Valerie all the times she helped the girl with her homework, brushed her hair when their parents were working, how Val let Tina watch her favorite show on the big TV in the living room even when Valerie's favorite television show was airing at the same time.
"When Dad died Mom had to explain why he wasn't coming home. I couldn't really understand it very well. One night, I came into your room and climbed into your bed with you. I started crying because I wanted my daddy back. You put your arm around me and said, 'I want my daddy back, too.'"
Tina put her now empty plate into the sink and the soda can into the recycle bin. She walked to the door, but stopped. She whirled around on her heel and grabbed Valerie into a big embrace. "You're my sister, Valerie. I love you. Don't ever stop wanting to be my big sister."
This made Vidia very uncomfortable, she wasn't the touchy feely type. Tina was sniffling and tearing up. "Uh…, I won't. I lu-," she had trouble saying that word. "I lu-. I mean, we are sisters. Always"
Tina let go and disappeared back into the house. Vidia was left reeling, feeling even more confused. "What was that all about?"
Vidia put the remainder of the food into the refrigerator. One of the bags had funny shaped treat in it. She took a bite but had to spit it out. Inside of the crispy treat was a slip of paper. "How did this get in there?" The slip had writing on it. It read, Love and compassion are the strongest forces in the universe.
She turned to look at the swinging door through which Tina had just exited. "Wow, this really is getting spooky."
~O~
PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND
Queen Clarion was meeting with the Milori, the Lord of Winter. They met at the border between Spring and Winter. It was the annual meeting to discuss the progress of the winter fairies and the upcoming winter season on the mainland. This was their fourth such conference since Clarion had become queen of Pixie Hollow.
As before the queen was as coldly distant and businesslike as possible. Any feelings she had for the Lord of Winter were buried as deeply as possible. In spite of this, when she first spied him this morning standing across the way her heart skipped a beat. In the year since their last summit she had forgotten just how handsome Milori truly was. Everything about him reflected a man with a deep sense of honor and responsibility. Yet somehow he managed to be everything the young queen was not.
Milori may have been made uncomfortable by her, but if he was he hid behind perfect professionalism. However, the queen took notice of something, or perhaps she only imagined it. Her isolation and detachment had made her not only lonely but also highly skeptical of others and even a bit paranoid. It was no secret that her subjects had come to regard her with growing disdain. They provided her with time to grieve the loss of her mother, but when she did not return to her previous form that sympathy turned cold.
Somehow Milori still had the love and loyalty of his people. "How do you manage to be a good ruler and still retain the respect of your subjects?" she asked him.
"It is a skill that takes time to master," he replied. "I knew your mother well and though she was detached she was never distant from her subjects. Queen Clarus loved them very much, almost as much as she loved you and your father."
"On her deathbed my mother taught me that love is weakness," she responded with a haughty air.
"That was the trauma of loss talking," Milori informed her. "If she were here today I dare say she would be most disappointed with you."
"How dare you speak such a thing to your queen," Clarion snapped. "Queen Clarus was a truly great monarch, a ruler far beyond even your feeble ability to understand."
Her words did not injure the Lord of Winter as she had intended. Instead he regarded her with pity and sympathy. As if it were his mission to help her rise to her potential. A potential Clarion was certain she had already attained.
"Go beyond her death and you will find a woman who loved and cared with an open heart," Milori said. "It was what drove her to be the very best regent she could. To be a most loving wife and mother. By turning cold and unemotional you are betraying your mother's legacy. You are so much better than that, Your Highness."
"I know precisely who and what I am and it is none of your business to tell me otherwise. Our meeting is at an end," she sniffed. "Good day, Lord Milori. Please attend to your duties."
With that last remark Queen Clarion turned and fluttered away, her head held high in a superior fashion. Yet deep inside Milori's words stung her severely. Something, some remnant of her mother told her he was right. Clarion chose not to listen, but that voice refused to be silent. It refused to quiet itself until she did.
~O~
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
Claire opened her eyes. She was in a strange bed and equally unfamiliar bedroom. The décor was simple and understated, with colors favoring the cooler side of the scale. Paintings on the wall featured snowcapped mountains or forests in winter. There were also photos of nature including Snowy Owls, majestic bison and jaunty snowshoe rabbits. On the nightstand was a snapshot. It caught her attention. It was a digital picture frame which silently shuffled through several photos of her and Hartley together taken after they had started dating.
She looked over her shoulder and found the sleeping form of Hartley Winter in the bed next to her. His arm was across her waist. Claire sat up on the side of the bed, she pulled the sheet around her naked body in an act of modesty and remorse. Whether it was the romantic mood or the alcohol she now regretted her decision to sleep with Hartley. Yes, it was the most wondrous night she had experienced in many years. Yes, she loved him dearly. What bothered her was whether she did this for all the wrong reasons. Was she desperate? Had her loneliness and feelings of isolation driven her to a premature night with the man?
And there were other concerns.
"Claire? My dear are you all right?" Hartley asked her. Her movements had apparently roused the man from his pleasant slumber.
"This was a mistake," she told him.
"What? How can you say that?"
"You're not a parent," she told him. "And you're certainly not a mother of two girls. I can't act foolishly and tell my girls they can't. I am their role model. My behavior has to be the same as what I expect of them. How can I tell them not to go sleeping around when I'm doing that exact thing?"
"Claire, this isn't sleeping around," Hartley reminded her.
"It won't matter to them," she replied. "As far as they would be concerned, I'll be a hypocrite. I would be no different than Ruby."
"You are not Ruby. And they don't have to find out," he suggested.
"That would be lying!" she answered him, shocked he would say such a thing.
"Claire, I understand how much your girls mean to you, but they aren't little children anymore," he said. "They are grown women, Valerie is twenty four…"
"And Tina is sixteen, still very impressionable."
"My dear, you have made so many sacrifices for the sake of your family," he said. "You have denied yourself so much for Valerie and Tina's well-being. But what about your own? Don't you think that it's time for you to start doing for yourself what you've put aside for so long?"
"Oh you make it sound so easy," she answered. "But I can't-."
"I'm not asking you to abandon your responsibilities," he whispered, "just to tend to your own wants and needs once in a while."
"This isn't easy for me, Hartley. I want to indulge when I feel the need, but I'm sorry, I can't. I won't. My responsibilities at home come first. They always will."
She looked him in the eye expecting this to be the end of their relationship. Instead, he smiled and kissed her. "Then why don't we just go back to dating exclusively, until we are both ready to take this step once again."
"I'd like that, thank you." As much as he wanted their relationship to stay at this level of intimacy, he proved himself to be a most understanding suitor. It was a pleasant surprise for Claire who appreciated that Hartley was so willing put her needs above his own desires. Not many men would do such a thing and in such a gallant manner.
Claire and Hartley dressed. He drove her back to The Rabbit Hole where she had parked her minivan. The bar was still attracting patrons and the parking lot was filled to capacity that parked cars lined the curb on both sides of the street.
"Thank you again for this wonderful evening," she told him.
"May I call on you tomorrow evening?" he asked. "The dinner theater on Woodlawn is staging a production of Man of La Mancha. Lydia the young woman who defended Valerie in court will be playing Aldonza."
"Oh absolutely," she told him. "I wouldn't miss it."
"Can I pick you up at six?"
"I'll be ready." She kissed him adoringly before retreating to her minivan and then back home to her girls.
~O~
Tina was getting ready for bed. She opened her closet to retrieve her pajamas. Instead she took the Tinker Bell outfit that Penny had given her today and slipped it on. It felt strangely natural. Natural enough that she chose to sleep in it all night long.
~O~
Penny was going through her clothing wondering why she didn't have more blue in her wardrobe. I like blue, she told herself. Icy, snowy blue. The thoughts of ice and snow compelled her to lower the temperature on her central air system by a couple of degrees. By the time she bed down for the night the thermostat was down to seventy. In the morning she dropped it even lower, to sixty five. Penny never felt uncomfortable with the lower room temperature. In fact, it felt strangely normal to her.
~O~
Somewhere on a lonely road leading out of town and into the woods was a delivery van. On the panels were the words "Game of Thorns." The driver was Mr. Gold. In the cargo area was another man. Moe French, the owner of the flower shop. He had not come willingly. He was bound with rope and gagged with duct tape.
Mr. French was afraid for his life and with good reason. Gold was about to exact vengeance on the man.
Thanks to everyone who is reading even after all this time. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Your feedback is always welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Okay, so now that this story has surpassed three hundred reviews, who is going to submit the 400th review? Any takers?