In this chapter King George's evil plan becomes clear.
All I own are the words on the page, not the characters or the places.
Chapter 22
Charming was pleased by the way that the dinner was going. His speech had gone over well. Many friends that he had not seen since before the Curse was cast were in attendance. A group of his loyal guards had approached him and suggested that they would like to reestablish the royal guard and in order to act as body guards for him and his family. He had told them that he would take the matter under consideration. He would have to talk to Snow and see how she felt about the idea. The food had been terrible and had consisted of a chicken dish that was hard to identify, however champagne was free flowing and no one seemed to care about what they had been feed. Perhaps things were not going as well as he thought and it was the champagne clouding his judgment. He had a little more than he would normally have to drink, but he figured he was paying for it and might as well drink his share. He saw Ella and Thomas across the room and waved them over.
They exchanged hugs and kisses.
"I am so sorry that Snow and I have not come to see the two of you." He apologized sincerely.
"Things have been a little hectic since the Curse broke, we understand. All of us are getting used to starting over." Thomas assured his friend.
Charming grabbed several glasses of champagne off of the tray of a passing waiter.
"Then let us toast to "new beginnings." Charming suggested.
Thomas took the glass his old friend offered, but Ella indicated the glass in her hand. "I am sticking to sparkling water tonight." She said cryptically.
Charming understood immediately. "Are the two of you expanding your family?" He asked his friends.
He could tell by the grin of the face of Prince Thomas that it was true.
"What wonderful news!" Charming turned to Ella. "I know how badly you and Snow wanted to raise your children together the first time. Now you will have that chance. How far along are you?"
"Three months," The fair haired princess blushed, "Once again, we are slightly behind the two of you." She smiled.
"If there is anything that Snow or I can do to help the two of you, please do not hesitate to ask." He demanded gently.
"We are actually doing better now than we were under the Curse. Granny is paying me extra to clean the rooms. Thomas is picking up extra hours at the garage and his father bought us a house." Ella proudly informed their friend.
"The two of you are Royalty. You should not have to work as a maid, Ella." Charming stated forcefully.
"We don't mind working." Thomas insisted.
"If I am elected mayor, you will have jobs that are worthy of your talents." He promised.
"I think you mean when you are elected." Ella corrected. "Actually I do have an idea I would like to run by you. You may or may not have noticed that Storybrooke lacks adequate child care. I have some ideas." Ella suggested.
Charming grinned, "Snow mentioned that to me, the two of you must get together and exchange ideas."
"Meanwhile, we would like to contribute a little to your election fund." Thomas informed his friend.
Charming knew that they did not have much and the gesture moved him deeply. However, he could not take money from the struggling young couple.
"You support and friendship is more than enough." He insisted.
"It would mean a great deal to us." Ella insisted.
He saw the sincerity in their eyes and knew that he had little choice.
"Let me find Jasmine and she will enter your donation." He promised. He looked around and did not see his manager. He also noticed that Red was missing. Something told him that the two were connected and that was a bad sign. When he arrived for the dinner the first thing he noticed was that Grumpy was not with Jasmine. He asked her about it and she had simply stated that they were no longer together. He suspected that she had used the dwarf only to make contact with him; and that did not sit well with the prince.
Charming wondered out into the hall and cool air hit his face. He realized two things, it was hot and stuffy in the dining room and he had consumed more champagne than he realized. The cool air had a sobering effect. He noticed that a light was on in one of the rooms where they had been putting people's coats. He looked for Jasmine in the room, but there was no sign of her. He was about to leave when he received a text message. He looked at the number and realized it was from Snow.
"We have an ultrasound appointment at 8:30 in the morning. Do not be late!" It warned. It was followed by another message, "I love you." He smiled broadly. He was still thinking about the message when he turned to leave the room and was accosted. He comes face to face with Jasmine as she kisses him hard on the mouth. It is forced and unpleasant. He can smell the alcohol on her breath and when he pulls away he can see the glassy look in her eyes.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked angrily and then added, "Are you drunk?"
She tried to kiss him again, but he was prepared and side stepped out of the way.
"Everyone has been drinking." She insisted. "You have too." She pointed out.
He takes her hands off of his shoulders, "I have not had that much to drink!" He scolded her.
"I know that you want me." Jasmine insisted
"You know nothing about me." He informed her with a sad shake of his head. "Otherwise you would know that I am eternally in love with my wife and only want her. I do not want to make a scene here tonight, but you and I are going to have this out tomorrow. Be at the loft at 10:30 in the morning" He angrily spits out the words and then runs his hand through his hair to try and calm himself.
Jasmine has a deer caught in headlights look on her face. When he turns around he realizes that she is not frightened because he has reprimanded her. Red is standing behind them and she looks unhappy. For a moment, Charming is afraid that she saw the kiss and misunderstood his intentions. However, he quickly realizes that she is not wearing her cloak.
"My hood is missing!" She stated urgently.
"What happened?" He asked her.
"I left it on a chair while I went to the ladies room and when I came back, it was gone." Red exclaimed in wide eyed panic.
Charming called over his shoulder, "Jasmine you had better not be responsible for this!" He turned and looked for her, but she was gone.
"It is almost 10:00 and the moon is supposed to rise at 10:30. We have to find that cloak." Red reminded him urgently.
Snow sat alone in her classroom. The students were gone along with their parents. The principle was gone home as well. In fact, she was likely the last person to leave. She put her head down on her desk for a few moments. What a horrible night it had been. She had hoped that her husband would call her after she had sent him the text. She desperately needed to talk to him, to be reassured by him. Regina had showed up. She had not physically threatened Snow, what she had done was far worse. She had managed to turn the parents and the principle against her. She had turned it into a rally for her reelection. She had stood up in front of the parents and proclaimed that she was only interested in the education of their children. Then she had subtlety suggested that the children were not getting the best education from their teachers. All the time she had been looking straight at Snow. She supposed maybe Regina had a point. She wasn't trained as a teacher, but she was good at it and it gave her a purpose. What was she supposed to do now that the Curse had been broken, put on a cape and go around stopping crime? That was Emma's job.
Snow looked down at her phone; Still no reply from Charming.
"He must be having too much fun to call me back." She said out loud with a heavy sigh.
She stood up and wiped a tear from her eye. She looked at the clock and saw that it was a little after ten. It was time to go home. Walking down the hallway alone she had the feeling that someone was watching her. She turned around several times to look behind her, but the hallway was always empty.
Back at the Town Hall, contrary to what Snow believed, Charming was not having fun at all. Emma burst through the doorway with her hand on her gun.
"What's the emergency?" She asked urgently as she faced her father.
"My hood is missing!" Red informed her.
Emma gave her father a perturbed look, "That is not a 911 emergency. David do you have so little respect for me that you are willing to pull me off of a stake-out to help you find a missing piece of clothing?" She scolded.
"It is Wolf's Time." Red informed her.
"We have about 20 minutes until moonrise." Her father said quickly.
Full realization dawned on Emma's face.
"Where have you looked?" She asked with panic in her eyes.
"We have people looking over every inch of the Town Hall." Charming told her.
"Could someone have picked it up by accident?" Emma asked.
"I left it on my chair for 5 minutes." Red answered.
"I think Jasmine might have taken it." Charming frowned. "She has disappeared." He added.
"Have you checked the outside cameras?" Emma asked.
Her father frowned again. "I had no idea that they existed."
"Graham told me about them. He said that Regina put them in for security. Knowing what I now know, I think she did it so she could keep track of everyone in town while they were under the Curse."
Emma led them to a small control room next to the Mayor's office. They replayed the taped footage from the cameras outside of the building. Sure enough, Jasmine could be seen leaving by a side door and throwing something in a dumpster.
"Why would she do that?" Red asked.
"She had certain plans for me tonight and I think she saw you as an obstacle." Charming stated wearily.
"She thought it would be better to have wolf running around town?" Emma asked sarcastically. "You had better go get your cloak." She turned to Red.
She happily ran from the room. About 30 seconds later they saw her on the surveillance screen. She was pulling her hood out of the dumpster.
"I hope there wasn't much trash in that dumpster." Emma shrugged. "Do you want me to go pull in Jasmine and beat her with a rubber hose?" She asked her father.
A smile crossed his face. "Would you really do that for me?"
"It would be all in the name of justice!" She replied. "That girl is crackers." She added.
Her father nodded his head in agreement. "I will deal with her tomorrow when I fire her as my manager and tell her to stay the hell away from me and my family!" He promised.
Emma turned to him again. "Have you been drinking?" She accused.
Charming looked like a guilty teenager who had been caught throwing a wild party. Emma stood at the door of the town hall collecting car and truck keys from people as they left the building.
"How much champagne did you serve tonight?" She asked in a shocked tone.
"I will know the answer to that question when I get the bill next week." Her father sighed.
Ella and Thomas were among the last to leave. "Designated driver!" Ella pointed to herself.
Emma nodded in understanding. She surveyed the room. There were bottles and empty glasses everywhere. "Who is responsible for cleaning up this mess?" She asked.
"The caterers are supposed to do clean up." Charming answered.
"I think I took their van keys away from them." She admitted.
Her father looked shocked.
"David they were drunk!" She replied strongly.
He started to leave as well, "Keys!" Emma demanded.
"Emma, I am not drunk!" He protested.
"But you have been drinking. If I let you drive you might hit one of those poor sods that I making walk home." She insisted.
He reluctantly handed her his keys. She stuffed them in her pocket and then saw him reach for a half full bottle of champagne and poured another glass.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing?" She chastised.
He shrugged, "I am paying for it. Why let it go to waste? It is really good stuff. You should have a glass." He suggested.
She gave him a disappointed look, "Designated driver, remember." She insisted. "What happened here tonight? You are as tight as an owl and that is so unlike you." She sat down at the table across from her father and gave him a serious look.
"I realized tonight that a lot of people are counting on me to win this race." He sighed.
"So, from what I have heard people have always counted on you as their leader. Has your answer always been to get drunk?" She gave him a concerned look.
"I hardly ever get drunk. In fact you are witnessing a first. You are also witnessing the end of my political career. After I fire Jasmine tomorrow morning my chances of becoming mayor are next to nothing." He sighed.
"You are probably right. Jasmine will probably run right to Regina and help her win. Are you sure that you have to fire Jasmine?" Emma asked.
"Absolutely and the worst part is that it means my plan is going to fail and it was a good plan!" He stated and started to drink the champagne from the bottle.
"What plan?" Emma asked.
He ignored her question.
"You are going to fire her and end your political career all because she threw Ruby's cloak in the dumpster?" She asked shocked.
"Emma, she kissed me." He stated matter of fact, "The thing is I kind of liked it." He shrugged.
She gave him a crazed look and nearly dropped a glass she had picked up. "You liked being kissed by Jasmine?" She seethed.
He gave her a shocked look in return.
"No, of course I didn't like being attacked by her!" He protested. "I liked running for mayor. I liked giving the speeches and making plans and making a difference." He sighed.
Emma reached across the table and placed a hand on his, "Maybe you still can make a difference."
He looked hopeful, "You really think I still have a chance to win."
"Sure, why not. Now drink this." She handed him a cup of coffee that she got off of a nearby table. "If I take you home drunk, Mary Margaret will never forgive me." She informed with more than a little sarcasm in her voice.
"What about your stake-out, do you need to go back to watching Gold's shop?" He asked.
"I caught the culprits and let them off with a warning." She sighed.
"Was it a bunch of kids?" He asked.
"No, it was Leroy and Granny. It seems that Belle has been running up a tab at the diner and Gold refuses to pay." She sighed. "I gave them a warning and told them that I would talk to Gold about paying her tab.
Her father burst out laughing. "I needed that!" He informed her. At least that explained why Grumpy had not been at the dinner. Leave it to him to show up where the action was.
Emma frowned and found a paper cup to pour the coffee into. "Let's go home." She said wearily.
Snow was waiting up for them when they got home. She had her shoes off and she was on the couch with her feet propped up on a pillow.
Charming walk over and sat down beside her and moved to kiss his wife. She looked up at him and pushed him away. A wounded look crossed his face.
"You smell like Jasmine!" She accused. "Is that lipstick on your collar?"
Emma gave him a perturbed look.
"How did that get there?" He asked perplexed.
"Did you make out with her?" Emma reproached him.
He stood up outraged. "I told you what happened "She attacked me. Emma use your super power and see if I am lying." He pleaded.
Emma studied him, "For some reason it does not work on you." She pointed out.
He gave his daughter a disappointed look.
"Are you drunk?" His wife asked.
"Not as drunk as I was an hour ago when Emma was driving me around town and made me drink cold coffee." He admitted soulfully.
Snow gave him a perturbed look and stood up. "I have had a hell of a night and I don't have to sit around and watch this comedy of errors!" She protested with a hurt look on her face. She stormed upstairs. He moved to follow her.
"Snow!" He called after her urgently.
"Shower first." Emma suggested.
He nodded his head in agreement and headed for the bathroom.
He let the water cascade over his head and down his back. This was the third shower that day. The last one had been a whole lot more fun. While he had been riding around with Emma all he could think about was how badly he wanted to be home with his arms wrapped around the woman he loved. Somehow that had gone very badly. He turned the water off and slipped on the robe that he kept in the bathroom. He found his wife curled up on the bed with her knees pulled up as far against her chest as they could possibly go considering her ever expanding belly. She was clutching a teddy bear to her chest. It had been in Emma's nursery in the Enchanted Forest. It was another lost and found item from Gold's shop.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"No!" She responded simply.
"Can we talk?" He asked softly.
"No!" She replied and turned over so her back was facing him.
He went to the dresser and pulled on a t-shirt and pair of lounge pants. He watched her watching him get dressed in the mirror. The look in her eyes was one of admiration. That was a good sign. If she was really irreconcilably angry at him she would not be looking at him getting dressed.
"Did something bad happen tonight?" He asked.
"You mean something worse than my husband coming home smelling like another woman and with lipstick on his collar?" She asked sarcastically
He cautiously sat down on the bed. "Thomas and Ella wanted to donate money to my campaign. Jasmine was nowhere to be found and so I went to look for her and she ambushed me in the coat room. She kissed me, but that was as far as it went. I love you Snow and only you. I don't even really like Jasmine. I thought she could help me become mayor. Maybe she could have, but it wouldn't be worth it if I have to hurt you in order to lead this town. Second thing tomorrow morning I am meeting Jasmine at the campaign office and I am firing her." He stated with feeling in his voice.
"What is the first thing you have planned for tomorrow?" She asked.
"Right after our ultrasound appointment which is the most important thing I have scheduled for tomorrow." He reminded her.
"You have missed the last 3 appointments." She pointed out.
"I am so sorry about that. I have been so fixated on winning this race and beating Regina that I have lost sight of what is really important. I don't want to be mayor if I lose you. Firing Jasmine will probably end my political career anyway, but if not than I am willing to pull out on my own." He let out a breath of air.
"It is so noble of you to give up your dream for me!" She stated through gritted teeth.
A stunned look crossed his face.
"Snow, it is clear that you are unhappy and I hate to see you unhappy. I don't know what you need from me though. So, tell me how I can make you happy." He asked.
"it is not always about you Charming! You could always take off your clothes and let me watch you get dressed again." She teased with a half- smile.
"If that is what it takes to make you happy, I will do that all night." He promised. "Did something happen at school during the open house?" He asked.
He saw a familiar faraway look in her eyes.
"Regina was there? Did she try and hurt you or threaten you?" He asked with grave concern on his face.
"What she did was much worse. She always wanted to turn people against me and tonight she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She turned the parents against me by implying that I was not fit to teach their children. After she gave her speech the parents and the principle ambushed me and informed me that it might be best if I not return to teaching after I have this baby." She stifled a sob.
"You are a wonderful teacher." He wrapped his arms around her.
"What if I don't have a job to go back to after the baby is born?" She started to cry.
"You will. I looked it up and they have to give you 12 weeks off to have the baby and they can't fire you during that time. You are so good with the kids that it would be a crime if you did not go back after the baby is born I would like for you to consider being mayor."
She pulled back puzzled.
"You are the one running for Mayor though." She reminded.
"I am only running for Mayor so that you do not have to run against Regina. The two of you have too much history. She would rip you to shreds. The only thing she can use against me is my family and she is too smart to publically come after any of you. My plan was to win against her and then step aside and appoint you as my successor."
"Can you do that?" Snow asked.
"It is in the town bylaws." He informed her. "Of course, after I fire Jasmine tomorrow there is little chance that I will beat Regina." He sighed.
"You really think that she would have picked me apart if I had run against her?" Snow asked.
Her husband gave her a loving look, "Snow Regina has spent most of your life doing such a head trip on you that you sometimes forget that you are beautiful, smart, and talented born leader. Tonight is a prime example of that head trip. She had your confidence so undermined that you forgot that you are a great teacher. That in turn made you forget that you are my one true love, the most beautiful woman in my life and that I could never even think on cheating on you with someone else. I am only Prince Charming because that is the name you gave me. I am really only a shepherd." He stated with feeling.
She wasn't buying it. "I know better. I may have forgotten your real name, but I haven't forgotten who you really are. You are every bit as royal as I am and you were born to lead as well. The path of True Love may have led your mother away from the palace but that does not make you any less of a prince. Charming, you are a good leader. I have faith that you can beat Regina without the help of that Harpy Jasmine. I have faith in you, but who else knows about your plan to win and step aside?" She asked.
"None knows except us two." He admitted. "That is the way I like it Snow; You and I against the world. How funny that my mother married a shepherd in order to escape the royal life and her son the shepherd ended up married to a princess anyway."
He pulled her back into his arms. She leaned her head against his shoulder and for the first time in a long time they both got a good night sleep not knowing the nightmare that awaited them the next day.
In the back of Gold's shop King George held a small white device in the palm of his hand. Gold watched him examine the piece.
"There are only two of them and I need them both back in good condition!" Gold warned him.
"Don't worry I plan on taking good care of them. You are sure that it is ready to use tomorrow?" The king asked.
"I have tested it on animals and they were able to cross back and forth across the town line unharmed." Gold shrugged, "You and Snow White will be my first human subjects though."
George grabbed him by the collar. "You had better not be trying to pull a trick on me." He warned. "What happens if we cross the town line without one of your magic bracelets?"
"You will lose your true memory and revert to your cursed self." Gold said matter of fact.
"Can it be reversed?" George asked in a panic.
"Not by any means I have discovered," Gold admitted. "Why do you want this child so badly that you are going to risk losing your memory forever?" He asked.
"Why do you want the child of Prince Charming and Snow White? Because that is the deal I raise the child and then you take over when he is ready to learn magic."
Gold thought for moment, "This child will be a prince of magic and I am the only one fit to train him. Now you answer my question, why are you so interested in the child of a shepherd?"
George laughed, "Could it be that even the Dark One does not know everything? This child is my blood as was his father and uncle. I am taking back what belongs to me. If my thankless daughter had not run off and married a shepherd than I would have been able to raise both my grandsons properly. It turned out that I was only able to raise James and then he died and Ruth had so badly botched the upbringing of my other grandson that he was able to rebel against me. That child that Snow White is carrying is my legacy. That child will be the first in my new dynasty. That child will be undefeated! The only people who would dare to try and defeat him will be his own parents."
Then manacle look in the eyes of the former king should have scared Gold, but as usual when people are getting what they want they tend to overlook the method of accusation.
"Tomorrow I will use these devices to take Snow White and her unborn child out of Storybrooke and hide them away until the child is born. Then I will be unstoppable!" George vowed with vengeance.