Deceitful Hearts
Regina paced around the diner, waiting for Snow and Charming to arrive.
"Hey, you're disturbing my lunch rush," Granny complained, waving her hand in front of the mayor. Mulan shot her a sympathetic glance, as Regina paid no attention.
The two women waited for a few more moments before Snow and David rushed in.
"What? What's wrong?" Snow asked, breathless from running.
"Woah, hold on," Regina said, putting a steadying hand on Snow's shoulder. "What's the rush?" she asked. Snow gave her a disbelieving look.
"You said that Mulan found something. So, what's wrong? What happened?" Snow demanded. Regina raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you always assume something's wrong?" she asked. Snow sat down on one of the barstools.
"It's Storybrooke," she muttered.
"So?"
"So it's a magnet for trouble. When you call and tell me you found something, it's safe to assume that it's bad." Snow gave Regina a look.
"Alright alright, whatever. Anyways, this time, we actually have good news." Regina gave Snow a smug look.
"So there." Snow rolled her eyes, as Merida entered the diner.
"Hello everyone," Merida greeted.
"Can we skip the small talk?" Regina asked, making sure everyone was paying attention. Merida sighed, but fell silent.
"So what's happened?" Charming asked, appearing from the bathroom. Regina waited a moment to start talking.
"Well, as you all know, we've been searching for a way to defeat Gothel. And, Mulan was reading the ancient texts about the powers of the savior. Apparently, all we need is-" Regina was cut off by Hook rushing into the diner.
"Sorry I'm late," he muttered. "Got caught in the hour of too many cars."
"It's just called the rush hour," Charming pointed out. Hook just shrugged, looking confused.
"Are we done?" Regina asked, dryly. Hook nodded at her to continue.
"Anyways, as I was saying, Mulan has found the answer we need to defeat Gothel." Regina gestured for Mulan to step forward. The warrior did so hesitantly.
"Yes, I was reading an ancient script prophesying the power of the savior. Now, it says that there is a way to vanquish any evil this realm has seen. With the power of two saviors, the light magic that they possess will be strong enough to take down the greatest evil."
"Uh, how is that possible?" Hook questioned? "I mean-"
"We know the problem, Hook," Regina said. "Finnick is currently working on getting everyone back here." Mulan was silent for a second, before voicing her concerns.
"There's one problem," she said. Merida looked up from her conversation with Snow to listen.
"I can't translate the actual instructions. It's an unknown language to any of us. So, unless we have someone who knows it, it won't be of any use." Regina narrowed her eyes, thinking.
"Belle," Hook suggested. "Give it here," he said, holding out his hand. Mulan handed him the script, to which he found the instructions. He squinted at it, trying to see it clearly.
"I think I've seen this before. Belle was looking into old Arendelle books, and I think this language may have been in there." He handed the script back to Mulan.
"But you're not sure?" Snow pressed. Hook looked flustered for a second.
"Well, no not completely. But, why does it matter? We can bring everyone back, and then we'll have Belle and Emma and Rachel. What's the problem?" he asked. It was Merida who spoke up.
"Because, we sent them there to find Ivy's mother, and see if she knew how to defeat Gothel. If we bring them back, the spell may fail anyway. If we don't, we may have lost our chance to defeat Gothel right now."
"Hey guys, can you wait up?" Henry pleaded, struggling to breathe. He collapsed against a tree, gasping for air. Ivy and Rachel both slowed and jogged back. Neither one had broken a sweat.
"How are you both so fast?" he asked, sitting down for a rest.
"I ran track for four years," Ivy answered.
"And I grew up in a forest," Rachel finished. They both grinned at each other. Henry just rolled his eyes.
"Not as easy for the writer huh?" Rachel teased. But, she also held out her arm and allowed Henry to get some help up.
Emma and the Golds appeared through the trees a few minutes later. The stick was still hovering in the air, edging them on further.
"We should keep going," Emma said, leading the way down the path. She almost screamed though, as her phone rang suddenly. She pulled it out of her pocket, glancing at the caller i.d.
"Hook?" she said aloud, confusion evident. She pressed the answer button, listening for a voice.
"Swan?" Hook said, unable to hear anything but crackling.
"Killian?" Emma asked, barely able to hear him. The line kept glitching out. She really needed to update her service.
"We… you… come back… way… defeat… Gothel… don't… need… find… Ivy's…" Emma shook the phone trying to clear up the signal.
"Hook? What's going on?" She held her phone up.
"Need... home… found… defeat… spell… savior… two… scroll… translate." Hook suddenly cut out, and Emma's phone turned off.
"What? What happened?" she asked, turning her phone back on. Rumple snorted with amusement.
"What happened, Ms. Swan is that you were trying to communicate across realms. Also known as a fool's errand. I'm surprised you made a connection at all."
"It's Mrs. Swan," Emma snapped.
"What?" Gold asked.
"My name is Mrs. Swan. Please, use it correctly," Emma muttered. Gold just sniffed and turned away. He was whispering in Belle's ear, probably telling her some weird spell.
"Listen, we have to get going-" Emma was cut off why the ground suddenly coming alive.
Rachel and Henry shrieked simultaneously as the ground seemed to slide away.
"What the hell!" Ivy exclaimed as she was thrown onto the ground.
"Look!" Henry shouted above the wind. He was pointing upwards, towards the sky.
What appeared to be a tornado was striking down towards them. Rachel crawled out of the way of a crashing tree branch, heading towards the other kids. Rumple and Belle clung to each other as the twisting mass made it's way close.
"Is that… purple?" Emma shouted above the twisting wind. With squinting eyes, everyone saw that she was indeed correct.
"Calm down," Gold told everyone, standing straight up. "Don't worry. It's magic. And I have a feeling on where it's going to take us."
Well, I will apologize for the lack of updates. I'm hoping but not promising to pick it up. Hopefully two-three chapters a month.
Next time...
With Gothel's distraction successfully working, it's time for Mulan to fulfill her mission.
R&R
NightLightning21