CHAPTER THREE:
If the world turned upside down
"When the inner voice of reason's full of doubt,
what's the point in fitting in
if you're designed to stand out."
The red heart lay within her hands, beating at a frenetic pace and speeding up as seconds passed by. She stared down at it, seemingly admiring it; her eyes pierced through it like needles. A deafening silence surrounded the woods; the happy chirp of the birds had faded into the distance, as if the joyful creatures had felt an unknown darkness approaching.
Snow White stood some feet away, features contorted into an expression of utter horror at the sight of the girl gripping the heart in her small hand while its owner fell with a thud behind her. She stared in shock as the events replayed in her mind; she couldn't begin to comprehend why a simple walk in the woods had turned into a nightmare. The bandits surely were just as surprised, and as their leader lay on the ground, they started to retreat.
"Don't."
Her voice was cold as ice, her brown eyes narrowed into slits. Emery gave the men a warning glance, daring them to move again, before she looked down at their leader.
"P-please, don't kill me," he begged, stuttered madly and never taking his attention off of the innocent-looking girl. "I-I'll do anything! But –"
"Shut up."
The man complied, gulped loudly and pleaded again.
"You would've killed us," Emery reminded, her eyes focused again on the red thing in her hand.
"I wouldn't!"
Her lips turned upwards into a mocking smile.
"Of course you wouldn't; you're too weak. But I'm not." The heart crumbled to dust in less than a second before she turned around to face the rest of men, not sparing the now-dead bandit another glace. "This is what will happen to any of you who dare stepping into these woods again; you have been warned."
As they scrambled away like dogs with their tails between their legs, Emery approached the woman who had yet to stand up. She bent down to her level and offered her a small smile.
But Snow flinched in return, and the expression on her face was vivid enough for the girl to take a step away. A frown crept up to her forehead as she observed the Queen of the Enchanted Forest, who suddenly refused to look at her.
She's scared of me, Emery realized.
"Why, Emery?" Snow asked in a whisper. "You've killed a man."
"I have saved you," the girl exclaimed, unable to believe she was being scolded. "Why are you acting like I've done something wrong?!"
This time, Snow did look at her.
"Killing is not right!" she shouted.
"What about self-defence?"
"That was not self-defence, Emery," Snow said sternly. "You tortured him." Her hands flew to her mouth, as if she suddenly became aware of the fact. "Oh my God, Emery; you tortured him."
Emery narrowed her gaze.
"He deserved it." He deserved way more.
Tears swelled in the dark eyes of Snow White, and she shook her head and sighed in defeat.
"We should head back."
The girl scoffed angrily, but no more words were exchanged on the way to the castle.
Far, far from the scenery, a black, high castle rose between the mountains that separated Snowhite's kingdom from everything else. Surrounded by a halo of mystery and danger, its towers reached up to the grey clouds. Guards dressed in black clothes marched inside, patrolling and waiting for orders to fall upon them. Silence prevailed in the imposing palace, only shattered by the sporadic screams of pain of the prisoners kept in the dudgeons.
Down one of the large corridors, an intimidating woman walked –heading her chamber. Her eyes were black as the night, resembling to the demon that seemed to guide her evil heart, her lips red and pursed into a snarl of disgust. She suddenly halted; something had caught her attention. After sending a quick glance out of one of the huge windows, she resumed her stroll and stepped into her room. With determined steps, she strode towards the boudoir that stood close to the highest window of the castle –which led to a large balcony– and sat down. Then, she reached down, opened one of its drawers and pulled out a crystal ball.
"Such black magic… Where are you coming from?" Regina muttered with a sickening smirk.
-#-
Emery stormed into her room and slammed the door shut behind her, not really caring about consequences. But, as the scolding voice of Charming echoed in the building, she let out a frustrated scream and took her anger on the first thing she laid eyes upon. The chair flew towards the opposite wall, smashing into pieces as it crashed into it.
As she kicked and screamed, her anger eventually turned into exhaustion and she let her body flop on the unmade bed. Her eyelids closed and a tired sigh escaped her mouth, before a wave of warm breeze brushed her face.
"What's gotten into you?"
A concerned Peter Pan greeted her sight when she opened her eyes, floating above her like a cloud. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his head slightly titled as he observed her with narrowed eyes.
"Not today, Peter," Emery said before rolling over to smuggle her face into the pillow.
She felt Peter's worried gaze on her, almost heard the wheels turning in his head.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked after a pregnant pause, and Emery turned her head to glance at him from the corner of her eye. He was scratching the back of his head awkwardly, as though he didn't know how to process the situation.
The girl let out another puff of air and muttered, "I'd rather not."
Evidently disappointed with her answer, Peter sat crossed ledged in the air and pouted. He really, truly loathed the kind of situation he was trying to deal with; no matter his attempts to make his good friend laugh again, she always seemed unable to appreciate them and kept mulling over –what he thought were– trivial things. Not that she had that many breakdowns, but they were enough to make the boy go crazy.
"Em, come on," he whined. "Whatever that has happened surely isn't worth the fuss."
When he didn't receive an answer, he huffed in aggravation and flew out of the room. Truth be told, Emery felt bad for the boy; she knew he was trying his best to make her feel better, but the events of that same morning had affected her more than she would ever admit.
"Emery."
She rolled on her back to give Peter a look of irritation.
"I thought you had fled," she said, emotionless, to which the boy could only roll his eyes.
"I should, really. But I can't stand seeing you like this," he confessed and crossed his arms over his chest again. "So I went to Neverland to get something to cheer you up."
At that, Emery sat up. Curiosity shinning in her eyes, she waited patiently for her friend to continue talking. Instead, Peter floated towards her and offered his hand for her to take. For a second, she hesitated. But, as the boy urged her to move from the bed, she obliged and let him walk her to the open window.
"What exactly have you planned to cheer me up?" she asked, putting emphasis on the last words as she gave him a wary stare.
Peter landed on the railing of the window and pulled a small vial out of his pocket.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do," she replied automatically, yet her eyes observed the peculiar item in suspicion. "But I don't trust that."
An amused laugh left his mouth, before Peter shook his head and opened the vial.
"This is pixie dust, dumbass."
The reaction was immediate: her mouth opened in disbelief before forming the happiest smile he had ever seen. Smirking in triumph, the boy let the green dust fell upon her frame and smiled proudly.
"Follow me!" he shouted as he flew away from her, heading the sky.
And follow him she did, up to the white clouds and down to the beautiful garden that spread across the back side of the castle. A big grin illuminated her face, and for the moment, she found herself not caring about the incident with Snow White; she merely flew behind her best friend, watching everything like she was seeing it for the first time.
"Where did you get the pixie dust from?" she queried when they finally sat on the roof of a bower in the gardens.
Peter looked away.
"Tinkerbell gave it to me."
"Did she, now?" she insisted, and it was quite evident she wasn't buying it.
"I might have stolen it," Peter admitted, embarrassed, but smiled as Emery laughed.
"Just like you stole this."
The boy watched in silence while she touched the odd band around her wrist. It was green as his clothes, made of strong leaves and –most likely– magic.
"I made that myself," he spoke quietly.
Seeing how her joke had saddened him, Emery ruffled his brownish hair with affection and smiled.
"I know that, Peter. Thank you," she said sincerely.
A barely noticeable blush crept up to his cheeks, and he was about to say something when the girl hushed him. She was looking at something that stood some meters away from where they were, and as he followed her gaze, he found himself staring at two of the people he loathed most. Peter Pan could count all the times Prince Charming had come into her room to close the window, knowingly keeping the boy out. They both knew of his existence, as he had been seen every once and then flying out of Emery's room; they were not happy with the fact she spent time with him, and Peter knew the reason why. Some years back, they had been warned by Rumpelstiltskin that Emery would be torn between light and darkness by someone close to her; it was easier to blame Peter Pan than to look more into it. From where he stood, Snow White and his prince had affected her more negatively than he had ever had.
The couple was approaching them, so Peter quickly grabbed her hand and started to move when Emery stopped him.
"Wait, let's just go to the other side of the roof and hide there," she spoke lowly, her gaze fixed on them, before she led the boy away.
Soon enough, the smooth voice of Snow White was within earshot.
"You were right, Charming; but I could not bring myself to believe it," she was saying. "We should have protected her from that boy."
Next to her, Peter tensed. It didn't take a bright mind to realize they were talking about Emery, who kept listening carefully and not moving a finger.
"You did your best; we all did," Charming soothed. "What matters now is what we do about it."
"Should we ask Rumpelstiltskin to take her magic away?"
Charming seemed to mull her idea over.
"He's not to be messed with," he finally said. "He would ask for something in return, and I am certain I don't want to make more deals with that sorcerer."
"Then, what do you suggest we do? We can't just sit tight and wait for her to turn into something like Regina!" Snow exclaimed, on the verge of a panic attack.
Swiftly, Charming placed his hands on her shoulders.
"We will sort this out, Snow," he promised. "That fairy will be able to fix this, somehow."
Snow scoffed, "Tinkerbell has done enough. I don't think she will cooperate this time."
"Erasing her memories of this morning –even those of that boy– is our only chance to keep our kingdom safe!" Charming insisted.
Emery didn't want to hear anything else; her mind was a mess as she tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed. Thus, she flew away from them, from the gardens, from everything. She ignored Peter's shouts and kept on, not caring if she ran out of pixie dust and crashed into a tree.
However, as she was nearing the woods, something collided with her, causing her to land painfully on the cold grass. Shocked, she glanced up –into the angry eyes of Peter Pan.
"You must be an idiot if you think you can outfly me."
Emery didn't bother to stand up; she leaned back on the thick trunk of a tree and looked at her hands.
"Are you alright?" Peter asked, dropping next to her and looking at her in worry.
"I would be if you stopped giving me that look," she snapped. "I am not to be pitied."
Peter frowned.
"I don't pity you; I pitied you when you had to attend those absurd balls," he joked and beamed when she stifled a chuckle.
"I pitied myself back then, too."
"But, really, are you alright?" he repeated, to which she shrugged carelessly.
"Peachy."
"Em–"
"Seriously, I'm fine," she cut in. "I'm not sad, or anything of the sort. I guess I was truly looking for a way to run from all this; I don't belong."
Peter hummed in understanding, processing her words carefully, before he asked, "And where do you?"
"I don't know yet," she replied truthfully, then added, "Hopefully, I will someday."
Silence fell upon them for some minutes, and she allowed the peaceful atmosphere to calm her mind.
"I'm going back to the castle," she repentantly announced, catching the boy off guard. "There is something I need to do before deciding my next move."
-#-
Big, strong rocks sat one after another, forming the long corridors of the dudgeons. That part of the castle was cold and dark, only occasionally illuminated by the tiny torched that hung from the unstable walls. She strolled down the intricate passages, knowing exactly where she was heading. Back when she had been nothing but a curious child, she had always loved to play hide and seek down there with Peter Pan. Needless to say, neither Snow nor Charming had ever been fond of such crazy ideas –as they liked to refer to them as. After having overheard their conversation some minutes ago, Emery had finally realized the problem had never been that, but Peter himself. At the thought of them trying so many times to make her stay away from the boy, she gritted her teeth.
She had been honest when she'd said she wasn't sad.
No, she wasn't upset.
She was angry; beyond livid.
And she didn't care about right or wrong anymore; from that moment on, she decided to start worrying only about her own wellbeing.
One cell stood at the end of the wide corridor, the biggest of all. Two guards patrolled it, and no soul dared to speak a word in fear of the danger it could raise. One of them halted her when she was about to take a step towards the cell–towards what hid inside.
"You are not supposed to be here," he stated stoically.
Emery smiled innocently.
"I won't be long," she assured, but the guard refused to let her through. Rolling her eyes, she muttered something under her breath, before her hand flew into the man's chest and ripped his heart out.
As the dead guard fell to the ground, his comrade began to approach her, sword wielded. However, before he had the chance to attack, delighted giggles erupted from the inside of the dark cell.
Crack.
The man dropped dead within seconds.
"I see you've been practising." The laugh echoed in the passage once again, then the same amused voice spoke, "Come forth, dearie."
Glancing at the bodies at her feet momentarily, Emery shook her head to clear her thoughts and headed the prisoner. The golden face of the sorcerer greeted her, his sickening grin wide enough for her to see his dirty teeth.
"Yes, there is something different in you," he observed and giggled maniacally. "But as much as I'd love to know about your affairs, I am certain you haven't decided to drop by to talk about trivialities."
"I've just found about your whereabouts, to be honest."
Rumpelstiltskin hummed and waved a skinny hand in the air.
"An unfortunate incident brought me here, which lacks of importance at this very moment." The sorcerer stared at her with hard eyes, seemingly pondering something in his tricky mind, then grinned, "The question is: what is your purpose in this lovely place?"
"I want to make a deal," Emery stated, but he merely laughed mockingly.
"Deals, deals, deals; everything involves a deal," he sang in amusement. "Be more specific, dearie."
Her eyes narrowed in annoyance as the sorcerer taunted her, yet she didn't comment on it and searched for the proper words instead, for she was aware –as she had met the tricky being many times before– he had an irritating passion to twist their meaning for his own benefit.
"As I'm certain you know, a fairy stole part of my memories from me when I was younger," she began, and ignored the ache at the remembrance of her friend's betrayal as she continued, "I want them back."
Rumpelstiltskin touched his chin with one long finger, hummed thoughtfully and smiled sweetly.
"No can do, I'm afraid."
"What?" Emery exclaimed, baffled.
He observed her for some more seconds, before explaining, "Memory spells are something very complex, dearie, and can only be broken by a powerful magic." His eyes seemed to laugh at her when he said, "True love's kiss."
At that, she could not help but snort in amusement. However, when the sorcerer kept staring at her with the same expression, she sobered up.
"You're not joking," the girl realized, and incredulity spread on her face as she threw her arms up. "That's the most absurd thing I have ever heard, which means a lot considering I'm friends with Peter Pan."
Something in the way she spoke – or maybe it was the words themselves – seemed to catch his interest, for he repentantly stepped forward until he was in front of her –only the wooden bars stood in his way.
"I might be able to do something, however. You will bring that fairy of yours to me, and I will do the rest." His lips turned upward in yet another sickening grin. "That is, if you are still willing to make the deal."
Without hesitation, Emery turned around and began to walk away.
I most definitely am.
And, as the girl parted in search of Tinkerbell, a satisfied Rumpelstiltskin stepped back into the shadows of the cell –grin always on.