Race Through Time:

The Friendly Visit

Fidget really wanted to scream when he heard the door knock. The first way he wanted to scream was out of frustration because he made it quite clear to the heroes that he wanted to rest and be left alone, especially while he was tucked in bed wearing only a pair of trousers and reading The Poetic Wondering. And the last way he wanted to scream was out of fright at the idea that Midnight Sparkle might have broken through the barrier spell that he casted around the cottage a few hours ago and worse, that she'd find him in his bed...

"Fitzgerald? Is everything alright? You put a barrier spell that goes past your own backyard!" Fidget's ears perked up at the sound of a certain familiar voice. It could have been trick of course, but he wanted to make doubly sure. He got out of bed, grabbed his purple robe and put it on while walking out of his room and sown the wooden staircase. His fast walking didn't help the migraine that he was having, but he didn't stop in his footsteps. He reached the door and opened it. A sigh escaped his mouth when he saw the person he was hoping for standing on his front porch.

Theresa looked quite lovely today. She wore a burgundy trench coat that reached all the way down to her hips, grey dress pants, and black slingback shoes. A black cloche hat crowned her long golden hair, leaving her faint magenta streak to hang in front of her face. She just stood there, hands in her pocket, as if she just dropped by for a normal visit. This was quite an awkward moment for the Batrishan, because as he was rushing downstairs, he didn't have the opportunity to straighten his robe properly, therefore giving his visitor a visual of his exposed torso.

"Oh...uh...Hi, Theresa," he stuttered. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," she said quietly. Her eyes slightly blinked at the sight of Fidget's current appearance. "And um...why is there a barrier spell out there?" She pointer away from the door towards a quick flash of purple light that moved above the cottage and in the air as if a serpent were trying to slither on top of a dome.

Fidget hesitated. "Would you prefer that we talk about it inside?"

Later

"So," Theresa said, "you got yourself an alicorn with a creepy obsession stalking you."

They were in Fidget's living room, which was a very comfy place including a couch, a table full of the weekly newspapers, a big bookshelf full of books, and a small fireplace with a fire burning on logs and spreading its warmth throughout the room. An old portrait of Geneva Denada Cortés that Fidget managed to recover in the past hung on the wall just above the fireplace. It was a nice, electricity-free environment for Fidget to relax whenever he didn't feel like his wrath was invading his soul.

Theresa made space on the table in order to settle the tray with two teacups, a teakettle, and a bowl of chicken soup.

"That's pretty much it," Fidget sighed. He was sitting on the couch and rubbing his head with frustration. "And now she wants to use a Lustful Curse on me."

"That spell meant to force someone into lusting on you unless that someone is in love?" Theresa sat next to Fidget and handed him the bowl of soup. "Have some. It will help with the headache."

"Thanks." The Batrishan took a sip of the soup. It was warm and surprisingly creamy; he didn't recall eating such a delicacy since his old life in Aldorada. "You know, you cook very well."

Theresa blushed while she drank from her teacup. "Glad you like it."

"That reminds me. How come you know about the Lustful Curse?"

"I've learned a thing or two about magic. It runs in the family."

"Guess that explains why..."

"I crossed through your protection barrier so easily? I think you might have done some sort of miscalculation while casting it. Otherwise, the chances of that alicorn breaking into your cottage are high."

Fidget shuddered at the thought of Midnight Sparkle walking easily through his barrier and right into his cottage. The last things he'd want were the Lustful Curse to hit him and obsessive lust for Midnight to overwhelm him to the point of insanity.

Theresa let out a brief chuckle. "You almost remind me of my mother. Before she met my father, there was this...creepy guy who had an obsessive crush on her and she was really sickened by it. He even at one point forced her into the altar and would have nearly gotten his way."

"What prompted him to give up?" Fidget put away his empty bowl of soup and took the spare teacup.

"My mother never told these specific details to me, so I'm not really sure. But something must have made the guy mad enough to 'cancel off' the wedding. My mother still has nightmares about the guy."

"I'm...sorry," Fidget said. The fire cracked in the chimney as they sat silent for a while.

"I, uh, started reading The Poetic Wondering," Fidget said. "You know, the book you left in my kitchen?"

Theresa's head perked up at the mention of the book. "Oh! You read it? I hoped you liked. It was quite a surprise for me when I found it in the town library while I was looking for history books..."

"History books?" The Batrishan frowned.

"Aside from the diverse volunteering services, I work as a part-time teacher at the Storybrooke Public School. It's not much concerning the wage, but I still manage to use it and my part of my family fortune to pay up for a suitable apartment for myself."

"You don't live with your family?"

"No. My father and brother were murdered, and my mother...well...she chose to let desperation take the best of her..." A mournful look appeared on her as she said those words. Fidget was familiar with that look: he saw it almost everytime he stared at himself in the mirror.

"I lost my loved ones as well," he said. "The plague took my mother, my father and ex-fiancée were...murdered, and the country I lived for is now as extinct as the fossils."

"I guess that leaves us a few things in common, huh?" Theresa looked at him as she said those words. His red irises met her green ones as they slowly began to close. Fidget felt his hand reaching out for Theresa and bringing her closer to him. The warmth of their breaths nearly collided with one another, and for once the Batrishan felt like a warmth he loved so much in the past was returning to him, filling his soul with joy.

Right when his lips were about to meet hers, the two stopped, both realizing that this might be too fast. They've only met a month ago and this was the second time they interacted. Such...a relationship was too quick to jump into right away.

"I'm sorry," Theresa said quietly. "I...didn't want to insult the memory of your ex-fiancée...and to sound like the alicorn stalking you."

"I understand." Fidget gently pulled himself away from Theresa in order to give space between the two of them. "And I'm sorry as well: I don't want to make it seem like I'm...abusing some certain feelings out of selfishness."

Theresa gave him a confused look that indicated the fact that she didn't understand what he meant. "The Lustful Curse Midnight Sparkle is planning to use on me can be thwarted if I'm currently in love," Fidget explained. "And...I've never loved any one that way since my ex-fiancée died. I always feared that being with another would dishonor her resting soul. Plus, after everything I've done that led me to my current status, I don't think I could ever get a second chance at love."

A sad, yet comprehensible sigh came out of Theresa as she calmly said: "I understand." She looked out the window and noticed that nighttime had fallen. "I should get going. The lane can be dangerous after dark."

The two got off the couch and Fidget escorted Theresa to the door while he felt a heavy pain in the chest.

"Thank you though for your visit," Fidget said while Theresa put on her jacket and hat.

She gave a weak, but sincere smile. "Of course. And Fidget...I do wish you good luck when you face the alicorn."

Fidget's chest pain ached even more: that woman was hoping he'd live even though the chances of him surviving the Lustful Curse were slim.

"I'll see you at Dutchman's Teapot if I live through it all," Fidget promised. The blonde woman smiled before walking towards the Batrishan and planting a warm, soft kiss on his left cheek that petrified the Batrishan even five minutes after she was done.

"In case I don't see you again," she said tearfully before walking off the front porch, through the gate, and into the small road that led through the woods.

"Isabella, what have I done?" Fidget asked himself as his hand caressed the kissed cheek in the middle of the night.