7:15 AM AU - Things go a bit differently in the cabin during 7:15 AM. With memories returned, how will this change things?
Face Claim for Narcissa: Eileen Davidson
Face Claims for the three good fairies:
Flora: Maggie Smith
Fauna: Linsey Godfrey
Merryweather: Jackee Harry
New Face Claims:
Lucian Blackwater: Graham Greene
Malachi Wolfe: Scott Adkins
Will Rainwater/Billy Truheart: Lou Diamond Phillips
Monica Rainwater: TBD
Sam Rainwater/Mathias Firebird: Zahn McClarnon
Tigerlily: Sara Tomko(same as the show)
Tony: Tom Holland
Tia: Anna Sophia Robb
Aleister Bolt: Michael Sheen
Marina Bolt: Tamara Braun
Thanks for the amazing response to this story. It's a lot of fun. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the twists and turns. Season 1 can be very fun to play with. Enjoy this latest and keep reviewing! Here are individual responses to reviews:
Ghostwriter: Yeah, Emma tried, but he didn't listen. Glad you're enjoying.
Jennifer Baratta: I actually think Marco was in the wrong here. He wanted to ignore what August had been through and not talk about his responsibility in that. Glad you're enjoying though.
Sexystarwarslover: Yeah, it will certainly be quite a show. Yeah, getting another taste of Prince Charming's heroics means more danger for Snow and David. Yep, Aleister wants to visit all the realms. Yep, it was very clever of Tia sending a message thru a bluebird. Yeah, I loved that moment where Emma told them she's not sharing. Yeah, Marco was not being very understanding and just wanted to ignore what August went thru. Yep, Aleister is making another video at their expense and putting them in danger again. It will be fun to see everyone dressed up for a ball. Glad you're enjoying!
Clarity
Chapter 63: Smoke and Mirrors
Snow examined the wounds on her husband's back once they left the Bolt mansion.
"Baby…we need to get you to the hospital," she said. He sighed.
"I'm fine Snow…and I'm in no mood to deal with Whale," he replied sourly. She gave him a look and Emma chuckled, as she watched him relent.
"I'm sure Fauna can patch you up and we can bypass Whale completely," Merryweather offered. He nodded.
"Okay…just as long as I don't have to look at Whale's punchable face," he grumbled. Snow smiled and slipped her arms around his and leaned against his arm, as they walked away from the mansion.
What should have been a quick drive back to the main part of town and the hospital took a lot longer than expected. It had started. Storybrooke was already being inundated with traffic from the outside world, including civilians and a plethora of media vans. They saw Lucian talking to some of the media, probably advertising his hotel for lodging purposes. But what concerned them the most was they saw a few black SUV's that were likely government vehicles, which meant they possibly had federal law enforcement present as well.
"This is a nightmare," Emma said, as they finally got through the traffic and arrived at the hospital. Cameras started flashing, as the three of them got out of the truck. The others had followed in Gold's car and they joined them.
"Emma Swan…can you speak to the peculiar events that Aleister Bolt has claimed are real and feature you?" one reporter asked.
"Are you actors in his elaborate attempt to blur the lines between fantasy and reality?" another shouted. So not everyone was buying this after all. It made sense that some might think this whole thing was a hoax.
"Do you really expect people to believe that this couple are your long lost parents?" the same reporter continued and she stopped to look at him. The malice in his voice was evident. He clearly thought she was either looking for attention or crazy.
"I've done my homework on you, Miss Swan. You're an orphan and a convict. Your parents abandoned you on the side of the road. Are the three of you in on some con or are you delusional and this couple is just humoring you?" he asked. David wanted to throttle him right there for suggesting their daughter was crazy, but Emma held his arm.
"Dad…don't. He wants us to react," she warned. He sighed and gave the man a cold glare, as they hurried away from the mob of people and into the hospital.
"This is nuts," Neal commented.
"Yeah…they did their homework on me. Guess I should have expected that," Emma said.
"Yeah…which means me too. Probably explains the Feds," Neal replied. Her head shot up and she looked at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged.
"I never went to jail for all the stealing I did back in the day," he replied.
"Then you need to go into hiding," David suggested.
"He's right," Rumple agreed.
"No…" Neal refused.
"You getting arrested and taken away from our son does none of us any good," Emma said.
"I have no intention of letting them arrest me, but I'm also not running again," he said, as he took a chance and took her hand.
"I ran last time and let you take the fall. It was the biggest mistake of my life," he confessed. Snow smiled and put a hand to her heart. She remembered the day that she stopped running. It was when she realized she had found her home; her home in Charming.
"Okay…guess we have experience dodging cops," she agreed, as they made their way to the nurse's station.
"Fauna…" Merryweather called.
"Oh thank goodness…I keep hearing things and people keep saying the town is being invaded," she said.
"Unfortunately, that's a fairly accurate description," Rumple stated.
"And Aleister decided to put us through more trauma for his entertainment. Charming took the worst of it," Snow said.
"Snow…I'm fine," he said, as he grimaced slightly from the pain in his back.
"Oh honey…this is not fine, but I should be able to patch you up," Fauna said, as she led him and Snow to an exam room.
"Thanks…we really don't want to deal with Whale right now," Snow said. Fauna smiled.
"No worries…he's probably drunk somewhere anyway," the peridot fairy answered.
"That's surprising…I thought someone like him would be out in front of the cameras, trying to lap up the attention," David mentioned.
"He probably would be, except someone already let them in on the fact that he's actually Dr. Frankenstein and they're not exactly giving him the kind of attention he likes," Fauna replied. David smirked.
"I'm not going to say I feel bad about that," he said, as he shed his shirt so his wounds could be treated.
"Be nice," Snow chided. He hissed a bit, as Fauna cleaned his lacerations.
"Is it bad?" Snow asked with concern.
"He's lucky…any deeper and he would need stitches. Fortunately, I think we can just bandage and then you'll just need to clean with antiseptic twice a day to prevent infection. I'll give you some antibiotic cream too," she replied. Snow sighed in relief.
"I told you I'm okay," he promised, as he gently kissed her forehead.
Emma waited for her parents and then noticed Lily coming in with a tape recorder in hand.
"Lily…" Emma said. The dark haired girl smirked.
"Long time, no see…" Lily replied.
"I'm actually glad I ran into you…I need to talk to you about your Mom," Emma said.
"You can save all that stuff about family, Emma…it's not for me," Lily replied. Emma opened her mouth, but Lily continued.
"Remember? I had one and they sucked," she added.
"But they weren't your real family. You were stolen from your real Mom, just like I was from my parents. You by Cruella and me by the curse," Emma reasoned.
"Like I said…not interested. After you dumped me as your best friend, I found Tamara and she took me under her wing. She helped me get rid of my adopted family and showed me how lucky I was to be spared from this insanity," Lily said.
"Then why are you here?" Emma asked.
"To expose it all to the world, of course and the dangers of unchecked magic," Lily replied.
"Your boss is the only one with magic right now," Emma argued.
"You're right…but I've heard all the stories. Magic went unchecked and atrocities happened…you can't deny that," Lily replied.
"Maybe…but atrocities happen in this world too and we don't blame anyone except the person that committed it. Why don't my parents and the other innocent people get the same treatment?" Emma asked.
"I'm not here to blame them, Emma…I just want an interview with the people that threw their daughter in a wardrobe and abandoned her. You remember, don't you? You were quite the talk of this area in 1983," Lily said, as she held up an old newspaper about her.
"You're not getting anywhere near my parents," Emma growled. Lily smirked and walked away.
"We'll see," she said.
"Was that Lily?" Snow asked, as they came out of the exam room.
"Yeah…and I hate it, but she's just as brainwashed as Greg. Apparently Tamara had the same effect on her," Emma replied.
"You tried…that's all anyone can ask," David said, as they hugged her between them.
"He's right…I just feel bad for Maleficent. We got really lucky that you don't hate us and want nothing to do with us. I know it could have been very different," Snow said. Emma shook her head.
"We all got cheated. I know now that you never wanted to give me up and it doesn't change that my childhood sucked, but we're all victims in this whole thing," she said, as they walked toward the exit and saw that it was still mobbed by reporters.
"I'm not supposed to, but I can take you out the employee exit. You can bypass the mob that way," Fauna offered. They smiled.
"Thanks," Emma said, as they followed her.
Narcissa positioned her new enchanted mirror and looked at the golden trim. She had asked Aleister for one and he obliged as a reward for her part in exposing Storybrooke.
She took a deep breath and then asked her question.
"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall…who is the fairest one of all?" she asked. The new entity in her mirror appeared and looked much the same as the last one.
"Snow White is the fairest in all the lands," it answered and she clenched her fists, before letting out a yell of frustration.
"I take it you're still not getting the results you want," Regina said, as she stood in the doorway of her normal office. The wall to wall mirrors were unsettling, to say the least.
"What do you want?" Narcissa asked with a glare.
"Despite how much I despise the fact you've brought the world to Storybrooke, you and I still have a common enemy," Regina replied. Narcissa's gaze narrowed.
"And what? You want to team up with me to destroy my niece? I could never trust you," the blonde answered. Regina smirked.
"You don't need to. We've both failed to destroy Snow on our own. But maybe we can get it done if we work together," she suggested.
"I don't want to just kill her…that's not enough. She needs to suffer for all the pain she's caused," Narcissa said. Regina suppressed an eye roll and instead nodded in agreement.
"We agree on that, but in order for your mirror to give you the answer you want, she has to die," Regina said. Narcissa's eyes lit up with a devious glint.
"Or…we destroy her beauty. We scar her pretty face beyond recognition and she loses everything!" she said.
"And how do you plan on scarring her?" Regina questioned.
"I don't know…acid would do the trick and be incredibly painful. You can distract her at the ball and I can throw it in her face in front of everyone," Narcissa said.
"Sounds like a devious plan," Regina replied.
"But if I help you…then you have to do something for me," she added.
"You and your son will be off limits and outside law enforcement will deal with Neal Cassidy," Narcissa said.
"And Emma?" Regina asked.
"She'll be too busy with her mother and Aleister can buy any Judge," Narcissa answered.
"You've thought of everything. It's a deal," Regina said, as she walked out of the office and then outside the Courthouse where Henry was waiting for her.
"You were right…she's insane," Regina said.
"Then she has a plan to hurt Grams?" Henry asked.
"Yes…at the ball, which means now that we know about it, I can double-cross her and stop her," Regina replied, as Henry gave her a long gaze.
"What?" she asked.
"It's just…there was a time that you wanted to hurt Grams, but you've changed," Henry replied.
"I'm trying…you were always right. It feels much better doing something good than evil," Regina said.
"I'm proud of you, Mom," Henry replied. She gave him a genuine smile.
"Well…we have to get you ready for your first ball, though I think we'd all prefer dinner at Granny's instead," she said.
"Definitely, but if everything goes right, we can get that wand and fix everything," he replied. She nodded and they headed off to the shop that was providing evening wear for the upcoming ball.
"Here is he, boss," as two large men dragged August into the Bolt mansion.
"Ah…welcome Pinocchio," he greeted, as he stood up to observe what his hired hands had brought to him.
"Remarkable…" he said, as he marveled at what he was seeing.
"So…you turned back to wood, because you're a thief and a liar?" Walsh questioned, as he flipped through the book.
"Well…his father did dump him in this world with a baby at age seven. That's pretty messed up," Lily commented.
"What do you want with me?" August asked.
"We're going to display you for all to see at the ball. You'll be a highlight of our next video," Aleister replied.
"You can't just make people do what you want!" August cried, as he struggled against the brutes that were holding him. Aleister smirked and waved his wand. August disappeared and reappeared on a stage. He was now attached to some strings and he looked horrified.
"Can't I?" he asked, as he waved the wand and made the strings move, leaving August completely at the mercy of his every whim.
"Oh Emma…" Snow said, as she looked at her daughter in the ball gown. Snow had taken the liberty of calling the shop ahead and picking out their attire, since Emma had no idea how to do any of this.
"And you wore this kind of thing all the time back in our land?" Emma asked, as she looked at the soft baby blue material with uncertainty.
"Well…this wouldn't have been an everyday dress, but we often had to dress the part. Getting dressed in this land is definitely less hassle and more comfortable," Snow said.
"So you'll be wearing something like this too?" Emma asked.
"Yes…though my gown is white. Your father loves the color on me," she mentioned. Snow noticed that calling him that no longer made Emma uncomfortable and she reflected on how far they had come.
"Okay…well, at least it's only for a night and hopefully after that, we have that wand and everything can go back to normal," Emma said. Snow gave her a look and she rolled her eyes.
"Or as normal as Storybrooke gets anyway," she added. Snow smiled and made her way downstairs to check on David, who was trying on his attire for the ball. She felt desire curl in her, as she spotted her husband in the red leather doublet, with velvet sleeves and black leather pants. It brought back a ton of memories and she admired how good he looked, especially his posterior in those pants.
"Are you checking me out?" he asked, with a note of amusement in his voice. She smirked and raised her chin with a sly look on her face.
"I'm always checking you out, handsome. It's hard not to. I can only imagine how crazy you're driving all those women on the Internet. And probably some men too," she mentioned. He shook his head and pulled her into his arms.
"Not interested and I'm always doing plenty of admiring myself, my beautiful wife," he said in a husky tone, as their lips met. It quickly turned heated and passionate, as hands roamed and she pressed her forehead against his when their lips parted. She remembered the wounds on his back and what they were facing and her features showed it.
"I'm okay…" he reminded her.
"I know…but you keep getting hurt protecting us," she replied.
"I'll endure all the scars if it means you and Emma are safe. Good always wins, like you say," he assured her, as there was a knock at the door.
"Oh…that's probably Merryweather. She said she had something she wanted to tell us," Snow said. He smiled and pecked her on the lips.
"I'm going to change back into my regular clothes and I'll be out," he said. She nodded and answered the door.
"Hi honey…" Merryweather said, as they hugged and Snow let her in.
"Would you like some coffee or tea?" she asked.
"Thanks, but I'm fine," Merryweather replied, as they sat down, just as Emma came down and David came out from behind the curtain.
"What did you want to talk to us about?" Snow asked.
"I know that you probably haven't had a chance to talk about it with everything going on, but I know that you remember Wilby from back in our land," Merryweather replied, as she referred to their dog, who was sleeping in his dog bed nearby.
"Wait…how would you know Wilby?" David asked. Snow remembered the morning that Emma had him with her and told them she found him. It seemed like it was so long ago, since everything had been so crazy since.
"Do you remember when you helped that person locked in the prison carriage by the woodcutter?" she asked. She watched the gears turn in her husband's head for a moment and his gaze narrow.
"How…how did you know about that? It was before we met," he replied, as she watched his eyes widen then.
"It was you?" he asked. She nodded.
"I didn't know it until I saw Wilby. I recognized him from earlier when the Woodcutter captured me," she explained.
"Wait…you two met before that day in the forest when you stole Dad's ring?" Emma asked in confusion. Snow shook her head.
"No…he helped kill the Woodcutter and unlocked the carriage, but I wouldn't let him see my face. I knew anyone that helped me would have a target on their back, since I was still on the run from the Queen," she explained.
"And you rewarded him with gold to save his farm. Your hands brushed that day and it was then that your love was actually born. It would only be realized later in the shadows of the Troll bridge," Merryweather said.
"How do you know that?" David asked. She sighed.
"I was always watching you, Snow…I longed to go to you and save you myself. But getting myself banished or worse by Blue wouldn't have done you any good either," she replied.
"But there is a reason I'm telling you this. Something happened that day when your hands brushed. The spark of true love, a very remarkable thing and even more remarkable since you hadn't even truly met yet," she continued. David smiled at his wife.
"We've always known what we have is really special…but even as powerful as our love is, how does that help with our situation now?" he asked. Merryweather smiled.
"I'm glad you asked, because there is a tiny chance there is something that can, though it's a huge gamble, because it may not do anything without magic here," the fairy said.
"And what is it that we're talking about?" Emma asked.
"When your parents' hands brushed that first time they met, it created a spark, which then created a baby sapling. The sapling has the immense power of light magic, just like you," Merryweather replied.
"But I don't have magic in a place without," Emma said.
"To a point, you don't…but you still broke the curse with magic and you've always had breakthrough occasions. I'm sure you're aware of the flickering lights and exploding light bulbs around you throughout your life, specifically in emotional times," she said.
"Yeah…I guess I never thought about it, but you're right," Emma replied.
"But the sapling was created in the Enchanted Forest. Do we know if it even came over with the curse?" David asked. Merryweather nodded.
"It's possible…Longbourne was part of Misthaven and came as well. We just need to find it," she replied.
"Where do we even start though?" Snow asked.
"Well…that's the tricky part, but if I had to guess, it would be in a place that's very special to you both," Merryweather replied. Their eyes widened.
"The Toll Bridge," they said simultaneously. Emma and Merryweather smiled, appreciating the synchronicity.
"Let's go," David said, as they got their coats and hurried out.