Chapter 10: Fruit of the poisonous tree
After the big storm, Emma, Rose and Mary-Margaret were at Granny's having a late breakfast. Emma was telling them how Regina had once again told her to do her job and that she didn't care for Henry. Mary-Margaret pointed out how Regina was just upset about Henry and Emma having the castle.
"I know about it too. I've been there with Henry without Emma." Rose pointed out and Emma nodded.
"Well, he thinks of you as an aunt. So for him, you are real family, just like Emma." Explained Mary-Margaret.
At that moment, Mary-Margaret received a text and left in a hurry. Rose had a hunch about where she was going and decided to talk to her friend about it.
"M&M, do you have a minute?"
The brunette looked at her watch and frowned. She didn't want to be rude to her friend, but she didn't want to make David wait.
"I'm sorry Rose, but I have some urgent mater to attend to. Can we talk later?" She said hurriedly and leaving already.
"I know you are going to see David." Said Rose quickly, before Mary-Margaret could run away.
The woman stopped in her tracks and looked back at the redhead. How did she know? Had she read her message?
"I know because I saw you two kissing." Mary-Margaret gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "M&M, as I told you before, I'm not going to tell you what to do. But you should really think what you are doing. He's still married, and if he's not, he just left his wife. If people found out about your relationship, they would turn on you. They would see you as a homewrecker."
Rose sighed and approached her friend. She put a hand on her arm and squeezed. Mary-Margaret looked at Rose in the eyes and only saw worry.
"I really want you to be happy. But I don't want your friends and the whole town to turn on you because you moved too fast. I know you'll do what you want and I'll accept your decision, but just think it over. Okay?"
Mary-Margaret nodded. Rose smiled softly and went back into Granny's. When she entered, she saw Sidney giving Emma his card. She stood up from the table and Rose and her left Granny's. Rose looked at Emma curiously, and the woman explained what Sidney had told her.
"Are you going to call him?" Rose asked looking at Sidney's card.
Emma took it from her and shook her head. She wasn't planning to call Sidney Glass. She didn't trust him.
Rose Red made her way through the palace gardens. The knights had told her that her father, sister and stepmother were there, along with a visitor that her father had found on the shore. Once she saw the figures near the apple tree, Rose started to run and when his father turned at the sound of her steps, she jumped into his arms.
"Dad!" She hugged him tightly, and the king just laughed and hugged his younger daughter just as tight.
Once she had her feet on the ground, she was tackled in a hug by Snow. Who didn't let go as quickly as her father had.
"Red, you are back! I missed you so much." Rose smiled at her sister.
"I missed you too, White. Hello, Regina. It's great to see you." Rose directed the last part to her stepmother, who she had always considered more as an older sister than a mother.
The woman smiled kindly at the young princess. She was glad to see that the adventurous woman had returned safe once again. She was always worried about her well-being when she went on her journeys.
"I'm happy to see you too, dear. And I'm glad to see that you are okay."
"My little bird, we weren't expecting you back so soon." The king said, bringing his youngest daughter's attention back to him.
"Yes. I was going to be away for at least another month, but I had to come back. Your birthday is today, and I wouldn't miss it for the world." She said with a big smile, that her father returned with a kind one and another hug.
The king then turned to the other man present and introduced the young princess.
"My friend, this is my youngest daughter, Princess Rose Red."
The man nodded his head in acknowledgment and the redhead looked at him curiously.
"I'm sorry, but what are you? You don't sound human." She asked while the Genie looked at her surprised.
"Don't be alarmed my friend. My daughter has a gift of her own." Said the king with a small laugh. "Rose, he is a genie. Have you encountered one in your travels?"
Rose watched the man curiously. She had never seen a genie before.
"I can't say I have." She said to her father. Then she turned to the Genie with eyes filled with wonder. "Would you mind if I asked you some questions?"
The man was still a little surprised by the young princess. He could tell there was something different about her, and he was trying to recall if he had ever met someone with the same energy as the redheaded princess.
"I would be glad to answer your questions, as long as you answer mine." He said with a smile.
Rose grinned and nodded.
That night at the king's birthday celebrations, Rose sat next to the Genie. They were having a nice conversation about his past owners and how their wishes had turned on them.
"Well, I'm not surprised about the outcome of some of those wishes. After all, magic always comes with a price." Rose said with a smile.
The Genie nodded. He knew that better than anyone. He had seen it in every wish, and had lived it. For the magic of being a genie had stripped him of his freedom. After having talked about him all night, he was curious about the young princess' strange gift.
"Tell me Rose, what exactly is this gift of yours? You said that I didn't sound human. What did you mean?"
"Since I can remember, I have been able to hear things that others couldn't." Rose started to explain with a soft smile on her face. "To me, everything has a sound. Humans have a distinct sound that at the same time varies ever so slightly from one person to the other. Then there are animals and plants, but those are harder to discern. I can hear the difference between a wolf and a dog, but that's it."
The Genie nodded. He seemed to remember hearing something like that once. But he didn't want to interrupt the young woman.
"Then there are humans with magic. I can hear them louder than a normal human. I heard a Will-o'-wisp once. It sounded like a soft warm whisper. I met a giant once. He sounded deep but kind." She turned to look at the Genie with a sad smile. "You sound old and trapped, but a little happier now. I had never heard a sound like yours."
"I remember hearing about someone with your same talents." He said and Rose looked at him with wide eyes. "Yes, one of the first lamp's owner spoke about wanting to have the powers of a Chalkydri. They are powerful beings said to materialize as humans from time to time."
Rose was hanging on every word that the Genie was saying. In all her travels, she had found some books about humans with powers like hers, but never a name. The Genie saw the look on the young princess' face and continued.
"I don't' know much about them, as they are very rare to encounter. I know that they have a deep connection with magic and it's said that they can hear the voice of life. Unfortunately, I couldn't grant that wish. It seems that no one can gain the powers of a Chalkydri, you have to be born one. I'm sorry to say that my knowledge on the matter ends there. I wish I could have been of more help."
Rose grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed. She looked at him with a big smile.
"Don't worry. That's more that anyone has been able to tell me. Thank you."
The Genie smiled at the young woman, happy to have been of help. Then, the king stood up to give a speech. Rose went to stand beside Snow, who smiled at her.
Their father spoke about how he didn't need any gifts because he already had his two daughters. Snow White the fairest of them all, who reminded him of his late wife. And Rose Red, the unique beauty with a free spirit.
Rose took notice of Regina leaving and a frown graced her face. Her father saw it and softly asked what the problem was.
"Dad, I appreciate how much you love Snow and I. But I don't' think you are being fair to Regina. She is your wife, but you always compare her to mother." At those words the king frowned too. "I know you loved mom with your heart and soul, but please try to see how Regina feels."
"Oh, my little bird." The king grabbed his youngest daughter's hands in his and gave them a soft squeeze. "You have always told me of your concerns about this matter. And I admit I haven't been fair to Regina. I promise I will try to do better."
With that he kissed the top of her head, and both turned to enjoy the rest of the night.
Rose was sitting in the kitchen counter with a cup of tea in her hand. She was watching Emma and Sidney look at some documents to try to expose Regina. Rose had a frown on her face. She didn't trust Sidney one bit. She had a feeling that he was still on Regina's side and that his help would end up hurting Emma in some way.
Mary-Margaret then entered the apartment with a big smile on her face, and was about to say something when she saw Sidney. She approached Rose and made herself a cup of tea. She agreed with Sidney about doing something that was wrong for the right reasons.
"Yeah. I mean, maybe you're doing something wrong, but if it's what's meant to be, if it's what's right, does that really make you a bad person?" She said with a dreamy look on her face.
"Well, maybe if it feels like you are doing something wrong, it's because it's wrong. Maybe it's not the right way to approach the situation, or the right time." She said the last part giving a pointed look at Mary-Margaret.
After a while, Emma and Sidney left to confront Regina. And Mary-Margaret went to take a shower before Rose could question her about her meeting with David.
Rose was at Granny's with Henry. He was busy writing and drawing the stories from his lost book. Rose was working on her computer and giving Henry a new sheet of paper when he ran out of space. Then the stranger sat down on Henry's other side and started to talk to him.
Henry was suspicious of him and the interest he paid to his stories. He asked the stranger what he was really doing in Storybrooke, and he answered with ʽstuffʼ. Rose snorted into her coco and gave the stranger a look. He stood up and started to exit the diner.
"Good luck with the stories." He said to Henry. "Rose." He just nodded his head at the woman.
"Whatever you say, matey." Rose waved at him.
Once he had left, Henry and Rose looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
Rose Red was in her sister's room that night. They were talking about where Rose had been on her last journey and Snow told her about everything that had happened while she was gone. The room was filled with laughter.
But all of a sudden Rose stopped mid-sentence and her eyes grew wide. There were tears welding up on her eyes.
"Dad." She whispered.
She stood up and exited the room, with Snow close behind her asking her what happened. Snow had only seen her sister like that when their mother was on the verge of death. So she was extremely worried about their father's health. Had something happened to him? On the way to their father's room, Snow told the knights to follow them.
Once inside their father's room, the two sisters saw him on his bed, dead. He had bite marks on both sides of his neck. The knights started a search for the culprit, while the two sisters cried for their father.
Emma entered the apartment and with a defeated sigh threw herself on the couch. Mary-Margaret and Rose looked at her with a frown and sat down beside her.
"Come on, cheer up. "Said Rose. "Today things may have turned bad, but tomorrow is a new day." Mary-Margaret nodded and gave Emma a soft smile.
"Regina can't keep you and Henry apart for long. You will find a way."
Emma sighed again. She wanted to believe her friends, but right now she just wanted to wallow in self-pity.