AN: Welcome to the chapter!
Introducing: Steven R. McQueen as a young Romeo Montague
She could almost make out the coastline that Storybrooke would be as she looked through the long telescope in the ship's crow nest. They were getting closer by the minute. The Jolly Roger lived up to it's name at least. Time wasn't something they had at that moment.
Down below she could see Henry enjoying himself as he sailed the ship with his father, who wasn't bad, she had to admit to herself. Climbing down from the nest she found the rope that would take her straight down on the deck and grabbed it putting the sandbag that was attached to it up with her weight as she went down.
As her boot covered feet thudded on the wooden deck, she was met with Emma coming back from Gold in the Hull
"So, what's the deal with this Apple" Emma asked her as they walked up to find Neal and Henry "if it's as dangerous as it sounds, we need to be ready"
"You remember how I told you about the centuries long war between the Templars and Assassins"
"Wait this fight actually exists?" Neal questioned the assassin talking his eye off the horizon for a second
"As real as the Dark One" she sniped at the man
"I do" Emma interrupted the red head and her EX "you fought over magic"
"We fought over what to do with it. The Templars sought control over people like Rumple, while the Assassins wanted to protect non-users against people like him. Luckily over the years I've been able to keep them quiet"
"What has it got to do with fruit?" Neal asked the woman
"It's far from piece of fruit, its ancient, its rumored to have been created by those who lived before"
"Before what?" Henry asked the woman
"Humans. They saw themselves as dainties and enslaved humans. They created the Pieces of Eden"
"Eden?" Emma drawled out "Seriously?"
"Never mind the name, it what they did that earnt them their name. The Apple is just one of many these 'god's' used to control their slaves. Both the Brotherhood and Templars searched for these pieces for centuries"
"Until someone found one" Emma concluded
"Until I found one" Amelia corrected her "after centuries of none being found they became a myth, like Excalibur is in this land, I found one by accident and realised what it was and gave it to Rumple for safe keeping"
"You seriously trusted him with something like that"
"You don't understand. There are even things Rumple doesn't want to mess with. The Apple is powerful, unpredictable, and no one knows how to use it and there's no record in the Enchanted Forest of what it does"
"Rumple couldn't even touch it when I gave it to him, so he can't use it, so he put it somewhere safe. We think it would be the same for any magic users, its power simply doesn't mix with magic"
"So why are worried about it since they can't use it" Neal asked the assassin
"Cora is powerful, so is Regina, if they got a hand on it and tried to use it, I don't know how much backlash there would be from the Apple, it knocked out your father for days when he tried to control it" Amelia told Neal
"You're saying it could hurt them" Emma asked the woman
Amelia gulped "I'm saying it could take out Storybrooke if they tried hard enough" Amelia saw Henry's eyes fall at the thought of his adopted mother being hurt or killed
Amelia knelt in front of him and grabbed his arms "Hey as long as I have the key no one will get hurt I promise" Henry nodded at the woman before throwing his arms around her neck in a crushing hug she warmly mirrored
"We're here" Neal announced as Henry pulled himself away from the redhead, he didn't like how close she was to his son.
Enchanted Forest
Many Years Ago
It was a typical day for the young brown haired assassin Romeo Montague her accompanied Princess Eva around King Xavier's castle as the royals discussed a possible engagement between his fifth son Prince Henry and the Princess. The Brotherhood usually didn't concern themselves with such matters, but Master Claudius has insisted that he should understand what happened within a royal court and its inner workings. Especially in the event he would have to work with royals in the future.
It also have the Brotherhood the chance to show the Princess's family that having the Brotherhood of Assassin's as an ally would only benefit the kingdom offering one of their young apprentices to escort the Princess on the visit.
He couldn't deny that the Princess was beautiful. Dark hair with pale skin she helps an air of confidence in her. and her voice. It would melt even the deadliest assassin's heart.
Dressed in his traditional assassin robe with his hood down he stood out against the courtiers as Eva hung onto his arm as they looked out into the view of the castle. He hung on to every word she said as King Xavier led the group to turn around and head to the staircase as Romeo saw a girl about his age struggling to carry sacks of heavy flour on her shoulder's, she clearly needed help.
Quietly excusing himself from the Princesses arm he approached the Miller's girl offering his hand and a warm smile to her making her pause to look at the oddly dresses courtier that had approached her. The Princesses face fell in annoyance seeing her assassin so quickly ignore her for a peasant girl, and the Miller's daughter at that.
"May I?" he asked the Miller's girl
She paused in hesitation eyeing the royal's nearby, wondering why he was talking to her "Its fine, I can carry them" she says' shifting the sacks on her shoulders
"I insist, please" nodding in agreement Cora gives him the lightest one to make a point "I'm Romeo"
"Cora" she says' with a smile as he gestures for her to lead the way. She walked forward just as the royals were just about to walk by giving the Princess an idea that would make the girl look a fool in front of her friend. As the Miller's girl walked past her, she deliberately stuck out her leg making the peasant fall onto the stone floor spilling the white flour onto the ground
"Cora!" dropping his own sack, Romeo quickly goes after Cora with an aiding hand. He saw what Eva had done as he sent the Princess a glare as he crouched behind Cora
"You stupid, foolish girl!" the peasant girl exclaimed from the floor as she scrambled to get off the floor
"What happened here?" King Xavier asks turning around to the mess behind him to see the young assassin and the Miller's girl covered in flour
"Oh, the peasant fell. As they do" Eva scoff's out making Romeo glare at her in disappointment
"Are you alright?" the King asked
"I'm fine" Cora tell him as she see's Romeo's helping hand once again in her line of vision gratefully taking it as she got off the ground
"Not you" the King snaps at the peasant looking at the Princess "Eva. Are you alright, Eva?
"Well, she ruined my slippers" Eva tells the King showing the King the specs of flour that ended up on her slippers
"I don't think the girl meant any harm" Prince Henry speaks up for the peasant only to go unheard by his father
"You shall receive no money for the flour, and you will apologize to Eva" King Xavier tells the Miller's girl
"Apologise!? The wench tripped me" Cora harshly retorted
"Curb your tongue! This is Princess Eva from the Northern Kingdom, our honoured guest. She's a very important woman"
"She's a girl"
"And who are you, miller's daughter? What's your name?
The gril holds up her head as she looks down the King as she answers his question "Cora"
"Then kneel, Cora"
"Your majesty I must-" Romeo tries to defend the Miller's girl only to get interrupted
"Quiet Assassin!" the King snaps at him "You are merely a guest here, do not confuse yourself boy" boing his head in defeat the assassin took a step back with his hands behind his back as Cora reluctantly kneels
"Now apologize" the King tells her "Apologize, or this will be the last bit of flour we'll take from you. There are other millers out there.
"I beg your pardon, Princess Eva" Cora states with gritted teeth
"Stay down until we have passed. You are where you belong" at that the royal party left the Miller's daughter and the Novice Assassin in the flour as they walked away Eva looked back to give Romeo a knowing smirk before allowing the King to escort her away
"Cora I'm-" the young assassin tried to apologize to her as she got back to her feet
"Save it" she snaps at him trying to brush the flour off her "You don't need to apologise" she says as she tries to walk to her cart only for the young man to get in her way
"I know it was Eva, she tripped you" he whispered to her as moved to speak in private
"Why didn't you say something?"
"I don't hold any power here, you heard the King"
"The King said you were an Assassin, you're with the Brotherhood, aren't you?"
She had only heard murmurs and whispers in the tavern about men and woman that were trained from almost birth, they were a myth. But one was standing right in front of her, with his warm hands still on her shoulders getting her to stand still
"I' am but I'm still learning. I'm sorry about Eva, she shouldn't have tripped you"
"Why are you apologising for her?" Cora asked him
"Beca-" he was once again as Eva's voice echoed through the halls accompanied with her laughter
"Oh Romeo! Where art thou Romeo!" his head instantly snapped towards her angelic voice that echoed through the castle halls
He loved her. She could see it on his face as he dropped his hands from her, he wanted to go and find her, like the trained pup he was in her hands.
"She'll never love you" she blurted out, it came out a bit harsher than she thought, regretting the words as they left her lips
"I know" he gulps with a sad nod "But I can't" at that the young assassin turned to follow Eva's voice leaving Cora behind
Once on dryland they were met by the royal couple and Ruby. David rushed forward to take over from redhead holding Gold up as they walked towards the pick up truck
with Neal and Emma tied the tugboat to the dock. After seeing the old man to the truck she found Ruby who was holding a tan leather duffel bag in her hands
"Did you get it?" Amelia asked the werewolf as she approached her
"Here" Ruby held out the bag for the Amelia to take but the red head didn't take it straight away as she opened it up and took out the things she wanted. A small smile tugged on the assassin face as she brought out both her leather gauntlets "You missed them?" Ruby teased the woman
"You have no idea" Amelia told the she-wolf pulling them over her leather jacket sleeves and tightening them to her forearms before throwing out for the hidden blades to jump out of their sheathes making the younger woman jump.
Having called ahead she had instructed Lance to allow Ruby to take the bag from her safe in her office and get them to her as soon as she touched dry land. They were in for a fight with Cora and she would need every trick she had to try and defend the old man.
Amelia retracted the blades and turned the safety on them taking the leather bag from the younger woman "Thank you for getting them" she felt the weight of the attachments she had collected over the years
"No problem, though I'm confused why you wanted me to bring the whole bag"
"Let just say II have a few tricks up my sleeves" Amelia winked at the younger woman before heading to the truck they had Rumple sat on as she overheard Mary Margaret speaking to him
"Well, then we'll just have to take the fight to her before that can happen" Amelia raised a brow at the Princess as she dug through her bag looking for the attachment, she needed
"We will" David added
"And this time, we finish it" Mary Margaret continued
"You're finally speaking my language Snow" Amelia drawled out to the former Princess with a proud smirk on her face
"Mary Margaret…" David called out to his wife
"David. She needs to be stopped. She needs to be killed. This is our family. We are going to protect it" David had to more or less drag his wife away from Gold and her to speak to her privately.
Well….that was interesting
"You have what you need?" Rumple asked her through the pain as she brought out the pivot blade attachment out of the bag before detaching her normal hidden blade from her right gauntlet, replacing it with the new blade.
"I do" she tells him
"And the key?" he prodded further
"Gonna lose it"
"Good" he said nodding his head
"You okay?" Emma asked the dark one as she approached the bed of the truck with a blanket
"Ah, I'm beginning to feel a bit stronger. Take me back to my shop. There's magic there that can protect us" Gold informed the saviour as Henry approached his grandfather with Ruby behind him
"Let me guess. I get to go with Ruby" he told his mother knowing where he was going
"You got it, kid"
"I'll keep him out of the crossfire" Ruby reassured his family. Amelia sent the young woman a silent nod in thanks before she attached the small phantom blade to her left gauntlet
"Thank you" the Princess told her best friend
"Don't look so worried. You'll stop Cora. You won't let her get away" Henry told his mother before he walked away with Ruby
And idea came into Amelia's head as the boy retreated with Ruby "Henry" she called after the boy as David and Neal took Gold into a car. Emma watched as Amelia closed the distance between her and her son and went down on one knee and pulled her necklace from her neck that held the key to the Apple of Eden Cora wanted her hands on. Amelia reached around his neck and attached the necklace with the key on it to him
"Get it back to me when this is over" Henry nodded in understanding before he caught up to the wolf. Amelia stood from the ground and headed back to the others meeting Emma with a questioning look on her face.
"Its safer that way. Regina wouldn't let Cora near him"
The group had settled Rumple in the back of his shop on a makeshift bed and instructed Emma to find glass jar as Amelia sat with a shaky Dark One. As they prepared the shop for the upcoming battle. Both her hidden blades had been changed to a pivot blade and phantom blade to face Cora, close combat was the only way she could see having an advantage over the woman.
Emma returned to the man holding a glass jar with a look of confusion "Emma did you find it?" he asked the saviour
"Yeah. There's nothing in it" she tells him as she shakes it creating a clinking sound "What the hell?" She sticks her hand inside the container and takes out something that seems to be invisible
"Invisible chalk. Use it in the front doorway. Draw a line" he instructs her "The rest of you, you might want to prepare for battle" at that Amelia headed for the front of the store but his voice stopped her
"And uh Miss Montague there's something for you in one of the cabinets" he told her cryptically, it would mean one thing, with a nod she left the old man and went into the store and searched through the glass cabinets until she found the item he was talking about until her green eyes picked out the familiar sphere object.
"That sick bastard" she cursed with David overhearing her as she rounded the glass cabinet and picked out the item that he had told her about. She stood up with the ball like object in her hands as David's eyes met hers, worry etching them
"Is that?"
"The Apple" she states "Yeah it is"
The ball was in full swing when Romeo walked into the ballroom, partner's had already filled the floor dancing together as a smile etched onto his face. Now dressed in a more formal version of his traditional robes his hood over his head. His dark metal mask covered most of his face as he surveyed his surroundings seeing the Prince on the other side of the dance floor watching the dancers closely.
He knew the significance of the ball. War's were expensive, he needed a sizable dowery for his family to inherit to fund it, luckily Prince Henry was the youngest of five son's to be married off to a young woman of good breeding, it was very unlikely that he would become King someday, but the bride would become a duchess if she was the lucky one to catch his eye.
"Romeo!" he was brought out of his thoughts as Princess Eva came running towards him a beautiful pastel coloured dress with a pure white mask on coving the top of her face. Her contagious smile was match as she grasped his hand and started to drag him onto the dance floor "Come dance with me"
He didn't fight her as they found a spot on the dance floor. His hand easily found her's as they started to follow the steps with the others around them
"You look very handsome tonight Romeo" she tells him as he hold her with a flat palms feeling her warmth of her body through his gloves "Despite half your face being covered" she adds making the assassin chuckle as they separate at arm's lengths before he spins her back in his arms comfortably catching her
"You look beautiful Eva" he whispers into her ear before she spins herself out of his arms and they come to stand in front of each other. they both bow at their partner before going back into a hold when he see's a figure in a red dress and dark mask speaking to Prince Henry on the side-lines, as they turned, he recognised Cora straight away.
His eye's flicked yellow as the world around him went dark for a minute before picking out Cora and Henry in crowd before they went back to their normal colour without Eva noticing a thing as he picked her up from her legs spinning her around in the air as she held onto his shoulder before she slip back down, their faces ending up mere inches away. Hooded eye's met the other as they paused their routine as they waited for someone to make the move, he's desperately wanted from her, ever since meeting her. She gripped onto his bicep as she looked into his blue eye's.
But as much as he wanted to kiss her. He couldn't. He couldn't have that life.
Making the decision for her he took his head away from her as his picked-out Cora and Henry's private conversation, their voices making vibrations across the room so clear as if he were standing next to them as he took Eva's hand as he led her into the steps to catch up with the other's. Heart break etched her face as she put on a brave face to him as the sting of rejection goes through her eyes.
"Has the King really brought all these wealthy women here to vie to purchase his son? Poor Prince Henry" he heard Cora say to the Prince
"You're very Frank" Henry states looking at her
"Well, I… Oh, my" she feigned shock "You're him. You're the Prince. I am very, very… I'm… I'm a goose, aren't I?"
"I don't know, let's find out. Can a goose waltz?" Henry and Cora join the others on the dance floor and he and Eva continue to dance despite the coldness that now stretched between them, he doesn't hear anything else interesting until King Xavier interrupts the couple
"Excuse me, my boy. May I cut in?"
"Of course, father" at that the Prince finds another woman to dance with.
"Your Majesty. I didn't expect this honour" Cora greets the King
"Tis no honor. Did you think a stolen gown and pilfered mask would keep me from recognizing you? There's straw on your dress. You carry the mill with you, miller's daughter"
"You've got some nerve, disparaging me. You're selling off your own flesh and blood"
"You're an insolent girl. The kingdom has been strained by righteous wars, and we need our gold, yes. We are still miles above your kind. So now go. There's nothing you can offer us other than errant strands of straw"
"That is nothing but delusion"
"What could you possibly have to offer us?"
"I can turn…straw into gold, and solve all your woes" Cora claims to the King making the assassin panic
"Really?"
"But, as you've insulted me, you shall not reap the benefits. Good luck whoring your son" Cora begins to walk away, but King Xavier grabs her arm and makes an announcement to the crowd, making him and Eva stop dancing as they join the crowd to listen to the King
"My loyal subjects! We have a very special personage with us. This woman tells me that she can spin straw into gold" The crowd laughs at her claim including Eva beside him. Cora found Romeo in the crowd despite the mask that covered his face. He was the only one not laughing "And she's going to demonstrate it for us! Fetch a spinning wheel!"
"It takes…time, to gather my thoughts" Cora quickly tells him
"Oh. I tell you what, my dear. Spend the night here, locked in a tower full of straw. Spin it into gold tomorrow, and you can marry the Prince. Fail, and you die"
Even with the protective shield that protected the only entrance to the shop it was a matter of time before the two witches found them. A tremor announced their arrival making the whole shop shake. David rushed to the back to inform Emma and Neal of the impending doom that awaited them on the other side of the door as Amelia remained staring at the door.
David re-joined her and Mary Margaret with Neal and Emma in tow with swords in hand ready to fight witches head on. Stood between Neal and David the door was finally forced open allowing the mother daughter duo enter the shop ready to fight their way to Rumpelstiltskin.
"Regina. Think about what you're doing" Emma tried to reason with the woman, but Amelia knew that look in her eye, she wasn't going to back down anytime soon.
"Don't talk to me" While everyone is distracted, Mary Margaret sneaks out the side door. Regina creates a magical fireball and hurls it at the group, only for David to deflects it with his sword. Annoyed, Regina magically throws David out the front door and locks him out.
Cora magically threw Emma back in the wall as Amelia raised her left gauntlet as the small limbs sprung out letting out a small bolt out aimed at Cora's head, the small blade only missing the older woman by a whisker.
Neal went in for the attack and swung his sword only for him to miss as Cora vanished dropping the Dark One's dagger in a cloud of purple smoke before reappearing next to Amelia. Behind her Regina had Emma against the wall choking the blonde saviour.
Unsheathing the pivot blade using her fingers to turn it so that it rested in the palm of the hand like a normal dagger going for the older witch, Cora saw the attack and simply waved her hand so that Amelia hit the wooden floor Infront of the witch. Hitting the ground with a painfully thump taking the brunt of it on her back.
The incident made the former Queen discreated enough for the saviour to take full advantage and turn he tables with the woman, so she was up against the with a knife held up against her throat as the Amelia struggled to get up from her current position.
Slowly Cora appeared above her a small smirk gracing her face as she looked down as the helpless assassin as the next phase of their plan came to light. Killing the assassin and gaining the key to the Apple of Eden.
She couldn't do anything as Cora pushed the sole of her heel on her forearm rendering it useless as Emma and Neal watched with their hearts in their mouths.
The redhead struggled to get up as her back protested any movement to get back up as the older Mills woman hovered over her "Nice to see you again dear" Cora sweetly greeted the woman on the floor
"Ophelia needed to die" Amelia growled out as Cora pressed her heeled foot harder into the red heads arm making a painful groan escape the redhead's throat.
"Oh, I understand. Regina informed me of the reasons behind the murder of my most trusted advisor" Cora started almost in sympathy "That's why I hope you understand why I need to kill you" Cora raised her hand at the redhead as Regina's heart stomach dropped at the sight of Amelia on the floor about to kill her.
"Even when I can give you The Apple" Cora's hand suddenly dropped at Amelia's offer
"You have it?" Amelia nodded as she reached into her jacket pocket with her free and pulls out a bronze ball like object that was engraved all the way around.
Emma's eyes widened seeing Amelia giving Cora something she adamantly told them she couldn't have "Lia no" she couldn't stop herself saying outload
"What'll be Your Majesty? Kill me or have the Apple on a silver platter" purple smoke engulfed The Apple and reappeared in the older woman's hand.
"Finally," Cora sighed in awe of the powerful object a the sphere shone bright through the deep engravings as she held the Apple in one hands and lifted it up high as she feel the power that came from the piece of Eden.
However, the moment was short lived however as the light suddenly went out with it's power. She felt had suddenly dissipated. It was fake.
Amelia chuckled to herself making the Mill's woman look at the redhead who had managed to stand up without her knowledge and stood in front of her "I'm sorry. Did I step on your moment?" Regina saw the look in Amelia's look and the way she was standing.
"Mother!" Regina warned Cora as Amelia suddenly spun herself around lifting her right leg to send into Cora's head only for the woman to duck from the powerful kick allowing the assassin to kick the fake Apple out of Cora's hand and across the room.
Emma used this open opportunity to push Regina into her Mother making them crash into the glass cabinet together
"Fall back to Gold! I have the chalk" she tells Neal and Amelia who immediately follow her instructions and ran into the back room as Emma drew the inviable wall in the doorway creating a protective barrier. Amelia gave Cora a mock salute as the mother and daughter stood back up and saw the redhead through the shield before Emma pushed the Assassin back.
Amelia made her way back to Gold who was lying on the bed looking worse for wear as she crouched down next to him and took his hand in her's
"David?" Emma said into the phone as Gold's eye's opened to see the Assassin holding his hand
"Hey old man your plan worked" Amelia told the man gently as he nodded his head in acknowledgment as he weakly patted the top of her hand "We're going to figure something out Rumple" Neal heard the desperation in the Assassin's voice, she sounded scared.
"I know" he breathed out "I know" he repeated himself "I'm sorry"
"About what?"
"I'm so sorry Juliet" he breathed out again as his eyes drifted shut, she snatched her hand away from his and stood up as the name sent her mind spiralling. That was the second time he had called her that in 24 hours.
Neal cleared his throat and looked back to Amelia and his father "It's getting weaker. She's going to get through" Amelia was brought back to the issue at hand
"Maybe it's for the best" Gold said to his son defeated "At least this cursed power will pass from this world"
"No. No, you're not dying" Neal told him taking a seat next to his father
"I am dying. That much is certain. I need to talk to Belle" he told the others looking at Emma "Emma, please"
"Who's Belle?" Neal asks Amelia and Emma. Emma relents and dials a number and hands her cell phone to Mr. Gold
"Your dad's girlfriend" Gold holds the phone up to his ear as Amelia moved out of the way to the other side of the room. Emma saw Amelia's odd behaviour that all stemmed from her small conversation with Gold
"Are you okay?" she whispered to the red head as Gold spoke to Belle
"I'm fine" the assassin told the blonde. The saviour didn't push any further as they listened to Gold's end of the conversation with Belle
"I-I… I know. I know" he stuttered into the cell "It's just… Sweetheart, I… I'm dying. I know that you're…confused about who you are. So, I'm going to tell you. You are a hero, who helped your people. You're a beautiful woman, who loved an ugly man. Really, really loved me. You find goodness in others. And when it's not there, you create it. You make me want to go back. Back, to the best version of me"
Amelia felt a tear leave her eye as his words resonated in her head.
"And that never happened before. So, when you look in the mirror and you don't know who you are, that's who you are. Thank you… Belle…" Mr. Gold hangs up the phone. Neal clears his throat and breaks the awkward silence.
"Didn't know you had that in you" Neal told his father
"Oh, I'm full of love. I've spent a lifetime looking for you. For a chance to say I love you. And I'm sorry"
"I didn't think you would go back on our deal"
"I just made the wrong choice. May I?" Mr. Gold extends his hand to Neal.
"I'm still angry"
"I know…" Neal takes his dying fathers hand in his.
The three were suddenly up in action as they heard the barrier break through Cora's efforts. Amelia aimed her phantom blade at the doorway as Neal grabbed his sword as Cora waltzed into the back room.
"You three-out the way" Cara said as she waved her hand and a purple smoke eloped Amelia, Emma and Neal out of the shop and in the middle if the Storybrooke forest.
He'd never felt so angry in his entire life. The only time he had been angrier was when he finally ended Jamie Capulet's life after he had killed his parents and sister in their sleep before Claudius had found him and taken him under his wing. But this was dangerous. Cora didn't know what she was getting herself into when she promised to turn straw into gold.
Luck was in his side as he scaled the tower to the window where Cora would be housed in for the night as she made good on her promise, not that any heavy downpour of rain or high winds would knock him off, but it made it easier for him to get the window without anyone seeing him. Finding the ledge of the open window the assassin easily let himself into the tower to find Cora surrounded by straw and a spinning wheel. Whirling around Cora found Romeo completely drenched in rainwater with his hair stuck to face as water dripped down his face in river's
"Romeo!?" Cora exclaimed seeing the assassin appear in the tower
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he says quickly closing the distance between them until he was a mere foot away from her
"Excuse me?"
"Making gold from straw! Do have a death wish?"
"Coming from an assassin clearly in love with the Princess"
"Don't turn this on me. You need to escape; I'll take care of the guards all you have to do is run and never look back"
"What if I don't' want to?"
"They'll kill you, Cora!" he suddenly exclaimed "There are people here that will do anything to stop people like you. I come from a place magic can't hurt you, you'd be safe from anyone that would want to hurt you, all you have to do is say yes"
"I don't want your help" Cora tells the assassin in training
"Why not?"
"Because I don't live if your world Romeo"
"You won't live in any world if you carry on with what you are doing, Once I leave so does my offer, this path you take only goes one way, and I won't be able to help you"
Her silence was her answer. Shaking his head in disbelief he turned his back on her and stepped up to the windowsill that he had just climbed through ready to make his exit only to look back to the young woman that had turned down his only offer.
"Goodbye Cora" at that the young assassin bend his knees and leap off the edge. Cora ran to the window to see a figure disappear into the sea
"That's never going to work" A almost shrill voice said behind her making her forget about the young man that had tried to save her to see another by her spinning wheel with almost scaled skin and long grey straggled hair that went down to his shoulder's "I mean, you'll escape, but you'll be dead. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"
The next morning Romeo stood next to Eva as Cora demonstrated turning straw into gold, in front of the whole court including the King. He could see the magic that now surrounded her, he couldn't take his eye's off it as he spotted Rumpelstiltskin aka The Dark One watching in the crowd. No one noticed him but him.
He tried to warn her, he was too late.
"Here. Here's your gold" Cora said presented him with the string of gold that would save his Kingdom as she looked towards the young assassin that tried to save her the previous night
"This… Did you really do it?" the King asked in awe of the woman in front of him. She alone could solve all his kingdom's problems and then some more.
"You saw it with your own eyes"
"You're just a miller's daughter.
"I am so much more"
"You've earned him" Xavier says sending his son forward. Henry gets on his knee to propose to Cora
"Cora… If you will do me the honour of accepting my hand in marriage" the prince proposes to her
"Yes" she accepts
"A shame, I liked him" he heard Eva say to him as she wound and arm around his. Despites their moment last night she still wanted to be around him.
"Don't worry Princess, you'll find someone more worthy of you" he tells his friend
"You think so?"
"Mmm" he hums with a gently smile "Someone that can love you as much as I do" he tells her honestly.
"Really?" A graceful smile mirrors his own at the thought
"They'll have to get through me first though" he teased with her making her laugh. He could settle for a friendship with her, but he knew his heart longed for something more with someone else.
Cora was dead. Mary Margaret had killed the Mill's matriarch. Regina was in the wind. And all she wanted was to sleep.
Climbing the flight of stairs to her apartment as her bed and shower called out to her. However, that plan was quickly put to an end as she found her apartment door wide open. She knew she left it locked tight when she left.
From the way the frame had splintered on the lock it had been kicked in. In the threshold of her apartment, she found it had been turned upside down, glassed covered the floors and the cushions on her couch had been ripped open and the stuffing had been pulled out.
It was the same in her kitchen, bedroom and bathroom where she found Lance trying his best to clean the mess in her bedroom. Her bartender stopped what he was doing and stood up straight to see her eyes scanning the damage the tornado that had apparently ripped through her apartment while she had been away. There was only person with a handy hook as a hand who would've ripped through her pillows so easily.
"Amelia" the man greeted the assassin "Your back"
She didn't know what to feel at that moment. Angry that the pirate had the confidence to do something like this, or completely overwhelmed that her inner sanctum had been shattered into pieces in some places. He was looking for the key for Cora. That was the obvious explanation for the mess he made. No stone was left unturned as he didn't take any chance to were the secretive assassin would hide something so important.
"Go home Launce" she tells her friend with a tired sigh as she walked back into the living room with him following her
"We heard what happened at the pawn shop" he tells his boss "I just came over to see if it was true and then I saw the door wide open…"
"Go home" he didn't need to be told a third time as he nodded and made his way through the debris and out of the apartment. She took off her jacket and threw it into the tip that was her apartment and perched herself on the windowsill that overlooked the town as she let the last 24 hours sink in.
Now she was homeless. She couldn't stay in her apartment. She didn't want to move until she had to make herself pack and find herself a room in the Inn. Bringing her knees to her chest and rests her head against them as she allowed herself to close her eye's for the first time in too long.
A pair of heels slowly entering the apartment before she heard the already smashed glass crack further from the weight, made her open her to see Regina herself carefully walking around the room trying to step around the mess
"Now you're the last person I would've expected to be here" Amelia greeted Regina with. grief never looked good on her.
"I take this was Hook's doing" Amelia pointed to the apartment floor as she stood up from her 'perch' "He left no stone unturned looking for the key, he even ripped the only sketches I had of John" her voice started to choke at the invasion of privacy and lack of respect the pirate had for her belongings.
"I'm sorry" were the first words out of the Queen's mouth
"You need to go" she plainly tells the former Queen
"Melia please"
The anger that simmered was coming to the front as she didn't hold back with the woman in front of her "Why did you come here exactly? Hm? Mommy's dead now I'll go to the one person that just might sympathise with you. Tell you everything will be, okay?"
"N-no" she was surprised at the redhead's animosity at her, she'd never spoken to her like that even when she accidently mentioned John and Thomas
"We're done" she meant every word. Her own vengeance was over, and the curse had been cast and broken. She no longer needed to be with her anymore.
"Excuse me?" Regina her eyes narrowed at the Master Assassin in front of her
"Consider our partnership over" she announces to the woman in front of her "or whatever the hell we are or were, its over, I'm done. As soon as you let Cora into your head, you knew it was over"
"You left to go to New York if I remember right" Regina retorted stiffly pushing her shoulders back.
"I left to finally get Rumple off my back once and for all. That man we brought back was my final contract with the old man. I did it for us!" Regina was taken aback at Amelia's burst of anger towards her
"-Everything I did even before you cast the damn curse was for you. That is all I have ever wanted, Regina. You were so caught up in your own vengeance you never saw what mine was doing to me, I darkened my heart for you and that still wasn't enough"
"Please" Regina scoffed at the redhead her face scrunched up in anger "you're not innocent in all this, you betrayed me remember. You hurt me"
"Maybe i did" she shrugged "But I never betrayed you"
"I offered you a chance to walk away from this remember, to be happy with me. But I would never be enough for you. I've had enough of cleaning up your messes, I've had enough of you. And I'm just angry I didn't do anything sooner because I would've stopped you even if it meant breaking my own heart" she admitted to the woman in front of her
Regina had blink away the tears that threatened to spill, she wasn't going to break now, not in front of her "What about this Apple? You never told me what it could do, I had to learn about it from her"
"I never told you about the Apple because I didn't want you to die. Did Cora ever tell you that it could kill you and every person in town if either of you the second you touched it, including Henry" the sentence finally struck something with the woman in front of her as her eye's widened as her eye's watered. Cora didn't mention that at all.
"You don't know that" her voice finally broke
"I do" she nodded "It's a ticking time bomb, just waiting for someone as power hungry as Cora to think they can control it. Handing over the fake one proved that's all she wanted from you. That's all she wanted Regina and she was willing to go through everyone, to get what she wanted"
"You tricked her" she growled through gritted teeth
"No" she shook her head at her "Tricking her was the easy part, the hard part was making her believe it was the real one, but it worked, maybe you two are the same that way"
Seeing red the former Queen stepped forward with an outstretched hand ready wrap it around her pale neck only for the next sentence from the woman to stop her.
"You should've used my heart" she told the former Queen without missing a beat
Regina's angry face slackened at the question. What did she just say?
"I followed you to see Rumple. I know it was either me or Henry. You should have used my heart to save me from everything you have put me though, everything I have done to myself. And everything that I have ever done in the name of vengeance. Then at least a good man would still be alive"
She wanted to tell the redhead why she chose her father over her. Her father was the lesser of the two. Because she couldn't imagine being in a new world without her.
But why couldn't she tell her. Not even a week ago she had stood in front of the redhead as she did now and told her she loved her.
Her silence was all the answer the redhead needed
"Get out"
"Melia…"
"I'm not some heartless Huntsman you can turn on a whim Regina. I still have my heart even if I forgot about it for a while and I'm certainly not your Widow anymore"
Amelia took in a deep breath as she pushed back the tears that were threatening to fall.
Not giving Regina a second to reply as she stormed into her bedroom and started to furiously pack. The last thing she heard was her front door being slammed shut before she completely broke.
It was late when she walked into the Inn that sat behind Granny's diner, she packed anything and everything that could be fixed over time in a bag including her sketches of John she kept around the apartment into a single bag as well as the tan leather bag that held all her gauntlet attachments. She entered the Inn and rang the bell to announce her presence.
Ruby was surprised to see Amelia stood at the desk with a duffel bag around her shoulder as she came to behind the reception desk
"Any room at the Inn, Little Red?" the redhead greeted the werewolf
"Forest or Square view?" Ruby asked the woman with a sympathetic smile
"Forest is fine" Ruby grabbed a key from the behind and led the former Assassin to her room. She didn't expect anything fancy as red opened to door to her temporary home and let herself in. A simple bed, a dresser with trinkets scattered on the surface, with a simple bathroom attached to the room, with a table by the window with a windowsill big enough for herself to lose hours staring out into the forest.
"Everything okay?" the she-wolf gently enquired with the red head as she placed the key to the room on a small table next to the door, she watched the assassin slowly move around the room after depositing her bags on the bed until she reached the window gently drawing back the curtains to get a clear view of the woods outside her window.
"No" she lets herself tell the younger woman "Everything's not"
"Can I get you anything?" she offered the redhead, she looked like she needed the whole bar "Call anyone for you?"
Turning around she saw the concern on Ruby's face like she was seconds away from calling for help "I'll be fine" the small smile was almost convincing if it wasn't for the tears that threatened to fall at any second "Goodnight"
At that Ruby left the assassin to her night. Tomorrow would be a new day.
AN: Don't hate me
The course of true love never did run smooth after all.
Shout to MadMonki and tdo52014 for the following this story
Hope everyone enjoys this chapter
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