Chapter 10

Emma was still perturbed with what Graham revealed as she looked over Amir's file again. There wasn't really much to go through. It was as if Gold wanted her to uncover his secrets to expose him. Perhaps Gold knew exactly what Amir was doing at his bar and couldn't find any evidence to put him away so he wanted Emma to find them.

Her head soon perked up to find Mr. Gold tapping his cane on the ground while limping through the door. She knew he wanted something. He would never approach her out of the kindness of his heart to see how she was doing.

"Sheriff Swan."

"Gold," Emma leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms before asking him bluntly, "is there a reason you're here?"

"I am only interested to know how far along you are into the investigation."

At that moment, she knew exactly why he approached her. His posture even became stiff and he clutched onto his cane when he mentioned Amir's name, and Emma didn't understand why Gold was so invested in this case. It was almost as if he hated Amir more than Graham.

"I'm working on it."

"So you haven't looked hard enough then." Gold smirked coldly.

"Look, I kept an eye on it yesterday, and I didn't see any criminal activity going on in there. If you know something, then why not give me information?"

"Oh, I'm afraid that is your job as sheriff. Not mine. Just like Mr. Humbert, I also could not find any incriminating evidence against him since he's good at covering his tracks."

Right then and there, she knew why he gave her the case. "And you think I can find them?"

He smirked before telling her, "I think...anyone can do anything if they want it very much."

As much as Emma wouldn't mind putting Amir behind bars since she didn't trust him, she still needed to see if there was a reason to arrest him, and she wanted to know why Gold was more determined than her. "And what did Amir do to you? You want him gone so bad. Why?"

"That's my concern," he told her firmly with an unpleasant smile. "Your job is to uncover his secrets and expose him, and I'm afraid that you're not looking hard enough."

Emma got more aggravated the more Gold was pestering her about this case, so she told him off, "I'll find it."

"Oh, I know you will, because it will only get worse for you if you don't in time."

With his final words, he walked out of the sheriff station, leaving Emma dumbfounded over this whole case. Gold threatened her to find something about Amir. She never really had seen him this serious before. Whatever he wanted, he wanted to make sure that Amir didn't get it, but Emma couldn't figure out what. Only time would tell she assumed.

Past

Hearing everything Regina told her about Grim still broke Odette. She never thought it would be this painful to know that someone she trusted was in a romantic relationship with someone so vile. She couldn't even be around him anymore. The pain in her heart was too unbearable. She was nothing more than a lovesick fool.

She was even sure that Grim and Derek noticed it too because they hardly see each other anymore. Even if they ever made eye contact, Odette would immediately go to the other direction or interrupted him and Derek when they approached her once as Odette said that she needed to go.

When Odette reached the water gardens, she was still amazed by its beauty, she soon froze when she saw Rothbart staring at a bush of hydrangeas. She was puzzled to see him so calm yet his eyes expressed sorrow. He then held his hand out, and before Odette knew it, it burned a bright orange light. He then maneuvered his hand in a circular motion. All Odette did was marvel at more hydrangeas growing.

When Rothbart finally noticed her, Odette had no choice but to go over to him slowly. When she stood by his side, he didn't say anything to her. He just kept staring at the hydrangeas. Even though Odette still didn't trust him after conspiring with Sinbad to control or kill her father by knowing about the dagger.

"Do you know what hydrangeas symbolize, Odette?" When Odette turned to him after saying that she didn't, he told her, "Depending on their color, they can mean many things, but these green ones here represent renewal, rebirth, and good fortune. There was someone I knew who had a deep love for these flowers."

That caught Odette by surprise as she asked, "Who?"

Rothbart simply just stood there, ignoring her question and continued to stare at the flowers, leaving Odette stunned. She had never seen Rothbart act this way before. It was rather strange. Normally, he carried a sickening grin and tried reassuring her that only he could protect her.

"Go back to your room now," he instructed.

Odette gave him one last look before she did as she was told by leaving Rothbart alone. When she glanced back at him, she wanted to be a little persistent by asking him who he knew that loved those flowers. Whoever it was must have been important to the sorcerer because he refused to take his eyes off of them.

Present

Nora still couldn't believe that Graham was back. A part of her wanted to go to his apartment to confront him, but she remembered that he wasn't there anymore, which meant that he was living somewhere else. On top of that, she didn't know if she wanted to confront him. He might not even give her an excuse by saying that he still couldn't tell her, which frustrated her even more just by thinking about it.

When she heard a knock on her door, she went over to it and opened it to find Ruby wearing a red cocktail dress. "Hey, looks like you're not ready."

Nora sighed, remembering, "Oh, Ruby, I'm sorry. I completely forgot."

"Well, that's okay. I'll just wait."

Nora didn't want to let Ruby down since they often went together to hang out at the bar by having a girl's night almost every night, but Nora was still upset about Graham. "I'm sorry, Ruby, but I don't feel like going."

"Why not?"

She didn't want to tell Ruby why, but she felt like she had no other choice, knowing that Ruby wouldn't let it go. "Because ever since I met Graham again, I just...I don't know. I just don't feel like going."

As Ruby just stood there, she eventually had a smirk on her face as she said, "Well, you know what I think? You can't let him ruin your night." When Ruby noticed the sad look on her face, she asked, "Do you still want to be with Graham?"

That made her snap her eyes at him as she was stunned by her question. "What? No. I-No. I don't."

"Then let's go," Ruby told her, grabbing her shoulders. "The best way to get over a guy is to go out and find someone else."

Even though Nora didn't want to go, she didn't feel like she had any other choice when Ruby insisted. That was why she got herself ready by wearing a mini black dress with Ruby's help by zipping up her dress. She then put on some makeup, grabbed a small clutch, and put on some heels before going outside to meet with her friend.

They then headed to The Moonlight Mirage, and Nora was a little anxious going in. After what happened between her and Amir, she didn't really want to see him. She didn't know how much she hurt him. He seemed to have forgotten her as he was smooth talking to a woman across the room until he noticed Nora to which his eyes slightly narrowed at her, causing Nora to feel a little uncomfortable. Thankfully, he focused his attention back on the girl as he introduced her to another man at his bar before walking away to tell Mr. Smith something.

"Come on. Let's get drinks," Ruby said with a cheeky grin as she pulled her over to the bar.

As soon as Nora placed her order, she looked around the room again. Her eyes soon widened when she saw Graham playing pool with another man. She couldn't look away from him as her heart clenched from seeing him. It wasn't until when he looked over and noticed her that Nora finally turned away from him and took a long sip of her drink to take away her anxiety as Ruby noticed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Graham's here."

Ruby glanced over to see him before she turned back to Nora. "Nora, you can't let him get to you like that. What he did to you, you need to get over it."

"Easier said than done," Nora scoffed.

Ruby then smirked as she told her, "Well, there is one way to get over him. Be with someone else. That's what I always do. Just beat 'em up and move on to the next."

Nora didn't know how she felt about that. She already felt guilty about sleeping with Amir, and that didn't feel right to her since Graham told her to wait and she didn't. Now, Ruby was telling her to get together with someone else, and Nora was sure she would feel the same if she did. However, that didn't mean that she was still pissed off with Graham every time they made eye contact with each other.

Taking another sip of her martini, Nora gathered the courage to go over to another man. He noticed her right away, but Nora didn't care. She quickly grabbed his jacket and pulled her to him as she closed her eyes and kissed him hard. The man was definitely shocked at first, but he returned the kiss until Nora pulled away and glanced over at Graham to see him watching her.

Nora didn't even say anything to the man as she walked back to the bar where Ruby was waiting for her with a cheeky grin. "Wow, Nora. I didn't know you had that in you."

She felt the need to take another drink before answering her friend, "Felt like I had to to make a point to Graham."

"Ugh, quit worrying about Graham. You just made out with a hottie, and...he hasn't taken his eyes off you."

Nora couldn't help but look back at the man she just kissed and saw him staring at her with a wicked grin, but Nora didn't really care about him. She only did it to try to take her mind off of Graham. It was a little hard to do though considering that Graham was in the same room as them and observed the whole thing. On top of that, Nora couldn't lie when she actually imagined it was Graham kissing her. She never forgot the spark she had with him. It was almost as if they were meant to be together, yet Nora knew it was impossible.

She couldn't stay here anymore now that Graham was there, so she grabbed her clutch and told Ruby, "Ruby, I'm sorry. I thought maybe I could handle it, but I can't. I need to go."

She didn't bother to hear what Ruby had to say. Nora just walked out of the bar with her heels clacking against the sidewalk. There was no way she could continue to stay in there a minute longer. It was too painful seeing Graham. That was why she needed to leave.

When Nora went through an alleyway, she could have sworn she heard someone behind her, so she turned around only to not find anyone. Her nerves shot up as she asked if anyone was there. There was no answer, so she walked again only to hear footsteps. That was when she turned around again and didn't see anyone. She knew someone was following her, and it only freaked her out even more as she tried to steady her breathing.

It wasn't until when she felt a hand on her shoulder that she yelped and quickly spun around only to find Graham who stared at her with concern.

Past

When Grim walked down the halls, he thought it was a bit unusual that Odette was ignoring him. He didn't understand why. He saw that they made eye contact, but she just turned away from him. She didn't want to be around him, and it confused Grim. Before she wanted to be around him, and now, she changed completely. At least he had a chance to confront her when he saw her in the halls.

She froze when they made eye contact, but instead of acknowledging him, she turned away again, causing Grim to get irritated as he caught up with her and got in front of her to keep her from leaving. "Nora, what are you doing?"

She couldn't even look him in the eye when she told him, "I need to go to my room."

Before she had a chance to move past him, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn back to him. "Your room is in the other direction."

Grim was not going to allow her to do this. He was determined to find out what was wrong with her. There was no way she was fine with him yesterday and then ignore him today. He even got her attention by cornering against the wall with his hand beside her head to keep her from leaving.

"Nora, what's wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since I got back, and Derek thinks the same too." When she didn't answer, he speculated, "Did Rothbart say anything to you?"

That got her attention, but not in the way that he thought as she told him, "Do you think it's really a good idea to be around me when you're with someone else?"

"What?"

"I know about you and the Queen," she admitted.

At that moment, Graham knew as he lowered his head and brought it back to meet her eyes. "She told you, didn't she?"

"It doesn't matter if she did."

The way she spoke sounded broken. It was almost as if she was hurt by this revelation. Grim wanted to tell her why since the more he thought about it, the more he realized how their situations were somewhat similar. They were both trapped in the castle with no hope of escaping. That was why he wanted her to know that she wasn't alone.

"Nora, I don't have a choice." Odette was confused as she stared at him, so he continued by asking, "How much do you know about Snow White?"

She shook her head, saying, "Not much, except that she's a criminal who murdered her own father, and now, she's on the run, but why are you asking me that? What does that have to do with this?"

"Because I let her escape," Grim admitted. "The Queen hired me to kill her, but I couldn't do it, so I let her run away, and now she's a wanted criminal. For my defiance, the Queen took my heart out. She controls me, Nora. I don't have a choice but to follow her every word."

Her lips parted in stunned silence when he revealed the true reason why he was with her. He was ashamed to admit it, but he needed to tell her since he didn't have much a choice after seeing that she wasn't speaking to him. Odette was one of the only decent humans in this whole castle who he could get along with. He didn't want to lose her.

"Have you ever thought about just getting your heart back?"

"If I try, then it will give her a reason to crush my heart. I can't risk it," Grim said, shaking his head. "That's why I keep telling you to be careful and not to draw too much attention, so take my advice and just bring your head low so that they won't know what you're up to."

With his final words, Grim left, leaving her dumbfounded. He hoped that he got through her by showing her to not be afraid and to be stealthy from now on whenever she acted. He still couldn't forget when she dueled against Sinbad to show him and Rothbart that she wasn't afraid. Now, she caught the Queens attention, and Grim was not going to allow her to make anymore enemies by getting herself killed when she needed him.

Present

Graham continued staring at Nora, and she saw that he was worried about her as her eyes were getting glassy. She admitted that she was terrified that someone was following her, but she didn't want to admit it to Graham. A part of her wished that he wasn't here since she was still angry at him, but then again the other half of her was relieved that he was here.

She swallowed the small lump in her throat as she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"When you left, I saw the man you kissed leave right after you. I wanted to make sure you're alright."

Nora should have known that it would happen. She was just very unlucky when it came to men. First Graham, then Amir, and now a random stranger. She wanted to tell him that she was fine now, but she also didn't want Graham to leave her.

Realizing how scared she was, he took a deep breath and looked around before putting his hand beside her head, causing her to look at him. When he turned back to her, they were staring at each other. Nora couldn't take her eyes off him when he leaned in and put his mouth over hers. His lips were soft, supple, and gentle when he kissed her.

Nora found the same connection she felt when she was first with Graham, and it only intensified whenever they touched each other, especially when they kissed. She even closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet moment until Graham pulled away. She was confused why it ended so quickly since she knew he wanted to be with her.

He then caressed her cheek and whispered with his lips hardly brushing over hers, "Open your mouth."

She did as she was told, allowing him to make-out with her. It had been a while since they were together like this. Nora thought this was wrong since she was still so angry at him, but she couldn't explain why it felt right to do this as he delved his tongue inside her. She never felt this way about anyone before. She even practically pressed herself against him, wanting more, but she was a little disappointed when he broke away again to look back.

When he turned back to her, she was breathing somewhat heavy, while he stared at her intently. It was clear that he wanted to continue, which was why Nora didn't understand why he stopped. It even became clear to her why he kissed her in the first place when he stepped away from her and told her, "He's gone now."

Nora finally looked over but still didn't see anyone. Graham must have seen him around, so he wanted to show the man that she already moved on. It sort of made Nora's heart clench since she still wanted to be with Graham, but she knew she couldn't. As nice as the kiss felt, there was no way she could be with him since he had no excuse as to why he was seeing Regina.

"I need to go."

Graham didn't allow her to take two steps as he grabbed her arm. "No. I'm not letting you go on your own."

She was now getting annoyed that he acted this way towards her. "I'm fine now, okay?"

"Well, I'm not fine until I know that you're safe." His words shocked Nora for his consideration of her, and she wanted to argue when he added, "I'll take you to my place."

"No. It-It's okay. Just...take me home."

Nora knew she wasn't going to win this fight when she saw how determined he was. "I don't want him to keep following you by knowing where you live. Let's go."

Against her will, Nora followed him to his home. She couldn't help but think how it was kind of nice yet nervous she was. The more she walked alongside with Graham, the chiller she got along her spine. She didn't want to get tempted to be with Graham alone in his home, but she knew Graham would never do anything to her, so she went with him.

Past

After everything Grim told Odette, she felt the need to face him, and she knew exactly where he would be when she couldn't find him in the castle. She made sure no guards were looking when she stepped through the wall after removing the stones and headed into the forest. She passed through many trees and branches until she found Grim with Akela, but she froze when she saw Grim's back exposed to her.

It was covered with horrible scars that were red and thick. He flinched when he poured some water from the stream onto his back as he grunted in pain. He soon stopped what he was doing when Akela perked his head up and trotted over to Odette as she petted him. Grim then turned to see her, and they finally made eye contact.

Odette made her way over to him and observed his back by seeing how deep his wounds were, so she gasped when she saw his state more clearly. "How did this happen?"

He looked away from her, almost ashamed to admit, "Rothbart. After I scared Sinbad's face, Rothbart wanted to teach me a lesson by taking me to the dungeon and flaying my back."

She looked she was about to cry the more he spoke, so she released a breath and sniffled back her tears. "Are you okay now?" Instead of saying anything, to her, he looked away, which made Odette feel worse. "Grim, I'm sorry. I understand what you're going through, and you were right about me. My name's not Nora. It's Odette."

That caught Grim's attention as he looked back at her. Odette swore she would never tell anyone, but she didn't want to lose Grim as a friend. Her heart also beat quickly whenever she was in his presence, especially when he drew nearer to her. She felt it was the right time to tell him. They were in the same boat, and she wanted to show him that he wasn't alone either.

"I'm cursed, Grim. My father cursed me when I tried to leave him to look for my brother. For three hundred years I lived as a swan, and I only turned back into a human whenever the moonlight reached the lake. I then met Rothbart, who gave me this." She stopped to gesture the diamond on her head as Grim stared at her with somewhat fascination by her reveal. "I made a deal with him that if I went with him, he would give me the diamond. It's meant to stop my curse and keep me hidden from any magic used to find me as long as I wear it."

Odette couldn't tell him who her father truly was. If anyone knew that her father was The Dark One, she was sure that they would think of her differently. She couldn't allow that. At least she told enough truth for him to understand her situation.

"But, you don't trust Rothbart, so why are you staying? You have the diamond. You can just leave."

"Believe me, I wanted to," Odette admitted, "but I couldn't when I found out that instead of imprisoning my father like he promised, he's conspiring with Sinbad to look for the dagger that could control orkillmy father. That's the only reason why I need to stay, to make sure that my father doesn't get hurt. No matter how dark my father's heart had gotten, I won't let him suffer."

As Odette explained to Grim, she realized that even though she may be stuck here, it didn't mean that Grim had to be at the castle against his will. If there was a way to help him, then she was willing to do it. Grim may have warned her to keep her head low and not draw too much attention, but Odette needed to take risks if they were going to survive. If like Grim said, the Queen could crush his heart whenever she felt like it, so that meant that Odette needed to get it back for him, and she was willing to do whatever it took to help him.

Present

Emma decided to scout out Amir's bar by parking her car away from it. If there was really something going on in there, then she didn't want Amir to see what she was doing. On top of it, Gold seemed to know more about it than the information he provided. She just didn't understand why he wouldn't tell her. It was as if he wanted her to find out for herself.

When Emma noticed Ashley's boyfriend, Thomas going into the alleyway with a case of alcohol, Emma followed him by getting out of her car and stopped him before he entered The Moonlight Mirage through the back. "Thomas, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Emma, hi." He then gestured to the case in his hands. "I'm just delivering these to Amir. He said he's give me extra money if I helped him out a bit tonight."

"You're helping him?" Emma asked with a raised brow. "He couldn't ask any of his other employees to do it."

"Maybe they were busy with something. I don't know," Thomas shrugged.

Emma didn't understand why Amir hired Thomas for the night to deliver him liquor. If it was for Amir's business, then why didn't he have any of Amir's employees do it. She thought that maybe it would have been alright for Thomas to get a little more money.

"Have you seen anything weird going on in there?" Emma asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Anything out of the ordinary."

Thomas shook his head, telling her, "No. It seems like a standard bar to me."

She wanted to know if there was any criminal activity going on in the bar. If Thomas knew, then he could tell Emma, but now, that he didn't, it left Emma at a standstill. She was back at the drawing board to figure out what to do to get what Gold wanted.

"Thomas," They looked to see Amir standing by the doorway as he sneered at them with a crooked grin. "I've been waiting a while for the booze. What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Mr. Khan. I'm just gonna drop these off and go," Thomas said as he made his way inside.

Amir didn't bother following him inside as he continued staring at Emma. He then made his way down to her, and Emma didn't understand why he didn't say anything. He finally made his move by taking a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket before putting one of the sticks between his lips and lit it using a match. Emma just stared at him when he puffed out some smoke and smirked at her.

"Normally, I don't like smoking in front of others, but sometimes you can't get enough of the toxic kiss" Amir admitted.

"You could just not smoke then."

"I could, but old habits die hard." Emma knew that he had a reason to be out here. It seemed strange that he would come out here for a smoke while staring at her with such intensity with a sickening grin. "Tell me one thing. Why aren't you in my bar having a drink, sheriff?"

"I've never really been in a party mood."

"Then why are you out here?"

Emma stared at him coldly when she heard his low tone. "It's the night shift. I need to look out for this town."

"And that includes talking to my employees?"

"I thought he was just doing you a favor for tonight."

"Oh, he is," Amir cut her off with a scoff. "That makes him my employee for tonight."

Emma knew Amir was hiding something for him to act this way as she brought up. "You're really on edge for someone who's just having a chat with a friend."

His biting tone didn't even faze Emma. "Excepttimecounts for everything, and I don't you wasting any of my time by making me lose my business."

"Well, you don't have to worry, because I'm not getting involved in your business."

"Let's keep it that way then." Amir then threw his cigarette to the ground before crushing it with his shoe. "Night, sheriff."

As Emma watched him leave, she couldn't help but think how suspicious Amir was. She only met him once. Although he seemed friendly, Emma was suspicious of him, and tonight proved just that. Gold may have an idea as to what's going on in that bar, but Emma was going to find out if there was really something happening in there.

Past

Odette was determined to look for Grim's heart, and she knew that the Queen must have a vault. Her father even had a vault to put weapons inside that were too dangerous to wield. That was why Odette used the system of tunnels to go to the Queen's room. She knew the vault had to be there. Hearts were too precious to be around her since she needed them to control people, which was why the Queen needed them by her side.

When she saw the Queen, Odette used the opportunity to sneak inside her room when the doors shut by going through the secret passageway. She then crept her way to the double doors and entered, revealing boxes that reaches all the way to the ceiling. So many beating red hearts glowed through the walls. Odette though needed to get Grim's heart, but there was a problem. Out of all of these hearts, she had no clue which one was his.

She soon gasped and whipped around when she heard, "Looks like the little bird's out of her cage."

Sinbad stood at the doors with a sickening grin, and Odette froze, knowing that she got caught. "How did you know I was here?"

"Oh, I was being discreet through the tunnels. I did wonder where you were when I entered your room when the guard posted outside your door should be following your every move." Odette didn't say anything since she knew what he was getting at as he implied that she was able to leave her room at any point without being followed. "I must say that Ireallyunderestimated you. You're clever, Nora. Although, I knew you'd be a problem when we first met. Imagine a feeble, young woman stealing the message I sent to Rothbart from under his nose. That's why I bribed that soldier to kill you."

Odette couldn't believe this revelation. She froze in fear when Sinbad admitted that he sent the soldier to kill her when she found the drawing of her father's dagger in Rothbart's room. He must have saw her and left her the note in her room after he ransacked it so that she could be killed. It outraged her to find out that he was sneaky enough to send someone else to do his bidding for him.

"You...You bastard! Don't you have any honor?"

"Honor?" Sinbad seethed. "Do you think anyone could get where I am because of honor? Honorable men don't survive in this world. I mean, look where it's gotten you. If I turn you over to the Queen, she'll gladly rip your heart and crush it in an instant, or...I won't, if you take my deal."

Her eyes widened at his statement, and she soon had a horrible chill rushing down her spine when she asked, "What deal?"

"You want Grim's heart, don't you? Well, you can find it much easier...with this."

Sinbad revealed a compass in his hand, and Odette soon realized that it was the same compass she saw in his room. She didn't understand why he treasured it so much since it didn't point north. That was why she pointed it out to him. "How is a broken compass supposed to help me? It doesn't even point north."

"Who says it's supposed to point north?"

She raised a skeptic brow as she asked, "Then, where does it point to?"

"It points to what you want most." If that compass really did as he said, then she could use it to find Grim's heart, but he jerked his hand back to his side. "Uh-uh. I need you to tell me who you really are."

So, that was what he aiming at. Sinbad was only willing to help if it benefitted him. Since Rothbart didn't tell him exactly who Odette was, then he wanted to know exactly who he was dealing with. She didn't want to tell him, but Odette knew it would be impossible to search through these hearts without knowing which one was Grim's in time before the Queen came back.

She hesitated at first, but she eventually opened her mouth, "My real name's Odette."

"And why is it that Rothbart is so invested into you? The only person I know who he's interested in is The Dark One as you saw from the message I sent him, and you took that away, which means you care about him. You want to protect him. Now, why is that? What's you connection to Rumplestiltskin?"

She swallowed the small lump in her throat and looked away from his piercing stare until she finally explained, "I'm his daughter."

Even Sinbad was taken aback by this revelation, but he quickly composed himself as he practically chuckled in joy. "Well, at least now I know why Rothbart's obsessed with you." She didn't understand what he meant by that, but she didn't have time to ask when he threw his compass at her as she caught it. "I'll keep watch on the door. Don't waste too long in here."

When Sinbad went to go be her lookout, Odette looked at the compass and saw that the compass was pointing to a different direction than when she held it the first time. The first time she had it, it pointed towards the window in the room, and at that time, she was thinking of escaping ever since she came to the castle when she believed that Rothbart would not keep her word. This time it pointed towards the boxes. She realized that Sinbad was right about the compass as she wanted Grim's heart more than anything to give back to him because she loved him and she didn't want to see him get hurt.

The arrow pointed towards north-west, so she paced a few steps before the compass moved a bit towards north, so she continued. The problem though was that she didn't know how high or how low the box was, so she raised the compass up only to quickly point down, and when she got low, it pointed up again. That was when she slowly made her way up until the compass was directly pointing north.

She knew she found his box when she took it out. She set it on the counter and opened it. Inside was a beating red heart-Grim's heart. It was so beautiful yet it also made Odette upset. She wondered how long Grim had been trapped here with the Queen holding his heart as a prisoner. He was nothing more than an empty shell here. That was why she needed to bring his heart back so that he could be free again.

When Sinbad came back, he asked, "Did you find it yet?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Sinbad then grabbed the heart from the box and his compass before telling her to hurry up. Odette then put the box back so that the Queen didn't get suspicious. She followed Sinbad into the tunnels where they trekked through until they stopped at the secret passageway that led to her room.

"Alright. Head inside. I'll deliver this to Grim."

Odette didn't like that at all as she refused. "No. I want to see Grim. I want to make sure that he's okay."

He smirked coldly as he took out Grim's heart from his pocket and clutched it in his hand. "You are aware what happens if I crush it, don't you?" Odette didn't say anything because she didn't want to risk Grim getting hurt or die. "Good. Now, go inside like a good girl and wait."

With one final glare, Odette headed inside her room, leaving Sinbad alone with the heart. She tried to listen in to see if he was going to say anything into the heart. Odette had seen what her father did to people whenever he ripped their hearts out. It always disheartened her and her brother whenever they witnessed it.

She sighed when she heard his footsteps disappearing, so all she could do now was wait and hope for the best. She could have fought Sinbad for the heart back, but she didn't have a weapon. On top of that, she didn't want to risk hurting Grim. She just hoped that Sinbad was going to deliver his heart.

Present

When Graham led Nora to his cabin, Nora was surprised to see that he stayed way out here. He took her inside and saw how comfortable it was. There wasn't really much, but then again, it was a decent-size cabin. There was at least a kitchen, a dining area, a sitting room, and a bedroom.

Nora's heart beat excessively against her ears when she realized that they were completely alone, but Graham made her freeze when she told her, "You take the bed, I'll take the couch."

As he headed over to the couch, she stopped him. "No. I'll take it. It's your cabin."

He took his shirt off, making Nora hold her breath for a second as he stared at her intensely with his chest bare in front of her. "I'll be fine. I want you to be more comfortable," before she had a chance to say something back, he added, "and don't argue with me, 'cause you're not going to win."

With a small huff, she went over to his bed and stared at it. She couldn't believe she was about to sleep where he slept. It made her even more nervous since she never slept in another man's bed before.

Nora soon realized that she couldn't take her dress off without help, so she turned to Graham and hesitated when he set a blanket and the pillow on the couch. "I need help. There's a zipper in the back."

Graham slowly made his way over to her, and she turned around, waiting for him to make a move. She felt his hands on her as he carefully pulled the zipper down. She held in her breath, waiting for it to be over. When his hand stopped though, she still felt it. It lingered on the zipper until he finally pulled away.

She then looked to see Graham opening one of his drawers to hand her his shirt so that she could wear to sleep in. After she thanked him, he nodded his head in acknowledgment before heading back to the couch and turned his back to her to give her some privacy so that she could take off her dress and wear his shirt. When she finished, he turned back to her and stared at her for a brief moment, but he averted his gaze when Nora noticed.

Nora wanted to go to sleep and call it a day, but now, that she was here with Graham, she still couldn't let the frustration go. "Why were you with her?" Graham finally turned back to her as she pressed, "Tell me."

He let out a deep breath before answering, "I didn't want to tell you, because...I didn't want you to think of me differently, but I have my reason why I did what I did."

She didn't want him to beat around the bush. She wanted him to be straightforward with her. That was why it aggravated her that he couldn't be honest with her. If he just gave a reasonable answer, then she may forgive him, especially since he claimed that he never cared about Regina. Now, was the time for him to prove it.

"I don't want you to be in danger, Nora."

"In danger of what?" she scoffed.

He stared at her for a moment until he finally went to one of his drawers to pull out a file and handed it to her. She looked at him, wanting him to explain what it was. When he didn't, she took it to read what was in it. Her eyes soon widened to see a profile of a man, but not just any man. This was Derek.

If memory served her right, he was the deputy in Storybrooke. Nora had seen him around a lot with Graham. When he died, no one believed it. Everyone gathered around to see his body in the woods and being taken away by an ambulance. He was killed by a snake bite though. Nora didn't understand why he would have this unless he thought of something different.

"Derek wasn't just my partner, but he was my friend, and he didn't just die from a snake bite, he was killed...by Amir." Nora's eyes snapped up to Graham at his statement as he continued, "I've been trying to catch Amir for years now because something wasn't right about him, but I knew I couldn't get the answers since he covers his tracks, and I know Regina helps him."

She finally realized what he was implying to as she asked, "That's why you were seeing her? You wanted to get information out of her?"

"I know how it looks, but at the time, it was the only thing I could think of. I soon regretted what I was doing when I met you. I didn't have any intention to hurt you. I never even felt anything for her. I don't love Regina, but you-the more I was with you, the more I realized that I didn't want to lose you. That was why when you found out about what I did, I wanted to explain to you why, but I was too worried about your safety."

She couldn't believe his confession. It was raw and honest. He was doing what he could to protect her from Amir. At the same time though, she didn't want to believe that Amir was capable of killing anyone. The rumors about him may be vile, but they were just rumors. No one could ever prove them just like the rumor about her and Gold.

"If you really wanted to go through this case, you didn't have to lose yourself by sleeping with Regina," she told him.

"I know, and I'm sorry, Nora."

All Nora and Graham could do was stare at each other. They didn't speak one word to each other. Soon though, Nora's heart beat against her chest rapidly that it was almost too painful to bear especially when he slowly reached out and caressed her cheek. She practically leaned into his touch and shut her eyes, feeling how rough his hands were.

She soon felt something soft against her lips, knowing it was his lips, so she kissed him back. The electrical chemistry bursted with excitement coursing through her veins. They wrapped their arms around each other and pressed themselves against one another. They never allowed their lips to break until Graham reached underneath to grip his shirt that she was wearing and slowly removed it, leaving her in her lingerie.

Nora then leaned back onto the bed, taking Graham with her as his hand reached for hers. Their hands clutched together, and he pressed it against his mattress while he continued to taste her like honey. Nora enjoyed the sweet night they had with the moon as their witness.

A part of her was glad that Graham finally revealed the truth to her, but it also made her worried. She didn't want Graham to know that she was with Amir if he despised him so much. After all, she betrayed Graham by being with someone else without hearing him out because of how angry she was, to which she had a right to be. Nevertheless, she was with Graham now, and as long as Amir kept his word that he was not going to tell anyone, then Nora had nothing to worry about.

Past

When Grim heard a voice whispering into his heart, he knew it was Regina. She only ever called him at night for one reason only. However, he didn't understand why she would call him outside towards the wall. It was strange, but Grim had no choice since she controlled him. With a huff, he snuck outside, avoiding the guards and went to where the voice told him to go to.

However, his eyes narrowed when he saw Sinbad holding onto his heart. "Looks like talking into your heart worked," Sinbad told him.

Grim cautiously approached him as he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Is that all you have to say? How about a thank you since I'm going to give you your heart back." Grim was stunned to hear this, and for once, he had no words since he didn't understand why he was doing this until he explained, "You see, I made a little deal...with Odette. Now, if it were me, I would just look out for myself, but she clearly took an interest in you. It makes me wonder what makes you so special to her."

Grim couldn't believe that Odette went to go get his heart, but he was even more surprised that she made a deal with Sinbad. "Where is she?"

"In her room. I told her to wait while I delivered this to you." Sinbad then tossed his heart as Grim caught it. "Now that you have it back, I'd make sure I stay far away before the Queen catches you."

Now that Grim had his heart, he grunted when he injected it back into his body. His chest felt so heavy, but it also filled him with emotions. He was able to feel again, and he soon glared at Sinbad after seeing him smirk at him. Grim was touched to hear that Odette went out of his way for him, and he wasn't going to let Sinbad get in his way when he drew his sword at him, causing Sinbad to quickly pull his blade out.

"Don't do anything stupid," Sinbad warned. "One woman isn't worth any trouble."

He really wanted to fight Sinbad, maybe even give him another scar for all that he had so that he would remember him, but Grim decided against it. Grim couldn't move in, knowing that he wouldn't stand a chance with all of the guards, Regina, Rothbart, and Sinbad inside. He needed another chance to get Odette out. Still, that didn't mean that he wasn't going to threaten Sinbad.

"I want you to deliver a message." Sinbad's eyes peaked with interest as he heard Grim say, "Tell Rothbart that I will come back for her and set her free, and I won't stop until she's safe and away from him."

Sinbad was a little taken aback when he heard Grim's serious tone, and as Grim walked away, he swore to himself that he was going to get her out no matter what it took. Odette took a huge risk to get his heart back, and now, he was free, but Odette remained in there. He wasn't going to let her sacrifice for freedom go to waste. That was why he was willing to do whatever it took to get her out of there, and he didn't care who he fought to get in his way.

Present

After what happened at his club, Amir went to go visit Gold who just locked the door. Gold had on a condescending smirk when Amir approached him. They stood a few feet away from each other, staring each other down until finally Amir spoke up, "You really know how to get into people's skin, don't you, Gold?"

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean."

Gold tried to act all innocent, but Amir wasn't buying it. "Of course you do. Sheriff Swan came to my bar tonight and asked questions about if anything strange was going on. Then I came to find out that earlier that day, you were seen coming out of the sheriff's station."

"If there's a point to this, then get to it quickly."

Amir didn't care how Gold sounded annoyed with him, because Amir was just getting started. "You really think I don't know you're trying to do, trying to expose my business from under my nose and acting all innocent. So, you can try all you want to put me behind bars, but we both know, that I'm the one who holds the cards in a winning hand. I'll always have the power here."

Gold's smirk didn't extend to his eyes as he told him lowly, "For now."

When Gold spoke in an intimidating tone, he almost saw the same man he once feared back in the world he grew up in. He still had no idea if Gold knew exactly who he was in the land without magic. However, there was one thing for sure. There was no way he was ever going to let Gold get the best of him, so he walked away after making his point across.

Past

Sinbad still couldn't get over Grim's warning. He never saw him this serious before. It was rather foolish to come back to rescue a woman who should mean nothing to him. Odette even seemed pleased when he told her that Grim was safe and left after he gave the heart back. However, he withheld the information that Grim swore he would return for her. He didn't want to get her hopes up since he knew she would not last long in this castle, especially with what Rothbart had planned for her. Sinbad just wanted this whole thing to be over by having Grim forget about her and move on to someone else.

When Sinbad went to Rothbart and told him everything that happened, Rothbart smirked. "Hmph. The huntsman can try."

"He seemed quite serious Rothbart. Perhaps you should think of a different approach."

"There's no need," Rothbart told him firmly. "He will soon forget all about her when he realizes how pointless it'll be. I will then have everything I want."

Even though Rothbart's plan was in motion for having Grim get his heart back and to leave the castle after Rothbart was satisfied seeing how close Grim and Odette were, it made Sinbad wonder, "One thing I don't understand though, how is it that the diamond didn't have an affect on her? Shouldn't it have worked when Grim was with Regina?"

"Must I explain everything?" Rothbart asked with a slightly bored tone, "Odette wasn't in love with him at the time, so of course it didn't work. However, if she truly loved him, then I needed to test her courage by seeing what great lengths she would go to secure his heart. I was even planning on telling her that the Queen controlled him, but Grim played his role perfectly well by doing it for me. If he's smart enough, he wouldn't dare attack me. After all he's no match. Now, that all of my pieces are in place, all we need to do now is wait, and soon, I will have my revenge on Rumplestiltskin."

Yay! Nora and Graham are finally together and we finally saw how Grim got his heart back! I hope you enjoyed the little twist with Grim's heart by the way of him having it. I also hope you like that little Easter Egg from Pirates of the Caribbean with the compass. It also looks like Rothbart's been watching Odette's moves all along. What do you think is Rothbart's big plan for Odette? Why do you think he wants revenge on Rumplestiltskin? You'll just have to wait and see, but I promise it will be worth it as the story advances. Stay tuned for more chapters heading your way, and please leave me a review to tell me what you think and/or what your expectations are.