Chapter 15

Present

The news of Kathryn's death stormed through Storybrooke so quickly, and everyone grew worried. Regina, however, was anything but concerned. If anyone found Kathryn's letter, then they would know that she wanted her husband to be happy with Mary Margaret. Thankfully, Regina burned it. She needed people to think that there was an ulterior motive behind Kathryn's death, and that letter would have ruined everything.

As Regina continued walking down the street, she noticed Nora Moon heading to her store but soon stopped when Nora inserted the key to unlock her store as Gold made his way over to her as Regina watched the display unfold across the street from her. "Miss Moon," Gold greeted her.

Nora finally noticed him and froze for a brief moment as she turned to him, but she soon huffed out a breath to continue opening the door with a turn of her wrist. "What do you want, Mr. Gold?"

Regina grew puzzled to see Mr. Gold actually smiling at her as she wondered what he was up to since Gold would never approach anyone unless he had some sort of intention. "I only came to greet you," he said.

"You just did." When she tried to make her way inside, Gold stopped her. "I need to set up my shop now."

"Hear me out first."

She shrugged his hand off her arm as she headed inside but faced Gold at the front door. "Mr. Gold, please. I still need time to think about what you've done. I can't forgive you so easily. Now, I got work to do, and so do you, so please have some respect."

Even though Nora's dismissiveness towards Gold was amusing to Regina, she couldn't help but speculate why that twisted imp would approach her and was desperate for her to listen to what he had to say. Regina was aware of the rumors between Gold and Nora Moon since Amir told her. When she questioned them before, Amir told her that Nora tended to see the good in people just like back in The Enchanted Forest. However, the only reason why Regina let it go was because she had no proof before that Gold didn't have his memories. On top of that, a lot has happened, so Regina never really had enough time to see exactly who she was. Perhaps now was the time to find out as Gold noticed Regina and made his way over to her with a dreadful scowl.

"That was quite a display," Regina said with a playful smirk. "What did you want to desperately tell her?"

He limped beside her as they walked down the sidewalk. "None of your concern, and shouldn't you be running your town since you are the mayor instead of involving yourself in my business?"

Regina was not going to allow Gold to change the subject as she couldn't stop thinking about the exchange Gold had with Nora. "Oh? But I am. I am simply looking out for the people here."

Gold continued facing ahead but addressed her bitterly, "Highly unlikely for you to be concerned for me."

Her smirk grew even more as she got straight to the point, hoping to get him even more riled up. "I'm amazed, you know. You've always treated her differently than everyone else in this town. Amir once told me it was because of her kind, tender heart, but now that I know you have your memories back, I realized that she means much more to you, so who exactly is she? This...Nora Moon?"

Gold finally stopped to look at her with a cold smirk, "I think...instead of questioning me, you should look after your town a bit more. The people are here in a state of panic after what happened to Mrs. Nolan, so perhaps you should look more into your investigation on that matter instead. Good day,...Your Majesty."

As Gold walked away, Regina knew he was hiding who Nora was back in their world just like what Rothbart did, Regina was not going to allow that. She wanted to know what made Nora Moon so special to Rothbart and to Gold. Nora Moon was indeed a mystery when Rothbart took her into her castle. None of her spies back in The Enchanted Forest had never even heard or seen Nora before, and her mirror had no idea either since he only showed her what happened in their present time. Regina, however, was determined to find out who she was if it was the last thing she could do.

After a long day, Nora and Graham went out together and enjoyed each other's company at the docks. They both smiled at one another and talked about their days as Graham let her know how the murder investigation was going after she asked him about it. So far, not much him and Emma uncovered, but Graham was going to help Emma find out who killed Kathryn. He wasn't going to let the murderer get away with it just like how Amir got away with Derek's death.

Nora soon caught Graham's attention though when she told him something concerning as his eyes snapped at her. "Gold tried talking to you again?"

"He really wants me to forgive him." Graham couldn't stand seeing her upset, and he wished that she didn't concern herself with Gold anymore as she added, "Is it wrong that I want to already? I've been thinking about it all day at work, and I mean, I feel like it's been a while now, and I've never seen him like this before."

Graham admired Nora for her kindness, but he knew it would get her into trouble, which was why she needed to understand to not forgive someone like Gold so easily especially with how he tried to strain his relationship with Nora. "You really want to forgive him after what he's done to you?"

"I know how it sounds, but...I don't know. I just hate feeling like this towards him, and isn't it better to forgive than to hold a grudge?"

Graham shrugged his shoulders as he admitted, "It is, but there are some things that are unforgivable. It's the same idea with Amir." As soon as he mentioned Amir's name, Nora froze for a brief moment, but Graham didn't notice. "I can't forgive him for what he's done by killing Derek."

"You still think he did it?"

"I know he did," Graham told her when he turned his head towards her.

He knew what she was thinking. Without proof, then there was no way he can accuse Amir of such a crime. However, it was in Graham's gut that he had to be the one to do it, and one day, he will catch him. For now, he needed to solve who killed Kathryn Nolan as quickly as possible since the rest of Storybrooke have been talking about her death for a while now.

As Graham escorted Nora home, they walked down the road and noticed Dr. Whale talking to Ruby at the bus station with a suitcase in her hand. Dr. Whale was trying to convince Ruby to go with him, but she kept refusing. He was rather insistent, which concerned both Graham and Nora, especially Nora, as Ruby kept denying him only for him to keep pursuing her.

Having enough of watching the scene, they headed over to them as Nora got his attention. "Dr. Whale?"

"Nora. Graham. Hello there." When he noticed how stiff they were, he looked between Ruby and them as he added, "I was just having a talk with Ruby here. But, I should, um..."

"Yeah, you should," Graham warned him sternly, causing Dr. Whale to nod his acknowledgment before walking away.

Nora then turned to her friend with concern after seeing how uncomfortable she was earlier. "Are you okay?"

Ruby tried assuring her with a small smile, but her tone said otherwise, "The day I can't handle a lech is the day I leave town, which this is it, I guess."

"You're leaving Storybrooke?" Graham questioned.

As soon as Ruby explained that she quit her job after having a fight with Granny, Graham saw worried Nora was for her friend. Graham was even concerned for Ruby when she admitted that she didn't have a plan when she left town after Nora asked where she would be staying. He even disappointed Ruby by reminding her that the buses don't run out of town and that it would be better if she picked a destination first before hopping on the bus.

When Graham looked over at Nora, he saw her face and knew she wanted to help, which was why he wasn't surprised to hear her ask, "Ruby, if you want, you can stay at my place."

She raised a brow at her and seemed hopeful as she asked, "Really? You don't mind?"

"No. It's okay. Just until you get back on your feet," Nora told her with a small smile.

Graham then went over to grab her suitcase as he offered his assistance. "Here. I'll take it."

Ruby thanked both Graham and Nora as Nora walked between her boyfriend and her friend as they led her back to Nora's apartment and got her settled in by bringing her suitcase up. Graham then wished them well as he gave Nora a sweet kiss before telling Ruby that he'll do what he could to help her by having her meet him at the sheriff's station tomorrow morning. Nora then prepared the couch for her by grabbing a sheet to put over the cushions, a pillow, and a blanket. They then said their goodnights to each other as they drifted off to sleep to get ready for a new day.


Past

It had been a while since Grim left, and all Odette thought about was him. She hoped he was alright. He could enjoy being with Akela from now on. Her heart clenched at the thought of him finding another woman someday. At least, he would be happy to be free and with someone he loved. No doubt in her mind that he would soon forget about her since she shouldn't matter to him. Odette certainly wouldn't want him to come back for her since she would be worried for his safety.

"Lady Nora." Odette turned to see Derek approaching her. "Are you alright?"

She gave him a sad smile as she answered, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

He knew though that she was lying as he called her bluff, "No, you're not." Her smile quickly faded as he questioned, "It's Grim, isn't it? I know how you feel about him."

"How could you possibly know?"

Derek smirked before telling her, "I saw your face when he invited you to go into the forest with him so that you could see Akela. I knew right then and there that you love him."

"I just want him to be okay."

"Well, if there's one thing I know about Grim. He's a lot tougher than you think. Then again, after seeing how you fought Sinbad, even Grim was astounded. You have strength too."

She shook her head and smiled at him, disagreeing, "No, I don't. If I did, then I would find a way out of here."

"Grim told me who you really are before he left, you know?" That caught Odette's attention as he admitted, "He said that you're real name's Odette and that Rothbart gave you that diamond to get rid of your curse as long as you wear it and agree to marry him, which wasn't a surprise to hear."

"What do you mean?" Odette furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"If you ask any of the soldiers here, they all have seen what he's like. None of us have ever seen someone so brutal and ruthless before. Whatever plans he has for you, then you need to be on your guard every step you take."

"I'm not afraid of Rothbart," Odette boldly claimed.

"Then you haven't seen what he's really like."

Odette questioned in her head what Derek meant. Rothbart may have snapped at her once, but he never showed her any brutality. She knew, however, that Rothbart didn't have any good intentions since she found a drawing of her father's dagger in his room. That was the only reason why she needed to stay to ensure that no harm came to him.

"If you ever need anything, then I'll help you. Never hesitate to ask."

Odette thanked him for his kindness as he walked away. She did consider him to help her, but she also didn't want to involve more people. She wouldn't know what to do if Derek got hurt because of her. For now, she needed to pull through not only for her father's sake but for hers as well.


Present

Ruby was very thankful that Graham was willing to help her find a job at the sheriff's station. They scoured through the internet to find something that Ruby was qualified for. He thought it would be easy, but Ruby made it a little difficult.

"You could be a bike messenger?"

Ruby raised a brow and questioned, "Bike messenger?"

"Yeah. You deliver things to people."

It clearly wasn't the best job, but it was at least something for her to have, but once again, Ruby denied it. "Nope. You see, I'm not so great at bike riding."

"Maybe delivering on foot then?" When she gave him a look, he knew that wasn't going to work as he turned back to the computer. "Or not."

When the phone rang for the second time today, Ruby used a pen to point at it. "Why does the phone keep doing that?"

As Graham continued to scour through the web, he explained with a somewhat bored tone, "The non-emergency calls go to the machine if Emma and I aren't available."

"So,...why won't you pick it up?"

"'Cause I want to findyoua job first. You don't want to keep staying with Nora, do you?"

Ruby crossed her arms as she smirked at him. "Sounds like you don't want me there to get more alone time with Nora if she invites you up to her apartment."

Graham narrowed his eyes at her, warning her not to say anymore, but Ruby was completely unfazed by Graham's cold stare since she knew she was right. It made her smirk even wider after seeing right through him while Graham shook his head at her behavior. He didn't want Ruby to be homeless of course, but he also didn't want Nora to be burdened with the rent since Ruby didn't have a job yet. He knew though he was going to have explain this to Emma when she came through the door and saw them as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

He then excused himself and told Ruby not to touch anything, causing Ruby to roll her eyes, but if she didn't accidentally knock over the coffee mug on his desk that he had to clean up prior to finding a job for her, then he wouldn't have to scold her like a kid. "What's...going on?" Emma asked when Graham approached her.

Graham huffed out a breath as he explained the situation to Emma. He told her that Ruby was now living with Nora after she had a fight with Granny. Emma seemed a little concerned for a moment until Graham assured Emma though that he made sure that Ruby came to the station early so that he could help her.

"Okay, but you do realize we still have a murder investigation?" Emma reminded him in a whisper.

"It won't take long."

It surely wouldn't take long after they both turned to Ruby and watched her when they heard her pick up the phone after it persistently rang. "Sheriff station. Hey, Miss Ginger. Uh, no, that's not a prowler. That's Archie's dog, Pongo. Throw him a vanilla wafer. He'll quiet down. Did you still want to talk to Emma or Graham? Great. Glad I could help." Both Graham and Emma made their way over to her as soon as she hung up the phone and turned to them with a cheery attitude. "Hey, Emma."

"Hey...Graham told me what happened."

"Uh, I know. He's trying to help me find a job, but I can't do anything."

"That's not true. We just saw you on the phone. That was good."

"That? That was nothing."

"No. No, it isn't."

As soon as he heard Emma said that, Graham came up with an idea that seemed like a stretch, but it would at least give Ruby something to do to get her back on her feet again as he turned to Emma to let her know. "Actually, there's some money in the budget for her to help out around here."

He knew Emma wouldn't argue with him after she heard his reasoning and seeing Ruby's hopeful face. "Yeah, I don't see why not."

Ruby was practically ecstatic when Emma agreed to let Ruby work at the station. "Yes! Thank you! Yes. Um, I could answer phones and help out. Um, is there anything else you guys need done here? Organizing files, cleaning up? Please, I want to be useful."

Emma and Graham turned to each other as Graham smirked when he heard Ruby's desperation while Emma seemed perturbed for a split second before regaining her composure. "Well, Graham and I are swamped with Kathryn Nolan's case. If you maybe want to grab us lunch, I would never say no to a grilled cheese."

"Done." Ruby then turned to Graham to ask, "You want anything?"

"I already have my lunch in the fridge, but thanks."

As Ruby got ready to leave, Mary Margaret came inside, so Ruby asked if she wanted lunch to which she told her that she didn't want it. Ruby then smiled and told Emma and Graham that she would be back soon before heading out. She sure was eccentric as Graham thought, which probably explained why Nora was friends with her since she tended to uplift her spirit through her positive attitude.

Mary Margaret soon captured Emma and Graham's attention when she told them in concern, "David's in the woods. There's something wrong with him. He looked right through me. It's like...It's like he was a different person."

Meanwhile, Regina went into The Moonlight Mirage to see her old Commander of the guards ordering his employees around. He didn't notice the mayor at first but she didn't mind. She liked to observe people, especially people like Amir since he was the type she didn't trust so easily after keeping many secrets of his own.

When he finally noticed her, he smirked and went back to his bookkeepings while addressing her as she approached him, "Anything I can do for you, Mayor Mills?"

"There's something we need to discuss...in private."

One look and Amir knew how serious she was, so he gestured to the hallway that led to his office before shutting the door behind him. Regina wasted no time sitting down in one of his chairs as he made his way over to his desk before setting his bookkeeping record file so that he could continue to go over them.

"Alright. You asked to meet me with in private, so get to it. Time is money, and I don't wanna waste it."

Hearing Amir's bored tone, Regina got straight to the point. "It's about Nora Moon."

He shook his head and smirked. "And what has she done this time?"

"Nothing, but now that Gold always had his memories, why would he want to get close to her?"

Amir finally glanced at her for a brief moment before asking, "If there's a point to this, get to it quickly."

Regina stared at him, almost calculating what he said. Amir wasn't even surprised to hear how Gold had been treating Nora. It seemed like he expected it. In that moment, she knew exactly what she thought for a while now.

"So you do know who she is." Hearing Regina's accusation made Amir finally put his documents to the side to look at her. "Tell me."

"What fun would that be? It's much more entertaining if you find out on your own."

"She has a connection with Gold somehow back in our world. I need to know how."

"Why?" Amir scoffed. "If you already can tell that Moon's his weakness, why not use her? It's not like Gold has his powers here anymore."

"He doesn't, but no one in all of the realm had no idea who she was when she came to my castle, and if Nora Moon is so special, then I need to knowexactlywho I'm dealing with."


Past

The Evil Queen could still not believe how Grim escaped her castle as she watched him obtain through her mirror. A palace full of guards, and he escaped without a trace? It didn't make sense. She was determined to find out how it happened, and she already knew who to approach as an image of Odette practicing her embroidery in her bedroom appeared in the mirror.

Ever since her arrival, the Evil Queen always raised questions as to who she was since no one had ever heard of Nora Moon before. However, Regina was well aware of Odette's infatuation with Grim, which was why she told her about her intimacy with Grim whenever she called him. There was no doubt in Regina's mind that somehow Odette snuck into Regina's vault and stole Grim's heart back so that he could escape. Regina should have ripped her heart out and crushed it in an instant as poetic justice, but Odette's identity still raised a question to Regina, and if Rothbart wasn't going to tell her, then she was going to go to the one person who knew him best, Sinbad.

She summoned him to her chamber as he strolled inside and already helped himself to a goblet of wine. "You called for me. Now, what is it you wish to discuss?" he got to the point.

Regina waited for him to take a sip before asking, "Nora Moon. Who is she?"

She didn't like Sinbad's grin grew when she mentioned Odette's fake name. "Couldn't find out from your spies, could you? Why not ask Rothbart?"

"Except I don't trust Rothbart."

"Yet, you trust me?"

"To an extent," Regina admitted before adding, "I know she is responsible for Grim's escape, and I know how important she is to Rothbart as he doesn't intend to marry her at all, does he? If he did, then he wouldn't have given her a ROC diamond."

Sinbad smirked and looked down at his drink, and Regina knew he was hiding something even though his words held discretion. "To be honest, I am actually still trying to find out who she is. She's exciting and unpredictable. It makes me want to know her more."

"Oh?" Regina's brows piqued with interest when she heard that as she added in a somewhat mocking tone, "Are you in love with her?"

"Love?" Sinbad scoffed, but his smirk didn't extent to his eyes as he spoke with a bit of melancholy, "I was...once. Sadly, it didn't work out. As for Nora, I actually pity her, because she won't expect what's coming before it's too late." As Regina tried to contemplate what Rothbart had planned for Odette, Sinbad downed the liquor as his grin grew wider before he set the goblet to the side. "Well, I should be going. Wish I could stay and finish our little chat, but thereiswork that needs to be done."

Sinbad saw himself out, leaving Regina alone with her thoughts. She already knew that Rothbart didn't have any good intentions for Odette. After all, nearly everyone was aware of the cursed ROC diamonds, but Regina did not know what they were capable of. Clearly, Rothbart and Sinbad knew though, so whoever this woman was, was important for something, and Regina was not going to stop until she figured out why.


Present

Work life wasn't so hectic today, but Nora made sure to get by. She simply worked on her sewing machine and made transactions with her customers who purchased some accessories from her. It was all smooth sailing as her hands went to work with the needle jumping against the machine in a fiery motion to fix the stitches.

When the bell to her front door rang, she set her work load to the side along with her pins and needles and went outside to see a man setting a package down on her register. "I didn't order anything," Nora told him.

"Well, someone did." The delivery man then handed her a clipboard and a pen. "Sign here please."

Nora was hesitant to take it, but she was curious what was inside. She even started to think if Graham sent it. Then again, she was sure he would just hand it to her, and besides, he was so worked up with the murder investigation, that she wasn't sure if he had time to go pick something out.

After Nora signed for it, the man wished her a good day, leaving Nora with the package. She wasted no time looking for scissors to use it as a knife by slicing the tape straight through the middle that held the package together. Nora then set her tool to the side to open the package.

She froze when she saw what was in it. Her hand delved inside to take the item out. It was a necklace, but not just any necklace—the swan necklace that Mr. Gold had in his display case. At that moment, it clicked what Gold was trying to do, and she was even more upset about this whole situation. He was trying to buy her friendship again, and that was something she was not going to tolerate.

Meanwhile, Regina was scouring through records to find anything incriminating on Nora Moon. She lived a typical average life though. From what she had seen, Nora enjoyed working. She possessed no doubts and seemed to have made an honest living, but Regina was not going to give up. She knew there had to be something, so she looked over her records again and noticed something strange with her rent. Gold extended her deadlines, amusing Regina as she started to see that there was much more to this woman that she realized as she continued her investigation. However, she knew though that these documents weren't enough. If she was going to find out who Nora Moon was, then she needed Henry's book. However, she wasn't the only one who conducted an investigation.

Graham was looking through Derek's file to see if he could find again, but Emma interrupted him when she noticed it on his desk. "Still looking into that, huh?"

He sighed as he told her, "I can't just forget him, Emma. I know that Amir did it."

"Without proof, you don't know that."

"So you're saying I should just let it go like everyone else?"

"I'm not saying to forget him. He's your friend. I get it, but a look doesn't mean that someone's guilty of murder." Emma understood why Graham was so upset, and she didn't blame him for it, but she needed him to realize that Derek's case ran cold and until they found evidence against Amir if he was the killer, which was why they needed to focus on Kathryn Nolan's case by seeing what they could find. "Now, come on. We need to do a little wilderness search and look for David."

As Emma got ready, Graham realized something as he pointed out, "What about Ruby? What's she going to do when she gets back?"

Emma was definitely trying to figure it out for herself, and her answer disappointed Graham, "She could just...hang around here and take calls when the phone rings."

"You know," Graham began. "You can let Ruby do more than just pick up a phone."

Emma thought about it for a minute, but she considered it as she was willing to listen to Graham. "Okay. What'd you have in mind?"

"I don't know, but I believe anyone can do anything if they want it so much, and Ruby clearly wants to prove how useful she is, so give her a chance."

As soon as he said that, Emma tried to think of a way for Ruby to help out more, and she soon had a great idea when Ruby came back with Emma's lunch. "Hey guys." She then handed Emma the bag as she told her with a bright smile, "Got your grilled cheese."

"Thanks." As Emma set her lunch to the side, she noticed Graham staring at her and knew that he wanted her to say something. "Are you okay?"

Ruby was a little caught off guard by her question, but her smile remained as she tried reassuring her, "I guess. I mean, this is something I know how to do. So, yay."

She knew Graham was right by letting her do more. Emma just didn't want Ruby to be discouraged by feeling useless. Perhaps it was time for Ruby to actually help them by taking her with them to search in the wilderness. They could cover more ground that way, so it would be a big help to her and Graham.

"Okay, let's pack these up, and we can eat it in the car." Both Graham and Ruby were confused for a moment until Emma added, "Graham and I are going to do a little wilderness search, and you're coming with us."

Even Graham wanted to argue with Emma, but he saw how far she was willing to go to help Ruby out even thought Ruby tried telling her that she would just screw everything up. Emma, however, was encouraging by telling her that she wouldn't. So, the three of them took the deputy car and went into the woods to see if they could find David.

"How are we supposed to find one guy. This place is massive," Ruby commented as they trekked through the woods.

When Emma assured her that they would find him, Graham stopped them to point something on the ground and he knelt down to inspect it. "Boot prints, but they don't go too far. Just up on that clearing ahead." They then rushed by following the path with Graham taking the lead, but he stopped when the tracks ended. "That's as far as they go."

"Alright. Let's stay close. Maybe we can hear him," Emma said.

As Ruby tried catching up to them, she told them, "I shouldn't even be here. I'm going to screw everything up."

"Have a little faith, Ruby," Graham said glancing back at her.

"Easy for you to say." Ruby soon froze when she picked up something, so she stopped Emma and Graham from going any further as her eyes widened in realization. "Wait! I hear him."

"What?" Emma asked.

"I hear him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I hear him or...something. I-I don't where he is. Don't you?" Both Emma and Graham just looked at each other, wondering what she was talking about, and before they knew it, Ruby took off running, while they called out for her and told her to come back. "He's over here!"

Emma and Graham were shocked to find Ruby standing over an unconscious and bleeding David Nolan on the ground. They then went over to him to shake him awake while Emma called out his name. When Graham saw how useless it was, he phoned in an ambulance to tell them his location so that they could treat David. As soon as he hung up, he told them that the ambulance is on their way, but Emma was still panicking by trying to get David to wake up. It took a while, but eventually, he did.

He looked around and grew puzzled at his surroundings while he winched in pain when he tried sitting up, so Emma and Ruby helped him. "Emma? What? Ruby? Graham?"

"Do you remember where you are?" Emma asked.

"No I..." He finally took in his surroundings and realized he was in the woods. "What the hell? I was—I was in your office. Did you bring me here?"

Graham furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Emma asked, "You don't remember anything since you were in my office? Last night?"

He shook his head, admitting, "No. I don't."


Past

Odette was sitting in her room, staring out her window. She still wondered what Derek meant by not seeing what Rothbart was really like. Odette thought she had an idea when she saw that Rothbart knew about her father's dagger, but she still had no idea how he knew about it. No one knew about the dagger except for herself and her twin brother, but her thoughts were soon cast aside when her door opened.

She then saw the Queen entering. It was strange though. The Queen never visited her for anything. She wondered why she was here. She must have had a specific reason.

"Your Grace," Odette greeted with an elegant curtsy.

"Lady Nora, I hope I wasn't disturbing you."

Her smile may seem friendly, but her eyes shouted to not trust her as Odette remained stiff. "You weren't."

"Good. I was hoping we could speak in my quarters."

That caught Odette by surprise as she certainly wasn't expecting for the Queen to ask her such a thing, and she didn't understand why now. "Of course,...Your Majesty."

She then followed her out the door as Regina nodded her head to the two guards stationed at Odette's door. The Queen then led her down the hall and into her chamber. Odette stopped to take a look around for a split moment and noticed something different than when she was here before. There was a table in the center with two seats across from each other and two goblets with a pitcher of wine.

The Queen then took her seat and gestured for her to sit, so Odette did. She didn't want to be here though since she knew what the Queen was capable of after stealing Grim's heart and made him her slave. However, she knew she couldn't deny her. Once Her Majesty gave an order, then it was best to follow through to ensure that no harm came to her.

As soon as the Queen poured herself a drink, she poured one for Odette too, and Odette remembered how the Queen held a striking beauty. She was terrifying, yet she could make any woman jealous, including Odette. Odette thought she was no comparison to her though. As much as she heard her father telling her how more beautiful she was growing up, Odette believed she was more plain looking than most of the other girls in her village even though many of the adults who were kind to her told her that she was even more beautiful than her own mother.

"So, tell me how your stay has been? Have you been treated well?"

Odette couldn't tell her since she didn't trust the Queen, so she lied, "Yes, Your Grace. I am. Rothbart's given me protection as the guards follow me around and ensure that I'm unharmed by stationing outside my room." When the Queen didn't answer, she made Odette uncomfortable, because Odette knew that she was trying to figure out her next move, so Odette took a sip of her wine before grasping her attention when she said, "I know I am staying at your stepdaughter's room. It must be hard for you."

"Hard for what exactly?" she asked with slight piqued interest.

Odette saw how stiff the Queen's body posture and wondered why as she mentioned, "Well, you must have loved her at some point, didn't you? That room is a reminder of her."

She certainly wasn't expecting for the Queen to lean in to tell her coldly, "Snow White is a murderer and a thief-a threat to the crown, to your Queen."

"Yes, of course, Your Grace," Odette quickly agreed since she saw how intense the conversation was going. "I meant nothing of it."

The way how Queen Regina spoke almost seemed as if she had a personal vendetta against Snow White. The venom that came out was horrible, and it became clear that the Queen would do anything to capture Snow White-almost reminding her of her father for his determination.

"I can trust you, can't I, Nora?"

Odette froze as the goblet brushed her lips, so she set it down after taking a sip of the fermented wine and addressed the Queen, "Yes, Your Grace."

"Good." She then leaned back and smiled almost wickedly in her chair. "Now, I want us to be honest with each other. However, you're quite the curiosity, aren't you? Even if you are betrothed to Rothbart, you made it quite clear that you are in love with Grim. One would think that you would run off with him, but that didn't happen. Instead, you chose to stay. Why?"

Odette knew that the Queen was onto her, so she lied, "Because Grim doesn't love me. If I went looking for him, then what would the point be?"

Her answer didn't seem to satisfy her though as she replied, "I've done my best to keep an open mind on you, but you keep proving time and time again how much of a distraction you are to everyone here."

"I don't mean to be, Your Grace."

"Except you have by stealing from my vault and giving Grim's heart back to him." At that moment, Odette froze and saw the Queen's sinister demeanor as she stood and slowly sauntered her way over to her. "You've been quite busy, haven't you? I assume Rothbart doesn't even know that you were involved."

"No, Your Grace," Odette shamefully admitted.

"And you have no qualms about lying to him, do you?" When the Queen saw Odette hesitate to speak, she told her, "Tell me...the truth."

Odette didn't want to say it, but she knew the Queen would tell if she was lying, so she admitted yet again, "I have before, Your Majesty, and I would again."

"Aren't you resourceful." Odette certainly wasn't expecting for Queen Regina to be somewhat impressed especially as she continued to say, "Perhaps I took your stubbornness for ignorance. You're a cunning girl, and I need your help."

She was a bit taken aback as she questioned, "You're not going to kill me, Your Grace?"

"No." When the Queen placed her hand on her shoulder, Odette practically felt a chill creeping down her spine as she said, "I need you to help me uncover whatever it is Rothbart is planning. Now, I want you to tell me, who exactly are you?"

There it was. That was what the Queen wanted to know. Odette froze, not knowing what to say. She certainly couldn't tell her who she was, because if she did, then she would be at the Queen's mercy. She wasn't sure if her father made an enemy out of her, but Odette definitely was not going to find out.

"I already told you, Your Grace. I am just a simple peasant girl."

"And, yet, none of my spies has ever heard of you before. Quite strange, don't you think?"Odette was getting more nervous when the Queen's grip on her tightened, and at that moment, Odette was afraid she would tear out her heart to gather information as she placed her other hand on Odette's arm. "Now, tell me who you really are?"

As the Queen moved her hand up, Odette knew that if she didn't answer truthfully, then her heart was going to be ripped out. She was going to end up like Grim, but she would be damned if the Queen sealed her cruel fate. Odette's curse was already hidden because of the diamond she wore on her head. If the Queen tore her heart out, then she would be nothing more than a puppet by doing her bidding.

When the doors opened, the Queen backed away from her, causing Odette to be relieved until she saw Rothbart, who noticed Odette as he sneered at her. "Your Grace, it is getting late unfortunately, and my betrothed is tired."

All the Queen did was give Rothbart a hard stare as she dismissed him, "Fine, go."

Odette wasted no time getting up from her seat as she followed Rothbart out the door before turning back and couldn't help but to glance back at the Queen narrowing her eyes at them. For once, she was a bit glad to see Rothbart since he saved her for now. However, Odette was also weary when she saw Rothbart's face as soon as he entered the Queen's chambers without her permission.

She even noticed that he was leading her the wrong way as she reminded him, "This...isn't the way to my room."

"I have something to show you."

His words were cold and malice, and Odette didn't understand why, but she followed him since she heard how angry he was towards her. She learned the hard way that it was best not to upset a sorcerer as her father was living proof of that. So, Odette followed him willingly but remained cautious as he led her somewhere else.


Present

After Gold tried to sending the necklace to Nora, she needed to give it back and show him that she wasn't going to tolerate this. This showed how desperate he was to win her over by giving her a real gold necklace that was in the shape of a swan. It was unbelievable to her.

When she went inside Gold's pawnshop, she shut the door behind her and made her way inside as Gold looked up and smirked at her when she approached him. "Miss Moon, what can I do for you?"

She immediately set the necklace on his counter and told him, "I can't accept this."

"And why not?"

"Mr. Gold, you can't just try to buy my forgiveness," Nora told him as she was disappointed that he didn't understand.

He then limped around the case to tell her, "I only wanted to show you how sorry I am."

"Then next time, tell me. Doing this would only make things worse."

For a minute there, he seemed conflicted on that idea, but he eventually nodded his head as he agreed, "You're right, but please take it."

When he tried handing the necklace back to her, she shook her head and refused. "I told you. I can't accept it, and this belonged to your daughter. Why would you want to get rid of it?"

"Because I thought there was no need to keep it." Nora was confused at first, but her heart soon clenched when she heard his melancholy tone. "That...necklace is one of the many things I have left of her. They all carry many memories-painful, but this necklace...was what she loved the most, because it was all she had left of her mother. She never took it off for anything. She loved her family more than anything else."

Nora then realized that he saw her as a daughter, and it became sad as she came to the conclusion that he was replacing her with Nora. Gold was just lonely, and his daughter meant everything to him. It explained why he went out of his way to try to talk to her again so that she would forgive him. The whole situation was just upsetting.

"I can tell how much you love her, but this is too much. I can't accept it."

"Yes, you can." He then surprised her by taking the necklace and went behind her to put it around her neck before she looked at herself in the mirror. "I know you'll cherish it."

When Nora saw the necklace on herself, she wanted to take it off and give it back to him, but she couldn't. She was entranced by his gift. It wasn't really because of its beautiful simplicity but because there was a familiarity of it. It reminded her of the time when she held the straw doll when she went into Gold's shop to convince Gold to break off the deal he had with Ashley. Nora couldn't explain it, but she felt as if she wore it before yet she knew that she never did, and it left her utterly astounded by this.

Nora then sighed and looked back at Gold to tell him, "Mr. Gold, I forgive you, but next time, please don't do what you did between Graham and me. My relationship with him is my business, and you shouldn't have gotten involved."

"I understand." He nodded his head in acknowledgment.

She gave him a small smile and wished him well before walking out of his shop, while Gold smirked to himself, knowing that he won her back.

Meanwhile, Graham and Ruby were at the sheriff's station. Emma decided she would take care of the situation with David since she may get something out of him. Ruby was sitting at the desk, waiting for a phone call, while Graham was looking over some files. He couldn't help but glance at Ruby, seeing how she seemed bored.

Graham then set his file to the side and went over to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just...a lot happened today."

He gave her a small smile as he told her, "Hey, it doesn't take away the fact how good you did in the woods."

"You think so?" When Graham nodded his head, Ruby gave him a warm smile as she said, "You know, Nora was right. You really are a great guy."

That caught Graham's attention as his heart warmed at the thought of Nora. "She said that?"

"And more," Ruby answered with a smirk.

Before he even had a chance to ask her, his phone rang, so he told her to give him a second before taking the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Graham." He recognized Emma's voice right away, and before he could even ask how David Nolan was, she cut him off. "Listen. The last time David went for a dream walk, he went to the Toll Bridge, you remember that?"

"Yeah."

"It's a crazy hunch, but I want you to go and see if he was there."

"Alright. I'll see what I can find."

As soon as Graham hung up, he looked over at Ruby who stared at him quizzically. He thought it was a long shot, but after seeing what she did in the woods, she may be useful to help him find whatever was out there. That was why he needed Ruby to come along with him.

"Let's go."

When Graham grabbed his jacket and addressed her, Ruby turned to him. "Go...where?"

"The toll bridge," Graham quickly answered. "Emma thinks there may be something there, and you're going to help me."

Ruby wasn't so willing to go as she shook her head. "Uh, no. I think you'll be better off without me."

"Ruby, you were great out there. I still don't know how you found him. You can do this."

He thought he had her for a second until she told him, "I don't know."

"We don't have time to 's going to be dark out soon. If there is something there, we've got to get there first. Can you do this?" Graham asked sternly.

It took her a minute, but Ruby eventually agreed. "Okay. Fine."

They then took the deputy car and drove towards the toll bridge. Graham then stopped the car when they made it and got out with Ruby. As they made their way over to it, she questioned what exactly they were looking for, so Graham reminded her to look for anything out of the ordinary. They needed to hurry to find it though. When they made their way down to the river, there wasn't really much there, so they looked around. Still nothing though.

"How do we even find what we're looking for?" Ruby asked.

"Just trust your instincts."

Ruby huffed out a breath, while Graham knelt down to see if he could find any prints on the ground to track, but there was nothing until Ruby's head snapped left. "Smell that?"

He turned to her quizzically and asked, "Smell what?"

Next thing Graham knew, Ruby took off just like what happened in the woods. Graham then followed her while calling out her name, telling her to wait. They sunk themselves deep into the woods, but they soon slowed down when Ruby started sneezing. When Graham caught up to her, he noticed that she was right by a bush of pink flowers.

"Sorry. It was just flowers." Instead of saying anything, Graham went over to the bush and plucked one of the flowers. "What is it?"

"They're oleanders."

Ruby clearly had no idea what that meant as she questioned, "Does that mean anything?"

"It's what Kathryn Nolan was killed with."

She then froze when Graham told her how Kathryn was killed, and they both knew that they were on the right track. He then looked past the bush and noticed something in the distance as his eyes squinted to get a good view. Graham told Ruby to stay close to him as he realized it was a small hut. They needed to be cautious when they made their way inside as the door creaked open with the floorboards practically rotting away.

There wasn't really much inside. It was completely dusty-almost as if no one had used it in a long time. Their eyes, however, soon widened when they noticed a mortar and pestle on the counter with the same flowers from the bush crushed inside. Graham then investigated the kitchen by scouring through every drawer and shelf to see if anything was hidden while Ruby looked around in the living room.

"Anything?" Graham called out.

"No." Ruby, however, quickly changed her mind when she reached a corner and smelled something again. "Wait."

Graham came out of the kitchen and saw Ruby kneeling down and inspected the floorboards. Before he knew it, she plucked one of the planks out. It was a little struggle at first, so Graham helped her. Good thing they were wearing gloves, or else they were going to get splinters. However, they also wouldn't want their prints on it since they found two thumbnails hammered just inches apart from each other with what appeared to be dried blood on the nails as both Graham and Ruby were speechless that they may have just found the murder weapon.


Past

Rothbart opened the twin doors that led to an empty room with a few soldiers, Sinbad, and Derek patiently waiting for her. Odette slowly made her way inside and felt something ominous ready to brew. Her nerves grew with every step that she took while Rothbart continued making his way down until they he reached the end of the room and turned back to face Odette with a sinister smirk.

"I would like to know,...Nora, did you say anything to Queen Regina?"

She seemed perturbed by his questions since she didn't understand what was going on. "I don't know what you're talking about? What would I even say to her?"

"About the matter why you're here, and who you really are," Rothbart told her sternly, and Odette saw the hatred in his eyes. "Once she discovers who you are, everything will be ruined. She will use and hurt you, now, do you want that?"

"No," Odette answered almost immediately before looking over at Sinbad and Derek. Derek's expression was much more sympathetic, while Sinbad gave her a warning look, almost as if he was telling her not to give the wrong answer. "You stopped her before she could."

"I'm aware, but before I entered, what did you discuss?"

She didn't want to tell Rothbart, but he was bound to find out from the Queen sooner or later, so she was honest with him, "That I freed Grim by stealing from the Queen."

Odette wasn't expecting him to admit, "I already know that you did. Did you honestly think I wouldn't? But, that's not what worries me." He then sauntered his way over to her, causing her heartbeat to quicken. "The Queen never trusted me so much, which is why I am skeptical to hear that nothing occurred between the two of you."

"That's because nothing did happen."

"Not even if you struck a deal with her?"

Odette froze since she knew what he was getting at. The Queen did want to make some sort of deal with Odette since she didn't trust Rothbart's lies, and Odette didn't blame her. However, it didn't mean that Odette would willingly go along with whatever the Queen had planned after seeing what she was capable of by ripping out Grim's heart and controlling him.

"I didn't."

"But you considered?" When Rothbart pressed, Odette didn't answer at first since she was taken aback by his accusation, so she tried telling him that she didn't, but Rothbart scoffed at her. "You think you are free to do as you please, but you fail to see that I took you in here, so you will obey by my rules."

He was completely cold towards her, and it made Odette even more nervous since he sounded threatening, but Odette needed to show that she wasn't afraid so that he wouldn't get to her. "Rothbart, I'm sorry, but you can't tell me what I can or can't do."

"I don't think I'm making myself quite clear!" Rothbart snapped, causing Odette to flinch, and he soon had a malicious grin on his face as he composed himself. "It seems I need to send that message some other way for you to understand."Rothbart turned to one of the soldiers, and without an order, the soldier stepped forward as Odette watched in utter horror, afraid of what was to happen. She even looked around, but all they did was stare at her. Even Sinbad watched the display ready to unfold, but he turned back to Rothbart when the sorcerer shouted out, "Leave her face! She's prettier that way."

Odette sucked in a breath when the soldier grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to him so that he could hit her in stomach. She cried in pain at the impact as she took a double back before the soldier took his sword out and knocked her leg with it, causing her to fall down. Tears swelled her eyes as she clutched her leg. She looked at anyone else who would step in, but no one was willing to help. However, when she made eye contact with Sinbad, he seemed somewhat conflicted.

"Oh, how could I not see this?" Rothbart began with a nasty smirk. "My betrothed's overdressed. Why don't you unburden her?"

Odette froze when she heard him, and her tears finally spilled as she gasped when the soldier went behind her to tear off her dress, but she still kept it close to herself so that she wouldn't expose herself in front of the men. This was absolutely cruel of him to do such a thing. In that moment, she saw exactly what Derek meant. Rothbart was nothing but a monster, and he terrified her even more. Even though her father gave her a cruel curse, she never had to endure such humiliation and abuse before.

"Please, stop!" Odette cried out in a desperate plea.

"No," Rothbart told her coldly. "You haven't learned your lesson yet. You need to scream louder."

When she looked back at the soldier, she cried more and clutched onto her ripped clothes close to her to give her comfort when he raised his sword and was about to strike her. She soon heard a sword being unsheathed, so she looked up when a clash was heard. There was Sinbad who blocked the man's attack as they struggled for a brief moment. Sinbad, however, overpowered him by bringing his sword down before pushing him away, causing the soldier to let go of his sword as it clattered to the ground.

He then looked back at Rothbart with a cold smirk as he reminded him, "If you continue this, then the Queen will surely find out." Rothbart didn't say anything. Instead, he gave Sinbad a cold stare, to which Sinbad was unfazed by. Sinbad then turned to Derek as he told him, "You. Take her back to her room."

Derek nodded his head and went over to Odette while Sinbad offered his hand to her. She stared at it for a brief moment before taking it as he helped her up. She had never seen Sinbad gesture any kindness towards her before. She didn't even understand why he stepped in to save her, but she was glad that someone was willing to help her.

As Derek led her back to her room, they didn't say one word to each other. It allowed Odette to process what happened. She needed to find a way out of here now. Knowing that Rothbart wouldn't hesitate to hurt her or torture her, she had to leave this awful place. It was too much for her.

When Derek led her back to her room, she stopped to turn to him before he had a chance to leave after he wished her a goodnight. "Help me," she softly pleaded.

He froze when he noticed tears continued spilling down her cheeks, so he looked around to see if anyone was near them before turning back to her. "I'll do what I can."

As he walked away, Odette went into her room and shut the door. She then pressed her back against it as she slowly slid down and cried to herself while clutching onto her mother's necklace-something she always did as a way to comfort herself. She desperately wanted to escape. Odette never imagined she would ever meet anyone much more cruel than her father before until she met Rothbart. He was no good. She knew that, but she never imagined that he would ever hurt her like this. That was why she needed to leave this wretched place.


Present

After Ruby made up with Granny, Graham was at Nora's apartment as Nora and him watched Ruby pack while sipping their teas. They told Nora everything that happened by saying what they found at the hut, and gave it to Emma so that she could get it analyzed through forensics. Graham then looked over when he noticed Nora fiddling with the swan necklace that she was wearing. He couldn't explain it, but he felt as if he had seen it somewhere before, and he wanted to know where.

"Nora, where'd you get that?"

She finally looked at him and smiled a bit as she explained to him, "Oh, Mr. Gold gave it. He wanted me to forgive him."

"And you just took it?" Ruby asked after Nora gained her attention.

"No," Nora scoffed. "I tried giving it back, but he refused. He told me that it belonged to his daughter and that it was too painful for him to keep it."

Graham wasn't buying it for a second since he knew Gold was trying to have Nora wrapped around his finger again and it seemed to have worked. "Sounds more like a coincidence that he would want to get rid of it now."

"Graham, please," Nora began. "What he did to us was bad, but maybe it was time to forgive and forget. I mean, did you ever think that maybe he doesn't have anyone else in town to look out for him? Everyone has a story, and I know I would want to be closer to someone it if I was alone in this world just like him."

"I still don't know how you ever see good in him," Ruby said, shaking her head.

When Graham's phone rang, he picked it up and checked the caller ID before he answered it. "Hey, Emma. What did you find out?"

Graham already knew that the plank Ruby and him found was the murder weapon as Emma told him that it was Kathryn's blood on the nails. The killer must have coated the nails with oleander after grinding them up with mortar and pestle. It explained why Kathryn had those strange punctures on her calf as Emma and him were trying to figure out what caused that. However, Graham froze on the line when Emma admitted to do some investigation on her own as she said she found out a prime suspect, so she told him to meet her at the animal shelter to make an arrest.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Graham said before hanging up.

"Is everything okay?" Nora asked with concern.

He shook his head, admitting, "No. I have to go to the animal shelter to make an arrest. Emma found a suspect."

"Who?"

He wanted to tell her, but he didn't want her to worry while she was helping Ruby. "I'll tell you when I get back."

He gave her a quick kiss and wished them well before he headed towards Main Street where Emma was waiting for him at the local animal shelter. Graham wasn't necessarily surprised that Emma could investigate herself since finding people was what she did, but it was who she found that took him off guard. He still couldn't believe it as even Emma was conflicted to make the arrest, but they had no choice when they went inside the animal shelter, where David and Mary Margaret were waiting.

"What is it?" David asked. "Did you find anything?"

"We did. The murder weapon," Emma told him.

Graham then jumped in to say, "The test results came back quickly and they found Kathryn Nolan's blood on two thumbnails hammered to a piece of plank wood that were coated with oleander." Mary Margaret and David froze at this announcement, but at least they knew what killed Kathryn Nolan, but they were far from over. "But, that's not all what we found."

"What?" David asked.

Both Graham and Emma looked at each other as Emma was conflicted to say, "There were fingerprints on the murder weapon. I ran them through the records of everyone in town, and there was a match."

Mary Margaret turned to David when she saw how Graham and Emma were staring at him, and she shook her head when he stood and told them, "Arrest me."

"No. David!" Mary Margaret tried stopping him.

"Arrest me. Do it!"

"David, the fingerprints weren't yours," Emma told him.

David and Mary Margaret froze at this announcement as David barely whispered, "What?"

Graham didn't want to say it, but he had no choice. "They were Mary Margaret's."

Everyone then turned to her as both David and Mary Margaret were horrified by this revelation. Graham didn't want to believe that she had anything to do this. She didn't give any killer vibes. There was something not right about this. He could feel it, and he was sure that Emma did too, but they had no choice but to arrest Mary Margaret for the murder of Kathryn Nolan since it was the only evidence they had.

Meanwhile, Regina snuck inside Henry's room when he was sleeping and found his Once Upon A Time book in his backpack. She then went into the living room to see if she could out anything that would give her a clue on who Nora Moon was. She may have failed before back in her world, but she was going to succeed this time since Rothbart was no longer around. Even though the book mainly showed the story between Snow White and Prince Charming, there had to be something in there that would help Regina get a clue as to who Nora Moon was back in their world.

Nora did appear in the book, and Regina quickly found out that her real name was Odette as it was written in the text. Even though she knew her name, it still didn't explain who she was. Regina needed to find this connection Nora had with Gold, and she wasn't going to stop until she found it, and sure enough she did. During the council meeting, where the group attended to figure out what to do with Rumplestiltskin so that he wouldn't take Ella's baby, Regina read carefully how Grim assured her by saying that Odette didn't need to tell them when they wanted to. However, Odette reassured him that they needed to know as she admitted that Rumplestiltskin was her father and how she didn't want to see him get hurt. At that moment Regina smirked to himself as she couldn't believe that Gold had someone else who he loved so much-only this time it was his own blood that he sought to look after in this world.

Yay! Here's the next chapter. Things are really escalating now. They found the murder weapon, Regina now finally knows that Nora is Gold's daughter, and Odette finally wants to escape from Rothbart. How do you think this will all play out? Please let me know what you think of this chapter or what your expectations are. Stay tuned for more exciting chapters heading your way.