Curses and Meet Cutes (True North and 7:15 A.M.)
In a moderately sized, scarcely decorated hotel room, a middle-aged woman sits alone, occasionally running a hand through her curly brown hair peppered with grey, searching for any signs of strange happenings, signs, no matter how small, of magic, a book of fairy tales lay open beside her. Her train of thought was interrupted by the beginning notes of "I've Got No Strings," the song bringing a smile to her face as she answered the phone. "Goose, did you find something?" the woman asks, a slight Welsh accent in her voice.
"I think this is it, I found them," was the response she received, the voice belonging to none other than the wooden puppet turned real boy Pinocchio.
At that moment, the woman's face softened though a slight frown tugged at her lips. "I know you're excited. I just don't want you to get your hopes up. There's a good chance that it won't pan out."
"I just have a feeling about this one, you know?" There was a brief pause. "You trust me, don't you?"
This time there was an immediate answer. "Of course, I trust you, just..." Be careful "Keep me updated, okay?"
"I will. Bye, Mama, I love you."
"Bye, Little Goose. I love you too." The call ended, leaving the woman alone once more, allowing herself only a fleeting moment to reflect on what this potential discovery would mean for her and her son before burying herself in research again.
It was night when he finally arrived in Storybrooke, the sun having long since set behind him as he rode on the back of his trusted motorcycle, typewriter tucked safely away in a wooden box. Crossing the town line, he could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he rode through the forest and towards the center of town wishing with all his heart that this would be it, that he would be able to reunite with his father at last. Turning a corner, he spotted a blonde woman and a young boy standing by a sheriff's car. As he approached, he recognized the woman. How could he not, he did, after all, spend the last 28 years searching for her, leading her on what he hoped to be the right path.
He parked his motorcycle across the street from the pair, who were now giving him strange looks as if he shouldn't be there. He took off his helmet before dismounting and walking towards them. "Hey," said August, flashing a smile.
"Hey," responded the Savior, Emma Swan.
"Is this Storybrooke?"
Emma and the boy both gave a quick nod, "Yeah."
Perfect. "Any place to get a room around here?"
"Uh, you're staying?" The boy responded this time, tilting his head a little to the side in confusion as he did so, causing Emma and August to direct their attention toward him.
"That's the plan. Just looking for a bed."
Emma spoke up once more, "Granny's Bed and Breakfast is just up the road-" she pointed in the direction of the inn "another two blocks."
"Thank you." August turned around and began walking back to his motorcycle.
"Hey," she called after him. "I didn't catch your name."
Turning around briefly he responded, "Well, that's because I didn't give it." He faced his motorcycle again mounted and drove towards the inn.
As he arrived at Granny's he dismounted his motorcycle and began to head inside before hesitating and pulling out his phone and calling one of the few people he knew he could trust.
"So how did it go? Did you learn anything?" asked his mother prepared to comfort her son if necessary like she'd been doing for the better part of three decades.
"Yup," he said trying and failing to mask his excitement.
Oh no. She knew that tone, the distinct smugness only her son seemed capable of, smirk somehow audible. "...Don't say it"
Ever the stubborn one he ignored his mother's pleas. "I told you so," he said taking great delight in being proven right, as well as his mother's over-dramatic groan at the dreaded words. Despite this, he knew his mother was smiling at the thought that her son would reunite with his father after all this time.
"Yes, you did," pride seeped into her words and she knew that her son understood without her having to say it. "How do you know for sure?"
"Because I saw her, the Savior."
"Emma?" August made a short 'mm-hmm' sound confirming her suspicions. "I'll be there as soon as I can." There was a brief pause as she realized something. "Where are you anyway?"
"Storybrooke, Maine."
August had awoken early that morning to a call from his mother informing him that she had finally landed at Bangor International Airport and would be taking a bus from there to Milford a town just under 20 minutes away from Storybrooke. Just as things were looking up however his motorcycle began to stall before ultimately coming to a grinding halt- right in front of the Mayor's, or should he say Evil Queen's, house. And if that weren't enough the sky was overcast and thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. Just as he was finishing up his repairs it started to sprinkle and he spotted the boy from the night before walking towards him, it wasn't that he disliked the kid but he wasn't exactly in the mood for questions at the moment.
The boy continued walking towards him, confusion written plainly on his face, the question obvious before he'd even opened his mouth. "What are you doing here?" And there it was, the first of many questions the boy was bound to ask him.
Despite not being particularly keen on the questioning he had to admire the kid's curiosity, it was after all one of the signs of a potential author, and so he decided to humor the boy. "Fixing my bike." Although not without some teasing along the way.
The boy, not especially impressed still played along evidently wanting an answer to his question. "No, I mean in Storybrooke."
Unfortunately for him however August was not only stubborn but also an expert liar, or at least he would be if he wasn't slowly turning to wood as punishment for his less than stellar track record with the whole 'selfless brave and true' thing. Nevertheless, what was one more lie compared to a whole lifetime of them? "Just visiting."
"What's that?" asked the boy gesturing to the box that was strapped to the back of August's bike not yet having learned his lesson when it came to asking more specific questions.
"A box." Though he realized he should probably be nicer to the boy it wouldn't do him much good to spill his secrets to any random 10-year-old and had the potential to set his plan back even further, it wasn't worth the risk, that didn't stop him from feeling a little guilty though.
"What's inside it?" Maybe he was finally catching on, it was too bad that the lesson would go unrewarded however since August was also a master at avoiding answering questions.
"Just something I need to do what I came here for," was the former puppet's non-answer. He got to his feet, put on his helmet, and mounted the motorcycle, having finished his repairs while talking to the boy. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the mayor step out of her house, he assumed to take the boy who seemed to be her son, though if he were being honest he could never imagine the Evil Queen taking care of a child, to school.
This response made the boy smile as he thought of a way to trap the stranger in a lie, "Well, I thought you were just visiting."
August, however, goes unfazed by this having gone nearly his entire life telling half-truths and this was no exception. "Doesn't mean I don't have something to do." He revved his engine preparing to leave before he was interrupted by the Evil Queen yelling for her son from the doorway.
"Henry!" The mayor called for her son, making her way to where August and Henry were.
So that's his name. Giving the boy, Henry, a fleeting glance he spoke once more, "Better get to school." He peered up at the sky, "Looks like a storm's coming." Finally driving off he left the mother and son duo staring confusedly at him as he headed out of town.
The ride was nothing less than unpleasant, to say the least as the storm raged on and by the time he arrived at the bus stop he was well and thoroughly soaked. Despite this, he could not bring himself to care as he spotted the bench where his mother awaited him. He hadn't even parked before she ran to him arms wide for a hug which he gladly accepted as soon as he dismounted.
"Oh, Goose, I missed you," said his mother planting a hard kiss on his forehead. He couldn't help but smile at this and melt into his mother's embrace, after all, it had been almost a year since they saw each other in person and phone calls just weren't the same. The hug went on for a little while longer before the woman pulled away slightly. "We should get going now before we catch our deaths out here." And with that, the pair were on their way to the cozy town of Storybrooke.
By the time they had arrived at Granny's, they were both drenched from head to toe and shivering from the cold. August bid his mother goodbye as he retreated to his hotel room to change and dry off while she went to the front desk to rent a room sporting quite a few familiar faces as did.
She rang the bell getting the attention of Granny. "Hello, I'm here to rent a room."
"Oh, yes, of course. Would you like a square or a forest view? Though keep in mind there's an upgrade fee for the square."
"Square, please."
"What's your name dear?"
"Birdie Alarch. A-L-A-R-C-H."
"And how long do you plan on staying with us, Birdie?"
"Not sure yet but let's say a month for now."
"Wonderful, I hope you enjoy your stay," said Granny handing Birdie a room key with a smile.
"I'm sure I will, thank you," Birdie turned to find her room before looking down at the key and noticing the geometric design, the swan tucked into the corner of the keychain making her cringe slightly. Once she reached her room she practically threw open the door and flopped clumsily onto the bed nodding off immediately after her head hit the pillow.
If you asked Rumplestiltskin why he had closed his shop early that day he wouldn't have an answer strangely enough, things like that didn't normally slip his mind. Though he supposed this day was a special case with a particularly special meeting. Regardless of the reason he was walking around town, he would later suspect it had something to do with Regina after all it wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened, the fact of the matter remains that he was completely unprepared for the encounter he was about to have.
Turning a corner he knocked into someone causing the coffee the woman was holding to be spilled on the two, luckily for them, it was only lukewarm. Nevertheless, Rumplestiltskin wasn't one to let things slide, magic or not, it would harm his reputation as the most feared man in town if he did and he would not go back to being the town coward, not after what it cost him. But before he could even get a word out he heard a melodic voice he thought he'd never hear again. No matter how much he would deny it later on his breath hitched and his eyes pricked with tears
"God, I'm so sorry. I swear I'm not normally this clumsy I just-" Their eyes met for just a moment eyes going wide both holding a silent prayer that the other would remember and forgive them. There was a pregnant pause where neither party said or did anything, too scared that they would wake up from the dream they were certain they were in, that was until Birdie broke the silence. "Again I'm so sorry but I-I've got to go," she said before hurrying to Granny's.
Rumplestiltskin could count the number of times he'd been frozen in shock (or was it fear, he wasn't exactly sure anymore), since he became the Dark One on a single hand and still have fingers left over, and yet there he stood completely motionless coffee still seeping into his clothes he had one thought and one thought alone-
"Odette?"
A/N: Fun fact: Alarch is a Welsh name meaning swan, hence the Welsh accent :)
Chapter word count: ~2,100
This is my first fanfic but I think it's turning out alright so far. If you have any questions, criticisms, or just like the chapter please leave a review!