Chapter 6
Before I start, I would first like to say that I do not own any of the songs in this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Past
Ever since her incident with Grim, Rothbart assigned a soldier to watch over her. No matter where she went, she was always looked after. It was as if Rothbart didn't trust her, and he had a right to be. After all, she did look for an escape route in the castle just in case Rothbart wanted to keep her with him or use her to harm her father, which she was not going to allow. She was just glad that Grim wasn't harmed. Odette was not going to allow anyone to get hurt because of her.
The more she thought about him, the more she felt the need to speak to him. She still had yet to thank him for helping her. Perhaps it was time to see him. Odette got up from her seat and put the book beside her before heading out of her room. She paused at the door when the guard stationed there turned to her, so she simply walked past him, knowing that he would follow her outside to the training grounds.
Grim had to be there after she heard Sinbad say that he was going to meet him there in the morning, and sure enough, he was, along with many other soldiers. They spared with their opponents, while some of the other soldiers practiced their archery skills by hitting the target. They were all well-trained alright, while some were amateurs. It was clear that their combat fell short.
The soldier behind her stayed a good distance away from her so that she could walk over to Grim. He knocked his opponent down who was much leaner and had shaggy brown hair than him. They seemed to be friends when the man looked up at Grim with a cheeky grin and was helped up by him.
His expression soon changed though when he noticed Odette approaching them as he shrugged Grim's shoulder, so Grim turned to look at her. Odette certainly didn't expect her presence alone to gather an audience as most of the men glanced at her, wondering why Rothbart's betrothed was there.
The man beside Grim bowed right away, while Grim just stood there, scowling at her; he clearly didn't want her there. "My lady," the soldier greeted.
She stopped him right away, beckoning for him to raise his head. "Please. Don't. There's no need."
Odette then found out the soldier's name when she heard Grim say, "Derek, let's go. We have a lot more training to do."
She didn't understand why he didn't want her there. Still, she came all this way to thank him, so she did as he stopped when she opened her mouth. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. I should've come to you earlier, but...I didn't when I should have."
Grim stared at her-somewhat taken aback, while Derek looked between the two, almost wondering what happened, but Grim soon looked away from her as he told her, "It's fine." He then caught a quick glance past her shoulder, and Odette knew he caught a glimpse of her guard, "You should head back to your room now."
At that moment, Derek snapped his head at him, not believing that he was dismissing Odette so easily, so he stepped in, but Odette found his stammering to be a bit amusing. "Forgive him, my lady, but...um, he simply wanted to m-make sure you were safe with wha-whatever happened."
"It's alright, thank you,...Derek, was it?"
His eyes flickered in surprise, and his smile was genuine when he heard her sweet voice. "Yes."
They all soon turned to see Sinbad approaching them when they heard him say, "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise." Odette felt the need to look away from him since he made her uncomfortable, and Grim noticed right away, especially when he saw Sinbad observing her carefully. "Come to see the soldiers train, or perhaps you came to see me?"
When Odette caught Grim staring at her, he turned back to Sinbad, and at that moment, she saw the look in Grim's eyes. It was obvious that Grim and Sinbad couldn't stand each other. It was understandable considering how Sinbad acted. He clearly didn't have a care how he acted, and it made Odette extremely wary of him.
As soon as Sinbad caught Odette and Grim stealing a glance at each other, he smirked and stepped forward by going in front of her to scold Grim and his friend. "Shouldn't you both continue to train? The Queen certainly wouldn't want to hear that her soldiers aren't trying hard enough."
As Grim stared him down, he was about to turn away to continue training until he heard him say, "Be careful how you look at me next time."
Derek stopped Grim from turning around by putting his hand on his shoulder and told Sinbad, "We're going."
Odette was relieved that Grim didn't start a fight with Sinbad. The way he stared at him, it looked like he wanted to beat him. Whatever issues they had, Odette wanted to stay out of the way from it. It wasn't her place to get involved.
When Grim and Derek were far enough from them, she turned to Sinbad to hear him say, "I'm quite surprised, Lady Nora. You came all this way from your room just to see that soldier."
She looked away from him since she didn't like the cold smirk on his face as he gestured to Grim. "He was kind to me."
"Kind?" he scoffed. "If you're referring when he rescued you yesterday from falling off the railing as you so claimed, then I'm afraid that wouldn't be out of kindness if that was the case. He simply did it because of your engagement to Rothbart, and none of the soldiers would ever dare displease him. That is why I am warning you to be careful next time. Rothbart wouldn't want to hear about his fianceé running about to get hurt."
She knew Sinbad was trying to scare her. He seemed to be the type to intimidate his enemies by talking down to them just as he did with her. However, Odette was not going to be submitted so easily, but it didn't mean that she couldn't play along for the time being.
"Well, Rothbart has nothing to worry about if I leave my room for a while. There isn't much to do besides reading and embroidering to pass the time."
"That's a shame. Rothbart certainly wouldn't like to hear that you're bored in this castle." A wicked grin crossed Sinbad's face, and it made Odette incredibly wary of it. "Why don't I take you to a party tonight? Many of the soldiers and the servants are celebrating our victory from a raid in one of the villages. I would then escort you back to your room of course."
Odette honestly didn't want to go with Sinbad because she had no idea what he was up to or what he could possibly gain for this. If there was one thing Odette observed about him, he was incredibly crafty as if he had some type of motive for doing anything. He always made his movements carefully to get what he wanted, so she needed to be wary.
"Thank you, my lord, but I think it would be best if I stayed in my room. I would not want Rothbart to be displeased that another man is taking me to a party alone."
His smirk was as wicked as ever as he assured her by saying, "Oh, I'm sure it'll be alright. He certainly would not want to hear that his own betrothed is not content in the castle." Before Odette had a chance to disagree by lying to him, he immediately cut her off, "I assure you, Lady Nora. I won't bite."
She thought about it for a brief moment as they stared into each other's eyes. He was rather insistent for her to go. She thought it wouldn't hurt if she went, but it only meant that she needed to be very careful around him.
"You'll come to my room to take me there tonight and then escort me back like you said?" she asked.
"Of course. I'm a man of my word."
She finally nodded her head and agreed to the deal. "Alright then."
Odette then walked away from him while Sinbad watched her go as he nodded off to the soldier following her. He couldn't help but smirk when she spared a quick glance at him, and at that moment, she immediately regretted her decision. She had no idea what he was up to, and quite frankly, she didn't want to know.
Meanwhile, Grim took notice of Sinbad staring at Odette, which made Derek shrug his shoulder at him. "She is quite a beauty, isn't she? She must've thought I was stuttering fool. I could hardly speak to her properly."
"Don't forget who she's engaged to, Derek. It's best not to get involved with her."
As Grim continued to observe Sinbad, he wondered what he was up to. Surely he believed that Sinbad would not be foolish to go after Rothbart's woman. But then again, it was Sinbad he was talking about. He chased anything that wore a skirt and a corset.
Even though Grim didn't want to get involved in other people's affairs, there was something about her that was strange to him. He still could not fathom who exactly she was and why exactly she was there. From the moment, she opened her mouth and asked in somewhat panic if he was going to tell Rothbart, Grim knew that her betrothal to the vile sorcerer appeared more than what he heard. He just hoped that she was smart enough not to trust Sinbad so easily for he was incredibly cunning.
When Grim turned back to Derek, he gestured him away from Sinbad so that they could continue training. "Let's go already. We still got plenty of work to do."
Present
It was a new day, and it still felt Nora carried a heavy weight deep within her chest. She still couldn't believe how Graham could do something so cruel by inviting her to his apartment only to catch him sleeping with Regina. Nora could not even begin to think why he would do such a thing. It didn't make any sense to her, and the more she thought about why he sent those flowers, the worse she felt.
There wasn't any time to think about it though. She knew she needed to get ready for work, so she did by dressing up and grabbing her keys before she locked the door when she led herself out.
"Nora," When turned her head, she saw Mary Margaret. "How are you feeling?"
She gave her a sad smile as she replied, "I've been better."
"I'm really sorry, Nora, but don't let this whole thing with Graham ruin your day."
Nora was grateful to have Mary Margaret as a friend and a neighbor. All she needed to do was give her encouraging words, and Nora was at peace. However, this was the only time where her words didn't make Nora feel better. She couldn't explain it, but whenever she was with Graham, there was a connection that made her drawn to him. She never felt this way about any other man whenever they approached her during her night outs with Ruby.
Not wanting Mary Margaret to feel anymore sorry for her, she gave her a deceptive smile and told her, "Don't worry. I won't let him get me down." Before Mary Margaret had a chance to say anything, Nora spoke up first. "Well, I better get going. I'm gonna get some coffee from Granny's and then open my shop."
"Okay."
As Mary Margaret watched her go, she couldn't help but think if Nora was really going to be alright. She even wanted to tell her what Emma speculated about the flowers by saying that Regina sent her them so that Nora would see her and Graham together, but it would be too painful to tell her. It was bad enough for her to believe that Graham sent them, but it would surely be worse if Nora believed that someone else sent them just to hurt her.
Meanwhile, Nora went to Granny's Diner where she met with Ruby as she handed her the coffee. "Two packs of cream and sugar just like how you like it."
"Thanks, Ruby."
When Nora handed her the money, Ruby put it in the register and gave her the change back. "Are you okay?"
Nora knew exactly what she was referring to. Sometime when Nora made it home after what Graham did, Ruby invited her to go out with her, but Nora politely declined which soon led her to telling her why she didn't want to go after Ruby was insistent to ask her why.
"I'm okay."
Even though Nora assured her that she was fine, Ruby didn't believe her so easily. "Come on, Nora. I saw how you were with him. Just forget about him and move on. Trust me. There's plenty of other men out there to choose from."
"Right," Nora replied with a sad smile.
When Nora noticed Ruby's expression change instantly into a scowl as the door opened, she turned her head to see the sheriff entering, so she immediately turned back around and thanked Ruby before taking her coffee and was ready to leave but Graham stopped her by giving her a grin. "Hey. I was calling this morning to see if you wanted to get coffee, but looks like you beat me to it."
Of course Nora got his call, but she wasn't going to tell him that. In fact, all she did was stare at him, and at that moment, Graham knew something was not right. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head and swallowed the small lump in her throat before she opened her mouth. "It doesn't matter. It's done. We're done."
Graham was shocked to see her so upset with him especially since they had a great date last time. He didn't understand what happened. Everything was going so well between them. She didn't even spare him a glance when she walked out the door. Graham was determined to find out what's wrong, and he was going to. He didn't even care how Ruby stopped him by telling him to take a hint as he brushed her out of his way to chase after Nora who was already across the street.
By the time he caught up to her, he stood in front of her to stop her. "Nora, wait. What do you mean we're done?"
She was so disappointed in him that he had no idea what she was referring to, so she let him know, "Did you really think I was so stupid that I wouldn't find out?"
Graham raised a skeptic brow as he asked, "Find what out?"
She huffed out a breath, not believing that he had the nerve to ask her. "You and Regina."
Graham stood there, dumbfounded. He didn't understand how she knew, and his silence made Nora feel worse about the situation. This was exactly what she predicted would happen. She wished that she didn't see him, because it made her heart clench.
"How'd you find out?"
Her eyes widened, not believing that he asked her that. "That's what you have to say to me? Not that you're sorry for lying to me."
As much as he wanted to tell her the truth, he couldn't, because this was exactly how she would react. If he told her that he was intimate with Regina to find out more information about Khan so that he could make an arrest, then it wouldn't look good since she would've told him that it wouldn't be the answer.
"You're right, Nora. I'm sorry for not telling you."
She shook her head before questioning him, "Why would you want to go out with me if you're already seeing her?" When he didn't answer, she pressed, "Were you just playing me this whole time?"
"No! That's not it. I don't even like Regina."
"Then why are you with her?"
He really wanted to tell her the real reason why he was seeing Regina, but he just couldn't. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."
"Why?"
Her mouth nearly fell as she noticed that he looked away from her. "I'm sorry, but I can't."
Nora stood there, completely flabbergasted that he didn't have the decency to tell her why. If he didn't even like Regina, then why wouldn't he tell her why he was with her? Whatever excuse he was going to give, it didn't matter since there was no reason for him to cheat on her. It was unforgivable. She couldn't believe that he would do something like this.
"You're not the man I thought you were."
As she moved past him, he grabbed her arm to stop her. "Nora, I am."
She shrugged his arm to make him let go of her before clutching onto her bag as she looked at him with such disappointment. "I gotta go. I need to open up my shop."
When Graham called out to her, she refused to turn around, so he watched her, perturbed by her discovery. He wanted to find out how she knew. He then thought about his interaction with Regina at Nora's shop as she warned him for Nora discovering about their relationship together. If Regina made her come to that conclusion, then it was a fight he wasn't going to back down from.
Past
The party was rowdy as ever. Grim couldn't stand gatherings like this. It was so loud, the soldiers turned into complete scoundrels by wasting away in beer, and the women tended to throw themselves to the first man they set their eyes on. Grim even ended up pushing one of the woman away and told her firmly to leave him be as she got off his lap. The reactions were always the same from those women: a scowl with narrowed eyes-not even bothering a second glance at him.
Derek always had to get him to calm down by putting his hand on his shoulder and leaned into him. "Come on, Grim. We're meant to be celebrating."
"What's there to celebrate for? All we ever do is train just to ransack villages because they oppose the Queen. They're all left penniless and have to fend for themselves."
Even though Grim didn't care much for humans despite being one of them, he couldn't stand how cruel they were towards each other. All of the soldiers with the exception of Derek were all selfish and barbaric. The last raid they went on, Grim gestured a young boy and his sister to be quiet in the stables as he stole the horses to give it to the other men. If any other soldier found the children, they surely would have been killed.
When Derek looked ahead, his mouth nearly gaped, so Grim turned his head to see what was wrong. There was Odette being escorted by Sinbad of all people. Then again, Grim wasn't surprised to see her with him. Sinbad practically captured every young maidens hearts, yet when Grim noticed her expression, she seemed wary by hesitating to take his hand.
"Doesn't Sinbad know that she's Rothbart's betrothal? Why in the world would he bring her here?" Derek asked.
"Don't forget, Derek. All Sinbad does is chase skirts. Let him dig his own grave."
As Grim and Derek drank their beers, Sinbad offered Odette one from one of the tables nearby. All Odette did was stare at it. She never had it before since she only drank one cup of wine when her father was present. She thought it wasn't right to drink like a drunken fool since she often felt lightheaded if she had more than one cup.
"I'm fine. Thank you," Odette declined politely.
Sinbad smirked as he reminded her, "We're at a party. The least you could do is share a drink with me."
Odette carefully took the drink from him and waited for him to take his beer so that he could drink first, and sure enough, he did as he downed it rather quickly. When she saw him chugging his drink, she slowly put her lips to the cup before taking a sip. It tasted nothing like wine at all-more of a fermented earthy flavor.
When the liquid burned her throat from a couple of sips, she coughed right away, causing a cheeky grin on Sinbad's face. "Can't hold your liquor?" She narrowed her eyes at him as if she was insulted by his question, so she took a longer sip this time and ignored the awful burning sensation looming down her throat. "That's the spirit. You need to have a bit of excitement in your life, otherwise it has no meaning."
When she regained her breathing, she told him, "Excuse me, I need some water."
Sinbad didn't mind that she left. In fact, he rather enjoyed it, especially when she nearly stumbled, so she apologized before heading over to the pitcher of water. As soon as she filled her goblet, she was ready to head back, but one of the maids bumped into her. She soon found her water spilled all over Grim's vest, causing her mouth to part in shock.
Present
As Graham headed inside the sheriff station, he saw Emma already there, reading off the newspaper. They greeted each other as usual, except that Graham seemed like he was in a rush, which puzzled Emma. "Everything okay?" she asked.
"No. I need you to look after the station while I'm gone."
Hearing this, Emma put her newspaper to the side and leaned in to the desk. "Okay, and where are you going? Sounds like an emergency."
"It is. I need to talk to the mayor about something."
From the way he was acting, it was clear that something was really bothering Graham, and Emma had a really good guess what it was. "You talked to Nora then?"
That made Graham freeze what he was doing as he turned back to Emma. "She told you?"
"Well, she was heartbroken when she got those flowers and that card telling her to meet you at your place-"
"Wait," Graham cut her off. "What are you talking about? I didn't send her anything."
Emma already knew that, and she couldn't stand the game Regina was playing, and at that moment, Graham understood as Emma just sat there, staring at him. His eyes soon widened, but they immediately turned furious. He couldn't believe that Regina would do this. Graham should have known better than to not proceed caution with her threat.
As Graham was leaving the station, Emma called out to him to get him to stop so that he wouldn't do something stupid, but Graham didn't want to hear it. He was too angry to hear her as he got in his car and drove to the mayor's house. When Graham rang the doorbell, Regina answered. He couldn't stand the sight of her after what she did, but he felt the need to do this. He didn't even bother greeting her just as she did with him as he brushed past her to get inside her house, amusing Regina.
He then followed her into her study as he heard her say, "Sheriff Humbert, what can I do for you?"
"How could you do that, Regina?"
"Do what?" she asked before sitting at her desk.
Graham then got straight to the point. "The flowers you sent to Nora. There was a card that came with it telling her to meet at my apartment, where she saw us."
He couldn't believe that Regina's smirk grew into a sickening grin as she told him, "Well, at least, Miss Moon is aware of us now."
Taking daunting steps toward her desk, he leaned in to put his hands there as he retorted, "You had no right to get involved in my life like that, Regina. I'm not going along with whatever game you're playing."
As calm as can be, she replied, "Well you don't have to worry anymore, because now at least, you can focus on your job as you should have been." When Graham leaned away from her, she scowled at him and took her pen and some documents as she looked at them and made marks. "Now, if you'll excuse me, sheriff, but I have work to do and so should you."
He stared at her, wanting to tell her off, but he didn't. It wasn't worth the aggravation, so Graham walked out of her office without noticing Regina watching him leave as she smirked before continuing with her work.
Past
As soon as Odette realized her mistake, she quickly apologized and grabbed a rag from the table as she tried to wipe the stain off, but Grim told her firmly that he was fine, so she stopped and apologized again. "I told you to stop apologizing," Grim told her.
Derek looked between the two before he smiled at her. "Don't worry 'bout him. He's like this with everyone, including me." Nora then turned to Derek when he asked her, "Is the festivity to your liking, Lady Nora?"
She smiled kindly at Derek and replied, "It's honestly a bit overwhelming, but it's nice to be out of my room."
Grim narrowed his eyes at her and asked, "Why are you here?"
Before she had a chance to respond, she felt a hand on her shoulder, so she looked to see Sinbad who smirked at the two soldiers. "Isn't this a surprise? Why don't we all sit down together?"
Odette couldn't help but notice that Derek looked away from Sinbad, while Grim glared at him before brushing him off. "We're fine here."
"Why the hostility?" Sinbad asked with a coy smirk. "We all should be celebrating after all. Come."
Derek and Grim had no choice but to follow Sinbad to one of the tables. They didn't want to aggravate him even more since he was their commander, so they did as they were told with Odette following behind Sinbad. Grim had no idea what game Sinbad was playing at when he saw Sinbad wrap his arm around Odette's shoulder. He couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable she was, but she let his arm rest on her as he invited her to sit beside him.
Odette soon caught Grim staring at her, so he turned his head away to the platform when the men cheered as a group of women came on and waited for the men to stop clapping so that they could sing.
A young man walked through the forest
With his quiver and hunting bow
He heard a young girl singing
And followed the sound below
There he found the maiden
Who lives in the willow
He called to her as she listened
From a ring of toadstools red
"Come with me, my maiden
Come from thy willow bed"
She looked at him serenely
And only shook her head
See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead
A young man walked through the forest
With a flower and coat of green
His love had hair like fire
Her eyes an emerald sheen
She wrapped herself in beauty
So young and so serene
He stood there under the willow
And he gave her the yellow bloom
"Girl, my heart you've captured
Oh, I would be your groom"
She said she'd wed him never
Not near, nor far, nor soon
See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead
Follow where you lead
A young man walked through the forest
With an axe sharp as a knife
"I'll take the green-eyed fairy
And she shall be my wife
With her I'll raise my children
With her I'll live my life"
The maiden wept when she heard him
When he said he'd set her free
He took his axe and used it
To bring down her ancient tree
"Now your willow's fallen
Now you belong to me"
See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I cannot leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me, to follow where you lead'
She followed him out the forest
And collapsed upon the earth
Her feet had walked but a distance
From the green land of her birth
She faded into a flower
That would bloom for one bright eve
He could not take from the forest
What was never meant to leave
When the women finished their song, Odette no longer had a smile on her face as she heard their song. The more she listened to the lyrics, the more she thought about her situation. It sounded very much what happened to her as Rothbart took her away to make her his wife, yet Rothbart showed her nothing but kindness. He always gave her gifts and said comforting words to soothe her nerves. He strangely sounded a lot like her father, yet she had no idea what he truly had planned for her since she speculated that he was not being completely honest with her. Odette hoped that she didn't end up like the woman in the song by getting killed through the man's determination.
As soon as the last maiden stepped down, one of the servants came forward and asked if any other maiden would like to sing, so Sinbad whispered lowly to Odette, "Why don't you go up there and sing for us?"
She turned her head to him and shook her head while giving him an awkward smile. "No. I-I couldn't."
"I brought you all the way here from your little cage. The least you could do is entertain all of us by singing a song for us, little bird."
Odette's whole demeanor changed as she couldn't believe that Sinbad was pressuring her to go up there. She didn't understand what he would gain by this, and quite frankly, she didn't like the cold smirk that grew on his face. However, what amazed her was when she heard Grim speak up, "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."
Her eyes widened when he defended her, but it didn't seem to faze Sinbad. "I was only asking a simple question."
"And she's answered it, so leave her alone."
Sinbad then looked at Derek, who turned away to stay out of the confrontation before noticing Odette and Grim stealing a glance at each other and made eye contact, so Sinbad grinned from ear to ear and took his glass before taking a sip. "If she's afraid, I can understand that. Only a coward would be at the crowd's mercy."
If there was one thing Odette wasn't, she certainly was not a coward, so she gathered up her strength and went up to the platform while the men applauded when they saw her going up there. As soon as she stood on the platform, her nerves shook her to her core, and she immediately regretted taking Sinbad's challenge, but she was determined not to let Sinbad get the best of her. She went over to the musicians and told them what to do before standing in the center of the platform and waited as she closed her eyes for a brief moment to take a deep breath to calm her nerves when the music began playing, so she opened her mouth and started singing.
There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
But you sing to me over and over and over again
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours, I pray
To be only yours
I know now, you're my only hope
Sing to me the song of the stars
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours, I pray
To be only yours
I know now, you're my only hope
I give you my destiny
I'm giving you all of me
I want your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours, I pray
To be only yours, I pray
To be only yours
I know now, you're my only hope
Mm
Mm-mm
Ooh
When Odette finished, Grim couldn't keep his eyes off her. He never heard such a sweet voice before. It sounded angelic and lulled him into a peaceful bliss. Even the men practically applauded for her performance, including Derek, while Grim just sat there, amazed by her voice, making Odette smile in glee. However, Grim soon turned to Sinbad and saw how he was staring at her. Grim recognized that look whenever his commander set his sights on a woman. It was clear that he wanted her.
Grim couldn't stand whenever the soldiers forced themselves on a woman. It made them inhumane. That was why Grim hoped that it didn't happen to that poor soul who came down as she made her way back to them.
"That was incredible, Lady Nora," Derek complimented her. "Isn't that right, Grim?"
Both Odette and Grim stared at each other for a brief moment before Grim agreed in a dull tone, "Yeah. It was."
Sinbad soon clapped his shoulder as he stepped in, "That's all you have to say, Grim? Well, no matter. You can't please this man for anything." Grim then snapped his eyes at Sinbad when he heard him say, "I need to take you back now before Rothbart notices that you're gone." He then offered his arm to her. "Shall we?"
Odette hesitated but eventually took it as he led her away, and all Grim did was watch her go-concerned that she wasn't aware that she could potentially become the commander's prey as Sinbad got her out of the party.
Present
Nora came out of Granny's shop with her lunch and headed towards her shop. She still couldn't get over what happened between her and Graham. It was just cruel what he did, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered why he would do it. He didn't seem like the type that would play with her heart like that. It didn't make much sense the more she thought about it.
"Break already, Miss Moon?"
Nora slowed down to see Mr. Gold catching up to her with his limp, so she stopped until he was beside her so that they could walk together. "Yeah. I just got hungry, so I thought I might as well get a quick meal before getting back to work, but what about you? I thought you would be busy running your shop."
"I just came from collecting the rent from Mr. Hopper." Nora nodded her head in acknowledgement, but her whole demeanor soon changed when she passed by the sheriff station as she looked away to which Mr. Gold noticed as his eyes glinted with mischief. "Something's troubling you, dear."
Nora quickly turned to him and gave him an awkward smile as she shook her head at him when she looked straight ahead. "No. It's nothing."
A crooked smirk grew on Mr. Gold's face as he knew what was bothering her. "You are a dreadful liar, Miss Moon. When we passed by the sheriff station, your expression completely changed."
Nora's eyes widened in amazement how he just knew. She had to admit that he was rather perceptive. He just naturally read her so well, but then again, the more she was with Mr. Gold, she couldn't help but be drawn to him for some reason. Whenever they interacted, she couldn't help but get this feeling that she had known him her whole life. He was always there for her by helping her in every way he can to make her life in Storybrooke much easier. That was why Nora didn't believe what people said about him. He always showed how compassionate he was towards her, and if he could act that way to her, then he can be that way with anyone.
She knew Mr. Gold wasn't going to let it go since he was rather persistent to find out what was wrong with Nora with whatever troubles she had over the years. "It's man trouble."
"The sheriff."
Nora's silence was confirmation for him, and she soon had a puzzled expression as she realized something. "How did you know we were dating? I never told you."
"The sheriff did. We spoke outside of my shop."
"Oh," she simply said.
Nora soon stared straight ahead, thinking about Graham, wondering what he said to Mr. Gold. She didn't know if he was excited to go out with her, or if Graham wasn't particularly fond that he was going with Nora, but the second option had to be ridiculous. He certainly seemed like he was enjoying himself with her. They even shared a kiss together, and it was magical to Nora. She just wondered if Graham ever felt the same way towards her.
"Love. It's like a delicate flame," Mr. Gold remarked. "So easily extinguished, don't you think?"
He was rather cryptic with his words, but Nora honestly didn't mind. For some reason, it was familiar to her, and it made her drawn to him even more every time he spoke. She never could explain it, but it was just like with Graham when she made contact with him, except that with him, it was more unconditional. Perhaps she just wished that he was her father instead of her own since she dealt with much abuse in her life growing up. She even had the scars to prove it as her father beat her with a belt on her feet so that she wouldn't run away from him and even tore her clothes and punched her in her abdomen. It was a horrible experience—one that she would do whatever it took to run away. She was just glad that she had someone like Mr. Gold to look up to.
"It can be," Nora finally admitted with a sad smile to which Mr. Gold smiled back at her when she gave her answer.
Past
As Sinbad led Odette down the hall, she soon realized that he was taking her the wrong way, so she stopped him. "Wait. This isn't the way to my room."
"I know."
Odette became puzzled since she didn't understand why he was giving her one, and she wasn't so sure if she wanted it. "You said you would take me back to my room right after."
"And I will. I have a gift for you. It's in my quarters."
She didn't like how insistent Sinbad was, but she wasn't going to go with him willingly without knowing what he was planning since she didn't trust him. "What gift?"
"Customarily, a surprise is part of the fun of gift giving, so you best follow me." When Odette made no motion to move, Sinbad smirked as he told her, "I will take you back soon. I assure you."
Against her better judgement, she followed Sinbad to his room. He allowed her inside first as she slowly took his room in. It was quite spacious with its elaborate decorum and swathed in richly shades of purple, gold, and brown. There was a private bath adjacent to his room, a changing room with dark purple curtains that were was slightly transparent, and a sitting area with papers scattered so carelessly on his desk and a quill abandoned by its writer.
"It's not as grand as your room I'm sure," Odette turned to Sinbad when he spoke to her, and she didn't like how he drew himself nearer to her and practically whispered in a voluptuous voice, "but it allows...privacy."
She quickly took a couple of steps away from him and watched him carefully when he slowly made his way past her to head over to a large chest by his bedside before he took a key out of his pocket. He fiddled it between his fingertips before glancing back at Odette, who stared at him, wondering what he was going to give her. Finally, he inserted the key into the lock and slowly turned it to open the lid. He paused for a brief moment before delving his hands inside.
Odette nearly marveled at the sight when he took out a stunning gown. Odette had never seen an exquisite gown like this. It was a striking beautiful gold that was accented with turquoise fabric and embroidered with coins and crystals. It seemed to be foreign since Odette was not familiar with a gown like this.
"Stunning, isn't it?" Sinbad slowly drew himself nearer to her, and all Odette did was stare at the dress-completely infatuated by its exotic beauty. "It came straight from Agrabah, where women are carried on jeweled chairs and are worshipped for their beauty."
Odette knew about Agrabah after she read about it in the library. Odette always had a passion to see other worlds. When she was a little girl, she often went to the docks to watch the boats set sail. It was always her dream to be an explorer by discovering other worlds, but she knew it was impossible when her mother was killed by pirates. Odette was left to take care of her brother and her father since she knew she could never leave them. She loved her family dearly, which was why she could never abandon them.
"Try it on."
Odette finally looked at Sinbad, and shook her head. "No, my lord. I need to go back."
"All in due time. I just want to see how it looks on you."
Odette glanced over at the dress and was captivated by its beauty. A part of her wanted to try the gown on, but she had no idea what Sinbad's intentions were. Still, she knew he was never going to let it go until she tried it on. Against her wishes, she willingly took the dress as Sinbad gave her a satisfied smile and told her to change in the dressing area, so Odette went behind the curtain and huffed out a breath, not believing how bold Sinbad was.
She slowly undid the bindings of her corset in the front of her dress before she took off her dress, leaving her in her shift. It was not proper for a man to see a woman without any clothes. That was why Odette's cheeks reddened when she remembered that Sinbad was just beyond the curtains. She was thankful that they were since he couldn't see her, but they were transparent, so he could only see a blurry form but enough to see the shape of her figure.
Odette soon took the dress that Sinbad gave her but didn't put it on when she heard the door open, so she turned to see a servant boy enter as Sinbad gave the boy a roll of parchment, leaving Odette confused as Sinbad ordered, "Take this to Rothbart. It's of vital importance."
When the boy bowed his head to Sinbad and headed out the door, Odette picked up the dress and put it on delicately over her body. It fit her perfectly when she smoothed out the skirt. She then noticed herself in the mirror and thought how amazing it would be if she was in Agrabah and lived amongst them to hide from everyone. However, her eyes soon caught a strange object in the mirror.
There on the mantelpiece stood a little black box. Odette couldn't help but look back at the curtain to see if Sinbad moved, but he remained there-patiently waiting for her. That was why Odette used the opportunity to reach for the black box to see what was inside. Normally, she wouldn't dare touch something that didn't belong to her, but she didn't trust Sinbad, so whatever was inside there must have been precious to Sinbad if he put it on a mantelpiece like a prize, but Odette's eyebrows furrowed when she opened the lid.
It was a compass, and for some reason, the needle didn't point north as it should. It slowly moved east, so she turned a bit only for the needle to move again-this time a little more towards north. Compasses never worked this way. Odette thought it was broken, but it made her wonder why Sinbad would treasure something that doesn't work.
"Are you done yet?" Sinbad called out.
Odette rushed to put the compass back before she revealed herself to Sinbad. He looked her up and down, making Odette uncomfortable by his stare again. It wasn't until when he approached her that she froze when he was only a few feet away from her. He then took out his hand and showed Odette earrings that dropped. Odette couldn't resist when he put them on her.
As soon as he finished putting the last earring on her, his fingers lingered over her ear when he heard her ask, "Why do you have a compass that doesn't work?"
He smirked and dropped his hand before saying, "Don't you know? Before I came working for the Queen, I was King of the Seven Seas." He then gestured to his compass as he continued, "That compass has been aiding me through all of my adventures. It's a reminder of it."
Odette nearly gaped in shock as she asked, "You were a sailor?"
His smirk widened its horizon as he replied, "Of sorts. Going off to see far off places, dining to the most exquisite foods and drinks while enjoying pleasurable company, and finding treasure that even the kings on land would be envious of."
At that moment, Odette realized what he meant as she blurted out, "You're a...pirate."
"Yes," he admitted, "that's the name they always called us."
No wonder why Odette didn't like him. Odette never liked pirates after her father told her that her mother was killed by them when she was a little girl. It explained so much why she couldn't stand Sinbad since he was incredibly cunning.
"That explains why you're barely tolerable," Odette told him.
"Really? Don't like pirates, do you?"
"If they're all like you, then no."
He smirked as he told her, "Well then you don't need to worry since I'm not a pirate anymore. I gave up my title a long time ago."
She became puzzled by his answer as she asked, "Why?"
Instead of answering her, he went over to the table to pour himself a goblet of wine from the pitcher and turned back to her. She watched him take a long sip of his drink. It was strange how he didn't say anything, and when he finally put his goblet to the side, he eyed her up and down, taking her in.
Odette wanted to know what he was going on in his head, and she found out when he opened his mouth, "I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you my story...if you tell me yours."
So, that was it Odette thought. Since Rothbart hadn't told him everything, Sinbad decided that he would take extra means to find out himself. Sinbad probably thought that Odette was a stupid, naive woman, but she was much more that. She wasn't going to allow Sinbad to interrogate her like this.
"You already know enough about me-"
"Don't lie," he sharply cut her off. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's liars."
"And you haven't lied before?"
He smirked as if he thought her question was amusing to her. "Withholding information and lying are two completely different things."
"I'm not lying."
"Then why do I have a hard time believing you?" Having enough of his questioning, she headed for the door, but Sinbad stopped her by grabbing her forearm. "We're not done here."
She shook him off her as she retorted, "And I say we are."
As soon as she left his room, she passed through the hallway and heard tapping behind her, so she turned her head to see Sinbad catching up to her. Odette then picked up the pace only to turn back around to find Sinbad reaching closer to her. She finally ran, which forced Sinbad to run. She gasped when he caught her arms and pinned them against the wall, trapping her. Odette struggled against his hold, but it was no use. His strength overpowered her, and he had no shame in grinning victoriously at her. The situation soon grew worse when he let one of his hands go to inch lower and lower towards her skirt. Odette refused to let him do this as she pleaded for him to stop and struggled to push him off, especially when he pushed her head up to kiss her neck. Odette closed her eyes and whimpered, "No!" as she cried before trying to get him off her again.
The next thing Odette knew, Sinbad was knocked to the floor with a man on top of him, and Odette soon realized that it was Grim as Sinbad pushed him off him to throw a punch only for Grim to dodge and delver a blow to his jaw. The two men went at it, while Odette stood against the wall-completely frozen by the whole situation. She held onto her mother's necklace and prayed for this to end. Thankfully, it did when the two men were separated by being flown and pinned to the wall with their feet hovering a few feet above the ground.
Odette then looked to see Rothbart approaching them, and when he flicked his wrist, the men dropped to their feet, and he stared at Sinbad lowly before addressing Grim, "Escort my betrothed back to her room."
Grim and Odette stared at each other before Grim led her away from the scene, leaving Rothbart and Sinbad alone. Sinbad certainly wasn't expecting for Rothbart to pin him against the wall by having it stretch out to restrain his arms. He knew he wasn't going to get out of it since his restraints were made of stone, so he stayed there and glared at Rothbart as he drew himself nearer to him.
Sinbad then gasped when Rothbart's hand went inside his chest to grasp his heart. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, then I will crush your heart, do you understand me?" When Sinbad didn't answer, Rothbart began squeezing his heart, making Sinbad clench his jaw. "Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
As soon as Rothbart let go of him, Sinbad toppled to the floor and clenched his chest as he heaved air into his lungs. "Don't forget that without me, you'd be wasting your money away through debts and cheap wine. I made you lord, and I can easily take it away. However, having said all that, you played the part of a villain well, but if you continue to find out who she is, then I will find someone else to do the job."
Sinbad clenched his jaw since he couldn't stand Rothbart. He wanted him gone, but Rothbart was much more cunning and ruthless to make an enemy out of, and Sinbad knew it all too well. That was why he was planning to keep him close as possible until he found an opportunity to dispose him so that he no longer had to worry about him. He just didn't know how much longer it would take, but he hoped it would be soon.
Meanwhile, Grim took Odette back to her room without saying one word to each other. Odette wanted to say something to him when they went through the halls as he was escorting her back to her room, but she was still to shook over what happened between her and Sinbad.
When she made her way inside, she turned to Grim, who stared at her for a brief moment before he turned away, but he stopped when he heard Odette, "What were you even doing there?"
"Everyone in the castle knows what Sinbad's like. That's why I couldn't let him hurt you."
Grim was certainly different from the other soldiers. Instead of not paying mind to her existence like everyone else, Grim was not low enough to not care what would happen to her. That was why Grim couldn't ignore the situation when he saw Sinbad walking her out of the party.
"Thank you," All Grim did was nod his head in acknowledgment and told her to get some rest, so Odette told him, "Goodnight, Grim."
As Odette shut the door, she smiled to herself, thinking how much she admired Grim's bravery. She was thankful that he saved her, and she just knew that he was a good man. Perhaps she thought it wouldn't be so bad to stay in the castle as she thought.
Meanwhile, Grim walked through the halls, passing by every torch hanging to light his way, but he soon stopped when he saw Rothbart in his way, so he slowly made his way past him. Rothbart then took a step to the side to stop him. "You must be very brave to fight your superior."
"I wasn't going to let him do what he wanted. I did what any man should do."
Grim didn't like how a sickening grin crept up Rothbart's face as he spoke, "Perhaps you should be a gallant knight by rescuing her more often then."
He narrowed his eyes at the sorcerer since he was suspicious of him. "Shouldn't you mean yourself? She's your betrothed."
"Ah, yes," Rothbart said, "However, it would also be nice if she had someone else to look up to."
Grim didn't understand what he meant by that as Rothbart walked away from him. When Grim watched him leave, he couldn't understand what the sorcerer's intentions were for saying that to him. The way he spoke, it didn't seem that he was thanking him at all. Rather, it was with a mysterious intent. At that moment, Grim believed that whatever intentions Rothbart had, it wasn't good for Odette. It made him wonder even more what he planned to do with her.
Present
Amir was in his office at The Moonlight Mirage, going over some documents for his bar, but he stopped when his phone rang, so he set his papers to the side and looked at the caller ID on his phone before picking it up and putting it to his ear while fiddling with his pen. "What do you want, Regina?"
"Graham and Nora broke up." That caught Amir's attention as he dropped his pen and leaned back into his chair. "I would've liked to see how much longer Graham kept his facade from her, but at least she's no longer in my way."
"It certainly would've been interesting, wouldn't it?"
"Yes. Though I have to say that the flowers you sent to Nora wasn't being discreet." Amir was confused when she said that since he never sent Nora any flowers to show that the sheriff was cheating on her, but he didn't stop Regina from continuing, "With Rothbart, you always held onto people's secrets until the right opportunity came for you to exploit them."
Whatever Regina believed, Amir was going to go along with it since he already had an idea who sent them, but he wasn't going to let Regina know of course. "Except Rothbart's not here. Graham killed him back in The Enchanted Forest to save Nora's life, remember? So, I will do what needs to be done to get what I want."
"And what do you want?"
Amir smirked to himself as he answered, "Everything."
He then turned the call off and got off his chair. Amir turned to one of his employees wearing a red fleeced hat and told him that he was in charge of the deliveries today until he got back. He didn't particularly like his employees, but they got the job done for him. Back in The Enchanted Forest, they were all sailors, pirates, and thieves, which was what made his life in Storybrooke much easier as they helped him do his bidding by wrecking havoc while protecting him from the sheriff.
As Amir made it outside, he kept thinking about what Regina said. Amir didn't send the flowers, but he had a good idea who did as he made his way over to Gold's Pawn Shop. He opened the door, causing Mr. Gold to look up and see Amir. Amir couldn't help but smirk as he shut the door behind him and made his way inside.
"Khan, what can I do for you?"
Amir smirked when he heard Gold's dull tone, knowing that he wasn't pleased to see him. Then again, he was used to it by now. Most people in Storybrooke didn't like him, but Amir didn't care as long as he got what he wanted. So, Amir looked over one case to pretend to be browsing around, while Mr. Gold stared at him hard, calculating what he wanted.
Amir soon froze when he set his sights on a compass, but not just any compass-his compass from The Enchanted Forest, so he turned his head to Gold to ask him. "Interesting compass you have there. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get it?"
Gold limped his way over to the case as he told him, "Oh that? A long story I'm afraid. I'd be happy to give it to you...for a price of course."
His grin stretched from ear to ear as he shook his head at Gold. "I'm not in the business of making deals with you."
"And why is that?"
As Amir and Gold stared at each other, Amir had a feeling that Gold also had his memories as The Dark One. It made sense since Regina casted his curse, so he would be able to find some way to remember who he was. Amir had suspicions himself over the years as did Regina, but there wasn't any real proof that he was until Amir found out about the flowers from Regina. After all, he is Nora's father. If Nora hadn't told him in the past because of the deal they made, then Amir wouldn't have ever known since Rothbart refused to tell him who she really was.
Amir wasn't going to let Gold intimidate him so easily since he longer had magic here, so he thought he might play with him a bit by looking out the window and gesturing towards Nora's shop. "I'm guessing you heard that Humbert and Moon broke up?"
"And why is that in your interest?"
"Well, who wouldn't want her? A gorgeous woman like her? You really think I wouldn't seek an opportunity."
He liked to see Gold sneering at him like a dangerous insect that needed to be squashed-clearly showing his hatred towards Amir. "You do realize that if she were to be with you, then she would find you repulsive with your comments and your actions. Luckily for you, that won't happen, because she would never be with you."
Amir gave him a dangerous grin as he retorted back, "And neither with you."
With his final word, he walked out of Gold's shop with a devilish smirk on his face, while Gold glared daggers, watching Amir go. He couldn't believe that Amir had the gaul to pursue his only daughter. Even when Amir turned back around to stare back at Gold, they couldn't help but sneer at each other. Amir actually appreciated what Gold did as he gave him a wicked smirk since the sheriff was out of Nora's picture, allowing Amir to do what he wanted. Rothbart got in his way before, and thankfully for him, he was gone. Now, he just had to deal with Gold, but he wasn't going to let him ruin his fun with Nora.
I hope you all enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think in the comment section. I would also like to point out since there seems to be confusion that the reason why Graham and Nora's kiss isn't working in Storybrooke is because they have no recollection of who they are, so they're not truly in love. They have a connection towards each other since they were in love in their past, but they don't know why they are drawn to each other. It's the same idea when Mary Margaret and David Nolan couldn't break it when they began an affair. Stay tuned for more chapters heading your way. My story is also on Wattpad if anyone would like to see it.