Chapter 12
Past
Three hundred years took a toll on Odette. Ever since her father cursed her to live out her days as a swan, she didn't know what to do. However, she soon realized that her father may hold something that may help her. She just had to look for it.
This wasn't the first time where Odette attempted to search through her father's castle to find a way to break her curse. She tried many times before whether she was in her human form or as a swan. Odette thought that it might be easier as a swan to search since she was much more agile and could easily fly back to the lake without him knowing. So, there Odette flew towards her father's castle and made sure that he didn't notice her.
She saw him spinning straw into gold away from the window, so Odette flew to the back where the garden was. It was anything but a garden though. There were weeds growing out of the soil and the flowers wilted and decayed into a shrubbery mess. Odette used to come to the gardens because of how beautiful it was when her father presented it to her, but now, he didn't bother tending to it ever since he cursed his own daughter.
Odette then landed on the ground and waddled over to the back door before using her wings to push the door. It was heavy, but she was determined to keep trying by using all of her strength to push even harder with her head craned against the door. The door slowly creaked open, allowing her to squeeze through. It was a tight fit, but she managed without pulling any of her feathers out.
She soon froze though when she saw a yellow skirt skimming the floor, so her neck craned to see a young woman preparing tea. She was quite beautiful-almost Odette's age from what it seemed. Her exquisite gown belonged of a noblewoman of some kind. Odette wouldn't be surprised if she was a princess, but she didn't understand why she would be here unless her father made a deal with her. She wasn't even surprised to see the horrible look on her face. It looked like she had been crying for many hours. No matter who this woman was, Odette had a mission, and she couldn't let her pitiful emotions get the better of her, no matter how sorry she felt for this woman. That was why Odette carefully maneuvered around her, trying not to make any noise to draw attention.
When she made it out of the kitchen, she flapped her wings and proceeded down the halls to go to her father's room. She knew that there must be something in there to help her. Anyone would hide their secrets and prized possessions inside their room, which was why Odette was sure that there had to be some sort of magical item to help her break her curse or help her in some way.
As Odette pulled open the drawers with her beak, she scoured by digging through them. She then went under his bed to see what was inside, only to find nothing. Even his wardrobe and bookshelves were all neat, and all Odette was doing was making a huge mess. She didn't understand why nothing was here. There was no magical object, a potion recipe, or anything really to help her.
"Hello, how did you get in here?" Odette looked to see the same woman with a small smile on her face as she slowly approached her, causing Odette to flinch as she turned her head away when she reached out to her. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Although, you have made a mess. It took me all day to get his room cleaned."
Odette then froze when she turned to the door and heard footsteps approaching, knowing that it was her father, so she tried to wiggle away from the woman, who tried calming her down, but Odette took her by surprise when she opened her beak, "Please, let me go before he comes back!"
The woman took a few steps away from her and stood there perturbed. "You-You can talk?"
An imp-like chuckle alerted their attention when they turned to the door, and Odette was horrified to see her father staring at her a sickening grin. "Oh, I'm afraid she can do more than that." When Odette tried to fly away, Rumple whipped his hand towards her, causing Odette to yelp when she plummeted and found herself inside a cage. "There's no flying away this time."
Odette panicked and backed away until her body hit the cold metal bars when he lifted the cage using his magic and brought her closer to him while the woman observed the interaction between them. "Papa, please just take me back to the lake. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
The woman was shocked when she heard Odette's plea, but Rumplestiltskin didn't seem to be bothered by his daughter's cry as he scolded her. "And what good would that do? You would simply come back again in hopes to break the curse, andthat...I cannot have. You will stay here until you've learned your lesson."
Odette should have expected this to happen. Whenever her father caught her, he always imprisoned her for the night so that she wouldn't be human until the next day or so until he was satisfied with her punishment. That was what Odette hated about the punishment, because turning human always gave her hope that one day she would break it. Whenever her father takes it away from her, she lost a bit of that hope every time as she believed that there was no escape from him.
Present
As Graham walked down the street and headed to the sheriff's station so that he could start his shift, he noticed Gold talking to the flower shop owner, Mr. French. There were two other men by Gold's side, and Graham knew that things were not going to go well with the flower shop owner. Graham couldn't make out what Gold and Moe discussed, but he saw that it eventually led to an argument with Moe's voice raised a bit. Moe argued that tomorrow was Valentine's Day as he had several roses in the back to sell, but Gold wasn't hearing it as he allowed his henchmen to take the van while Moe told Gold that he was the lowest.
When Gold walked away from the scene, he limped towards the sidewalk where Graham observed the whole thing. "Deputy Humbert, enjoyed the show?"
"Another loan that someone couldn't pay off, Gold?"
Gold smirked when he heard his cold tone, but it didn't faze him. "Well, Mr. French is having a bad day. Happens to the best of us."
"Just like what happened during the council meeting."
Graham was still upset that Amir and Regina got the best of him and Emma, but it didn't mean that they were just going to give up especially since Graham became the new deputy, which was why he was sure under Emma's leadership that they would find something against them.
"It was a shame what happened on your part, but you and Miss Swan should have known better."
Graham raised a quizzical brow at him as he questioned, "How so?"
"It's like I said, you need a strong ally to take Regina and Amir down."
Gold smirked maliciously when Graham pointed out, "Just like how you gave Emma the file on Amir instead of giving it to me if you knew something about him for years."
"And now, you have it, so instead of arguing with me, why don't you work on the investigation instead of standing here, doing nothing?"
Before Gold had a chance to walk away, Graham stopped him. "We're not finished."
"Then I'm afraid it's gonna have to wait since I have more work to be done." When Graham made no motion, Gold told him lowly, almost scolding him like a petulant child, "Please."
Graham didn't want to let Gold go, but he knew that Gold wouldn't willingly tell him anything, so he allowed Gold to brush past him. He really wanted to interrogate Gold further. Gold clearly knew that something was going on in Amir's bar and refused to say anything about it. It was almost as if he wanted others to find out themselves. Whatever Gold knew though was further prove that Graham needed to continue his investigation against Amir, because it was obvious that Amir was hiding something, and Graham wasn't going to stop until he proved that Amir was the man responsible for many crimes in Storybrooke especially when it came to murdering his best friend.
Past
Belle couldn't believe that Rumplestiltskin had a daughter. No one ever would have thought that he had a family. However, it was absolutely cruel to curse her into a swan. She thought that even he would have a heart to be more compassionate towards his own daughter. If he wasn't going to look out for her, then Belle might as well help her.
She abandoned her duties and crept down to the dungeon while Rumple worked on spinning his straw. She then peeked through the door to see if his daughter was still in the cage that he put her in, and sure enough, she was. She sat on the cold metal floor with her head hung low.
Belle knew that she was depressed over her situation, so she thought to appear to her as a friend by making herself known to her. "Um, hello. Are you alright?"
She perked her head up at Belle but soon turned away. Belle had no idea if she was shy or if she was uncomfortable by the situation, but Belle soon learned that she was concerned for her. "You shouldn't be down here. If my father catches you, then you'll only get yourself in trouble."
"So, it's true then? You are Rumplestiltskin's daughter." She looked away in shame when Belle mentioned it, but Belle soon grasped her attention again. "What's your name?"
She was hesitant to answer, but she eventually opened her beak to answer, "Odette."
Belle nodded in acknowledgement before questioning, "Odette,...why would Rumplestiltskin do this to you? I mean, he cursed you to be a swan for the first of your life?"
"Not exactly. When the moon's reflection sets itself on the lake near his castle, then I turn back into a human, but I would have to be on the lake to change back into myself," Odette admitted with a sorrowful expression.
"How long have you been cursed?"
"Over three hundred years."
"What?" Belle nearly gasped. "How could he do such a thing? You're his daughter."
"It doesn't seem to matter to him." Odette then dismissed her by saying, "You need to go now before he finds you in here. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."
Belle couldn't help but sympathize for her. They were both trapped, but at least Belle wasn't cursed like Odette. However, something had to be done. She thought his punishment towards her was incredibly cruel. That was why Belle was determined to help her. She wasn't going to allow her to suffer anymore. Belle wished her well and told her to stay strong before she left the dungeon and went to look for Rumplestiltskin.
He was still sitting in the foyer making more gold, but Belle interrupted him. "Rumplestiltskin."
"Have you finished cleaning?"
"No."
"Then why are you wasting my time?"
Belle already heard the irritation in his tone since he didn't like to be disturbed while working, so she swallowed the small lump in his throat, prepared to take any punishment as long as it meant that he would hear her out. "I went to the dungeons to talk to your daughter,...Odette."
That certainly got his attention as his hand flinched, and he stopped spinning to turn to her. His toothy grin didn't extend to his narrowed eyes. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on high alert. She knew she needed to be careful with her answers since Odette was clearly a dangerous subject to bring up as he stood and approached her slowly with calculating steps.
"And, what did you discuss?" he asked.
It took a moment for Belle to answer, "She only told me her name and her curse, but she never mentioned why you cursed her-"
"It's not any of your concern," Rumple leaned in and told her lowly-almost like a warning to drop the subject.
Belle, however, wasn't going to be intimidated by him so easily. "You're right. It's not, but I can't sit here while she's suffering in the dungeons. If you truly care about her, then give her a chance."
It seemed like Belle almost got through to him as Rumple was taken aback, but he soon composed himself and turned back into his beastly self as he spewed his venom onto her by seething, "Go and finish your work before I lock you away."
Belle was disappointed by his response for not even acknowledging that he was going to try better for his daughter. She needed to know that her own father still cared about her, and Odette made it seem like that he didn't. However, Belle had no idea how much Rumple still truly loved his daughter. That was why he kept her close, to ensure that no harm came to her. However, seeing how much Belle cared enough about Odette gave Rumple an idea as Odette trusted Belle enough to talk to her. If Odette had a friend, then maybe she would be willing enough to return to him. Perhaps Belle as his caretaker was most opportune as he grinned from ear to ear.
Present
Nora was in her shop, using her sewing machine to repair the stitches torn through a pair of jeans. Even though the sewing machine that Amir paid for after giving her the money helped, a part of her wished she didn't take it. After he cornered her about Graham, she never saw Amir so terrifying before. He really intimidated her. Her hand even hurt a bit for a few hours because he gripped it so hard.
When the bell on her door rang, she stopped working and headed out to the front to see who it was but froze when she saw Amir carrying a small bouquet of roses, so she went over to him and asked him with panic settling in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
He gestured to the roses as he told her with a toothy grin. "What? Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. I thought you might want something to remember me by."
"Let me give you something to remember." She was absolutely furious that he had the nerve to come in here when she was with Graham, so she made a point by taking the roses and throwing them in the garbage, causing Amir to smirk as she reminded him, "I'm with Graham now, and what we had was nothing, so stop trying to make me feel guilty or win me back when you never had me in the first place."
Her words didn't seem to have any effect on him. In fact, she was the one who practically quivered in fear when he stared at her so intently. She knew he wasn't ready to let her go just yet, and it scared her. It scared her to see Amir this way, but it even terrified her more that if he didn't resist what he was doing, then Graham was going to find out what she did with Amir. She couldn't have Amir ruin her relationship with Graham now that he explained everything to her.
"If I were you, I'd be a lot more nicer to me, because you haven't seen how ugly I can really get. That's just my advice." Nora shivered when she heard his cold tone-almost sounded murderous too. "Have a good day."
With his final words, he gave her one last condescending smirk before walking out of her shop, and Nora was almost shook to hear such horrible words coming out of his mouth. She had no idea what she was getting herself into with Amir Khan. Nora was naive enough to believe that everyone was good in their way, but Amir was not like that at all. He terrified her to her core by threatening her. He seemed almost obsessed with Nora, and she had no idea why. She thought that maybe it was because she was nice to him, but even then, it was no excuse to treat her like this by being so manipulative and threatening. It gave her more reason to be on her guard around him since she started to believe that the rumors about Amir being so dangerous and committing crimes were true.
Past
It had only been a couple of days since Belle met Odette, and Belle couldn't stop thinking about her. Rumplestiltskin released her yesterday, and now, it was night. Belle read the same line in her book over and over again as an image of Odette plagued her mind, so she looked at the moon, wondering if she changed back. Having enough of it, she let out a huff and shut her book. Belle still couldn't believe that The Dark One would do such a thing to his own daughter. It was absolutely cruel to her.
When the doors to the foyer opened, Belle looked to see Rumplestiltskin strolling in and was curious to see him with the basket that she prepared after he asked her to. She didn't understand why he needed to prepare it until she realized that Odette may not have eaten anything all day and needed food. Belle then came to the conclusion that he always visited her at night in her human form to give her food so that she wouldn't starve to death.
"You're going to see her, aren't you?"
Rumple seemed caught off guard that she knew, but he quickly composed herself as he answered, "Yes. I want you to come along."
Belle was surprised as she asked, "Me? Why?"
He gave her a sickening grin as he told her, "I need to make sure that you don't escape. This way, I can keep a close eye on you."
"You think I'm going to escape?"
"You won't as long as I'm there."
Giving in to Rumple's demands, she went with him. They traveled through the forest with Belle slowly catching up to him. Sometimes Belle's yellow skirt slowed her down as it kept getting caught by bushes, so Rumple had to stop to tell her to hurry up since he didn't have all night. Eventually, Rumple grew annoyed after seeing her get caught a couple more times, so he waved his hand as a puff of red smoke surrounded Belle. The smoke dissipated, and Belle was in a blue dress. It was simpler and much more practical to work in than her yellow princess gown.
"Thank you."
Instead of saying to her, Rumple turned back to continue on so that they could reach the lake, and sure enough, they did. There was Odette in her swan form on the lake, gliding slowly. When Belle noticed the moon at its peak with its reflection casting on the lake, Odette's body glowed as her long neck craned to see the night sky. Belle watched in marvel to see Odette turn into a a fair young woman with flowing curled hair, a delicate face, and doe eyes.
The water splashed when she slowly got out with her skirt getting wet, and her eyes soon turned sad when she saw her father making himself known, so Odette looked away from him. "Every night you come here, Papa, and you should know that nothing is going to change."
Odette then noticed Belle coming out, and all Odette did was stare at her before she turned to her father and saw the basket in his hand when Belle told her, "I prepared some food for you. I'm sure you must be hungry."
Odette looked between them before she willingly accepted the basket after her father extended it out to her. She was quite shocked that her father didn't conjure anything like how he normally would, but it wasn't as if Odette was complaining. She sat by the rock nearby and opened the basket to find an assortment of berries and grapes, bread, cheese, a small cup, and a bottle of wine sticking out.
Odette carefully plucked one of the grapes and ate it slowly. She didn't want to appear as a glutton and wanted to maintain her manners after many years of being cursed rather than turn into a savage beast. Belle then went over to sit beside her, while Rumple gave them privacy by maintaining a safe distance away from them so that they could speak alone while he was still in their presence.
When Odette swallowed another berry, she couldn't help but stare at her father in wonder as she addressed Belle, "I don't understand how you did it."
"Did what exactly?"
"My father would never allow anyone to visit me, yet he allowed you."
Belle gave her a small smile as she explained, "Well, that's because he's afraid I'll run away."
"If that's true, then he could just use a barrier spell to keep you in the castle rather than meeting me. He must really trust you."
"No. I-I wouldn't say that. I've only been stayed with your father less than a week now."
"Still, not just anyone could come here," Odette reminded her.
Belle then turned to Rumplestiltskin, wondering why he would ever allow her to go with him to visit Odette. Even Odette questioned it when she turned to him, but Rumple didn't bother acknowledging the young women. He just stared off in the distance, hoping that his plan between Belle and Odette would work. He believed that if Odette had a friend, then she would want to come home. Only time would tell how long it would take, but Rumple had all the time in the world since Belle struck the deal that she would stay with him forever.
Present
Asthe next day approached, Nora got ready and headed to Granny's Diner. She was excited that it was Valentine's Day since she already made plans with Graham. It was going to be their first date since they got back together, and Nora was anxiously anticipating it as she had a beaming smile on her face just for thinking about being with him. She was even glad that Amir didn't get the best of her. Even though he threatened to expose her, she wasn't going to let him ruin such a special day with Graham.
Nora soon smiled when she saw a familiar face walking down the street, so Nora went over and greeted, "Ashley, hi." When she noticed her friend carrying a baby girl, she coddled her, "Oh, Alexandra, hi. How are you?"
Ashley smiled warmly at her, telling her, "If you'd love to take her off my hands for a moment, be my guest."
Nora felt honored that Ashley allowed Nora to hold her baby. She made sure to gently hold her and cooed her to sleep when she heard some noises coming from her. Alexandra was absolutely precious, and she knew that Ashley would be terrific raising her.
It even made Nora wonder what it would be like if she had a baby of her own. She had no idea what kind of mother she would be since she lost her mother when she was a teenager. Despite everything Nora went through, she believed that she would do fine raising a baby. She may have struggles just like every mother, but she would love her baby no less. Right now though, she didn't want one. Someday, she would, but she definitely didn't want to rush into anything, and if Graham was the one, then she wouldn't mind if the baby was his. For now, she would just coddle Alexandra as much as she could, bringing joy to Ashley's face as she watched one of her best friends loving her baby girl.
They then headed inside Granny's Diner where they met Granny as she immediately greeted the two women before taking Alexandra out of Nora's hands when she started to cry in Nora's arms as Nora panicked a bit, not knowing what to do, to which Nora was thankful for. They then noticed Mary Margaret and Emma talking. They were talking about Henry and how he misses his biological as Mary Margaret reassured Emma that she knows since she's with Henry for six hours a day.
"Six hours? You take newborns? 'Cause I'dlovesix hours," Ashley commented.
Mary Margaret and Emma finally noticed them while Ashley and Nora pulled up seats to sit at their table. Emma then asked Ashley how she was doing to which Ashley said that her baby was great, but she was disappointed that she didn't have enough time to get married to Sean since he hadn't proposed yet, especially since he took double shifts at the cannery. It was upsetting for Nora to hear that Ashley couldn't be with her boyfriend on Valentine's Day.
"I'm sorry, that sucks," Emma said.
Ruby then came over and poured Emma and Mary Margaret some coffee as she smiled at the group. "It doesn't have to! Come out with me! Let's have a girls' night! We can all go."
Nora almost felt a little guilty saying, "Oh, I already made plans with Graham. We're going to his cabin to spend some time together for Valentine's Day."
"Alright, everyone else?" Ruby asked before turning to everyone else and noticed Emma's sheriff badge as she pointed out. "You should probably leave the badge at home if you're coming, Emma."
"I'm not really in the party mood, but you, Mary Margaret, and Ashley could all go and have fun!" Emma told her.
Mary Margaret nearly gaped her mouth open, causing Nora to smirk as she looked down so that they wouldn't notice. Emma spared Mary Margaret an apologetic glance before Ruby walked off, excited for tonight while Nora shook her head at Ruby's behavior with a cheeky grin on her face. Ruby had always been eccentric, but Nora didn't really mind since she Ruby was always there for her by cheering her up to take her mind off things.
When Emma's phone went off, Emma dug into her pocket to take it so that she could read the message. "What's that?" Mary Margaret asked.
Emma was puzzled as she answered, "Graham's calling from the station. Something's up."
As Emma got up to leave the diner, Nora wondered what was going on. It must be serious for Graham to call something in, but she knew that Graham and Emma could handle it. For now, Nora was just going to focus on her work and visit Graham when it was time for them to go so that they could spend a romantic Valentine's Day together.
Past
It had been nearly a few days since Odette had last seen Belle. She thought that perhaps her father turned back to the same distant father that she hardly recognized. All Odette ever wanted was her family back, but the father whom she grew to love turned into a villain as his heart darkened.
When she heard the leaves rustling, she looked to see her father, The Dark One, making himself known with a smirk crossing his face. Odette waited for him to ask if she would return home with him so that he would finally have a reason to break her curse. Normally, he would conjure some food for her to eat and present her with beautiful dresses, but not this though, he just stood there, causing her to question what he was up to.
"I have something for you," Rumple said.
Odette looked at him quizzically when she heard his soft voice and questioned, "What is it?"
"All in due time, but then again, you only have until the moon leaves the lake."
When Rumplestiltskin held his hand out to her, she was hesitant to take it since she had no idea what he had in store for her, but she knew that her father would never hurt her. That was why Odette slowly reached out to take his icy pale hand, allowing him to grin ear to ear before he puffed them away using his red smoke that surrounded them and teleported them to his castle. Odette let go of his hand and looked around as she quickly realized that she stood in the garden. However, there was something different about it. It was filled with greenery, and there was an array of flowers blooming throughout the path, causing Odette to be in awe.
He then told Odette to follow him to which she did as they went inside where Belle finished shining the suit of armor in the foyer before noticing Odette. "Odette, what are you doing here?"
"My father brought me here."
When Belle looked over at Rumple, he waved his hand and conjured food on the table after telling Belle, "Yes. Yes. Now, go bring some tea."
"No," Odette stopped Belle before addressing her father, "Papa, she doesn't have to get me anything."
"Odette, it's alright. I'll be back soon, and I'm sure you're hungry," Belle told her before she left to get some food for Odette after she didn't argue with her.
As soon as Belle left, Odette was left alone with her father and her thoughts. Her father had never done this before. She didn't understand why he would do this. It didn't make much sense for him to bring her to his castle unless if he wanted to try a new tactic by showing something off to her and telling her that she wouldn't have anything if it weren't for him. However, she wouldn't understand why he would do that now, which meant that he had an ulterior motive.
"Why did you bring me back?" she asked.
It took a moment for Rumple to ask with a sly smirk, "Do you prefer being back at the lake?"
"No."
She wished that he would just answer her question, but she knew he was up to something. Odette knew though that she wouldn't get anything out of him. He never revealed what his plans were to anyone even if it was his daughter.
When Odette walked around the room, she noticed that all of the windows and mirrors were covered, and she didn't understand why. There was hardly any light coming out. The only reason why Odette could see were the candles in all areas of the room. She didn't understand why her father would cover the entire room. It even made her wonder if he covered any of the other windows and mirrors throughout the castle.
By the time Belle came back with a tray of tea, she set it down and prepared it for Odette. Odette tried stopping her by saying that she could do it herself, but Belle offered a sweet smile and told her that it was no trouble, satisfying Rumple. When Belle served Odette her tea, she graciously thanked her.
Odette then looked back at the food and didn't want to be selfish as she turned back to Belle to ask, "Do you want some? There's plenty here for us to share."
Belle seemed almost taken aback. "Oh, I thought perhaps you would want to be alone with your father."
"There's no need," Rumple said, causing the two young women to turn to him. "There's something I need to take care of first, but you both don't waste the food here on my account."
Odette was shocked that her father allowed her to be alone in his castle with Belle as he walked away and shut the doors behind him. Belle and Odette stood there awkwardly since they didn't really know each other. It even had been a long time since Odette had been around others. The only other person who she had ever spoken to since her curse was her father, but even then, she remained distant since she still hadn't forgiven him. However, it didn't mean that she wasn't going to waste the opportunity of eating since she only has one meal every day and she sure was not going to grow hungry throughout the whole day.
After she took a seat at the long table, she grabbed her knife and fork and cut into the meat when she put a slice of duck on her plate. Belle then sat by her side and watched her, making Odette a little self-conscious over how she was eating as she carefully swallowed the meat before Belle dug into the food herself. They both caught glances at each other from time to time, and it made Odette wonder something.
"If you don't me asking," Odette began, "why are you here? What deal did you make with my father?"
Belle huffed, almost uncomfortable by the subject, but she brought up the courage to say, "My family and my people needed help from the ogres. We were all going to be killed, so we asked your father, Rumplestiltskin, if he could help. He said he'd agree if...I went with him as his caretaker."
"And,...how long have you been here?"
"Not long," Belle admitted. "Maybe a little over a week."
"I'm sorry," Odette sympathized.
"Don't be. As long as my home, my people, and my family are safe, then I don't mind being here."
There was something Odette was concerned with though since she had witnessed her father being so cruel. "Has he at least been good to you?"
"So far, yes. He may seem frightening to many, but he has never treated me horribly."
"Good. I'm glad."
Odette and Belle smiled at each other, and Odette offered some tea to which Belle accepted, so she gave her a cup. They seemed like they were having a good time with each other, and Rumplestiltskin was happy to see their relationship progressing through a crystal ball in his room. At least, Odette would be happy to come to his castle to visit him if it meant that Belle was here. All he ever wanted was her happiness and for her to be safe, and he knew the time would come when her curse would break as his mind wandered to see a vision of that huntsman walking through the woods.
Present
When Nora went inside the sheriff's station, she froze to see a whole bunch of antiques on a desk while Emma and Graham were discussing what to do next after recovering the stolen items, so Nora made herself known by knocking on the door.
They turned to her, and she made her way over to greet them. "Hi. What's going on?"
"Theft. Turns out Gold had been stolen by Moe French," Graham told her.
Nora was shocked to hear this as she looked over the items. "Why would Mr. French do this?"
"Wanted to rip him off somehow after Gold took his truck for not paying off his loan."
She was disappointed to hear that since she couldn't believe that Moe French would retaliate against Mr. Gold. It was just horrible. Now, Mr. Gold had this issue to be dealt with. Nora then had a horrible feeling that she wasn't going to spend her time with Graham now as she said in disappointment, "I guess that means we won't be spending time alone soon."
Graham looked away, confirming it, be he quickly reassured her, "I'll try to find a way to see you tonight. We're already closing in French, so we almost have this case wrapped up."
"Okay. I'll wait," Nora told him with a sad smile before giving him a quick kiss and walked out of the station after saying goodbye to Emma.
She kind of wished that Emma would handle it on her own, but maybe she thought that Graham didn't want her to do it on her own since it seemed like a much serious issue. That was why she understood despite being disappointed with the outcome. Nora just simply had to wait and hoped that the case wouldn't take long.
Past
It had been over five months since Belle stayed in Rumple's castle, and Odette had a chance to visit her every night as her father always came to collect her so that she could spend time with Belle as he left them alone a lot in the foyer. They always ate first since Odette was starving after not eating all day before they went around the castle by strolling through the gardens to talk. Odette felt comfortable around Belle as if she could tell her everything. They often spoke of stories of their childhoods.
"You defeated an ogre?" Belle gaped in shock.
"At fifteen, yes. Not really intelligent, but if I hadn't outsmarted it, I would have been cooked up for dinner." Odette felt a little proud to admit. "My father didn't even believe me when he came back from business. He did get angry though at me."
"Why?"
"Because he believed I was going to get hurt. That's his excuse for wanting more power anyway. He wants to protect me from his enemies. If he never got those powers from protecting my twin brother and me, then he would be different."
"Your twin brother?"
Odette froze as she realized her mistake. Her father probably didn't want Belle to find out, so Odette told her to forget what she said. It would be a problem if Belle found out more of her father's weaknesses since the more people who knew about them, the greater danger he would be in, and Odette couldn't have that.
"I was actually going to say that I cleaned some of the other rooms, but I didn't know who they belonged to," Belle began as Odette listened intently. "There was a beautiful room filled with magnificent dresses inside. It's yours, isn't it?" When Odette confirmed it, Belle continued, "And there was another where I found more clothing but for a child. They belonged to your brother, didn't they?"
"Yes," Odette nearly whispered before turning to Belle to tell her, "My father and I lost him a long time ago, and my father became colder towards people every year and resorted to such cruel methods to seek more power ever since Bae left us, but I want to still find him. If he's still out there somewhere, then I need to take that chance, but as long as I have this curse, then I can't leave."
Even though Odette had an opportunity to be in her father's castle, the problem was that her father would probably be wondering where she was if he went to look for her. She couldn't allow that. That was why Belle may be the solution. It was a risk she needed to take.
"I was actually wondering if you could help me." That caught Belle's attention as she listened to Odette ask, "I was wondering if you could help me break my curse."
Right away, Belle shook her head. "Odette-I-I can't-"
Odette normally wouldn't ask for help, but she was desperate, and Belle would be perfect to help her since she cleans the castle anyway, so Rumple allows her to go through the castle. "Belle, please, I don't how much more of this I can take. I've been trying to break my curse for three hundred years now. I can't do it on my own, and I can't have my father find out."
Belle actually sympathized for her. She believed that it was cruel what Rumplestiltskin did to his own daughter, and she wanted to help her. However, she was also afraid of the repercussions should he ever find out what they were up to. Belle, though, saw how Odette's eyes pleaded for help, and she knew she was desperate, so she couldn't blame her for asking. That was why Belle eventually agreed. Odette smiled gratefully and thanked her before hugging her, hoping that this would all work out in the end.
Present
Hours passed, and it quickly turned night. Nora was getting more upset that Graham was still not done with the theft case. She sighed and pulled out the texts she sent him only to still not get a response. Nora asked him how the case was, if he was alright, and where he was. He must have been so involved that he didn't have time to look at his phone.
Having enough of waiting, Nora was disappointed and wanted to go out to take her mind off of Graham, so she called Ruby to ask her if it the invitation was still available for the girl's night, to which she told her that it was. Nora then got dressed in an emerald green cocktail dress before heading out. She met Mary Margaret, Ashley, and Ruby outside of her apartment who greeted her with smiles, so Nora gave them the same courtesy.
"Graham canceled on you?" Mary Margaret asked with slight concern.
"He's just really busy with a case, and I'd rather not get into it."
After hearing the disappointment in her voice, Ruby jumped in, "Alright. Let's just forget about it and have some fun. Come on!"
As they walked down the street, they headed towards The Moonlight Mirage, but Nora soon stopped them. "Um...can we go somewhere else?"
"Is something wrong, Nora?" Ashley asked.
"I just don't wanna go in there."
Even though Nora had a smile on her face, they heard the desperation behind her voice, so Ruby took them to another local bar called The Rabbit Hole. It wasn't as well known as The Moonlight Mirage, but it was fairly popular. They then were escorted by their host and sat at a table together. Ruby and Ashley ordered shots, Mary Margaret ordered a martini, and Nora ordered a Manhattan.
Nora couldn't help but grin when she saw Ashley and Ruby downing their shots as she noticed Ashley making a weird face when she finished her shot. Mary Margaret warned Ashley to pace herself, but Ashley reminded her that it had been a long time since she had been out, so she wanted to make up for lost time after having her baby. When Ashley took another shot, Nora shook her head and watched in amusement at her friend as she didn't blame her for drinking.
Ruby then looked over at the bar and got the girl's attention. "Ooh, Ash, Nora, check out those guys."
They looked to see two handsome men at the bar, and Nora smiled nervously since she knew what Ruby had in mind. "No, Ruby. I'm with Graham now, and Ashley has Sean."
"You're both not married, and they're not here."
When Ashley wasn't speaking up, Nora argued, "They're working."
"They're always working." Nora then sat there in silence when she realized that Ruby was right since Graham was much more focused on the cases instead of wanting to spend time with her on Valentine's Day. "Have fun moping."
Ruby got up and grabbed her drink before heading over to the bar so that she could talk to the two men there. "She's right. Sean is always working," Ashley said, gaining Mary Margaret and Nora's attention. "I thought love would be different."
"Me too," Mary Margaret said a little too quickly before taking a sip of her martini.
Past
Rumplestiltskin was glad that Odette made a friend so that she could have at least some happiness with her father. If only she wasn't cursed, but then again, Rumple knew that she would never agree to return to him. He had to wait until the time was right for her curse to break. It was only a matter of time before she returned to his side when all of this was over as they would soon travel to the land without magic.
When he looked at Belle through his crystal ball, his lips curled into a small smile to see her in the library at night. She often enjoyed reading, and Rumple was glad that he gifted her the library. Just as long as she did her work for the day, then she could read as much as she wanted. He found her once curled up on the floor with her book beside her, amusing Rumple. It reminded him of the time when Odette fell asleep after playing with her doll so much that he made her when she was young, so Rumple had to wake her to take her back to her room just like how he carried Belle back to her cell to let her sleep in peace.
His lips soon tightened though when he noticed her scouring through the shelves and took out a spell book. He didn't understand why out of all of the books, that was in her best interest to read. If she believed that she could escape by studying magic, then he wasn't going to allow that. However, it seemed like she was looking for a certain spell as she flipped through the pages and put it back before looking for another one.
Having enough of it, Rumple erased the image from his crystal and went to fetch Belle, surprising her with a gasp when he went up the steps. "What are you doing?"
"I was just...interested in magic," Belle told him nervously before putting the book away.
"Why?" She seemed conflicted about something, and Rumple knew that she was hiding something, so he pressed, "Why were you interested in magic?"
"I-I was eager to...learn."
Her stuttering and her avoided eye contact made Rumple knew that she was lying, so he drew nearer to her and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "If you don't tell me the truth, I will send you back to your homeland, where you will watch everyone you love be killed."
Belle's eyes widened and she panicked. "No. No, please!"
"Then, tell me the real reason."
Belle froze when she heard the venom in his tone, but Rumple didn't care. He wanted to know what she was up to. She didn't seem the sort to want to learn magic otherwise she would have done it in the four months that she spent her time here.
"Odette asked me to help break her curse." Her answer made his anger slowly simmer his core, and it only grew when she added, "She didn't know who else to turn to-"
"It's not your place!"
"All she wanted was to find her brother-your son!"
"Enough!" Rumple snapped before grabbing her arm and dragging her back to her cell as he threw her inside. "You will not break her curse."
With his final words seething through his teeth, he walked away from her when he shut the door using a flick of his wrist. He couldn't believe that Odette had the nerve to ask for help. Odette's curse was going to break. He needed to break it. It was the only way for them to see Baelfire again, but Odette couldn't do it on her own.
Rumplestiltskin teleported to the lake where he saw his daughter in her human form, so he made himself known, alerting her attention, but she was glad to see him, and it made Rumple's heart clench, knowing what needed to be done. "Papa, are we leaving now to your castle now?"
"We are."
He waved his hand, surrounding them with red smoke, and when Odette looked around, her eyes widened to find herself in a cell. "What are we doing here?" she asked in a somewhat panicked voice.
"Belle told me what you'd done." Odette's breath went still as he approached her. "You used her to try to break the curse."
"Papa, please-"
"No!" Odette shut her mouth when she heard her father's sharp tone to scold her, "You will stay here and think about what you've done until I say when you are ready to leave."
He flicked his wrist, conjuring a chain on her ankle that attached itself to the wall, and Odette tried going to him to plead for him to let her go, but instead, he walked out of the cell. It hurt him to hear Odette fall and cry out to him by saying how sorry she was and that she would be good, but Rumple needed to do this. It was the only way as he told himself that she would eventually be happy in the end.
When he proceeded to leave the dungeon, he froze on the steps when his mind wandered afar. He found his daughter in her human form with the sunlight shining on her as she carried a beaming smile before her white skirt chased her through the foliage in the woods. Odette then ran over to a huntsman with a large wolf that had different eye colors by his side in the woods. The huntsman enveloped her in his embrace before giving her a chaste kiss. Rumple then snapped out of his mind, and heaved out small breaths.
That damned vision never stopped even before she was cursed. Rumple believed in it at first, thinking that it was an opportune moment to make a second potion for her to travel with him to find Baelfire since he saw that if he made just one true love potion, then there wouldn't be enough for her. That was why Rumple needed to be the villain so that she could find her true love, and he wasn't going to allow Odette to break her curse before then. However, the visions became stronger and appeared almost all the time, which meant that she would soon meet the huntsman. It was only a matter of time when she would meet him. The tricky thing about these visions though was that he had no idea how or exactly when they would happen, which was why he needed to find ways to design the events to make his visions a reality to get what he wanted.
Present
Nora and Mary Margaret went over to Ashley after seeing how upset she was. "You okay, Ashley" Nora asked.
"Thought it would make me feel better. But the truth is...I need a 'be with my guy night'. But he's never around. And I'm at home with the baby all day. I mean, what's the point of being together if we'renottogether?"
Nora looked down in disappointment, thinking the same thing. She was together with Graham, but she wanted to be with him, especially for today. Being alone on such a romantic holiday wasn't ideal. That was why it was disheartening that she wasn't with him.
"I get it. Loving someone you can't be with...it's a terrible, terrible burden." Hearing Mary Margaret made Nora turn to her, thinking that she sounded from experience, but she didn't want to question how she would know since it wasn't her place, so she kept quiet.
"Look, this was a bad idea. I should—I should go home."
Before Ashley had a chance to walk out, she was stopped by Sean. She was surprised to see him with a small bouquet of roses. Sean explained that he was working and that he was on a break so that he could see her. That was when Ruby came over to see what was going on as she stood by Mary Margaret's side. The three women smiled, knowing that this was going to be lovely night for Ashley when they saw her smiling from ear to ear when he handed her the roses.
They were all soon taken by surprise when Sean said that he had something to ask her before getting down on one knee. He then revealed a diamond ring in a red box, gaining everyone in the bar's attention to see Ashley's reaction. Ruby then held onto Mary Margaret and smiled from ear to ear when Sean asked Ashley to marry him, while Nora smiled, happy for one of her best friends after she accepted while Sean put the ring on her ring finger, signaling their engagement.
Even though everyone, including Nora, clapped for the happy couple as they walked off together, Nora couldn't help but think about Graham. She then turned to Mary Margaret and Ruby before excusing herself to go to the bathroom. She opened the door and asked if anyone was inside before locking it behind her so that she could have some privacy. Nora took her phone out to see if he still didn't answer any of her texts or if she missed any of his calls. Turns out, he didn't send her anything, which made Nora disappointed.
With a huff, she put her phone away and looked at herself to fix her makeup and her hair, but she immediately froze in stunned silence when she saw writing on the wall behind her through the reflection in the mirror. Nora then turned around and sucked in a breath when she read, 'I SCREWED AMIR KHAN,' in bold black paint. Her blood turned cold, and her muscles tensed when she read the message over and over again.
Not long after, she heard a thud from one of the stalls, so she looked to see Amir Khan coming out. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled when a sickening grin crept up his face. She knew this wasn't good as he drew himself nearer to her.
"We need to talk." Nora didn't want to hear him though since she was scared by his actions, so she tried to unlock the door, but he stopped her by putting his hand beside her head, forcing her to turn around to face him. "Your behavior has been completely unacceptable."
She was shocked to hear him say that as she retorted, "M-My behavior?"
"And I'm not gonna stand for it," Amir interjected.
As he drew his face closer to her, her lip quivered, and she tried pushing him out of her way so that she could unlock the door. "Just let me go."
Amir, however, wasn't done with her yet as he grabbed her and forcefully turned her around so that he could get in her face. "Why? So that you could let Humbert come crawling back into your life and then you'd be done with me?"
"What?"
She tried to break free from his hold, but he was too strong for her as he took her face and made her look at him with widened eyes. "Suddenly, I'm nothing to you, like what we had never even happened?"
"It was one night, and it was a mistake! We had nothing!" Nora told him as she continued to struggle out of his grip.
"Hey, Hey!" She stopped to hear him whisper voluptuously, "Yes, we did, and you loved it."
When his hands traveled lower, she pleaded for him to stop and begged for him to let her go. He responded by pushing himself against her so that her back hit the door. Her eyes soon welled up with tears when he pushed her neck up so kiss it, while trying to grab his hands to get him to stop reaching underneath her. He was practically grinding against her, and at that moment, she was terrified of this man. He was incredibly unhinged, and she thought that maybe Graham was right about Amir being so dangerous. That was why she needed to get away from Amir, and she got the opportunity when she kneed him, causing him to grunt in pain and fall to the ground.
Nora huffed out breaths to compose her breathing so that she could control her overwhelming emotions before facing Amir to show that she wasn't going to allow him to threaten her. "You think you can scare me with some graffiti on the wall? Think again! It's gonna be your word against mine, and who do you think they'll believe? Stay away from me! And stay away from Graham!"
With tears streaking down her face, she unlocked the door and heard Amir chuckling lowly before hurriedly leaving the bathroom. Nora couldn't believe that Amir actually had the nerve to do something like this. It was unbelievable. She needed to get out of here and head home after Amir ruined her night.
Ruby soon approached her when she the distraught look on her face. "Hey, what happened?"
"Ruby, I'm sorry, but...I can't talk right now. I just need to get out of here."
She heard the voice breaking in Nora, and she didn't even stop her from walking out of there. That was when Ruby turned to the bathroom and saw Amir Khan coming out. He fixed his jacket before looking around. When Amir noticed Ruby watching him, he smirked and nodded at her before leaving The Rabbit Hole. At that moment, Ruby knew that Amir's torment towards Nora was just the beginning since Nora managed to get away from him.
When Nora made it halfway home, she stopped to look behind her and couldn't control the tears streaking down her face, and when she saw that there was no around, she took her phone out to call Graham only for it to go to voicemail. "Graham," she breathed out. "I know you're really busy, but I just wanted to see how you were doing. Ashley and Sean are engaged, and when I saw them, all I could think about was that...you weren't with me. I'm not really good with things like this, but I really missed you, and I wanted you to be there with me. Anyway, I hope your night was as good as mine."
After hanging up, she wiped away her tears and sniffled back her last sob before putting her phone away and headed back home. There was no way she could tell him what Amir did. He would never forgive her if she did. That was why she needed to keep it to herself. She knew though that if Amir did something like this, then it meant that things would get worse for her.
Past
Odette didn't know how long she was in the dungeon, but it was enough that she turned back into a swan. She thought that at least two days passed since her father gave her meals at night. Odette, however, could hardly touch her food. She never felt so betrayed before by someone who she thought she could trust.
When the door opened, she didn't bother looking up who it was, but she nearly flinched when she heard a feminine voice, "Odette, I brought you some food."
She finally looked to see Belle with a tray of berries and some bread with slices of cheese, but Odette didn't say anything to her. Instead, she turned her head away. Belle set the tray on the ground, and when Belle didn't leave since Odette didn't hear the door shut, she knew that Belle wanted to say something to her.
"Odette, I'm sorry. I tried, but I-"
"You told my father," Odette cut her off.
Belle was stunned to hear her tone somewhat cold but more distant as if she was speaking to a complete stranger. "I had no choice. He threatened to attack my home and kill my family.My people would have died."
"And what about my family?" Odette retorted. "You don't know what it's like to live with this curse for three hundred years. I have no choice but to stay at the lake if I want to be human again, and all I asked is for you to help me break it so that I could find my brother, but instead, you betrayed me by ratting me out the first chance you get."
Belle didn't know what to do when she heard Odette's voice breaking, so she tried reassuring her, "Odette, I-I'm sorry, but I'll-I'll help you-"
"Like how you helped last time? I thought you were my friend."
"I am."
"Well a friend wouldn't backstab another friend to protect herself." Odette finally turned away from her before telling her, "Just go. I'll find a way out of this curse myself. So stay away from me. I'll never forgive you for this."
With her final words, Belle just sat there, taken aback by anger. Instead of saying anything to her, Belle walked away, leaving a heartbroken Odette to cry alone after Belle closed the door on her. Belle cried to herself as she left the dungeon, knowing that she really hurt Odette even though she didn't intentionally mean to hurt her this way without knowing that Rumple watched the whole scene through his crystal ball as his heart clenched when he saw both women this way because of him.
Present
After Graham and Emma took Gold outside of the cabin, they called the ambulance to take Moe French away. There was Mr. French being hauled away to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. Nothing but bruises from the amount of times Gold hit him with cane. Thankfully, Emma intervened when she did by grabbing Gold's cane and told him to stop.
"So I hear you managed not break anything he needs. You're lucky, Mr. Gold," Emma said approaching him.
"You got a funny definition oflucky."
Graham then jumped in when he heard Gold's sarcasm as Graham turned serious. "You have a funny definition of justice. What did he really do?"
"He stole."
Both Graham and Emma knew he was lying from the moment he entered the never thought how serious this case would be. He always knew Gold had an intimidating demeanor, but to see him act this way was strange. He became extremely murderous when Gold cried out how French was someone's father, whoever she was. It must have been someone Gold cared about so much, otherwise he wouldn't react the way he did by saying that French hurt her.
"That reaction was about more than taking a few trinkets. You said something about how he hurt 'her', what happened to 'her'? Who was that? What did he do? If someone needs help, then let us help them," Emma told him.
"No. I'm sorry, Sheriff. I think you heard that wrong."
Graham narrowed his eyes at him as he realized that Gold wanted them to drop the issue, but Graham wasn't willing to let this go. "So you're not going to cooperate with us?"
"Look, we're done here,"
Before Gold had a chance to walk away from them, Graham grabbed his arm and pulled out his handcuffs. "No. We're not. You're under arrest."
All Gold did was smirk at him as Graham placed the handcuffs around his wrists before putting him in the backseat of the police car and shut the door as soon as Gold got inside. Graham always knew that Gold was a sniveling weasel, and his actions today was further proof of it. He still had no idea how Nora ever saw good in him.
"Alright. You can head to Nora if you want. I'm pretty sure you'd want to be with her tonight," Emma said approaching him.
"You sure you don't need me to help you take him back to the station."
"I've got it covered. Go."
Graham nodded his head in acknowledgement and gave her his thanks before he headed off. When he pulled out his phone, he felt like an idiot for putting it on silent as he missed a few texts, calls, and one voicemail left over. He looked through the texts first and saw how concerned she was for him. He then listened to the voicemail and heard how upset she was. Graham knew he needed to make it up to her since they were supposed to spend a nice Valentine's Day together, but instead, he got caught up with the case against French.
He knew he couldn't go to Nora's apartment empty handed. He needed to give her sweet gestures to show that he still cared about her. Graham went into town to buy a small bouquet of lilies since they were her favorite and went into a convenience store to buy a Valentine's Day card.
When he got everything he needed, he gathered up the courage and went to her apartment, not knowing how she would react if she saw him. He climbed up the steps to get to her apartment room and knocked on the door. It took a moment before Nora opened it, but the lock was in the way, so the door hardly opened. She didn't look pleased to see him too.
"What do you want?" she asked dismissively.
"I'm sorry, Nora. I should've paid more attention to my phone, but I'm here now." Nora breathed deeply through her nose and closed the door so that she could unlock the door before she opened it, but she stood in his way and was in her pajamas, and Graham knew that she was crying earlier from her glassy eyes, so Graham gestured to the flowers and the card in his hand in hopes of cheering her up. "Happy Valentine's."
He handed her the flowers, and she just stared at them for a moment before looking over the card as she opened it. There was a pop-up of a couple on a bench with a man wrapping his arm around a woman underneath a starry night with a large moon as their witness to see their love as the card read, 'I'M OVER THE MOON FOR YOU'.
Graham was pleased to see a small smile on Nora's face as she looked back at Graham and told him, "You're lucky lilies are my favorite and that you got me a very cheesy card."
She then invited him inside before putting the lilies in a vase, and when she set it on a nearby table, he apologized again, "I'm really sorry again, Nora. The case was just...insane."
"How insane are we talking about?"
He knew Nora would be upset when he explained, "We arrested Gold today. He took Moe French to an abandoned cabin and beat him with his cane."
Nora froze in stunned silence as she couldn't believe it. "What? Why would he do that? What did he want from him?"
"Information, but Gold didn't want to tell us, so I arrested him for being uncooperative." When he saw Nora disheartened by the news, he went over to her to put an arm around her so that he could comfort her. "I'm sorry, Nora. At least, there was something good. Your friend, Ashley's engaged now?"
She gave him a small smile, telling him, "Yeah. I'm happy for her. Maybe I could even get her an engagement present."
"Probably a custom-made dress for an engagement party."
"Maybe."Nora smirked as she nodded at his humor before turning to him. "Thank you for coming to see me."
The couple stared at each other for a moment, and Graham felt the same burning sensation whenever he was Nora. He leaned in and kissed her softly. When she accepted it and kissed him back, he brought her closer to him. He thought that perhaps she wanted to be more intimate, so he reached for her pajama top to unbutton it, but she quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him and pulled away, not knowing what she had been through with Amir at The Rabbit Hole.
"I'm sorry," she told him. "Could we...just hold each other?"
Graham didn't mind since he would never push her to do anything. "Of course."
She smiled softly and led him to bed where he took off his shirt, so that he was more comfortable as he dropped it carelessly on the floor and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him as her head was pressed against his chest. His chest slowly rose, thinking that he was never going to let her be upset again. He was going to be there for her no matter what. When she eventually fell asleep in his arms, he found himself closing his eyes, and enjoyed the peaceful serenity.
Past
It had been two months since Odette had been in her father's castle. After he released her on the third day, he took her back to the lake, and Odette completely regretted what she said to Belle. She couldn't really fault her for protecting her family and her people since she was a princess. Belle needed to look out for them. Odette just took out her frustrations on her because all she wanted was to see her brother again. She wished that she could see her again to apologize, but she wasn't sure if Belle wanted to see her. That was why Odette stayed at the lake with the guilt eating her alive.
When Odette turned back into a human, she looked to see her father watching her, so she approached him as he conjured food for her. Odette didn't waste time to sit down and eat, but as soon as she took a second bite of the fish, she didn't bother taking a third. She set her knife and fork to the side, causing Rumple to stare at her quizzically.
"Is it possible if I could see Belle?" Rumple's eyes turned hollow when she mentioned Belle's name, so Odette quickly added, "I know you don't want me to see her after what happened, but I just want to apologize for the horrible things I said to her before you let me go."
She didn't understand why her father didn't say anything. Odette thought that maybe he still hadn't forgiven her for using someone else to break her curse. That was why she brought her head down in shame to avoid his empty stare. Ever since he found out what Odette did, he hadn't been the same when he visited her. He was much more quiet and never asked her if she was willing to return home like how he used to do. He was much angrier back then though as his gaze drilled hard into her skull. This time, he was distant, and she had no idea why.
"She's no longer there." Odette's eyes widened as she heard him confess, "I let her go."
"Wh-What? Why?"
Even though he was calm, she saw how uncomfortable he was on the subject. "She tried taking my powers away from me, and I need those powers to protect you, so I let her go."
Odette sucked in a breath, not believing her father's words. He cared so much more about his powers than anything. She couldn't allow this to happen. Odette needed to see Belle again since she didn't want Belle to leave on poor notice.
"You have to go bring her back. I need to see her."
"You can't."
She froze when he told her that, and she had a horrible pit feeling in her stomach when she heard how serious he was, so she asked, "Why?"
"She's dead. She threw herself off a tower that her father put her in."
His answer to her struck Odette hard. She couldn't believe this. Tears slowly streaked down her face. She never wanted any of this to happen. Now that Belle was gone, Odette had no one except her father, but even her father wasn't good anymore.
"You did this," Odette gasped, causing Rumple to stare at her. "If you didn't care about your powers so much, she would still be alive."
More tears fell down her cheeks, and Rumple didn't know what to do when she stood and moved away from him, so he tried reaching out for her, but she cried out, "No! Don't touch me! You're nothing but a coward!"
Instead of saying anything to her, he used his red smoke to teleport himself back to the castle, leaving Odette alone with her sadness as her knees grew weak. She fell to the ground and didn't care how she sobbed in the open like a child. She hugged her legs close to her to give herself comfort as she buried her head so that she could weep for her dead friend.
Present
The next day came by, and Nora set up her shop. When she saw Moe French outside with his van that the police gave back, she went over to him, and saw a bandage over his nose and some cuts around his round face. She didn't want to ask him how he was doing, because she knew that he would go on about Gold, and it would make her uncomfortable, so she didn't bring it up. As soon as he saw her, he already got the lilies and handed them to her.
"Thank you, Mr. French."
Before she had a chance to leave, he stopped. "You still think Gold's a kind man?" When Nora didn't say anything, he shook his head. "If you would've known the things he's done to the people here, or even to you, you wouldn't even associate yourself with him anymore."
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she heard him, so she asked, "What do you mean to me? What did he do?"
Nora's eyes widened when she heard his confession, "I went to him for a loan to keep my van. He gave me the money, but he also said that he would give me more time if I sent lilies to you, telling you to meet Graham Humbert's apartment to see him with the mayor."
She didn't want to believe it. Gold would never do that to her. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Graham wouldn't want to get caught. Everyone in town even said that Gold practically knew about everyone's business. That's why Nora couldn't believe that Gold would go so far to hurt her like this. She didn't understand what he could possibly gain by sending her those flowers to expose Graham and Regina's affair.
Nora didn't bother say anything else to Mr. French, she wasted no time putting the lilies away so that she could head straight to the sheriff's station. Emma and Graham were already there. Emma was eating a sandwich, and Graham was drinking his coffee. Mr. Gold, on the other hand, sat in his jail cell, and he quickly noticed Nora when she entered as she froze when she noticed him.
"Nora," she turned to Graham when he stood and went over to her. "everything okay?"
She nodded over to Gold as she addressed Graham and Emma, "I need to talk to him."
"You want to talk to Gold?" Emma asked.
"It's important," Nora insisted.
Graham was hesitant at first, but he eventually agreed, "Alright."
Nora was not going to allow Graham and Emma to leave though, since she wanted them to know what else Gold did, especially towards Graham. "Both of you should stay. You should hear this."
Gold smirked as Nora went over to him and sat on the chair beside him. "Miss Moon, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Moe told me what you did."
His smirk wavered, and he looked away when he heard how serious she was, but he tried brushing it off. "He stole from me, which is none of your concern."
"I'm not talking about you beating him with your cane." He wasn't understanding what she was getting at, so she needed to get straight to the point. "I'm talking about the lilies." When Gold looked back at her, Nora knew that he knew she was onto his scheme, so she continued, "You told Moe French to send me the lilies so that I could catch Graham with Regina."
Emma and Graham stared at Gold when they heard her, so Gold turned back to Nora as he asked her coldly, "Is that he told you?"
"You're not even denying it," she scoffed, and when Gold stayed silent, she pressed, "Don't you understand how cruel that was? It wasn't your place to do that."
Nora saw who Gold truly was as he turned to her with a cold smirk, "Perhaps you should be thanking me instead then."
"Why the hell would she ever thank you for that?" Graham practically spat out.
"Because I revealed the truth to her-something you never bothered to do."
This was too much for Nora. First, Amir with his attack last night, and now, Gold with his cruel act. She couldn't believe any of this. How her life turned upside down was beyond what she could handle. Everyone was right about Mr. Gold. All he ever cared about was himself, and he enjoyed ruining other people's lives. That was why Nora was never going to forgive him.
"Well, congratulations," Nora said sternly. "You got what you wanted."
Emma and Graham didn't bother going after Nora to stop her since she was so upset. Instead Emma turned to Gold for a moment before heading back to her desk, while Graham glared at Gold menacingly. Graham already speculated that Gold knew about his involvement with Regina, but he never thought that Gold would ever involve Nora for something like this. The only person who had ever defended him in this town was chased away by him.
Meanwhile, Amir was at his office, printing something, and Mr. Smith led Regina inside before allowing them privacy. "So, do you have it?" she asked.
Amir smirked as he opened one of his drawers and handed her a chipped tea cup. "Everyone has a price, including that fathead French. I did tell you that he may have always had his memories."
"Which was exactly what I speculated from the beginning," Regina told him dismissively. "Now, it's time for him to confess who he really is."
"I wish you luck then."
As soon as Regina left, Amir went over to his printer and looked over at the paper he printed out from his computer. He grinned maliciously as he saw himself being intimate with Nora Moon. If Nora claimed that no one was going to believe him, then it was time for him to show it. She had no idea who she was messing with, which was exactly why he was going to teach her not to cross him ever again.
Yay! We finished one of my favorite episodes! I told you the drama was heating up. Nora finally found out that Gold sent the flowers to ruin her relationship with Graham, she met Belle in the past and deeply regretted what she did to her, and she had a horrible encounter with Amir. I know we still haven't seen what's going on between Ruby and Amir, but trust me, when I say that you will find out very soon in the next two episodes, so please stay tuned. I hope you all enjoyed the story so far though. Please let me know what you all think and what you are expecting. Stay tuned for more chapters heading your way!