Chapter 18
Past
After the Prince had been taken from Snow White, the soldiers celebrated outside, but Sinbad wasn't doing much celebrating. He was drinking from a bottle, sure, but he was in his room, Sinbad thought it was fun to live a noble life, but the Queen and Rothbart were so hellbent on destroying innocent people that it made Sinbad's life less fun. Sure, he didn't mind tormenting his enemies, but he never stopped so low to torture his victims. He would take a quick, easy kill any day.
When he looked out his window again, he saw Odette yelp as she was being tossed around like a doll. The dress she wore was tattered as the men practically grabbed her and ripped her dress just to have some fun with her. Sinbad knew Rothbart gave her to the soldiers for some amusement as a way to make her suffer since none of the soldiers were allowed to touch her without his permission. Then again, they were the ones who Rothbart always ordered to hit the poor woman, leaving fresh bruises and scars on her body.
Sinbad took another swig from his bottle before he headed outside to get a close up visual of Odette. All Sinbad did was lean against the marble wall and watched the display unfold. She could hardly stand when she was tossed to the ground. One of the soldiers even grabbed her by her hair and forced her to stand up with a sickening grin on his face. He then grabbed her by her shoulders and spun her around so quickly before throwing her over to another soldier who grabbed her by her middle.
Odette pleaded for them to stop, but one of the soldiers spat in her face by telling her that they took no orders from her. The soldiers then ripped her sleeves as she struggled until another soldier came to hold her arms as the soldier ordered to keep her steady. Sinbad's eyes narrowed when the soldier went over to a bonfire that they lit before putting his sword inside.
As soon as Odette opened her eyes to see what he was doing, she whimpered, "No. Please, no. Don't."
"Shut your mouth!" one of the soldiers barked at her.
Sinbad continued to watch her struggle out of the soldier's grip. She used all of the strength she had to break free, but they damaged her so much that she could hardly move. Finally, the soldier removed his sword out of the fire, and Odette froze when she saw the hot steel. Tears then streaked down her face as she continued to struggle helplessly from the soldier's grip on her before the other one stalked his way towards her while Odette cried out for them to stop.
Right at the moment when the soldier prepared to burn her, she managed to break through for a moment by swinging her arm at him and slapped the man hard as he was taken aback. It amused Sinbad though to see that she still hadn't lose her fire. However, he grimaced when the soldier backhanded her across her face, causing her nose to bleed. The soldier who had a hold on her grabbed her hair to bring it up as she cried out in pain, while the man cheered and shouted to teach her a lesson.
Having seen enough, Sinbad stepped in. Right at the moment when the soldier inched his hot sword closer to her scream, she sobbed, knowing what was about to happen until Sinbad smashed his bottle against the soldier's head who was holding the sword. The rest of the men looked at Sinbad like he was a madman as he unsheathed his sword and fought some of the men who approached him, cutting them, and killing one of them like the one who had a hold on Odette as Odette crumbled to the ground.
When the soldiers froze at Sinbad's interference, he pointed his sword at them, challenging them to see who dared to face him. After seeing none of the soldiers stepping forward, he put his sword back in its sheath and immediately went over to Odette. She must have passed out from the shock and the exhaustion from fighting so hard. He wasted no time lifting her into his arms and carried her out of that horrible scene.
Sinbad took her to his room since he didn't trust putting her back in her room. Not long after, her eyes slowly opened, and they soon widened when she saw Sinbad. Normally, he would smirk at her or say some chide remark, but the image of those soldiers ganging up on one woman sat in his mind.
She squirmed and tried pushing him off of her, but Sinbad kept a good hold on her. He finally let her go when he set her down on his bed. Odette glared at him and brought her knees close to her as a way to comfort her and so that she wasn't near him.
Sinbad stared at her for a moment before he went over to a bronze basin and filled it with a pitcher of water. He then grabbed a rag and brought everything over to her. All she did was stare at him as he soaked the rag in the basin and twisted it so that it wasn't completely wet. Odette watched him bring it over to her as he carefully tried to move her dress a bit to expose her just enough to wipe off the grime and muck off her, but she didn't even give him a chance as she glared daggers at him and smacked his hand away from her. When he tried again, she did the same thing, so he tossed it at her only for her to throw it back at him. It amused him to see her throw a little tantrum, but then again, he didn't blame her for how she reacted after all that he had done to her. He smirked and dropped the rag in the basin while she continued to glare at him.
She moved her hair away from her face and swiftly grabbed the rag, twisting it to get some of the water out. While she was wiping the blood off her nose, Sinbad went over to a tray of fruit and brought it over just in time to see her sorrowful face when she saw the blood on the rag. Odette was probably wondering why this was happening to her or how she could receive such treatment from a bunch of brutes.
He then took a pear from the tray and took a bite while holding the tray out for her to take something. "Eat," he munched out.
Instead of saying anything, she just looked at him before going back to wipe the blood off her face. "I still don't understand you."
Sinbad smirked again as he took another bite. "How so?"
"You told me you don't want my spirit to break so you interfered what those soldiers were going to do to me, yet you go along with whatever Rothbart does to me."
"That's because Rothbart's not someone to trifle with. I know which battles to fight and to survive and which ones I would lose against. If I'm up against a powerful sorcerer like Rothbart, then there's no way I'd win. This is something I could do at least."
It took a moment for Odette to say, "Thank you. You were at least brave handling those soldiers."
She barely whispered it—almost as if she sounded ashamed to thank him. Sinbad didn't care though if she thanked him or not. However what he was not going to tolerate was her calling him brave for protecting her from those soldiers.
"Brave?" Sinbad chuckled. "You really think a dog needs to be brave to chase off rats?"
Odette definitely didn't appreciate his tone as she retorted, "Do you enjoy tormenting people?"
"A lot of things give me joy, especially in the company of a woman." When he saw her face flush and her lips parted in shock, she knew what he was referring to out of his vulgar mouth, and his toothy grin stretched from ear to ear when he added, "If you only knew what it felt like...to feel a man. Then again, you woman are a lot more resistant when it comes to the pleasures of it all. That's why men are much more simpler. No matter how hard we deny it, all we want is to get them excited, just likeyour precious huntsman,Grim. I bet he'sachingto know how you feel under that skirt."
Her eyes snapped at him, and he knew he was going to be in an argument for bringing up Grim's name in their conversation, but he admitted that her biting tone amused him even more. "Grim would never do that. He has honor unlike you."
"Except no man can resist a beautiful woman when the opportunity presents itself." When he saw her nostrils flaring, he chuckled and looked away as he said, "And, I'm sure you'd let him without a second thought since you're so in love with him."
Odette gripped the rag in a vice-like grip before throwing it at him, causing him to chuckle even more. She then immediately got off his bed as he watched her leave. He didn't bother to stop her since he thought he might give her a break from pestering her. At least she still hadn't lost that spirit of hers just yet.
Meanwhile, Grim was at the merry men camp, watching them train. Akela stood laid on the ground by Grim's side with his eyes staring out in the open. Snow and Ruby left a while ago as they wished Grim and everyone else well since they didn't want to stay in the camp too long to be found by the Queen. Grim didn't mind though since he understood. It wasn't going to stop him from his mission anyway to rescue Odette.
He still couldn't believe that The Dark One got involved by making a deal with him. He looked back at the arrows Rumplestiltskin gave him and still wondered what was his purpose for wanting Rothbart dead and why he wanted his wolf mother's pelt. No one ever knew what mischief Rumplestiltskin had planned for his victims, but then again, what use would he have for her pelt? It didn't make sense to him, but as long as these arrows worked and could kill Rothbart, then Grim didn't care as much.
"Still thinking about him?" Grim looked to see Derek approaching him before sitting down beside him. "Don't let Rumplestiltskin get in your head."
"I just don't understand why he came to me, and what could he possibly want from my mother's pelt?"
Derek shook his head, admitting, "I don't know, but everyone knows not to trust The Dark One. All of the stories that say about him talk about how he's a monster. He came to my village one day to take away my neighbor's baby after they made a deal with him. He may have given you those arrows, but you can't trust him so easily. There has to be a reason why he wanted your pelt. Just...be careful, Grim."
Even though Grim heard of how powerful Rumplestiltskin was and how he couldn't be killed, he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way anymore. Grim made a vow to himself to set Odette free, and he was going to do just that even if it meant taking a deal from The Dark One himself. As long as Rumplestiltskin promised Grim that the poison from his arrows would kill Rothbart, then Grim didn't care.
Still, though, he also couldn't help but get a chilling feeling how interested Rumplestiltskin was with Grim's situation. He then believed that The Dark One wanted Rothbart dead. It was the only logical explanation, otherwise, why else would he trade away the poisoned arrows? Maybe he sought to use Grim to take down his enemy. Grim then wondered what Rothbart did to him to make Rumplestiltskin want him dead.
Present
As soon as Regina saw Mary Margaret safe in her cell, she stormed into The Moonlight Mirage and ignored Mr. Smith's warning to not enter his office since he was busy. She didn't care though. Regina opened the door and found Amir puffing out smoke from his cigarette as he narrowed his eyes at her for disturbing his peace. Mr. Smith apologized as usual, but Amir quickly dismissed and told him to leave them alone.
When Mr. Smith shut the door, Regina and Amir were completely alone. All they did was stare at one another, and Amir soon broke out into a toothy grin as he blew more smoke before finally putting his cigarette out in his ashtray. Finally, he looked back at her and gestured to the seat across from him as he told her to sit so that they could discuss business.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
She got straight to the point with her question, "Mary Margaret wasn't killed. You failed."
"What exactly did I fail in?" Amir asked with a toothy grin. "We agreed that Mary Margaret were to get the blame for Kathryn's death, but never for her death. In fact, I told you that I wouldn't mind scaring her a bit. Now, abduction and nearly being thrown off a cliff would terrify anyone, don't you think?"
Amir couldn't care less how she looked at him. Regina may be his ally, but it didn't mean that he would follow along with all of her plans. He only did it if it was in his interest. Killing Mary Margaret wouldn't coincide with any of his goals.
"Now Emma and Graham are going to be more determined than ever to find out who took her and why they wanted her dead? Don't you find that concerning?"
Amir smirked as he brought up, "Not at all. In fact, I'd be more worried about the key in her cell."
Her eyes slowly widened as she realized, "It's all going to lead me, isn't it?" Her stare turned hard as she told him off, "You bastard."
"Oh, come on, Regina, you must've known it would catch up with you sooner or later."
She then placed her hands on his desk as she leaned in to remind him, "Don't forget, Amir. You're not the only one who holds all of the cards in this town. If I go down, I'm taking you with me."
"Then you better hope that Mary Margaret is found guilty." Amir opened his laptop and began typing. "You can see yourself out, Mayor Mills."
With one final glare, she walked out of his office, leaving a satisfied Amir. Amir knew that Regina would never dare try anything on him. She needed him as his ally since he was the only one who could go behind the scenes to help her with anything. On top of that, she wanted to ruin Mary Margaret's life. As to why, Amir had no clue since Regina never told anyone what she had done to her in her past life. Nevertheless, it didn't matter to him. Everything was going according to his plan as long as everyone behaved themselves.
Meanwhile, Nora came out of Granny's Diner with a cup of coffee, and she nearly bumped into Mr. Gold. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Gold. I wasn't even looking."
"It's alright. Care for a walk?"
When he gestured to the sidewalk, she gave him a soft smile and followed him by his side. "So, anything new on the Mary Margaret's case?"
"I'm planning to conduct a pretrial interview."
Nora furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, trying to understand his intention. "How is a pretrial interview going to help? Wouldn't the D.A. try to find reason to think she's guilty?"
"Except the best chance at winning is to employ the most valuable asset, and a sweet, kind elementary schoolteacher doesn't exactly fit the prototype now, does it?"
She gave him a small smile as she knew what he was getting at. "Except you once told me that perception's blind to the truth. The D.A.'s probably going to use Kathryn Nolan's hatred for Mary Margaret a valid reason to see Mary Margaret in jail."
"Perhaps, but if Miss Blanchard agrees to speak to the District Attorney, then the jury will perceive that Miss Blanchard will be willing to cooperate. These things engender trust.It shows the jury she's at least trying to prove her innocence."
Nora hoped that was true, but then again, she had faith in Mr. Gold. He did always give her words of wisdom in her time of need. She was sure that he would do whatever it took to help. As much as Nora didn't like what he did to her and forgave him for it, she hated to admit that it showed how much influence he had on this town. Whatever it took to get her friend out of jail, then perhaps Mr. Gold was the solution.
When she looked ahead, she saw Graham heading their way and gave her a quick kiss when he got close enough and greeted her. Mr. Gold stared at the couple, clearly not liking the fact that they were still together. Nora didn't want there to be any more issues with them after everything that happened. That was why she stepped in to ease the tension. "Mr. Gold was just telling me that he's going to bring the District Attorney to do a pretrial interview with Mary Margaret."
Graham then turned to Mr. Gold and addressed him, but it sounded more like an accusation, "You really think that's good for her?"
Gold's smirk didn't extend to his hardened eyes as he replied, "You should put your faith in me more since I know what's best in Miss Blanchard's interest."
"Just like how you knew what's best for Nora when you sent her the flowers?"
Nora put her hand on Graham when she saw him taking a step forward towards him. "Stop. He's only trying to help Mary Margaret, and right now, you need to work together if you're going to prove her innocent."
That seemed to calm him down, but his eyes remained narrowed when Mr. Gold gave him a victorious smirk as he limped his way over to him. "We should be going now, Deputy Humbert. We'll need to explain it to Sheriff Swan and to Miss Blanchard before the District Attorney arrives at the station."
Graham looked at Nora one last time, who gave him an encouraging smile before wishing him good luck. He then followed Mr. Gold as Nora's smile fell. She really hoped that all of this would work out in Mary Margaret's favor. However, Nora also couldn't forget Graham's warnings about Amir. If Amir really did kill both Derek and Kathryn, then they needed to find that evidence quickly before it was too late.
Past
Grim, Derek, and Robin Hood with his merry men trekked long and hard to reach Regina's castle. Grim didn't want to bring Akela along since he didn't want to risk for him getting hurt, so he left him behind back at the camp. However, Grim was going to do whatever it took to set her free, and with these arrows, he was going to ensure that he didn't miss to kill Rothbart for all that he had done to her especially when Derek told him of the horrible details of that vile sorcerer's guards abusing her.
"Remind me again. How far are you willing to go for this woman?" Little John asked Grim.
He narrowed his eyes at him as he answered sternly, "I'd die for her."
"You won't die in there." Robin Hood smirked. "You'll get your woman out and spend the rest of your life with her like what you wanted."
As Robin Hood spoke, Grim shook his head. "I won't be with her. I'm only here to set her free."
Little John clearly didn't like his answer as he stepped forward and challenged him, "You're willing to risk all of our lives for a woman you don't want to be with."
"I owe her a debt. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."
After seeing his friend getting angrier with Grim, Robin Hood put a comforting hand on Little John's shoulder and gestured to Derek when he explained to Little John, "Even if he doesn't want to be spend the rest of his life with her, no woman deserves to be tortured as Derek here explained to us."
Little John's expression turned solemn as he eventually agreed before Derek went over to Grim. "Are you ready?"
Grim nodded his head and wasted no time heading towards the castle as the men sneaked inside through a passageway that led to the dungeons. They knocked out a few guards so that they wouldn't alert any of them before locking them in their cells. Robin Hood ordered some of his men to stay here to keep guard of the door so that they could hold off any men who tried to stop them when they flee.
By the time Grim made it to the halls, they froze when one of the Queen's guards noticed them across the hall and ran away while shouting that there were intruders. Robin Hood ordered his soldiers to stand their ground as they fired as soon as five soldiers came rushing in. They all then rushed and took their swords out as they fought more soldiers that came. Some of the merry men and Robin Hood fired at the soldiers from the windows while Grim and some of the others proceeded forward.
There were too many soldiers, but Grim was determined to fight back. He was not going to die unless she was free. Grim even made sure not to waste any of his arrows since he saved them specifically for Rothbart. He cut through every soldier's armor by finding their weaknesses before continuing down the hall so that he could find Odette.
Meanwhile, Odette was walking through the halls with a couple of the guards and stopped when she heard clanging. The guards then stepped forward and readied their swords. One of them then charged forward while the other one ordered for Odette to go straight back to her room. She was frozen on the spot though, wondering what was happening, but she soon rushed down the hall when the soldier barked at her to go.
She picked up her skirt and ran away from the fight taking place. Odette hurriedly went inside her room and slammed the door behind her while catching her breath. When she heard men grunting outside, she went over to her window to see the Queen's soldiers fighting against so many men. Odette had no idea if they were thieves or rebels, but it seemed like an ambush since the soldiers clearly weren't expecting this attack when those men climbed down from the other side of the castle to attack them outside. She clutched her swan necklace and prayed silently that those men would be safe.
"Enjoying the show?" Odette gasped as she spun around to see Sinbad sitting on her chair and drinking a goblet of wine. "Thought you'd be more pleased to know that your huntsman is leading the attack."
Her heart pounded excessively against her chest when she heard him. "Grim's here?"
"So is your friend-the one who got you out."
Realizing what he meant, she stammered, "Derek's a-alive?"
"Fighting by his side from what I've seen," Sinbad confirmed before indulging himself with more wine and smirked when he continued, "You can imagine Rothbart and the Queen's faces when they heard that the castle was being attacked."
If that was true, Odette didn't understand why Sinbad was here. He was in charge of the Queen's guards. He should be out there fighting to help them. Instead, he was hiding in Odette's room, helping himself by getting drunk.
She slowly made her way over to him, unafraid as he casually took another sip. "Why are you here then? Why aren't you fighting?"
"Because I won't stay long. I'm leaving."
Her eyes widened when he made his announcement. "Where?"
"Someplace where I won't be killed," he scoffed. "When I saw the look on Grim's face, there was so much hate in his eyes. Almost reminds me of a pirate I knew once-too determined to give up. When someone's like that, they won't stop until they see their enemy dead, and I'm aware which side we'll win if that's the case."
"So, that's it then?" Her voice nearly broke as she spoke, "You're going to abandon the Queen and Rothbart after all that you've done for them?"
"I never had any intention for staying with them too long. Alliances last for a time, but the point of them, is to survive for as long as you can. You only run away when the time's right. That's why Regina and Rothbart can diejust fineon their own."
As much as Odette wanted the Queen and Rothbart to pay for all they had done, she was more upset to see how quickly Sinbad's loyalty changed. Even though he helped her at times, Sinbad proved that he only looked out for himself. He couldn't care less who died as long as he survived. That was why Odette didn't like him. He was incredibly selfish and only helped for his benefit.
Sinbad then surprised her when he said, "You can come with me if you want. Not even Rumplestiltskin can find you if you're with me." She watched him set the goblet on the table and stood as he sauntered his way over to her. "Grim can't protect you from him, but I can."
As much as Odette wanted to leave, she didn't want to go without Grim, and on top of that, she still didn't trust Sinbad, which was why she told him, "I'll be alright. Grim will find me. He would never hurt me."
In an instant, he grabbed her shoulders, causing her to gasp and face down while shutting her eyes, thinking that Sinbad was going to hurt her. "Look at me!" he ordered. When she slowly opened her eyes, she finally felt his firm grip on her and saw how serious his expression was when he told her, "Grim's a killer. Your father's a killer. Rothbart and Regina are killers. Your children will be killers someday. The world is built by killers, so you better get used to looking at them."
Her lips parted a bit in surprise-not because of his speech though. She was already well aware that anyone was capable of murder or any act of wicked deeds after living for twenty-two years before her father cursed her. Odette was more surprised to hear his tone. It was almost as if he was genuinely concerned, which was strange to her. He helped her out before, but he never sounded this serious before. It was like he was pleading for her to listen to him so that she could understand what he was saying. However, Grim was still here, and she didn't want to leave without him.
Odette stared at Sinbad and barely whispered out, "You won't kill me."
His grip loosened, and he eventually let her go as he took a step back from her while staring at her pitifully, "Not today." As he headed towards the wall to open the secret passageway, he turned back to her. "If our paths do cross again, remember what I said, because I won't hesitate to kill if you ever come after me."
Hearing his threat unnerved Odette, but she didn't want to ever see Sinbad again since she never trusted him. When he walked out through the secret passageway, the wall closed behind him. Odette, however, could have sworn that he looked back to see her before the wall completely shut.
When he left, Odette looked back at the window and clutched her swan necklace again. She smiled to herself, thinking that Grim came back to save her. Odette knew that Derek must have told him everything about what Rothbart did to her. Her heart beat excessively against her ear drums as an image of him appeared in her mind to rescue her, but she wasn't going to let him fight valiantly alone.
Odette gathered her courage and opened the door that led to the hallway before heading over to the noise until she was stopped by one of the Queen's soldiers. "What are you doing here? Get back to your room." Instead of doing as she was told, she stood there in defiance causing him to go over to her and grabbed her arm as he forcibly dragged her. "I said go back to your room!"
Having enough of it, Odette whirled around swiftly and grabbed the soldier's dagger as she was behind him before quickly pressing the small blade against his neck. "I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want to," she seethed before knocking him out with the dagger's hilt.
She then hurriedly grabbed the soldier's sword and smiled victoriously before heading over to where Grim was hopefully.
Present
After a long day at the sheriff's station, Graham told Nora everything that happened at Granny's when they went to get lunch. "She what?" Nora asked.
"The District Attorney tricked her to get her to say what he wanted to hear." Graham sighed and shook his head as he said, "She's digging a bigger hole for herself."
"Didn't Mr. Gold try to stop it?"
"It didn't matter. Mary Margaret couldn't control her emotions during the interview. She was too upset with the D.A. who was grilling her with the accusations. I just can't believe Amir's going to get away with it again, only this time, he's going to get someone innocent locked up."
Nora looked around, hoping that no one heard him before turning back to him and whispered, "What are you even going to do about Amir? If he really did it, then what are you and Emma waiting for?"
"We can't make an arrest without tangible evidence against him. He always has an alibi to cover for him, because they're all scared of him, but if we can prove that he was involved, then he won't have anything to back him up."
As Nora thought about it, she was tempted to tell him about the blackmail that Amir had on her, Ruby, and possibly some other women in Storybrooke. Even Ruby was staring at her intently as if she heard everything and almost seemed like she wanted Nora to tell him. However, Nora was worried how Graham would react if he found out that willingly slept with Amir. It wasn't as if he took advantage of her after all since it was by her own submission. On top of that, Graham only slept with Regina to get information even though it was wrong, but Nora thought what she did was worse by sleeping with Amir to take out her frustrations for Graham not telling her why he slept with Regina in the first place and then leaving without saying goodbye.
"You'll find something," Nora encouraged him with a small smile.
When she turned back to Ruby, though, her friend just stared at her and gave her a look of sympathy before heading over to customers sitting at one of the booths. The whole situation was too shameful to admit, but Nora knew that Amir was going to get what was coming to him one day. She was just glad that he still never used her to seduce anyone yet, but she hoped that Graham and Emma would find something to lock him up before he Amir did anything to her.
Meanwhile, Amir was testing his bartenders on speed so that they could pop out drinks in a timely manner. They were fine for the most part, but a couple of them weren't so accurate with their pours, and one of them made their drinks too strong. One of the idiots even managed to break ice in the ice bin, causing Amir to go behind the bar. He told his employee countless of times already to be careful not to drop shards of glass in the ice bin as he always had to pour bluecuraçao. If the blue was gone, then he knew that the glass was gone as he had to explain it to them, especially to his youngest employee since he was a rookie. When Amir finished, he sternly reminded him to get it done right or he'll throw him out so quick that he won't even blink, scaring the poor kid a bit.
Amir then met Mr. Smith who quickly approached him with a yellow envelope as he handed it to him, "Sidney Glass met me on the street and wanted me to give you this, Mr. Khan."
He stared at it for a moment before taking it from Mr. Smith. Amir then told him to get back to work to which he did by racking up inventory. When Amir saw no one was around him, he opened the yellow envelope and took out a transcript of texts, but his eyes widened when he realized that these were texts between himself and Kathryn Nolan. They were both flirting with each other, trying to get the other one to meet up with them so they could share intimate moments with one another. Amir thought it was convenient since he helped her find her husband and then it became an ongoing thing. He couldn't afford anyone to find this out.
Amir went into his office and shredded the transcript. As he watched it turning into strips, he narrowed his eyes and thought about who gave this to his employee. Sidney Glass wouldn't just hand it to him without reason. On top of that, he only did what he was told, and only one person controlled him. If Regina wanted to play with fire, then she was going to get it.
He went out to the bar and told Mr. Smith that he was in charge before heading to Regina's office. She smirked when he made his way inside and stopped at her desk. His scowl soon broke into a devilish smirk as he got to the point. "You really want to make me your enemy?" When she was unfazed by his question, he put his hands on her desk and leaned in to try to intimidate her. "What gives you the right to send me Kathryn's phone records?"
"I'm simply reminding you who holds the power here," Regina told him. "You maythinkthat you run this town, but you seem to be forgetting that without me, you would have been in jail many times if it weren't for my influence. Now, how do you think Miss Swan and Humbert will react when they see those phone records if I have Sidney send it over to the station?"
"You do realize if that happens, then you won't see Mary Margaret in jail," Amir scoffed.
"Oh, I can think of other ways. You, on the other hand, wouldn't be so fortunate. Homicide, after all, is a serious felony."
She had him trapped; he knew it. One word to Sidney, and Regina could send those phone records to Emma and Graham whenever she wanted to. Even if Amir intimidated Sidney, he knew that Sidney would still follow Regina's lead since he blindly followed her. For now, Amir needed to follow along.
"What do you want me to do?" Amir asked bluntly.
"Do what you've always done. Keep an eye on this town and gather any valuable information you have no matter what it takes." Amir nodded his headed and was ready to walk out until she stopped him, "And, Amir,don't ever disobey me again."
He clenched his teeth, not believing that she got the best of him before walking out of her office. Amir even knew that she had a malicious grin on her face when he proceeded to leave. Everything would be fine though as long as he continued to do what he was doing. He just couldn't make Regina angry anymore.
Past
When Odette turned a corner, she encountered two soldiers running, but they stopped when they saw her. She then prepared herself when they came at her as she quickly dodged their attacks and blocked them. Her feet moved swiftly as she twirled and leapt by doing a side aerial before blocking off their attacks again. She then immediately got down into a split when one of the soldiers tried swinging his sword at her before sweeping the soldier's leg, causing him to fall. Odette rolled out of the way when the other one tried to strike her down before she blocked another of his attack so quickly and stood as she moved it out of the way and continued fighting.
She refused to give up without a fight, and Odette was going to fight her way through to find Grim. That was why she quickly swept that soldier's leg before the other one had the chance to get up. She then hurriedly ran out of there so that she could find Grim, and sure enough, she found him fighting.
Odette rushed over and fought her way over as she quickly defeated some of the soldiers when they didn't see her coming. She then ran over to Grim who swung his sword at her when he heard her approaching but clearly had no idea it was her as their swords clashed and his eyes widened. Her eyes then narrowed when she noticed a soldier charged at them, so she twirled to his side and blocked the soldier's attack before Grim joined in as he helped her fend the soldier off.
When there was a brief pause, she turned to him a beaming smile. "I can't believe you came back."
Grim quickly blocked another soldier's attack heading their way before he kicked his chest, causing the soldier to stumble back. "I couldn't just leave you here."
She smiled at him again and was touched how he thought of her, and her smile grew even more when she saw Derek as he made his way over to them. "Hate to cut this reunion short, but we need to go before the Queen and Rothbart come."
Before they had a chance to leave, Odette stopped them. "Derek, your family...they-they didn't..."
"I figured already," Derek said with a hint of sadness. "I knew Rothbart wouldn't let them live for harboring you. That's why I already made a funeral for them back at camp."
She didn't want to tell him of the horrible detail of how they died. Derek didn't deserve that. To hear how much they suffered, especially the young children was utterly gruesome. That was why Odette kept it to herself.
"Alright. We need to move now. Let's go," Derek said.
Grim allowed Odette to go ahead of him so that he could cover her from behind. When they reached a corner, Derek went on head, but Odette and Grim hit an invisible wall. They all stopped to see what happened, and that was when Odette knew that someone casted a magical barrier. Grim then told Derek to run, so he did as he said they'll bring help. Grim and Odette then turned to see Rothbart with a sickening grin as he turned the corner, causing Grim to take his stance as he took out his arrow and aimed it directly at Rothbart quickly before releasing it only for Rothbart to stop it with his magic as it split in half.
"Do you honestly think that you stand a chance against me?" Rothbart mocked Grim, causing Grim to glare at him. "You came back for her, only to die."
Rothbart then extended his arm out as Grim froze and was later sent flying to the wall. He was then pinned there as Odette watched helplessly when Rothbart disappeared in a cloud of burnt orange smoke only to reappear in front of Grim. Grim grunted in pain when Rothbart plunged his hand inside Grim's chest, but he didn't take it out, and that was when Odette knew that he was torturing Grim first by holding his heart to crush it a bit before killing him.
Odette's eyes slowly watered when she saw Grim in pain, and when Rothbart finally took Grim's beating heart out, Odette watched in numbed horror when Rothbart caused Grim more pain by slowly crushing his heart, so she cried out, "No. No. Please. Please! Please!" She managed to save Grim in time through her desperate plea as Rothbart stopped to turn to her with a questionable look while Grim panted heavily. "Kill me. Kill me please. Not him. Let him go."
Rothbart smirked and slowly made his way over to her as she froze. "How extraordinary," he commented. "You would sacrifice your life...for his?A heartless huntsman."
"Get away from her," Grim seethed, causing Rothbart to turn back to him for a moment to glare at him.
Rothbart though looked back at Odette to hear her reply, "You don't know anything about his heart."
As Rothbart stared at Grim's heart in his hand, Odette hoped he would not hurt anymore, and thankfully, she was right as he plunged it back into Grim's chest before letting him fall to the floor. Odette then rushed over to Grim when she saw him clutching onto his chest as he stared back at Rothbart with such hate. Rothbart then used his magic to throw his bow and arrows across the room when he saw Grim reaching for them.
Not long after, many more guards showed up as did the Queen, who noticed Odette and Grim as she grinned from ear to ear. "Well, isn't this a surprise." Odette then panicked when the Queen ordered her men. "Lock him up. He'll await his execution tomorrow for attacking the crown."
"No, please! No!" Odette pleaded before the guards grabbed her while more guards came over and dragged Grim away. "Please, don't kill him."
"That's not for you to decide," the Queen sneered at her before addressing her men, "Take her away."
As Odette was forced out of there, she looked back to see Rothbart taking one of the arrows out and examined it carefully before he turned back to Odette and smirked wickedly at her.
Present
As Emma was trying to think of a way to help Mary Margaret, she took a stroll through town. Everyone just carried on with their normal lives as if nothing happened. Sidney, however, continued to make articles in The Daily Mirror about Mary Margaret's case as the evidence was stacked against her in a court of law. She just didn't know what to do to make it better, but she knew for a fact that Amir had to be involved with Kathryn Nolan and Derek's deaths. There was just something about him that she couldn't tell, but she knew that he was hiding something.
When Emma reached the docks, she noticed some red splatters on one of the metal poles and a bit on the floorboards as she examined it carefully. She thought that a nasty fight broke out or something. She didn't really think much of it since she didn't really see how it was going to help her. It just seemed a bit off though as she had an eerie feeling that something horrible happened here.
"Find anything?" Emma's heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest when she was caught by surprise only to turn around and find Amir staring at her. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."
She had no idea how long he was watching her, and frankly, she found it unbelievably creepy how he just stood there and didn't say anything. "No. Nothing."
He then made his way over to her and noticed the blood. "Trying to see what caused that I'm assuming?"
"More like trying to prove my friend's innocence."
He smirked and nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Well, I don't see how you would find anything here. That's why I think, you should keep a watchful eye on Regina more. She's got it out for Blanchard from what I've been hearing."
Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she asked, "And how would you know that?"
"I know a great deal of many things." Before he walked away, he turned back to her a sly smirk and added, "Be careful where you're going next time. Some places aren't so safe when you're by yourself. Thankfully, I was here to make sure that didn't happen."
Emma narrowed her eyes at him since she didn't trust his words, but it didn't stop her from saying, "Yeah, right."
"Take care."
As he walked off, all Emma thought about was Amir. She had the same feeling that he was too sketchy. There was just something off about Amir, and Emma's intuition was never wrong. She just needed to continue to keep a close eye on him.
Meanwhile, Nora got ready to lock her shop up by putting her work away in the back and kept it in an organized manner, but she stopped when she heard the bell rang, so she came out. "Sorry, the store's closing."
Nora froze when she saw the mayor with a grin on her face, and Nora became wary since she knew Regina would come to her if she needed something. "Evening, Miss Moon."
"Mayor Mills, the store's closing. If you need something, you have to wait until tomorrow."
Her firm tone seemed to have amused Regina since Nora didn't trust Regina by continuing to sleep with Graham when he was with Nora. When Nora had no idea what the mayor was like back then, she didn't really know what to make of her since Nora often helped her with her measurements and made her own clothes. It was always a business, professional relationship. Now, it was tense, especially when Regina warned Nora to stay away from Graham when she came into her shop.
"Well, I only came to see how you're doing." Nora became uncomfortable with every step Regina took as she circled around one the cases. "Business has been doing well, I'm assuming."
"Yes."
"So, there hasn't been any trouble?"
Nora had no idea what game she was playing at as her eyes slowly narrowed at her, so she went over to the door and opened it for her. "Everything's fine. Now, if you would, please leave."
"Oh? As your mayor, I only wanted to see if everything was alright. It's my responsibility after all."
Her attitude was almost mocking Nora, almost challenging Nora to say something back. Whatever the reason why Regina came here, it wasn't good at all. Knowing the mayor, she was very calculated with her intentions.
Before she had to chance to tell her to leave again, she turned around when she heard, "Everything alright, Miss Moon?"
There standing in the doorway was Mr. Gold, who she was relieved to see. "Yes, everything's fine, Mr. Gold, isn't that right, Mayor Mills?"
For some reason, Regina and Gold couldn't stop staring at each other, and Regina's smirk grew as she answered, "Why yes, of course. I only came to check in to see how her business was doing."
"Is that right?" Mr. Gold asked, but his question seemed more like a challenge as he narrowed his eyes at Regina, making the environment much more intense.
"Yes." Nora then gestured to the door again as she addressed Regina, "Now that you know that my business is doing well, I have to ask you to leave." When she didn't move, Nora told her sternly, "Please."
Regina gave her a sly smirk before exiting the shop as Nora closed the door behind her. Nora then looked over at Mr. Gold and nodded her head at him, acknowledging her thanks for stepping in before she disappeared into the back to finish putting her work away. All Gold did was stare at her shop before noticing Regina looking at him. They then walked by each other's side down the sidewalk as Regina slowed down to keep up with his limp.
"Well, that was an interesting display," Regina commented. "From what I've seen with Nora Moon, she had never given me a look full of disdain before."
"To be fair," Gold began, "most people in this town don't hold any high opinions of you."
"Not more than you," Regina scoffed. "She does, however, remind me of someone. Although, I could never figure out who she was back in our world. I knew Rothbart and Sinbad were lying to me about who she was, but none of my spies have never heard of a Nora Moon before. I've always wondered who she was."
Gold smirked as he replied, "Quite a mystery indeed."
"Right," Regina told him flatly before getting to the point. "Although, she does, however, remind me of someone."
"And who might that be?"
"Why, you, of course."
They both stopped and stared at each other. Regina already knew she was his daughter after reading about it in Henry's book. She just wanted some opportunity for him to know that she knew since it was better for her enemies to know what information she had and using it against them.
"Me?" Gold scoffed. "How so?"
She knew Gold was trying to look some sort of excuse to not let Regina know the truth, but it was already too late, which was why she bluntly told him, "I know who she is. Nora Moon's real name is Odette, and she's your daughter."
His jaw clenched as he questioned, "Is that right? And, what makes you believe that?"
"Did you really think I would never find out? It all even makes sense why Rothbart took her in the first place. He stole the daughter of The Dark One. Who would've thought you would have more weaknesses after your servant girl? It'd be a shame if anything happened to her."
Gold then took a couple of steps forward and challenged her even though Regina was unfazed by it until he brought up Henry. "If you go after her, then I assure you, I will see to it that you lose everything you've built and ensure that Miss Swan will take her son back."
"He's my son."
"Technically speaking, he's her son." Gold smirked before threatening her. "A child for a child, so think carefully before you make any rash decisions."
As he limped away, Regina just stared after him. Now, that Gold knew that Regina knew who exactly Nora was, it meant that Gold needed to make sure that Nora stayed safe since Regina had many connections to get what she wanted. He wasn't going to allow his daughter to suffer anymore. She had already been through enough in her life, and he swore to himself that he would see her happy again. That was why he was never going to allow someone like Regina hurt his precious daughter especially since Nora suffered so much through Rothbart's cruel treatment towards her.
Past
While Grim was chained up, he tried to find a way out by tugging onto the chain around his ankle, but it was no use. It wouldn't budge from the wall. He couldn't believe this was happening. He just hoped that Derek, Robin Hood, and the merry men escaped. Grim didn't even know how long he had been down here, but it must have been a while.
"It's no use," Grim looked over across his dungeon cell to find another man in a cell. "I tried everything myself."
Grim couldn't care less what this prisoner thought as he continued pulling to try to budge the chain a bit. "Well, I'm not giving up. I can't give up. She needs me."
"Who?"
"Odette. She's Rothbart's prisoner. I came here with others to set her free only to fail."
The man nodded his head in acknowledgment. "So, you were part of the attack that just happened?"
"Yes," Grim answered before dropping the chain and sitting on the ground.
"I know the feeling. I was captured by the Queen not too long ago. She stopped my execution only to use me to hurt Snow White."
As soon as the man said Snow White's name, Grim got a good look of him. The man wore fine leather for hunting and a proper sword to fight. At that moment, Grim knew exactly who he was. "You're Prince David, aren't you? I met Snow a while back. We separated not too long ago."
"Was she safe?"
After hearing his concerned tone, Grim assured him, "She was when she left, but at least Snow has friends to keep her safe. Odette doesn't. She has no one here. That's why I came here to set her free. I wouldn't even be free if it weren't for her. She risked her life for my freedom. That's why I don't want to see her suffering anymore. She deserves to be free and safe. A woman like her shouldn't be locked up in a cage. I want her to be happy."
The more Grim spoke about her, the more his heart thumped wildly against his chest. He felt this way ever since his heart was restored to him. When he was serving the Queen, he thought that Odette was kind and reckless. It was why he wanted to protect her so that he wouldn't see another innocent person get hurt. However, he was touched that she went out of her way to secure his heart instead of trying to find her own freedom. She was not like any other human he encountered. Odette was good, and he wanted her to be happy as he was willing to do whatever it took to see her smile again.
Meanwhile, Rothbart entered Odette's room, who immediately stood from her chair and pleaded, "Rothbart, I'm begging you, please let Grim go. I'll take any punishment you give me, but let him go."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Rothbart told her before reminding her, "He had his chance at freedom when you gave him his heart back, and instead, he chose to come back. Now, he must deal with the consequences."
Odette furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she quickly realized, "How did you know I took his heart back?"
He smirked wickedly and questioned, "Did you honestly think Sinbad hadn't told me? Though, I suppose he doesn't matter seeing that he abandoned the Queen and me. His loyalties always wavered for his benefit. Now, it's up to me alone to continue my plan by taking everything away from your father."
"You mean to kill him?" Odette asked after swallowing the small lump in her throat.
He shook his head, admitting, "No. Not to kill. It'd be much more entertaining to control him. However, what I had in mind was something...much more cruel."
Odette's eyes widened as she realized his true intentions with her. "Why did you take me instead of killing me then? You knew who I was from the beginning, so why?"
She hated how it amused Rothbart to see the tears welling up in her eyes. "Why?" he asked lowly before shouting, "Why?" Odette nearly shook at his biting tone since he hardly ever raised his voice at her, and his toothy grin gave her the chills. "You want to know my motive? Oh, but you see, I don't believe in motives, Odette. Did your father have a motive for stealing newborns or perhaps when he creates contracts to ruin people's lives? Don't think so. You see, it's much more terrifying when there's no motive, Odette. Now, I did you a favor. I got you out of that lake where your horrible father imprisoned you in like some sort of trophy." Odette's tears slowly fell and looked away, not believing him, since she knew he had a reason, and sure enough, she was right as he continued, "Is that motive enough for you? Then how about this?" His tone grew very serious as he finally revealed, "You're wretch of a father killed my daughter, and that's the reason why my wife left me, so I swore that I would make his daughter suffer the pain I felt after losing my family. Being cursed for so long certainly made you desperate enough to go along with whatever a stranger told you to escape from your father without knowing their true intentions.""
Odette's lips parted in shock. She couldn't believe what she heard. It all made sense now. Rothbart wanted revenge for his daughter's death and his wife abandoning him. Now, Odette was left to pay the price as she finally understood why he brought her here and why he gave her the diamond so that her father wouldn't track her down.
"Rothbart, I am begging you. Please, let Grim and me go," Odette couldn't stop her tears from streaming down her face as she told him, "I forgive you for everything you've done, but please, don't do this. Your daughter wouldn't want you to do this."
He stared at her long and hard until he finally scoffed, "If I knew you many years ago and saw your kind heart, I would have let you go then, but your father is the sole reason why my heart turned black."
Having said the last word, Rothbart left the room and made sure to slam the door behind him, leaving an upset Odette. She couldn't even escape through the secret passageway anymore since Rothbart placed soldiers inside the tunnels as Odette got caught when she went inside once. Now, that Rothbart explained his motive, Odette knew there was no escape. She cried softly to herself and clutched her necklace, praying silently for someone to save her.
Here's the eighteenth chapter! We finally know Rothbart's motivation for taking Odette and torturing her. Regina also finally confronted Gold about knowing that Nora is his daughter. Next chapter, we're going to delve back into the past again with Baelfire and Odette, so you'll just have to be patient to see Odette's storyline with Grim continuing, but I hope you like the story overall. I also understand that there's clearly a history between Jefferson and Amir/Sinbad, and even though we didn't see Jefferson again in this chapter, it doesn't mean that he won't pop up again at some point, so you'll just have to be patient for Jefferson to turn up again too. What do you think is going to happen next, what are your expectations, or what are you hoping to see? Please let me know in the comment section.