Chapter 21

Present

The patrol car sped down the road with the sirens blaring loudly. Graham couldn't help but glance back to see Nora lying down in the passenger seat while blood continued to seep out of her. He wanted to kill Khan for what he did. When he even made it back to the mansion while carrying Nora, Emma and Ruby were shocked when they saw Nora and asked Graham what happened, but he couldn't explain everything. All he told them was that he needed to take Nora to a hospital, so Emma and Ruby followed behind him in Emma's yellow bug as they pulled up to the hospital in town.

Graham shut off his car and turned off his sirens before getting out and slamming his car door. He then rushed over to get Nora out and didn't care how bystanders watched him, looking horrified. Nora needed to be treated as soon as possible. Graham would be damned if he lost her.

He carried her inside and ignored the awful glances that the nurses and doctors gave him while Emma trailed behind him, telling him to slow down, but he couldn't. "I need a doctor," Graham didn't beat around the bush when he made it to the reception desk lady.

She looked perturbed as she didn't understand what was going on as she kept looking at Nora. "I'm sorry, but what's going-"

"She got shot," Graham cut her off. "Get Whale here now!"

The reception desk lady fumbled as hesitated for a moment for this shocking injury. She no sooner spoke into an intercom for Dr. Whale when Graham shouted at her to hurry up. As soon as Emma and Ruby reached his side, Emma looked over at the receptionist and told her that Ruby needed to get treated too since she got attacked as she gestured to the bruises and cuts on her face. The nurses immediately arrived after the page, and Graham wasted no time setting Nora on the stretcher, but he let his hand linger at her head, not wanting to part from her. That was when Emma looked to see Graham's face right at the moment when one of the nurses escorted Ruby to get treated.

"She'll be okay." When Graham stayed silent, Emma continued to reassure him. "Amir's not going to get away with this."

At the mention of Amir's name, Graham's eyes darkened, and his posture turned stiff and rigid. "No, he's not."

She raised a brow when she heard his seething tone and immediately walked away. His strides were purposeful, and his fists formed by his sides. Emma knew exactly what his intention was. He didn't just want to take him to jail. Graham wanted justice for what Amir did to Nora. There was no way though that Emma could ever let that happen. She needed to stop him before he did something that he regretted.

Emma then followed after him and called out to him, but when there was no answer, she grabbed his shoulder right before he reached the exit and got in front of him so that he wouldn't get any ideas to leave. "Graham, you can't go after Amir."

"Get out of my way, Emma." When Emma made no motion to move, he turned more serious. "I said get out of my way."

Emma needed to give him a reality check, because she knew that if she didn't, then Graham wouldn't stop until Amir was a bloody mess, and Emma knew that when someone was so angry like Graham, then there was no winning that fight. "Listen to me. When Nora wakes up, she needs someone by her side. She needs you, and I know that she wouldn't want to hear that you're too hellbent on revenge by tracking down Amir so that you'd beat him much worse than what he did to her."

"She may be dying, Emma," Graham argued.

"And I'm not saying what Amir did is right, but right now, you have to be here for Nora. I'll find Amir."

She thought that she got through to Graham for a moment as his eyes softened when he turned back to the door, obviously concerned about Nora, but they soon narrowed at Emma when he told her, "You better, because if you don't,then I will."

As soon as Graham headed back into the lobby, Emma felt nothing but relief. She bought herself some time to look for Amir, but the problem was that she had no idea where to look. This was definitely going to be tough, but if there was one thing Emma knew, it was to find people who didn't want to be found.

Past

After Snow White awakened from her sleeping curse, Prince Charming and her were preparing a ball to celebrate. All of the servants rushed to ensure that everything was in order by preparing the food and setting up the decorations while the musicians practiced in the ballroom.

Odette was in one of the rooms, making her wedding dress with Akela lying by her side, so she gave his ear a good scratch when he perked his head up to look at her. She didn't mind the hard work since the result was always worth it, but it had been a while since she sewed. Her fingers occasionally pricked the needle, causing her to wince in pain before sucking off the blood a bit so that it went away and went back to work. However, when she pricked her ring finger, she stopped for a moment when she sucked off the blood and stared at the beautiful ring Grim gave her during Princess Ella's wedding.

She smiled to herself thinking how she was going to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved. When she first met him, he may had been dismissive towards her, but she saw his kindness. He was completely different from everyone else. Grim was compassionate, honest, and loyal. It made her admire him even more just by thinking about the tribulations he faced to set free. She still couldn't believe how he continued to risk his life for her. It just showed how much he loved her. If only she wouldn't have to worry about Rothbart, then everything would be perfect.

Even though Odette was a bit relieved that she hadn't seen Rothbart for a while, it didn't mean that Rothbart was going to give up so easily to enact his revenge. At least her father was locked away in his cell and heavily guarded, so she knew he wouldn't go after him. Also, her father couldn't be killed as long as Rothbart couldn't find her father's dagger. She was certain that her father hid it in a much more secure location after what happened when she ordered him not to go near her anymore or to hurt Grim or her ever again. For now, he was safe at least, but it still didn't shake the uneasy feeling she had given what she went through.

Odette still had horrible nightmares of Rothbart though. She hardly slept after seeing his face in her dreams. It was as if she could never escape from him. The worst one that plagued her mind were Derek's adoptive family's heads mounted on pikes. It was the worst punishment he ever gave her because Rothbart wanted to show her that she had no one left to help her. The damage to her mind was successful in his part, and she hated herself for it. She hated how he got to her and how he was still getting to her. At least she distracted herself by sewing whenever she could. First, she made her gown for the upcoming ball, and now, she was making her wedding dress.

When Odette heard the clashing of swords, she looked out the window and saw Grim and Prince Charming overlooking the soldiers. Odette was still so proud to see Grim as Commander of the soldiers for Snow White and Prince Charming. He was authoritative with the way he spoke, but he was never abusive with his words and actions. Grim was strict, but he wanted the soldiers to reach to their full potential.

As soon as Odette set her needle and threads aside, she stood, causing Akela to trot after her when she left the room. She was greeted by many of the servants who passed her way. When it came to her friends though, Odette always greeted them with a warm smile, which was what exactly what she did when she approached Snow and Red.

"Oh, Odette. Perfect timing. We need your opinion," Snow said, taking her arm.

Red then smirked as she said, "And bywe, she means you."

Snow gave her a look before showing off two fabric panels-one had a creamier color than the one that reminded Odette of eggshells. "I just can't decide which one would be better. What do you think?"

Odette hesitated for a moment before pointing at the one to her left. "That one. It's a much softer color."

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Odette couldn't help but smile a bit when she saw Snow turning to Red and asked her that, but her smile wavered a bit when Snow noticed her hands. "Oh, Odette. You've been working on your dress again."

"You know how to make dresses?" Red asked, baffling Odette a bit.

"Well, my father taught me how to sew after my mother died, and eventually, I started making my own dresses." Snow and Red looked down at her hands again, causing Odette to put them behind her back as she broke out into a nervous smile. "It's been over three hundred years since I last sewed, so I'm trying to get used to it again."

"You still don't have to make your dress though. You can have someone else-"

"It's okay, Snow, and besides, I want to make a dress that I envision for my wedding. After all, I firmly believe that hard work leads to good rewards, so if I work hard enough, I know my wedding dress will turn out beautifully."

Red and Snow couldn't argue with her, but what they didn't know was that it wasn't the only reason why Odette wanted to make her dresses. Sewing provided a nice distraction given everything that happened between her father being in prison and Rothbart still out there, plotting for his revenge. She didn't want to burden them with it though and let them take pity on her especially after finding out that she was The Dark One's daughter. Odette could never stand the pitiful look on their faces when they found out or how some of the servants still whisper about her, mainly about how they couldn't believe that someone so kind was his daughter.

After Odette wished them well, she went on her way. Snow did try to convince her to help out, and Odette promised she would, but she wanted to take care of something first. Odette then headed to the training grounds where she saw the soldiers grouped in a circle. Grim and Charming were standing next to each other and watched the soldiers sparing, and surprisingly, one of them was Derek.

What amazed Odette though was how Derek managed to hold his own. He wasn't the strongest, but he knew how to use his speed by dodging his opponent's attacks so quickly. In the end, Derek prevailed by rolling to his opponent's left-hand side before he sprung up and caught his sparing partner off guard by swinging his sword at him, causing him to fall to the ground. Derek then pointed his blade at him before smiling and helping him back up.

"Alright, everyone, Take a break," Grim ordered.

Derek made his way over to Charming and Grim after grabbing a rag to wipe the sweat off his face and neck. "So? How'd I do?"

"Your night training is paying off alright," Charming told him.

"Well, thanks to you both, I'm a proper soldier now, which means you better watch out for me in the battlefield, Grim."

Grim shook his head and smirked at his friend's challenge. "Don't forget that I was the one who always had to save you."

"True, but now, I can finally help out. Sinbad was surely no help when he trained us. It was nothing but constant berating."

Charming smiled as he reminded him, "Well, you don't have to worry about him anymore."

Derek thanked them again before heading off to socialize with the other soldiers as a couple of them patted him on the back and told him congratulations before Grim turned serious as he addressed the prince. "They still have more work to do."

"They have a lot of work to do, but we don't have to worry. They'll get there."

"Hopefully fast enough to take down Queen Regina."

"They will." When Charming finally noticed Odette, she froze for a brief moment for getting caught by listening in to their conversation, but he soon broke into a smile as he asked Grim, "Since the soldiers are on break, then why don't you join them?"

Grim didn't understand what he meant until Charming turned his head to Odette, and Grim couldn't keep his eyes off of her. He was just glad that Charming gave them privacy when Odette approached them as he told them that training's going to start in a few minutes. As soon as Charming left, Grim greeted Akela first by petting his head before turning to Odette. He should be happy that she was here, but Odette would never come to him unless something was on her mind especially when Grim was training with the soldiers.

"What is it?" Grim asked.

She shook her head, answering, "Nothing. It's just...I still can't believe we're getting married. After everything we've been through, I've never felt so happy before."

He genuinely smiled at her and cupped her cheek affectionately. "Me too."

They leaned in and kissed each other, but Odette quickly pulled away when she noticed Derek, Charming, and a few other soldiers were watching them with knowing grins before they quickly looked away after she caught them. "They're all looking, Grim."

He turned back to the men and glared at them for a brief moment before pressing his forehead against hers. "I want to be with you."

His sultry whisper made her face flush and her spine shiver as she wanted to be with him too, but not out in the open and certainly not to deprive him of his duties. "I do too, but you shouldn't procrastinate." He seemed disappointed at first until Odette assured him. "Don't worry. We'll spend plenty of time at the ball."

At that the mention of the ball, he looked down at her hands and held them. Grim never wanted to see her delicate hands getting ruined by her needle. He wanted to see her unharmed, but no matter what he said to her, she continued to work on the gowns for the ball and for their wedding. She was as stubborn as him when she wanted to be. Even though she frustrated at him at times for her recklessness and stubbornness, he wouldn't change who she was. She was perfect to him, and he loved everything about her.

"I can't wait to marry you," he told her with his lips barely brushing against hers.

She smiled and replied, "Me too."

They kissed again-this time, much longer than the last one, but Odette still was wary about the men looking, so she ended it, causing him to sigh. She smirked, knowing how frustrated he was that their time with each other was short, but he knew that they would have all of the time in the world for the ball tonight. However, what Odette was unaware was that Rothbart planned to ruin her happy life by stealing her away from Grim.

After Grim and Charming escaped, Rothbart went back to his castle to concoct a plan. He couldn't help but grin maliciously when he watched her over his cauldron as it showed an image of her. He even held up the glowing ROC diamond, thinking that he'll succeed as long as his plan was enacted, and it sure would when he knew all too well about the Queen's curse to take away Snow White and Prince Charming's happiness. After all, he had something that she needed to cast it, and sure enough, she appeared after being escorted to his dark and cold chamber.

"A pleasure as always, Your Majesty," he greeted with a bow.

"You asked me here, so you better hope thatyou are not wasting my time, Rothbart."

He smirked at her tone and soon got straight to the point. "Very well. I understand. You are looking for this." When he held up a vial of shimmering silver liquid, her eyes slowly widened when he told her what it was. "Unicorn blood. This will cast your curse as it will help take away everyone's memories in the new land you wish to take everyone." As soon as she reached out to take it, he extended his arm back. "Ah, ah. Not without a trade."

She narrowed her eyes at him but strides towards him by taking careful and precise steps. "What do you want? A wealthy and a powerful life in this new land? I can even give you your memories."

"I expect nothing less, but that's not all."

He waved his hand when he went over to his cauldron as an image of Odette surfaced to show the Queen. "You want Nora to be with you?"

"Not at all." Queen Regina was confused until Rothbart held up the ROC diamond for her to see. "I want you to help me kill her by of means...of this."

"So, you do want to see her dead after all, but I fail to see how the ROC diamond will kill her. There's been many rumors going about them, but it's never been explained."

"That's because not too many are aware of it," Rothbart replied with a sickening smirk. "All you need to do, Your Majesty, is to kiss the man she loves—her precious huntsman. I will then give you the blood when you have successfully killed her."

"And how exactly does a kiss kill her?"

"Because the diamond will have her die of a broken heart," Rothbart answered her before turning back to the glowing ROC diamond in his hand, knowing what it was capable of.

Present

Gold was walking through town, and something caught his eye. Dusk Tailor was closed. His eyes narrowed, speculating why Nora hadn't opened her store yet. She was never the type to leave her business alone.

It wasn't until when he saw Sheriff Swan walking across the street, so he limped over to her. "Sheriff Swan,...you wouldn't by any chance know where Miss Moon is, do you?"

Gold knew something was wrong when he noticed her hesitation. "She's in the hospital."

It was as if someone took a knife to his heart and ripped it out. He already had an idea what happened. After all, Nora was the reason why Amir was wanted for a double homicide now. However, Gold wanted to know what happened so that he could make Amir suffer much worse than what he did.

Emma seemed taken aback when he asked, "How did that happen?"

There was no mistaking how cold he sounded, and Emma clearly saw that. "Amir shot her."

"Has she recovered?"

"I don't know."

He looked away at that moment, because if Nora died, then it would be as if he lost a part of his soul. Gold, however, refused to believe that would happen. His daughter may not look it, but she was stronger than what people were aware of. She was going to pull through. She had to. He promised that she would see her brother again, and there was no way he was going to let her die without her memories or her meeting her twin brother. After all, he did all of this to find him again so that his family could finally reunite and be together again.

Emma raised a brow as she asked genuinely, "You really do care about her, don't you?"

Of course he couldn't tell her why he cared about her so much, so he hid the truth from her. "Miss Moon's not just some woman. She's special. Her kind, tender heart is what anyone hopes to have in life. You never want to part from it once she's in your life."

"You make it sound like you're in love with her."

He smirked at that comment since he was aware of the rumor. "I assure you, Sheriff, I see her as nothing more than a daughter." Before Emma had a chance to question him, he walked past her as he said, "I hope you find Mr. Khan."

There was only one person who Amir took orders from, and he was going to make her understand as he headed towards the mayor's office. He warned her what would happen if she targeted his daughter, and he was going to ensure that he would get his point across. Gold especially wanted to wipe the smug look off her face when he lingered in the doorway with his eyes darkening intensely.

When he limped his way inside, she turned back to her documents and asked in a bored tone, "Well, you wouldn't come here unless you had something important to discuss. Now, what is it?"

"My daughter's in the hospital because of Khan, and you're going to tell me where thatmarauding curis."

She finally looked up after hearing the venom coming out of his mouth, and her smirk soon grew as she questioned, "And you think I had something to do with it?" When he didn't answer, it confirmed her suspicion, so she stood and leaned into her desk, challenging him. "Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but I haven't made any contact with Amir ever since your daughter exposed his disgusting little hobby to the public."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Gold asked her with a cold smirk.

"Believe what you want, but we both know that Amir can't be controlled so easily. I myself have dealt with him many times on his secrets and the way how he handles things." Gold stared her down coldly when she sat back down in her chair and continued to work on her documents while telling him, "You can see yourself out."

Instead of arguing with her, he didn't have time for that. He needed to find Amir, but he also needed to see how his daughter was doing. Gold wanted to check in on her first to make sure that he was alright before he went to go and hunt Amir down.

Past

The ball quickly approached, and everyone entered the castle. Snow and Charming were greeting their guests who approached them, the dwarves were practically stuffing their faces at the table, and Red, Granny, and Gepetto were watching the guests dance. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, except for one, Grim.

He stood idly by, watching everyone. Grim would rather ditch the ball with Odette and spend his night with her. Most of the women here were gossiping amongst each other and prancing around in their dresses while the men gawked at the ornate decorations and told stories to show off. That was why Grim never liked talking with these people. With Odette, it was much easier, but he wanted to ensure her protection as well as the guests and his friends, so he already stationed the guards at every post in case Rothbart or the Queen showed their face here.

When he looked back at the staircase to see if Odette would come down by now, his eyes lingered to the corner, waiting for her arrival, but she never came. The anticipation was killing him to see his beautiful fiancée in a gorgeous gown. Whatever she made for herself, he knew that she would look absolutely breathtaking. Even Akela looked at him, almost as if he was asking him when Odette was coming down.

"Is everything alright, Grim?"

He looked over his shoulder to see Derek heading over to him. "It's no concern of yours."

"Well, I was only curious after witnessing everyone here having a good time except for you."

Grim really didn't want anyone to be concerned for him since he thought that their concern should be more on Odette. "I just want this night to end so that we can start planning to move ahead on a plan to trap Rothbart."

"You don't have to worry, Grim. Rothbart will face justice for all that he's done, and Odette will be safe."

"I just hope you're right." Grim looked back at the staircase for a moment before turning back to his friend. "If Rothbart takes her away again, I don't know how I could live with myself."

Meanwhile, Odette was in one of the guest rooms, fixing her dress. It was a lovely soft blue, pink, and white sleeveless gown with layers to resemble feathers on her skirt and on her bodice. She even had a little help from the Blue Fairy to make the feathers sparkle with glitter under the light. When she finished smoothing out her dress, she did her hair by using a blue ribbon to wrap it in a bun and held it together with some pins that had white gems at the end so that it looked like her hair sparkled. Finally, she put on studded earrings to complete the ensemble.

Odette then looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She then noticed her mother's swan necklace still wrapped around her neck. That was when she touched it and wished that her mother was here to see her now. She wanted her mother to be proud of her by coming this far and finding the man she loved.

A chill soon swept down her back when she heard a familiar voice, "Fine feathers do make a fine bird after all."

She gasped and turned around only to find no one. She looked around with widened eyes wondering where Rothbart was after recognizing his voice. He had to be here, but he was nowhere to be found. Odette was not going to let him intimidate her so easily though. That was why she stood her ground and waited for him to appear, and sure enough, he did.

Her eyes narrowed as he appeared from the shadows and stalked his way over to her. "It appears I underestimated you. Your huntsman does you very much, and he will have you." Odette was confused what he meant until he turned to the door and called, "Your Majesty."

The door opened, and Odette nearly gawked in disbelief when she saw Queen Regina disguising herself as her. The imposter stood there with a sickening smirk on her face and wearing a dramatic black dress that was covered with feathers and carried a train. Under the light though, the feathers highlighted tones of green and gold.

"Or, should I say...Nora?" Rothbart turned to Odette with a malicious grin.

"What have you done? Grim won't be fooled. No one will."

Odette challenged him, which amused Rothbart even more. "Your huntsman loves you so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save you, but why don't we test it even further? Let's see if he has any idea."

Rothbart then looked at her necklace and smirked as he used his magic to make Regina wear it. "No."

When Odette reached out to take it back, he stopped her. "Ah. Ah. I have to make it fair, don't I?"

Odette looked between the Queen and Rothbart before finally asking, "Why won't you just kill me and get it over with?"

Rothbart stared at her long and hard before a wicked smirk groomed his face. "Oh, don't worry. You will die tonight but not by my hand...butfromyour precious huntsman."

When Rothbart and the Queen walked out of the room, Odette couldn't let them get away with this. She picked up her skirt and went after them to warn Grim and all of the other attendees at the ball, but Rothbart quickly turned around and brought his hand up while making a fist before the doors slammed shut behind them. Odette tried pulling on the handles, but it was no use. Rothbart had her trapped inside.

Present

Amir gritted his teeth when he stitched his wound. He still couldn't believe that he got stabbed by Nora Moon. To think that she got the better of him made him frustrated. Then again, Amir shouldn't be surprised. After all, back in their world, Nora did the unexpected when she was Odette. She was always an interesting woman to him, but the more unpredictable they were, the more dangerous the person was, which was why he hoped that he killed Nora when he shot her.

There was one problem though. Whether Nora was dead or alive, he would have to deal with Gold. Knowing that he had his memories back, there was no doubt in his mind that Gold would hunt him down to kill him or probably torture him. If there was one thing Amir knew, it was not to cross Gold. Now that he harmed or possibly killed his only daughter, Gold would definitely make him pay. There was only one other person who was powerful enough in this world to go against him, and it was time to meet her.

Amir changed his clothes to put on something more casual, but he made sure he put on a hoodie so that no one recognized his face when he went into town. He just hoped he didn't come across Sheriff Swan and Deputy Humbert since they were still after him. He took his gun with him just in case though as a precaution.

When he went into town, many people were on edge. They were all still afraid given what happened. Thank God he had his hood on, otherwise the people would alert the police. He even made sure that he didn't appear too much on the street by going through the back alleys to reach his destination as he rushed to the back of the mayor's office building.

He jimmied the lock and looked around to see if anyone was around before heading inside. Amir carefully made his way inside, hoping that none of her employees were in here. When he saw that they weren't, he delved deeper into the building and climbed up the stairs with careful precision. He certainly wouldn't want to alarm the mayor, and she looked almost taken aback when he stepped into her office and pulled his hood down.

"Hello, Amir." It pissed him off to see her staring at him with a smirk grooming her face. That was why instead of saying anything back, he kept his mouth shut and glared at her for a moment before heading over to her decanter of brandy to pour himself a drink. "Help yourself, why don't you?"

He couldn't care less about her sarcastic remark as he got straight to the point. "I need your help, Regina. I'm sure you're aware of what happened with Nora Moon."

"Yes. Everyone now is aware that she's in the hospital for your failed assassination attempt."

Amir stopped drinking when her words processed through his head. Finally, he looked at her and saw her smirk growing wider. He then cursed to himself, thinking what he was going to do now. There was no way he could get close to Nora without getting arrested or beaten up. She would definitely be on guard from now on.

He felt so pathetic admitting, "I need your help, Regina."

"On killing her? That might be too difficult now, don't you think? And, I for one, don't want to see myself in jail."

"No." Amir knew he couldn't kill Nora, but he needed something else from her. "I need protection. We both know Gold always had his memories, which means that he'll come after me, and I don't want to die."

"You think he'll kill you?" she scoffed.

He thought it was a stupid question for her to ask as he made his point. "Wouldn't you if I hurt Henry?"

It took a moment for her to finally say, "Fine, but I need you to do something for me first." Amir was willing to do anything at this point if it meant that he got what he wanted. "I need you to find me Jefferson and tell him to meet me here. I need him to do something for me, and I know he won't willingly accept my request since we both know what I did to him, but he is much more lenient with you because you two worked together unless I'm mistaken."

His silence confirmed it. Amir was still good friends with Jefferson. They may had been very different, but they were thick as thieves as they often helped procure valuable treasure and artifacts for The Dark One himself. Amir even met Grace twice back in their world. He met her once when she was a babe as Amir visited Jefferson and his wife, Priscilla, one day and found out that they had a daughter as Priscilla rocked her in her crib. when she was no more than a babe. The second time was after Priscilla as Amir came to pay his respects. Even then, Grace was too young to remember him. Amir even understood why Jefferson gave up his thieving life even though Amir didn't agree with him as much since he knew that Jefferson would eventually grow poor with his daughter. Still, Amir did tell him that if he ever needed anything, then all he needed to do was ask, and Amir made good on his word when Jefferson came to him in Storybrooke to ask him to watch over his daughter.

"So, we're in agreement?" When Amir didn't say anything, Regina grinned from ear to ear. "Good."

Before Amir left, he asked, "Just out of curiosity, why do you need him?"

"I need him to help me take down the problem I have: how to get rid of the one person to break my curse."

Amir smirked, knowing exactly who she was referring to. "And, how do you plan on doing that? There's no magic here to make his hat work."

"Well then he's in luck because I happen to have some. Not a lot, but hopefully enough to dispose of Miss Swan for good."

"So, once she's gone, you'll help me?"

"I may not get you out of jail completely, but I can persuade the judges to give you a lesser sentence, and I will be sure to give you protection if anyone goes near you."

It wasn't exactly ideal to go to jail, but receiving a lesser sentence was something at least. "Looks like we have a deal."

With a satisfied smirk from the mayor, Amir left her office by sneaking out through the back again and went to look for Jefferson. One would think it would be difficult to look for him since Amir knew that Jefferson wouldn't go back to the mansion. However, Amir knew exactly where Jefferson would be. He was watching his daughter, Grace, or Paige now since they have cursed lives as she went inside with who she believed was her mother.

"Thought I might find you here."

Jefferson look over his shoulder to see Amir approaching him. "Shouldn't you be in hiding?"

"I could ask the same to you. You helped me kidnap Ruby and Nora, and you also spiked Humbert and Swan's teas and kidnapped Mary Margaret."

Jefferson finally turned to his friend as he reminded him, "I was only doing everything that you said."

Before Jefferson had a chance to walk away from him, Amir grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Jefferson, wait. I came here because of Regina. She told me that she'd protect me in exchange for bringing you to her."

"So, now, you're working with her?"

"I'm willing to work with anyone to survive." Jefferson shook his head, thinking how pathetic of an answer it was, and Amir grabbed his arm when he turned to leave again. "I'm asking as a friend to go see her."

"You really don't think I'll kill her after everything she's done to me?" Jefferson asked coldly.

Amir wished that Jefferson wouldn't let his emotions get the better of him. If they were to get what they wanted, then they needed to work with their enemy. After all, Amir firmly believed that the enemy of his enemy is his friend, which was exactly what Regina was. He was only using her to thrive in this new world and to hide from law enforcement. Now, he needs her protection. He may not like her, but Amir's thinking about his long-term survival. That was why he needed Jefferson to cooperate.

"I may not understand the lasting impact you had when she trapped you in Wonderland since I never went through something like that, but you can at least negotiate with her to get what you want. You can be with your daughter again." When Jefferson stared him down, Amir told him, "Regina wants you to help her get rid of the Savior so that she won't break the curse."

Jefferson finally grinned and soon chuckled when he uttered, "Emma. And, why don't I let her do just that? End this madness and go home."

"You want to continue selling fungus at the fair?" Amir knew Jefferson hated being poor, but he also knew that Jefferson was too prideful to admit it. "You can stay here at the mansion with your daughter. Maybe we could even work together again. No one was as notorious as us."

"You really think I'll go back to that life?" Amir's eyes slowly darkened when Jefferson brought up. "You gave up your title as King of the Seven Seas when you also lost someone that you loved, so don't sit here lecturing me about my life."

Amir looked away, because he didn't want anyone to know especially because he didn't want any of his friends to pity him. Not many people understood why he gave up his title, and when some members of his crew found out after he told them he was leaving his pirate life, they told him to not let anyone get in his way and continue his life. However, Amir already made up his mind back then. Sailing just reminded him of the person who meant everything to him. Her name was Mahfiruz, and she was the sole reason why he left his home to sail and explore other worlds in the first place. That was why he could never go back to his pirate life because it would just be a reminder of her.

"That's in the past," Amir told him pitifully.

"And yet you still do what you've always done by playing with people to get what you wanted. Thathobbyyou do isn't tasteful by the way."

"I do that to get ahead. The only way to get ahead in life is by knowing who your enemies are and using their weaknesses to exploit them. That's why nothing can hurt me anymore because I don't have them."

Jefferson gave him a cold look and made him freeze for a moment when he questioned, "Is that the real reason why you want to get rid of Nora Moon?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Amir. You and I both know how you really feel about her. When you told me who she was, you couldn't stop talking about her. It was like you admired her."

Amir scoffed before shaking his head. "Just because I admire her and find her interesting doesn't mean that I love her. When I told you that I would never love again, I meant it."

Jefferson didn't argue him. Amir thought that maybe he didn't want to because he thought it would be a waste of time to change Amir's mind. However, there was one thing that Amir would never admit about Nora. He pitied her for the life she had. How she endured so much by being cursed by her own father for centuries and then to be tricked by a vile sorcerer like Rothbart only to be tortured, tormented, and humiliated and still had strength was remarkable to Amir. She had so much strength that Amir thought she wasn't aware of herself.

"Just, talk to Regina," Amir told him. "See what she has to say first."

Jefferson just looked at him before finally agreeing as Amir watched him go.

Past

As the ball continued, Grim kept staring at the double staircase and wondered when Odette would come down. Derek kept assuring him that she would be down soon, but Grim didn't want to hear that. He would feel much more at ease if she was with him. The anticipation was killing him to see her. He couldn't take much more of it though. Grim excused himself from Derek and was ready to go up the steps but stopped when he saw a figure coming out of the wing.

There he saw the imposter coming in a stunning black gown. Believing to be Odette, he froze at her beauty. He never even imagined that she could wear such a dark color, but it suited her quite well. She looked into the crowd until her eyes caught Grim, and she smiled sweetly as she made her way down.

Grim then went over to her and took her hand. "I was starting to get worried."

"Don't worry. I'm here now."

Her sweet voice was all he needed to hear, but when she looked over his shoulder to see Snow and Charming, he let her take his arm as he went to go and greet them and gave them a proper bow. "Your Highnesses."

"Grim, you don't have to call us that here," Charming said with a grin.

"A term of courtesy."

When he turned his head to see Odette, she was staring at Snow, almost intently. It was a bit off for some reason. She didn't even greet them normally like how she always did. Odette always greeted them by name and gave them a bright smile while curtsying. She was much informal when it came to addressing her friends too, but the Odette in front of him was much more proper. Even her smile tightened when she greeted Snow and Charming, one to which even Snow noticed.

"Odette?" They looked to see Red coming over to them and soon took her hand before smirking over at Grim. "I'm stealing her away for a minute."

"Sure."

As he watched the imposter being led away, she looked back at him for a moment before he turned to Snow when he saw a concerned look on her face. "What is it?"

"I might have imagined it, but I could have sworn that she looked almost angry at me."

Charming assured her by saying, "Maybe the ball's a little overwhelming for her."

"Maybe, or maybe I really was imagining it."

When Grim looked back at Odette, he saw her nodding her head to whatever Red was saying, and not long after, Ella joined in with her husband. For some reason, she seemed stiff meeting everyone. It may be her, but there was something about her that seemed strange, and he didn't understand why.

Meanwhile, the real Odette continued to bang on the door and called out for anybody to save her, but no one came. It felt like it had been hours. That was why she eventually sat on the ground with her back pressed against the door. She kept wondering what Rothbart meant. How in the world was Grim going to kill her? Whatever it was, Odette refused to let Rothbart and the Queen win.

She looked over at the balcony and opened the door. Odette knew the layout the castle well since she often went exploring when she had nothing else to do. Scaling the building would work but not in the dress she was wearing. She ripped off majority of her skirt until it reached just above her knees and her sleeves, and she took off her corset to make it easier for her to have better endurance. Normally, Odette would be embarrassed, but this was no time to be embarrassed. She needed to get to the ball to warn Grim that the Queen was pretending to be her.

Present

After hearing that the bullet missed her heart, Graham was without a doubt, relieved. Dr. Whale led him into the recovery room where Nora was lying in bed. She was already awake. She smiled sweetly at him as he made his way over to her, and Dr. Whale told him that he'll leave them alone, but he reminded Nora to press the button on her bed to call him if she needs anything.

Graham sat beside her when Dr. Whale left, and Nora couldn't stop looking at him, but Graham couldn't meet her eyes. He didn't have the courage to face her since he swore to protect her from Amir and failed. If only he did more to protect her, but he couldn't.

"Graham?" He didn't want to look at her until she called out to him again. "Graham?"

"I'm sorry, Nora. You wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me."

Her lips parted in disbelief as she assured him, "No, Graham. That's not true, and Amir needed to be stopped."

"That didn't mean that you needed to get involved. You could've been killed."

"But I didn't," Nora argued weakly.

Graham shook his head at her, not believing this. Because of her recklessness, she could have died. She was so stubborn that it infuriated him. Nora thought she could handle it on her own, and look where she was at now. That was why Graham should have kept a closer eye on her to make sure that she didn't get hurt.

"Graham," Nora took his hand to focus his attention on her again. "You'll find Amir."

"I know I will, because I won't let him hurt you or anyone else ever again."

Graham swore that he was going to protect her. There was no way he was going to allow Amir to get a hold of Nora. He failed her twice before: once when she had been with Amir and he recorded her to blackmail her and the second time was when he kidnapped her and Ruby to kill them.

When the doors opened, they looked to see Mr. Gold lingering in the doorway with a bouquet of lilies in his hand. He looked between the two and greeted them, so Nora did too but not Graham. Even though he knew that Hold came here because he actually cared about Nora, he still couldn't forgive him. Graham still believed that he was too manipulative after what he did.

"Graham, can you give us a minute?" Nora asked.

He wanted to argue with her but he decided against it, because he knew that Gold came to check on her. "I'll go get coffee then. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement before he headed out the door while Gold and Graham stared at each other. As soon as Graham left, Gold turned his attention to Nora. They stared at each other for a moment, and Nora could have sworn that she saw a flicker of emotion crossing his eyes. He limped his way over to her and set the bouquet beside her bed.

"I know lilies are your favorite."

She smiled sweetly at him and told him, "They're beautiful. Thank you."

He gave her a small smile back and looked down for a brief moment before turning back to her. "Did they say when you would be released?"

"I don't know. Hopefully soon."

For a brief second, he seemed conflicted to say something, but eventually, he opened his mouth to say, "You don't have to worry at all, Miss Moon. Khan will be found. I will see to that."

"How? What are you going to do?"

He stared at her with somewhat intently as he spoke, "Whatever I need to do." They stared at each other long and hard until finally Gold wished her well and reassured her not to worry again before he headed out right at the moment when Graham saw him heading out the door. "You can go back in, Deputy. Hopefully, Sheriff Swan will find Khan better than you."

"You don't have to patronize me, Gold. He will be found."

"Oh, I know he will, because you see, I would have made sure that nothing would have happened to Miss Moon, and you failed at that."

"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is then if you're so confident?"

His lips tightened into an unpleasant smirk as he scoffed, "I assure that I will. My methods may be rambunctious, but I always get results."

Graham was taken aback when he heard Gold's tone. It was as if Gold really wanted Amir dead. Graham admitted that he wanted Amir to pay, but he wouldn't go so far to kill him. He wasn't going to break the law and end up in jail. That was why he grew a little wary when Gold's demeanor was cold whenever he spoke about Amir Khan.

Meanwhile, Amir breaks into Gold's shop by picking the lock from the back door and carefully made his way inside. He went into the front where the display cases were until he found his compass. He took off his jacket and put it over the glass before shattering it with his elbow. He then reached inside and grabbed his compass with a satisfied smile before he turned around only to find Emma pointing a gun at him.

Amir cursed in his head and was about to reach for his gun until Emma told him, "Don't move. I'll shoot."

He thought she was bluffing as he told her while reaching for his gun, "As if you would."

With quick thinking, Emma shot his shoulder, causing him to grunt out in pain as he fell to the ground. He clutched onto his wound, and his gun fell a few inches away from him, but Emma made sure that he wouldn't reach for it by kicking it away from him and pointing her gun at him while Amir glared at her. "You were saying?"

Past

Grim couldn't stop staring after the imposter, almost as if he knew something was off, but he couldn't explain it. Even Akela gave her a hard stare. It wasn't until when she approached them that Akela lowly growled at her, causing her to take a step back. Akela never acted that way unless it was an enemy or a complete stranger. He may have bared his teeth at Odette when they first met, but he was so much gentler towards her than he was towards me.

Akela soon stopped growling though when he turned his head and saw Derek approaching them and addressed the Queen disguised as Odette, "Glad to see you're doing alright. Grim here was about to go upstairs when you were taking too long."

"I wasn't," Grim argued.

Derek then looked at the couples dancing and turned to them. "Well, I'm sure you two would want to dance now."

Grim looked over at her and saw her watching him with a deceptive sweet smile. He really wanted to know why Odette wasn't acting like herself. He thought that maybe something happened for her to behave this way. If only he knew that the woman in front of him was the same queen who tormented him and made him his heartless slave.

Grim extended his hand out to her to which she took gladly, and Grim couldn't help but look back to hear Akela give a low growl again before Derek stopped Akela by smoothing out his fur to get him to calm down and asked him what had gotten into him. "Are you okay?" Grim felt the need to ask her, not knowing he was speaking to the evil queen. "There's just something about you that's...I don't know...different."

She smiled sweetly at him and reassured him, "Don't worry. I only want tonight to be perfect."

He gave her a small smile, but he was still wary, because he knew there was still something wrong, but he decided to let it go for now and dance with her even if he didn't really like dancing.

Meanwhile, Odette was scaling the castle. Her foot nearly slipped on the railing, but she caught herself by holding onto the windowpane. Odette was determined to warn Grim and the rest of the guests at the ball that the evil queen was there.

As soon as she reached one of the windows, it immediately shut, and Odette's eyes narrowed when she saw Rothbart in the room with a sickening grin. Of this was how Rothbart was going to do this, then she didn't mind. It only meant that her drive would be stronger as she wasn't going to let him win. She couldn't let Rothbart win.

It wasn't until when she reached the large windows that led her to the ball that made her gawk in disbelief to see Grim and everyone else be fooled by the imposter. She was even dancing with Grim in front of everyone. Odette couldn't believe this. Her eyes met her own as the imposter noticed her and smirked. When Grim tried turning his head to see what she was looking at, she embraced him and said sweet words that manipulated him to smile warmly at her.

Odette banged on the glass to get people's attention. She even tried shouting out for Grim that it was a trick, but he wouldn't look her way. In fact, no one did until Snow White turned her head only to not see Odette because the curtains closed her view. but the curtains closed her view. Odette knew that it was Rothbart's doing.

She only managed to get a little peek at the imposter with Grim. Her eyes soon widened though when she saw Grim and the Queen leaning in to kiss. Odette couldn't hold in her breath anymore after seeing their lips connecting. Her heart clenched seeing them together and a tear escaped her eye before she felt her body grow cold.

A great ball of light flew out of her chest and was absorbed into the diamond that she used to wear on her head as Rothbart held it out before using his magic to catch her when she fell backwards. Her limp body levitated, and all Rothbart did was grin from ear to ear as he finally did what he swore what he did: take everything away from Rumplestiltskin. Rothbart now possessed Odette's life in the palm of his hand. All that was left to do was to fulfill his end of the bargain to Queen Regina.

Rothbart then used his magic to swing the windows open, causing everyone to panic and hold onto their loved ones, while Grim protectively stood in front of the imposter as Rothbart made himself known to everyone by using his magic to throw the doors open wide for him to enter. Many of the soldiers already had out their swords and pointed their arrows at him, but Rothbart blocked their arrows by stopping them mid-air using his magic. The looks of the guests's terrified faces entertained Rothbart, and it made him wonder how the huntsman would react when he realized what he just did to his precious Odette.

Not surprisingly, Grim drew out his sword and pointed it at the sorcerer. "If you came to hurt her, then you'll have to go through me."

"Ooh!" Rothbart mused. "Plenty of courage I see, and you've certainly proved when you came to steal my betrothed away from me."

"She's not yours anymore."

"Ah, you see. That's where you're wrong."

Rothbart gestured to the imposter, and everyone practically gasped when the Queen transformed back into herself, causing Grim to take a step back. "I have to say, fooling you to kill your precious pet makes it all worth it," the Queen stated with a malicious smirk.

Grim then looked over at Rothbart when he waved his hand and showed Odette hovering over the floor. "How does it feel to kill the woman you love?"

Grim's eyes widened as he couldn't believe it. He refused to believe that he killed her, but with Odette's body in front of him like this, it was hard to say that Rothbart didn't accomplish it. He still didn't understand how he did it, but it frustrated him to know that Rothbart got the better of him. Right at the moment when Rothbart vanished in a puff of burnt orange smoke with the Queen and Odette, Derek unleashed an arrow to hit Rothbart only for it to the wall instead.

No one knew what to do. Everyone just stood there, perturbed by what just happened. Grim kept staring at the ground, clutching onto his sword, while Derek went over to him to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Grim refused to believe that Odette was dead. If Odette was killed by magic, then there had to be a way to bring her back, and he wasn't going to stop until Odette revived.

Meanwhile, Rothbart was back at his castle and kept Odette's body as a trophy as she laid on a stone pedestal. She looked very angelic with her hands together over her chest and her delicate face in a deep slumber. Rothbart couldn't help but be over the moon to know that he finally accomplished taking away The Dark One's precious daughter. After countless years of misery and shame, Rothbart finally did it, and he was proud that he now possessed Odette. However, he needed to make sure that nothing happened to the diamond, so he made sure to wear it around his neck. He knew the diamond wouldn't affect him when he touched it because Odette touched it first. Once the diamond's destroyed, then she would come back, which was why Rothbart was going to keep the diamond close to him.

The Queen cleared her throat to get Rothbart's attention. "The unicorn blood?"

"Right." Rothbart smirked and flicked his hand to reveal a vial of unicorn blood, causing Regina to smile as he handed it to her. "A deal's a deal. Now, you can enact your curse. In this new land you'll take us though, you'll make me a powerful man there."

She smirked as she told him, "Of course. I expect nothing less but just as long as you agree to help me in anyway that you can in this new land."

"Very well."

With a satisfied grin, the Queen vanished, leaving Rothbart to stare back at his prize and smile victoriously.

Present

After receiving a call from Emma, Gold made his way inside the sheriff's station where he found Amir in jail. He stared at him coldly like a dangerous insect that needed to be squashed while Amir grew wary. It was perfect for Gold. He wanted Khan to be afraid of him after all that he had done to his daughter.

Gold finally turned to Emma when she made her way over to him. "Sheriff. It seems you found the perpetrator."

"Yeah. He broke in to steal this." She handed him the compass that Amir stole with her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she stated, "He claimed it's his."

"It was. Until he sold it to me."

Gold then looked back at Amir and noticed that Amir gave him an unpleasant smirk. "And now you have it back."

"Indeed I do," Gold bit back his biting tone before addressing Emma. "Would you mind giving us some privacy, Miss Swan?"

"You want me to leave you alone with a prisoner?" Emma questioned.

"It will only take a moment."

Emma looked between Amir and Gold and saw the heated exchange they had. She had a feeling as to why Gold wanted to speak to him after he confirmed that he really cared about Nora. However, Emma was also aware of Gold's anger. She witnessed it herself after seeing him assaulting Moe French with his cane. If things got out of hand, Emma would rush in an instant to stop Gold.

"You have a couple of minutes," Emma told him before leaving.

As soon as Emma left, Gold and Amir stared each other down before Gold made his way over to him and sat on the chair's armrest, facing Amir. "If you've got something to say, then say it already," Amir told him.

"Oh, I actually don't have much to say. I just wanted to get a good look at the revolting sack of slime who used his disgusted hands to violate myonlydaughter and tried to kill her."

Amir smirked after hearing Gold's seething tone. "Last I checked, she didn't resist. I never forced her. In fact, I never force myself on any woman."

"No. What you do is much worse. You appeared to her as a friend in order to manipulate her for your own gain. Quite a cunning deed indeed."

"Which is exactly what you do."

Amir's smirk disappeared as Gold when Gold grinned from ear to ear as he scoffed, "Oh, yes, which is why I came to tell you that I already spoke to the judge who will be in charge of your trial, and he has agreed that he will give you a probation and a lesser sentence in prison."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because, dearie," Gold paused to lean in and sent shivers down Amir's spine as he spoke through gritted teeth, "as soon as you leave, I will find you, and I will make certain that not even the depths of Hell can relinquish your soul when I'm through with you."

Amir's eyes slowly widened as he took Gold's threat seriously. The Dark One always made good on his word, and if what Gold said was true, then it only meant that Amir would be on the brink of death if Gold got his hands on him. He needed to get away from Gold, but there was nowhere to run as long as he was in jail. He was trapped, and Gold held all the power.

As soon as Emma came back, Gold limped his way over to her after Emma told him that his time was up. Emma watched the exchange Gold had with Amir as Amir watched Gold leave. Before he left, Gold turned back when he reached the door to look back at Amir as he had a satisfied smirk on his face. If there was one thing for certain, Gold was going to make sure that he would see the person suffer much worse than what they put their daughter through, and Amir knew all too well what it was like to cross The Dark One after hearing many stories about him and witnessing it himself.

Not long after, Graham entered the sheriff's station where he immediately noticed Amir in jail and headed towards Emma. "You found him?" Graham asked in somewhat disbelief.

"I found him stealing from Gold's shop. Where's Nora? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Ruby's watching over."

"Good." When Graham heard Emma's tone, he knew something was wrong, and he was right, as she said, "I need to talk to you about something."

Graham glared at Amir first before following Emma into the hallway so that they could speak privately without letting Amir hear anything. "What is it?"

He stood there in stunned silence when Emma took off her sheriff's badge and extended it out to him. "It's yours."

"What are you-"

"I'm heading back to Boston," she stated, cutting him off.

"What?" Graham asked in disbelief. "Emma, what are you talking about?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I thought maybe it was better if I left. I kept thinking about Henry and how I don't want to keep fighting with Regina all the time. The only reason why I stayed this long was to find Amir, and I did."

Graham couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everything got so better when Emma came into town. She uplifted so many people. Emma was the one who gave him courage to do what was right by being honest with Nora. He wasn't even the only one that she helped. There were countless of others that he could name where Emma did nothing but good. If she left, everyone would be upset.

"You can't be serious, Emma." When Emma didn't say anything, he argued, "Do you have any idea how much of a difference you made here. Everyone became happy when you came along."

"Yeah, and everyone also suffered because of the things I did." Graham still couldn't believe that the more she spoke, the more he got angrier, because he actually thought that the town got better ever since she came here. "I'm not saying I won't visit you guys. I will when I come to pick up Henry, and as awful as Regina may seem to you, I can't take him away from her."

After hearing her argument, he realized that there was no way to change her mind. It's been made up. He really didn't want to take that badge away from her, but he felt like he had no choice, so he took it and stared at it for a brief moment before turning back to her. She told him that it was great working with him and that hopefully she'll see him soon again before telling him to give her best to Nora as she walked out of the sheriff's station.

Here's the second to last chapter of season 1! I hope you enjoyed it! Rothbart finally got his revenge on Rumplestiltskin by killing Odette with the diamond, but he has to keep it close to him. Why do you think that is, and what do you think is the importance of the diamond? Also, yay! Amir's finally in jail, but Emma's leaving Storybrooke as she handed her badge to Graham. What are your expectations, and please let me know what you guys think. Stay tuned for more exciting chapters heading your way!