Chapter 24
Illario Vollan -Miltos Yerolemou
Past
It had been a little over a year since her brother, Baelfire left. Her father, Rumplestiltskin, became much more obsessed with the dark power. She didn't know what to do to stop him. The worst part about all of this though was how determined he was to protect Odette. Rumplestiltskin loved his daughter dearly, and he was willing to do whatever it took to keep her safe. After all, she was all he had left.
A fifteen year old Odette was sleeping in her straw bed having a nightmare. It was the same one she got ever since her father told her that she had been killed by pirates. Her mother, Milah, hugged her eight year old daughter only to strangle out a gasp. When Odette separated herself from her, she saw blood gurgling out of her mother's mouth. Odette's lips parted in shock, and when she saw blood staining her chest, and little Odette screamed in fear after seeing her mother's death.
Odette immediately woke up from her slumber as she sat up and panted heavily. She looked around to see if anyone was around, but there wasn't. Her father typically went out at night to conduct deals after he swore to Odette that he would find Baelfire. She needed her brother back especially since her father grew worse as the year rolled by. On top of that, he always comforted her whenever she couldn't sleep after having nightmares of her mother.
She always wanted to know who killed her mother, but a part of her was also scared to find out. Odette wouldn't even know what to do with that information. Bae told her that he always wanted to know so that he could confront the pirate who killed her. If such a man killed her mother though, Odette knew that he would be ruthless. She didn't even want to know exactly how she died, because it would be too painful to imagine it.
When Odette looked out the window after hearing noises, she noticed a group of teenage boys throwing sticks at a small man with a weathered face. His cloak was thrown over his body when the boys forced him to trip by pelting him with rocks. Her lips parted in stunned silence after seeing such cruelty. She didn't understand what they were doing, which was why she needed to go out there to help, and she did just that.
Odette tossed her cover to the side and grabbed her shawl that her father made for her sometime after she lost the one that her mother made for her. She then rushed outside when she slipped her shoes on and saw the poor man on the ground covering his head and being hit on the head with another rock. Enough was enough as Odette stopped them when she ran over to them and pushed one of the boys away.
"Stop it!" Odette shouted. "You're hurting him."
"So what?" one of the boys retorted.
Another boy stared at Odette before grabbing his friend's shoulder and reminded him, "She's The Dark One's daughter."
At the mention of her father, the boys immediately backed away from her in fear, and for once, Odette was glad that her father was The Dark One as the boys ran away. She couldn't stand it whenever people stood against those who couldn't defend themselves. Odette was just relieved that the man was alright when she helped him up.
"Are you alright?" she asked before helping him up and noticed blood streaking from his forehead. "Here. Let me help you."
As she took his arm, she led him back to her house. The man glanced at her and offered her a warm smile before thanking her, causing her to smile back at him. His accent was very thick, making her realize that he was a foreigner. It explained why those boys attacked him. The villagers couldn't stand foreigners since they were outsiders.
Odette then noticed a sword at his hip. However, it wasn't one that knights typically used. His sword's blade was so much thinner and smaller. It made Odette curious since she had never seen a sword like that before as she wondered how to use it.
When she took him inside, she set him on the stool so that he could relax a bit before heading over to fetch a rag and dabbed it in a pail of cool water that she fetched from the well earlier. Odette then carefully brought it over to his forehead to dab some of the blood off his forehead before telling him to hold it.
She then heated up some stew from her cauldron and poured some in a bowl before grabbing a wooden spoon and headed over to him. "I thought you might be hungry."
"Thank you, child." He graciously accepted the bowl and dug right in. "Did you make this?"
"Yes."
"Very very good," the man stated with a welcoming smile.
When Odette took the man in, she noticed the rest of his clothes. He did look like he was poor with his cotton clothes. There were some tears here and there, and there was a stain on his vest, but it didn't seem to bother him. His leather boots, on the other hand, were so clean and polished. They seemed to be his pride and joy with the exception of his sword by his belt. What fascinated Odette though was the ring on his finger. It was wooden with a carving a cat.
When the foreigner noticed that she couldn't stop staring at his sword, he smirked at her, and she heard his thick accent again. "Curious, child?"
"I've just—I've never seen a sword like that before."
"It has been by my side through countless of years."
He then took out his sword and flipped it so that he held onto its blade as he offered it to her. Odette hesitated, when she received confirmation as he assured her that it was okay to take it, she did. She grabbed it by its hilt and raised it up as she was marveled by it. She could even see her reflection a bit.
When she looked back at the foreigner, he had a playful smirk on his face, and she finally asked him, "Who are you?"
"Illario Vollan."
As soon as he finished his meal, he handed the bowl back to her and thanked her before he headed out the door, but she stopped him just in time. "Where will you go?"
"I can manage my own. A swordsman needs to adapt to their surroundings."
Even though he tried reassuring her, it didn't have much effect on her. Odette wouldn't feel comfortable if he went out in the dark and cold. She was even worried if he got attacked again. It was risky since she didn't know how her father would react, but she didn't want Illario to get hurt or catch a cold.
"What if you stay here for the night?" Odette asked, grasping his attention. "There's an extra bed for you to sleep in."
"Would your parents be alright with this?"
"My mother's dead, and my father's...out on business. I think one night wouldn't hurt."
It took a moment for him to finally agree as he gave her a warm smile and went to the empty bed so that he could rest. Odette thought it would be alright since her father wasn't here, and if he did see him, she would just explain the situation. Hopefully, he wouldn't turn him into a snail or something and crush him with his boot.
Present
After Emma, Mary Margaret, and Nora were sucked through the portal, Graham took the responsibility to be sheriff again until Emma returned to take over. His old sheriff badge shined brightly against his belt, ready to look out for the people in Storybrooke. David took the liberty to go on ahead with the destroyed hat to confront Regina in how to bring them back since she had it in the first place.
Graham tried to keep everything in order and the people under control so that they weren't in a state of panic. After everything that happened though between regaining their memories to the Wraith attacking the town, it was a little hard to keep them calm. Thankfully, Ruby and Sean volunteered to help out as Graham gave them orders to take care of the people while Henry stayed by the sheriff's side.
When Henry followed after Graham, he tried assuring him, "Don't worry. They'll come back. Good always wins."
"I know."
Even though Henry tended to uplift people, Graham didn't know how he could be at ease when his wife wasn't here. At least the townspeople all had at least their loved ones by their side. The only one Graham truly cared about was Nora. Sure, he was also upset that Emma and Mary Margaret were gone too, but if he had to choose who to bring back, he would bring his wife back without a second thought. He held out hope that they would all return though. He needed to for their sake. If he didn't, then he never would have freed Odette from her curse or saved her from Rothbart. Hope was the only thing that kept him going.
When David came back with the destroyed hat, Graham went over to him to ask, "What happened? Can she figure out a way?"
"No."
After saving Regina, she wasn't even going to attempt to find them. It made Graham want to go to her house to strangle her. If Nora was gone, then he had no purpose to carry on, but Graham knew that Nora wouldn't want him to go down a dark path. For her sake, he was going to stay strong for her.
"There has to be a way to bring them back," Graham stated.
David then called Mother Superior over to ask her if he could go after Emma, Mary Margaret, and Nora by using a tree like the one he used to send Emma to this world when she was newborn. It sounded too good to be true as Graham speculated. Sure enough, Graham was right. Mother Superior told him that without fairy dust to guide him, then it was hopeless. Henry, of course, stepped in to uplift their spirits by saying that in the book he often read, things often looked worse before something good happened.
"Terrible News! Terrible news!" They all turned to see Leroy shouting and headed over to the group with the rest of the dwarves. "We were out of the town limits. Tell 'em who you think you are, Sneezy."
They were surprised to hear him say, "Would you stop calling me that? You know who I am. I'm Tom Clark. I own The Dark Star Pharmacy. What's going on here?"
"If you cross the border, you lose your memories all over again," Leroy informed the group, shocking them.
"We go back to our cursed selves." Graham realized as he stated it to the group.
As soon as everyone heard Leroy's announcement, the people went into a perpetual state of panic. It was nothing but commotion. They needed a way to fix this, and David assured them all that he will come back in two hours with a solution.
As Ruby was trying to calm the situation, Graham thought of an idea as he went over to David while telling Ruby to keep an eye on Henry. "There may be a way to bring them back."
"How?"
"Gold."
It took David a moment for him to realize as he stated, "Nora's his daughter."
"He may not be willing to help us, but he would want to help her."
Graham knew that Gold would be his best bet to help them. He was the only person who knew everything about everyone. If there was a man who could fix this, it had to be him. As much as Graham didn't like speaking to him, he knew that no matter what, Nora was his daughter, so Gold should want to help to bring her back.
Past
When Odette woke up, she glanced over at Illario who was fast asleep. Odette got out of bed and crept over to him. She didn't want to wake him since he slept so soundly. When she looked at his sword though, she couldn't help herself as she reached out when it was perched against the wall.
As soon as she grabbed the sword, she looked back at Illario only for him to still be asleep. The sword was a lot lighter than what she thought. It reminded her of her needle that she used to sew her clothes—can prick with the flick of the wrist. With one final look at Illario, she headed outside and tried to learn the ways of the sword on her own.
Thankfully, it was hardly the break of day, so no one was up to see what Odette was doing, but she was even more thankful that her father didn't come home. If he saw Illario in there sleeping, there was no doubt that he would kill him. Odette didn't want his blood on her delicate hands by being kind to him.
Odette swung the sword, bringing it down with all her might even though it was incredibly light. She even attempted to twirl it only for it to practically fly out of her hand, causing her to fumble, so she quickly grabbed it from the ground to try again only to keep failing. She thought it would have been easier to wield this sword at least since it was light. The ones that the soldiers used looked much heavier.
When Odette looked up after getting the sword back with a huff when it flew out of her hand again, she saw Illario staring at her from her doorway. He had a smirk on his face, and Odette watched as he made his way down to her. She didn't have the courage to face him after stealing his sword away to train. After handing it back to him though, she apologized.
All he did was still stare at her until he finally opened his mouth to say, "You want to learn the sword?" That caused Odette to look up at him as she nodded her head. "Odette child, it is better for you not to learn. I, myself, do not like fighting."
She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she pointed out, "Then, why do you have a sword?"
"So that I don't have to. It is only necessary to use it when you have no choice."
When Illario turned away, Odette went in front of him to stop him. "Wait, wait. Please. I want to learn."
He stared at her skeptically and questioned, "Tell me why."
It took a moment for Odette to finally admit, "Because I don't want my father to feel the need to protect me. He's The Dark One, and ever since my brother left, he became much more protective of me. Please. I want to learn so that I won't be afraid anymore."
He gave her a long look until he finally told her, "You wish to learn. Fine, but remember, child, whatever I say, you do, understood?"
"Yes."
"Good." He then sheathed his sword and gave Odette a smile before walking away. "Now, time for your lesson."
Odette followed after him as she asked, "What's that?"
"Chasing cats."
"Cats?"
"Of course. Every swordsman should study cats. You'll understand soon enough."
Odette thought about it and wanted to argue with him, but she agreed that she would do whatever she said, so she willingly followed him to begin her lesson.
Present
Mr. Gold smiled to himself when he pulled out two vials: one contained the remains of Snow and Charming's love and the other contained the hunter and his daughter's love. Their hair strands glowed and floated around one another. Although they weren't as bright as Snow and Charming's, Gold knew that he needed another bottle of true love for a very important purpose. The only reason why he took their hair strands was because true love was the most powerful magic. He saw in a vision that his daughter would return to their world but without him, so he thought that gaining more true love magic would be beneficial to bring her back.
As soon as Gold packed maps, brochures, and the vials, the bell to his door rang, so he looked up to see Graham and David making their way towards him. "It appears when I bought that closed sign, I was just throwing my money away."
"Looks like it," David said.
"Sorry to hear about your wife and daughter. I know the feeling."
That was when Graham stepped in, "You'll help us then?"
"I'm afraid portal jumping is just outside of my purview."
"She's your daughter," Graham practically seethed, amusing Gold.
"And I have every intention to find her."
Even though Gold knew that Graham wouldn't stop until Nora returned to them, Gold would rather solve the solution himself. He didn't particularly care about Graham. In fact, if it was Graham trapped instead of Nora, then Gold wouldn't even think about saving him. He already served his purpose breaking his daughter's curse. Now, Gold had what he needed to get his daughter out. He just needed to figure out a way by experimenting their true loves in the vials. However, there was something Gold was curious about.
"So, what's the commotion outside?"
"Oh, a little stir at the border. Problem crossing the border," David told him.
"Do tell."
"We're not here to talk," Graham interjected. "If you can't go between worlds, then we're here to buy something—a way to track someone but with more kick."
Understanding exactly what he meant, Gold smirked. They wanted magic. When he asked them who they were trying to find, they refused to tell him, so he asked to see the object of the missing person after questioning if they had something of theirs. Once again, they didn't want to tell him. It showed how much they didn't trust him, which was understandable. There was a lot of animosity between them especially between Gold and Graham. Gold wanted to take Nora away from him so that she was by his side again, and Graham still hadn't forgiven Gold for cursing Nora for three hundred years and made her live a life of solitude.
Gold then took out a box from one of the shelves behind him. He then opened it and revealed a small bottle full of clear liquid. He explained to them to pour it on the object and then follow it find the missing person.
As soon as David reached out to take it, Gold brought it back to him to tell them, "For a price."
"What do you want?" David asked.
"Nothing from you," Gold then turned to Graham asked he took out another small potion. "I need you to find me who I'm after."
"And who's that?" Graham asked.
"The same pest we want to exterminate—Khan."
Graham's eyes narrowed at the name, and Gold's smirk grew. He knew that Graham hadn't forgotten what Amir did to Nora. After all, he not only blackmailed her, but he nearly killed her. Gold wanted to make Amir suffer much worse than what he did to Nora, and Gold was going to see to it that Graham was going to find him.
"You have something of his?" Graham asked.
Gold's smirk grew as he went over to one of the cases to pull out Amir's compass. "Pour the potion onto this, and it'll lead you to him. Be sure to bring him back to me."
One look at Gold and David knew exactly what Gold's intentions were. "No. Graham, I know Amir has to pay, but Nora wouldn't want you to do that."
"Except because of Khan, her suffering didn't end. In fact, she suffered greatly during her time at the Queen's castle and when he used her to do his bidding here by blackmailing her."
"Graham-"
"We don't have time to argue," Graham cut him off before taking one of the potions and the compass. "I'll find Khan. You worry about getting them out."
Before they had a chance to leave, Gold stopped them. "So, uh, what happens when you try to cross the border?"
"You lose your memory of everything of our old lives. Looks like we're stuck here."
That was the worst possible thing Graham told Gold. He stood there in stunned silence by his announcement until he finally nodded his head in acknowledgement. As soon as they left though, Gold smashed two of the display cases with his cane. He planned to use the true love to bring them back, but with this announcement, how could he possibly get his daughter back when he came here to look for his son? If he used the true love potion to bring Nora back, then the potion may not be enough to cross through the border. It was as if he needed to either give up one child for the other. He could never choose between his children though. Magic always came with a price, and Gold was going to pay for it one way or another. All he could do was wait for now and hoped that Miss Swan would return his daughter to him.
Past
It was the break of day and Rumple came back from one of his excursions. He smiled to himself when he made his way home only to not find his daughter anywhere. Rumple called out for Odette only to not get a response, so he decided to look for her outside, and sure enough, he found her with her hair tied into a ponytail, and she wore trousers with a leather vest, boots and a long white shirt. His eyes narrowed when he saw a sword as skinny as a toothpick in her opponent's hand while she was wielding a wooden sword.
Rumple was somewhat surprised to see his own daughter move so swiftly and cartwheeled away from the man with one hand. When she faced her opponent, she had a cheeky grin on her face as she swung her sword in the air to block her opponent's attack before rolling out of the way and standing only to have the man's sword pressed against her neck, causing Odette to freeze.
Rumple wanted to step in, but when he saw the man move his sword away from his daughter's throat, he stopped moving towards them and saw the man put his hand on Odette's shoulder. "You did well, Odette child," the man said proudly.
"I'll never be as good as you though."
"That is why you must practice more."
When the man finally looked up and noticed Rumple staring at him, Odette turned around and saw her father. She even stood in front of the man as if she was protecting him when Rumple made his way towards them.
"Odette, what are you doing?" Rumple asked.
"Papa, please. Don't hurt Illario. He's my friend, and...he's been training me."
"Training you? For what?"
Odette looked back at Illario before taking her father's hand and taking him away so that she could tell him. "I want to learn how to defend myself."
"You know you don't have to do that, Odette. I can protect you."
She shook her head, admitting, "I don't need your magic to defend me. I don't want to be helpless, Papa. I want to learn how to use a sword so that I don't have to fight one day."
Rumple certainly didn't like the idea of his daughter wielding a sword. He couldn't risk her getting involved in a fight. God forbid if anything happened to her, he wouldn't know what to do. She was all he had left in this world. He couldn't afford to lose her.
"No, Odette. What if you get hurt?"
"I won't if I know to fight." Rumple was ready to argue with her, but he stopped himself when she pressed, "Can he stay for dinner, Papa, please?"
Rumple couldn't help but look back at the mysterious man. He certainly didn't want his daughter to be influenced by this man, but he also couldn't resist his daughter's plea. All he ever wanted was for his children to be happy, and whoever this man was, Rumple could easily make him pay if he ever dared to hurt Odette. That was why Rumple agreed to let the man stay for dinner as Odette served soup.
When Rumple saw Odette and Illario smiling at each other, he didn't like it one bit since he knew how much influence he had on her already, so he questioned in a bored tone, "So, you said your name is Illario?"
He heard how thick his accent was when he spoke, "Yes."
"And what are you doing here?"
Rumple could care less when Odette warned him that he was being rude. He wanted to know what this man's intentions were. Illario didn't seem to mind as he smirked and reassured Odette. "To be honest, I'm here to look for something."
"And what might that be?"
"A mirror that reveals the truth. I heard it was somewhere around these parts."
"And what do you plan to do with that?"
"Sell it to the highest bidder."
Rumple of course heard about the mirror. The person standing in front of it, asks it a question, and it was said that the mirror shows an image or a scene to answer them. Rumple knew that the mirror was going to be problematic when he looked at his daughter's face as she seemed conflicted about something. Right then and there, he knew that she wanted the mirror, but he didn't know why. However, he was not going to allow her to get it since whatever she was thinking about, Rumple knew it must be bad for him if she couldn't express what was on her mind.
Present
Graham had every intention to find Amir. After everything Amir did, he needed to pay, and Graham was going to find him once and for all to seek justice. Even though he knew Nora wouldn't want him to go down this path, it was too late since he made the deal with Gold.
Graham took the small vial out of his pocket and poured the potion into the compass. The compass glowed and floated before flying north. Graham followed where it was taking him, and sure enough, he found himself at the docks as the hat floated over to the boat house. Graham wasted no time getting his gun out as he stepped inside cautiously.
As soon as he went inside, a gunshot rang through the boat house, and Graham immediately ducked to cover. He tried to look to see where Amir was only to get shot at. Graham practically cursed to himself since he couldn't see Amir.
When Graham looked over the crates, he saw Amir running out the door, she he opened fire and shot at him only to miss. Graham then immediately ran through the door he came through before grabbing the compass. He tried to cut him off by cutting a few corners until he eventually saw him running. That was when Graham took another corner since he knew the direction he was heading in, and sure enough, he made the right call by smashing into him.
Both men grunted, and Graham reached for his gun only for Amir to grab him and punch him square in the jaw. Graham was practically knocked back and Amir attempted to pull out his gun only for Graham to knock it away from him. Both men scuffled on the ground by doing what they could to get the upper hand. However, as soon as Amir let Graham go for a split second to reach for the gun, Graham took out a hidden small handgun tucked away in his sock before pressing it against his temple.
Amir froze, knowing that it would only take a pull of a trigger to end this. He slowly got off of Graham as Graham got up and continued to point his gun at Amir while glaring daggers at him. Graham himself was tempted to shoot Amir after all that he had done to him and Nora both in this world and back home. They had so much history together that it was a miracle how Amir never attempted to kill Graham.
Graham though certainly wanted to wipe the smug look off of Amir's face. "So, what now, Humbert? What are you waiting for? Just pull the trigger and be done with it."
He really wanted to, but he made a deal with Gold, he took his gun and whacked him with it so hard that it knocked Amir out.
Past
When Odette stirred in her sleep, she slowly woke up and saw Illario picking up his sword before leaving through the door with such discretion. Odette didn't understand where he was going. If he was leaving, then she wasn't going to allow him to leave without saying goodbye.
Odette sat up and looked over at her father's bed that was covered by curtains around him so that no one disturbed his slumber. If her father found out what she was doing, he would certainly bring her back and try to convince her to just let Illario go, but Odette wasn't going to let him go just yet.
As soon as Odette got up, she quietly but hurriedly put on her clothes before she made her way outside to catch up to Illario. He strolled along the dirt path, which gave Odette a perfect opportunity to catch up to him.
"Illario. Illario!" Her pleasing voice forced Illario to turn around and find Odette approaching him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving. I know where the mirror is, and I intend to find it."
"So, you were going to leave without saying goodbye?"
He gave her a small smile and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Odette child, it is never goodbye. Our paths may one day cross again."
Even though Odette knew he was going to leave eventually, she didn't want him to leave like this. There was still so much she needed to learn from him. That was when she decided to join him by asking, "Let me go with you. I want to help you get the mirror."
"No. It is far too dangerous for you, child."
"Illario, you don't understand. I have to do this."
"Why?"
Odette thought about it long and hard before finally admitting, "Because I'm afraid. When I go out there alone, I don't want to be afraid anymore."
Illario sighed and looked back before turning back to face her as he nodded his head and agreed. "Alright, but this is dangerous, so you must do everything I say, understand?"
She thanked him and followed him down the path until they were out of the village. Odette had never been outside of the village before. She hated to admit that her heart was beating rapidly against her chest. A part of her wanted to turn back the farther they traveled, but she also had something to prove to her father. One day, she wanted to be independent. As much as she loved her father, she didn't want him to protect her all the time. This was something Odette needed to do. She needed to find her courage.
When they reached a cave, Illario and Odette stopped to stare into the dark abyss. "The mirror's in there, isn't it?" Odette asked.
"Yes. Let's venture forth."
As they made their way inside, Odette couldn't help but ask, "How do you know the mirror's here anyway? How did you find out?"
Illario was hesitant to say, "I've heard many whispers in the village."
The further they walked through, the colder the cave grew. Even Odette couldn't help but wrap her arms around herself for a minute there when a cool breeze drifted through the air. They eventually reached through the end of the tunnel where they found a large mirror standing firmly on the ground. Odette couldn't help but look first as she circled around it and saw that the mirror was double sided. It was rather beautiful with its ornate gilded frame, and it easily towered over Odette.
Just before Odette had a chance to ask the mirror anything, the ground rumbled. Illario shouted for Odette to come back. She tried, but every step she took, she nearly tripped until she crumbled to the ground after taking her fifth step. Odette's mouth practically gaped open when a ferocious yell echoed through the cave. That was when Odette turned to look to see a giant ogre jumping down in front of her.
Odette rolled out of the way just in time before it slammed its fist down to the ground. It left a huge imprint of its fist, causing Odette to back away. She wanted to run away, but she was determined to get the mirror. After losing so much, Odette didn't care what she had to face anymore as long as it meant she could discover the truth.
Before the ogre had a chance to grab Odette, Illario threw his sword straight into the ogre's eye. It screeched and snarled ferociously as it held its eye before it swung its arm, scratching Odette's arm with its claws as she yelped and held onto her wound. She then got up and backed away right at the moment where Illario ran past her to climb the ogre as it did everything it could to smack Illario off of him, but Illario held onto him.
Illario then took his sword out, earning another screech from the ogre before the ogre had a chance to grab him, causing him to drop his sword. Odette knew she needed to do something when the ogre brought Illario close to its face. She hurriedly grabbed Illario's sword and went over to the ogre's foot to stab it. The ogre stumbled back and yelled again before throwing Illario behind him as he hit the wall and crumbled to the ground. All Odette saw was Illario's wooden ring rolling out before she paid attention to the ogre in front of her as it snarled and screeched again.
Present
Amir stirred in his sleep and tried to move his arms only to realize that he couldn't move. When he opened his eyes, he saw rope tied around his body and his ankles against a chair so that he couldn't go anywhere. He kept struggling to break free, but it was no use. He was trapped. When he realized the situation he was in, he looked around and found himself inside the boathouse, and the one person who stood a few feet away from him with his arms crossed was Graham Humbert.
"Didn't think you'd be the type to be into this. I wonder if Nora gets off from this," Amir said with a sly smirk before earning a punch square in his jaw from Graham.
Amir grunted, and his smirk grew even more when he heard Graham speak in a low-threatening voice, "Keep her name out of your filthy mouth."
"Well, you've successfully captured me using my compass to find me," Amir gestured to his compass in Graham's hand. "But, if this is your way to get your revenge, then I'm sorry, mate, but you're going to have to try harder to torture me."
"Who says I'll do it?"
Amir's heart beated excessively against his ears when Graham looked over at the entrance to see Gold limping his way towards them. One look at Gold, and Amir knew that he was out for blood. Amir already knew that even though he released Belle, Gold would still be after him. After all, he did harass his daughter and nearly got her killed.
When Amir looked back at his compass, he realized that Graham made some sort of deal with Gold to find him so that he could get Nora back. Amir was aware that Nora was back in their world with the Savior and Mary Margaret. Graham was desperate enough to go along with whatever Gold wanted if it meant he could bring his wife back. However, Amir reminded him something to ensure his safety.
"You really think Nora's going to be alright if you let him kill me?"
Instead of Graham answering, Gold smirked and chuckled. "If you think I'm going to kill you so easily, then you better think again."
Amir glared at Gold as he said, "Then what do you plan on doing?"
It took Gold a minute or two before he finally swung his cane at Amir, causing him to jerk. He heard his nose crunch, and blood dripped from his nostril. At that moment Amir knew Gold's intention when he leaned in with a toothy grin and a murderous gaze. "You're going to receive more pain than what my daughter endured, then...then I'll kill you."
Amir's eyes slowly widened before taking another hit from Gold. Every beating he delivered was brutal, and all Graham did was watch.
Past
As the ogre screeched again, Odette froze before moving out of the way when it tried to stomp on her. With Illario's sword in her hand, she knew she needed to do something. As scared as she was, she wasn't going to let an ogre get in her way. That was why she cartwheeled away from it with one hand when it tried to slam its fist on her.
Odette then waited until it charged at her for her to jump out of the way as it slammed into the wall. She then charged forward to stab it again, earning another violent shriek before it finally swung its arm at her. Odette was practically sent flying before hitting a wall. Her entire body ached, and she couldn't help but cough to get the air back into her lungs.
Right at the moment where the ogre was about to stomp on her, an orange cat leapt from a rock and clawed at the ogre's face. It stumbled back, and Odette kept wondering where this cat came from as it continued to violently maul the ogre's face. Blood oozed from its eye sockets as the cat blinded it before it jumped down when the ogre tried to swipe it.
Having seen enough, Odette got back up and ignored the pain in her abdomen as she rushed over to the ogre and started to climb it. The ogre continued to screech, but Odette was not going to give in. She was going to conquer the beast no matter what it took.
As soon as she reached its head, she nearly fell but caught herself by stabbing the ogre's back with Illario's sword. The ogre shrieked again and tried reaching for Odette, but it couldn't. Odette held onto the sword tightly as it twirled swiftly to shake her off. When it was unsuccessful it charged into the wall, ramming its head. The ogre then blacked out as Odette was practically thrown off with a painful grunt with Illario's sword popping out and in Odette's hand.
Odette looked to see the ogre and couldn't stop panting before noticing the orange cat approaching her. It nuzzled its head against Odette's leg, causing her to pick up the cat and continued to wonder where it came from. She then remembered about her friend, Illario, so she rushed over to the spot where he was only to find his clothes laid on the ground.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked around and called out, "Illario? Illario, where are you?"
"Odette." As soon as she recognized his voice, she looked down and noticed the cat speaking to her, "You did wonderful, child."
She gasped and dropped the cat only for it to land on four feet. "You-You can talk?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't want anyone to see me like this."
After realizing the cat was Illario, she knelt down to ask, "How...How is this possible?"
"My ring. A sorcerer bestowed it to me after I helped him steal a very rare magical object, but now, it's destroyed. I have no way to be human now."
"Maybe my father can help you if I ask him."
His narrowed eyes were filled with hope when he practically purred, "You think he will help me?"
"I'll plead with him if I have to. You're my friend."
Odette picked up Illario as he nuzzled and purred against her chest before he noticed that she paid attention to the mirror, so he told her, "You can ask it anything you know?"
"But, don't you want it, Illario? I thought you were after it."
"Eh, There wasn't much I was going to do with it. I simply wanted to see if the stories were true."
After hearing her friend, Odette set Illario down and headed over to the mirror. She saw her reflection right away. Not long after, Illario slowly strode to her side. Odette closed her eyes and clutched her necklace as she thought about her mother. There was something she always wanted to know ever since her father came home one day and told her twin brother and her that their mother was killed by a pirate.
"Who killed my mother?" Odette asked.
The mirror flashed and ignited a glow before revealing her mother's killer. Odette's eyes widened as soon as she saw the culprit. The same sailor she admired all those years ago was shown in the mirror, captaining his ship as he sailed his vessel with his crew. Killian Jones stood there at the helm with a hook in replace of his left hand with a smirk on his face as he barked orders.
Odette had seen enough as tears rolled down her face before her knees gave out as she sobbed. She couldn't believe out of everyone she knew, why did it have to be him? The same man she admired killed her mother, and it broke her heart. All this time she wanted to be like him by going off on her own to set her path towards an adventure. She was utterly heartbroken when she saw his face.
Present
Graham knew that Gold was going to beat Amir, but he didn't want Gold to kill him. However, Graham admitted that Amir deserved this. After everything Amir did to him and to Nora, he was never going to allow him to hurt them again, especially Nora. She didn't deserve anything that happened to her. Nora was innocent, and he just manipulated her to do his bidding.
By the time Amir was in a bloody mess, he finally snapped, "I can help you get Nora back!"
That set Graham off as he grabbed Gold's cane right before Gold had a chance to hit him again. "What are you doing?" Gold confronted him.
"He said he can get her back."
"He's lying!"
Graham gave Gold a cold look before letting him go and turning back to Amir. "How can you get her back?"
"Because I know someone who can cross between worlds. He's an old friend. If you let me go, I'll help you find him."
Graham thought about it long and hard. Amir could just be saying it before he tricks him to escape. However, Graham didn't really have much a choice. Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't trust Amir, he knew that he also needed him. If Amir was telling the truth, then he needed to take the chance, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to keep an eye on him so easily.
As soon as Graham untied Amir, Amir smirked wickedly as he looked at Gold almost as if he gave him a victorious expression, but it soon turned grim when he felt something cold and metallic against his wrist, so he looked to see Graham cuffing him. The one who seemed the most frustrated though was Gold as he limped over to Graham. "You honestly believe you can trust this marauding cur?"
Graham knew exactly why Gold questioned him, so he laid down the law. "I'm not letting you kill him. That's not what Nora would have wanted." When Gold narrowed his eyes at him, Graham didn't care. In fact, he dismissed it as he turned back to Amir and grabbed his arm. "You better hope you're telling the truth, because if you're not, then I won't stop beating you until you can't stand straight. Now, let's go."
With a pull, Graham felt Gold's eyes on him. He knew that Gold wanted to keep going at him, but Graham was not going to allow that. He already filled his end of the bargain by leading him to Amir, but he never promised to kill him. For now, he was going to leave Amir in a cell so that he couldn't escape. It would also allow Graham to interrogate him a bit so that Amir would tell him everything about his friend who could help him get Nora back. Whatever it took, Graham was willing to do anything.
Past
When Odette made it back home, she couldn't stop crying in bed. She refused to see her father when he asked her what happened. Illario tried telling her that all would be well, but it was clear that she was not in the right state of mind, so Illario wished her well and headed off in his cat-form since his ring was destroyed.
Before he left though, he met with Rumplestiltskin on a hill who smirked down at him. "I still don't feel right about all of this. She seems so heartbroken," Illario told Rumple.
"If you thought so, then you wouldn't have went along with it."
Illario didn't like how Rumple was so satisfied with the situation, knowing how hurt Odette was. "Yes, but I...I didn't know what she was going to ask the mirror. You switched the mirror because you knew what her question was, didn't you?"
Rumple gave him a hard stare, challenging him to not question him further, but it didn't take long before he gave Illario a toothy grin with a dangerous stare. "Then perhaps, you don't want this."
A puff of red smoke swirled around Rumple's hand, and in his clutch are a small pair of black leather boots. Illario's eyes widened as he remembered their deal. If Illario went back on his word by telling Odette the truth, then he wouldn't walk like a human.
When Illario brought his head down in shame, Rumple smirked wickedly and said, "Thought so."
With another wave, the boots in Rumple's grip disappeared as the red smoke surrounded Illario. When the smoke dissipated, Illario stood with the leather boots molding his hind legs. He also wore a small black cape that matched his black cavalier hat and a yellow feather on it. A small thin sword attached to a belt around his furry waist completed the ensemble.
One final look at Rumple, and Illario walked away from him, but before he left, he turned back to Rumple to tell him, "Just so you know, if you thought lying to your daughter would make things better, then it doesn't. The truth already hurts enough, so imagine if she ever finds out what you did."
Rumple's smile quickly faded as he stared hard at Illario. He knew Illario was right, but this was what Rumple needed to do so that she wouldn't know what he did. Odette may never forgive him, and she may never look at him the same way again. Rumple couldn't risk that. That was why he needed to do this to not only protect himself but also to protect her heart. There was no way he was ever going to allow Odette to find out that he killed her mother.
Present
When Emma, Mary Margaret, and Nora woke up, their wrists were tied up, and they were dragged by two women on horses. One of them looked like a warrior since she wore armor, and the other looked more like a princess with her flowing dress. Nora had no idea where they were. Everything looked deserted. It wasn't until they reached an island, where there many inhabitants of the land who set up some sort of camp.
Everyone looked poor and starving. They all soon stopped working when they took notice of Nora, Emma, and Mary Margaret. Emma even pointed out that they looked like refugees, and Nora agreed that maybe Emma was right as she took another look around. The woman in the armor though told them that they were all survivors.
As soon as they were a feet away, Mary Margaret kneed Aurora in the gut and threw her to the ground before turning to Emma and Nora. "Run!"
The three women wasted no time as they ran only for the woman warrior to grab something beside her bow and arrows and threw it at Mary Margaret, knocking her out. "Mary Margaret!" Emma called out before rushing to her.
Nora immediately tried to help as they tried waking her, but it was no use as Nora told her in a panicked voice, "She's unconscious."
"What did you do?" Emma turned to the warrior.
"Take them to the pit," she ordered.
Nora, Emma, and Mary Margaret were grabbed before being dragged away the other refugees. Emma and Nora struggled against their grip as they tried to break free while Mary Margaret's body was dragged. They were all led to a wooden door and were practically thrown inside a dark room. Emma warned the guards to be careful of Mary Margaret, but they didn't seem to care as they tossed her body to the ground, so Emma and Nora knelt down to make sure that she was okay.
"They've taken you in as their prisoners I see," a voice called out, but Emma and Nora couldn't see who it was since they were hidden in the shadows. However, Nora couldn't help but notice how familiar the accent was.
"Who are you?" Emma asked.
The figure was small but still obscure, and it wasn't until when they heard it jump down that they wondered who it could be. Finally, the figure slowly made its way into the light, and Nora's eyes widened when she saw an orange cat standing on its hind legs with its leather boots, a sword at its hip, a black cape, and a black hat.
"Illario?" Nora questioned.
It took a minute for Illario to recognize Nora as he stared at her for a while before he broke out into a smile. "Hello, Odette."
"You know a cat?" Emma asked, turning to Nora.
"He's not a cat. He's my friend."
Nora couldn't believe that she found Illario after all of these years. The same cat who taught her how to fight over three hundred years ago was standing right here. She was just glad she saw a friendly face in this world.
Hi everyone! I would first like to start off by saying that I apologize how long it took to release this chapter. I was getting sick back to back, but I'm feeling all better now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you enjoyed meeting Illario aka Puss N Boots and the little twist at the end where it's him instead of Cora, but don't worry, Cora will make an appearance. You'll just have to wait the next chapter to see her. Please leave me a review to let me know what you think so far and what your expectations are. Stay tuned for more chapters heading your way!