A/N: From my cursory research, 'shi' would be the rank of a common soldier in ancient China. The hierarchy above that is complicated enough that I'm going to go with 'commander' for a higher ranking officer. While this may not be historically accurate to our world, let's remember that the setting for OUAT's Mulan isn't set in our world, and her empire may have a different military command structure entirely.

Chapter Nine

Mary Margaret and David were waiting outside the shop when Belle and Rumple returned. "I can't make contact with Henry," Mary Margaret informed them as Rumple fumbled with the door key. "I did what you told me: I used the meditation techniques before I went to sleep and I got back into that red room, but Henry wasn't there."

Rumple raised an eyebrow. "Did you really expect he would be this soon?"

"Pardon?"

Rumple sighed. "When your charming prince awakened you from your curse, dearie, how might you have described your sleeping habits in the days and weeks that followed?"

A shadow passed over Mary Margaret's face. "Nightmares," she whispered. "That room… the flames…" David gripped her hand and she squeezed it tightly. "I fought to stay awake for as long as I could, but I..." She turned anguished eyes on Rumple. "Is that what Henry's going through?"

Rumple nodded. "I would imagine so," he replied, and if his voice was crisp, there was something softer in his eyes. "However," he said, as he pushed the door open and pocketed his keys, "as you discovered, one can only stave off sleep for so long." He motioned for the others to follow him inside.

"What you need to do," he continued, stepping behind the counter and pulling open one of the drawers behind, "is to be in that netherworld room at the same time as your grandson."

"How?" David demanded, striding forward.

Rumple chuckled. "With this," he said, holding aloft the pendant he'd been looking for. "It needs a drop of blood from the kin of the one you seek." He took out a brooch from behind the counter and dipped the pin ostentatiously in a bottle of alcohol. "Either one of you may do the honors," he announced.

David snatched the brooch and pressed the point into his index finger, just hard enough to break the skin. He reached for the brooch, but Rumple pulled it back out of reach.

"Not so fast, dearie," he chuckled. "After all, all magic comes with a price!"

"Rumple!" Belle admonished, and Rumple turned to her, mockery gone.

"It does," he said seriously. "If I don't exact one, the magic will, and you won't care for the way it will choose to balance the books."

David's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" Before Rumple could reply, the prince continued, "How about a warning?"

"If you think to threaten me..." Rumple began with a sneer.

David shook his head. "There's been a new development about the town line. Or maybe you've already heard."

Rumple blinked. "Why don't you tell me what it is you think I ought to know and don't, and I'll tell you whether we have a deal?"

The prince hesitated only a moment before he replied. "The dwarfs did an experiment yesterday. Sneezy crossed over. Mr. Clark came back."

One of Rumple's eyebrows shot up. "Come again?"

David exhaled. "Cross the town line and you revert to your cursed persona. So far, the effect seems to be permanent." He paused. "Going by the expression on your face, I'm gathering this isn't something you knew about."

Rumple shook his head. "No, dearie," he said slowly. "It isn't."

"You mean, you didn't… program that effect into the Curse?" Mary Margaret asked.

"The Curse is broken," Rumple pointed out. "Thanks to your daughter. And since I crafted it in order to follow my son to this realm, and since I had no way of knowing that he'd be in Storybrooke when it did break, I had expected that once your daughter did what she was meant to, my next step would be to set out in search of him. Not something I'd be able to do if I reverted back to Mister Gold as soon as I set foot in the world beyond this place." He passed the pendant over with a worried expression. "I suppose it's fortunate that the three who returned to Our Land were never cursed, else we'd have reason to wonder whether it was only crossing the town line that was the danger or whether leaving Storybrooke by any other method would have similar results."

"You mean," Belle ventured slowly, "that even if we could go back there to help them, we… might not remember who we are once we get there?"

Rumple's worried frown deepened. "I didn't plan for this," he reiterated. "Without understanding what's gone wrong, we can't be certain how far-reaching the effect is. I-I need to research."

"And… Henry?" Mary Margaret asked.

Rumple glanced at the pendant and then at David. "Press your finger over the stone," he said with clinical detachment. "Hold it there for a few seconds so that the blood seeps in." As David did so, the blue-green stone flared red for an instant before resuming its original color. "When the stone turns red once more," Rumple said distractedly, "you will know that your grandson slumbers. Once he is, you will be able to reach him. And I would suggest that you continue to practice those meditation techniques whenever you've time to spare. It will make it easier for you to fall asleep quickly when you must."

David passed the stone to his wife. "Thanks," he said.

Still distracted, Rumple waved them off. As soon as they were gone, he went into the back room and slid back the wooden door of a cabinet he didn't think he'd opened in twenty-eight years. With the Curse broken, though, he knew at once what he would find there.

"Rumple?" Belle asked.

Rumple stooped down to retrieve an armload of leather-bound volumes. "Start reading, Belle," he said, passing one to her. "You heard the problem as clearly as I did. Let us hope that the solution will present itself without undue difficulty."

Realizing where Henry was looking, Aurora quickly moved her shawl back down to cover her arm. "It's nothing," she said quickly.

Henry said nothing. Instead, he pushed up his own sleeve. The young woman blinked, startled. "How?" she asked.

Henry paused. "Uh… were you under a sleeping curse?"

Aurora flinched. "How did you know?" she asked.

Henry gave her an understanding smile. "Because I was, too. And after I came out of it, I started dreaming about—"

"—Being in a red room?" Aurora finished. "Streams of fire blasting forth without warning?"

An excited smile sprang to Henry's face. "Yeah!"

"What?" Regina cried.

Phillip cleared his throat. "There's magic in Safe Haven," he said. "Not very much of it, and I don't know if what there is will help her, but if the answer isn't there, our hope is that someone who is will be able to point us in the right direction."

"And if not?" Neal asked quietly.

"Safe Haven is the closest settlement to where we are," Mulan said. "It's also the largest. If the answer isn't there, I can ride back to the Eastern Empire. The emperor's counsellors will know, I think."

"Maybe we ought to head there first," Regina said.

Mulan shook her head. "We only have one horse between us," she said. "Even if we acquired additional animals, it would be at least a month's riding to reach the empire's borders and another three weeks to the capital city. On foot, it would take another month beyond that if we covered the same distance each day. I can assure you that unexpected circumstances will occur that will delay us further. They always do," she added straight-faced. "If the answer isn't in Safe Haven, then I'll make that journey alone. I'll cover more ground that way." She hesitated. "Unless you've experience riding hard."

"I do," Regina said, "but Henry's never been on a horse before and if he has to ride pillion, that would mean riding more slowly."

"I'm not much of a rider myself," Aurora admitted. "Especially not in these skirts, but even if I had something better to wear, I don't know if I could keep up the pace."

"I've never been on a horse either," Neal confessed.

Much made a sympathetic noise. "If it were a question of getting them, it'd be no trick; Robin's good at finding such animals. But if you don't all know what to do once you've got 'em, perhaps it's better he don't. Well," he said abruptly, "I'm off then. But if you've need of us, you know where we'll be once we break camp."

Neal nodded. The Dark One's castle. Or was it the Merry Men's castle now? It didn't matter. If they took the road back the way they'd come and continued to follow it past the campsite, assuming Robin had told them truthfully, it would take them there. And if the answers they needed weren't in Safe Haven, then when Mulan rode for the empire, Neal thought it might not be a bad idea to try the castle after all. At least, it would be closer! Aloud, though, he said only, "Safe travels."

"And to you," Much replied with a grin. Then he was off with a friendly wave.

"Come," Phillip said. "It shouldn't be more than another hour's walk to our destination; two at the outside." He smiled. "And if the way seems a bit hot and dusty, there'll be cool baths and good food waiting when we get there."

They managed to get another hour of research done, give or take, before Leroy stomped into the shop. "Guess you heard about Sneezy," he snapped. Then, seeing Belle, he added a bit less gruffly, "Hello, sister."

"Hello, Dreamy," Belle murmured.

"It's Grumpy now," he informed her. He turned back to Rumple.

"Can you do anything for him?"

Rumple regarded him for a long moment. Then he shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that much in the way that it's far easier to make a mess than to tidy it up, it is far easier to craft a forgetting potion than a remembering one."

"If it's a question of money, we'll get it," Leroy said.

"It's not," Rumple assured him with a faint smirk. "With magic in town, I'm capable of spinning all the wealth I could possibly require."

"Gold isn't legal tender here," Leroy pointed out.

"No," Rumple allowed, "but it can certainly be exchanged for it. And even were that not the case, when one owns almost every building in a town, one tends to have access to a steady stream of rental income. However," he continued when Leroy opened his mouth to speak again, "there is, in fact something that I do need and my efforts to procure it are occupying time that I might otherwise be spending helping you with your problem. So, if you can obtain that for me, I do believe I'll have the leisure to assist you."

Leroy's eyes narrowed. "And what would that be?"

"Pixie dust," Rumple replied.

"Fairy dust, you mean?" Leroy asked with a snort. "We're looking for that too."

Rumple shook his head. "Fairy dust isn't something that works well with my magic," he returned. "And even if it did, it's not strong enough for my requirements. Pixie dust."

Leroy's frown deepened. "Okay. What does it look like, where do we find it, and how much do you need?"

Rumple's lips parted in a thin smile. "In its natural state, it resembles a fairy diamond, but its glow is easily a hundred times brighter. It's found among them, but it's quite rare; perhaps one stone out of every ten thousand."

"That would explain why I don't remember ever finding any," Leroy muttered.

"And I don't know that you will here," Rumple admitted, "but I think you'll find that with magic's return, a good many of the raw materials needed to create and craft it will be popping up as well. It's just a matter of time." He handed Leroy a small pouch that seemed to have appeared in his hand out of thin air. "I don't need much," he added. "Just enough to fill this."

Leroy took the pouch. "And then you'll help Sneezy?"

"If I can," Rumple said. "You have my word. And as pixie dust is almost certain to be one of the ingredients in any memory spell, in your procuring it, you'll be facilitating my efforts on your brother's behalf."

Leroy grunted. "Good enough for me," he said sliding the pouch into his pocket.

The bell over the door jangled as he left. Rumple turned to Belle with a weary sigh. "Let's get back to work."

"Are you all right?" Regina asked sharply when Henry stumbled. She grabbed his arm to steady him and winced when the boy gasped. "I'm sorry," she murmured, wishing that they were back in Storybrooke where there was Neosporin!

Henry jerked his arm free. "I'm fine!" he snapped, backing away.

"Hey, sport," Neal said taking a step toward him.

Henry took another step backwards, holding his arms up defensively. "Keep back!" he ordered.

"Hey," Neal said again. "It's only a little bit further and then we can get some rest."

"Rest?" Henry repeated. "So I can get worse burns?"

"So we can get you some help," Regina said, reaching for him.

Henry shook his head. "How do you even know we can trust them? What if it's all a trap?" He whirled on Neal.

"You warned me, remember?"

Neal blinked. "What?"

"You told me we don't know if Robin and his men are heroes here. Well, what if they're not? What if they're working with Safe Haven to-to rob people or kill them or eat them or…"

"The boy's gone mad!" Phillip whispered.

Mulan shook her head. "I've heard of this before," the warrior said. "When I was a new recruit in the emperor's army, there was a man in our company who was tasked with decoding the enemy's messages. It was an important job and he was the best man we had for it. We all knew how important it was. He worked long through the night and into the next day, pausing only for food and drink. But when night fell that second day and our commanding officer learned that he'd not slept in nearly two days, he stormed into the soldier's tent.

I was standing sentry duty and, although I didn't intend to eavesdrop, I couldn't help overhearing…

"How many hours have you been at work, Shi Young Ru?" The commanding officer's voice was soft, but there was no mistaking the quiet authority behind it.

There was a moment's pause. Then a weary voice replied, "I cannot say, Sir. I have not left this tent since I began and I will not leave it until I finish."

"You need not," the commander returned. "There is a pallet in the corner and I will have a meal sent to you. Eat. Sleep. And when you are refreshed you will return to your task."

"Sir," the young soldier protested, "I cannot. How if the next document gives details of the Huns' attack and my negligence prevented us from learning them?"

"Are you being insubordinate soldier?" the commander asked dryly.

"I-insubordinate, sir?" the soldier stammered. "I mean no disrespect. But the work is important and there is so much more to do. How dare I sleep while it waits?"

"How dare you not, Shi?" the commander replied. "You have your orders." There was a pause. And then, the commander continued. "And while I owe you no explanation, you will have it. So that one day, if you should have the honor of commanding a troop, you will understand why you, in turn, may have to order a loyal soldier to sleep."

There was another pause. And then the soldier said quietly, "I am listening."

"Hear then," the commander continued. "When one is tired and does not sleep, one becomes more prone to error. Judgment is impaired. Attention may be given to minutiae while more serious matters are ignored. And if one persists in foregoing slumber one's temper will suffer. Even the most serene of individuals quickly becomes surly and irascible. One begins to see enemies around every corner, and suspect treachery even in their dearest friends and kinsmen. Shall I continue?"

"I have heard enough, Commander," the soldier replied, chastened. "I will sleep as you have ordered."

Aurora's mouth was gaping open by the time that Mulan had finished speaking. "You're saying that if we go too long without sleep, w-we'll go mad?" she asked.

Mulan hesitated. "That's what I understood from the commander's speech. I do believe," she added, "that he was warning the soldier about what would happen if he forwent sleep long enough; he did not say how quickly those symptoms would occur, and he didn't say that the effects would be permanent."

"But he didn't say they wouldn't be," Aurora said in a horrified whisper.

"The important thing," Phillip said, "is that we get to Safe Haven. If there's a cure, they'll either have it or know where it is."

"You hope."

"Yes," Phillip said firmly. "Exactly."

Neal looked around and realized that Henry was no longer with them. Instead, he was storming back the way they'd come. "Henry!" he yelled, sprinting after his son. He heard running footsteps behind him and realized that Regina was following.

He caught up in minutes. "Henry!" he exclaimed. "What's got into you?"

Henry spun about and locked anguished eyes on his father. "I'm not crazy!" he blurted out. "I'm not!"

"I know you're not, sport," Neal said carefully. "Mulan was just talking about what could happen if you go without sleep long enough."

"Like Dr. Hopper was talking about what could happen if I didn't stop talking about Operation Cobra?" Henry snapped.

Neal blinked. "What?"

"Ask her!" Henry snarled, pointing at Regina. "She got him to tell me that I had a-a delusion and a psychosis and he was going to lock me away! Well, what if they can't help me in Safe Haven? Are they going to lock me up?"

"No!" Neal realized that he hadn't been the only one speaking the word. Startled he looked at Regina, who had taken a step closer.

"No," Regina repeated. "Henry, that's not going to happen. I promise you. We will find out why this is happening and we will figure out a way to stop it."

"What if we can't?" Henry cried.

"We will," Regina told him. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I tried to convince you that the Curse wasn't real and that its effects were all in your head. I'm sorry that I put you in therapy in an effort to make you doubt what you were coming to realize. And I am so, so sorry that I dragged you here with me. But now that you know the truth," she took another breath. "You know that because of my hatred for Snow White, I spent years dreaming of vengeance. I can admit that now," she added quietly. "Years learning Dark Magic. Years pretending to love her. Years chasing her and trying to kill her until I thought that my only chance at my happy ending was to cast the Dark Curse. And then," her lips curved into a nasty smile, "twenty-eight years of seeing her miserable before I thought I could finally be rid of her once and for—" She broke off abruptly when she realized that Henry was looking at her in horror. "My point," she continued seriously, "is that over all that time, not once did I give up my desire for revenge. Every other goal I might have had paled in comparison." She shook her head. "Until now. You're more important than that, Henry. I love you. And I promise you that I won't rest until I either find a cure for your condition myself or find someone else who has it. There is an answer and we will find it." Her lips twitched. "Hopefully, in a good deal less time than twenty-eight years."

Henry chuckled at that despite himself. Then the chuckle dissolved into a ragged sob as he flung his arms about his mother's waist.

Regina hugged him back. And through her tightly-closed eyes, Neal saw a single tear leak past and trickle down her cheek.

The wooden gate swung open at their approach. It was obvious from the way he greeted them that the sentry recognized Phillip and Mulan on sight. "Lancelot will want to meet your companions," he said. "You should see him at once."

Regina flinched. She knew that name. And the person to whom it belonged knew her. Fortunately, they hadn't spent a great deal of time in one another's company; he'd been one of King George's men. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her.

Oblivious to her dismay, Phillip nodded. "We'll need a healer's services as well," he said. "One who understands sleeping curses."

The sentry frowned. "Don't know if we've anyone expert, but Lancelot will. You recall the way to his quarters?"

Phillip nodded again. Then he took the reins of the horse on which both Henry and Aurora sat and gestured to the others to follow him. Regina looked around quickly but, seeing that nobody else was arguing, she fell into step behind the others.

Lancelot hadn't changed much in the years since she'd seen him. He still had a warm sparkle in his deep brown eyes and his smile made Regina think that the rumors of his having seduced a queen in Camelot might well be true. She wasn't worried about that, though. He wasn't her type. There were other reasons, too, of course.

He nodded to Phillip and Mulan. "I see that your quest was successful," he said. "You've found your princess."

Phillip smiled back and turned his face to the young woman at his side. "This is Aurora. I've only just awakened her from the sleeping curse I'd told you of."

Friendly expressions of welcome came from the other people—knights and retainers mingled with common folk—in the great hall.

"And you've brought others, too," he remarked, his gaze panning from one face to the next.

Regina lowered her eyes demurely and curtseyed as she'd been taught in her youth, before she'd become a queen in her own right.

"The Lady Wilma of Starbrook," Phillip remarked. "Her retainer Goodman Baelfire, and his son Henry."

More friendly murmurs greeted this announcement, too. Neal looked around and grinned. Regina's smile was more decorous; she was hardly about to sacrifice her queenly dignity to go simpering at all and sundry like some village yokel at a palace. She hoped that she, at least, appeared gracious and approachable. Not like the woman too many of them might remember, if not recognize. Well. It wasn't as though she'd spent a lot of time mingling with the peasants. Perhaps, she could manage to pull this off.

Lancelot dipped his chin slightly. "I would bid you welcome to Safe Haven," he said. "I would," he repeated, a note of steel slipping into his tone, "but I cannot." He rose from his chair and took several strides forward. "Lady Wilma," he repeated. "Is that what you're calling yourself these days?"

"You know this gentlewoman?" Mulan asked, startled.

Lancelot smiled coldly. "Gentle isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe her."

So he had recognized her, after all. Regina ruthlessly suppressed the twinge of fear rising in her throat, squared her shoulders, raised her chin, and smiled cordially. "Hello again, Lancelot."

"Regina." He drew the syllables of her name out, looking as though he was sucking on a lemon. He turned to Phillip. "You've brought the evil queen among us!"

There was an angry murmur that quickly swelled to a roar. Suddenly, a circle of armed men surrounded the party, their swords flashing menacingly in the sunlight filtering into the hall.

"We didn't know!" Phillip exclaimed, his voice almost lost in the swirling babble now surrounding them.

Lancelot raised both hands. "Peace," he said. "Peace. Nobody doubts your allegiance, Phillip son of Hubert. Nor your honor, Mulan." He smiled gently at Aurora. "And you've been under a curse for well over forty years. One can hardly accuse you of being in league with these strangers."

His gaze hardened. "As for you, Your Majesty…"

Regina sighed. "My companions aren't part of this, Lancelot. Let them go."

"To walk about spying out our weak points and then effect your escape before you meet the fate you richly deserve? I don't think so."

He nodded to one of the knights who quickly took hold of Regina's arm. Out the corner of her eye, she saw that Neal was struggling in the grips of two strong men and third held a bared sword at the level of Henry's chest. "He's a boy!" she snapped, fury hiding her fear. Something cold and damp brushed the back of her free hand. She tried to see what it had been when her limbs seemed to suddenly seize and lock.

Lancelot smiled. "Squid ink, Your Majesty. It'll hold you long enough for us to place you somewhere more secure." He nodded to the same knight once more. "Take her. And the two with her as well."

A squad of guards surrounded them and hustled them not too gently away.