Evergreen │Once Upon A Time Fanfic

The stranger gets on my nerves. And my past.

I slammed the box shut. I was shivering from head to toe. And it was not from the cold. HOW IN THE WORLD DOES HE KNOW WHO I AM?

I tried playing it cool. "Yeah, really? I really hate your choice of nicknames, brother", I said, chuckling.

"Oh please", he said, the annoying smirk never leaving his face. "You know that wasn't just a nickname."

I kept silent.

"So, tell me, Princess Piper, how did a runaway princess end up smack in the place where her long-lost family is?"

I ignored his question. "Who are you?", I asked, in my toughest voice.

"Pinocchio", he said, simply.

"Pinocchio?", I asked. "If you are Pinocchio, then how did you age? You should still be a young boy."

"Oh so you admit you know all about the curse", he said. I scowled at him.

"What do you want?", I interrogated further.

"Same as you. To break the curse.", he said.

"So you are one of the good guys?", I asked.

"You know that. I am pretty sure elves teach you all about the Enchanted Forest."

"How do you know who I am?"

"So many questions! Yet, you still don't answer my question. Tell me your secret. How are you here?"

"I'll tell you mine if you tell yours", I said, getting angrier and scared by the moment. I didn't expect this. I really hadn't. I mean, I really didn't expect some guy to show up and have this much dirt on me. "Answer me!", I hissed.

He rolled his eyes, exasperated. "You see, my father sent me along with your mother to this world. And so, here I am", he said, waving his hands.

"That still doesn't answer my question. How do you know who I am? I wasn't even born when you were sent through that portal"

"Where do you think my father got that magical tree from? It was enchanted by the elves. Windaria and the Enchanted Forest shared great ties from the beginning of times even though they were two very different dimensions. The king of Windaria gave out a lookout notice to me when he told me that one of his princesses escaped 6 months ago. I am guessing this is you", he said, taking out a missing poster with a painting of me. It was clearly Windarian, you could tell by the use of papyrus rather than the usual paper.

"Put that down!", I hissed. If anyone saw that... I still couldn't believe what was happening. And even worse, I couldn't believe that my father would actually search for me. "Don't even think about telling this to anyone, because I swear to all the gods above, I will skin-", I started threatening him.

"Oh come on, Princess!", he said, smirking and pocketing the photo. "You really think anyone will believe me?"

He had a point. "Look, trust me, we are on the same side here. I know... I know Emma is your mother. I tried following her a couple of times and I saw her talking with King Alvin. I was sure a kid would be born out of that single conversation. And when I saw this poster, I put two and two together. No princess would run away unless they weren't happy there. And I know how elves treat wannabes.", he said, sighing.

I let out a breath. "So, you'll help me? Help me break the curse?", I asked, hopefully. Pinocchio was a good person. Maybe he would be nice enough to help me.

"Yeah, I want this thing gone as much as you do. But, before that, a couple of questions. And answer me, this time. You can trust me.", he said. His eyes softened a bit.

I nodded. "Fine.", I said.

"First, how are you even here? I mean, I know how you crossed the border, it's because you have elf magic. But how did you cross over to this dimension?"

I sighed. "When I ran away, I had no one to go to. I was.... lost. I got sidetracked and...someone helped me. Or they seemed like they helped me. But, he just wanted my magic and when I confronted him, he dumped me here; right in front of the town. At least one good thing came out of it.", I scoffed, thinking about him.

Pinocchio didn't press on, asking who betrayed me. Instead, he asked, "So, you pretty much an expert on magic?"

I shook my head no. "I didn't get much time to learn magic. All I could do besides my regular nature magic is get into certain animals' heads and also alter someone's memories at a small scale."

"Interesting. You have any luck in getting Emma to believe that she's the savior?"

"Nope. She...she's a tough cookie. With Sherriff Graham gone, it seemed like she's changed. She became tougher. Of course, we promised that we won't talk about him, but-"

"Hold up!", he said, interrupting me. "Sherriff Graham was the sheriff, I am presuming", he said.

I made a face. "Well done, Captain Obvious. Yeah, he was the Sherriff. Emma had a liking for him. Regina killed him."

Pinocchio made an 'oh' face. "So... We are nowhere near breaking the curse?"

"Absolutely no. Honestly, I stopped trying. Graham's death made me stop. I mean, Regina killed him to stop him from remembering everything"

Pinocchio whistled. "So, you stopped because you are already happy.". he said.

"What?", I asked, confused.

"You have your mother, grandmother, grandfather, plus your step-bro. Even though they don't actually know who you are, you still have them. So, you are happy. And you don't care if the curse is broken or not.", he said, matter-of-factly.

I was shocked. "I am all for breaking the curse, Pinocchio. But, what can I do?"

"It's august.", he said.

"What? no. It's January", I said.

"No, Piper", he said, exasperated. "My name. It's August Wayne Booth"

"Oh", I said, sheepishly.

"As for what you can do, you could have told Emma the truth.", he said.

"WHAT?", I asked, surprised.

"The truth about who you are.", he said, nonchalantly. "You can show her some of your mojo, and she'll have no choice but believe you."

"Are you crazy?!", I hissed. "I and Emma have a totally good relationship. I wouldn't break it by telling her that I am her freaking daughter"

"Again, you are happy with what you have. So, you don't give a damn about the fact that other innocents are suffering from the curse.", he said, pointedly.

I glared at him. "I am not telling her the truth, August. If you have some other idea, reach out to me. Otherwise, leave me alone.", I said, getting up.

"Alright, princess."

"Don't call me that!", I whisper- shouted before getting up. I walked out the door, getting angrier. Who the hell does he think he is? Telling me that I am selfish. I care about other people! Right?

***

I entered the apartment and locked the door behind me. I sighed. What a day.

Mary Margaret was there, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hey", I said, tired.

"Hey", she said and gave me a cup of hot chocolate. Finally. I didn't even get to drink from Granny's.

"How was your day?", I asked her, sipping my drink.

"Saved a bird", she said. Typical Snow White. "What about yours?"

"Met a new guy", I said, nonchalantly.

"Oh. Was he nice?"

"Traveller. I met him at Granny's"

She nodded. Then we both simultaneously said, "Wanna watch Supernatural?" God, I loved her so much.

***

Ooh, stuff's getting spicier!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!