The Land of Second Chances

Chapter 6 - Flour and Schemes

Realm- The land of second chances (Storybrooke)

Time- present

Pebbles crunched under his feet with each heavy step he took towards the incredibly cosy looking house. It had to be some kind of trick, the interior was probably empty and hollow, just like the love that Emma claims to have for the pirate - lovely and homely on the outside but it's just cold and melancholic on the inside. 

The house was made of blue wooden planks lined horizontally along the length of it. A circular tower of the same wood was positioned to the right side of the house with its spire rising considerably above the slanted roof.

The gardens were admittedly lovely, a pathway of pebbles leading them up to the steps of the terrace. It also snaked along the back of the house towards what looked like a small shed, however Leopold couldn't see it that well from where he stood. The path around the house was lined on one side with bushes, from which, flowers of all different colours were sprouting into bloom and promising a warm welcome. 

Emma led him up the terrace steps and as he followed he spied a small swinging chair that could fit about two people. The bottom was made of comfy looking white cushions and a colourful book left haphazardly on them. The chair sat under a large window and if the curtains had been drawn back he would be able too see into the house. 

The squeaking of the door opening drew his attention back to his sister who was smiling at him. She walked inside and cocked her head towards the interior in an attempt to get him to follow her. If he's being honest with himself he doesn't want to follow her into that house. It's not because he doesn't want to face Jones, he's not scared of a pirate. Alright maybe a little, but that's not the point. 

It's more that he's scared of what he's going to find. He isn't worried about the normal things you would expect when you go into a building that you don't like the look of, like weapons and blood and all of that. No. Leopold is terrified that there's going to be nothing. That's right he's scared he's going to find nothing. Scared that Emma's house she shares with Jones is going to be full of child's drawings and family pictures and souvenirs. 

Full of love, happiness and joy. 

As if confirming all of these fears, a shriek full of joy erupts through the open door, turning into a fit of laughter. The laugh was female, probably Leia as apparently she's Emma's daughter, he still isn't really over that one. 

He follows Emma into the house and she closes the door behind him. The interior of the house is just as he feared. Perfectly normal. 

There is a coat rack behind the door that has an assortment of jackets and coats on it. Next to it there is a white sideboard littered with pictures and books and a dish for keys and things like that. 

The floors are made of polished wooden planks and there is a set of stairs straight ahead of him. The top of the stairs splits off in two different directions to what he imagines are the bedchambers. From the bottom of the stairs, to the right, a small corridor leads to the back door. On the left is a mysterious looking wooden door with black metal hinges. It looks really out of place, like an obvious clue screaming at him that none of this was at it seemed. He needed to find out what was behind that door. 

The ground floor was only two rooms wide, the rest of it was dominated by the hallway, which was a vast open space, almost a room itself. Where the sideboard ended the wall stopped abruptly, only starting again when the staircase did. 

The room on the right was a cosy looking room with different sized mismatched armchairs and a 'modernised' fire pit. 

Before he had chance to look at the left side, Emma's 'Queen voice' - as he has taken to calling  it- rang through the house, "WHAT, THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY KITCHEN?"