The Young Savior

Chapter 22

   August was careful. He had to be. Everything depended on it. His secret had to stay that way, a secret. Above all else, Emma could never know he was here. If she found him here, she'd think he was there to take her away just like they'd planned. But he needed her here. She had to break the Curse. This was the only way to keep an eye on her from a distance. This was the only way he could keep the promise he had made all those years ago, the promise he made to his Papa that he would keep the Savior safe.

   Aside from the Queen, he had been in town well over a week without drawing too much suspicion. There was no way she wasn't after their brief encounter at the diner. He'd seen her following him any chance she got. Of course, she wasn't the only one. Occasionally, he'd notice the Sheriff paying "extra" attention to his bike when he'd pass his cruiser on the road. Or the Deputy, well, the Prince, watch him from the other aisle at the drug store. Not that he could blame them; you live in a cursed town for eleven years without even a change in the weather, and a stranger arriving is bound to turn some heads.

   For this reason, he only left his room at Grannie's when he needed something. That and it was always during school hours, so he wouldn't run into Emma or even Mayor's kid, who it seems may be onto the Curse, and his mom would not like that. He had managed to learn that Emma was happy. She had found a foster mom, and after some digging, he was ecstatic to learn her foster mom was Snow White—her mother. Emma had found her family, and she didn't even know it. But he needed her to start figuring it out and fast. If the pain in his leg was any indicator, he didn't have much time.

   After a quick stop at the corner store, August returned to Grannie's. Walking past the ally, he felt two hands grab him from behind. He was slammed against the wall, dropping his bag and, in turn, all its contents. "What the hell!"

   "Quiet, we just want to talk!" his abductor said calmly but assertively, his grip tight on his shirt, pressing August firmly to the wall. That voice, however, was far from foreign to him. He'd heard it often while sitting with his father at the Prince and Princess council chambers table. Gathering his wits and bearings, he focused on the pair of blue eyes before him. Prince Charming.

    "I didn't steal the food if that's what you think." The Prince merely smirked as he let go of him. "What do you want with me?"

   "Funny, that's what we were wondering.", a pleasant accent answered from the shadows. August turned his attention to the ally to see the Sheriff approaching them. "What are you doing in Storybrooke?"

   He knew he had to play this smart. "Why do I have to have a reason? Still a free country last time I checked."

   "Ok, you want to play that game.", the Prince said. "How did you find this place?"

   "A map"

   "I don't buy it."

   "I almost didn't either. I was on a trip, got lost, and found this place randomly. Looked at my map and wouldn't you know, nowhere to be found. Must be a fluke, right?"

   That wasn't the correct answer for the Sheriff. "See now that...is exactly the kind of answer someone with something to hide would say." The Sheriff stepped to him, and sucker punched him in the gut, dropping August to the ground.

   Gasping for breath, he looked up at the two men, "I thought you...just...wanted to talk."

   "We do, but I don't like being lied to." The Sheriff pulled him back to his feet, holding him to the wall again. "Now, let's try this again. Why are you here?"

   "What? The Mayor couldn't get an answer she liked on her own, so she sent you guys?"

   "Strike two." The Sherriff reared back and punched him again.

   "Graham! That's enough." The Prince stepped in between the two men. "You keep this up, and we're no better than Regina." David turned towards August, squatting down to his level. "You've been walking around town for a week now. I know you know we've been watching you. But still, you keep poking your nose around. Even been following some kids around..."

   "I'm not-"

   "Don't," the Prince raised his voice and shoved August before taking a breath. August could see the fire building in the man's eyes. It was different from everyone else he'd observed in the town. Even the Sheriff, they had life? Purpose? Desperation, perhaps. "Don't lie to me. We all know you are." And then it hit him. This wasn't David Nolan, the comatose patient turned Deputy Sheriff. This was Prince Charming. He was awake.

   He trusted his gut and decided he needed to trust the two men before him. "I'm here..." August took a breath. "I'm here to help Emma break the Curse."

   "You know about the Curse?" the Sheriff pushed. David stood up, letting August get to his feet.

   "Ya, I know."

   "How?" Charming asked firmly.

   "Because, like you, I'm caught up in this mess too. Only unlike you, I've always known. I never forgot."

   "That wouldn't be possible. The only one who could have any chance of remembering is Regina or Emma, but she was just a baby. There's no way unless-"

   "Unless someone went with Emma." August held the Prince's gaze as he watched the pieces fit together in his eyes.

   "Pinocchio?" David asked in a whisper.

   "Ya. It's me."

   "But the wardrobe only took one. The Blue Fairy said it only took one!" August expected this, the Prince's anger to rise with the realization that he had been lied to.

   "My father made her tell you that. It took two. I didn't want to go! I knew Snow White needed to go with Emma, but my father... was blinded by his fear for me."

   At that, David tempered himself. "I can understand needing to protect your child. But that doesn't excuse what he did."

   "I know, and I've spent every moment of my life since protecting Emma because of it! Searching for this place, trying to make sure she found her way back here!" all the frustration and anger that August had held inside was coming to fruition, exploding through. "I never wanted this, I swear!"

   "Hey, Woah", Charming grabbed his shoulders but gentler than before. "This is not your fault. Emma will break the Curse. She already knows."

   August's eyes snapped to the older man's. "She does?"

   "Yes, and we are doing everything we can to help her. You can, too; we can use any help we can get."

   "No, no! She can't know that I'm here! That's why I've been so secretive. The last time we were together, I gave her the bus ticket to leave Boston and promised I would meet her, and we'd start over. She will think I'm here to take her away if she sees me."

   "Not if we explain your story, she'll believe it."

   August shook his head, downcast. "No...even if she did, I'm not ready to face what I've done."

   "What do you mean?" the Prince asked confused.

   "I left her. I should have come with her."

"No, you have done anything but."

"Thank you, sir, but with all due respect, I'm just not ready. I need some time. But I want to help."

 David sighed, realizing it was pointless to argue with the young man. "Ok."

  "Thank you." with that, August bowed to the Prince; old habits died hard and left the ally.

   David watched August turn the corner before looking back to Graham. "When this is over, when we all have our memories, Snow can never know.

   "What? Why not?" Graham asked, confused.

   "If she were to know that she could have gone with Emma, it would kill her."

   Graham stared back at him, pondering the Prince's request. "As you wish."