Shaya

Chapter 30 - The King is dead

" And here's Honolulu." Mary Margaret said, pointing the city on the paper map on the wall.
A boy raised a hand.
" Yes, Arthur?"
" Why do we have to learn these things, Miss Blanchard? I mean, we're not home, this isn't our world. Why don't you tell us about the Enchanted Forest's kingdoms instead of the Hawaii?"
The teacher furrowed her brow. The boy wasn't exactly wrong. " Wouldn't you like to go to Hawaii?"
Arthur pouted. " Who cares? I can't. None of us can. We're stuck here forever."
" It isn't so, sweetie. For now we can't leave Storybrooke, it's true, but soon we'll find a way to go home. This I promise."
The boy lifted an eyebrow and folded his arms. " So we won't go to Hawaii anyway."
The children laughed hiding behind their hands. Well, he had a point. Snow was about to answer to him when Henry intervened.
" Maybe we could! We could travel anywhere! Like Jefferson! He could borrow us his hat and we could go to Disneyland!"
" He would never. And your mom wouldn't allow it."
" Which mom?"
" The scary one."
" She's not scary!"
" She is! It's her fault if we're stuck here!"
Henry's face fell. " I-It's not her fault!"
" Yes, instead! She's the Evil Queen! She wants to kill us!"
" She's not..."
" Arthur! Henry! Stop it!" Mary Margaret shouted, slamming a hand on the desk.
The silence fell on the class while huge pairs of eyes astonishingly stared at her. She had never shouted at them before. Never.
" B-but..."
" What, Henry? He began? Does it mean that you have to reply? To make things worst? To..."
The bell rang, covering the successive words. The children stayed still, staring at her. Mary Margaret felt the silence in the classroom like a heavy stone over her head.
She glanced down and waved a hand in the air, blushing. The children slowly scraped the chairs against the floor and walked outside the classroom. Mary Margaret closed the class register.
" Shaya? What are you doing here? Is mom okay?"
The teacher suddenly turned at Henry's unexpected voice. He was gazing up at the tall woman, who was smiling at him.
" Aye, don't worry, young Prince. I'm here to talk with your grandmother." she said giving her a glance. " Go play with your friends." she added ruffling his hair. Henry's shoulders drooped.
" Not sure I have any." he muttered. A worried expression crossed Shaya's face. She squatted down on her haunches, so Henry locked gaze with her.
" That boy..."
" Arthur?"
" Indeed. Give him time, be kind with him, show him the truth and, maybe, one day, he'll get it."
" One day?"
" Aye. It could be worth it."
" What if it isn't?"
Rapunzel smirked and shrugged. " If you think so, then don't waste your time! Just tell him that the Golden Death will look for him if he names again your mom."
Henry gave a laugh when the warrior poked him on his shoulder. " This isn't what heroes do. Right?"
Snow saw a wave of pride fill the warrior's eyes. " Right. Choose then, Prince Henry: do you want to be a hero and save the prisoner, future king, or be the villain and let the dragon scare him?"
" Prisoner?"
" Prisoner of the skin-deep judgement. It's just a metaphor. Did your teacher teach you what a metaphor is?" Rapunzel asked glancing again at her, but with a smirk this time. Henry did, too, then nodded.
" Yes. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance, for example: "he is a lion in battle"." he recited, making Mary Margaret widely smile, delighted.
" Very good, Henry!" she exclaimed, and the boy turned to smile at her.
" Thank you!" he proudly said.
" So, you see, I'm not a dragon, either." Rapunzel plowed on, slightly smiling. She then suddenly furrowed her brow. " Or is my skin so dry?"
Henry gave a laugh. " Nope."
" Better!"
The warrior stood up. " Alright Henry, now go to play!" she said smiling. Henry bumped his fist with hers and ran out of the classroom.
Rapunzel watched him run for a while, then gazed at her.
" Are you here to kill me?" Snow asked, not exactly joking. It was always a possibility.
Rapunzel smile was cold. " No. I'm here to warn you, though. "
Here we go again, Snow though with a sigh. " Regina wants my heart on a silver plate again?"
Shaya's eyes, fixed in hers, were like hot rods piercing and burning her soul. " No. I want it."
Snow swallowed as her heart lost a beat. She pinched her lips, then licked them. " Y-you...?"
Being threatened by Regina had never scared her. But Rapunzel... Snow had the impression that she could kill her even just looking at her. What she was capable of...
" Aye, me. I'm tired of seeing you fight. She finally stops, and you begin? No. I won't permit it. I won't let her fall again. But, don't worry, child, you have another chance. The last one, I'm afraid." The warrior smiled again, and Mary Margaret instinctively stepped back, leaning a hand on the desk. " Just another tear of pain shed by Regina because of you, Snow White, and you're dead. Is it clear? "
Mary Margaret looked into the pools of quiet anger that were Rapunzel's eyes. She wasn't lying. Emma, David, Henry... none of them would stop her. And if she had to hope in Regina's help, well...
The teacher nodded once, shaking. " Yes."
" Good." Rapunzel growled in a murmur, her eyes flashing with rage. Snow glanced down.
" But, Rapunzel, let me just tell you ..." When she gazed up again, she was alone in the classroom. " ... I'm sorry." she murmured at the empty hallway behind the door.