Just Stay.

Frights and Fights

Authors Note: IM SORRY ITS BEEN INCREDIBLY BUSY YOU HAVE NO IDEA BUT PLS ENJOY AND COMMENT UP A STROM I LOVE YOU ALL AND IM RUSHING TO POST THIS BECAUSE I HAVE LIKE 5 MINS AHHHHHHH
I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

EMMAS POV:
She  turned quickly in her seat, curious to who was brave enough to mock the sheriff and an ex pirate. There wasn't that many people in Storybrooke with a death wish.

The seat behind her was empty.
Her eyebrows drew together, confused. There was zero chance that the person had disappeared in the last .5 seconds it had taken her to turn around. There was a possibility the clapping hadn't been directed at her, had been someone outside, but she was sure the sound had come from directly behind her.
There was no explanation and that alone infuriated her. She hated being in the dark.

"Emma!"
She turned to find one of the dwarfs standing behind her, eyebrows furrowed. She thinks it might be Sneezy but honestly she doesn't care.

Who had been clapping?

His face is white, and she suddenly realized he is out of breath. She straightens in her seat and tries to get him to focus.
"Sneezy, Sneezy, what's wrong?" she demands calmly, laying a hand on his shoulder.
He is shaking and says nothing, just holds out a single piece of paper, folded into a perfect square.
She eyes it warily, not sure whether to take it. But between her curiosity and Sneezy's shaking hand, she was forced to reach out and take it.

"He said, he said to give you this," he stuttered, still white as a sheet.
"Who?" She demanded.
He simply shook his head, still too in shock to speak. But it wasn't like she needed an answer. There was only one person that had that kind of an effect on people.
"Sit," she orders and he collapses in the booth.

The paper is small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. By this time everyone is watching her, watching to see what would happen, wanting to know what was going on.
She makes eye contact with Hook from across the diner and at the look on her face he abandons the mugs and makes his way over.

She glanced down at the paper, unfolding it carefully. It looks plain enough but as she opened it she noticed a smear of red along the bottom. Her stomach lurched.

There is writing in the middle of the paper, handwritten and small enough that she had to squint to read it, but once she does she wished it had been illegible.

Dear Ms Swan,
Clever aren't you? True Love's kiss is a tricky one. Very original by the way.
Just wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten about me dear. Oh, I'm not dead by the way. In case you wondered.
I'll be sending you a present, should come any day now. Keep an eye out for it, it's a game changer.
You have not won Ms Swan. Enjoy these few days as much you can.
This is far from over.

Sincerely,
Rumpelstiltskin

                                                             ************

It's been three hours at the station and they have found nothing. Not one hint to where Rumpelstiltskin might be hiding. She's scanned the area twice and found nothing.

Safe to say her patience had taken a day off.

"Where is he!" she yelled, slamming her hands on the table, papers flying off the desktop. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks, her teeth clenched together, like everypart of herbody is furious at this uselessness. She hated this, hated this feeling of powerlessness, this feeling that told her she could do nothing about anything. She couldn't find him, and if she couldn't find him it meant she could do nothing to protect the people of this town from him.