Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 8)

Ch.3 Young

Now back in the woods where the blimp crashed, Elena tried to figure out what Mr. Hyde meant as she felt her hand started to shake again. The more her hand shook, the more she got worried of what was happening. All of a sudden she heard some footsteps coming towards her, she turned and saw a girl she knew with some coffees in her hand.

"Francis" Elena said surprised "Hey."

"Hey" Francis Howell, also known as Cedar Wood, daughter of Pinocchio smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh I heard you were out here alone and I thought that you could use some coffee."

"My friends sent you didn't they?"

"... Yes."

At that point Elena gave a sigh.

"They were worried about you and they thought it might be easier for you to talk to-".

"A puppet?"

Francis gave an offended look.

"I'm sorry" Elena said with a guilty look "I didn't mean that. I'm just not in the mood for therapy right now."

"I doubt that, what you're feeling right now is when you need it the most. You've been fighting bad guys for years, and not a break. When I met you when you first came to Storybrooke, you had nothing but walls around you to protect you, but since then with your friends and family, those walls are down."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Of course it is, but you're also letting in damage of all the fight."

"Great" Elena sighed as she took a coffee "How do I fix that?'

"By time, and some hard work."

"Do just have any pill suggestions or something?"

"Elena, when I comes to fixing our biggest problems, there are no shortcuts."

Elena gave another sigh as she took a sip of her coffee.

"You know" she said "For a girl who was a wooden puppet, you give pretty good advice."

"Well-" Francis smiled "I always tell the truth."

So after talking to Francis, Elena made her way to the Storybrooke Hospital where she made her way downstairs into the underground asylum. There after getting permission, she went to a cell where she opened the door and stepped in with Mr. Hyde's back turned to her and his wrists still in the special shackles that was now attached to the wall by a chain.

"So you came" he said "I didn't think you'd come girl."

"Keep calling me girl and see how that works out for you" she frowned.

At that point he held his shackles to her.

"Why don't you take these off and see how that works out for you?" he said.

"You said you knew what was wrong with me" she said as she went up to him "Prove it."

"Elena, you were a prisoner once you know how this works."

"What makes you think I was in prison?"

"I was a warden, I know that cage look, it's also a look that doesn't quite fade so you must know the prisoner's response to carrots and sticks."

"You have no idea how to help me" she frowned as she started to head to the door.

"I know more about the battle" he suddenly said as she stopped "The one  in your mind."

"What?" she said with interest.

"I'm sorry I thought you were just leaving."

Elena gave a small sigh as she headed up to him.

"You're right" she said "I was a prisoner, the worst part about it was the loneliness. It sucks, especially for a guy like you who likes to talk so much. So you can either tell me what you know, or I'll walk out of here and never come back."

Hyde didn't say anything as Elena started to head to the door.

"You can just stay here in silence" she said as she turned around to face him "Or you can rot."

"Very impressive savior, except for one small thing."

And with that he ran towards her with his hands out towards her neck as she pressed herself against the wall with his hands so close to her neck, but due to the chain that was attached to his shackles, he wasn't able to fully grab her as he looked down and saw her hand began to shake as she clenched her fists.

"You are afraid of me" Hyde said as Elena tried to hold her bravery "Oh dear, but don't worry, I brought someone who can help fix your problems, if you want to find her, just follow the dove."

"A dove?"

"But the question is, are you too afraid to face your own story savior?"

And with that he backed away, leaving Elena wondering if she really was afraid to face her own story.

_________

Still in his dream world, Mr. Gold followed Morpheus into an empty dirt field of the woods that had mirrors on the tree trunks.

"I feel like you know what to do?" Morpheus asked.

"Of course" Mr. Gold said.

"And you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'd do whatever it takes to get what I want."

"But your goal, is it really what you want?"

"Yes, because I'm a prisoner in my own mind, and I can't break away until I find what I want."

"Well alright then, but just so you know, all magic comes with a price."

"Yeah like I didn't know that" Gold said with sarcasm "But what I'm about to do is worth it."

So standing in front of the biggest mirror that was on a tree, Mr. Gold used the magic of the Apprentice's wand on himself as a gust of sand flew out from him and through the mirror into the temple he was in before. He then watched through the mirror as the sand began to swirl up like a spiral forming the shape of a person. When the sand went away, there standing in the temple was a young teenage version of Gold.

Mr. Gold gave a sneaky smile as he watched his younger self turned around to face him in the mirror and he too gave a sneaky smile, knowing his plan was starting to work. Now young, Gold turned to another mirror and admired his young features.

"Boy does it feel good to be young again" he smirked as he then used his powers to teleport away from the temple.

"Why let your younger duplicate do the work?" Morpheus asked.

"Because-" Mr. Gold said "There's something else that I want that only my younger self has a better chance of getting, something I've wanted for a long time."