The Magic Within ↠ Once Upon A Time

[Chapter 73] To Fix What I've Done

~Gold's POV~

Regina continues to glare at the door as if her magic and sheer will can bring back what was lost. Although, Melody is long gone. No one could see her past the door, and she's most likely halfway across town with her stamina. It doesn't take a genius to know that she plans on returning to the forest where she used to call home, a land that was her salvation for many years.

Either way, Regina remains still, to the point that she could be mistaken for a statue, just praying that recent events weren't actually true. Even her magic can't rewind time.

Because everything went from a hollering mania to pure silence, the heat from the fiery events dwindle along with it. It feels so cold and quiet that anyone could hear a feather touch the ground before freezing over. For a second, I thought I was back in the Underworld, or worse, I feared that we were under another curse that Melody put everyone under.

I know what Melody can be capable of. Simple curses aren't hard to enact, and her powers can make them effective enough that no one would realize it hit us. Nevertheless, despite being capable, her will to do it is simmering inside of her. Her leave wasn't exactly on happy terms, but then again, I realize that it wouldn't be.

Regina's curse was truly an inconvenience that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Secrets are always a recipe for disaster, and I should know... I've been burned by it more than once. Maybe in some other dimension, if these secrets weren't hidden at all, things would be a lot better than they are now. Maybe then, Melody wouldn't be one step closer to the Darkness's alluring touch.

We wouldn't be so dangerously close to tipping over the edge.

All of this... it's really an inconvenience.

I let out a subtle sigh. The air blows between my lips just as I drag a hand down my jaw. My brain seemingly thumps against my skull as I think of all the possibilities of Melody's torment, whether to herself or to all of us. If the possibility of a curse didn't happen, what else can she be capable of doing?

Despite it being only over a minute, who knows if she's already embraced the darkness within once more?

I can't begin to imagine the things that can come from that. Melody can hurt anyone with that kind of power, even the ones that she "loves" aren't safe from her if that were to happen—

No—that can never happen. I've seen dark curses come and go, but in reality, something much worse can happen with Melody, something that none of us could ever anticipate.

And I have to see that it never does.

I should go find Melody. It's only best to keep an eye on her. My absence only proves to equal in disaster. The Forbidden Jungle always proves as the best example. Although, as awkward as it is to leave an... well—awkward situation, there's no other way to get out of it than to leave.

But before I can think about moving a muscle, Snow chooses to beat me in making the first step, walking closer to Regina. Anything can happen to poor Snow White, yet she still dares to be beside her step-mother. She doesn't say a word though, only takes an arm around Regina. She tries to comfort her like a mother, even if the roles are suppose to be switched around.

Regina barely pays her any remark. She continues to stare through the open doorway and mutters, "I lost her..."

Snow cannot respond in time.