The Reader

Chapter eight

I'm back on the same road as I was last time. Belle, Hook and Rumplestiltstin are gone, so is the man in the car. Emma must have come here already and done her job as sheriff. It is morning now, still a bit chilly but by the look of the sky, it is going to be a warm day. I cheerfully start walking towards town. To walk around Storybrook unnoticed, I need a fairytale name. Everyone here has a double identity, so I should have one too. I walk past Regina's house, looking at the apple tree standing majestic in her garden, unto the main square. There I stop to look around. Everything seems very familiar to the TV-show, including the tower. "Hi," I hear from behind. I turn around and see a beautiful, long-legged girl with dark brown hair standing across the square. She smiles kindly at me with her pretty face, wrapped in a warm, red jacket to protect her from the morning chilliness. She walks up to me. "I'm Ruby, some call me Red. You haven't been here much, have you?" She holds out her hand to shake, but I prefer a small wave, even though it's a bit awkward. "I've never seen you before," She continues. "I work at the restaurant across the street, so I know pretty much everybody who comes to the square." I smile back at her, combing my hand trough my hair. "I'm Eleanor," I say honestly, not seeing a reason to lie about my name. The rest I tell her is a lie though. "Back home, I used to be Pocahontas." I did my research, there hasn't been a Pocahontas so far and the producers aren't planning on letting her come. So it should be safe. Besides, her personality suits mine the better than the other characters I could think of. I'm not exactly a typical princess type. Sadly, I don't look anything like Disney's Pocahontas, with my light skin. "Do you want some tea of coffee? I'm opening the restaurant now, maybe we could spend some time before it gets busy." I gladly accept and follow her to Granny's. She tells me about her grandmother and herself. I'm not surprised by Ruby's kindness, since she is like that in the show. I am however glad she is like that. She doesn't push me to tell about myself, but tells me about her friends and the town. After an anecdote about Granny's issues with Ruby's short dresses, she finally decides to want to know something about me. "So, where have you been all this time?" I shrug, luckily I've made up my story while she was talking. "I live at the edge of town and didn't feel the need to come to the center often. I used to live with just a small group of people back then.  I did when Emma came to town though, I heard Henry's mom returned. But when she got into a fight with Regina, I didn't want to get involved." Ruby nods in understanding. "Yes, that was a mess. I'm glad she broke the curse, though. Now all we have to do is return home, to the enchanted forest." I fake homesickness  and start talking about how I lived in a peaceful part of that world, where not many humans lived. "I spend a lot of time with the animals. With wolves for example," I wink at her. Then I notice the flaw in my story. What if that part of the world was spared from the curse, if it wasn't in the enchanted forest itself? "I was on an adventure to see the world, when the curse was cast." I say sadly, covering my story better. Ruby lays a hand on my shoulder in comfort. "Poor you, are you all alone now?" I nod, seeing that's the safest.  Otherwise she might ask Emma to get people looking for me. I hear the door open and turn around to see who is coming in. It's Belle, although she doesn't look like her normal self. She's clearly Lacey now. She doesn't take notice of me, but orders some coffee from Ruby. The kind girl leaves me with an apologizing smile. I eye Belle as she gets her coffee, thinking of the best way to start a conversation. She's my key to Rumple and Emma, who can sure help me with my task. But she's so different now, that I'm not sure if and how she can help me. "Are you enjoying the view?" My head snaps up as I realize I've been absently staring at her. "Yes, couldn't help but notice your nice jacket," I make up an excuse, pointing at the leather jacket she's wearing over her miniskirt. "It really matches your skirt and heels." She lets out a short, approving laugh. "Finally someone who understands fashion." Ruby seems hurt by this, but Belle ignores her since they're not friends anymore. Ruby must've called her Belle and tried to make her remember, because Belle doesn't seem very friendly to her. "Thank you, I'm El." I introduce myself as she takes a seat next to me at the table. Ruby pretends to be busy cleaning the tables, but I know she's avoiding her former friend. "I'm Lacey, although some people keep calling me Belle.  She looks at Ruby meaningful at this. We continue to chatter while it gets crowded. At nine o'clock, Emma comes walking in. She walks straight over to our table to ask  Belle how she's doing. "I'm fine. Would be better if people just left me alone though." Her behavior reminds me of Raven when she's on her period. I'm surprised no-one has slapped her in the past few days since she's Lacey. I know I would have. Emma seems to notice me as a stranger and shows immediate interest. "Emma Swan, sheriff of the town. Are you from Storybrook?" "Lived in the forest, scared of your  catfight with the mayor." Belle laughs, before walking off to some biker at the bar. I know she's going to the cafe, where she'll meet Rumple. So I don't try to stop her. "Are you alone here?" Emma takes Belle's seat at the table. Again, I tell my story. This whole mission goes surprisingly well. I've already met two of the four important people. At lunch time, she leaves me, with the promise to help me if I need anything. I thank her and walk to the store of Mr. Gold. "Is anybody home?" I'm met by a grumpy looking Rumple. "What do you want?" "I need your help." I start to explain. "I don't give help, deary. I sell things. That's why this is called a shop." I roll my eyes. The lack of sleep last night has made me easily annoyed, so I get to the point straight away. "I'm not your deary, Belle is. The help I need might be a thing here in the shop, but I need your advise on it. It might involve some of your specialty, Dark One."  I seem to have hit a nerve by mentioning Belle, who is now Lacey and doesn't know him. "Well, deary. I might help you. But all magic" "comes with a price. I know." I finish the sentence for him. He motions for me to come closer and examines my face.  "Have we met before?" "Yes, I was there when Belle became Lacey. Nice scarf you had." My unfriendly attitude might make him angry. But that might work out better for me. He's already mad because of Lacey, so I decide to push him down that path further. Solving that riddle might be a dark and though thing to do, so I will need the Dark One. "What do you want?" I smile slightly, pleased with myself that he seems interested. "I need something. But I'm not sure what exactly." "Then I can't help you, deary." I ignore his deary and continue my explanation. "I have a riddle though, that should tell me what I need. 'True love shines like a star through the darkest of nights' it says. Does that make you think of anything?" He laughs at me. To my satisfaction, it sounds like his maniac laugh from before he met Belle. "I thought it might have something to do with the potion you  made from Snow White and Charming's love. You know, from the hair on his cape?" He falls silent in shock. "How do you know?" "Are you willing to help me?"  I ignore his question now that I'm almost there. He looks at me thoughtfully for a while. "What are you willing to pay? It's not just something small and unimportant you're asking for." I inwardly cheer. The time of making deals has come. I wish I had Raven with me now. She always makes great deals with people, about anything. It always ends up in her favor. But she's safely at home, while I'm in a dark shop with an even darker person. So I take a deep breath and hold out my hands.  "I know every magic comes with a price. So name your, Rumplestiltskin."