In Storybrooke, Mr. Gold strives to be the man Bae used to love--until Belle is kidnapped to Neverland. If he resumes his Dark One powers to save her, can he control them? In the Enchanted Forest, Emma battles ogres, zombies and her ex to get back h...
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Mother Superior (Reul Gorm): Something's wrong. I sense a great deal of dark magic has been expelled. (The Queen in Dead)
Snow gave Emma her best fourth-grade-teacher-announcing-quiet-time smile. "You spent most of tonight fighting zombies and flying halfway across the Enchanted Forest. I spent it napping."
That isn't strictly true, Snow admitted to herself. In the cave, she'd been pacing, worrying how Emma and Peter Pan were faring in the world above. In flight, she'd kept her face and voice cheerful—the better to encourage happy thoughts—while in reality she'd been scared spitless the entire way.
Snow patted her daughter's shoulder. Sometimes the most loving thing a mother could do was lie.
Emma ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair. "Yeah, well, Neal did all that, too."
Peter draped his arm across her daughter's back. "But I'm the one that knows the castle. Snow and I will make sure all the doors are secure then check out the kitchen. We need to see if the spells that kept the food fresh are still working—that is, if eggs and bacon for breakfast sounds good to you."
"Like a fairy tale come true." Emma leaned her cheek against his shoulder.
Peter flicked a glance at Tinker Bell, and the fairy zigzagged closer to Emma's head. Whatever Tink was doing, Snow could see it make her daughter's eyelids droop.
"Just promise you'll sleep till brunsh-sh-sh-sh..." Emma's words slurred.
Gently, Peter lowered her to the thick, Turkish-style carpet. He removed his felt coat, folded it, and settled it beneath Emma's head. Then he slipped off her scabbard, laid her sword close to her hand, loosened her red leather jacket's many zippers, and removed her boots. "She likes to sleep on her side."
Snow sighed. I should know that. I missed so much sending my baby away ahead of the curse.
Emma yawned. "Wish we knew who built... bet it was gorgesh-sh-sh... all this... white marble..." Then she was asleep—just like the thirteen lost boys, Aurora, Mulan, and Inigo spread out on the floor around her.
Snow gazed at her fondly then turned to Peter. He nodded, and they exited the great hall together. Besides checking doors and supplies, they needed to make sure no evidence was lying about that the wizard who had built the castle was Mr. Gold.
* * * * *
Climbing the brook's bank beside Belle, Mr. Gold felt he was moving through a dream. Despite the freezing water soaking his trousers and seeping up his jacket, the comfort of her arm around his shoulders suffused him with enchanted warmth. Her true love magic was so powerful that his absolute certainty of his unworthiness didn't wrack him with shame. Instead, it rallied his wavering soul to devotion and duty. No more apologies and promises,. Time for the beast to be a man.
Mr. Gold positioned his cane behind a granite outcropping. "Sweetheart, this next bit is tricky." They laced their arms more tightly around each other. Then he leaned forward on his good foot, and together they hauled themselves atop the rock. They continued up a sticky slope of muck and rain-slick grass. Poking his cane into the ground, he navigated the firmest path.
