Ouat
Season 1 Episode 2
The Thing You Love Most
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Aster was not where he was supposed to be.
Regina had said to stay near the castle and technically he did. It was his magic that had gone haywire from excitement, teleporting him further into the woods. Regina had said that when she gets back she's going to introduce him to a friend, and now Aster had no idea where he was.
He sighed, walking further into the woods, stopping when he saw an empty house that looked abandoned. It would take a few months for Regina to get back from her trip, and almost all night for his power to replenish enough to teleport back to the castle.
He had healing magic, it came easy to him from his heritage that his mum brought with her before she died. It hadn't manifested until he started to live with Regina, so he never was able to heal himself after he and his dad, King Holden, "spent time together."
Any other spells took a long time to learn and drained him quite a great deal. It would be ideal to stay in the house, he would be back way before Regina would, and none of the guards would snitch on him for being out all night.
A few hours later, Aster was preparing his dinner. The sun had set over 20 minutes ago and the fire was piled high for the late fall air was freezing to the touch. A knock had sounded throughout the house, making Aster jump.
Who in their right mind would be outside in this kind of weather Aster thought, appalled that someone was outside in the middle of the forest at that. When Aster moved and opened the door, he could barely control his shock. Standing there was a man, his skin a greenish-gold hue.
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Ian's POV:
I'm sitting in Granny's, eating a chocolate muffin and drinking some hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. It was spiked, just less than an oz of vodka but I deserved it! I haven't fronted in weeks now and Katrine makes me eat all of this healthy food when I'm in the headspace. Not that healthy food's bad, I just miss eating sweets and drinking. It was October 20th, officially cocoa season, so it wasn't too strange to see a grown man drinking it, much less spiked.
From where I was sitting I could hear and see the new lady in town, Emma Swan. Peter had told us about her after Micheal told us about his encounter with her, he was embarrassed that he'd forgotten to tell us.
I don't blame him though, whenever he returns to the headspace Ben jumps all over him, in love with the attention he gives him. Anyways, I could overhear everything going on in the diner, which is why this was my favorite seat. Nothing ever happens here, but when it does I need to be the first to know.
"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer." Are the words Ruby says to Emma, drawing me out of my thoughts. Emma turned around, her eyes immediately locking on Graham. As Emma walks to Graham's table, I look around, Henry was two booths away, wearing a small cheeky grin as he sipped on his cocoa.
"Ah, so you decided to stay," Graham says, giving Emma a tiny wiry smile. "Observant. Important for a cop." Emma replies as I cringe. It was only five words she needed to turn the conversation awkward.
Unfortunately, Graham's conversational skills seem to have been set to awkward as well, "That's good news for our tourist business, bad for our local signage." I wished that right there and then the ground would open up and swallow me whole.
As Emma gave him a look, he continued to speak. "It's— it's a joke... because you ran over our sign..." I almost stood up to leave but decided to see the painful conversation through.
Even if nothing interesting happens, I can just mock them with Doxin later, I thought. "Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon in my chocolate, 'cause most people don't, but I am not here to flirt, so, thank you, but no thank you," Emma says as she sets the hot drink down on the table.
"I didn't send it," Graham replies, giving Emma a look. She then scans around the diner, her eyes resting on me. "Was it you who sent this, Peter? Cause I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not interested." She asks.
Even though I knew who she was, I decided to mess with her. "Uh, who are you?" I start shaking my head slightly, "Why would I be interested, we've never met before?" I finish, looking at Emma as if she's crazy.
The last part was technically true, she had only met Peter and Michael, but she didn't need to know that. "Are you kidding me, dude? You're seriously going to act like you don't know me." Emma exclaims, catching the attention of everyone else in the diner.
"Emma, don't—" Graham starts to whisper. "It's because he doesn't," Henry interjects from his booth. "And I sent the cocoa. I like cinnamon, too." He says, getting up and walking over to Emma.
I begin to stand up, leaving a $30 tip with Ruby before walking out of the diner. That conversation was so not worth it anymore. It couldn't get any more embarrassing for Emma, and I was almost late for work.
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Third POV:
"So, what's the deal with you and your mom?" Emma says to Henry as they walk down the street. She was taking him to school, but his interest seemed much more geared to his storybook theory.
"It's not about us," he starts, the young boy being very specific about what he tells her. The information he was telling her was the biggest factor in getting her to believe. "It's about her curse. We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: identification. I call it, 'Operation Cobra'."
Emma scoffs just a bit. "Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairytales." She says, appalled at how deeply rooted he was in his theory that he had created an operation for it.
"Exactly, it's a codename. It'll throw the Queen off the trail." Henry said he had thought about this name all morning. It needed to be perfect if this was the name they were going to operate under, and he had finally found it when thinking back on a conversation he had with Katrine. She had told him that they were the longest venomous snake in the world, and this operation would be long and grueling.
Emma grew up in the land without magic, it would take time to make her believe. He would be foolish to think that he could make her believe in just a few days.
"So, everyone here is a fairytale character, they just don't know it," Emma says. Her tone was serious, but she was having a hard time taking this kid seriously. "That's the truth. Time's been frozen... Until you decided to stay here." Henry claims.
Emma sighs, bringing her hand to her mouth to take a bite of the apple Regina gave her. "Hey! Where'd you get that?" Henry exclaims, concern washing over his body. The Evil Queen was known for her apples dosed with a sleeping potion, and Emma could have almost been poisoned by one.
"Your mom," Emma says. She didn't really see how this was such a big deal, it was just an apple. "Don't eat that!" Henry exclaims, grabbing the apple from Emma's hand and throwing it over his shoulder. He would sooner be put under a sleeping curse before his mother would eat one of The Evil Queen's cursed apples.
"Okay... Um, uh, alright. What about their pasts?" Emma asks. Even though the whole curse thing was a bit crazy, the amount of detail she had gotten from this kid was outstanding. "They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything and you'll see." Henry replies.
He would make a great Author one day if he ever drops the curse being reality She thought. "So... for decades, people have been walking around, in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious," Emma replies, this was getting a bit out of hand for what Emma could take in such a short time.
"Is that what's happening to Peter? His memories are constantly being erased each day?" Emma asked, her tone joking but her question a bit genuine. Why is it that in the two days she has been here, every time she's seen Peter he acts as if he has never met her? He even resorted to changing what his name was.
"Peter has something called DID. But that's not the point, you're getting it. That's why we need you, you're the only one who can stop her Curse." Henry felt ecstatic at that moment, his mom had understood what he was trying to say.
"Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma replied sarcastically. This is not what she thought she'd be getting when she had brought Henry back home.
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The man had smiled slightly, and it sent a shiver down Aster's spine for it did weird things to his body. He was scared, but not in the sense that the man looked terrifying, but something about him said that he could be trusted.
That was more terrifying than anything the man could ever do, simply smile and have Aster's full trust.
"How can I help you, sir?" Aster asks, the fall air brushing his skin, causing him to start shivering. "I was hoping you would let me inside, it is so cold out here." He replied, clutching a red shawl closer to his neck, desperately trying to soak up any warmth it could bring him.
Aster nodded and opened the door wider to let the man inside. The man stumbled while crossing over the door frame, grabbing Aster's arm to keep him steady. "Sorry." He murmured, trying to get inside and escape the cool air as quickly as possible.
When they were both inside, Aster began to prepare enough dinner for the both of them. "What is your name?" He asked while cutting some red onions. He was going to make Regiis, an easy dish that requires nothing more than what you could grow in your garden, and pepper paste made from very common plants.
"Rumpelstiltskin." He replied, looking at Aster's face to see his reaction to the name. Aster's eyebrows furrowed, that was one of the strangest names he had ever heard, one of the guards was named tikkolosmiile. "That's a nice name." He replied, not wanting to be rude.
Rumpelstiltskin made a face, never had anyone complimented his name. It was very weird, how a tingle ran through his body as he stared at the man who had said his name was nice.
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Katrine's POV:
I had only just switched in when the sound of the doorbell started resonating throughout the house. Goldie didn't need to ring it, he had his key plus the shop was still open.
I walked down the stairs, a slight sway to my hips. They guys always made fun of my walk in the headspace, but that was because they knew I wouldn't mind. Not everyone could walk with the grace and precision I do.
However, no amount of grace or precision could prepare me for the sight that was behind the door. It was Henry, the ten-year-old's face red with tears dripping from his eyes. He was heaving heavily as if he was struggling to manage his breathing while he cried.
I leaned down and engulfed the boy in a bear hug. At this moment, he needed comfort, not questions. I lifted him up, his legs locking around my waist as he buried his head into my neck.
I walked to the couch, sitting down before turning the tv on. Searching the guide, I found the Snow White movie. Henry loved Disney movies, Snow White the most, and with his theory, this would have been the treat. However, midway through the first scene, he started crying just a bit harder.
Frowning, I ran my hand through his hair. I hummed the tune I sang to Ben when he was upset. Gently at first, then louder as I let the words leave my mouth.
"I close my eyes and I can see
The world that's waiting up for me
That I call my own
Through the dark, through the door
Through where no one's been before
But it feels like home"
I swayed, letting our bodies move to the soft rhythm. My voice grows slightly deeper as I sing the rest of the song.
"They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say I've lost my mind
I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy
We can live in a world that we design
'Cause every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams are all it's gonna take
Oh a million dreams for the world we're gonna make
There's a house we can build
Every room inside is filled
With things from far away
The special things I compile
Each one is there to make you smile
On a rainy day
They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say we've lost our minds
I don't care, I don't care if they call us crazy
Runaway to a world that we design
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams are all it's gonna take
Oh a million dreams for the world we're gonna make"
When I've finished, Henry's cries have completely stopped. He let his head rest on my chest, breathing softly as the last of my words echoed.
Before I could question him, my phone rang. The ringtone blaring, I picked up, careful not to jostle the upset boy. "Hello," I whispered into the phone.
"Is Henry with you?" Are the first words that spill out of Emma Swan's mouth. She was anxious, her tone had a bite to it that would've made Peter flinch.
I went to answer yes, but at the shake of Henry's head, I decided not to. I knew I should've if she was so desperate to find him that she'd call the person who agitated her a great deal, but Henry didn't want her to know,
so she wouldn't know.
"No, how did you get my number?" I asked. She didn't seem to like my question, however, as her next words were filled with constrained anger, "Look, I don't have time to answer your questions so just get back to me if you see him, ok." She hung up the phone.
I sighed, looking down at the child in my lap. "What has upset you so much?" I questioned, my tone gentle. His lip quivered as he answered my question, "Emma said I was crazy." He said, "She said that I couldn't tell the difference between reality and fantasy and that I'm getting worse by the second." He was heartbroken, a deep sadness consuming his words.
"Emma doesn't know what she's talking about. You are the smartest, most imaginative boy I've ever met, Henry." I coated my words with awe, making sure I didn't let my tone waver. If I sounded like I doubted my words for even a second, he would never believe either.
"I'm the only kid you've met my age." Henry's face was covered in a confused tinged amusement. "Well, you set the bar very high for all the other kids out there. There's no kid with an imagination like yours, and that makes you very special."
"Really?" He asked, his eyes wide as he searched my face for a hint of a lie. "Really," I confirmed, leaning down to peck his forehead. He gave me a tight hug, smiling brightly as he said "Thanks, Katrine."
I looked at the clock, the time almost 5:30. "Shoot kid, we gotta go. It is almost 6:00 and Regina George will have my head if you miss therapy." I said, letting the kid slide off my lap. "If we get there before 5:55, I'll let you get three scoops of ice cream next time I watch you," I say. I knew we would get there in time, traffic being on the low side on Thursdays, but Henry needed something to keep him off the words that Emma Swan had said.
When I see that lady, I'm going to put her in her place. Nobody will ever hurt my kid.
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"My name is Aster." He said, bringing his onions and mushrooms to a pot so they could fry. "What were you doing out so late?" He asked, making sure that none of the onions or mushrooms were sticking to the pan.
"I was kidnapped," Rumpelstiltskin said rather bluntly, bringing his hands closer to the fire. "They put a magic suppressant in the food they made me eat, so I can't teleport back home."
Rumpelstiltskin sighed, scolding himself inside his head. Why the hell did I tell this stranger the truth? He shouldn't even be cooking for me, he should be cowering in fear.
"I know that feeling," Aster said, adding garlic and salt to the pot. "I got too excited over some news I received and teleported, and since I'm a healer-focused magic user, it drained me of any magical energy. Now I have to wait until tomorrow until I can teleport home."
Aster added fermented radish to the pot, along with some of the juice as well. He had found it in one of the cupboards, and it looked about 3 weeks old so it was still good to use.
For the rest of the time there, they didn't speak. Only murmuring pleasantries as the Regiis was served. Little did they know, this was the beginning of their love story.
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Third POV:
Mary Margaret Blanchard is sitting at her table, working on needlecraft, when there is a knock at the door. She sighs softly as she opens the door, only to find Emma Swan standing in the hallway.
"Hey,'' Emma says as Mary Margaret opens the door fully. "Just wanted to say thank you and, um, pay you back the bail money." She handed Mary-Margaret an envelope filled with money. There's a pause between the two, Emma looking exasperated as she sighs
"You look like you need to talk," Mary-Margaret says, leading Emma to the kitchen. She began to prepare hot chocolate, and soon enough they were sipping on it.
"Cinnamon?" Emma asks, this was the second time someone had put cinnamon in her cocoa. Mary-Margaret brought some cookies over to the table, saying, "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have asked. It's a little quirk of mine. "Do you mind?"
As Mary-Margaret offers her a cookie, she replies, "Not at all." As she rejects the cookie. "When you bailed me out, you said.. that you trusted me." At Mary-Margaret's nod she continues, "Why?"
"It's strange" Mary-Margaret starts, "Ever since you arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling like we've met before. I mean, I know it's crazy." Mary-Margaret had never experienced this in her life. She had known everyone in this town for as long as she could remember.
As long as I can remember she thought. Why don't I remember anything else?
"I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of crazy," Emma says, her face holding a bit of a solemn look. Mary Margaret gives Emma a gentle smile, "For what it's worth, I think you're innocent."
Emma looks at Mary-Margaret "Of breaking and entering, or just in general?" Mary-Margaret gives Emma a full-on grin, "Whichever makes you feel better." She retorts before they both laugh.
"Doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did or didn't do," Emma says, looking away slightly. "I'm leaving. Thank you for everything, but I think it's for the best. If I stay, Henry's only gonna keep getting hurt."
"What happens if you go?" Mary-Margaret questions. Emma stays silent, she couldn't think of an answer to give.
"I think the very fact that you want to leave is why you have to stay. You care about him. Who will protect Henry if you won't?" Emma looks at her, "He has that Peter guy, or Michael, whatever his name is. They looked close."
Mary-Margaret gives Emma a chastising look. "You don't want Peter to protect Henry. The guy has problems." Emma's face changes to a look of confusion. "Isn't he your cousin? Why do you talk about him like that?"
"I love my cousin, I really do." Mary-Margaret starts. "But he isn't reliable. He has multiple personality disorder. Nobody knows why, but he has a plethora of people in his head that take over whenever they please. He could be doing anything as one of those 'other personalities'" She talks, using air quotes, "And then wakes up and has no idea what happened. He is dangerous Emma, I don't know why the mayor lets him babysit Henry."
"Wow, uh, that explains so much. But he's never been aggressive or violent when I talk to him, and Henry seems very fond of him."
"Trust me, he is going to get violent."
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Katrine POV:
As soon as I saw Emma Swan, I went into attack mode. "Emma Swan, how lovely to meet you." I started, much like my walk, I was going to do this elegantly.
"Henry is your biological son, correct?" At her nod I continue. "Well my name is Katrine, and at exactly 5:10 this afternoon your son was at my doorstep crying to the point he was practically hyperventilating."
She opened her mouth, looking for a chance to explain herself or her actions. She would not speak until I was through though, so I raised my pointer finger to my mouth. "Shh, you don't get to speak until I'm taking comments or questions, which will be taken after I tell you everything I know."
"Now, I've gotten the general approximation of what has happened, and Henry is heartbroken by what you said. In no circumstance does a kid ever want to hear that his mother thinks he's crazy. So when we're done with this conversation, you're going to go in there and make it up to him. And if you ever hurt my kid again I will tear you to pieces, are we clear?"
Emma's face was steel, but her eyes had an underlying fear that was prominent. "Yes." She said, her tone wavering the slightest bit. "Any comments and questions will be taken now, otherwise you'll be heading inside to apologize."
"Do you care about him?" She asks, and I wanted to smack her upside the head. "Do you think I would be here if I didn't care about him, Miss Swan? We all care about Henry. That kid is as close to being my kid as he could possibly get. If you're done with the stupid questions, I think its in you're best interest to be heading inside."
And with that I walked away, in desperate need of a massage.
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Katrine's POV:
I speed walked into the house, desperate to get inside. "Goldie!" I called up the stairs. "That Emma Swan girl gave me fucking muscle spasms!"
When I got to the bedroom, I saw Richard getting the massage oil out the closet. "Well, it seems like you need a massage, and you can tell me all about Emma Swan and her problems." He said, his accent dripping all over Emma's name.
"Thank you." I said leaning over and giving Kim a kiss dangerously close to his lips. Me and Goldie weren't dating, but I loved to see how riled up he got when I teased him.
I took my shirt off, climbing on the bed as Richard oiled his hands. A few moments later he joined me, straddling my hips. He rubbed the oil all over my back, and I took that as my cue to start.
"That Emma Swan lady called Henry crazy for his theory. She said he can't tell fantasy from reality, and that he was getting worse every second. And then when I confronted her, she had the nerve to ask if I cared about him."
Richard hummed, working his hands into my back. I let out a small moan of pleasure as he rubbed the tension out of me. I was calmer the longer he worked, but I carried on ranting.
"We were the one who changed his diaper because Regina was busy. We were the ones who fed him, bathed him, clothed him, talked to him about his fear of the dark. Ian was the one who convinced Regina to send him to Archie because that boy was struggling in a way we couldn't help. Michael was the one who taught Henry to tie his shoes, and Peter was the one who talked him out of his fear of going to school. I was the one who showed him that being himself was perfectly ok. That was all us! She was traveling all over the U.S., chasing people for money. And she dares to question our love and care for the boy!"
My voice was raw, trembling with anger and tears. I had been shouting, my voice breaking into small sobs by the time I was done. We had practically raised Henry, and in the two days Emma Swan comes into town, she breaks Henry's heart and questions my love and care for him.
Richard stokes my back with one hand, wiping my face with the hand he had cleaned with a towel. "Shh, dearie. Emma Swan knows nothing about you. You're right, she hasn't done anything you guys have done for Henry. She signed her rights away when she filed for a closed adoption, sweetheart. She has nothing on you."
"We raised him."
"Yeah, you did. And you raised him to be the best boy in town."