The next day, Dream was still not speaking to her mother, and she was the only person who knew that Cora and Hook were in Storybrooke. But she thought she should keep it to herself since no one was dead.
Dream was working at the counter while Henry asked her questions about the Enchanted Forest. "So, what was it like over there?" Henry asked her when Dream took a fry from his plate. "Well, let's see... There are ogres, our grandmother, a pirate who's kind of cute..." Dream said, making Henry scrunch up his nose in disgust. "I'm just saying..." Dream shrugged when she moved to pour Marco his coffee. "Oh, and more ogres with gross, nasty breath." Dream said, but it was her turn to look disgusted.
"Awesome." Henry smiled, making Dream chuckle at him.
"We gotta work on your sense of awesome, kiddo." Dream chuckled when she had already told Henry about talking to frogs and sword fighting and her ability to use magic like their mom. The dream turned, seeing the clock. "Oh, come on, it's time for school. I'll walk you to the school bus." Dream said as Emma walked into the diner.
"That's okay. I can go on my own." Henry said, making Emma and Dream scoff at him.
"Uh, no can do, kiddo." Dream chuckled out a scoff while Henry got up, putting his backpack on. "I know that you can. That doesn't mean that you should." Emma said when she walked over to the two.
"David let me," Henry said, making Dream cross her arms over her chest.
"Well, we're not David." Dream said as Emma agreed with her. "You used to let me," Henry said, looking at Emma, who sighed. "Well, I'm not me. Dream is gonna walk you. Because that's what mothers do, they make sure that you get to school safely." Emma said as Dream took off her apron, walking over to Henry while Emma headed out with them.
Suddenly, Pongo started running towards them when Henry bent down to check on him. "Hey, Pongo." Henry smiled, petting Pongo's head. "Hey, boy... It's okay. It's okay." Dream said, petting his head, but Pongo kept barking. Emma looked up, looking for Archie, but there was no sign of him. "Where's Archie?" Emma asked when Dream looked up at Emma.
"Emma--" Dream went to say, but Ruby rushed out of the diner.
"Emma, something's wrong." Ruby sighed when she rushed in between Henry and Dream, kneeling in front of Pongo. "How do you know? Never mind... The wolf thing." Emma sighed while Dream and Henry stood up, looking at Ruby and Pongo.
"Dream... Can you take him? While I sort out..." Emma went to say when Dream nodded.
"Yeah... I can." Dream said, taking Henry and heading to the bus stop.
Pongo started to run towards the shop as Ruby and Emma followed him. They rushed up to Archie's office when Emma saw the door left open a bit. "Archie?" Emma asked, but there was no sound or response. She opened the door, rushing to Archie, who was on the floor. "What? What is it?" Ruby asked, rushing into the room with Pongo.
"Archie..." Emma asked, seeing that he was unconscious.
Ruby looked in horror while holding Pongo's leash. Emma checked his pulse, fearing the worse. No pulse. She sighed, looking up at Ruby, who looked at Emma in disbelief and horror. "No... No." Ruby sighed, feeling her heart sink into her stomach.
"Who would do this?" Emma asked, looking at Archie's lifeless body.
"I think I know..." Ruby sighed, remembering who she saw coming into Archie's office, last night. Regina.
~season 2, episode 10: "The Cricket Game"~
~600 words~