Closing the shop door behind me I pushed my hair out of my eyes heading to the painting with the safe. The last time I was cracking open this was a lot harder. Waving my hand the lock clicked and the door opened when I swung the painting away from the wall. Slowly taking the dagger out I gently gripped the blade in my hand. "Am I losing my mind for real this time. Because there's no way I am hearing voices."
"Wouldn't be so sure of that, dearie." Someone spoke.
Swinging the blade around I frantically looked around the shop. Rumple wasn't here yet and so it was just me..or so I think. "Who's there. Show yourself!"
“You know who I am, dearie. You married the human version of me after all.” Stumbling against the counter I almost dropped the dagger on the floor hearing the voice once more.
Covering my ears with my hands I hated not knowing what was going on. Maybe it was the stress of carrying the baby or the threat of the one we were calling the Snow Queen. “Stop it. Stop it you’re gonna start going crazy..I wasn’t during the first curse so I refuse now!”
“Astrid, who are you yelling at?” Spinning around on my feet I pressed the dagger against the person standing behind me until I blinked recognizing Rumple’s familiar brown eyes.
“Rumple…” I gasped dropping the dagger so it clanged onto the wooden floor and at our feet. Taking a few steps away from him I gulped feeling guilty that I had nearly stabbed him with his own blade.
He slowly extended his hands forward gently grabbing my shoulders so I’d look him in the eye finally. “Lass, it’s alright. What were you doing with the dagger. Who..who were you talking with?”
“I’m going crazy, Rumple.” I shutter under my breath turning my hands into fists at my sides trying to get my breathing to return to normal. “I…I'm hearing voices - uh whispering of some kind. I don't know why but I must be going crazy right…because there's no way that thing is calling to me!"
Pointing my index finger at the dagger on the floor in between our feet. I knew something was up, I just had no clue what it could be. "Sweetheart don't worry. We will figure this out together. I promise. Now your sister is asking that we all meet at the station." He put the dagger back in the safe before we headed to the police station.
My sister had set up a small tv that was playing a video that my sister had apparently taken when we were in foster care but she didn’t remember it. “Give it back, Kevin. The camera is Emma's, not yours.”
Our mother trailed off in utter shock. “Emma, that's you. You must be…”
My sister replied. “13, maybe 14.”
“Where were you, Astrid?” Mom asks, turning to face me.
Playing with the fabric of my shirt I avoid her gaze and my sister’s. I wish that we didn’t have to be dealing with the woman who made us basically split up. “Um…Emma and I were separated. I ran away for a little while.”
Silence fell over the room until Regina broke it. “Are you missing the part where she's with the Snow Queen? Emma, you knew her before you came to Storybrooke?”
“Apparently my run-in with her in town wasn't the only memory she erased. All this time in this foster home, or whatever that place was... It's gone.” She fought back.
Shoving my hands in the pockets of my jacket I throw my head back entering the conversation now. “I just don't understand how she even ended up in this world. I mean I thought the only way to travel to a land without magic was a curse or magic bean.”
“We were hoping Gold could tell us that. You spent more time trying to get here than anyone. How the hell did she do it?” My sister nodded looking to my husband standing beside me.
He shrugged his shoulders with his hands intertwined together. “Considering the time I spent on the same task, I'd love to know.”
“Well, we know she's hiding somewhere in the north woods. We combed every inch of her shop. We tore apart her house. She must have cleared everything out days before.” Our father explained knowing we needed to find out where she was hiding and what she had planned for our town.
The pirate pointed out leaning against the desk. “Which means she must be hiding something.”
Henry raised his hand bringing up her ice business. “What about her ice-cream truck?”
“Whoa, Snow Queen has an ice-cream truck?” My sister asked.
He shrugged his shoulders simply. “I'm a kid. I notice these kind of things.”
“Then we split up into groups. We search the town, the woods. Hook, Regina, Emma, you take the west. Gold, you're with me for the east.” Dad explained to the group focusing on me and Rumple.
Rumple shrugged his shoulders in a stern tone. “I think we all know I work best alone. Well, no time to argue that. Let’s go, Astrid.” We exited the station preparing to help the others.
Entering the shop again I went into the back rummaging around until I found a winter coat inside one of the cabinets and some boots. Shrugging on the coat it was light brown with tan fur inside the sleeves and on the hood. The boots were just short brown ones. Pushing the curtain back Rumple glanced over his shoulder, seeing me clipping my sword onto my hip the best I could since my stomach was starting to grow. “Where are you headed, Astrid?”
“The north woods of town. My guess is it’s where the supposed Snow Queen should be.” I responded heading towards the front door until he stepped around the counter.
He raised a brow trying to figure out why I was going to face someone like her. I was stubborn and he knew I wouldn’t back down. He learned that when we faced Hook. “Astrid, are we not going to talk about why you were screaming with the dagger?”
“That doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is stopping the Snow Queen from doing whatever she had planned for the town.” I ignored his question grabbing the door handle.
“She defeated both your sister and Regina. She is far more dangerous than you realize.” He warned me gently, grabbing my other wrist before I could move to leave the shop.
Dropping my hand from the door handle I waved it creating the dagger from its place inside the locked safe holding it tightly in my grasp. “I know. That's why I was... I was hoping you'd come with me.”
“That's out of the question. I won't let you anywhere near her. She could kill you or in danger our unborn child.”
Rumple fired back where I suckled in a sharp breath. “I don’t want to do this, Rumple. But either you walk out the door with me willingly or I resort to plan B.”
“Astrid…” He trailed off locking eyes with me seeing that I wasn’t backing down.
Shifting my gaze up I slowly raised the dagger up as one last warning to him. I really hated the idea but he was way more powerful than that queen and I needed backup. “Rumple, please for me.”
“You’re lucky that I love you, golden princess.” He waved his hand engulfing us in red smoke until we were standing outside a winter cave. Clutching the dagger for some strength I have no clue what we were going to face there. I just hoped it wasn’t another flying monkey.
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