.
.
.
Using a tour guide booklet she found at the diner, Cass was able to find her way back to the quaint pawnshop. After taking a closer look at the antiques in the window display, she was hesitant to go inside but decided to trust her instincts. Besides, Peter was never daisies and roses, so she shouldn't expect his clue to be either.
Cass was almost immediately greeted by a young man in his late twenties, he introduced himself to her as 'Gideon'. He had little bit of an accent, which she caught on was not unusual in Storybrooke. And just like almost everyone else in the small town, he had a warm, welcoming smile. A guy like him surely didn't belong in such a store.
Coming up with quickest lie she could think of, she asked him if he had any used camera equipment for sale. Taking a swift look around the shop, Cass figured something so modern would be hard to find.
"Let me see if we have anything in the back," Gideon replied as he gestured toward the storage room.
Cass nodded in gratitude and shifted her attention back to the other trinkets on the many worn shelves. There were plenty of glass viles scattered about, aged clothes hung in one corner, a set of two wooden puppets sat on another shelf. It was a rather peculiar inventory, she wondered how often the store made any business. However, one thing in particular finally caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a wooden pipe.
It looked so much like it, but it couldn't be, there was no possible way. Cass carefully picked up the pipe from the shelf and ran her fingertips along the far too familiar dark wood. Then she flipped it over to satisfy her curiosity. Her knees had suddenly gone weak as she put a hand over her mouth to hold in her gasp.
It was hardly noticeable, but there, right on the edge, was the smallest engraving:
❦PP x CA❦
"Beautiful, isn't it." Cass turned to see Gideon setting down a box on the counter.
"Sorry, I was just admiring its craftsmanship," she scrambled to gently place the pipe back on the shelf, "It's quite exquisite. Where did you get it from?"
He leaned over the counter and shook his head, "I'm afraid it was one of my father's great finds before he passed."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Cass sympathized as she shuffled through the box, "I also lost family some time ago." She took out a camera strap and a few lens filters, "How much for these?"
Gideon shook his head, "Consider them yours."
"Really? Are you sure?"
He nodded, "I'm supposed to get a shipment of new inventory some time next week, and I need to make more room in the back."
Cass smiled in gratitude and headed out the shop. As she stepped out the door, she took one last glance back at the pipe.
Peter's pipe.
Since there was road construction going on, there weren't any cars on the particular street she was heading to. Cass wondered down the sidewalk to her destination, which was not too far ahead. She stepped onto the middle of the road and brought the camera up to her face, capturing a couple photos of the Storybrooke clock tower. Surprisingly, it didn't look much different than the old postcard.
Cass reached into her back pocket and unfolded the crumpled piece of paper. She turned it over and traced her thumb over the faded, black ink.
Come find me, Cassia
~P.P
When she first received the postcard so many years ago, she thought it was some sick joke. There was no possible known way Peter could enter this realm. Besides, his time should've been up by then. But after all this time, Cass still kept it with her, along with the smallest sliver hope that it was somehow, someway from him. So she waited for a sign. A sign that could possibly prove her wrong that Peter did find a way to the Land Without Magic and was waiting for her to find him again.
A couple weeks ago, Cass was driving back home to Toronto in a thunderstorm. After getting lost, she found an old gas station to ask for directions. But instead of directions, she got her sign.
The sign being a news report, on a small television in a 7-Eleven in the middle of Montreal, of a massively odd earthquake in Storybrooke, Maine.
She shut her eyes and brought the postcard up to her lips.
I'm coming, Peter.
.
.
.
A blinding light filled her vision. Cassia blinked multiple times, trying to recognize her surroundings. She made out a few tall bookcases and portraits of familiar faces. The walls smelled of ink and old parchment paper. It triggered a series of unpleasant memories. The most recent being a fight with her father when she told him she no longer wanted to go forward with the marriage.
Now here she was, back in his study. After she left. Cassia hoped she would never find herself back here because it would only mean one thing: she failed.
"This is absurd!"
Her uncomfortable reminiscence was sharply interrupted and she jumped at her younger sister's voice. Turning in her direction, her father was sitting in his large chair with his head in his hands as he rubbed his temples. Her mother stood right next to him with a supportive hand on his shoulder. It was the perfect portrait of her parents' relationship. Her sister, Dahlia, on the other hand, glared at their father from the other side of the desk. Dahlia's hands were tightly clenched at her sides, and her eyes were fueled with fire.
"It's not my fault that Cassia decided to be selfish and run away!" she shouted.
Selfish?
"Dahlia, please understand, we need this alliance with Corona-" the Queen tried to calm her down.
"And that was Cassia's responsibility, not mine!" she defended, "I shouldn't have to pay for her mistake!"
Cassia had never seen Dahlia so angry. She was the carefree spirit of the family. She had always envied her lack of duties and responsibilities; she had more free will than she could ever imagine.
The King slammed his fist on the desk to silence her, "You will marry the prince of Corona and that is final!"
He yelled the very same words he did at her that day. Her heart sank to her stomach. Cassia watched Dahlia's bottom lip tremble as she slowly backed away from their parents and ran out of the study. History was repeating itself but this time, her sister was the undeserving victim. She tried calling after her, but she couldn't hear her.
She looked back at the stress painted on her parents' faces. It was her selfish actions that caused this. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." They couldn't hear her either. Nobody could.
Her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't make the same mistake of hopelessly wasting her time with her parents. Their minds were set like the day they first signed her future away so many years ago. Instead, Cassia gathered up the courage to follow after Dahlia into her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and slid down to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Cassia was again ridden with another painfully familiar feeling.
A single tear fell down her cheek. Dahlia was only fifteen, merely three years younger than her. She should be crying over dresses and party invitations, not an arranged marriage. Part of her had a feeling this would happen but she just naively hoped her parents would drop the wedding. She scolded herself for not knowing better because now her sister had to bare the consequences of her actions.
Cassia crouched down in front of her and tried to take hold of her shaking hands, "Dahlia, I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."
"You ruined my life," she snapped, taking her aback; she didn't she would be able to hear her. "You were always the one reminding me of who I am and my responsibilities and to think of the kingdom. You are such a hypocrite! How could you be so selfish!"
"Please listen to me, Dahlia," Cassia begged as her tears threatened to spill over her cheeks, "This is all my fault, you deserve to live a life you want you, not the one I forced upon you. If only there was a way-"
"You made your choice, Cass!" Dahlia stood up from the floor and glared at her with daggers in her eyes, "You were always getting trapped in your own little fantasies. Then, suddenly, you finally decide to take destiny into your own hands, forgetting about everything you ever taught me! I bet you never even thought about how maybe I also wanted to escape all of this! Now thanks to you, I'm trapped in an even smaller prison. Why couldn't you just accept your fate and grow up!"
Her last words ripped Cassia out of her nightmare and she woke to the dark, still cave. Her blood pounded in her ears as she shot up from her position. Cassia's shoulders shook with every eneven breath she took. She could feel beads of sweat form on her forehead as her heart beat rapidly inside her chest.
She could see Theo placing his hands on her shoulders, but she couldn't make out any of the words coming out of his mouth. All she could hear was her sister's voice repeating over and over again, getting louder and louder, faster and faster.
Selfish.
Mistake.
Hypocrite.
Grow up.
SelfishMistakeHypocriteGrowUp
SELFISHMISTAKEHYPORCRITEGROWUP
Cassia screamed and cupped her ears with her trembling hands as hot tears uncontrollably rushed down her face. Theo wrapped his arms around her fragile body and gently ran his fingers through his hair. He whispered words in her ear but she could only feel his breath.
She didn't know how long they were in that position before she exhausted herself to sleep, but she didn't want him to let go.