💛 Edited--05.07.2020 💛
So long story short, Kathryn is alive! Yes, the same Kathryn that Mary Margaret supposedly murdered. Now isn't that a little bit suspicious, Regina? The thing I don't understand is the whole situation with the heart. How in Gods name did they screw that up?
The next day, I was up and out of the house by 11am. I had told Henry and August about the visions I had had yesterday. Obviously they were excited about that and had decided that we needed to move on forward with our plan.
I was on my way to Mr Gold's Pawn Shop to cause a distraction. Apparently, there was something in the back of the store that would help us. So I was distracting Gold, Henry was keeping watch at the back door and August was looking round on the inside.
I walked into Gold's to get Mary Margaret a 'Welcome Home' present. Seeing as there was now no dead Kathryn, there was no case against Mary Margaret. Thank God! As usual, the bell rang and announced my presence to Gold, who was currently no where to be seen.
I walked over to the counter and was about to ring the bell when I heard footsteps coming out from the back of the shop.
"There's no need for that this time," Mr Gold smiled.
"Good morning, Mr Gold," I replied, offering a smile.
"Good morning, dearie. What can I do for you, Tasha?" Gold asked, walking round the counter.
"A couple things. Firstly, I need a gift for Mary Margaret and I'm picking up something from Henry as well. Then I was wondering if you had looked into the necklace anymore," I told him.
"Well, about the necklace. I have tried to find information on it but I haven't found anything. As for the gifts for Mary Margaret, what were you thinking?" Gold informed me.
"Henry said he wanted to get her a bell? And I was thinking maybe either jewellery or some sort of decoration," I said.
"I have many of each of those. Here, let me show you," Gold then proceeded to show me around and point out any of the three things I was looking for.
I must have kept him distracted for at least five minutes, trying to come up with different conversations as well as actually doing the shopping. I found some cute bells for Henry to give to Mary Margaret and I found a cute little necklace.
Gold and I moved over to the counter so I could pay. I was about to ask how much it was going to be but then my phone rang.
"Do you mind?" I asked, holding up my phone.
"Of course not," Gold said.
I picked up my phone and was in no way surprised to hear the voice of a certain blonde.
"Tasha, I have just been to see Kathryn and she can't remember anything apart from the car accident and then being trapped in some basement," Emma said quickly.
"Good morning to you too, Emma," I replied sarcastically.
"I'm serious. Kathryn was being drugged and then she said she woke up in a field. Apparently she heard no voice, smelt no perfume or saw anything," Emma sighed.
"Ok. So what have we learnt from all of this? Apart from the fact that there is a sick bastard who takes pleasure in keeping people locked in the basement. I have seen a lot of horror films and this is how they usually start," I informed Emma, as I began pacing around Gold's shop.
"Regina's behind this. I just know it. When did this get so confusing? It started off with a missing person, then a murder, then a cover-up and now it's a kidnapping," Emma complained.
"That's Storybrooke for you, there is literally always something interesting going on. This place is like no other place in the whole world," I joked.
"What with the story book characters, evil mayor, and the frequent need for an investigation," Emma added. "Are you coming to Mary Margaret's welcome home party today?"
"Of course I am. I am actually just getting her a little something. Have you seen the card that Henry and his class made?" I asked.
"No? What is it?" Emma asked.
"You'll have to wait, but it is hilarious," I laughed.
"Did you say you're getting her something now?" Emma asked.
"Yup," I replied.
"So you're with Gold?" Emma questioned.
"Where else was I going to get her something?" I countered.
"I could name a hundred other places, but do you mind asking him if he wants to come? He'll probably say no but it's worth a try," Emma said.
"Will do. I'll see you later," I replied.
"Ok, bye," Emma said before hanging up.
I turned back round and saw Gold still standing there patiently.
"I am so sorry about that," I apologised.
"Not to worry, dearie," Gold smiled.
"How much was this?" I asked.
"$18.60," Gold told me.
I handed him over $20 and waited for the change.
"Are you busy later?" I asked him.
"Not that I can think of. Why?" He asked curious.
"We're having a welcome home party for Mary Margaret and I was wondering if you wanted to make an appearance," I smiled.
"I will try and 'make an appearance', but I can make no promises," Gold said.
"That's fine. I guess I'll see you later," I said.
"I guess so. Goodbye," Gold said, handing me my items.
"See you, Gold," I replied. I went to turn to leave but then I thought of something. "Gold?"
"Yes, dearie," Gold said.
"Do you have any children?" I asked.
I noticed that the colour from Gold's face faded slightly.
"I--I do. But I haven't spoken to them in a while. Why is it you ask?" Gold questioned.
"No reason. I was just wondering. How may do you have?" I said.
"I had a girl and a boy. They were twins," Gold told me.
A girl and a boy. Just like Rumplestiltskin!
"What happened to them?" I asked
"I lost my son due to a broken deal that I made," Gold explained.
"And your daughter?" I encouraged.
"She was taken from me by an old enemy," Gold said.
"I'm sorry. That must have been hard," I said sympathetically.
"It is," Gold agreed.
"I'm sorry for intruding, I'll leave now," I apologised, and ran out before Gold could say anything.
When I had run away from the shop, I leant against a wall and gripped onto my necklace. Could this all be true? If ever I needed a vision, it would be now.
Unfortunately, I didn't have one. Instead I remembered that I had a party to get ready for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the party, there was already a whole bunch of people there when I arrived. They were all mingling and laughing. I noticed that Emma was already serving some sort of punch and Mary Margaret was handing it to some people.
I went straight over to Mary Margaret and Emma and gave them each a hug.
"Want some?" Emma asked, holding up the glass.
"Go on then," I smiled.
"So... what did Gold say?" Emma asked.
"He said he would try and make an appearance," I told Emma, taking the drink from her. "Oh, also Mary Margaret. Welcome home," I said, handing her her present.
"Aww, thank you. You didn't have to," Mary Margaret smiled.
"I know," I shrugged. I then saw Henry and August sitting down and talking. "I'll be back in a minute."
I went over to Henry and August and handed Henry the bag with the bells.
"Thanks, Tasha," Henry smiled.
"No problem, kid. Did you get what you needed?" I asked August.
"Nope. But I have a feeling it's going to find me," August smirked.
"How bad was it?" Henry asked.
"Getting caught in his office? Not bad. I played it off," August shrugged.
"You got caught? I thought I gave you enough time," I muttered.
"You did. I was trying to leave when I got caught," August said.
"Anyway, why we talking about Gold?" I asked.
Henry nodded over behind me and I saw Gold limping round the emptier part of the apartment.
"I'm gonna go and see if he wants a drink," I said, getting up.
I got two drinks off of the tray and went to go and see Gold.
"You came," I smiled.
"I thought that I had better make an appearance seeing as I was her lawyer through this all," Gold shrugged.
"Fair enough. Drink?" I asked, holding up the glass.
"What is it?" He asked.
"No idea," I replied.
"Go on then," He said, taking the drink.
"Bye, Tasha!" Henry called.
"Oh, you going?" I asked.
"It's probably best. I don't even want to think about what Regina would say if she knew Henry was at a Welcome Home party for Mary Margaret," Emma explained.
"Good point," I said. "See you later, kid."
"Bye," Henry smiled.
"He's a great kid, isn't he?" Gold asked, standing next to me.
"Yeah, he is," I smiled.
That smile soon fell when I saw David at the door, as Emma opened it to leave with Henry. I looked over at Mary Margaret and mouthed 'David'.
"What?" She mouthed back. She then shook her head.
"Just give me a minute," I said to Gold, who nodded in understanding. I crept round to Emma so David couldn't see me. "Don't let him in."
"You got it," Emma whispered back.
I gave her a small smile then went back over to Gold.
"Sorry about that. Boy troubles," I smiled, knowing he wouldn't question it.
"Sounds fun," Gold said sarcastically.
"Oh, trust me. It is anything but fun," I laughed.
"Hey, Henry. Why don't you go with David?" Emma said, causing David to look over at me for help.
"Sorry," I mouthed.
He nodded to Emma and then left with Henry.
"Hard to let them go, isn't it?" Gold asked Emma. "Your son."
"Yeah. Pretty much the hardest thing," Emma agreed. "Speaking of something we weren't talking about, was it you?"
"Was what me?" Gold asked.
"Did you make Kathryn suddenly materialise?" Emma asked, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "Cause it sure played that way to me. Was that the magic you were going to work? Because if you kidnapped that poor innocent woman just to let her go--"
"Are you proposing I'm working with Regina or against her?" Gold countered.
"I don't know. Maybe diagonally," Emma figured. How do you work diagonally? Oh, does she mean he has been double-crossing us?
"Well, you keep working on that one. My question's about something else. What do you know about him?" Gold gestured to August.
"I'll let Tash answer this, she probably knows more," Emma said.
"Goes by the name of August. W Booth. Has a crush on Emma, in my opinion. He's a writer and apparently came to Storybrooke to find inspiration for his writing. He agrees with Henry about his story book theory and is currently helping him solve it," I explained.
"He does not have a crush on me, we've been through this," Emma sighed.
"Ok, ignore that part, but the rest is right," I said.
"Why'd you want to know?" Emma asked.
"He was poking around my shop today. August Wayne Booth--clearly a false name. There's one thing I know about. It's names," Gold said, staring over at August.
"Writers go by pseudonyms. What does it matter?" I asked.
"You two trust him?" Gold countered.
"I guess so," I replied.
"Yeah," Emma said confidently. "A lot more than I trust you."
Emma then left and went to speak to the others. August glanced over at us and we made eye contact. Just like that, I was sucked into another vision.
I was back in the little village like before. This time, it all seemed much happier than it was the last time I was here. Running round outside was Amie and Baelfire. They were playing football with some sort of leather ball. Let's just say it looked extremely different to what I have seen before.
They were kicking the ball around when Amie accidently kicked it in front of a donkey and a man. Baelfire quickly ran out to get it but got trampled on in the process.
"Hey! Hey!" The donkey owner yelled.
"Bae!" Amie called out, and ran over to help her brother up.
"What are you doing in the middle of the road, boy?" The man asked.
"I'm sorry. It was my fault. I accidently kicked the ball into the road. Bae was just trying to get it," Amie apologised. She had an arm wrapped round Bae's waist to support him, while he had one over her shoulders.
"Hey, I know you two. It's fine. It's fine. It was the donkey's fault. You want a chicken or some eggs?" The man apologised. Why was he apologising, it wasn't his fault?
"It's alright. No. We should probably just--" Bae began to say.
"What's going on?" Rumplestiltskin asked, coming out from the house.
Everyone who was watching either stepped back or looked away. I looked over at the man who had almost run over Bae and he looked absolutely petrified. This can't have been that long after my last vision. Amie and Bae quickly untangled themselves so that he was standing on his own two feet. Why?
"It's nothing. It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. But he says he's fine," The man apologised again.
"I'm fine, Papa. Really," Bae said.
"Are you sure, Bae?" Rumplestiltskin asked.
"Yes. I'm fine," Bae assured him.
"Amie, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin questioned. "Are you alright?"
"Of course I'm alright," She smiled.
"Well, I suppose it won't happen again," Rumplestiltskin figured.
"It won't," Bae said.
"Never again," Amie agreed.
"No. No," The man said.
Rumplestiltskin raised his finger to silence the man before pointing down at Bae's leg. I hadn't noticed but he had actually been hurt. Even I could see that this wasn't going to end well.
"What's that?" Rumplestiltskin asked the man.
"Papa..." Amie warned.
"It's nothing," Bae said.
"It's nothing!" The man agreed nervously.
"Da-Da-Da-Da-Da. Don't... bother," Rumpelstiltskin said before using magic and shrinking the man down into a snail. Wait, what? A snail! What the actual hell!
"No, Papa. No," Bae begged.
"Papa, stop it. You've done enough damage already," Amie said frantically.
Rumplestiltskin looked back at his children for a moment, before continuing to walk towards the snail.
"Please, Papa don't," Bae continued to beg.
"No, Papa! Papa!" Amie yelled, as Rumplestiltskin squashed the snail.
All around them villagers gasped and backed away. Rumplestiltskin looked around at them all and pulled his children closer to him before leading them into the house.
As Amie and Bae entered the house, I saw that there was a woman in there. That's not their mother.
"Thank you, Onora. You can fetch our supper now, dearie," Rumplestiltskin said to the woman. Oh, she must be like their maid or something.
Onora left the house and my attention turned back to Bae and Amie. Amie was looking through some cupboards and Bae was standing with his foot on the chair, looking at his leg that had been pretty badly cut.
"You killed that man," Bae stated, as Rumplestiltskin approached him.
"Well, you were hurt. Speaking of which..." Rumplestiltskin said. He was about to heal Bae's leg with his magic when Bae stopped him.
"No," He said firmly. "I don't want magic. It's just a scrape."
"This will heal it," Rumplestiltskin argued, his hand glowing again.
"As will this," Amie said, bringing over a small box.
She opened it and brought out some bandages and alcohol to put on the wound. Bae sat down and Amie knelt down beside him so she could cover up his leg.
"You're different now. You see it, don't you?" Bae asked Rumplestiltskin. "You hurt people all the time."
"I created a truce in the Ogres War, Bae. I walked into the field of battle, and I made it stop. I led the children home. Surely a man who's saved a thousand lives--" Rumplestiltskin began.
"Is done," Amie interrupted. She paused for a moment to pour the alcohol onto the bandage. "A man who's saved a thousand lives can be done with it. You can stop doing things. Bae, this might hurt," She warned him, as she put the bandage on his leg. He hissed slightly in pain.
"I can't. I need more power so I can protect the two of you," Rumplestiltskin disagreed.
"We wouldn't need protecting if you didn't have power," Bae said.
"Well, I can't get rid of it," Rumplestiltskin defended.
"Have you tried?" Amie asked.
"Tried?" Rumplestiltskin repeated. He then pulled out this funny looking dagger and placed it on the table. "If someone kills me with this, then they gain the power. Now you know that, Amie, Bae. Is that what you want?"
"Oh, don't be so ridiculous. Of course that's not what we want. We just think that there might be other ways to get rid of the power. Have you looked for--" Amie said, but stopped when she saw Rumplestiltskin's attention taken by Onora, who had returned with their food.
Rumplestiltskin put the dagger back into his cloak and faced his children again.
"Well, you two look for other ways. But don't get your hopes up," Rumplestiltskin said harshly. He then signalled for Onora to leave them. Rumplestiltskin began putting spoons of some sort of stew into three bowls.
"Papa... if we find a way for you to get rid of the power... a way that doesn't kill you or hurt me or Amie... would you do it?" Bae asked.
"It's not possible," Rumplestiltskin told them.
"But that wasn't the question. If it was, would you do it? Don't you miss how it used to be?" Amie asked.
"Are you really that unhappy, Amie?" Rumplestiltskin asked her seriously. She looked down at her bowl and began moving the food around. "I can conjure anything you desire. You can have jewels, clothes, a horse, anything. Name it. What do you want?"
"I want my Father back," She whispered, looking up at Rumplestiltskin.
"All I want is yours and Bae's happiness. If you find a way, I'll do it," Rumplestiltskin said to them.
Amie and Bae looked at each other and smiled. Rumplestiltskin then began to eat his food.
"Good," Amie said, holding out her hand. Bae also held out his opposite hand. Rumplestiltskin looked up at her for a moment, before taking each hand and shaking it. "The deal is struck."
"The deal is struck," Rumplestiltskin repeated.
Amie and Bae went back to their food and I noticed their Father watching them both.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It must have been the next day or something as Rumplestiltskin was walking through the woods with Amie and Bae. In the background I could hear children laughing and the sound of wood hitting wood.
"Hey, why don't you join in, Bae, Amie?" Rumplestiltskin suggested, pointing to the laying children. "I have some business nearby that would bore you both."
"Alright," Bae agreed.
That answer was clearly good enough for Rumplestiltskin as he left the two children to play.
He grabbed onto Amie's hand and together they walked over to the playing children. It would have been a cute moment if only as they approached the other children, they hadn't run away.
Amie picked up one of the wooden sticks that they had dropped and chucked it to Baelfire.
"Wanna play?" She asked.
Bae shook his head and sat down by a tree. Amie sighed but went to practise anyway. She picked up another stick and began hitting it against a tree, as though it were an enemy she had sworn to destroy. It was quite funny actually, watching her hit wood with wood. I looked over at Bae to see that another girl had sat beside him. Where did I recognise her from? Amie too must have noticed as she dropped the stick and ran back over to Bae and the girl.
"Careful, Moraine. You don't want to be seen with us. We're extremely dangerous," Amie joked, as she sat beside Bae.
"They're just scared of your Papa. But I'm not. You won't let him hurt me. I don't think he's so bad anyway. I saw him on the battlefield, when he stopped the fighting. It was like a miracle," Moraine smiled.
"Now he's getting worse everyday. But he said he'll change back if we find a way. We just don't know where to look," Bae muttered.
They sat in silence, all of them trying to figure out where to go until Amie broke the silence.
"I like your dress, Moraine. It's really pretty," Amie sighed, looking at her dress.
"Thank you, Amie. You should try and make one like it, then we can be even more like sisters," Moraine smiled.
"Maybe," Amie said.
They returned to silence, but it was Moraine who broke it this time.
"Reul Ghorm," Moraine remembered.
"What?" Bae asked.
"I heard about it when I was in the trenches. The other soldiers spoke about it. Reul Ghorm is an ancient being that rules the night, the original power," Moraine explained.
"Bigger than Papa, worse than Papa?" Bae asked.
"Bigger than anything," Moraine smiled.
Just then a twig snapped and it didn't sound too far away.
"He's coming back. Good luck to you," Moraine said before leaving.
"Ok, tonight I will go out and speak to this Reul Ghorm and you can distract Papa," Bae said quickly.
"How?" Amie asked.
"Ask if he can get you some sort of sewing thing then say you want to make him clothes or something," Bae whispered.
"Okay," Amie replied.
Bae helped Amie up off the ground and they walked round to where Rumplestiltskin was waiting.
"Your friend didn't want to say hello?" Rumplestiltskin asked.
"You frighten them," Amie said bluntly.
"What is there to be frightened of?" Rumplestiltskin asked. "They'll get over that in time."
"You have stains on your boots," Bae pointed out.
I looked down and saw that Rumplestiltskin did in fact have stains on his boots. But not just any stains; Blood stains.
"Oh, yes, that. Uh, we need a new maid," Rumplestiltskin said awkwardly.
Holy shit! He killed their maid! Why?
"Gods, no!" Bae exclaimed, while Amie covered her mouth in shock.
"She heard us talking about the knife," Rumplestiltskin explained.
"She was mute. She couldn't tell anyone," Amie told him.
"Even mutes can draw pictures," Rumplestiltskin defended, causing Amie to roll her eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was now back in the house, where Rumplestiltskin was spinning his wool again and Amie was slowly approaching him.
"Amie, dearie. What is it I can do for you?" Rumplestiltskin asked her, continuing his spinning.
"You know how you said you can give us anything we desire?" Amie said hesitantly.
Rumplestiltskin paused his spinning and looked up at his daughter. "Yes."
"Well, I was thinking. I don't mind if you say no, it isn't a necessity," Amie rambled.
"You can have anything, Amie," Rumplestiltskin interrupted her rambling.
"Ok. I was wondering if maybe I could have a sewing kit?" Amie whispered.
"Of course, my dear," Rumplestiltskin said before making one appear in front of him.
"Woah," Amie said, her eyes wide. "Papa, as a thank you present, can I make you a different outfit. Maybe a different colour?" Amie suggested.
"You can make anything you wish," Rumplestiltskin smiled.
"I need to know your measurements then," Amie told him.
"Hold on a second," Rumpelstiltskin said, before making a measuring tape fly around him and take his measurements. With another wave of his hand, a quill wrote it all down on a piece of paper.
"Ok, thank you. Now what colour and style?" Amie asked excitedly.
"Maybe a red clock and the rest of it can be black," Rumpelstiltskin suggested, smiling at Amie's excitement.
I looked at Amie and the thought of that being me became so much clearer again.
"Ok, a red cloak. But I don't want it to represent blood," Amie admitted.
"It doesn't represent blood, dearie. It represents boldness, bravery, courage and it is your favourite colour," Rumplestiltskin reminisced.
"You remembered?" Amie smiled.
"Of course I did. You are my daughter, it is my job to do things like that," Rumplestiltskin told her.
"I'll get on with it right away," Amie replied excitedly.
Rather than going into another room, Amie set the sewing kit up next to Rumplestiltskin's spinning session and began sewing away. I smiled as I saw Rumplestiltskin smiling at his daughter's enthusiasm. They seemed close. Something that I was envious off.
But the way she was into fashion like I was, her favourite colour was red like mine was, she looked similar to me and had the same sarcasm and fire in her like I did. She had the same necklace, humour and was the daughter of the Rumplestiltskin. The same person Henry said I was the daughter of. Could it really be possible? My thoughts were disrupted by Baelfire running in holding something tightly in his hand.
"Papa. Papa," Bae said, sitting in front of his Father, who had returned to his spinning. "We found it. We-we found a way for things to be like they were," Bae said to Rumplestiltskin.
Amie stopped her sewing, looked up at Bae and then turned to her Father, who was still spinning. Come on, man. You made a deal.
"I want you two to come with me. We can make things right. Have you heard of the Reul Ghorm?" Bae asked.
Rumplestiltskin smirked and looked up at his son.
"The blue star. The blue fairy? Oh, son, please tell me you two didn't. Fairy magic doesn't mix well with what I am," Rumplestiltskin explained.
"But you promised. You made a deal," Amie reminded him.
"She can help us, to take us to a place without magic," Bae told them.
"A place without magic? Oh, I'd be powerless. Weak," Rumplestiltskin said, getting up and pacing.
"Like everyone else. It wouldn't matter. We'd be happy," Amie smiled.
"We could be happy here," Rumplestiltskin defended.
"Father, please. You're getting worse. And you promised. This can work," Amie said.
"It can," Bae agreed.
"You made a deal with us. Are you backing out?" Amie asked, standing beside her brother.
Rumplestiltskin turned away and began to pace again. Seriously? A deal is a deal, there isn't even an option to back out.
"No. I'm not backing out," Rumplestiltskin finally said. Good, well, it's not like he had the choice to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was in another setting now, it looked like they were back in the woods. It was still night so I'm guessing that it has just picked up where it left off.
"Where are we going, boy?" Rumplestiltskin asked, helping Amie down a steep hill. "What kind of world is this we're going to? What kind of a world is without magic?"
"A better one," Bae said, holding up a bean.
He threw it into the centre of a clearing and they all waited in silence. Suddenly a green portal started to open and Amie took a step closer to it, only to be pulled back by her Father.
The wind around them began to pick up and they were all struggling to keep their balance.
"My Gods, boy! It's like a tornado!" Rumplestiltskin yelled.
"We have to go through it!" Bae yelled.
"No! No! I don't think I can!" Rumplestiltskin said loudly, stepping away.
"We must! It's the only way!" Amie added.
Bae began to try and pull Rumplestiltskin towards the portal, while Amie walked closer to it.
"No! No! No! No! No! No! It's a trick! It'll tear us apart!" Rumplestiltskin yelled, causing Amie to stop and take a step back.
"It's not! It'll be okay! I promise!" Bae said. Just then, the floor beneath Bae broke and he would have fallen in, but Rumplestiltskin caught him.
"Bae! Papa!" Amie yelled scared.
"Amie, get a strong branch!" Rumplestiltskin ordered his daughter.
Amie ran away immediately to get a branch to help her brother and Father. Something didn't seem right about any of this, in my opinion.
She found one and ran back towards her family. But when she got there, she was even more scared as she saw the only thing stopping them going in was the dagger.
"You coward! You promised! Don't break our deal!" Bae yelled.
"Bae, wait!" Amie yelled, running over with the branch. But before she could get there, Bae fell through the portal and it closed. "Bae?" Amie whispered, dropping the branch. "Bae?"
Rumplestiltskin scrambled up the side of the hole that had appeared and ran to his daughter.
"Papa, where's Bae?" Amie asked, and it broke my heart to see the tears forming in her eyes.
"He fell through. My son fell through," Rumplestiltskin replied weakly.
"No! No! No!" Amie cried, running over to the hole and looking round it. "Bae! Come back!" She yelled.
Rumplestiltskin then ran over to the hole and began digging round in it.
"No. No. No. No. No. Bae, I want to come with you. I want to come with you!" Rumplestiltskin yelled into the ditch.
Amie fell down to her knees and clung onto her stomach as the tears began falling freely. If I was there, I just wanted to hug the girl as she looked so broken and incomplete without her brother. Her cries filled the otherwise silent air as she looked round for her brother desperately.
He was gone. The boy that I had been watching for this past week was gone. The family that I had seen once happy, was now a broken and depressed family. It started with four and now it's down to two.
"Tasha? Tasha?" A voice was saying. "Tasha! Tasha!"
I was pulled out of the vision by someone shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on the floor in Mary Margaret's apartment, with people all looking at me worried.
"Tasha, are you ok?" Emma asked.
I sat up and in my head and my heart, I felt some weird feeling. A feeling as though I was living a lie.
"Tasha?" Mr Gold said, although when I looked at him, I didn't see Mr Gold. I saw the heartbroken man, who lost his son... who lost his son to a broken deal. A son and a daughter, he said. A son he lost to a broken deal and a daughter who he lost to an old enemy, the curse. It was real. It was all real. Mr Gold was Rumplestiltskin, who was my Father.
"Tasha?" Emma said again.
I looked up at her and gave her a weak smile.
"I'm fine," I lied.
"No, you're not," Emma said. "Remember my superpower?"
"Right, yes. The lying thing. I think I need some air," I told her, trying to get up.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Emma asked.
"No, no, no. You guys stay and enjoy the party," I said, walking out of the apartment.
When I got outside, I leant up against the wall and took a few deep breaths.
"You remember, don't you?" August asked, standing next to me.
"I remember," I repeated.
"What's your name?" August asked.
"Amie Stiltskin. The daughter of Rumplestiltskin. It's all true. The curse. I have to find Henry," I said quickly.
"Don't tell him yet. Wait a day or two. If you tell him now, Regina will find out and it'll blow up Operation Cobra," August said.
"Of course. How long was I out? What happened?" I asked.
"Well, we were all talking and a couple people noticed you were sorta out of it, but they said nothing. Then we were giving Mary Margaret her presents, and you started crying. You didn't make a sound but tears were coming out. Mr Gold tried to get your attention but when he started saying your name, you fell to the floor and kept on crying. It took a couple of minutes to wake you, they nearly called an ambulance. By the way, you must have been in that vision for a good twenty minutes," August explained.
"Oh, God," I muttered. "I can't believe this."
"It's pretty crazy, isn't it?" August chuckled.
"Mr Gold is my Father," I whispered.
"He is," August agreed.
"You knew? You knew all along and you never told me?" I asked.
"It was up to you to figure it out. Plus I wanted to see if it was possible for you to figure it out on your own," August explained.
"I don't remember you from our world. Who are you there?" I asked.
"No one of any importance," August smiled weakly.
"Huh. So Graham really was a huntsman," I muttered.
"I don't know who Graham is, but probably," August confirmed.
"I'm gonna go. I'll see you around," I said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I spent the rest of the day just walking round Storybrooke and trying to make sense of everything. I stayed out until late and found myself in the woods. But in the woods, I heard voices.
I hid behind a tree and poked my head round a tree to see Mr Gold walking round the side of a cabin. In front of him, August stood there, kicking some leaves.
"I know who you are and I know what you're looking for," Mr Gold said to August. This was so weird. The person that I was now looking at is my Father.
Hold on, does this all mean that Gold remembers? Did he know who I was? That I was his daughter? I mean, that would explain why he had a soft spot for me.
"Well, then... I guess all the lying can stop... Papa," August said.
Papa? Holy shit! Is that? No, it can't be. Bae?
"You were right, Bae," Gold said, walking towards him. "You were always right. I was a coward, and I never should've let you go. I know it's a little consolation, but I just want you to know that ever since you left, ever since you crossed the barriers of time and space, in every waking moment... I've been looking for you. Back in the enchanted forest, your sister, my daughter, Amie, she helped too. And now that I've finally found you... I know I can't make up for the past, for the lost time. All I can do is to ask you to do what you've always done--that's to be the bigger man... and forgive me," Gold begged, and I could hear the pain and sadness in his voice. "I'm so sorry, son. I'm so sorry, Bae."
August/Bae took a deep breath, before pulling my Father into a hug.
"Oh. Oh, my boy. My beautiful boy. Can you truly, truly forgive me?" Gold asked.
"I forgive you, Papa," He whispered.
"You were looking for the knife," Gold said.
"I thought that if you still had it, it would mean that you hadn't changed," August said.
"Well, let's go and find it and see," Gold smiled.
Together they walked deeper into the forest and as quietly as I could, I followed them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I buried it here shortly after Emma came to town. Things were changing. Didn't want to take the chance of Regina finding it," Gold explained.
"Of course," August agreed.
"It should be right about here, son. Here, let--let," Gold said, bending down before re-emerging with a covered package. "Yeah." He unravelled it and inside was the same dagger that I remember from the other world. "I want you to take it. Destroy it, the way I know you and your sister always wanted to. I found you and I don't need it anymore. I chose it once. Now I choose you."
August took the dagger and stared down at it.
"It's remarkable," He murmured. But he'd seen it before, it doesn't look any different. And anyway, Bae despised that thing, there is no way he'd call it remarkable. That could mean only one thing.
August held the dagger up at Gold.
"By the power of the darkness, I command thee...Dark One," August began.
"You're trying to control me," Gold commented.
"I command thee, Dark One!" August yelled.
Gold stepped closer to him and pointed at him dangerously.
"You're not my son," Gold accused. "You're not Baelfire."
How dare he! How dare he pretend to be my brother!
"Papa, why would you say that?" August asked. "I'm just trying to use the power to help us."
"Enough!" I yelled, stepping out from around the tree. I had heard enough. "It's over, Booth, or whoever the hell you are. My brother would never try to use my Father, and he would know that this knife cannot harness any magic in this world because there is no magic in this world. That's why he chose this place. He didn't want my Father to... dabble," I said, grabbing the dagger from him. I could feel the tears burning up in my eyes.
"Amie?" My Father whispered.
"Hello, Papa," I cried.
I then ran over to him and pulled him into a hug.
"Don't worry. It is actually me," I whispered.
"I know, dearie," He replied, hugging me back tightly.
"How long have you known?" I asked, pulling away.
"Since I met Emma at Granny's B&B," He told me. "When did you find out?"
"This afternoon at Mary Margaret's," I smiled through the tears.
My Father wiped away the tears and I handed him back the dagger.
"Hate to break up the family reunion, but why bury a useless knife?" August asked.
"Oh, I wouldn't say it was useless. It still cuts through flesh rather nicely. It's about time you answered some questions, sunshine. Why the theatrics? Why didn't you just come to me?" Father asked.
"I needed you to work for it. I needed you to want it so bad that you would ignore what your eyes were seeing. Do I even look like him at all?" August asked.
"How do you know about this knife?" I questioned.
"I hear things," August answered.
"No one here knows about this knife," My Father said, cornering August into a tree.
"No one here remembers," August corrected.
"And yet you do. You're from there, aren't you? From our world," Gold said.
"The fact that you're asking the question means you know the answer," August smirked.
Just then, my phone started to buzz and I saw that I had a message from Emma.
Where are you? I've been looking for you all day. Look, I don't know what happened earlier, but everyone is really worried. If you want I can see if Archie can talk to you or we can get you an appointment at the hospital, or whatever. Just give me a call when you can, please.
I sighed then began to type a reply.
Hey, Emma. I'm fine. This time I mean it. I was just feeling a little unwell earlier. Nothing else. It's nice that you're all so worried but you have no reason to be I feel absolutely great. I just needed some time and space to clear my head. I'm still out though, on a walk. I'll come and see you at the station tomorrow but until then, don't worry about me. I've never been better.
I sent the message then turned back to August and Gold.
"You're going to let me live?" August asked.
"You're going to die either way," Gold replied before limping away.
I ran after Gold.
"Any luck with finding Bae?" I asked.
"No, nothing," Gold replied.
"Dammit. He is here though, in this world?" I questioned.
"He must be. He has to be," Gold responded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, I met Emma and we went to walk into the station.
As we got into the station, though, we stopped in our tracks as we saw Regina, or as I now knew her, the Evil Queen.
"Congratulations, Sheriff Swan. There's about to be a big break in your case . You got yourself a confession. But I want you to listen to the whole explanation so you understand why this happened," Regina said.
"Oh, I'll hang on every word you say," Emma guaranteed.
"Sydney. You can come in now," Regina ordered. Sydney? He doesn't have the brains for this. "Tell them what you told me."
"It was me. I confess. I abducted Kathryn and I held her in the basement of an abandoned summer home by the lake. I bribed a lab tech to get me the heart from the hospital, and I used the same person to doctor the lab results," Sydney said, as though he had been told to say it.
"And the other thing," Regina encouraged.
"I borrowed some skeleton keys from Regina and... planted the knife in your apartment," Sydney finished.
"My keys. Can't help but feel personally violated about that part," Regina announced.
"And we're supposed to believe you did this for why now?" Emma asked.
"I was gonna find her after the conviction, be a hero, then get the inside track on the biggest story to ever hit this town. I'd get my job back. Plus a movie and a novel, and I don't know. It sounds crazy now," Sydney explained.
"I don't know about crazy, but false, yes, false as hell," Emma said.
"I have maps to where the house is. You'll find chains in the basement, lots of fingerprints, I'm sure--hers and mine. But I didn't hurt her," Sydney promised.
"I call bullshit," I announced.
"The man had obviously suffered some kind of mental break. He clearly hasn't been himself for a while," Regina observed.
"Yeah. It's like his words aren't his at all," Emma countered.
"Wow. You are sold on your own judgement that you can't see the truth anymore," Regina said.
"A word in the hallway, please," Emma said.
They left the room so I turned to Sydney.
"How much is she paying you?" I asked.
"She isn't paying me anything, I confess," Sydney said.
"Whatever," I muttered, knowing I wasn't going to get anything out of him.
The Evil Queen may think I don't remember, I don't know the truth, but she is so so wrong. She began this game and I am ready to play.
7149 Words