A sharp bang echoed as Regina slammed the door of her car in the hopes it would help her frustration. It didn't. She'd slipped out of the cell Emma had locked her up in rather easily (Miss Swan's not the only one who knows how to pick a lock) and retreated to her vaults to lie low until she was sure everything had gone according to plan. Of course, she made sure the curse wouldn't affect her memory; however, she'd still been able to tell when it had been broken. It had sent a ripple through the town, perhaps even farther. She wouldn't be surprised if all of Maine at felt something, whether they knew Ana or not.
She'd debated remaining in hiding, given that there were likely people who would want their own revenge on her, that infernal hatter for one. In the end she decided she could handle anyone who dared to challenge her, and it wasn't worth staying trapped down there any longer.
She walked up the path to her front porch, and it wasn't until she was a few feet away that she noticed the door was slightly ajar. It didn't appear to have been kicked in, almost as if whoever broke in had a key. She pushed it open the rest of the way. She knew that if someone had broken in and left, they would have thought to close the door behind them, so it was likely whoever it was was still inside. She set her purse down and summoned a fireball in her right hand. She didn't bother removing her high heels, thinking that the sound of them on the wood floors might bring the intruder out of hiding.
She started to head toward the dining room, but stopped when she heard a voice from her right. "You know you really ought to invest in some better locks."
On instinct, Regina spun and sent the fireball flying their way, and with a flick of her wrist, Ana deflected it. She sat perched on the back of her living room couch, ankles crossed in the air casually.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" Regina demanded.
"Looking for you," Ana replied simply.
"Yeah I got that. Did you come to gloat? Rub it in my face that you broke the curse? You won, I lost? What made you think I wouldn't just kill you?"
"You won't kill me." Ana's voice was even in spite of the threat.
"You know, you're dumber than you…"
"You won't kill me, because if you kill me now, everyone will find out. Emma, Mary Margret, Henry…" She didn't need to finish to make her point. Regina just glared at her in silence. "Anyway, I didn't come to gloat. I came to tell that I remembered."
"And?"
"I mean I remembered everything. Including what I did to you to make you hate me." She paused. "And I wanted to apologize."
Regina snorted. "You think that's going to make everything better? Now that you apologized we can go eat ice cream and braid each other's hair like best friends?"
"No, I…"
"You ruined my life! You were the beginning of the series of events that took away my happiness. If you had kept your mouth shut I would have had a chance at a normal life, a happy life. But instead I was forced to be miserable. And that all started with you." She jabbed a finger at Ana on the last word.
"Regina, I'm sorry, but…"
"But what?"
"But I was just a girl!"
"So was I!" A deafening silence filled the room. Ana's mouth hung open slightly as the words she meant to say fell away. "Get out of my house," Regina said after a moment, her voice suddenly calm. "Now. Before I change my mind and kill you anyway."
Ana hesitated as if considering giving a final word, but left in silence instead. As she left Regina hugged her arms to herself, fighting pain and frustration of past memories that had welled up inside her. She pinched her eyes shut to prevent any tears from falling, and didn't even flinch at the sound of shattering glass that came from the mirror behind her.
000
Grace sat under a tree in the schoolyard, rereading her favorite novel as she waited for the bell to ring. The book was about a dashing thief who meets a beautiful princess in the woods. Only she doesn't know she's a princess. She'd read it twice before, but her heart still skips a beat when she reaches the part where the thief sacrifices himself for the princess, and she can only save him with the power of true love.
She reached the part in the middle where the thief was captured, the princess was abandoned, and it seemed like all hope was lost, when something fell from above her in the tree and landed in the middle of her page. She picked it up and saw it was a purple piece of fabric. It seemed to have snagged and torn from something.
A rustling sound came from the other side of the trunk, followed by the thud of something hitting the ground. She marked her place in the book with the fabric before pushing herself to her feet and running around to investigate. By the time she got there, the person who must have dropped from the tree was already running in the opposite direction. She caught a glimpse of their light purple dress, which matched the scrap from the tree, just before they disappeared behind Mr. Penumbra's hedges. Spurred by curiosity, she followed.
She made it past the hedges in time to see the strange woman turn down an alleyway. She headed after her, but by the time she reached the alley the stranger had disappeared. It lead to a dead end, so the only possible escapes were the back doors to the surrounding buildings and one fire escape. Grace hesitated and searched for any clues as to where they might have gone.
'If Henry were here he would know what to do,' she thought to herself. She glanced back in the direction she'd come and chewed her lip as she debated staying a little longer to search. Reason won out over curiosity, and she returned to school, leaving the mysterious stranger for another day.
000
Ana opened the already unlocked door to Jefferson's house to be greeted by the sweet sound of a piano melody. She followed the sound to the living room, where he sat playing, completely oblivious to her. She leaned against the doorframe to the entrance of the room and watched him. His eyes were sharp and focused, but his body flowed freely with the music. Emotion poured out of his fingertips and into the notes.
When the song came to a close, he paused as the final note rang out, only to jump in surprise when she clapped for him. He spun in surprise a blushed when he saw her standing there. "How long have you been listening?"
"Only a couple of minutes," she replied as she went to sit on the bench beside him. She leaned in and they met in a gentle kiss. As they touched Ana could feel the bristle of magic in her fingertips, and sought to control it as she'd been practicing. When they pulled apart she told him, "It was beautiful."
He smiled bashfully and gave her another short kiss. "Where've you been?" He asked.
"I just went out for a walk. Wanted to clear my head." Quickly changing the subject she said, "I didn't know you wore reading glasses."
Jefferson's hand went up to the pair of black frames he'd forgotten he'd had on. "Oh. Yeah, I, uh…"
She silenced his stammering with a quick peck to the nose. "Their cute," she reassured him. He face flushed, but he smiled nonetheless.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he said, reaching into his back pocket. "I meant to give it to you this morning, but you were gone by the time I woke up." He held up a simple silver key.
Ana felt her heart leap to her throat. "Are you asking me to live with you?
He shrugged. "Well, you kind of already do. I just thought we ought to make it official." When she remained fixed with her eyes on the key he hesitated. "I'm sorry, should I not have…?"
"No, no, I mean it's fine, I'll just… Yes."
"Yes?" He repeated hopefully.
"Yes. Yes I'll move in with." He beamed and she couldn't suppress a bright smile herself. Their lips met once more and the spark of passion from before quickly grew into a flame. Ana's fingers entwined themselves in his hair as she sought to eliminate any empty space between them. She parted her lips and his tongue slipped between them. She pulled back so she could move herself so that she sat straddling him. He began covering her neck with soft kisses and worked his way down to her collarbone. She gasped and threw her head back as he lightly tugged on the skin towards the base of her neck. She was forced to reach out behind her to catch her balance, only to have her hands collide with the keys of the instrument behind, filling the room with a loud, murky sound. They were both startled at the sound and Jefferson pulled back from her. They sat there for a moment, hearts pounding and chests heaving in both fright and desire, before breaking out into laughter.
"I'm sorry," Ana said breathlessly. "I didn't mean to spoil the moment."
"No, it's fine," he promised her. "I need to go pick up Grace soon anyway. It's a good thing we didn't to carried away." With one final peck, he began to lift her off of his lap so they could both stand, but she paused him.
"Why don't I go get her?" She suggested. He quirked a curious eyebrow. "I could take her out for ice cream or something after. It would be good for us to spend some time together. Especially now that we're going to be living together." She waved the key in front of him for effect.
"Alright," he smiled. "Just don't spoil her dinner."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, spoilsport." She gave him a quick, final kiss goodbye. "Be back soon."
000
Ana stood leaned against a tree as she watched the crowds of students pouring from the school for Grace. She drummed her fingers against her leg to a made up rhythm. The more seconds that passed the more her mind began to race and she began to regret her decision. She and Grace had never spent any time alone together, what had made her think this was a good idea? She didn't have any experience with kids. What if she screwed this up and Grace hated her? Oh god, was it too late to call Jefferson and tell him she'd changed her mind?
"Ana!" She whipped around at the sound of her name to see Mary Margret standing beside her, smiling brightly. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just picking up Grace," she replied, folding her arms across her chest.
Mary Margret's smiled widen, if that was possible, and she tilted her head to the side in interest. "That's good."
Ana bit her lip and bobbed her head, drawing her arms in tighter. There was a tense pause, but Mary Margret didn't seem to notice. Then Ana said, "Stop looking at me like that."
Mary Margret frowned. "Like what?"
Ana shifted uncomfortably. "Like I'm sort of… celebrity that you're fascinated with."
"I don't understand."
She sighed. "It's as if you can't believe I'm real and you're worried that I'm going to disappear if you blink."
Mary Margret looked away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry I didn't realize, it's just…"
"I know. Just stop making such a big deal about it."
"Ana it is a big deal."
"It doesn't have to be," she snapped. Mary Margret took a step back, and Ana's faced softened as she realized she might have sounded a little harsh. "Sorry."
Mary Margret's voice was harder when she responded. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it right now. But you can't hide from it forever. Please don't hide from me," she whispered at the end.
Grace came bounding over, halting the discussion. She smiled politely at them. "Hi Ana, Mrs. Blanchard." She stole a glance at the tree above their heads. "Is my papa with you?"
"Oh, uh, no, just me. I thought the two of us might… hang out together," Ana explained.
"Oh, ok," Grace said, smiling once more reassuringly.
Seeing the uncertainty on Ana's face Mary Margret swooped in. "So, Grace, how come you were so late back from lunch today?"
The girl tensed, but answered without missing a beat, "I was just really caught up in the book I was reading, I didn't even notice the bell had rung until everyone was inside."
"Oh, I see. Well, be sure to be more careful next time." Grace nodded diligently. Mary Margret then bade them farewell, silently wishing Ana luck before walking away.
"So," Grace said turning to Ana. "Where are we going?"
"Well, I hear there's a really great ice cream shop just down the road."
000
Ana sat across from Grace in the quaint ice cream shop as they ate their cones in silence. Grace had chosen a creative gummy bear flavor, which had actual gummy bears mixed in, while Ana had opted for a simpler lemon custard. The only other customers in the shop were a young couple tucked in a booth and sharing a single spoon. The rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall behind them matched the beating of Ana's heart as the silence between them grew heavier.
"So," Ana said, giving up on the ice cream when it started dripping on her hands and setting it on a napkin. Grace glanced up briefly before taking another gummy bear filled bite. "That must have been some book you were reading earlier."
"Mmhmm," Grace hummed in agreement through a mouthful of ice cream.
"What's it called?" She prompted. "Maybe I've heard of it."
"'The Maiden in the Tower.'"
Ana muttered 'oh', and fell silent as she ran out of things to say. She stared down ice cream which sat in a slowing growing puddle. Absent mindedly, she waved her hand in a circle in the air, and the melting ice cream disappeared with a poof. Grace's eyes grew wide.
"Whoa," she exclaimed. "That's so cool. How'd you do it?"
Ana shrugged modestly. "I've been practicing."
"What else can you do?"
A mischievous smile crept on to her face. She leaned to get a good view of the couple in the corner, and Grace turned to follow. The girl was waving a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in front of the guys face in the same way one would when trying to get a toddler to eat by convincing them the spoon was an airplane. She went in to feed it to him when the spoon disappeared into thin air. Her hand collided with his nose, and they both looked around in confusion. As quickly as it had disappeared, the spoon reappeared, right above the man's head. It fell right on top of him, getting ice cream all over the top of his head. His girlfriend tried to look sympathetic, but found herself suppressing laughter as a drop began to roll down his forehead. He got up, and stormed out in embarrassment. She quickly got up and followed him, calling out apologies.
Once they were both gone, Ana and Grace, who had been giggling quietly to themselves the whole time, began laughing out right. "Did you see the look on their faces?" Grace said as they began to settle down. "I wish I could do something like that."
"You mean magic?" Ana prompted.
"Not necessarily. I just want to be… special. You've got your magic, my dad's a portal jumper, even Henry was practically born to be a hero. Sometimes it just makes me feel so ordinary."
"You're not ordinary," Ana tried to argue.
"You're just saying that."
"No, I mean it. I think you're very special. You just haven't figured it out yet. That's how all stories start. But trust me, there will come a time when you'll look back on this day and wonder how you could have ever thought you were 'ordinary'."
"How could you possibly know that?" Grace questioned.
"I don't. But I do know that even the smallest of seeds can grow into a beautiful flower with enough watering. Now why don't we get going before your dad gets worried." As she stood up she added, "And if he asks where we were, be sure not to mention the ice cream."
000
Later that evening, Ana sat perched on the counter in Jefferson's kitchen while he poured two glasses of wine. They had finished cleaning up after dinner and bade Grace a goodnight before deciding to relax themselves. She smiled politely as he handed her her glass. Taking a sip from his own cup, Jefferson relaxed back against the counter beside her. "So things must have gone well between you and Grace earlier," he stated.
She nodded. "It was alright," she agreed. "Though a little awkward at the first." She took a swig of her beverage, before promptly spitting it right out again. "Oh god," she exclaimed, her face scrunched up in disgust. "You people actually drink that?" She set her glass down, feeling rather nauseated by the bitter taste it left in her mouth.
Jefferson chuckled and went to retrieve her a cup of water instead, which she drank greedily. "To be honest I don't think anyone truly likes the taste of wine," he mused. "I just think everyone's gone on pretending they do for so long they've learned to live with it."
She snorted. "Well good for them, but I'm fine with living outside of society's rules if it means I never have to drink that stuff again."
After wiping the last of the revolting drink from her lips, she turned to see Jefferson smiling at her tenderly. "What is it?" She asked.
"Nothing."
"No, I've seen that look before. You always look like you've got something to say, but I can never figure out..." The end of her sentence was lost as he caught her bottom lip between his. She hummed in surprise, but quickly relaxed against him. Her hand slid to intertwine with his hair as she sought to further the kiss, but was caught off guard when he instead pulled away.
"Have you ever thought about having kids?" He blurted.
Ana suddenly found breathing difficult and began to cough and splutter. "Are you serious? I know I agreed to move in with you, but surely this is too much."
"No, I didn't mean now, or even with me," he explained quickly. "I was just wondering, in general." She continued to look at him incredulously, so he added, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's fine. I guess..." She took a deep breath. "I guess I haven't really thought about it. I don't exactly not want kids. I just don't know how great of a mother I would be."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I don't have much of a motherly influence to base anything on." She shrugged.
"But look at you and Grace. She adores you, and has already started to look up to you as she would her own mother."
"And what happened to her mother?" Ana asked boldly. Then, softer, she continued, "If you don't mind me asking."
Jefferson swallowed hard, and drew away from her. As he told his story, he kept his gaze on the group. "No, you deserve to know I suppose. She died, when Grace wasn't even a year old. A terrible disease had plagued our village, and both her and Grace caught it. I managed to retrieve a cure from another kingdom, but unfortunately there was only enough for one. We both knew who I had to give it to. She passed away soon after."
Ana watched his eyes as he spoke. They grew dark with the pain of old regrets, but not a single tear formed in them. She felt bad for asking and stirring up hard memories, but she felt better knowing the truth. "What was she like?"
"Beautiful. Kind. A good mother, and an even better wife. She truly loved me." He paused. "I just wish I had been able to do the same for her. She deserved at least that."
The silence in the room was heavy. Ana wanted to go to his side, but it didn't feel right. She knew this was something he had been dealing with on his own for a long time, and it wasn't right for her to intervene.
A sudden creaking sound came from the hallway. Ana turned her head in the direction of the noise. "Did you hear that?" She asked.
Jefferson looked up from his spot on the floor, drawn back from his memories. "Hear what?"
Ana waited to see if she heard anything else. "Never mind." She turned back to face him and held her hand out in invitation. "Come on," she smiled. "Why don't we head up to our bedroom?"
000
As Jefferson and Ana talked, Grace sat in her bedroom able to hear the muffled sound of their conversation below. Her book lay open in her lap, and the scrap of purple fabric sat on her nightstand. It's presence distracted her from reading. She found herself glancing at it every few seconds with the faint hope it might suddenly lead her to an adventure of her own.
She was ready to give up on her novel and turn out the lights, when a rattling at the window caught her attention. She froze and stared at, but she was unable to see anything past the black of night. Her room was on the second floor, positioned right next to a tall oak tree. The noise easily could have been a bird that lost it's way, or the breeze knocking some branches against the glass. Or...
The noise sounded again, louder this time. Grace's heart began to pound as she sprung from the bed and raced into the hallway. She was at the top of the stairs, ready to run down and get her father to come save her, when she paused. Her conversation with Ana earlier that day flashed in her mind. Maybe she didn't need her father. Maybe she could be the hero this time. No more running for help every time there was a bump in the night. She could take care of things on her own. All she had to do was try.
She took a deep breath, and summoned her courage. Turning on her heel, she returned to her room and strode straight over to the window with hesitating. Well, maybe she hesitated a little. Anyway, with a bit of effort, she got the window open and peered outside to look for the source of the noise. Caught on a branch, just an arm's length from the window, was a piece of purple fabric.
Grace stretched and managed to grab it. She hurried to retrieve the other piece from her nightstand. When she compared the two there was no doubt that they were torn from the same cloth. Someone was definitely following her.
Her heart began to race with nervous excitement. Whoever it was could still be nearby. If she hurried perhaps she could catch them. And then what? Demand to know what they wanted of her? She didn't have time to think it through right then. If she didn't leave soon, any plan she made would be useless.
Or she could always go to her father. He and Ana would know what to do. No, she reminded herself. She had to try this on her own first. Maybe if she was able to get a good look at the follower first, she would be able to have them help her track her down.
Without even bothering to grab shoes, Grace headed down the stairs as swiftly and as quietly as possible. So long as she was careful, she would be able to slip out without alerting her father and Ana in the kitchen. She tiptoed her way through the main hallway. A loud creaking noise escape from the floorboard under her foot, and she cringed.
"Did you hear that?" She heard Ana say.
"Hear what?" Her papa replied.
There was a pause "Never mind." Grace breathed a sigh of relief and continued on her way. She reached the front door without any further trouble. She swiftly made her way outside on to the front porch. Once there, she paused to consider her next move. Which way would the intruder have gone? Back into town? Further into the woods?
She didn't have a chance to decide on a path before a bag was pulled over her head and she was knocked into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was a whispered apology.