Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 52: Fiona Knows

"Boss," the voice says. "I just dropped off two kids at this old mansion on the edge of the city. A boy and a girl. The boy is your son."

Fiona nearly crushes her phone when she heard those words. One of her many Dark Realm minions who is disguised as a taxi driver had revealed the location of Henry and this new mystery person. She was thankful that when she'd cast the curse that she'd brought over some servants who could be her eyes and ears around the city. Gideon was not enough and he wasn't technically loyal to her by choice, so mindless drones were a good back up. She now knew that this unknown ally was a girl and could have been the source of magic she'd sensed before considering the teenaged author had none.

"Where did you drop them off?" she asks.

"A mansion outside of old Storybrooke," the driver answers.

"I'll be right there."

She knew what he was talking about; after Phillip had been found, she'd dug into the city's records, which was really just a cover to know the locations of all her curse victims. When he "allegedly" washed ashore in a boat, she checked the records after and she knew that this was a lie after checking. She knew the address of the mansion and knew that not only was the prince under a sleeping curse there, but the mansion was protected by dark magic. The fairy had a strong hunch that this "other person" had somehow been able to bypass everything and reunite the prince with his true love. Now with the driver telling her where Henry and this person were, it went from a hunch to a certainty.

She needed to extinguish the threat as soon as possible as they'd already done enough damage with the sleeping beauty and handsome reunion and the disappearance of Belle. Rendering them powerless was step one, now step two is to confront them.

In a poof of thick black smoke, Fiona appears in front of the mansion, her lackey standing by his still-running vehicle.

"You're sure it was him?" she interrogates.

"Without a doubt in my mind."

"And the girl? What did she look like?"

"A teenager, older than him. Brunette with blue eyes and a jean jacket."

"Anything else?"

"I think I saw a gold locket as well."

Locket... Fiona's mind ponders this detail, very specific. Could it be...? She was skeptical and she had to be sure.

She walks up the stone steps and goes for the door. There are no longer any enchantments on it, dark or otherwise, whatever had been protecting this place was not there. She fiddles with the doorknob, finding it locked or jammed. Peering down at the knob, she realizes that someone has stuck a bobby pin in to pick the lock. She shakes it a few more times before using her magic to unlock the door.

Stepping inside, she is slightly taken aback. For a place that was supposed to be abandoned and undisturbed when her curse was cast, it was clean, spotless. and definitely looked "lived-in." Even the elegant crystal chandelier had not a speck of dust or cobwebs hanging from it.

The dark entity curses herself for not checking the place after Phillip was found. The brats had been using it as a hideout... the perfect spot to remain hidden and carry out their plans against her while keeping her son's wife safe.

Snarling under her breath, she begins using her magic to fling open all the doors, searching for them. The loud bangs echo through the house, but as she goes from room to room, no one is there. When she checks the library, the stack of books on the floor is a dead giveaway that the little bookworm had been staying here and made herself right at home. While unsure what the beauty remembered about her real life, Fiona would not let her find Rumple because it risked her son turning against her.