Beautiful Lily

The 7th year

"Why does your mother call you Bluebell?" Gold asked as they drove away from the hospital and headed straight to The Game of Thorns Flower Shop. The topic of names and flowers was still lingering in his mind.

"It was what my mother use to call me when I was a little girl, after her favorite flower. Why do you ask?" asked Belle curiously, the question seemed to come from out of nowhere.

"It's nothing. Just curious."

Belle eyed him suspiciously from the passenger seat, but when the comment didn't amount to anything she forgot about the question entirely and continued staring out the window. It wasn't but a fifteen minute drive from the hospital to her father's shop when she realized the subtle butterflies that were beginning to stir in the pit of her stomach. Although her nervousness was nowhere near the level of anxiety she had experienced during her visit to the hospital, she still felt uneasy.

They pulled up to her father's shop and parked on the opposite side of the street. She opened her side door and exhaled deeply before stepping out. After facing her fear of hospitals, she knew that facing her father and listening to her mother's story wasn't going to be nearly as bad. She pulled herself out of the car and was greeted by her husband who reached for her hand. Seeing the worry on her face he patted her hand and nodded, "You can do this."

She nodded at his encouraging words and they both walked to the shop together. Gold followed after Belle who entered her father's shop first and called out, "Papa?"

"Belle? Belle is that..." he called out to his daughter. He walked out to the front of his shop to greet her, but before he could finish his question he noticed her husband standing next to her and finished the question with less enthusiasm, "...you?"

"Hello Maurice," greeted Gold.

"Gold," addressed Maurice, trying to be as amicable as possible for Belle's sake. Before any friction could occur, Belle spoke to eliminate the awkwardness, "We... uh, just came from an appointment at the hospital. We came to show you some of the baby's uh... sonograms."

Belle dove into her purse and pulled out the pictures and showed them to her father. At Maurice's delight he held the pictures in his hand and marveled over each photo, smiling as he studied the foreign images. Gold cleared his throat to grab Belle's attention. She turned and saw him gesture for her to move on to the point of their visit.

"Papa... I am so sorry about how I left your shop the other day. It was incredibly unfair to you and I was... well I was upset and... I wasn't exactly in the most receptive mood so I never got to hear you finish your explanation about what happened to mother. Why did she leave us?"

... ...

...The Enchanted Forest...Seven years after the birth of Belle...

When Belle was born, Mary's power returned and with it the Wind's call for Mary to move on. However, Mary had fallen in love with her own daughter and became determined to never leave. At first, the winds were mere gusts and Mary had hoped to simply ignore it, but then her ignorance turned into years. As each year passed an enchanted tornado would spring up to wreak havoc on the land, the next one much stronger and more frequent than the previous one. On the seventh year, a tornado blew through King Francis's kingdom, destroying all the small villages that fell vulnerable to the storm's unpredictable path. All the citizens and villagers were welcomed, seeking refuge inside the kingdom's protective walls, except Mary Poppins.

"Please sir, have mercy! I must see my daughter! I must know that she is safe!" pleaded Mary to the soldier as she tried to gain passage into the kingdom. Residual gusts of wind swirled between Mary and the guard who stood between her and the kingdom's gates. The guard extended his arm, denying her entrance.