Shaya

Chapter 32 - Card deck

The wheels screeched when Mary Margaret jammed on the brakes, stopping the car a few inches behind David's pickup.
Archie clasped to his seat. " Mary Margaret!" he exclaimed, pale, as he had been since he had jumped on her car. She had seen him running on the sidewalk, and she had given him a lift. He had probably regretted it by now.
She jumped off the car, slamming the door. Calm down, Snow, calm down, she was repeating to herself since Red's calling. She didn't want to know who the killer was. She knew that she knew him or her, so she didn't want to know.
She turned around her car to enter the street in front of the Town Hall, but when she gazed up at the doors, she found out that one was being opened, and a man, floating in the air, was entering the building.
Snow's jaw fell dropped.
Emma suddenly sticked out from the door and beckoned, disappearing a second after.
Mary Margaret gazed at the shrink, who was adjusting the glasses on his nose.
He looked back at her.
"Guess we didn't imagine it." he said, shrugging.
Snow frowned. She hadn't had the time to recognize the supposed killer. She sighed. With slow paces she reached the open red door.
"Uh. I though you'd stand there stock-still for a couple of hours before coming in. " Regina said mockingly as she entered the Hall.
Snow simply ignored her. She ignored even David, who approached her to greet her. She was staring at Mitchell, laying rigid against the wall like a broomstick. His eyes were opened, but he was immobile. Only his chest moved, regularly, indicating that he was actually alive, and not a wax sculpture.
" Is...him?" she asked. She perceived Regina roll her eyes.
" No, I've just bought a new piece of furniture. I like Mitchell's shape, it matches with the hall tree."
She gave the brunette just a quick glare. " I just can't believe that he could do such a horrible thing. "
" Well, dear, I'm afraid you'll have to believe it. His hall was covered in blood, and he confessed, anyway. Let alone the fact that he attempted at Miss Boyd's life."
Snow locked gaze with Regina, astonished. " What?!"
" He menaced to cut her throat."
" What? But... " Snow White gazed at the immobilized man. " ...she's the mother of his grandson..."
Mitchell's eyes darted with hate, startling her. She flinched at that stare. She hand never seen it on his face.
" Have you... have you talked to Sean?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the man. She had the terrible feeling that he would suddenly move in moments, trying to kill her. His eyes told her so.
" Not yet. " Emma answered instead of Regina, making her turn to look at her.
Her daughter pinched her lips and glanced down. " We wanted to do this thing before. "
Snow furrowed her brows. " Which thing?"
" Talk with you all." Emma explained, looking outside the door. Snow followed her gaze, and saw Grumpy walk quickly towards them, followed by Belle. Emma waited for them to come in before continuing. Ruby walked behind her and shut the door, gaining an incredible "thank you, Miss Lucas" from Regina that made her blush and murmur a sort of "no problem" without vocals.
" We're all here, it seems." Emma said awkwardly, causing David's smile.
" This isn't the most appropriate place for a smoke-filled room. I suggest to move to the conference room, so that we can all sit at the table. " Regina said, gaining, probably for the first time in her life, the general approval.
They all followed her, but David reached for Snow's hand and held her still until they were the last of the group.
" You can greet me now. She isn't watching, she won't vomit." he said in a whispers, smiling as a child.
Snow smiled back at him and kissed him, pulling him then towards the assembly room.
" It wasn't for her. I was just shocked. I'm sorry."
" Never mind. I've got what I needed, now."
They sat at the table with the others. Regina was obviously sitting at the head of the table. David sat at the other head without hesitating. Emma was at Regina's right, and watched them with a lost stare when they headed to the opposite side of the table. Mary Margaret smiled reassuringly at her, and she looked a bit relieved. Maybe she though that it was a challenge towards Regina, but it wasn't. They were just making things clear between them.
Snow sat at David's right, and Grumpy sat next to her. Ruby, after a bit of hesitation, sat next to David, too, at his beckoning.
Archie sat between Emma and Ruby, Belle between Rapunzel and Grumpy. It all gave Snow some kind of sense of harmony that relaxed her, making her ready to face that duty.
" Good. Now that we're here gathered, we can begin. We're here to discuss about the fate of Mitchell Herman, former king, confessed criminal for the homicide of King George." Regina announced formally. " Miss French, seen that you've been elected Mayor by the people, you'll be their spokeswoman for today's assembly. Unless there are any objections, obviously. "
Regina locked gaze with her. Snow stared back at her, trying to keep her face neutral. After some moments of silence, the older woman gave a little, satisfied smirk.
" Good. King David, would you mind to begin to explain to the council today's events?"
David swallowed, but the cleared his throat and began speaking. " Of course. In the early afternoon Gold called the Sheriff's office, saying that there was a beheaded body in the middle of Arendelle Street, and that he was sorry but he was quite sure that it was my father's. I so ran there."
" And Gold was already gone?" Regina questioned him.
David nodded once. " Indeed. But there were many people around the body already, so I tried to hide the body with the car and to send them away. "
" But you failed..." Regina said, hiding a smirk. Well, she hid it, at least, Snow forced herself to think. For Emma, she remembered to herself, glancing at her daughter. For Emma.
" Yes, because they were George's guards. Two of them had called the others. They were too many, and too angry."
Regina nodded thoughtfully. " That's true. And what happened next?"
" Emma joined me, and they got furious. Then you appeared, Regina, and they were about to kill us. Fortunately, Emma was there." he concluded, proudly smiling at his daughter, who blushed and glanced down.
" Why?" Belle asked, confused. " What happened then?"
" She changed everything." David answered smiling, making Snow look at their daughter again. She seemed to wish to hide under the table. " She united our kingdoms, bringing the peace among us. And doing so she brought George's men by our side, promising them a peaceful future, and justice for their king."
They all gazed at Emma, who was actually slowly sliding down her chair. Snow saw Regina repress a smile, pinching her lips. Hers disappeared, but she managed to hide it glancing down.
" What happened then?" she asked, taking everyone's attention away from Emma, who gratefully glanced at her.
" David said that he would think about the homicide, and Emma had to inform you, Snow, so I just went back at the Mayor's office, where I came from. " Regina said with flat voice, simply reporting the facts. "There I found my first suspect, Rumplestiltskin, but, after a quick chat, I understood that he wasn't the culprit. On the other hand, he made me understand who it could be."
Archie protruded slightly on the table. "How?"
Regina gave him a smirk. " The culprit had to be one who had never killed anyone with his hands, seen that he had panicked enough to leave the body in the middle of the day next to a trafficked road. He wanted to set us up for George's death, but, seriously, which conspirator would leave the body of the king in the middle of Arendelle Street? I think you all know that if I had killed George, he would simply incur into some sort of accident. If Shaya did it, he would just disappear. And David and Snow simply wouldn't do it, let alone Emma, but if they did, the body wouldn't be surely beheaded, let alone left across a secondary street. So, the killer had planned the thing just in a half, or he would have done one of those things. It had to be someone not that smart and quite desperate to do such an idiocy. Someone who had acted in rage and then made short thoughts of an approximated plan not to be blamed for the crime. And it had to be someone with a sword. That someone, to me, could only be Mitchell Herman."
" And he was." Rapunzel intervened, her voice low, almost threatening although it was calm. She looked at Regina, who nodded at her, and only then she plowed on.
" We went to Mitchell's house. Regina made us in, and we found ourselves in what could've been mistaken for a slaughterhouse. The walls, the furnitures, the floor, it was all covered in blood. A clear proof that George had been beheaded in the hall."
" That's true." Emma said " I... slid on the floor when I ran inside. It was full of blood."
" And was Mitchell inside?" Snow asked towards Regina, who nodded once.
" Yes. He showed up holding Ashley still and aiming at her throat with a kitchen knife. I made the blade materialize in his lung, so Miss Boyd had the opportunity to run away and I had the chance to talk with Mitchell. I was about to kill him when Emma came in and stopped me, demanding a process for him. So I healed him, and Emma talked to him."
Regina significantly stared at Emma, who swallowed and locked gaze with David.
" Yes, he was... laughing. So I asked him why, and he said that he was the only king, because you aren't George's son. Then he tried to attack us, but Regina stopped him."
There were a few minutes of silence. Everyone was rationalizing the report. Everyone was thinking about the consequences of what had happened. Mitchell had killed George. The two kingdoms that had fought against one another more than any other realm in the Enchanted Forest had become one. Mitchell had to be punished. Thomas would be destroyed by all of this, and he had to take the throne of his father's kingdom. They needed to find a way to get out of Storybrooke. People were beginning to go crazy in that town.
" So, Regina, I assume that you vote for a death sentence." Snow White suddenly said tightly, eying the stepmother. She glared at her, smiling slightly.
" Actually it isn't so, dear." she said, surprising her. Her reaction made Regina's smile grow wider. " After a brief but instructive chat with your daughter and that idiot leaning against my wall, I've found the perfect way to solve this situation: the psychiatric institute."
Snow clearly saw Belle give a jump. She sympathetically gazed at her, but the Mayor was staring at Regina.
" W-why not the prison?" she asked, making the Queen look at her.
" Because we don't have a prison, Madame Mayor." the older woman said with a mocking note in her voice.
Belle glanced down, but she then locked gaze with the Queen again. " We'll need a medical certificate that he actually is mentally ill to lock him down there."
" He is, Belle." Emma said gazing at her with huge eyes. " He's a fucking sicko, trust me."
" Why can't we send him out of Storybrooke? " David asked. " He'd loose his memory, he would never come back. "
" First of all, because it's what he wants..." Regina began. Snow immediately stopped her.
" This isn't a revenge, Regina, it's justice, if you know what this means." she harshly said, realizing just a second later what she had actually said. Emma's glare confirmed her how stupid she had been. She opened her mouth to take back what she had said, but Regina was faster speaking.
" ... and if he wants it, there must be a reason. One who wants to rule the world doesn't give up so easily. " she plowed on, lowering her voice, making Snow gaze down with embarrass.
" I'm sorry, I was..."
" Idiotic. As always. " Regina quietly growled, making her swallow. She was right. There was nothing she could say to change it.
" Do you think he may have some sort of gateway to come back here? Or in the Enchanted Forest?" Archie asked to Regina, warily glancing at Snow.
" It's possible. " Regina said. " Or, maybe, he's just so desperate to be ready to loose his memory. I don't know, but I'm not risking my family's life because I don't want a man to loose his freedom. Even in this mild world a murderer is imprisoned to life. I don't see why we should exile him, risking a vengeance, instead of solving the question once and for all. "