Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 79 - Nova's Hero

Leroy walked into the volunteer centre and looked around. "Where can I sign up?" he asked.
Mary Margaret looked up from her desk, excited, but then looked down again in disgust.
"What? I want to volunteer to sell candle." said Leroy to Mary Margaret, now standing in front of the desk.
She looked up at him. "No, you don't. You made that very clear this morning at Granny's."
"Well......" he glanced at the nuns at the other side of the room. "......maybe I saw the light. I mean, maybe somebody showed it to me. What doggerel does it make, sister? It looks like you can use all the help you can get." he said, glancing around the, near enough empty room.
Mary Margaret stopped writing and looked up at him. "Okay, I needed manning the candle booth. No swearing. No drinking. And I get to call all the shots." she said quickly and threw him the clipboard.
Leroy looked up at the Nuns again.
"You ordered how many tanks on helium?" the head nun asked Sister Astrid, reading the bills at her desk.
"I meant to order twelve." said Sister Astrid, in front of her desk.
She stared at her in shock then down at the bill again. "You ordered twelve dozen....... Return them." she gave her back the bill.
"There are no refunds." she said nervously.
She sighed. "We needed that money. You knew that. You know how he feels about us."
She nodded.
"You fix this, Sister Astrid. You fix it now." she stood up.
She sighed deeply as she walked away and fell back in a chair.
"Hey." said Leroy and walked towards her.
She smiled sadly.
"What's the problem?"
"The problem is I'm an idiot. We get a stipend each year for expenses and it's all carefully budgeted, except for the part were I spent it all on helium." she stood up. "And now we can't pay our rent."
"So you are it up when you get your next stipend."
"Which isn't till next month. The rent is due next week. And the only income we have are these candles."
"Well, so how many do you need to sell?"
"Like a thousand."
"How many did you sell last year?"
"Fourty two."
Leroy raised his eyebrows, unhopefully. "Ask your landlord to cut you a break."
She scoffed. "Mr. Gold doesn't offer much leeway."
"Mr. Gold's your landlord?"
"If we miss a payment, we're out. And then he'll reassign us. Abs well have to leave Storybrooke."
"No, you won't."
Mary Margaret looked up, surprised.
"You know why you only sold fourty two last year? Because you don't have me."
Mary Margaret raised her eyebrows.
"This year, we're gonna sell all of them."
Mary Margaret rowled her eyes.
"Wow! Leroy, I guess you really are my hero."
He sighed happily and smiled.

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Emma and David stood outside Kathryn's crashed, abandoned car.
"She's just gone?" said David, worried.
"You really don't know anything, do you?" said Emma.
"I.......I don't understand. What happened?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to fund out. What can you tell me? When was the last time you spoke to Kathryn?"
"Yesterday afternoon."
"Okay, look, I know there has been lies and deceit, and I'm really not judging you, but is that the truth?"
"I haven't spoken to her since we.......... I ended things. Then I came home yesterday and all her things were gone. I assumed she was going to Boston. That's what she told me....... Am I suspect or something?"
"No. I know when people are telling the truth, David, and you are. She hasn't even Ben gone twenty four hours. She's not even technically missing. But if she is, trust me, I will find her."

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Regina sat in her office, at her desk, on her laptop. From the printer next to her the phone records of Kathryn Nolan came out. She took them and smiled. Then she picked up her phone and dialed some numbers.
"Hello, Sidney?" she said. "Those phone records you wanted, I have them. And I think you'll find them quit helpful."

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Dreamy stood by the wooden conveyer belt, shoveling diamonds onto it from a wooden wheelbarrow. They then fell into a machine that grinned the diamonds and turned them into fine, pale pink dust. It then sprinkled into a pale pink sack. Nova the fairy watched in amazement as the sack filled with fairy dust. When it became full she attempted to pull the leaver for the dust to stop flowing, but it was jammed. "Come on!" she pulled and tugged. "Help! Someone!"
Dreamy qran towards her pulled the leaver quickly.
"Oh!" she gasped. "Thank you." she sighed.
Dreamy stared at her in amazement. "It's you."
"Do we know each other?" she said confused, walking slowly away with her sack of dust.
"You're the woman I saw in my dreams right before I hatched last year."
She chuckled. "You're one?" she put in on the wooden elevator.
"I know. I look young for my age."
"Oh, no! The Fairy Dust!" she let out as the elevator was pulled up. She tryed to reach for it. "Oh!"
The sack fell onto another conveyer belt, that was heading directly to a huge fire.
"Please!" she cryed as Dreamy ran after it. He took his axe and climbed up to the conveyer belt. Then he caught the sack with the blade of his axe before it tumbled into the flames.
She whooped and gasped in delight as Dreamy jumped down to her, the sack in his hands. She took the sack and smiled happily. Then her face became down. "I'm an idiot. All I ever wanted was to be a fairy godmother. That was my dream, but I can't even pick up Fairy Dust alone. I'm so clumsy."
"No, you're not. I think you'd make a great fairy godmother."
"You really think so?"
"I believe you can do anything you want, as long as you can dream it."
She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Nova."
He took it and shook it. "I'm Dreamy."
"You know..........Dreamy.........as fairies..........we get to spend very little time in your world...........and I was thiking about making a stop on my way back....... Have you ever been to see the fireflies?"
"I barely even get out of the mines."
"I heard it's beautiful. That they come out just after sunset on Firefly Hill." she said excitedly. "I easygoing to see them tonight on my way back." she smiled.
"Oh.....sounds fun." he smiled, a little disappointed.
She chuckled.
"Have a good time." he smiled again and turned away.
"Dreamy?"
He turned to her again.
"Thanks. You're my hero." she smiled and walked away, laughing happily.
Dreamy watched her go, his face bright and his eyes gazing at her as she left.