Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 80 - Candle Selling

Mary Margaret and Leroy stood by the stall of pale candles, with a shelter above them with fairylights decorating it.
Mary Margaret held up some candles and called softly to the people who walked around the fair set up by the Town Hall. "Buy your Miners Day candles here! Handmade by Storybrooke's very own nuns."
Leroy stood uselessly next to her, his face down, watching her pitiful as tryed to sell the candles.
"Light your way to a good cause, by buying a candle!" she looked around at the people buying things from the other stalls and smiling happily. "This isn't working." she said to Leroy.
''You're right, we should pack it up.''
''Now you're quiting?''
He turned to face her. ''If the customers won't come to us, we gotta go to them. Door to door.''
''If they hate us here, what makes you think they'll like us in their homes?'' she argued.
''Exactly....... They'll pay us just to leave.'' he smiled and began to pack away the candles into the boxes.
Mary Margaret thought about this for a moment then helped him.

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Sidney stood at a stall at the fair throughing hopps over the bear and milk bottles, trying to foolishly win a prize.
Emma walked towards him. ''What the hell are you doing?'' she said, raising her eyebrows.
He turned to her. ''What's happening?''
''I just got off the phone with Kathryn's school in Boston. Regestration was this morning and she never showed up.''' she said, conserned.
''Something did happen.''
''It loooks that way.''
''Oh, Emma.......'' said Mary Margaret, running towards her when she saw her in the small crowds.
Emma turned to her.
''.........Help me out. What looks more sympathetic? Scarf or no scarf.'' she unravelled the pale brown scarf from around her neck and allowed it to hang around her shoulders.
Emma looked at her, confused. ''......Sc......Scarf.''
''Okay.'' she wrapped it around her neck again.
''Come on, we're on a schedule.'' said Leroy, some of the boxes of candles in his arms, beaming.
''Thank you, gotta go.'' said Mary Margaret quickly following Leroy through the crowds by the Town Hall.
Emma raised her eyebrows and looked back at Sidney.
''Why didn't you say anything?'' asked Sidney. ''You're looking for a suspect. Someone with a motive. Pixie cut over there's got one a mile high.''
''She had nothing to do with this. Trusr me.''
''But she's the one..........'' he began to argue.
''Trust me. I know her. Just give me those records.'' she interupted, then she turned and walked away.

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Mary Margaret and Leroy began to go from door to door, attempting to sell their candles.
"Hi. We're selling candles for Miners Day." said Mary Margaret as a old man opened the front door of his house to them.
He smiled then a younger woman walked to the door and looked them up and down, glaring at them. "We're not interested." she said repolsivly, slamming the door in their faces.
Their smiles faded away.
They went to the next door, beaming this time, but the door was only slammed in their faces again. The next door was the same, as was the next and the next one and all the others that followed. They didn't even get a chance to say anything, doors shut in their faces, people glared at them and gave them dirty looks, they looked down at them in disgust, at the two most hated people in town.

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The eight dwarfs sat in a tavern drinking and laughing at one another's jokes.
Dreamy sat at the end of the table, alone, his face down.
Bossy walked towards him and sat down opposite him. "What's the matter? You barely touched your food."
He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "I don't know. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I don't feel like myself. Maybe I should have Doc take a look at me." he glanced over at Doc, toasting with the other dwarfs.
"You're gonna trust a dwarf who got his medical degree from a pickaxe? I wouldn't worry about it. Dwarfs don't get sick. It must be in you're head." he tapped his head.
"It's not in his head." said a young woman's voice from behind them. "It's in his heart."
Dreamy turned around to see Belle in her light blue maiden's dress, sitting alone at a table next to them.
She gazed at the table. "You're in love." she looked up at him.
Dreamy gazed at him, his eyes widening.
"Oh, that's impossible. Dwarfs can't fall in love." said Bossy, laughing at her.
"Trust me......I know love....and you're in it." she said to Dreamy.
Bossy shook his head and waved his hand at her, as if to wave her away. He stood up and walked away scoffly.
"What's it like?" Dreamy asked inquringly, turning in his seat to her table.
She smiled. "It's the most wonderful and amazing thing in the world........ Love is hope....... It fuels our dreams......"
Dreamy listened to every self word that came from her mouth and allowed them to fill his heart.
".......And if you're in it, you need to enjoy it........ Because love doesn't always last forever." her voice began to break.
"But if love's so great then why do I feel so bad right now?"
"You need to be with the person you love.
"Yeah, but how do I know if she feels the same way? All she talked about was going to see some fireflys, not loving me."
"But, what did she tell you about these fireflys?"
"That she was going see them on the hilltop tonight. That she heard that thet were the mist beautiful sight in all the land."
Belle listened carefully, the new began to smile and broke into laughter.
"What?" he said, confused.
"She wasn't telling you about the fireflys.......... She was inviting you to go be with her."
A smile grew on his face. "You think so?"
"I've had my heart broken enough to know when somebody's reaching out."
The other dwarfs cheered and laughed near by, toasting. Dreamy glanced over at them.
Belle looked up at him again. "Now go, find your love."
He smiled, thankfully at her.
"Find your hope........ Find your dreams." she smiled again.

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Sister Astrid stood in the volunteer centre. She then dropped some craft materials on the floor. She bent down and picked them up, clumsily.
Leroy walked into the room and looked at Sister Astrid, his face down. He glanced c over at Mary Margaret at the otherwise of the room and indicated to Astrid, her face stern.
Leroy walked towards her. "Sister Astrid?"
She got to her feet and smiled. "Hi." she put the craft materials back onto the desk then turned back to him.
"I have to talk to you........" he stepped closer to her. ".........see, I have some bad news."
Her face fell. "Oh, no, what is it?"
"The badness is that........that......." he gazed up into her face, at loss at what to say, then he changed his mind. "You nuns are gonna be real busy making candles. Cause me and Mary Margaret just sold them all!"
Mary Margaret's face dropped as she listened at the other end of the room, shock in her face as the words came from his mouth.
"You're not losing the convent. You're not going anywhere."
Astrid jumped in glee and chuckled happily wrapping her arms around Leroy.
Mary Margaret glared at him furiously.
Leroy stood there in regret, smiling nervously.