Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 90 - Inside the box

Ruby stepped into Granny's Diner. Her face was clear of her dark make-up, her cloths were lighter and the red dye was gone from her hair. She looked fresh, like a new person. She smiled as she stepped inside and glanced over at Granny.
"You look good." said Granny from behind the counter.
"Thanks." she said.
"Want something for the Sherif?"
"No." she took off her jacket and huge it up on the coathanger.
Granny closed the cash machine and winced in pain.
"Your arm okay?"
"Same as it is every full moon." she pulled up her sleeve to show a bit like scar on her arm. She moved it around then looked back up at Ruby. "What are you doing here, Ruby? Are you here to tell me more about your fine new job?"
"I want to come back." she stepped closer to the counter.
"Why? You were pretty mad."
"I wasn't mad."
"Looked like mad from here."
"Yeah. Here's the thing. Um....you were talking about having me do all this stuff, and I wasn't sure..... I said that you wanted me to turn into you. But what I meant was, I don't know how to be you."
Granny looked up at her.
"You're a tough act to follow."
"Oh."
"And then you wanted me to take on all this extra responsible and..... I guess I just got..... scared."
"Don't be. You shouldn't be." she walked closer to her and put the guest book down on the counter.
"Well, I am....... But it's okay.I can do it anyway. I sort of found someone in myself that was more than I expected." she smiled.
"What about adventure? What about lemurs?"
"Emma was my lemur. Did that. Found out I could do that. And also that I don't want to. I don't want a job where a good day means ruining someone's life. I wanna do something that makes me happy. Somewhere I love."
"Look, just so you know....." she smiled. "......I wanted you to do the books and everything so you can take over when I retire."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Own the whole place."
"Own it?"
"Sure. I mean, which else would I give it to but someone's loves me back?"
She smiled and stepped around the counter and put her arms around Granny.
Granny smiled and hugged her. Then they broke away from each other and smiled.
"Proud of you." said Granny.
"What was that?"
"You heard me."

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David and Mary Margaret sat in the animal shelter.
"David, it's gonna okay." reassured Mary Margaret.
David now paced the room. "Really? How do you know that? Because I honestly can't sag anything about my actions any more."
"There has to be an explanation."
He sat down opposite her. "You're right. But the problem is, I don't think it's a good one."
Mary Margaret opened her mouth to say something but before she could the door opened and Emma stepped inside.
Emma looked between Mary Margaret and David, her face full of shock.
"What is it? Did you find her?" asked David, standing up.
"We found a box." said Emma.
Mary Margaret and David looked at one another then back at Emma, confused.
"What does that mean?" asked David.
"We think it....... We think that she......."
"What?" he said quitly.
"There was a human heart inside it."
David's face dropped and his eyes widened when he heard Emma's words. Mary Margaret put her hand on front of her mouth I horror. "Oh, my God."
"No." cryed David, falling down on his knees his hand in front of his mouth too.
"We're gonna send it out for some tests, but there aren't any other missing people."
Mary Margaret got to her feet and looked down at David. "Maybe you should go." she said to Emma quitly.
"There is more." she said as Mary Margaret knelt down on the floor next to David.
"What?" he said through his crying.
"There were fingerprints inside the lid of the box. I ran them through the records of everyone in town, and there was a match."
Mary Margaret looked at David as he stared up at Emma, his face filled with sorrow.
"Arrest me." he said, standing up.
"No!" said Mary Margaret. "David....."
"Arrest me. Emma, do it." he walked closer to her.
"David, the fingerprints weren't yours."
"What?" he said silently.
"They were Mary Margaret's."
Mary Margaret looked around at Emma in shock and David's eyes widened in terror, he looked around at her and Mary Margaret stood there, with nothing to say, fear in her eyes.

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A flamed arrow flew through the air, over the snow cover forest, the arrow flew towards Charming and red who stood by a fire next to the forest.
"Red, look out!" he shouted and knocked it out of the way with his sword.
King George's gaurds rode towards them on their horses, shooting arrows at them.
"We need move. They've found us." said Charming, they ran from the gaurds and he hopped onto his horse. He held out his hand to help her up but she refused it.
"Go. I'll take care of them." said Red.
"Red, I'm not leaving you."
"Find Snow. That's all that matters. Find her."
"What are you gonna do?"
She looked up at the dark skin to see the clouds drift away from the pale moon. "I'm giving you a head start." she pulled off her cloak and Charming turned and rode away.
Red's eyes turned from a pale grey colour to a sharp yellow. She then ran towards the dozens of gaurds running at her. She then turned to the wolf and pounced onto the gaurds, wriping them to shreds, tearing at there flesh, her teeth razor sharp.
Charming listened to the screams and crys of the gaurds behind him as he rod through the forest and past a wanted poster nailed to a tree, with Snow White's face printed on it.

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The camera flashed in Mary Margaret's face, as Emma took tye photos of her in the Sherif's station.
"Please turn to the right." said Emma.
"Emma this is a mistake. I didn't kill Kathryn!" said Mary Margaret.
"Of course you didn't. But while I am your friend, I am still the Sherif, and I have to go where the evidence leads." she walked to desk and looked through the crime photos of Mary Margaret.
"Which points to me?" she walked over to her. "Emma, yesterday, it was David. There's not right here."
"I know. But your fingerprints are on the box. And his are not. So now we have to deal with this." she held up one of the photos.
"Evidence that says I cut out Kathryn's heart.......and bored it in the woods. This is insane." she shook her head.
"If I don't book you, with all this evidence, it's gonna look like favouritism." she explained calmly. "And then Regina will have cause and she will fire me. And then you know what she'll do? She'll bring in someone who will railroad you. So please, just try be pacient and trust me. We can't even move forward till we verify the heart belonged to Kathryn. And I am still waiting for the DNA test result. But in the meantime, you need tobear with me. I have to ask you a few questions."
Mary Margaret listened to Emma, nodded, her eyes filled with tears.
"This is crazy. I would never hurt anyone." she said, as she walked to the door of the Sherif's, Emma behind her.