Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 94 - Oh Sweet Darkness

David knocked on Archie's office door and waited. The door opened and Archie looked at him surprised.
"David. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Dr. Hopper, I need your help." he stepped inside.
"Okay. What is it?"
David turned around to him again. "I've been having these blackouts. And I need to remember what happened during them."
"Why?"
"I think I might know something that can help Mary Margaret."
Archie nodded and closed the door.

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Charming pushed open the giant, wooden double doors of Rumplestiltskin's Dark Castle.
"Rumplestiltskin." he called walking into the giant hall and looking around. "Show yourself."
"Still dressing like a Prince, I see........" said Rumplestiltskin from the front doors, looking up and down at his scarlet red cape and rich clothing.
Coming turned around.
".........Even though you ran away from the life I gave you. How's that for gratitude?" he walked towards him.
"You gave me a prison sentence."
"Yeah, one that you've now skirted."
They both glared at one another. Facing one another over the grand, circular oak table that sat between them, a bouquet of red roses on it.
"Careful, dearie. King George is a vengeful man."
"I'm here about Snow. Rumour has it she's after the Queen qnd she came to you for help."
"Yes, indeed."
Charming drew his sword over the table and Rumplestiltskin hopped backwards, avoiding the blade and chuckling in amusement.
"What did you do to her?" shouted Charming.
"Want did I do to her? You mean, what did you do to her?"
They circled the table, slowly.
"You caused her pain. Without that pain she would never have drank my potion to forget about you. That's what changed her."
Charming had now stopped circling the table, listening to Rumplestiltskin as he walked around the table to him and stepped carelessly into the sword, allowing the tip to nearly pierce his chest.
"Undo the potion. All magic can be broken."
"Oh yes, with true love." he said in a high pitched voice.
"So that's it, then. True love's kiss will awaken her?"
"Most certainly. But it's gonna be hard to kiss her when you don't know where she is." he knocked the blade of his sword away with his hand and chuckled.
Charming put his back into his belt. "Name your price."
Rumplestiltskin stopped, his back turned to him. He thought for a moment. "How about your cloak?" he turned on his heal to face him again.
"My cloak? Why would you want my cloak?"
"It's drafty in here." he chuckled.
Charming stared at him then pulled his red cloak off, throwing it onto the table next to the bouquet of red roses. "Where is she?"
"On her way to the Queen's Highway." he stepped forward and waved his hand and a map appeared. "This is the route she's taking. But you better be quick........"
Charming grabbed it from his hands and stared at the parchment in his hands.
"Because if she kills the Queen, she becomes as evil as the woman whose life she takes."
"She can never become that evil." he walked quickly to the doors.
"Evil isn't born, dearie. It's made." he called after him. "If Snow starts down that road, you'll never get her back!"
The huge doors slamed shut and the little light in the castle dissappeared. Rumplestiltskin looked down at Charming's cloak on the table and gentle picked it up, holding it up to his face and beaming.

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Snow pulled on the dark gaurds cloak and kneeled down on the snowy, earthen ground in the forest. She picked up the bow and held it up, pulling the wire and testing it's elastic.
They suddenly a leather gloved hand grasped her mouth and pulled her back.
She shrugged and tugged the hands away from her mouth. "Get your hands off me!" she shouted.
Charming attempted to keep her steady, holding her close to him, put she pulled away. "Snow!" he shouted.
She punched and wrestled with him furiously. "Who are you? What are you doing?"
"I'm helping you remember." he held her arms steady and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened in shock as he kissed her and then she pulled away.
"I told you, I will always find you." he smiled.
She stared at him on shock and knocked him over the head with the hard wood of her bow and he fell hard to the snowy ground, bashing his head on the roots of a tree.
He looked up, his eye sight blurring. He gazed up at her pale face, and the snowflakes in her dark hair, her blood red lips. Then she faded away as his eye lids gently fell.

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Emma walked up the stairs to her and Mary Margaret's apartment, the case files under her arm. She then stopped in her tracks when she saw Henry sitting on the last step.
"I have proof!" he let out.
Emma stared at him inquringly.
He held up Regina's skull keys. "This is how my mom got in your apartment. This is how she framed Miss. Blanchard."
Emma walked up the last few steps and took the keys. "Did you steal these from her office?"
"Yeah, the book said they could open any door."
She looked down at the keys. "There's no way they'll even fit in the lock."
"We have to try." he took the keys and got to his feet. He walked to the door and Emma followed.
He tryed to fit one key out of the fifty in the lock, but it didn't fit. He tryed the next but it didn't fit either.
Emma looked at him in pity. "See, what did I tell you? Come on, Henry. I know you want to think the answer to everything is in Operation Cobra....."
"It is!" he exclaimed, turning to her.
"But sometimes the real world needs to come first." she pulled out her own keys and stepped closer to the door.
"Just try one more. Please." he said before she unlocked the door.
"Okay. One more. But then we're done."
"You do it." he held up the giant key chain and picked one of the silver skull keys. "This one."
"Okay." she took it and put it into the key hole, then twisted it. She heard a click and the door swung open when she let go. She stared in amazement at the open door and the skull key in the lock.
"Do you believe now?" Henry asked.

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Charming's eye sight blurred back to vision and in front of him, once again he saw Snow's face hooded in a dark cloak. She stepped closer to him.
On his head was a gushing, swollen scab and his arms were tied to a tree. "Snow!" he tugged and pulled at the ropes but he couldn't break free.
"I assume you're the man Rumplestiltskin helped me forget." said Snow. "What's your name again?"
"It's me, Charming."
"Charming?" she shook her head a little and raised her eyebrows. "Beginning to see why I drank that potion." she turned away and packed some supplies in sack.
"This doesn't make any sense. True love's kiss should have restored your memories."
"It's not true love because I don't love you."
"Yes, you do. You just don't remember. You love me and I love you."
She turned back to him, the sack over her shoulder and the bow in her hand. "Words, words, words. That's all that love is. And unfortunately for you, words don't mean anything to me. You know what does mean something to me? Taking action and that's exactly what I'm going to go do." she turned away and walked through the dark, snowy forest.
"Snow. Snow! Listen to me."
She turned and looked at him once more.
"You can't do this. It's not who you want to be. You can't kill her."
"Really?.........Watch me." she glared at him and walked quickly away.
"Don't do it! Snow! Snow!" he shouted.