Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 121 - Small But Mighty

Regina stood in her office, staring out of her window and into the garden again, her face down, tears nearly filling in her eyes until she heard the door open and her face lifted.
Jefferson stepped inside and slammed the door, rage in his eyes, the white rabbit card in his hand.
She turned from the window and looked at him. "Jefferson."
He tapped the card angrily in his fingers, glaring at her.
"So you got my message." she smiled, walking slowly towards him.
"How could I miss it? You know I watch her."
She sighed and walked quickly accross the room. "Must be so painful, your daughter Paige being oh-so-near."
"Grace. Her name is Grace. You should know that. You changed it." he turned to her as she poured two glasses of apple cider at a little table by the grey and black tree designed wallpaper.
"What do you want?" he breathed.
"Your help."
"And what makes you think I won't kill you after everything you've done."
She turned her head to him. "Because you don't have it in you. If you did, you would have done it twenty-eight years ago when I brought you here." she walked back to him, the two crystal glasses of apple cider in her hands. "Because you know if I'm dead, you'll never get back to your daughter." she stared at him and held out one of the glasses. "And I've a way for us ti both get what we want."
Jefferson glared at her and placed the old white rabbit card he held into the glass of cider she held out.
She stared down at the glass disapprovingly and walked to her desk, outings glass down on it ans walking to the lounge, where next to it she picked up a brown, circular, leather box. She walked past him to the other end of the room and placed it down on the dining table. She turned to him, smiling.
He raised his eyebrows and walked towards the table. "My hat." he unhatched the latches at the front and threw the lid open. He stared down into it then stepped away quickly.
Regina turned to him again. "I want you to use it again."
He shook his head, staring at her with his blue, dark lined eyes. "I can't make it work. No one can. Not here. Not without magic."
"Well, they're in luck because I happen to have some." she whispered a little at the end. "Not a lot......" she put her glass of apple cider down and looked into the box at the tattered black hat. ".......but hopefully enough for one last journey." she said, taking the hat gently from the box.
"Where?"
She held out the hat before him. "Back to our land. Where there is a solution to a very delicate problem I have. How to get rid of the one person who could break my curse."
"Emma." he smiled briefly. "And why shouldn't I let her do just that? End the madness and go home."
She chuckled. "To your hovel?" she turned and placed the hat back into the round, leather box. "Selling fungus at the fair? Why? When you can just stay here in the mansion I gave you."
He said nothing and slipped his hands in his long coat pockets.
She sighed and walked past him, tapping his shoulder. "My problem, Jefferson, is the same as yours." she looked down at the ground. "It's family." she looked back at him. "We both want our children back. And we both can get them. If we work together."
"Why should I trust you now?"
"You shouldn't. But it's the only offer you've got. After we're through, I'll wake up your dear Grace so she remembers who you are."
"No." he said loudly, he sighed and stepped closer to her, glaring at her. "Remembering is the worst curse. Two lives in her head, like me...... I want to forget........ I want you to write us a new story. A fresh start, here."
She smiled. "Well, my dear Jefferson, then that's exactly what you'll have." she walked past him to her desk, buy turned before she reached it. "Oh, after we take care of Miss. Swan."

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The dwarfs, Granny stood behind Snow on the outskirts of the forest a little away from King George's castle that lit up in the darkness with the pale moon. Suddenly there was a howl of a wolf in the distance.
"Thank you, Red." said Snow into the night quitely. "Do it." she said to the dwarfs and Granny.
One of the dwarfs took his arrow and held it into a flames, then he held it up in his bow, the flames lighting up his face. He pulled the bow back, then let go of the flaming arrow, allowing it to sore through the dark sky, towards the castle.
"Move out." said Snow and they walked quickly towards the castle.
The dwarfs pulled their dark hoods over their heads as they walked.
"I miss Stealthy." said Grumpy.

In the dark blue sky, above the castle, in the grey clouds, the Blue Fairy hovered staring down at the castle below, hundreds of other, bright and colourful fairies behind her. Then she saw the flaming arrow sore into the castle courtyard.
"We're a go." she turned to the fairies. "Fairies! Attack!"
They all shot down below the clouds and above the lake, hovering, waiting, all of their wings creating a long and strong buzzing sound.

Snow, the dwarfs and Granny now stood before the castle wall, holding up crossbows and bows, with metal bars tied to ropes inside, pointing up towards the top of the castle wall. They, together let go of the bars and they flew up through the air and over the wall, clattering when they hit the stone of the castle. They pulled the rope that they all held down below and the bars held tight between the parapets. Granny nodded at them from the side and Snow held tight to the rope and began to climb up the wall. The hooded dwarfs stepped forward and held tight to the ropes as well as they began to climb the wall.
Snow reached the top of the wall and jumped down on her honkers on the parapet walk. She looked around at corbels on either side, then saw one of King George's gaurds run from on of them towards her, his sword draw. She pulled from her boot a little silver blade and threw it at the gaurd. It pierced into his stomach and Snow ran towards him, kicking him in the face and he fell back into the stone ground. She then turned to see another silver gaurd run towards her, brandishing his sword. She drew her sword and their blades clinked off one another and she kneed him in the shin. He attempted to attack her again put she jumped up onto his back, wrestling him and finally, knocking him over his helmet with the heed of her sword. They both fell to the ground as another gaurd charged towards her, his sword also draw. She looked up as he was about to strick with his blade but he fell forward, grunting, a pickaxe thrust into his back. Behind him Grumpy shouted loudly staring at the axe he had through into the flesh.
Snow looked down at the gaurd's motionless body next to her and up at Grumpy surprised.
He stared at her and grinned and she smiled back at him in relief. He bent forward and yanked his pickaxe from the silver gaurd's back, bloodstained and razor sharp. He held it up high and nodded to Snow.
She stood up and walked quickly past him, patting his shoulder then ran through one of the corbels. The rest of the dwarfs soon hopped over the parapet wall and followed Snow, their pickaxe's at hand, their faces hooded.

Snow quitly and slowly pushed a wooden door open to the castle courtyard to see peasants working hard and gaurds patrolling. She hesitated then ran into the courtyard, yelling loudly as she charged at one of the gaurds. The peasants looked around fearfully and all the gaurds dressed their swords. She slid beneath the gaurds brandished sword and sliced into his stomach with her own. He fell to the pebbled ground with a thud and she charged at another gaurd, their swords clinking until she thrust her blade into his chest.
The dwarfs charged from the corbel, brandishing their axes ferociously, swinging and flinging them into every passing, armed gaurd as the peasants fled from the courtyard.
Snow fought with the trained silver gaurds, beating them, tripping them every time, no fear in her eyes, only determination. She beamed as she looked around the courtyard seeing all the gaurds being beaten by her small but mighty army of dwarfs. They flung their axes, kicked them to the ground and knocked them into the little stalls and wheelbarrows of hay. Swords clinked, grunts of pain and victory came from all around and the thud of gaurds falling to the ground was almost like an echo in the courtyard.
Snow turned on her heel once more to defend herself from a gaurd and knocked him over the head with the heed of her sword like before. She then looked around again, satisfied at the white caped gaurds motionless on the ground and the seven dwarfs standing in one piece with their pickaxes.
They ran towards her, the blades of their pickaxes and swords bloodstained. They smiled looking around at one another relieved.
Then Snow turned on her heal, her sword brandished and stopped to see half a dozen of King George's gaurds running towards them. They stopped before them and Snow and her little army turned around butfound they were trapped as the gaurds they thought they had defeated stumbled to their feet. The stared around the courtyard, surrounded, trapped.
As the gaurds nearer closer to them a loud buzzing sound came from above in the dark night sky. The hooded dwarfs raised their heads to look up into the night, smiles growing on their faces as they saw hundreds of bright and colourful fairies souring in the sky towards the courtyard.
"Let's go!" shouted the Blue Fairy to the fairies.
With that they darted down towards the castle courtyard firing balls of pixie-dust at the confused gaurds. The the balls exploded by the gaurds, knocking them clean out.
They dwarfs and Snow then took their chance and ran from the courtyard, stepping on the motionless silver and white gaurds on the ground.