Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 120 - How The Curse Was Designed

Regina stomped into Mr. Gold's pawn shop, the bell jingling vigorously as she slammed it shut.
Mr. Gold looked up from behind the counter. "Your Majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked when he saw her.
She stomp to the other side of the counter and held up her rotten, dead apple. "My tree is dying. Why?"
"Perhaps it's your fertiliser." he smiled.
Regina put her hands against the counter and leaned forward. "You think this is funny? Well, I'll tell you what I think. I think it's a sign of the curse weakening. Because of Emma. But do you care? No. You're content to just sit back and do......whatever it is you're doing." she waved her hand around the shop. "While all my hard work burns." she shouted.
"That's not all, is it?"
She stared at him and tilted her head in confusion.
"Come on. You might as well get everything off your chest."
She scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He walked around to the other side of the creepy, old shop.
"Henry." he turned to her. "Miss. Swan wants him."
"She'll have that boy over my dead body."
"The curse was meant to take away Snow White and Prince Charming's happiness. Perhas you giving up Henry is just the price to keep the curse unbroken."
Regina stared at him. "I think I'd rather just get rid of her."
He stepped behind the counter again. "Well, we'll. You're gonna have to be quite creative. We both know the repercussions in killing Miss. Swan."
"The curse would be broken." They said at the same time.
"That's because you designed it that way." said Regina, stepping closer to the counter. "Undo it."
He chuckled and again stepped around the counter. "You know, even if I wanted to, I couldn't." he walked down along the shop. "Magic, well, is in short supply around here. And dwindling by the minute."
"You want the curse broken." she said quitely. "Why?" she demanded.
"That's not something I care to discuss."
"Don't bother. You can shove your reasons." she walked towards him yet again. "I want to strick a new deal."
He turned his head to her.
"One where I changed rid of Emma without shattering the curse."
"Unfortunately for you, a negotiation requires two interested parties. And I'm already planning a trip." he walked away to the other end on thesis and stopped before a vintage globe.
"I'll give you anything."
He turned to look at her. "Oh....... You no longer have anything I want, dearie. But I will give you a piece of advise, free of charge. I'd plans trip of your own. Because once people waken up and remember who you are and what you did to them......." he chuckled and turned back to the globe. "......they are gonna be looking for blood." he spun the old globe and watched it, staring at it, almost in a daze.
Regina stood behind him, fear in her eyes, fear of being defeated, fear of being powerless.

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The school bell rang outside and the last few children ran into the school.
Regina stood near the schoolyard, by the children's little bicycles. She stood by a little pink bike with a basket, bright tinsel hanging from the handles and a yellow plate on the back reading Maine PAIGE Storybrooke. Regina leaned forward and hooked onto the yellow plate an old, playing card with a rabbit in a waist-coat, holding a pocket watch with the words White Rabbit on it. She stared down at it then up at the schoolyard, smiling maliciously.

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Mary Margaret stood at her counter in her apartment, pouring some orange juice from a jug into a glass as the door opened and Emma stepped inside, bags in her hands, her face down. She shut the door.
Mary Margaret glanced up at her, then carried on making breakfast. "Oh, thought you'd left."
Emma put her bags down on the floor outside the door. "Mary Margaret......"
"But I couldn't tell for sure because you didn't bother to say goodbye." she looked up at her now. "Do you remember when I left, when I ran, what you said to me? You said we have to stick together.That were like.....family."
"Yeah..... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left."
"You're right. You shouldn't have." she shouted. "So why, after everything, did you just go?"
"I don't want to be Sherif. I don't want people relying on me. I don't want this. Any of it."
"What about Henry?"
"I took him with me."
Mary Margaret folded her arms and looked around the room, shocked. "You abducted him?" she said after a moment.
"Maybe."
"So you don't want people to rely on you but you tool your son? Now that sounds like a stable home for him." she shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I want what's best for him."
"And running is what's best for him? Or is that what's best for you? You're reverting, Emma, into the person you were before you got here, and I thought you'd changed."
"You thought wrong." she said quitely, staring down at the floor. "Well, regardless, you have to do what's right for Henry now." she stired her herbal tea.
Emma looked up at her. "What's that?"
"Oh, I don't know. You're his mother. That's your job. So you figure it out." she said, glaring at her.

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Snow looked through a golden spyglass, standing in the midst of the forest, in the pale, moon lite night with the dwarfs and Granny by her side. She watched King George's castle carefully, the gaurds pasing the parapets, armed eyeing the area around.
"If we're gonna get him our, we're gonna have to get over that wall." she said. "There's a soldier on every parapet."
"We're gonna need some air support." said Granny as Snow held the spyglass down.
"Air?" said Grumpy, holding a crossbow. "I know just the person who can help us. Someone who owes me a favour."
Snow smiled.
Then suddenly a rustle came from the trees and bushes near by. They all turned holding up their weapons, from crossbows to spears. Then Red cane running from the dark trees, blood smeared on her mouth.
"Don't shoot. It's only me."
"Ah, Red, you know, you got something on your chin." said Grumpy.
Red wiped her face with the back of her gloved hand. "Sorry."
"What were you able to find out?" Snow asked.
"Your Prince is still alive."
"Then why don't you look happy?"
"Because I also heard word the Queen is here."
The dwarfs looked at each other.
"She knew I'd come for him."
"It's a trap." said Granny.
"Indeed. It matters not. I can't stop now." she turned around to the dwarfs and Granny. "But I'll understand if any of you wanna turn back."
"No!" They all at the same time. "Not a chance." said Grumpy.
Snow sighed happily ans smiled. "Well, then there's no time to waste."
They nodded and began to walked down through the forest.
Red walked towards Snow before she followed them. "Why is the Queen doing this?" she asked.
Snow stopped ans looked around at her. "I destroyed her happiness. And now she wants to destroy mine."

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Charming sat in the dungeons of the castle, his hands cuffed, his face down, staring at the rough, stone ground.
Suddenly there were footsteps to be heard, echoing in the dungeons and he looked up to see the Evil Queen walked down, through the dungeons in her dark, majestic, purple gown. "Leave us." she said to the gaurds near by.
They turned and walked away as she waved her hand and the bared door opened to his cell. She stepped inside, smiling.
"What do you want?" he spat.
The Queen steped close to him, looking him up and down with her dark eyes and gaining. "I suppose I see the allure." she touched his leather coat, by his chest with her fingertips, but he knocked her hand out of the way with his cuffed hands.
She stared at him, taken aback. "I wonder if you will be quite so incorruptible after your precious Snow is gone."
"Whatever she did to you, leave her alone and take my life instead."
"Oh, who said anything about taking her life?.... Oh, no. I have a far more satisfying brand of punishment for her." she grined with her dark red lips against white teeth and then turned away, walking to the bared door of the cell and pulling a blood red apple from a satchel in her hand and holding it up next to her, laughing evily. Charming attempted to run at her but the bars shut in his face as she stepped out of the cell. He clung to the dirty, rusty bars, and shook them vigorously as though he could pull them apart.