Once Upon A Time - Ocean Of Darkness

XII

The house was surprisingly innocent. Hearing Regina's description of her mother, Belle assumed Cora would live in some sort of malevolent castle towering over the terrorized people of Brooklyn. But what she was really faced was a rustic cottage with a freshly mowed lawn and a simple mailbox with "Mills" written across it in delicate letters. It was difficult to picture Regina growing up here, being brought home for the first time as an infant right through the door. Maybe it was because Belle couldn't picture that for her own self, she never had that.

Her colleagues had dropped her off outside the house, so that they could park elsewhere and surround the house undetected. The plan was simply the worst, and Belle felt lucky to be armed because she had the most terrible feeling that it was going to go wrong. The lawn was paved down the centre with cement that led up to the door, awaiting for her hand to gently knock. She gently touched her purse, making sure her gun was still available to use in case of a drastic situation. With every step she took towards the door she could feel her heart rapidly beating, desperately trying to rip out of her chest. And when she reached the entrance, she took a breath in so deep she felt the air around her lessen. And her hand shot up, clenched into a fist tightly as she lightly knocked on the wood. This was the moment she was anxious about, waiting.

She could hear the creaking of a chair as an assumed person got up from it and walked towards the door. She could hear every step on the rickety floor, and the blurred glass window on the door portrayed a muddled version of a woman approaching the door.
The door handle turned, and opened swiftly. The woman was around the same height as Belle, so she could directly look forward and see her pale blue eyes. They looked like they had once been lively and vibrant, but all of the cheeriness and joy left in them had been sucked out. Her chestnut coloured hair was pulled back tightly, making he hairs on the side of her head perfectly uniformed and straight. And with her hair pulled back it gave better attention to her face, which was structured and defined. Her lips were thin and stretched ear to ear as she smiled, looking so tight that Belle was worried they'd rip apart from the strain. She had a somewhat youthful appearance and yet her age was presented clearly by the wrinkles that appeared across her face. She looked like she had received massive trauma but still was smiling throughout all of it. She looked desperate to try and appear like a normal woman who didn't have a care in the world, and that was suspicious.
"You must be Pauline's daughter." The woman grinned. "I'm Cora, Cora Mills."

Well that was good confirmation, Belle would've hated to knock on the door of Sharlene Jenkins or something.
"I'm Zara." Belle lied "it's great to meet you, I'm glad my mother informed you of my visit"
"Come take a seat, dear." Cora smiled as she gestured her to a room to her left.
Belle cautiously entered the room, being faced with two antique chairs facing each other, a lamp arched over them like some sort of interrogation scene. A plate of freshly baked biscuits sat innocently beside the two chairs, although Belle was sure she wouldn't take a single bite of one. Belle sat down casually and took observations of her surroudings. She couldn't spot any kind of suspicious activity, but that could definitely be the sign of a criminal.

She could hear Cora close the door harshly as she discretely attempted to lock it without Belle hearing the click. And then she advanced into the area and sat down in the seat facing Belle.
"So how come Pauline's never mentioned you?" Cora smiled.
"Oh, it's a long story."
"I've got all day, honey."
Belle lightly giggled. "We never had a great relationship, I moved away from her long ago, only recently have we gotten back on track with things. I made a lot of mistakes."
"Well all do, I'm glad Pauline has chosen to forgive you. But I don't think I'll be able to."

Belle didn't have any time to react because Cora quickly dug her foot beneath the chair and lifted it with all her might, throwing Belle backwards as she hit against the hardwood floors. Cora leapt over to her, lifting her up off of the ground and shoving her at the wall, pinning her arms against it with her cold hands.
"You know I really wanted to believe your story was real. You don't think I know a bad message when I hear it? Whoever sent you, I hope you know you're not getting anything from me."
Belle laughed through her fear, her head was pounding from the hit and her heart beat heavily.
"You know, I can really see it now. You're just like your daughter, a cold hearted bitch."

Cora chuckled, she knew she had dominance, she was a lot stronger than Belle was, and she knew she shouldn't underestimate her.
"You're working for my daughter? Well you listen to me, you're going to leave. And you're going to tell your little agency that I knew nothing. And trust me, if you dare spill any of this...well, you should know."
"And why keep me alive, what good does that do for you?"
"Not for me dear. For him."

She unpinned Belle from the wall, as she ran towards the door, not looking back at Cora for even a second. 
She continued to run, she wanted to get as far away from here as possible, everything that just happened was too much for her to comprehend right now. She found the van, the team were getting out and ready to surround the building but Belle assured them to stop.
She couldn't tell them, somehow she trusted Cora's threat was truthful. And so now she assumed she'd be furthering her investigation on Cora alone. It wasn't fair to put their lives in danger.
"She didn't know anything, I checked the messages, Gold called her and the whole phone call was a scam, he had the wrong number."

Well that was the worst lie she could've possibly concocted, but she stood by it and hoped the agents would understand. They just nodded and questionably loaded back into the van, and Belle took a deep breath and followed them.