Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 10: No Longer a Princess

Crystal continues to walk through the streets of what was once the beloved town of Storybrooke. She couldn't believe the way that Leroy had treated her. It was insulting and enraged her to the point that the demonic voice in her head was tempting her to attack him.

Make him suffer, it hissed. Shut his mouth permanently.

But the daughter of the Dark One knew that the dwarf was her friend and she could never hurt him. While Leroy never treated anyone with much respect in the first place; but the dwarf was far beyond his usual sour mood. He was outright hurting her, assuming that she was a prostitute, and roaming the streets looking for clients on the wrong side of town. She's fighting back her tears. She just wants this nightmare to be over. No one remembers who she is, that much is clear, and it broke her heart, making her feel as empty as the streets were.

At one point in her life, Crystal would've loved to be invisible; be a stranger on the street with no ties to anyone and just another face in the crowd. It's how the first three years of her life went after her mother died. She knew she was a danger to everyone and wanted to avoid further sadness and depression in her life by losing someone close to her. She'd decided to "pull an Emma"; build up walls to keep out connections and love to avoid getting hurt and experiencing such loss again. However, that backfired spectacularly as soon as she started working with children. It was hard to resist their charms and innocence, their eager desire to be your friend and the way they looked up to their mentors made it almost impossible for Crystal to keep that vow of loneliness. Her connections had been solidified further when she found her father and the family she always wanted.

But now... it seemed like all of that had been ripped away by her grandmother's curse. Did the Black Fairy even know about Crystal? Most people didn't, so why would a visitor from the Dark Realm know about her either? If the black-hearted woman did know, was this part of her master plan to ruin everyone's happy endings, making everyone forget that her granddaughter ever existed? Sever the ties she'd worked so hard to build with her family and friends.

"I need a drink," she mutters, tucking her hands into her pockets.

She heads down the gray streets, going to the far side where she prayed the infamous bar of Storybrooke still stood. It would still exist, especially if the small Maine town had become a city of similarly seedy dives.

Sure enough, the sign announcing The Rabbit Hole is there with the angry logo gazing down at this alleged stranger. Despite the promise of swearing off alcohol since her years of being in street gangs, Crystal pushes open the door without a second thought, needing something to wash away the pain.

The place is filled with people looking for an afternoon drink. The sounds of rowdy drunk people are heard and the clacking of cue balls at the nearby pool tables. Crystal remembers that Regina had given her step-mother, Belle cursed memories and she had become Lacey, a barfly who hung around here a lot, much to Rumple's dismay. She can't imagine wanting to hang out in a place like this, Killian had told her that his former crew used to hang out here, and they often could not keep their hands off the women. The young adult could not stand the thought of being groped twice in one day and having to throw the pervert to the floor. Fortunately, everyone seems to be minding their own business. Rumple's daughter keeps her eyes down, deciding it seemed hopeless to look for anyone she could recognize because clearly, they wouldn't recognize her anyways.

Once she makes her way to the bar, she leans on it with her head in her hands, still trying to mask the pain.

"What can I get for you stranger?" a female voice asks.

Crystal looks up and gasps when she realizes who is talking to her.

It's Cinderella. The princess who originated the rags to riches story and who had a young daughter, Alexandra with her husband Prince Thomas. Despite Ella's real name, Crystal can see that she's been reverted back to her cursed name of Ashley, written on her name tag. That's not all, she's being forced to wear demeaning looking clothing that shows a lot of cleavage and other areas of her body. She is also being forced to wear bunny ears, keeping with the theme of the rabbit hole.