Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 15: Magic Within

Crystal immediately turns her face away from the woman and her heart enters her throat. The young woman can feel the evil energy radiating from this angry fairy. She can sense the threat she poses to all of them, no wonder this was the Final Battle, trying to defeat the source of all darkness. Fear fills her body, but also anger. While Crystal is aware that it's not her destiny to fight this woman, but she'd sure like to take this mistress of evil down a peg or two. Make her pay for inflicting these horrible lives on these heroes. And if The Black Fairy discovers that she has a granddaughter who is actively trying to break the curse, she'll either kill her or make Crystal's life a living hell.

She slowly tries to walk towards one of the opened doors of the ambulance, to conceal her appearance from the woman and also to spy on the wicked creature. She bites her lip and watches as her grandmother continues to inquire about the scene in question. Knowing she's going to need to hear what's happening, the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin uses her magic to enhance her hearing and focus on the conversation happening between the officer and the mother of Rumpelstiltskin.

"What in God's name is going on here?" Fiona barks at the leading investigator.

"Standard police work Madam Mayor," is the calm answer, but Crystal can hear that the officer's voice is laced with fear.

Mayor... if she's mayor, what happened to Regina?

"What has happened? Why is there a rust bucket boat on the shores of my city?"

"Please Miss Blackwell, everything is being done to remove it, but first it has to be searched for clues."

"Clues? Why the hell would you need to search it for clues?"

"Because Madam Mayor, we've just closed a year-long missing person's case."

This makes the wicked woman pause. Crystal can sense the anxiety and shock in this periodic silence. It's not often that the essence of all darkness is left without something to say.

"Which one?"

ONE?! Crystal's stomach turns violently. How many more of these heroes of Storybrooke have gone missing, and most likely by her hand as well.

"The missing army major, Phillip Jacobs..."

Crystal smiles internally when she sees the colour drain from her grandmother's face.

"Y-You mean you found him?!" she says, the composure and rage having left her voice, leaving it in an almost high-pitched squeak as she spoke those words.

"Yes, Ma'me."

"You mean the body?"

"No Madam Mayor, by some sheer miracle he's alive, although he is in a delicate state right now."

"What...What do you mean?"

"Well, the evidence suggests that he's been drifting along the Portland coastline in this rust bucket of a boat for quite some time. With little food, water, or any form of naval equipment to navigate."

A breath of relief seems to leave Fiona's mouth as she was not implicated in his disappearance, but she was still puzzled by the circumstances. She sort of wishes that she'd paid more attention to where her curse sent every citizen, maybe had a detailed itinerary/log to know who was where. She knew that she had separated the two royals from another to ruin their happy ending, but she had no idea where the prince would have been. He could have been trapped in a well somewhere for all she cared, ruining the Saviour's belief was her top priority; however, the prince found in a boat adrift in the harbour drew too much attention and didn't make sense for the curse to do something bizarre like that. She knew something was up about the whole situation.