Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 17: The Hold of Evil

Oh crap, what am I going to do? Crystal thinks to herself. She presses her back against the door, knowing she has minutes, maybe only seconds to act. She really doesn't want to leave Aurora and Phillip alone, she's afraid about what the Black Fairy might do to them if she does... and at the same time, she needs to hide from her grandmother. If the entity of all darkness finds out that someone is trying to break her curse, she'll likely kill or attempt to stop the instigator. Crystal knew she was not powerful enough to stop her grandmother on her own and her presence in the city must remain a secret for a little bit longer.

Knowing that she's got no other choice but to run in order to avoid being discovered, Crystal freezes the couple in their embrace and then teleports away, hoping and praying that the Black Fairy doesn't do anything to them. She appears on the street behind the hospital to avoid being seen by other bystanders. No doubt the predators known as reporters and the media would be swamping the hospital, trying to get the details about Phillip's miraculous discovery. She then snaps her fingers, releasing her magical hold on the two, just in time as Fiona appears, knocking on the door.

"Come in," Aurora says. When she sees who it is, the young waitress/princess becomes very surprised and stands up, unable to properly respond to the surprise of having the mayor of the city visit her and her husband in their hospital room. "Madam Mayor, I didn't expect you to be here."

"I just wanted to ensure that our missing person is now getting adequate medical attention and I also keep the growing swarm of media from gaining access to this room. How are you feeling Mr. Jacobs?"

"Weak," he answers, slowly adjusting himself with the tubes and wires poking out of him. Aurora holds his hand the entire time, refusing to leave his side. "I just can't believe that I'm here."

"Do you remember what happened?" Fiona inquires, biting her lip. She knows that it was unlikely that the foolish prince would remember the curse, but if that wave of light was true love's kiss, it's a factor the dark fairy needs to consider. Internally, she needs to prevent herself from strangling the princess, who unknowingly broke the sleeping curse that surrounded her husband. The happiness felt in the room is like breathing in poisoned gas for this embodiment of evil. She was just lucky that the entire curse did not break. In fact, how did this air-head even know that a kiss would wake her husband? Suspicions begin to arise as Fiona pushes back some of her black coloured bangs from her face.

"Not really. Right now, all I remember is darkness. It's really just a blur and more darkness."

"But you do know who you are?" Fiona asks, holding her breath.

"I'm Major Phillip Jacobs, a former veteran of the United States Army. I have a wife named Aurora Jacobs and our son, named after me, Phillip Stefan Jacobs. We live at 86 Horton Avenue in Stygian city and according to Aurora, I've been missing for the past year."

Fiona sighs in relief, the true love's kiss may have broken her sleeping curse, but not the darker, more powerful one, the one meant to destroy the Saviour's belief and hope of a happy ending. "Well... that is certainly a step in the right direction," she says, forcing herself to smile. "I think I should allow Dr. Whale to come in and examine you more closely to ensure you haven't suffered any further trauma. I'm glad that you have been found safe and sound Major Jacobs."

"Thank you, Madam Mayor," the prince says, smiling and then weakly lifts Aurora's hand to his mouth and kisses it.

Fiona exits the hospital room and begins going back down the hall. She hates that happiness has been restored to these two royals, it made her stomach churn violently with acid and anger. How the hell did Phillip end up in a boat down by the beach? He'd been locked away in a mansion after the curse hit, the Black Fairy knows this, she did a check on all the former citizens of Storybrooke to ensure that they were miserable and there was no hope that couples could find each other. Yet, somehow, someone had bypassed her dark spells and managed to find the prince... but how?