Welcome to a Nightmare

Chapter 19: Act Normal

Chapter 19: Act Normal

"First off," Crystal says, as the two of them sit down in a booth with new cups of hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream on top, their comfort drinks to soothe their nerves and anxieties. "Emma and Killian, did they get married or did the curse interrupt it?"

"They got married," Henry confirms. The daughter of Rumpelstiltskin's heart sinks just a little bit, upset that she'd missed the ceremony of her surrogate sister and her good pirate friend. However, at the same time, if she had been at the wedding, she too would have been swept up in the curse and would likely not be having this conversation with Henry right now. "They were in the middle of their first dance as a happy couple, and we were all singing together."

"Really?" Crystal asks, rather surprised.

Henry goes on to explain the wish that Snow White had made back in the Enchanted Forest to help protect Emma and fight against the Evil Queen's curse, which caused everyone to sing their thoughts. The song in Emma's heart is what protected her from the Black Fairy crushing it and saved her loved ones from an equally terrible fate as they were being held hostage by the wicked woman at the time. Crystal tries to comprehend all this, but it was still a bit weird to her, despite her own existence as Rumpelstiltskin's daughter.

"Sounds like a full-fledged Disney movie," Crystal smirks. "Tell me, was Adele Dazeem singing a female-oriented power ballad there too?" This causes Henry to smile as well, which felt like he was smiling for the first time in years.

"No, but I think my mom and Zelena got their power ballads back then," he says, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"So, you guys were all singing and then..."

"The clock struck six, the curse burst through the clock tower and engulfed everyone," Henry continues.

"And then you woke up in this Black Fairy hell," Crystal finishes. She takes a long sip of her hot chocolate, wishing for something a bit stronger as both of them process the emotional turmoil that they've been through for the past 24 hours. "Seriously, this place is like the alternate present from Back to the Future II. I woke up to find August trying to break into my car."

"August?" Henry's eyes go wide. "You've seen him?"

"Yeah, he was actually trying to hide my car to avoid it being stolen by someone else."

"Well, I woke up, I was yelled at by some ...walkers and almost robbed by a gang, but saved by Grandpa," Henry says.

"Which Grandpa, my dad or Charming?"

"Your dad."

"Does he remember everything?" the daughter of the Dark One asks. If anyone could remember a curse and magic, it was her beloved father. "I mean he's found loopholes to curses before, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't talk to him for very long, so I don't know. I got so overwhelmed that I ended up fainting."

Crystal does not laugh at him when he admits this. There were multiple times today when she felt like doing the same thing; everything was just so wrong and completely confusing that anyone's body would give out due to exhaustion if they were in this situation.

"I woke up in the penthouse of the Black Fairy's casino hotel. I managed to run away before she could do anything else and I ended up seeing Archie..." Henry swallows hard. "He asked me if we needed to set up another appointment, and then he took me to see my mom, Emma."

"Emma? What happened to her?"

"She's broken," Henry says, fighting back tears, remembering how overwhelmed and upset he felt when he saw his mother as a pale, thin patient in the psychiatric hospital. "She doesn't believe in anything anymore and she's locked up in the psychiatric hospital with Great-Grandma shoving meds down her throat and making her feel... well, like me, an outcast because of our beliefs. She doesn't believe in true love or magic anymore. It's so... wrong Crystal, you didn't see the way she acted... she... she..."