Crocodile's Daughter - Magic is Coming

19 - Lacey

My father and I watched as Neal and Henry swordfight with wooden swords. "Seems like we've all been pushed to the sidelines," Regina said. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "The real question is, what is your son doing with mine?" Regina asked. "Oh, that. That's right, you didn't get the birth announcement, did you? That's Henry's father," He said.

"What?" She asked. "Do we have to spell it out for you? Ms. Swan and my son--" He started. "You're Henry's grandfather? And you're his aunt?" She asked. "Guess that makes us family. He's got my eyes, don't you think?" He asked. "You did this," She accused.

"Trust me, dearie, it was as much a shock to me as it is to you," He said, and she scoffed. "No. You must have known. When I adopted him, it was you who procured him for me. You expect me to believe that that was a coincidence?" She asked. "No, not coincidence. Fate. And apparently, fate has a sense of humor," He said. "Fate. So you're playing the part of the loving grandpa now? They won't accept you, no matter what you do. Not your son, not any of them," She said. "Yeah, we'll see," He said.

"I've already seen, Gold. I've seen your dark heart, and it always wins out. You always choose darkness," She said. "You know, you think you know me, dearie. But you don't," He said. "I know you well enough. If your own son couldn't bring out the good in you, who will?" She asked, then walked away. "Don't listen to her. She's just trying to make you doubt," I said. "Well, she's right. He couldn't bring out the good in me," He said. "I don't believe that," I said, then went over to Henry and Neal.

-

Belle sat on the bed, crying when the door creaked open. "When you so eagerly agreed to come work for me, I assumed you wouldn't miss your family quite so much," My father said, coming in. "I made my sacrifice for them. Of--Of course I miss them, you beast!" She snapped. "Yes, yes, of course. But the crying must stop. Night after night. It's making it very difficult for me to spin. You know, I do my best thinking then. Here," He said, summoning a pillow. "You could've cast a muffling spell. Shouldn't be too difficult for the 'all-powerful' Dark One," I said from my spot on the floor.

"Perhaps this'll help?" He asked. "For me?" She asked. "Not quite so beastly now, am I?" He said, throwing the pillow at her. "Thank you. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep," She said. "No, no, no. It's not to help you sleep, dearie. It's to muffle the cries so I can get back to work!" He yelled when we heard glass shatter. He walked out, and we followed him.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, dearie?" He asked a cloaked man who had a bow and arrow. "Pretty sure," The thief said. "If you don't know how to use that wand, it can do nasty things to you," He said. "Well, then, uh...I'll stick to what I know works. Do you know what this arrow can do to you?" Thief asked. "Has to hit me first," He said, then warped to another spot.

 "Shouldn't be a problem. An arrow fired from this bow always finds its target. Don't you just love magic? I know I do," Thief said, firing the arrow. He warped to another spot, but the arrow turned and impaled him in the chest. "As do I," He said, warping and pulling the arrow out of his chest, then giggled. "But don't you know? All magic comes with a price. And in your case, that's me," He sneered. As I sat outside, doing laundry, I heard screaming.

"No! No! No!" Thief screamed. After a few minutes, Belle came outside with another bloody apron. "Here, Len. He said that he needed another one," Belle said, handing it to me. "Great," I said. I laid it to the side, then turned back to scrubbing the clothes in the tub.

 When they were finished washing, I pulled them out and hung them on the line. Then I set the apron in, and I was washing the blood off when he came out. "What are you doing out here?" He asked. "The laundry. There aren't any dry aprons, you have to wait," I said. "I specifically told Belle to do the washing," He said.

"Well, I'm doing it instead, while Belle does the dusting," I said, scrubbing at the blood. Sighing, I laid the apron down on a panel of wood, then stood up with the tub. "What are you doing?" He asked as I dumped out the now pink water. "I'm changing the water," I said, setting down the tub. I grabbed my walking stick, and the bucket, and went down to the creek.

I filled up the bucket, put the water into the tub, and repeated 3 times. When I got back the third time, he was still there. "Do you need anything?" I asked. "No," He said. "Then why are you out here?" I asked, sitting back down and starting another load. I checked my sundial and saw that it was time to take down a load.

I stood up with my walking stick, went over, and took the laundry down. I brought them over to my little platform, sat down, and started folding. "All you ever do is work," He said, and I looked up. "Well, what else do I have to do? Nothing?" I asked, turning my attention back to the clothes. He just stood there, watching as I worked.

After a while, I checked the aprons. "They're dry. You can go back to torturing that poor man now," I said, throwing one at him. He went back inside, and I followed him. I went down to the kitchens and started to prepare some mutton. I heard yelling upstairs, then he appeared in the doorway.

"Belle and I have somewhere to go. You will stay here and continue cleaning. See to it that the chains are polished," He said, then left. "Yay. More work," I said, putting the mutton onto the fire. After I finished cooking, I set the food upstairs, then grabbed some polishing supplies, and polished the chains. I was cleaning the blood when he came in again.

"There's no need, dearie," He said, and I looked up. "What?" I asked. "You can stop," He said, so I threw the rag into the bucket and started to go find something else to clean. "Wait," He said, and I stopped. "Is there something you need?" I asked.

"You can stop cleaning for today,"

-

I was hanging out with Emma when someone knocked on the door. "What, did you tranquilize him?" Emma asked. "I just gave him a couple bourbons. Kid's a real lightweight," Neal said, coming in with Henry laid over his shoulder. "Sounds like you guys had a full day," Emma said. "Spent most of it at the park. He's getting pretty good with those wooden swords. I guess that makes sense, considering where his family's from. What?" He asked.

"You ever thought about going back?" Emma asked. "Back where?" He asked. "Home. Where we're from," Emma said, sitting down. "Uh...I spent most of my life trying to forget that place. I didn't exactly have a fairy-tale childhood. You know what I mean. Why do you ask?" He asked. "No reason," She said.

"August came by the park today. He and Henry seemed to really hit it off," He said. "That is going to take a while to get used to," Emma said. "You know, I gotta say, he's actually a lot cooler as a kid. Steals less of my money," He said. "He'd be way cooler if he could remember what he was trying to warn us about before he got..." Emma said. "Rebooted?" He said.

"'Storybrooke isn't safe'? Isn't safe from who?" Emma asked. "Well, he always had a knack for being cryptic. Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out. If there's one thing I know about you, you don't stop till you find what you're looking for.