YoshiSkittlez

Once Upon a Time...

Regina watched with a content smile as the eight-year-old boy played on the swing-set in Storybrooke's one and only park. It was a little out-of-the-way from the rest of the town, tucked snugly into a cleared out portion of the forest that closed the park off from the rest of the world, it seemed. Realistically, it would have only been a twenty minute walk from Any Given Sundae, but the ice cream was long-gone by now, smeared all over the child's face. Regina had to wonder if he even got any into his stomach. She opted to drive her Mercedes instead, it being the only car parked out in front of the park.

Her cellphone sat neatly in her lap, the back light still on from sending a recent text message to Robert, telling him where he could meet her. As she waited, she found herself only getting more and more anxious, which brought Regina to get up off of the bench and go to Mason and took the swing beside him.

"How would you feel about staying at my place tonight Mason? It's very large, and it could be your very own castle."

Mason, who was swinging about three times as high as Regina beamed at the mention of a castle. He must have really liked the idea because he started to make himself swing even higher before jumping out of the swing to see how far he could go, whooping and hollering as he fell.

"Mason!" Regina shot out of the swing and was by Mason's side in a heartbeat, but the boy was not injured; in fact, he landed on his own two feet like an agile cat. That didn't stop Regina from taking a knee and brushing off his pants and then holding onto his wrists while she looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" Regina asked, her brown eyes looking upon him with the same look of concern she held for him back at the mines.

"I'm fine Ms. Mayor, it was fun!" Mason beamed and then ran back to the swings to do it all over again. Regina stood up, dusting the bark and dirt from her knee and shin as she turned back to look at him and shook her head with a smile.
This...this was what she was missing in the same-shit-different-day-in-Storybrooke.

Some days, Robert felt more like an assistant than a sheriff. After the trouble at the mine's, he'd spent his day playing phone tag with the school officials and the local construction crew, even though there were still open cases. Regina had demanded that he meet her in the park as soon as possible, so he drove over there, making sure to bring the pile of papers she'd need to sign for the cement crew to proceed. He waited until Regina had finished with Mason before saying "Got the crew ready to go and seal up the mine, you just need to sign the invoices and permits. School had nothing about Mason, didn't even know who was paying for his lunches. I don't even know how they can have so little on him and still comply with state laws."

"Because someone isn't doing their job by reporting these things to me." Regina snapped bitterly as she signed the appropriate papers, and shoved them back into Robert's chest once she was done with them. She of course was talking about David Nolan...Prince James. Just the name alone made Regina's lip curl into a beastly snarl, grateful that Mason was too hard at play now on the monkey bars as she and the sheriff spoke. At least Regina could rest just a bit easier now, the mines would be paved over, and no one would find her secret.

"Henry Carlyle, please tell me you have something on him by now." Regina then said, changing the subject since the matter of the mines was no longer an issue.

Robert frowned and said "I arrested him in the hospital, caused a commotion by kissing Jane Doe or something, doctors wanted him out. No previous criminal record, and I'm not sure if we'll be able to build a solid case off of this, but it'll get him off the streets if that's what you're worried about."

Regina couldn't help but laugh, nothing fake or staged like she usually did, but a pure, genuine laugh of amusement. Henry, kissing Snow White? What, did he think in his little, delusional mind that it would be him to wake Snow from the sleeping curse? No...it wasn't, David Nolan was the only threat here, and his head was filled with so many lies that he didn't even know who Snow White was, and that would never change. Never.

It did perturb her a bit though, this was really the first, solid confirmation that Henry was here to break her curse, but with him now behind bars on a truly delicious case stacked up against him, she didn't have much to fret about.

"In his room, I didn't find much, random personal belongings and an old book of fables that came from Mr. Gold's. I couldn't match his prints with any of the ones on the envelope with the tax money, I just found the mysterious woman's and a set I presume is yours. Was he wearing gloves?" Robert was trying to get everything he knew out quickly, hoping that something would be promising.

Regina just waved her hand away, as if all that information was now pointless to her. Henry Carlyle was safe behind bars at long last, it didn't matter that it wasn't by her own hand, all that mattered was that he was right where she wanted him to be.

"I want to talk about something else." Regina said, her voice sounding, all-of-a-sudden more...jovial. "The woman you put into the cells, the one that escaped...what do we know about her?"

He sighed, and said "Basically nothing. No ID on her, refused to give a name, prints don't match anyone in the criminal database. All she had on her was the envelope and some cash, and I haven't seen her around since. Graham was out when she escaped, and there was no damage to the station or any equipment, either we're dealing with a master burglar or someone with keys. I've got her photo and prints, I could even put up wanted posters if you think it would help."

"No...no I've got another matter I want your attention on. I went to visit this...mystery woman yesterday, and she kept mentioning Dr. Faye Stevenson. I've already...acquired the doctors files from Dr. Hopper and will be going over going over them tonight once Mason is asleep." Regina paused to look over at the boy, still playing on the monkey bars.

I'll let you know if I find anything." There wasn't much to add to the way she said it that wouldn't lead Robert to believe that the files were obtained illegally, but Regina didn't even bat an eyelash with revealing the information to him. Instead, she patted Robert on the chest a few times and smiled. "Good work Sheriff. I might keep you employed after all."

Robert nodded, and walked back to the car. Law enforcement was tricky business, and he was very skeptical about whether Regina had obtained Dr. Hopper's files legitimately. While that line of investigation may be off limits, he could still look into Dr. Stevenson. Things were making less sense, especially regarding the case of the envelope, but more investigation would always be helpful. Before he left, Robert turned and said "I'll get right on it. Oh, and if you still have that wine, I wouldn't mine trying a sip of it."

Regina followed him with her eyes as he walked to the car, and smiled at his remark.

"I'll see you tonight then Sheriff." She replied with a wink. Yes, tonight was looking to be a very good night for The Queen.

Once Upon a Time...

Yeah Silver, you were cut. Sorry mate.

Streets on Fire

ya'll are waiting on me? o.0 oh shit, lol my bad. Uhm...I'll get something up tonight for Deserae, no idea what the hell to do with Deon.

Once Upon a Time...

Many, many years ago…

Pacing back and forth, The Dark One kicked up a pile of crunchy autumn leaves that littered the openness of a dead-end street, as if impatiently waiting for something…or someone. He had spent only just a few weeks with the new title, trying to understand what being The Dark One really meant, and how he was to control all this new, frightening power.

One thing was certain, however. His wardrobe of the filthy rags and patches barely afforded by being the village spinner were now long and gone, and in its wake a new sense of style that Rumpelstiltskin found to make him feel more threatening, more imposing; not at all the look of the village coward he had branded himself with since returning from the Ogre Wars.

He wore a reddish/gold silk shirt, on top of that a tight-fitting black, dragon-hide leather vest that extended into black leather sleeves. Even more tight-fitting were the brown leather pants he wore, and then the black boots to tie the outfit all-together. That was all hidden though, a blood red cloak covering his entire body with the wide hood draped so far over him that the shadows of the night couldn’t even do their job as to hide his face.
Certainly anything would be an upgrade from those rags he previously wore, but there was still something a little bit more satisfactory about the fact that he had procured these new clothes by magic himself, and it made everyone in the village see him differently, like a wolf ready to pounce and tear their throats out. The look of The Dark One.

It wasn’t a wild assumption since his anger was on that very verge every day since Milah and Baelfire had been stolen from him. He was almost always angry, except for the times when grief overcame him whole-heartedly and locked himself away in his home, crying into the corners of the empty house. But those days were long gone; not a single tear dropped since he plunged the dagger into the chest of The Dark One. Now all that was left was anger and a father’s determination to find his wife and daughter, wanting nothing more than to bring them back home and split the pirate in two that had taken them from him.

He was there for one reason and one reason only. A pirate’s ship had made port at the docks not an hour ago, and Rumpelstiltskin was waiting. Finally, after what seemed like hours, there was a loud uproar of drunken laughter, and Rumpelstiltskin knew he had his man.

As the pirates paraded down the slick cobblestone streets, Rumpelstiltskin made a point to hunch himself over, with the added look of the dark red cloak, he could have easily been mistaken as a beggar. He clumsily walked past Killian Jones, the pirate captain that had called him a coward and refused to give back his family and bumped into him.

Rumpelstiltskin could practically taste the blood of this man on his cracked lips in his eagerness.

“You!” Killian shouted at the man he proposed was a beggar. “Stop!”

Rumpelstiltskin obliged, stopping in his tracks with his hunched over back facing the pirate, the need to grin tugging at his cheeks.

“Even gutter-rats have more manners than what you just displayed.”

Rumpelstiltskin took his time in turning so that he was profile to the pirate band, the side of his green and gold-flecked skin catching the light of a nearby lamp post.

“I-I-I’m so sorry sir.” Rumpelstiltskin purposefully stammered.

Killian snickered, taking in the small amount of appearance of the man in front of him to be strange, ugly, and in need of poking fun at.

“Ah, I was wrong…” Killian started, taking a few steps towards the beggar. “…not a rat at all. More…more…more like a crocodile!” He exclaimed, turning to his crew to see that they were all in agreement with their drunken laughter. Killian then took one step further and swatted his hand at the beggar, causing the tin cup of coins in his hand to clatter to the ground in a tinkering mess.

Rumpelstiltskin immediately hunched himself over onto his hands in knees, acting as a beggar would if his tin cup of money had been swatted to the ground. He had no need for this money of course, it was all an act to fulfill his revenge.

“What’s your name-” Killian asked, putting the bottom of his boot on Rumpelstiltskin’s back and kicked him over harshly. “-crocodile?”

Rumpelstiltskin fell over, acting the part of a feeble old man as he clamored to get himself back up but was unable to suppress a high-pitched giggle by the time he got back onto his feet. He heard the pirates’ laughter diminishing, no doubt confused of the laugh that just came from the old beggar, and Rumpelstiltskin pushed the hood of his cloak back so that it was resting back on his thin shoulders, revealing his face to the band of pirates.
Killian kept his smile and raised a finger, pointing to Rumpelstiltskin.

“You…I remember you…”

“Always nice to make an impression.” Rumpelstiltskin replied, flipping one of the coins he had managed to grab from the floor onto Killian’s chest in a slight taunt. Killian looked to the coin with dark eyes, and then looked back to Rumpelstiltskin who had just put his hand over his heart.

“Where are my manners? We haven’t been properly introduced.” Rumpelstiltskin removed his hand from his heart and extended both arms out wide, almost looking like he were expecting a hug if it hadn’t been that he lowered his torso and bent his legs into a deep bow.

“R-r-r-r-rumpelstiltskin!” He said, letting the ;r' roll off of his tongue while still keeping his head down in the low bow but then he looked up, keeping his body bent and looking up at the pirate with the tops of his eyes and his brows stitched together in a glare. “Or as others know me…The Dark One…”

This seemed to get a reaction from the pirates, no matter how drunk the ones behind Killian were. Each took a few steps backwards, looking between themselves in horror as if silently trying to confirm with the other what they had just heard. Killian, however, didn’t move, but Rumpelstiltskin could see a bit of color drain from his face. Rumpelstiltskin took it a step further, coming out of his bow and stepping to Killian’s side, making a sort of ‘boo’ sound at the pirates that were behind him and smiled in amusement as they scattered like rats.

“I see my reputation precedes me.” Rumpelstiltskin went on, now walking behind Killian directly, not exactly surprised that the pirate captain didn’t turn to face him.

“It does.” Killian replied, all hints of the amusement he had held pushing the old beggar around now completely gone.

“Good!” Rumpelstiltskin squeaked. “That’s going to save us time during the-“ He paused to change the quip in his voice, sounding now like an immature child. “-question and answer portion of our game!” He was still behind Killian now, facing the pirate captain’s back. He was so close, that Rumpelstiltskin could easily reach out and touch him, but he refrained, wanting his close encounter with the pirate to make his skin crawl instead.

Killian dared to crane his neck to look over at his shoulder at The Dark One, finding the ill-skinned man smiling broadly back at him with his two pointer fingers pointing up to the air.

“What is it you want to know?” Killian asked, slowly finding himself to turn to face the crocodile.

“How’s Milah, and Baelfire, of course?” His tone had changed again, that to what could almost be considered a normal tone for a male, however coming from The Dark One, it dripped of darkness and anger.

Killian bit at his lower lip, in thought for a moment before shaking his head no slightly a few times.

“Who?” He asked, and then couldn’t help but to flash his white smile at the man. Rumpelstiltskin mockingly giggled at Killian, and started to circle him again.

“Only too happy to uh, dig out the memory-“ He said, gesturing with his thumb like it were a spade in a garden. “-but, it gets reeeeealy messy.” He turned to face Killian again, having come full circle and now able to see the crew hiding (at a great distance) behind their captain.
Killian looked down, not because he was afraid to look back at The Dark One, but because something perplexed him.

“They’re dead.” He said suddenly, and Rumpelstiltskin immediately felt his heart jump into his throat and catch on fire at the same time. “Died a long time ago. Baelfire fell overboard during a storm, and Milah went in after her.”

Rumpelstiltskin’s face matched the sorrow that Killian had on his own, and there was a slight silence between the two of them before Killian spoke once more.

“What is it that you want?” He asked calmly and quietly, still giving respect to the spoken departed.

Rumpelstiltskin took a moment to answer, but when he did, his voice sounded very normal, not like The Dark One, but of Rumpelstiltskin, the spinner.

“We never got a chance to finish our duel.” He reminded the pirate. The duel of course that Killian challenged him to when Rumpelstiltskin had heard that Milah and Baelfire had been taken aboard his ship, the duel that would have released them from his holds, but also the duel that would surely end his life with his inexperience of fighting pirates.

Killian’s hand immediately shot to his hip where he kept his sword, and Rumpelstiltskin could hear the grinding of metal on sheaths from the rest of the pirate band behind him. He simply held up a hand, signaling them to stop with a quick “Ah!” from his throat.

“Not now…” He explained, and the sadness that had taken over him physically washed away as Rumpelstiltskin put on a showy display with his arms, an Italian flourish. "...tomorrow at dawn!" His left arm bend at the elbow and extending up at the sky while his right arm lay horizontal beneath it, the elbow of his left arm inches above his right hand. This gesture easily melted into placing his left hand over his heart and his right holding his stomach. “…I am not a cruel man, get your affairs in order.” He went on.

“Also-“ Rumpelstiltskin returned his right arm to his side and took a step forward, pushing his left hand finger into Killian’s chest. “-you can spend tonight knowing…” He paused to let his eyes widen, like a child discovering a delicious secret. “-it’ll be your last!” Rumpelstiltskin giggled again, like a child.

“Maybe I am cruel.” He said softly, more to himself than to Killian. “And don’t think of trying to escape-” He added on, taking his other step so that he and Killian were practically chest to chest, however with Rumpelstiltskin’s shorter stature, his chin only came to the pirate’s shoulder. “-because I will find you, and I will gut your entire crew - like-ah dee-fy-sh!”

The threat caused Killian’s eyes to darken, and then recede into something Rumpelstiltskin could recognize at once as sheer terror, despite the masculine front he attempted to put up, and Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t help but to smile in the pirate’s face that wasn’t more than four inches away from him.

---

The sound of the bell tinkling into the air pulled Mr. Gold from his thoughts, causing him to set down the far from new, poorly stitched together teddy bear back on it's place on one of the back shelves behind the counter. With his long hair framing the side of his face, he was forced to turn his head to see Henry walking into his shop with something of purpose. Had it been anyone else in Storybrooke that had come in at that time, it would have warranted them a quick threat to get out, but as it was Henry, Mr. Gold couldn't help but to press his thin lips into a sort of smile.

"They say curiosity killed the cat, and yet here you are." Mr. Gold stated blatantly, eying Henry from across the room with just the one eye visible since his hair had a habit of curtaining the other. This he fixed though with a gentle toss of his head, having his hair rest naturally at the sides of his face once more.

Henry was silent as he strode up to the counter, nearly stopping dead in his tracks at Gold's comment. 'What does he mean by that? Curiosity killed the cat...that can't be coincidence - or is it?' He thought to himself worriedly, though he let his expression remain calm. "'S'cuse me? I don't quite know what you mean." He said aloud, sounding quite innocent in tone.

Mr. Gold put his relaxed hand out, palm up with his shoulder shrugging ever so lightly.

"Why, your new-found relationship with the Mayor of course..." Mr. Gold replied as if it were obvious what he was referring to in the first place, however that same, knowing smile lingered on his lips.

"It's not a relationship." Henry countered coldly, not bothering to ask the pawnbroker how he came across such knowledge - with Henry's luck, half the town probably knew by now; maybe even more.

"But that's beside the point. I came to talk to you about Sn--the Jane Doe." He added, nearly slipping the name of Snow White but catching himself at the last second.

"Oh?" Mr. Gold quirked a curious eyebrow, letting both his hands now rest on the edge of the counter. "Did she ask you to read another book?"

"Oh...you're quite funny. I'm surprised you didn't pursue a career in stand-up." Henry replied dryly before returning to the topic at hand.

"Nothing's *happening*. I read to her and get nothing, no movement, no reaction whatsoever." He said tiredly, running both hands through his hair.
Mr. Gold kept his one eyebrow raised and managed a sort of snort/laugh through his nose.

"Yes, I do believe that's what coma patients do Mr. Carlyle. Or do they do things differently in New York?" He shook his head 'no' lightly and turned his attention to a mummified dragonfly in a glass case that had been sitting on top of the counter.

"You gave me this damnable book for a reason, Gold. And you told me *what* to do with it and what the requirements were. Now what are you keeping from me?" He hissed, tapping his foot impatiently.

"A mere suggestion is what I gave, for things to do in our little town since you had decided to come and visit. Nothing more." Mr. Gold retorted, raising his voice just a little bit higher in volume as to drive a point. He set the glass box back down, done examining the dragonfly and then finally looked back to Henry, taking a pause to lick his lips quickly before asking with a pointed finger, "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting--" Henry began, leaning in over the counter, "that you're not who you say you are...Dearie." He finished with an almost ferocious look in his eyes.

Mr. Gold's eyes were keenly trained on Henry's, his face firm and unforgiving, letting on that he had absolutely no idea what Henry was talking about. And then, a smile, followed by a breathy laugh.

"I figured a man of your...background...would have realized that the ink your dearly departed sister used with her quill...which she got from me by the way, wouldn't translate well over into this world...Cat."

Henry looked Gold -- no...Rumpelstiltskin up and down quickly, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried to hide a shocked expression. "But how?! The memory potion-" He drifted off, his eyes filled with...nervousness.

"-which you cast away without a second thought!" Mr. Gold interrupted him, flicking his wrist with the phrase 'cast away.' His voice had risen again in volume, irritation creeping it's way into his dialect, only growing more and more as he continued on.

"And now, your job is only that much more difficult. The potion was to serve as means to break this curse. Not. For. Me! And now, since it is gone, thrown away in your selfishness of getting back at me, you are going to find another way to bring Snow White and her Prince Charming...back...together!"

"All in due time." Henry replied, letting his tone go calm again. "You may have all the power in the Enchanted Forest, but here...we're on equal footing. Now you're gonna tell me what you gave my sister. And don't presume to lie your way out of this, I talked to the Queen herself, and I have answers." He proclaimed in a growling voice, letting his emotions get the better of him.

Mr. Gold raised his cane a bit in his grip so that he was holding it in the center, the handle eye-level in which his own eyes were upon as he twisted the cane in small, slow circles, watching the handle turn. His mouth opened up in an 'o' shape, laughing all the while Henry spoke, clearly not buying into the fact that 'they were on equal footing.'

"The child asked for a quill, and so I gave her one." He dropped the cane, letting the pole slide down in his loosened grasp until the bottom clinked back down onto the floor. "But that matter is for another time," He said, looking back to Henry, keeping his wry smile. "Our little Jane Doe needs awakening and I'll tell you what, that little book I gave you...it holds the answer as to how."

Henry thought back to the storybook as he looked through the pages, whether in personal study or when reading it to Snow - a simple phrase, an action that kept popping up as the catalyst. The most powerful form of magic.

"True love's kiss..." Henry said in a tone that could only be described as a mixture of reverence and wonder at the same time. "True love's kiss can awaken her." He repeated, letting the thought sink in.

"And it's me." He said finally, staring intently at the Dark One, or, who was the Dark One.

"The only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse." A muscle in Mr. Gold's lip twitched and his eyes seemed to go hollow, looking past Henry for a moment, as if thinking of something, something he hadn't thought of in a very long time.

"And it's time..." Henry proclaimed before sharply turning on his heel, heading towards the front door of the shop. "Oh, and just in case you forget," he turned around one last time. "We're not done discussing what you did to Alice." He said before promptly leaving the store.

The ringing of the little bell at Henry's exit seemed to snap Mr. Gold out of whatever it was that he had been sunken into thinking about, only faintly hearing Henry's last words before he had left. The corner of his lip turned back into a firm smile and shook his head.

"Oh no, I expect not." He whispered out to himself, in reply to Henry's last words.

Once Upon a Time...

The tiny bell of Granny's diner gave a small jingle and the older woman found herself looking up from behind the counter to find her granddaughter walking through the door. The first thing Granny noticed was the drastic change of clothes, and the humbled smile Ruby gave the woman as she approached the counter tentatively.

"You look good." Granny grumbled to Ruby, hard to understand and under her breath but Ruby heard her clear as day.

"Thanks." Ruby approached the counter and let her hands rest on it's edges, looking away from Granny and clicking her tongue a bit to gather up the courage to say something else.

"Did you want something for the Mayor? I heard about what happened at the mines."

"Nope." Ruby let the word slip from her mouth and she winced slightly, wishing it might have come out a bit softer. Granny slammed the cashier box closed and grimaced, exhaling a sharp noise of pain as her hand shot to her arm and rubbed just below her elbow. The old woman's sleeves were rolled up today, four long, deep scars running around her left forearm causing Ruby to remember the incident Granny had told her about getting into when Granny was a small girl.

"How's your arm?" Ruby tried.

"Same as it always is every full moon." Granny replied, rubbing at the skin a bit more before busying herself with wiping down the counter. "What are  you doing here Ruby?" Granny then asked inquisitively. "Come here to tell me that you're finally moving to Boston?"

Ruby opened her mouth, offended at first but then eased her mouth back shut. She couldn't blame Granny, not really. Not with how things had ended between them yesterday.

"I...wanna come back." She said instead, offering a tentative (if not awkward) smile. Granny glanced up from wiping the counter down, her grey eyebrows rising above her glasses.

"Why? You were pretty mad..." Granny said and began to scrub down the counter again.

"I wasn't mad." Ruby said keeping her voice calm.

"Looked like mad from here." Granny grumbled.

"Yeah;  here's the thing..." Ruby paused to tuck a strand of her brown hair  behind her ear. "...you were talking about having me do all this stuff  and I wasn't sure - I said that, you wanted me to turn into you but, what I meant was...I don't know how to be you."

Granny looked back up at Ruby, her face ungiving to any sort of expression that would allow Ruby to know what she might have been thinking.

"You're a tough act to follow." Ruby added on with a soft smile.

"Oh." Granny seemed to sigh, just a bit, and look back down at the counter, but Ruby kept going.

"And then you wanted me to take on all this...extra responsibilty and I...guess I just...got...scared..."

"Don't  be. You shouldn't be." Granny pulled a small folder from behind the counter and set it on the top, only once it had been set down did she look back up at her granddaughter.

"Well  I am..." Ruby replied honestly. "...but, it's okay. I...can do it anyway." Ruby nodded, not sure if she was towards herself now, or Granny. "I...sort of found someone within myself that was more than I expected."

"What about adventure? What about your night life?" Granny asked, not in a scolding tone, but of genuine curiosity.

"The mines...that was my adventure. Did that, found out that I could do that and also that...I don't want to. I don't want a job just anywhere, where I might not be happy. I want to something that makes me happy, somewhere I love."

Granny looked upon Ruby in a way that Ruby almost thought was thoughtful.

"Look, just so you know, I wanted you to do the books and everything so that you could take over when I retire; own the whole place."

Ruby's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and repeated Granny's words.

"Own it?"

"Sure! I mean, who else would I give it to than someone who loves me back?"

Ruby felt hot tears coming to her eyes and her lower lip quivered just a bit. She couldn't stop herself from walking around the counter quickly and throwing her arms around Granny in a tight hug, nearly breaking down again when she felt the old woman's arms hugging her back in return.When they parted, Granny looked upon Ruby in a way that Ruby had never seen Granny look at her before.

"I'm proud of you." Granny said moving away from Ruby to busy her hands with something else behind the counter.

"What was that?" Ruby asked, feeling a light laugh tickle at her throat.

"You heard me."

Ruby just smiled and looked about the diner. It wasn't too busy now, but that didn't mean it wouldn't get busy later. She grabbed an apron from behind the counter and tied it on and went to go check on the customers who were there.

Once Upon a Time...

“What the HELL were you thinking?!” Knox was just going off on Ruby with harsh whispers, as soon as he caught up to her…ducking and weaving to keep up in the cramped spaces. Fucking mine. Why had he come to the scene of the accident again?

"I was able to find Mr. Gold when you couldn't even hear him." Ruby harshly whispered back so that Mark wouldn't be able to overhear them. "I can help, but no one wants to give me a chance. I'm making my own chance."

"I don't care if you won't listen to me." Hopping over a large stone, Knox glance through the darkness...more rock walls, low rock ceiling, Ruby's back as she kept her steady pace, "But you heard the verdict, the firefighter had this situation. It's not too late to-"

There was a low rumbling sound and the walls of the mine shook a little, making tiny little pebbles and a large amount of rock dust fall from the ceiling and onto the three of them. Ruby covered her hand over her mouth and coughed a few times, but was otherwise okay.

Mark entered through the mine last, his facial expression seemingly frozen in that displeased frown. "What the hell were *both* of you thinking?!" He spat, looking between both Knox and Ruby. "I would have expected this behavior from you," he began, directing his words at Ruby. "But from a trained security guard? Not only have you endangered yourselves, but now we've wasted precious times finding that boy. So both of you shut up!" He finished, sounding like a drill sergeant reprimanding two recruits. Without waiting for a response, he clicked on his pocket flashlight before walking straight down the path, moving the light from side to side.

With his disturbingly sharp and night perceptive eyes, Knox continued to scan the dark areas with ease, actively looking for the boy, "You have my apologies, I should have caught Ruby before she took off." Maybe grabbed her arm and personally guided her behind barriers. Damn it. More rock, dust, and debris.

Ruby stubbornly rolled her eyes at the both of them and continued on at her own pace, taking the lead since it was much easier to navigate the small shaft with her thin frame.

"Mason?" Ruby called out and immediately regretted it. The vibrations of her voice carrying through the tunnels caused the walls to creak and groan, threatening to break the rotted wood frames that were intended to keep the walls from closing in. But it wasn't all in vain.

There was a sound, far off but Ruby could identify as a dog bark and Ruby hurried forward until the mine tunnels split off into four different directions. Ruby didn't hesitate though, she already knew the way and went down the one that was the second to the right.

Hearing the dog bark as well, Knox recalled the mention of the animal being with the boy...now, if only the boy would return his own call, ever so quietly...seeing Ruby speed through, he caught up as best he could. More ducking, weaving, and pushing through some debris slowly or lightly, here or there. “Careful.” In a harsh whisper, it wasn't enough to deter Ruby. Knox watched her enter into a particular tunnel, and just about ripped his shirt on a piece of wood to follow the girl over there.

Mark, deciding to take a gamble on Ruby's 'ability', followed her wordlessly down the second path to the right, keeping his eyes alert for any sign of boy or dog in the mines. He pulled the front of his shirt up over his nose and mouth in case anything less than-savory were in the air. He, too, had to weave and turn sharply at various debris, but experienced far less trouble than Knox, given his shorter stature.

He caught up to Ruby rather hastily, whispering, "Keep your voice down." As a warning. His narrow eyes looked at each wooden beam, paying close attention to the especially deteriorated ones.

Ruby turned the corner, following the sound of the dog barking and then hastened her pace when she heard the noise of quiet sniffing. Nearly banging her head on the low ceiling in her haste, Ruby rushed forward, greeted almost immediately by the large dalmatian with his pink tongue lolling out in between licking her face and his front two paws on her chest.

Following closely behind them, Knox smacked the top of his head against the low ceiling, hissing in pain for a few seconds before refocusing on the task at hand.

"Pongo! I should have known you were the one causing problems here." Ruby said scratching the dog behind the ears, making a point to ignore Knox and allow Mark to tend to the boy while she checked the dog over for any injuries.

Rubbing his head, Knox's eyes flickered between staring at the rescue mission at hand...the boy...and Ruby's little friend, the dalmatian Pongo. Eventually, after a moment of internal deliberation, his professional side won out. The security guard spotted the boy, curled up, shaking in the corner.
Slowly, going over, Knox crouched (as best he could, in the confined space), "Hello. You're Mason, right?" Speaking calmly, and carefully, he didn't seem to notice the blood dripping from his mild head injury...as he continued. Holding a hand out to for the boy to shake, "My name is Knox, and all three of us came to--"

Mark looked perplexed as the boy seemed to only become more fearful, shrinking back as much as he possibly could. Mark took this as a sign to try himself, and placed a firm hand on Knox's shoulder before approaching the boy himself.

"Hey..." He began, his voice turning...soft and warm as he squatted down to get on an eye-to-eye level. "My name's Mark, I'm a fireman here...my friends Ruby ,Knox," at this he motioned to his two companions respectively, "and I are here to take you back home." He finished, offering a small, but warm smile as he held out his own hand for the boy to take.

Knox let Mark take over for him, and went to wipe what he thought was sweat...but on his glove, he could plainly see the red of blood. Muttering a curse under his breath, Knox turned away and tentatively touched the cut on the top of his head, a blank expression on his face. Getting into this mine was a big mistake on his part.

Mason stayed still, but his expression turned from outright fear to wary hesitation.

"Don't be afraid." Mark said simply, his voice just barely above a whisper. Finally, the boy stood up and slowly approached, taking Mark's hand with a small smile, sniffing and wiping at his eyes.

"Let's get you home now, shall we? I'm sure your parents are very worried about you." Mark added, still keeping to his soft tone as he stood up fully, nodding to Ruby and Knox that it was time to go.

Ruby smiled at both Mark and Mason, giving Pongo another quick scratch behind the ears as she eased his front paws off of her and walked ahead of the group, Pongo only more than eager to get out of the small, dark spaces. There was a faint, new kind of smell that tickled at her nose, something that made her suddenly realize she was hungry, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and followed the dog back out.
Holding his injury, Knox winced at the small amount of pain...and nodded at Mark through the darkness. Following the group out, albeit slowly due to his limiting height, Knox was more than happy to get out of this mine situation.

Mark was silent as he followed Ruby, flashlight in one hand, and Mason's hand in the other. He had to duck occasionally through the debris, but encountered little trouble - while Mason, being as small as he was, experienced no issue at all.

Eventually, the small beam of light that came from the less-than-optimal entrance shone off the walls, Mark clicking off his flashlight and returning it to his pocket as they approached.

Stopping just before the hole, Mark squatted down once more. "Alright, pal, you're gonna climb through this hole, alright? I'm gonna give you a boost on the count of '3', you ready?" The boy nodded hastily in response, the smile that seemed plastered on his face almost obscuring the fact he was trapped in the dark mine shaft just minutes before.

The mine walls began to creak and groan again, a sudden rumbling sound coming before the ground began to shake unsteadily beneath their feet.
"Here we go: one, two, three!" With a slight grunt (due to the pain in his shoulder), Mark managed to boost the boy up until he could catch onto the opening and crawl out.

Mark turned to look back at Ruby and Knox, "You two next." He said simply, his tone once again turning blunt and emotionless.

Blinking his eye, then wiping away the blood that threatened to drip down into it, "Ruby, come on, you next." Removing his over gloved hand from his still bleeding head injury, wiping the glove on the side of his shirt, "Come on, let the fireman help you."

Ruby watched as Pongo, on his own accord, bounded up to the ledge, eager to get into the light. She couldn't help but to smile, somehow able to relate the feeling of finally being free. She rested her hand on Mark's shoulder and allowed him to lift her up where she was able to exit the mines with ease, however once she stepped foot outside, the walls and floor began to shake violently once more.

To avoid a rock or two from falling on his head or shoulders, Knox moved closer to the mine's wall. There was a tug, and the security guard knew one of his sleeves was torn. "Just get on with it. Leave ahead of me, fireman, I've got--" With a sigh, he tried to unlatch the piece of fabric from a piece of wood.

Mark gave Knox one more passing glance; noting the steadily-decreasing condition of the mines. Though he felt the instinctive need to help the man, he also knew not to argue, and with a simple nod, climbed out of the mines.

Wiping off as much sweat and blood from his face as he could, wiping his gloves on his trousers now...Knox pushed himself up over some rock and dirt, and stepped out into the sunlight once again. Blinding light, especially since his eyes had already adjusted to the lack of it, the security guard blinked then shut his eyes altogether.

Letting out a single groan of discomfort, he noticed the crowd of people gaping their way. It was peculiar, their expressions, but the shock was not entirely unfounded. Knox was sure he had a little blood on him, and...more importantly, was sure they were surprised that Mason was relatively unharmed. Heck, the security guard knew he looked a little more roughed up and injured than the boy they had actually went in to rescue.
Still, rescue mission accomplished...Ruby really was capable of taking care of herself...probably did better than either of the men...

Once Upon a Time...

Storybrooke: Chapter 1 The Curse
Day 1 Character Summary

Robert Leland

Robert, the town Sheriff, had a pretty typical day aside from the small reports of a new guy in town. He sent Regina a detailed report of the day and offered to follow the newcomer around to find out a bit of more information. While he waited, he went to Granny's to get himself a drink and something to munch on.

He soon got an urgent phonecall from Regina, telling him to meet her at her office as soon as he possibly could. When he arrived, he found Regina's usually neat and tidy office to be a complete mess, and Regina told Robert that someone had broken into her office and stole an envelope holding ten-thousand dollars of the Storybrooke's tax money. Without giving any reason as to how or why, she accused Henry Carlyle and made Robert go check Henry's car where she was sure that the envelope of money would be, even being specific enough to say the backseat passenger side.

Robert didn't ask why Regina knew this, however, and went on his way to find Henry and the stolen envelope of money. He found Henry's car parked outside of Granny's and took a quick peek inside. Just as Regina said, the envelope was there. Robert then went into Granny's Bed and Breakfast to approach Henry (who he didn't realize wasn't there) so that Henry would open up the car for him, just to be sure it was the ten-thousand dollars Regina had claimed was stolen.

There was no answer at Henry's door though, he was not there. And by the time that Robert went back out onto the streets, the envelope in Henry's car was gone. He spotted a woman walking away from the area, and persued her. He caught up to her quickly and began to ask questions, mostly about her involvement with Henry since Regina was so sure he had something to do with it.

The mysterious woman wasn't letting up on any information, and Robert had to go by what evidence he had and was forced to arrest her and took her to the holding cells at his office where she would stay the night until Regina knew what to do with her.

He hurried over to Regina's to inform her of what had happened, and Regina looked less than pleased. Robert then took it upon himself to offer that he check out Henry some more, possibly tail his car or search his room for anything suspicious and Regina agreed. She told Robert that he would be free to search Henry's room when Henry came over for dinner, leaving his room empty. Robert was then told that whatever it took to find information about Henry needed to be done, and also to look out for a snowglobe that had gone missing from her office. The two said goodnight, and Robert was on his way.

Knox Kowalski

Knox found himself at Granny's Diner first thing in the morning, ordering his usual cheesy fries and dark coffee. Ruby, of course was his waitress and although she didn't work the morning shift all too often, he still knew who she was. He was slightly taken aback, however, when Ruby opted to stay and talk with him. He explained that today was his day off, which somehow turned into a conversation of meeting Ruby later at a bar for a couple of drinks.

There was a change in the wind, however, when a stranger entered Granny's Diner, and he watched as Ruby went to go and help him. He remained completely silent as he watched Ruby start to (probably without her even noticing) flirt with the stranger, and then invite him to The Rabbit Hole later with her and Knox.

He made it to The Rabbit Hole later that night, noticing Ruby over flirting with Henry but he was distracted almost immediately when the strange woman that no one seemed to know anything about her approached him and asked to join him. He declined of course, but the woman joined him anyway and threw taunts at him, all of which Knox couldn't have cared any less about.

It was then that Ruby seemed to notice that he was there as she stormed up to the table angrily, and attempted to get the woman to leave. She did, but only to move on to flirt with Henry, the new town stranger. Knox, clearly irritated pulled out a twenty and slipped it into the mysterious woman's clevage and left without a word.

He almost instantly heard Ruby calling out for him behind him, and eased to a stop. She flew into a mouthful of apologies, but Knox wasn't interested, and attempted to have her return to the bar so that she might finish flirting with Henry. Ruby refused, and threatened that she wasn't about to leave him until she learned at least five things about him and saw him smile. He finally agreed, and the two headed to Granny's to carry on their night.

They were nearly there before Ruby stopped and asked him if he could hear something. Of course he didn't hear anything unusual, and suggested that it might be raccoons. But Ruby was stubborn, and she seemed to be lost in her own little world as she tried to listen to the quiet sounds of the night until she suddenly exclaimed that Mr. Gold was in trouble and hurried off in the opposite direction of Granny's. With a sigh and so very sure that Ruby had been drinking too much, he followed quietly until he suddenly saw Mr. Gold leaning heavily against the wall and hurried over to help the older man.

He helped the older man up (despite Mr. Gold's threats, wanting to do things on his own) and it was quickly decided that they would take Mr. Gold to the hospital, as whatever it was that ailed Mr. Gold at that moment didn't seem to be getting any better.

They arrived at the hospital shortly after and once Dr. Stevenson took over, he and Ruby were excused. Really just wanting the obscurity of the night to end, Knox mentioned staying at the hospital to put in a few extra hours, but offered to walk Ruby out at least.

Dr. Faye Stevenson

Faye woke up in an enclosed room in her home, trapping her other self from escaping and causing trouble in Storybrooke. She quickly got ready and went to work. She was the head doctor in Storybrooke Hospital, and so everyone went to her upon her arrival to make sure that they were doing their job correctly. It wasn't a surprise either that Regina showed up at exactly 4:00 pm to check on one of her patients, a Jane Doe who had been in a coma for as long as she could remember. Regina, being her emergency contact, of course asked for any signs of improvement, if anyone had yet to claim her but nothing had changed since the last time Regina had come to visit exactly a week ago.

Busy at the hospital, Faye eventually got a page from the receptionist downstairs and she hurried to find out what the important message was. She found a man she had never seen around town before wanting to speak with her. It came about that his name was Henry and he wanted to help volunteer at the hospital, starting by reading to the coma patient known only as Jane Doe.

When they arrived in the hospital room holding the coma patient, Faye noticed the drop in Henry's face almost immediately when he looked at Jane Doe, and had to ask if he knew her. Henry was slow with his reply but assured her that she did not know. Faye decided to stick around and watch then as Henry sat down next to the patient and read from the story book that he had brought, slightly amused to hear the story of Alice in Wonderland.

Faye soon found herself as her counterpart once again, the mysterious woman looking for a drink and found herself in The Rabbit Hole where she kept to herself, ignoring the looks and whispers she got and ordered a drink. She made eye contact with Henry, but Ruby seemed to be trying to keep him away from her. So the mysterious woman approached Knox and asked to join him.

He declined, of course, but the woman took the opportunity to toy with him a bit, calling out his attractiveness in a threatening tone as if something bad might happen to him. Ruby then made her way over to the table and coldly asked for her to leave, claiming that both Henry and Knox were with her tonight.

Remaining civil, the woman left Knox without whispering a bitter comment to Ruby about being jealous and then approached Henry, though Knox was quick to follow her and put a twenty-dollar bill between her breasts and walked out of the bar without a word. Clearly offended, the woman removed the money and gave it to Ruby, indicating that it was really meant for her. Ruby snatched the money from her and then ran to follow Knox.

Now alone with Henry, the woman had a chance to talk to him, get to know a little about him. However before their conversation got too far, pains in her chest and a impeding headache took over and she politely excused herself. She made it as far as the park before realizing that Henry had been following her, and though not annoyed with him, promised to see him around sometime soon. She then returned home and let her other part come back through, Dr. Faye Stevenson.

A short while later, Faye got an urgent phone call from Dr. Whale, requesting her help at the hospital again. Once things seemed to die down, Ruby and Knox walked into the hospital, assisting Mr. Gold who seemed to be needing some sort of care. Knox tried telling her it was a panic attack, but Faye knew there had to be something more to it.

After a small bit of arguing, Faye got Mr. Gold to agree to allowing a few tests to be done, and when the results came back, Faye was in disbelief. Lung cancer. Mr. Gold had lung cancer! She gently broke the news to him, but her jaw dropped when he calmly told her that he already knew. A fight ensued, Faye urging Mr. Gold to let her treat him before things got worse, but Mr. Gold stubbornly declined.

Faye blatently called him a coward, and at the drop of a pin Mr. Gold was on her, swinging his cane down on her face so hard that there was no way it wouldn't leave any bruising after the bleeding had stopped. He made a quick threat, for her to keep silent and to not bother him with it again, and then left the hospital on his own accord.

God she needed a drink.

Later that night, the mysterious woman made her way around town once more, spotting a rather strange envelope in Henry's car. When Henry showed up to retire for the night, the woman told Henry that he had been set up, and showed him the envelope of money. The woman already knew who would have done this to Henry, the only woman in Storybrooke that felt threatened by anything 'new.' Regina.

The mysterious woman offered to take the heat for the envelope, and when Henry asked why she simply reponded 'why not?' and then went on to explain that it would be fun to see the shock on the Mayor's face when there was someone else in jail. Henry promised that he would help her get out of jail and thanked her for her kindness before they departed ways for the night.

As she figured, the Sheriff quickly caught up with her and he began to drill her with questions, wanting to know of her relation to Henry but the woman wasn't saying much, only that she stole the ten-thousand dollars. The Sheriff had no choice but to arrest her and put her in the holding cells at the office where she spent the night.

Mr. Gold

A flashback is revealed in Mr. Gold's dream (however it is a memory). It tells us what happened between Rumpelstiltskin and Belle, why Rumpelstiltskin had cast her away from being his caretaker. It happened a few weeks before Regina cast the curse, it was a time where Rumpelstiltskin and Belle had time to just talk, having already grown familiar with one another from Belle being there for quite some time.

Rumpelstiltskin told Belle of his daughter, Baelfire, and how he had lost her. By gaining Belle's trust, Rumpelstiltskin allowed Belle to go into town on her own...a test to see if she would come back. She did. When he asked her why, Belle leaned in and kissed him, having been told that True Loves Kiss can break any curse, and indeed the curse of The Dark One began to melt away.

Terrified of losing his power, Rumpelstiltskin pushed Belle away, and cast her from The Dark Castle where he was left alone to cry out in his anger for his own cowardice. But it was better this way, Belle just got in the way from his true intentions anyway.

When Mr. Gold woke from the dream, he couldn't remember what he had dreampt about, only knowing that it was hightly upsetting, and he was drawn to drinking in the early hours of the morning. Finally satesfied with a dull buzz in his brain, he went to work early to open up his shop.

He was just about to open shop when a car caught his attention, and a stranger stepped out of it, asking if he was in Storybrooke. Mr. Gold was not at all unfamilair with the idea that no one ever visited Storybrooke, however he seemed unsurprised and walked with the man who he learned was named Henry to Granny's Bed and Breakfast where Henry could stay in during his stay in Storybrooke.

As Henry got his room, Mr. Gold took the rent money from Granny, and bid them farewell. Once he stepped outside, the minute hand on the seemingly forever broken clock-tower moved. Changes were coming to Storybrooke, and Mr. Gold smiled.

A short while later, Mr. Gold found Henry popping into his shop as he busied himself by dusting the books that had been stacked on the counter. Making quick conversation with Henry, Gold then noticed the key around Henry's neck. Witha knowing smirk, Gold asked for Henry to hand it over and, as luck would have it, Mr. Gold had the very book that the key belonged to.

He immediately caught the desperation in Henry's face, and offered to give him the book if he helped him out with a small problem he was having, asking for Henry to fill in for the subsitute teacher at the elementary school and Henry jumped at the opportunity. Mr. Gold then noticed that something else caught Henry's eye, an old story book on fairytales. Henry asked to take a look at it, and Mr. Gold agreed if he promised to use the book to read to a coma patient, since the hospital had been running low on voulenteers. Again, Henry agreed.

Yet another visitor rang the little bell in his shop, this time Mayor Mills entered and she approached Mr. Gold with purpose, demanding to know what he knew about Herny Carlyle. Mr. Gold told her the truth, of course, telling Regina his involvement with helping steer him to Granny's which, expectantly, pissed Regina off and left.

Mr. Gold closed up shop earlier that day than normal, not quite feeling well. His leg was giving him more trouble than it normally did, and he kept getting shooting pains in his back and chest. When he arrived home, he began to drink again and puffed quietly on an expensive brand of cigarettes. His attention was brought to a chipped teacup that had been on display in the center of the living room, and in his anger broke the glass he had been drinking from with his hand.

Annoyed, he realized that he shouldn't have come home so early and left his home once more to get in a walk so that he could quiet his mind and gather his thoughts as to why he was really there in Storybrooke, and what needed to still be done.

It was then revealed in a flashback that Milah, his wife, was not a happily married woman. She always seemed to be gone from the home while Rumpelstiltskin was at work, spinning for the market and oftentimes leaving four-year-old Baelfire at home to fend for herself. One day, upon discovering that Milah had left Baelfire home alone again, he went out to look for her, and found her drinking in a pub with a group of pirates.

Both Milah and the pirates jabbed jokes at Rumpelstiltskin, but all he tried to do was to get her to come home. It wasn't until Baelfire followed her papa into the bar and called out for her mother that Milah finally seemed to get a good head on her shoulders and the three of them returned home together.

With Baelfire asleep, Milah and Rumpelstiltskin begin to talk about their marriage, Milah explicitely stating that she is no longer happy and she wished that Rumpelstiltskin had died in the Ogre's War rather than come home branded as a coward. Rumpelstiltskin pleaded for Milah to try to make things work between them, for Baelfire, and Milah begrudgingly agreed. Baelfire had gotten up during the night and asked for Rumpelstiltskin to sing her to sleep, and we hear quite a lovely tune that Rumpelstiltskin had made up specifically for his Baelfire and sung her to sleep.

Not a week later, Rumpelstiltskin got an urgent knock on his door. A neighborly woman had spotted MIlah and Baelfire getting aboard a pirate ship at the docks and she urged Rumpelstiltskin to go and get them back. Thinking that the pirates had taken his wife and child, Rumpelstiltskin hurried to the docks to reclaim his family. When he got there, however, the pirate captain was less than charitable and proposed that they duel for the woman and child.

Rumpelstiltskin knew at once that he would lose, and more than that, lose his life if he tried to duel the pirate, so he begged and pleaded instead. The pirate just sneered and ignored Rumpelstiltskin, calling him a coward in his wake and Rumpelstiltskin was left feeling completely useless, unable to get his wife and child back from the band.

As he pondered this during his walk, an incredible amount of pain shot through Mr. Gold, making parts of his body grow numb and the other parts shutting down on him. The cane was dropped and he was left grasping at the walls to keep him upright, but the pain eventually brought him down. He knew what this was, a price to be paid for the curse that he had inflicted upon himself of becoming The Dark One. In the Enchanted Forest, the curse was physical, altering his appearance; here, it attacked him from the inside.

Things were looking very grim for Mr. Gold, and he cried out into the night apologizing to Baelfire, over and over until he lost his voice to his sobs. He was quickly aided by Knox and Ruby, who he knew were trying to help but the pride in him forced him to push them away, although neither of them were going anywhere. He tried his best to regain his composure, but the coughing fits only seemed to be getting worse and worse and so he eventually agreed to let them walk him to the hospital, although he knew that it would do him no good there.

Once there, he quickly dismissed Ruby and Knox, leaving him alone with Dr. Stevenson whom he had no intention of letting her check him out to ensure his health was okay. She was persistant though, and got him to take a few tests. When the results came back, Dr. Stevenson told her that he had lung cancer. He knew this of course, not lung cancer specifically but something that was killing him slowly from the inside. This is the first time we think that Mr. Gold might not have been affected by the curse.

He told her that he knew, and refused treatment. Dr. Stevens pleaded with him to get help, eventually calling him a coward for refusing treatment. At the word coward, Mr. Gold lost his temper and swung his cane around on Dr. Stevenson, cutting her forehead and leaving quite the nasty mark. He threatened Dr. Stevenson then, stating that if she ever bothered him with this again, things would not be pretty. And with that, he left the hospital on his own accord and began his walk home, checking his shop on the way as he got an alert on his phone that the security alarm had been triggered.

Sure enough, someone had broken into Mr. Gold's shop, but the thief was long gone and his shop was so extensive that he was going to have a bit of trouble finding what was taken. Despite it being the middle of the night, there was a knock on the shop's locked front door, and Mr. Gold went to let Regina in. She explained to Mr. Gold that she knew what had been taken and who had taken it, since she had a specific reporter who just happned to be walking by and managed to take a picture. She made a deal with Gold, offering to exchange the information if he answered one of her questions, and Mr. Gold agreed.

Regina asked Gold what his name was, and Mr. Gold played dumb, not knowing what she was talking about until she drove her point, bringing it out of him that he knew exactly who he was, and that his memories were all clear and still there and that he, was still Rumpelstiltskin.

Reading the look of terror on her face, Mr. Gold assured Regina that he wouldn't be killing her for what she did to Belle, not yet anyway and Regina showed Mr. Gold the pictures of Henry leaving his shop with a snowglobe. It was Gold's turn to feel panic as he realized the object that had been stolen. Regina asked what it was (obviously it had to have been more than a snowglobe) but all Gold let out was that Storybrooke was in trouble.

Mayor Regina Mills

Regina woke up in a new land, a strange land with no magic in a strange room that she had never been in before, however the effect of the curse made the room...familiar. She had done it, she had inflicted the curse that would imprison everyone from The Enchanted Forest, and she would finally have her Happily Ever After. And so it began, until five years later things started to change.

Five years had passed, and as she usually did, Regina went to Storyrbooke Hospital to check up on Snow White, who was known only as Jane Doe here since the sleeping curse from The Enchanted Forest transferred over to Storybrooke, putting Snow in a coma that Regina was sure she would never wake from. She only came to check in on Snow because the paranoia got the best of her, and she had to ensure that no one had tried to claim her, recognize her, or visit her. Dr. Stevenson cleansed these worries every week, and today was no different. Satesfied, Regina left the hospital to go on about with her day.

She went to Mr. Gold's shop almost immediately, demanding answers as to his involvement of the arrival of Henry Carlyle. He, of course, gave little-to-no information, only telling Regina that he showed Henry where he could stay at Granny's. Irritated, Regina left.

She showed up later, finally finding Henry as he came back from The Rabbit Hole and heading into Granny's Bed and Breakfast. He didn't seem to see her, and so she spoke up, catching his attention.

She casually introduced herself, and then began to drill Henry with questions, determind to find out who he was, where he came from and why he was here. He was a newcomer, and that meant bad business for the curse. The curse was supposed to keep everyone away, unable to enter or leave Storybrooke, and yet here he was.

Henry answered her questions simply, annoying Regina even more but she changed her motive and instead offered him to come over to her house for dinner the following day, to give him a proper welcome to Storybrooke. Henry eagerly accepted and Regina went to leave, realizing suddenly that the clock tower had begun working again. Terror replaced her anger, and she left in a hurry.

She tried the remainder of the day tracking down Mr. Gold, of course now having questions beyond belief about the nature of the curse. If anyone could help her, he could, but she had to know something first. She stationed her reporter, Sidney Glass, otuside of Gold's shop and to have him alert her when he returned. She just didn't expect it to be during the dead of night. Sidney also had photos of a break-in from Mr. Gold's shop, which was the reason that he came back during the night. Regina used this against Mr. Gold (since he didn't know who broke in or what was stolen) and got it out of Mr. Gold that he knew his true name, and that the curse had not affected him.

Terror ripped through Regina, remembering their last encounter in The Enchanted Forest when she had ripped Belle's heart out in front of him and crushed it. He assured her that he wouldn't kill her, not until after the curse was broken, and then Regina showed Gold the pictures of Henry stealing a snowglobe from his shop. Regina didn't understand the significance of the snowglobe and had to ask why it was so important, however all Mr. Gold told her was that Storybrooke was in danger.

Regina, outraged (but more paranoid than anything) that Henry was starting to change things, she put her initial plan into motion and called Robert, telling him to meet her at her office. Regina then took it upon herself to make her office look as if someone had broken in, and by the time Robert arrived it looked like a big mess. Regina then told Robert that someone broke into her office and stole an envelope that held ten-thousand dollars of Storybrooke's tax money, and told Robert to go and find the envelope in the backseat of Henry's car.

Regina knew that it would be there, because she had planted the envelope there herself when she and Henry had been talking, the very reason why she didn't shake his hand at first. Robert left, and Regina returned home awaiting to hear the wonderful knews that Henry Carlyle had been arrested. However, it wasn't the case.

When Robert came to Regina's house, he had informed Regina that he had found someone else with the envelope of money. A strange woman with no ID, name, or anything relating to being in the system. Of course Regina knew who he was talking about, she had seen this mysterious around town before, but she had to wonder if someway, somehow she was working with Henry.

She asked Robert to search Henry's room at Granny's the next day when Henry came over to her place for dinner, leaving his room completely unprotected if he were truly hiding something. Also, thinking of what Mr. Gold said about the snowglobe, she instructed Robert to keep an eye out for that as well. She did not welcome Robert into her home for the night like she had initially thought she would have, too irritated now to welcome his company, and so the two said goodnight.

Henry Carlyle

Henry arrived in Storybrooke in the very early hours of the morning, stopping first in front of Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop since he saw the man himself opening the door off of the street. He recognized Mr. Gold to be Rumpelstiltskin immediately, but due to the curse, Henry was unable to tell if Mr. Gold knew who he was, and so he went on business as normal. Mr. Gold then walked with him to Granny's Bed and Breakfast upon learning that Henry was a visitor, and needed a place to stay.

Henry was greeted by hearing an argument coming down the stairs, seeing a woman scantily dressed being followed by an older woman dressed in...well, old people clothing. Once the scantily clad woman left, Henry got the older woman's attention by ringing the bell, and politely asked for a room. Surprised, the scantily clad woman came back and helped Henry to find his room, but not before Mr. Gold took money from the older woman, collecting the rent. It was then that he learned the names of these people, Ruby and Granny, and between them he also learned that not only did Mr. Gold own Granny's Bed and Breakfast, but the entire town as well.

Henry, in the privacy of his new room, pulled out the map that Rumpelstiltskin had given him in The Enchanted Forest before the curse hit and read over the careful instructions left to him by the imp that would finalize the deal they had made. The instructions were simple. Find Rumpelstiltskin, restore the memores and break the curse. Well he had found Rumpelstiltskin, rather 'Mr. Gold' here, and now Henry had the complication on whether or not to try to break this curse. It seemed that each time he tried to avoid wanting to fulfill his end of the deal, something bad happened, pushing Henry to fulfill it anyway.

It is then revealed that Henry had been sent to Wonderland when Rumpelstiltskin sent him away from Regina's dungeon. He was immediately captured by The Queen of Hearts, but for some unknown reason, she showed Henry mercy, relaying some unknown, important information to Henry, and allowed him to escape so that he could go to Storybrooke.

Clouded with thoughts of his past, Henry decided it was time to get out of his bedroom and familarize himself with the strange, cursed town. He first found himself at Granny's Diner finding himself hungry, and to his surprise he found Ruby working as a waitress. She got him his order of eggs and a coke. To further his surprise, Ruby then invited him to go out with herself and Knox to The Rabbit Hole for a few drinks, and he found himself accepting.

Later, Henry made his way to Mr. Gold's Pawnshop to 'look around a bit' finding Mr. Gold dusting of a number of books. The two made light conversation until Mr. Gold noticed the key around Henry's neck and asked to take a look at it. Hesitating, Henry handed the key over and was utterly surprised to find Mr. Gold handling his little sister's diary, the very book that the key belonged to. Feeling his heart hammering in his chest, he knew he had to have that diary, and was only too willing to take up Mr. Gold's deal of helping out at the elementary school as a subsitute teacher for the book.

Something else then caught Henry's eye, a story book full of fairytales. Thumbing through it, Henry realized that it wasn't JUST a book, but history of the events that had happened back in The Enchanted Forest. Agreeing to volunteer at the hospital, Henry was then given the book and before he could give up anything that actually mattered to Henry, he left Gold's shop to continue his exploration.

He headed immediatly to the hospital where he was told by Mr. Gold to seek out Dr. Faye Stevenson. To his utter shock, the doctor turned out to be Heather Jekyll from The Enchanted Forest, but here, unknowning of her own history with him, she looked right through him as anyone would look through a person they had never met before.

The two made light conversation, Henry offered to volunteer at the hospital, now with a new motive to stay close to Faye and he was then taken to the coma patient Mr. Gold had told her about. As if the surprises would ever stop. It wasn't Jane Doe in the bed, but Snow White, caught in the sleeping curse that now translated as some sort of coma.

His cover was almost blown when Faye seemed to see the slight indication of recognition in his face, but Henry played it off saying that he had never seen her before. He pushed past his feelings through, and began to read 'Alice in Wonderland' to her, hoping that someway, somehow it would bring Snow back to him.

Henry later returned to his home to open up the story book that turned out to be history for everyone's past lives. He spent most of the rest of the day reading up on it, making connections to the characters he knew from the book to the people here in Storybrooke. Once he realized the time, Henry put reading his sister's diary to the side and went out to the Rabbit Hole to meet up with Red...uh...Ruby.

He found her already there, hussling a couple of guys while playing pool. After collecting her winnings, he went to her to make himself known. And thats when a strange, strange woman walked into the bar, a woman that seemed to catch everyone's attention, and not in a good way. Ruby gave Henry a quiet warning about the woman, about how no one knew her, about how weird it was.

Ruby then seemed to follow the woman's movements as she made her way over to a table with a man sitting at it, and Ruby's eyes seemed to ignite. She stormed to the table and coldly asked for the woman to leave who had been making a point to flirt with the man at the table. The woman left the table and in a turn of events went to him to make an introduction, though she gave no name.

Before he had time to answer though, Knox got up from the table and slipped a twenty-dollar bill into the woman's clevage and without a word walked out. He then watched as the woman gave the money instead to Ruby, who took it and ran out of the building to find Knox.

Henry suddenly found himself alone with the very woman Ruby had warned him about, but she seemed nice enough, just a little rough around the edges. The two made very light conversation before Henry noticed that the woman seemed to become fidgety. As if to confirm his question, she called it a night and hurridly left. Curious, Henry couldn't help but to follow. The woman caught on straight-away and offered to meet up with him at a later time.

He returned to Granny's Bed and Breakfast to turn into the night, however he was intercepted by Regina, the Mayor of the city and she was less than welcoming. She drilled him with questions, aiming to find his intention here in Storybrooke, but Henry played it cool and came up with a reasonable enough lie that Regina couldn't find any holes in. Suddenly dropping the implication that she wanted him gone, Regina asked for Henry to come by her place for dinner the next day, to give him a proper welcome to Storybrooke, and Henry accepted.

Regina then left with a huff as she suddenly realized that the clock tower had begun to work again, but Henry made no comment and went back to his bedroom for the night. He had a diary to read that belonged to his dear departed sister that he had recently found courtesy of Mr. Gold.

When he opened it, however, the book was empty. No doubt because the book was written it with some sort of magic ink, and magic didn't cross over easily to this world. Overcome with rage towards Mr. Gold (he just knew it was his fault somehow) Henry left the room in a hurry to get back at the Pawnbroker, knowing about a particular snowglobe that could cause the man quite a bit of trouble.

Henry reached Mr. Gold's Pawnshop, relieved to see it closed and that the man was nowhere in sight. WIthout thinking too much about it, he broke into the backdoor and rummaged through the shop until he found the snowglobe he was looking for. He took the snowglobe and ran, as fast and as far as his legs would carry him, deep into the forest until he couldn't breathe. In his blind anger, she shattered the snowglobe on the ground, awaiting for the Ice Queen to reveal herself and offer to help him, but as Henry stood there a good ten minutes, staring at the shards of glass, nothing happened. With a dejected sigh, Henry had no other choice now than to return home.

When he got back to Granny's Bed and Breakfast, he noticed the mysterious woman poking around looking at his car. The woman then told Henry that he was being framed, and pointed out the envelope of money in his car. The woman removed the envelope, and they found the money inside. There was only one woman in Storybrooke that would have any want to frame him to get him out of here; Regina, The Evil Queen.

Henry was surprised when the mysterious woman offered to take the heat for the planted money, sheerly just to piss Regina off when she realized that her plan to frame Henry didn't work. Henry expressed his gratitude, and promised to help the woman out of jail the next day. The two quickly parted ways and Henry was finally able to rest for the night.

Ruby

Ruby and Granny were having a fight. Despite the early hours of the morning, Ruby walked down the stairs into the Bed and Breakfast room with Granny hot on her heels. Ruby expressed her wishes of wanting to move to Boston, and Granny bullshittingly apologized for her heart attack ruining her plans. Neither of them were aware of the stranger at the desk until the stranger rang the bell and asked for a room.

Surprise overcame Ruby, causing her to calm down, and Granny and Ruby helped Henry to one of their best rooms in the Bed and Breakfast. As Granny made handed over the rent money to Mr. Gold, Ruby and Granny quickly explained to Henry who Mr. Gold was, and that he owned not only the building, but the entire town.

Ruby ended up working the morning shift at Granny's Diner that day, and found Knox; a regular. She knew exactly what he wanted, and got him his cheesy fries and dark coffee. Taking a stab at something she was never brave to do before, she asked Knox out for a couple drinks at The Rabbit Hole with her later that night. He seemed hesitant at first, but the shy ones always here, but he eventually agreed.

Henry entered the Diner right then, and Ruby hurried off to help him. She got him his order of eggs and coke and made light conversation, asking how he liked the town so far and so on. An idea then hit her and before she even knew what she was saying, she invited Henry to come with her and Knox to the Rabbit Hole for some drinks, and Henry graciously accepted.

She was at The Rabbit Hole a short time later, killing time by playing pool and hussling a few guys that were too distracted looking at her than playing the game to their full potential. After she won, she was approached by Henry, and the two shared a very flirty conversation. And that's when Ruby frowned. The woman that no one seemed to know anything about from Storybrooke entered the bar, and Ruby felt inclined to warn Henry about her.
The mysterious woman made a point to cross the floor and introduce herself to Knox, which Ruby had just realized was there at the bar as well. Angry, Ruby approached the woman and coldly asked her to leave after seeing her flirt with Knox.

The mysterious woman remained polite and pushed past Henry to introduce herself. Knox got up from the table, looking rather annoyed and put a rolled up twenty-dollar bill in the woman's clevage, silently calling her a hooker and then moved to leave the bar. The woman took the money and handed it to Ruby, silently indicating that it was intended for her instead. Ruby could do little else right then than to take the money belonging to Knox and follow him out. She couldn't let the evening with him end like this, she would feel guilty about it forever.

She eventually caught up to him and flew into apologies of everything that had happened at the bar, but Knox didn't seem interested, and attempted to point her back in the direction of Henry. Ruby was determined though, she still didn't feel right about it and refused to leave his side, threatening that she would never leave until she learned five interesting things about him and saw a genuine smile on his lips. He eventually agreed, and Ruby walked with him to go back to Granny's where they could spend the rest of their evening together in a quieter scene.

They were nearly to Granny's when Ruby stopped suddenly, hearing a noise that she had never quite heard before. She stopped to listen, realizing quickly that Knox could not hear what she was hearing but she listened on, then coming to the horrible realization that someone was in trouble; Mr. Gold.

Pushing her hatred for the man aside, Ruby hurried down the complex route until she found Mr. Gold in an alley, seeming to just be holding onto life by a thread. She called over to Knox and Knox helped Mr. Gold to his feet. The older man seemed dazed and confused and Ruby had the intuition to call Robert Leland, the town sheriff but Mr. Gold startled Ruby by snatching his cane away from her, causing her to drop her phone in surprise.

Their options were quickly discussed and it was decided (more between her and Knox than Mr. Gold) that they would walk him to the hospital. They reached it rather quickly, and as soon as Dr. Stevenson was alerted to the situation, she came down to take things from there. No longer needing to stay, Knox walked Ruby out of the hospital, offering to stay and put in a few extra hours of work since he was already there.

Tired, but not wanting her night to end just like that, Ruby headed back to The Rabbit Hole in hopes for one last effort of having a good night. The bartender there, Jake Frostburn who she only really knew the name of, could sense that Ruby was having a bit of a rough night and offered his charming personality to help cheer her up. It worked, and so did his charm because not minutes after that, Ruby had Jake in the storage room closet where she would end her night on a much, much happier note.

Once Upon a Time...

Ruby did what she could to keep herself occupied in the unfamiliar house. At first she just spent some time sitting on the couch with her hands folded in her lap, afraid to touch anything really but looked around at the decor. It was then that she realized that she could really use a shower; especially from her events last night both at the bar and at the bartenders apartment.

Making up her mind (although she really didn't want to) Ruby left Knox's house, locking it up with the key he had given her and made a the short walk to Granny's. She hoped to God that she wouldn't run into the old woman as she gathered her belongings, most importantly her showering supplies. When it came time to pick out some clothes that would last her a few days, she hesitated.

Knox's voice seemed to fill her head, remembering his comment about her clothes. It wasn't there in his words exactly, but it was implied. The way she dressed made him...what was the word? Uncomfortable? Well, something...and she couldn't do that to him anymore, not when he opened up his home to her for the time being. Ruby pushed towards the back of her closet and found some older clothes that didn't reveal so much and packed them up before leaving Granny's and then went back to Knox's place.

She got the shower she wanted, dressed in a normal pair of blue jeans and an burgundy sweater that only showed the skin of her shoulder that the neck didn't cover up (as it was the style to expose one shoulder). She found herself in the kitchen, looking up at the clock to check the time and had to wonder when Knox would be coming back...if he came back at all. He worked nights after all, but then again, he hadn't slept since Granny's this morning...

Reaching a gloved hand over to a particularly small cobblestone, Knox pulled it up and plucked the spare key hidden underneath. Not a spare key anymore, not if someone was using either, not really. Rubbing some dirt off of it, in the darkness, he stared down at the grimy mini rubber chicken attached to the key ring.

“…”

More than his surprise at his sense of sight, getting better at seeing through into the darkness (though, admittedly, the eye sensitivity happened to also become a problem during the day), he was surprised that he’d finally have to put this set of spare keys to use again. Taking step after step up onto his porch, the wood creaking under him, Knox unlocked the front door and stepped inside.

Almost immediately falling into routine mode, he kicked off his shoes and popped the top buttons of his uniform shirt open, going to the kitchen then the fridge…the security guard stopped short of grabbing his bottle of beer, when…grabbing hold of two bottle necks with one hand, Knox slowly turned to look at Ruby suspiciously, “What…tell me, what happened?”

Ruby stood there in the kitchen feeling even more awkward about being there than when she had first arrived at his house, alone. She fidgeted with her nails a bit, trying to hold his gaze but didn't find it to be all that easy. it didn't help matters either that he had automatically assumed that something was up.

"Nothing!" She said honestly, shifting her weight to her opposite hip, realizing she was picking at her nails and then shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. "Well, I mean I went to Granny's to get a few things of mine, and uh, I took a shower here - oh God, was I not supposed to do that? I could shower someplace else -"

There was something off about her; it couldn’t just be her off choice of clothing, could it? It did indicate that she returned to her home at some point to pick up a change of clothing. With a bottle now in each hand, using the cap of one bottle against the other bottle, Knox popped both the tops off and caught them in his hand. Then, he offered Ruby one of the cold beers, though the look on his face said that he definitely needed a brief report of what she did since he had left her alone.

Ruby took the beer from him, but didn't seem all that interested in it. Her hangover was still nagging at her at the back of her head, and she didn't think that alcohol for her would be the best choice since her drunken actions were...unpredictable. She set the bottle of beer down on the table, looking away from him with a deep blush on her cheeks. God what he must think of her...pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

Seeing Ruby become uncomfortable under his questioning and gaze, Knox rubbed the back of his neck, setting his own bottle on the counter before getting back to the fridge, “I don’t mean to unsettle you with an interrogative tone…just…I admit, your change in outfit threw me for a bit.” Trying to reassure as honestly as he could, he hefted two bags from fridge…hesitating momentarily before pulling the zucchini, then another kind of squash from the first bag. The man didn’t look happy about these, but Knox did make a small ‘happy’ sound as he pulled out two plastic wrapped raw and seasoned steaks from the other bag.

"I um...I didn't have a whole lot of clean clothes at home." Ruby lied, unsure if the change in clothes was what he wanted...or not.

Not a fan of the whole squash garden fruit-vegetable series, but the health benefits were superb…Knox wasn’t allowed to just let that go. A single cough, “Can you help me and prepare the vegetables?”

Ruby stood there, dumbly, trying to register his words and put the missing pieces together as if she had just realized that he had been pulling food out of the fridge.

"Uh, oh yeah! Sure!" She exclaimed happily and rushed over to him, finding a knife in a holder that had been on the counter. She quickly ran the knife under some hot water, a quick clean, and then began to wash the vegetables in the sink.

"I um...I wanted to thank you again...for uh, helping me out." Ruby said into the silence, not sure if it was the silence that was bothering her or the way that he seemed to not really...notice her the way other guys did. "I'll um, do the dishes, and clean, like I promised before..." She glanced over at Knox. "But...you gotta give me permission to touch stuff first." She added on as a bit of a tease, a pathetic effort to lighten the mood and clear the air.

Raising a brow at the girl’s teasing as he got out the grilling pan, Know nudged her gently as not to jostle her as she cut the vegetables, and then leaned in when he was sure Ruby wasn’t going to chop off a finger, “You’re free to touch anything you want,” Moving back, he set the pan on the stove and set the heat High, for now. Paying attention to the stove carefully, he finished what he was saying offhandedly, “So long as you swear not to break a thing, intentionally or no.”

"I break it, I buy it?" Ruby asked with a white smile having to crane her neck to look up at him. She finished chopping up the freshly washed vegetables and took the initiative to go to the fridge to find some butter and put a couple scoops into the frying pan, waiting until the butter had melted into it before adding the vegetables. Okay, this was getting easier. Not much...but a little. "You work tonight?" She asked, remembering that he did have the previous night off, and wondered if that was all he got.

“You break it, you buy it? No, no…you break it, and I won’t be trusting you again.” Despite how it was phrased, his tone was lighter than normal. Taking it easy with the pan, Knox greased and lowered the heat, flicking his eyes over at Ruby’s own work. Sure, her cuts of the vegetable weren’t the neatest, as was plainly evident…but somehow, her cooking looked more appetizing then when he usually prepared…somehow.

Getting the steaks on the hot pan, “I’ve taken the rest of the night off, which isn’t much. I’ll be returning to the hospital early enough in the morning, anyhow.” With the short answer, he fell silent in thought. The raw steaks sizzled pleasantly, the smell were a treat to the nose, “How cooked would you want yours?”

Ruby looked from her sizzling vegetables in her pan to the steaks cooking over by Knox, an audible growl coming from her stomach. Oh God, steak! When was the last time she had a steak?

"I like it pink, but not bloody." She answered it truthfully. She enjoyed the added flavor of rare cooked meat; for as long as she could remember. She remembered once getting upset with Granny because Granny didn't want Ruby making 'special' orders for her hamburgers, wanting them a little more raw than not. The memory made her laugh out, just a bit, but she quickly covered up her smile and added salt and pepper to the vegetables.
She didn't know what she was doing; not really. Granny and the cooks in the diner had always done the cooking, she had just been the waitress, but she felt that she had watched them cook enough to get a brief idea of what needed to be done.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll be coming with me to the hospital."

Ruby shot Knox a sideways look, her brown eyebrows raised in question.

"Look, I got your unspoken message, I don't really think I need to go and see your dad again." Ruby replied, of course assuming that she already knew what this was about. "I'll...I don't know what I'll do but before I leave to Boston I'll...talk...to her at least...maybe say goodbye..."

Taking a plate and setting it down on the counter beside the stove, quite loudly, a medium cook steak was dropped onto the plate rather unceremoniously, “And how, exactly, do you plan to pay for your trip to Boston? Your stay in Boston, till you find a job?” Saying this rather pointedly, Knox gave Ruby a sharp look as he continued to cook his own steak, “I’m setting you up with a temporary job at the hospital’s cafeteria.”

"I-oh..." Ruby brought in her lower lip, wishing that was all she had to do to suck her words back, wishing she had never said them. Again, he was helping her...far more than she ever thought he would. So it wasn't about his father, it was helping her to leave for Boston, like she wanted.

Ruby sighed, taking the vegetables off the burner and separated them evenly between their two dinner plates before taking the pan to the sink and ran hot water over it. She would rather it be cleaned up now while it was still hot rather than letting it sit on the counter while they ate. She might not have known how to cook, but dishes, dishes she did often.

"Why...are you helping me?" Ruby asked, keeping her eyes on the pan. The conversation he had, explicitly stated that he would be her friend (though she knew it to be more of an acquaintance) and nothing more than just the guy she brought cheese fries to everyday.

Knox set his well done steak onto his plate, “’I don't really think I need to go and see your dad again’, wasn’t it? It’s been a long time since I could even consider the idea of leaving this town, especially now, since he’s…” It had been a long time since Knox had accepted the fact he could never just leave, even if his father didn’t want him to stay, even if he couldn’t do anything for the old man. “Everyone should have the right to make their own choices, to make their own mistakes…”

Taking his bottle of beer, he downed it in one go, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and turning the stove off with the other, “You should leave this town while you still can, Ruby.”

"I tried once." Ruby said trying not to stare at Knox when he downed the whole beer. "I got to the boundary line when I got a phone call..." Her voice lowered almost in a whisper, looking back down at her soapy hands in the sink. "...she had a heart-attack."

Knox leaned very slightly against the counter, having a hard time finally looking at Ruby again, his eyes sympathetic, “I’m sorry that you both went through that.” Lowering his gaze again, he caught sight of her near untouched beer…in a rare act fueled purely by impulse, Knox took it and downed it quicker than the last, “And even so, you still want to just go?”

Ruby turned from the sink, wiping her soapy hands on the towel before resting her palms on the counter behind her.

"Yes?" She asked, more questioning herself. When he put it that way..."No...?" She sighed and threw her hands up in the air with a quiet, "I don't know..."

Pausing for a moment, almost stuck on what to say, “If you leave, I’ll take care of your grandmother for you.” What was another person to take care of, to watch over…? Equal parts honest, bitter, and tired...

"I-" Her words caught in her throat again, now unable to look away from Knox, contradictory to not being able to look at him just moments ago. "Look I don't know what I want right now, I quit because I was angry. She's trying to make me like her and I'm...I'm not ready for that!" And there it was, the truth, something even Ruby didn't know until the words tumbled from her mouth. She looked surprised and clamped a hand over her mouth, repeating the words she had just said over in her head. She was scared, scared of what her future held, scared of having to take over Granny's position if something...if something were to happen...

Blinking in surprise, clarity of the situation… “And truth of the matter has come to light now, I see.” This was an odd situation, Ruby was afraid of becoming like her grandmother. In actuality, Knox was sure that they had very similar personalities; they were both quite stubborn if the fight was anything to go by. Neither yielding to the other, like two stags tangling horns.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes at the mere thought, and she quickly turned back around to look at the sink, nearly feeling like she just might hurl into it.

With Ruby in tears and turning away to the sink, Knox had the obvious choices. Of course, he didn’t have time to list and think on them, and instead, he clasped Ruby’s hand in his. Pulling her close, slowly reaching his free hand up, he rubbed circles carefully into her back, “Shhh…Ruby, Ruby…”
This situation…just…it was getting harder and harder to deal with. Only managing to murmur the girl’s name back at her, he couldn’t help but be struck by how exactly he ended up here, and how worried he felt now. It seems like all Knox could do was meet new people, then worry about them and their problems, “No need to cry. Everyone is okay, everything is okay…”

Ruby felt herself being turned and with her mind clouded with everything and nothing at the same time (as well as her eyes being blinded by the un-shed tears) Ruby had little choice but to hold onto what was feeling like an embrace of comfort and let her head rest on his chest, Knox being too tall for it to fall on his shoulder.

She nodded blindly at his comforts, holding onto the only thing that felt solid anymore, the only thing that felt real and right. Him. Before she could make a fool out of herself though, Ruby found the willpower to pull away from him and quickly wipe away the one tear that slipped down her cheek.
"I um...didn't have much of a chance to look around. Is there a particular room you want me to sleep in? The couch is fine, really...I'm just...really tired right now."

Knox stared at Ruby’s eyes long and hard…before crossing, uncrossing, and crossing his arms again in a rather peeved manner. His mouth was set in a firm line, “What are you—running from your own feelings, even?”

Ruby felt her jaw drop. What? Where had he come up with that? Sure he was right if she really wanted to give him that credit, but actually calling her out on it...? The tears immediately left her eyes and she felt a sort of fire ignite in her chest, burning down the short fuse that had grown only shorter throughout the day.

"I'm not running from anything!" She practically shouted back, her pride obviously hurt from being called out on. "It's just...been a long day, and I didn't get much sleep last night." She explained. Well, at least that last part was true, but given her...reputation, she knew immediately that was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"I meant...I'm just...just...just stop caring about me okay? You're making this really difficult!"

There was an angry noise that came from his mouth, and with it, Knox stood over her in an instant. Hand out tilting the girl’s chin up and forcing a rather angry, deep kiss upon her, he growled into her lips one final word, “Fine.” With this, Knox turned and left the kitchen, then the house entirely—the door slamming loudly behind him.

Ruby didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She watched Knox storm out of the room, and then hearing the front door slam shut, the sound seeming to jostle what she was really feeling aside from what she thought she was feeling. She swallowed hard, refusing to touch her fingers to her lips where she could still feel his kiss lingering. It was different than kissing any other guy in Storybrooke, she just didn't know how. She shook her head and took it upon herself to put away the untouched food into plastic containers.

She only spent a short amount of time cleaning up the kitchen before grabbing a red knit scarf from her packed bag and a matching red knit beret. She needed air. A lot of it. She adjusted the beret and then went out the back door, not wanting to risk bumping into Knox on her way out and headed to the Toll Bridge where she would just sit and think. Not just about him, but what was becoming of her, what she really wanted to do with her life, and how she was going to fix things with Granny.

Once Upon a Time...

badass Tander! Can't wait to bring her in!

Once Upon a Time...

Henry left the hospital not long after Dr. Stevenson and he had spoken, returning to his room to prepare himself for the dinner date tonight: showering, fresh shave, a more formal herringbone coat, along with picking up a couple things from the convenience store. Time seemed to rush by until it was nearly 6:30.

He parked outside the mayor's house with less than 5 minutes to spare, doing a quick hair-check before stepping up onto the front porch.
'You can do this, Chesh, it's just dinner with the Evil Queen....and maybe some other stuff. Bloody hell.' He thought to himself before knocking sharply on the door, hands falling to his pockets as he awaited his host.

There was a pause that seemed to go on for ages, but Regina finally answered the door with a warm, bright smile.

"Henry." She welcomed. "Good, I've just taken the lasagna out of the oven." Her dress apparel hadn't changed too much from when they had spoken with one another at the school, except now she had lost the suit jacket, showing off the brilliant dark blue silk shirt she wore underneath that buttoned up in the front, the top three buttons of course undone. She had done away with the scarf as well, having been at home able to cover up the bruising on her neck with makeup.

She opened the door wider for Henry to walk in past her, and then shut the door behind him.

"Why, thank you." He responded in a gentlemanly manner as she opened the door, stepping through the threshold and taking in the sight. The house was nothing short of marvelous, the walls colored a crisp white and the floors a shiny hardwood. Little in the way of paintings were in the house, but somehow - it worked. The furniture was of exquisite craftsmanship, exuding an air of both regality and modernity.

"I must say, Madam Mayor...your house is nothing short of marvelous!" Henry exclaimed, thoroughly and sincerely impressed, taking off his glasses to get a better look at the furnishings.

"Why thank you!"

Regina led Henry from the main hall to the dining hall where most of the food she had prepared throughout the day was laid out, the only thing missing was the main dish of lasagna that she had promised. She issued a chair for him to sit in, then said,

"I'll just pop into the kitchen and get the lasagna." She informed him quickly, and walked through the open threshold that took her there. Once out of sight, Regina pulled her phone from her tight slacks and opened up her recent text messages. Regina wasn't much of a texter, but she only had one word to send out. Scrolling through them, she found Robert Leland's name and opened up the thread, typing 'GO' and sent it out quickly. He would know what she meant.

Using oven mitts, Regina grabbed the lasagna and brought it back to the dining hall and placed it in the center of the table, allowing herself to sit across from Henry and crossed her legs.

"So you think you'll stay then, in Storybrooke?" She asked, picking up her glass of wine that she had already filled before Henry had arrived. "At least...for a while...?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." He responded with his (practically) signature grin. "That is, unless you have a problem with it?" He asked simply, no hostility whatsoever in his tone - just genuine curiosity.

"Nothing keeping you from wanting to go back?" Regina inquired, blatantly ignoring his second statement. "No family, friends?" She quirked an eyebrow and lowered her voice in pitch. "A lover?"

"Nope, 'fraid not. My family's been gone for awhile...I lost my sister in a...house fire. I'm the only one left-" Regina quickly shot him an apologetic look. "-no lovers or girlfriends to speak of," his eyes met hers. "Yet." He finished, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, that's a shame." Regina stood at the table and began to fill Henry's plate with the food she had provided, handing the plate to him with a generous amount of food and then helped herself with a portion less than half of what she gave him. "But no..." Regina said sitting down again. "...I don't have a problem with you staying, so long as you behave."

If someone would have told Regina three hours ago that she would be condoning the stranger that would surely be the one to break the curse into staying in Storybrooke, she would have never believed them. However, now, the way she saw it, getting Henry to be closer to her rather than Mr. Gold could only prove to be beneficial towards her. SHE would not be the one to drive Henry out, something or someone else would.

Henry nodded in thanks as she handed the plate to him, grinning from ear to ear (when did he stop?) while she spoke. "Oh, don't worry, you'll expect no trouble from me. It'll be as though I've been here my whole life." He promised sincerely, taking a small bite of the lasagna.

"This is absolutely delicious!" He commended with an approving nod. "I've never tasted anything quite like it." He added.

"Well, I'm not the greatest cook, but I do manage. Lasagna seems to be what I'm best at, if of course you don't count my apple pie." Regina replied modestly.

"Apple pie. I remember that being a treat when I was younger. My family wasn't the...wealthiest, so it was the little things that counted most." He said in a solemn voice, but seemed to perk up again as if nothing had happened.

"There's an apple tree just in my backyard, I've been tending to it ever since I was a little girl, so apples aren't exactly scarce around here." She breathed out a sort of small laugh, and returned to drinking her wine.

The evening went on as such until they had both had their fill of food and conversation. Regina had made a mention that she had an apple pie in the freezer, and it was decided that she was to put it into the oven just so Henry could see how delicious it really was. While they waited, they retreated into the living room which was as large and elaborate as any other part of her house, though this room had a lush, white carpet spreading across the floor, a roaring fireplace in the center of the wall across from them and a quiet theme of horses.

Regina filled Henry's cup of wine before setting the bottle back down in the ice bucket on the coffee table in front of them and leaned back into the corner of the couch, kicking off her black heels so that she could comfortably bring them up and underneath her.

"...I can still remember the look on my father's face when I had cleared the course while riding bareback. He was so happy I swear I saw tears." Regina finished her story, since the topic of the horses in the room piqued Henry's interest, and she had told him of her experience riding horses often as a little girl.

"You know..." Regina said after a small pause. "...that could very well be what drew me to you, Henry." She went on. "My father's name was Henry also...the most noble, honest man I had ever met..."

Henry smiled as Regina told her story, taking random sips of his wine as she spoke before switching onto the subject of her father; who shared Henry's name.

"He sounds like a good man." He replied warmly, letting out a soft exhale.

"He was." Regina replied almost curtly, letting the implication that her father was no longer alive hang in the air like a bitter cold.

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss." Henry said, empathetically; easily reading the signs that Regina's father was no longer alive. "I'm sure he's very proud of you." He reassured gently, removing his glasses again as if to add emphasis to his statement.

Regina was unable to hold back a scoff, her mind now going to what her father would say about all of this...would he be proud? She remembered his last words to her before she ripped his heart out, that whatever it was that made her happy, then he would be happy also. But again, that was before she ripped his heart out for her own selfish reasons for wanting this curse. But that wasn't likely a story she'd be willing to share with the man sitting a few feet away from her, so she settled on simply answering with,

"I hope so."

Henry offered a warm, genuine smile in return; being about all he could do with so sensitive a topic. "My father was never around much. Wasn't his fault, just couldn't afford to pay the bills. Constantly worked two to three jobs at a time, never saw us much. He was a provider...but never a father - hopefully he found rest." Henry finished, taking another swig of wine.

Regina looked from her half-empty wine glass to Henry, meeting his eyes. So...Henry came from poverty. She wanted to sneer on impulse, but held back when a gut-wrenching realization hit her; Daniel had been from poverty too. She was to marry him, to have a fulfilling life as the stable-boy's wife. She never wanted this...power. The money, the fame...she could have done without it all, all for Daniel. She had wanted a simple life.
Without realizing is, her thumb and forefinger fidgeted with the simple, twisted ring around her index finger on her right hand, but the moment she realized it, she quickly cleared her throat and set the glass of wine down on the table in front of them. Apparently, wine made her think too much.

"Well...enough of that." She said quickly, her eyes glancing even quicker up to the analogue clock on her wall, wondering if Robert had enough time to go through Henry's room yet or not. She'd rather not give him too much credit, and decided to stall Henry here a little longer. That shouldn't be a problem. An almost wicked smile crossed her lips as she looked back to Henry as she reached out with her hand and set it gently on his knee.

"You're still in the interview process you know..."

"Oh am I?" He asked in mock confusion, that same hungry look coming into his eyes. "I think I did pretty good on the last question." He commented with a sultry smile.

A thoughtful expression pursed at Regina's lips, threatening to make her smile.

"Yes, but, the question was only halfly answered, Mr. Carlyle." She reminded him in a professional manner, now deciding to let her lips split into a stunningly beautiful white smile.

"Half answered, eh? Well, how do I answer the other half?' He asked, cupping his chin with a single hand, shifting slightly in his seat.
Keeping her smile, Regina removed her hand from his knee and sat up a little straighter, placing both her hands into her lap.

"You act like you've never had an interview before Henry, you can't ask for tips from the boss." She chastised him with a wicked grin.

"Yes, quite right, I had nearly forgotten!" He replied, not-so-subtly licking his lips. "Now then...let's get started on that second half." He said in an almost mischievous manner.

He began to lean in towards her, setting his own glass of wine on the table to free his hands. "Tell me if this is right." He asked before planting a longing kiss on her neck.

Regina couldn't help but to move instinctively, raising her chin up towards the ceiling and let her eyes flutter closed, only letting out a soft "hmmm..." in response.

Henry took this as an obvious sign to keep going, kissing around the more sensitive parts of her neck, a single hand draping down on her hip. The covered bruising on Regina's neck made itself aware to Regina a few times while Henry kissed her neck, but the dull pain acted as a sort of stimuli, and Regina wrapped her own arms around Henry, holding her hands on the backsides of his shoulders.

Henry cocked his head in very close to her ear. "Let's see what you can do, Madam Mayor." He said before abruptly planting his lips against hers, picking up where they had left off in the classroom just a few hours ago.