Once Upon A Time Lady (OUAT x DW)

Red-Handed [2]

Kayla hurried after Jack as he left the carnival "Is he okay? David?"

"Oh, yeah. He's a little shaken up, but he's headed home. He's fine." Jack explained.

"Any word from Kathryn?"

"Nothing new,"

"Did you check with Boston again?"

"She's not there, Kayla,"

Kayla sighed "So we have no idea what happened to her?"

"All we know is that she found out about David and Mary Margaret, gave Mary Margaret a well-deserved slap, and then disappeared,"

Kayla stopped walking "Well-deserved? Do you really believe that?"

"No. I'm just preparing you for what everyone else is gonna think. Those two are gonna look bad until we figure the truth out,"

"You mean David? That people are going to think, in order to be free with Mary Margaret, he..."

"Some are. And he's not doing himself any favors,"

Jack and Kayla noticed Ruby waiting by the bus stop talking to Dr. Whale.

"Sorry, no. Don't need a ride," Ruby explained.

"It's awfully cold out here," Dr. Whale said.

"I'm fine. Really,"

"I can carry your bag. Where are you headed?"

"Dr. Whale?" Kayla called out.

"Kayla. Jack. Hello there,"

"Hey,"

"I was just having a talk with Ruby here, but I should..."

"Yeah." Jack said, "Yeah, you should."

"Yeah."

"Was he bothering you?" Kayla asked Ruby once Dr. Whale had left.

Ruby scoffed "The day I can't handle a letch is the day I leave town. Which this is, I guess,"

"You're leaving?" Kayla asked.

"I had a fight with Granny, quit my job,"

"You quit?"

Ruby nodded.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know." Ruby chuckled "Away,"

"Yeah, well, buses out of town don't really happen. And you might want a destination first," Kayla noticed that Ruby was on the verge of tears "Hey if you need a place to figure things out, you could always come home with me. I'm sure Mary Margaret and Emma will be fine with it," Kayla held out her hand for Ruby to take "Come on,"

Ruby smiled and followed after the teacher.

"Behave you two!" Jack teased.

~ Enchanted Forest ~

A town meeting was taking place, Tomkins stood in front of the room.

"The one thing I know is that last night was the very last massacre!" Tomkins exclaimed.

"Yeah!" The people cheered.

"You know, if I had stayed with that party for another 10 minutes, I too would be among the dead,"

Red, Snow White, and Granny walked into the room as Tomkins continued to speak.

"And when I think if I'd only doubled back, maybe I could have caught it in the act,"

Peter glanced back and smiled at Red.

Granny stopped Red from going over to the boy.

"Maybe I would have been able to slay the creature." Tomkins continued to speak.

"You would not," Granny interrupted.

"Widow Lucas,"

"This creature is more powerful than you can imagine. You wouldn't have a chance,"

Red and Snow White shared a glance.

"Stay inside, hide your children, forget your livestock,"

"You've said all this before," Tomkins argued.

"But I haven't said how I know. Nearly three score years ago, I was a child with six older brothers big as oak trees, all of them veterans of the second Ogres-war. And my father, the biggest of them all. Come one wolf's time, he decided to go out and take on the wolf. A different wolf back then, of course, but just as fearsome. They went out there to protect me. I was supposed to be asleep, but I crawled out on the roof to watch and lay down in the thatch. They had the beast surrounded, the seven of them, with spears all pointed in at it. And then it started. It was lunging. Not at the men, at the spears, grabbing with its teeth, breaking the shafts. They stabbed it with the splintered end, but it didn't matter. It tore their throats so fast that not one of them got a chance to scream, or pray, or say goodbye. When my father died, I tumbled from the roof. And I landed in the blood in front of the wolf. I felt its breath on my face." Granny began to take off her gloves "And it clamped its hot jaw on my arm and I rolled away," she revealed the scars the wolf had left. "Then it looked at me with eyes so black they weren't even there. And it walked away. You ever see a wild animal just turn its back and walk away like you don't matter? If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. It's already won just by existing in our world. You don't kill it. You just hide,"

***

"So, your granny is kind of intense." Snow White told Red.

"Yeah." Red chuckled embarrassed "A bit. I feel like a rat in a trap," she glanced back into the other room where her Granny was knitting.

"Is this trap keeping you from being with someone?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, I saw some looks exchanged back there. And I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't subtle,"

Red giggled "Yes. Peter. WE've been friends forever, but now things are...Well, changing,"

"That must be nice,"

Red nodded "Do you have someone?"

"Oh, no. And I'm not sure that's in my future. You're lucky, Red,"

"I know." Red looked over towards her Granny before leaning closer to Snow White "And we're talking about going away together, but I don't even get any time with him. Granny's too afraid of the wolf to let me out alone. You saw what the wolf did. Sometimes I wonder if she's right,"

"Oh, she's right about the wolf. But she's wrong to use it to keep you from love,"

"You think that's what she's doing?"

Snow White remained silent.

"Let's kill the wolf," Red suggested.

"Uh..." Snow White said "Hang on,"

"We'd be heroes,"

"Red, teams of trained hunters have been killed,"

"But they go at night when it's got the advantage." Red pointed out. "If we went now, we could find it slumbering in its den and kill it in its sleep,"

"Oh..."

"Come on,"

"Red, I don't know,"

Red sighed in disappointment "I'm going, with or without you. But you're right. I can't let her keep me trapped forever,"