Gold

{54}

I watched as Rumple drew directions in the sand for Ariel to follow. Regina and I stood to the side. I was examining Ariel, wondering if we could trust her. She seemed trustworthy, yet she also seemed to hate Regina. But then again, a lot of people from our home did.

"That's Storybrooke?" Ariel asked, gesturing to the drawing in the sand.

"Can you get there?" Rumple asked her.

"It's far. I'll have to cross over realms to get there, but yes, I can make it." Ariel confirmed.

"Storybrooke should now be under a cloaking spell. When you arrive, surface closer to the shore, then you're inside it's bounds."

"Cloaking spell? I thought the spell disappeared with the curse?" I asked Rumple, who glanced over at me.

"Well, I knew more people like Greg and Tamara might come to Storybrooke, so I arranged for the Blue Fairy to perform the spell when we left."

"You arranged something with the Blue Fairy?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rumple rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did, for your information, although I barely had time as I was trying to save your ass from Greg and Tamara." He told Regina, who rolled her eyes at him and glanced over at me.

I smiled slightly at their bickering. "And what would you like me to bring back from Storybrooke?" Ariel asked Rumple.

"An object to help us defeat Pan."

"Well, I'm gonna need a little more than that to go on." Ariel told him.

"I'm sorry. Pan has ears everywhere. I can't risk telling you."

If Pan really has ears everywhere, was this plan even worth it? What if he tried to stop us or hurt Ariel so we didn't get the weapon?

"Then how?" Ariel asked him, looking a little irritated.

"That's where you come in, dearie." Rumple said, looking to me.

I glanced at him and Ariel. "What?"

"I need you to help her." Rumple told me and I looked at him blankly.

"Help her how? It's not like I can go with her." I reminded him.

"No, but you can show her what she needs to bring back to us. Use your gift." He told me.

"My gift? Rumple, I can't just plant visions in someone's mind."

"Are you sure? I seem to remember you seeing a vision of Bae and the curse. If you can see it, who's to say you can't show someone else what you see? And you know what we're looking for."

"And what's that?" I asked him.

"What object do you think signifies our love for each other?" He asked me.

At once, I realized it. The teacup. My chipped cup. And then I could see it. I could see the intent and the weapon we needed.

Pandora's box.

I walked over to Ariel and grabbed her hands. She looked at me curiously.

"Close your eyes and let your mind go blank." I told her, trying to figure out how to implant the image of the teacup and the steps needed to get to the box into her mind.

"Focus, Claire." Rumple whispered to me.

I sighed and imagined the cup, and the enchantment Rumple had placed on it.

Ariel gasped and I knew she could see what I saw. I dropped her hands as the vision ended.

"So you want me to get a te-"

"Wait! Don't speak of the plan!" Rumple reminded her.

Ariel nodded. "And Eric? Will he be in Storybrooke too?" She asked Regina.

"Eric comes after you've succeeded. Incentives are important. The bracelet will only give you legs for twenty four hours." Regina told her.

"How do I know you'll uphold your end of the bargain?" Ariel asked.

"Guess you'll just have to trust me."

Ariel turned then and dove into the water, disappearing into the water.

"Claire, I didn't know you had that ability." Regina remarked and I sighed.

"Neither did I. Or at least, not to that extent. I just hope Ariel makes it back." I told her.

~~~~~

We waited for about an hour or two for Ariel to return.

It was mostly in silence as we didn't really feel the need to talk. Rumple and I just held hands and sat beside each other, while Regina seemed to be thinking of something. I knew it was probably Henry.

I heard the splash of fins on the waves and looked over. Ariel emerged from the water and walked onto the shore.

"Sorry, I'm late. A girl named Ruby and I, we ran into a few complications." Ariel told us.

"Complications?" I asked her and she opened her mouth to answer, but Rumple got straight to the point.

"Did you get it?" He asked her.

Ariel nodded and reached into her pouch, pulling out the box. She handed it to Rumple.

"Excellent. You fulfilled your end of the bargain." Regina said.

Ariel grabbed her bracelet and held it up, to which Regina placed a spell on it.

"Now you can have legs whenever you want. Or a fin. Whatever Eric's into these days." Regina remarked and I chuckled.

"Thank you." Ariel told her.

"When you return to Storybrooke, seek him out. The rest is up to you." Rumple told her.

"Before I go, Ruby wanted me to let you know that Pan has a prisoner on the island. A girl named Wendy. Her brothers are back in Storybrooke. Can you make sure that the girl is okay?" Ariel asked us.

"All that matters is Henry." Regina said quickly.

"And now you have a chance to save him. Thanks to me and Ruby. So rescuing that girl is the least you can do." Ariel snapped.

Regina opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off.

"We'll do our best. Thank you for helping us. Good luck with your prince." I told Ariel. Ariel nodded and then dove back into the water.

"We'll do our best?" Regina asked me and I turned to her.

"We will, won't we? I mean, this girl has a mother somewhere missing her, just like you're missing Henry." I reminded Regina, who sighed.

"We'll save her if we can, but Henry is the priority."

"Of course." I confirmed with a nod.

I turned to Rumple and glanced at Pandora's box which he held in his hand.

"Now what in the hell does that thing do?"

****

Sorry for not updating, I have been busy with school and my A.P English class is taking up all my time! But a follower commented on my message board and it inspired me to write this chapter!

Sorry for it being so short, but most of the episode is originally Belle and Ariel and Storybrooke, and I obviously had to change it, so this chapter isn't as long as usual!