Crimson Knight | ouat

8. OLD FRIEND

She got out of the tavern, the thick air in there suffocating her.

The air, and him as well.

Amelia could still hear them arguing, despite the noise interfering and the distance she'd put between them. She decided to take a walk in the woods nearby, taking several steps to further distance herself from that place and the constant headache that was her brother.

That's when she saw him.

A small form, leaning on one of the trees, hunched over his self. His shoulders were shaking and Amelia didn't know if the boy was crying or if he was simply cold.

The hell is a kid doing here, she thought, looking around for the child's parents. But there was no one there except the two of them.

She approached him slowly, not wanting to scare him, but a small twig broke under her weight and the boy looked up, tears streaking his face and a nervous look on his eyes.

Amelia's heart broke.

Because it was then that she realized who he was; he had his father's eyes, after all.

"Do you plan on standing there all day, or do you want to come inside? I've got hot chocolate, if you want."

At the sound of his voice, Amy forced the memories back, blinking several times and trying to slow her erratic breathing.

She'd been standing across from what she assumed was his shop for the past twenty minutes, trying to tame the rage in her enough so as to not kill him on sight. Which probably worked, given he was still breathing, despite being so close to her. At some point he must've seen her and come over, and she hadn't even realized.

She really needed to keep those memory flashes and their consequent dissociations in check.

Keeping her eyes forward, she clenched her jaw so hard she thought it might break—but at least it grounded her—before saying to him, "We need to talk."

"I knew it wouldn't take you long to come and find me."

Amy could practically hear the smirk on his stupid face as he responded. And she hated that.

More accurately, she hated him.

Tear filled eyes from her memory stormed her mind when she dared to look at him, eyes identical to those that were currently looking at her, a curious glint on them as he looked at his apprentice, his partner in crime, his friend, after so long.

She tore her gaze away from him, focusing on the cars passing in front of them, taking deep breaths in a way to tame her fury.

A silence settled over them, neither one of them moving, as she kept watching her surroundings; people going on with their lives, completely unaware of what was truly going on. More than once, there were looks thrown her way, usually a mix of incredulity and a bit of fear. That was probably because of the man standing next to her, silently studying her.

Sadly, the silence didn't last long.

"You are having flashbacks, aren't you?"

There was no need to answer him. Gold—Rumpelstiltskin—knew her well enough, unfortunately, and was easily able to recognize the signs.

She took another deep breath, shaking her head. "That's not why I'm here."

He didn't respond.

Finally, she turned to look at him, barely managing not to flinch at the intensity in his eyes.