Once Upon A Time ~ Book 1

Chapter 127 - The Library Beneath The Clock Tower

Emma opened the door of Mr. Gold's pawn shop, Regina behind her. The frosty wind outside blew into the warm antique store, quivering the flames lit on the candles inside. Mr. Gold turned his head around from behind the counter.
"Do my eyes deceive me, or is thar the look of a believer?" he asked as she marched to the counter.
"We need your help." she said, her face tear-stained and full of determination.
"Indeed you do. It's seems quite the tragic ailment has befallen our young friend." he glanced over to Regina next to Emma. "I told you magic comes with a price."
"Henry shouldn't have to pay it." said Regina.
"No, you should. But alas, we are where we are."
"Can you help us?" Emma asked.
"Of course...... True love, Miss. Swan. The only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse. Luckily for you, I happen to have bottled some."
"You did?" said Regina under her breath angrily.
"Oh, yes. From strands of your parents' hair....." he said to Emma. ".......I made the mist powerful potion in all the realm. So powerful that when I created the Dark Curse, I placed a single drop on the parchment......" he smiled. "........ Just a little safety valve."
"That's why I'm the saviour. That's why I can break the curse." she said, piecing it together.
"Now you're getting it."
"I don't care about breaking the curse, all I care about is saving Henry."
"Which is why it's your lucky day. I didn't use all the potion....... I saved some.......for a rainy day."
"Well, it's storming like a bitch. Where is it?"
"Where it is, isn't the problem. Getting it is what should worry you."
"Enough riddles." interupted Regina. "What do we do?"
"You do nothing....." he said to Retina. "It has to be Miss. Swan." he pointed to Emma.
"He's my son, it should be me."
"All due respect, but it's her son, and it has to be her. She's the product of the magic. She must be the one to find it."
"I can do it." said Emma.
"Don't trust him." Regina said coldly.
"What choice do we have?"
"That's right, dearie. What choice do you have?" asked Mr. Gold.
"Where is this magic?" asked Emma.
"Tell me, Your Majesty, is out friend still in the basement?" he asked Regina curiously.
"Oh, you twisted little imp........ You hid it with her?" she let out.
"Oh, no, no, no, not with her....... In her. I knew you couldn't resist bringing her over."
"Who is her?" asked Emma, confused.
"Someone you should be prepared for." he wiped the dust from a leather case before him. "Where you're going, you're gonna need this." he opened the case to reveal a long, silver sword with a gold heed next to its scabbard.
Emma stared down at it, shocked. She then moved her glance up to him again. "What is that?"
"Your father's sword." he smiled.

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Emma stood by Henry's bedside in the hospital, the fairytale book in her arms as she gazed down at his pale, still face, tubes and drips in his arms and a pulse timer on his finger. She reached out and brushed his hazel hair from his face, tears flowing in her eyes.
"Henry........you were right about the curse. I should have believed you....... I'm sorry." she said quitely.
She held the old fashioned fairytale book in her hands and stared down at it, then she placed it under his white pillow beneath his head. She bent down and held his head. "For when you wake up." she whispered.
She turned away and walked to the glass door as Regina stepped inside.
"Say what you gotta say, you got ten minutes." said Emma, walking past her.
"You know where to meet?" she said, tears in her eyes.
"Yeah. Don't be late." she said before she left.
Regina walked slowly over to Henry lying motionless on the bed. She stared down at him sadly, crying.
"I'm sorry." she said through her tears and sobs.
Near by in shadows of the nearly empty room, Jefferson stared at Regina crying over Henry..
"Pity isn't it?" he said.
She sniffled and looked up.
"There's nothing harder than not knowing whether you'll ever see your child again." he said, walking towards the bed.
"Jefferson, now us not a good time."
"For you....... Well, for me, it's the perfect time. I'm here to collect.... Where is she? My daughter."
She leaned over the bed. "Emma was supposed to eat that apple and she didn't." she snarled. "As far as I'm concerned, that makes our deal null and void." she looked down at Henry again.
"I did what you asked, and you're gonna screw me over again?" he said, gritting his teeth.
"Look at it however you want, Jefferson. The fact is, I'm done with you."
"But I'm not done with you."
She leaned over the bed again, closer to him."What are you going to do?...... Kill me? I know you want to, but I also know you can't."
"Do you?"
She scoffed. "......Yes. You don't have it in you."
A nurse walked into the room over to medical machines by Henry's bed.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to save my son." and with that she left the room, her eyes red with tears.

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Emma knocked on the door of August's room in Granny's Diner. "August?" she called. "Please open up. I know you're in there, open the door."
"I can't." said his muffled voice from inside the room.
Emma looked at the door, taken aback when she heard his voice muffled and then kicked the wooden door open. She stepped inside and saw him lying on the flower patterned pillows and sheets on his bed, his arms wooden, one on his chest, his head upright and in pain.
"No!" said Emma under her breath, staring at him fearfully. "What's happening to you?"
"You can see it now." he closed his eyes in a sign of happiness as he could barely move his mouth. "You believe."
"Yeah, I do, but how do I stop this?" she walked towards him, staring at his wooden arms.
"Break the curse." he said gazing up at her.
She sat down on the side of the bed and gazed down at him with her grey-green full of tears. "I'll try, I promise. But I got to save Henry first, and I need your help."
"No, you don't." he said weakly.
"Yeah, I do. This is all too much. I.....I just.......talked to the Evil Queen and Rumplestiltskin about a quest to find magic. I can't do it, August." she shook her head. "I can't. No normal person can."
"Luckily for us......you're not normal......." and as he spoke his last words his neck began to turn to timber. "........You can save Henry......" Then his dark hair became wood and the last bit of flesh on his face turned to timber too as he ushered his last words to Emma, gazing up at her. "......You can shove save all of......" and with that his body became still and his shimmering blue eyes were the only things that remained the same as they gazed up at Emma.
"August?......" she gasped, her hand on his wooden one on his chest as she bent her head, her wavy blond hair curtaining her face as she weeped, tears streaming down her face. She then raised her head again and stared down at August determination and anger once again in her eyes.

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Emma stood beneath the clock tower in the centre of Storybrooke in the dead of night, outside the boarded up and bolted doors reading Storybrooke Free Public Library. She turned when she heard the footsteps of Regina coming in her direction and picked up her father's sword leaning against a pillar holding up the library clock tower. Regina walked to the door and unlocked the chains around the handles. She opened the one of the double doors and stepped inside followed by Emma. She turned on the light switch and inside was a dusty, old library, with cobwebs hanging from every crook and crany and dust cloaking all the surfaces. There wasn't a book or book shelf in sight of the room but at the back was a giant mirror, carved into a tree shape with pieces carved out and shaped into stars that huge above. Regina threw the chains from the door down on a dusty wooden chair in the corner opposite a counter reception while Emma looked around the little, forgotten library.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"Would you like a tour or shall we just get to it?" she said in her sarcastic tone.
"Lead the way." she said fed up.
Regina walked to the back of the room and pressed her hand up against the tree shaped mirror, glancing at her reflection for a moment, then suddenly the beautiful mirror creation leavered up.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Emma.
The tree shaped mirror leavered up to reveal a giant old fashioned elevator with clock like mechanisms around the door and a wheel, leavers and buttons by the sides. Regina pulled down a leaver and the clock like mechanisms moved, sliding open the heavy doors to reveal the elevator.
Emma mouthed 'what' her jaw dropping.
"Get in."
"After you." said Emma, not trusting Regina.
"It's a two-man job. The elevator's hand operated. I have to stay up here and lower you down."
She stepped closer to the elevator. "And I'm just supposed to trust you?" she looked into the elevator wearily.
"I don't think you have much of a choice in the matter, Miss. Swan."
She turned to look around at Regina again. "This battle I'm supposed to fight, who is it? What is down there?"
"An old friend."
"Then why don't you go down there and talk to them?"
"Better punishment here was different than everyone else's....... I trapped her....... In a different form. She doesn't want to hear from me. You have to trust me on that."
"Okay. I will go down there." she stepped closer to her. "But let's be clear about something, Your Majesty. The only reason your not dead is because I need your help to save Henry. He dies, so do you." she said sternly.
"Well, then, let's get on with it..... Now this is what you're going to have to do."

Emma stood in the elevator as it was quickly pulled down below the ground. She held up her father's sword in its scabbard. She then pulled it by the heed from the scabbard and stared up at it.