A KIND OF MAGIC ↝ Killian Jones

⇒ CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ALL THE SIGNS that Storybrooke's heroes had gathered, led them to believe that the unknown enemy messing with their memories and happiness was The Wicked Witch of the West, who for some reason carried spite for them and their little town. Wilma was somewhat amused by this, and she wanted to laugh, but couldn't — it was quite upsetting, after all, but she had trouble with understanding how she too was real, not just a fictional character from Winnie's childhood. Emma had struggled with the same, but Killian had quickly reminded the Savior who she was, and how she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, which did make it easier for Emma to comprehend the strange situation. For Wilma, it wasn't as simple, but reminding herself that she could see the future helped a little bit, to be honest.

Still, she didn't join David, Hook and Emma when the three headed out to search for the witch, nor Regina, who offered to keep an eye on Henry and spend some time with him in the process, despite the boy's lack of memories regarding even his adoptive mother. No, instead of going with any of them, Wilma had decided to take some time for herself, and with that in mind, she headed to Gold's shop, which had been taken over by Belle — just who Wilma was looking for. When Pan had told Wilma about her ability to predict the days still ahead of them, the woman had made a silent note to herself to find Rumplestiltskin and ask him about this weird talent one day, but before she could, the man had made a noble sacrifice and died along with his father. So, now that Wilma couldn't ask for Gold's help, she was going to Belle, in the belief that she could help her just as well.

With a ding, the door opened as Wilma pushed it, and as soon as her eyes landed on Belle, who stood on the other side of the counter with a smile, the brunette broke into a happy expression. It had been a while since the two got to spend some time together, and frankly, things had drastically changed ever since — Wilma could still vividly remember sneaking to Killian's ship with the woman and then getting caught by the pirate, which had been a wonderfully bittersweet moment. And now, it was but a distant memory, and Wilma smiled to herself as she realized how things had truly escalated between her and Killian ever since. The flirting and the unsure feelings had developed into what he had called true love — however, that was a topic she was yet to poke and discuss with him. She liked it, though.

"Wilma!", Belle beamed with joy as she left the counter to rush over to her friend and pull her into a quick, but tight hug, one that made Wilma snicker. "How can I help you?", the beauty then asked as she let go of Wilhelmina, who cleared her throat nervously — indeed, she had come there in the need of some help, but only now she understood that she still needed to explain the situation to Belle, and pray that she wouldn't be spooked by Wilma's unnatural abilities. Then again, Belle did care for the one man that people rarely did, and that gave Wilhelmina the courage she needed in order to speak up.

"Well... It turns out I can, kind of, see the future?", she tasted the words on her tongue whilst Belle walked back to the counter, and Wilma remained on the other side, awkwardly tugging on the sleeves of her trench coat. Internally, she sighed — clearly, David's company was having an effect on her, that was the only reasonable explanation to the increasing habit of saying kind of. "And I could really use some help. I still don't know anything about it, except that it's... there. It's in me. And right now, it's kind of scary, and uncontrollable, so I guess—I guess I'd like to control it, you know?", Wilma stuttered, looking over to Belle with hope that she didn't think any less of her now, and concluding from the smile on her lips, Wilma was an idiot for even considering the possibility.

"Of course. Come on, we'll find some books in the back", Belle gestured with a simple nod towards the back of the shop, and inhaling sharply, Wilma stepped forward and followed the princess to where she was leading her. A deep sigh slipped from between Wilma's carefully painted lips as she looked around the large shop and all the treasures hidden within, but inevitably, her curious eyes landed on Belle as the woman climbed up the ladder resting against the tall bookshelves, and as someone who had clearly done so before, Belle easily located the right books and pressed them against her chest before coming back down and dropping the heavy stack on the table separating her from Wilma. The latter was still evidently fidgety and nervous, but Belle couldn't blame her — instead, she shot Wilma a comforting smile, and placed her hand atop Winnie's shaky one to reassure her that she didn't need to worry.