A KIND OF MAGIC ↝ Killian Jones

⇒ CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

IT WAS RARE, for Wilma to not enjoy cake, but the piece that Ruby had delivered to her lonely table a few moments ago was still to be touched — well, excluding the few pokes Wilma had offered with her fork, but she wasn't feeling like eating, or anything, at that matter. All she did was sit there in silence, staring at the raspberries atop the chocolate and listening to quiet chatter around her. They were, once again, all gathered at Granny's diner to pay their respects for Neal, and once in a while someone would come up to Wilma and say how truly sorry they were, earning a faint smile from Wilma in return. It was unusual for her to be so quiet — in fact, the last time she had excluded herself from the world around her was the last time she was in a situation like this. Her mother's funeral. It was a bittersweet memory, like the scar it had left on her heart was being poked whenever she thought back to the day she had driven to the cemetery to put her own mother to rest. And today, she had had to say goodbye to Neal, who was just as much family.

"Rum, love?", a raspy, quiet voice earned Wilma's attention, and in an instant, she looked up from the piece of cake even though she knew quite well who stood next to her. Shaking her head silently to decline the offer, Wilma looked back down, and when she did, Killian cleared his throat. "Mind if I sit?", he asked carefully, keeping in mind that perhaps Wilma didn't want his company — perhaps she just wanted to sit in peace and have this day, grief by herself and take it all in. But instead of encouraging him to find somewhere else to sit, Wilma looked up again and smiled, and this time, it wasn't as fake as it had been with everyone else.

After granting him the permission to take a seat on the other side of the table, Wilma pushed the plate toward him, causing Killian to look at her incredulously and lift a cautious eyebrow. "It's good", she reassured, flashing a small smile as she realized that Killian clearly wasn't as enthusiastic as her when it came to cake in all forms and flavors, but still, the pirate slowly used his hook to drag the plate closer.

"And yet, you haven't taken a single bite", Killian pointed out, and carved a spoonful of the chocolate, before turning it to Wilma's direction to offer it to her. And as tempting as the thought of Killian feeding her cake was, she shook her head to confirm that she wasn't in the mood. There weren't many moods like that, just one, and it was this — this state of immense heartbreak, so painful and extensive it paralyzed her. Her tears had dried out a while ago, and ever since, she had just sat in silence, as if she had been magically placed on the seat, unable to move. But the truth was, she just wasn't ready to cope with the world surrounding her.

But as she stared into Killian's hypnotically beautiful eyes, she felt like her world was right there.

"I'll feel like eating cake soon enough. But today... Today I get to grieve. I lost my brother, after all", she chuckled, before bitterly adding, "again." Killian placed his hand on top of Wilma's once he had devoured the piece of cake, a sympathetic look finding place in his twinkling eyes as he gazed into Wilma's sad, brown ones, seeing the chocolate shade laced with heartache. He understood though, surprisingly well in fact, as he too had lost Neal. They were close once, and that was something that awakened Wilhelmina's curiosity, but before she could ask Killian to tell stories, or Killian could comfort Wilma, the door of the diner flew open and a woman strutted in.

And this woman, it was the Wicked Witch — Zelena, whatever name she preferred. But nonetheless, the sight of her caused Wilma's heart to fill with something she wasn't too used to — anger, spite. If she hadn't messed with their lives, then perhaps Neal would still be alive, and with that in mind, Wilma jumped up from her seat and strode over to her. Killian made feeble attempts to stop Wilma, but David was the one to pull her away, though only after she had surprised Zelena and punched her in the face. The adrenaline rush caused her to feel no pain, but no relief either, just more anger and desire to throw another punch, but before she could, David had wrapped his arms around Wilma's trembling body and pulled her back to stop her from getting herself killed.