Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale (26 page)

“Wait.”

Emma turned and looked at Ruby, who was looking out into the forest.

“What?”

“I hear him.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Or… something. I know where he is.” She looked at Emma. In her eyes Emma saw something completely different. Something… hungry. “Don’t you hear it?”

Before Emma could respond, Ruby took off. She was running through the forest, hell-bent on something. “Hey!” Emma cried, running after her. “Wait! Where are you going?”

“He’s over here, come on!” Ruby yelled, over her shoulder.

They ran, Emma more and more behind. She was out of breath and about to take a break when she finally saw Ruby, in the distance, come to a stop and fall to the ground. “What?” Emma cried. “What is it?”

But Ruby didn’t have to answer, because soon Emma could see for herself. David, unconscious, lay in a heap, curled up beside the trunk of a silver maple.

• • •

“He’s bruised, dehydrated, scratched up, everything you’d expect,” said Dr. Whale. “Cut on his head is superficial, that didn’t cause this. He’s dealing with a mental health problem.”

They were at the hospital. Emma and Dr. Whale stood outside of David’s room. David was awake, but he was claiming to have no memory of going to the woods. Emma didn’t like it one bit, but for now, there wasn’t much she could say.

She and Dr. Whale went back into the room. “We’ll figure this out,” Emma said to David. “Hang in there.”

“It’s like none of it happened,” David said. “I mean I know it did, because you’re telling me. But it sounds about as real as one of Henry’s stories right now.”

Emma turned to Dr. Whale. “How… functional could he be during one of these… episodes? I mean he talked to someone during this one.”

“Anything’s possible,” said Dr. Whale. “People in similar states, say from sleep medication, do all kinds of things. Cook, talk, drive cars.” He shrugged. “It’s very hard to say.”

“You want to know if I could have made that call,” he said, looking at Emma. “Or more. I get it. You think I kidnapped her. Maybe even killed her. And that I don’t even know it.”

“Take it easy, David,” said Dr. Whale. “No one is saying that.”

“We’re just trying to figure it out,” added Emma.

“That would explain it, though,” David said, looking forlorn. “That would explain why I didn’t seem like I was lying to you. Because I didn’t know.”

“Stop talking right now, David.” Emma didn’t need to turn—the loud and abrasive voice was one she knew all too well. Regina. “Why are you here?” it continued, and Emma presumed it was now directed at her. “Why doesn’t he have a lawyer present? Have you even read him his rights?”

“No,” said Emma. “Because he’s not under arrest. We’re talking.”

“Right.”

“Why are you here?” Emma asked.

“Because I’m still his emergency contact,” said Regina.

“I thought that changed to Kathryn,” said David, confused.

“Yes, well,” said Regina. “She’s currently missing, and so it reverted to me.” She went to the bed. “I’m here to offer support, and protection, if you need it.” She looked at Emma. “Why don’t you concentrate on finding her?”

Why is she so intent on defending him? Emma wondered.

“Maine is big,” Emma said.

“This room is covered,” Regina snapped back. “Now get out there and find her.”

• • •

In the waiting room, Emma called Ruby. Something had occurred to her.

“I need you to go out and check something for me,” Emma said. “Right now. The last time David had one of these little dreamwalks, he ended up at the toll bridge. I’m wondering if we might get lucky. You need to go and check it out. Right now.”

“Me?” said Ruby.

“You were great out there in the woods, Ruby,” Emma said. “You can do this. Call me if you find anything. Take my car. The keys are on my desk.”

Emma was back in the woods shortly after having received the call from Ruby, who had certainly found something. The forensics team wasn’t too far behind. Ruby, who had been given a cup of coffee, sat in the VW, looking a little dazed. After taking a last look at the box that Ruby had uncovered by the river, Emma walked up the steep grade and
got into the car on the passenger side. “You did good,” she said. “Again.”

“I’m not so sure I wanted to do good,” Ruby said.

“I know,” she said. “But this is a big break.”

Emma wasn’t exactly pleased to have the vision in her head, either, but she meant what she said. They could move forward now, once they got the lab work back. The contents of the box… well, she could understand why Ruby had screamed into the phone.

She reached over, took Ruby’s hand. “Thanks,” she said. “For today.”

Ruby nodded and tried to muster a smile.

Emma could think of nothing more to say.

• • •

Though Peter had protested, Red had told him that she believed he was the wolf, that he had to be restrained, and that she would stay with him through the night. In order to fool Granny, then, Snow White agreed (against her better judgment) to wear Red’s red cloak and pose as her in her bedroom, just in case Granny decided to check up on her.

The two women said their good-byes, and Snow, wearing the cloak, fell asleep in Red’s room.

Granny came calling sometime past midnight.

“Red, dear,” Granny said. “I need you to get up. I—”

Snow, wide awake, did her best to stay hidden in the sheets, but Granny, no one’s fool, noticed something was amiss. She reached for Snow White and turned her over. When she saw that it wasn’t Red, her eyes went wide. “What have you done?” she whispered.

“We didn’t mean any harm,” protested Snow.

“Where is she?” Granny said, with so much urgency that Snow felt a jolt of nervous energy. She sat up on the bed and explained about Peter.

“She’s with that boy?” Granny said. “Right now?”

“Yes,” said Snow.

“Dear gods,” said Granny. “Come, show me where.” She reached for her crossbow. “Now, girl!”

• • •

The two hurried off into the night, Snow struggling to keep pace with Granny. She seemed to know something—what confused Snow, though, was the comments she kept making about “that poor boy.”

“You don’t understand,” said Snow. “He is the wolf. We saw the tracks. The wolf is also a man.”

“He isn’t the wolf, girl,” said Granny, grunting her disapproval.

Snow stared at her, realizing the implication.

Red. Red was the wolf.

It seemed obvious now, but for some reason, it hadn’t ever seemed…

“You knew this?” Snow asked, still moving quickly behind Granny.

“Of course I knew. Her mother was one, too, before a hunting party killed her. I thought maybe Red didn’t get it, but when she was thirteen, it started. I paid a wizard for that cloak, and it keeps her from turning, but she doesn’t wear it, and she’s found some way out of the house.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“I didn’t want her to have that burden. It’s a terrible, terrible burden.”

They reached a farmer’s fence, and Granny stopped, waiting for direction from Snow White. Snow pointed.

“You’re one, too, aren’t you?” Snow said.

“Aye” was all Granny said, sniffing at the air. “I have her scent now. Silver-tipped arrows will stop her. We’re approaching from downwind, so we have a chance.”

They did, but young Peter did not. By the time they arrived, Red, fully turned, had already slaughtered her love. Snow White threw the cloak over her and Granny was saved the tragedy of having to shoot her own granddaughter, but for Red—who only realized the truth as she awoke to find herself covered in blood, being lifted into the arms of Snow White and Granny—the tragedy had already taken place. Perhaps she would have preferred a swift death by silver-tipped arrow, at least in that particular moment. She cried out when she saw Peter, deceased. She cried out even more when she realized she’d been the one to do it, and that her plan had been the thing to kill her love.

But there was no time to lament. There would be decades and decades to lament. In that moment, Granny and Snow had to get her to a safe place. Because even as she cried and reached for Peter’s lifeless body, they could hear the approach of the hunting party.

“Get her home, get her safe,” said Granny, once they were all moving. “They’re too close.”

Snow and Granny locked eyes, and Snow understood. Granny could control the wolf inside. And she was going back. To protect them.

“I’ll see you there,” Granny said. “In the morning.”

Needless to say, Granny survived.

The hunting party did not.

• • •

Having heard that David had been found and had returned to work, Mary Margaret went to see him at the animal shelter. He was safe, that was true, but he was not okay.

Not in the least.

She found him pacing about the back office. “I don’t know what’s happened. I can’t be sure of anything, Mary Margaret. I might have killed her for all I know.”

“You didn’t kill her. You don’t have it in you,” Mary Margaret said. “And besides, she’s going to turn up alive. Just wait.”

He shook his head in frustration. “Why would I have called her?” he asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“There has to be an explanation,” Mary Margaret said. “What if—”

The door to the shelter opened, and David went out to the entryway. A moment later he reentered the office. Emma was behind him.

She gave a nod to Mary Margaret.

“We found something by the river,” she said. “Near the toll bridge.” She gave David a heavy look.

“What is it?” David said.

“I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just going to say it,” Emma said. “There was a human heart inside of a jewelry box. We think it’s Kathryn’s.”

Mary Margaret clutched the arm of the chair, felt the room grow dim. She closed her eyes and gathered herself. David had sunk down and now leaned against his desk, completely deflated. “I must have done it,” he said, near tears. He held out his wrists. “Cuff me.”

Emma looked at him.

“Do it!” he said.

“I can’t, David,” she said. “There was a fingerprint inside of the box. It wasn’t yours.”

David and Mary Margaret looked at her, confused. Emma turned to Mary Margaret.

“It was Mary Margaret’s.”

A few days after Snow White consumed the potion that made her forget Prince Charming, she was holed up with the seven dwarfs, her memory blank. The dwarfs were realizing that the memory loss had some side effects. Snow was not… herself. She was furious, in fact. All the time.

Furious with everything and everyone. And she didn’t quite know why.

Grumpy had a guess.

After a morning of watching her attacking bluebirds with her broom, he went to the other dwarfs and told them that they had to do something.

“Like what?” said Sneezy.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Something. We have to talk to her.”

And they did. The dwarfs agreed with Grumpy that it would be most helpful to Snow if they all sat down together and discussed the matter. As a group. Friendship, it was agreed, and a safe place for discussion, were crucial elements to a successful intervention. They made the plan, invited a special
guest, and when they were ready, Grumpy went to Snow’s room and asked her if she might come out to the kitchen.

“Why?” she said defensively. “I’m happy here.”

“There are some people here,” Grumpy said, “who’d like to talk to you.”

Snow looked confused, but she finally relented.

In the kitchen, however, she took one look at the serious faces of the gathered dwarfs and turned on Grumpy. “What is this?” she said.

Grumpy held up both hands and said, “Sister, sister. We’re your friends. We just want to talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“About how you’ve been acting,” he said, “since you drank that potion.”

“The potion is not the problem,” sneered Snow. “The real problem is that I’m living with a bunch of dwarfs when the woman who killed my father is prancing around in my castle, living my life. And this happens to be the same woman who tried to have me murdered, too. Am I mad? Yes. I’m furious.”

“It’s not fair to take this out on your friends,” said Jiminy Cricket, who had joined them for the conversation.

“You’re right,” said Snow, lost in thought. “You’re absolutely right.”

“Progress,” muttered Jiminy to Grumpy.

“I should be taking it out on her,” Snow White said. “By killing her.”

• • •

It was awkward, to say the least, when Emma booked Mary Margaret. She took her picture and did the appropriate paperwork, even though Mary Margaret proclaimed her innocence
throughout. Emma told her she was only doing her job and that the fingerprint was hard evidence. Maybe she was innocent, but Emma knew that playing favorites now would have dire consequences down the line. She wasn’t going to endanger Mary Margaret by acting hastily. It would come down to figuring out what had really happened to Kathryn. And for that, she would need time.

To make things more difficult, Ruby had quit, made up with Granny, and gone back to work at the diner, which meant that Emma was alone again at the office and had few people she could talk to about the case. Few people she liked, at least.