Reset

“If you want your precious boy to be safe then you need to forget that these people are here,” he said as he turned again.

“About Henry,” Emma said as she walked behind him, “I need you to undo the adoption dissolution.”

He paused and turned to look at her again, “you can’t undo a dissolution, Dearie.”

“Then I want you to make Regina Henry’s adoptive mother again,” Emma told him, annoyed that he was pretending he didn’t know what she meant.

“And why are you speaking to me about this and not Regina?” Gold asked.

“Because I haven’t discussed it with her yet,” Emma said.

Gold regarded her for a moment before explaining, “Regina would need to come to me to adopt the boy again and I don’t think she would do that.”

Emma thought about it for a moment and realised he was right, Regina loved Henry and she thought of him as her son these days but she wouldn’t want to go through the legal process of re-adopting him. The memories it would bring up would be a big strain on all three of them and Emma didn’t want to go down that painful route.

“There is another option open to you,” Gold hinted.

“What’s the price?” Emma sighed.

“No price,” Gold shrugged, “I’m feeling generous today.”

Emma looked unconvinced, “go on..”

“In this world a contract is legally binding,” Gold told her as he turned and continued walking down the corridor, “a verbal deal is not as.. powerful.. as it is in my realm.”

“So?” Emma asked.

“If the contract would cease to exist then everything would go back to the way it was,” Gold told her.

“You mean.. destroy the contract?” Emma asked him.

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Gold maintained, “I’m merely telling you of an option available to you.”

“And that would mean that.. Regina would be Henry’s adoptive mother.. and I..” Emma trailed off.

“Would be exactly what you were when you drove into town,” Gold smirked, “nothing. Not that that little detail stopped you, Miss Swan. The question is, do you trust Regina enough to give her that kind of power?”

They came to a stop in front of the last door and Gold pulled down the small metal flap and looked around inside before sighing and then shouting, “Nurse!”

Emma looked at him with confusion and he gestured for her to look into the cell which she did, “he’s not there,” she gasped.

The nurse approached, “what is it?”

“He’s gone,” Gold told her firmly.

“Nonsense,” she pushed Emma to one side and got a large bunch of keys from her pocket and unlocked the door and walked in.

“See? He’s there,” she said as she pointed to an empty bed.

Emma looked from the nurse to the empty bed and back again, “this room is empty.”

“He is right there,” the nurse reiterated.

Gold stepped forward and placed his hand over her eyes and a white light was visible beneath his hands and then he stepped back again. The nurse blinked a couple of time, “where did he go?!”

“A very good question,” Gold replied.

Chapter 84

Mirrors covered every wall, they were in all shapes and all sizes. Some were perfect and some were dirty, some were cracked and some were shattered. Sidney paced the room with frustration, “why won’t it work,” he muttered like a mad man as he kicked a compass that was lying on the floor and sent it flying into one of the mirrors.

Magical items that he had stolen from Gold’s shop covered the floor of the single room log cabin. In one corner of the room he had set up a table where he had been creating magic potions and dusts. Some of his experiments had gone well but some were disasters because of the lack of magic he possessed. He had found a way to extract magic from items by using the lamp, the lamp that he swore he would never want to see again.

The lamp had been a prison and when he was freed from it he thought he would never be as happy as he was at that moment. He kept the lamp for sentimental reasons and to remind himself of the terrible life he had lived before his freedom, granting wishes to those who were greedy and undeserving.

Then he had seen the Queen, Regina, and he felt the stirrings of love. He didn’t know how long he had been in the lamp, he couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t been in the golden cage. Being free was one thing but seeing such a beautiful creature was something quite different. He had killed for her and even though he knew that she had manipulated him, he still loved her in his own misguided understanding of love.

The mirror was another way he could serve her, be of use to her, make her fall in love with him. He knew that if he was loyal and faithful that she would eventually see him and choose him. The same theme happened in Storybrooke, he served her as best he could. When she double-crossed him again and again he looked the other way because he was so consumed with love for her.