#cxretaker

     raoul has faced greater dangers in his young life than the local pawnbroker, but he is no less apprehensive. even during the curse, he had been reluctant to set foot in mr. gold’s establishment, & now that the curse is broken & magic has been restored, he is even warier. he wishes christine were here ( christine makes him brave ), but he has yet to find her. his efforts have thus far been in vain. & he cannot shake the nagging suspicion that HE is here, too -- that christine has been taken by the monster yet again, somewhere raoul will never find them.

       it is for christine’s sake that he is here. if there is any word of erik & his beloved, surely gold will have heard it. 

     “i heard you had a bad day.” ruby mutters, standing in the doorway to her friends hospital room. it was hard to see belle like this, with no recollection of anything or anyone, including herself. that’s why she kept finding herself pulled back to visiting the woman, almost as much as mr. gold seemed to be. only difference was ruby didn’t want to force belle’s memories back. she wanted to focus on making new memories with the woman. she steps a little farther into the room. “i thought maybe we could play cards or i could read you a book or something? what do you think?”

                    he can’t BELIEVE he’s doing this. auguste would never have stooped this low -- but, then, nor would auguste have done MOST of the things laurent’s done since his brother met his end at marlas all those years ago. auguste had been the golden prince. in their father’s eyes, he could do no wrong -- he was brave where laurent was cowardly, a warrior where laurent was a bookworm. he could inspire the men with his mere presence. laurent’s men follow him because of his brother’s ghost, not for his own merit. it's a hard shadow to live in, not that laurent resents his brother for any of it. he could NEVER resent auguste.

                      he resents himself, for failing to live up to the expectations his brother has set for him. 

                       auguste would be so DISAPPOINTED, he thinks, if he could see what his little brother has become. going to the dark one for assistance. it's shameful, but if he wants any hope of reclaiming his birthright from his uncle, he’s going to need more than his makeshift army & the guiding hand of his prince-turned-slave-turned-captain. speaking of, his captain has been trailing behind him most of the way, trying to dissuade him from his course of action. it’s almost endearing -- INFURIATING, rather -- that he seems to care so much. “dealing with magic is dangerous, laurent.” 

                       “yes, thank you, i’m aware of that.” but what has he got left to lose, really? his family is dead. if he doesn’t do something, he’ll have lost his kingdom, too. nevertheless, they’ve been standing outside the castle for a good ten minutes, & he’s made no motion to make their presence known. 

                      “they say that the dark one is a monster,” says damen uneasily. “that he steals away children, that he toys with words. he never gives you what you expect to receive. what if you deal with him & he doesn’t --?”

✈: five places I’d love to travel

Hmm…

1) Italy

2) Ireland

3) India

4) New Zeland

Emma had come to town yesterday, and with her came his memories. So naturally he hadn’t been able to keep himself away from the ice cream shop and the woman who ran it. She didn’t know who he was of course. He knew that. But he’d thought she was dead. He couldn’t just stay away from him.

It was early still, the sun having not yet reached its peak in the sky. Henry was off at school, the work for the day had been finished, and Regina had been left much to her own devices. Boredom in Storybrooke was a terribly dangerous thing; there was plenty for the Mayor to attend to, and very little anyone could do to stop her. She would take walks down to the stables, ensure that the library remained boarded up, and, more recently, steal over to the hospital for little chats with her favorite residents.

Nurse Ratched was always pleasant to see, as were the ever-watchful staff working the floors of the lower residences. Most days, Regina was satisfied with simply visiting the front desk, strolling down the corridor of the ward and then returning to her office.

Today, however, she took interest in something else, something a little more lively. She strode down the hall and stopped at once of the farthest doors, where she opened the viewing panel and smirked through its slit. There she was, awake and very much alive, unbeknownst to the beast who had known her. Her favorite patient in her own private asylum.