The Wanted Princess

Don’t be such a coward, Mary Margaret chastised herself as she stood a couple feet away from the storefront. You knew what you were getting into. It’s for the kids. Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop had the demeanor of a small and simple nick-knack store on the front, but anyone who lived in Storybrooke knew that’s what that was: a front. Gold was known to be tricky, charming and unsettling. Despite his simple appearance; his eyes were cold and lusting - always trying to gain the upper-hand. He owned half the town and was constantly trying to acquire more of it; at least that’s what local talk claimed. Mary Margaret had very little experience with the man herself; of course she had seen him around town and at events. On occasion she had chatted casually with him, smiled at one another politely on the street, holding the door when they happened upon one another. Yet this minimal interaction was enough to set Miss Blanchard at unease when she was near him; something about how he looked at everything (as if determining it’s value) didn’t agree with her.

Personal feelings aside, everyone knew that when Mr. Gold was interested in something that his support was monumental. While nobody would accuse him of being a generally charitable man by nature, he did play his part. Storybrooke was a small town and people talked. So every year he seemed to find a few causes worth his notice and make his generous contributions. The cause she was peddling throughout town was repairs to the school and funding for extra circulars. There was going to be a carnival and a collect-a-thon as well, but it was the staff’s job to reach out to local businesses. As tradition, the teachers divied up the town into sections and took off. It was just bad luck that Mary Margaret was swindled into this part of town.