Daughter of Darkness (OUAT fanfic)

Chapter 13

The alarm on my bedside table rings. It's Monday, time for school, but my body is numb. I'm overcome with discomfort, unwilling to move from beneath my comforter.

"Eleanor," my dad calls from downstairs. "You're going to be late."

I don't care.

His footsteps thumb against the stairs. "What's going on, El? You're never late for school."

He pulls the cover, and my desire to cry is replaced by a frustration that consumes my entire body. All I want to do is close my eyes and re-enter my dream world, but I roll out of bed.

"It's a new day," he says, signing. "The gears in that old clock started working this morning."

I change into a pair of high rise jeans and a yellow shirt, securing  a striped leather belt around my waist. Blond hair twists to the center of my back. I'm already tired of how heavy it lays over my shoulders so I style it into a messy bun.

"All of a sudden, you're not a morning person?" he asks as I descend the stairs, entering the kitchen. "Everything okay?"

Everything is perfect, I sign, rolling my eyes. Something is different about today. My usual good-moodiness is nowhere to be found. I'm annoyed, angry at nothing.

My lunch box is waiting on the table. "Hurry up," my dad says. "You're going to miss the bus."

I don't pet Pongo. I don't sign to my dad. I leave the house, allowing the door to slam shut behind me.

"Stay out of trouble," he calls, but I don't respond.

I catch the school bus on the corner, sliding into the first empty seat. I wait for Henry, hoping his presence will somehow erase all of the aggravation coursing through my veins.

"My mom's in town," he tells me, taking a notebook and a pen from his school bag. "My real mom."

Ms. Blanchard pulls me to the side after class. "I notice you haven't smiled today. Is everything okay?"

I nod, because I don't know how to explain the sudden change of my mood. I have no reason to be upset, but my body is overwhelmed by frustration.

At the end of the day, Henry and I get off the bus at my dad's office. Henry goes into one of the therapy rooms while I sit in the lobby with a notebook, reading the information I wrote yesterday.

My dad is Gemini Cricket? That doesn't make sense. This is stupid. Ms. Blanchard isn't Snow White. Henry's mom isn't the evil queen. If this is all true, then why am I not in the book?

A blond woman enters the lobby. She wears a maroon leather jacket. "Uh, hi," she says. "I'm looking for Dr. Hopper's office."

I motion to the closed door.

"Thank you," she sits beside me, eyeing the words on my notebook. "You must be friends with Henry."

I nod.

"I'm Emma," she says. "What's your name?"

I write my name on the paper.

"Nice to meet you, Eleanor."

The mayor enters the lobby and the air thickens. I close my notebook, signing, Hello, Ms. Mills.

"Hi, Eleanor." She forces a smile, waving. Her gaze darkens. "What are you doing here?"

Before Emma can respond, the therapy room door opens.

"Henry, you've got five minutes with Emma while I talk to Dr. Hopper in private," Ms. Mills says. They close themselves in the office.

He smiles at his birth mother. "Have you met Eleanor?"

"I have," Emma says. She stands with her hands tucked in her pockets, swaying uncomfortably.

"She believes me," he says. "She's part of Operation Cobra."

I write a question mark on the paper.

"I'll explain later."

Ms. Mills exits the therapy room. She takes Henry's hand and guides him to the door.

See you tomorrow, I sign to him.

"Hey," Emma says to my dad when the door closes. "I wanted to talk to you about Henry. . ."

My dad greets her with a smile. "Unfortunately, Ms. Swan, all the information I have regarding Henry is confidential."

I don't know why he leaves the therapy room door unlocked.

"We need to make a quick stop on the way home," my dad tells me. We turn in the opposite direction, walking down a strip of little shops, passing Granny's Diner. "Maybe tomorrow morning, we can eat breakfast at Granny's before school."

Maybe, I sign. Right now, all I need to worry about is figuring out why I feel so. . . upset about nothing.

My dad opens the door to Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. I've heard about the illustrious Mr. Gold, but our paths have never crossed.

"How can I help you?" A man stands behind the counter with his back to us. When he finds my eyes, he stumbles, almost dropping the item in his hands. His eyes soften. "Good afternoon, Dr. Hopper."

My dad passes a wad of cash across the counter. "Rent," he says. "I apologize for it being late again."

The man offers his hand to me. "I don't think we've been introduced. My name is Mr. Gold."

I sign my name.

"This is my daughter Eleanor," my dad introduces. He doesn't mention why I can't talk. No one really knows the reason. . . "Look around, El. Let me know if you find something you like."

"I think I have the perfect thing." Mr. Gold reaches beneath the counter. He opens a wooden box, taking a clear sphere in his hands. "It's a bauble."

I take it in my hands, shrugging. I'll take it.

"It's yours if you want it," he says, smiling. "Keep a close eye on it."

Thank you, I sign.

Mr. Gold doesn't seem all that bad. People fear him. I don't understand why.

I keep the bauble next to my bed. I stare at it, expecting it to do something, anything. I want it to glow or float or magically disappear, but it does nothing. It's just a trinket. A stupid trinket.