She, the Alpha

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

Neal nodded. “Yeah…that was our deal. If I could find a way for us to start over, for him to get rid of his magic so no one got hurt, we’d take it. We made a deal, even shook on it. Well, I found a way. A magic bean from the Blue Fairy.” He said, sighing. “When he let go of my hand over the portal, he broke that deal.”

[she-the-alpha]

"Ah. I see." Ruby said, tilting her head to the side. "But I don't think it's your fault." she pointed added. "You didn't back out of a deal. You weren't the one who created that curse. Your father did. And you weren't the one who cast the curse, Regina did. The ones who are at fault are Rumplestiltskin and Regina." He was a kid. He wasn't responsible for his father's actions. His father chose to break his promise and as a consequence, dragged down everyone with them in his quest to find his son.

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

"If I had never left, he wouldn’t have needed a reason to come find me. We were supposed to come here. To the Land Without Magic. Papa promised. But, as we stood over the portal, the coward let go of my hand. He couldn’t do it. He broke our deal." Neal said. "But…if I had just stayed." Of course he wouldn’t go back and change a thing, because he would’ve never met Emma and they never would’ve had Henry.

[she-the-alpha]

Ruby's brow furrowed. "A deal? What kind of--" she paused, Granny catching her attention out of the corner of her eye. She must have been at his table for longer than she thought. "One sec." she said, hurrying to the counter and dropping off his order, stopping to a new table to take and submit their order before coming back.

"Sorry." she said as she came back, setting his plate of food in front of him. Pausing, she worried at her lip, settling the tray she used over her hip. "You had said something about him breaking a deal?" she asked.

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

What's This? || Ruby & Belle

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

(x)

"Me too," Belle sighed. She carefully placed the puzzle back. She suddenly realized she hadn’t told Ruby of her recent developments.

"Oh, I took you advice and went by the library. Rumpel has been a big help in getting it set up for me. There were a ton of books to go through but it’s mostly sorted now." She smiled.

[she-the-alpha]

"Oh, that's great." Ruby beamed, grabbing a few puzzles as she spoke after she decided she should stock up for work. Every so often, she found herself with a table that would bring in a fussy child. 

"Are you going to open it any time soon?" she asked. It'd be nice to have the library open. Aside from nights at the White Rabbit, the movies, a tiny bowling alley, and the Agua Java, there was little else to do in terms of amusement in Storybrooke.  Having an open library would hopefully give the town more to do.

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

Neal sighed, heavily. “My father is the Dark One. He created the curse as a way to get to this world to find me. The son he’d abandoned.” He explained. “I guess he couldn’t cast it himself, so he gave it to the Evil Queen.” He looked at her. “Anyway, I’m sorry. He’s…made a real mess of things, and it’s my fault.”

[she-the-alpha]

She tugged at the inside flesh of her bottom lip. They had been unaware of the curse's origins. Only knowing it had been given to Regina who used it in her vendetta against Snow White, hardly caring that it would also punish everyone else along with her stepdaughter. 

At his apology she gave a small shrug. "How is it your fault? You just said he abandoned you. And you never forced his hand in creating the dark curse." she said. Even if she didn't know Neal all that well, he shouldn't take the blame for the actions of others. No one made the decision to create the curse but Rumple, she thought.

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

What's This? || Ruby & Belle

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

(x)

"Oh, that’s what I’m doing. Sort of." Belle laughed. "I haven’t seen a lot of the stuff from this world. Everything is so.. exciting." She grinned. 

"Like, look at this." She picked up a nearby toy. Belle was currently browsing the clearance aisle of toys and there was plenty that caught her attention. She was now holding a sliding puzzle up to Ruby. "You just.. slide it to make a picture. Why didn’t we have things like this back in our world?" 

[she-the-alpha]

"Oh those are fun." Ruby said smiling at the toy in Belle's hand before glancing over at the other items. "I used to keep a few in my apron for families that came to the diner. It helped keep the kids distracted. I liked to play with them in between tables on my slow shifts." 

At her question she shrugged. "Guess no one thought of making a toy like this back home. Which is a bummer. I like puzzles."

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

"I am." Neal nodded in confirmation. "Though, you wouldn’t know me. I left long before the curse was ever enacted. In fact…I’m the reason the curse was created." Neal said. "Sorry about that, by the way." He said, offering a small smile. He still felt guilty for his father’s actions. "Thankfully, Emma broke it, and you all know who you are now, right?" Not that it made things right, but at least they weren’t still trapped without their memories.

[she-the-alpha]

She arched a brow. Why would he be the reason the curse was created in the first place? At his question, she nodded. "What do you have to do with the curse?" she asked, curious to know as to what purpose the curse served. Other than forcing an entire realm to be relocated and lose their memories as they remained trapped for nearly thirty years, of course.

[she-the-alpha]

So About that One Night || Mr. Gold and Ruby

Ruby fought back the urge to roll her eyes, her grandmother's words hammering against her skull after a heavy night prior. For once, couldn't she just drop the subject? It didn't much either that she was expected to work the morning shift, nor did the chatter around her help much to soothe her hangover, either. 

Taking a long gulp of coffee in the back kitchen, she checked herself over once more before making her way back out to the dining room. And she'd all but managed to slip into her friendlier disposition to greet diners when a new face made her freeze in her tracks. 

Mr. Gold. She muttered a silent curse to herself, neck tensing for a moment before she willed herself to relax a little. With their brief tryst still fresh in her memory, she'd been grateful he wasn't a regular at Granny's. But it seemed he decided today was ideal for her Granny's overpriced flapjack special. Smoothing and tugging at her apron, a dupe pad in hand, she made her way to his booth. 

"Mr. Gold." she greeted, keeping her tone polite, even, but distant. "What can I get you today?"

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

What's This? || Ruby & Belle

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

(x)

What if she turned it this way? And then this one this way and…

One side of the cube turned completely blue.

Belle looked up, surprised to see Ruby. “Oh, yeah, it is a bit tricky.” She laughed. “But look,” she held up the cube proudly, displaying the all blue side. She turned it over in her hands a few more times before setting it back.

"What brings you here," she asked, smiling. 

[she-the-alpha]

Ruby smiled. "I usually prefer to start with red." she said. "But I usually give up by the time I only have one square left to match. There's supposed to be a trick to solving it, but I could never figure it out."

At Belle's question, she lifted the small shopping basket. "Running some errands. Granny needed to get her prescription refilled and I thought I'd run errands while I wait on it." she replied.

[the-belle-of-the-books-blog]

What's This? || Ruby & Belle

There was still so much of this world that Belle hadn’t discovered. Straying from the confines of her library today, Belle was in one of the small shops around Storybrooke and was examining every item in there. There was so much in this world to take in and she felt she had only scratched the surface.

For instance, Rumpel had told her that pens were like quills but had a large supply of ink so that it didn’t need to be dipped in ink. There were several other writing utensils like this, such as markers and pencils and crayons and chalk.

And a lot of food in this world came pre-packaged and ready to eat. No one went hunting, unless it was for fun (which Belle found barbaric) and there never seemed to be a shortage of food, at least in some countries.

And don’t get her started on on all the advancements in technology.

Belle spent her time browsing the innards of the store, picking up and examining every thing that caught her eye, and there were quite a few things that caught her eye. At the moment, she held a rubik’s cube in her hand. She spun each section, wondering what the purpose of it was. She so lost in her endeavor she didn’t see Ruby approach her.

[she-the-alpha]

"It'll be about 45 minutes." Sneezy said, taking Granny's prescription from Ruby.

"That's fine. I might step out for a bit." Ruby replied, though made a grab for one of the pharmacy's baskets before she made her way through the aisle. With the long wait, she might as well run a few more errands before heading back to the diner, she thought.

Grabbing a few magazines, pens, and a candy bar, she made her way down to the next aisle, her gaze falling on the petite brunette who seemed fixated on the toy she kept turning over. She crinkled her nose at the Rubik's cute as she approached. "I can never get all the sides." she commented as Belle continued fiddling with the cube.

[she-the-alpha]

            "popcorn? or chocolate?"

[she-the-alpha]

            "Didn't Belle sing out to the hills in her movie?"

[toorestlesstoclimb]

    Read More

[she-the-alpha]

No Strings || August & Red

[tellmealieaugust-blog]

(x)

Didn’t really matter if she was right and he was just a kid, what he did was wrong. Nothing would change the life Emma had, the mistakes he made during his own life would never be erased as well.

Took him by surprise to hear that Red didn’t want him gone. She had no reason to be kind to him, no one did actually. After every single action he had taken he should just be put in an exposition as the one who failed the town. “We ended up in the foster system… I tried my best to be with Emma but—” Lies, if he had tried his best he wouldn’t have left her. “Some kids ran away from the home we were, they invited me… They said I shouldn’t take a baby.”

[she-the-alpha]

"And you left her behind." she said, guessing his decision as he finished. "Did you ever try to go back for her once you got older?" she asked. "Where did you go once you ran away?"

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

"Orange juice would be great." He said. Sighing, Neal ran a hand through his hair, as he thought about how best to answer her question. "Well, Storybrooke I found out about from August Booth. But, the Enchanted Forest? I’ve known about that my whole life." He admitted.

[she-the-alpha]

A tingle of relief hit her stomach when he mentioned August, the tinge of concern she felt at the idea of strangers coming and going freely from their town assuaged by the fact he had a connection to a more friendly visitor to the town. At his admission that he was familiar with their realm, her curiosity peaked once more. "Are you from our world, then?" she asked.

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

"Pancakes sound great. I’ll take the special." He said, nodding. "Eggs over easy, with bacon." He replied. "Yeah, but you could say I’ve known about the existence of Storybrooke for quite sometime and I’m…familiar with its…uniqueness." He said.

"I haven’t seen much of it, yet, but so far I like it. I just need to find a more permanent place. As nice as the B&B is, I can’t live there, and I do intend on staying in Storybrooke." He said. Nothing was going to keep him from his son, and Emma.

[she-the-alpha]

Ruby jotted down his order. "Any coffee or juice?" she asked, keeping the pen's end resting on the pad as she asked. 

"How did you know about the town?" she asked, suddenly curious. Aside from August and Emma, she didn't think there'd be any others who would know of their town. And if he did know, perhaps he was even from their world.

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

(x)

Neal looked up at the waitress when she spoke. “To be honest, I have no idea. Who knew I could be so indecisive about food?” He asked, with a slight chuckle. “What do you recommend?” Surely, if she worked here, she’d know what was good, right? So, he couldn’t go wrong asking her opinion.

"I’m new in town, so I’m not really familiar with anything yet." He explained. "So, any help you could give would be greatly appreciated." He wondered, briefly, who this woman was in the Enchanted Forest. After all, he knew most of the people in this town did have a different identity back home.

[she-the-alpha]

She gave a smile, pursing her lips in thought, eyes giving his menu a quick scan. "Well, our pancakes are always popular." she suggested, tapping the end of her pen against the notepad absently. "We have a Granny's special with a shortstack, eggs made to order, and a choice of ham, bacon, or sausage." she suggested. "Or if you want something lighter, our oatmeal's pretty good."

She tilted her head as he spoke, brow furrowed for a moment. "New?" So people could cross the town border, she thought to herself. 

[ayellowbugandadreamcatcher-blog]

Meeting Ruby||Neal & Ruby

Neal left his room at the B&B and headed next door to the diner. Things were really looking up now that he had finally gotten to meet his son. He recalled their meeting at the park with Emma and smiled. Henry had given him a tour of city hall. He still couldn’t believe he had a kid. He was a father. The whole thing was still overwhelming, but in a good way. Sliding into a booth, Neal opened up a menu and looked over it. Too many choices.

He’d always been a bit indecisive, but especially when it came to food. Drumming his fingers lightly on the table, he went back and forth over several choices. Damnit, this was gonna be harder than he thought.

[she-the-alpha]

Red was grateful that things had slowed down, the early morning rush having passed already as most of the residents made their way to their respective jobs. Coming back from her room, refreshed and ready for the late morning crowd, she affixed her apron around her waist before heading back out to the diner, pulling her dupe pad out of the apron pocket before she approached her next table.

"Good morning!" she chirped, offering a polite, yet still sunny, smile to her customer - a new face, she noted, as she met his gaze. "What can I get you today?"