Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale

  “We all want to find her, Regina,” she said. “Just be patient. I’m good at finding people. Sometimes it’s tricky.”

  • • •

  After the huntsman released her and she fled into the woods, Snow White had little more than the clothes on her back. It was hard going as she forged a new path, all alone, without the help of a single friend, and she lived hand-to-mouth and slept in the woods for weeks, counting on the generosity of strangers to get through the days. She was just getting the hang of life as a fugitive when something new changed everything: snow.

  And cold.

  And wind.

  And ice.

  She had been doing all right in her first weeks on her own, scavenging and begging for what food she could, sometimes finding a kind peasant who’d let her sleep in the barn. The Queen and her men had begun printing wanted posters and distributing them across the land, though, and she knew that the kindness of the people would only go so far. If she exposed herself much more, someone would turn her in.

  One night, when the temperature had dropped considerably, Snow found herself shivering and stumbling through the woods, thinking for the first time that this—all of it—might be the death of her. She’d escaped the Huntsman only to have become invisible. Not the worst thing in the world when you were on the run, but the problem with being invisible was that no one could help you, either.

  She couldn’t feel her hands or her feet when she saw, at the top of a hill, a small farm and a little light in one of the windows. She stopped beside a tree and watched. A young man was at the window, and he was talking with someone. Thirty feet from the main house, there was a chicken coop. Chicken coops, she knew, tended to be excellent places to sleep. Warm, free of humans, and full of eggs. She was so cold, and seeing that whoever was in the window was distracted by the young man, she decided to risk it, and ran through the snow toward the coop.

  Once inside, she crinkled her nose at the smell of the chickens, who clucked and stirred at their new guest. The rooster seemed mildly disturbed by her presence and put on a show atop some hay, but soon he settled down as well, and Snow tucked herself into a corner of the coop. She fell asleep almost immediately.

  • • •

  She dreamt of her father, and the time before Regina, when her mother had only just died and he took her to the shore to play castle on the rocks. It was a memory—a cherished memory—but in the dream, there was more: Her father was happy, looking out at the water, and when Snow turned to look where he was looking, she saw her mother rise up out of the waves, a smile on her face. She held her arms out to Snow, and the weight of all the sadness lifted. They would be together again, if only for a day, if only here.

  She turned to her father. “It’s Mommy!” she cried.

  He nodded. “Yes!” he said. “Go to her!”

  Snow looked back at her mother, who was twenty feet out into the sea. Worried, she looked back at her father. “I can’t get to her!” she cried.

  “You can!” he cried. “You have to swim!”

  “But I’m afraid!”

  “It doesn’t matter!” cried her father. “She’s dead anyway! And so am I!”

  Snow woke up with a start, the image of her father’s wryly smiling face still lingering behind her eyes. It was dawn and the chickens were restless again.

  Her stomach growled, and Snow sat up and looked at them. “I’m sorry,” she said to one of them, “but you have something I need.”

  She moved around the coop and collected a couple of eggs, not wanting to take so many that the owners would be in difficult straights. She gently placed them into her satchel and was about to leave when she heard something.

  Footsteps.

  Someone was coming.

  She darted to the back corner of the coop and crouched down behind some crates, knowing that she could very well meet her end here and now. It wouldn’t take the Queen or any of her men. Just an angry farmer.

  Someone came inside, and Snow pulled herself into a ball. In so doing, though, her cloak scraped against the wooden wall, and she closed her eyes, knowing the noise had given her away.

  “Hello? Who’s there?”

  A woman’s voice.

  Snow’s initial vision of an angry farmer with a pitchfork changed into someone else. A girl. Someone kind. Perhaps.

  She took a chance.

  Slowly, Snow rose up from behind the stack of crates. A young woman, pale-skinned, wearing a red cloak, stared back at her.

  “Who are you?” the girl in red said.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was stealing eggs. I’m so sorry.”

  The girl smiled.

  “Well. You’re the most honest thief I’ve ever met.”

  “Only two,” she said, and held them up. “I was just so hungry. And it’s so cold outside.”

  “Did you spend the whole night out here?” the girl asked.

  Snow nodded.

  “Did you not know there was a wolf monster on the loose?”

  Snow looked concerned. “I thought I did hear something,” she said. “But I should—I should be going. I’ll leave these.” She looked for a place to put the two eggs.

  “No, no, it’s fine,” said the girl. “You can keep them. I don’t care. What’s your name?”

  “My name?” Snow said. “My name is Margaret. No… it’s Mary. Mary.”

  “That’s quite a name,” the girl said. “Can I call you Mary?”

  Snow White nodded.

  “Come on, you can stay with us, I’m sure it will be fine,” said the girl. “My name is Red.” She led the young woman out of the coop and into the snow. “I just have to draw some water from the well. But tell me, I don’t understand. What are you doing out here?”

  They walked across the snow toward a well, and Snow White ignored the question and instead said, “What is this monster?” She helped Red with the bucket then, and together they lowered it down.

  “It’s Wolfstime. Killer wolf out there. Big as a pony, but a lot more bloodthirsty. It’s been stalking the whole area pretty regular. It kills cattle and—Hang on. This pulley sticks sometimes. If you can just…”

  Snow White had taken a few more steps and stood atop a ridge. Red joined her, and Snow couldn’t help but put her hand up over her mouth. All around them the bodies of the men were strewn like broken dolls. The red of their blood stained the white snow.

  • • •

  Ruby and Granny had been bickering and fighting for weeks. As so many in the town passed through Granny’s Diner as a part of their day, it was no secret that the two women were having trouble. And it was no surprise when, after an argument about a Saturday night shift, Ruby up and quit the diner, leaving Granny to fend for herself in a full house.

  “Long time coming,” people mumbled.

  “Can’t believe it didn’t happen sooner.”

  Emma and Mary Margaret watched uncomfortably as the whole argument went down. At the end of it, Ruby stormed out and screamed that she was leaving town and heading to Boston. Granny didn’t respond, and when Ruby was gone, she acted like she didn’t care one way or the other.

  “Yikes,” Emma said. “Things are not good on the home front, I guess.”

  “They’ve always been at each other’s throats,” said Mary Margaret, turning back to her hot chocolate. “I don’t know why.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m being glib,” Emma said. “We were talking about David.”

  “I just want to be sure he’s okay,” Mary Margaret said. “I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it.”

  “He’s okay. He’s shaken up, he’s worried people think he has something to do with it. But he’s okay.”

  “Is there any word on Kathryn?”

  “None. I have nothing. I was just about to go back to square one and think it through from the start of the time line. I’m at a loss.”

  “Did you check with Boston again?”

  “She’s not there, if that’s what you mean.”

  “I
don’t understand how a person can just completely disappear,” said Mary Margaret. “Right from her car. What happened? Did she evaporate?”

  They left the diner ten minutes later; Emma had seen that Mary Margaret’s mood deteriorated dramatically after that part of the conversation. Emma was worried about her friend, but she knew, too, that she probably shouldn’t be seen socializing with her so much. Mary Margaret was perhaps a bit too naïve to realize it, but she wasn’t clear of suspicion, either. To Emma, Mary Margaret seemed so innocent, so unaware of the dangers in the world. She was independent, but sheltered at the same time. It was an unusual combination.

  It was cold, and Emma was hugging herself as they came around the corner. Both she and Mary Margaret were surprised to see Ruby standing at the bus stop.

  She had one small suitcase with her and was looking down Main Street furtively.

  “You do know no buses ever come,” Emma said to her. “Where are you going?”

  “Away” was all Ruby said.

  “We overheard the fight,” said Mary Margaret. “All of us did, I guess.”

  “Yeah, well that just means you overheard the truth. I’m sick of her and I’m sick of that diner. And I’m sick of Storybrooke. I’m going to Boston.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen tonight,” Mary Margaret said. “You’re worked up, it’s freezing. Stay with us at our place for the night, think this through. Get a good night’s rest.”

  Ruby looked at both women. It didn’t take long for her to nod in agreement.

  “Okay,” she said. “One night.”

  • • •

  Granny, Red’s grandmother, welcomed Snow into the cottage with a tough-minded generosity. Snow liked her immediately, even though she seemed like she could be prickly. Red immediately told her about what they’d found outside, and the three went back out.

  Granny looked grimly out at the scene near the well, and with the full light of the morning, she went to town to sound the alarm. Soon tens—if not hundreds—gathered at the town hall for a meeting to discuss what was to be done. What the locals here called “Wolfstime” was nearly finished, apparently, but now the mayor was infuriated, as a half dozen of the town’s strongest men were dead. A good many of the people, men and women both, were hungry for vengeance. There was talk of another hunting party to go looking for the wolf that very night.

  Snow White wondered just what she’d happened upon. A part of her thought it might be best to steal away in the night, but there was the threat of this wolf. And what’s more, she knew that while people were distracted with their own problems, they wouldn’t worry much about her.

  “The one thing I know is that last night was the VERY LAST MASSACRE!”

  The crowd cheered its approval. Many stood and cried, “Kill the beast!”

  “Had I stayed with the party for just ten minutes longer, I would have been among the dead!” cried the mayor. “And had I doubled back? Perhaps I would have been able to slay the beast!”

  “You surely would have failed,” said a voice.

  Snow looked to her left, as did Red. Granny had been the one to say it.

  Snow could see that Red was mortified by her grandmother’s comment. She noticed Mayor Tompkins scanning the room, looking for the source of the remark. His eyes lingered on Red’s, and he smiled at her. Red looked away.

  Hm, Snow White thought. Something’s there.

  “This creature is more powerful than you can imagine,” said Granny. “Stronger, smarter. You wouldn’t have had a chance, Mayor. Stay inside, lock your doors, hide your children, forget your livestock! That’s my advice!”

  Granny’s advice was greeted with derision and boos.

  “We’ve heard this from you before, Widow Lucas,” said the mayor.

  “Aye, you have,” said Granny. “But I haven’t told you how I know.”

  The crowd went silent. Granny stood.

  “Nearly three score years ago, I was a child with six older brothers as big as oak trees, all of them veterans of the second Ogre War. And my father, the biggest of them all. Come one Wolfstime, he decided to go out and take on the wolf. A different wolf back then, of course, but just as fearsome. They did it for me. They went out there to protect me.” At this point Granny nearly broke down, and Red reached up and took her hand.

  Granny continued: “I was supposed to be asleep, but I crawled out on the roof and lay down in the thatch to watch. They had the beast surrounded, the seven of them, with spears all pointed in at it. Then it started…. It was lunging. Not at the men, but at the spears, grabbing with its teeth, breaking the shafts. They stabbed it with the splintered ends, but it didn’t matter. It tore their throats so fast that not one of them got a chance to scream, or pray, or say good-bye.”

  The crowd remained rapt. Granny gave them a long look, remembering.

  “It looked at me with black eyes that didn’t even seem to be there. They were holes in the world. And then it walked away. You ever see a wild animal just turn its back and walk away like you don’t matter? If this wolf is like that one, there is no defeating it. It has already won just by existing in our world. You don’t kill it. All you do is hide.”

  Granny released Red’s hand, reminded her to wear her hood, and told the two girls that it was time for them to leave.

  It was only midday when they returned to the cottage, and Granny—exhausted from her night awake—told Red and Snow that she needed to lie down. “Don’t go far,” she said. “And don’t be outside anywhere near dark. Promise me?”

  “I promise,” said Red.

  Once Granny had closed the door of her room, Red took Snow’s hand and said, “Come on.”

  • • •

  Mary Margaret was tired of waiting around for things to happen.

  The next morning, while Ruby and Emma still slept, she packed a bag and went out to the woods at the edge of town, intent on finding Kathryn.

  She remembered how Emma had ordered them to move in a long line when there had been hundreds of people to help. Alone, though, it was harder to come up with an efficient system. She parked her own car where Kathryn’s had been found, double-checked her compass, and decided that she was just as likely to find something walking in a random zigzag as she’d be following any type of rules. She headed out into the forest.

  She searched for two hours, being sure to check back and reorient herself at her car every now and then. As she searched, she thought about David, and Regina, and who in town was even capable of harming Kathryn. David? It was impossible. She didn’t doubt that Regina had it in her to do something like this, but for what reason? Mary Margaret couldn’t see it. And that meant the culprit was someone who seemed normal and safe, some kind of sociopath. She thought of Dr. Whale, or Sidney Glass. She could make any—

  She stopped in her tracks.

  David was standing ten feet from her, his eyes glazed over.

  “David?” she said, walking toward him. “What are you doing out here?”

  It was strange—he didn’t seem to recognize her. He walked past her and said, as he went by, “It’s me.”

  “I know it’s you. You don’t look right.”

  “I’m looking for her.”

  “David, listen to me,” Mary Margaret said, falling in behind him. “Emma doesn’t really suspect you, no matter what she said. Kathryn is okay, she’s somewhere. We just have to—”

  “I’m looking” was all he said.

  Mary Margaret stopped, and David continued on, zombie-like.

  “David?”

  “I’m looking,” he said again. “I’m looking.”

  • • •

  Henry sat with Ruby in the sheriff’s station, ticking down a litany of job openings in Storybrooke, hoping to help Ruby find new employment. Emma was at her desk, going over Kathryn’s disappearance in her head, but she wasn’t getting anywhere. She listened to her son being helpful. He suggested sales; Ruby said she wasn’t interested. He suggested being a bike messenger; Ruby said
she was a klutz. “There’s nothing I can do, really,” Ruby said. ‘That’s the whole problem.”

  “I’m sure there are things you can do,” said Henry. “Maybe you just don’t know about them yet.”

  “All I’ve ever done is work at this diner,” she said. “There’s got to be more to life.”

  The phone rang, and Ruby picked up. After listening for a moment, she assured the caller—Ms. Ginger—that the “footsteps” she was hearing were Archie’s dog, Pongo, and not a prowler. Ms. Ginger thanked her and she hung up.

  “I just wish I had skills,” Ruby said. “Anyway.”

  Emma smiled.

  “Seems like you have some.”

  Henry and Ruby each looked over a shoulder. Emma shrugged.

  “Look, you need work, I need some help around here. I have it in the budget. Why don’t you come on board as the office manager?”

  “Oh no,” said Ruby. “I couldn’t do police work.”

  “I just mean answer the phones and help out, that kind of thing,” Emma said. “You won’t have to shoot anyone.”

  “Oh.”

  “I need someone. Whaddya say?”

  Ruby thought about for it a moment, then smiled and nodded. “I say okay,” she said. “Thank you, Emma. Thank you for giving me a chance at something.”

  “My pleasure,” she said. “And your first job can be to go over to Granny’s and pick us up lunch. I’m starving and I don’t have time.”

  “Done.”

  Ruby grabbed her purse and went to the door. Before she could reach for the knob, however, the door swung open, and Mary Margaret, looking frazzled, burst into the room.

  “I just saw David in the woods,” she said. “He’s looking for Kathryn.”

  “She’s not out there,” Emma said, shaking her head.

  “Something is wrong with him,” she said. “He’s… confused. And disoriented.”

  • • •

  Red led Snow White into the forest, and the two talked about Granny’s story, and the wolf. Snow was glad that Red didn’t seem too interested in her path and wasn’t asking any questions, and so she let her new friend talk about being stuck under Granny’s wing. Red told her all about Peter, too, and how the two of them planned to be together.