Ch.35: Tiny
It was a beautiful day, as Katherine answered the door, when Rumple used his cane to knock on the door.
“Are you ready, miss Pierce?” he asked.
“Almost,” Katherine said, and packed a few other things into a bag that was on the floor.
Henry went to stand behind her close by.
“Do you think it’ll be cold where we’re going or warm?” he asked her.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to bundle up. You never know the weather in New York,” she replied, having been in New York a long time ago.
“I thought the terms of our agreement were clear. You owe me a favor. You alone,” Rumple reminded her.
“I’m not leaving him here with Cora running about, so we both go or we both stay,” she replied stubbornly.
After a moment of consideration, Rumple looked at Henry and then back at Katherine.
“Then we’ll have to purchase another plane ticket. Won’t we?”
“Wait. We’re flying?” she inquired of him.
“Don’t worry. I’m covering the expenses. Even the new ones,” he assured her.
“You’re very generous, aren’t you?” Charming commented, as he came down the stairs. He then handed Katherine a small duffel bag and turned to Rumple. “Alright, Gold. You’re going out there with Katherine and Henry. If anything happens to them—,” he began, but Rumple cut him off.
“Then you’ll what? Cross the town line? And David Nolan will hunt me down in his animal rescue van?”
“This isn’t a threat. This is a request,” Charming clarified for him. “Take care of them.”
“I promise no harm will come to them,” Rumple assured him. “After all, we have a deal.”
Soon after packing, Katherine was in the passenger seat of Rumple’s car, Henry in the back. The potion on the shawl worked and he drove them out of town.
“We’re going to find my son,” Rumple said, after clarifying to Katherine that it had worked; that he remembered and knew who he was.
Charming was finishing up putting his gun holster on, as Snow watched him.
“You like that holster, don’t you?”
He chuckled at that.
“I miss carrying a sword.”
“Well, it looks good on you,” she complimented.
“Come on. Leroy has the dwarfs on Cora watch. I’ve got eyes everywhere, but they could use our help.”
Charming helped her put on her coat.
“Really? How hard can it be to find a powerful sorceress in a small town?” Snow asked.
Regina was about to knock on the door, when the door opened to reveal Charming and Snow.
“Apparently, not very hard,” Charming said to Snow’s question, seeing Regina.
“Regina. You’re back,” Snow said.
“I know you think I’m responsible for poor Doctor Hopper’s death—,” she began.
“He’s alive,” Charming informed her.
“What?” Regina questioned, surprised.
“You were framed,” Snow said.
“Who would do that?” Regina asked.
“Your mother. She’s here,” Snow informed her, not knowing that Regina already knew that Cora was in town.
“But that’s—that’s not possible.”
“When Katherine found a way back with Hook, so did she,” Snow informed her. “We were wrong and we’re so sorry.”
“I know. But if Cora’s here, then we’re all in danger. Please. You have to let me see my son. I can protect him,” Regina replied.
“He’s not here,” Snow informed her.
“What?” Regina asked.
“Mr. Gold asked Katherine to help him find his son. He left town about an hour ago with Henry,” Charming informed her.
“And no one told me,” Regina stated.
“We didn’t know where you were,” Snow reminded her. “And to be honest, I don’t think Katherine has to run anything by you.”
“No. I suppose she doesn’t,” Regina replied, before turning around and walking away.
Snow closed the door and Charming sighed.
“That went well,” Snow stated.
“For her, it doesn’t get much better,” Charming replied. “Come on. Let’s go find Cora.”
“Where?”
“No idea, but I know who to ask,” Charming replied, as he handed Snow her set of arrows and bow.
Hook limped through the dock so he could show them where Cora might be at.
“You didn’t even ask me about my recovery,” Hook stated.
“How are you feeling, Hook?” Snow questioned, playing along.
“Come closer and you’ll feel for yourself,” he replied.
“You wanna lose the other hand?” Charming intervened. “Where’s the ship? Come on. Archie told us all about it. It’s shielded somehow, isn’t it, mate?” He added the mate part just for Hook.
Hook looked at him.
“Aye. That it is. Follow me. I don’t know what you expect to find. Cora won’t be there.”
“Well, maybe she left something behind that’ll tell us where she went. Let’s go,” Charming said, and gave him a little push.
“No funny business,” Leroy added in. “I’m watching you, pirate.”
Soon, Hook went aboard his ship and they followed.
“What do you know about Cora’s plans?” Charming asked him.
“Cora’s not the most communicative of lasses. I will tell you one thing. Whatever malice she has in mind, her weapon of choice is in here,” he informed him, and patted something that was covered with a blanket.
When Charming and Leroy took it off, it was a cage with the giant that had been at the top of the beanstalk Hook and Katherine had climbed together. The giant wasn’t as big as he used to be though. Now he was the size of a normal human.
“So Cora used magic to make him travel sized,” Leroy commented.
“Whatever she intends to do with him, it’s important,” Hook replied.
“I think you know what exactly she intends,” Charming said. “You’re holding out.”
“What? You’ll have your lovely wife have it tortured out of me? I promise it’ll be fun for both—” Hook began.
Charming grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against something that had a blanket over it.
“Why don’t you and I have some fun?” Charming said.
“I don’t know what she’s planning. Why don’t you wake the bloody giant and ask him yourself?” Hook replied, and held out a key.
Snow took the key and unlocked the crate. She then rested a hand on his arm, which woke him up.
“Hey. It’s alright,” she assured him. “You’re safe now. What’s your name?”
“Anton,” he answered her, as he got out of the cage. “Where’s that witch?”
“She’s gone,” Snow assured him.
“What did she do? She made me small.”
“Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” Charming said.
“You,” Anton said, recognizing him.
“Me?” Charming questioned.
Anton through him and then Leroy across the ship.
Snow fired an arrow, which made Anton turn to her.
“Step away from my husband,” she said nicely.
Anton looked around.
“You may have me outnumbered, but this isn’t over. You think I forgot what you did? I didn’t. You’ll pay for your evil. I promise. You’ll pay,” he said, before leaving the ship.
Leroy, Snow, and Charming were sitting at a booth at Granny’s.
“David, did that giant just say he’ll make you pay?” Snow questioned. “For what?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never even seen that guy before.”
“Well he sure knows you,” Leroy commented.
“No. It’s not about me,” Charming said. “He just thinks it is,” he added after a moment. He realized that the giant thought Charming was James.
Meanwhile, Katherine was at the airport with Rumple and Henry.
When Henry kept pestering Rumple with questions, Rumple told him, “I’m fine, Henry,” though his questions were irritating him.
Katherine noticed that Rumple didn’t want to talk, so she told him, “Why don’t we talk about this later, kid?”
Soon, they were through the airport and ready to catch their plane.
Hook stood in an alley after laying a card down, waiting for someone. When he felt a presence, he turned around.
“Regina.”
“Expecting my mother?” she inquired. “The one you were supposed to kill?”
“Oh, that. Well, I didn’t want to deprive you of a happy reunion.”
“Well, it’s your lucky day. She and I have made amends,” she replied.
“You’re here to thank me?” he questioned. “How sweet.”
“She wants to know if they found the ship.”
“Why doesn’t she just ask me herself?”
“She decided it wouldn’t be proven for her to be out and about,” Regina informed him.
“Well, then it is my lucky day. You can tell her that they found the ship.”
“And did you get her things off it?”
“I’ve been tied up in bed,” he replied. “Not in a good way.”
“She needs her things.”
“Well, I bet she does. That’s good news then. A giant got loose from the hold.”
“You lost a giant?” Regina questioned.
“Well, a shrunken giant.”
“How is that good news?”
“Because when he got free, he took one look at the prince and became extremely murderous.”
“The giant in town wants to kill the prince,” she realized. “This is just the distraction we need.”
“That is it, dear,” he agreed.
After Regina gave him a potion to make him a giant again, Snow and Charming had a chat with Anton and informed him that the person that ruined his life was Charming’s twin brother and they spoke of Katherine whom had gotten the compass from him. The giant wanted to speak to her, but she was out of town, so the giant called them liars and thieves and such.
Later, the spell wore off so he was human sized again and he informed them that he had a stem from a beanstalk and if they planted it in town, they could have a way to get back home.
That night, after the stem was planted, Charming and Snow had a talk in the truck.
When Charming said that they could go home after the beans grew, she told him, “I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?” he asked.
“Home is where our family is. And that’s here. I don’t know if Katherine will come with us and she’s like family now.”
“You’re worried about her.”
“Aren’t you?” she inquired.
“Of course, but Katherine can take care of herself, and I’m sure wherever she and Henry are, they’re safe.”
Meanwhile, Katherine was in the middle seat with Henry by the window and Rumple on the other side of her.
She looked at Rumple whom kept looking around. She assumed that he was checking for any potential threats or that he was nervous about meeting his son after so many years. She could relate, after all. She’d been half way in his shoes before. She’d always been looking out for danger and when she’d met her daughter, part of her had been happy but the other part of her wasn’t sure how to act.
“It’s going to be okay,” she assured Rumple. “We’re going to find your son.”
“I know,” he replied, looking ahead instead of all around or at her.
A moment later, the plane began its take off.587Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20xKr8aZwY
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