A Curse Upon Thee 21
The release paperwork was a mountain all its own, a mountain that Finn was happy to not have the authority to deal with. Mountain or molehill, Emma proved she could handle all parts of her duty as she finished it all by that same afternoon.
“Officially cleared of all charges, Mary M.” Finn clicked his tongue.
With all the evidence circumstantial and flimsy, on top of being compromised where it wasn’t either of those, things were as open-and-shut as they could get. Especially with no victim to be spoken of and all alibis accounted for, the case against both David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard had no reason to stay open. Granted, there was still a human heart with no accounted-for origin sitting in a lab, but they’d burn that bridge when they came to it. “How’s it feel to be a free woman, again?”
Finn didn’t expect the woman to be jumping for joy or anything.
Not yet, at least.
Not after four days in lockup.
But at the very least, he did expect the woman to be wearing something close to her usual smile, glowing with relief as she walked out of the station into the sunshine.
Instead, the woman just sat alone in the windowless interrogation room — her choice, by the way — staring blankly between dull walls and scarred table as if she could find answers to questions she hadn’t bothered voicing.
Finn shouldered the doorframe, a lukewarm cup of coffee in his hand as he leaned up against the wall. …okay, we can just enjoy the sil-
“I brought cookies to those people for Christmas.” Mary Margaret broke the silence, voice lacking her usual soft bubbliness. “Last year. Homemade snickerdoodles. Spent a whole three days in front of my oven for all that Mrs. Patterson got a whole tin.”
“Mary…” Finn shifted his weight, coffee cup lowered from his face. “Mary Margare-“
“She crossed the street. That first day. Pretended like she didn’t even see me.” A laugh escaped her, something harsh and brittle that sounded more at home from Emma than the black-haired woman in front of him. “Tutored her kids, too. And the Hendersons, their daughter Chloe, every Tuesday after school. Because she was struggling with reading. Can you imagine that?”
“They’re assholes.” It wasn’t much to offer but it was honestly all he had. “Just the worst kind of assholes.”
“They’re my neighbors, Finn.” She looked up at him with eyes that looked as broken as the first day she spent in lock-up. “I’ve lived here my whole life, taught their children and smiled their way every day. Funny how it took everyone all of two days to decide I was a monster.”
What do I say to that? If there was an answer, he was coming up empty.
Because the woman might have been sad, but Finn didn’t doubt that she was right. It might have been rude to call people sheep, but they definitely always kept on the lookout for a wolf to blame.
“Mary Margaret.” Finn blinked over his shoulder as Emma appeared in the doorway right behind him, face tight even as she wore a smile. “Everything’s fully processed. You’re free to go whenever you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Emma.” The former schoolteacher stood up slowly as she pushed her chair back from the interrogation table. Shaking hands smoothed down the front of her skirt as she walked over to the door. “Both of you. For believing me when people I’ve known my whole life couldn’t even do that.”
“Yeah, well.” The deputy in the room rolled his neck with a shrug. “That’s why we’re cops. We’re smart like that, y’know?”
“Miss Blanchard…” Finn bit back a sigh as Gold materialized in the hallway behind Emma, the devil always waiting at the crossroads, and offered Mary Margaret his arm like a perfect concerned gentleman. ”Allow me to walk you to your car. The press outside can be… overwhelming.”
Finn watched them leave, predator and prey walking slowly down the drab hallway. Debts and payments.
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
The sun was just beginning to set on a long May day in Storybrooke, casting even longer shadows that bled at length across the pavement of Main Street. Locals still milled out and about, running errands that seemingly went forgotten as they turned their eyes away.
Maybe it was the fact that Finn was walking lke he meant business or it could have been the fact that his fists were tight at his sides and his face was as hard as it had ever looked. Who knew, honestly?
All he cared about was the woman walking the opposite way of him on her way to the sleek black car parked on the side of the road.
“Deputy McHale.” Regina Mills’ voice was silk over ice — no different from usual — as the mayor paused in front of her car, attention fully on him with her posture flawless. “Can I help you with something? Here to hand me a parking ticket?”
“I know what you are.”
That perfect practiced polite smile didn’t move a millimeter, but Regina still managed to show off something dark on her face either way as her eyes shifted just a hair tighter. “Excuse me?”
“And I know exactly what you did.” The step he took closer was aggressive, Finn closing the gap a bit as he balled his fists that much tighter. “You’re not as slick as you think, Mayor. You leave your stink on everything you do. Framing Mary Margaret, kidnapping Kathryn and shoving her in the dark…”
Finn shook his head, the thought something he’d been working over for days. “Why, even? You just bored?”
“That’s quite an active imagination you have. Accusing me of a crime and you can’t even comprehend the slightest bit of motive. Not very good police work… ” Regina tilted her head, studying him from head to toe like he was a particularly interesting insect. “Deputy.”
“Not imagination.” The Cursed Energy thrummed hot and heavy in his gut, responding to his own anger as much as it did the cold apple-scented malice radiating off Regina like it was some expensive and over-applied perfume. In fact, it almost seemed to come easier to Finn as he said his piece, power surging in time with his conviction. “I could feel your Cursed Energy all over that apartment. All over that box. Exact same shit I feel every single time I gotta walk past your office, you know that?”
“Juryoku.” She tasted the word, rolling it around in her mouth, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Is that what you call it?”
Blue eyes blinked as the Japanese slipped his tongue again. “…yeah, that’s what I call it.”
“Mmmm…” The woman hummed slow, a single syllable stretched out past the point of decency as she stared back at him. “And how do you know this again?”
The ambient noise of the street faded out as the air went still between them, no other sound reaching Finn as he stared the mayor down. “Because you really should stop fucking with hearts.” He almost spat the last syllable, the memory of Graham’s death right in front of him clear as day. “It’s kinda your calling card.”
Regina’s smile faded for a second, eyes going wide, but it was back almost a split-second later like it never left. Thing was though, it had.
And Finn had seen it.
Can she not tell… His frown lessened, confusion fighting his glare for a moment. Any sorcerer knew that much — the basic part of the basics — about their own power. Everyone left a residual behind when they used Cursed Energy. It might not linger all that long, especially if they don’t use that much, but someone like Regina who threw the stuff around when she fucked with hearts the way she did.
Wait…
Honestly, there was a lot of iffy shit when it came to how Regina used her power. He could feel it in her, more than twenty times what he could muster at his absolute best; an entire Olympic swimming pool compared to his five-gallon bucket.
But she never showed any of it, though.
At least Gold was surrounded with Cursed Tools, but Regina was always just… Regina.
Finn blinked again, staring deeper at the woman as he tried to follow the path of his suddenly more active Cursed Energy. There’s no way… no… no fucking way… that…
“Proof, Deputy McHale?” Her voice dropped lower, a venomous purr just loud enough for him to hear over the distant sound of traffic. “Or is this just more of your… colorful, juvenile delus-“
“Is your magic broken, Regina?”
“Wh-wha…” Her eyes fluttered quickly, Regina’s face twitching as the keys in her hand nearly fell before she caught them again. “What are you talking about, McHale? Have you been reading t-too many children’s books?”
Finn stared at the mayor slowly, blue eyes no longer narrowed. “Oh my god… you’re not a sorcerer right now.”
The Mercedes chirped cheerfully as the mayor unlocked it. “Such determination and passion in maintaining such… such a childlike whimsy about the word. It would be cute if you were my son’s age.” Regina pulled the driver’s side door open, the woman no longer even pretending to smile. “Still admirable, really. In a tragic sort of way.”
“…what did you do to yourself, Regina?”
“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about, young man.”
“Uh-huh.” Finn nodded, a smile creeping up his face. “Cause the only reason I’ve been tip-toeing around you this whole time was because I thought you were strong and was just hiding it because nobody else knew but no wonder you’re doing all this…” A palm slapped his forehead as a laugh slipped free. “Are you just a regular person right now, ma’am?”
Dark eyes glared his way. “Step away from my vehicle.”
“…can you make me?”
The question went unanswered as Regina glared his way, lip twitching with whatever sort of curse — verbal or magical — she wanted to throw right at him.
Finn almost laughed again, but the humor in his throat died with her next words.
“Keep harassing me and I’ll have you commited for the good of the town.” The smile came back and was all teeth now, the woman not hiding her sharklike nature. “And I’m sure Miss Lucas would hate to see something happen to you. And vice versa, of course.”
Eyes narrowed to bright blue slits as Finn stepped forward one more time, fists tight at his sides again at the threat to his girl. “What was that?” The woman in the pantsuit slammed her door shut but that didn’t stop him from advancing, not even as the mayor started the car. “You wanna repeat that, Reg-”
“Finn.”
The redheaded deputy froze, muscles locking tight up against instinct as a hand landed hard on his shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder to stare into a pair of warning green eyes, Emma’s grip was tight enough that he could feel her fingernails through the leather of his jacket. “Not worth it.”
Not worth it.
Finn pulled his eyes away from her and stared at the back of Regina’s vehicle, the car pulling away from the curb and leaving both of them standing on the sidewalk.
If it wasn’t worth it… then why did it feel like it would be the only thing that actually made sense?
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
I Know What You Are – 100 GP
Directly confront Regina Mills with knowledge of her nature.
Meek Mills – 200 GP
Realize Regina’s raw reach remains reduced.
ROLL: Verblade (100) [Super Dragon Sword] {Destruction}:
In order to further iterate on the ancient ways, you must be willing to diverge from them. You are highly athletic, and capable of interweaving your spell-crafting with your melee combat styles to enhance the effects of both.
ROLL: You Are On A Path In The Woods (200) [Slay The Princess] {Domain}:
There are many stories of heroes slaying terrible monsters and saving the entire world, and I suppose you could consider this to be the same yet different. This story is one that ebbs and flows, that shifts and changes, writhing and turning upon itself like trillions of bodies crammed into too tight a space. You may use this to weave a story, any story, and you may force it into reality and make it real. A means of enforcing something constant upon the imprecise, a small oasis of permanence amidst ceaseless change and transformation. The more well-defined your story is, the more concrete its edges and boundaries, the greater its degree of stability.
Grimoire Points: 200