#-he met a woman named peaches /who would later reappear in his life/

[queenofclogs]

OMG OMG OMG all these tags made me go insane, I NEED TO KNOW, Brian please don't leave this world without telling us the secret😭

it's 1 a.m. and i just found some random Brian May "story" about "PEACHES"

does anybody knows anything about this?

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 50:  The Land of Oz

He didn't like to be confused. He didn't like not knowing what he was supposed to do or losing control of what was happening around him or in his head.

Zelena or Regina.

Regina or Zelena.

It was a conundrum.

Zelena was extraordinary. He didn't know where exactly she was staying in the village, and nor did he really care, but he knew that every time he met with her she was clean and strong and he assumed well-fed. Zelena might not resemble her mother physically, but when it came to magic, she was capable of learning just as fast as her mother had, if not faster. Zelena had always been aware of her magic; it was something she'd tried to control all her life, whereas Cora had only found out about it when he'd met her. Zelena's magic was strong and looking for something, purpose and guidance. That meant that his pupil took great pleasure in discovering anything and everything that she could do! He had no doubt that if he gave Zelena that curse, she could probably be ready to cast it in only a week or so.

And yet…

He didn't have the curse in hand. And even if he did, that little nagging voice in the back of his head that sounded freakishly like the Seer scowled at such a thought, pushing him more and more toward Regina.

It was going to take years to prepare Regina, not only where her magic was concerned but also where the sacrifice was concerned. If the books were right and it did require a dearly loved heart, the heart of the thing most loved, then it was going to take a while to get sheltered, sweet Regina to give into her darker urges and jealousies and make that sacrifice. Not that she could at the moment seeing as how the thing she loved most had already had its heart crushed and was lying dead in a tomb! But he was beginning to think of a way around that little matter. Still, out of curiosity, with some of their time a few days ago, he'd taken Regina out to a clearing and conducted the same test on her that he had on Zelena. She'd failed.

To Regina's credit, she'd been able to identify the quadrant of the circle that he was in, but never able to catch him as Zelena had. Instead, she'd grown frustrated and insisted on going back to the task of moving the rock, even though they both knew she still couldn't do it. He'd told her simply that until she was willing to let go of whatever it was still holding her prisoner to her mother, she'd never be able to succeed. He'd left and had a lesson with Zelena on transporting oneself around the realm via magic. It had taken her barely five minutes to get the hang of it.

Logically, he felt that Zelena was the far better candidate for the job. Aside from the fact that he didn't yet know what Zelena loved most of all, there were a few other little things he'd noticed about her that made him cautious. He didn't particularly care for how clingy and devoted she was. She constantly wanted and needed reassurance and had a temper that could be set off like a match at any time over the smallest of things. It was almost volatile. But if she could cast the curse, what would her temper matter? He could kill her afterward. It would mean nothing to him. But as it was, he didn't have the damn curse in hand because he thought he had more time to find it! Could he keep a temper like Zelena's sizzling long enough to find the curse, learn her heart's desire, and get her to enact such a thing?

Zelena or Regina…

It was a choice…a confusing choice. So he opted for doing what he always did when confronted with something like this. Gloating. Sleep, since becoming the Dark One was elusive, a rarity he only engaged in a handful of times, especially since Baelfire had gone away. Over the years, he'd found that writing letters to Baelfire when he was lonely was a good way of releasing pent up energy and emotions and often did him better than a night of sleep.

But tonight, Baelfire was not the recipient of his letter. He couldn't be. The letter writing to Baelfire was a good way of releasing the good emotions he had. But to build up more of the darker ones like anger and malice there was another target. He needed this curse to get to Bae, and it was only by behaving a certain way that he was going to be able to maintain it. Once he was there and there was no need to foster these skills and emotions, once he was without his curse in this world without magic, he'd become normal again just as Baelfire had always wanted, but until then he accepted what he was and moved on. So tonight, instead of writing "My boy Baelfire" in greeting, he began "Cora, dear."

"I've finally got my hands on your firstborn. Never thought I'd find her, did you? Now I know why: She's the most powerful sorceress I've ever encountered. Even more powerful than you. Stunning in every way."

"What are you writing?"

The whirl of magic had him quickly finishing his sentence and dipping the quill so he wasn't startled by the realm jumpers sudden reappearance in his home, back from wherever he'd just come from. It was about time he returned. It had certainly been long enough. If he was honest, he'd taken up staying in the Great Hall more and more simply because if Jefferson returned, he was more likely to run into him there than his Tower. If the boy was to seek him out, he'd rather run into him in the Great Room than his Tower.

"Nothing that concerns you," he sighed as he set the letter aside. "Though I will have an errand for you to run later and some questions you might be able to answer now."

"Question away…" he sighed, pulling up a chair and biting into a…well…it sounded like an apple; only it was blue and peach sized. He leaned back in his chair and quickly set his booted feet up on the table as he munched away at the thing. His manners would be addressed later after he had some answers. He'd waited long enough.

"I'm interested to know if you've ever heard of a realm that goes by Oz."

"Ah…The Land of Oz…famous for the Emerald City," he announced. "Sure. Lots of witches and talking animals, and run by a quack. I think I mentioned it to you a bit ago. What do you want to know about it?"

"A 'quack' you say?" he prodded.

Jefferson nodded as he peeled something off the fruit he was eating before taking another bite. "Calls himself the 'Wizard'," he mumbled through a full mouth before swallowing. "But…near as I can tell he has no magical abilities. I don't even think he's really from there; big extravagant city like that…the guy tries too hard, it doesn't come naturally enough. If I had to guess I'd say he's really a small town, corn fed hick kinda guy. I dropped in on him once as he was consulting with a Sorceress, nearly lost my head. Next time I went back, he wasn't there, and I was able to roam about for a few minutes before they realized I was there. I think he'd put a spell on the place, something that alerts them when there is someone in his chambers because that room was empty, but they came in like they were ready for war."

"Undetectable Detection Spell…quite possibly," he provided as the boy finished his blue fruit. That information was precisely why he ignored some of Jefferson's faults to keep him close. Not only had he presented valuable information, but he was also intuitive in a way humans so rarely were. He didn't doubt a single one of his observations. He only wanted to take as many of them in as he possibly could. "Did you happen to learn anything about him while you were…'roaming about'?"

"Just a few valuable insights," he commented, setting the core aside and licking his fingers. "He collects magical objects, like you, but near as I can tell he doesn't horde them. A lot of people that go to see him end up coming out with the objects in exchange for them bringing him something in return. I suspect it's because he can't do magic on his own. It's all a show. Like I said, he tries too hard for it to be natural. Oh, and he also has this crystal ball thing, I think it tells him things or shows him things…he and the Sorceress were using it when I stumbled in the first time. I think it tells the future or something."

A crystal ball…

"That could be profitable information…" he considered. "Who was the Sorceress?"

"Tan, pretty, and blonde…didn't stick around long enough to find out her name though, not really my type. And I never saw her again, not that I go there all that often. It's a really profitable place when I have a target, but the guards kind of give me the willies and-"

Suddenly Jefferson paused as the ease he'd had before left his body, and he looked him in the eye suspiciously.

"Why the sudden interest?"

He smiled as he touched his fingertips together. "I want you to go to Oz-"

Jefferson slouched into the chair as if his spine had been magically removed. He groaned like a teenager who had just been asked to tend to the milking.

"I want you to go to Oz and gather as much information for me as you can on a woman named Zelena and anything you can find out about this Wizard, fraud or not."

"Do I have to?" he questioned, running a hand over his face before moving it over his neck. "My neck still itches from the last time. I had a nasty run-in with a guy in the woods and an ax."

"I'd be willing to triple your traditional fee…for your troubles, of course."

All men could be bought, and fortunately, he knew Jefferson's prices far too well. In his opinion, their acquaintanceship made the boy far too willing to come in underpaid, but if it benefited him, then he wouldn't complain. And neither did Jefferson. His proposal had his eyes wide, and his spine returned as he put his feet to the floor and sat up straight in his chair again.

"For that…I'll risk it. Itchy neck it is! I'll leave in the morning. Mind if I stay the night again?" he questioned, launching himself out of his chair and already heading for the door.

"Does it matter if I mind?"

"Not particularly. I can't get home in the time that it would take me to leave, so it's just easier. And since this trip is for you, the least you could do is loan me a bed."

"In addition to your triple pay, you mean? Well, by all means. Just don't make a mess or disturb me or else-"

"Yeah, something dark and threatening and sinister, I get it. Don't wait up, I won't see you in the morning!"

[boffeeceans]

Change Your Life, Chapter Four

Beatrice woke up in a cold sweat, she could vaguely remember the ride back to camp and being carried to her tent. She knows exactly why she passed out like that, it had happened before. It wasn't something to get too worried about, but it wasn't anything good either. Beatrice stood up, her head was spinning and she lost her footing a couple of times, but she eventually got out of the tent. She looked up, expecting to see a light blue sky and the sun, but was met with dark blue and the moon. She started walking, but didn't get far before she tripped over her own feet, she readied herself for the impact of the ground, but someone caught her. She looked up to see who it was and was met with Abigail's worried expression.

"You alright there?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thank you." Beatrice looked around trying to find Arthur through her blurry vision. He was sitting at the campfire by himself. "I'm gonna go talk to Arthur, thanks again for catching me."

Abigail looked over to where Arthur was sitting, "Need some help getting over there?"

"Oh no, I think I got it," She gave Abigail a reassuring smile before straightening herself and making her way over to the campfire. She nearly tripped and fell again a couple of times making her think that maybe she should have accepted Abigail's help. It took her a while, but she got there eventually. She tried to step over the log that Arthur was sitting on, but standing on one leg made her lose her balance and she almost fell over again. She put her hand on Arthur's shoulder to regain her balance which caused him to look over to her. He got up to help her sit down. They didn't say anything, they just sat there in silence for a while staring at the fire. All that could be heard was the crackling of the fire and the various noises of sleeping people.

"I'm sorry if I scared you back there," Beatrice broke the silence. Arthur shifted a little, he didn't like to admit it, but she did scare him. She was fine one moment and the next she was on the floor.

"What happened?" Arthur looked at her just to a smile growing on her face. It confused him, he had no idea what was so funny about it.

"I didn't get a whole lot of sleep and I was busy all day long, so I… I kinda forgot to eat…"

"How do you forget to eat?" Arthur asked, even more confused than before.

"I just forget when I'm really busy and…" Her smile faded a little, but didn't completely disappear, "It's just that momma or Elijah used to remind me to eat something if that happened."

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, he reached in his satchel and got out a can of peaches and a fork, he opened the can with his knife and handed it to Beatrice, "Eat."

Beatrice's face lit up and the smile reappeared on her face bigger than before, she took the can and didn't hesitate to start eating. Arthur laughed at the sight of her just shoveling down peaches like it was nothing.

"What?" Beatrice asked with big blue eyes and half a peach in her mouth, which caused Arthur to laugh harder. "I fuckin' love peaches, alright?" She said after she swallowed the peach.

"I didn't say anythin'" Arthur felt something warm growing within his chest when she smiled at him, she had smiled at him before, but never this genuine. The feeling reminded him of when he saw Isaac for the first time.

Arthur's thoughts got cut short when Beatrice got up after finishing her peaches. Damn that kid can eat fast, Arthur thought before getting up himself. Beatrice stretched and yawned, "I'm gonna go back to sleep and you look tired, so you should too."

"I will." She was right, he was tired; he hadn't closed an eye ever since she passed out.

Beatrice smiled and pulled him into a hug, Arthur tensed at the gesture. No one has given him a hug in years, but he returned it after a couple of seconds.

"You stayed up for me, didn't you?" Her voice was muffled by being buried in his shoulder; not being quite tall enough to reach above it.

Arthur chuckled, "Yeah, you got me."

Beatrice broke away from the hug and gave him one last smile, "Goodnight." She turned around and walked to her tent.

"Goodnight."

Arthur watched her, that warm feeling never left his chest and he had a smile on his face. There was something about her, she was strong and vulnerable at the same time. He felt the need to protect her the way he couldn't protect Isaac.

---

Weeks have passed and Beatrice was allowed to tag along with Arthur on more jobs because she more than proved herself after busting Micah out of jail. She stole a stagecoach with him and Hosea. They did it at night, Beatrice and Arthur went inside to rob the house while Hosea took the stagecoach. They got a couple hundred dollars from that and Dutch was happy. A couple of days later John, Charles, Arthur, and Sean robbed a train while Beatrice and Micah robbed a banking coach.

It took some convincing to let her go on a job with just Micah. Arthur didn't like the idea one bit, but he eventually let her go.

Robbing the coach seemed to go really well, they got it without missing a shot. It was easy, at least they thought it was until they got ambushed by O'Driscoll's. It was starting to get more and more clear why the Van der Linde's wanted them dead and vice versa. It took a while, but Beatrice and Micah got rid of them and they rode back to camp with just a couple scratches and an extra twelve hundred dollars in their pockets.

Arthur and Abigail had been coming up to Beatrice with snacks throughout the day to make sure she didn't pass out again. She didn't appreciate Arthur telling Abigail about it at first, Beatrice didn't want to be seen as weak, but Abigail assured her that that wasn't the case. It took a little getting used to, they treated her like she could starve to death any second.

Beatrice stood next to her horse with a mostly empty cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She was thinking about maybe going out for a ride, the last time when she was around this many people for more than a couple of hours was on the ranch and she was getting kind of sick of it.

She watched Arthur talk to Abigail, she couldn't hear it, but Arthur didn't seem too happy about whatever Abigail asked him. He made his way over to Jack who was sitting close to where Beatrice was standing. He said something about going fishing and Beatrice thought that she might tag along. Arthur mounted his horse and pulled Jack on with him shortly after. Beatrice dumped the remaining bit of coffee on the floor and put the cup in her saddlebag while Arthur and Jack rode out of camp. She mounted her horse and caught up to them.

Arthur looked to his right to see Beatrice riding next to him, "Where are you goin'?"

Beatrice flashed him a smile, "Wherever you are."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "Because I'm bored, I guess."

Arthur nodded at her and continued his conversation with Jack until they arrived at the river. Arthur taught Jack how to fish while Beatrice sat next to them, she stared out into the river and watched how the fish circled around the bait. It didn't take long until Jack got bored and started doing something else.

"Not catching much there, are ya?" She said with a slight laugh behind her words.

Arthur looked down at her and raised his eyebrows, "What? You think you can do better?"

Beatrice laughed, "Definitely not, I'm better at hunting. Elijah, however, wouldn't hesitate to take that rod from you."

Arthur slowly nodded and focused his gaze back on the river, Beatrice didn't speak of Elijah often, but there was always something of a smile on her face when she did. Arthur wanted to know more about him; not sure if they'll ever get to meet, so he decided to just ask, "What's he like?"

"Who? Eli?"

Arthur nodded again.

"Well…" Beatrice thought about how she was going to say this in the nicest way possible, "He's kind of an asshole," There wasn't a nice way to say it, "He left me in the middle of nowhere for fucks sake, I could've died!" Beatrice kept ranting on about how she hated him and that she didn't care if he was alive or not. Maybe asking about Elijah wasn't such a good idea, and Maybe interrupting Beatrice wasn't such a good idea either, but he had to do it.

"You don't mean that."

Beatrice confirmed that it wasn't a good idea by the way she looked at him, she was mad and didn't appreciate Arthur telling her what she did and didn't mean, "How the hell would you know that?" She got up and looked him in the eye, "You know nothing about me." Her expression softened when she saw the hurt look in his eyes and averted her gaze, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, "I'm sorry… I just-" She took a deep breath and started walking towards her horse, "I'll see you back at camp."

Arthur wished that he could've said something, but she was right, he didn't know her. He wanted to though, but giving Beatrice her space was the best option right now.

---

She shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have said those things about Elijah, Shouldn't have yelled at Arthur. He was right now that she thought about it; she really didn't mean it. Elijah was her brother and she loved him, even if he left her for dead. Beatrice hadn't gone straight back to camp, she had to blow some steam off and decided that she would go hunting. She had managed to catch a rabbit and a deer before riding back to camp. She asked John to carry the deer for her after already struggling to get it on her horse. Beatrice leaned against Pearson's table with a sigh and looked around for Arthur, she had to apologize. Not just a quick sorry so that she could leave, a real apology.

She spotted Arthur talking to Miss Grimshaw, It was hard to hear them from the distance, but she could make out something about a letter and a woman named Mary.

"What're you thinkin' about?"

Beatrice looked at John who was now standing next to her, also leaning on the table, "What?"

"You were staring at nothing, so there must be something on your mind."

"Nothing, really. Just…" She bit the inside of her cheek before speaking again, "Who's Mary?"

John scratched the back of his head, he was not expecting that question, "She's uh… she's Arthur's ex-fiancée."

"Oh- wait. Arthur was engaged?"

"Yeah, why are you asking me about Mary anyway?"

Beatrice nodded her head towards Arthur, "He got a letter from her."

John moved his head to look at him and saw he was reading the letter, he looked sad, "Well, that can't be anything good.

Arthur placed the letter and his satchel, Beatrice's gaze followed him as he moved toward her and John. He walked past them without saying a word, he didn't even look at them. She moved away from the table and watched Arthur mount his horse and ride out of camp.

"what are you planning?" John asked.

Beatrice looked over her shoulder, "I'm not planning anything." She said as she stepped towards her horse.

"You're gonna follow him, aren't ya?"

She gave him an innocent smile, "Of course not."

John shook his head with a slight laugh and went on to do something else.

---

Beatrice did indeed follow Arthur, she couldn't help it, her curiosity got the better of her and she had to know who this Mary was. She made sure to keep her distance, but that didn't stop her from flinching every time Dynamite stepped in a twig. She stayed behind him until he rode up to a small farm on the outskirts of Valentine, Beatrice diverted off the road and onto a small hill. She dismounted and shooed him away, crouching down she slowly made her way past the barn, and to the side of the house.

Beatrice listened in on the conversation between Mary and Arthur. They both sounded sad and were hesitant with their words, which was to be expected since they haven't seen each other in years. Mary needed help with her little brother, Arthur didn't agree to help her right away. He went on about how her family didn't like him and that he wasn't good enough for them, but he eventually agreed by asking where Jamie was.

"I owe you."

"You already owe me."

Hearing their last exchange made her think of something, something incredibly stupid, something she definitely shouldn't do, but something she is going to do. Beatrice walked back to the road and waited on her horse until Mary exited the house to go to the train station. Beatrice moved her horse into a slow-paced after Mary passed her, she didn't worry too much about the distance; Mary didn't know her anyway. Beatrice walked into the train station when Mary was just starting to sit down.

"Mary?"

Mary looked up from her book, confusion, and surprise written all over her face, "Do I know you?"

"No uh, no you don't," Beatrice moved her hat more towards the back of her head so that Mary could see her face properly, "I'm Beatrice Morgan… Arthur's daughter."

Mary's eyes widened, "I- he never told me he had a daughter."

"Well, he couldn't have, he only found out a few months ago."

Beatrice took the seat next to Mary, she should have planned out what she was going to say before approaching her. They sat in silence for a while, an uncomfortable one. Beatrice tried to offer Mary a cigarette, but she declined, making the situation more awkward. Every time Beatrice went to say something she closed her mouth again, she knew what she wanted to say, but not how.

"Is there a reason why you came to see me?"

There it was. The perfect opportunity to just blurt it out, and she did. and then she wished she didn't. The expression and Mary's face was… not good, not in the slightest. Beatrice prepared herself to get yelled at or something, but the next words that left Mary's mouth weren't directed at her.

"Jamie!"

Oh shit. It was good that Mary was reunited with her brother, what wasn't good was that Arthur came back while Beatrice was still in the train station. She quickly grabbed the newspaper from the table and pretended to read it and hoped that Arthur hadn't already seen her.

"Beatrice."

She lowered the newspaper revealing a sweet smile, "Arthur."

"What the hell are you doin' here?"

"I uh… I was just having a lovely conversation with Mary over here." She gestured over to Mary who was grabbing her bags. Arthur shook his head and dismissed Beatrice for now, He took Mary's bags and walked her to the train. When she got on the train she turned around and glared at Beatrice for a second before focusing on Arthur.

"I… you're… oh you'll never change. I know that."

It took everything in Beatrice's power to not go up to her and yell to her about how Arthur is a great person, maybe not great, but better than most outlaws and that he deserved so much better than here. But instead of doing all that she just scoffed. Arthur turned around to face Beatrice, there was a variety of emotions displayed on his face, but he was quick to hide them.

"What did you say to her?"

"Oh nothin' important, really." Beatrice turned around and started to leave.

"Don't lie to me, I saw the way she glared at you."

Beatrice stopped in her tracks and hung her head low, "I told her…" She took a deep breath before continuing, "to go on a date with you instead of just asking you to run her errands." She spoke so fast, she just hoped that Arthur understood what she said.

"Jesus Christ, kid." Arthur sounded disappointed, which is worse than mad in a way.

Beatrice turned around with downcast eyes, "I'm sorry for following you and talking to your ex," She looked up and sighed, "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier today, I- I shouldn't have done that. I'm really so-"

"I'm gonna stop you before you say sorry again," Arthur chuckled. "I get it, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, you had every right to ask," Beatrice smiled at him, "Besides, he is your son after all. How about I buy you a drink as a formal apology?"

Arthur thought for a moment, it was still early, but he could definitely use a drink after all that, "Sure, why not.'

"Great!" They started walking towards the saloon, "Y'know, I'm actually glad she didn't ask you out on a date."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, "And why's that?"

"It's just that you deserve much better than her and she's kind of a b-" Arthur elbowed her in the ribs before she could finish her sentence, "Unpleasant woman. She's an unpleasant woman and I don't like her."

Arthur shook his head, she wasn't the only one that didn't like Mary. He's pretty sure Abigail didn't like her, but she barely knew her so that wasn't much to off. He placed a hand on Beatrice's shoulder and squeezed it a little.

They walked up to the bar when they entered the saloon and Beatrice placed some money on the counter, "A bottle of whiskey with two glasses please."

"Wait," Arthur blinked a few times, "a bottle?"

"Yeah, a bottle." Beatrice moved away from the bar and sat at an empty table.

"I thought we were just going for a drink, not a whole damn bottle."

"Oh come on," She poured him a drink, "We won't end up in jail, I promise."

Arthur looked at the drink, then at Beatrice, "Oh, what the hell,"

It was past midnight, the bottle was almost empty and Beatrice was singing very loud and off-key. Arthur wasn't half as drunk as her, sure he drank quite a bit, but not enough to not remember what he did the next day. He was talking to some guy about who knows what, until Beatrice came up to him with the biggest smile on her face and grabbed his hand.

"We gotta go, right now." Her words were slurred and barely audible.

"Why?"

Beatrice pulled him towards the door, "Trust me, now come on."

Arthur said a quick goodbye to the stranger and followed her out the door and to their horses, he had to prevent her from falling multiple times, because she couldn't walk straight and was constantly tripping over her feet. They stopped by their horses and Beatrice just started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

She reached into her pockets and pulled out money, rings, watched, and other valuables. "I robbed every goddamn bastard in that place," She said, way too loud and still laughing.

"Jesus, put that away and keep your voice down,"

"Sorry," She whispered, she tried to open one of her saddlebags to place the valuables in it but was clearly failing to do so. Arthur opened it for her and laughed at the state she was in; fumbling around and almost dropping everything she was holding. She tried to put her foot in the stirrup but fell backwards as soon as she lifted her foot off the ground. Luckily Arthur stood right behind her and was able to catch her in time, he helped to her feet and turned her to face him. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her on the back of her horse, "I can ride myself."

Arthur laughed and lifted himself into the saddle, "I don't think so, kid. Just don't throw up on me," He said, he whistled for his own horse to follow and rode out of town.

Beatrice scoffed and pouted, drunk her didn't agree with this one bit, but sober her would be thankful. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face between his shoulder blades. "You should read momma's journal if you want to know more about Elijah."

Arthur looked over his shoulder and was about to say something, but Beatrice already forgot what she said and started singing Ring Dang Doo at an extremely high volume.

---

Beatrice woke up everyone in camp with her singing, but she shut up and fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow. Arthur sighed in relief and walked towards his own tent, he laid down on his cot and tried to sleep, but found himself unable to. He kept thinking about what Beatrice said, he hadn't opened the journal since he first got it. He wouldn't want anyone to read his journal and thought it was a violation of privacy, but curiosity got the better of him. He opened the chest where he kept his clothes and reached for the book at the bottom of it. He sat back on his cot and opened the journal on the first page only to be surprised to be met with an envelope with his name on it. He slowly opened it, the letter was stained with tears and blood spatters, he took a deep breath and started reading it.

Dear Arthur,

If you're reading this, you know that I was pregnant, gave birth to two beautiful children and that I'm dead. It's weird to say that I'm dead when I'm still breathing, barely mind you, but still breathing. I got diagnosed with tuberculosis sometime last year and it made me think about all the unfinished business that I have. Telling you about Elijah and Beatrice was one of those things, but I have no idea where the hell you are and I'm running out of time.

I want to give you this journal, I wrote a bunch of letters in it meant for you, but I was too cowardly to ever send the first ones and after a while, I realized you guys would've moved and I had no idea where to send them. There's eighteen years worth of information in this thing and I want you to read it.

Please take care of them for me, and take care of yourself as well. I wish I didn't leave, I left because I wanted a safe life for them, but that didn't work out. I still love you and I think about you every day. I hope you found someone to love again, someone you can spend the rest of your life with, someone who tells you everything and doesn't keep things from you that you have every right to know about. I'm sorry.

I left because I was scared, I didn't know how you would react and teenage me thought it was a good idea to just leave without a word instead of just talking about it with you. I'm not asking you to ever forgive me for that, but I am gonna ask that you keep them from doing reckless things.

Good luck with reading all the letters.

Love,

Ethelyn Lowe.

[chiaranissa]

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, there lived two very lonely girls Clara and Angel. They were sisters, orphaned at a young age and taken in by their impoverished aunt and uncle. Clara was the older of the two. Their aunt suffered from sadness and mood swings brought on by their poverty and Clara and Angel often had to care for her. But when they were free to play, Clara and Angel would often dream up worlds far away from their own. One day, the lands' king noticed their uncle's hard work at tilling the fields of his town and hired him to oversee many of the nobility's lands. This made the girls' aunt and uncle immediately wealthy and they moved to a vacant castle in a hollow that led up to a mountain top where the uncle could see over many of the fields. Clara and Angel moved into the castle in their rags and pure hearts. They had never known a luxurious life and they did not fit in with the other noblemen' children. They were often isolated and alone. One day, Clara and Angel went into town to buy their aunt eggs. Angel saw some ripe peaches and asked Clara if they had extra money for a peach. Clara knew Angel was hungry and as her older sister felt she must have her fed. So Clara gave her sister an extra coin to buy a peach. When Angel went to buy the peach, no one was attending the fruit stand; and so Angel left the coin on the fruit stand and took a peach. Suddenly, an old haggardly looming lady appeared and began screaming that Angel had stolen a peach! Clara turned to see her sister being hit over and over again. Clara rushed over to block her sister from the old lady's strikes. When Clara looked up, she saw not an old lady, but a witch with darkness and hatred in her eyes. The witch saw Clara's love for her sister and grew angrier! Clara pleaded explaining the money was there and if more was needed, they could pay. But the witch would not listen. Clara yelled at Angel that she run home and get their aunt and that she would be fine. So Angel ran off. Once Clara saw that Angel was safe, Clara broke away from the flying hands of the witch. The witch was enraged and placed a curse upon Clara that she never ever find true love and love all her days in longing. Time went on. Clara and Angel grew into 2 beautiful women and Angel married a young nobleman nearby. But Clara, who had never believed in the power of the witch's curse, began to wonder if she truly were cursed. Everytime Clara started to admire a man she was courting, something would go wrong. One man took one look at her aunt, and took off running! Another told Clara he fancied her but she found him kissing another maiden on her way to school one day. Another stole Clara's golden flute that her uncle had given her as a 16th birthday present that he had had specially designed for her. Clara was always utterly heartbroken and her childhood loneliness continued into her womanly years. She often cries herself to sleep and longed for someone to brush her tears away and heal her pain within. But no one came. Then one day, her aunt tried to chear her up, telling her that someone would meet her at a gathering one day and all would be well. A few days later, Clara went to a celebration at a nearby noble men's castle for his son's birthday. It was the evening of May 10. There she saw the butler's son, named William, sitting in a dark corner waiting for his father. At first Clara did not notice his wounded chest for he had it well hidden beneath a coat. He saw Clara had noticed him and he wanted to distract himself from the pain of the injury he had incurred that evening and to pass the time until his father could attend to him. And so William introduced himself to Clara and began to use his charm to attract Clara. Clara was mesmerized. She very seldom met such a handsome man with wonderful and charming conversational abilities. He seemed so attentative to her and she found herself quite lost in conversation with him. Had he not invited her to the gardens for later in the week, she would have invited him herself, quote out of character for Clara. But he did. Just as they were about to say good night, Clara saw a quick glimpse of his wounded chest. She was alarmed but he covered it quickly and seemed fine that she began to doubt if she had seen any wound at all. As Clara was about to leave, a man approached her and told her to be wary for the butler's son had wooed many a fair maiden and been chased by many a fair maidens' fathers. Clara was. It sure what that meant, and ignored the man's warning. Later that week, the two met at a local garden. Clara had hoped for a simple happy time, but a young maiden seemed to be following them at a distant and William seemed quite uneasy. Clara noticed he started to shake a bit and had become very pale. "Are you alright, William?" Clara asked, but William shrugged and asked Clara why did she even want to be at the gardens with him. Clara was very confused and hurt and after William walked her home, she did not hear from him again. Clara wondered who the maiden following them was and what the man's warning had been about. So Clara told Angel in tears for the memory of curse haunted her. Angel told Clara not to worry and that she would search for William and find out his secrets. Clara began to fall for William with all his secrecy and the mysterious pain beneath his alluring eyes. But Angel was concerned. She asked a few locals about William and uncovered his truth. "Clara, I have some unfortunate news to share with you and I know you will find it hard to believe. William is a widower. The woman you saw following you two is the ghost of his wife. Many say she was a jealous abusive woman and that her jealousy keeps her soul haunting William. Five years ago on May 10, a neighbor of William's in the willage heard William and his wife arguing." Clara turned ghastly white. She had been falling for a man haunted by a jealous wife. "The wife was heard laughing and William screaming and then there was silence. William began shouting in terror. He stumbled outside calling for help and covered in blood from a chest wound. When his neighbor heard him, he ran inside to find William's wife dead with an almost empty bottle of rum in one hand and a knife in the other. His wife had fallen on the fireplace skewers after pulling the knife out of William's chest. Her red lipstick was smeared across her face and she was dressed only in her slip, but there was no sign of any lipstick on William. William's neighbor could see that William's wife had been killed by falling into the skewers, but could not be sure of how she had fallen. The neighbor could tell thought that she had cheated on William with no remorse for she had been laughing just before her death. William's neighbor could see that she had also stabbed William but he could not know for sure what had led her to that. Was she just evil and mad? Or had William gone after her when he discovered she had cheated? William's neighbor did not want to accuse William in the case that William's story might be right and as his wife could not say hers and the evidence matched William's story, all accepted William's story. But William became a dark man, desperate to find comfort in lonely nights haunted by thoughts of his dead wife, and many say....actual visits of the ghostly wife! In fact, every May 10, William becomes especially desperate. Some say his chest wound reappears, others say he inflicts it himself trying to understand how his wife ended up dead as though he feels some sort of guilt for it." Clara gasped, "I saw the chest wound! Oh my! I saw it!" Angel became alarmed, "Oh dear! I thought perhaps it was just a dramatic rumor. Clara, are you sure you saw it?!" "Yes, I am certain of it now!" Clara began to feel quite ill and unable to move. Over the next few days, Clara grew even more sick and their aunt called for the family doctor. When the doctor arrived, Angel explained all Clara had been through and when the illness had begun. The doctor was a very old man with years of wisdom and knowledge marked in wrinkles upon his skin. He had an odd look on his face upon hearing Angel's story and his face turned as white as snow in the moonlight. "I have seen such an illness once before. Clara, Angel, it was this illness which caused your parents' deaths." Their aunt began to cry, "no, no." Angel was horrified and asked, "Can it be cured?!" The doctor responded, "It can be cured. She must give up true love. Your parents did not and so they suffered and died from a curse that they would refuse to abide by." Their aunt replied, "No doctor! You're wrong! Curses are not real! They're not real," and she sobbed and sobbed. Angel remembered the curse Clara was given. Clara had been cursed saving her, sisterly love! The two girls knew their mother had once saved their aunt as well. It was a story their aunt told over and over again all the time. But the aunt had never shared that a witch had also cursed their mother just as Clara had been cursed. "I'm afraid so. Has Clara ever been cursed as I suspect?" asked the doctor. Angel blurted out from behind a torrential rain of tears, "yes, by a witch when Clara saved me when we were children! It was that she would never find true life love!" *sigh* "Ah, the same curse your mother had been given. Your mother found true love though, and she followed her heart and you two lovely girls were born. But the price she paid for true love was that she and her true love would be struck with an illness that would grow as their love for each other would grow. They died having found true love. They beat the curse. Had they parted ways and not accepted true love, they would not have grown ill and would have lived long lives. Oh, their love had been tested and for love of you Clara, they would take time apart to stay healthy but their love beckoned them. Your parents died when Angel was born for they knew that Clara had company and that their love would never end. Clara, your illness is curable if you avoid your true love. Do not seek your true love. Just distract yourself with all the beauties of life except a man." Clara and Angel's aunt and uncle and Angel all begged Clara to forget finding true love, "Oh please Clara, you have so much beauty to share! Stay with us! You need no man!" Angel cried, "I am so sorry that you were cursed for my sake! Please, get better, stay with us!" The doctor observed and a thought entered his mind, "the man Clara must have met to have reached this state, is he also cursed?" Clara's family thought it an odd question but Angel piped in, "well, his wife fell on skewers and died after she cheated on him and stabbed him and now she haunts and follows him and his chest bleeds every May 10, but I don't know if that means he is cursed." "By George! He is indeed cursed! I know this man! He married a harlot whom he thought was the daughter of a great nobleman in the hopes of attaining a great dowry, but all he got was disappointment, sorrow and heartache. He was a con artist who conned in return! His curse is that he will be haunted by the ghost the harlot until he find true love. Ah, Clara is blessed indeed!" "Blessed?!!" chorused the aunt, the uncle, and Angel. "Ah, yes," continued the doctor, "you see, your parents, Clara and Angel, were not so blessed. Your father had no curse. If two people both have a curse, and each can be the other's cure, then the two curses are lifted! Clara's is that she never find true love and William's that he must find true love. Clara's current illness is only due to William's lack of love for Clara and his inability to part with the ghost of his dead wife. William has some emotional issues only he can sort out, but the moment he chooses to move on is the moment he frees his heart to love another, Clara, and then the two curses shall be lift!" All became relieved and even Clara began to breathe more peacefully. "Ah," said the doctor on a serious note, "but William is a stubborn one. I have been trying to help him for years. He fell in love with none of the maidens I introduced him to over the years. But seeing Clara's particular illness and having learned of their meeting, I believe Clara is William's true love. We must devise a plan to help William detach from the ghost of his cheating jealous wife." And so the aunt, the uncle, Angel and the doctor discussed a way to help Clara and William. Written by Chiara Nissa Raphaela (Me) August 20, 2017 Fairy tales are like dreams that feel hopeful even when reality does not, for if one can imagine and express beauty, then one can experience it as well...one day.