Auradon

For all that one would expect the furor following Regina's interview to reach a fever pitch given the compelling and frankly foreign nature of the trials she had suffered, it seemed to settle relatively quickly with little more than a few more friendly glances around the Capitol when Regina ventured outside of the Auradon Prep campus, and a few more kids speaking to her with a kind of hushed respect within the halls of the school.

Although part of that might have had more to do with the fact Regina never seemed to be without some kind of VK escort whenever one of the kids was not attending a class. Even CJ Hook and Freddie Facilier seemed to be pulling guard duty to make sure nobody got too personal in trying to talk to Regina. And the kids apparently managed to somehow rope Lonnie, the daughter of Mulan, Jane, and Jordan into the rotation as well. All in all she thought it was very sweet, but after a week or so of it she insisted that if she could live through all of that she could deal with some overly nosy people asking questions.

Honestly, the most annoying thing from Regina's perspective was the fan mail she suddenly found herself receiving. Queen Mother Belle had insisted it was something that happened to all of the well known royals to a degree, and that the school had even been screening the mail sent to the Descendants before she ever arrived in Auradon. (Jay in particular seemed to average at least five inappropriate letters a week, ten during Tourney game weeks, with an average or at least one with a questionable photo or "memento" in the form of women's undergarments included. Fairy Godmother had taken to letting Jordan help her dispose of them as the djinn girl felt somewhat responsible to watch out for Jay in an odd way since he was not only the child of her father's and Uncle Aladdin's greatest enemy, but he was technically part djinn himself.) Thus far, the kids had only been exposed to... more wholesome fan letters. And even those tended to leave Mal out of sorts as the notion of her being popular still disturbed her.

But Regina's letters seemed to be greatly skewed toward romantic overtures to help "heal her broken heart," much to her disgust and ire. She was getting a plethora of letters from men and women alike with everything from flowers and candy, to proposals for marriage, to even formal letters to begin courting her in the traditional manner. There were even those offering dating advice. The ones suggesting she would look adorable paired with Queen Merida of DunBroch (who while she had chosen to remain single and independent had never really shown any kind of romantic preference for either gender that Regina was aware of) were particularly odd. She could easily picture her Maleficent teasing her over all of the attention if she were there.

Although, and she would never admit this to anyone other than Fairy Godmother and Belle after copious amounts of wine with the two women one Friday evening, she did find the attention flattering. It was odd to her to be seen as not only desirable, but approachable. Since she was seventeen she was either the off limits young wife of Leopold, the dangerous Evil Queen to be avoided at all costs, or the frightening and unapproachable mayor for all but Graham. Having people beyond incorrigible flirts like Hook show an actual interest in her was a novel idea to the former Evil Queen. She had no intention of pursuing any of the efforts at that time, but they were still flattering.

And speaking of Hook, there had been an odd letter sent to her from the Isle of the Lost care of the local Hook offering his sword and those of his crew should she ever need it. It seemed an extremely odd offer, particularly when Regina had no interaction with the man beyond being in charge of CJ's well being while she was in Auradon. But the tone of the missive was a very formal declaration of aid bordering on service to the crown and made no sense at all to Regina. Nor did the somewhat worried look Belle had sported when she reported the note to her and Fairy Godmother. Or the way the Queen mother had quickly tried to change the subject. Although the explanation she was given that Hook likely took umbrage to discovering how Killian Jones had betrayed a deal with Regina and sought to somehow make up for what he saw as a smear on his honor as a pirate by offering aid he knew he could never actually provide from within the Isle did make some sense.

Still once the initial swell of attention died down, they were still confronted with the day to day operations of dealing with children and helping to protect Auradon itself in their own ways.

One issue in particular that managed to resolve itself far quicker than expected was when Zevon, 18 year old son of Yzma, and the culprit behind the theft of Jafar's scepter and what he apparently thought were "heritage gems" that would allow him to control each of the Descendant kids and bring out their personal evil, made himself known. He first approached young CJ for aid in his plot, knowing the 14 year old girl had quite the crush on him. The girl played along until he snuck off into the shadows once more only to immediately report the boy and his intentions to Regina directly. Which, in turn, left Zevon in for a very rude awakening when he decided needed to take out Regina in order to bring the VK's under his control.

"I do apologize, my beautiful senora, but you have already destroyed my enchantment on Mal's gem and that will make it much more difficult to convince her to become my new Queen. I'm afraid I'll have to destroy you," the swarthy young Latin boy had boldly declared as he "cornered" Regina in her office one evening. With that said he sent a wave of energy at the former Evil Queen with Jafar's staff that was meant to incapacitate her.

Instead, it broke like a literal wave upon the shore as Regina shrugged off the attempt to harm her. Regina gave the boy her best mildly annoyed glare as she made a single gesture with her right hand and telekinetically ripped the scepter from the young man's grasp, then made a second gesture that summoned branches out of her favorite black and while apple tree wallpaper in her office at Auradon Prep that reminded her of the color scheme used in both her office and her study back in Storybrooke and used them to bind the fool to the wall. She idly noted that David put up much more of a fight before he was similarly caught out before calling for Fairy Godmother and Belle to join her.

"Ladies, I give you the source of the problems. Apparently he thought he could assassinate me before using his magic to compel Mal to 'be his queen'," Regina presented with a sneer. Personally, she could care less about the attempt on her life. Better than Zevon had tried and failed to do the same over the years. But what that one little sentence about "his queen" implied for Mal... oh he would suffer for that one.

"Hmm, you might want to loosen the branch around his mouth so we can ask him a few questions, Regina," Fairy Godmother noted with a stern look at the boy.

"I suppose you're right. There are a few things I need to ask him. Like how he got here from the Isle as the story he told CJ the other day made absolutely no sense since all of the kids got back here through Jordan's lamp," Regina agreed as she motioned with two fingers and the branch gagging the would-be sorcerer faded away.

"You can't do this to me! I am Zevon, son of Yzma, and you will all bow before me," he spat only to go wide-eyed and quiet as Regina summoned a fireball and gestured lazily toward his crotch with it.

"Regina, was that really necessary?" Fairy Godmother demanded.

"Considering he was already using that jewel he had slipped her to alter Mal's personality and was talking about making her his Queen, which sounds suspiciously like using magic to control her mind and rape her to me, you'll find I have very little mercy in me if he doesn't feel like cooperating," Regina sniffed back disdainfully.

Zevon didn't know if the cold look on Regina's face of the scowl and nod of agreement on Belle's scared him more in that moment. Still he protested, "Mal is a villain! The greatest of us! I just wanted to return her to who she really was."

"That is for her to decide you little insect, not you. And I can be very sure Yzma would agree with me on that," Regina snarled as she took a step toward him only to be held back by both Fairy Godmother and Belle.

"Now, Zevon, was it? Why don't you tell us exactly how you came to be in Auradon instead of the Isle?" Fairy Godmother asked if only to get things moving before Regina truly lost her patience.

The boy seemed, however, to regain some of his bravado at the gentle questioning from the most powerful fairy in Auradon as he cockily looked back at her and replied, "I swam. It is an island, after all."

"Yes it is," Fairy Godmother agreed. "But the bigger question is how you got outside of the barrier surrounding the Isle?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Zevon sneered back.

"Oh enough of this," Regina spat as she aggressively took off her sport coat and started unbuttoning and rolling up her right sleeve in agitation. She made it two steps this time before Fairy Godmother blocked her path. "Move," she warned with a glare.

"Regina, what are you doing?" Fairy Godmother asked, ignoring the murderous look in the former Queen's eyes.

"I'm putting a stop to this and getting the information we need on the security breech around the Isle," Regina replied with confidence.

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Fairy Godmother asked with a nervous chuckle.

"By ripping the little twerp's heart out. Once I do that I can make him tell us whatever we want," Regina replied as she looked over the fairy's right shoulder right into Zevon's eyes and gave him a dark grin. She had to admit that she felt a little thrill at the look of terror dawning across his face as he saw that smile. Still got it, she thought to herself with a sense of satisfaction.

"Regina, I know you're upset but that is not how we do things here," Fairy Godmother protested.

"He wanted to control and rape a girl I consider a daughter just as much as I do Evie. He's lucky I haven't castrated him with a fireball," Regina retorted with a snarl. But her look of dark amusement returned as she added blithe, "Yet," to the statement.

"Fairy Godmother, get out of the way," Belle said as she finally interjected herself into the conversation.

"But Your Majesty, what Regina is suggesting-" Fairy Godmother began only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"Is part of what we asked her to do in order to protect the children, and you know it. You know as well as I do that many in Auradon have grown a bit too complacent after two decades of total peace. And that sooner to later a new generation of villains would rise whether it's from the Isle itself or from those looking to profit somehow here in Auradon from the suffering of others. Either way the entire Royal Council agreed that Regina would be an invaluable resource in dealing with those that would do harm to Ben and those close to him. This is a villain matter. Please leave it to an actual expert in how they think," Belle ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Fairy Godmother agreed in a cowed tone as she stepped aside to stand beside Belle but looked away as Regina strode toward Zevon's bound form.

"Wait, you can't! Heroes are supposed to ugh-" Zevon protested right until Regina's hand plunged into his chest and removed his heart.

"Why dear, whatever gave you the impression I was a hero? I work with them. I help to teach them. But at the end of the day the best thing you could ever say about me is that I'm a very protective mother. But a hero? No, only Snow White was ever foolish enough to call me that, and we all know what I thought of her, don't we?" Regina purred as she gave the heart the the barest squeeze, making Zevon writhe in pain.

She watched his suffering with a kind of detached interest for a moment until Belle finally prompted, "Regina. The barrier?"

"Oh very well," Regina replied with a put upon sigh. She then brought the glowing enchanted heart to her lips as she whispered, "Now Zevon, tell us how you got through the barrier and came to Auradon."

Zevon tried to resist, but resistance was pain until he finally broke and replied as if in a trance, "There's a weak spot in the barrier. It's small but it's there. It has been since the girl Jane cracked it and released Maleficent."

"Where is this weak spot?" Regina interrogated.

There was another pause, but it was far shorter this time before Zevon responded, "It seems to float around, but it's mostly underwater in the more shark-infested areas near the Isle, closer to Hook's territory than Uma's."

"And are you the only one to make use of this weak point?" Regina demanded.

This time there was no hesitation as Zevon robotically answered, "Yes. Most people would be killed by the sharks before they ever tried. I had to bring Kronk with me to use his animal speaking gift to talk to them and let me pass."

"And did Kronk come with you?" Regina asked.

"No. He would never leave my mother. She's getting on in years and he's the only one there to take care of her," Zevon admitted. "Besides, the weak spot is too small for him to try to fit through. I barely made it before I ended up almost drowning myself. And most people from the Isle can't swim anyway."

"How many people know about the weak spot?" Regina whispered into the heart.

"Almost nobody. Just me, Kronk, and my mom. Uma might have heard rumors about it but would never check unless she had a way to take her crew too. Most people that hear about it think it's just a rumor," Zevon, admitted.

Regina pulled the heart away from her face as she looked at Fairy Godmother and Belle and asked, "Anything else we need to know before we deal with him and work on sealing up the barrier properly again?"

"I think we're good," Belle noted with a hard look at Zevon as he started to come out of the trance of Regina whispering to his heart. She was no more appreciative of what he had planned for what was for all intents and purposes her future daughter-in-law than Regina was.

"Good," Regina purred malevolently as she she squeezed the heart just a little harder this time, making Zevon cry out in pain as he broke out into a cold sweat. It felt like his chest was filled with pulses of icy fire every time Regina put pressure on the organ.

"That's enough, Regina," Fairy Godmother insisted, greatly disturbed by what she was seeing.

"Is it? Would you feel the same if it was Jane he was planning on violating with his little plot? She was already getting caught up in his plans, being shrunk and sealed into Jordan's lamp by Mal under the direction of his spell. What if he decided he preferred a magical harem? Your daughter is already showing great potential," Regina argued as she alternated adding and relieving pressure just enough to make Zevon's life an agony.

"That's doesn't mean you can just torture and execute him here," Fairy Godmother insisted.

"Oh, I have no intention of killing him. In fact I'll be happy to see him tossed back onto the Isle right after we fix the barrier. After all, he's going to be my little messenger and my message all rolled into one. We will not tolerate attacks on anyone in Auradon. Especially not Mal, Ben, or any of their friends. Anyone that tries it will answer to me. And they will learn a hard lesson that this is as merciful as I will ever get with any of them," Regina swore as she emphasized her point with another squeeze of Zevon's heart.

The former Queen turned her attention back to Zevon fully as she asked, "Do you understand that boy? That I will do whatever it takes to protect me and mine? And that definitely includes Mal and King Ben. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not exactly pleased with how you tried to manipulate the affections of a fourteen year old child to try to get her to do your dirty work, either. So you will carry this message back. And you will remind them that even if it gets me sent to the Isle like any other villain I'll protect my own. And I will slaughter the next fool that comes to Auradon looking to hurt my loved ones. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Zevon stuttered out in terror. He knew in that moment he was staring death herself in the eye.

"Good boy," Regina purred as she painfully thrust Zevon's heart back into his chest and released him from his imprisonment with a gesture, watching dispassionately as he fell bonelessly to the floor in a heap. "Fairy Godmother, can I assume you can handle having security taking him to an anti-magic room and watching him until we work out the best way to re-secure the barrier?" Regina asked as she fixed her sleeve and re-buttoned the cuff of her shirt without even looking at Zevon's crumpled form.

"I... yes. I'll get right on that," Fairy Godmother said in a rush, suddenly wishing to be anywhere but in Regina's office. They were definitely going to have a long talk later about what just transpired. But for now she had to deal with the immediate concern that was Zevon.

It took less than five minutes for the exhausted and still suffering young man to be literally dragged from the room with Fairy Godmother trailing behind to help keep an eye on him. Regina watched him go while seated at her desk working on paperwork until the door to the room was closed before her eyes welled up in tears while she grabbed the nearest wastebasket and started throwing up violently into it several times until she was literally dry-heaving. All through the episode Belle just rubbed her back and offered soothing comfort to the woman as she came to terms with what she had just done.

"I... I never wanted to be like that again. To act like the Evil Queen. Not here. Not now," Regina lamented as the emotions she had so carefully suppressed came forcefully to the surface.

"I know. And I know what we might ask you to do is difficult to accept in order to protect Ben and Mal in particular. But you did what you had to in order to defend all of Auradon. And especially to protect Mal. That wasn't evil, Regina. It may not have been very nice, but it wasn't evil." Belle soothed.

"I tortured a boy no more than two years older than Mal and Evie. I ripped out his heart and played with it like a cat with a wounded mouse," Regina protested.

"And he showed up here trying to kill you because you made his plan to control and rape Mal more difficult. Between the two of you, I'll take your actions over his," Belle replied with a hard look.

"I know, but there had to be a better way. A way... Fairy Godmother was looking at me the way Henry and Miss Swan did. Like I'm a monster," Regina tried to explain.

"I understand. And maybe in some ways there's a bit of monster in you. But if there is it was made by people like Rumple and Cora. And you have the choice of using that monster to hurt people or to protect them. Today you used it to protect. That's not something to regret Regina. Not about something like this," Belle explained.

"How can you be so forgiving about how I just acted?" Regina asked.

"Did you forget that my husband spent his life from childhood until his early twenties under a fairy curse to be in the form of a very temperamental and dangerous Beast?" Belle asked with a wry smile. "If I could find the good in him, I think I can find it in an upset mother that's dry-heaving over getting a little rough with the young man that just tried to assassinate her."

"Like he's the first person to ever try to kill me," Regina snorted as she tried to regain some composure.

"Yes, well, let's hope he's the last one to try it anytime soon," Belle replied with a sad smile.

Regina gave a wistful smile as she replied, "Dear, I'm never that lucky."

Word spread about the assassination attempt on Regina within a couple of days, although that was time enough to find the weak spot in the barrier and fix it, as well as return a deeply traumatized Zevon to the Isle of the Lost so he could spread the word of the dangers of crossing Regina and those under her protection.

Regina spent the next few days on leave from her duties beyond helping to repair the barrier and it was almost two weeks before things started to feel normal in Auradon again. She spent most of that time with the VK's, teaching Mal some of her favorite recipes and Evie some of the finer skills Regina had learned as a young noblewoman such as embroidery techniques that she could incorporate into some of her dress designs. She also made sure to spend extra time with Jay and Carlos, if only because the boys felt somehow responsible for not anticipating and stopping Zevon's "attack" on her and wanted to make sure she was safe.

She also had several long discussions with Fairy Godmother over the whole incident that gave them both a better perspective on where each of them was coming from. The fairy had to admit she might have been similarly angered if Jane would have been Zevon's target, but she still felt Regina's response was extreme. Regina understood that life in general was softer in Auradon but she could not really regret anything about the incident beyond how it upset Fairy Godmother. Still, the pair managed to find something of a common ground again and peace was restored between them.

Which left them with the unenviable task of going over the reports about which kids would come to Auradon Prep from the Isle in the coming term. Uma was Mal's personal recommendation, along with a note to find a way to lift the curse she had somehow placed on Uma as a child that made her hair perpetually smell like rotten shrimp before she started classes. Likewise, Evie had personally sponsored Dizzy Tremaine, daughter of Cinderella's stepsister Drizella, who by all accounts was a tremendously sweet and innocent child that Evie saw as something of a surrogate little sister. Both of those were relative locks from where Regina sat.

And, despite some misgivings from King Adam, Gaston's youngest son Gil looked to have potential as a student in Auradon. He wasn't the brightest child by all accounts, but he didn't have a reputation for malevolence and violence either, and was seen as a relatively easy-going person by most. Something that actually got the boy bullied by both his father and his elder twin brothers, both named imaginatively enough Gaston Jr., for not being manly enough. There was also a note in his file that showed Gil might have some interest in other boys, but Auradon was thankfully progressive enough that Gil's romantic preferences wouldn't make much a difference either way.

One of the candidates on the proverbial bubble was Hook's middle child, Harry. Mal said that despite being Uma's 'first mate' that Harry wasn't all that bad. Especially if his elder sister Harriet was there to ride herd over him. Of course there was some debate on whether Harriet Hook would even want to come to Auradon as some speculated she had no intention of giving up her territory as "queen bee" of the biggest school on the Isle, Dragon Hall. Jay, conversely, was adamant that the middle Hook child had no place in Auradon Prep.

So it was that Regina decided to go the best source possible for information on Harry Hook, namely his little sister, CJ.

"Now, Miss Hook, what are you thoughts on the possibility of your older brother Harry coming to school here?" Regina asked as she interviewed the girl with Fairy Godmother in a conference room in the administrative wing of the school used for staff meetings.

CJ's eyes went wide in terror for a moment before she began to hem and haw as she searched for an answer to the question.

"Now, now, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's just that we're unsure at this time if he would be a good fit here and want to know more. If you prefer, nothing you say here will ever leave this room," Regina assured the girl.

The young blond nodded in understanding before she finally blurted out, "Then I think it's a terrible idea to bring Harry here, Your Majesty!"

Regina looked genuinely shocked at the passion in the girl's words ask she replied, "And may I ask why you think it would be a bad idea?"

"Well, Harry refuses to learn to read and write for one. He says a pirate doesn't need such things and ignored my mum when she tried to teach him. He can't even tell time," CJ insisted urgently.

"I can see where that would be an issue, but I'm sure the school could arrange remedial courses to try to catch him up a bit," Regina responded, but that only seemed to agitate CJ further.

"But that's not all. Harry. He's-" CJ tried to explain.

"What is it, Miss Hook?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, he's still my big brother and I love him. Our family are probably the only people he cares for outside of Uma and her crew. But he's not right in the head. Some of the crew whisper that he took too much after Milah, his and Harriet's mother. That she left the worst of herself in his blood when she died giving birth to him," CJ admitted. "He's... mean. And he likes hurting people. He gets upset when the people he shakes down on Uma's order pay up immediately because he doesn't get to hurt them. And he'll pout if Uma tells him not to hurt someone. He can't come to a place like this, Ms Mills. He's dangerous." CJ explained desperately.

Regina looked the girl in the eye for a good ten seconds before she gently asked, "Has Harry ever tried to hurt you, CJ?"

"Wha? No! Harriet would kill 'im before he made so much as a scratch on me, and Papa wouldn't be far behind her ready to keel haul him. Besides, even if he's not right in the head he still loves and respects his family. My mom made sure he learned that before she died. And she was really the only mom any of us ever had the chance to know," CJ answered confidently. "But he'd still try to hurt people here. And he's had a bad grudge with Jay since they were kids because he's not strong enough to try to hurt Jay."

"Mal indicated that she didn't think he was too bad," Regina pointed out as she looked over Harry's file again.

"That's because he used to have a huge crush on her. Harry has always followed people that were strong and took no flak, like my -our really- mom was. Mal was strong enough he would respect her so he would tone it down around her. It's the same reason he follows Uma even though Papa was upset he chose to be a first mate rather than a captain in his own right the way Harriet is," CJ explained.

"I see. I thank you for your candor, CJ. I promise I will take what you said into consideration in the matter. Now, if you'd like to go, I believe Miss Facilier and Jane are waiting to meet you for lunch in the cafeteria," Regina commented. It was all that had to be said for the Hook girl to all but vanish fast enough to leave an after-image in her place.

If there was one thing you could say about CJ Hook it was that she fell in love with the food in Auradon. In fact she had developed such as penchant for bear claws that if Regina didn't know any better she would swear the girl was a miniaturized version of Emma Swan. They certainly had the same shade of wavy blonde hair and the same penchant for red leather coats, even if CJ's was a full length coat in a pirate motif reminiscent of her father's.

"Well I think it's safe to say it might be better to go with Jay's recommendation against Harry Hook, than with Mal's tentative approval," Regina commented once the girl had left the room.

"The way she described him was a little disturbing. Especially for a younger sibling talking about her big brother," Fairy Godmother agreed.

"She basically called him a raging psychopath without bothering to say the actual words," Regina pointed out. "And his refusal to learn basic skills like reading and telling time would have been a concern anyway. You heard how she worded that. It wasn't that he couldn't, it was that he refused to learn."

"Point taken. I'll forward to King Ben that we both agree to refuse Harry Hook's release and recommend some kind of psychological evaluation of him with the possibility he might need anti-psychotic medication," Fairy Godmother responded as she made a note to that effect.

Regina sat back from where she was working at the end of the table and pinched the bridge of her nose as she noted with a sigh, "I really wish we didn't have to worry about kids that might need anti-psychotic medication as part of the process of vetting them for school and getting them out of that damned prison colony."

"I know. I wish we could have been doing this ten or fifteen years ago to catch any issues before they became so deeply ingrained. But the political climate at the time was still far too unstable. People were actually terrified that the baby boom hitting Auradon was mirrored on the Isle," Fairy Godmother recalled.

"Hmph. As if the villains and minions there weren't in as much need of physical comfort as anyone else. What did they expect in an unmonitored co-ed prison colony with no access to contraceptives?" Regina asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't think many of the general citizens realized that villains were still people with basic human needs too," Fairy Godmother admitted.

"Gods protect us from judgmental peasants that don't think things through. They're the same in every realm," Regina commented with a deep sigh.

"I know. But back on topic, should we keep it to three, four if Harriet Hook will accept coming here? The burden will be a lot lighter with Sherwood Academy and some of the other schools pledging to pitch in and accept kids from the Isle," Fairy Godmother noted.

"That may be best for now," Regina agreed tiredly. "And Sherwood just wants the kids because they're hoping for their own versions of Jay and Carlos to help them in Tourney and Fencing next term. They've been complaining that Auradon Prep basically brought in ringers despite neither boy having done either sport until they came here."

"I wonder what they would say of they knew I basically forced Jay and Carlos to join the Tourney team to cut down on their roughhousing in class?" Fairy Godmother asked with a titter of a laugh.

Regina smiled in response as she replied, "Probably still complain. Sherwood seems overly competitive with AP where sports are concerned."

"They always have been. They are the two biggest schools in the general region. Academic decathalon gets pretty bad too," Fairy Godmother pointed out.

"In other words, expect complaints over how well Evie and Doug do in next weeks Aca-Deca meet," Regina groaned.

"Afraid so. Especially since Jane and Carlos are on the team too," Fairy Godmother agreed.

"How do they manage to shoehorn politics and jockeying for position into something as mundane as a school rivalry?" Regina asked

"It's just a talent I guess. Either way, we'll be there to support the kids," Fairy Godmother pointed out sunnily.

That thought actually made Regina smile as she agreed, "We will at that."

Author's note: Okay, dark start with a fluffy finish. I know, I know. Three chapters in as many days. Don't get used to it. Lol.

And no, I did not address the cliffhanger right away. I have to let that one percolate a bit so you can all speculate on what it means. I will say that no, that wasn't the Rumple back in Storybrooke, and no Belle is not the Dark One in Auradon. Good guesses, but way off. The Rumple in the mirror also has no influence over Auradon and you'll notice Belle didn't look all that thrilled to be talking to him, so no they are not secretly working together. This one is pretty complex so I doubt anyone that I haven't talked with a lot in PM's will get where I'm going, but I promise it will be a fun ride.

Once more, it was your flood of responses to the last couple of chapters that pushed me to work like I did. Well that and a bunch of free time. Please keep the feedback coming to feed the muse.

Until next time.