A Rose by Any Other Name

Walking into Granny's diner, Rosalie sat down in a booth. There were people milling about and what not, but she just wanted to keep to herself and have a nice breakfast. Talking with Emma yesterday wasn't what she expected. There were many times since knowing Emma that they had serious talks, but yesterday's just seemed to be different.

With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair as her as someone set a cup in front of her. Looking up she saw Emma with a sad smile on her face before sliding into the booth across from her friend. “You are up earlier than I thought you'd be.”

“Yeah?” Rosalie asked. “It might have to do with the fact that I didn't sleep well.”

“I'm sorry.”

Rolling her eyes, Rosalie looked down at the menu in front of her. “Why are you apologizing? As far as I know you didn't do anything wrong.”

“Do you remember about a year after we became friends?” Emma asked, watching as Rosalie looked over the menu. “We were in California.”

“I remember,” Rosalie said softly. “It was when we finally talked about how screwed up the system was.”

“But that isn't all we talked about,” Emma said. “We talked about parents.”

“You didn't want to know and I did.”

“And now that you know?”

“It isn't the same thing, Emma. You are lucky in every sense of the word. You have a second chance at having a relationship with your parents who believed in you from the moment you were born.”

“You-”

“I don't get the relationship like you do,” Rosalie cut her friend off. “Sure, my parents gave me up so that we could break some curse, but while you did your part or whatever you still have a chance with your parents. But looking at me, I'm once again all alone and that just sucks. I guess in a sense I’m jealous that you get the chance and I don't.”

“They knew them,” Emma said. “You could talk to them about them. I'm sure they'll tell you anything you wanna know.”

“Please stop,” Rosalie said looking at Emma. “You keep forgetting how new all this is to me. I haven't decided if I do believe in all this or not. You keep piling all this shit on me and it honestly isn't helping me see anything clearly.”

“The memories-”

“Don't belong to me,” Rosalie said with a sigh as she stood up. “I came in for a quiet breakfast. I didn't want to think about anything. So thanks Emma.”

“Rose!”

The clicking of Rosalie's heels as she walked out of the diner was the only thing Emma heard as she put her head on her arms on the table.

“Were you trying to make her upset?”

“No,” Emma groaned before lifting her head up to see Snow White and Prince Charming in front of her, where Rosalie had been before leaving. “But it seemed like I don't know how to talk to her without making her walk out of a room.”

“What were you talking about?” Emma's father asked looking at her concerned.

“I told her about her parents last night.”

“Oh,” Snow White said, looking concerned. “What did you tell her exactly?”

“I told her what you told me,” Emma said. “That her parents died before the curse came to be and that we don't actually know what happened to them.”

“She's heartbroken.”

“Not that she'll admit to it.” Emma said.

“Was there anything else?” Prince Charming asked.

“When we were younger, about a year after we met Rose and I talked about if we wanted to find our parents,” Emma said. “I didn't, but she did and now I think it hurts more that you both are here and she's stuck once again without hers when she's always wanted to know hers.”

“We can talk to her about them if that helps.”

“I offered that to her,” Emma said. “With the way she reacted, I think that it might be a little too soon right now.”

“Is that why she left without eating anything?”

Nodding her head, Emma looked at the look they gave her. “She just needs time to think. She's still overwhelmed by memories that aren't hers that keep coming to her as she sleeps. I think that's why she tries not to sleep for long periods of time.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

“When she's ready, but you both can talk to her individually about her parents.”

“Individually?” Snow White asked.

“Yeah,” Emma said. “I think it might be easier for her if she heard different stories from each of you. She won't come right out and ask you for the stories though.”

“Aurora was the same way,” Snow smiled, remembering. “Her biggest fear was that she would never get to see Rosalie grow up. She once had a dream about Rosalie's wedding, but that was when she was still pregnant.”

“Do you think there is a possibility that they could be alive?”

“There is always hope,” Snow smiled. “But nothing is certain if we can't return home.”

“And the second half of the curse is stopping you,” Emma said. “Rosalie needs to fall in love.”

“A love that can make one believe even when they don't think they can.”

“That must be something special,” Emma said. “To have someone that will care that deeply for her. But if anyone deserves it, it would be Rose.”

“Why do you say that?”

Looking at Prince Charming, Emma let out a deep breath. “She's had more broken hearts then should be allowed. The last guy she went out with, he did a number on her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She didn't have the same feelings for him that she used to and when she went to break up with him it landed her in the hospital.”

“That poor girl.”

“That was when she picked up running,” Emma said. “She'd disappear with just her music and could be gone anywhere from an hour to four hours.”

“It doesn't seem to be fair.”

“She's a lot tougher than she seems.”

“Do you think she believes?” Prince Charming asked.

“Not yet,” Emma said. “But she will. I think she's already starting to and a part of that scares her so she tries to play it off as if its all some kind of joke.”

“Are the dreams helping?” Snow White asked.

“Somewhat. She just doesn't know what to make of them just yet.”

With music coming out of her ear phones, Rosalie ran. She didn't care where she was running to, she just needed to clear her head and to do that she needed to run. One foot in front of the other. Soon the pavement ended and Rosalie found herself on dirt. Shaking her head, she didn't care as she continued to run. The one escape that she felt she had, but just what was she trying to escape from? The dreams? The people of Storybrooke hoping that she'd believe so that they could return home?

How was any of that fair to her? It was a ton of pressure and she asked for none of it. Emma was dealing with it, but then again, she had more time to adjust to this then she did. There were certain days that she could swear that her head would explode with all the new memories she had been receiving. Although they weren't her memories, they felt so real.

Slowing down from her run to a jog, Rosalie looked around at her surroundings. The forest was bigger than it seemed, at least to her it was. In the distance she could hear water from a stream, the stream where she was found by Emma and Graham. Graham. There was just something about him that she couldn't figure out.

Walking towards a fallen log, Rosalie decided to sit down. Normally she wouldn't stop running, but things weren't really what they normally were. The dreams came more often and sometimes they scared her so much that she would wake up in the middle of the night drenched in a cold sweat. Sure she could tell Emma or someone else in the town, but the last thing she needed was for one of them to think she was insane and sent her to stay in a padded room.

“That is the last thing I need.”

“And what's that?”

Standing up and spinning around, Rosalie tripped and fell as her foot was caught in a root that was above ground.

“Oh,” the person said. “Are you okay?”

Getting to her feet, Rosalie dusted herself off before looking at the woman in front of her. “I'll live,” Rosalie said. “Who are you?”

“In which world?” the woman asked with a smile. “Okay not so funny. I'm Red or Ruby in this world.”

“Which do you prefer?”

“Red.”

“Let me guess, Red as in Red Riding Hood and somewhere is the big bad wolf?”

“Yes and no,” she said as she sat on the fallen tree where Rosalie had been before. “No the wolf isn't somewhere. The wolf and I are one in the same.”

Backing up a little bit, Rosalie took a deep breath. “And you're here to what? Kill me? Tell me to leave town?”

“No, not at all!” Red said standing up. “I'm good at tracking because I'm part wolf, but Emma called and asked me to look for you since you've been gone for awhile.”

“Everyone seems to do what Emma wants no matter what it is,” Rosalie said. “I get that she's important, but she's starting to piss me off.”

“She feels the pressure because she was there before,” Red said. “Henry knew before anyone and it took a long time for Emma to actually believe that what he might be saying could be true.”

“What made her believe?”

“She hasn't told you?” Red asked, surprised.

“Each time she talks to me it goes from nice to all about how I need to believe something and that time is slipping away.”

“So she's putting pressure on you to believe that we are from this different place?” Red asked. “Seems like a shit deal.”

“Are you saying that to get me to see that she's doing what she thinks is best?”

“Well if Emma hasn't told you that story, then she hasn't told you the other part of the curse that the evil queen put on our world.”

Taking a deep breath, Rosalie looked everywhere but at Red. Did she want something else that could weigh on her mind? More pressure to believe this town was full of characters from fairytale books that children grew up wishing that they could be a part of when life got to be too hard? Looking back at Red, she shook her head. “She has only told me that I have to fall in love for the curse to be broken and so you all will be sent home.”

“Emma and Henry won't go back to our world,” Red said looking at Rosalie. “But you will. And you will be next in line for the crown.”

“Why can't Emma go back? She deserves to have a chance with her parents. Mine are gone, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't get to know hers.”

“Emma wouldn't want to go without Henry and he wasn't born of our world, but you were. You will take her place in line as promised.”

“Her father promised mine that if our kingdom was destroyed then I'd still be a princess in his home and I would be like a daughter in their family.”

“That's right,” Red smiled. “How did you know?”

“In a dream,” Rosalie said. “So what did it take for Emma to believe?”

“The queen gave Emma some kind of food that had a magic poison in it, but Henry ate it to prove that Regina was evil. He nearly died, but her love for him was saved him and gave us our memories back.”

“Everything I've been told and how I feel-”

“Is overwhelming and makes you wanna scream your head off?” Red suggested.

“Yeah,” Rosalie laughed. “How did you know?”

“You just look stressed out. How about we go get a bite to eat and tonight you and I will go out and have a good time?”

“You would do that?”

“I won't force you, but I can promise I know a good place.”

“For food or drinks?”

“Both.”

Red stood up and held out her hand for Rosalie to take. “First drink on you?”

Letting out a laugh, Red smiled at the woman before her. “Second one is on you.”

Taking her hand, Rosalie and Red left the forest and headed back into town for a bite to eat. Rosalie hadn't realized just how hungry she was until they got to Granny's diner. After they finished eating, Rosalie realized just how tired she was and so Red sent her back to her room at the inn and told her that she better get some sleep so that she would be rested for the night to come. The only thing Red had told her about the place was that she better be ready to have fun and be ready to go by eight.

Five minutes after eight, Rosalie was ready to go when there was a knock on the door. Opening the door she was surprised to see who was standing there with Red. “This is your date for the night,” Red said. “Granny isn't feeling well so I have to work. But trust me, you'll have fun.”