i solemnly swear that i am up to no good | em

[Baelfire]

Adjusting to life in Storybrooke wasn't as hard as Baelfire had thought it would be. After all, the town was a lot like the village that he and his father had lived it, with a few differences (both major and minor). Perhaps the biggest one was actually going to school now. There were children that had been cursed, after all, and a few of the residents that had been teachers were willing to continue doing so for the time being. Baelfire had learned to read and write from Morraine's mother in the village (she had taught the two of them, since, at the time, Rumpelstiltskin hadn't been able to do either things) and Belle had certainly done her share, but it was nice to learn other things too.

It was a bit lonely there, though, and at home. Belle and his father did pay attention to their son, of course, and Bae often helped out in the shop after he came home from school, but there wasn't really anyone his age that wanted to talk to him. Most of the other children had heard stories of Rumpelstiltskin when they were in the Enchanted Forest, and it wasn't any secret that Baelfire was his son, so they tended to avoid him when they could. The same thing had happened in the Frontlands, and Bae really didn't blame any of them. He wasn't stupid enough to think that his father wasn't a dangerous man. Besides, Belle and his father were usually enough for company...but Bae did wish at times that he could have a friend or two that was his own age.

He hadn't bought it up to his father or Belle, though. One word to Gold that his son was unhappy and he'd probably try to use magic to fix whatever was wrong. Bae didn't want to think about what he'd do to the other kids if he knew that they were avoiding his son. He didn't want a repeat of what had gone on in the Frontlands when he was hurt. Besides, it really wasn't that big of a problem. So, he kept it to himself and just headed to the shop after school, dropping his backpack by the entrance. "Papa?" he called, looking around at the empty shop. The absence of a response told him that even the back room was empty as well, but his father would most likely return soon.

Indeed, a note on the counter in his father's scrawl said that he'd gone out to pay a visit to someone and that he and Belle would be back later. Well. That left him with nothing to do. Turning to one of the shelves, Baelfire climbed up one of the ladders and began to arrange a few things. There wasn't much else to do, and besides, the store held more than a few interesting things inside. Items from the Enchanted Forest came here, and Bae always liked to look them over and wonder who they belonged to. His hand closed around a lamp and as Baelfire took it off the shelf, he saw that there was something written on it. Squinting, he tried to rub the dirt off of it...and ended up getting engulfed in a purple cloud of smoke and falling off the ladder. Oops.

[em]

Storybrooke was, without a doubt, one of the coolest places that Em had ever been to. A town where fairytale characters, magic - it was all real, and it was certainly better than any trip to Disney World like she'd been begging her parents to plan for the past several years. Maybe she'd see a princess. How awesome would it be to meet the real Cinderella? Or a villain! Those were always pretty cool too, though...she wasn't entirely sure how 'cool' meeting one in real life would be.

Regardless, when Oswin and the Doctor had made their most recent stop in Storybrooke, Em was only too eager to get out of the TARDIS and do some exploring. She'd spent the better part of the morning people-watching on the main street, talking to a few citizens here and there and trying to guess what their fairytale identities might be. She had a sneaking suspicion that the group of men she'd just seen making their way down the road, pick-axes swung over their shoulders, were the seven dwarves. She grinned at the thought. Yep, this place was just begging to be explored - every inch of it - and Em couldn't wait to see it all.

She had decided to do a little window shopping to start out with, but one of the shops - 'Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop' - caught her attention in particular. A pawn shop...maybe whoever ran this place would know a little more about her box! Wishing she'd brought it with her, Em none the less stepped inside the shop, the bell above the door ringing to announce her presence as she did so. She absent-mindedly fidgeted with the ring on her finger, looking around in something akin to awe - until, a few seconds later, her gaze fell upon a boy rubbing a lamp...just in time to see that lamp emit a sudden cloud of purple smoke, causing the boy to topple off the ladder he'd been standing on.

Em's eyes widened, her jaw dropping a little. Normally, approaching a cloud of magical purple smoke that was only just beginning to clear would have been enough to make one nervous, but Em hardly gave it much thought as she hurried over to the boy and looked down at him with wide eyes. "Hey, are you okay?!" she asked him, tilting her head a little to one side. He looked to be perhaps a year or two older than she was, with nothing that immediately distinguished him as a specific fairytale character - but she wasn't too concerned with that just yet. "The magic stuff didn't hurt you, did it?" A slight pause, and then... "That was magic. Right?" And it was the first time she'd seen any in Storybrooke, too! Finally.