Chapter Text
Things I Almost Remember
Prologue
Land Without Magic - Present
“And this is our residential wing,” the clinical director said. “The rooms are single occupancy and like the rest of the facility the clients here are recovering from an assortment of issues. Some are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, depression, eating disorders, and some have experienced a trauma and suffer from PTSD. As you get to know the clients, you’ll be briefed on their assessments and how best to assist them.”
Ruby’s head was on a swivel as she looked around at the facility. It would’ve been nice if the Enchanted Forest had had something like this when she’d found out she was a wolf. She wouldn’t have minded having a bit of therapy to help her through that discovery and its subsequent horrors.
“Most of our long-term residents are here between six and twelve months,” the director continued, walking her new hires through the wing. “We can house up to sixty but we prefer to keep the number at around forty.”
As they walked past rooms, all with neatly made double beds, Ruby tried to discreetly sniff around, hoping to catch a familiar scent. The rooms had dark wood furniture with a standard night stand, a dresser, and a simple desk. The personal touches were mostly picture frames on the night stand, a stuffed toy, or a brightly colored bed spread.
Ruby paused at the door of one room that was rather sparse in personal touches. There weren’t any obvious mementos on display, and the bed set was the standard dark blue. The desk had several sketch books on it and a few books neatly stacked. But something had caught Ruby’s attention and she gave a more vigorous sniff. The room was immaculately clean and had an overwhelming (for her) scent of pine cleaner but beneath that she could detect a more familiar scent. She grinned and hurried to catch back up with her group.
The small group was headed towards another building as the director continued the tour, pointing out different things and reminding the new staff members of their responsibilities. Ruby knew the woman she’d been trying to track down for more than eight months was there somewhere, but she’d still yet to see her. It had taken time and more than a little bit of magic to pinpoint her location. It had taken even more magic and a bit of wolf-charm thrown at the human resources director for Ruby to get hired.
“This building is where you’ll find a lot of our residents if they aren’t in one of their sessions.” The director held open the door for everyone to pass through. “This building houses our art department and physical fitness studios.” She walked them down a hallway of art work. “As you can see, we have some very talented clients.”
Ruby stopped dead in front of one of the drawings. She stared at the black and white landscape, mesmerized by the intricate fine lines and use of shadowed spaces. It made her heart ache for home.
The director appeared at her shoulder having given everyone a few minutes to look around. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Ruby managed to nod then swallow. “Yeah, I’ve kind of got a thing for castles.” She tore her gaze away from the picture of home. “You said one of the residents drew this?”
“Oh yes, this is one of Veronica’s. She’s been with us for almost seven months now. Her recovery has been nothing short of amazing.”
“Recovery?” Ruby asked, her voice strangling slightly. When the director gave her an odd look, she quickly clarified, “I mean, I know she’s recovering from something, obviously, but I was just wondering what her situation was.”
The director studied her for a moment. “You’re Ms Lucas, aren’t you?”
“Ah, yes,” Ruby answered, offering her hand. She suddenly felt more nervous than she ever had and she’d been presented in front of royalty for Merlin’s sake. “New Pilates instructor and personal trainer.”
“Cindy Read,” the director said. “I suppose you’ll be spending a lot of time in this building, too.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Well, you’ll get to know more about our clients once you get started.” Cindy patted her arm. “Now, come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be spending most of your time.” She called out to the rest of the group. “At the other end of the building is our physical fitness studio.”
Cindy began rattling off the different equipment and classes the facility offered. Ruby was paying close attention until Cindy opened the door and the sound of punching could be heard. The scents and smells of a gym washed over Ruby making her crinkle her nose and rethink her great idea to be a trainer. Then her head whipped around as she caught that one familiar scent she’d been searching for and this time it was much stronger.
Ruby’s jaw dropped when she finally laid eyes on the woman. She barely caught herself from swearing out loud as she finally caught sight of her queen, bouncing on the balls of her feet, squaring off one-on-one with a trainer. Ruby blinked as she tried to process the sight of the diminutive brunette wearing black fitness shorts, a blue and black sports bra, and boxing gloves. Ruby was torn between what she wanted to do more, whip out her phone and video the queen throwing punches or run over and hug her. Since she couldn’t do either without losing the job she just procured, she stayed rooted to the spot and tried not to drool.
Cindy had once again left them alone to roam around the area and Ruby slowly approached the mat with the ongoing training session. The boxing duo seemed to be going through a long series of combos that the trainer called out, escalating the speed and force of the hits. Ruby grinned; Emma was going to be so jealous when she heard about this.
“And here’s the client you were just asking about,” Cindy said, standing at Ruby’s shoulder.
Ruby knew exactly who the boxer was. She just hadn’t ever known the woman was also an artist. “She drew the castle?”
“Yes, Veronica is quite accomplished with anything she sets her mind to.” The sparring match finished and Cindy waved the trainer over. “Joe, this is Ruby Lucas, she’s our new personal trainer and Pilates instructor.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, offering her a fist bump after he pulled off his gloves. “Glad to have you on board.”
“Thanks,” Ruby managed. She gestured towards the retreating boxer. “She’s pretty good, huh?”
“Hell yeah,” Joe chuckled. “Roni’s got great instincts.” Ruby thought she should after years of sword fighting. Joe threw back over his shoulder, “She’d be my prize pupil if she would just keep her right guard up.”
The woman, Roni as Joe had called her, flipped him off as she tiredly dropped her gloves to the bench. She grabbed a towel and walked towards the trio. She was still breathing heavy as she dabbed at her sweat soaked face. Cindy quickly jumped in to make the introductions. Ruby held her breath as the woman’s attention finally turned towards her.
Roni gave Ruby a polite smile and nodded before excusing herself to gather up her gear and depart. Ruby was suddenly glad that Emma was not with her because she hadn’t seen even a hint of acknowledgement. She had a sinking suspicion that their situation was worse than they thought. Veronica had no idea who she really was.
And if Regina Mills didn’t know she was a wife and queen that possessed magic, Ruby’s life had just gotten a lot more difficult.