Prologue
Home.
It's such a small word, one wouldn't think it could hold such incredible meaning. When you're there, you yearn for the outside world, a place to explore. But when you're away…sometimes, all you can think about is getting back.
Home is safe. Home is comfort. Home is love.
Except when it's not.
Chapter 1 – Enchanted Forest, After Regina Countered Pan's Curse
Azure turned in circles, seeing everyone from Storybrooke – everyone from home – around her. Everyone except the one person she desperately needed to see, make sure they'd both made it. Suddenly, she felt a tiny tapping flutter on her shoulder and glanced over to see Blue hovering next to her.
"Mother." She smiled, relief washing over her. "It's been a long time since I've seen you that small."
"I know." Blue nodded, a smile of her own crossing her face. "But until we've had a chance to ensure that our world is safe, I'd prefer to stay this way. When we're in the Glen – home –, I'll change form."
"Where are the others?" Azure glanced around, seeing Snow, Charming, Belle, even Regina. Everyone looked as stunned as she felt. "Our others, I mean. Carys and Seren and Nova. The fairies."
"I imagine they're in a different part of the forest." Blue replied. "It stands to reason since we were all in different parts of Storybrooke that we wouldn't come back together. We'll see them soon, I'm sure of it."
"I much prefer you without the wings." Azure grinned, taking in the long dress and boots on her own petite form. "But I will admit that it feels quite good to be back in normal clothing. I'll not say no to a pair of jeans once in awhile, though."
"I'm sure we can take care of that when we're home." Blue teased, but her attention was drawn to the discussion between the others. From what they could make out, there was a heated debate going on regarding Snow's (or Regina's, depending upon how one looked at it) castle. "I'll feel better once we're back in the Glen."
"I know you can be there in a moment if you want to, Mother. Really. I know my way. I'll come on foot with the others." Azure reassured her. "I'll be safe with them."
"Absolutely not." Blue shook her head, vehemently. "I don't want you out of my sight until we're behind the enchantment of the Glen."
"Azure!" They both turned to see Aurora walking towards them, a broad smile on her face. "Blue! You're both safe." She engulfed Azure in a hug. "I'm so glad."
"Hello, Aurora." Azure returned the hug warmly, then paused. "Umm, is that…?"
"Yes." Aurora replied, slyly. "I'm having a child."
"What wonderful news, Aurora." Blue's eyes sparkled. "She'll always have a fairy godmother to look out for her, I promise."
"She'll have you and Azure as family." Aurora answered, hugging Azure again. "I'm very grateful for that."
"Are we in Philip's kingdom?" Azure asked as Aurora released her. "Or yours?"
"Philip's." Aurora nodded.
Azure looked to Blue. "We're much closer to the Glen then. It's less than a half day's walk from here, on the edge of Snow's kingdom. Surely – "
"I will not go without you, and that is my final word." Blue's tone was soft, but firm. "We go together or not at all."
"You could take a horse." Aurora suggested. "You can take my horse and return her when you've made sure all is well. I won't be needing her for a few days."
"I haven't ridden in so long, I'm not sure I remember how." Azure shook her head.
"We'll follow with the others, Aurora, but thank you. I'm sure someone is more in need of your generosity." Blue flew to her daughter's other shoulder. "It looks as if they are getting ready to move. I think we should join them."
Azure threw her arms around Aurora. "I'll come back soon, I promise. I've missed you."
"As have I." Aurora replied, smiling. "I know you're eager to see your home. Go."
With one last wave, Azure and Blue joined the others, who were ready to begin the journey. It was fortunate that the Glen was on the outer edges of Snow's kingdom, giving them a much shorter walk home. Even so, the road seemed to stretch out in front of them endlessly.
"Mother? I need to go…" Azure gestured in front of her, the words trailing off. Blue followed her gaze and then nodded briefly. Azure took longer strides and soon found herself walking next to Belle. "Belle."
Belle turned to Azure, but didn't speak, reaching out to clasp Azure's hand in her own.
"Oh, Belle. I'm so sorry about Rumple." Azure's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry I was so horrid to you back in Storybrooke."
"I know. It's all right." Belle managed to whisper, her own tears clouding her vision. "I can't believe he's really gone."
"Where will you go?" Azure asked, quietly.
"I'll go to his home. With Baelfire." Belle nodded, sure of herself. "We'll need to learn to let him go." She breathed deeply, gathering her emotions. "Where are you going to go?"
"Home. To the Glen. For now." Azure said. "We – my mother and I – still have so much to talk about. So much to make up." She looked back to see Blue following at a distance. "I don't know how long I'll stay. But I'll never leave her again in anger, I know that now. I was wrong to do so before. But I'm not sure how long the Glen will truly be home." She shook her head. "It's difficult to explain."
"I understand." Belle squeezed her hand. "You're always welcome to come to me, you know that?"
"I do, and I thank you. It – being back here – will take some getting used to. I was just beginning to get used to Storybrooke." Azure stifled a massive yawn. "And I forgot what it's like to walk everywhere."
Azure fell back a bit, leaving Belle to her own quiet thoughts, and walked in silence while Blue fluttered next to her. Their ragtag group continued, everyone studying the sights around them, getting reacquainted with their true home once again. It seemed much quieter than Storybrooke, aside from random animal noises or tree branches fluttering. Somehow, the desolation of Regina's first curse had disappeared and for that, Azure was grateful. The time spent with very little life left in the forest still stood out in her mind and although she hid them as best she could, the nightmares hadn't completely disappeared, waking her in the night with sharp, ragged breaths and unshed tears on her cheeks.
The trees began to thicken, the green in the leaves becoming brighter and livelier, and she knew they were near the Glen. Watching her mother for a signal, she continued to walk with the others, her heart pounding harder and harder with anticipation the closer they got to home.
Home. She didn't see it, but she felt it. Felt the slight quiver of the leaves on the trees that she'd been used to as long as she could remember. It was how she'd know that she was close to a fairy, even if one wasn't visible – the palpable energy and the air itself moved around her. No non-fairy she'd ever known could sense it, other than herself, part of growing up surrounded by it. She looked to Blue, who gave an almost imperceptible nod and stopped, her wings keeping her steady in one place.
Azure stopped as well. Belle and Neal both glanced back as she did. "This is as far as we'll go with everyone else." Azure told them, not giving away that they were practically standing on top of the Glen.
"We'll see each other soon." Belle smiled at her, and then at Blue. Neal nodded at both of them.
"If you need help or to send word, just call for a fairy godmother." Blue said. "I'll be there in an instant."
Azure watched her friends continue on the road until they were completely out of sight, then tilted her head towards Blue. "Are we home?"
"Very nearly." Blue answered, and suddenly, she had taken human form, standing slightly taller than her daughter. She reached out and pulled Azure to her, an impossibility at fairy size, a necessity when tall. "It's a bit further, but I didn't want anyone following us. I don't know if the enchantment has held up during all this time away."
"Seren and Carys could strengthen it again if it hasn't, couldn't they?"
"We can and we did."
Blue and Azure turned their heads toward the voice, and saw a grinning Carys standing next to a tree. "I assumed the restrictions on being regular-sized outside of the Glen were loosened while all of us return."
"Carys." Blue's shoulders sighed with relief. "I'm so glad you're all right."
"We're all fine. But the last time we saw you, you weren't. Thank the stars you're alive. I don't know what we would have done without you." Carys made her way to them, wrapping her arms around her closest friend. "You're the last to arrive. The enchantment had weakened slightly, but the group we were with had no idea. We strengthened the enchantment after we left them and it's as if we'd never been gone." She let go of Blue and pulled Azure to her. "We're home."
"Home." Blue repeated, her eyes sparkling with tears. "I never thought we'd see it again."
"Come, then. Let's go see what we left behind."
Azure followed behind her mother and Carys as they stepped cautiously through the forest to a thicket of trees several hundred yards from where they'd let the group continue without them. After investigating the landscape around her to be sure no one would see them, Blue took Azure's hand and walked into the thicket. The trees, instead of scratching them, felt like silk on their arms, and in only a moment, they were home.
"It's so beautiful." Azure whispered. "It's exactly as we left it."
She saw their cottage, the tiny house where she'd grown up, and eyes sparkling, grabbed Blue by the hand, pulling her to it. "It's home, Mother. Home!"
"I know, darling." Blue allowed Azure to lead her through the door. The cottage stood just as it had before, the plush, soft chairs near a tiny kitchen, the two bedrooms untouched. Azure opened the door to her own bedroom and stared into it, unspeaking. Finally, she turned around.
"It's the same. You didn't change anything." Azure nearly wept in disbelief. "You kept it all."
"I knew you'd come home one day." Blue said, softly. "I never gave up believing that."
Azure didn't speak, just gave her the happiest of smiles, and went into her room. She emerged a few seconds later, clutching a stuffed unicorn in her arms. "I'm too old for toys, but I'm glad you kept Cricket."
"It never occurred to me not to keep her." Blue replied, running her hand across the top of one of the chairs. "And I never realized how much I missed our true home until we came back." She reached out for her daughter, realizing that Azure had been capable of caring for herself for so many years, and a sudden panic overtook her. "Azure. You'll stay here, won't you? At least until we know that things are safe. Until we know that I can protect you from him. Please promise me that."
The silence that followed nearly broke her until Azure finally spoke. "We've both made too many promises that have been broken. I don't want to break another promise to you, nor have a promise you made to me broken." She set the stuffed toy down. "We both know that you can't keep me in the Glen forever, but I will do as you ask for as long as I can. That's the most that I can promise."
"Then that will have to do, won't it?" Blue ignored the rising panic, pushing it down into her core. "For now, let's simply rejoice in being home."
They went outside to join the celebration.
