The air in the pit was dry and dirty. Every breath she took felt like she was breathing in dirt. Her hands were bound and feet chained, but a smirk found its home on her chapped cotton candy lips. She hummed a whimsical tune, long forgotten by most. Her tangled dark purple hair appeared black in low lighting of the pit. Her new cell mate, that was not there moments ago, sat across the cell eyeing the young girl from time to time. They knew each other all to well. The girl began to mumble the tune she had been humming.
"Run faster, run faster. From the house, be as quiet as a mouse. It can smell your fear. And now it's here-" Her almost incoherent mumblings were interrupted when a couple guards came into the pit. They were bringing in two prisoners, one conscious, one not. Two women, a blonde who yelled at the guards to be careful as they threw the other raven haired woman to the ground. If you haven't guessed the one yelling was the conscious one. Though what is consciousness? Is it a state of mind? A state of wakefulness? Self awareness?
The blonde checked over the other woman frantically, obviously worried for her. She whispered to her companion to wake up. A full grin stretched across the girl's face in the cover of darkness. Her dimples and perfect, straight, white teeth didn't go with the malice in her titanium eyes.
"Do you need help?" The gentle and smooth voice of her cell mate said. The girl schooled her features to mimic desperation and sadness. Her cue would come soon.
"Who are you?" said the blonde suspiciously.
"A friend," Her cell mate said gently, "My name is Cora."
The girl's eyebrow twitched slightly in amusement. As the older auburn haired woman came into the light. The rags she wore didn't do her mature beauty justice and the soft look she held gave her a trustworthy feel.
The girl sat with her back against one of the rough walls of the cell. She was shrouded from the newcomers by shadows. She had sat there in that pit for months. The clothes she wore were well worn and covered in a thick layer of dirt and dust. Her skin pale from months of little to no sunlight. Her educated eyes looked on as the two conscious women had a conversation. The blonde let Cora check on her friend or at least the girl assumed they were friends. Though the voice in her head said otherwise.
"Are you sure she's going to be okay?" The blonde asked as Cora looked her friend over.
"She'll be fine," Cora assured.
"What is this place?" The blonde asked as they both stood up.
"This island is what our captors like to call their haven," Cora explained.
"Haven? Haven from what?"
"From everything, I suppose. The world is a scary place now."
" Well, they can't keep us here forever. We didn't do anything wrong," The blonde said fiercely. The girl liked this woman already, she has spunk.
"Neither did I," Cora sighed dismayed.
"Then what'd you do?"
"Not me, my daughter. This course that ravaged the land, she cast it."
"Regina? You're Regina's mother?"
"Yes, but you have nothing to fear from me. The apple fell very far from the tree."
The girl would've snorted in laughter at that statement in any other situation. The blonde looked at the older woman with a hint of sympathy.
"You're from over there, aren't you?" Cora asked. "How'd you get back?"
"Emma," exclaimed the previously unconscious woman.
"Snow, I'm so happy you're okay," Cora said sweetly. So, this was Snow White. The girl's eyebrow twitched again at the new information. She shouldn't be surprised she was doing this with almost no background or complete plan. She was just told the goal, her cues, and her lines.
Snow gripped Emma's arms and warned her, "As bad as you think Regina is, this woman is so much worse."
"Oh, Snow, sweet Snow, believe me," She implored kindly, "Whatever she told you isn't true, I just want to help you."
Speaking of cues and lines. She quickly released herself from her chains using the little bit of magic she had, though one could hardly call it magic.
The girl got up and in a weak and childish voice she loathed said, "Cora?"
She stumbled into the light. She rubbed her eyes and yawned acting as if she had just woken up. When she met eyes with Snow and Emma, she widened her eyes and tensed her body. The two women's eyes widen comically.
"Cora, who are they?" She asked fearfully.
"This is Snow White and Emma, Ashley," Cora said sweetly. Ashley hated it when people used her first name, but she held her tongue for acting like a scared child purposes.
She gulped loudly and offered a weak smile. "Hello," She squeaked.
Emma looked at the girl in front of her. She couldn't be more than fourteen only a couple years older than Henry. Her hair was cut just below her shoulders. Her facial features were sharp and angular with the exception of her big round titanium eyes. The weak smile caused dimples to appear in both cheeks.
"Maybe we should give her a chance," Emma whispered to Snow White.
"Emma," Snow said forcefully.
"Look at the moment, we are at the bottom of a hole with no other options," She whispered, "And Henry is back in Storybrooke with Regina."
"Who's Henry?" Cora asked, having heard everything Emma said.
"He's my son, I kind of share him with Regina, it's complicated," Emma explained. Ashley quirked her eyebrow at this.
Snow White turned around to Emma, "Don't talk to her."
Emma sighed and opened her mouth to say something when a ripe was thrown down.
"Enough," A guard ordered. They all looked up at him. "Our leader request an audience with the new captives."
Ashley and Cora watched in silence as Emma and Snow climbed up the rope and out of the pit. There was a beat of silence. Ashley let out a low whistle, "So, that was Snow White and her daughter, I'm guessing."
Cora raised her eyebrows, "How'd you figure it out?"
The girl wiggled her eyebrows and smiled maliciously, "The voice told me."
Cora narrowed her eyes and poofed out of the pit. The girl giggled silently to herself. She began to talk quietly to herself, "I'm going to enjoy this. Though I admit acting like a scared childish is rather annoying. Though to get out of here I suppose it's worth it. Oh, how I've miss you, chaos, my old friend."
She sighed before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out an old pocket watch by it's golden chain. She swung it so that it landed in her other palm smoothly. She clicked the button to open the pocket watch. The glass was dirty and smudged, but the watch ticked and tocked on.
"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock," She said in a singsong voice before erupting into giggles. She tucked the pocket watch back into her pocket. "What wonderful chaos this will be." She added bitterly, "Only the best for my queen."
The two women and Cora never returned just as she had been told to expect. She had also been told it would perhaps be a few days before her next cue. It was only four days, she had to wait. She had heard the screams from the pit the night before as Cora went through the haven killing everyone. Oh, how she longed to join the chaos, but she knew the part she must play for now.
She hummed the forgotten song as she waited anxiously for anything. Any feeling that they were back. Then her highly trained ears heard it. A voice. Soft and distraught with grief, but a voice none the less. A wide wicked grin spread across her face. Moments later, she heard yelling about someone being alive.
"So, they found the one-handed wonder," She murmured mockingly. Now, would be a good time to make herself known.
"Hello? Is someone there," She yelled desperately. Then much to her disgust, whimpered weakly, "Help me, please."
She managed to squeeze out a few tears before Snow White's face appeared in the sky light. She looked heartbroken at the sight of the young girl. She reassured, "We're here, honey, we're going to help you."
"Thank you," She said quietly and forced out more tears. Seconds later, the rope was lowered and she was pulled out of the pit. She crawled out of the pit feigning weakness.
"Maybe you shouldn't," Aurora said hesitantly, "Let her out, she was imprisoned for a reason."
"She is a little girl," Snow White snapped at the princess. "Ashley-"
"Please, don't call me that," She interrupted Snow, her tone and eyes pleading.
Snow hesitated, "Okay, what do you want us to call you?"
She met the older woman's eyes and made tears well up in her eyes. She opened and closed her mouth several times. Then, let a small smile slip onto her face. "My friends call me Chessur."
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