Disclaimer: I own nothing from Once Upon a Time, that is a product of ABC, I do however, own my own character.

The silence was deafening. It ricochet off the lush greens of the trees, and was absorbed by the moss covered soil of the forest floors. Insects scampered around soundlessly, the beating of bird's wings only disturbing the silent chill occasionally.

From behind the trunk of a spruce tree, an aged, greying squirrel hopped out into the forest undergrowth. It sniffed around it's footing, slapping aside a leaf or two as it did, before pausing and looking up at the forest that surrounded it. It stilled, it's hind legs tensing in its stance, his nose ceasing its twitching immediately. His beady eyes flashed to every angle, trying desperately to locate the source of the very faint noise he had just heard.

And then it came. The dull haunting note that he had heard only moments ago. Only this time, it was followed by several others, more and more notes floating together to form an eerie melody that ensnared his senses. He began to twitch his nose once again, his ears perking up so he could follow the sound of pure temptation.

His pace began to quicken, and in a flash, he was scurrying, dashing through the foliage of the forest floor. His ears moved side to side, keeping his rushing feet on the correct path, towards the sweet, sweet sound.

He was scampering so fast, he almost didn't realize the tune had picked up to match his rhythm, and by the time his ears had adjusted, he had already ran out into one of the forest's many clearings, not a habit that he was accustomed to.

And just as his legs began to buckle, began to back peddle him out of this clearly reckless act, the music had stopped, and silence once again loomed over the forest like a great curtain. The squirrel, shaken by this sudden change, tensed once again, freezing in hopes to make himself scarce.

Moments passed, and, believing himself safe, the squirrel began to dart back towards the tree line, the thumping of his heart his new tune to run to. His nose began to twitch again in excitement as the forest grew nearer.

His happiness was short lived, for as he just got to the forest's edge, a tall, dark figure darted in front of him, easily trapping him in a makeshift snare. He flew up into the snares hold, the tie growing tighter and tighter around his foot as he fought to break free from its grasp.

From his upside down view, he could see the being that had caught him. The figure stood upright, and as it walked closer, the poor creature could tell the being was a huntress, if not, a devilishly good trapper. The hunter's walk oozed confidence, and as it approached the small, flailing, hanging animal, it's torso was revealed in the thin shafts of sunlight cutting through the forest canopy.

Dark, milky brown, feminine eyes peered at her catch from under a narrow brimmed hat, a hunter's plumage jutting out from it. They narrowed at the animal's vain attempts at release, and with its sculpted, rouge painted lips, it spoke to the squirrel in a low, motherly voice.

"Now, now dear, really no point in fussing. That certainly isn't the first snare I've tied." a curling smirk came across her mouth, whose shadow extended a gash along her pointed jaw. "And you most certainly aren't the first one to fall prey to my little song." She swiftly reached up and snipped the snare, making sure to keep it securely around the squirrel's foot, holding her catch as a prize at the end of the string.

Looking up at a nearby branch, the huntress looked pointedly at something the tiny squirrel could not see.

"Come, Hawthorne, it's dinner time."

The last thing the small creature saw was the pounding of wings, and that sweet, haunting song flowed, one again, into his ears.

A/N May continue, just experimenting with a plot line I've been nurturing. Read and review please!