Disclaimer: So I don't own any OUaT characters, but I'd like to!
Also, if you think I'm doing something really cool, or you just think its crap (oh heavens no she is ruining that character!) whatever, send me a message or review—I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!—Adria
It was nothing like what they had expected. Neither of them had to say the thought, for they both knew the other was thinking it by the looks of shock they were giving each other. Even with Emma's descriptions, which they realized weren't such an exaggeration as they had thought, everything in sight was strange. The buildings did not appear to be wood, yet they were not stone either. Not a horse was in sight, and strange shiny carriages were scattered along the hardened black surface they had appeared on. Like trees, poles were sticking up at what seemed regular intervals with lines hanging between them, yet no banners or clothes were hung from them. And to top it all off, a large group of people, cheering wildly, were running towards the four travelers.
Stepping back slightly Mulan placed herself in front of Aurora. There was no knowing what the intents of the mob were despite Snow and Emma's smiling faces. She almost drew her sword when the mob engulfed the two, but seeing Snow embracing a man while a little boy hugged Emma, she decided that after all they must be friendly. At this realization, the warrior relaxed and stepped out of Aurora's way. Truth be told, seeing the friendly greeting their companions were getting made Mulan and Aurora feel left out. As a result, they gravitated towards each other subconsciously till their hands were nearly touching—alone together in the middle of a crowd.
Their situation ended only moments later and they jumped apart as Snow fought through the crowd towards them extricating herself from the boy's embrace on her way. She motioned towards the pair yelling over the crowd who silenced once they saw her speaking "We mustn't forget to welcome our new friends to Storybrook, for without them, we may never have gotten home." At this praise both stood straighter, but Aurora blushed slightly embarrassed. Snow gestured to each as she mentioned their names, "Princess Aurora and Mulan." For a few moments it appeared as if the crowd expected them to make some sort of speech, but they were extricated from the situation by a tall brunette.
"Hey everyone, drinks at Granny's! On the house, in honor of the occasion!" At the seemingly magic words, the crowd dispersed heading down the street leaving just Mulan, Aurora, and their rescuer standing there. She was tall and thin with wavy dark brown hair and a vibrant red shawl. She moved closer to the two reaching out her hand in welcome. "Kind of a shock, huh? I know it was for me, and I'd lived here for 28 years before we all remembered. I'm Red, by the way, and I figure you two need to know the way to Granny's, huh." She looked them both over as they nodded unsure of what else to do. She continued more to herself than to them, "And a place to stay, some new clothes, hmmm what else?"
Moving away, she yelled back at them, "Well come along you two! Free drinks are waiting, and I need to get back there to help out." She set out at a brisk walk that even had Mulan struggling a little to keep up. Red turned suddenly, almost making Aurora ran into her, and turned towards the warrior. "Mulan, right? I LOVE your pants." Just as suddenly she turned back around and resumed her walk towards Granny's with Mulan and Aurora tailing her.
By the time they arrived, Granny's was a mess. People were literally packed into the tiny room, and drinks could not be handed out fast enough, although the light brown haired girl behind the bar seemed to be doing the best she could. Red through her a quick smile saying "Thanks for the cover, Belle. I owe you again." Belle just smiled and moved over.
Tagging behind Red, Mulan and Aurora made it right up to Snow and Emma who were regaling the crowd with tales of their adventures—many of which teased Emma to her chagrin. She pointing out that whatever her mistakes had been, her motives were good when she noticed the pair standing there unsure of what to do next. Making a snap decision, Emma snatched up her glass and waved it in front of the two. "Mulan! Rory! You have got to try this—its pineapple rum with coke. Bet you've never had anything like it in the Enchanted Forrest huh?"
Aurora, taking a step forward to reach the glass, stumbled slightly and Mulan rushed up to catch her. Supporting the princess with her arm around her back, she turned her to look at her face and saw Aurora's eyes drooping. "Princess! Are you all-right?"
"Just tired, Mulan. I should be fine in a little bit, but it's so loud down here…' She trailed off and her head settled a little lower on her chest. Grabbing Aurora's right arm and slinging it over her shoulders while wrapping her left around Aurora's back, Mulan helped her walk over to Red who was busily handing out drinks with Belle.
Yelling above the crowd, Mulan asked "Red, the princess is tired and needs to rest for a while. Do you have a quiet place for us to go?" Red nodded, "Of course." She reached behind herself for one of the keys on the wall and handed it to Mulan. "It's the last door down the hall at the top of the stairs. Sorry, it isn't much, but it is the quietest room here. If you need anything else come let me know, okay?" She smiled at the two then went back to pouring and handing out drinks while Mulan helped Aurora up the stairs.
By the time they reached the top, Aurora could not take another step, so Mulan carried her to the end of the hall, where after fumbling with the key, she opened the door to the room. After laying Aurora on the bed and ensuring that she was breathing normally, Mulan got up to explore. Red hadn't exaggerated. The room was small, but cozy and the adjoining door seemed to lead to a washroom of sorts. Mulan stepped inside looking for a basin to clean the grime off her hands, and was turning knobs in what Emma had called a sink entranced by the running warm water when she heard Aurora cry out.
Fearing that at best she was having another nightmare or worse that Cora had worked some curse on her, Mulan rushed back into the room and over to the bed. Aurora sat with her back against the headboard ad her arms wrapped around her knees pulling them to her chest. She looked up when Mulan came in and she smiled broadly in relief, relaxing a little. "Mulan! Sorry, I didn't know where I was, and I was alone, and this room is so strange. I thought perhaps I was Cora's prisoner somewhere and I was afraid again."
Mulan reached forward to rub her back but hesitated, unsure how to proceed further. Snow had always been the one to help Aurora at night although it pained Mulan to not be comforting the princess herself. Aurora decided for the warrior, taking Mulan's hand and pulling her into a sitting position on the bed next to her. "This world, I know Emma says it is a safe place, but everything here is so different. How are we going to get used to it all?"
Mulan nodded agreeing with her. She hadn't wanted to say it but she also was worried about living in this other world. Trying her best to reassure the other girl she tried to lay out some positive thoughts. "But just think of all the new things we get to try, and Red is going to help us get clothes and things, and just think of all the things we can learn from the people living here!" At the mention of Red's name Aurora's eyes narrowed remembering the pants comment from earlier. She realized that she had no reason to be upset—they were pretty awesome as she'd noticed that first day with Phillip, but still Red didn't need to notice too. Shaking the thought away, she smiled again at the thought of exploring the world with Mulan. She was unsure why, but that thought alone made everything better.
After a moment of silence, Aurora tried to get to her feet, but Mulan halted her with her hand on the princess's wrist. "Where are you going? You just collapsed downstairs; this time you really do need to rest." Looking at her with concern etched in her face, Mulan waited for the other girl's answer. While she had been ready to argue about needing rest, the concern she saw on the warrior's face changed Aurora's mind and she relaxed again.
"I realized I was thirsty and I was going to go see if there was some water nearby." She pointed to Mulan's belt "It doesn't look like we brought any of our supplies or flasks with us."
"Please allow me, Princess. I'll go down and get us some food and water; don't worry, I'll be back in a few minutes." Aurora's face fell, and Mulan returned to the bedside. "What is it?"
"You will come back, right? Phillip said that before he left, and I couldn't take it if you left too." Her eyes welled up and Mulan squeezed Aurora's hand reassuringly as she smiled down at the girl. Brushing the tear that was about to fall away with her free thumb, Mulan tilted the princesses head up to look her in the eyes.
"I will always come back for you, Princess. Always." She turned to leave the room and hurried down the stairs eager to return to Aurora.
Hey, so I'm thinking about maybe making this a longer story. Let me know if I should continue! :)