A/N: Hello, and welcome. This is my first multi-chap fic so we'll see how we go with it. For some background, it's set after the events of season 3, but avoiding the whole Elsa reveal. She may be mentioned but she's has been defeated or talked with by this point as it has been a couple of months. So there is established Captain Swan and hints of Outlaw Queen.
This story will centre on Nani, Lilo and Stitch but they do not actually appear until the next chapter.
As always, I don't own anything (except my dream catcher). Please enjoy and review!
Marian moved stealthily through the woods, years of living with the Merry Men had taught her how to move quietly and how they liked to patrol their camp grounds. She had no particular destination in mind, she merely needed to find a quiet place where she would not be disturbed. She hoped to find it soon before her courage abandoned her.
The trees opened to a spacious grove, perfect for her needs. Panic tried to overwhelm her as she stepped towards the middle and her eyes prickled with unshed tears. She kept her thoughts focussed on her beautiful baby boy, who had grown so much in the time she had spent in this realm and repressed the voice that whispered that she was abandoning him. Slightly calmer, she managed to open her eyes.
She was proud of how steady her voice was when she called out, the word echoing amongst the trees.
"Hades." When she saw she was still by herself, she called louder. "Hades, I summon you."
"And I hear you, it's not necessary to yell."
Marian jumped and turned as a voice sounded behind her, velvet tones doing nothing to calm her.
She observed the man in front of her, scorch marks marring the forest floor where he appeared. His appearance had not changed since the last time she had seen him – when he delivered his threat. He still dressed in the garments this realm called suits, charcoal grey emphasising his ebony skin and firm muscles. His dark blue tie highlighted the blue sparks that flickered through his close cropped hair and his yellow eyes appeared to glow in the moonlit grove. His face was chiselled and handsome, but his eyes spoke of endless apathy to all things living.
He seemed amused by her silence. "You summoned me here, my dear. Please speak quickly, I am a busy man."
Marian swallowed and filled her mind with thoughts of her son, it seemed to stave off the mind-numbing terror and panic she was feeling, and the overwhelming doubt about her hasty plan.
"I am here to make a deal."
He laughed openly at that. "I am a nature spirit charged with ferrying souls to the next realm. I have no need to make deals with mortals." He hissed the last word like it was a curse and she felt herself recoiling.
She squared her shoulders. She was a Locksley, she lived her life an outlaw and she stood up to the Evil Queen herself, this spirit was nothing. Except a threat to your son, a voice whispered maliciously.
"Yesterday, you claimed a life was owed to you. That the balance was upset and a life was needed. You want mine."
His grin was all teeth and the malice was reflected in his eyes. "You mortals, all so full of your own worth. I could go out and choose any soul I wanted, why in all the realms would I want yours?"
Marian ignored the question – she wasn't ready for that gamble yet, so she countered with a statement of her own.
"You can't take a life though, you're a spirit."
Hades inspected his nails, thoroughly bored. "Yes, yes. I am aware. I do have very eager sprites to do my work for me though, would you like to meet them?" He grinned ferally and picked a twig off the ground. "Children can encounter so many accidents, they are so... Fragile." He punctuated his sentence with a snap of the twig.
Marian visibly flinched as his slender fingers broke the twig and she closed her eyes to calm herself.
"If you have nothing else to offer, mortal, I will be taking my leave. See you around."
Marian's eyes flew open and she resisted the urge to call him back, knowing that she would appear weak.
"You haven't even heard my deal yet."
Hades turned and she knew she had him by the interest that flickered momentarily in his eyes.
"The terms of my deal are that you or any of your minions are unable to harm anyone in this realm and you can have my soul in exchange."
Hades laughed outright at her deal and Marian tried to not let doubt show on her face.
"Like I said, full of self worth. What need do I have for a deal, mortal, when I can choose whoever I want and still harm anyone in this realm?"
"My name is Marian." She said firmly and she forced a smile onto her face. "And you want this deal. I am the reason you are here. I am the soul that escaped you, that upset your precious balance."
Hades shrugged. "I have no need for your soul specifically, I just need one."
"And you want mine. You want to show everyone that the balance cannot be tampered with? What better way than claiming the soul that has eluded your capture twice? It shows your power even more when the soul willingly surrenders."
Hades tapped his chin in a show of nonchalance but Marian knew she had him, he would not have come in the first place and he would have left at any point if he wasn't interested.
"You make an interesting point. And all I have to do is swear that I, nor any from my realm will harm or attempt to harm any mortal in this town?"
Marian tried to find any traps in his words but the deal seemed unbreakable from her point of view. Her throat closed at the thought of sealing the deal and all she could do was nod.
"I assume I am still permitted to collect souls that naturally depart?" He asked sarcastically.
"You are allowed to continue your duties to usher souls into the next realm as you would normally do, but you or your minions are not allowed to be the cause of death for anyone."
Hades nodded and seemed to shed his amused exterior. "You have a deal, Marian of Locksley, in return for your soul I swear on the River Styx that connects the realm of spirits and the realms of the living that I, nor any of my kin will harm or kill any mortals from this town."
Marian looked around, thinking the oath would involve a clap of thunder or at least a flash of light. "Is that it?"
Hades smiled sadly. "The oath is sworn, it is time to come home."
Fear filled Marian but she could no longer find shame in the fact her voice broke. "How do you plan on doing it?"
Hades' eyes finally appeared something other than apathetic, they almost had a gentle touch in this light.
"I can accept any soul that comes willingly, Marian. It will be no more painful than falling asleep."
He held out his hand and Marian held her head high as she walked towards him. She thought of her husband, who had mourned her and moved on through no fault of his own. She thought of her brave Robin and hoped he would be able to stay strong for their son. She thought of her baby boy, who moved from being a toddler to a child in an instant and continued to grow every second. She thought of his dimples and the strength of his hug and these thoughts travelled with her as she clasped Hades' cold hand.
Hades caught Marian's body as she slumped, and he pushed the hair out of her face. Her spirit appeared alongside her corpse and she stared down at her own body.
With a wave of his hand, Hades opened the portal to the River Styx, which would take her to her new home. Her spirit took one last look in the direction he assumed her family was and she took determined steps towards the portal, dignity marking her every move.
When the portal closed behind her, Hades sighed and shook his head. It was days like this that he despised his duty.
"Pain, Panic, come out."
The sprites appeared in the forest beside him. They had chosen to materialise in their preferred forms, Pain a chubby boy with dark red hair and Panic a skinny girl with sky blue hair. Their reflections of humans were never perfect – spending too much time around the dead did that sometimes, as both had greyish skin and yellow eyes similar to his own.
"What is it, your most lugubrious?" Pain said with a bow. Hades sighed and rolled his eyes, cursing the terms they picked up in every realm.
He gently held onto Marian's corpse as he stood. "I need you two to go pick up the package."
Panic grinned with excitement. "Do you really mean it? Thank you, Lord Hades. You really are the best master a sprite could ask for." She gave Pain a high five – another idiotic custom they had picked up in this realm – and Hades felt like banging his head against a tree.
"What package are you thinking of, Panic?"
Panic stopped dancing around the forest floor with Pain and gave him a quizzical look.
"The limited edition Olympus sneakers, of course. Pain and I thought they'd help us blend in with the mortals."
Hades let the sparks in his hair erupt into an open flame, casting an eerie blue light across the clearing. Pain and Panic cowered visibly as he carefully enunciated each word.
"I need you two to go and pick up the package, as in the creature of magic you sensed on that island they call Hawaii. You need to go there and bring it back to me, undamaged, is that clear?"
Pain and Panic flopped on the floor before him, heads bowed to the dirt as Pain replied.
"Yes, Lord Hades, we are but worms before you. We will go and collect this creature for you unharmed, you have our word."
"Good." He replied curtly. "Now get off the ground and hurry up. You two complete this task well and I'll consider letting you get the shoes."
Pain and Panic grinned at each other and disappeared with a small pop.
Hades sighed and looked at the corpse in his arms, letting the fire in his hair go out as he did. He tried to be a creature of his word, but the residents of this Storybrooke had interfered with death too many times. He had no intention of making Marian's brave sacrifice in vain, but he needed to reinforce the idea that death was a force not to be trifled with before he left this cursed place for his own home, and to the person who was waiting for him there.
He adjusted Marian's corpse in his arms and set off in the direction he thought her camp was located, forcing the sparks that were a part of his form not to burst into a furnace as he considered mortals and their penchant for involving themselves with forces they had no true concept of.
Robin was frantic. Roland had woken him from his most peaceful night sleep in a very long time to inform him that Marian was not in her tent. Her bed was cold when he entered and there was a note left on her pillow, informing him of exactly was she planned to do.
He had already sent Little John into Storybrooke with Roland, firstly, to get Roland to a safe location and to also ask for reinforcements in their search. He was coordinating his men when he first saw it, a flicker of blue in the trees, coming closer. He narrowed his eyes and saw it was a man and in his arms...
A cry broke out as he pushed past his men and he belatedly realised he was muttering 'no' repeatedly. He walked up to the spirit – he recognised Hades now – and placed his hand on Marian's cheek, searching for a sign of life.
She was ice cold.
"What did you do?" He snarled, wishing he had his bow on him.
"I did nothing, mortal, I cannot take unwilling souls."
Robin blinked through his tears and stroked Marian's face, remembering the woman he had loved so much and who would always hold a place in his heart. He frowned up at Hades, and gently took Marian from his arms, attempting to avoid touching him.
Tears spilled over his cheeks as he kissed her forehead and lay her down near their camp fire, brushing her curly hair – hair Roland inherited – out of her face.
He spun on Hades angrily and spat his question out. "Why?"
Hades' eyebrow rose in a mocking gesture. "You mortals owed me a life, so she offered her own. It was all very selfless and I would say mortal, but there are very few who would do that. I usually have to usher their souls early." He sounded so wistful but Robin could not spare the creature any pity.
"But I am afraid it is not over for you." Hades continued. "You people have interfered with the balance of life and death too many times and you need to learn that it is not something to be trifled with. The dead must stay as such or there will be consequences, if it continues, it will be dire for everyone."
Robin was horrified as he quickly glanced back at Marian's body. "But in her note – she said she was going to make a deal to stop you."
A strange expression passed quickly over Hades' face before he continued with his mocking tone. "I said that none of my kin nor myself would harm any of you. There are other creatures than my kin in this realm that I can use to do my bidding."
Warning delivered, Hades vanished in a column of fire, scorching the forest floor. Robin let out a cry of frustration and turned back to Marian, dropping beside her and gently pulling her into his lap.
He stroked her face and cried, unashamed of his emotions. She was no longer his wife, they had finally managed to discuss their feelings the night before and he believed they might have a chance of being friends. She would always be important to him, simply because of who she was. A brave, stubborn woman who could move as silently as any Merry Man. So compassionate and loving that she would give up her life because she believed a woman was being framed for crimes she did not commit. A person so noble that she could walk with dignity to death because she did not want anyone to die in her place. Robin thought of their son, motherless again, and cried all the harder.
He was still cradling her when the Sheriff and the others arrived. Regina emerged last, her eyes expressing nothing but sympathy and regret. His throat was sore from his tears and he wondered what words would describe their predicament, that an angry nature spirit, colourfully nicknamed the Lord of the Underworld had sworn to attack them with a creature of magic as punishment for interfering with the dead. It all seemed so irrelevant at the moment as he had a more pressing issue to attend.
"We need a grave." He said, his voice rough. "For Marian of Locksley. The bravest and most loving person I will ever know."
A/N: If the OUAT writers are reading this for some strange reason, you are not allowed to do to Marian what I just did. Not even a little.
My goal is to update this at least once a week but life may get in the way sometimes so please bear with me. I aim to have the next chapter up early though, so we can check in with Lilo, Nani and Stitch and see what everything is like.
Have a wonderful night,
Adrina Stark.