Ok guys. First fanfic so be kind and please please please review because any suggestions would be brilliant. Also, I'm English not American as probably the vast majority of readers are so my spelling may be different on certain words

I do not own any of the characters

The Enchanted Forest was the picture of serenity. The trees swayed casually in the light breeze, the sun's rays beamed down from the blinding sky and dappled the forest floor in honey-coloured spots giving the fresh air a distinctly golden tint. It was late September and there was a distinct chill in the air making the leaves shiver with cold as they fluttered to the ground in a whirlwind of auburn and were laid to rest on the long-abandoned road.

For a whole 28 years, that road had lived in blissful silence, listening to the echoing footfalls of the forest wildlife. For 28 years, it had bathed its surface in the glorious heat of the sun by day and, by night, stared in wonder at the constellations like a ceiling of fireflies.

No longer.

It took only an instant. They weren't there and then they were. For within that instant, The Enchanted Forest stirred at the return of some familiar presences. The realm-travellers opened their eyes to take in their long-lost home. Of course, Emma and Henry were all but strangers to this new land but they nevertheless breathed in that floral, woody scent that surrounded them. They, all of them, stood there, basking in the strangeness of that moment; Snow White, her Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, Emma, Hook, Henry and Red. It had taken a long time, but Emma had finally allowed her parents to persuade her into returning to the kingdom. It was their duty.

Emma was the first to awaken herself from the reverie.

"So…, what now?" she asked expectantly.

Snow White shook herself awake.

"Now, we find our home."

"What, and you think we should just barge into the castle and say 'sorry, we're taking over your kingdom now'?" Regina commented. David put his hand up to his forehead in thought.

"She's right," he said, "It's been 28 years. Things will have moved on and we've no right to barge in."

"Then why on earth are we here?" Red butted in. She hadn't been sure whether she should come on this mission and left Granny tending the diner all alone back in Storybrooke but she knew in her heart that this was her home and they all needed to fight for it. "I'll get that kingdom back for you myself, if you don't."

"Red calm down," her best friend smiled reassuringly at her. "It's just that we can't risk causing another war. But you're right, we need to see what this new kingdom is like and whether it will be safe for the rest of Storybrooke's residents to return." As she said this, she held the werewolf's upper arm and nodded encouragingly as if trying to infect them all with the same hope.

Emma rose up from where she'd been sitting on a fallen tree next to Henry.

"Why don't we go to this castle and see what it's like?" she suggested.

It was a weak idea and they didn't honestly feel like it was going to get them anywhere. Secretly, they were all wondering whether it truly was a good idea to go back after such a long time. After all, they couldn't exactly expect to receive a warm welcome. Things must have been a lot more peaceful without either the Dark One or the constant feud between Snow White and the Evil Queen. But still, no one had a better suggestion so they decided to follow the road and see where it took them.

They had been walking for little over a couple of hours now. The party were becoming increasingly fed up and irritable, not to mention they still didn't know where the path was taking them. Everything was so different now. Henry was dragging his feet and complaining, leading the adults to wonder why they had brought the kid along anyway. Oh yeah, because no one had wanted the responsibility of looking after the son of both the Saviour and the mayor. Emma kept trying to entertain him by talking about how exciting it was to see this real life fairytale world but even that fell on deaf ears after a while.

Regina was walking along in a daze, thinking about whether anyone would recognise her and whether she could explain that she'd changed and that she really hoped that she could be one of the heroes for once. The chance to prove herself to the world meant everything to her. Her attention was soon attracted by David who had slowed his pace considerably and was now looking around with a puzzled look on his face. She quickened her pace until she was walking beside him.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"I thought I heard someone cough earlier. Not one of us. I thought I had imagined it until I heard it again just now."

They both looked discretely into the brown folds of the wood for any foreign shapes lurking around. Suddenly, David swung round, pointing, "Behind that tree." That caught the attention of the entire company and they all turned to the object of his gaze, a large oak tree, large enough to hide a thin body behind.

Without uttering another word, they all cautiously approached the tree, coming at it from different angles that they might catch the intruder off guard. Charming and Hook had their swords drawn, Emma had her gun out and pointed and Mary-Margaret had an arrow ready. Regina stayed back with Henry, a fireball ablaze in her palm, the other hand pressed protectively against her son's chest. The routine was so rehearsed.

The two men drew closer and closer to the tree, muscles tensed. In an instant, David leapt round and lashed out with his sword. There was a thud and the sword was buried in the wood. He stared at the empty space. He was sure someone had been there.

THWACK

A black, buckled boot swung down from somewhere above him, causing him to topple ungraciously to the floor. At that moment, the group launched into action. The assailant dropped noiselessly to the ground drawing a long, slightly curved sword from her back and proceeded to enter combat with the pirate. It took little time before he was disarmed and practically thrown to the ground where he lay unconscious next to his comrade. This, however, allowed for a clear shot of the target. An arrow was loosed and a shot fired. The bang echoed throughout the woods causing several flocks of birds to flee, startled, from their nests. Neither missile succeeded because no sooner had they fired, the black figure had hoisted herself into the tree, climbing with great agility and stamina before she reached one long branch. She ran along this oaken arm and with one leap, jumped into the next tree then continued to leap from tree to tree, lower and lower, until she hit the ground running.

Raising two fingers to her mouth, she let out a whistle that pierced the tense air within a mile radius. No sooner had she done this, a great black horse showed up out of nowhere, having been waiting patiently for his mistress's command. It made straight for her and she mounted it expertly mid-gallop. Meanwhile, the company had been watching this spectacle open-mouthed. Even Hook had raised his chin up to gawk at the lithe black figure.

The intruder was just breathing a sigh of relief and turned around to laugh at the unfortunate travellers. He laugh, however, was interrupted when she saw a fireball come out of nowhere and land right in front of her stallion. It reared furiously and the rider, caught unawares, toppled off its back, the wind knocked out of her chest.

She lay there, head throbbing and confused, staring up at the blinding sun. The group encircled her, swords to her throat. She tried to stop herself. She really did. But she couldn't help it.

"Who are you and why were you following us?" David demanded but was interrupted as a fit of giggles erupted from the girl lying on the ground in front of him.

This outburst caught Regina by surprise and she clenched her jaw as the laughter invaded her skull. It was so irritating and she didn't even know why. She looked down at the girl. She had pale-ish skin, quite pale, thin lips, a rounded petite nose and bright green eyes which were sparkling with merriment in the sunlight. Her hair was so dark it might have been black but in the sun it was proven to actually be a shade of brown. It was long and wavy, curling over her raven black leather shoulder pads in all the right places. The leather seemed to be her thing. It was nothing but leather from head to foot, cuirass, leggings and boots. Regina may even have found her attractive if she wasn't so damn annoying.

"Who are you?" Charming repeated the question more firmly. They were all looking at her as if she was mad. After all, she was almost rolling around in mirth. Eventually, her smile faded as she looked at their stern faces.

"I'm The Shadow," she said. "Pleased to meet you." She accompanied this by sticking her arm straight up in the air as if asking for a handshake. None of them took it.

"Suit yourselves," she mumbled sullenly in mock hurt.

Regina wasn't taking any of this.

"Why were you following us? Tell us the truth or the next fireball will be directed between your eyes." Beautiful green eyes, she noted inwardly. This time, the girl, or The Shadow as she was supposedly known, replied with dead seriousness.

"Shadowing."

Thanks for reading and let me know as to whether I should continue. The storyline improves, I promise. And don't forget to review.