Robin's eyes never faltered as she watched the white rabbit leap underneath the thickets. She felt the feathers of her arrow pass her cheek and watched the weapon sail toward her target. It hit the tree trunk, slicing the thin rope traveling down its length, causing her trap to fall from the branches and upon the creature. She heard the trap door shut tight and smiled in victory. Pushing aside the bush, she looked upon her prize as it shuffled within its cage.

"Got to run twice as fast as that, my pretty."

Before she could finish bagging the animal, she could hear the distinct sound of dogs howling. She threw the sack over her shoulder and sprinted through the trees, knowing the hunting party would soon be on the move. Sure enough, she heard an arrow flying on her left and hitting a tree too far off.

"Idiots," she insulted them.

She could hear the familiar shouting of men leagues far behind her, trying to catch up. But they never could. No one could outmatch her.

She raced passed the edge of the forest and jumped the wooden fence bordering their farmland, feeling her mother's protection spell wash over her like a welcome home. She looked back quickly, when she could no longer hear them, and wondered if they simply gave up when she vanished or if she should expect to see them later.

She slowed to a jog as she came closer to work she abandoned this morning, but a sharp tug on her sack resulted in her falling on her backside.

"What have I told you about poaching in the forest?"

Looking upward, Robin winced at the frown on her mother's face. Zelena stood tall, one hand holding Robin's sack and the other on her hip as she prepared for another reprimanding for her daughter.

"We are returning this to them. Now."

Begrudgingly, Robin got to her feet and followed her mother toward the gates at the entrance of their home. She recognized one of the idiots as he searched for something he couldn't see, his weapon at hand and a scowl on his faces. Zelena pushed the gate open and Robin watched as the man acknowledged their sudden appearance with alarm.

"Witchcraft," he exclaimed.

His word drew the attention of his peers, and they soon joined their foolish comrade's side.

"Yes, it is. It's good to know my mother's powers are not unknown to you. Too bad you're too brainless to take caution," Robin countered.

"Give us back our property, thief."

Robin looked to her mother, silently begging Zelena to say something but with the raise of her mother's eyebrow, Robin knew she would receive no aid.

Raising the bottom of the sack, she released the rabbit and watched as it hopped off, only for one of the men to snatch it up by the ears.

"You got what you came for, now go home," Robin said, bitterness laced each word.

"Why don't you go back where you came from," spat another man.

Raising her bow and arrow, Robin aimed it toward the voice.

"Are you deaf as well as brainless? I said, go home!"

Stepping to her daughter's side, Zelena forced Robin to lower her aim.

"We don't want any trouble. My daughter returned your property."

"She shouldn't be hunting in our woods in the first place."

"Maybe if you shared the land, you wouldn't feel so stupid being robbed," Robin accused.

"And let a pair of monsters like you roam free? The two of you need to be locked up!"

Robin raised her bow again, when her mother dragged her behind the front gate and let the protection spell hide them from the men's sight. Robin grasped the top of the gate so hard, she felt every crevice of the wood press into the leather of her glove.

"You two can hide in there, forever!"

She listened in anger as the men left, grumbling about an unconventional victory, and she stormed past Zelena back toward the farm.

"Robin! We're not done talking just yet. Don't walk away from me, young lady!"

"I'm turning eighteen, you can stop ordering me about, Mother."

"As long as I'm your Mother, it doesn't matter how old you are. You live here, you will live under my rules."

She could see her mother was not prepared for her to turn around so swiftly and when she did, her eyes met Zelena's without hesitation.

"Your rules make no sense. Why shouldn't we be just as free to go where we want here?"

"It's just safer to stay on the farm."

"That's all you ever say. Just once, I want to hear you tell me why we can't go outside the fences."

Robin waited, but her mother said nothing.

"That's what I thought. Have you ever considered, maybe they'd respect us more if they knew what we could do."

"That's not earning their respect, Robin. That's using their fear."

"It's the same thing, isn't it?"

"I know I raised you better than that."

With nothing to say to that, Robin turned away and walked toward their cottage. She dashed into her room, slamming the door and bolting it shut. Pressing her back to the door, she groaned at the memory of what transpired. She couldn't understand her mother's reasoning.

She looked around the room and gazed upon her life inside the confining space. Upon on the shelves lined figurines she built out of sticks and leaves when she was a little girl, because her mother would never go to town to buy her actual toys. She imagined all the people living in their town and all the friends that she wished she could make. What she wanted for her birthday, was a friend.

"Robin, you cannot stay in there to avoid me," came Zelena's voice through the door.

"Didn't plan to," Robin mumbled, pulling her hood up and crossing the room. Hoisting herself through the window, she landed quietly on her feet and made a beeline for the forest once again.