"What the hell was that?" Emma breaths, when a deep guttural call sounds off into the distance.
Mulan, Aurora and Snow have already stopped dead in their tracks at the sound. Snow with her eyes closed, sighs, "Ogres." She replies, reluctantly.
Emma's head whips round to her direction, "Ogres?" She repeats, a mixture of horror and disbelief evident in her features.
"RUN!" Snow yells suddenly, as the call grows louder.
The four women start immediately for the opening of the forest they were originally heading for. Inside Mulan, Aurora and Snow navigate their way with all the ease of an Enchanted Forest inhabitant but Emma finds herself tripping over every other root and branch, the confines of her tied hands only making matters worse. After two hundred yards or so, Mulan calls back to the lagging Emma and Snow to indicate a hiding spot, nestled under a ridge of built up earth. The four women cram under it, Snow and Aurora kneeling with Mulan choosing to crouch instead, ready if the need to escape quickly arises.
"Emma? Are you ok?" Snows asks gently, placing her hand on Emma's arm, when she notices the blondes head resting on her knees.
"Honestly?" Emma replies, lifting her head up to meet Snow's worried gaze. "Not really. Can't say this has exactly been a banner week for me, what with breaking curses, running from ogres, fighting dragons-"
"Fighting dragons?" Aurora cuts in suddenly, eyes narrowed, her voice thick with suspicion. "I thought you said your world had no magic?" She directs at Snow.
Snow looks up at Aurora at that, with a conflicted expression, which reminds Emma all too much of Mary Margaret.
"Hey, lay off her, Sleeping Beauty." Emma interjects. "The dragon was a friend of Regina's she brought along for the ride."
The colour visibly drains from Aurora's face at that, her features softening instantly. "Maleficent." She states simply, in barely a whisper, seemingly to no one. "Mulan, do you think it could be?"
Mulan shrugs her shoulders in response to the princess. "It sounds plausible. Unless the Evil Queen has any other scaly friends we don't know about."
"I can think of one or two."Snow scoffs to herself.
"What of Maleficent now? Is she still a danger? Is she still in her dragon form?" Aurora presses on, staring expectantly at Emma.
Emma all but squirms under the princesses unrelenting gaze. "Well, not exactly." Emma replies, all too vaguely for the princess, who widens her eyes, prompting Emma to continue. "I, I killed her."
Aurora gasps softly at Emma's admission. "She's dead?"
Emma simply nods once solemnly in response.
"I can't believe it." Aurora breaths, shaking her head. "She's actually dead."
With Emma and Snow unable to think of any appropriate response, Mulan quietly cuts in to break the heavy silence that has fallen over them.
"I think we're probably safe now. From the ogres. But we have to keep moving if we want to reach the safe haven by night fall."
Effectively pulling Aurora from her train of thought, the princess looks up at the rising Mulan, nodding quickly in agreement before the others follow in her direction.
Unable to sleep with the recent news of Maleficent's fate, Aurora finds herself navigating her way in the direction of the sleeping prisoners. She stops a yard away from the sleeping blonde, regarding her features that have softened considerably with the presence of sleep, her hair glimmering almost golden in colour under the flicker of candlelight. The princess kneels down softly next to her, placing a gentle but firm hand on her upper arm.
"Emma? Emma?" She calls softly, rousing the blonde with a soft shake.
Emma gasps at the force of being woken, her features hardening instantly again from fear.
"I thought you were an ogre!" Emma snaps, visible annoyed at being woken from what little sleep she had managed to get in the last day and a half.
"Charming!" Aurora retorts, snatching her hand back from Emma's arm.
Emma rolls her eyes at Aurora's seemingly oblivious choice of words. "What is it?" Emma prompts her, awkwardly stifling a yawn with her tied hands. "Are we on the move again?"
Aurora shakes her head gently in response. "No. I'm sorry I didn't mean to alarm you. I just, I came to thank you. For Maleficent." She explains, at Emma's look of confusion.
"Oh." Emma replies, taken aback by the princesses reason for waking her. "Erm, you're…welcome. I guess." Emma adds, unsurely.
Aurora smiles warmly at Emma's bashful response. "I mean it. Thank you. You can't imagine how I must feel right now. And for that, I don't know how I could possibly thank you enough."
"Well, I guess you could cut off these ropes for a start." Emma gestures to her hands, jokingly.
"Oh." Aurora says, as if only realising Emma's hands were tied for the first time. "Of course." She adds briskly, taking a small dagger from her waist.
Emma raises her eyebrows at the princesses actions, having only been joking about her undoing the ties.
"There." Aurora announces triumphantly, when Emma's hands are free. "You'll probably sleep much better now." She adds, with a reassuring smile, her blue eyes gleaming in the low candlelight.
"Er, yeah. Thanks." Emma replies, wringing her chaffed wrists.
Aurora shifts back on her knees. "I better let you rest. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."
"Yeah, I guess I will." Emma muses. "Goodnight Aurora." She adds awkwardly, as the princess makes to stand.
A warm, genuine smile tugs at the princesses lips at that, before she bends back down to Emma. "Goodnight. Saviour." She replies, before placing a gentle kiss to Emma's cheek.