We own no one but our own people
A/N so this is a next gen fic that me and Curious Archer are co-writing together. We really hope you all love it and review it and adore everything about it.
The pounding rain and roaring winds whipped the young archer in the face. Her hair flying behind her as she hurried her horse on, kicking the brown stallion as hard as she could, urging it on, begging it to go faster. Later she would apologise to the beautiful steed for any pain she caused, but for now she couldn't spare a moment to worry about it. There was too much at stake to worry about anything but what was right in front of her.
"Yah!" Robyn Hood cried. She kicked him again as he galloped through the woods. The branches from the low hanging trees slapped the woman's arms and shoulders but the sting was nothing compared to the heavy ache in her heart.
She was close. So close.
"Come on, come on!" Robyn yelled, each cry getting louder until she was screaming. But even then the crash of thunder drowned out her words completely along with the pounding of the horses hoofs against the soft, wet ground under them.
There. In the distance. Her keen eyes she had inherited from her father spotted the figure laying on the wet grass, just where the spell her mother had cast said she would be.
She was dressed in a beautiful dark red gown, Robyn's favorite color on her, with her beautiful wild blonde curls fanned out around her head. As always, she was stunning...
And she also wasn't moving.
"Alice!" Robyn cried out as her horse finished the last of his sprint towards the blonde. As soon as she was close enough, she yanked on the reins, pulling the faithful animal to a stop before she jumped off the horse's back and ran over to her beloved. She skidded slightly as she dropped to her side, not caring about the dirt and muck that stained her already brown hunting trousers. Pulling Alice into her arms, she began cradling her close.
"Come on, Alice," Robyn begged, holding onto her. She gently shook her, as if rising her from an evening nap, but Alice remained motionless as ever. "Alice, please wake up!" The archer let out a sob as her fiancée laid still in her hold. "Baby, please don't leave me now!"
Her pleas did nothing. Her begging did nothing. Her tears did nothing.
Alice was dead. Her tower girl was gone.
Robyn let out a sob as she cradled her closer, pulling her body up so she could press her face into Alice's smooth blonde hair. Even dead, she still had a beautiful lingering sweet smell that had always made Robyn weak in the knees and had she not been as cold as the rain still falling around them, Robyn might have held some spark of hope. But she was cold. She was gone...
The witch had finally won.
The Sorceress finally had her revenge…
"I'm sorry… Alice, I'm so sorry," she cried as she held her tighter. "I should have been here, I should have protected you. You shouldn't have been alone…"
Robyn stayed like that for a long while, the rain soaking her to the bone while the crashes of lightning and the roaring of thunder erupted all around them. The weather matched her mood perfectly, almost like it had been done on purpose. Then again, it could have been the happiest, sunniest day in history and Robyn would have still felt like she was sitting in the middle of the apocalypse.
Finally the archer pulled away and gently laid the blonde back down on the ground in front of her. She stroked Alice's soft hair, one last time as she gazed down at her beautiful face. So serene and at peace. A fresh wave of sobs built up but Robyn fought them back, her remaining tears indistinguishable from the drops of rain still coating them both.
"I love you, Tower Girl," Robyn whispered softly before she leaned down and pressed her lips against hers, one last time.
A bright flash of light erupted from their touch and spread out throughout the realm, warming them and every creature it touched. At the exact same time, either by magic or by coincidence, the rainfall stopped and the sun broke through one of the lingering stormy clouds overhead, shining down on top of them.
Alice gasped a deep breath as her eyes flew open. Immediately, the blue orbs found her archer still hovering over her. Robyn was momentarily frozen, caught between surprise and a slight sudden fear that she had somehow fallen asleep and this moment was nothing but a dream.
Alice's face broke into a gentle smile. "I love you too, Nobin."
At those simple words, Robyn erupted in tears of joy as she leaned down and kissed her adventurer again, burying her hand in her soaked curls in order to pull her closer. The two lovers wrapped their arms around another, each of them knowing that they had finally found their happily ever after.
—-
Three Months Later
"I do."
Robyn smiled at the blonde standing in front of her. She gently reached up and wiped away the happy tears that had fallen down the adventurers face, leaving twin trails that didn't disturb her beauty in the slightest.
They were standing in a wide open ballroom, decorated to extraordinary levels. Every which way they looked there were hanging lights and bright coloured strips of confetti paper dangling from the ceiling and walls. They were surrounded, not just by pretty materials, but also by their friends and family, all of whom had come to celebrate and share in the love of the two women.
Robyn was dressed in a modern ensemble she had gotten from one of the dressmakers in Storybrooke. A spaghetti strap dress that came a few inches below her knees with ivy and flower embellishments. Her father's warm woolen cloak was wrapped securely around her and she had forgone a veil for her mother's floppy brimmed hat, both magically dyed the same color white as her dress.
Alice, meanwhile, had gone for a traditional gown, with a tight plain white corset and a bell style skirt. It also had long draping sleeves with her curls pinned under a simple veil that seemed to shine almost as much as the little spark of happiness in her damp eyes. She wore a single piece of jewelry, a simple silver chain with a starfish charm on it.
Roland stood besides Robyn, across from where Lucy was holding a small basket of flowers in front of her. Robyn's older half brother had a proud look on his tanned face, and was dressed handsomely in a forest green doublet with white peasant sleeves and brown leather trousers.
"And do you," Archie continued. "Robyn Emerald Hood take Alice Leah Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"I do," Robyn announced, loudly, almost as much to the church as she did to her bride. She laughed softly at the gleeful look that had overtaken Alice's face at the sound of those two simple words.
"Then, by the power vested in me by the Gods of this Realm and the laws of man, I now pronounce you Wife and Wife. You may kiss the bride."
The two women leaned in before he had even fully finished his last sentence. Their lips half an inch apart, both of them ready to seal their love while everyone else brought their hands up, ready to begin a roar of approving applause in their honour.
BANG!
The entire church gasped in surprise as they turned to where the noise had came from, including the two brides. Alice whimpered fearfully as she clung to the archer who's happy expression was replaced with a sharp glare at the woman who had interrupted the ceremony. Instantly, she wrapped her arms protectively around the curly haired blonde and pulled her close as the doors came to a quivering stop against the walls behind them.
"Sorry I'm late."
The witch strode in the church and made her way quickly down the aisle, almost gliding instead of walking. Two guards immediately raced towards the woman who didn't even attempt to pause her stride. Instead she merely sent them flying with a quick flick of her wrists.
Zelena ran out from her spot amongst the crowd, a green fireball at the ready while Alice's father rushed along at her side. There was a sharp slicing sound as he pulled his sword from its scabbard that rest against his hip and held it threateningly in front of him.
"If you touch my daughter or her bride, I will make you BLEED!" The red headed woman snarled dangerously.
"You're not hurting either of them ever again!" The man formerly known as Detective Rogers yelled.
The woman finally paused her advance, but then just smirked at the two parents for a brief second before she waved her hand at them again. With barely a real thought about it, she sent them flying across the church and over the heads of the other guests, crashing painfully into the wall.
Alice cried out for her Papa while Robyn didn't even blink. Her mother would be fine, but she still had to protect Alice.
"It's the Sorceress!" One of the dwarves cried out. "Run!"
Robyn relinquished her gallant hold on Alice and quickly snatched up her bow from where it rest against the side of the podium they stood on, and at the same time plucked one of her arrows from the quiver next to it. She had brought the weapon just for this occasion, knowing it would happen even while she hoped to be proven wrong. Pushing Alice behind her for safety, she took aim. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother do the same.
"She's not a Sorceress!" Robyn barked as she took aim at the smug dark leather clad woman who feared neither the archer nor the weapon she pointed at her. "She's nothing. Not any more. Now she's just an evil witch!"
"Love, don't!" Alice begged from behind her.
Robyn hesitated before slowly lowering the bow. "You already lost. True love's kiss woke Alice up. You will not ruin this day or any other days for us or anyone else."
"Oh I didn't come to ruin anything," the woman said with a playful smirk. "On the contrary, Hood… I've come to give you and your new bride a gift."
"There is nothing in this world that you could have that we would want!" Robyn snapped.
"But you shall have it!"
In the frightened crowd of spectators a blonde woman and a dark haired man raced to the front of the crowd, both of them watching with wide eyed and broken hearts as the woman who had terrified every last soul in attendance walked in a circle in the middle of the room. Her face, once so innocent and pure, now looked almost disgusted at the displays of love in front of her.
Black haired bespectacled Neal Nolan and his dark green eyed wife Alexandra held each other from the side as they looked in terror at the woman they had once known so well. Now, it felt like they were looking at a stranger.
"My gift to you," the witch announced. "Is this happy… happy day… for tomorrow my real work begins."
"Couldn't even come up with your own script?"
The woman smirked as Regina emerged from the crowd, her own smug expression on her face.
"You're just a poor imitation of me," the brunette told the uninvited woman. "Threatening people at their wedding?" Regina walked up to the woman, standing toe to toe with her. "That's my job."
"Yes, I suppose it is." Neither Regina nor the woman moved an inch, a tension rising from both sorcerers that caused even more uneasiness amongst the already frightened crowd the longer it lasted.
"The problem, Regina, is that I just do it SO much better than you."
The woman moved half a second faster than the brown eyed Queen and a second later Regina was lifted up off the ground, struggling against the magical hold and gasping for breath.
"Mom!" Henry yelled out frantically but the woman ignored his fearful cry like he wasn't even there.
Both Roland and Robyn retook their aim and released their arrows. Their shots were true but the woman just flicked them away as if she were swatting away a bothersome fly.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted… you've made your vows, now I make mine. Soon, everything you love, everything ALL of you love." The woman's eyes gleamed wild with amusement as she looked over the faces of those who had betrayed her. "Will be taken from you, forever. Out of your suffering, will rise my victory. Only I won't just be sending you to some corner of Maine… No. My curse will make Regina's little spell look like child's play…"
She finally dropped the brown eyed Queen at her feet. As soon as she was free, Regina gasped for the air that she had been viciously deprived of. Henry raced forward and helped her off of the ground, supporting her weight as she struggled to catch her breath.
The woman turned her smirk on the brown haired author and his mother. There was no sign of care in her gaze as she looked over him, lingering so he could see just how little he meant to her, before she turned back to the brides.
"I shall destroy your happiness… if it is the LAST thing I do!"
With a flip of her long blonde hair the woman turned and glided back down the aisle towards the exit.
"Hope!"
Hope Swan-Jones froze as her parents finally stepped forward. They had been watching wordlessly up until this point until they had finally found the courage to do what they had to. Tears gathered in Emma's hazel eyes as she looked at their daughter, trying not to imagine her as the infant baby she had cradled so close once many years ago...
"Don't do this, Love," Hook pleaded with the younger blonde. "Please…"
"There's still a chance for your happiness, Hope. REAL happiness," Emma added desperately.
Hope didn't even bother turning around to face the two of them. They weren't worth it. Before anyone else could do or say anything to her, she disappeared in a puff of dark blue smoke.
—
Present Day
She awoke in the forest staring up at a darkening blue sky. There was a long pause as her thoughts took an extra few seconds to catch up with her and wake up as well. Then, she racked her mind, trying to think of how she had ended up lying here.
It was then she realized she not only didn't know how she had gotten out there, she also couldn't remember where she even was. Or WHO she was. The girl had no memory of any friends, family, events… it was as if her life started the moment she woke up in that forest except it couldn't have… Could it?
Her heart began to race but she wouldn't allow herself to panic. She couldn't panic, she had to stay calm. She was already in a bad situation and freaking out would just make things worse.
The girl sat up slowly, waiting for the heavy feeling in her body to fade before she looked around. She was surrounded by trees and a thick brush but, thankfully, a clearly marked walking path was just a few feet away. She slowly stood, her legs wobbly but otherwise she seemed uninjured and somewhat steady.
She looked down at herself, letting out a breath of relief when she saw that she was fully dressed in a pair of jeans, a brown long sleeved shirt with an olive green jacket overtop. She quickly patted herself down, both checking for possessions and hidden wounds. It seemed she truly was unharmed and while she didn't have a phone, she did have a wallet. The girl pulled it out and opened it, thankful to at least see an ID along with about a hundred dollars in cash and a debit card still safely tucked away. Whatever had happened, at least she knew she hadn't been mugged.
She looked at the ID for a moment, staring at the name on the license.
Robyn Sheridan.
Robyn bit her lip as tears gathered in her eyes. That name wasn't familiar to her. Not at all. Her own name was foreign to her…
What the hell had happened to her?
Robyn made her way down the open path, hoping that she was heading towards the start of the trail and not traveling further on into the trees. Her prayers were answered just a moment later as she saw a paved road in the distance. Well that was another good thing to know, she certainly had good eyesight. With that noted in mind for future reference, she came out the way she believed she must have gone in.
Robyn emerged from the forest and took a deep breath as she glanced from one side of the road to the other. She soon spotted a large sign with cursive writing on it and she walked slowly over.
"Welcome to Storybrooke," it read.
Robyn decided that going into the town was her best bet at this point. If not to get some definite answers as to who she was, then at least to find someone who might be able to help. With a deep breath to ease some of her tight nerves, she walked into the small town of Storybrooke.
Meanwhile, under the Storybrooke toll bridge, a girl called Alice Carroll with wild blonde curls awoke, not knowing anything more about herself than Robyn did.
Far away from Storybrooke, a man with brown hair in a quiet suburb outside of Omaha, a brown skinned man in a rundown apartment in Southside Chicago, a man with black hair and glasses in a high rise in downtown Manhattan, and a woman with dark green eyes in a rusted trailer in rural Alabama, all had the same question as one another.
Who the hell were they?
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