Since their fated meeting on Alice's birthday all those years ago, Alice and Robin had remained close friends despite the many days and weeks they often spent apart. They both led different lives but they always made time for each other in between. So while Alice continued to travel to various realms, both to see everything she had missed out on over the years and to find a cure for her and her father, she always made sure to return to the Enchanted Forest and drop in to the rebel camp, and then, later, the farm where Robin and her mother had settled. And on her part, Robin always made time to take breaks for achieving her father's legacy and living up to his name in order to spend time with Alice in return.
As time passed for them, it had become almost a tradition and they rarely went more than a long month without seeing each other, even if only for a very quick and brief hello-goodbye. But things were bound to change and get more difficult for them eventually. They were both living exciting lives, one of which involved travelling to other realms, often with time differences and there was no guarantee's she could get back again. Meanwhile, the other was focused on making a name for herself and helping those who needed it, so they were bound to lose touch eventually. However, ironically, it was during these times of separation that they thought the most about one another.
During Alice's travels, she wondered constantly what Robin was doing and how she was managing living up to her fathers name. After all, Alice knew that was very important to her. Every time she saw someone with flashing green eyes or caught sight of the ends of a bow or an arrow, or most certainly when she had trouble dealing with a large group of people, Robin always came to her mind. Back in another realm, Robin spent her free time just worrying that Alice was alright. She hoped she was making friends, meeting people, enjoying her free life, living every second to the fullest. And at the same time, she stupidly and selfishly hoped that she didn't get close enough to anyone that she would forget about Robin. And every day she hoped she would return to see her again. Every damn day…
Until, finally, she did.
Most of Alice's travelling involved coincidence and accidents. She didn't have a supply of magical beans to use whenever she wanted, nor did she have shoes or a hat that she could take advantage of. Instead she followed rabbits. Not many people knew but certain rabbits, specifically a type of white rabbit, were portal jumpers. If you could follow one, then it might lead you to – what Alice now affectionately referred to as – their rabbit holes, which were random portals to various realms and lands. There was one rabbit that Alice had discovered always returned to her home realm, but then one day that rabbit disappeared and Alice was forced to find a new one, leading her from one portal to the next. None of which actually being the one she needed. However, after some time had passed she finally found herself stepping through into Wonderland. Now this was somewhere she knew she could get home from!
After that it was easy steps to get back home. One quick mirror trip and Alice was stepping out into the Enchanted Forest. She even recognised the spot she was to be where she knew her father and Robin were still living and – hopefully – waiting for her. Now she just needed to find them.
Alice started by heading in direction of the Emerald Farm. She wanted to see her papa just as much as Robin, but she also knew every visit to him not only hurt her emotionally, but also put him in physical pain and incredible danger of something much worse. So for now, she would have to settle with seeing the old friend she was supposed to have met up with almost a whole year ago.
Yeah, she was a little late.
The only problem was that the area she had been dropped off from Wonderland was still a fair distance away from where she knew Robin's home to be located. Alice was beginning to realise it might take her a day or two to get back there when suddenly she heard something in the distance that momentarily distracted her. It sounded like a crowd people shouting all at once. An angry crowd. Alice recognised the sound well and knew what angry groups could be like first hand.
And it was that first hand experience that led Alice to turning away from her original plan and head towards the source of the angry cries instead. They were a fair way away from her but it sounded like they were moving in Alice's direction, so when she started running towards them, it wasn't long before she began closing in. Alice ducked down and around the trees in her way, jogging over the stretches of grass and crossing along several pathways rivers that led to a steep dropping waterfall at the edge of a cliff, creating many personal shortcuts through the woods until the voices were all loud enough to drown out the sounds of her own slamming footsteps.
Breaking through a thin bush into the road where the crowd shouting was as close as it could get without being directly on top of her, Alice was caught of guard when she accidentally ran out and knocked into a figure attempting to run passed. The two of them collided hard into one another, painfully so, and slipped off their feet, hitting the floor in a tangled mess and shouting in a mixture of surprise and pain as they did, no doubt leaving a series of bruises along their side from where their arms and ribs collided with the ground. They rolled around slightly, pulling themselves free from one another before sitting up sharply.
And then saw the faces of the person they had hit.
"Robin!" She gasped.
"Alice!" Robin yelped at the same time.
"GET HER!"
Alice looked up just in time to catch sight of the mob she had been tracking. They came into view at the end of the pathway and looked none too happy. She looked back at Robin. "Am I interrupting?" She asked.
"Explain later!" Robin gasped, jumping up and grabbing Alice's hand.
She pulled Alice back onto her feet and turned around to resume running, dragging Alice along beside her as she did. Alice was momentarily shocked but her body worked faster than her head and her feet began rushing to keep up immediately, clinging to Robin's hand so as not to accidentally let go and lose her. She had no idea what was happening, or why they were running, except that there were angry screams still calling behind her, but even now she allowed herself a slightly happy thrill. After all, she had found Robin.
They dashed in between the trees in an almost silence, the only sound being the angry cries of the mob behind her and the wind rushing passed their ears. Alice was breathing hard, but quickly realised that it was more to do with excitement then anything else. It was hard to explain but she found herself having the slightest sense of déjà vu, one that took her back to when they were running from Alice's own mob. The one that had been after her for standing up for her friend, and whom they had to use the yellow car in order to escape, grinning and laughing at the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of those around them as they did. And now they were back at it again, only it was Robin's turn to be the reason for the mob this time, and they no longer had the yellow bug for a quick escape.
Something flew passed Alice's head and she yelped in surprise. It was an arrow, thicker than Robin's and therefore not as easily manoeuvred, stabbing into a nearby tree instead of the back of her head. But still, at the sound of her cry, Robin jerked her arm, pulling her away from the embedded arrow and even further onward, in a rush that was beginning to make the blood pump fast to her arms and legs. Some of the earlier joy left as a second arrow came flying passed Robin, only this one was actually on fire!
"What did you do?!" Alice gasped as they rounded the path and turned, changing direction sharply in an attempt to lose their chasers.
"Uh…" Robin panted, risking a glance back and smiling shyly. "I kind of… Stole… From a King."
"Stole what?" Alice asked, breathlessly.
"… Kind of… His crown…" Robin grinned.
"What?!" Alice yelped. Alice was still quite new to the outside world and many of its rules and general expectancy, but even she knew taking a King's crown had to be one of the worst things a single person could possibly do. At least, short of just all out killing the King, that is.
"It's a long story!" Robin laughed.
"I still want to hear it!" Alice demanded, fighting the urge to grin. It was still scary, but it was also impossible to feel much of anything negative with Robin giggling like that.
"Later! I promise!"
Before Alice could say anything else, a figure on a horse crashed through the space in front of them, coming to a stop directly in their path. The girls skidded to sudden stops of their own – Robin better than Alice and if she hadn't been holding her hand the other girl probably would have ended up sprawled on the ground – and they both took a short step back from the horse and his rider. He was a knight in bright gold and silver decorated armour, swinging his sword around to point the threatening tip down at the two of them.
Quickly, they turned around to get away from him only to freeze as the mob of guards that had been following them now quickly closed in the last stretch of distance. They glanced to the side and while they weren't completely surrounded, the trees were too thick for an easy getaway. They were all close enough that the guards would be unable to get through with their thick armour and horses, but Alice and Robin would struggle too and they risked the chance of getting stuck as much as anyone else did, let alone shot in the back once they turned away.
It was too much of a risk. And at the same time, it was the only one they had.
"By order of King-" One of the guards began, he and his men relaxing slightly, sure they had the girls caught.
Before he could even finish his sentence, Robin had dived to the side. She still had a hold of Alice's hand, and was pulling her along behind it. It awkward, once they reached the trees, but luckily the guards hadn't expected another break for an escape and so didn't attack them right away, when they had their best chance. It was a short second but it gave the girls the bare minimum time to untangle and squeeze through the biggest gap in the trees they could find, though it did force them to finally release the hold they had on one another.
"After them!" Someone cried.
"Run!" Robin shouted. Not that she needed to. Alice was already on the move, rushing by her side.
Together, they began to duck and dive around the trees that were planted in their way. There was no set path for them now, and more than once they realised they were slowly curving away from one another in their haste to keep up their speed. Each time this happened, they simply manoeuvred their way back to one another, almost in perfect sync as they did. And every time they worked their way back to each other, they still didn't break the strides forward, keeping a fair amount of space between them and the following guards.
"Why did you steal his crown?" Alice gasped, feeling a ridiculous smile pulling at her face. The adrenaline rush combined with the excitement of seeing Robin again was leaving her feeling oddly pleased, despite the dangerous rush of armed men following with their weapons pointed her way.
"Basically…" Robin shouted, leaping over a fallen log. "The king…" She twisted around a tree. "Took the crown…" She ducked a low branch. "From the tomb of his grandfather…" She grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her sharply to the side, changing direction without a moments notice, trying to throw the men off. "But the grandfather king always said…" She ducked another low branch. "That he wanted his people to have the crown!" She jerked to a stop and paused to untangle a bit of her trouser leg which had gotten caught on an upturned root. "He was a good guy, but the new king married into the family and, well…" She broke free. "He's a dick!"
"But you can't just give the crown back to his people." Alice said, patiently waiting until they were both ready to start running again. "Won't he just take it off them?"
The guard's voices had grown distant at one point but during their break to untangle Robin's trouser, they had begun to rise again. Quickly, the girls grabbed onto one another's arms and began another dash for their attempt at a getaway.
"Well yeah, I hadn't really planned what to do next!" Robin laughed. "I just knew I had to do something!"
Her laughter was infectious and Alice found herself joining in, having to concentrate in order to keep from slowing her pace while she did. To be fair, Alice always believed it was better to do something rather than nothing. Even if you didn't know what your next step after that would be. You could always figure out the rest later as you were doing it.
"We need to lose them!" Alice gasped, glancing over her shoulder to find that, while they had managed to thin the guards down to a selective number, there were still plenty of them closing in. Those left were smart enough to abandon the horses behind and give chase on foot and were able to slide through some of the smaller gaps though not as easily as Robin and Alice, yet they were still somehow gaining on them.
"What do you think I've been trying to do?!" Robin yelped, still laughing so much she almost stumbled.
"Well now it's my turn!" Alice grinned, winking at her. "I'm good at losing people."
Robin glanced at her, cheekily. "Really? Bet you couldn't lose me."
Despite the intense situation, Alice felt her heart skip in her chest. She grinned stupidly and a thousand responses ran through her mind, all of which were along the same lines: I'd never want to.
Before she could say anything, however, Robin went on. "Well I trust you. So lead the way, Tower Girl!"
Still grinning like an idiot, Alice reached over and took Robin's hand in her own, enjoying the warm sweaty feeling she got from her palm. Once they were firmly joined, Alice took the lead. She just pulled a few steps ahead, guiding Robin behind her and glancing around the space, searching for every and any tight hole they might be able to slide in between or tricky obstacle they could work around while leaving the guards behind them in the dust.
Alice hadn't been pretending when she said she was good at losing people. Many years of living life to the full after escaping her tower had taught that much. Whether it be a monstrous creature, or a series of red and white guards, or a crazy queen hellbent on having her head cut off for daring to question her sanity, Alice knew the best way to lose someone in a chase. It also helped that Alice was, normally, so much smaller than everyone else, giving her the chance to slip and slid in between gaps others couldn't quite follow, however that wasn't going to work this time. Not if she wanted to bring Robin along with her.
"This way!" Alice said, pulling her to the side. It would have helped her more if she knew the area, but Alice had worked in unfamiliar places before. She was confident she could get them out of this mess well enough.
"After you!" Robin grinned, keeping close to her side and squeezing her hand tightly.
"Don't let them get away!" Someone shouted.
The rest of the guards gave a loud cry of agreement and charged ahead, but even just by listening Alice knew they were going to get away. The guards were doing their best to keep up, sure, but their armour was too thick and clunky to be giving a long chase on foot the way they were, even worse through a crowded cluster of thick growing trees surrounding them.
Yeah, this was going to be easy.
They burst through a gap in a nearby bush, stepping out onto the open dirt road once more. The gap was far too small for the guards to be able to squeeze through easily and the seconds of delay where they attempted it would give Alice and Robin their chance to get away for good.
… Or not.
"Halt! One move and we open fire!" The Captain of the group of guards laying in wait for them shouted.
There were two small groups surrounding the little gap they had escaped through. The guards giving chase must have been subtly herding the girls in this very direction, or otherwise it was an incredible piece of bad luck on their part. Either way, they were surrounded and outgunned with guards in every possible direction, including the dozen still closing in behind them. The small gaps would slow them down, but the certainly wouldn't stop them.
"Woops," Alice mumbled shyly. She was meant to get them out of trouble and had instead literally led them into it.
"Lower your weapons and get to your knees!" The Captain of the guards snapped, glaring down at them through his dark silver helmet.
In response, Robin lift her bow and pointed an arrow at him, scowling despite the many weapons directed at her in return. For whatever reason, no one fired. Maybe they were afraid of damaging the crown or maybe they weren't even sure she had it any more and wanted to question her, but for whatever reason, everyone was holding themselves perfectly still.
Alice glanced around. There were at least fifteen guards in total, all sitting a top of horses, swords in hand, each pointed down at the girls threateningly. None of them looked very much like giving the two young girls a break and behind her she could hear the chasing guards beginning to catch up. It would only be a few short seconds before they slipped through, either direction behind them or in the other gaps along the path, and then they would be able to grab the girls from behind, pinning them down and tying them up. After that, it would be game over for good.
This was all Alice's fault. She had to fix it. She had to make up for her stupid mistake and get Robin out of here.
She would never forgive herself if she caused anything to happen to Robin.
It was then Alice saw something behind the guards to her left. It was just across the dirt path, hidden behind a few tightly gathered trees. It was a long skinny stream of river water, rushing down along the ground and towards where there was a very distant sound of a nearby water fall. The same one Alice had passed on her way to find Robin's farm.
Alice's face broke out into a wide grin and she turned to Robin. As soon as the other girl saw her smile and saw the little spark of light in her eye, her muscles relaxed and she returned the look. Though she didn't lower her weapon, she was ready to at a moments notice once the pretty blonde gave the word.
Turning back to the guards, Alice frowned and focused on one of the nearby horses. It was a beautiful creature. And innocent. Alice would do her best not to get any of the poor creatures they were riding hurt during the escape. Though it wouldn't be easy, Alice was determined to try and take advantage of them none the less.
Stepping slightly closer to Robin, Alice focused on the horses to her right. She was still a little rusty with her talent but thanks to Rumplestiltskin, her magic skills were getting better and after a few second the horses seemed to hear her thoughts clearly, turning to look straight at her. Experience had told Alice that not many animals enjoyed being used to hunt down innocent people. Most of the time they followed orders because they didn't understand what was happening and while, yes, there could be bully animals like there were bully humans, most of them were truly innocent in the mess their human owners made them get involved in.
With Alice's message and magic pulsing through them, the horses became restless. They shuffled and paced and rocked slightly on the spot, just enough to cause their riders to frown down at them and wonder what had them acting up all of a sudden. Then without warning, the horse let out a loud huff and charged forward. The other horses moved out the way out of instinct, barely avoiding being hit head on, and the riders all let out surprised cries and shouts of confusion as they were carried away and brushed carelessly to the side.
"GO!" Alice shouted, dashing away in the opposite direction of the chaos where the right side of the road was now clear for them.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Robin said, rushing after her.
They started running side by side back down the path once more, following the open dirt road with Alice taking the lead and guiding the way. Now she had a set goal in mind, she found herself running even faster than before, with Robin following closely at her side, only having to struggle slightly in order to keep up with her.
Alice's attack had been gentle, so it didn't take the guards very long to right themselves and begin another chase, but they only needed the short pause to get their head start. As they ran down the open path, the sound of the waterfall grew louder until it was no longer a steady rumble and instead, a distant roar that almost drowned out the shouting of the guards behind them. At that point, Alice began to pull Robin towards the trees and back into the wooden forest area, off of the dirt path, taking a short cut down towards the river.
Robin followed in obedient silence, allowing Alice to take her down so they ran directly beside the river. Robin assumed they were going to go through the water and onto the other side but instead Alice followed the trickling stream until it grew more fierce and intense, to the point where it was too dangerous to risk getting anywhere near. Then Alice continued to lead them along, right up to where the trees ended and they found they were at an open area at the top of the waterfall.
"Where to now?" Robin asked, glancing around, but they had clearly stumbled into a dead end and the only way back was behind them to face the guards for a second time.
"Do you trust me?" Alice asked, looking back at her and grinning excitedly.
"Yes." Robin said without hesitation, blushing slightly at her rushed response but Alice didn't seem to notice.
"Then let's go!"
Before Robin could say anything else, Alice reached back, grabbing and tightening the hold on her hand before she pulled her forward, jumping over the edge and down towards the water bellow. Robin didn't have a chance to ask her any questions of think things through before she was dragged after the other girl and they began the steep drop. She was more than a little taken by surprise but at the same time, she wasn't very worried. She had meant what she said before.
She trusted Alice.
So when the two of them dropped down towards the far off water bellow, instead of being afraid of it, Robin found herself squealing like when she went on her first roller coaster ride during a short trip outside of Storybrooke. She held onto Alice's hand tightly and had just enough time to look up at her and share a brief grin before they had to look away and hold their breath. The next thing they knew, their feet hit the water and their bodies sunk down hard and fast.
It was freezing cold upon contact and Robin and Alice each had to fight the urge to gasp at the intense pressure that surrounded their bodies, dropping them down halfway towards the bottom before the finally stopped sinking. Immediately, still holding hands, Robin began to pull Alice under the water, swimming away from the rushing pressure of the waterfall, even as their bodies began a natural rise back towards the surface. When they eventually changed direction and swam back up for air, they broke through the surface of the water a safe space away, gasping and fighting giggles at the same time.
Behind them, they could hear the guards calling orders in the distance but already the many men had become tiny specks that stood all the way up at the top of the cliff edge. It was obvious that they would not be following the girls any time soon. They didn't trust the steep drop, which probably saved their lives, since the armour they all wore would no doubt drag them to the bottom of the water to drown in a matter of seconds.
Still laughing as their bodies floated through the water, Robin somewhat led the way until they found a level footing to stand on, still up to their shoulders in fresh running river. Only after they had finally found a bit of ground to stand still on, did Robin turn to Alice properly, meaning to share in their successful escape. Except, before she could say anything, the other girl jumped up, splashing in the water and whooping loudly. Then she reached over, grabbing Robin by the shoulders and pulling her close. In one smooth sweep forward, Alice was pressing a hard kiss to Robin's cold lips.
The world stopped.
Everything went silent and disappeared around them.
Suddenly it was just them and them alone.
Alice squeezed Robin's shoulders tightly, keeping her eyes shut, enjoying the warmth of Robin's breath sliding between her cold lips as they pressed against her own. She became lost in that feeling; along with the sweet smell that came off her now she was as close as she could get. Somehow it was a strong scent of fruit perfume that went undisturbed, even with damp clothes and wet hair sticking to her face and limbs, staining her with a slight pond-like scent.
Robin's own eyes were widened with shock but only for a moment after Alice initiated the kiss, then they slowly slid them shut. She didn't grab onto Alice, but only because she was too taken aback by how soft her lips were. She'd dreamt about them a thousand times and yet nothing she imagined could possibly live up to the real thing.
An unknown amount of time passed between them as they held the kiss. It was perfect and Robin didn't want it to ever end. Just as she relaxed enough to begin reaching under the water for Alice's hips, intent on pulling her closer together, the other girl chose that moment to break their kiss, pulling away as Robin's hand frozen midway in their reach.
Alice pulled away, the smile freezing on her face and her eyes widening like she had just realised what it was she had done. She opened her mouth to say something but seemed too stunned by her own actions to speak, and honestly, Robin wasn't feeling much better. Her heart was still racing in her chest and her face felt so hot despite the cold water still soaking into them, but it was her lips more than anything that felt like they were on fire. Except they had gone suddenly cold now that Alice's were no longer warming them. She could barely believe it really happened. But it had. And now everything had changed.
Finishing what she started, and reaching the rest of the way towards her, Robin grabbed Alice's waist and pulled her close. She leaned the rest of the way forward and shut her eyes – this time ready for what was to come…
Only to pull away at the sudden sound of horse's pounding feet on the solid surface nearby. They looked up seconds before a royal guard and his steed strode into a clearing by the water. It didn't take him long to spot them seconds after he had stepped forward. Immediately, he glanced back over his shoulder and called towards the others.
"They're here! They survived! Come quick!"
"Later." Robin promised Alice, still sounding breathless before she pulled away, loaded an arrow and hit the horse's leg, causing it to topple to the side and knock the rider off from its back mid shout.
Alice cringed slightly and quickly focused on the horse, even as Robin grabbed her and pulled her along towards the side and back out of the water. She stumbled in her steps but found it didn't take as much effort as earlier to use her magic. A moment later, as they stepped completely out of the river, the horse had scrambled back onto its feet like nothing had happened and jogged off away from its still injured rider.
"Come on, Alice!" Robin urged, pulling her back towards the trees opposite them.
"Coming!" Alice gasped, squeezing her hand and following her from where a new set of hooves had began trampling along the ground.
They were still dripping wet, running hand and hand with a newfound speed and rush of adrenaline, as they made their final get away. It didn't take them very long this time, as the area became familiar to them both, and the final straw came when they stumbled upon a rabbit hole. Alice quickly took them down it, escaping to a familiar land that she didn't know the name of, and leaving the guards to stumble around blindly behind them.
The whole way they were encouraged on by the burning feeling that remained on their lips from their first kiss.
The first of many.