Disclaimer: I draw inspiration from OUAT, and other stories/lands/realms/kingdoms. I do not own any of the source material. Please do not sue me Disney.
Synopsis:There are many Realms, Lands, and Kingdoms. Some we know about and have visited; StoryBroke, Misthaven, Agrabah, NeverLand, Wonderland, Arendelle, Oz, NetherWorld, Camelot, The Enchanted Forest, Land Without Color, and the Land Without Magic.
And other Realms that we have heard of in legends and whispered from bedtime stories: Middle Earth, Land of the Lost, DreamLands, EarthSea, Florin, Hyrule, Yurt, Azeroth, DiscWorld, Fayron, Planescape, Hogwarts.
Lastly, there are Realms that are not talked about, Lands that people never wish to see or heard from in passing. These are the Realms that even the Darkest of Hearts would never visit. These Realms are what nightmares are born from, where monsters roam, and where hopes and dreams go to die. These are the lands and Realms of Stories That Must Never Be Told.
StoryBroke, Today
Henry sat on a wooden bench in the local park, sipping on a paper cup full of his favorite cocoa from Granny's. His blank storybook open in his lap, open to page 1. "I must write the stories as they happen." He said out loud. "I mustn't change a single word, even if someone I love dies, my actions could change the fate of everyone else in the story. If I stop one thing from happening the result could be catastrophic. One thing might lead to war or some other end of the world BS." He took a long sip from his cup.
"Huh, you don't have start so seriously you know. I mean look at how you are starting, with your good pen and a blank leather bound book in your lap. Every author starts off with a piece of scratch paper and an idea." Violet told him with a smile. "Besides, you are creating your own stories now, not recording ones that have already happened." She took a sip from her own cup. "I don't know how to write a story, and I am not sure how you Authors think, however, I do know that all this is just the beginning. Maybe inspiration will come to you when you least expect it." Violet put down her cup on the bench, reached into her shoulder bag, and pulled out a yellow legal pad and number 2 pencil.
"Here." Violet places the pad on top of the open book. "Like my father says: "Start off with the basic principles, and you will never be lost in your art".
"He said that about horse riding" He huffed.
"I think it applies here as well." She replied.
"Thanks, Violet. I am glad to have you here." Henry smiled as the placed his leather bound into his backpack. "I think I will start with the principles. Now I just wish I had some inspiration you know?"
"Henry, please don't make wishes so lightly. You know what they can do if someone is listening." Violet scolded Henry.
In another land, some time ago.
"Jack, can we please just agree that this is the only way that I can end this. This is the only way that seems fitting." A woman, miserable with tears in her eyes and voice warbling, sobbed.
"Luv please, just think about this for one more day. Just try for one more day. I promise I will find a way to end your pain. But the way you are doing it now is not the right way. Believe me, the consequence of your action will be far worse than what you are living with right now." The man named Jack replied, his voice shaky with fear. He took a step forward with left hand outstretched to stop her. His eyes pleading with the word NO.
"Don't forget descriptions, people need to know what the characters look and sound like."
"I know what I am doing, just wait."
"How can you know? How can you be so sure that all my horrors will end? That my life will be fine after everything I have been through? After everything WE have been through?" The woman replied. Her hazel gold eyes leaking tears.
"I know what road you have walked, for I too have walked that road, and believe me it is bitter and depressing. Everyone is your enemy, and every day feels as if it is a literal Hell. Once you pull that trigger life does not get better. You have this crushing weight upon you, every day is bleak, and life does not get cheerier. So I beg of you, put the gun down and come into my arms." Jack took another step forward, lowering his arm just slightly.
Why would you start your story with a murder? No one starts their story with a murder.
I'm just letting the story flow; it's how I work.
Alright, let's see where this is going.
"I can't Jack. This man has done so much to me, to us." The woman's hands were shaking clearly now. A pistol pointed at a man unconscious on the floor. "I can never forgive him, I never will. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, then perhaps the Gods can too." Her eyes were looking at Jack, gun still pointed. The man on the floor dressed in a powdered wig and fancy military clothes began to wake, however not making a sound.
"If there was another way, would you take it?" Jack asked in desperation, using an ace up his sleeve. It was one he had hoped to never use unless it was to escape Death herself. He took two more steps toward her.
"Of course I would. But there is no other way. This man must pay for the crimes he has committed. If I don't end him here and now, who knows what evils he will inflict upon the world."
"Ok, now I am interested. What did this man do? Also, what is HER name?"
"Um, something strong, but classy."
"Something foreign and romantic"
"How about" …
"Katherine Louise de Polastron, I give you my word, no, on my honor and my life, I will make this right. I have a way to forget all of your troubles, all of your woes. I can take you away from this world and start anew." Jack took two more steps, less than a meter between them now. He held out his hand as an offer this time.
"There is no such place, on Earth or the Heavens, that I will be content so long as this man exists." Katherine's voice turned angry. The man on the ground was fully roused now but remained motionless.
"I am not talking about Earth or the Heavens Luv. I am talking about a new life in a new land. No one will ever reach us. A place where we can be free, make our own rules. Come with me." Jack reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a rusted hunk of metal. It resembled a piece of clock, many different sizes of gear, cogs, screws and bolts made up a device the size of a cantaloupe. "This device will take us to a new world, where no one can follow. We can start all over, you will be simply Katherine and I will simply be Jack." He put the clockwork device back into his coat.
"A new world? Can't you think of any other plot hook?"
"Shush, it's all I know. Just let me write."
He was so close to touching her, all he had to do was lean forward and grab the gun. He was so close to stopping her, but he was not fast enough. The man on the ground sprang up and tackled Katherine. She dropped the pistol and screamed. She hit her head on a piece of flat stone and was instantly dazed. Jack then grabbed the man by the back of his coat and hauled him up. The two struggled, the man kicked Jack in the shins, Jack grunted but put the man in a choke hold with both arms.
"Now, now." Choked the man. "I would be very careful if I were you. One wrong move and I will cut an artery." The man in the wig held a knife against Jack's side.
"Oh, where did the knife come from?"
"Up his sleeve"
"Oh."
"Know what say you and I have a little chat shall we Jack?" The man in the wig was unusually composed as if he were in control. "You let me go, and I won't cut you like a pig." Jack released the man grudgingly. The two men quickly stepped away from each other, Jack to Katherine, and the wigged man closer to the exit. Jack inspected Katherine's head for blood and wounds, after seeing non, he was filled with relief when seeing her breathe.
"I spared your life, now you spare ours. You will leave here and give us two days head start. You are a gentleman are you not?" While seething with anger but trying to remain cool, Jack cradled Katherine's head.
"And why should I be in good standing with a pirate? I can kill you and be labeled a hero from his royal majesty. I will be rewarded with a title, land, and riches. I have the upper hand. Your lover is unconscious, the pistol that fell is at my feet, and I have a ship with 500 men ready to fill you with enough cannon fire to sink an island." The wigged man smiled as if he had bested the devil himself, while Jack's face frowned and grew shades of pale.
"Pirates? Really? Are you drawing inspiration from someone close to you?"
"I think I am on a roll; I cannot seem to stop."
The wigged man bent down to the ground and retrieved the pistol that threatened his life just a moment before, and pointed at Jack's head. "Now be a good lad and throw that device to me, unless you want to watch your lover bleed out to death first." He lowered the gun to aim at Katherine's stomach.
"Alright, if I give you what you want, you have to let us both live and escape." Jack reached into his coat pocket again, ruffling through his many pockets. He frowned. "It's gone! You bloody bastard, to took it when I grappled you!" Jack shouted, his eyes growing dark.
"This has taken a strange turn, where are you going with this?"
"I cannot tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because I cannot control my hand anymore, I cannot stop writing or change even a single word."
"Do not blame me for your blunder." The wigged man shouted back. "Find it or I shall kill you and have my soldiers find it." His eyes were scanning the ground.
Jack withdrew his hand from his pocket. The device in his palm, his thumb flipped three switches and his forefinger pushed a button.
"So long Cutler, we will never see the likes of you again. May you burn for all your sins." Jack shouted gleefully, still cradling Katherine as the device whirred and spun.
"No!" Cutler screamed as he fired the pistol aimed at Katherine. However, time had slowed to a crawl, some would say it stopped. The clockwork device expanded around Jack and Katherine, revealing a large clock face with the hands frozen in position. Jack picked Katherine up and carried her through the stopped clock face.