Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

Chapter 10

With Zelena's help, Alice was able to find a very familiar magical item that had somehow fallen into the custody of Mr. Gold. It shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did - she'd known it had to be somewhere. It was Robin who snuck to the back door of Mr. Gold's shop and picked the lock with one of her mother's hairpins (Alice wasn't wearing any in her hair today.) It shocked the former witch that her daughter was able to pick locks with such ease, but laughed about how her father would probably have been proud of her, since she only did it for the good of others.

Maui's Hook was easily located in the back of Gold's shop. He'd hidden it amongst other powerful magical artefacts, all of which were covered liberally in dust, but Alice knew it the moment she saw it. "Papa had this the day his heart was poisoned." She said, sadly. "But I remember that he said it was powerful enough to remove any enchantment."

Through tears, Alice had related that story to Robin, in the early days of their friendship. Back then, Robin's heart had bled for the poor woman who had been left all alone in a tower, through no fault of her own. She'd even gone to Hook and demanded to know why he hadn't simply taken the magic back to free Alice as soon as he got it. The only thing that made her feel kindly towards the former pirate was the fact that he, too, had cried in her presence, telling her that it had been the biggest mistake he'd ever made in his life. "I'd go back in time and do it all again, if I could." He'd told her.

Once they had Maui's Hook in their possession, Zelena searched the shop until she found a clear glass bottle about half full of water. When Robin asked her why, she replied, "Message in a bottle, my dear. Once we get to your Wish Realm, we can send an S.O.S. message, if we need it."

"Oh! Emma's Hook gave one of those to Henry, before he left to go to the New Enchanted Forest." Robin had heard that story so many times!

"Emma's Hook?" Her mother asked. They left the shop as quickly as they could manage without being seen. Gold was gone and nobody was taking care of his shop while he was off with Belle and Gideon, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be spotted sneaking around. When they drove past Granny's, on their way out of town, Robin peeked out the window and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked, concern pulling down her brow. When she tried to look, too, Robin pulled her down.

"Someone put a boot on Rollin' Bayou. Sabine is going to kill me!" Margot cried.

Zelena glanced into her rear-view mirror at her daughter's horrified expression. "Robin, don't worry. With Emma and David away, they've left Killian in charge of the Sheriff's office. The most he'll do is tow it to the impound lot and call the owner."

But Robin just groaned again and covered her eyes. Not wanting to see her love upset, Alice said, "Sabine will understand, Nobin. I'm sure she will. She's a very good queen, after all."

Another glance in the mirror for Zelena. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see any remnant of the little girl she had left at Ashley's day-care. Robin had grown up into a beautiful young woman, full of the same fire Zelena had had at her age, but tempered, it seemed, by the love of the other young woman with her in the back seat. What Zelena could not figure out, was who this Alice was. She had talked about her papa, but hadn't once mentioned his name, nor had she made mention of who her mother was. Zelena wondered if Robin knew. She had a feeling that it wasn't precisely a secret, but it was something that a mother ought to know about someone her daughter was obviously in love with.

The former witch drove out of the main part of town, waiting until they were surrounded on all sides by forest, before pulling off the road and parking.

"Won't Aunt Regina want to know why her car was left just parked out in the forest?" Robin asked her mother.

"I'll explain it to her, when I see her, not to worry." Zelena was sort of proud of how responsible Robin was. She wondered how much of that was her doing and how much of it was simply being raised in Storybrooke, a town full of heroes.

They didn't say anything else as the three walked deeper into the woods. Alice closed her eyes and inhaled. The scent of the trees, the earth, and all that life was like a balm. She hadn't even realised just how much she'd missed being in the forest. Sure, Seattle was a nice city, and it had a lot going on for it. What it didn't have, was tall trees that rustled and creaked in the breeze. It smelled like car exhaust and smog, not growing vegetation and fresh, salt scented air.

Robin noticed her girlfriend start to relax as they walked - Zelena in front, Alice in the middle and she took up the rear. I really wish I had my bow, she thought. Even though she wasn't afraid of the Storybrooke woods - she'd played here quite happily when she was younger - being in any forest made her feel the need for some kind of weapon at hand. Even if it was just a knife.

Alice's arms started to swing freely at her sides and her step developed a little bounce to it. In spite of her own apprehension, Robin couldn't help the smile that played over her lips. When Alice looked back a moment later, one of her brightest grins warming her face, Robin met it with one of her own. As Margot, she'd travelled to many places - small villages mostly - in search of the somewhere she could be happy. She hadn't found that place and when her mother had asked her to come back to Seattle, she'd been happily shocked. Seattle had always felt closer to home than San Francisco. She'd hurried back, and on her way to Roni's, been surprised to see someone stepping into the street, about to be hit by a speeding truck. Never one to stand by, Margot rushed over and grabbed for the person, pulling them backwards as hard as she could.

As soon as Tilly had smiled at her, she'd been a goner. That was the night that Seattle had become her happy place, even if she hadn't known it then.

Now, as they made their way to wherever her mother was taking them, Robin realised that Margot was wrong about one thing: it wasn't a place that she'd been looking for, it had been Tilly. Alice. Watching Alice in front of her, Robin knew that as long as they were together, the where would never matter. If, after all of this was over, Alice wanted to go back to the New Enchanted Forest and live out the rest of their lives in the little cottage in the woods, Robin would gladly leave behind everything to do it.

Or maybe they could take over caring for the Emerald Acres Farm that her mother had left behind and probably wouldn't return to, since she was marrying Chad.

Robin was so busy contemplating places to spend her future with Alice that she ran into the other woman's back when the blonde stopped short. Alice stumbled, but Robin caught her before she could fall.

"Sorry," she said, "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" Alice looked genuinely worried.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just got lost in thought, I guess." She smiled and blushed.

"Mmm. Well, you'll have to tell about whatever it was you were thinking that made you smile like that. Later, though. We're here, apparently."

Robin looked around, taking in their new surroundings for the first time (some rear guard I am). She recognised the place instantly. "This is where Roland and the Merry Men camp when they come to Storybrooke."

"You really are Robin, aren't you?" Zelena asked with wonder. Her smile picked up a notch and she gave her head a shake. "Sorry. Even us veteran Cursees can have a hiccup or two."

"It's okay, Mom."

"Yeah," Alice agreed with one of her sunny smiles. "We're still trying to sort ourselves out, as well."

"I'll bet. The first curse is always a doozy. Now," her attention shifted and Zelena looked across the large clearing. It was a big space, maybe half as long as a football field, and nearly as wide. The tall trees that surrounded it were old and sturdy, almost as familiar to Robin as her own name. The ground was level and mostly clear of any brush and bushes that might get in the way of setting up a large camp. She'd spent so many summers in this place, when Little John, her older half-brother Roland, and the rest of the men who had been led by her father, came to visit. They didn't do it every summer, but when they did, Robin had spent most of her free time in this space. To a man, everyone had loved the precocious little girl who was their old friend's namesake. They had all taken turns teaching Robin about the forest, how to hunt, and had been the first people to tell her stories about her father.

"- Why here?" Robin interrupted her mother. "Why are we going to open a portal here?"

"Sympathetic magic, Robin." Zelena replied, as though any simpleton should know. When both girls gave her a blank look, she sighed loudly. "Didn't I teach you anything?" Robin shook her head.

"You didn't want me to 'play around' with magic." Robin told her.

"Well, I shall have to remedy that." Zelena muttered. "Fine. The reason we are here, in the forest, is because we will be portaling to another forest. If we did it in town, we might end up just appearing in the middle of a town in the Wish Realm. Alice, dear, come here, please. This will be your very first magic lesson."

Alice approached Robin's mother with some trepidation. "Are you sure I can do this? Whatever this is."

It was Robin who replied. "I know you can do it, Alice. After what you did to… that other witch…" she stumbled over her words a little, realising a little late that she probably shouldn't mention Gothel in front of her mother. "Oh, and remember when we met? I know you can do whatever my mom is going to ask."

Alice looked over her shoulder to flash a toothy smile at the archer. She definitely remembered the first time they had met. Then she turned her full attention to Zelena, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression. "You dispatched another witch?"

"She was a bad witch, Mom. Like, really bad. She was the one who helped cast the curse we got trapped in. She wanted to end the world." Robin reassured her mother.

"All right." The witch was still looking a little nervous when she turned to the equally nervous blonde. "Alice, you said that if you close your eyes, you can feel your father and the others in the other realm?"

"Yes."

"Good." She got the magic bean that they had rescued from the Vault out of her pocket. "When you came here, to Storybrooke, how did you do it?"

"We had a bean." Alice told her.

"Right. But how did you get past the magic at the town line?" Alice shook her head. She really had no idea. Zelena smiled at her. "Intent. It's all down to intent. When you threw that bean, I'll bet you were thinking about how you needed to be able to get into town without being turned back at the barrier. Am I right?"

Alice nodded slowly. "I only knew what Robin had told me."

"Magic beans are all about intent, when you use them. Anyone with a destination in mind can use one, but if you want to go somewhere more specific, you have to be able to concentrate on precisely where you wish to go." Zelena explained. "For example, we know that we want to go to the Wish Realm, but we don't know precisely where in that realm. Alice, what I need you to do, is to use your power to locate our family. When you have them as precisely in your mind as you can, throw the bean and open a portal. It should get us as close as it can to their actual location." Robin's mother smiled and held out the little sparkling bean to her.

Alice hesitated. The young archer stepped up behind her and wrapped her arms around Alice's middle. She leaned close to her ear and murmured, "I believe in you, Tower Girl. You can do this." Then, she loosened her grip and stepped back to give Alice some space.

Robin's words had their intended effect. Alice stood up straighter and accepted the bean, closing her hand around it. Robin stepped up beside her as quietly as she could and both she and her mother waited.

The blonde closed her eyes and set her jaw. The little dimple in her chin that appeared when was deep in thought appeared, then eased away as the deep breaths she was taking in and releasing. She muttered, "Papa," almost sub vocally, paused, and then did it again. The third time was loud enough for both Zelena and Robin to hear her. She raised the hand that held the bean and Robin could see light beginning to glow from within her pale hand.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and she shouted, "Papa!" Then she flung the arm forward and opened her hand. A little glowing mote of light flew through the air, hitting the ground about halfway across the clearing. It bounced once on the forest floor, came to rest, then flared so brightly Robin had to shield her eyes. When the flash faded, a sparking ring of red was left in its place.

Zelena was looking at the young woman with unmasked respect. "A fast learner, aren't you? Well done, Alice!" She began walking briskly towards the portal. "Come along, girls, do try to keep up!"

Not needed any other encouragement, Robin clasped Alice's hand in hers and they both ran to catch up with the Wicked Witch.

Author's Note: There you have it. Chapter 10. Thanks for sticking with me, folks! And thanks for the encouraging IMs and the reviews. I appreciate it all. I might even have a surprise for you later…