Later that evening, Alice and Robin found themselves bunking in the Captain's private bedchambers. While he trusted the men on his ship to do as they were told, Killian also felt the girls might appreciate a bit of privacy in a room where they could sleep without the pirates leering at them for one reason or another during the course of the night. And Robin was definitely grateful for even just a few moments of privacy. Alice, meanwhile, was too busy trying to plan their next move to be grateful for anything other than her simply being reunited with him.

Once they reached land again and Killian joined them for their adventure – because she had no doubt that he would – the first thing they would need to do would be to find Rumplestiltskin as soon as possible. He was a key factor in the plan since he was the only person that Alice knew and trusted who had magic of his own that they could make use of. With him on their side, Alice was sure they would be able to take down Gothel once and for all, and Rumplestiltskin could then undo her spell with his own power, fixing everything for them.

Simple.

The only problem left was how she was going to go about convincing him.

Getting Robin to help had been harder than she thought it would be, and she had a feeling that a lot of her agreeing to join had come from Robin's real memories fighting to break through. A part of her that still loved Alice was telling her to trust her, but only just barely because even now, she seemed to be questioning every step she made. Then there was her papa, who seemed to be having the same kind of problems. His love for her made the distant memories would poke through enough for him to agree to come with, but she could already tell what a challenge he was going to be once they got going. Maybe even worse than Robin. But, in the end, would distant memories be enough for Rumplestiltskin?

A lot of it depended on what Rumplestiltskin was doing in this world. There was no telling with Gothel. He could be a lonely spinner, or maybe a run-down sorcerer – peddling tricks to get by – or even a family man with a false wife and fake children in an attempt to keep him happy and distracted from doing anything to stop Gothel. No matter what life he had here, Alice doubt she would be able to convince him of the truth with just her story alone. No more than she had convinced the others. Maybe she should consider trying a different tactic with her old friend?

Or maybe, just maybe, he would be the one to actually believe her. After all, he was always breaking the rules and getting his memories back, even before everyone else. Alice had a sudden swell of assurance that he would have done it again, this time, even though none of them knew it was coming. He would have some kind of safety backup plan for if this should ever happen to him when they were unprepared for it. Some kind of trinket that would wake him up like his and Belle's chipped teacup, or a code word that could be said in passing or something.

So, while Robin lay on Killian's bed and caught up on some much needed sleep, Alice sat by her side – still making sure that her mother didn't try anything with her during her dreams – and planned out exactly how she would tell Rumplestiltskin the same story she had told the others. Then, once she had her father, her love, and her friend all on her side, they would be able to hunt down Gothel together.

It might be an idea to try and find Regina or some of the others, but at the same time, Alice didn't know them well enough to attempt to convince them of the truth the way she had her father and love. And even if she did, there wasn't time to find all of them. They were already stretching their time as it was, finding Killian and then Rumplestiltskin. And anyway, Alice really was sure that Rumplestiltskin would be enough to take down Gothel. He was The Dark One after all. Gothel, no matter what her origins, was still just some run of the mill wannabe next to him and his power.

At that moment, in the middle of Alice's thoughts, Robin began mumbling. She had been quiet up until now and Alice's nerves were immediately set on edge by the sudden unexpected sound. She jumped to her feet, leaning over Robin and checking her facial features. Sure enough, she was twitching and twisting, her mumbling getting louder and turning to weak moans and slight whimpers as her head and shoulders cringed away from something in her mind.

Yeah. Definitely a nightmare.

"Robin!" Alice said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her against the mattress. She wasn't sure if she should have attempted to wake her gently, but she was also too worried to even think about it at the time. "Robin! Wake up!"

Robin's eyes snapped open and she sat up sharply, nearly throwing Alice to the floor and gasping hard as she shivered uncontrollably like she was cold yet there was a faint sheen of sweat coating her face and neck. Alice reacted out of instinct more than anything as she climbed onto the bed beside her, wrapping her arms around the other girl and holding her close. She began rubbing her shoulder and back, kissing the side of her face softly, in a way that she used to before Drizella's curse was cast. It was so familiar that she almost forgot about everything but those few seconds spent comforting her love. Robin didn't even fight her, for once, instead leaning back into Alice's arms and shutting her eyes for a moment as she felt her body slowly calm and her breathing even out.

It took her a few minutes, but when Robin finally did calm down, she still didn't immediately pull away from Alice's arms. In fact she even leaned slightly further into her, resting her head on Alice's shoulder and relaxing her body against hers like it belonged there. It was good to be together again, even if only for a short while and when Robin pulled away a good few minutes later, it still felt like she had moved all too soon.

"You okay?" Alice asked when Robin sat up and shuffled slightly out of her hold. She reached over, taking Robin's hand and squeezing gently in both comfort and defiance. She wouldn't let her go, even if Robin thought that she wanted her to.

"I'm fine," Robin said, swallowing hard like she was fighting the urge to throw up. "Just a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alice encouraged gently.

"No." Robin said, snatching her hand away sharply and standing from the bed, putting some space between them.

"Why not?" Alice demanded, unable to hide the hurt from her expression as she stood from the bed and followed her. "Please, I just want to help."

"Well I don't want your help!" Robin snapped, rounding to glare at her.

However, Alice saw something else in her eyes. It wasn't the same glare she gave even when she had originally thought she hated Alice. No, there was something else behind that emerald gaze and Alice crossed her arms, nodding her head in a knowing way. "It was Gothel, wasn't it?" Robin looked away. "What did she do? Robin, tell me, please." She pressed.

"She just was… At my home. She was in my living room." Robin sighed, wandering back over to the bed and perching herself carefully on the edge. She didn't even say anything when Alice walked over and retook her place by her side. "She was in my mother's chair, wearing my mother's clothes, just staring into the fire when I walked into the room. Then she started commenting on how well me and my mother have done over the years…" She paused. "Then she said it was a pity it was over."

When Robin hesitated again for even longer a stretch of time, Alice retook her hand, more gently this time, giving her the offer to pull away if she wanted. She looked like she might at first but then Robin let her fingers just barely wrap around Alice's. "What happened after that?" Alice asked softly.

"Then I reached for an arrow, but my weapons were gone." Robin explained. "And she started laughing about how there was nothing I could do to hurt her and…" She paused, then turned to look at Alice with hard eyes. "And that you were going to hurt me. You were going to lead me to my death, and my mother would suffer alongside me the whole way. She said you were more evil than her, that she'd done her best to keep you in check all these years, but you escaped and if I wanted me or my mother to make it out alive then I should turn you in to her. Give you up so she can protect the world from you."

"She's lying!" Alice said immediately, a rush of fear clawing at her from the inside. "Robin, you have to believe me, she's full of lies-"

Robin grabbed both of Alice's hands and held them between her own, shutting her up. "I know she was lying." She said calmly.

"You do?" Alice blinked. "How? I mean, not that I'm not relieved and happy that you know but… You trust me?"

"Well, let's say that I trust you more than I trust her," Robin explained, lowering their hands but not letting go of them. "Gothel tried to tell me you were more evil than she was, and that all of this, everything you have done and said was all just a cunning trick…" She paused and shook her head. "But I've seen you at your most raw, Alice. I've seen you crying in the woods when you were all alone, and then cry for your father when he was hurt by the curse she put on him. That was real, honest, emotion. And I'm truly starting to think that you really believe your own story. If nothing else… I trust that you're being honest with me."

Alice felt herself smile up at Robin softly, feeling a burst of love for her all over again. And in response, Robin turned away, looking like she was a embarrassed with the intensity of Alice's gaze yet she didn't try to put any more space between them either. Because of that, Alice took the chance given to her and leaned towards the other girl, pressing a soft but firm kiss onto her lips.

When Robin didn't pull back from her kiss, Alice took the chance and pushed harder against her lips, leaning close to her and letting go of her hands to cradle the side of her face, stroking the soft skin of her cheek with her thumb. She had her eyes shut, so she couldn't see Robin's face, but she could feel it. The other girl wasn't tense, and she wasn't pulling away from her. After another moment Alice allowed her hand to drift down and rest on Robin's hip, parting her lips slightly and deepening the kiss.

Still Robin made no move to pull away from her. In fact, her own hand moved to rest very gently on Alice's knee in a way that was almost encouraging. She was still clearly somewhat hesitant about it but not enough to push Alice away and so she took that as the okay to continue easing along even further with their kiss.

With that in mind, she pushed her tongue forward slightly, prodding against Robin's lips until the other girl parted them and allowed her temporary access. At the same time, Alice slid an arm around Robin's back, shifting a little closer so she was almost sitting in her lap, sliding a hand into her hair and pulling back only for a short second to catch her breath before she moved back to kiss her again.

Alice's body was growing suddenly very warm. She shuffled a little closer, so she was completely sitting on one of Robin's leg and had to resist the urge to push her down and starting pulling her shirt off. They were having a moment – and it was truly wonderful – but she wasn't going to do anything stupid by pushing her luck. They could have all the wonderful moments that would go above a beyond a simple kiss once they had fixed this mess of a world. For now, Alice was just happy to have even this. For now, at least.

So instead of pushing her down onto the bed and relieving her of the tight fitting clothes like Alice desperately wanted to, she instead wrapped both her arms around of Robin's shoulders, pressing their bodies close together and twisting slightly on her lap so their bodies lightly rubbed against one another. Then she felt Robin's hand sliding up to rest on her thigh, while her other reached up and gently touched Alice's elbow. Again, it still wasn't the encouragement Alice would have liked – she was clearly very unsure about what she was doing like it was her first time getting this close to another person – but nor was she pushing her away...

And then, just like that, she did.

It was great disappointment when Alice felt Robin finally pull back away from her, tightening her grip on Alice's arm to keep her from following her as she did. They were both breathless at this point and Alice finally opened her eyes to see that Robin had flushed bright pink along the whole of her face. For a moment they stared at one another in a silence filled only with their rhythmic panting. Alice looked into Robin's eyes and fought the urge to lean forward and kiss her again. Instead, she decided to be slightly less risky and settle with touching their foreheads against one another, leaving the invitation open for Robin to make the next move.

And she really hoped she would, but Robin decided not to, clearing her throat awkwardly and looking away from her. She wet her lips nervously before gently pushing Alice's leg off of her own, sliding her off her lap and back onto the bed by her side. Then she stood up, brushing herself down and straightening her clothes like she was making herself presentable again, though they really hadn't gotten far enough to have need of that kind of fixing.

"You can't pretend you didn't feel something." Alice said, watching her with a small amused smile.

"Oh, I felt something," Robin said, turning to look down at her. Her expression was hard to read, but it was like a mix between amusement and boredom. "And if you were anyone else at any other time, I'd have taken advantage of it."

"Anyone else?" Alice said, unable to hide the hurt from her expression as her smile dropped.

"Well, you are still Gothel's daughter." Robin noted, crossing her arms. "And I do think you are being honest. At the very least you believe your own story. But that doesn't make it real and it doesn't erase all the bad things you've done in the past."

Alice stood. "I know you don't believe me. I accept that, and when this is over, you can bet I will hold this over your head for years to come." She smiled jokingly before becoming serious again. "But I'll keep telling you anyway. None of that was real. I never hurt anyone. And whether or not you remember, you love me, and I love you. That's why the kiss felt so good, because the old you misses me and is hungry for more than just a kiss." She walked over, grabbing Robin's hand and pecking her on the cheek.

"So you say." Was all Robin said as she uncrossed her arms. "I guess I do owe you an apology at least."

"You do?" Alice blinked. "I mean, you do… But remind me what for, again?"

"Back with the horse. You were concerned that Gothel was going to get into my dreams and so you wanted us away from it, for my safety as much as yours. I gave you a hard time but, the truth is, it turned out you were right." Robin shrugged. "I guess Gothel never got in before because the necklace I gave to your dad but, she was probably trying and the horse did have her magical prints all over it. You were just doing what you could to keep her out and away from us both. So… I'm sorry."

Alice grinned at her. "I'll accept your apology… If you kiss me."

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you call what we literally just did? Twice, technically if you count the time we broke apart to catch our breath."

"That was a hot and heavy make out session, and it was fun. But it wasn't an apology kiss." Alice smirked, stepping closer to her. "So how sorry are you really?"

Robin stared at her before her lips began to twitch and she unsuccessfully fought the urge to smile. "You're… Interesting." She said slowly.

"Interesting enough to kiss?" Alice asked brightly.

Finally, Robin let herself laugh aloud. "If I give you a kiss. Will you stop asking for one like a child?"

"Probably not. But I'll be satisfied for a few hours at least." Alice said honestly.

Still smiling, Robin paused, biting the side of her lip before suddenly leaning forward and kissing her. Alice had almost expected a quick peck from her, and so felt a thrill when Robin held the kiss for a few warm seconds. She almost thought they would continue where they left off before Robin pulled away again.

"I apologise." She said, nodding her head before returning back to business. "Now, let's go over the plan for once we reach land."

Alice moaned playfully. "We were having fun!"

"And now the fun's over." Robin said serious, sitting on one end of the bed and waving Alice to sit in front of her by the head. She did so – a little reluctantly – but made a point of scooting close enough that their crossed legs touched knee to knee. "So, let's say your dad agrees to come with us-"

"He will." Alice interrupted confidently.

"Let's say he does." Robin went on, raising her voice over the top of Alice's. "Even if we have him on our side, how will that help us defeat Gothel? Even with half her magic power, that's still a half more than any of us have. Unless you've discovered how to touch that so-called untouched magic you claim to have."

"I think it's called untouchable for a reason. I used it once to get out of my tower and after we met to escape a mob but it was never really on purpose and only when I was really feeling something and that was back before the curse forced it back down again when we went to the land without magic." Alice explained. "The power's there. But I don't think I'll ever be able to reach it again. Not after Gothel took, probably all of it to cast this dumb spell."

"So, what are we going to do against Gothel?" Robin pressed.

"After we get to land, dad will be able to take us to an old… frenemy of his." Alice said slowly.

"A what?" Robin frowned.

"Friend-Enemy. They get along now but I know they used to be enemies. You probably don't remember him but let's just say he's a powerful sorcerer who can help us." Alice explained. "Hopefully dad will remember him, but if not then I'm pretty sure I can find a way to summon him to us."

"And he'll help us… Why?" Robin asked.

Alice smiled. "Because I'll ask him. He and I are good friends and if he doesn't remember me, well, then I'm sure he'll still remember how much he hates Gothel and he'll be happy to help us bring her down."

"Then we'll still have to get back to Gothel's castle." Robin noted.

"He'll be able to magic us there no problem." Alice beamed.

"Okay then…" Robin said sceptically. Alice seemed to have an answer for everything and she wasn't sure if that was her being ignorant or confident or ignorantly confident. "And so, what do we do if the Captain doesn't agree to come with us?"

"He will." Alice insisted.

Robin sighed, rolling her eyes and dropping her head forward before looking up again. "Alice. We need to be practical. Which means looking at all potential problems, including the possibility that your father might decide not to come with us." She didn't give Alice a chance to argue before continuing. "You said you could summon your sorcerer friend even without the pirates help?"

"I can try." Alice said quietly. She didn't want to rely on that though. In this world Gothel seemed to be Empress of more than just the land. If possible, Alice wanted to avoid using magic to summon Rumplestiltskin in case she was able to latch on to it somehow and realise what they were up to, giving her the chance to plan a way to stop them.

Robin nodded. "Then that will be our backup plan."

"We won't need a backup plan." Alice said. "I know my papa. He won't let us down, I know he won't."

Robin pursed her lips to the side, concentrating before she leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on top of her knees. "You say that you know me in this 'world' of yours. Does she act exactly like I do? In every way?"

"Well, she's a lot more handsy than you." Alice grinned, "But yeah, for the most part you are the same person."

"But there is still a difference." Robin pressed. "Even just a slight one?"

"I suppose." Alice said, frowning. She didn't like where this was going.

"Well then, doesn't that prove that people can act differently to how you 'remember' them?" Robin noted. "Doesn't that mean that there's even just a chance that the Captain could chose not to come with us?"

Alice scowled at her but didn't answer. It was true. There was a chance that she could have been wrong and Gothel could have changed more than just their memories. But it wasn't something that Alice was ready to accept just yet. Not when she still had the belief that her father would help them in the end.

"I just…" Robin hesitated, then reached out a hand and placed it over Alice's leg. "I just don't want you to get hurt." She stopped and then quickly added. "It will distract from our mission. And we can't have any distractions. So, you need to be prepared for the worst, if it should happen."

"I appreciate the concern." Alice said with a soft smile, placing her hand over Robin's. "But everything is going to work out. Trust me. In the real world, there's a saying we have: Villains don't get happy endings. And Gothel is the worst villain of the lot."

With that, Alice patted her hand lightly and jumped to her feet, taking a wander up on deck to oversee some more of the deep blue ocean in the early morning sun. This time, however, she would be doing it from her father's famous ship, like she always should have.

At least that was one good thing about all this mess. She finally had a chance to sail the sea with her father.

O*U*A*T

When land came into sight, the crew immediately set out preparing to pull up beside the shore at the closest set of docks available. Everyone became busy all at once, running back and forth, shouting orders to one another with Killian standing at the head of it all, overseeing everything and looking incredible calm and in control for someone who was just moments away from making a life altering decision.

Alice slowly wandered through the crowds of people, most of who were now ignoring her or otherwise too busy to be frightened, and made her way up the stairs to where her father was waiting. She hesitated at his side, glancing around at everyone before speaking up; "Papa?"

"We're almost there, Alice." Killian said without looking at her.

"No, I mean, I know. I can see." Alice nodded. "I was just wondering if there wasn't anything I could do to help?"

Killian glanced at her, and his face broke open into a wide smile. "Aye, I'm sure we could find something for you! In fact, how would you like your first lesson in being a pirate?"

Alice beamed at him. "Yes! I'd love that! Where do we start?!"

"Right here, at the helm." Killian said, leading her to the large wooden wheel, waving away the man he had assigned earlier and nodding for Alice to take his place.

While Killian kept a safe amount of space between them, he still stood closer than he would have back in the real world as he instructed her how to steer the ship carefully towards land. It seemed Alice was a natural at it. She picked up on all the instructions he gave her almost as soon as he said them and Killian felt a swell of pride tightening in his chest as he watched her guiding their way. The only time they had any problem was when Alice got a little over excited and spun the wheel a little too hard, leaving Killian to reach over and grab it in time to keep them from tilting right over and sinking the entire ship. Everyone jerked slightly on their feet whenever this happened but Killian's loud laughter kept them from saying anything, even when one of the men barely managed to grab onto the side in time to avoid being thrown overboard.

As their little lesson turned to words and phrases that all pirates should know when setting sale, Alice jumped in each time with the correct answer before Killian even had a chance. At first he assumed she had picked up on a lot during the night she had spent wandering around the ship with her friend, Robin, but he quickly realised there was something more to it than just a casual eavesdropping.

"Where did you learn all of this?" Killain asked, grabbing the wheel as Alice accidentally leaned on it and began turning the ship away from their destination.

"From you." Alice shrugged, righting the wheel and smiling ahead at the buildings and trees in the distance. "In the tower, we didn't have much to do so you taught me everything you knew about the world. Particularly the stuff about the sea and being a pirate. At least, you taught me everything except the practical stuff." She grinned and winked at him. "But you always promised we'd have a go once I was free and now here we are."

Killian didn't respond. Instead he watched her with a slight frown appearing on his forehead. Naturally that wasn't true. They'd only just met, but that opened the question of who really did teach her all this… Gothel had sailors, not pirate's, taking her across the seas and Killian doubt any of them knew half of what it took to be a true man of the sea. It couldn't have been one of his own men – they were all scared shitless of even looking at her (either because she was Gothel's daughter or because she was the Captain's) let alone talk to her – but then who?

At that moment, Robin stepped up onto the deck. The girl had spent most of her time hidden away in the private chambers, lost in thoughts and planning. Alice liked to think she was distracted by their earlier kiss, but if she was being practical then she knew it was probably about her mother.

Zelena… Alice felt so guilty. She'd barely given her true loves mother much thought since she was taken by Gothel. She was so concerned with finding her own friends and family that she didn't give anyone else much thought. She allowed herself a moment to wonder what had happened to Henry Mills, and his wife and their young daughter. Were they okay? What about Drizella? She was a victim of Gothel as much as anyone in the end. Though she was on the end of Alice's list of people to be worried for. After all, she had caused Alice to hurt her father just to get to Henry and Jacinda back before the curse in Wonderland. But still, bitter resentment aside, what was her new role in Gothel's world?

Everyone was in trouble, but back to Zelena. Gothel said she wasn't going to use her to restore her own magic but Alice was still sure that she had use enough not to finish her off. Alice knew Gothel would want to continue to use Zelena against them but she didn't necessarily have to be alive to do that. They already knew she had her and Gothel had threatened her once already, the next step was probably going to be waving her possible death in front of their faces, no doubt in hopes of dividing her and Robin's newfound trust but then if that didn't work, there wasn't much left to do but...

"Alice," Killian said, grabbing the wheel. "Pay attention."

"Sorry, papa." Alice said, quickly righting her hands. "I'm just worried. If we don't hurry then Gothel is going to get her power back and she'll be able to come after us herself."

"You really think you can beat her before that happens?" Killian asked quietly.

"Yes." Alice said without hesitation. "Once we get Weaver, we'll be able to stop her once and for all." She grinned.

Killian frowned at her. "Who's Weaver?"

"Oh, I guess you don't know his cursed name is this world," Alice laughed. "His real name is-"

"Captain!" Mr Smee called, cutting her answer short.

"Right," Killian stepped slightly closer, grabbing the wheel a little away from her hand. "This is where it gets tricky."

A few minutes later, Alice had almost crashed into the decking only twice before her father had quickly managed to save them. The whole time they laughed at the close calls, and finished off her first lesson as a pirate with gleeful smiles on their faces. Alice couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like for them if she hadn't been stuck in the tower for all those years. Would she have been a pirate in training her whole life? Would she already know everything there was to know, would she even be her father's second in command? But then, if that happened, would Alice have met Robin and fallen in love or would she have missed out on the chance or met someone else along the road? No, Alice couldn't imagine loving anyone the way she loved Robin.

Speak of the Devil, Robin jogged lightly across the deck and took the short steps towards the helm two at a time. The lost look of thought was gone from her expression, and instead replaced with cold determination that came from the knowledge that they didn't have long left to save her mother. She pushed passed the crew in her way and came to a sharp stop in front of where Alice and Killian were still laughing together, only briefly aware of her appearance.

"It's time." Robin said, looking at Killian. "Are you going to help us or what?"

Killian paused and sighed, looking at Alice. "Are you sure you can't stay here with me? We could live our lives out here on the ocean, together."

"It's not real, papa." Alice said sadly. "We need to stop Gothel so we can be together properly, without fear."

"So, are you coming?" Robin demanded, stepping forward.

Killian looked between the girls, then around at the rest of the ship. Finally he sighed and shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry. I can protect you on the water but I can't protect you out there against Gothel. She's too powerful."

"What…" Alice blinked. "You don't mean that."

"I'm sorry, Alice. Gothel is too powerful for us to defeat." Killian said. "And I hope you'll understand that and stay here with me."

"Oh yeah, just, you know, screw my mum!" Robin snapped, reaching down and grabbing Alice's hand. "Come on, Alice."

"Wait," Alice said, gripping Robin's hand and pulling her back when she tried to walk away, turning and looking at her father once more. "Papa, we can defeat her! I know we can! You just have to trust me!"

"Alice, I love you but-" Killian began, reaching for her only for Robin to pull her sharply out of his reach and remind him that they shouldn't touch too often.

"Papa, please! I need you!" Alice begged.

"Alice, this is Gothel's world, and in Gothel's world… We don't stand a chance." Killian sighed, shaking his head. "Please. I'm begging you. Stay with me here on the Jolly Roger."

Tearfully, Alice glanced back at Robin, still clinging to her hand before she looked back up towards her father one last time. "I'm sorry, papa. But I need to fix this. I need to put everything back to the way it should be and I need to help Robin save her mother. And I need you with me… But… If I have to choose then… I'm sorry." She sniffed and took a small step back towards Robin. "Once I've fixed everything, I promise, we'll be together again."

With that, Alice turned away and let Robin pull her down the steps away from the helm and her father. Tears began to fall and made their way in weak trails down her cheeks. It wasn't long before they were bad enough that she had to rely on Robin to guide her way. Even knowing they would undo this spell, it still hurt to be separated from her father again. Every time they found each other, it seemed they were broken apart again and there was nothing they could do about it. Alice just hoped that this would be the last time.

"You okay?" Robin asked as they stepped onto the long plank of wood, leading them off the ship onto the docks.

"No." Alice sobbed, unable to hold it back. She'd never been the one to walk away from her father before…

Robin went quiet, and then tightened the grip on her hand. "I am sorry."

"I know." Alice sniffed, reaching up with her free hand to brush away the tears. "We'll be together again. It's just… I miss him."

"I know the feeling." Robin said, leading her down the plank. "But like you said. You'll be together again. Once we've defeated Gothel, you can return to him."

Before Alice could agree with her, something came shooting passed them, barely missing Robin's faces by inches. They both jerked back, away from it and each other as the object embedded itself firmly into the side of the ship before coming to a stop and they realised it was an arrow. No sooner had they noted this, did a second arrow fly by, once again far too close for comfort. Once again the girl's natural reactions kicked in and they took another step back to avoid it.

Alice had just enough time to look back up and see a set of her mother's guards waiting for them on the port when she lost her footing. She had stepped back too far, half her foot going over the side of their make shift bridge and throwing her off balance. The next thing she knew, she was falling back towards the sea water bellow.

To Be Continued...

Chapter Ten: Ambush - Sneak Peek:
The three of them slowly turned around to find four guards who had somehow saved themselves from the earlier chaos. They stood, side by side with weapons drawn, two of whom had a bow and arrow set and the other two holding a pair of short swords in either hand. They took a slow step forward, aiming their weapons at the girls and Killian and ignoring the disaster behind them like nothing had even happened.
"Lower your weapons." A fifth voice called. It was female and strangely familiar.
The guards parted, stepping to the side and allowing the fifth member to move forward. She was a young woman with short brown hair and a round face, dressed in a unique armour that was made of the same material as the other guards but with noticeable differences. It included a short skirt over a pair of tight black trousers and a leather vest with a dark grey coat pulled over the top and a pair of thick matching boots on either foot. She carried no visible weapon in hand but seemed to be the one in command. Her face was also bruised, frighteningly so, but she was still recognisable despite the swollen purple splashes that blemished her once smooth skin.
But even with the bruises, Alice knew exactly who it was. And not just because of the curse she cast or the fact that her lies had nearly caused Alice to accidentally kill her father.
"Drizella…" Alice said quietly, frowning at her.

Well at least Robin's starting to see that Alice is genuine, even if she thinks she's just crazy and imagining this other land.
Oh and how could I not include my second favourite newbie on the show? But sadly, Drizella's story in Gothel's world is no happier than her real one.

Please comment, tell me what you think of the chapter, tell me what you think is going to happen in the next chapter, tell me what you wish would happen, tell me how you think the curse will break, just tell me something!

Thank you! ;)