The Battle of Alna

Morraine could see Jesse and Tuck across the valley, and as soon as the metal steed carrying Bae and August rushed forward, followed by the crew of the floating ship above the hills, she led the Merry Men under her command to rush from the side.

Jesse saw this action on Morraine's part and did the same thing from her end.

The resulting sight looked something like a mouse cornered by three cats, even though in this case the mouse started it.

Rumpelstiltskin, a bit at a loss in the scene, managed to stay close to Bae as a cloud of purple smoke and assist him in his quest to render the soldiers as harmless as possible.

August felt around for a knife, which he found on Bae's person, and used it to slice at the men who rushed them from the side. The three of them lapsed into a dynamic in which Rumpelstiltskin was on one side, August's weapon on the other, and Baelfire himself plowing ahead through the ranks.

Behind this weapon and moving not nearly as quickly was the crew of the fallen Jolly Roger, brandishing guns, cutlasses, and other weapons as part of the odd assortment gathered from their new ship. Among the clashes of metal on metal were flashes of pixie dust and the firing of arrows from both sides.

Someone took a swipe at Tinker Bell, who ducked, grabbed the spear, and drove it deep into the chest of her attacker. She felt something behind her but failed to turn before she was struck in the center of her back by the force. In a rage, she wheeled on her attacker, none other than the Queen of Hearts. She let out a cry and swiped at the woman. The Queen ducked, barely avoiding the point of the spear as a lethal weapon, but it tore at her veil and ripped it off in its entirety.

A soldier approached from behind to recieve a blow from the butt of the spear before Tink returned her attention to the pale, brown-haired woman before her. The woman was young, perhaps as young-looking as Regina, and had a terrible scar along her neck. Tink guessed that was the reason the woman hardly ever spoke. But her eyes did all the talking for her: she was speechless for an entirely different reason.

Tink broke eye contact and rejoined the fight, relieving some of the burden on the captain, but the fact that the woman stumbled back in an effort to retreat was not lost on her.

In fact, the woman stumbled right into one of the Lost Boys, who immediately alerted Rufio and Slightly. Peter came, too, out of curiosity. "The Queen of Hearts, I presume," Rufio said, folding his arms and staring down at her. She merely stared.

At one point, Bae turned into a wide U and rode back the way they had come. Rumpelstiltskin partially materialized out of the smoke and asked, "Now what?"

"We'll see," Bae replied.

"Think we can hold 'em off?"

"It's worth the effort."

They reached the front line, but before they could make any judgement about the state of affairs, Bae felt himself tumbling through the air. August managed to stop the bike from his position, and Rumpelstiltskin was already on his way to where Bae was now suspended almost a foot and a half above the grass.

Belle grabbed a bow and arrow from the nearest Merry Man, ignored his protests, and pushed her way forward. By the time she reached the scene in question, the arrow was already nocked and she had already taken aim. "Put the boy down," she said to the woman suspending Bae. The woman turned her gaze toward Belle, daring her with her eyes to follow through on her threat. When it became clear to the Queen that Belle would do no such thing, she smirked and squeezed her fingers together. Bae gasped, his limbs almost curling behind him.

Rumpelstiltskin took a step toward the Queen. "No," Belle said, gesturing to stop him with the weapon before retraining it on the woman. She took a deep breath and checked her aim before loosing the arrow. It struck the woman in the breast, missing her heart but wounding her enough to force her to release the boy nonetheless.

Belle tossed the weapon aside and began to fuss over Bae, failing to notice that Rumpelstiltskin produced a knife and approached the wounded woman. "Hello, dearie," he hissed, and they disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Belle helped Bae into a standing position and asked, "Are you alright?" He nodded and looked around.

"Great," he said. "Papa's disappeared again. Don't even want to think about what he's doing right now."

"He's doing it for you, just like everything else."

"Let me guess, he told you that."

"Yes, he did." Bae nodded and tried to take a step. His head swam, and Belle moved to catch him. He put his hands to his head, only releasing it a moment after he steadied himself. He looked around and took a few deep breaths. Several enemy soldiers were trying to fight, but most were fleeing. He guessed they'd started when they noticed that their queen had been kidnapped.

But somehow, Bae was possessed of the feeling that this fight was far from over.