Belle:
The storm looked much better from inside the bar than it did outside. She could barely see in front of her. How Lacey got there was beyond her. Belle held Lacey close to her, knowing that if she lost Lacey in this she wouldn't be able to find her again.
They had been quickly wandering for awhile before Belle realized they were in woods.
"When did we enter the woods?" Belle yelled, hoping Lacey would be able to hear her over the roar of the wind and rain.
"I don't know!" Lacey yelled back. Belle had no clue where they were, and despite the tree cover, they still couldn't see much. At least, Belle couldn't.
"Look! There's a cabin up there!" Lacey cried happily. Belle had to grab her arm before she ran off.
"Stay with me!" Belle ordered. They started walking in that direction, but no cabin appeared.
"What cabin?" Belle asked after awhile. Lacey continued to point ahead.
"It's there! Trust me!" she said. The wind was picking up and Belle was wishing she was wearing a jacket. The rain pelted her skin violently, leaving welts and possibly bruises. She slammed into a tree as well, feeling rather dizzy when her head connected with it. Lacey tugged her on though.
It took what felt like forever, but finally Belle could see the cabin Lacey had been so adamant about seeing. When she did see it, she almost broke down crying. It was a beautiful sight, seeing shelter. She didn't even think that someone may live there. Or that the door would be locked.
Her and Lacey all but ran up to the cabin. Belle started banging on the door, hoping someone would answer. Within a few seconds of her beating on the door, the door was yanked open to reveal Mary Margaret and David Nolan, both appearing happy and out of breath.
"Belle?" Mary Margaret asked, pulling the two of them inside.
"Lacey? What are you two doing outside in this?" Mary Margaret asked in concern.
"Lacey appeared at the bar and I left to bring her home. We got lost. Do you have a phone I could use to call Mal and let her know Lacey is safe?" Belle asked. Mary Margaret regretfully shook her head, just as David patted his pockets and came back empty. Belle sighed.
"Great. Kid, you'd bettered hope this storm doesn't last too long or I'll be back in prison for kidnapping," Belle said before a wet cough ripped itself from her.
"You two are soaked. David, can you look for a blanket or some clean clothes they can borrow? They're going to get sick," Mary Margaret said, ushering them to the bathroom. Belle insisted on Lacey showering first to get warm and waited, shivering, for her to finish.
"We'll make sure she doesn't arrest you again," Mary Margaret promised quietly. Belle sighed and shook her head.
"She'll arrest me again for something, no doubt. That's not what I'm worried about. Despite everything, I think Mal does care about Lacey. If I had a child, I would want to know she was safe if I couldn't find her in the middle of a storm," Belle explained. Mary Margaret nodded knowingly at the statement.
"Is this your cabin?" Belle finally asked. Mary Margaret's eyes widened and she shook her head, as did David.
"We found it, just like you did," she said. Belle groaned at the words.
"So we are trespassing, breaking and entering, and kidnapping," Belle ticked off her current offenses.
"Calm down. You aren't really," David tried saying but Belle shook her head.
"I'm arrested on suspicion of everything. Trust me when I say that technicalities don't matter," Belle shot back. Just as she noticed an old-fashioned telephone in the back of the cabin. She rushed for it, pulling it off the hook. To her delight, she heard a dial tone.
"Kid, what's your mother's number?" she asked. Lacey quickly recited the number and Belle dialed quickly. Mal picked up at the first ring.
"Hello?" she said anxiously.
"Hey. It's Belle. Lacey's safe," Belle said quickly.
"What the hell is she doing with you?" Mal barked instantly. Belle winced but held her ground.
"She showed up at the bar. I went to walk her home and on the way we got lost in the woods," Belle said. Before she could utter another word, the power in the cabin went out. As did the signal. Belle cursed.
"What?" Mary Margaret asked.
"She's going to think we're still lost in the woods. And send out a search party," Belle cursed once more.
"She wouldn't do that," Mary Margaret said, but her voice didn't hold much assurance.
"Yes. She would," Belle said regretfully.
"But she knows I'm safe," Lacey piped up.
"She knows I said you're safe. But I also said we're lost in the woods," Belle corrected her.
"I'm tired," Lacey said instantly. David held up a lighter that illuminated his face.
"I was going to start a small fire. We can sleep by the fire. If the power comes back on, we'll call Mal immediately," David promised. Belle smiled at him, but he couldn't see it.
Ten minutes later, a lovely fire was going but the power was still out. The four of them curled up on the floor in front of the fire, wrapped in blankets and trying to sleep as the wind howled outside the cabin and the rain battered on the roof.
Rose:
They made it to the castle a lot faster than Rose expected, with no interferences. It made Rose antsy, knowing everything was going as they planned it. She felt that Wonderland was a place where even the most carefully crafted plan went to hell in a hand basket, and it made her uncomfortable to know that nothing had gone wrong.
Jefferson led them to a room. A room brimming with hats of all kinds.
"Jefferson?" Rose asked, unsure.
"The Mad Hatter," the Knave muttered to Alice.
"What's with all the hats?" Alice asked finally, asking the question everyone was wondering but no one was truly brave enough to ask.
"When I was brought here, I tried desperately to make a hat like my own. A hat that could take me back to our world, where Grace was," Jefferson explained.
"A hat like your own?" Rose asked, puzzled. Jefferson stared at her for a moment before realization flashed through his eyes.
"Oh. You were too young to hear of it. My top hat was a portal. I could travel between words with it," Jefferson said. Rose had a feeling there were more details, but she allowed him to keep it short, sweet, and to the point.
"Anyways, none of them could work because I didn't have magic. But you do," he said. Rose tilted her head.
"So you want me to make you hat?" she asked. He nodded quickly.
"If you make me the hat, we can go home," Jefferson said, his eyes gleaming. Rose took a step back.
"I can't go home yet," she said.
"Yes you can," the Knave said quickly, almost hopefully.
"You're a bastard, you know that?" Rose spat angrily. Alice pushed her way in between them – when did they get that close – and kept them apart.
"Guy! Rose, you can make the hat now, but you guys don't leave yet. It'll offer a great escape route if anything goes wrong," Alice compromised. Neither the Knave nor Rose were completely happy, but it was enough of a compromise that both agreed.
So Rose sewed. And cut. And stitched. And did exactly what Jefferson instructed, all the while the Knave snickered at her with each prick of her finger and each curse that followed Jefferson's order to redo a stitch.
When she'd finished, Jefferson stared at it. He picked it up and frowned, handing it back to her.
"Give it magic," he told her.
"Excuse me?" Rose asked.
"Give it magic. It's just a plain hat right now," Jefferson retorted. Rose shook her head.
"I don't know how to do that!" she protested. Jefferson sighed and placed the new hat on his head, dropping the old one.
"Oh well. It was a nice try," he said, trying to muster up his energy.
"Can we retire for the night? I'm getting sleepy," Alice asked. Jefferson nodded quickly.
"Yes of course! I'm sorry," he apologized swiftly, leading them out of the creepy hat room. On the way out the door, Rose stops and grabs a hat. She places it on her head, catching sight of herself in a mirror. She looked positively ridiculous. She giggled slightly, dropping that hat and replacing it with a hat that looked just like the one she'd made for Jefferson.
She was about to remove it as well when she heard a scream. She darted out of the room, hat still on head, just in time to see a woman dressed in a red slutty outfit grab Alice. The Knave was pulling a sword from his waist – where the hell did he get that from? – but the woman merely laughed at him.
"Hey! Let go of my friend!" Rose shouted, ripping the hat off her head. She flung the hat as hard as she could at the woman, shocked to see the hat spinning and flying with deadly precision.
The woman and Alice disappeared just before the hat would have hit its target. The hat hit the wall, embedding itself deep in the wall. Jefferson hurried over to the wall, pulling the hat from it and examining it carefully.
"Well. You sure put some magic in this hat. I don't think it's the kind of magic I want in my portal hat though," Jefferson said, trying to joke. The Knave wasn't having any of it.
"She has Alice. The Red Queen has Alice!" he cried.
"She was the Red Queen? I thought she'd look more…menacing," Rose admitted. The Knave glared at her.
"No. And because you scared her away, I have to hope I can get there in time before she kills Alice. No thanks to you," the Knave spat. Rose glared at him.
"I was trying to SAVE Alice!" she cried out in frustration.
"You did a fine job," The Knave shot back sarcastically as he slid his sword back into the scabbard she now noticed. Once it was sheathed, he started down the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Rose called out after him, her curiosity overcoming her frustration and anger.
"To rescue Alice. Alone. All you'll do is slow me down," he retorted, not even bothering to turn around. Rose's blood boiled, but before she could go after him, Jefferson placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I know you want to rescue your friend, but you need some sleep. Let him go after her. After all, you can get there faster than he can, if you get enough sleep to control your magic," Jefferson told her. Rose reluctantly nodded and followed him as he led her to a bedroom.
Not that she was really going to get any sleep that night.
August:
He was just about to exit New York City when his motorcycle broke down. He cursed his bad luck, wondering how he was supposed to get back now. The book was sent. He just needed to get back.
"Need any help?" a woman asked him. He turned to see a woman with curly red hair and the friendliest smile. A smile he didn't trust.
"No. I'm good," he said. The woman shook her head.
"No. You're not. I can give you a ride somewhere," she offered. He wanted to refuse again, but knew it wouldn't sound logical. He sighed, resigned and nodded. He climbed into her car and she started driving back into the city.
It didn't take long before he realized he'd forgotten to tell her where to drop him off.
"Just take me to the airport," August said. The woman flashed him a smile.
"Of course," she said, but August felt instantly uneasy.
Especially after he saw the airport pass them by.
"That was the airport," he said awkwardly. She nodded.
"I know."
"I asked to be dropped off at the airport," August tried.
"You really should be careful who you get into a car with, August," she said. August's blood ran cold. He tried to pull the door open, but the lock was down and for the life of him he couldn't pull it up.
Then, everything went black.
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When he regained consciousness, he was tied up in a dark room. He looks around quickly, but sees nothing.
Until the lights turn on. The woman from before is standing in there, along with an African American woman and a man who looks to be around fifty.
"Hello August," the woman he'd met said.
"I don't believe we've been acquainted," August spat, tugging at the ropes. The woman sighed, walking around him in a circle while fingering a black box in her hands.
"No. I don't believe we have. My name's Wendy. You met my grandmother yesterday," she said.
"Yesterday?" August asked. Wendy nodded.
"Yes. You've been unconscious for awhile. Shame, really. We've been waiting to talk to you," Wendy said.
"Aren't I special?" August asked sarcastically.
"These are my friends, Greg and Tamara. Do you know why we've captured you?" Wendy asked him. August didn't respond.
"Not speaking. Pity. We captured you because we discovered your secret. You don't belong in this world," Wendy said.
"I don't?" August asked her. She shook her head.
"You don't. This organization works on ridding the world of evil. Like you. Not specifically you, but the people you're trying to protect," Wendy explained. August's blood ran cold.
"I don't know what you're talking about," August said.
"No. I don't suppose you would. Ten years ago, nearby, there was a disturbance. A large one. And right before we were to set fire on contaminated woods, three kids appeared in the middle of it. We've kept an eye on those kids for the last ten years. Except the youngest. The youngest disappeared off our radars. A few years later, another large disturbance appeared. We were unable to figure out who came from it, but we've concluded that you did. You and…well, you and someone with magic," Wendy explained. August felt chills erupt over his body.
"We know you know where both are. The one who came over with you, and the little girl. Where are they?" Wendy asked angrily.
"I don't know what you're talking about," August said. Wendy circled him once more.
"Then what about Rose?" she asked. August stiffened even more.
"Yes. I know about Rose. Hate the brat. But she disappeared. Where to? And where did Alice go?" Wendy asked, furious.
"Alice? Probably to Wonderland," August responded snidely before he could stop himself.
His world went black once more.
Wendy:
"Damn," Tamara cursed as Greg knocked August out.
"Damn is right. I was hoping for more cooperation," Wendy said with a sigh.
"Now what?" Greg asked.
"We rough him up a bit when he comes to. Give him one last chance and if he doesn't respond, we'll tase him like we did the Dragon," Tamara said.
"No!" Wendy said quickly.
"No?" Tamara asked, blinking at her.
"No. We'll keep him here awhile. Then we'll let him go," Wendy said.
"We aren't just going to let him go! He'll warn everyone," Tamara protested.
"No he won't. Not if he 'escapes'. He'll run right back to where the others are hiding. And then we'll be able to find them," Wendy said with a smile. The other two smiled as well.
"Brilliant," Tamara said.
"Not quite. We need something more," Greg mused. He snapped his fingers.
"I know! We can inject him with something. Something that, with the push of a button will kill him. So if it looks like our plan isn't working, we can get rid of him," Greg said.
"Brilliant. Now I have to go. Neal's going crazy," Wendy said. Tamara snorted.
"Why are you still with him? I thought you said the magical brat is gone," Tamara asked. Wendy nodded.
"She is. But she'll come back to him, I'm sure of it. I can deal with his idiocracy for awhile longer. Then we can kill him as well," Wendy said.
Wendy walked out of the place and headed back to Neal's place. She had stopped by to see her grandma earlier that day. She was still doing excellent, despite her old age. It was as if Wendy Darling couldn't die.
Wendy thought about her grandmother as she parked. Her grandmother had told her stories of how her two brothers had been kidnapped by Peter Pan when she was younger. How John had returned, scarred and broken years later, but Michael never made it back.
And how, because of that, they were now able to rid the world of that evil.
She knocked on Neal's apartment door. He opened it but before he could say anything, his phone rang.
"Hello? Rose?" Neal asked anxiously. After a moment, he pulled the phone back and stared blankly at it.
"Huh. No one's there," he said, hanging up quickly.
"Who was that?" Wendy asked. Neal shook his head.
"I don't know," Neal said. He looked at the number.
"The area code's from somewhere in Maine though," he said. Wendy allowed him to pull her into his arms and hold her close, despite how much she hated him.
Soon, she'd be able to give up this whole charade and be free of Neal forever.
Emma:
She was woken up by someone pounding on the door. Making sure she didn't wake up Ali, Emma hurried and answered the door. Graham was standing there, soaking wet and looking anxious.
"Graham? Are you alright?" Emma asked. Graham shook his head.
"It's Mal. Apparently Lacey and Belle are lost in the woods," Graham said.
"What?" Emma asked sharply. Graham nodded grimly.
"Yes. Normally we wouldn't risk this. But she's the mayor and will fire us. Plus, there's two of them out there. And Kathryn called awhile ago and said her husband still wasn't home," Graham said. Emma's blood ran cold.
"Hold on a minute," she said, rushing up the stairs to Mary Margaret's room.
It was empty.
"Mary Margaret's gone too," Emma said as she tugged on her coat. She froze in the doorway, glancing back at Ali.
"I can't leave her," Emma said. Graham whipped out his phone quickly.
"Regina?" Graham said. There was silence.
"Can you come over to Mary Margaret's apartment please? I know it's late, but Emma and I have to go searching for four missing persons and we can't bring Ali with us. Yes, you can bring Henry," Graham hung up quickly.
"Regina will be here in a few minutes. Leave the door unlocked," Graham said. Emma nodded and followed him out quickly.
"Do we have any idea where they are?" Emma asked. Graham nodded solemnly as they drove slowly through the rain. They couldn't see but two feet in front of them on the road.
"Yeah. Belle and Lacey were leaving the bar and got lost in the woods. So if we start out by the bar we may be able to find them," Graham said.
"Wait. We're really going to go out there, in the woods, in the middle of this?" Emma asked in disbelief. Graham nodded.
"We are. We have to."
Hours later, the storm was no closer to relenting and they were no closer to finding the four missing people.
"Look! There's a cabin up there!" Emma shouted, pointing ahead. Sure enough, a cabin was visible, somehow, in the distance. Graham and Emma made a run for it, afraid the rain would pick up once more and they'd lose sight of it.
However, halfway to the cabin, they heard a sickening crack. Lightning illuminated the sky as a tree in front of them snapped in half. One half of the tree was falling their way. Emma leapt out of the way. A loud thud reverberated through the forest. Emma looked back over her shoulder and her heart stopped.
Graham was lying under the tree. It had struck him as it came down. Emma scrambled to her feet, rushing over to him. She fell to the ground in front of him, cupping his face.
"Graham?" she cried. Graham's eyes remained closed. She tugged on him, pulling him out from under the tree despite knowing that she wasn't supposed to move him. Still he didn't move. He had no pulse. No breath.
He was dead.
Emma cradled him in her arms, crying. The cabin was right there. So close. They'd almost made it to the cabin. She stood and ran the final few steps to the cabin, pounding on the door. It was ripped open quickly by a teary-eyed Lacey. Lacey threw herself into Emma's arms, bawling her eyes out.
Emma noticed that Mary Margaret, David, and Belle were all getting to their feet and rushing forward.
"What's wrong Lacey? Emma? What are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked, confused.
"Graham's dead!" Lacey sobbed.
"What?" Belle asked, shocked. She stepped backward, nearly tripping on the floor. Her eyes were wide, horrified.
"Please. He's right out there. Can you bring him in here?" Emma asked. David and Mary Margaret rushed outside and came back a few minutes later carrying the body of Graham.
"What happened?" David asked, shaken.
"I-I…" Emma said, not trusting herself to speak.
"Lightning struck a tree and it fell on him!" Lacey cried, her face still buried in Emma's shirt.
"You saw it?" Mary Margaret asked, horrified. Lacey nodded, pulling back slightly and wiping her eyes.
"I was awake. I made a phone call and I was about to call Mom and let her know we were safe when I looked out the window. And saw it," Lacey said.
"I'll call Mal," Mary Margaret said, quickly going for the phone. David flicked a light switch on, sighing in relief when light flooded the room. Mary Margaret was talking quietly on the phone with the mayor.
As she did, the storm outside was letting up. Emma watched as it turned into a light rain as opposed to the torrent downpour it had just been. As if the storm's sole purpose was to take Graham's life.
Belle was staring at Graham's body, almost looking lifeless herself. Emma forced herself to stop crying.
"The weather's letting up. We need to go. Now. Before it starts again. Everyone's worried," Emma announced.
"We aren't going to leave him here, are we?" Belle asked quietly. Emma shook her head.
"No. Mary Margaret, David, and I will carry him. Come on. Let's hurry," Emma urged. Lacey reluctantly let go of her and clung to Belle.
The five of them made it to the police car and climbed in, Belle and Lacey in front and Mary Margaret and David holding Graham's body. They made it to the hospital first, dropping off the body and explaining what'd happened. Everyone was examined as well, and Belle was given medicine as she was going into shock. Lacey was also given some medicine to calm her down, and surprisingly, everyone else was fine. Emma dropped David off first and then Lacey. Then she dropped off Belle and her and Mary Margaret headed home.
Emma hoped that, when she fell asleep, she'd see something other than Graham's lifeless eyes.
Belle:
When she got to her apartment, she was halfway through unlocking it when the owner showed up.
"You need to pack up your things. We're evicting you," he said. Belle's heart dropped.
"What?" she asked, not believing it.
"You heard me. The only reason we let you stay was because of Graham. He got you the apartment. He signed a contract with us. But we just got a call saying he was dead. You have ten minutes to gather what you can carry," he said.
"But I've paid my rent on time!" Belle cried. The man shook his head.
"Nine and a half minutes," he told her. Belle let out another cry before rushing in her room. She shoved clothes into a suitcase and any other essentials. She found her emergency cash and tucked that in a backpack, along with some of her prized novels and treasured belongings. She had barely finished when she was told to get out.
Belle trudged through the light rain to Granny's inn. She knew Granny and Ruby both would be asleep at this time. She settled herself on the corner of the deck, hoping she wouldn't get arrested for sleeping on the porch for the next two hours.
Her last thought before she drifted into unconsciousness was that she couldn't get arrested. After all, Graham was dead.
Her only real friend was dead.
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That took much longer than I'd hoped and planned. Sorry. The Camp NaNoWriMo is taking a lot out of me! But I'm doing good with it!
This chapter was…difficult to write. I hope y'all don't hate me too much! Review please!
Andi