Chapter Fifteen: Operation Hide and Seek
Neal and the others sat near the mining cave. Neal held Charlotte with his arm, trying to comfort her…and keep her from running into the cave.
"I see why I might hate your plan." Robin admitted. Neal glared at his friend.
"It's not the smartest idea…but it is also a smart idea."
"Cause that's logical." Henry said.
"We can hide out in the cave for a bit." Neal admitted, but Charlotte shook her head.
"It's not a good idea, Neal." Charlotte apologized. "We'll be trapped inside."
"The Black Fairy has to know about the farmhouse at this point in the game. We don't have anywhere else to hide."
"We could go across the line." Henry said. But he didn't want to, because he didn't know if the others would come back.
"That's also an option." Neal admitted.
"But why the mining cave?" Robin asked.
"I mean we'd be hiding right under her nose. It'd be the last place she'd think of looking through."
"There's a good point." Henry pointed out.
"But after a few hours, I'm sure that the Black Fairy will realize what we did. And isn't there magic in that cave?" Robin questioned. Charlotte nodded.
"Magical fairy dust." Charlotte explained.
"The magic dust can be used to make magical objects, open portals, and that sort of stuff."
"Is it unlimited?" Neal asked. "Maybe the Black Fairy is close to running out?"
"Afraid not. Magic can regenerate. It'll keep coming."
"Hence the mining operation." Robin spat. Charlotte agreed with Robin, and literally spat on the ground.
"Is entering the mine a go then?" Neal asked. Robin didn't answer.
"I have a bad feeling that we'll be caught."
"But Charlotte's been in there before." Neal said.
"I don't want her to go back in." Robin answered.
"I doubt any of us do."
"The mining cave has magic, though. And there are other people trapped in there." Neal argued. Robin looked at the distant town line and saw the car go across it. I don't want to see if I'm right…
"Okay. Besides, I want a break from the Black Fairy." Robin admitted. Neal pondered this for a moment.
"I doubt that this will be the type of break that you were expecting…"
"But one that I need. As does the Black Fairy." Robin announced.
"What break does she need?" Henry asked.
"A break from all the power that she has. Literal power. Like the stuff that she can shoot out of her hands. And this wand." Robin looked at the wand. It still looked like an old piece of tree bark.
"We could also hide the wand in the cave, since it would be covered up by all the other magic in there."
"Another good point."
"Is entering the mine a go then?" Neal asked once more.
"At this point I think it is…"
"Excellent point!" Neal exclaimed.
"Not what I meant."
"Oh I'm sorry but my idea is finally working out as something we are gonna do. Sue me."
"Do you think the mayor will sue us for trespassing?" Henry joked.
"Nah, we're with Charlotte. The mayor will just see her as a good worker bringing more into this line of work."
"Is the interview process hard?" Neal asked. Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"I guess the third time is a charm for a permanent escape from this hell hole." She sighed.
So, going into the mine cave was going ahead as planned. Though to be honest, Neal didn't have a specific plan. He wanted to get in there, and eventually leave. Henry was more thorough with the plans that he created over the years. Neal needed a few tips.
"So what's the name of this plan?" Henry asked Neal.
"Time in the Mine." Neal said.
"That sounds like some sort of memoir." Robin admitted.
"It could use some work." Charlotte said.
"How about something like Operation Cobra?" Henry suggested. Neal shook his head.
"Why not?"
"Cause it sounds stupid."
"Well, your stance against Gideon with the Black Fairy's wand was stupid."
"Well I think your great-grandma is stupid."
"I couldn't agree with you more!" Henry said.
"Why don't the two of you think of a name together?" Charlotte suggested.
"I think that's a terrible idea." Neal said, pretending to be annoyed as he crossed his arms and looked away. "I came up with the whole idea."
"No offense Neal, but the idea wasn't exactly "genius"." Robin confessed.
"And Henry has made plans before. Besides, the grim name you had could ruin the mood we're going for."
Neal rolled his eyes.
"What would be the proper mood for breaking into the Black Fairy's mining cave and causing mischief and earning the title of delinquents?" He questioned.
"I guess cheery isn't the mood we're going for." Henry said.
"Nah, we're going for a tone that ninjas would use."
"Operation Sneak and Peek?"
"That's not a bad one." Robin said.
"Or Operation Hide and Seek." Charlotte said.
"That's even better than mine." Henry admitted.
The mining cave had a small entrance. There were some torches lit near the front, and there weren't any guards.
"They'll be inside." Charlotte told Robin.
"Right when we go in?" Robin asked.
"Sort of. There's probably somewhere we can duck down, but there's a higher level that they could be guarding from."
"Alright. Why don't we go in and duck in one of the corners?" Robin suggested.
"We'll have to go for the left corner." Charlotte said.
Henry looked at his watch. It was around midnight.
"If we waited until one o'clock in the morning, would that make a difference in the amount of guards?" Henry asked.
"If we wait until 12:15, the guards will have more reason to assume that we were out searching for those "delinquents" that the Black Fairy is after." Charlotte said.
The group waited for fifteen minutes, and watched a few of the goons that the Black Fairy had sent out go back into the cave. Robin didn't recognize any of the goons as those that she had run into before.
"Do you recognize any of those goons as ones we have run into?" Robin asked. Charlotte shook her head.
"I mean I recognize them, but they aren't people you would know. You don't want to fail the Black Fairy. It doesn't end well."
Another two minutes passed, and Robin decided that the group would go in. Robin had an extra pair of pants in her backpack, and had a plan for Charlotte. Robin gave Charlotte her hoodie and had Charlotte wear her extra pair of pants. Robin then went into the mining cave by herself, shaking slightly. A few of the goons were saying hello to a guard going down one of the hallways, but they didn't stick around. Robin hid behind a rock, and Neal entered with Henry and Charlotte. Charlotte was carried in between Neal and Henry and they were going to pretend that she had hurt her leg so that they needed to carry her. But Neal saw no one around, and sighed.
Neal and Henry carried Charlotte over to Robin.
"What's the next step, Charlotte?" Neal asked.
"Well, that depends on Robin's plan."
"What plan did Robin have?" Neal questioned.
"The idea was to somehow get the workers in here over the town line." Robin said. Surprisingly, Charlotte shook her head.
"They won't be used to it, Robin. They won't go. And they didn't come from your world." She explained.
"So Robin's plan was dumb?" Neal asked.
"The idea is great. But the connection with the town line is not necessary or helpful." Henry said.
"And the Black Fairy will close the town line again anyway, most likely."
"So Robin's other plan for opening the town line was dumb too?"
"I don't know how sensitive you are being about all of this, but my original plan was a good one!" Robin exclaimed.
"I mean Mr. H provided the key for your original plan." Neal admitted.
"Who the heck is Mr. H?" Henry asked.
"He's our English teacher, and Robin really doesn't like him for the fairy tale assignment he gave her. But he marked out StoryBrooke on a map in my Geography class."
"How on earth would he know about StoryBrooke?" Henry asked.
"The only way you know about StoryBrooke is when you come from StoryBrooke or have been here before."
"He'd probably like it here. He seems to really have a thing for fairy tales." Neal said.
"Except for Robin Hood. But that's probably just to annoy Robin."
"How long do we plan on staying in this cave for, Neal?" Robin asked. Neal shrugged.
"Maybe a day."
"I don't know if we should be in here." Robin said.
"We really shouldn't." Charlotte said.
"Where does everyone sleep, Charlotte?" Henry asked.
"There's an area over in that hallway for the men, and another hallway set up for the women." Charlotte explained.
"That's the main area for mining over there, and way down that hallway is where the Black Fairy has her lair."
"Doesn't sound as scary considering how evil we already know she is." Neal said.
"There's a large vault where the Black Fairy dust is kept. And jewels and gold."
"Alright Neal, any more specifications for your plan, anything else we need to do?" Robin asked.
"Well…"
"I have an idea that'll annoy the Black Fairy, but I think we'll need one of the books from the crypt." Robin said.
"Depends on what your plan is. Does it have a good name?" Henry asked.
"I'll explain the plan, and you come up with a name. Deal?"
"Works for me."
"What is the plan?" Charlotte asked.
"It's simple, but also complicated." Robin said.
"Cause that makes sense." Neal commented.
"Alright, I say that we make a portal with the Black Fairy dust and get the workers out of here."
"That's ambitious." Neal said.
"Operation Ambitious?"
"Shut up, Henry."
"The real question is, can it be done?" Robin asked. Henry nodded.
"A portal can be made, but I've never seen people use Black Fairy dust for portal making." Henry said.
"Although, that's most likely what the Black Fairy used to get here seventeen years ago. Along with draining my mother of her life." Robin's throat tightened.
"I'm sure we can make a portal besides doing that."
"How much dust would we need?" Charlotte asked.
"At least two cups." Neal answered.
"First thing we should do is try and blend in. Or at least hide." Robin said.
Neal looked at the rock that the four of them were hiding behind, which wasn't very large. He glanced over at Henry.
"This rock ain't big enough for the two of us." He said in a corny accent, then pushed Henry out from behind the rock. "Henry and I will go somewhere else to hide. But I'll move another rock over here to hide you two."
"So we're trapped in between some rocks?" Robin asked. Neal smiled and rolled over another large stone.
"I'm sorry that I'm worrying you, Robin." Charlotte said quietly. Robin hugged Charlotte.
"You're the least of my worries, Charlotte. At least behaviour and action wise." Robin said.
"But I don't want you to get hurt. I guess I mean end up back here."
"Not gonna lie, it is scary here." Charlotte said.
"I agree. But you're a tough kid. And smarter than those goons we've faced."
"But I'm scared of your plan." Charlotte admitted.
"Do you think it's a bad plan?" Robin asked.
"I'm just worried about what attention it will bring. The children who work here will be thrilled, but the adults will be worried about the Black Fairy."
"I can't blame them." Robin said.
"But I don't know a lot about her."
"Have you read through Henry's storybook?" Charlotte asked.
"Not really. But I didn't want to think about the Black Fairy because I thought Henry was insane."
"Could Henry have the book with him?" Charlotte asked.
"Definitely. It's apparently really valuable to him." Robin said.
Quickly poking out from behind the rock by standing up, Charlotte figured out where Neal and Henry were hiding. Neal was grabbing some mining clothes that he had seen nearby. He spotted Charlotte and made a face at her.
Charlotte made a book motion with her hands, and Neal looked at where Henry was hiding behind the rock. Knowing that he needed to be subtle, Neal stood in place, and threw the clothes at Henry.
Henry was tempted to curse at Neal, but poked his head up from behind the rock. Neal pointed at Charlotte, who continued to make the book motion with her hands.
"I didn't know what she was saying." Neal said. Henry slapped his head with his hand.
"She wants my storybook." Henry said quietly. He pulled the book from his backpack and gave it to Neal.
Neal tiptoed over to Charlotte, and gave her the book. She quickly motioned that she wanted a hug, and Neal obliged. Neal then tiptoed back to his rock with Henry.
"You're probably terrible at charades." Henry said.
"Again, shut up Henry."
