Updating a day early because I'll be out of town this week! Enjoy :)
"I thought you'd never show up," the redhead retorted dryly, "I haven't got much time left before the girl and her father returns."
Hovering above her was a black raven, one that transformed into a man when he hit the ground. The man shook the snow and dirt off his coat, an irritated look on his face.
"Tending to your ever growing list of needs is pretty time consuming these days."
Zelena rolled her eyes. "Well, did you get what I asked?"
Out from Walsh's messenger bag came a small box, one that had been given to her by the Ice Queen a few weeks prior. She took it from him instantly, eyes wide at her token prize that would give her what she wanted.
"It won't be long now," she said, giving him one of her rare, genuine smiles. It quickly faded when she saw the uneasy expression on his face- after knowing him for so long, she knew when he had something negative to say.
"You're right- on the way over here, however..." he watched as her eyes went dark. God, he hated being enslaved to her. "I saw a whole lot of ice. After following the trail for a bit, I saw her- the Ice Queen. She found a way out of the Dark One's castle."
Her brow furrowed. "How the hell did she manage that? I thought Rumple had her trapped there."
Walsh shrugged.
"Well, she better still meet us at the castle, since that's where we're currently headed. What does she expect us to do, wait around while she turns people into popsicles?"
"Turn who into popsicles?" Came Caroline's voice from behind, causing the woman to spin around in surprise. She carried the wooden bow and a satchel of arrows on her back while her father carried four dead squirrels in his both of his hands.
"Who's this?"
Zelena turned to look back at Walsh for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Walsh- my personal assistant. He'll make sure we don't run into trouble."
Caroline gave her a confused look. "Walsh like... your dog?"
The man smiled. "That was me. Pleased to finally meet you-"
"We don't have time for chit chat, go back to doing your job." Zelena then waved her hand towards him, transforming the man back into a bird. Caroline watched with wonder as the bird promptly flew back into the sky, gone within seconds.
"Well we got lunch," Robin began, breaking the silence, "all we need is to get a fire started."
The girl was still on the fence about eating something that had been alive just an hour beforehand. However, seeing how normal Zelena and her father were being about it made her more willing to try.
Caroline intently watching her dad prepare the fire, sitting herself down next to Zelena on the stiff, cold grass. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and it made her start to think that the person she thought she knew might only be a small farce compared to who he really was. This created a small feeling of sadness that didn't seem to go away.
"My father taught me how to do this when I was younger than you are now," Robin marveled, extremely impressed with the return of his survival instincts. "He made me do it all by myself for the first time, and I was scared out of my mind."
Zelena had quickly tuned out, already beyond bored of stories from the past. She was quickly growing to regret bringing Robin along; he was nothing more than another villager trying to get by day after day.
"Do you think you could live here after being in Storybrooke for so long?" The girl asked, watching the squirrels cook over the open flame. She should've been appalled at the sight, yet all she felt was curiosity. "No phones, electricity, running water..."
Robin laughed. "It certainly would be hard, but if I had my family with me it wouldn't be too bad."
The image of her mother living in the realm was still fuzzy to her- was the world big and fascinating through her eyes when she was ten, or was it already full of rules and expectations?
"I was ready to give up everything about this place when I arrived at Storybrooke," Zelena chimed in, "running water is a real game changer, especially the showers."
Robin finally agreed with her for the first time. He removed the squirrels from the fire and handed one to the both of them. The ten year old was more than wary to begin eating, but hunger was driving her actions- it really wasn't that half bad, either. She added eating squirrel to the list of things she could tell her mom and Roland when they got back.
"See, it really isn't that bad," Robin teased, relieved that she ate without any fuss.
Before Caroline could form a response, she caught sight of a group of men on horses riding straight towards them. She pointed her finger in their direction. "Someone's coming!"
Robin jumped to his feet and grabbed his bow, drawing an arrow. The group of armed guards approached them quickly, forming a circle around them.
"Let me do the talking," Zelena muttered to Robin, who had no time to argue with her.
"What are you three doing out on a day like this?" One of the men, presumably the leader, asked.
Robin kept his arrow pointed at him as Zelena spoke.
"We're on our way back to our village- since when is it a crime to be out in the middle of the day?"
"There has been an official warning from King Fabian himself, posted around every village in the area," the man said, "it isn't safe to be traveling- have you not heard about the Ice Queen and her dark magic? No one is quite sure where she came from, but she's been terrorizing anyone and anything that's stood in her way."
Caroline paled- that was the Ice Queen they were supposed to be meeting in Rumple's castle. She didn't know what exactly to expect when they would meet, but it seemed like she was far more intimidating than they thought.
"We'll be back before sunset," Robin assured, "I won't let anything happen to my daughter."
"It's getting colder by the minute," another one of the men spoke, "some sort of spell or something. You better be on your way, quickly now- if you happen to run into her, no one will be able to help you, or your daughter."
With that, the guards took off again down the beaten dirt path, leaving the three of them beside a smoldering fire. Once again, Robin felt powerless and frustrated- the odds were continuing to stack against them.
"I thought you said she was trapped," he said irritably, "now she's going to start an ice age?"
Zelena gritted her teeth- this was not how their journey was supposed to go. "I don't know how she got out. We'll continue towards the castle- I'll convince her to still meet us there. Everything will work out."
He didn't seem too sure.
"Why do we need her again?" Caroline asked as they continued on their way.
Even Zelena was starting to get annoyed with the amount of secrets she had to keep from the girl. "She's the only person that can activate the time reversal spell- she'll do it if I bring her something in return."
Before she could ask what it was the Ice Queen wanted in return, Robin reached over and pulled the hood from her cloak over her head. "I can already feel it getting colder, how crazy is that? Are you positive the castle is a two days walk from here Zelena?"
She gave him a pointed look. "Of course I'm sure. Let's see how far we can get before the sun sets."
Though they were only a day into their journey, the initial excitement Caroline had perceived was already beginning to wear thin. Obviously she was willing to help Zelena out, but the whole thing seemed a bit off. There was also the fact that her father was acting really strange towards the red-headed woman. Was this Ice Queen dangerous? The uneasiness in the pit of her stomach continued to grow with each step she took towards the castle.
Granny's cooking was sure something he couldn't live without. As worked up and anxious as Roland had become, his spirits lifted at the smell of her delicious food. She was the grandma everyone wished they had.
"Did you want that special seasoning you like?" Granny asked, rifling through her cluttered cabinets. Roland jumped up off the couch to help her, reaching with ease to the top shelf to grab the burger seasoning.
"It's really isn't the best burger in town without it," he said, sending a smile her way.
"I remember when you came in the restaurant to eat your first burger- you were so little. Your mom showed you how to eat it and everything."
He watched her take the burgers off the stovetop and stack on some lettuce and tomatoes. Accepting his burger, Roland sat down at her small table and took his first bite- it really was the best burger.
"It's really hard to believe that I'm not from this world," he admitted in between bites, "I would've had a completely different life over there. Maybe I'd learn how to use a sword or something."
Granny laughed. "People always say that, it it's harder than it looks." The teenager wondered what exactly she did during her time in the Enchanted Forest- she kept it a secret from everyone, including Ruby. "We've all been here for so long. It's easy to forget."
Roland didn't realize how hungry he was until he started eating. The thought of not having burgers in the Enchanted Forest sounded insane to him- how was Caroline handling it?
"Do you think that she remembers us, wherever mom is?" He asked suddenly, thinking out loud.
Granny gave him a sympathetic look. "There really isn't any way of knowing. All we can do is try our best to get her back. I for one am still shocked by the fact that Regina has a sister- who would've thought? Cora really did have lots of twisted secrets up her sleeve."
Finishing his burger, Roland brought his dish to the sink and began to wash it. Keeping himself occupied helped stop him from overthinking. "I just don't know why she thinks having the life mom had would make her happy- I mean, mom was alone for who knows how long before she had us, and her life still turned out positive."
Granny couldn't agree more. Regina Mills was the last person in town that she thought she'd end up loving like family, yet here she was, taking care of her son like he was her own.
"We don't know how powerful she really is, either," she added, "makes me terrified for Ruby and Will. I'm glad they want to do their part to help, but I worry."
Roland took her plate and dipped it in the soapy water, trying to keep the bitter taste out of his mouth upon thinking of when he had briefly met Zelena after school. If only he had known then.
"Whenever Will is really passionate about something, he gets it done. Plus, Ruby'll be by his side to protect him- Zelena should be scared of her."
Granny couldn't agree more. She was so glad he was there to keep her company among all the chaos.
"You should call up your friends," she proposed, "even though things are tough right now, you still have to think about how you can take care of yourself- maybe even start going back to school?"
He shook his head, sitting back down next to her at the table and casting his eyes downward. "It's... too soon. I can't think about anything else except how my family is in danger. Anything could happen to them-"
"I know, I know." Granny cut him off, reaching a hand out towards his. "I had this same conversation with your mom when your dad was still in the Enchanted Forest. At the time, things looked really bleak, but everything worked out in its own time."
He wanted to believe her, he really did- but only the utter direness of the situation shone through. Dread cling onto him.
Granny really is the best! I wish they had done more with her on the show. More coming next week!