A/N- Once again, I own only the OC. Everyone else belongs to ABC.
Hope looked down in dismay to see the armor she always wore. Snow White herself had gifted it to her after she killed a dragon that was terrorizing her kingdom. Before the curse, it was her favorite thing she owned. Now, she had been hoping she'd never have to see it again.
She trudged through the forest, following everyone else, and found herself standing next to Regina.
"Hey," Regina said, looking like Hope had interrupted some deep, brooding thoughts. "You're Henry's friend, right? Belle's daughter?"
Hope nodded, unsure of what she should say.
"Look, I owe you an apology," Regina continued. "I did some awful things to your mother, and I am sorry. Truly. Even though I know you won't believe it."
"I believe it," Hope responded. "Everybody makes mistakes. Yours were just a bit bigger than other people's. And besides, you're Henry's mother. How could I not forgive the mother of my best friend?"
"I miss him," Regina said, instantly sobering their conversation.
"Yeah, me too," Hope confessed. "But I know in my heart he's happy. He's with Emma, remember?"
"I know, but still. He's my son. How could I not miss him?" Regina wondered why she was talking so much to this girl, but she found her easy to get along with, rather like her mother.
"Just-"
Their conversation was cut short by a large animal swooping out of the sky, knocking both girls to the ground. Before Hope could regain her footing and fight off the beast, someone shot an arrow at it from the trees and scared it away.
The stranger ran over to the queen and Hope and offered the queen his hand. She refused, in a very rude manner, and he turned to help Hope instead. The second he laid eyes on her, he recognised her.
"Hope?" he asked, not believing his eyes. "Is that really you?"
"Robin?" she replied, taking his hand. "Oh my god, I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
"Nor I you!" he exclaimed, wrapping her in a bear hug. "Where's your sister? I seemed to recall you never let her far out of your sight."
Hope's face fell.
"I lost her," she explained. "A few weeks ago."
"Oh, Hope," he said, voice dripping with sympathy. "I'm so sorry. Come here, darling."
Just then, Belle, having heard the commotion, came running into the clearing, just in time to see her old friend hugging her daughter.
"Robin?" she exclaimed when she saw him. "Is that you?"
He spun around to face her, a huge grin spreading across his face.
"Belle! How's my favorite bookworm?"
"I've definitely been better," she confessed. "But I'm doing alright."
"Hope," he said, gesturing for her to come over. "I'd like you to meet someone. This is my friend, Belle. Belle, this is Hope."
Belle and Hope looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"What? What's so funny?" Robin inquired.
"Robin, Hope is my daughter," Belle explained. "She was lost to me, but we found our way back to each other a few months ago. But you haven't explained how you two know each other."
"He saved my life," Hope said.
"And she saved Sherwood Forest," Robin added, his voice filled with admiration.
"I was fighting a dragon over in Sherwood, and I got hurt really bad," Hope elaborated. "Just as the dragon was about to finish me off, Robin and his merry men swooped in and scared the dragon away. They took me and Elizabeth back to their camp and nursed me back to health. Once I got better, I slayed the dragon. Elizabeth and I actually stayed with them for a few months until I got too restless to stick around. From then on, any time I needed a place to lay low for a bit, Elizabeth and I would seek out Robin and his band of merry men and stay at their camp for a while. We both began to think of him as something of a father figure."
"Wow. Well, it seems like I owe you a lot, Robin," Belle commented gratefully.
"Oh, no, Belle, I'll accept nothing from you. It was my pleasure to watch after your daughter," Robin declared.
"Well, it was a pleasure to see you again, Robin," Belle replied, seeing the way he was looking at Regina. "Come on, Hope, let's catch up with Bae."
Hope, being just as sharp and observant as her mother, waved to Robin and walked off, leaving Robin and Regina behind to banter flirtatiously.
When they caught up with Bae, Hope could feel the sadness settle back over her as she thought of everything she had lost.
"Mama?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah baby?" Belle was being incredibly gentle with her daughter, as she knew just how fragile she was right now.
"I was wondering if we could go back to my home village. I have a tree where I buried my parents, and I carve the names of everyone I've lost into the tree. I just thought that recent events warrant a visit," Hope explained.
"Sure, baby. Anything you want," Belle agreed. "Which village did you live in?"
"The one right outside of Avalon," Hope answered. "It's the closest one to your father's castle."
"Alright. We'll have to secure some horses. Avalon's pretty far from here," Belle said.
Once Bae, Belle, and Hope secured their horses, they started to travel back to Hope's home town, something she had dreaded every single day since she left. Upon arriving in the village two days later, Hope led them to a mill with a small two room house at the edge of the city.
"You had a family of four who lived in that?" Belle asked incredulously.
"Ah, no. Alexander, Elizabeth, and Jacob lived in the house. I lived in the mill," Hope clarified.
"You did? That's not even remotely safe!" Bae bellowed.
"I know, but at times, I was grateful for it. Kept me out of the way of Jacob's wrath," Hope continued.
The three continued in silence towards the back of the property, Belle's blood boiling at the way Hope had been treated. She didn't know the full extent of it, as Hope rarely talked about her past here, but Belle knew it had to have been horrible.
When they got to the treeline at the edge of the property, Hope dismounted, and Belle and Bae followed suit. They followed Hope to a large oak tree which had three names carved into it, and three graves that were just barely visible.
Hope knelt next to the tree, and removed her knife from its sheath. She painstakingly carved the names Elizabeth, Papa, and Henry into the tree. She knew that Henry was still alive, but she also suspected that she would never see him again, so to her, she had lost him too.
Her brother waited patiently for her to finish, his head bowed respectfully, his eyes full of unshed tears. Belle picked three bouquets of wildflowers, tying each with a different color ribbon from her pocket.
When Hope had finished, she touched each name on the tree as she said her goodbyes to the people she loved.
"Goodbye Henry. I hope you and Emma can be happy in New York. Goodbye, Papa. I didn't get near enough time to spend with you, but I loved you nonetheless. You were good to me, and I wish we didn't have to say goodbye so soon."
Her eyes stung, but she refused to let the tears fall, even as she touched the name of the most important person in her life.
"Goodbye, Elizabeth. May you and Alexander run free together for all eternity, just like you always wished you could."
Belle stepped up when Hope was done, lightly tracing Henry's name with her finger.
"I didn't know you well. But Rumple always spoke highly of you, as did Hope. I find it a shame that I didn't get to know you, though I still hope you're happy with Emma."
Belle touched Elizabeth's name, pain lacing through her voice.
"I didn't know you hardly at all either. But from what I did know, it breaks my heart that your life was so short. I wish I'd have known you better, though from all Hope's told me, I feel like I did. Goodbye, Elizabeth Taylor. May all your dreams come true in the afterlife."
Finally, she touched her true love's name, tears flowing freely. She let them fall shamelessly, unlike Hope.
"Rumple. . ." she whimpered, choking back a sob. "I'll miss you. I'll miss you more than words can possibly describe. My one solace is that at least you were a hero in your final moments, just like you always wanted to be. Goodbye, Rumplestilskin. Wait for me. Because I promise, I will see you again."
She began to sob as she repeated the words she spoke to him when he went to Neverland, thinking that he would die there.
Hope wrapped her mother in a strong embrace as her brother walked over to the tree, his eyes already watering.
He skipped Elizabeth, having never met her. Instead, he let his fingers fall upon his son's name.
"Goodbye, my Henry. I regret your loss the most. I just wish I really got to know you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever left you. I'm sorry I was never there. And I'm sorry that I didn't make the most of the time we did have together. I'll miss you, son."
As he touched his Papa's name, carved the same way he would have said it, he let his head rest genty against the carving.
"Oh, Papa," he whispered. "I'll miss you. But I want you to know, I forgive you. It doesn't matter what you did, because you made up for all of it in the end. Goodbye, Papa. And thank you again. You meant a lot to me."
As Bae stood up, he came and wrapped his arms around Belle and Hope. They stood there, watching the tree for a while. Eventually, they turned and walked back to their horses, setting about finding a place to stay for a while. It had been an emotional day, but all three were glad they'd come out here. It had given them all some much needed closure, and some peace, knowing their loved ones were in better places.
A/N I know, I know, another sad chapter. But, there should only be two more sad ones, and then it'll all be fluff from here on out. There's one character death from the show that won't carry over here, because it broke my heart too much trying to write it. Leave a review and guess what it is. Anyways, sorry for the sad chapter, and I know you probably didn't enjoy it. Have a blessed day, dearies!