After contending about where to go from their cozy single room at the Inn well into the night, everyone agreed that starting somewhere was better than nothing. Perhaps it was selfish, but Robin was still simply relieved (and stunned) that they had survived their encounter with the Ice Queen. They were one step closer to returning to Regina and Roland, and the belief that they could all be reunited soon charged each step he took. Knowing that his wife was released from the hell she was imprisoned in was more than a weight lifted off his chest- he felt like he could breathe normally again, torment no longer an ever present burden on his mind.
At the crack of dawn Robin had awoken, despite the short rest. He remained quiet as the rest of his family and Zelena continued to sleep, stuck in his own thoughts. The sun gave a soft and comforting glow to the room, the hidden terror of the darkness long since gone. It was a new day- things were going to change, for better or for worse.
"Can we get new clothes?" Caroline asked, her voice still groggy, "I'm tired of wearing this."
Robin had to chuckle as he looked down at his own tattered robes. "Use that magic of yours to give us all something new- unless Will steals more money."
A groan came out of Will's mouth, who was half asleep on the floor with a pillow clutched between his arms. If he were in Storybrooke, waking up so early would practically be a crime. But, considering there was an otherworldly witch a mere feet away from him, he found motivation to start the day.
"Can you give me one of those fancy pirate blouses? I think I can finally pull it off with this tan."
Ruby gave him a playful nudge, sitting up and beginning to run her fingers through her hair. "We're supposed to blend in, remember? Caroline, surprise us."
Having the power to make anything happen with the will of her mind was nothing short of amazing, something she knew she would ever get tired of. Soon the familiar hum of magic stirred at the base of her stomach, and a purple cloud billowed across the room. Ruby had her signature red cloak, Robin and Will a white shirt and tan pants. Zelena gave the girl a questionable look, gesturing at her pale blue dress.
"Blue? Caroline, I think you know by now that green is my color."
She stifled a smile as she headed towards the door, dressed clad in a purple cloak. The rest of them followed her outside the room and to the bright morning in the hectic village, everyone out and about.
"I think we're in the northeast part of the Enchanted Forest," Will began, "Ruby and I talked to someone who said that Hayman's Pass is not too far from here. This must be the last decently sized village before all the nothingness and mill fields."
None of them had ever been that far east. The villagers all seemed pleasant, although tired expressions were prominent in each individual Caroline smiled towards as they walked.
"Am I the only one here that's starving?" Zelena chided, "there has to be a decent tavern around here that serves breakfast."
Everyone silently agreed, the five of them walking closely together down the road. It was hard to know what the inside of each building entailed, considering each one was unmarked and exactly like the last. Even after living in the Enchanted Forest for so many years, it still left them all wondering. Finally, after countless window peeking from Ruby and Caroline, they found a small restaurant that seemed open. The tables were all in close proximity to one another, making the area seem cramped and stuffy. But hunger forced them all to sit down and look over the menu. Will managed to find a few more coins, and hoped it was enough for all the food they were about to purchase.
"Have you been pickpocketing?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother.
Will let out a sly smile. "It's like riding a bike- once you learn, you never unlearn."
None of them could say they were surprised.
"Just wait until Regina hears about this, she'll get a kick out of it."
Zelena rolled her eyes at the sound of her sisters name, an automatic response that she didn't catch until after it happened. They hadn't dared to talk about what was going to happen with Zelena once they somehow made it back to the present day- it remained a mystery, an uncomfortable subject that could stay repressed for the time being.
"We used to go to places like this all the time," Robin said, his mind somewhere far in the past, "do you remember?"
Will sent him a smile. "Of course I remember. There's a million of these places, thank goodness, or else we would starve."
Just then, a waiter approached their table. Will was quick to take charge and order whatever he could afford with the stolen coins.
"You never had a woman join your little thievery gang?" Ruby asked, somewhat jokingly, "because I think I'd be pretty good at it- learned from the best."
Will gave his girlfriend an approving smile.
"We were called the Merry Men," Robin teased, pausing to take a sip of water. "There were actually a few that helped us out from time to time, depending on where we were. It was... frowned upon though, for women to do things like that."
It was hard to believe such a time ever existed. But Ruby remembered it well, despite how long ago it seemed. "I remember Granny telling me how hard things were for her when I was young. People had problems accepting her because she was a widow. How much prejudice did the ladies of Oz experience back in the day?"
Zelena gave a surprised look, once again only listening to half of the conversation and feeling distant from it all. For a moment she debated whether or not to tell the truth, as bleak and depressing as it was. However sympathy was not what she desired in life, and she knew that telling the four of them that the woman who raised her was weak would further nothing.
"Same as everywhere else, I suppose," she mused, her voice flat, "I wasn't allowed to do anything that wasn't related to homemaking. I was never really great at all that stuff."
Everyone pretended they weren't interested in the upbringing of the wicked witch- having the same biological mother as Regina inevitably came with baggage, whether she was aware of it or not. Caroline found it harder to conceal her amusement, even though she was still unsure of their friendship.
"When did your powers start to show?"
Zelena hesitated to answer, each response only digging herself in deeper. "Ever since I can remember. My father hated magic, said it made us peculiar. But... we can't really change who we are, now can we?"
The more Zelena spoke, the wider the girls eyes became, consuming every word. A wide array of breakfast food soon stole her attention, their conversation silenced as the five of them began to eat. Caroline always thought Granny made the best bacon and eggs, and now she knew why- food in the Enchanted Forest was infinitely better. For at least a few minutes, all the worries of the world didn't seem as suffocating.
"Do you have more of an appetite with the whole wolf thing?" Caroline asked, not hesitating to take another bite afterwards.
Letting out a carefree laugh, Ruby picked up a strip of bacon. "I was born a werewolf- the monster was concussed for for a long while, but always there, waiting to be unleashed."
She took a ferocious bite to prove her point, earning a grin of amusement from her boyfriend. Will slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. "That's why we keep you around, Rubes!"
As food become scarce on the plates, the group sifted through many easy conversations, the peace of mind diluting Zelena's volatile nature. She was fairly quiet, listening to Caroline give animated tales recounting some shining moments of her life.
As time continued on, Zelena began to realize the full extent of how interwoven their lives really were. The four of them truly depended on one another for everything- it was truly pathetic. The people of Storybrooke were the only people Caroline knew. Will was in the middle of recanting some story involving a two year old Caroline and her mother's horse when suddenly his eyes widened, his voice trailing off mid sentence. Glancing at the door, he fixated on the person that had entered the restaurant. His distress was noticed by Robin, who turned to see who his brother was staring at.
"No, don't!" Will hissed, keeping his head down.
Ruby caught a look at the man in question; he looked like any other villager she had seen around, though arrogance showing through his countenance suggested that he was in a position of power.
"Who is he?"
The man was caught up in conversation at the far side of the room, a fair amount of space between him and them.
Will took a deep breath. "The Sheriff of Nottingham- he's had it out for Robin ever since-"
"We don't need to go into details," Robin promptly cut him off, shielding his face without being too obvious about it. "This is bad. He can't see me."
Caroline hadn't seen her father that tense since they first arrived in the Enchanted Forest. His anxiety diffused to the rest of them almost instantaneously, everyone was on edge and trying not to stare too much.
"What do we do?" The girl asked, terrified to know what would happen if they stayed longer.
Robin couldn't shake the initial shock of seeing that person again, the man that had caused him so much anguish over the years. "You four leave out the front door- he won't recognize any of you."
"We can't just leave you, Dad," Caroline interjected, "if we go quickly he won't even notice."
Zelena gave him a poignant look. "Or we could do it my way."
"For once I agree with Greenie here," Ruby said, "I could take this asshole down easy."
Shaking his head, Robin kept the man in the corner of his eye, monitoring his every movement. "We're supposed to be laying low and finding a way out of this place, not creating more trouble."
His younger self would have resented that statement and thought he'd gone wary of excitement. The adrenaline rush used to fuel him for days on end.
"I'll distract him for a minute or two so you guys can sneak out unnoticed, simple as that." Will suggested, finishing off the last bits of food from off his plate.
"Are you positive he's never seen you before?"
"Completely. I did most of my thievery in Wonderland anyways."
Everyone was hesitant, but something had to be done if they were getting out without a fight. Will gave his family (and Zelena) a stern nod before getting up and smoothing his shirt, starting towards the man and the others he was talking to. If Will had one trademark skill, it was not caring about making a fool out of himself.
The Sheriff of Nottingham was engaged in a fervent conversation with two other brawny men- Will felt especially insufficient standing next to them, but came in with a full force of energy.
"They call you the Sheriff of Nottingham, right?" He butted in, causing an abrupt halt to their previous conversation.
The men in the group all gave him a strange look.
"Everyone here knows my name," he replied smoothly, "what do you want?"
Will hadn't planned an answer to that question. "Just wanted some... pointers on tax collecting- been looking into getting in the business myself."
"But isn't petty theft a lot more fun?" He mused, promptly turning around to face Robin- "you really thought I wouldn't notice you?"
The four of them were only a few feet from the door. Robin stood, stunned, cursing himself for always managing to get into situations like that.
"How on earth did you get here so quickly? It's at least a four days journey."
The Sheriff began towards him, abandoning Will and the rest of his companions. Glancing uneasily back at his daughter, Robin was surprised to see that Zelena already had a protective hand on her shoulder.
"I don't want to cause a problem- I'm just passing through."
Now only a few feet away from him and the rest of the group, Nottingham surveyed his enemy, both confusion and amusement flickering across his expression. "Problems follow you around wherever you go. Who are all your friends here?"
Will had made it back at Ruby's side. Nottingham's all male posse stood behind him like an egotistical trinity, each one looking down at them like they were the scum of the earth. Memories of their past experiences came flooding in, all of them so unpleasant it made his jaw tighten and his blood boil.
"You don't have worry about that- we're on our way," Robin said firmly, nudging Caroline towards the door.
Nottingham then lunged his hand at the neckline of Robin's shirt, pulling him in and preparing a fist with the other. As he swung his fist, however, an invisible force froze him, halting his movements in mid air. Nottingham tried to fight the force, but to no avail. Losing too much strength, he gave up in a frustrated exhale- he then noticed the ten year old standing behind her father, eyes locked on him and swirling with purple magic.
"Dark magic- from a child, nonetheless!" He exclaimed, still catching his breath, "just wait until the Queen hears of this!"
When the posse of men attempted to move towards them, they realized their feet were rooted to the ground. Ruby, Caroline, Robin, Will, and Zelena all bolted through the door, soon running freely outside. Shouts from Nottingham and his men could still be heard from inside the restaurant. Caroline began to panic inside as they continued to run, knowing they weren't safe. They had to go somewhere- anywhere that wasn't there.
Soon purple smoke engulfed Robin's field of vision- just as he turned around, the smoke vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving nothing in its place. Startled, he looked around frantically, only to find Ruby staring back at him with equal surprise. The other three had disappeared into thin air.
Before either of them could get any words out, a furious Nottingham came storming out of the restaurant, followed by his men, their swords drawn as they headed straight for them.
"Oh shit," Robin breathed out, bringing himself to a run again, not knowing where to go. He heard Ruby call his name, bringing to his attention the group of horses tethered to a post. They didn't have time to make a plan- the both of them untied two of the horses, and soon were racing off into the forest, soon surrounded by trees.
The angry shouts coming from the village became distant, replaced by hurried hoofbeats. With fear as their main instigator, the only thing left to do was continue forward into the unknown.
