This chapter continues where the last one left off, with a little bother bonding. And I also added in another character that'll make things a little more interesting- Rumple. Less than a week to go until the premiere! I'll add in some happier outlaw queen moments soon that will hopefully make things a little better considering all the sadness our fandom has in store...
At first, he didn't think it was a big deal.
Caroline wandered around Storybrooke all the time- she knew where she was going, and she knew she couldn't pass the line. It was obvious in his mind that she either went to Emma or Ruby's apartment, Will's house, or the Charming's loft. But, when all of his phone calls ran cold, Roland began to get worried. The thought of going out there to look for her grew more and more intensely in his mind, almost making him forget about the incident earlier with Alex. He was currently locked away in his room, not wanting to chance being questioned by his parents. After the fight they had, Roland wanted nothing less than to awkwardly get in the way of things between them.
As far as Robin and Regina knew, Caroline was safe and sound back at the house with him- if they knew she was out there somewhere, roaming the streets all by herself, they would practically throw another fit. The less they knew the better. All Roland had to do was find her and bring her back before they noticed- he was surprised neither of them had come to check on them already.
Glancing down irritably at his phone, Roland scanned his options in his head. If he was going to sneak out and look for her, he knew there was no way he could do it alone- not if he wanted to keep it a secret from his parents. There was only one other option.
He was still mad at him, nothing except time could change that. Nevertheless, Roland knew he had to suck it up, even if it were for only one night.
"Please pick up..." He muttered, tapping his phone with his fingers impatiently as it continued to ring. By some miracle, he did.
"Roland? What do you-"
"Caroline's missing again," he interrupted his brother, putting it out there, "I- she just got upset and walked out. I called practically everybody, and she's not anywhere-"
"Why didn't you just go after her?" Henry asked, currently situated on Will's couch.
"Because Mom and Dad were yelling at each other, and I can't let them know she's gone. I'm surprised they didn't notice her leave- she's good at that though, slipping out of places without being seen."
He could hear Henry groan on the other side of the phone line. "Alright, well I guess I'll have to come get you in the truck since you can't drive by yourself yet. We can drive around and see where she could've done off to."
"It would be faster if we could split up," Roland reasoned, "we both know I can drive fine on my own."
Henry chuckled. "Yeah, but not legally- you don't have a license."
That he didn't want to be reminded of.
"Fine. Whatever. I just have to get out without Mom and Dad knowing. From what I collected Mom is still locking herself away in the study and Dad is outside hacking wood into pieces. Their fight was pretty intense."
Somehow, the twenty two year old knew what they had been fighting over- him.
"Sounds like it," he signed, glancing over his shoulder, "look- just climb out the window or something. I'll drive over and pick you up, and we can get our sister back in no time."
With all the positivity Roland had gotten from him, he almost forgot about all the hateful things he had said just a few days prior. Here Henry was, his big brother, going out of his way to make sure Caroline was safe back home. Maybe he wasn't such a self entitled prince after all.
The silence was starting to get to her. She had told herself that it would be a fast and easy walk home, but that soon was compromised. The woods were completely dark, and even she had to admit that she was a little bit scared. She didn't like to go out in the dark by herself- Henry used to take her out there to watch the stars where the branches didn't cover up the sky. This time, however, when Caroline looked up, she only saw darkness. She knew she wasn't going home her usual way; somehow she must've fallen off the trail she always took. There was no way she could get lost in Storybrooke- she knew she would eventually find the road if she kept on walking.
But she was exhausted. All she wanted was to get into her bed and sleep for the rest of the night. The only sounds came from her constant footsteps and her slightly rugged breath. It was colder than she had expected it to be- and why wouldn't it be, it was the end of February. The warmth of the hot chocolate had long since worn off.
She could see a pair of headlights off in the distance, meaning she had finally made it out of the woods. There was a huge sense of relief to finally setting foot on the road. She knew where she was again, and she was off towards the direction of home.
Looking behind her, Caroline could see the bold orange line going across the road. Oftentimes, she wondered what her life would be like if she didn't have any memories as to where she came from, to not have a mother, a father, any friends... She wondered if that was how Zelena felt.
"Awfully late to be out here by yourself, isn't it?" She heard a voice remark, taking her by surprise. Mr. Gold was standing just a few feet away, with his cane set beside him and his car parked to his left. Caroline gulped.
"I was just... Out for a walk," she said, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jeans as a gust of wind came across them.
"Out in this cold? So far away from home?"
She was such a bad lair- she knew this, which meant getting herself out of that conversation would be quite difficult. But, as she remembered Zelena's advice towards her, a bit of confidence shone within her.
"I always go on walks when I'm bored," she said, "they're peaceful."
Gold didn't seem so sure. "I suppose you aren't as young as I thought you were. But still, what's in the forest?"
She shrugged, trying to come up with something. "My... Friend... She lives there."
"Lives in the woods?"
She was screwed.
"Um, yeah, it's... Ruby. She always spends the night camping in the woods when she hunts."
The man raised his eyebrows. "I don't think spending time with a werewolf is safe for a girl like yourself. If you want, I could drive you home, or call your Mother-"
"No, I'll be okay," Caroline said quickly, "I'm on my way home right now. Thanks anyway."
Watching her walk down the street, Gold wondered what she was really up to. He had directed a strange activity in magic coming from the center of the forest, and had come to investigate. Whatever the nine year old was hiding, he would find out.
"You sure you can handle looking on this side of the town? I don't want to leave you here if you can't do it."
Roland rolled his eyes. "Of course I can handle it. You go and look over by the woods. If I get any leads, I'll call you."
The odds were certainly not in their favor. It was pitch black outside, almost below freezing, and the streets were barren. It scared both brothers to know that Caroline was outside in such a scary world.
"Alright, if we need to we can call up Grace or August to help. Thankfully it's not that late yet. Now what in the world are we going to say if Mom and Dad notice we're gone?"
Roland smiled. " I guess we'll have to weasel our way through a good lie, just like we used to do."
Henry returned the smile. He suddenly couldn't see why he was so mad at him- he was his little brother, his second half, and his partner in crime. The days of them playing soccer out in the grass fields of the Enchanted Forest still ran clear in his mind; if he concentrated hard enough, Henry could still smell the brisk forest air and hear Roland's little laughs. It was a memory that had stayed with him, a time in his life that would never be forgotten; a time when his mother finally found love again.
"Yeah, guess so," he replied, twirling his car keys around his finger, "and Roland? I'm sorry for what I did. The secret may be out there, but it is what it is. It's not like I regret any of it."
Raising his eyebrows, the fifteen year old seemed surprised with his remark. His older brother and apologies were hard to come by.
"Thanks. You're just lucky I didn't tell Mom any of your other secrets."
Henry laughed. "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't make it through the day if I told her everything."
That was the truest statement Roland had heard all night.
"And may she never find out. Now, we better get going."
They both separated on their different paths, beginning to scan the sides of the streets for a lost little nine year old. Henry drove up and down every street, a twisted feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Sure Storybrooke was a nice town, but that changed once it got dark. He remembered how terrifying it was being trapped in that dusty old mine shaft, knowing that the entrance had been blockaded with boulders that could've crushed him with ease.
The woods were no different- endless silhouettes of thick tree trunks lining ones view, tangled, twisted roots acting as snares, waiting for their next victim to come walking through. Even the air was terrifying- not the fresh, arid breath of air the sunlight brought, but thick and humid, the kind of air that stuck on skin and formed water droplets on the leaves of trees.
His car sped a little faster as he neared the outskirts of the town. Now why would his sweet little sister end up here? He didn't know why she wouldn't seek the company of one of her friends, someone to talk to, like Ruby or Will. Neither of them had seen her since the previous day.
Knowing the town line was coming up, Henry was tempted to turn around and try the next street over. That was, until he saw a purple backpack and a swinging high ponytail against the brightness of his headlights. Stopping abruptly, he rolled down his window.
"Caroline! What're you doing out here?" He shouted, causing the girl to turn around and cover her eyes.
"Walking!"
"Well get over here and get in! Mom and Dad still don't know you're gone."
She scowled at him. "Yeah, because they're yelling at each other. I don't want to go home."
He rolled his eyes. She was so incredibly stubborn.
"Look, you gotta come home. We can talk about it with Mom and Dad. But you need to sleep, because you have school tomorrow."
"I don't want to go!"
"So what are you going to do, sleep in the forest tonight? That doesn't sound too fun to me."
Maybe she did want to go home. But she sure didn't want to get in trouble for being off by herself, and she didn't want to hear them arguing about a problem that didn't even pertain to her.
"I- I don't want them to fight..." She told him, her voice weakening.
"They won't, I promise. They both love you so much, and they want you to come home. Will you get in the truck?"
She lowered her head and started towards the truck, taking her time in opening the passenger door and climbing in. Though she obeyed her brother, Caroline wasn't happy about it. Getting in the same car as the same person that attacked her brother didn't really appeal to her at that moment- the hate swirling in his eyes still haunted her. They both knew she wasn't the most forward nine year old on the planet, but she wanted Henry to know right then and there that she wasn't happy about what he had done. Caroline knew her brother, and that wasn't him.
Resting her head against the cold glass window, she watched her breath turn into white splotches. Every now and then, she would run her finger across the condensation.
"So what, you're not going to thank me for picking you up?" Henry asked, trying to get her to talk.
Caroline shrugged. "Thanks... I guess. I told you I could walk by myself." Her small voice muffled in the window.
It was obvious what she was doing- and Henry hated it. He loved the friendship the two of them shared.
"You don't need to be mad at me, I apologized to Roland," he said, getting it out of the way, "we're good now."
Turning her head to the side, she scowled at him. "So? That doesn't change the fact that you hurt him. Why did you have to do that?"
"And why are you standing up for him so much?" Henry challenged, "he doesn't do anything for you."
"He's family, that's why! We can't just start hating each other, our family is all we have." Caroline said, all of the sadness she thought was gone after her visit with Zelena rushing back.
Henry sighed. "I really am sorry about it. I was just really mad. We're still a family, no matter what. And you'll always be my sister."
"But... Why did you hit him in the first place?" Caroline asked, her eyes glossy with tears when she looked at him. She needed to know; the secret was starting to drive her mad.
The second Henry saw the look in her eyes, he knew he was defeated. There was no way he could lie to her.
"Because I love her," he said bluntly, the word puncturing like a rock thrown into stilled water. "I love her- I love Grace, and Mom and Dad don't want to accept that."
The girl made a face. "What, that's... It? That's what everyone's been hiding from me?"
He sighed, knowing that she was too young to understand. "Yeah, it's that simple."
Turning her attention back to the window, Caroline watched the shops pass by as they made their way back towards the house. "Will you ask her to marry you, then?" She asked, almost absent mindedly, "then she can be my sister."
Henry's face insinuated a smile. "Yeah, maybe one day."
Suddenly, the ride home didn't seem so bad.
After walking through the forest for a half hour, following the enchanted footsteps Caroline had left without a sound, he stumbled upon an old farmhouse literally in the middle of nowhere. He noticed the shed first, out there by itself, then the old car. Rumple was beyond intrigued- Caroline had been there, and by the looks of things, someone was living there. And that someone seemed to have an enormous amount of magic. He could sense it; the magic made the tips of his fingers tingle.
Then, he saw her. A woman, with red hair, talking to a man on her porch. Inside, his heart practically stopped beating, for he could recognize her immediately. Zelena, the girl with volatile, uncontrollable power, Cora's first born. And she was there, in Storybrooke, a wolf preying on a flock of sheep. Or, rather, one sheep, one particularly white and innocent- Caroline.
It seemed as though Zelena had noticed him too; she shooed the man back inside and began down the pathway towards him. Everything was happening so fast. Rumple had half a mind to destroy her right then and there, knowing that whatever intention she had in his town wasn't going to be a good one.
"I was wondering when you would figure out the secret of me being here," she marveled, taking off one of her black gloves, then the other. The smile she wore on her face was the same one he had seen when he first met her- it showed the confidence she had in her power, and honestly, it was terrifying.
"Why such a shabby old cabin in the middle of the woods?" He asked, "doesn't really seem like your style. What are you doing here, Zelena? Does Regina know you're here?"
The woman let out a laugh. "Do you take me for a fool? That's the game, Dark One- the less she knows, the easier it is to destroy her. I've been interacting with her sweet daughter for almost two weeks now, she knows nothing about it. And do you know what's special about dear Caroline?"
His eyes darkened. "What are you planning on doing with her?"
Zelena was delighted in his ignorance. "You're looking awfully domesticated, Rumple. Did you make that servant girl of yours you wife? Did you move into a small little house, and spend the least ten years of your life with your grandchild? Seems awfully sweet for a man as dark as they come, doesn't it?"
"I put that life behind me, yes," he growled, "but don't think for a second that I won't hesitate to kill you, right here."
She laughed. "You can try. We both know I'm too powerful to be stopped. And you, you aren't going to do a thing to stop me."
He felt it suddenly, the mad rush of hate that he had felt for years as the Dark One in the Enchanted Forest. Striking his hand forward towards her chest, Rumple was surprised to be met with a blow of dark powder, causing his mind to become numb and his body weak.
Before he blanked out, he heard one more triumphant laugh.
"Because you won't remember a thing."
Zelena then engulfed the man in green smoke, sending him back to his car that was still parked on the side of the road.
Glancing around his surroundings, Rumple gave a confused look.
"What the hell am I doing here?"
Haha, I thought I'd throw in some quotes from the show. Getting nervous about what Zelena has in store for Caroline and Regina? You all should ;) As I said at the beginning of the chapter, outlaw queen family cuteness is n store for the next chapter!
So I watched the beginning of the episode today (only like seven minutes) and I'm already a mess. How I'll survive all this outlaw queen sadness is beyond me...