TemperanceTales: I do not own Once Upon a Time in anyway shape or form and I give full credit to the creators. I don't own any fairytales not done in the show either and give credit to respectful owners. So off we go, read and review. I give credit to Bizzarieve, for all his help with my story and his ideas towards it.
STORYBOOK
"Tonight we celebrate!"
There was a loud cheer as Tzila and Ryaden came out from the chapel. People cheered, throwing rose petals as they approached a courtyard where a party surprisingly modest for a wedding. People of all stations clapped as they walked to the dance floor. Tzila was wearing a white gown with the skirts split to reveal a silvery silk underskirt. Ryaden was dressed nicely as well, his full suit black and tie a stunning blue. It was unusual, in comparison to the way the other men were dressed. But Ryaden had not a care as did Tzila. Odette smiled to herself as she watched them, thinking about the pair they would make. Yensid came up to her side as the couple danced in front of them. Odette glanced at him and said, "An interesting pair, Father. Do you think she will be happy with him?"
"I think the two of them will find what they need in each other," Yensid said, smoothly. Odette shrugged and said, "If you say so… his state of dress is strange."
"His world is linked to many different worlds," Master Yensid said, "Many different times. Trust me, where he's from his clothes are not all too strange."
"Now," Yensid took his daughters hand and kissed it lightly, "I believe a dance is necessary."
Odette beamed, her eyes showing the sweet kindness that was the beauty. She bowed her head briefly as she said, "Of course, Father."
Yensid lead his daughter to dance floor, dancing near the married couple. Others began to dance around them, their laughter surprisingly complimenting the music. Odette laughed as her father spun her, catching Tzila's attention. Ryaden noticed this and said, "Does it worry you? Her condition?"
"Of course it does," Tzila said, looking at him strangely, "Why would it not?"
"Because," Ryaden said, dancing with her humbly, "I must say as long as I've known your father, I don't know much about you. What I have heard about you, I'm not sure to be true."
"Oh?" Tzila's face was impassive, but soft. It wasn't frightening, at least not to him. He spun her under his arm as he said, "I've heard people describe you as a fearsome sorceress, a cunning fiend. Honestly, I can't say you are either."
Tzila swallowed, breathing in deep. Confliction came across her eyes as she averted his gaze. She allowed him still to lead her as she said, "Many fear the things that dwell in the darkness."
"Really," Ryaden said, still looking unconvinced, "Well forgive me if this offends your reputation; you seem too mild mannered to be a monster."
Tzila smiled weakly and said as she glanced back at Odette, "Looks are deceiving…"
"Father, did you spin mother around this much?" Odette joked and Yensid smile warmly.
"Your mother loved dancing," Yensid said, warmly, "Never once complained how anyone danced. Especially her children."
"Master Yensid."
Yensid looked over to see a Queen walk over with a young man. Yensid smiled warmly as he bowed saying, "You're Majesty. Odette this is Her Majesty, Queen Anna and her son Prince Siegfried."
"You're Majesties." Odette curtsied deeply as the Prince bowed lowly saying, "Lady Odette. May I have this dance?"
Odette looked to her father for permission, a dash of doubt crossing her face. Yensid sharply looked at the Prince, who had straightened up. He looked at Yensid hopefully, not deterred by the Mage's stare. Yensid nodded slightly as Odette looked back at the Prince with a shy nervousness. She outstretched her hand and the Prince took it. He led them to the dance floor as the Queen said brightly, "Well since my son has taken your dancing partner, shall I accompany you till she returns?"
"Indeed," the Mage said with another bow.
Odette allowed the Prince to lead her but kept herself on guard. The Prince noticed this as he said, "I am sorry, Milady. I have made you quite nervous."
"No, I am sorry," Odette suddenly said, feeling quite abashed, "It has been… quite a few months…"
"So I've heard," The Prince said softly. Odette froze up and the Prince showed distress. He stopped the dance and said, "Please, Lady Odette, I merely wish for you to enjoy the evening as yourself. I am sorry for speaking out of place."
"Oh, please, Prince Siegfried," Odette said, her words filled with compassion and plead, "Do not be sorry. Please, I am merely lost in my thoughts…"
"Then shall we try and lose ourselves to this joyous occasion?" Siegfried said, hopefully. Odette smiled warmly as they continued to dance. Time passed in wordless companionship before Siegfried spoke again.
"For such a union of two Mage's, I'm surprised to see such a modest wedding."
"My father believes that great power comes great responsibility," Odette said gently, "He refuses to put himself above others. Our home is open to all those in need of it."
"He is a wise and noble man," Siegfried said, "My mother speaks often of him."
"So you should know better than to question such things," teased Odette and the Prince laughed softly. He spun her gently, allowing her to get closer. She smiled shyly as they continued to dance. Tzila and Ryaden bowed to each other, therefore ending the dance. People stopped and began to clap for them. Rayden and Tzila smiled at them before turning back towards the home. A man stood by the door, wearing a strange suit of brown. Ryaden's face changed as he barked coldly, "What is it?"
"Some issues have arrived, a man came too early with the other shipment," the man said gravely, "I'm afraid some of them have seen the other-."
"I get it!" Ryaden rudely interrupted him, "I'll be there shortly."
The man bowed and turned to head inside. Ryaden groaned slightly and turned to Tzila. Tzila watched him with a soft expression as he said, "Look…I'm sorry-."
"No," Tzila said quickly, "It is alright, Lord Ryaden. I am afraid I have some things to attend to in the shadow realm."
Ryaden looked at her with a conflicted expression before going off into inside the house. Tzila watched after him quietly before looking back towards the courtyard. She smiled softly as she watched Odette talk candidly with the Prince. Shaking her head slightly, Tzila disappeared into the shadows saying, "Foolish child…"
"Well this is an annoyance."
A man sat in a chair, surround by his fur cape. A silver chain was around his neck, holding a crystal raven upon it. He would have been handsome if his face wasn't holding a permanent scowl. His hair was graying brown and messy. He hadn't shave in a time, but wasn't terribly long. Tapping the chair impatiently, he said, "I was hoping she wouldn't go back to that damn hole. Getting close to my little swan won't be easy."
A young teenage girl sat near him, watching the mirror with almost a bored expression. It showed the Prince as the girl said, twirling her straight hair, "Well, her dancing partner is quite handsome."
"Odile," the man said coldly, "Not now."
"I am merely stating, Father," Odile said cruelly, "That her partner is quite the looker."
"Enough!" The man threw down his drink. He stood up and stormed over to the girl. The young girl didn't look bothered, in fact she looked bemused. The man glowered at her before saying, "I suggest if you want such pretty things, you learn to still your tongue!"
He waved his hands and her necklace of pearls turned to ash. The girl shrieked, brushing the ashes off her dress. Running from the room, he did not see the fear that entered her eyes. The father turned with a scoff and sat back down in his chair. He stared at the mirror not flinching when his shadow appeared on the wall as dark as night with eyes as red as fire. The man didn't even acknowledge it when it spoke.
"Do not be troubled Master," the shadows said mockingly, "You shall not be troubled with her any longer. Soon you will have a son."
"Stop telling me facts I already know shadow," the man said coldly, "And go into your world and DESTROY HER."
"As you wish…." The shadow said, slyly. He disappeared into the floor again leaving the man to gaze upon Odette's face. He smirked and said, "Soon, my lovely, soon."
Chapter Forty Six: Thinking Lovely Thoughts
"Sage do you have any ideas on how to get out of this?"
Hansel's voice sounded hopeful. It was weak, but hopeful. Sage sighed, as if his question annoyed him, as he said with his usual friendly demeanor, "No, no, I'm afraid I don't. The binds I have on are magical. Only the death of the Ice Maiden can destroy them or the Ice Maiden releases them."
"Well, we can see if there's another way."
Peter, who was sitting in the highest cage, raised his brows as he heard Henry's statement. Hansel didn't look thoroughly convinced as Sage said, "Your optimism is borderline naïve, Henry. How are you going to do that from all the way-"
There was a clunk as the lock hit the floor.
"Up there…" Sage said, a genuine look of surprise on his face.
"How did you do that Henry?!" Hansel said, running over to one side of his cage. The cage swung, causing him to fall into the bars. Clinging to them, he looked up to see Henry carefully opening the cage door. Henry grinned down at him and said, "Alison taught me how to pick locks. Came in handy when trying to uncover the evil queen."
"Well now," Peter said hopping up gleefully, "Now it will come into use again."
Peter pulled out a vial out from his shirt. Inside it was golden-green dust, glowing distinctly. Henry's face lit up as he said excitedly, "Pixie Dust!"
"You had some?" Hansel said looking confused, "Why did you use it?!"
"Because, laddie," Peter said holding out his wrist to reveal a cuff fastened tightly around his wrist, "That witch has cut me off from being able to use magic. However, it seems that she has underestimated you two enough… Do play catch well enough?"
"Yes," Henry said, grasping the bar of the cell tightly. Leaning gently, he allowed his arm to stretch out as far as he could. Sage looked up and said, "If you drop that, there will be no way down! Just sprinkle some of it on him."
"I can do it," Henry said firmly, "Just believe in me."
Peter raised his brows in amusement as he dropped the vial. Sage winced but soon found it unnecessary as Henry caught it with ease. Swinging himself back into the cage, Henry uncorked it and asked, "How does it work?"
"Just do what you did just now," Peter said smoothly, "Have faith, trust, and the pixie dust will do whatever you want it to."
"Don't use too much of it!" Sage warned but looked bemused. Henry took a little bit into the palm of his hand and closed his eyes. A light airy feeling rapidly spread throughout his body as he felt the bottom of the cage disappear underneath his feet. Hansel watched Henry begin to float in midair as he said excitedly, "You're doing it!"
Henry opened his eyes and grinned as he flew out into the air. Quickly and deftly picking the lock, Henry opened Hansel's cage only for the boy to look down fearfully.
"Don't worry, just think of something really happy," Henry said, "Like the movie."
"The what?" Peter asked confused.
"Don't ask," Sage said, mildly, "Henry, try and see if you can just bring Hansel down. The more of that pixie dust you can save, the more you can use later on."
"Right," Henry said grabbing onto Hansel.
It was a little difficult, Henry dropping a few feet before being able to hold Hansel up. Hansel made it safely to the ground, his legs shaking. Henry speed back up to Peter's cage, immediately picked the lock. Peter looked thoroughly amused as he said, "Alice could take a few lessons from you."
The cage door swung open as Henry stared at him for a moment. He looked a little confused, but he held out his hand for Peter to take. Peter took it and he jumped. Henry had not quite been ready for the weight of Peter. However, Henry managed to slow the fall and allow them to touch the floor lightly. Peter looked impressed as Henry ran over to Sage. Sage however, said in a booming voice, "No! Go…"
Henry froze. Hansel looked surprised while Peter looked impassive, cold almost. Sage sighed and said firmly, "These binds are not going to break from Pixie Dust. I promise she'll be bringing Jack here and the last thing we need is for you all to get caught or for Jack to have any form of leverage."
"But if we leave, you'll be leverage," Henry insisted.
"I'm leverage that Alison won't come running for," Sage said, a hint of impatience in his voice, "Now go, before the Ice Maiden comes back and captures you again."
"Henry," Hansel said grabbing his friends arm, "He's right. We need to go."
Henry bit his lip but allowed Hansel to pull him away. The three ran out of the room, leaving Sage in the room alone. Taking a deep breath in, Sage closed his eyes to concentrate. As he did so, the magic pulsed into the binds, burning them to ashes.
Jane ran through the forest at lightning speed. She made sure Nibs kept in front of her as arrows whizzed by. The forest had thickened; smaller tree branches whipped them in the face. Jane could hear the hunters yelling in their native language as they got closer. Jane felt her heart began to race as they fell off a rock formation and into a tiny clearing where tree's had fallen. Neither of them wasted any time getting back up, letting out only a few groans. Grabbing Nib's by his shoulder, Jane stopped him from running off and said, "Climb the tree."
"What?!" Nibs glared at her as he said, "I'm fighting too!"
"Well we both can't fight if we're dead so climb the tree!" hissed Jane, pushing him towards the towering trees. Nibs climbed it with ease, as if he had done it a thousand times before. Jane found herself going behind the fallen trees and crouching down. Watching the clearing, she pulled the pipes from her hip with a yank. Pressing them to her lips, Jane waited for the hunters with a watchful eye. She didn't have to wait long…
For they had fallen into the clearing, landing flat on their backs and out like a light.
Jane didn't dare move, the situation reeking of strangeness. However, she suddenly shrieked into a hand as someone covered her mouth and forced her to her feet. The pipes dropped to the ground as she felt herself being pulled back. Jane elbowed the person, before whipping out her knife to save herself. As she whirled around, the person grabbed her armed hand and kissed her full on the mouth.
"Bae!" Jane pushed him back annoyed and glared at his grinning face. "Are you crazy?!"
"Nice to see you too," Bae said with a roll of his eyes. Jane continued to glare at him before putting her knife away. Bending down to pick up her pipes, Jane said irritated, "You couldn't have come sooner? We lost Piper and Emma to one of the hunters hunting holes."
"That's fine," Baelfire said with a shrug, "That was the plan all along."
Jane looked thunderous as she said, waving her pipes threateningly, "I swear, Baelfire, if you are going to just string me along like one of your damn puppets-!"
Baelfire cut her off with a sharp kiss to her mouth. Jane protested, pushing away with a menacing look. Bae looked sheepish as he said, "I had no intention of stringing you along. It just seemed better if Emma didn't use her…'superpower' to see if something was up."
"Are you done?!"
Both looked over to see Nibs jump down from the tree. Fiddling with his knife, Nibs stared at Baelfire with distaste and said, "Adulthood doesn't suite you. Especially with all the wooing…"
"Nice to see you too, Nibs," Baelfire said, looking unbothered by his statement. Nibs scoffed and said, "Well come on! No matter where they land, they can only exit one way. Besides, I'd rather not have Emma get stuck with him for long."
Nibs stalked off into the woods, leaving Jane to roll her eyes. She began to walk after him, only for Baelfire to grab her arm and yank her back. She was a little surprised to see the anger in his eyes as Baelfire said, "What did I tell you? Don't let him get to close-."
"Oh," Jane said, with an air of challenge, "Since when were you in charge?"
"Don't start this," Bae said, touchily.
"I will," Jane said, narrowing her eyes, "This is my world. Nibs has all the right to play with fire, otherwise he would be back in the other world."
"And if this fire burns him," Baelfire challenged, "Makes him go crashing back to a world where his family is no longer? I doubt Peter would be happy about that."
"Peter is busy playing in another world," Jane said exasperated, "And besides… even you, Peter's Best Mate, came to leave this world."
Jane reached up at touched his face as she saw the conflict in his eyes as Jane said firmly, "There's no protecting them, Bae. It's not what this world is for…"
Alison shrieked, dodging the Anti-Magic thrown her way.
The wall that was behind her cracked, allowing more mist to seep into the building. Alison scrambled as Autumn advanced slowly, rubbing her hands together. Her face was cold, her eyes hard. Alice sat in her throne casually, legs crossed and looking bored. Alison swallowed as Autumn said coldly, "That's all you can do, isn't it? Run!"
Alison found herself running at breakneck speed as the Anti-Magic hit the wall. It cracked, causing a good part of the upper wall to fall and crash into the floor. Autumn jumped back, but kept wary. After silence reigned once more, Autumn said, angrily, "You were always so naïve! Running around, expecting that people would stop and be your friend. Never fighting, never hurting, always never watching!"
Alison hide behind a pile of fallen wall as she heard Autumn speak and walk. For some reason, her words tugged at her heart. It made her uneasy. She needed to do something, she needed to protect herself. Closing her eyes, Alison concentrated on pooling magic to her hands.
Nothing.
"Now, now, now!"
Alice's voice rang through the air, cheerful and annoying. Alison held a pain exasperated expression as Alice spoke, "You can't use something that I don't give you. After all, a something can't be used by a nobody…"
Electricity crackled as Alison heard Autumn come closer. Looking around, Alison saw a broken piece of wood on the ground near here. Grabbing it, Alison waited as she heard Autumn continue, "What's the matter, Rabbit! Can't face the truth?! Can't play the game?!"
Alison swung out.
Autumn screeched, feeling herself crash into the ground. Alison swung out as Autumn let out a strange noise, holding out her hands. Nothing came from them, but Alison couldn't stop herself. It hit Autumn, smacking her hands down. Alison dropped the wood, like it had burned her. It might as well; the look on Autumn's face seared her mind. Alison could have sworn that she saw a tear coming down her face. Alison barely heard Alice say, "What are you waiting for!? Kill the beast!"
Autumn screamed, filled with rage and upset. Alison blinked, finding herself flying backwards by a sudden push. Alison scrambled the moment she hit the ground, running from the girl. She had made her angry, and now she was in for it.
"Do you really think it wise to leave them in the cave?"
The Nutcracker glanced back at his wife, who was watching him anxiously. She was leaning against the trees, watching him gather water into the sacks. Some distance away was a cave where a reddish gold light could be seen from within. The deep night showed the moon above them as Nutcracker said, "We won't be leaving them alone long. Besides, we need two good pairs of eyes to watch for the wolves."
Clara bit her lip as the Nutcracker stood up. He handed one sack to his wife, who accepted it graciously. Before she could turn to put it in her pack, The Nutcracker ducked in to steal a kiss from her sweet lips, earning a surprised sound. Clara swatted him before saying, "And you said you wanted two pair of eyes."
"Just in case."
"Only for one to get distracted by his wife," Clara tutted, "Not good hunting skills."
"Coming from the daughter of a merchant," Nutcracker retorted.
Clara walked back up the slope as the Nutcracker turned back to the river. He splashed the cold water on his face, wiping it clean. There was a breaking of twigs, causing him to freeze. He grabbed his strange looking sword and pulled it out. Looking into the darkness, the Nutcracker watched the stillness of night.
Only to see a pair of silver eyes.
"WOLVES!" The Nutcracker bellowed as the wolf lunged out of the darkness. The Nutcracker swung around, slicing the wolf deep as his sprinted back up the slope. More wolves shot out of the darkness as The Nutcracker fought the wolves as they pounced at him, swinging his sword skillfully. Arrows shot passed him, hitting wolves square on. Nutcracker didn't need to glance back to see Clara shoot the crossbow as quickly as she could. The wolves seemed resilient as one in particular lunge past Nutcracker and pounced at Clara. Clara fell to the ground as the wolf tore at her arm. However the wolf yelped loudly as a burning stone hit it square in the eye. The wolf ran, clearly in pain as Clara looked to see what had saved her.
Gretel swung a string around, releasing another red hot stone that hit a wolf square in the ear. The wolf snarled and Gretel made a strange screech. The wolf retreated, the other two wolves following him. The Nutcracker pulled his sword out of the dead wolf and rushed over to Clara. Clara stood up, allowing Nutcracker to help her back to the cave while she said, "I'm fine. It didn't sink in."
Gretel watched as they past her before scanning the scene before her. Nutcracker tended to Clara's arm as Clara watched Gretel. Gretel was still watching the night scene as Clara asked, "How did you learn do that, child?"
"My father was a Woodsman in the Enchanted Forest," Gretel murmured, watching still with a frown, "He taught my brother and I how to ward off animals like that."
"Well, lucky for us," Nutcracker said as he wrapped up Clara's arm. Gretel made no statement of appreciation as she walked back over to where Alison laid unconscious. Checking Alison's temperature, Gretel furrowed to feel her clammy. Pulling out a cloth, she pressed it to her forehead. Glancing back out into the night, Gretel said, "Wish we could have killed them though."
"Not that I disagree, but why?"
"Because Jack will know where we are now," Gretel said, worried for her friend beneath her, "And we can't move her."
"SWAN!"
Emma stormed down the tunnel without a glance backwards. Rage and hurt filled her heart as she tried to get as far away from Piper as she possibly could. After all these years, after all the time she spent squashing those memories into nothing, it still made a fiery burn in her heart. The anger and rage were hardly concealed, even in the darkness. It made her frightened, because it showed she cared.
His yells got softer as Emma got father away. Emma found herself at an opening, a long canyon like room with a snaking stone bridge across. It was broken in places, but not wide enough she couldn't jump. Emma took a deep breath in, trying to calm the storm that was inside her. It was hard, part of her wanted to go back and show him what he deserved. However, Nibs and Jane were still out there waiting for them. Who knows what happened to them.
Emma went to start walking across the bridge when she suddenly felt a burn on the back of her wrist. Emma swore, grabbing her wrist to see that her mark was glowing. It prickled and burned, growing worse as it shot throughout her whole arm. It only began to die as Piper voice got closer. Why did Jane bind them both in this way!? Piper stormed into the cave and said rubbing his wrist saying, "Will you quit storming off! I told you-!"
"I know, so shut up!" Emma snapped, keeping her back to him. Piper was quite for a moment, allowing Emma to examine the bridge again. Piper looked at her, almost exasperated, "Look, I get your mad. If we don't stay together, we'll never get out of here."
"We," Emma hissed, turning around to face him, "WE aren't doing anything!"
"Swan, we can't even walk away from each other without these marks burning. How do you propose we get out separately?!"
"Wait till Jane comes and removes these damn seals," Emma snapped, "It's her fault to begin with…"
"That's ridiculous, Emma," Piper said coldly.
"No, what is ridiculous is dealing with you!" Emma snapped coldly. She allowed him to see the pain, frustration, and tears as she glared at him. Emma couldn't stop it at this point, and part of her didn't even want to. He had created this whole mess so now he was going to get it. Piper was surprised at the tears, the action causing his heart to burn in a way that made him breath heavy. Emma didn't seem to notice as she said, "I agreed to work with you ONLY because Jane asked me to. She told me that the ice in your heart made you what you are!"
"So people keep saying," Piper said flatly. Suddenly he noticed that some of the gaps in the bridge began to fill. Piper was about to say something only for Emma to interrupt.
"And that's exactly why I can't work with with you!"
"What?" Piper said baffled as Emma shook her head. There was pure bitterness and angry on her face as Emma said, "You don't care about anything; whether you had been a good man before or not. I can't trust anything you say because you're hearts not in anything except being a jerk!"
"Why the hell does it matter what I am?" Piper said, angrily. It was pissing him off, that burning sensation in his heart wouldn't cease.
"Because being around you is a nightmare, knowing that everything I thought I knew about you was a lie," Emma said, stoutly. Emma tried to walk away but Piper stopped. When Emma looked back at him coldly, she noticed that he was looking more bothered than he had been. Good.
"What do you mean it was a lie?!" Piper said, "Of all the freaking things I do, lying is not one of them!"
"You had that ice from the moment you met me. That means the entire time, I was nothing more than a meaningless rag doll to play around with! Didn't care that I had given you everything, didn't care that you left me to give up our son to the Evil Queen!" Emma words were starting to slice him like knives, and it only made what he was feeling worse. Resentment grew towards her as well as something else, something he didn't even want to think about.
"Emma, I-It wasn't-You should have come find me if you had wanted to keep him so badly!" Piper didn't know what possessed him to say that, why it was starting to bother him. But Emma laughed coldly and said, "Find you? I stayed in Tallahassee for TWO YEARS, trying to find any trace of you! Trying to find answers day after day as to why you would leave. The only answer I ever came to find was that you were a greedy bastard who needed someone to take the fall for the watches you stole!"
"I didn't leave because of the stupid watches!" Piper started angrily.
"Then why did you leave?!"
"Because that damned wooden puppet threatened to throw me to the dogs if I didn't!" Piper snapped.
More holes filled up on the bridge and Emma once again failed to notice. Piper and Emma were staring at each other heatedly. Emma, however, looking momentarily confused as she asked, "Wooden puppe- You mean Pinocchio?"
"Yes," he seethed, "I mean Pinocchio. Or August as he likes to go by… Apparently he was tailing you, shadowing you. When he found you with me, he discovered who I was. He heard we were going to flee to Canada and he cornered me. He told me to leave you be or I would end up getting caught by people hunting me in other worlds!"
"Why were they hunting you?" Emma asked sharply.
"Let's just say that Morgana made sure I was the most hated person in all the realms after hitting me with that damn poison," Piper said heatedly, "As punishment for being a hero…"
Emma watched him with wary, her eyes narrowed as she said hurt, "And you were still saving your own skin."
"Damn it, Emma, I was saving ours!" Piper snapped, "They would have punished us both, that's how these hunters work!"
"Why should I trust you," Emma challenged, "Why?"
Piper kissed her.
Emma jumped out of her skin, breaking the kiss off. Piper stumbled back, doubling over as he coughed. Shaking in his own skin, Piper looked up at her. Emma was startled as how flushed he looked. Her anger, pain, confusion faded as she felt panic over take her. He was in pain, excruciating pain.
"That's why," Piper said, the burning in his heart unbearable. He gasped, snarling as he felt something rip away from his heart. Emma looked frightened as she saw something white glow around the left side of his chest. It shot to the floor, making a light dinging sound. The glow faded as she saw a rather large chunk of ice on the stone. Piper groaned as he fell over and Emma ran over to him, shaking him as she said, "Dameon! What was that!? Dameon!"
"That," Piper mumbled weakly, "Is the ice the Mage was telling you about."
Emma opened her mouth only to hear cracking in the air. Emma looked over to see that the bridge's holes filled in and an opening had appeared on the other side. Emma looked exasperated as she said, "What the hell?"
"It seems the more honest we got, the less holes there were," Piper grumbled, "Just a theory."
Emma looked down at him, looking a little lost. She then looked over at the ice briefly before asking, "Why did it come out now? It wasn't the…"
"Not the kiss," Piper said with a bit of a snort, "Afraid our love is not as mushy as that."
"Then what…"
"The more you care about someone," Piper said quietly, "The more they make you feel; whether it's a good feeling or not. It seemed to have been enough to break the ice's hold."
"Emma!"
"Nibs!" Emma cried, hearing his voice. Nibs couldn't be seen but his voice was loud as he said, "Are you okay?! Did he hurt you!?"
"No, no, he didn't," Emma said, her voice a bit unsteady, "I don't think we'll have to worry. I'll be over in a minute!"
Emma went quiet, her look unsure. Piper watched her with a heavy expression and sighed. He then went to move off her as he said softly, "If you want to go ahead, be my guest… You don't have to stay."
Emma hit him.
Piper grimaced as he looked over at Emma, who was in turn staring sternly at him. He was surprised at her look, as it didn't seem malicious or angry. She forced him to his feet as she said, "You have eleven years to start making up for. Don't already put a strike against you."
"What do we do now!?"
Henry winced as Hansel's voice ran through the empty corridor. Peter smacked the boy on the head as he hissed, "Do you want to get caught and stuffed back in the cage?! Lower your tone."
"Sorry," Hansel said, rubbing his head, "We've just been running around these halls aimlessly and I'd like to know what our plan is!"
"Our plan is to escape," Peter said, firmly, "We need to find an exit before the Ice Maiden realizes we've done so. If we can find the outside exit, then we can use the pixie dust."
"Why can't we just defeat the Ice Maiden with the Pixie Dust," Henry said frustrated, "Then Sage could come with us!"
"And Jack Frost will be that much closer to taking Alice!" Peter said crossly. He licked his finger and held it out. Rubbing his fingers together after a time, Peter said, "I feel a breeze coming from this direction. Hansel, make sure no one is following us. I'd rather not get attacked from behind."
"R-Right," Hansel said nervously as Peter walked ahead with Henry. Henry glanced back at Hansel before turning around the corner. Peter was quiet as they moved quickly, which unnerved Henry a little bit. Frowning, Henry asked, "Why are you helping us?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Peter asked, his voice rather pointed.
"Because you and Alice don't like each other," Henry said keeping his voice down, "You guys never did."
"Gage never liked her," Peter said, flatly, "I'm not Gage."
"But you were," Henry said confused.
Peter glared at Henry accusatory as Peter said, "The only person that was responsible for Gage was the person who enacted the curse."
Henry watched him, his jaw tensing a little bit. Peter looked at him and said, "Look, I have been watching over Wendy's family ever since she started telling her brothers the stories. Because of this curse, Alison is the only offspring of that family that I haven't had an adventure with. The fact that she's even farther gone than Jane is a horrible fate."
"But Jane didn't believe," Henry said confused as they continued to walk, "Alison believes."
"But she doesn't trust anyone," Peter said coolly, "Rightfully so, but trust is just as important as belief. If you lose trust, belief will soon follow."
Henry watched Peter, who looked determined in a powerful way. He followed Peter down the hall until they reached a balcony with a glass dome surrounding them. There was an opening at the other side and Henry looked excited whispering, "There it is."
"Sh," Peter said, "We're not alone."
The air filled with laughter as Peter and Henry froze up. The wind picked up as it blew into the hallway they were hiding in. Peter and Henry turned their heads away, avoiding the icy cold wind that made them cough. When it died down, Henry and Peter looked back to see the Ice Maiden walking into the dome. Henry paled as the Ice Maiden rubbed her hands together and smiled coyly. Her voice sent chills down Henry's spine in a terrible way as she said, "Come out, come out, you two. You wouldn't want anything to happen to the little pixie now would you?"
She clapped her hands together harshly and extended them. In between her hands appeared a cage with a little fairy. Henry groaned and Peter scowled, coming out of their hiding place. Peter shook his head as he said, "You just had and go get yourself caught didn't you?"
"Like you did any better!"
"Quiet!" Ice Maiden said, coldly, "I'd rather not be goaded into any explanations. At least not before the other guest arrives."
"Other gu-?"
There was a scream down the hallway.
Peter and Henry looked behind in shock as Hansel hurled himself out of the hallways, avoiding the crash of something large and snowy. Hansel scrambled behind Peter and Henry, who also looked spooked as Hansel said what was on everyone's mind.
"What is that thing!?"
"This?" Ice Maiden said, raising her brows in amusement, "Is my pet. Cold misgivings and hatred fueled by the breath of North Wind."
It looked more like a monster to Henry. It's face as well as its body was distorted by the ever-moving snow. From what Henry could tell, it had wings that could spread to twice the size of Peter. Hansel swallowed as the Ice Maiden let out a cold chuckle. She said softly, "Jack had no interest in taking you three. But he did find it quite useful as to where his little Alice was."
"Pe-Peter," Hansel stammered as the monster advanced on them, "What do we do?!"
"Run for it!" Henry dashed out before either boy could stop him.
"Henry!"
Henry gasped as the monster crashed next to him, breaking part of the glass panes of the dome. It screeched, Henry groaning at the loud sound of the monster. Its claws snatched at him, only for Henry to run a break neck speed screaming at the boys, "Back, back, back!"
The boys ran into the hallway, the Monster scrambling to turn its large body to follow them. The Ice Maiden chuckled and said, wickedly, "Destroy them."
"What do we do now!"
"Keep going, I have an idea!" Henry screamed. They went through the hallways, the monster trying to follow after them. However, its precision was off due the hallways size and the high speed it was trying to fly. It screeched in pain as it crashed around, causing a little tug at Henry's heart. Something was off… he could tell that much. It was their only chance of escaping, he had to try.
They hurried back into the room that they had all been imprisoned. Hansel looked around and noticed Sage's empty chair. He panted and said as Henry turned around to face the opening. Henry opened the vial of pixie dust again as Hansel asked, "Where is he?! Why are we here?"
"He's gone," Peter said, "I imagine the Ice Maiden locked him up elsewhere."
"Henry what are you doing!? That's the last of the pixie dust!" Hansel noticed Henry pouring the last of the pixie dust into his hand. The monster screeched again, flying down the hallway towards the room at a frightening pace. Henry's hand began to glow as he held it in a fist and he shouted, "Just trust me!"
He threw it, the glittering light storming down the hallway. It collided with the monster, causing it to screech again before flying back down the other end of the hallway. Henry heard it crash as it made contact with the end of the hallway. Peter grinned and crowed like a rooster. Clapping Henry on the back, Peter said with a grin, "Good show, Mate!"
"Good show!" Hansel said appalled, "He just used our ticket way out! Now we're toast!"
The ground shook as there was a loud thump. All three of the shook as the thumping increased as the floor began to shake violently. Hansel looked into the darkened hallway as he said, "Ahh man! Now we're in for it."
Henry could barely keep his balance as the floor rumbled. Peter grimaced as he tried to keep his own balance. Suddenly the wall near the hallway exploded, allowing a large creature to walk towards them. It was bigger than a horse, but smaller than an elephant. Its feathers were the darkest brown that Henry had ever seen, while its beak was orange in color. Its front feet had claws while the back had talons. It let out a low screech as Hansel said, "Griffin. A bloody griffin!"
The Griffin was staring at Henry, its beady eyes sharp. Henry didn't know what possessed him to do it. But Henry bowed. The Griffin cocked its head in interest when it bowed back. It lowered its head, gently nudging him. Henry straightened up and smiled after a few more moments. Henry stroked it, causing it to let out a strange purr. Peter grinned and said, "I think Henry just found our ticket out of here."
"What is taking it so long?" Ice Maiden murmured. She was flinging the Pixie's cage around, causing Tinker Bell to say words she shouldn't have been saying. The Ice Maiden didn't show any care as she paced. It wasn't until that the cage was shot out of her hand and crash into the floor. It broke apart before the Ice Maiden could do anything and Tinker Bell shot off. Ice Maiden began to reach out her hand as Tink flew down the hallway and out of sight. However, something stopped her and made her chilled. She looked back to see Sage leaning against the opening, a friendly look on his face. It seemed dark, a twisted type of friendly that made the Ice Maiden look sick. She backed up and said, "Well, well, look who managed to get free. Going off to help your little friends?"
"None of your business," Sage said smoothly, walking slowly over to her, "What is your business is what your current death looks like."
Ice Maiden smirked and laughed cruelly and said, "You. Kill me? Now that's certainly a way to tread on Jack's toes."
"Oh I don't care about Jack," Sage said, menacingly, "And more importantly, Jack doesn't care about you. And neither do I."
"Oh please," Ice Maiden said, backing up with an ill look, "Don't be so cruel. There are few who know you as well as I, who love you like I. Not even your precious Alice can compare."
"Talk about treading on Jack's toes," Sage said, smoothly, "You really should know what you're talking about before speaking."
Ice Maiden suddenly gasped as Sage moved like a viper on the attack. He stabbed the Ice Maiden with a rose, the gold petals turning brown before turning to ash. The Ice Maiden screeched, clutching her stomach as she felt a burning sensation in her stomach. Collapsing to the ground, Ice Maiden glared up at Sage. He watched her mildly and said, "Wonderland Gas works wonders. Die well, Maiden."
Sage went to turn away, only for Ice Maiden to grab at his ankle. Sage looked back, looking surprised as the Ice Maiden gave him the nastiest look as she said, "She's tamed you… You've lost your touch, Little Skeleton."
Sage raised his brow as the woman went still, slowly turning to an ashy snow that rested lamely on the ground. Sage looked up to see in the distance the Griffin flying away. Sage grinned, only to be interrupted by clapping of hands. Sage turned to see Jack coming out of the shadows. Sage bowed with a flourish and said, "And that, dear brother, is how the job is done."
"If I had wanted her dead, I would have done it myself," Jack said coolly.
"Ah, but I wanted her dead," Sage said, cheerfully, "I've never been fond of fanatics."
Jack rolled his eyes and glanced back up at the sky. He then asked Sage, "Do they suspect anything?"
"Nope," Sage said, "As far as they are concerned, I'm being held prisoner by the Ice Maiden. And with the way she was ranting about you wanting Alison…"
"They'll think I will take you," Jack finished, "Well done."
Sage bowed again before staring out into the darkness. Jack watched his brother with a cautious eye and asked with a bit of displeasure, "Did you bring him?"
Sage grinned as he looked down at his now moving shadow and said wickedly, "Of course… I always do."
"Emma!"
Rapunzel looked up to see Emma, Bae, Jane, Piper, and Nibs floating down into the main area. Piper was being supported by Bae and Jane, looking a little worn out. Snow had dashed towards Emma, who allowed Snow to hug her fiercely. Emma hugged her back weakly as she said stunned, "Why-How did you get here?!"
"I followed you," Snow said, glancing at Piper saying, "It was a little forced, but I don't regret it now that you're safe."
Emma closed her eyes allowing Snow to hug. Nibs looked a little bothered as he cleared his throat and said, "I'm hungry. All this changing sides is wearing me out!"
Nibs took his stick and poked at Piper saying, "What are we going to do with him?"
"He needs healing from the fairies," Bae said, releasing Piper as Jane helped the man towards a thick mat, "After that, he'll be able to help us fix Islet."
"Right, and how exactly were we doing that again?" Emma asked as she looked around at the Pixie Haven. Bae jerked his head over to mats where a strange looking lantern was sitting in the middle. Emma glanced back to see Jane and the Pixie's around Piper, who was lying down. Nibs looked at the two of them, a look of discomfort entering his face. Pulling at Emma's arm, he lead her to the mat. Everyone sat down, Rapunzel wandering over closer to them. Emma looked at Snow questioningly, only for her to nod reassuringly. The heat of the lantern over took them as Bae said, "We all will go up to Dead Man's Peak tomorrow. However, in order to make sure there is not a blood bath, only Emma and I will actually go."
"Bu-But if we all go-!" Snow started.
"It will look like a full blown attack, and even if we healed Islet, it won't help us," Baelfire said firmly, "If it's just us, it'll look more like a rescue."
"How-How am I suppose to heal Islet?" Emma asked, "I can't use magic."
"You don't know how to use magic," Bae corrected, "which is fixable. But you have it."
"How do you know?" Emma asked, suspiciously, "How am I suppose to trust you? Alison said you had Anti-Magic and she was freaking the hell out over it."
Baelfire grimaced, like she had burned him. He suddenly yanked at his jacket, pulling his shirt and jacket to one side. Emma would have felt guilty if she hadn't been astounded by what he showed them. There on his chest was a thin metal chest plate attached by many thin chains. The middle of the chest plate held many glowing cracks that merged to a middle stone. It was almost white in color, looking fairly strange.
"What is that," Emma asked.
"This is an ancient device," Baelfire said, "Science, so to speak. This machine is made from metals and a form of energy found deep in this earth. It's very difficult to come by, so difficult this world has long since forgotten about it. The machine attaches to you, using your pulse to control it. Your pulse changes with your emotions so needless to say, you need control over them."
"That sounds dangerous," Snow said worried.
"It is," Baelfire said, fixing his shirt, "Exposure to this material, this energy that powers anti-magic, has been known to either kill a person or alter them."
"Alter them?" Nibs asked.
"Like a form of mutation," Bae said softly, "After a certain point, the energy forms inside you and makes you able to use it. I could take this plate off right now and still be able to use Anti-Magic."
"Cool," Nibs said grinning.
"But at what cost?" Emma asked, ignoring Nibs comment. Bae made a small face and said, "It is possible for my health to go south. However, people have lived before with this altered state and never had an issue. But getting back to what you need to know, I am the only one who can remove the Anti-Magic placed there. If we don't work together, there is a good chance we'll never see our children again."
Emma paused and Nibs narrowed his eyes. He looked between Baelfire and Emma and said, "Wait, what does he mean by ours?"
"I have a son," Emma stated simply, "that I need to get back too."
Nibs looked troubled as he asked softly, eyes wide, "You're leaving?"
Emma didn't have a minute to answer him as Emma felt a sudden burning pain shoot back up through her leg. Emma looked down, pulling up her jeans to see that her leg was bruising up violently again. Snow panicked but Baelfire stopped her. Snow opened her mouth to protest when she heard a ringing song in her ear. A pixie flew down, sprinkling dust as it did so. It floated down to Emma's leg and Emma's leg suddenly began to glow. Emma looked surprised, only for her eyes to become unfocused. She fell back on the mat, her face peaceful as the Pixie flew away. Baelfire let Snow go, who rushed down to Emma's side. The bruising was gone, and her leg looked like there had never been a wound.
"We all need sleep," Baelfire said, after a moment, "Emma will be completely healed by morning. Hopefully we'll be ready to leave."
"Alright," Snow said, seemingly satisfied that Emma was alright. Snow stood up and walked towards Baelfire and said, "Thank you Bae."
"Why are you thanking me?"
"Because you brought her back safely," Snow said softly, "I'm considering it your act of faith."
Baelfire scoffed, a small smile appearing on his face. However, there was a deadness in his eyes; one that she had seen in their conversations before. He went to turn to leave as Snow said, "You know…I think she did need to…"
"What?" Baelfire said, confused.
"Be involved," Snow said, "With all this. The curse, the trials."
Baelfire narrowed his eyes but didn't stop Snow as she reached out and touched his shoulders. She said with such honesty he almost didn't believe it to be real, "She was different, she wasn't like us. But at the same time, she needed the same thing we all did. A chance to make peace from the devastation. If anything she had it worse than us."
"So you think it's a good thing she's in the middle of all this?" Bae's voice was hard, danger growing. Snow was not afraid but she did remove the hands on his shoulders saying, "All I know is that Alison went through hell after leaving Wonderland. If we could provide her with a chance to be at peace, we all would move heaven and earth to make it happen…"
Baelfire watched Snow walk away, a dark expression overcoming his face. Rubbing his wrists, Baelfire whispered, "I'll hold you to that."
Alison panted, her eyes glassed over from exhaustion and frustration. Electricity crackled through the air as Autumn slammed it against the tall fallen rubble. Her face was angry, livid. However she didn't move any closer to the rubble as she shouted, "Get out from there, Rabbit!"
Alison grimaced, her face contorted with pain as Autumn said, angrily, "Naïve, NAÏVE! You think if you sit there long enough, this will go away! Well I promise you, it won't go away!"
Alison crouched down lower as more bolts crashed into the rubble. Autumn paced back and forth impatiently saying, "It doesn't go away. I would know that more than anyone!"
"She would," Alice taunted, rolling her eyes, "The Drama Queen…"
"Shut up!"
Alice didn't even flinch as the bolts went past her head. She kicked her legs as Autumn glared at her saying, "It easy for you both to say! You never had anyone grab your hair or dunk your head! You've never had families dump you back in an orphanage like you were a dog being sent to its cage!"
Alison peered out just in time to see more Anti-Magic shoot through the air. Autumn looked thunderous as she said darkly, "I'm the one that did all the hard work. I fought off Darren so I could find Gold, I gave up Kathryn for this stupid curse, I slaved away to do the right thing and to be the hero. But what did I get in return?!"
Alison watched with narrowed eyes as Autumn's voice turned mocking but pain was becoming more apparent. But as the girl spoke, Alison found unwilling her heart breaking more and more for the being she was supposed to be killing.
"She needs therapy; especially after all she's been through! Look at what she's doing; she's already picking fights! If she lied about abuse once, she'll lie again… She's just some useless counterpart!"
Autumn's lip trembled in anger as she hissed, "Everyone loved you… they weren't even giving me a chance."
"People loved you!" Alison said bravely. She found herself standing to her feet, fear slowly dissipating. It was crazy; something should have been telling her to stay down. But the pain in Autumn's eyes were just too great to ignore, the hate in her voice was too much to bear.
"Shut up!" Autumn snapped, spinning to turn on her.
"Your right, we don't know what it's like to get put in a corner," Alison said heatedly, but not hatefully or angrily, "But you were loved, you HAD love. You had earned love that we could never get!"
"I said shut up!" Autumn screamed. She pounced at her, electricity burst out in a threatening manner. Alice raised her brows in surprise as Alison did what she did.
She didn't move.
Autumn crashed into her, Alison fully letting her do so. It didn't hurt, the Anti-Magic filled her lightly. Alison felt some pain and hurt enter her heart, beginning to weigh it down. Alison immediately embraced the girl that had crashed into her. Alison closed her eyes and whispered softly, "He wanted you… Gold loved you."
Alison felt tears fall on her shoulder, the Anti-Magic filling her more. The hurt and pained worsened but Alison refused to pull away. Autumn didn't make a move to pull away, shivering slightly. Alison stroked Autumn's long hair as she whispered, "We've all had our adventures, our chance at love…It's your turn now."
Autumn disappeared, filling Alison entirely. Tears burned in her eyes as she fell to the ground. The pain was severe and the hurt almost unbearable. Alison sobbed as the memories filled her, as the Anti-Magic took its original root. But something sparked within her. Something that warmed the deepest part of her core, easing the pain that made her sob hysterically. Something that finally made things seem more soothing.
Hope.
"Congratulations."
Alison nearly jumped up, watching as Alice walked towards her. She was smiling kindly as Alison stood up. Alison looked weary as Alice said softly, "You passed the test."
"Bu-But I didn't kill her," Alison said confused, "She wasn't the beast."
"Exactly," Alice said smiling, "That was the test. To accept yourself."
Alison tilted her head in confusion as Alice said, "Everyone has little pieces of themselves that they do not like. But that darkness brings a light that another light never could."
"So would you be the other little piece that I don't like?" Alison asked with a mocking tease.
"I think it's more that I represent the love you had for someone you could never trust again," Alice said sincerely, "I think it would make anyone run and hide."
"Well, I think it would be horrible to not accept you after accepting her," Alison said, honestly.
"Oh don't worry," Alice said, resting a hand on her shoulder, allowing a startling heat to rapidly invade her, "You'll see why you'll need me soon enough... Good luck with Jack."
Alison gasped, the cold air filling her lungs. They were in a cave where the fire was roaring, Gretel tending to it. The cave was shallow in length, the opening not far from Alison's mat. Gretel immediately raised her head at the sound of Alison's gasps. Dropping the wooden stick into the fire, Gretel was by Alison's side in a second.
"Are you okay?" Gretel asked, extremely concerned, "Are you cold? Does something hurt?"
"No," Alison said, gasping a bit, "No…Just, do you have any water?"
"I do," Gretel said, hastily. She reached over to one of the packs and pulled out a sack of water. She gave it to Alison, who drank from it earnestly. Gretel helped her as her arms shook a little bit. The Nutcracker came back in with Clara. Clara said, relieved, "Magesteria! You're awake."
"Alison, just call me Alison," Alison said, after pulling the sack away from her mouth, "And I'm fine…"
"Good," Nutcracker said, grimacing, "Because we'll have to leave. The forest is astir and I'm afraid Jack Frost is on to our trail. If we get back to our castle…"
"But what about my brother?!" Gretel said, panicked, "My friends, they're still back there!"
Alison suddenly looked up, feeling a presence approaching. She gapped a little as she saw an unbelievable sight as a Griffin swarmed down. The other three turned as they heard the trees being blow around from the wings flapping. They all gapped as the Griffin landed in the clearing. They all watched as people jumped down from the griffin and Gretel shouted, "Hansel!"
"Gretel!" Hansel pounced towards his sister, obviously greatly relieved to see her. The two embraced as Alison slowly made it to her feet. A sparkling light came to her, flying around her playfully. Alison smiled and said, "Good to see you Tink."
"Good to see you whole," Tink said warmly. Alison glanced over to see Peter helping Henry off the Griffin. Henry bowed to the Griffin as Peter walked up to the cave. The Griffin bowed its head before taking off. Alison looked impressed as Peter walked towards her saying, "Your friend is quite the lad. I have to say you might want to take a leaf out of his book."
"I could say the same thing to you," Alison shot at him, but her voice was much more playful now. She walked closer to him, stopping about two feet away. Peter smirked as he said quietly, "Well look who pulled on through."
"Without a single drop of that potion," Alison said, her eyes dancing in a way that Peter couldn't help but grin at. However their conversation could not continue as Henry's voice shouted, "Alice!"
Peter stepped away only for Henry to pounce on Alison. Alison stumbled, feeling him squeeze her in a tight hug. Henry's eyes were closed as he whispered, "We got to you first…we found you first…"
Alison hugged him after a moment and said honestly, "I knew you would…"
Henry pulled away and Alison grinned, raising her brows up knowingly. Henry looked confused at first, tilting his head. Ava and Nicholas separated as the Nutcracker said, "We must get back to the castle. Jack will surely be on our trail if we stay here."
"But we need to get back home," Nicholas said, troubled, "If we can get a portal open, we can leave."
"I can't," Alison said suddenly, "I can't leave."
"What?!" Ava said, looking stricken. Henry looked surprised, adding to his confusion. Alison breathed in, catching her breath as she felt the cold air begin to pierce her. Alison finally spoke, her voice nervous but resolute, "Jack…the Enchantress's poisoned him, I know that. If I can get close to him, I can fix it."
"Get close to him?!" Hansel said, horrified.
"Even I must say that's not a good idea," the Nutcracker said as Clara watched Alison intent fully and thoughtfully. Alison bit her lip and said, "Jack brought me here. If I don't fix this, he WON'T let me leave. Even if I did, he would drag me back. So now he's going to deal with me, whether anyone likes it or not."
"But he could hurt you," Ava said nervously, "And you've been already been hurt…"
"I know," Alison said, "But I'm not leaving till I've fixed whatever the heck she did to him."
"Alice-," Henry started, his voice worried.
"No," Alison said, "I'm not leaving."
"May I give a suggestion?" Clara suddenly spoke.
Everyone looked at her, to see that she was thoughtful. Clara only looked at Alison, looking for an answer. Alison nodded and Clara began to speak.
"I suggest we go back to the castle. However," Clara gave Alison a look as she opened her mouth, "It won't just be to hide. In a few days, we will be having a ball for all the leaders in the Nation. Jack Frost, up until years ago, attended this particular ball. And if rumors were to fly that you were there…"
"Jack Frost will try and get me," Alison said softly.
"What about the other guests?" The Nutcracker asked, concerned.
"We'll have a safe place for them to retreat to," Clara said, "But I think Jack will try to take her without too much of a mess."
Nutcracker nodded as Alison looked at the children. Ava looked at Hansel, who shrugged nervously. Ava elbowed him before she nodded at her. Peter grinned in agreement as Tink flew around happily. Alison smiled before looking at Henry, exchanging looks. His worry was obvious, and Alison realized he was going to need a little bit of convincing. She took a step towards him and mouthing barely a whisper, "Operation Cobra?"
Henry's eyes light up as she smiled weakly at him. A grin formed on his face as the worry left his face. Henry then nodded saying to the group, "Operation Cobra has a new mission: Get Jack Frost!"
"Emma…Emma wake up…"
Emma felt herself floating in the darkness. It was warm, comforting. She felt like she was being cradled by something pure and blissful. Emma couldn't remember the last time she felt like this. However the voice that Emma had heard vaguely before becoming louder.
"EMMA, WAKE UP!"
Emma groaned, feeling someone shake her. Opening her eyes, her vision came into focus as she saw Jane staring down at her. Emma wanted to protest, her dreams were sweet nothingness. However the horror and urgency on Jane's face made Emma snap out of it. The others were dressing quickly, Baelfire nowhere in sight. Sitting up, Emma asked, "What's the matter?"
"Nibs," Jane said, "have you seen him?"
"No," Emma said, "That Fairy or Pixie knocked me out cold. Why?"
"Because he's not here," Jane said, stricken, "He's gone."
"Gone?" Emma asked numbly as she jolted up. She stumbled, her leg had fallen asleep. Piper grabbed her, coming beside her. Emma grasped his arm and asked, "Gone where!"
"He's left."
Everyone looked over to see Baelfire coming towards them with a stern, grave look. Jane looked at him and Baelfire grimaced, his eyes stormy. Emma, who looked concerned and worried, asked with terror, "Left? Left where?"
A moment of silence made Emma's stomach drop like a ton of weights.
"He's gone after Islet."
