A/N: Jumping ahead in time here, and they go on a road trip to visit Grandmother Willow… some new information is revealed. Building up to their great adventure… finally :D LOL
Chapter 13: HopeSEVERAL MONTHS LATER (yeah I'm doing a typical OUAT time leap here)
"You know, we could have been here sooner if I'd used my magic to poof us here," Hope said, looking at her boyfriend. "Or the comb Ariel gave me for my birthday."
Rueben glanced at her while parking his car in a small parking lot near the forest. "Yeah well, think about all the fun we would've missed." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Yup, Hope knew exactly what he was thinking about. They'd spent the past three days driving out to his old realm, The Faraway Land. Each night, they'd stayed in a different small inn or motel, where they took full advantage of finally being alone together.
"Shut up." She wacked him playfully on the shoulder. "I'm just glad we could spend some time alone together with no interruptions from anyone—friends or family."
"Hmm, me too." Rueben winked at her. "No need to repeat what happened after your birthday." He shifted nervously in his seat.
"Oh god no," Hope said, horrified. "We definitely should have woken up earlier."
"Well, we did rush out of there, forgetting my tie and your hair pins," Rueben continued, grinning.
Well, at least now they both could laugh at the whole thing. Waking up with minutes to spare before meeting with her parents to get her gifts transported back home. Her parents had offered to meet her at the Jolly Roger the next morning. Hope and Rueben had barely managed to get back up on deck before her parents had walked up the gangplank. Her father had walked down to the captain's quarters to find a book he had down there. When he returned, his hand was wrapped around a handful of hairpins and Rueben's bolo tie hanging between his fingers. The next several minutes had been a complete failed attempt to explain why said items had been in the cabin.
"I'm just glad my mom is so good at dealing with my daddy's temper; I'm not sure I've seen him that livid before." Hope shuddered at the thought, but given how her father later had eased up around Rueben, she knew her dad finally accepted him as a part of her life.
Hope unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. She looked around in awe; the place was spectacular. As far as she could see, there were green hills and small thickets of trees scattered throughout the scenery. Behind them was a large forest, where they located their destination for the day.
"Look." Rueben came up beside her and pointed out a gravel road following the edge of the forest. "That's the road to my mother's tribe; we'll visit them after."
"Hmm," Hope mumbled, still trying to absorb as much of the beauty around her. Spring colors were all around them, the soft, light green leaves on the threes, and the various spring flowers blooming everywhere. It made her happy that they choose to make this trip now, instead of during their Christmas break. The weather was nice, yet she still wore her burgundy leather jacket. Reaching for Rueben's hand, she finally said, "Let's go."
They followed a small trail into the forest, the soft ground beneath their feet silencing their footsteps. Sunlight flickered through the new spring leaves, the air around them calm and tranquil. Hope glanced up at her boyfriend, his eyes gleaming with joy as they took in the scenery around them. They passed a cluster of spring flowers, and she could see him looking at them with interest. Suddenly, he flicked his free hand, and a split second later, he was holding a yellow daffodil.
"Wow, impressive." She squeezed his hand and nudged him with her shoulder. "You're getting good at that."
Rueben shrugged his shoulders, holding out the daffodil for her to take, "yeah, well, you've helped me."
Hope nodded; in the past months, he'd begun tapping into his connection with nature. It turned out he could wield nature to some extent, never destroying or killing, but making trees bend and shape into different angles. Grow vines, have them climb up walls or wrap around a tree. She looked down at the daffodil in her hand, and yeah, he could pick up flowers with a flick of his wrist. He'd told her he would tap into the nature around him and ask before picking; he was very respectful of the plants growing around him.
"You did most of the hard work," Hope said, pride evident in her voice as they continued to walk along the path that twisted through the trees. A glimmer of sunlight flickering in what looked like water caught her attention. Squinting her eyes, she tried to focus on what lay ahead of them.
"We're almost there, just need to go down to the lake." Ruben nodded toward the calm forest lake that was now more visible as they got closer.
Hope took in the scenery in front of her. The surface of the lake was calm, almost as clear as a mirror, and the trees on the other side mirrored in the water. Only a few small splashes could be seen from time to time, made by a small insect or fish underwater. It was a somewhat big lake with a small island in the middle. A large willow tree stood tall and proud on the mound of earth. It's long, graceful branches touched the edge of the water, moving lazily in the breeze.
"Wow." Hope could feel how special this place was. Looking up at Rueben, she saw a smile form on his lips.
"Yeah, it's pretty spectacular, this place." He pointed toward the small island and said, "We're going out there."
"What?" Hope frowned and shook her head. "I'm not swimming in there; the water looks cold." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him pointedly.
Rueben chuckled while pulling her along; he stopped at a sizable tree log that lay close to the water. He patted the wood and said, "This will work."
"What? You want us to cut out a canoe?" Hope looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"Nah." He wiggled his fingers and explained, "I'll just use my powers."
"Oh, right." Hope bit her lip, she was still getting used to seeing him wield his nature powers. It was pretty spectacular when he did something big. She watched as he moved his hands over the fallen tree. A shimmer of magic wrapped around his hands as he worked on transforming the log into a decent canoe. When he was satisfied with his own handiwork, he turned back to look at her, his eyes beaming with pride.
Hope walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him. "Looks good. Sure it will hold us both?" She glanced at the canoe; it was reasonably big enough for two.
"I'm sure." He hugged her close and pecked her cheek before he pulled back and proceeded to pull the canoe to the water. "Come on, Hope, hop on board my fine vessel here." He grinned when she rolled her eyes, but still stepped up to him and let him help her sit down in the canoe.
Once Rueben had placed himself behind her, she asked, "So how are we going to maneuver this thing?" She grabbed the sides of the vessel and glanced over the calm waters. Suddenly, the canoe moved forward, and she glanced over her shoulder. Rueben held his hands over the side of the canoe, making some wavy motions with his hands. When she found his eyes, he winked at her with a huge smirk overtaking his lips.
"Show off," she huffed, but still grinned and nodded in approval. This was a pretty nice form of transport. She tried to relax and enjoy the ride to the island.
Suddenly, a tiny splatter of water hit her arm. She looked around, but found nothing that could have caused the splash. When a splatter hit her other arm, she looked around with annoyance. She whipped the water off her leather jacket and shook her head; this place was getting a bit strange.
She sighed in relief when the water seemed to stop hitting her, but seconds later a larger splash hit the side of her head.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?" she shrieked and shifted around in her seat, frantically trying to figure out what was happening. When she heard her boyfriend chuckle, she whirled around and glared at him. "You." She pointed her finger at him. "You did this, you stupid wanker." When he merely shrugged, she huffed. "You scared the crap out of me. Not funny."
Rueben laughed as he raised his hands in mock surrender, as if he hadn't done a thing. But Hope could see the glint in his eyes, and when he finally winked, she suddenly found it hard to stay mad at him.
"Awe, come on, that was funny," Rueben said and returned his hands to hover over the water, moving the canoe closer to the island.
"Yeah, ha ha," Hope mock-laughed, but gave him a small smile, letting him know she wasn't really all that mad at him.
She turned around to see how close they were to the small island; it really was very small, and the large willow tree seemed to take up the entire space. Once they reached the hanging branches, it was as if they opened a path to let them in all on its own. She glanced back at Rueben, trying to gauge whether he did this. He shook his head and focused on docking the canoe by the bank.
Hope looked around in awe; it was as if they'd come to a whole different planet or realm. The air was flickering with rays of sun shining through the swishing branches. Rueben had hopped up on the dry land and reached his hand down to help her up. She placed her hand in his and got out of the canoe herself, her fingers squeezing around his. This place was oozing with magic—something deep and powerful—and she could feel her own magic respond to whatever it was. A tingle shivered down her spine as he led her closer to the massive tree trunk of the willow.
"Hello Rueben." A female voice broke the silence. "Been awhile since you visited this old tree here."
"Eh, who?" Hope whispered and stepped closer to Rueben, grabbing his arm, her eyes zooming around, trying to figure out who'd spoken.
"Yes, I know, Grandmother Willow," Rueben said calmly and chuckled. "You know I moved to Royal City."
"Indeed, I do, my boy," a low chuckle followed. "And I see you brought a friend with you this time. She is pretty." The branches hanging over their heads rustled excitedly.
Hope was still not sure who was speaking. Her fingers dug into Rueben's arm as she held her breath. "Who?" she whispered again, tugging at his arm.
"Look closer." Rueben pointed toward the tree trunk, and suddenly, the gnarly bark swirled, and a face formed on the tree.
Hope gaped at the sight and whispered, "How?"
Before Rueben had a chance to reply, the tree voice spoke again, and this time Hope could see the face and mouth move. "For a girl who holds great power and magic, you do lack some understanding of how things work."
"What?" Hope asked, confused.
"Hope Swan-Jones you are a remarkable girl, I see that." The face smiled. "Our Rueben here has some great taste, I see." There was another rustling through the branches, and suddenly, Hope could feel one of them gently shift through her hair. "She is a pretty one Rueben, and she holds the power of hope."
Hope blinked several times. Nothing made sense, and she failed to reply, but she realized this was Grandmother Willow who Rueben had spoken so much about.
"I know she is special," Rueben said in a low voice, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry." Hope looked at the gnarly face and found the dark eyes looking straight at her. "I was a bit shocked to see you. I hadn't… I mean…" She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and sighed. "Look, yeah, I know I have magic and Rueben here does too, but I guess you know that already." Somehow, the face was able to make a small nod in understanding. Hope took a deep breath and whispered, "But what exactly do you mean by me having power of hope?"
Grandmother Willow chuckled, "I can feel a special connection between you and my Rueben here. Hold on to the love you share."
Hope nodded in understanding, but it didn't answer her question. "I know we share something special," she said with a smile and glanced up at Rueben, who looked back at her with so much tenderness, it made her heart flip. "I love him."
"I see that," Grandmother Willow said with a smile. "He loves you, too, if I'm not mistaken." Her low chuckle pulled Rueben out of his daze.
"I do love her." He lifted Hope's hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"Awe, such young love." Grandmother Willow sighed and rustled her branches dramatically, making both Rueben and Hope laugh. "He will treat you right, my girl," Her eyes bore into Hope's for several long seconds.
Hope held her breath, not sure what else to say. She still hadn't really gotten any answers to her questions. Suddenly, a single branch flicked before her eyes, and she gaped in surprise as it slid over her collarbone and tapped on her butterfly pendant. Fearing it would get taken, she swatted the nosy branch away and clasped the pendant in her hand.
"Curiously," Grandmother Willow whispered while every leaf and branch around them shifted and moved restlessly from side to side.
Hope glanced up at Rueben, who didn't look too fazed by this action. Then she returned her gaze to Grandmother Willow who looked troubled or deep in thought. The lines in the bark forming her brows were pinched together. A deep hum echoed from her mouth as she was clearly contemplating something.
Suddenly Grandmother Willow's eyes widened and her voice was a low-keyed tone, different from how it sounded before. "When Morpho and Stella Octo combine the powers of hope, a city forgotten will conquer the darkness of the deep blue. What once was hidden will again see the light of day."
It eerily sounded like some sort of prophecy, Hope could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She wasn't exactly expecting things to evolve into this, and with her family's history of prophecies, quests and saviours, she wasn't exactly searching for her own adventure.
The air around them stood still for several long moments, and Hope could feel the heat from Rueben's arm around her shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin. He obviously hadn't expected this to happen, either.
"Huh?" Hope finally piped up, "What was that?"
"Yes, you have the power of hope," Grandmother Willow mumbled, then her eyes found Hope and Rueben again. "You both have the power of hope; you just need to find the other half."
"Bloody hell," Hope groaned. "This is making zero sense. Sorry, but what the hell does all this mean?"
"Oh, I see you have a mouth fit for a sailor there, young lady," Grandmother Willow gently chastised, then chuckled. "But, given who your father is, I can only assume your mother wasn't successful in preventing their children from using your father's lingo."
"You know who my parents are?" Hope gasped in surprise.
"I do, my child. I do," Grandmother Willow chuckled and explained, "I know of all things happening. I know of the United Realms. I know of your great grandmother who's ruling the realms now. Tell her she's doing a mighty fine job."
Hope blinked a few more times before she nodded, "Yeah, sure." Rubbing her face with her hand, she sighed. "But all that power of hope thing—what does that mean?" She looked up at Rueben, who seemed stunned at what had happened.
"I can't give you much more; it's too far in the future for me to fully see how things will go."
Hope rolled her eyes at this and sighed. "Of course you can't."
"I do know that once the two powers of hope are combined, the forgotten city will no longer be lost." Grandmother Willow hummed as if underlining her own words.
"Hope?" Rueben suddenly spoke. "I know Grandmother Willow often comes up with things like this, and it will take years for some of her prophecies to be fulfilled."
"Oh great, I have a prophecy over my life now." Hope waved her hands aimlessly in the air and sighed. "Just great. Bloody fantastic."
"You both do," Grandmother Willow's voice broke in. A few of her branches tapped both Rueben and Hope on their shoulders, and she smiled, "I know you will find the missing piece of hope."
"So we already got one piece?" Hope asked. Another branch tapped on the hands still holding on to the pendant. Hope gasped and opened her hand, looking at Rueben's birthday gift. "It was meant to be picked up by you?" she whispered.
Rueben gasped beside her, and when she looked up at him, his expression was a mixture of shock and awe at what they learned about her pendant.
"It is a very special pendant you have there," Grandmother Willow said, and hummed as if thinking about something else.
"That is a lot to take in," Rueben interjected, and Hope felt him squeeze her hand as if he wanted to reassure her.
"Yeah," Hope mused and shifted on her feet, unsure what to say to all of this new information. She could feel her magic buzzing under her skin. Looking down, she could see a light blue shimmer emanating from the hand still clasping the pendant. Uncurling her fingers, she looked down at the butterfly pendant. Its ocean blue stone seemed to shine with tiny specks of gold from deep within.
"My children." Grandmother Willow's voice pulled them both out of their thoughts, "If you keep hope close and treasure the love you share, everything will come to pass as it should."
"Okaaayy…" Hope said uneasily, still feeling slightly shaken by this. A prophecy and two powers of hope—whatever that meant—would reveal a forgotten city. What city? As far as Hope knew, every part of the United Realms had been of the known world, and now joined by her great grandmother.
"I will always keep Hope close," Rueben said and wrapped his arm around her. When she smiled up at him, his brown eyes smiled back, and he winked.
"He's a charmer, ain't he?" Grandmother Willow chuckled.
Hope grinned and finally took a moment to just enjoy the time spent here with Rueben. This journey had begun as a way of spending some time with Rueben and asking Grandmother Willow about her magic. Hope bit her lip and glanced back at the willow tree.
"This wasn't exactly what I'd expected to go home with," Hope mumbled, shifting uneasily on her feet.
"Life rarely does that, my child," Grandmother Willow said wistfully.
"It was great seeing you again," Rueben said. "I wanted you to meet Hope, and we wanted you to share your knowledge about magic."
"Ah, I see," Grandmother Willow hummed. "You both have great magic, and even if you don't think so much yourself, dear Rueben, you will be a vital part of finding that last power of hope."
Hope smiled. "He's been tapping into his own magic and bloody good at what he does." Her voice brimmed with pride as she looked up at him.
Rueben rubbed his neck sheepishly and shrugged. "I won't ever have the same magical abilities as you, Hope."
"Ah, pish posh." Grandmother Willow shifted the branches hanging over them, then one tapped Rueben's chest. "How you use your magic will change, just wait and see."
Hope could see that Rueben wasn't as convinced as Grandmother Willow was, but she silently vowed to help him in any way or form she could. Magic wasn't supposed to be taken lightly, and she knew neither one of them would do as such.
The conversation shifted to everyday life issues. Rueben passed news on from his family, and Hope shared a few stories about her family. Hope was genuinely enjoying her time here; time spent with Rueben was always a treasure. When they finally chose to depart, Grandmother Willow said her farewells and repeated the prophecy she'd given earlier. It still sent a chill down Hope's spine when she heard the words. She wasn't sure if she should go after her own adventure, but knowing how things usually happened in her family she imagined the adventure would come wherever she wanted to or not. Hope decided to have a few talks with her mother and Auntie Gina about all of this.
While Rueben sailed them back over the lake, Hope typed in the prophecy on her phone; she didn't want to forget the words. She wanted to figure out what "morpho and stella octo" meant.
Soon they found Rueben's truck and drove the mile to his mother's old tribe. Here, they spent the night and Rueben rekindled a few old relations with his kin. The old sharman was testing out Rueben in his nature magic; the man was looking more and more excited and kept mumbling about great things to happen. Hope just tried to relax and enjoy every moment of the time they spent with his family. She took in any information she could pull from the women she suddenly found herself among while Rueben talked with the sharman.
They ended the evening by going on a short horseback ride. Rueben showed her the best spot to enjoy the sunset. Up on a nearby hill, they had the perfect view of the rolling hills below, the large forest spread out to their left. This had been the perfect time spent with Rueben, even if they did end up bringing home a prophecy over her/their life. She didn't want to dwell on those matters on this trip; once they were back home. they would be swamped with studying for their final exams. Whatever happened after they graduated, she didn't really want to think too much about. Not now at least. As Grandmother Willow had said, "everything will come to pass as it should."