Chapter 20:
Bella was the first one to land, followed quickly by Emma and Snow. Her first thought was that she was grateful that they didn't fall on top of her but by her side.
The first thing she saw was the grass, mainly because she faced the ground. Looking up, she could see trees on one side and what looked like a small village on the other. She could hear birds singing and water running from a distance and realized that there definitely weren't home anymore. Plus, her cell phone was already bipping, warning her that she didn't have any reception at the moment.
"Where are we?" Emma asked as the three of them got up carefully, checking that they weren't injured.
"Not in Storybrook anymore." Bella stated.
"The Enchanted Forest, we're back." Snow replied, recognizing her home land immediately.
When she spotted the smoke coming out of one of the houses near their location, Snow felt reassured. Regina hadn't destroyed the people she hadn't brought back with her. They had survived. Maybe everything wasn't fine or easy for them but at least they were alive and they didn't have Regina to worry about.
"We should go and see who's over there, maybe someone will be able to help us get back home." Snow suggested.
"What about the wardrobe? The one you used to send Emma away from the curse. Can't we use that?" Bella asked.
"The magic from the wardrobe is long gone now. It could only bring one." Snow shook her head.
"Actually it brought two. Me and August." Emma corrected her mother, remembering the book.
"According to the book I just got, the one about magic, powerful magical objects always keep some of their magic. In Henry's storybook, there's a lake that can restore anything. I know it's dried up but if we dig, we might be able to get more water. We just need to see if the wardrobe survived." Bella suggested.
"I like her idea." Emma nodded.
"Alright then. Let's go to that settlement over there to get everything we'll need for the road and we'll go." Snow agreed.
"Need? What can we need?" Emma asked her mother.
"Weapons and food for starter." Snow reminded Emma who nodded, realizing that her gun might not be enough for this town.
"You think we might encounter danger on the way?" Bella asked Snow.
"We don't know what's happened since the curse. The Ogres might be back. There might be thieves or worst. We need to be prepared for just about anything." Snow replied.
"I think I should try and do magic on the way. Concentrate, see how it works." Bella suggested.
"Good idea. If you have it, we might need it." Snow nodded.
"You did Jefferson's hat." Emma told Bella.
"I know, I was there." Bella smiled, not seeing where Emma was getting.
"I mean that you could do another one here, for us to use and go home." Emma added.
"Good idea but I'd need things… I don't know if we'll be able to get them here. When I did Jefferson's hat, he had a small piece from his old hat, one that still had a bit of magic, that I placed on the new one. If we manage to find the wardrobe, maybe use the magic left in it to place it in the hat so it's connected to something that was already a magical portal before." Bella replied, pointing to the village.
She remembered reading that part in the book, it was the first thing she had looked for. If she understood things well, she'd need to make the hat and connect it with something that used to be part of a magical portal. She remembered reading that magic would be able to reproduce itself and to spread around on the non magical items. All it needed was a little bit of it. A small piece of magic from the wardrobe would reproduce in the hat until it formed a fully magical hat, like it did for Jefferson's hat. She was confident that it would work, that she could do it again.
"We might find what you need in the castle. We had a hat maker there. He didn't spend much time in the castle but he had his own room." Snow declared.
"Good. Then we have two reasons to go there." Bella and Emma nodded.
"Maybe we should keep the second reason secret, just in case." Emma suggested.
"If you think it's best." Snow nodded.
The three women went in town and quickly learned that the Ogres were back and that they had all been frozen during the time Storybrook was cursed. They were able to load on weapons and supplies and went on the road once Snow learned where they had landed exactly. They didn't see the blacksmith listening to them explain their situation to the merchant and they didn't see the elder woman hiding her face near them. They didn't notice them exchange a victorious look and they didn't notice them meet a few steps away.
"Pack quickly Captain, we'll follow them for the time being. Let them do all the work for now. We need to leave soon though, I want to keep an eye on them on the way." Cora ordered the one handed man who smirked and replied:
"Aye, let's go."
Killian had allied himself with Cora by interest, she was the only one he could think off that could help bring him to his only goal: to get revenge on the man who killed Milah and took his hand. But now that Snow White and the two other young women were here, looking for a way back to their home, the same one as Rumpelstiltskin, he needed to be on the lookout for any opportunity that might rise up. Maybe he'd be able to make another deal with them, maybe they'd be able to bring him to the Dark One faster.
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Snow naturally took the lead in their trip. She had traveled a lot in this realm and knew her kingdom well. She knew the road they needed to take and both Bella and Emma knew that she'd be the best to show them how to evade the many dangers they'd encounter. While in Storybrook, Snow had been Mary-Margaret, a teacher, a peaceful woman that avoided conflicts. Here, in the Enchanted Forest, they could see the difference. She was Snow White again. A strong, confident woman who could defend herself and the people she care about.
Watching her mother in her element, in the forest, Emma had a hard time believing that it was the same woman she had met in Storybrook. There was a large difference between Mary-Margaret and Snow White. One was afraid of confrontation and the other one was a badass survivor that reminded her of herself.
"Bella, what are you doing staring at that mirror? Shouldn't you be watching your steps instead?" Emma asked her.
"I'm trying to enchant it so I can contact Storybrook. They need to know that we're fine and that we have a plan. Maybe Gold will even have some ideas to speed things up." Bella replied.
"Good thinking." Snow nodded.
"How is it going then? You managed to make it work?" Emma asked Bella.
"I think I'm getting there. It light up earlier and a few minutes ago I think I saw the reflection of something that definitely wasn't my face. I'll just keep on trying until I do it. Thanks to this book I know that I can do it, that it's in me." Bella replied confidently.
She wanted to add that it was also in Emma but she knew that her friend wasn't ready to believe.
They kept on walking and, sometimes, Snow would stop and make them rest a little before they started walking again.
"How much farther is it?" Emma asked.
"We were pretty far from it. I think we'll get there in two days if we keep this up and if we don't cross any obstacles." Snow replied.
"And by obstacles you mean…"
"Ogres, thieves, monsters..." Snow smiled.
"Bad guys." Emma finished.
.
In Storybrook, Maleficent had just learned everything that happened between Regina, Bella and the others. Nobody had even thought to ask her if she wanted to help find Regina, which she would have. Though she understood why they'd think she wouldn't want to help given her past reputation. When it happened, she had been reading in her room, she hadn't been busy. She could have helped. Now her first friend in this town was trapped in the Enchanted Forest looking for a way back.
"Charming?"
"What do you want Maleficent? Now isn't the time." He replied as he made his way to the Mayor office after leaving Graham at the sheriff's station and Henry at school.
"I know, I just learned what happened with Bella, Emma and your wife." She replied.
"And you wanted to tell me you think it was well deserved?" he asked her sarcastically.
"Of course not! Bella became my friend. Had I known Regina had broken free, I would have joined the search party and helped, please believe me."
"I do." He finally nodded.
David couldn't help but notice that Maleficent looked sincere. She didn't look like an evil sorceress anymore, she just looked like any other normal woman. She was trying to change and he had to do the right thing and give her a chance, believe in her the way Bella did.
"I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help bring them back. Not that I know any magic about crossing realms, I never looked into it, but I might be able to help still." She asked him.
"I honestly don't know. I have to go and run the town, Gold and Belle are taking care of the research to bring them back. Maybe you should go and see with them if they need help. I'm sure they'll appreciate the extra set of eyes and I can't really imagine you mining for fairy dust with the dwarfs." David explained, finishing with a little smile.
His smile wasn't mocking, it was a sincere amused smile that made her smile right back.
"Thank you, I'll go there right now. Will they be at the Pawnbroker shop?" She asked him with a smile, happy to be able to help.
"No, they settled at the library to have more space. Henry will join them over there after school and I think Archie and a few others will head over there to help as well as soon as they have the time. They brought all of Gold's books there."
"I'll go right away then. Thank you." She nodded before she walked away, surprising David in her calm behavior and willingness to help him after what he and Snow had done to her baby.
Shaking his head to get his head back in the game, David walked into the city hall, inside Regina's mayor's office. There, Ruby was already waiting for him. She had agreed to go from him to the mines to the library to bring news and whatever people needed. It was her own way to help until they were in need of her special set of skills.
.
Snow had showed Emma how to build a fire for them to spend the night while Bella kept on trying to make the mirror work. So far, she had managed to reach into the world of Storybrook, she just needed to reach a mirror with someone she knew and trusted near enough to it so they could hear her.
She cried out in joy when she finally saw a surprised Granny looking back at her. After assuring the old woman that they were all fine, she asked Granny to call Gold and ask him to go near a mirror with David and Henry, allowing her to speak with them.
Happy to have done it, Bella let Snow and Emma reconnect with David, Henry and Graham before she spoke with Gold and they told him that they had a plan.
"Don't tell us what it is, you never know who's listening, especially on your end." Gold warned her.
"Alright." Snow nodded.
"But we'll all keep a mirror with us until you come back, don't hesitate to call if you have a question or a problem." Gold added.
"Will do, thanks." Emma nodded.
"Do you have any advice until then?" Bella asked him.
"Keep on practicing your magic. You're on the right track. If you managed to connect a mirror, you should be able to do most anything basic. Start a fire, move things, defend yourself. Practice, concentrate on love and believe. That's the most important, with your kind of magic at least." Gold replied.
"Just like it says in my book." Bella smiled.
After that, Gold went back to his house and Bella let Emma use the mirror to speak with her son and her boyfriend before she enchanted another, smaller, mirror for Snow to use with David while she read a bit more of the book and rested.
The next day, they left at dawn and walked for a while until they were ambushed by a group of men. As it turned out, they were Robin Hood's merry men and once Snow introduced herself and explained what she was trying to do, Robin offered his help, pointing out that once upon a time, their faces were seen side by side on Wanted posters.
"If you want, you could come with us too. We would welcome you in Storybrook and you'd have an easier life. At least we'd find you a place with running water away from ogres and other monsters." Emma offered after Robin explained the kind of life they had since the curse.
"Thank you, that's a nice offer, princess." Robin replied with a smile while his son stayed close to him.
"I didn't know the Merry men accepted women." Bella commented when she spotted a woman among the men.
"I'm the exception. My name's Mulan." The merry woman replied.
"Mulan? I love the movie we have about you in our world. I'd love to get to know you and see what they got right and what they got wrong." Bella smiled invitingly.
"Well, I'd like to help you in your quest to go home, we can get to know each other on the way. I can't go with you though, once you go back to your home, I'll go back to traveling until I find where I'm supposed to be." Mulan nodded, curious about the strangely dressed women and the world they came from.
In the end, Mulan, Robin, his son, Little John, Friar Tuck and a couple of other Merry men joined them, the other deciding to stay there and keep on doing what they did in the Enchanted Forest.
"Say Robin, was Will Scarlet a member of your group? I mean, in the stories we have in our world he is but sometimes they get things wrong." Bella asked him.
"He was until he betrayed us and stole magic for his own gain, why?" Robin asked her.
"He's in Storybrook." Bella replied.
"She dated him." Emma added with an amused smile.
"It's over though." Snow completed, amusing Little John.
"I guess everyone deserves a second chance." Robin replied, agreeing not to be openly angry at Will if he was to cross him.
"Mulan, according to the storybook we have, you met with Belle and ended up traveling with Prince Philip. Where is he now?" Bella asked the warrior woman.
"When the curse broke and we all unfroze, we went to find his princess Aurora. He kissed her, waking her up from her long slumber, and they went back in their castle. They're fixing it up, trying to make their land and their people alive and happy again." Mulan replied.
"Good, Maleficent will be relieved to know that Aurora has managed to get her happy ending after all." Bella smiled.
"I wouldn't be so sure. She's the one who cursed them both." Mulan shook her head.
"You don't know her. She's changed. She wants to find her daughter and be happy. She's my friend now and is even helping Charming and Gold to get us back. Everyone can change if you give them a chance to." Bella replied.
"I don't believe that everyone can change. Some people are too far gone." Mulan shook her head with a serious look on her face.
"You just need to have faith and find out why they went dark. Most of the time, all they need is Love, or for someone to believe in them." Bella smiled.
"Bella is good at giving people second chances and helping them change." Emma added.
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"This is getting ridiculous, how many more people are they going to take with them!" Cora exclaimed angrily when she realized, the next night, that Snow White and her 2 friends were now traveling with a few of the Merry Men and Mulan.
"Maybe we should just ask them kindly to take us with them as well. Say that we heard rumors that they were trying to leave this land and that we'd like to have the same opportunity." Hook suggested, half serious, as he took a drink from his flask.
"Don't be ridiculous, Snow knows me well. She'd never agree to take me with them." Cora shook her head.
"You could disguise yourself." He suggested.
"That Bella girl has magic and even though she refuses to admit it, the other one, Snow's daughter, has magic as well. They'll be able to tell I'm not showing my true face." Cora shook her head.
"Tell me Cora, why do you hate Snow White so much? She doesn't look that bad." Hook asked her, thinking that Snow's two traveling companions were quite to his taste.
He had an inner debate going on to decide which one he liked the most. For now it was the brunette that was in the lead but the blond intrigued him as well. They both had a different yet similar spark to them and he felt drawn to the group. He wanted to get to know them but he had to concentrate on his revenge and on the best way to get it.
"It's not her that I hate, it's what she represents. I hated her mother, she ruined my life, and I thought I'd be satisfied after killing her but I was wrong. I want to ruin Eva's legacy. I want to darken Snow's heart until her mother's legacy is completely gone. I'll darken the heart of her daughter too, before I kill her, if I can." Cora replied, already seeing everything done in her head.
"What about the other one?" hook asked her, pointing to Bella with his Hook.
"I'll simply kill her. Rip her heart out and destroy it in front of her friends. Then I'll use their portal to go to my daughter and get everything I ever wanted." Cora explained with a smile.
Hook smiled as well but he couldn't help but feel that he was on the wrong team. He hated the idea of any woman losing her heart, or having it crushed. It was the way his love died and he didn't want to see any of these women die this way. While Cora settled for the night, he took another drink from his flask, debating on what his next move needed to be. Cora had a goal and she had managed to make him think that they could work together, that they were going for the same goal but he could now see that it was far from the truth. Cora wouldn't hesitate to step over him if it helped her get to her daughter, so why should he be loyal to her?
Will Cora follow them home or will she be discovered and stopped before? What do you think will happen next?
Review please!
Lorelei Candice Black