"Oh no. No way in hell am I wearing that." Lily hissed, staring in distaste at the backless shirt Ruby was trying to force her into.
Ruby's lips were set in her infamous pout. "Come on! You're always wearing sweaters, you need to live a little!" She huffed as she eyed the shirt critically.
Lily rolled her eyes, not bothering to mention said sweaters were mostly see-through from the lace and knitting they were made of. "Yeah, see-through sweaters." She pointed out, earning a huff from her friend.
Ruby moved back, allowing Lily to hop off the bathroom counter. The 'make-over session' that Ruby had insisted upon was most certainly at an end. Thankfully, Lily had escaped it this time without looking like a clown.
Well, other than an overabundance of eyeliner around Lily's bright blue eyes. Ruby hadn't done too much damage, other than making Lily look like she had 'cat-eyes'.
"Well, this isn't so-" The ground rumbling beneath their feet cut off Lily's snarky reply. Letting out a shriek of shock, she stumbled towards the shower. A towel rack stopped her descent and she hung onto it for dear life until the shaking subsided. "What the hell was that?! Ruby?"
Lily righted herself, dusting off her clothes while she was at it. Looking around the bathroom, she tilted her head to the side when she caught sight of Ruby
"What was that?!" She brushed her clothes off and Lily shrugged, grabbing her sweater from the bed and yanking it on before she rushed to the door, Ruby at her heels.
"Let's find out."
Racing into the street, it became rather obvious that the entire town was heading towards the old mines. Inwardly, Lily questioned Regina's sanity in putting 'coal mines' in a town she based in Maine. From what she'd gathered since her memories had returned, there wasn't much coal in Maine.
As she and Ruby reached the sight of the quake, the latter gasped in shock at the large sinkhole. Unsurprisingly, a car quickly drove in and Regina stepped out of it. Hands up, she began to push the crowd back.
"Everyone! Step back, please!"
"Is that a crater?" Ruby demanded loudly as Marco came to stand beside Lily.
The old carpenter shook his head. "No, there were tunnels-old mines. Something collapsed."
Lily's attention, however, was drawn to Regina when she began to yell again.
"Sheriff, set up a police perimeter. Marco, why don't you help with the fire department?" Regina commanded, coming to a dead stop at the sight of Emma next to Graham. "Miss Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go."
"Well, actually, I work for the town now." Emma responded flatly, tapping the badge attached to her belt.
"She's my new deputy."
Regina eyed Graham dangerously. "They say the Mayor's always last to know."
"It's in my budget." He offered weakly.
The mayor nodded. "Indeed." She turned to address Emma, smile empty. "Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?"
Giving Emma no chance to respond, Regina took a step back and addressed the crowd. Raising her arms again, she began to speak placatingly. "People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels. But fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe-to rehabilitate it into city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it."
Lily felt something brush past her before she saw Henry in front of the crowd.
"Pave it?" He repeated. "What if there's something down there?"
Regina's face paled before she stepped towards her son. "Henry. What are you doing here?"
"What's down there?"
Regina frowned, her voice low. "Nothing. Now step back. In fact, everyone!" She raised her voice as she stood up. "Please, please step back. Thank you."
Lily watched, smirking inwardly, as Regina leaned down and picked up a piece of glass. As she pocketed the item, Henry quickly stepped forward.
"What was that?" He demanded.
Regina sighed heavily. "Henry, enough. Listen. This is a safety issue." She looked around, making Lily attempt to hide behind Graham. "Lillian!" Regina called, making the brunette curse before she stepped forward.
"Yes, Regina?"
Regina nudged Henry towards his disgruntled baby-sitter. "Please, watch Henry for me."
Releasing an angry huff once Regina had turned her back, Lily pinned Henry with a dark stare. "You're so lucky I love you, kid." She muttered darkly as Henry smiled widely up at her.
"Love you more, sis."
"Deputy Swan, Sheriff-cord off the area."
As Lily dragged Henry towards Regina's car, they watched his mother boss everyone around.
"Well, she hasn't lost that part of her personality." Lily mumbled, earning another sunny smile from Henry.
Before she could react, Henry left her side and made his way to Archie's. Heaving a deep sigh at having her day-off disturbed, Lily trailed after him.
"Hey, Archie! Over here." Henry whispered loudly, and obviously, as he crouched by the police car. "This requires all of Operation: Cobra." He announced as Emma, Archie and Lily joined him. "All of you.
"I didn't realize I was in Operation: Cobra." Archie sputtered out in surprise.
Lily simply crinkled her nose at him in annoyance. "Of course you are. You know everything. "
"We can't let her do this." Henry drew back the conversation's focus. "What if there's something down there?"
Emma shook her head, eyeing him oddly. "They're just some old tunnels."
"That just happen to collapse right after you get here?" He asked with a raised brow. "You're changing things. You're weakening the curse."
Emma sighed. "That's not what's happening."
"Yes, it is!" He defended. "Did you do anything different today? Cause something made this happen."
Lily watched as Emma glanced down at the deputy badge on her belt. Regina chose that moment to walk up to them, stopping any comment Lily could have made.
"Henry, I told you to wait at the car with Lillian." She lightly pushed him towards said car before looking to Emma. "Deputy, do your job."
Heaving another sigh, Lily wrapped her arm around Henry and lead him toward the car. Emma headed in the opposite direction while Archie went to leave as well.
Regina, however, called him back. "Dr. Hopper. A word, please?"
Lily turned around as she walked away, eyeing the conversation behind her critically. As she watched, Archie's face paled rapidly as Regina practically towered over the resident shrink. With an annoyed huff, Lily turned around and focused on the little boy before her.
"I know that look, whatever it is, don't do it." She warned at the sight of his expression.
"Don't worry," he assured her, unaware that his words were having the opposite effect. "I'm still in the planning stages." He directed another smile up at her. "Besides, I'll have you with me wherever I go, right?"
The hopeful expression on his little face made her heart melt and she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Henry." Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, she leaned over and kissed the top of his head. "Yeah."
"Lady Katerina."The man bowed to the dark-haired woman, quickly doing the same to the little girl who clutched at her skirts. "And, young Lady Lily." He smiled kindly at the little girl before pulled flowers out of nowhere. "For you, milady."
Delighted, the little blue-eyed girl giggled as she took the dark purple flowers. Smiling down at her child, Katerina gently shooed her to go play in the gardens. Straightening her skirts as Lily ran away, she turned to face the man before her.
"What have you discovered?" She asked quickly as Lily's cries of delight reached their ears. Both looked to see the girl being tossed in the air by her laughing father.
"Very little, I'm afraid." The man looked so apologetic that Katerina didn't find it in her heart to scold him. "It seems that a penchance for deals runs in their family."
The woman looked back to the gardens, a frown marring her features at the sight of her two children playing. Turning back to the man, she rubbed at her forehead.
"Is there no way to contact the Dark One?" She asked, desperation beginning to get its hooks in her. "If there was a way for him to help break the contract...after all they are-"
"From what I've gathered, my lady, they haven't been on speaking terms in quite some time." He fiddled with his cuff. "Katerina," he began, dropping all pretenses. "I must ask, why would you make such a deal in the first place?"
She didn't reply for several heartbeats. Instead, she watched as her son chased his little sister around, love pouring from them both. Another coughing fit overcame her, this one loud enough to alert her husband, children, and the nearest guards.
As they approached, she looked up to meet his eyes and smiled sadly. "There are no limits to what one does for their children." The hand she pulled away from her mouth was speckled with dark, nearly black blood. "More time to live and have children was all I wanted, so many years ago." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "But now, all I want is my child to be safe from him."
"Mama?" Lily asked as her mother began to sway from side to side. A scream of terror escaped her when her mama began to rapidly fall to the ground.
Worlds away, and many years later, Lily screamed as she woke up from yet another nightmare.
"Lillian, are you alright, dear?" Regina asked, hand on Lily's shoulder as the girl raised her head. The bloodshot blue eyes that met hers had Regina pursing her lips. "Have you been having nightmares again?"
Lily nodded, seeing no use in hiding it. While Regina was blissfully unaware that Lily had her memories, Lillian had been having nightmares since the first day they appeared in Storybrooke. Add in that she was a frequent overnight house guest and it was impossible to hide the nightmares from Regina.
"Yeah," she yawned out, barely able to keep her head from falling back on the mahogany table beneath her arms.
"Have you spoken to Archie? Or Gold?" Regina pressed, having been given the story that they were memories from 'Lillian's home life' before she became Gold's adopted daughter. While she knew Regina didn't buy that, Regina more than likely thought that Lily didn't actually remember the dreams or just lied about their contents.
"Well, much as I enjoy Archie's presence, his bumbling gets a little old." The teen admitted as footsteps signaled Henry's arrival. "And, well, Gold's as attentive as ever." She forced a smile when Henry appeared in the dining room. "I'm fine, Regina."
Nodding faintly, Regina continued to eye the baby-sitter worriedly. Lily rolled her eyes inwardly, aware that while Regina was concerned, it wasn't directed at her. Henry was the only person in the entire town that Regina cared for, and even that could be called into question sometimes.
No, more than likely, Regina just wanted to be sure that her son was being taken care of. Lily had, after all, taken care fo the boy since the week Regina had adopted him. While Regina had as well, the older Henry got, the less involved Regina had become. Lily supposed she could attribute that to the fact that Henry no longer depended on either of them for his basic needs.
As they exited the house to head to Henry's session with Archie, Lily attempted to not act like the dead walking. Henry's hand was the only thing that kept her grounded, especially with the nightmare from last night replaying in her mind.
She had nightmares about her childhood frequently. Not as much as nightmares about him, but often enough that she was used to it. However, she'd never had a nightmare about a conversation her mother had had that she didn't even know happened. Though she did know about the deal her mother spoke of, it still hurt to hear about it.
"Lillian?"
She blinked before looking down at the hand tugging on her sleeve. Henry was staring up at her, his face twisted with worry. She looked up to see that they'd arrived at Archie's building and sighed.
"Come on, the sooner we do this, the sooner I can convince Clark to give me sleeping pills." She half-joked, lightly nudging Henry inside.
He sent her a worried look but didn't comment, lumbering up the stairs ahead of her. Marco was at the door when they reached it and he smiled widely at the sight of them.
"Hey!" He greeted as Henry swerved around him into the room. "Have a good session, Henry." With a smile, the older man tousled Henry's hair before he turned to go. Eyeing Lily with concern, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Try not to work too hard, Lillian, eh?"
She nodded in response, a small smile forming as he left. Turning back to the office, she entered the room and shut the door behind her. Nearly falling onto the couch opposite Henry, Lily placed her hands on her stomach and closed her eyes.
"Hey."
She heard Archie greet, letting out a soft noise in return before she attempted to tune out the conversation.
"Are you recruiting Geppetto for Operation: Cobra?"
"You think Marco's Geppetto?" Archie asked, sounding rather taken aback.
Lily cracked an eye open to see Henry nodding. "Sure. He's Jiminy Cricket's best friend and Marco's yours."
"Henry…" Lily bristled inwardly at Archie's suddenly nervous tone. Staying where she was, she opened both eyes now and watched them. "Henry, look. W-We really need to talk about this, okay?"
"I know you're not convinced, but I know where I can get proof." Henry unzipped is backpack and held it out towards Archie. Lily narrowed her eyes at what she'd caught sight of.
"What is this? Flashlight? Candy bars?" Archie listed off, awareness suddenly filling his voice. "Oh, wait, Henry. Henry, you do not want to go down there."
"Emma's here and stuff's happening. I have to look at it."
Archie let out a blustery sigh. "Henry, Henry. Stop. Stop." Fully alert now, Lily watched warily as Archie spoke. "There is no proof. Look, all of this-all of this-is a delusion. Do you know what a delusion is?"
"I…I think so."
"It's something that's not real. And…And not healthy." Archie said hesitantly, looking anywhere but at Henry or Lily. "And I thought that you'd outgrow this, but Henry, you know…Now it's turned into a psychosis. Do you know what a psychosis is?" He didn't even wait for Henry to respond. "Th-that's when you can longer tell what's real and if that continues, then…Then I have to lock you away."
At that, Lily sat straight up. Hands clenched into fists, she wished more than ever that she had her magic. Turning Archie back into the cricket he was and stepping on him would be a good outlet for the rage filling her.
"Henry, look. This has to stop for your own good. You got to wake up. This nonsense must end." Archie finished finally, his voice raised to nearly a yell.
Lily watched, in muted horror, as Henry simply directed a betrayed look at Archie. The little boy then took off at a run from the office. The moment Henry was out the door, Lily rounded on the stunned shrink.
"What the bloody hell was that, Archie?!" She shouted hoarsely at him. When he offered no reply, her temper rose even more. "If you've done any damage to Henry," she gripped his collar, yanking his frightened face to hers. "You'll find out exactly why you don't mess with a Gold."
For a brief moment, Archie could have sworn Lillian's eyes flashed red. But, when he blinked they were still vibrant blue. Releasing him with a noise of disgust, Lily spun on her heel and ran out of the office. Nearly jumping down the stairs, she caught up with Henry on the street and quickly enveloped him in her arms. His little fists gripped her shirt tightly as his body began to shake violently.
With a soft grunt, Lily picked him up for the first time in years, and carried him towards Mary Margaret's apartment. To hell with Regina's orders, Henry needed his mother right now and to Lily, Regina wasn't worthy of that title at the moment. Rapping loudly on the door, she waited impatiently for Emma to open the door.
When the blonde did, her smile faded at the sight of Henry's tear-stained face as he trembled in Lily's arms.
"Kid, what happened?" Emma asked before she back out of the doorway to let Lily in. "Come in."
"So, should we tell them?" Beauregard asked, clutching Katerina's milky-white fingers in his own. His wife shook her head weakly, the simple movement causing spasm of pain to shoot across her body.
"No," a ragged cough rattled her weak lungs. "No, we shouldn't. It will only make Darren blame Lily even more-"
"He's already stopped speaking to her." He frowned heavily. "And one of the maids said he tried to strike Lily yesterday morning."
Katerina frowned at that, tears struggling to fall at the news of her son's reaction to her illness. "He blames her."
"Can you blame him?" Beauregard asked, his gray eyes fierce. "So shortly after his sister is born, his mother becomes ill. It is child's logic."
"He is nearly fourteen." She argued back, only for her husband to shake his head.
"Yes, and he has been babied by his mother all this time." He tightened his grip on her weak fingers as hard as he dared. "My love, you and I both knew this was coming."
"That you did." A smug, low voice whispered from the window.
Both turned to watch in horror as the cloaked 'boy' stepped down from the windowsill, his green eyes flashing in the dim light. He glanced over Katerina, clucking softly in amusement.
"Hmm, not looking so good, are we Katie?" He waved his hand, freezing Beauregard mid-step, smirking lightly. "Now, now, Beau." He waved his hand in a chastising manner. "I haven't come all this way for a fight."
"Why are you here?" Katerina asked, sounding far braver than she felt. His presence terrified her, it had even when she was a child. Thinking of those days made her shy away from the memories and focus on the person before her. "You said we had-"
"'Upon her sixteenth birthday, then she will be mine', yes." He recited in a bored tone, all traces of amusement gone for a brief moment. His eyes drifted to the closed door, excitement making his eyes almost glow. "Though, I won't lie, I've checked in on her a few times."
"You son of a bitch-"
He raised his hand, making Katerina's mouth snap shut. Eyes flat, he lowered his hand as she held back tears of pain at the abuse. Stepping forward slowly, he sat at the empty chair next to her bed.
"You knew this was coming, Katerina." His whisper was harsh and low. "You've known all these years, ever since you made that deal." A smirk twisted up the side of his face. "To be honest, I'm surprised your body didn't give out the day after Lily was born." He shrugged, unconcerned. "But, that's magic for you."
"Why are you here?" She asked again, her voice subdued and trembling.
Her smirked flatly. "I'm here to see you, of course." He looked at her neck, a sneer forming on his face. "I gave you that for her." His voice hardened. "Not for you to hide away, like so many other things in her life."
"I've hidden things from her to keep her safe-"
"Are you sure it's not just to clear your conscience?" He shot back flatly. "I must admit, I don't know too many woman who would make a deal to have a child, promising said child as payment."
Her tears seemed to delight him, though it was hard to read his pale face as always. Katerina drew the necklace resting against her shift closer as he stared at it.
"Why?" She finally whispered brokenly, asking the one question that had tormented her all these years. "Why her? Why me? What could you possibly want with a girl?"
"Well, at first, I wanted your boy." He admitted, shrugging carelessly at her expression. "But then, I sensed the child growing in your belly." Something she couldn't identify entered his voice. It was almost wistful, though she refused to believe he was capable of such an emotion. "Lily was born of the magic of Neverland, not Darren."
Katerina went stiff as her worst fears became realized. He simply smirked in response, lowering his hood and allowing her to see his face for the first time in years. His slim, pale features were still unchanged, after all these years and she shivered at the sight of his green eyes.
"The magic that gave life to Lily, is the magic that kept you alive." His eyes briefly flickered to the black, congealed blood that littered the handkerchiefs around the bed. "And, now that Lily is born, nothing is stopping the sickness from killing you." Humorless eyes locked with hers. "Your body is literally rotting from the inside out."
"Henry, what are we doing here?" Lily looked around warily as Henry led them closer to the entrance of the mine. "I know you want proof, but this is dangerous-even for you." He ignored her, sparking her temper and she reached for his backpack. "Henry, I am not letting you go in there alone-"
"Then come with me!" He tugged free of her grip and stalked into the mines, flashlight on.
Looking around with a resigned sigh, Lily trudged in after him. Frowning at the thick air around them, she practically glued herself to Henry's side as they cautiously walked along the track.
"Henry, what exactly are we looking for?" She managed to whisper, wincing at the soft echo of the words. Having spent plenty of time in the dwarven mines back home, cave-ins were a terrifying reality. Though while it was much easier to deal with a cave-in with magic, she knew that there was nothing she could do if that happened now.
"I know you saw my mom pocket something the other day." He chattered as they continued to walk, clearly unconcerned with the possibility of their deaths. "We need to find something like that."
Cursing angrily under her breath, making sure that it was in a different language, Lily followed Henry. He wandered several more feet before stopping, making Lily nearly walk into him. Wide-eyed, Lily watched in shock as Henry stooped down and picked up a piece of clear glass.
"Let me see that." Lily whispered softly, turning the object over in her hands when Henry did so. Running her fingers over the black, vine-like adornments, she swallowed heavily when she realized what it was.
"What is it?" Henry asked, bouncing with excitement as he took back the glass. "Do you know what it is?"
"It's-" Lily's head shot up when the mine began shake violently. Letting out a cry of shock, Lily pushed Henry out of the way and the rock quickly caught her in the side of the head. Black spots flashed in her vision as she fell to the ground, her fingers digging into the dirt as Henry's buzzing voice called her name. She raised her eyes to see Henry's worried face swimming in and out of her vision before she gave into the calling darkness.
"Lily? Lily!"
The little girl peered outside her window, wide eyes watching the moonlit sky for the now familiar black shape to streak across it. Looking at the timepiece by her bedside, she sighed at the late hour and reached to shut the window.
Long, thin fingers caught her wrist gently and she jerked back in surprise. The cry of shock that welled up in her throat died once she caught sight of the amused green eyes watching her. The moment her wrist was released, Lily opened her small arms and flung them around the boy crouched before her.
"Peter!"
"Lily!"
She jerked awake, the last vestiges of the dream clinging to her mind as she raised her eyes to meet Henry's worried gaze.
"Lily, we gotta move, you gotta get up!"
Head swimming, she raised a hand to the source fo the pain and hissed at the touch. Pulling her hand back, she gasped at the blood coating her palm before another rumble shook the mine. Allowing Henry to help her to her feet, she stumbled until she hit the wall and grabbed at it.
"Henry...I-I can't...I can't-"
"Henry! Lillian!"
Both turned to see Archie rushing towards them, his eyes wide as saucers behind his glasses. Lily nearly groaned in relief at the sight of him, especially when he reached her and slung her arm around his shoulders.
"Are you here to help us?" Henry asked as Archie ran a hand along Lily's face, cursing at the amount of blood.
Shaking his head, the shrink looked around as the mine shook yet again. "No, Henry, listen. We gotta get outta here, okay?" Lily swayed dangerously in his hold. "Lillian needs a dcotor-"
"So, you're still against me?" Henry asked, any trace of excitement slipping away at Archie's reply.
"Henry, there's no time for that!" Archie reached for Henry with his free arm. "Come on, Henry. Come on!"
Henry pulled out of reach and shook his head stubbornly. "You don't believe me? You'll see." He turned and ran deeper into the mine. "You'll see!"
"Henry! Henry-Henry!" Archie called after him as Lily lifted her head and reached for the boy. "Henry, come back! Henry!"
"Where have you been?" Lily demanded as she looked up at the boy cradling her.
Peter smiled back softly, slipping an arm from her small shoulders to grip the necklace resting against her stomach. "Found it, did you?"
She nodded her head rapidly, smiling enough to reveal the gap in her teeth. He chuckled at the sight, having forgotten about that part of childhood.
"Mhmm! Papa said Mama gave it to me before she died-but I wasn't old enough to have it!" Proudly, she touched the small silver trinket he held before she raised her luminous blue eyes to his face. "Can we go flying tonight?!"
Shaking his head, the 'teen' smiled at the pout that formed on her lips. Opening his arms back up, Lily went into them. Holding her tightly, he stood and raised her so they were eye-level.
"Lily, I need you to do something for me." He breathed out when his ears caught the sound of footsteps. "This is very important. I need you to remember me, do you think you could do that?"
She nodded, tilting her head in confusion. "But, why would I need to remember you when you come to visit me?"
"Because I'll be going away for a while." He raised a hand to touch her chubby cheek when he saw tears from in her eyes. "Shh," he soothed softly, pulling her closer when the footsteps became louder. "Don't worry, you'll see me again." Her grip tightened. "But you have to promise to remember me."
Just as she nodded, the door slammed open to reveal her horrified father. Peter moved before they could react, pressing a chaste kiss against her forehead before he set her down and was out the window.
"Lily!"
"Henry? Henry?" Archie called as he helped a stumbling Lily through the tunnel. "Henry! Henry!" He shouted again when he caught sight of Henry holding his flashlight down a hole. "Henry, Henry! You got to slow down." He panted out as Lily attempted to right herself.
"There's something shiny down there." Henry replied, peering down into the dark shaft before Lily managed to get her numb lips to work.
"Henry, this is seriously dangerous." She slurred out, wincing when her head throbbed violently again. "We got to get out of here."
He shook his head rapidly. "It could be something."
"Henry, look at me!" Archie commanded suddenly, his voice rising with distress. "Look at me!" Henry's stunned eyes connected with his. "I'm frightened for you, Henry."
Henry scowled back. "Because you think I'm crazy?"
"No!" Archie denied, shaking his head. "No, because we are trapped underground in an abandoned mine, Henry." He reached out to grip Henry's shoulders. "Lillian is bleeding heavily and there is no way out."
Taking a quick look at his baby-sitter, Henry swallowed at how ashen her pale features were. Turning back to Archie, he nodded rapidly and allowed Archie to lead them both away from the hole and deeper into the mine. As they walked, Lily pressed her once white scarf against her bleeding face, hissing when the cloth brushed against the cut.
Archie suddenly stopped, his upturned face scrunched in concentration. "Hey, do you hear that?"
All three paused, listening intently until the soft, muted sound reached their ears.
"It's Pongo!"
With little preamble, Lily began to stalk forward. "Well, let's not waste any time." Henry pressed against her, keeping her upright.
"Follow the noise!"
Pongo's rapid barks quickly led them to an elevator shaft, though Henry gazed at it curiously while Archie reached for it.
"It's loudest over here."
Henry paused at the sight of the elevator. "What's…What's this?"
"Looks like…an old elevator." Archie muttered as he glanced up inside it.
"I-It's to get the mine workers in and out." Lily stuttered out as she pressed her scarf harder against the cut that ran along her hairline.
"It goes all the way to the top. That's why we could hear Pongo." Archie added.
"Can we make it work?"
Archie continued to look up the shaft before he handed the flashlight to Henry. "Let's give it a shot" Reaching for the rather rusted wheel, Archie twisted it, making the elevator ascend with a loud screech. "Come on!"
Handing a surprised Lily his flashlight, Henry joined helping Archie turn the rusted wheel. Sighing, she leaned back against the elevator cart and inhaled deeply as spots began to dance behind her eyes.
"If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one," every eye was locked onto Peter as he spoke to the circle. "You may see at times, a shapeless pool of lovely, pale colours suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape," his voice raised as the excitement around him rose. He spun slowly in a circle, locking eyes with the bright blue that gazed at him across the clearing. "And the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire."
"Lily!"
She jerked, her eyes flying open in time for the loud boom to echo around the mine. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around Henry and turned around to shelter him. Archie covered them both as the elevator fell even further down the shaft with a loud, metallic shriek.
"I'm really…really, really sorry." Henry whispered. He was playing with Archie's umbrella as the three of them sat on the floor of the elevator.
Lily was leaning limply against Archie's shoulder as he kept the now blood-stained scarf on her wound. Lily's eyes fluttered as she tried to focus on Henry's voice. "It's alright." She tried to say, though the words came out jumbled and muffled.
Henry go the gist of it, though her rapidly paling features worried him. "I just wanted to find proof."
"You know, it's really alright, Henry. And um, um, I'm sorry, too." Archie said, bumbling through his reply even though it was heartfelt. "Look, I…I don't think you're crazy. I-I just…I just think you got a very strong mother, who's got a clear idea of a path that she wants you to be on and when you step off that she…She gets scared. And, you know, it's natural." The shrink sighed deeply. "But it's also natural for you to be able to be free to think the things that you want to think. So, anyway. I…I didn't mean those things I said and I never should have said them."
Henry tilted his head in puzzlement. "Then, why did you?"
"I guess I'm just not a very good person. I'm not the man I want to be." Archie whispered just before the elevator suddenly shifted farther down the shaft.
After it settled, Archie slowly removed his arm from Lily's shoulders as Henry gently nudged her. She jerked her head up and sent him a strained smile in response. With a sigh, Henry looked from Lily to Archie.
"I think you can be him. I think you can be a good person. I mean, you're Jiminy Cricket."
Archie shook his head tiredly as Lily swayed next to him. "Henry. Henry, Jiminy Cricket was a…He was a cricket, okay? And he was a conscience." His voice lowered as sadness leaked into it. "And…And I hardly think that's me."
"Before he was a cricket...he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do." Lily whispered softly, making both Henry and Archie start in surprise. Her eyes opened and she smiled faintly at them, prompting Archie to smirk wryly.
"That kind of sounds like me."
Henry quickly grabbed ahold of Archie's acceptance. "Now it's harder for you because of the curse. To hear the voice inside of you. To be who you want to be."
The elevator once again jerked before falling down the shaft. Lily tightened her hold on Henry's hand, releasing it when the elevator car stopped its descent.
"Hey, can I ask you again?" Archie asked suddenly as he gently removed Lily's scarf from her head.
"Ask what?" Henry asked, watching as the older man gently prodded the still bleeding wound.
Archie removed his fingers when Lily hissed through clenched teeth. Turning back to Henry, his nose wrinkled. "Why do you think it's so important that your…your fairy tale theory is true?"
Henry shrugged. "I don't know."
"Give it a shot." Lily forced out through a cough.
"'Cause this can't be all there is."
Archie nodded understandingly, though Lily eyed him dubiously when he said, "I understand."
"I thought if I found proof…But I didn't find anything." Henry slumped with a sigh.
"Well, that's not true." Archie said softly as he led Lily to lean on him. "I was lost and you found me, right?"
Henry perked up at that. "You mean, you remember?"
"No, Henry." Shaking his head, Archie sighed deeply. "I…I don't remember, but I-I do remember the kind of person I want to be. I just got to listen harder."
Pieces of rock suddenly fell through the grate at the top of the elevator. Cursing, Lily ducked behind Archie as her and Henry blinked up at the light coming closer.
"Wh-what's that?" Henry asked as he slowly made his way to his feet.
Archie followed suit, helping a now almost limp Lily to her feet aw well. "I think that's the rescue."
"You guys okay?!" Emma demanded as she was lowered into the shaft.
Archie nodded frantically as Lily raised her heavy head to squint up at the other woman. "Yeah, we're…We're okay." He stuttered out, keeping an arm around Lily.
"Hang on, Henry." Emma ordered. "Okay, that's good." She said into what Lily assumed was a walkie-talkie. "Stop."
Archie quickly lifted Henry as Lily plastered herself against the metal behind her. "Here you go. Up." Henry was quickly passed up to Emma as Lily and Archie watched.
"Come on." Emma encouraged as Henry clung to her like a monkey. "I got ya. Okay. Okay, I got him."
"You got him?" Archie called.
"Is he safe?" Lily added, her eyes widening in horror when the elevator began to shake.
Emma's eyes went wide. "Archie? L-Lillian!?"
"It's going to fall!"
Emma looked up frantically before she looked down at the two in the elevator. "I'm sorry!"
Archie shook his head with a strained smile. "It's okay!" He wrapped an arm around Lily as the shaking increased, dimly aware of her arms wrapping around his waist.
"Archie! Lillian!" Emma screamed when the elevator went flying down the shaft. Panting, she and Henry stared down in horror until she felt a tug on her belt. Emma looked down to see Archie swinging from his umbrella, Lily wrapped around him tightly.
Letting out a delirious laugh of delight, Emma grinned down at them as Henry cheered. "They're okay!"
Archie returned the smiles, while Lily simply tightened her grip on his waist.
"Not to split hairs or anything, but, CAN WE BLOODY MOVE!"
At the teen's screech, Emma nodded rapidly before she called for them to pull them up. Henry was lifted out by Graham first, Emma next, before she turned and helped tug Archie out. Graham reached out, grabbing Lily's hand, and yanked her from the shaft before Archie was even all the way out. The bearded Sheriff practically picked her up and carried her to the ambulance.
Ruby proceeded to tackle Lily, fussing over the still bleeding wound on her friend's head. Batting away Ruby's overeager hands, Lily winced as the paramedics began to disinfect the cut before they quickly told her she'd need stitches. Watching, ignoring the slight tug of the needle, Lily frowned at the sight of Regina pushing Emma away from Henry.
Darting away from the paramedics the moment they pronounced her done, Lily jogged to Henry's side. The little boy plastered himself onto her side, making her laugh before she returned his embrace. Apologies began to fall from his mouth, though she just tightened her embrace on him. Emma wandered over to join them after a bit and was currently watching Marco and Archie talk.
"Is that Archie's father?"
Lily blinked at the random question and turned to give Emma an amused look. "No, they're just old friends."
Emma nodded before she turned her attention to the boy pressed against Lily's side. "You really scared me."
"I'm sorry." He detached himself from Lily's side and went to Emma's.
Lily watched them with a smile, looking up when Archie and Marco came over to them.
"Gentlemen." Emma greeted with a smile before she looked down at Henry. "Well, come on. Your mom wants to take you home."
With a sigh, Lily stood and clasped hands with Henry. She tugged him forward, only for him to pull back and stop.
"Hey! Listen."
The small group fell silent and listened silently. None saw the smirk that formed on Lily's face as the soft sound of crickets chirping became noticable.
"Crickets." Archie said, a wide smile blooming on his face.
Henry nearly vibrated with excitement. "They're back." He and Lily looked at each other, their hands tightening. "Things are changing."
Thoughts? Comments? Questions?