Chapter 8.
As Aurora slipped back in to sleep and the Netherworld to meet with Henry, the others waited. Standing guard at a short distance Stephen and Rose watched the perimeter.
"Seems almost too quiet." Stephen noted to which Rose nodded. Both the queen and captain turned quickly to the rustling noise that came from the side of them. Suddenly un-dead warriors from the Island encampment were rushing them, brandishing swords and small axes at the queen and captain. "Attack!" Stephen shouted, trying to alert the others. He had no need as the un-dead warriors were attacking the group from all sides. Pulling their weapons Rose and Stephen retaliated plunging their swords deep into the un-dead then kicking or throwing them to the ground. Trying their best to stay close to one another the un-dead became to many, separating the queen and captain as they battled ferociously.
Emma, Snow and Mulan fought just as hard on their side of the make shift camp they had quickly made for Aurora. Mulan shook Aurora until she awoke, ripping her from the Netherworld and her meeting with Henry.
"But I didn't get the complete message from Henry!" Aurora complained barely understanding what was going on.
"That doesn't matter right now, come on I have to get you to safety." Mulan ordered pulling the princess up and retreating from the camp away from the battle.
Emma and Snow continued to fight unaware that Mulan and Aurora were gone. As Emma tried to get away she tripped as she fell to the ground the compass slipped from her hand. An un-dead warrior grabbed it from Emma's desperate grasp but, before he could go anywhere with it Snow fired an arrow into his arm causing him to drop the compass. Emma snatched up the compass and ran to her mother.
"Mulan! We have to retreat!" Snow called out looking for the female warrior.
"Where is she?" Emma asked as she gasped for air.
"They're both gone." Snow stated releasing another arrow in to the chest of the un-dead woman who was rushing towards them.
"Snow!" Rose shouted as she and Stephen ran towards them. "Go, find Mulan and the princess, we'll hold these ones off a while longer." Rose ordered as she and Stephen stood in front of Emma and Snow protecting them. "Go on. Go! Now!" Rose barked her order again seeing Snow's apprehension in leaving her older sister. "We'll catch up to you." Rose said looking over her shoulder to her younger sister, reassuring her. Snow nodded, grabbed Emma by her arm to pull her along and ran after Mulan and Aurora.
"We're leaving them?" Emma asked surprised.
"They'll be alright." Snow said more for her own benefit than Emma's.
As Snow and Emma were out of sight the mass of un-dead became larger, swarming the queen and her captain.
"Well you said you wanted a fight Stephen." Rose joked as she attacked several of the un-dead, decapitating several.
"I did your majesty but this wasn't quite what I was expecting." Stephen replied. Rose laughed when two un-dead jumped from above her and sent her, with them, crashing down to the ground. Stephen called out to her but had his hands full. Rose punched the un-dead man in the face several times before then kicking him off of her. She quickly turned to her side and reclaimed her sword, as she turned back again another un-dead male was in front of her, he thrust his sword quickly forward, Rose moved quickly, he missed running her through but the blade still caught her cheek. Rose thrust her sword out as she stood, running the blade through the foe that had just cut her. Soon the hoard was thinning, Stephen and Rose stood back to back watching as more came from the shadows towards them.
"I think we have given the others enough of a head start now your majesty." Stephen said obviously wanting to get away from a never-ending battle.
"You wish to retreat Stephen?" Rose asked a slight laugh in her voice.
"Live to fight another day my queen!" Stephen called over the shouts of the un-dead.
"Agreed." Rose said as they had one last round with the fighters that had reached them then, quickly spinning on their heels, they ran in the direction Snow and Emma had taken earlier.
Mulan and Emma sat impatiently as Snow paced.
"They should have been here by now." Snow said worried, looking to the direction she believed her sister and Stephen should be coming from. Mulan, fed up with waiting, got up and started walking on.
"Where are you going?" Emma stood up calling after her. Mulan stopped and turned back.
"I swore to protect Aurora, I'm going after her. I can't wait any longer for the queen and captain." Mulan said with urgency and worry. Snow walked up to her quickly.
"Rose and Stephen will be here, just give them a few more moments." Snow pleaded.
"I'm sorry Snow White, but if they're not here by now then they must not have survived." Mulan said matter-of-factly as she turned again.
"How can you be such a defeatist, do you never have hope?" Snow asked astonished by the young warrior. Mulan turned back once more.
"I have seen enough war to know the likely hood of survival." Mulan explained.
"Well thanks for the vote of confidence." Emma sarcastically said as she stood just behind her mother.
"I'm sorry but I cannot wait any longer." Mulan said turning again to leave.
"Then you must learn patience Mulan." Rose spoke up as she and Stephen entered in to the clearing Snow, Emma and Mulan had been waiting in. Snow turned to her sister relieved upon seeing her and Stephen safe and alive. She rushed up to her sister throwing her arms around her.
"Thank goodness you're safe." Snow said as she held Rose for a moment. Rose returned the embrace and smiled over to her niece.
"What took you?" Emma asked smirking, raising her eyebrow as she did.
"We just couldn't tear ourselves away." Stephen said as he stood straightening his back, hands on his hips, taking deep breaths. Snow looked across to the young captain smiling then returning to her sister she saw the cut to Rose's face.
"You're wounded." Snow said turning Rose's face to look at the cut. Rose placed her hand upon Snow's.
"It's nothing." Rose dismissed. Snow looked down un-approvingly at her sister.
"It's not nothing. In fact any deeper..."
"Or lower or higher and it could have been more serious." Rose finished for her sister not taking the wound at all seriously. "Where's the princess?" Rose asked looking around and not seeing Aurora.
"They took her." Mulan said darkly. "We must go after her."
"Then why are we standing here talking? Let's go." Rose said trying to move passed Snow. Snow blocked her from leaving.
"Snow, I'm fine come on we must go." Rose said again trying to move passed her sister.
"What we must do is look after ourselves." Snow insisted looking again at the cut on Rose's face.
"Snow, the cut is barely bleeding now. It can wait." Rose said but Snow wasn't budging. "I can clean the wound as we go." Rose offered. Emma stepped forward pulling a clean cloth from the pack she carried and handed it to Rose. "Thank you. See, can we leave now?" Rose asked her sister, raising her head slightly pulling her best regal stature. Snow turned and moved on huffing as she went.
"I do believe you have not heard the end of that one majesty." Stephen noted as he stepped closer to Rose before walking after Snow. Rose chuckled to herself as she folded the cloth in her hand.
"You sure you're OK?" Emma asked as she and her aunt walked side by side.
"I'm fine, thank you. It's just a scratch." Rose said lightly.
"Pretty deep scratch." Emma said looking at the cut.
"You sound just like your mother." Rose teased as she unfastened her water flask tipping some water on to the cloth and dabbing at her cheek to try to clean the wound slightly.
"That's not going to work very well." Emma noted as she watched her aunt try to tend to her own wound whilst walking.
"No but it will keep your mother settled for a moment and Mulan happy that we are moving." Rose smiled to Emma. Just then a large black crow flew low landing on Snow's shoulder. Everyone stopped with Snow as the crow seemed to communicate with her.
"A message from Cora. We have until sun down to bring her the compass or she'll kill Aurora." Snow told them as the crow flew off again. They all took a moment to absorb the message. Stephen and Rose looked to one another both thinking the same thing, try to think of the best way to save Aurora and keep the compass.
"The decision is simple, we give Cora what she wants." Mulan said moving swiftly toward Emma.
"Like hell we do." Emma said defiantly.
"I swore to Philip that I would protect Aurora, not get involved in your ridiculous quest to get back to your Storybrooke." Mulan argued. "Now give me the compass!" Mulan demanded.
"No!" Emma shouted back getting ready to fight the warrior woman. Snow and Rose stood between them.
"Mulan stop. We aren't going to allow Cora to kill Aurora; we will come up with a plan. A way to save Aurora and keep the compass." Snow said.
"And what is your great plan? We had to snatch Aurora away from Henry before she could get the full message." Mulan argued.
"I can get the message." Snow stated.
"What?" Emma said taken aback.
"I've been under a sleeping curse Emma, all I need is to enter in to a deep sleep where my natural defences will lower and I can enter in to the Netherworld, meet with Henry and get the rest of the message." Snow explained.
"Snow…" Rose began stepping forward concern plastered across her face. Snow ignored her as she continued talking with Mulan.
"The poppy seeds. You can make another sleeping dose for me." Snow explained. Mulan thought for a moment looking down to the ground.
"I gave the last I had to Aurora. We'll have to find more." Mulan explained looking up to Snow.
"Then let's go find some." Snow said finalising the plan. Mulan took the lead as they went in search of the red bloom.
A time later they had come upon the small red flower, Mulan plucked the flower looking at it closely.
"I'll have to crush the seeds." She said walking away from the group to find a suitable flat stone to crush the flower upon. The others looked around and sat down, it was to be a long wait; they may as well rest and be as comfortable as possible at least for a moment.
"Let me look at this cut whilst we have the time." Snow said sitting beside Rose gently pulling her sister's long hair away from the side of her face so she could see the wound more clearly.
"It's nothing Snow, really." Rose tried again to stop her sister's fussing.
"It's not nothing." Snow said checking the wound. Defeated Rose handed her the cloth Emma hand given her earlier and her water flask. Gently Snow cleaned away the dried blood and cleaned the wound.
"Well at least you won't need stitches." Snow quietly said as she lightly tapped at the cut.
"Your highness." Stephen quietly said from behind Snow, he held a small pouch over her shoulder. "For the wound." He explained looking to Rose, who smiled appreciatively.
"Please Stephen, call me Snow." Snow pleaded, she could never get used to being called 'highness' not after being a bandit for so long.
"Thank you highness but no, I can't do that." Stephen smiled bowing slightly as he left the sisters again. Snow sighed as she watched him walk off shaking her head slightly as she untied the small pouch revealing an ointment inside.
"What Snow?" Rose asked amused by her sister's reaction to her captain's response.
"Don't you ever get tired of being called 'your majesty' of 'my queen'?" Snow asked dabbing the tip of her middle finger in the ointment. Rose chuckled lightly.
"No, and that's not my ego." Rose quickly said. "It's about respect Snow."
"Your people, especially your closest confidants, can still respect you without using titles all the time Rose." Snow said about to put the ointment on Rose's cut. Rose moved slightly from Snow's hand.
"Wait. Stephen, which ointment is.. Ow!" Rose cried out as Snow continued to use the ointment ignoring her sister's protests.
"That one your majesty." Stephen replied smirking, Rose cast him an un-amused look.
"Snow, the titles they're not just marks of respect but pride, not mine but theirs." Rose explained nodding to Stephen. "It also represents the barrier between us. As queen there is a distance I must keep between my subjects and myself. Being on a first name basis with all of them, it makes the hard decisions, the life and death ones, that much harder to make. There are too many times when I must be subjective." Snow nodded understanding as she wiped her hands on the cloth wiping away the excess ointment.
"I could just never seem to get used to it." Snow admitted.
"You will." Rose smiled. "Thank you for tending to this." Rose said pointing to her cheek. Snow smiled to her sister.
"You're welcome, you're still such a baby when it comes to that though." Snow laughed slightly. "Thank you for protecting us." Snow said as she looked down to her hands. Rose tilted her head to her side watching Snow.
"You need never thank me for that Snow, I'll always look after you, Emma too. We'll get you home." Snow nodded appreciating her sister's confidence. "But Snow, about entering in to this Netherworld." Rose began finally showing Snow the young woman she remembered, Rose's concern betrayed her tough warrior queen façade. Snow placed her hands on Rose's arm, squeezing lightly.
"I'll be alright." Snow promised.
"The dust is ready." Mulan announced. Snow moved to stand when Rose quickly grabbed her. Snow looked to Rose seeing the worry she smiled warmly.
"Rose, it will be alright, I promise." Snow said gently prying herself away from Rose's grip.
"Be careful." Rose warned. Snow nodded as she moved away to a near by tree, sitting beside it Emma sat in front of her taking her mother's hand.
"I'll be right here." Emma said as Mulan came in front of Snow and blew the poppy dust in to her face. Within moments the dust took effect as Snow fell into a deep sleep.
