"Elizabeth?"
"What?"
"Can you come with me for a second?"
I got slightly nervous. When the Evil Queen asks you to come talk to her, it's usually not good. But I didn't want to wake anyone else.
"Um... sure."
We walked a little ways off from the group.
"So... you have magic."
"Yes. I'm the product of true love."
"Right. But do you know how to control it?"
"A little bit."
"Do you want me to teach you?"
"Regina, light and dark magic work differently."
"Magic is magic."
"No, it's not."
"Fine."
We went back to sleep. Well, she did. I stayed awake, thinking. I was pretty sure I hadn't heard the end of that. I didn't remember falling asleep, but I must have, because the next morning Bae was waking me.
...
"Elizabeth!"
"Yes, Bae?"
"Will you come with me to get food?"
"Sure."
I smiled. I got the distinct feeling that him asking me to come with him wasn't just about the food. We walked through the forest for a while. After about 5 minutes, he started to speak.
"So... you're my sister."
"Yes. And you're my brother."
"How long have you known?", he asked
"Since Pan told me that my mother was once married to Rumpelstiltskin."
"And... how long ago was that?"
"About 30 seconds before he told me he wanted me to convince Henry to give Pan his heart."
"But you didn't do it?"
"No. I tried to convince Henry not to, but failed."
"Why did you try?"
"Because I'm not a killer."
Just then, a strange noise came out of the jungle. I turned around. A giant beast stood in our path. I knew what it was. It was a very rare type of monster.
"What the hell is that?", asked Bae.
"Um... there's not really a word for it. Let's just call it "evil", and go from there.
"How do you kill it?"
"Um... you can't."
"What?!"
"Well, there's a curse on it. Whatever you do to it, happens to you, too. So we could kill it, but..."
"One of us would die", Bae finished.
"Precisely."
"There has to be another way."
"There is", I said, knowing what I had to do."I'll knock it unconscious."
"What! But then you'll -"
"Yes, I will. But I'll wake up."
"Elizabeth, don't!"
But it was too late. I'd already cast the spell.
...
When I woke up, my Papa was standing over me.
"Papa"
"Elizabeth"
"What did I miss?"
"Well, not much. Baelfire carried you back, and since then the only notable event was one of the dwarves falling down a hill. But Regina healed him, so... nothing important."
"Oh."
"Elizabeth, when have you faced those before?"
"I haven't. But I'd read all about them."
"When?"
"When I was with Charlotte. While we were running from Isabella."
"You left some things out of your story, didn't you."
"Well, Isabella and Charlie didn't really try to kill me for something as childish as stealing their friend."
"Then why?"
"They wanted to steal my life... my magic... and use it to take over the world."
"Well, they never will. I won't let them. I love you, Elizabeth."
"I love you too, Papa."
"I think someone else wants to see you."
He left the tent, and Baelfire entered.
"You heard all of that, didn't you?"
"Yes. They want you dead?"
"Not exactly. If I just die, my magic will be gone. They have to kill me for it to work."
"Shouldn't we tell the others?"
"I suppose."
So we did, tell everyone the truth.
It was Snow White who spoke first.
"Well, we can't let them!"
"Clearly", said Regina, "But they're probably dead."
"Actually... they're immortal."
"Really?"
"But... they're not here, right? You last saw them in the Land Without Magic", said Snow.
"Yeah, but... I think they could find me."
"Yes, Elizabeth. We can."
I turned around. And indeed, it was her.
"Isabella"
...
"We'll kill you", said Charlie, coming up behind her.
"No you won't", said my Papa and Bae at the same time.
"Who are you?", asked Isabella.
"They're my family", I said, "And you're not going to hurt them."
"Oh, we will. Remember your other family?"
She waved her hand, and a girl appeared, bound to a chair.
"Charlotte? But... how?"
"We kept her alive. So we could torture you, so you know you'll never save her."
"Oh, but I will."
"No, Elizabeth, you won't. There's no time. There's no time for anything."
"Actually", I said, "There's time enough to die."
I conjured a knife. My Papa saw what I was about to do, and he screamed, "Elizabeth, no!"
But I didn't listen. These people were my family, and I was going to protect them. I picked up the knife, and I stabbed myself through the heart.