Chapter 19: The Beginning

Darkness had settled on Storybrook; it had been hours since Emma had crossed the town line with Rumplestiltskin to help him find his son, and the time had finally come for The Queen and her daughter to return to the Enchanted Forest. Regina grabbed two apples from the bowl on the counter and tucked them into the bag that was slung over her shoulder. Food, water, and shelter would be their first priorities when they arrived. She gently ran her hand accross the smooth granite and looked around at her beautiful kitchen one last time; she was really going to miss the conveniences of this world. That and the clothing. Because they would be in hiding, Regina had conjured some simple skirts and blouses for the two of them to wear; they couldn't risk drawing attention to themselves with clothes from this world. But for a queen who had never worn a garment so plain, it was surprisingly uncomfortable.

Lillian, on the other hand, felt quite natural in her old world clothing. She was in her room packing a few more things into her bag while Snow sat next to her on the bed. The sisters hadn't said much but had been content to just be together for a little while longer. Finished packing Lillian sat down next to Snow and rested her head on her shoulder. Snow leaned her head against her sister's and took her by the hand as she spoke gently, "I have something I want to give you."

She reached into her pocket and withdrew a small trinket. Lillian examined it; it was a silver star with a small green gem set in the center which hung from a small metal circle. It looked like a charm or decorative pendant of some kind.

"It's beautiful," Lillian replied. "What is it?"

Snow unfastened the clasp of Lillian's necklace and slipped the star onto the chain before doing the clasp again. The star slid down the chain and rested against the locket which she always wore. "It belonged to our father. I found it in Mr. Gold's shop a couple of months ago. It was a medal he received for bravery in battle and was given to him by his father King Rupert."

Lillian held the star in her hand and looked up at her sister. "I can't take this. It's not right, it belongs to you."

Snow shook her head, "I want you to have it. You should have something to remind you of me and father."

"But what about you? You need something to remember him too."

"I do remember him. I have my memories to hold on to, and I truly cherish them. This will help you remember who you are: a princess."

Lillian's eyes widened at the sound of that but she quickly shrugged it off. "I'm not really a princess Snow, not like you."

"Lillian, you were born to a King and Queen; that makes you a princess! And once we get everything settled back in the Enchanted Forest, you will have the chance to really be one."

Lillian looked down at the star again and thought about what her sister said. Snow was a confident, commanding leader; much more suited to the life of a monarch. She felt nervous at the idea of people watching her, and looking to her for leadership. Maybe I can be one of those princesses no one remembers, she thought. People would say, "Oh yeah, that's Snow White's sister. What's her name again? " She was perfectly content to let Snow be in the limelight, but she didn't want to hurt her feelings. "That will be amazing," she said, trying to sound excited.

"Lillian, it's time, " Regina called from downstairs.

The sisters locked eyes, knowing that the time had come for them to say goodbye. Snow gave a brave little half smile and nodded toward the door. As the family silently gathered in the foyer Regina took her daughter by the hand and they all filed out the door into the night. Even though Rumplestiltskin was gone they had decided to still use caution in getting Lillian and Regina out of Storybrook, in case he had instructed someone to follow them or spy on them in his absence. Accordingly, they traveled on foot to the cemetery, avoiding the main roads to stay out of sight.

As they neared the Mills mausoleum David scanned the area thoroughly before signaling that it was safe for the others to move into the open. As they approached the doors there was a rustling sound from the bushes on the left. David quickly put himself in front of the others and drew his gun, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A hooded figure rose from a crouch in the bushes but did not speak. David cocked the gun preparing to fire if necessary when Regina rushed forward and put herself between them. "No, don't shoot!"

David removed his finger from the trigger but did not lower the weapon. "Regina?"

"It's ok, she's a friend." She turned slightly to encourage the woman to come forward; as she did she removed her hood. It was Marie.

"Marie! What are you doing here? "Lillian came forward to greet her adopted mother and noticed that she was carrying a bag and wearing old world clothing.

"She's coming with us, " Regina said happily.

Lillian looked to Marie for confirmation; the older woman nodded in agreement which brought a huge grin to the girl's face. "Really? "

"She means so much to both of us; we couldn't leave her behind at the mercy of Rumplestiltskin," Regina explained.

Lillian was so happy that Marie would be coming with them, and that Regina had thought to protect her; it meant the world to her. She looked into her mother's eyes, full of affection and love, and sincerely thanked her.

"You're welcome," Regina replied gently.

The group moved into the mausoleum and made their way down to where the portal was hidden. As they all gathered around and prepared to send half of them to another world, the reality of the situation hit hard. No one knew what to say. Tears began to form and hearts began to break. Regina ended the silence by bringing her children close to her and asking them to hold the jewelry she gave them in their hands. Lillian and Henry did as she asked, not knowing why. Regina removed her own necklace and held it out so that all three pieces were close together. She closed her eyes and passed her hand over the jewelry slowly; as she did a soft golden light began to shine from them.

Everyone's eyes widened as they beheld the transformation that had taken place. Henry looked to his mother for an explanation.

"They are enchanted now. Anytime all three are near each other they will glow." She paused. When she spoke again her voice was thick with emotion, "They will help us find each other." A single tear rolled down Henry's cheek which Regina wiped away with her thumb as she held his face in her hands. "I love you Henry, and we will be together again soon. I promise." She spoke very seriously, sounding absolutely confident that it would be so. Lillian put her hand on his shoulder, her face echoing their mother's words. Henry nodded and hugged his mother and then sister, certain that he would join them soon.

Mother and daughter said the rest of their goodbyes and stood hand-in-hand in front of the portal. Lillian looked back again at her sister, Snow White, who was smiling encouragingly through her tears. She gave a sad little half smile in return and took Marie by the hand as well. The older woman gave her hand a little squeeze to comfort her. Regina nodded, and together the three women jumped into the portal.

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Henry rested his head and arms on Snow's counter while he thought about Regina and Lillian. He wondered how they were doing, if they were safe and wished desperately that he could be in the Enchanted Forest with them. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and spun it around on one of his fingers. He had checked at least a dozen times in the last 2 days to see if it was glowing like it had in the vault, indicating that his mother and sister were close. Once again he was disappointed to find that it wasn't.

Snow stood at the sink cutting strawberries and watching her grandson. She couldn't blame him for checking the ring again because she had been staring at her cell phone all day, waiting for word from Emma. She was also missing her sister terribly.

David walked into the room and noticed the way his wife and grandson were moping. He decided he needed to do something to get their minds off of their worries. "Henry, why don't we head over to the stables and go for a ride? We haven't been for a while. " Henry merely shrugged his shoulders.

Strike one. Still determined, he turned to Snow. "We could take the bows out into the woods and do a little target practice?" He smiled encouragingly, "What do you say?"

Snow shook her head and picked up another strawberry, "The reception is bad in the forest, I don't want to be out there if Emma tries to call."

David nodded, accepting her excuse. Strike two. Undeterred he pressed on, "I know you guys are worried, we all are, but everything is going to be fine. Emma will be home soon and we'll be in the Enchanted Forest in a couple of weeks." His words did little to raise their spirits. "We should get out, do something to get your minds off everything." They didn't budge. Strike three. David sighed, surrendering for the time being, and grabbed an orange out of the bowl on the counter. He sat down next to Henry and started peeling it when Snow's phone buzzed next to the sink.

Without hesitation she dropped the knife and strawberry she was holding and answered the phone before the second ring was done. "Emma?" She didn't even check the caller id to see if it really was her daughter before she spoke.

Emma's voice on the other line was a huge relief. "Yeah, it's me."

"How are you? Is everything ok? How much longer can you stall Gold?" Snow was anxious for an update.

"Listen," Emma's voice was very serious and she sounded a little out of breath. "I am at the airport in New York to catch a flight home. I need you guys to be ready to go when I get there in a few hours."

Snow was caught off guard. This wasn't what they had discussed; she didn't understand why Emma was deviating from the plan. "Go to the Enchanted Forest, now? Why what happened?" David and Henry looked at each other curiously.

"I can't go into everything right now, " Emma explained, "but Gold has found his son and it's not safe for us to wait any longer. We've got to get out of there as soon as possible."

Now Snow was really worried. "But you were able to get away. Are you ok? Did Gold try to hurt you?" Her question made David stand up so fast he knocked his stool over. Was his daughter in danger?

Snow laid the phone on the counter and turned the speaker on so they could all hear. "I'm fine," Emma assured them. "I slipped out while he was distracted but I'm sure he knows I'm gone. They could be right behind me, that's why we've got to move fast."

"Alright, we'll be ready," David promised.

"Be careful, " Snow added.

"I will. Henry?"

"Yeah?" His voice was quite and a little shaky.

"It's gonna be ok. Alright? "

Henry took a deep breath, letting her words sink in. "Ok."

"I'll see you soon, " Emma promised before hanging up.

David and Snow looked at each other for a long moment. He nodded once and without a word they went to work gathering the provisions they had prepared the day before just in case things happened faster than they had planned. Even Henry knew his assignment and got moving. Within five minutes they had everything they needed: they had changed into old world clothing, grabbed their satchels filled with food and other essentials and armed themselves.

They left the apartment and headed to Granny's to let the town know that plans had changed; everyone needed to be ready to go as soon as possible. They knew they couldn't expect that many people to be able to get packed and out of Storybrook in just a few hours, and truthfully not everyone wanted to come. But as the leaders of the community Snow and Charming felt obligated to make everyone aware of the danger they faced if they chose to stay and help as many return to the Enchanted Forest as wanted to.

The new plan was this: as soon as Emma got to town the Charmings would flee , while Granny, Red and the dwarves stayed behind and helped everyone else. They would have one week to come through the portal before it would be destroyed. There would be no returning to Storybrook and hopefully Rumplestiltskin would be trapped there. It was a bold plan, but they felt there was no other choice; as long as the portal remained open there was the chance that Rumple could get through and they had to do whatever it took to protect Lillian.

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After four days of traveling through the Enchanted Forest without stopping much, Regina, Lillian and Marie finally felt it was safe for them to rest. While Marie slept Lillian and Regina went to collect firewood. The Queen was exhausted; this had proven to be more challenging than she had expected, but she pushed herself on for her daughter. Being with Lillian had been a joy, and she could feel their bond growing stronger. It was also wonderful to have Marie with them; Regina was amazed at how resilient the older woman seemed to be.

She spent a lot of time thinking about Henry and hoping that they would be reunited soon; her heart ached being separated from him. As she bent down to pick up another small log her necklace swung down into view and she noticed that it seemed to be glowing faintly. Regina quickly stood up and examined it, perhaps she had imagined it. No! It is glowing, she thought.That could only mean one thing, "Henry!"

She dropped the wood she had collected and started running back toward the camp site to find Lillian.

"Mother! " Lillian had seen it too. She ran to Regina, their matching smiles beaming. "They're here! "

Regina nodded excitedly, "Let's go find them!"

Holding their necklaces out in front of them like compasses they set out to find their family. As they got closer the necklaces glowed brighter and brighter until they were sure they must be right on top of them.

Lillian scanned the forest around them, looking for any sign of them. "I don't see anything, do you?"

"Nothing," Regina conceded. "Henry," she called as she continued searching.

Lillian started calling out for them as well, "Snow! Henry!"

They kept searching and calling, waiting for some sign of them. Regina was about to start fearing the worst when they heard someone shout faintly. They couldn't hear what was shouted but they started making their way toward where the sound had come from. They heard it again, but this time they distinctly heard someone shout, "Mom!"

Happy tears stung Regina' s eyes. She recognized that voice.

Another familiar voice called out, "Lillian!"

The girl laughed happily and called back, "Snow! Over here!"

The two groups pressed forward, closing the gap between them. At last Regina saw her son's smiling face racing toward her. She ran to him and scooped him up into a hug. Lillian was right behind her and ran to embrace Snow. Happy greetings were exchanged all around; even Emma and Regina seemed pleased to see each other.

"You found us," Lillian said, her smile as big as ever.

"Did you ever doubt we would," Snow teased.

Lillian didn't have to think about her answer, "Not even for a minute."

Regina couldn't remember ever feeling this happy. They had done it. They had escaped to the Enchanted Forest and were all together. She pulled Henry closer, never wanting to let go again.

"So, what do we do now," he asked.

David responded thoughtfully, "We rebuild the kingdom."

That sounded like a big job to Emma. "How are we going to do that?"

Snow gave her prince a playful smile and looked around the group at each person. "The same way we shall do everything. Together, as a family."

The End

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Author's note: Thank you so much for reading my story, I hope you enjoyed it! I want to specially thank everyone who chose to follow this story and to those who left reviews. Thank you for your support and feedback, and just thank you for paying any attention at all to something I wrote. I am excited to share that there will be a SEQUEL to this story entitled "Wicked Intentions"! This story will follow the Charming/Mills family on their new adventures in the Enchanted Forest. I hope that you will all be on the lookout for it and check it out when it is posted. Just to get you excited about this new story, I am going to give you a sneak peek from the first chapter :) Enjoy!

Regina struggled under the weight of the two buckets full of water which hung from a long stick resting on her shoulders. The well was in the center of the village and she really didn't want to fall on her face in front of so many people. She adjusted the stick and continued on her way when suddenly she ran right into a man causing him to drop a bucket full of milk he had brought to sell at the market.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir," Regina felt terrible.

The man couldn't believe what had happened. "You stupid wench! That was two full gallons!"

Regina knew she had made a mistake but she was insulted at the man's rudeness. "I apologize, it was an accident. I'd be happy to pay you for your loss."

"You probably did it on purpose, just to humiliate me you murderous witch!"

Regina was shocked at his accusation. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing! Here I am apologizing to you when it very well could have been your fault. Just take the money and be on your way." She tossed some coins at him and turned to leave when he blocked her path. He was easily a foot taller than she and tried to use that to intimidate her. It didn't work. "Out of my way, or you will be sorry."

The man didn't budge. "You're not the queen anymore. I don't have to do as you say!"

"No," a voice from the surrounding crowd called out, "but she is my mother, and you WILL do as I say."

The man searched the crowd for the person who had spoken. When he saw who it was he fell to his knees and bowed his head. "Princess Lillian! I had no idea. Please, I meant no disrespect."

Lillian slowly made her way toward him. "Of course you did, you foul pig!" She stopped in front of him. "And now you will pay."

The man started whimpering and begging, "Please...No! Please, have mercy. Forgive me!"

"You want forgiveness?!" A cold laugh came from her throat as she pulled the man to his feet by his shirt. "I'll tell you what, how about I show you the same forgiveness you were willing to show my mother?" His eyes widened with fear and he let out a horrifying scream as Lillian reached into his chest, tore out his heart and crushed it to dust.