Chapter 63

Coraline had gathered her black tunic and a black tabard. She wasn't waiting for Wilhelmina. She knew that Will would catch up to her or they would be meeting up in the stables. She was grabbing her sword belt when Emma came into the room.

Coraline saw the flash of blond hair, but she didn't stop getting ready to go. She picked up the sword that she'd had lying on the bed and sheathed it. Then she grabbed her black leather pouch and affixed it on the right side of the belt near her hip. It would be the only thing that would mark her as being part of the House of Swan. She was doing it on purpose. She needed to be able to take out George without any retaliation coming down on her family.

She wasn't going to need armor. Being the Dark One sometimes had its perks, immortality was one of them. It was also a curse, but she couldn't think about that right now. She needed to focus on getting to George and dealing with his threat.

"You have nothing to say to me?" Emma asked, finally breaking the silence and her thoughts.

"What would you have me say?"

"Anything!"

Coraline stopped dressing. She turned and faced her blond mother. She could see the pain in her bright green eyes and she knew that she was reason. Her left hand dropped to the hilt of her sword. She didn't mean to take such a stance, but she had something that she needed to be doing. She didn't have time to have talks and share emotions. There was a maniac king on the loose who wouldn't mind if they were all dead.

"I am sorry, but I can't do this right now," Coraline told her as she grabbed a cloak and headed to the door brushing passed Emma as she did.

"Stop!"

Coraline turned around and faced Emma. She didn't have a choice. The tattoo still worked even now. She gritted her teeth and waited for Emma to say something else.

"What game are you playing at, Coraline?" Emma asked her.

"I am not playing any game. I am going to defeat George and then when I get back, you can berate me or yell me or whatever it is that you want to do. Right now there is a threat to this family and I am not going to let it stand. I have witnessed and dealt with so much suffering. I am not going to let that little girl grow up to know my Hell. Why do you think l have done all of this? Why do you think I continue to fight for us?"

"I don't know. You wouldn't tell us anything until you had to because you needed our help. This is different. I know that...I remember that you are the Dark One, but you are still my daughter. I wouldn't want this life for you. I would do anything to keep you from having to fight our battles, but it seems that I don't get that luxury," Emma told her.

"No, Ma...you don't. That is my job now. I will protect the family. You and Mom take care of the kingdom and raising Remy and Henry right. I've got this," Coraline slated trying for the door again.

"Will you at least come back this time?" Emma asked, tears threatening to fall.

"I will always come back, Ma. No matter how many times I leave. I will always find my way home. I can't help it. I'm drawn to the love you and Mom share. I am made from it, remember? It calls to me," Coraline said truthfully.

Emma smiled, weakly, but she smiled. Coraline didn't know if it was enough, but it would have to be for the time being. She needed to go deal with George. This wasn't the time for pleasantries. This was war. George had brought it to her parents door step with the young messengers from Ulfland and Coraline was going to end it. It was what she had become built for: war and protection. This time, Emma let her go, moving just enough out of her way to let her out the door.

"You see that you come back to me," Emma said as Coraline kept walking down the corridor.

"Always, Ma, always," she said without thinking.

As she made her way out the castle, she fastened the cloak around her neck. It too was black and long. She wondered if she should even bother with it because of its length, but she decided that she could drape it over the horse if they needed it later. They were heading to the mountains of Ulfland. It would be cold and very inhospitable. She would need the extra layers to stay warm, even if it was only for comfort. She knew what it was like to fight in the cold and snow unprepared.

She found her way to the stables and her horse. She wasn't surprised to find it already saddled. She was surprised that Will wasn't there waiting for her. She shook her head.

There were too many emotions floating through her head when it came lo Will. It was distracting. She needed to clear her mind and focus on the task at hand. If she didn't, it could be dangerous. She grabbed and extra blanket or two, she wasn't sure, and threw them on the back of the horse. She grabbed the reins and started to pull it through the stables towards the castle's armory. She wanted more than a sword to go into battle with. Sure she had her magic, but sometimes steel spoke a lot louder. She hoped that this would be another one of those times.

She decided to focus on the clop, clop of the horse's shoes on the cobblestones as she walked through the courtyard of the castle. She could smell rain off in the distance. She could feel the love and peace that surrounded her parents and family. Then she saw her, the small blonde child that had taken her place. Remy was loved. She was only a little older than she had been when Charming and Henry had come into tell them that Emma has been destroyed lighting the Blackness. Seeing the look in her young, green eyes fortified Coraline's resolve even more. That child would not want for her parents. Ever. Neither would Danielle, Belle and Ruby's daughter. She would go Dark before that happened.

She tied the dark brown horse off outside the armory and walked inside. It wasn't very lit up and she didn't expect it to be. They hadn't had to fight a war in some time. The knights were all trained and ready but they hadn't had a confrontation in years. Coraline had ensured that with her becoming the Dark One. She grabbed a torch and lit it with her finger, seeing no sense in finding some flint.

She meandered down the corridors until she got to the sword room. She walked in and started staring at the racks upon racks of broad swords. As she looked at them, her hand automatically fell to her hilt. She gripped her sword tightly as she found a rack of shorter swords. She let go of her sword and grabbed me off the rack before her. She tested its weight and balance. She found a chuck of wood and hacked at it to test its metal. It would do. She grabbed another and sought out some scabbards for them. She grabbed two different types. Putting the two short swords in two of the mountable scabbards she walked back out to her horse.

She draped the scabbards in from of the saddle and secured it to the saddle. She wanted one on each side for each draw while she was mid-gallop if needed. They weren't going to be her main sword by any means. They were going to be there if she needed them and only if she needed them. She always lied to be prepared, overly prepared.

Her horse neighed and hoofed the ground. She finished tying off the scabbards and then pet his neck. She spoke softly and quietly, almost just above a whisper, to calm the edgy gelding.

She turned back and went back into the armory. As she entered, she heard hoof steps. She figured it was Will finally catching up to her. She didn't let that deter her. She made her way through the building again until she found the cavalry's room.

She didn't need her torch in this room. She walked around until she found a short spear. It was about nine feet in length, one of that being the lance's head. It would double as her guidon when she was done fighting. She reached over and found a rolled guidon flag. Grabbing the flag and the spear, she headed back out. She tucked the flag into a saddle bag.

Coraline didn't wait for Will to say anything as she mounted. She turned her horse to head for the main gate when she saw Will mounted, similarly dressed and armed, following her. She noticed that Will also had a quiver and a long bow. She nodded at her and continued towards the gate, raising her lance to the sky. Will did the same catching up to her side.

As they neared the gate, she saw Regina and Emma, with Belle, waiting for them. She could see the worry in Belle's eyes. It was in that moment that she wished that she hadn't given Belle the power to remember who she was. It seemed to be painful for the woman that she loved like a mother and sister, more than she ever was an aunt to her.

Regina walked up to her first. She put a bag of food around the saddle horn. She reached up and took Coraline's hand, holding it, giving her a silent wish to be safe. Coraline nodded at her as Emma came up and put some wine skins around the saddle horn on the other side. She patted Coraline's leg. Their eyes met and held. She understood that Emma didn't like showing emotion, much like she didn't, but it was her silent way of telling her that she loved her. Coraline reached down and put her gloved hand over Emma's, acknowledging their bond. Belle walked up last. She handed Coraline some rolled maps and a journal. She also gave her one of Ruby's charms, so she would feel close to her foster mothers.

"Merci," she stated to Belle, knowing only Belle would understand.

"Be careful, little one and come home to us. I know that you are still battling the Darkness inside you. I can feel it coursing through you. I don't care what happens, Coraline. You come home to us. We are your family. We can help you passed this. You've battled it too long on your own," Belle told her.

She shifted in the saddle. She looked over at Regina and Emma. She nodded at them as she started to slowly trot out of the castle grounds. She heard Will right behind her. She wasn't surprised to see them following them out the gate when she turned around to wave at them.

She felt her heart lurch at the sight. She could see the tears in Regina and Belle's eyes. She knew that it was tearing up Emma and Ruby inside, but they were both too proud to cry about it in public. She knew that they would wait until they were behind closed doors. Coraline understood both sides. She was the perfect mash-up of them all.

Will raised her lance so the head was in the air and the ferrule point was rest on her armored boot. Coraline matched her movements. They dipped their lances in salute and rode away.

For Coraline, it was bittersweet. The last time that she saw any one leave that gate it was Emma going out to fight the Blackness. Later that week, Charming, Regina and Henry went through it to their deaths. It was the same clay that Coraline, Belle and Ruby went running through the catacombs to survive. There wasn't much else she remembered about that day, but she was determined that no one else in her family was going to ride through that gate to their deaths. She would battle for them. Now, she was the one going out to face the threat.

She let her shoulders drop as they rode onward towards the edge of the kingdom. She knew that the boarder to Ulfland wasn't more than a day's ride away from the castle. She wondered if what she would do once she crossed the border. It was a harsh land full of Wolves and other dark creatures. Coraline wasn't afraid; she was just surprised that George has set up camp there. But, then after seeing her mothers' and her grandparents' lands, she knew that no one with a right mind would have taken George in after Charming and Snow had recaptured the realm.

"Are you going to talk at all?" Will asked her.

"What would you have me say?" Coraline questioned, turning to face her as they continued to trot through the dense forest.

"I don't know. There is a history between us that I don't know. You've returned the memories to everyone it seems, but me. Is there a reason for that?"

"No," Coraline lied.

"See, the thing is that I don't believe you. I knew that there was something about you that was too familiar before you pulled that stunt with Regina. But, I think that there is more to it that you aren't tell me. What happened in Storybrooke between us?" Will demanded.

"That doesn't matter right now. If you want to talk about it, we can talk after we take care of George. My family is the only thing that I care about right now. My happiness or whatever isn't important. No one really knows what I've been through and thank the gods for that. Do you even know where we are right now?" Coraline replied.

"Yeah, I do."

"Then, that is all you need to know," Coraline told her cutting off any further conversation.

She didn't want to be cruel. She didn't want to think about being alone with Will. She knew exactly why Regina had sent Will with her. She shook her head at the thought. Her mother was just trying to help Coraline. She was giving her companionship with the one person that she knew could possibly keep her in line…her True Love. The problem with that was that Coraline had been specific to Belle about who got the antidote and Will was not among them. She had her own personal reasons for it and one was being this mission. She knew what she was going to ask of Regina earlier that afternoon in the throne room. She'd known as soon as she knew that the children, the messengers from Ulfland, had arrived with their horrible tale and missing tongue. She wanted George's head on a platter and she wasn't going to stop until she had it.

Will would try to stop her. Regina knew. Emma knew it. Belle and Red knew it. Will would be a distraction. They'd planned it that way as soon as Belle saw the murderous look in her eyes. Coraline realized that in that moment she'd underestimated the friendship between her mother and the Bookworm. Belle hadn't completely sold her out. She'd just made sure that she wasn't alone. Will would be her conscience, something Belle knew that she might be lacking being the Dark One. She was also someone that could temper her anger.

Belle had tried arguing with her about the potion, but she'd stayed firm and even let it slip that if Will took it, she'd leave without her. Hours, they had hours and they still found a way to put them together. It might be destiny or fate or just the simple fact that they were each other's True Love, but there seemed be a push from her family in that direction, too. What was she missing?

"We should find a place to stay before it gets too dark," Will said breaking her thoughts.

"Scared of the dark, Vulcannonian?" Coraline quipped.

"No, Dark One, I am not."

Coraline's head whipped around to face the warrior princess. The fierce look in her blue eyes almost dared Coraline to say something in return, but Coraline was at a loss for words. How the Hell could Wilhelmina know that she was the Dark One?

"Don't fret. They didn't give me the potion. They are afraid for you, of you and what you'll possibly do. They told me enough though, but obviously it wasn't all of it."

Coraline shook her head at the explanation. Of course they would have told Will that she was the Dark One and their daughter. They wanted her to be prepared for the darkness that might come from her, a darkness that she had spent lifetimes learning to control. Immortality could be a royal bitch sometimes, but others it played right into her hands.

"So you know who I am, so what?" Coraline replied, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole ordeal and failing miserably.

She should have known that Will would still feel the connection. She should have seen it in her bright cobalt eyes hours ago when they left the castle, but she had chosen not to see it. She'd chosen not to believe it, because believing that Will could somehow still love her even though she was the Dark One could melt her frozen heart. She'd hid her emotions. She learned to not feel because it was easier and it didn't hurt as much.

Days…hours…that was all it took for her parents to make her open up again. And now with Will, she knew that soon her magic would be unpredictable and wild. Sure they had done everything that they could on the night of their hand fasting, but it wasn't enough to cure her completely. The Darkness still raged inside her and she still had to make that choice every morning when she woke. She still wondered if today would be the day that she finally succumb to the richness and ripeness of the great evil that was in her, or if Love would help her temper the Darkness raging within. She never knew and that was her internal struggle. She could never let them know about the absolute pain she went through, the mental anguish and fights that she dealt with in every situation, the want to destroy and the desire to build, to wonder if the passion she felt was good or bad, destructive or supportive, and to see the world in a bleak gray while never knowing if the black and white her mind fought was the absolution she was looking for.

No, she couldn't dwell on that. She had to move on. It was the only way to survive. She was the Survivor. She'd survived this long on her own and she could do again. Sure it was lonely, but at least she hadn't lain waste to entire worlds. It was safer.

Coraline stopped short. She hadn't realized how far they had ridden. She looked around the desolate landscape. It was an obvious change from the lands of the Winterlands and Summerlands. The vegetation was almost nonexistent and rocky terrain just added to its mystic and horror. But, Coraline knew what the rest of her family didn't.

"What is it?" Will asked pulling up beside her as she watched Coraline dismount and walk ahead of her horse.

Coraline didn't answer. Instead, she knelt down to the ground and ran her hand over the rocky soil. She could feel the earth's heat below her hand, but that wasn't what she was looking for. She could sense how close they were to George's camp and his men. She knew what was waiting for her just of the ridgeline.

"There," she pointed to a break between some crags.

"What about it?"

"That is where we are going," Coraline told her as she mounted her horse and turned in that direction, not waiting for Will to comment on the idea.

The silence between them wasn't as deafening as the silence that was surrounding them. She knew that Will wanted to talk, but she could tell that her military training had taken over her bearing. Coraline was thankful for that as they made their way through the pass. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was glad that Will was there with her.

She knew that George had been moving steadily south since he sent word to the palace. He wanted Regina to meet him on the battlefield. He wanted to humiliate her. But, he didn't know about Coraline. Hell, she was sure that he didn't know about Red going to spy on him or even that Regina had a live Vulcannonian in her ranks. The more Coraline thought about the vicious and stupid man that they were going to fight, the two of them against his army; the more she realized that he hadn't been thinking when he started this campaign. He hadn't done his homework. She was sure that he would have planned something against the Summerlands at the same time that he was attacking Regina, but they had gotten no word from Snow.

She conjured two raven, quickly scrawled a message for both and then poofed them closer to their destinations. She needed to make sure that they were still safe. That somehow George hadn't done this as a ploy to draw them out and leave them defenseless.

"You don't need to worry. I sent word to Snow before we left. I ordered the men to be suited and stationed. Emma closed the gates after we left. The people are inside and safe. They've taken precautions just in case George came around us. I didn't leave them without protection, Ser French. I know my duties to the family and to the Queen," Will told her.

"That may all be well and good, but we still haven't received word from Snow."

She just nodded her head as one of the ravens appeared near me. I took the missive and waved the raven away. Regina assured me that they were safe and that all necessary precautions had been taken at the advice of Wilhelmina as soon as we'd left. Emma had seen to it personally. It was enough to calm her for a while, but she was still worried about Snow and Charming. The other raven appeared twenty minutes later. It gave her the same report as Regina's, but it was in Snow's flowing script. They were safe. They were all safe and George had no idea what was coming for him. A small, secret smile graced her face as she continued her journey through the pass, pushing her horse just enough to keep the rocks from sliding too much beneath them.

The other secret about Ulfland was the lush and dense forests that lay beyond the desolate mountains and crags that made up the kingdom's border. Coraline had scoured every inch of it with her Aunt Red after the Blackness had taken everything else from them. Living in the Dark Kingdom, Rumple's lands, gave them enough time to hide thanks to Rumple's magic, but it also made them restless. When they decided to push through the crags, they were both surprised to see the former dens of the Wolves that had lived there. Coraline just hoped that she was right and that she could convince them to follow her against George. Two against an army just didn't seem fair, for either side, and Coraline more or less wanted to make a statement.

Three hours later when she heard Will's gasp as they were coming out of the range and into a dense forest, she knew that they were close to not only George, but the Wolves' den. She dismounted. She looked around the area until she saw a small disturbance. She handed Will her reins and then walked over to it. Drawing her sword, she thrust it into the disturbed earth and knelt behind it. She then threw her arms out to her sides, palms up, and waited.

"Who are you?" a growl came from the woods. "You smell like one of us, but you aren't. Who are you? What business do you have with the Ulf?"

"I am the pup of Red, the Queen's favorite and your lost sister!" Coraline yelled back.

"Red has no kin, besides her Granny," the voice replied.

"She does. That night behind me is her cousin and a Vulcannonian. She can faze, but I am three quarters human. The wolf didn't take with me. I cannot turn without the aid of magic, which I do possess," Coraline stated.

"What do you want, Hairless Pup?" the voice demanded.

"To talk."

"Then talk," the voice stated as a dark tan man with bright golden eyes walked into the clearing.

"There is a man who has brought an army through the lands of the Ulf. He is not Ulf, nor does he have permission to be here. He sent two Ulf's to Regina, one without a tongue to give her a message," Coraline told him.

"And, what was it, Hairless Pup?"

"To surrender to him all her lands and declare him her King," Coraline answer.

"I take it that the good Queen Regina refused," the wolf-man stated.

"She did."

"And, you are her refusal?"

"I am."

"Then what does my Queen need with us?" he asked her bowing to her like one would to emissary for a foreign leader.

"I am Ser Coraline Danielle French, daughter of Little Red, daughter of Hoodwin the Elder of Ulf, friend to all Ulf and knight to the Swan Kingdoms. On behalf of Queen Regina, Queen Emma, and Queen Snow, I beseech your help in defeating the wannabe usurper, King George. He is already trespassing on your lands. He had already destroyed the border town of Faolan."

"What would you like us to do?" he questioned as more Wolves came from the forest.

"Will you run with us? Fight beside us? We are taking the fight to him. The Queens of the Swan Kingdoms will reward you handsomely if you do," Coraline offered.

"What? What will the Swan Queens give us? All humans just want our lands, our hunting grounds. What will they give us?"

"I will see to it that she names Little Red your queen. She will protect these lands like she outlawed the hunting of Wolves in her kingdom many years ago, when Hoodwin was still alive. You will not have to live in fear of persecution or death. Red will see to it," she told them.

"And what would we want with a Wolf killer as our Queen?" he asked.

"She is my Alpha!" Will bellowed the declaration as she dismounted.

The golden eyes of the wolf-man followed her. He could smell the Wolf in her. It was faint but it was there. He knew that she didn't turn like they did because of her Vulcannonian blood. She wasn't subject to the moon and Wolf's time. She could freely faze like Brannonulf of old.

"We will follow you, then," he said bowing his head.

"Wolves…" Coraline muttered as she grabbed her sword, sheathed, and mounted her horse.

"Why?" Will asked him as more and more Wolves poured out of the forest behind the horses.

"Because you are from the Brannonulf and Red is your Alpha," he replied like it answered everything that Will wanted to know.

Once they were far enough away and back on the trail of George, Coraline pulled up short to allow Will to catch up. Will had been thinking ever sense they got the Wolves to join them. With the order to flank George in every direction, the Wolves had run off to find his hidden camp, leaving the golden-eyed tawny wolf-man with them as they rode onward.

"What is it?" Will asked her again as she neared.

"Do you know what the Brannonulf are?"

"No."

"Wolf royalty…like Vulcannonian they have a strange mating practice. Pure bloods generally mate with pure bloods and it is for life. But the Brannonulf can mate with whomever they wish and the pack can't question it. They are the original Alphas of the Ulf. You and Ruby are both descendants of that bloodline. As soon as you declared that Red was your Alpha, they had no choice but to obey. Their inner Wolf wouldn't let them disobey."

"So, they'll follow me?"

"Like a private Army any time you ask or if Red commands it," Coraline told her.

"You knew that they were here, didn't you?"

"Red and I found them hiding when I was younger. I hoped that all the stories and legends that they told me were true and that they were still in their dens. The Ulf are more pure blooded than you or Red, but if a Brannonulf comes back…." Coraline started.

"They have to obey their Alphas," Will finished when she realized what Coraline had done.

"The different clans of Wolf will join swear allegiance to the Swan Queens if Red desires it. From what I understand, you two are the last of the Brannonulf lines that are still alive. If Regina names Red their Queen, they will have the entire backing of the Swan Kingdoms to help them and they in turn will help the Swan Kingdoms. We have just made an ally for life. As long as Red has a pup that can faze, they will have an Alpha of Brannonulf blood."

"But, Belle…."

"Has enough magic to produce a pup when they want. It is just up to them to do it. Besides with Regina's laws against hunting Wolves, the Ulf will stand with us regardless. Giving them their autonomy within the federation of the Swan Kingdoms will allow them to thrive without fear."

"Why would they need that?"

"We need each other," Coraline told her, ending the conversation.

She pulled ahead. Will stopped and watched her ride away, realizing that the closer they were getting to George the more agitated that Coraline was becoming. She knew that Coraline was right to ask for help. She may not know what happened completely to the "newest" offspring, but she knew that whatever Coraline was planning it was something big and it was something that she felt was needed in order to ensure the survival of the Swan Kingdoms. She would back her play for now, but she would have a serious discussion with Regina about it later.

Coraline looked up to the sky and saw the twilight falling. She knew that they were nearing the encampment that George had made. She wondered if the Wolves would attack tonight if she ordered it, but Coraline didn't want to waste the night. She wanted to plan and attack in the morning. She wanted to see him when she killed him.

She knew that the Darkness was going to win in this instance. She wasn't going to stop it. She was going to unleash Hell on the man that had threatened her family and done so much to them over the years. She was going to end him. And, when she was done, she would present his head to her mothers as sign that she had completed her mission.

She could feel the anger building. She could feel her hatred burning. And, for once she didn't care. She knew that with this one single act she would be destroying over three hundred fifty years of soul searching. She saw it as an ends to a means. It was necessary in her eyes in order to protect her family. She no longer saw herself as the fabled Survivor. No, she was the Protector. She would do whatever it took to keep them alive and happy. She would make that sacrifice, if only to ensure that Remy grew up loved and with her mothers.

She knew that her life was over as soon as she saw the young dark-haired child with green eyes. She'd effectively changed her entire fate. No longer was the brown-eyed daughter of the queens whose hair would turn blond the longer it got. No, Coraline's timeline no longer existed and no Remy was in her place. She wasn't bitter about it. She was happy because she knew that Remy wouldn't grow up to be her. She'd stopped it. She'd given up her heart, her life, and accepted the Darkness in order to do it. And, she'd gladly do it again.

The golden-eyed wolf-man trotted out of the wood line and up to her as she knelt by a hole she didn't remember digging. He dropped some wood in it and she lit it like they has discussed building the fire. She looked into his eyes but saw nothing. She looked across the fire to where Will was sitting, watching her. She watched as the fledging fire's flames moved causing shadows to dance across her face. When her eyes locked on the cerulean blue orbs of Wilhelmina, Coraline felt her throat constrict and her heart beat harder. When she gazed into the depths of Will's eyes, she saw everything and anything all at once. She knew that Will might not understand it, but she did. She knew what that look meant and what it would give her, but she no longer felt like she was worthy of such.

Barely audible and just above a whisper, Coraline told her, "I release you."

The light that had been shining behind Will's eyes faded, but her gaze didn't break. Coraline knew that her heart would be broken again once this venture was over. And it was in that thought that she realized why she was the Survivor. She was never meant to have her family or a happy ending. She was meant to be always struggling to find it. It wasn't a punishment that she was handed. It was what the powers that be decided she would have. No matter how much she rebelled against, no matter how much she tried to change it, and no matter how many times she went back to fix things, she would always end up leaving.

She stood up and headed into the woods. The golden-eyed wolf-man followed her. There was nothing said between them. There didn't need to be. This wasn't something that they were both seeking to continue past the morning light. This was just an expulsion of rage and passion. This wasn't love. It was sex, but it was more than that. It was just purely fucking and she was okay with that. She didn't love him. She couldn't. Her heart would always belong to Will.

Will watched them go. She could guess what was going to be happening just outside their little camp, but wat she couldn't explain was why it hurt her so much. Every time she'd looked into Coraline's eyes since they left the castle, she saw something new. The longer they were together the more she felt this odd connection to her. She was drawn to her. It was almost like a physical need that she couldn't explain and for the life her, all she wanted to do was kiss her. Well that was until Coraline had mumbled something from the other side of the fire and went off with the wolf. She felt like her hear was breaking and she didn't know why.

Coraline was only gone for a few minutes before she returned, clothes disheveled and hair mussed up. Will felt her heart drop again, but there was no pain this time. The longing had started to subside and want to be near her was dissipating. Or, so she thought that it was until Coraline came over to sit beside her to go over the plan for the morning. When Coraline sat on the stump near her, Will could swear that she could hear her heart beat in time with Coraline's.

"Feel better?" she asked her.

"Somewhat."

"What did you say to me earlier?"

"When?"

"Before your rendezvous," Will stated.

"It isn't important."

"It must be," Will told her.

"Why?"

"Because you won't say it again. To me that means that it was important, but also secret. What is it about us that you don't want me to remember?"

"I release you," Coraline stated, feeling the magic flow from her body and into Will's this time.

"Release me from what?"

"Your bond to me…"