Chapter Three Lady of the Lake
Cora tends to Mary Margaret while Ellie watched from behind her. Ellie didn't trust Cora, if she was here in this dungeon, then she must be here for a good reason. She frowned, her and Mary Margaret were accused of killing some guy that neither one of them had heard of. Actually, Ellie didn't even think that she heard the guy's name.
"You sure she's going to be okay?" Ellie asked after a few moments of silence, having a mental conversation with yourself tends to give yourself a headache.
"Don't worry. She'll be fine." Cora assured. Ellie, out of habit, checked that she still had her small handgun on her. It was in a sheath attached to her thigh, and Ellie remembered when Emma gave it to her. She couldn't stop laughing about the idea of her, the petite painter/dancer, acting like Emma, the big badass cop.
Ellie sighed, thinking about Emma hurt. No matter what it was about, and adding the fact that now Ellie might not ever see her family again.
"What is this place? Where are we?" Ellie asked, pushing all thoughts of her family in Storybrooke to the back of her head. For now, it was the best thing to do.
"It's a little island our captors like to think of as their haven." Cora answered.
"Haven? From what?" Ellie asked, and took a glance up at the sky. Nothing looked like it was flying down and attacking people. Maybe this place really was a 'haven', everywhere else that Ellie had seen looked terrible. Must be a side effect of the curse that Regina cast.
"The world's dangerous. What's left of it, anyway."
"Well, they can't keep us down here. We didn't do anything." Ellie defended, starting to pace. A part of her was tempted to pick up a stick and start drawing on the dirt. Honestly, she wanted to do something that would take her mind off the current situation that they were in. It didn't help that they were on an island that Ellie had been drawing not weeks ago.
"Neither did I." Ellie looked over at Cora, times like this is when she really wished her sister were here. No matter how much it hurt to think of her sister, she knew that if Emma were here then she would be able to tell if Cora was lying or not.
"Then why are you here?" Ellie asked, stopping her pacing to actually look at the woman. Cora sighed.
"I'm here because of something my daughter did. The curse that ravaged this land? She cast it." Ellie's eyes went wide. This woman was Regina's mother!? She was Mary Margaret's grandmother?! She…oh, she was related to Emma and Ellie. Good Lord, this was making her head hurt even more.
"Regina. You're Regina's mother?" Ellie asked for clarification, hoping that it would stop her headache.
"Yes. But you have nothing to fear from me. The apple fell very far from the tree. You're from over there, aren't you? How'd you get back?" Mary Margret slowly starts to stir and Ellie gently pushed Cora to the side, looking down at her friend/mother.
"Hey, you okay?" Ellie gently asked. Mary Margaret shook her head.
"Ellie..No.." she muttered, slowly awakening and getting up on her feet.
"Oh, Snow, you're awake. I'm so relived." Mary Margaret pulls Ellie to the side, keeping her daughter behind her.
"What are you doing?" Ellie hissed.
"As bad as you think Regina is, this woman is worse." Snow explained, keeping an arm out to keep Ellie back.
"Oh, Snow. Sweet Snow. Please…Believe me. Whatever she told you isn't true. I just want to help you." Cora gently explained in a sweet voice that caused some doubt to raise in Ellie's mind. No one was ever that sweet, fairy tale character or not. However, if Cora wanted to hurt either one of them, she could've easily done that when Mary Margaret was unconscious.
"Let's hear her out. She did help you out." Ellie offered.
"Ellie…" Mary Margaret warned.
"Okay. Right now, we're at the bottom of a pit in the Enchanted Forest. Emma and Henry are back in Storybrooke with Regina and God knows who else. I'm not really seeing any other options right now."
"Who's Henry?" Cora innocently asked.
"He's my nephew. His, well, mother's are back in Storybrooke," Cora looked at Ellie strangely, "It's complicated."
"Don't talk to her." Mary Margaret hissed at her daughter.
"Enough!" A guard snapped from above. Ellie looked up, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. One of the guards threw down a rope.
"Our leader requests an audience." Ellie and Mary Margaret looked at each other.
"Is it me, or did that sound worse than they implied it to be." Mary Margaret shook her head.
"No, it sounded worse." She assured her daughter and grabbed the rope. Ellie sighed and watched as Mary Margaret was lifted up. She patiently waited for the rope to be thrown back down, trying to look anywhere but Cora. Though she did help Mary Margaret, it didn't mean that she trusted her one hundred percent. The rope was thrown don, hitting her in the face. She rolled her eyes and grabbed on, giving Cora a simple wave goodbye. Once she reached the top, her and Mary Margaret were led through the village by some of the guards.
"Why can't you just listen to me?" Mary Margaret asked and Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Why can't you just trust me? If she's as bad as you say she is, then why didn't she attack us? She could've easily done that."
"Cora? Don't be so sure. I've lived here, Ellie. I know this world. And its dangers."
"Wait here." The guard said, making them stop. Ellie crossed her arms and looked at her mother with a questioning look.
"Is that why you came through the portal? Because you thought I was helpless here?" Ellie hated when people did that, she knew how to take care of herself. Emma and her had been on their own for years. Mary Margaret looked sheepishly to the ground.
"No…I came through to be with you." Oh…that certainly changed things. Ellie supposed it made sense, with the curse just being broken and all. One parent remained with one twin while the other went into the portal. Ellie never really understood love, mainly because she'd never experienced it, but she supposed it would mean putting someone else before you.
Not that Ellie didn't do that for Emma, that's why she helped Regina when she was trying to get the portal open. Some part of her knew that it was going to go wrong and she knew that Emma should be the one to remain with Henry. Unfortunately, that wasn't the first time Ellie had felt something like that and it had come true…Emma used to joke that Ellie was a psychic, and now if you told Ellie that the sky was purple. She'd believe it, she was having a hard time not believing anything was right anymore.
A man appeared from one of the huts, wearing some sort of armor.
"Lancelot?" Mary Margaret asked with surprise. Ellie rolled her eyes, of course it was Lancelot, who on earth could it be? Though, she frowned when she got a closer look at him. There was something off…Cora would randomly replace him. However, it was only for a second before the figure of Lancelot would be back.
"Snow?" he questioned, though when he talked, it sounded like a cross between Cora and a man's voice. The two of them embraced while Ellie cautiously watched from the side.
"If I had known that you were the prisoners Mulan had brought back, I never would have locked you away. Please-forgive me."
"Of course." Mary Margaret smiled. Ellie cleared her throat and her mother looked over at her.
"Lancelot? Are you sure?" she questioned, trying to make it sound like that there was something wrong with the picture.
"He's an old friend. We can trust him." Ellie wasn't so sure about that.
-OUAT-
Ellie and Mary Margaret sat down to eat, Ellie grimacing at sitting down on a log in a dress. She and Emma never went camping, not as adults or children. Mostly because Ellie hated being too far from a toilet with a functioning plumbing system and Emma didn't want her sister to get poison ivy, get attacked by some wild animal, honestly, Emma had an entire list of why they shouldn't camp. Lancelot handed the two of them plates and dropped some strange looking meat on there. Ellie gagged at the sight of the meat and handed it to Mary Margaret.
"What's wrong?" she instantly asked.
"I'm a vegetarian." She explained, wiping her hands.
"You don't eat meat, no meat whatsoever?" Ruby asked as Ellie continued to draw, pausing every once in awhile to examine the drawing and take a sip of her coffee.
"For the hundredth time Ruby…no, I find meat to be disgusting and immoral." Emma rolled her eyes at her sister's proclamation on meat. The only reason she found meat disgusting was because of a field trip the two of them took when they were kids…a meat packing plant. Most found of the kids found it interesting…Ellie threw up as soon as the group was outside. Ruby walked off, taking care of another customer.
"Why do you do that?" Emma asked as soon as Ruby was far enough. Ellie paused, blowing away some eraser shavings and looked over at her sister.
"Do what?"
"Claim meat is…"Ruby set down a cup of coco in front of Emma, "Thank you but I did not order that." Ruby smirked.
"Yeah, I know. But you have an admirer." Ruby nods to another table. The twins turn around, seeing Graham stare at them. They look at each other before they turn back around.
"You're gonna need to eat something." Mary Margaret said, digging into her own food and breaking Ellie out of her train of thought.
"Answer this first: what the hell is that?" she questioned, pointing at it.
"That is chimera. An acquired taste, but all out hunting party could bring back. One part lion, one part serpent, one part goat." Lancelot explained. Ellie threw her hands in the air.
"Yep, not eating that." She got up, brushing some dirt off.
"Where are you going?" Lancelot asked, his voice sounding like Cora's before it changed back.
"To find something that I can eat without wanting to throw it up. Don't worry, I'll scream if I get into trouble." She assured the two of them, walking off and looking around for something that was familiar. She knew that Mary Margaret wouldn't believe her if she told her that Lancelot might be Cora in disguise, she hardly believed it herself. She just wished that people would sometimes listen to her about these things.
"Henry did." A voice in the back of her head reminded her. Ellie sighed, picking up a fruit and giving it a sniff.
"It's edible." A voice assured her from behind her. She jumped turning around to see Aurora standing there.
"Thanks," she smiled, picking it up and giving her a nod, "I'm Ellie. I don't think we really had a chance to properly meet." She stuck out her hand.
"Aurora." She said with a polite smile.
"It's nice to meet you," Mary Margaret appeared behind Aurora, waving Ellie over, "I've gotta go." She took the fruit, taking a big bite, and walked over to Mary Margaret.
"We're leaving. Mulan is coming with us." Ellie nodded, taking a few more bites of the fruit, which tasted kind of like a peach.
"This isn't half bad," she looked at Mary Margaret, "I'm not eating any meat, so grab ten of these."
-OUAT-
Ellie looked at the arsenal of different weapons on the table with a questioning look. She secretly patted her handgun, making sure that the small weapon was there.
"Choose wisely. We must be vigilant if we hope to survive this journey." Mulan advised. Ellie picked up a dagger, glancing over at Mary Margaret who was strapping a sword on her waist. She gently placed it back on the table.
"Do you have a crossbow?" She was at least familiar with that weapon, having played several characters in various plays who used that as a weapon. Mulan nodded, looking around before handing one over to her with a quiver of arrows. Ellie fixed it so it fit her before she strapped it onto her back. Mary Margaret picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows for herself.
"What are you Xena?" Ellie dubiously asked. Mary Margaret ignored the question.
"Follow my lead. Step where I step. Do exactly as I say, and you might survive." Ellie quietly snickered, remembering a Mulan song with that exact same line. Mary Margaret looked at her strangely and Ellie calmed down, looking down at the ground.
"Thanks for the advice General Ping," no laughs, just a few looks of confusion and one of 'quit it', "But I can handle myself. I just killed a dragon last week, how hard can an ogre be?"
"Have you ever seen an ogre?" Mulan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Only in Shrek." Another glare from Mary Margaret.
"Legend had it, that when they kill you, the last thing you see is yourself dying in the reflection in their eyes. Let's walk. It'll be dark soon." And with that Mulan leads the two of them. Ellie cleared her throat.
"Don't let her rattle you. I won't let anything happen to us. Stick to the plan."
"What is the plan?" Ellie hissed at her mother, frustrated that she wouldn't give her a straight answer for once, "You haven't told me anything. What's going on?"
"The wardrobe." Ellie's eyes went wide.
"The wardrobe? 'The wardrobe?' Like, the wardrobe that sent baby me and Emma to Maine? You think that can get us to Storybrooke?"
"I don't know. First, we have to see if it survived the curse, then we'll worry about making it work."
"Where is it?" Ellie finally asked after they walked in silence for a few moments.
"My place," Ellie looked at her mother, "Want to see where you're from, Ellie? That's right. We're going home."
-OUAT-
The three of them finally arrived in a clearing, Ellie almost crying with joy when they stopped. Course, if she'd known she was going to land in the Enchanted Forest, she wouldn't have worn these shoes.
"This will do," Ellie collapsed on the ground with a sigh of relief, "We'll make camp for the night. We just need to find water, collect some firewood." Ellie frowned, looking around at the clearing that they had stopped.
"Uh, you mentioned ogres, shouldn't we not be staying where they could see the fire, in the middle of this empty clearing?" Ellie asked, gesturing to the area around her.
"Ogres are blind. They hunt by sound alone." Mary Margret stated, making Ellie scoff and get back on her feet, even though every part of her was telling to remain on the ground.
"Course, forget about that. I think I failed that part in the Ogre history test." Mary Margaret sighed and pulled Ellie aside.
"Look, I know you're out of you element…"
"I'm WAY out of my element here. And would you like to know why? Hm? Emma's not here! I.." she took a deep breath, trying to prevent an attack happening. She didn't have her medication , so she'd have to be extra careful here. "I'm fine."
Mary Margaret skeptically looked at her daughter, before the curse she remembered her daughters both mentioning that Ellie had a history of panic attacks. For now, Mary Margaret decided to leave it alone.
"I know. But, maybe you should jus stay here while we get food and water. Guard the campsite?" she offered with a small smile. Ellie sighed, tightening her grip on her crossbow and glancing around the clearing.
"Cause somebody is suddenly gonna attack me while I'm in a big empty clearing?" she skeptically asked.
"It's the safest place. We'll be right back."Mulan and Mary Margaret left and Ellie sat down, picking up one of the arrows and drawing her 'Captain Hook' in the dirt. Once she finished with that, she moved onto drawing Emma and Henry, almost tempted to start pretending to have a conversation with them because she was so bored. She finally threw the arrow aside, beginning to now pace. Out of habit, she touched the sheath that held her handgun and jumped when she heard Mary Margaret talking to someone other than Mulan.
"Told you no one attacks in the clearing." Ellie muttered as she threw her crossbow over her back and pulled out the tiny handgun. She started off towards where she heard, soon finding Mary Margaret with Aurora and Mulan. None of them took notice of her so she quickly raised the gun above her head, already knowing that she would regret this decision and fired a shot. The three of them jump and turn towards her.
"Ellie, what are you doing?"
"Protecting you, drop the weapon."
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Mary Margaret demanded. A faint growling sound began to approach, making Ellie pale with fear and curse herself for her stupid move.
"Ogres?" she quietly questioned. An ogre, looking every bit fairytale like, appeared.
"Run!" There's no need for a second warning, the group takes off into the forest with the ogre trailing right behind them.
"Time to split up!" Ellie yelled. Mulan and Aurora head one way while Mary Margaret pulled Ellie a different direction.
"Over there." Mary Margret says and leads her daughter, Ellie trips over a branch, making the ogre catch up to her. Ellie fires with her puny handgun, already knowing the first thing she'll do if they make it to Storybrooke.
"I'm getting a new gun." She thought once the ogre grabbed it and crushed it with his hand. Mary Margaret appeared behind the ogre and tries to do everything in her power to divert its attention away from Ellie.
"Back away from my daughter!" The ogre finally turns around, not interested in Ellie anymore. Mary Margret notches, aims, and fires an arrow, hitting the ogre in the eye. It collapses to the ground, dead. She walks over and pulls the arrow out of the ogre's eye while Ellie watches with her mouth wide open.
"You have to shoot them in the eye." She explained with a shrug.
"When was the last time you shot an arrow?" Ellie finally asked, still amazed by the action.
"Twenty-eight years ago. Guess it's like riding a bike." Mary Margret said with a shrug, helping Ellie up onto her feet.
"Yeah, but how did you know you could do that?"
"I didn't," Mary Margaret truthfully replies, "And next time, listen to me? That kind of thing isn't going to work here." Ellie chuckles, scratching her cheek and giving her a sheepish grin. Though Mary Margret rolls her eyes, she still smiles at her daughter.
"We should get going."
-OUAT-
Mary Margaret and Ellie sound found Mulan and Aurora and they traveled together in silence, until Mary Margaret decided to break the ice.
"We're getting close." She stated.
"Aurora," Mulan looked back at the princess, "You've got to keep up." Ellie felt bad for the princess, it was quite obvious that she was out of her element. However, she understood, she was driven by revenge to come out. And sometimes when your mind is driven, you never really think properly.
"Sorry, but I'm not exactly dressed for the woods. It's cold out here."
"Then maybe, you should have listened to me and stayed back." Ellie shrugged out of her jacket, knowing that Aurora needed it more. She had more than enough experience with the New York weather.
"Here," she gave it to Aurora, "You need it more than I do."
"But I tried to kill you friend." Aurora stated, confused by the kind gesture.
"Actually, she's my mom. I have a feeling that she can take care of herself. And believe me, I get it. You're not the only one who's been making mistakes lately. Besides, you're the one who introduced me to that yummy fruit." Aurora took the jacket from Ellie, curiously looking at it.
"What kind of corset is this?" Ellie didn't even bother, she'd have Mary Margaret try and help her.
"Up here." Mulan calls to the group. The all run up the hill to join her, looking down at the castle.
"Jesus, you sent me and Emma to Maine. Remind me why again?"
-OUAT-
The group finally arrived at the castle, entering one of the rooms. Ellie sadly smiled, recognizing her and her sister's nursery from Henry's book. Nothing changed from the picture, except a few toys scattered about. While growing up, and before she even met Henry again, she had drawn this room in so many different ways, she didn't ever think that she would actually be able to see it.
"Come-we'll watch at the gate." Mulan says, pulling Aurora out and giving the mother and daughter some time to themselves. Ellie walked over to the wardrobe, running a hand over it and seeing flashes of her father placing the twins in there.
"I never thought I'd see this place again. This room…it was your nursery." Mary Margaret explained. Ellie turned around, giving her a nod.
"I know. I recognize it from Henry's book," she paused, wondering if she should tell her mother about this, but then decides to anyway, "And…I'd been drawing it for years."
"Neither of you even got to spend the night. This is the life I wanted the two of you to have. I was going to teach you how to walk in here. How to talk, how to dress for you first ball…neither of you ever got to do any of it. We never got to be a family."
"We have a family," Ellie reminded her, "They're waiting for us in Storybrooke. They need us to get back there," she gives her a comforting smile and then pats the wardrobe, "So how do we get this to work?" Mary Margaret comes over and the two began to examine the wardrobe, Ellie half-hoping to find an on off switch.
"Where's the on switch?" she finally asked, getting a bit frustrated.
"It's more complicated than that. We'll have to get it back to the island. Hopefully, someone there has access to enough magic to make it work again." Ellie snorted.
"Uh, hate to remind you but there's only two of us and this thing is huge. So, how do you plan to carry this thing?"
"With the help of an old friend." Cora's voice answers and Ellie quickly turned around, her hand on her crossbow. Though Lancelot entered, giving the two of them a smile.
"Lancelot. What are you doing here?" Mary Margaret skeptically asked. Ellie was glad that she at least thought it was strange he was here. No one showed up out of the blue, not without some sort of purpose.
"We heard about the ogre attack, and I had to make sure that you were alright." He explained, now sounding like himself. Ellie kept her crossbow close, she didn't want to take any chances.
"Where are Mulan and Aurora?"
"I sent them to find food. Tonight we'll make camp and then, in the morning, we'll head back," he explained and then walked over to the portal. Ellie discreetly pushed Mary Margret back, pulling her crossbow off her back and keeping it at her side, "So, this is it-the portal you were after."
"The same one Ellie went through. That's how she skipped the curse." Ellie noted that she didn't add her sister's name, but she didn't bother to correct her.
"Remarkable…"
"Geppatto carved it from an enchanted tree, but there's no magic left."
"Well, a portal this powerful…there must be another way to recharge it."
"Why are you so interested in the wardrobe?" Ellie finally asked, tightening her grip.
"Well, I just want you to get home to your husband…And you sister and nephew, Emma and Henry. They must miss you." With a flash, Ellie raised her crossbow and aimed it at 'Lancelot'. She'd only told one person their names ever since she got here, and she did have her doubts about Lancelot before, this only proved it.
"Stay away from him. He's not who he says he is." Ellie commanded her mother. Mary Margaret looked confused.
"What are you talking about Ellie? Who is he?"
"Who's the one person that I told those names ever since we got here?" Mary Margaret finally caught on, pulling out her own sword and pointing it at 'Lancelot'.
"Cora." In a puff of purple smoke, Lancelot transforms back to Cora.
"You must be slipping. I've been able to see you this whole time." Ellie challenged and Cora's face momentarily looked confused, before she replaced it with a smirk.
"Clever girl."
"Where's Lancelot?" Mary Margaret demanded.
"He's dead. I killed him a long time ago."
"And you've been posing as him ever since?" Mary Margaret clarified.
"Well, they'd never listen to me. And besides…every kingdom needs a hero, don't you think?" Mary Margaret pushes past Ellie and lunges at Cora, who magically throws her against the wall and pins her. Ellie fires an arrow, which Cora easily stops and turns it into dust, and then lunges herself. Cora does the same to Ellie.
"Thank you, Snow. I've been looking for a way over for so long." Ellie tries to get up and help but Cora summons a rug and makes it wraps around Ellie's legs. "I never thought the person to help me find it would be you."
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Mary Margaret forces out.
"I want to see my daughter. It's been too long. And you know, I would love to meet my grandson, Henry."
"No, you won't." Ellie sneered, closing her eyes and imagining the wardrobe bursting into flames. Soon, she heard Cora yell in horror and she quickly opened her eyes, seeing that the wardrobe was indeed on fire. Ellie scrambled to her feet, watching the wardrobe. Cora turned the fire from the wardrobe into a fireball and threw it at Ellie. Mulan's sword quickly flew in, blocking the fireball. Both Aurora and Mulan entered.
"Mulan!" Mary Margaret yelled.
"We're not done." Cora sneered, magically disappearing. Ellie quickly got to her feet, rushing over to Mary Margaret to check on her.
"Are you okay?" she asked, and then glanced back at the flaming wardrobe. She inwardly sighed, there went their way home.
"You saved me." Mary Margaret stated, sounding surprised by the fact.
"Yeah, well…" Ellie cleared her throat, "Where is she?"
"Gone."
"So is our ride home." Ellie reminded her mother.
-OUAT-
Mary Margaret, Ellie, Mulan, and Aurora are still in the nursery at the castle, looking at the ashes of their ride home. Ellie wasn't sure of how she should tell Mary Margaret of the events that just happened.
"You made a magical wardrobe burst into flames by wishing it." The nagging voice in the back of her head reminded her.
"Shut up." She scolded, pushing the voice as far back as she could.
"Lancelot was one of the most noble knights I ever knew." Mary Margaret finally said, Ellie felt a rush of gratitude towards her mother. The mental argument had stopped for now.
"How could I be so blind? How could I not see that it was Cora?" Mulan angrily asked herself.
"It was something you weren't expecting. It threw all of us off." Ellie assured the female warrior. The only thing that threw Ellie off was her ability to see past Cora's disguise but she supposed that it would be helpful here. Who knows?
"What are we going to tell people on the island?" Mulan asked, looking to Mary Margaret and Ellie.
"The truth," Ellie looked at Mary Margaret, confusion written on her face, "That Lancelot was cut down by a terrible villain," Ellie supposed that somewhat made sense to her, that just needed to make sure that they Cora's name wasn't mentioned at all, "He died an honorable death."
"Cora's still out there," Mulan reminded the mother and daughter, "We need to find her. We need to defend what's left of the kingdom."
"Who's going to lead us? You?" Aurora questioned, looking to Mulan.
"No," she answered, shaking her head, "Her." She looked to Mary Margaret.
"I'm honored. But Ellie and I have to find a way back to Storybrooke."
"We'll help you. We'll find a way, won't we?" Mulan assured the two of them and looked to Aurora for confirmation.
"Yes," the princess replied with a nod, "Perhaps it will help me channel my anger."
"Come." Mulan and Aurora left.
"Sorry I torched our ride home, it's just…Emma's there, with Henry and I…" Ellie finally apologized but Mary Margaret shook her head, a small smile on her face.
"You had to put Henry and Emma first." Ellie nodded, wiping away a stray tear.
"Emma and I were so angry at you…for so long. We just couldn't believe that you would give us up without giving us a chance to get to know you. But, now that I see all this and seen everything you've done ever since we got here…sorry, I'm not really used to having someone besides Emma care for me." Mary Margaret hugs Ellie, her smile growing across her face.
"Well, get used to it." And with that, the two of them leave.
"I'll tell her," Ellie thought, glancing back at Mary Margaret, "Just not yet."
Note-
For those that read my Doctor Who story, I've been taking a break because we had to get our computer fixed. I've been posting all my chapters from school. Now that it's finally functioning, I hope to get back on schedule soon.
Thank you all!