Back to the Enchanted Forest again!
7 Months Prior
Dark Palace, Enchanted Forest
"Guys, look what I found!"
The others gathered in the library of the Dark Palace looked up. Clarissa was grinning from ear to ear as she marched up to the table and placed the heavy volume on it.
"Guess what this is."
"A Ravenclaw's bedtime story?" Wolfgang suggested.
"No", Clarissa said, shaking her head, "this is the ultimate lexicon about fairy wands, and take a look at this."
She flipped the book open, causing another thud, and spun it around for them to read. Catriona, who was sitting closest to where the book had been dropped, leaned forward.
"Ollivander, the maker of the finest fairy wands, was banished from the land after being found selling wands adapted to a new way of magic, centred around oral spells and made for humans", she read.
"Let me have a look at that", Toby said, pulling the book to him and re-reading the line Catriona had just read.
"So in this world he is real, which means it might actually have been him that we met back in Orlando", Maryse said.
"Yes, question is how we find him again", Toby said and pushed the book away. "This book is quite old and he was banished before it was even written. It is highly possible we won't find him anywhere we look."
The doors opened and Rachel came in, dressed as she always was nowadays in riding gear and with a sword attached to her belt. Miranda wondered if she knew how different she had really acted since they got here or if she was busy living the life of one of her own stories' characters.
"Have you found anything?" she asked and removed her cloak as she sat down.
"Ollivander was banished for selling wands to humans", Clarissa responded. "He could be anywhere."
"I can ask David if they can send out word about him", Rachel suggested. "Someone's got to know something."
"If he has stayed hidden this long I doubt word of any kind of royalty would make him appear again", Indira pointed out.
"And when did you and Prince Charming start to talk about each other on a first-name basis?" Brianne asked. Rachel blinked in surprise.
"I agree; for the last two months you've been spending basically every waking hour with him", Miranda said. "What is going on?"
"It's not my place to tell", Rachel responded, her voice sharp. "He's my friend."
"And we're not?" Filipi asked. "Face it, Rachel; you've changed since you got here."
"And none of you have?" Rachel bit back, rising again. "Just listen to yourselves! Why am I suddenly the one who's odd?"
"Because you're hanging out with a married man more than you hang out with us", Brook responded. Rachel blinked at her.
"Is that what you all think is going on?"
When no one answered she grabbed her cloak once more, fastening it around her neck.
"Well then, thank you for your time", she said, her tone colder than ice, before she spun around and marched out of the library. Miranda bit her lower lip and nervously fingered the quill in front of her, before she rose and followed her friend.
Outside the door, however, she bumped into a man; Robin Hood.
"Apologies, my lady", he said. "I did not hear you coming."
"No, no, it's my fault, really", Miranda answered with a smile. "Where you heading to the library?"
"Actually I was trying to find Rachel", the outlaw responded.
"She just left", Miranda responded, then frowned. "Why were you trying to find her? I thought you two weren't that close."
"Well, I doubt we are, but she is close to someone else; Prince Charming", Robin answered, "and he left the castle not long ago to venture into Sherwood Forest."
"Did he ask you to tell Rachel about it?" Miranda asked. Robin shook his head.
"No, in fact I think he hoped I would not. However, I feel that she might be needed during his quest."
"And this quest is what?" Miranda asked. Robin gave her a slight smile.
"Now that is for him to tell", he said. "If you find Rachel, will you please tell her what has happened?"
"Sure", Miranda answered, then watched as the thief disappeared down the corridor. She, however, headed in the opposite direction; aiming for the courtyard. After living in the castle for nearly five months she and the others knew their way around the dark corridors perfectly and if there was one place Rachel would seek out to vent her anger it was the training grounds, located between the courtyard and the stables.
As she closed in on said place she could hear that she had been right as the sound of a sword hitting a training doll rang time and time again.
"Rachel", Miranda said as her friend took a step back. She did not turn around.
"Why are you here?" she instead responded, her voice still cold as ice.
"I'm sorry", Miranda responded. "It was not right of us to attack you that way, but please; look at it from our point of view. How do you think we're feeling every time you go off with Prince Charming instead of help us investigate why we are even here?"
Rachel kept her back towards her, but something in her posture told Miranda that she was not ignoring what she had just said.
"It's complicated", Rachel eventually responded and walked over to the nearby bench, picking up a cloth to wipe her face with. "David and I have sort of bonded and he's in a bit of a situation right now, so I've offered to help him through it. I did not mean to abandon you guys."
"I know", Miranda said. Rachel looked up at her and a hint of a smile was playing on her lips.
"You really thought I was having an affair with him?"
"Well, you did act suspicious", Miranda responded. Rachel shook her head with a smile.
"I can assure you that's not the case", she said. "He's a married man, he has a daughter and a grandson and a baby on the way. If there's one thing I won't do it's break up someone's family."
Miranda nodded.
"There's another thing as well", she said and stepped forward. "Robin Hood told me that Prince Charming had left the castle not long ago, to venture into Sherwood Forest."
Rachel frowned.
"Why would he do that?"
"Robin wouldn't say", Miranda answered. "He did, however, say that even though Charming did not ask for you to come along, you probably should."
"Well, if even Robin Hood asks me to head after him then I probably should", Rachel sighed and sheathed her sword. "Coming?"
Miranda frowned.
"Do you want me to come along?"
"Call it gut feeling, but I think you'll be needed as well", Rachel responded as she headed towards the stables. Miranda was about to protest before she realized how futile it would be. Besides, she quite liked the idea of having at least one adventure here before they managed to get back home.
As Miranda was not as good at riding as Rachel was they opted for riding the same horse, with Miranda wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist in order not to slide off. From studying the maps in the castle they knew that Sherwood Forest, Robin's home, was located south of the castle, but nowhere near as close as they would have liked. By the time they spotted the forest the sun was already dipping beneath the horizon, covering the land in darkness.
"How are we going to find him in the night?" Miranda asked, yelling in order to make herself heard.
"I don't know", Rachel answered, "but I'm certainly not going to let that stop me."
"When did you become a Gryffindor?"
"Well, maybe this land has brought out that side of me", Rachel answered, before urging the horse to go faster.
As they neared the forest they could see a well-made, wide road entering it. Not wanting to risk her horse's health Rachel aimed for it while the night surrounded them. Except it was not all dark.
"Look!" Miranda said, pointing to their left. Rachel whipped her head around and slowed the horse. Among the trees, not that far from the road, was a burning torch, stuck down in the ground. Close by was a white horse tied to a tree.
"I can see his horse but not him", Rachel said as they jumped off and walked on a narrow path to where the torch was standing.
"He can't be far, right?" Miranda said and looked around them. Rachel shook her head before she tied her horse next to Prince Charming's white one.
"What was he doing here, though?" she said and knelt down. The torch was stuck down close to a patch of white moss and, in the middle of this moss, was a hole that someone had recently dug out.
"Maybe this", Miranda said and picked up something that looked like a root, only when she turned it around they both saw that the top of it had been cut off, revealing a very peculiar looking flesh.
"That looks like... stars", Rachel said with a frown. "What is that?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to guess it's something magical", Miranda answered. A rustle among the trees caused them both to look up. The two horses snorted and trampled around.
"Woah, it's alright", Rachel tried to calm them.
"What was that?" Miranda asked. Her friend shook her head.
"I don't know, but it came from that direction."
She drew her sword and pointed it at a thick hedge of spruces.
"David's moved past them", she said as they drew closer, pointing out a number of freshly cut branches, "so there's definitely something on the other side."
"And you're just going to head straight towards it?" Miranda asked. Rachel turned to meet her gaze.
"My friends are my family, Miranda; you know that", she said, "and I would die to protect my family."
"Then I'm coming with you", Miranda said. Rachel shook her head.
"No, you should stay with the horses."
"With you going all Gryffindor while we're here, you might need some Ravenclaw to get you out of this situation", Miranda pointed out, smiling. This caused Rachel to smile back, before she led the way through the spruces.
Once they got out on the other side they stopped dead in their tracks, staring at what lay ahead. They were standing in a small clearing and at the centre lay a tower built out of stones. From a window at the top of this tower spilled a long, black braid of hair that reached almost all the way to the ground and climbing up this braid at this very moment was someone clad in a grey, hooded cloak.
"This is not what I was expecting to find", Rachel admitted.
"Did we ever expect to find Rapunzel's tower?" Miranda asked in return.
"Probably not."