Look At That Witch, Now Back To Me, I'm On A Boat
Regina sighed as Snow White hugged her husband's corpse. She had just witnessed Snow White crush her husband's heart and while Regina three years ago would have laughed gleefully, Regina now was… sad.
Regina spoke to Snow, "This won't be in vain, we will get back to Storybrooke we will defeat-"
The wind howled as Zelena on her broomstick entered the rooftop plaza that the curse was being cast in. She threw a handful of green smoke into the cauldron, and landed. Regina's face grew red with fury, "Zelena."
"A flying broom? Please bitch, try a flying boat!" A female voice exclaimed. Indeed, a black flying boat with a swan as the figurehead was hovering over them. A blonde woman was hanging onto the figurehead, she was dressed in red and black. "Now!" She exclaimed. An arrow whizzed from the crown's nest on the mainmast into the cauldron. Where the point should have been a bright, white, glowing crystal was. It dissolved in the cauldron.
"What did you do?" Zelena yelled.
"Don't worry I didn't mess with your added magic," The girl said. Zelena didn't care and threw a green ball of magic at the ship, the girl on the swan blocked it with pure white light, which turned the offending magic into a rainbow.
"Emma?" Snow asked.
"No, sorry to disappoint. True love means two hearts become one. Toodle-pip!" She jumped onto the deck of the boat and it sailed through the sky into the night.
"That was unexpected," Regina said. "Let's resume, shall we?"
"Let's. Did you really think that you could reenact Rumpel's Dark Curse and I wouldn't know about it?"
"No, but I didn't really care." Regina replied. "You're too late."
"Actually, I'm not." Zelena replied. "I'm afraid you sacrificed your charming husband for nothing," She told Snow.
"Regina, he can't die in vain!"
"She's bluffing. Once the curse is enacted, it can't be stopped."
"I may not be able to stop it, but that doesn't mean I can't spice it up a bit, you heard the girl in the flying ship, I added magic. And so did she, what she did, I'm rather curious to find out. But for me, how does a forgetting potion sound?"
The potion bubbled with magic, and the cloud came out. It wasn't purple or green, but a beautiful clear white, like a fluffy cloud.
"I suppose the color change our mysterious friend is responsible for." Zelena shrugged. "Oh, sorry, did you need your memories in the new land? Were you planning to stop me, or- for that matter, recognize me?"
"We'll find a way."
"Without knowing any of this? I doubt it," Zelena replied. "You'll be too busy looking for your husband. You won't even know about his sacrifice. Just endlessly wondering where he could be." Zelena faked a sad voice, "Always fearing the worst. Pay attention, Sis," She told Regina. "This is how you take away a happy ending."
Zelena flew off on her flying broom.
Snow held her husband's head in her hands, "Regina. I need you to rip out my heart. Charming was right, we have been of one heart since the day he woke me from the sleeping curse. And that girl showing up and saying the exact same thing makes me think that, there's more I can do! If you split my heart in half, we can both survive!"
"Snow," Regina said sympathetically, "I know your love is strong, but, this isn't like plucking a flower. How do you know it will work?"
"FAITH!" Snow yelled in Regina's face. "BELIEF! I BELIEVE! I believe my heart is strong enough for the both of us!"
"But if you're wrong, you'll die."
"Please!" Snow held Regina's hands. "Please, Regina! Do it!"
Regina kneeled so she faced Snow White and
Snow White put a hand on the Evil Queen's shoulder. hugging her, and smiling, as Regina plunged her hand into Snow's chest and took her heart. The white clouds thundered as Regina held the heart, and ripped it in two, each heartbeat was in tandem, but doubled. Regina put the hearts in both Snow and Charming, After a few seconds of silence, Charming gasped and became undead.
"Snow," He gasped. "Snow, What's happening?"
Snow giggled, "You're okay. We're both okay."
Then they started making out on the ground while Regina smiled and the white clouds of the curse overcame them.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
"Did you really have to call my mother a bitch?" Merida asked as they sailed through the night sky.
"You've called your mother a bitch before," Elizabeth shrugged.
"She's my mother, Liz, I can call her whatever I want."
"Fair enough, sorry," Elizabeth replied. "There's a body of water we can park. Hey, Merida, when should we take the memory potions?"
"Once we see the clouds." Merida said. Elizabeth nodded. She landed in the sea, and steered to the docks. Elizabeth put a restoration spell on the ship, so the Curse wouldn't change it to fit in with the 21st century.
"There, it and everything inside it will stay the same, meaning we need to get out." Elizabeth said. "We don't have any clothes for the world without magic. The curse will give us clothes." She took off her jacket and laid it across the steering wheel. "I also suggest any items you don't want to have changed you leave here."
Merida took off her necklace and tucked it in the pocket of Elizabeth's jacket. Elizabeth and Merida both took off their weapons and set them on the deck of the ship as well, and they boarded off, with nothing but the clothes on their back and the three blue vials. When they saw the white, fluffy clouds rolling in they took the potion, and less than a minute later they were overrun with the curse.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
When they woke up, they were lying on a row of wooden planks. They all sat up, it was morning, Elizabeth turned around, and there was the Black Swan, the same as it was in the Enchanted Forest. She ran up to the ship, "We're in public eye, we should go somewhere more inconspicuous."
"But we can't leave town or else flying monkeys will attack," Melanie said.
"I can undo my mother's monkey spell," Merida told Melanie. "We'll be fine." She looked at her clothes, "What am I wearing?"
"Clothes appropriate for here." Melanie said. "My mother and I have been to the land without magic before."
"Of course you have, you've been here, Camelot, Oz, Wonderland, Neverland, Olympus," Elizabeth counted off on her fingers. "A billion other places."
"Not a billion, maybe twenty realms," Melanie corrected. "The point is, for this realm's fashion, we all look nice."
Melanie was wearing a black leather jacket, over a green and black checkered button up, over a black tank top, and black skinny jeans. Merida was dressed in a cream colored cardigan and green corduroy pants. Elizabeth was wearing a denim jacket, a floral button up, a yellow undershirt, and denim jeans that matched her jacket, and a knit blue beanie. Elizabeth pulled her red leather jacket over her denim one, handed Merida her necklace, and sailed the Black Swan to another port. There was a tiny cove by the woods, directly under a cliff, so you had to jump off the cliff to see the ship. They decided this was the best place to stay.
"We have to leave to get food, clothes, soap, stuff like that. The rest of it, we should be able to have already." Melanie said.
"Well, we need paper money, and, all we have is gold." Merida replied.
"My mother might trade money for gold." Melanie said. "Zelena knows what Elizabeth looks like."
"Yeah, but, I can always use a glamor spell," Elizabeth said.
"I think Merida should do it," Melanie said. "She's the better actress."
"I am," Merida agreed. "Just, tell me what I need to get and where to get it."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Merida was going through the woods. Since archery equipment was conspicuous, she only had a knife in a green satchel, where the pouch of gold and shopping list were as well. The snow crunched under her boots, and her hair was wrapped around her neck like a scarf. She heard something and stopped, she didn't hear any wings, so it wasn't a monkey, it sounded like someone walking. She approached cautiously. She heard a bow string snap and dodged the offending projectile. "Oi! You could have taken my head off" She exclaimed, grabbing the arrow that was in the tree and waving it.
"I am terribly sorry," It was her father, Robin Hood. "I thought you were a winged beast."
"Winged beasts usually fly, hence the wings," Merida responded. "For the best archer in the land, you're rather shoddy."
"I apologize again Lady…"
"Merida," Merida replied.
"You found something?" It was Prince Charming and Captain Hook.
"How many men are running around these woods?" Merida asked
"Why are you in the woods alone?" Charming asked.
"Our camp is by the cliffs over there, I'm going to get food from the markets in this land, I have some gold, are you all on a hunt for those winged things?"
"You saw one?"
"It flew near our camp, we threw rocks at it and it flew away." Merida shrugged.
"Our camp? Who else is with you?"
"Two other young women," Merida replied. "Does it matter?"
"I suppose it doesn't," Charming said. "I'm David. This is Hook."
"Well, while this wasn't fun and all, I have to be off-" There was a quiet moaning, "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"There's moaning coming from over there, and-" She sniffed, "Blood."
"You can smell blood?"
Merida shrugged, "Is someone from your party hurt?"
"They were attacked by a winged creature," Hook said.
"I bet you they're that way," Merida pointed, the group rushed off to go find the missing compadre and Merida quietly slipped past them and made it to the road, she walked down the street to Storybrooke.
She walked into the Pawnshop where Belle was, "Hi,"
"Hi!" Belle smiled. "Do you need anything?'
"Yeah, uh, I need to buy stuff in this new land and I only have gold and some of the people said that if I go here-"
"I can turn your gold into money for you. Most people's money changed currency or disappeared with the curse… why didn't yours?" Belle asked.
"Oh, uh, It's a magic pouch. Nothing can get through it. Water, bugs, air, and apparently curses." Merida sighed. "I'm Merida by the way."
"Belle."
"Belle…. Gold? I saw the sign,"
"Oh, no, Mr. Gold isn't with us anymore."
"I'm sorry, how did you know each other?"
"We used to be romantically involved. Never got married. We might have if he didnt't-"
"My condolences."
"Thank you," Belle said. She handed a bundle of cash to Merida. "I'll give you a thousand more for the pouch. It's rather fascinating."
"Oh, thanks for the offer but… it was my mother's so… I didn't have the best relationship with her but this necklace and this pouch are gifts from her."
"Is she dead?"
"No, she was imprisoned, back in the Enchanted Forest. She sort of… killed… people," Merida sighed. "It doesn't matter. Thank you Belle."
"You're welcome, Merida." Belle replied. Merida went off to get more items she needed.
When she was going to Granny's, because she was hungry and wanted some advice on food in this realm and it was the first place she saw with any food items, she almost bumped into someone when entering, her mother.
"Oh, I am terribly sorry," Zelena said.
"Oh, I should have watched where I was going," Merida replied, smiling. "I'm Merida." She stuck out her hand.
"Zelena," Zelena replied. "I like your necklace."
Merida touched the emerald pendant surrounded in tiny diamonds that hung on her neck, "Thank you, I like your brooch."
Zelena touched her brooch, "Thank you, well, see you."
"Bye," Merida smiled. She entered Granny's, and spoke to Ruby behind the counter "Hi, one uh… coffee and some advice, if you don't mind. I missed the first curse and I wondered if there was any markets or places to buy food. Like vegetables and meat and bread and whatnot?"
"Uh, yeah, hold on," Ruby poured her coffee, "I have a map around here somewhere, so, this is the diner, and over here is the supermarket. That has most of the food items you may need. If you want something that won't rot after a long period of time, look for items that say "non-perishable." Also, our food has best-by dates for when the food will likely go bad, so look for food with earlier dates if you want it to last longer. If you need clothes, there's a thrift shop right here, and you can get clothes at a pretty decent price there."
"Thank you so much…"
"Ruby, Ruby Lucas."
"I'm Merida."
"Merida, well, I'm glad I could help."
Merida finished her coffee, and then went to those shops to get food and clothing.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
"I'm back," Merida said. "I ran into both of my parents. My dad almost shot me and my mom and I talked about jewelry,"
"Merida!" Melanie exclaimed.
"They don't suspect anything, don't worry," Merida said, Melanie sighed. "What did you get?"
"Chicken breasts, pork chops, ground beef, potatoes, carrots, squash, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, six loaves of bread in every flavor, they have potato bread, can you believe it? Two dozen eggs, butter, margarine, two flavors of jam, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, peaches, plums, and bananas. and eight gallons of water, which we can have refilled," Merida pulled all the groceries from her small coin purse. "I got three burn phones, that way we can call each other and stuff. I also got us denim pants, undershirts, undergarments, shirts with buttons on the front, sweaters, cardigans, and a couple of dresses. I didn't care if they fit, we can use magic to alter the sizes, I just took what looked nice."
"Good idea," Elizabeth nodded. "I can put the food in the special preservation shelves in the store cupboard and the clothes in the cabins." Elizabeth disappeared.
"How was my mom?" Melanie asked.
"She misses your father," Merida replied.
"Well, they were still in love then, weren't they?" Melanie sighed. "Or, at least their relationship was still pretty functional."
"Look, Mel, I know your home situation was never ideal, but, I don't think being mopey is gonna help, much."
"No, you're right," Melanie sighed.
"Maybe you should get some perspective. You knew them after all the bad stuff happened."
"And then I'll just pine for what I don't have." Melanie sighed. "Thanks for thinking of me, Merida, but, I'll live."