The Search - Part 3
"You wanna share that brilliant idea with us?" Snow asked, leading the group further away. They ran into town, leaving the ogre to wander.
"Distraction," Finnick explained, unsheathing his sword.
"Huh?" Regina asked, as they stumbled up the steps to Granny's. Everyone tumbled inside, and Regina quickly sealed the door.
"Are you sure that will work?" Snow asked, thinking back to Regina's lack of effect on the ogre a few minutes ago.
"Hopefully," Regina muttered, not exactly lookin hopeful.
"How do you know about the distraction?" Mulan asked, half glaring at Finnick. He gave her a nervous look.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, actually looking genuinely confused.
"Like hell," Mulan spit out. "If you don't know anything, or don't remember, how do you know how to defeat an ogre?" Snow watched the exchange, her gaze switching from Mulan to Finnick. Or wait, did Mulan say "Flynn?" Oh… My… God. Flynn. As in Rachel's father? Snow was visibly gaping as she finally realized what was going on.
When Mulan glanced over, she realized that Snow had connected the puzzle pieces.
"Can you two wait and sort out your couple problems?" Regina asked sarcastically, working to reinforce the spell she was working.
"I…" Finnick said, as Snow physically dragged Mulan over next to the jukebox.
"He's Rachel's father isn't he?" Snow asked, actually more of a statement than a question. Mulan gave a barely perceptible nod.
"Of course he is," Snow said, not looking forward to adding even more onto the family tree. It already looked like a forest.
"Not that he seems to care," Mulan muttered, giving him another hard stare.
"He doesn't remember," Snow reminded her. Mulan rolled her eyes.
"The curse was broken wasn't it?" she demanded.
"Well… yes," Snow said, trying to come up with an explanation. She decided instead to change the subject. She led Mulan back, giving her a warning glance when they approached Finnick.
"Now, what's the distraction?" she asked. Finnick and Mulan shared a glance for a second. His eyes seemed to flash with something, but it was gone just as quickly as it came.
"Ogres are easily overwhelmed," Mulan explained. "They don't do well with lots of action around them. Instead, they rely on their brute strength to scare people away."
"I noticed how the ogre was conflicted when Regina was attacking, and Mulan and Snow were running. My guess is that they cannot make decisions on their own very well." Snow was surprised to see Mulan nodding in agreement.
"He's right," she admitted. Snow nodded, easily taking in the new information.
"That ogre will not attack the town," Mulan explained. "He'll wait for reinforcements."
"Just one question," Regina said, cutting into the conversation.
"Where the hell did the ogres come from?"
"How did you learn to use a bow?" Ivy asked, as Rachel skillfully shot at the target in the tree.
"Practice," the savior replied, flashing her a grin. Ivy rolled her eyes.
"Well, while we're waiting for the adults to figure out a way to get us back, we have to get food," Ivy said, taking the bow.
"Now, how do I work this thing?" she asked, plucking at the string.
"Okay, I found some berries," Henry announced, coming back with a small container of berries.
"Great," Ivy said, trying once again to aim the bow.
"I found a small cottage," Henry said, pointing north. "There might be some provisions there," he suggested. He set the berries down a few feet from Ivy's target tree.
"You making any progress?" he asked, as she closed one eye, trying in vain to aim. She finally released, sending the arrow in a diagonal direction. It promptly hit Henry's small container of berries. The arrow shot through, sending Henry's half an hour of work down onto a nearby rock. Ivy shot him a guilty glance.
"Sorry," she apologized, shooting him a sheepish smile. Rachel stepped up, redirecting the bow yet again.
"Trust yourself," she said. "And don't tense up so much. That will just lead to tiredness." Ivy nodded determinedly, pulling the string back again. Henry wandered off, stepping back into the forest. He began kicking some small stones around, tuning around the rest of the world.
"Henry?" Henry nearly jumped straight into a thorn bush.
"Jeez Rachel," he said, laughing good-naturedly. She grinned too, stepping further towards him.
"Where's Ivy?" he asked, looking around for the brunette.
"Target practice," Rachel said, shaking her head in amusement. "Once she almost hit me, and I was to her right, I decided I should probably go…" They both laughed. But for Henry, he was thinking about something different.
"This is the first time we've been together since the library," he commented, raising his eyebrow. Rachel looked down, red beginning to show. He leaned in slightly, meeting dark brown eyes. She shrugged, raising her eyes to meet his. It was her way of saying "yes."
Henry leaned in slightly more, so they were mere inches apart. He studied her face, still scratched from the whole tree incident. He was surprised by her next actions. She leaned up, pressing her lips against his. He was so surprised, he forgot to react for a few seconds.
But, as she began retreating, he finally regained his senses. His arm naturally went around her neck, as he began to take the lead.
"Hey Rachel, I think I-" Ivy stopped short when she saw the two. They had broken apart the second she started talking, but she still saw plenty. Rachel cleared her throat, and looked away. Henry just looked like he'd been caught in the headlights of a car. It was all just a bit too much for Ivy. She burst out laughing, unable to contain herself. Even when the two of them were trying to regain their dignity, she was gasping for breath, trying to get a grip on herself.
"It's not funny, Ivy," Rachel said, glaring at the brunette.
"No, no it really isn't," Ivy said, talking through her giggles. "But it really is." Rachel just rolled her eyes, sensing that Ivy was going to take full advantage of this.
"Look, why are you here?" she asked. Ivy bit her lip, managing to keep a straight face.
"Uh, I finally shot the arrow into the correct tree. Not on the target. But hey, at least I hit the tree."
"Hm," Henry muttered, leading the way back into the clearing. Just as they were entering, so were the adults.
"Oh, hey guys," Rachel said, sitting down a rock. "You guys get anything?" Emma nodded.
"Gold was able to secure a bean for us. So, we have twenty four hours to find Rapunzel. But we need to get back to Storybrooke as soon as possible."
"Yeah, for Operation Save Storybrooke," Henry announced. Emma shrugged, accepting the name.
"Okay. Operation Save Storybrooke it is then."
Next time… While the heroes in the Enchanted Forest struggle to find Rapunzel, Storybrooke prepares for a full scale attack
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