"There you are!"

Shutting off the car, fifteen year old Lynnetta Mills grinned, not bothering to lock it or grab her mobile when it fell into a pile of clothes in the passenger seat. Ruby's clothes. A thrill ran through her when she dropped the keys into the pocket of her jeans. It was a real key, too. She snickered a bit to herself. Like her mother in some ways, Ruby really was so stubborn. Briefly, she prayed Ruby would forgive her for stealing her car. It wasn't as if she had driven it too far anyways. Just twenty miles outside of Storybrooke, and pulled off the shoulder of the interstate enough to not be all that visible to any other cars, trucks, or whatever else passed. The only car near hers was Aria's, and she and Cindy were already sitting on the hood of it, with a (presumably stolen) bottle of French champagne. It was going to be a damn good night. All but skipping over to them, Lynn hopped up onto the hood of Aria's car, sitting down in between them. Cindy passed her the bottle, and Lynn had a little before handing it down to Aria, who did the same, then almost playing with it, her hands tapping against the glass every few seconds. It was then that Lynn noticed a ring Aria was wearing. A ring she recognised, and a ring that made her suddenly feel sick. She had only seen it a few times when she had been much younger, but it was Leah's coronation ring. A ring that she only remembered from her life before, at a time where Ruby had been the only person to keep her safe from -

"Remember our first fight?" Aria giggled. "You remember it, don't you Lynn?"

Lynn's eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, yeah," She said, somewhat confused. "But that was years ago, I mean, we were only nine."

"Six years ago," Cindy elbowed her. "So you guys have been friends for…what is it, five years now?"

Lynn nodded. "Yep! Definitely took me by surprise, but I'm glad it happened. The year when Aria and I were fighting it…it was hell."

"You won't have to worry about that again," Aria said sweetly. "Don't think too much, Lynn. You think and feel too much. But I promise you won't have to worry ever again. And you know I never walk back on a promise. I'm better than that."

Lynn laughed. "I appreciate it."

"So," Cindy said, stretching her arms out towards the sky. "What was that famed fight about?"

Lynn winced. "It was stupid," She muttered.

"No it wasn't," Aria rolled her eyes. "You broke my fucking nose just because you couldn't understand why people like Snow White and not the queen."

"Really?" Cindy's eyes bore into Lynn. "That's stupid. Were you trying to be contrary?"

Lynn fell silent, unsure of what to say.

"Hey," Aria said, handing Lynn the bottle. "Put this back in the car, and we can just lay out here for a while and tell stories. We can watch the stars, too."

Lynn shrugged but took the bottle. Sliding off the hood of the car she started around the side to put it back in one of the cupholders up front. What she did not see was the look Aria and Cindy shared. She didn't see Aria looking down at the ring, rubbing it between her fingers. She didn't see the bored look Cindy had watching her. And she didn't see what the two of them had been hiding behind their backs. When she dropped the half drunk bottle of champagne back into the cupholder and shut the door of Aria's lamborghini, she paused, yawning. It had been a long day. She didn't notice Aria and Cindy sliding off the hood of the car. She didn't notice that their hands were now wrapped around what they had been hiding behind their backs. When she finally turned around and started back towards them, she paused in surprise. Her stomach sank. Aria and Cindy looked caught between boredom and amusement. It was then she saw what was in their hands. Knives. Kitchen knives. Seconds passed but felt like hours. Then, without giving her so much as a chance to think, they ran at her. Their knives drawn, they ran at her. It had been years since she had felt afraid of anything but, now, she was. Aria's words weren't a kind, friendly promise of them staying close.

You won't have to worry ever again.

It wasn't a promise she would always be there for her. It was a threat.

Lynn ran faster than she ever had before, trying to get back to Ruby's car. Aria and Cindy were a little faster. She tripped, and when she fell, within seconds Aria was on top of her, and stabbed her in the shoulder. Lynn shrieked, and started kicking her. Cindy began to stab at her too, but was much weaker than Aria and barely cut her leg through her jeans. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had felt helpless, but that was absolutely subsumed by now. She wasn't sure what was happening other than that she was in pain, horrible, excruciating pain. She was starting to cry, but she wasn't sure if that was what she was hearing or if it was the scratching of the knives through the fabric of her jeans and her jean jacket. She kept kicking, flailing her arms the best she could. Aria was faster, and drove the knife further into her shoulder. She then switched sides, and started to try and tear through Lynn's jacket. She managed it, and started to cut her down her left arm. Cindy, still struggling with being kicked in the face, finally managed to jump on top of her, driving her knife into Lynn's right knee. All she could feel was pain. Even her tears, which were starting to cover her face, were painful. She kept trying to kick and punch them off of her. She couldn't. They were -

Suddenly, it all stopped. There was a loud, prolonged honk, followed by bright lights from a semi truck. Aria and Cindy both stopped, stood up. Lynn stared up at them when they took a few steps back, startled by subsequent lights coming from some cars going down the highway nearby. Aria handed her knife to Cindy, who ran both of theirs back to Aria's car, and strapped herself in. Aria, however, lingered. On the ground, still groaning in pain and crying, Lynn curled into herself. Everything hurt. It all felt like they were still on top of her, stabbing her. They weren't. She could still feel it, though. Her throat was starting to hurt, and she couldn't cry anymore. She let out some heavy, dry sobs, rolling over onto her stomach. She let out a terrible scream of pain, curling into herself, terrified they would try and stab her through the chest. That seemed like the only thing they had not managed. Aria did not move, however. She simply stared between the forest behind them, the highway a bit in front of them, and Lynn at her feet. She pulled off the ring, and held it in her hand. It weighed more than she thought it would when her mother had handed it to her. Then again, she told herself, that could have been in part by how shocking everything her parents had told her was. The truth. All of it they knew. She stared back down at Lynn.

"Why?" Lynn finally coughed out. "Why?"

"Mom figured out the truth about your town," Aria said angrily. "I was right when we were in elementary school and called your mother the evil queen! Because she is! Queen Regina of Misthaven, the evil queen! And she cursed me as a baby, all because she was upset that my parents cared about Snow! And Cindy - your mother's curse separated them too! My parents, Queen Leah and King Stefan, and Cindy's parents - Queen Ella, or, as you probably know her, Cinderella."

She kicked Lynn in the face.

"Thanks for lying to us for years," Aria spat as she walked away. "You're no better than she is."

Lynn stared. It was all she felt she could do. Aria and Cindy quickly drove away. She rolled over onto her back. Her shoulder hurt badly from where Aria had stabbed it, and both of her legs were horribly pained. Her arms hurt too, but not as much. It was early October. It was cold. Lynn stared up at the moon. It was full, and it was beautiful. It was also clear, clearer than it was in town. It was clear like it had been when she was little. Momma…where are you? She started crying more, rolling over again to try and ease the pain. She found herself now staring at the car. The car. It was still there. The door was open, and the windows were still down. It had been a nice night to drive. Just warm enough. Ruby had left clothes in there, too. She had been planning a trip to New York, but had to cancel at the last minute. She probably had meant to take them out in a day or two. Clothes. Hers were ruined, but Ruby's weren't. Hers probably wouldn't be able to do much to stop the bleeding, either. They wouldn't be tight enough. She couldn't tie them. But Ruby's could. They…

She pushed herself up onto her side the best she could. She let out another scream of pain. Still, she slowly pushed herself forward. The car. She could do it. It was only a few feet away. Slowly. She wasn't sure how long it took, but it felt like an eternity. Eventually, though, she reached the side of the car. She stared up at it for a moment and then, with what strength she had, she wiggled her way into the car. She could feel blood still steadily dripping down her arms, and her legs. Eventually, though, she was inside. One of her feet caught on the door. She looked up, crying again from the pain, but, seeing the windows were still down on all them, she did not fight it and let the door close with her foot still caught in it. It slammed shut, and the force of it kicked her foot out from it. She let out a short, raspy scream. Laid out over the driver seat and the middle console, she reached over at the clothes. Her hands grabbed onto them. She held onto them for a moment. They were real. They were there. And they were something she could feel that did not hurt. She closed her eyes while she started to cry again, though it was becoming weaker and weaker. She didn't fight it. Eventually, though, she managed to roll over onto her side. Tugging one of Ruby's clothes free, she held onto it for a moment. A blouse.

Not knowing what else to do, she slipped it under her terribly pained and bleeding shoulder, though the blood flow was starting to slow. Her other arm in terrible pain itself, she slowly wrapped it as tightly around her shoulder as she could, tying it off after…she wasn't sure how long. She reached for another piece of clothing, this time pulling out something that she thought was tights. Just as slowly, she began to wrap it around her other arm, where the cut all the way down was not as deep, but just as painful. She wasn't sure how long it took to tie that up, either. She paused for a little after, curling into herself again. It was not comfortable, and the centre console of the car was right on her torso. She didn't care. Everything hurt so much, and she couldn't bring herself to care. She rested her head on the passenger seat, on top of the rest of Ruby's clothes. Feeling that there was still some blood dripping down her legs, she eventually managed to pull out another piece of clothing. She tied her legs together the best she could, and felt the blood there slowly stop flowing too. Her hand grasped onto something much harder just above her head. Her mobile. She tried to pull it down a little, and managed it. She pulled it against her chest, but it hurt too much still on her shoulder to turn it on.

She eventually fell asleep. Alive, but feeling worse than she ever had…

Hands tugged at her, shaking her awake.

"Henry…" She mumbled groggily. "It's not time for school yet, let me sleep a little longer."

"Mom," Henry kept shaking her. "Momma, you need to get up."

Momma.

Henry only called her that, these days, when he was scared.

When something was very, very, very wrong.

No.

Regina finally reached up, grabbed his hand, and sat up. She took a look at the time.

4:26 AM.

"Henry," She said, shifting to press a hand against his forehead. "Are you -"

He grabbed her hand, pulling it down, shaking.

"Mom, Netta isn't here."

Regina stared at him for a few seconds.

"What? Of course she is. She's still asleep, Henry, she doesn't have to get up for another -"

"Netta isn't here!" He persisted, tugging on her hand. "She's not here!"

Panic set in. No. She refused to believe it. No. My daughter can't have been taken again, there's no way. It took only a few seconds for her to all but tear herself out of bed. Henry stood up suddenly, too, and hopped off the bed to follow her. Not caring that she nearly slammed into the door frame, Regina ran out of the room and down the hall. Henry was just behind her. He grabbed onto her hand, and started dragging her to his sister's room. When they both stepped in, they realised he was right. Lynn's bed looked barely slept in, like she had made it look just enough so that if her mother peeked in she wouldn't think anything of it. Everything was where it should be, except for Lynn's pyjamas which were left haphazardly on the floor. A hand slowly raised to her mother's mouth in horror, her entire body shaking. No. She looked around at Lynn's things, finding her mobile charger. Her mobile was not there. Regina paused, staring at the spot where it was supposed to be. Lynn's laptop was still there. Her mobile charger on top of it, exactly where her mobile should have been plugged in. But it wasn't. It wasn't there, and neither was Lynn. Regina almost couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. Her entire body was shaking, now. It was all too familiar.

No. It can't be. She can't be gone again.

"Henry," Regina turned back to where her eight year old son was, halfway in his sister's room. "Come here."

He bobbed on his toes for a few seconds but then did so.

"This is very important," Regina knelt down to his height and took his hands. "I need you to tell me when and where you last saw your sister."

"Last night," Henry said. "She let me come in here even though she usually doesn't."

Regina shook. "How come?"

"She wanted me to help her pick out clothes," He paused, sounding confused. "I don't know why. I told her that it was cold so she should wear something warm. She said she wanted to look 'cool' so I told her that she should go with that jean jacket she has with her jeans and -"

"Was that for school?"

Henry stared at her funny. "What else would it be for?"

Regina felt sick.

"Henry," Her voice wavered. "Are you sure you didn't see her this morning?"

He nodded. "I came to wake her up because I couldn't sleep," He said. "Since I didn't want to bother you. But she's not here! Mom, Netta isn't here!"

"I know, I know," Regina let him go and stood up, running her hands through her hair. It was then she noticed the window was slightly ajar. "No…"

Henry all but ran over to follow his mother. When Regina got to the window, her hands shaking, she saw that not only was it open, but that there was a small pile of stones up against it. Not high enough to reach the second floor window, not at all. But high enough that, if she were holding onto the very bottom of the window sill, Lynn could just barely get her feet on. She would be able to hop down and into the backyard from there. Not bothering to close the window, Regina ran out of her daughter's room. Henry ran after again. She came very close to sliding down and jumping over the bannister but nevertheless made it to the bottom of the stairs before running towards the back doors. She didn't close them behind her, and Henry followed right after. Regina paused, staring up at her apple trees before running over to where the stones were still piled up. She looked up, hoping that she was wrong and that Lynn wouldn't have been able to manage to climb down from it. She wasn't. It was unstable, but it would be just enough, and Lynn was more than adept at climbing and jumping. She could do just about any of those things perfectly safely, even if precariously. Henry, panting, finally caught up to his mother, and grabbed onto her hands when he saw they were shaking.

"Where'd she go?" He asked, fear that she hadn't heard in years in her son's voice. "She has to be somewhere, right?"

"You're right, she does," Regina glanced to him, and did not object when he tightly hugged her. "But I don't know where that could be."

"She's got to be in town," Henry reasoned. "I mean, how would she get out of town?"

Regina felt her heart sink again. Feeling her shift, Henry let his mother go, only to follow her yet again. He closed the doors behind them when she ran back into the house. He then followed her into the kitchen, and back towards the door to the garage. Her hands shook over the doorknob. Finally, she twisted it open, and flicked on the lights to the garage. Her car was still there. It did not make her feel any better. In some ways, she felt only worse. Henry came up behind her, staring too. Netta can't be that far, she doesn't have mom's car. He looked up at Regina, his brow furrowing in confusion when he saw that she looked only more worried. Not thinking twice, Regina all but punched the internal garage door opener. She only turned back to run into the main hall, and find her shoes. Henry followed her and, seeing her slip on a pair of flats she had left by the door, he grabbed his own shoes and put them on. He watched his mother all but rip her mobile off the charger. She checked to make sure the front door was still locked, and then grabbed her car and house keys off the hook. She then turned back, and ran towards the still ajar door to the garage. Henry followed, struggling to keep up.

"Mom, where are we -"

"Henry," Regina's voice shook when he closed the door to the garage behind them and locked it with the key under the mat. "You're not going to school today."

He stared at her, confused. "You never let me miss school."

"This is more important than school," She said, unlocking the car. "Get in your car seat, and buckle in, now. We need to find your sister."

Replies To Reviews:

barrattajennifer: Lynn and Regina are definitely much, much closer than Leah and her daughter, and, among everything else, it is sad and disturbingly unsurprising that Aria snapped in some way

jasouatfan: well, there's definitely one person with red hair who has a great deal of "interest" in Regina…and she certainly had a few hands everywhere, in the worst ways possible.

Sammii16: it really does, and that jealousy/tension can be sinister; with the way Aria and her parents had always looked at the Mills family, it's sadly unsurprising that Aria could find the few people like them, and manipulate them.