A/N: Thank you all for the continued interest and support! Here's a quick OUAT POV interim, just to catch up with our locals, before I launch back into Austin and Ally's side of the story.
PART 1, CHAPTER 3
"Open up your heart / Show me who you are."
Little did Austin and Ally know, the news of their presence had spread through the small town like wildfire. They were strangers. Storybrooke didn't get strangers.
Granny had been the first to identify them as non-residents. She knew everyone in this town, so when four young adults she'd never seen before showed up in her restaurant, she immediately took action. First, Granny pointed out the newcomers to Red, who also had never seen them before. After eavesdropping on their conversation to get as much information as possible, Ruby called the sheriff station.
David is the one who picked up the phone. After receiving the news from Red, he then called Emma to let her know what Ruby had told him.
Emma was busy today. The Fairies had put together a giant festival for the whole town, and everyone was pitching in to help. It was supposed to be a somewhat delayed celebration of the defeat of the Black Fairy. Everyone was embracing their fairytales, dressing up as their own characters as they were known in this world. Snow had put on a blue, red, and white dress with a bow clipped into her hair. Regina had modified her signature Evil Queen gown into something a bit less Evil, but still fabulously Queen-like. Meanwhile Emma and Henry had both spent a good portion of the morning trying to convince Killian to put on a perm wig and mustache, which he quickly ditched as soon as they had taken a couple of priceless photographs.
Now, Emma and Regina were helping Henry run his Storybook booth at the festival. After finding hundreds of new Storybooks in the Sorcerer's Mansion, it had been Henry's idea to share some of those stories with the rest of the town. Every hour, he read different chapters from his Once Upon a Time book to anyone who wanted to stop and listen. The booth also had a few of the newer books displayed for people to look through on their own. So far, the idea had been a big hit.
Henry had just finished reading a chapter about Red to a group of children, and came back over to the booth to take a break. That's when the Sheriff finally got word of strangers in Storybrooke. She immediately shared the news with Regina and Henry.
"Strangers?" Regina asked once Emma had relayed what she'd found out from David. "From the Land Without Magic? How the hell did they get past my border protections?"
Emma was just as baffled. Storybrooke was supposed to be invisible and inaccessible to all non-residents outside the town line. Any strangers should have driven right past it as if there was nothing here. "No clue," Emma responded. "They mentioned something about a broken down tour bus," she added. "They were trying to get to Montreal."
Henry pulled out his phone. "What did you say their names were?" he asked.
"Austin, Dez, Trish, and Ally," Emma answered as Henry typed it into his search bar. "Ruby said they seemed to know nothing about Storybrooke or magic. Maybe they got inside the border unintentionally?"
Regina gave her a skeptical look. "You know as well as I do, Emma, that no one comes here without reason," she insisted. "Trust me. These tourists are not in Storybrooke by any coincidence."
"Found 'em," Henry announced suddenly, holding up his phone. Emma and Regina both looked over his shoulder to see what he discovered. "Austin Moon and Ally Dawson," he told them, pulling up a video. It showed a young man and woman harmonizing in a duet on stage. "They're a musical duo from Miami who gained internet fame back in 2011," Henry scanned the article in the caption. "She started as his songwriter, and now they are a couple who perform together around the country."
"So they're famous," Regina concluded with a frown. "But that still doesn't explain why a group of people from this land would be able to get into a town full of magic."
"Unless," Henry said, his eyes lighting up thoughtfully, "they aren't from this land," he grabbed one of the Storybooks from the booth's table and stood up.
"Henry?" Emma asked. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," Henry said, "that the Land Without Magic doesn't completely lack magic. Maybe there's a story in one of these that would be able to explain Austin and Ally's link to Storybrooke."
As he spoke, Blue approached the booth with a troubled expression. "I believe you may be on to something, Henry," the fairy responded to the teenager's statement. "Our two worlds have always been connected, and have only grown closer since the First Curse. I fear now that our destinies have been intertwined as well," she said. "More so than we realized."
"Blue," Emma greeted her. "Do you have any idea what could have caused this?"
"There is something magical at work, though it is unclear what at the moment. Fate often takes time to reveal its secrets," the fairy replied solemnly. "I suggest you join Belle in the library," she said to Henry. "I have already sent her to do research, and your expertise in this world's fairytales might be of use to her."
Henry nodded, eager to help. He collected a few more books into his arms and looked at Regina. "Mom—"
"I'll run of the booth for you until you get back," Regina smiled at her son. "You have important work to do. I know you'll be able to figure this out," she added proudly.
He gave both his mothers a quick hug before heading in the direction of the library. Once Henry was gone, Emma turned back to Blue. "Do you know where these newcomers are now?" She asked.
"The girls are with Tinkerbell, who is helping them repair their vehicle," she replied. "Belle said she spotted the two boys entering Rumplestiltskin's shop."
Emma nodded. "Thanks for the info, Blue," she said to the fairy. "Let me know if you learn anything else. I'm going to go see what more I can find out about these unexpected visitors."
A/N: As always, please leave a review with thoughts! Next chapter will be longer.
