Robin was finally free of her horrid bed rest and to celebrate, Alice had asked Zelena if they could go to a festival in the next Kingdom. Zelena, of course, had been very apprehensive about the idea, just like she had with the doctor's decision to clear her and put an end to her bed rest, but after some begging from both of the girls and a secret announcement of a trip to Neverland coming up, she agreed.
"Are you sure this trip is such a good idea?" Zelena hovered in the doorway of her daughter's bedroom, as the young couple packed a few changes of clothes into a large leather bag, excitement beaming from them.
"Mom…" Robin moaned, throwing her head back and kicking the air. This marked the hundredth time Zelena had asked her daughter this question since Alice had asked about the trip and every time the archer's reaction had been the same.
"Sorry for worrying about the wellbeing of my daughter and her girlfriend!" Zelena threw her hands up in surrender, not shocked by her daughter's behavior.
"I'm fine Mom! I can shoot again and I'm not even on bed rest anymore!" The archer added as she walked closer to the redhead. "I will be perfectly fine, I promise." Robin pulled her Mother in for an unexpected hug, catching the older woman completely off guard, but all that was washed away as she relaxed into her daughter's arms, loving this new found closeness that had come about since moving here.
"You'll make sure she takes it easy, won't you?" Zelena looked over her daughter's shoulder at the grinning blonde, as the two Mills women pulled apart.
"Of course! And if you're still so worried, you could always come with us? The more the merrier, right Robin?" Alice bounced excitedly, missing the glare that Robin had been sending her.
"I'm sure my Mom has better things to do...right Mom!" Robin spoke through gritted teeth, as she walked back to the bed where all her clothes covered the entire bed.
"Actually I do, I'm planning to spend the day with Regina," Zelena smirked at her now relieved daughter.
"Oh, doing anything fun?" Alice chirped, failing to notice the glances that were being shared between mother and daughter.
"Now, that would be telling." Zelena winked, before poofing herself away.
"I hate when she does that!" Robin mumbled, almost regretting the day she gave her Mom her magic.
"At least we can do this…" Alice purred into Robin's ear as she kissed down the archers jaw. "Unless you'd prefer to talk to your Mother all day instead." The blonde teased, pulling away slightly. Quickly, Robin spun around and pulled the blonde into her hold, kissing her fiercely.
The waves smashed hard against the sharp rocks, splashing up small flecks of water over the trio. Armed with the Jolly Roger, as a mode of transportation, they had set out to gather some intel on Gothel's latest sighting. A number of different sailors had reached out to Hook, upon hearing that the fearsome pirate had been looking for the witch, and all of the intel had led them here: The Dreaded Island of Neverland.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Zelena mumbled as they walked the rocky beach of Neverland.
"Aye, this place seems to have that effect on people." Hook gave her a hearty chuckle, trying his best to keep the spirits of the two women up, but deep down the captain had been dreading his visit back to this island.
"We just need to find out what that witch was looking for and then get out of here! The less time I spend on this island again, the better." Shivers danced through the brunette's body as she thought back to the terrible couple of days that were spent in this godforsaken place.
"I didn't know you had visited Neverland before." The redhead questioned as rocky beach turned into tropical forest paradise.
"Henry was captured when he was a child and we all came here to rescue him. Emma, me, the Charming's and your other self...it was the first time that they didn't look at me like the Evil Queen." Regina explained to the group, as the memories of the island flooded through her mind. The fight with Snow on the ship, Emma's first magic lesson, almost losing David, the final showdown with Pan...she had almost lost her son and there was no way she was not going to let this island take another child away from their parents.
"Pan take him?" Hook asked as he held back thick leaves with his hook for the two women.
"Not directly, but that's another story for another time. Do you know where this fish is?" Regina shook trying to shift an oncoming headache, she would tell them eventually, but right now she needed to focus on the mission at hand.
"She's not a fish, no...she's much worse than that." The Captain muttered, carrying around his own horrific memories of this island. "Since Pan was struck down by a rogue Lost Boy, she's taken over. More ruthless and twice as twisted than the little bugger."
"Does she have magic?" Zelena spoke up, using her own magic to chop any branches in her way.
"Aye...legend has it, she killed trident himself just to get her hands on more powerful magic." Hook explained as he pulled out his personal map of the island.
"Well then, let's find that Wendy Darling you speak of," Zelena smirked wickedly, pushing down any fear or insecurity she may have had about this trip if there was any chance of Robin and Alice getting their happy ending, Gothel had to be destroyed and Zelena couldn't wait.
"I am fairly capable of riding my own horse you know!" Robin moaned as she climbed onto the back of Alice's horse, wrapping her arms tentatively around her lover's waist.
"I know, but then you wouldn't be cuddled into my back," Alice smirked wickedly, as they set off. It was at least a days journey until they reached the next Kingdom, so the blonde had decided it might be a good idea to hire a horse, even if they just used it to carry bags in the end.
"Sneaky little…" Robin mumbled as she leaned up to peck the girl's cheek. "Are you going to tell me where we are going yet?" She asked as she lay her head on the blondes back.
"Nope!" Alice said with a pop.
"You're not bringing me to Wonderland, are you? I don't think I'm ready for that yet, and I think my Mom would kill me!" The archer panicked, tightening her grip on the blonde.
"No, we aren't going to Wonderland! There will be no realm jumping today...I hope." Alice chucked nervously, enjoying the blend of greens and blues they trotted through the deep forest. "If you must know, we are going to a festival in the next Kingdom and that is all I'm saying!"
"A festival? Cool! We had a few back in Storybrooke. We'd have cotton candy and candy apples and candy corn...now that I think about it was mainly just an excuse to eat loads of sugar." Robin bounced with excitement, before placing a slobbery kiss on her blondes neck.
"Candy apples, candy corn? I didn't know you could put candy on fruit and vegetables." The blonde mumbled curiously, as the brunette placed small kisses along her neck, completely distracting the blonde from her duties as the driver.
"You can put candy on anything if you try hard enough. It's a worthy goal." Vibrations ran through the blonde's body, as her archer mumbled against her neck.
"Maybe we could try sometime." Alice bit her lip, to stop a low moan from releasing.
"Absolutely!" Robin lessened her attack on the blonde, shuffling closer so that their bodies were practically glued to one another. "I'd try anything with you...just ya know…not Wonderland, not yet." Robin rested her chin on the blondes shoulder heads pressed together happily, in their own little world of loving bliss.
"This is hopeless! We've been wondering about this bloody island for hours and we are no closer to finding this Wendy girl!" Zelena shouted as the group stopped for a well-needed break.
"Don't worry Sis, we will." Regina placed a soothing hand on the redhead. "How long are Robin and Alice away on their little trip?"
"Three days at least." Hook answered for the redhead, he too had been a tiny bit apprehensive about the outing, but unlike Zelena, he chose not to voice his concern to the blonde.
"Okay good, we can make camp here tonight and then try and again in the morning. We've still got two days to find her." Regina made her plan, one that the two other people present wearily agreed.
"I'll get the firewood." Hook nodded at the two women.
"Thank you." Zelena smiled wholeheartedly at the man, coming to the conclusion a short while ago that he wasn't so bad after all.
"We will get her, and we will stop Gothel...you have my word." The pirate nodded at the two Mills women, before disappearing into the woods.
"He's right...wow, that was something I never thought I'd say about Hook." The brunette chuckled at herself.
"That's because we were stuck with the wrong Hook…you were right about him, he is a good man," Zelena smirked knowingly at the brunette.
"Oh shut up." Regina shot daggers at the redhead, before the sisters burst into a fit of laughter, only to be cut off by the howl of Hook in the far distance.
"Hook!" The two women stood, shouting in unison.
"We have to…"
"Agreed!"
The two women ran blindly into the tropical forest, hopping low branches and ducking under higher up ones. Listening for any indication of the pirate, of a Lost Boy, of anything whatsoever. But all they heard was silence.
"Where the hell did he go! I swear Alice is going to kill me if I have to tell her I lost her father in Neverland!" Zelena huffed as they reached a dead end.
"We'll find him."
"No need!" A thick British accent filled the forest, "You can have your Captain back, on one condition." The voice twirled around them, creating the illusion that it was only speaking to each woman individually.
"What? What do you want? You bitch?" Zelena shouted into the air.
"I want the one they call...Robin." The voice hissed, sending shivers down both women's backs.
"Well, you can't have her!" Regina shouted this time, pulling herself out of the trance the voice seemed to put her in.
"Her? I do not require a female Robin." The voice softened, before a puff of yellow smoke appeared, revealing a young girl, and a handcuffed Hook.
"You're just a child…" Zelena gasped.
"Were you expecting me to be some old hag?" Wendy teased, pretending to be offended.
"Kind of, yeah!" Zelena shared a worried glance with her sister. "Look, we can't give you what you want...Robin, Robin Hood...well, he's-"
"Dead...Robin is dead." Regina cut her sister off, as her eyes burrowed into the soul of the young girl.
"I feared that was the case...very well. You can have your pirate." With a wave of her hand, the shackles holding Hook captive disappeared. "If I were you I'd leave this place...some very dangerous things are coming and you are not worth my time!"
"Are you Wendy Darling?" Zelena ignored the advice, not ready to give up so easily.
"How do you know my name?" The girl raised her hand, ready to do whatever magic it took to keep herself safe.
"We came looking for you...there is a powerful witch, that we believe might be coming your way," Regina explained to the confused girl.
"Gothel...I had the displeasure of meeting that hag a few days ago." Wendy spat, shaking away the creepy feeling that comes when the witch is mentioned.
"What did she want?" Zelena pried.
"That's not how this works...you want something, you've got to give something." The blonde smirked at the redhead, watching as a look of fury crept onto Zelena' face.
"Listen here you little-" Hook quickly stepped in front of the redhead, effectively cutting her off.
"How do we know we can trust you? That you're not just working with Gothel?" The pirate spat back, deciding that it was best he dealt the Wendy.
"I want her gone just as much as you do...but I'm not the key." Wendy winked, before moving to pull
herself up onto a nearby boulder.
"The key? How do we find it?" Hook stepped forward, not backing down to a child.
"You know my rules. You do me a little favor and I tell you everything you need to know, to defeat that bitch!"
"That kind of favor…" Hook sighed defeatedly.
"You can't be serious Killian!" Zelena snapped, grabbing the pirate and turning him around violently to face her.
"We have too!" The man snapped back, startling the redhead. "For our girls and their happiness...we have too." He placed his hand on her shoulder as he stared deeply into her eyes, silently begging her to go along with this.
"Okay...what is it you want?" Zelena smirked at the young girl.
"It's simple really...I want my power back!" The blonde clapped wickedly. "And you three are going to be the ones that get it for me." The four were quickly engulfed in a cloud of thick yellow smoke.
"Robin! Do you see them?" Alice called from the hill just beside their camp for the evening.
"See what Tower Girl?" Robin questioned as she climbed the last few feet on the hill.
"The lights…" The blonde stared up at the sky in a daydream, as a large group of fireflies buzzed overhead, lighting up the small campsite.
"It's beautiful." Robin smiled as she finally reached her lover. Pulling Alice from her daydream as she intertwined their fingers together.
"I used to see them all the time in the Tower...my Papa would make me count them before bed, that's how he taught me," Alice whispered as Robin moved to stand behind her, wrapping her arms tightly around her blonde love.
"We never had any in Storybrooke...we didn't have much of what this world has actually." The archer explained as they swayed gently in the wind together.
"They did have something so much better than all the little wonders we have here." The blonde mumbled as she managed to turn around to face the brunette, without breaking Robin's tight hold on her.
"And what was that? Candy apples?" Robin teased, as she leaned into to brush against the blonde's lips gently.
"They had a Robin Mills...I would have given anything to have one of those in my tower with me." Alice smiled before capturing Robin's lips lovingly as she tangled her fingers in the archers braid.
"Well you have the one and only Robin Mills right now...what do you plan to do to her?" Robin teased as she pulled away from her lover's lips.
"Now...that would be telling." Alice purred, before breaking free of Robin's hold and running down towards the fire, ready for her night under the stars with Robin and no curfew to interrupt them.