────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊

────── ★★★ ──────

"So, any sign of that crocodile?" Everly asked the prince. Naveen had been leading them through the dark forest for the last few hours and they hadn't seen any sign of the beast. The Purest Heart was beginning to grow cold and restless, wanting nothing more than to get back to her family.

"Old boy's an alligator," the raven-haired man responded without taking his eyes off the trail in front of him.

"Not much of a difference. Both will devour you if they had the chance," Katherine responded with a large grin, making a matching smile appear on Everly's face.

"So, we best not give it to them," Tiana announced without even attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice as she turned to face Naveen, "and since it is pretty clear here our prince has no idea where he is going, I think it's time that I took over the hunt."

"Well, thankfully for all of us...that won't be necessary," the prince told them after crouching down to examine something on the path in front of him, "by the looks of these marks here, someone was dragged in that direction." Naveen let out a chuckle, causing Everly and Katherine to exchange a look as the prince got to his feet. "The game is still afoot!"

"This is not a game. My people's lives are at risk," the curly-haired princess declared while glaring daggers at the man standing next to her.

"Oh, lighten up, Your Majesty. It's just something hunters say," Naveen responded, earning an annoyed look from Tiana before the former continued walking down the path.

"These two are gonna be at this all night, aren't they?" Everly said just loud enough for only Ella and Katherine to hear.

"Unless an alligator eats them," the brunette woman responded while keeping her eyes glued to her best friend.

"I'm beginning to root for that," Katherine muttered under her breath before she and Everly followed Naveen down the trail.

They didn't have to walk very far before they found Naveen crouching down next to an injured man. While Katherine called out for the allies they left behind, Everly rushed towards the men and handed her torch over to the prince. The Throne woman's eyes scanned over the large gash on the man's leg before she held her hands a foot over his injury. Her hands immediately started to glow as her magic began working on healing his leg. Only a few short moments passed when Everly realized that healing him was going to take a lot longer than a few minutes.

Everly kept her eyes glued to the man's wound as the sound of approaching footsteps cut through the air. She didn't have to look up to know that Ella and Tiana had now joined them and were looking down at the injured man. After letting out a shaky breath, the man looked up at the two women who had just joined them.

"It was an alligator," he explained while trying his best to ignore the pain in his leg and continue his story, "it took the whole ferry down."

"Did you see where it went?" Naveen asked, not even bothering to hide the determination in his voice.

"Back in the water. It was headed towards Firefly Island."

"There's a village there. We have to stop it," Tiana told them while trying her best to mask the fear in her voice.

"I'm coming with you," Naveen announced, earning a shocked look from the curly-haired woman, "lives are at stake. You need a hero."

"And yet I have you. We do not have time to argue about this right now.," Tiana declared before turning her attention to her allies, "Ella, Katherine, stay with Everly until this man is healed then get him somewhere safe." After receiving nods in response from her friends, the princess turned her attention back to the prince standing in front of her. "Prince Naveen, you say you're a hero. Time to show me you're not just talk."

────── ★★★ ──────

Despite wanting nothing more than to return home to her family, Everly found herself back at the bakery in the late hours of the night. The Thorne woman stood next to Sam while Hook held up a flashlight for Rumplestilskin as he broke into the building. As she watched the Dark One mess around with the lock, all Everly could think about was how Emma could get them in ten times faster. What felt like another eternity passed before the clicking of the lock cut through the hair.

Rumplestiltskin didn't hesitate to shove his tools into his pocket before taking a flashlight from Hook and opening the door. A pungent odor was the first thing that greeted them after they entered the bakery. None of them could hold back their coughs as they walked through the back hallway toward the main part of the shop.

"Oh, do you smell that?" Hook asked while using his fake hand to cover his nose and mouth.

"That's gas," the Dark One told them as he continued to lead them down the hall.

As soon as they reached the kitchen, Rumplestiltskin discovered one of the ovens open. It wasn't long after that when he shined his flashlight at the dials to discover that it was on. The Dark One didn't hesitate to turn all the knobs until the oven was off. While he took care of that, Everly moved her flashlight around the building to look around for anything strange. She barely had to move her arm before she found an unconscious Hilda handcuffed to the leg of the counter.

The Purest Heart didn't hesitate to push passed Sam before kneeling down next to the woman. Everly's eyes continued to scan over the woman as she reached for Hilda's arm to look for a pulse. A wave of relief washed over her when she felt the pounding in her wrist. "She's still alive."

"Well, there's nothing and no one here except baking equipment," Sam muttered under his breath after watching Everly turn her attention back to the baker.

"A lock of her hair is missing," the Throne woman announced. An eerie silence settled upon the four police officers, all four of them knowing the cult had a hand in what had happened.

"Whoever killed our doctor tried to kill our baker, too," Rumplestiltskin concluded while looking between his three allies, "and whatever they're up to, I suspect they're far from finished."

────── ★★★ ──────

When Tiana finally returned to the castle after her adventure, she came with good and bad news. The good news was that she and Naveen had defeated the alligator, saving the villages along the bayou and getting Dr. Facilier's prized possession back. But despite this, Naveen was badly injured by the beast, resulting in Tiana convincing Dr. Facilier to save him. However, instead of letting both of the royals go free, the witch doctor took Naveen hostage as payment for saving the prince's life.

"I'm sorry, Tiana, but I know you'll find a way to help him," Ella said in an attempt to calm some of the emotions that her friend was feeling, "you just can't give up hope."

"I won't," the curly-haired woman responded in a tone that was less than convincing.

"Did you ever find out why Facilier sent you after that monster to begin with?" Henry questioned after moving the blanket further up on Lucy's body to keep her warm.

"If you can believe it, it was all for a necklace," Tiana scoffed as a serious look appeared on Regina's face.

"A necklace?" the Mills woman questioned, drawing all attention to her before the curly-haired woman sent her a small nod in response.

"I know, but I have more important things to worry about now," Tiana announced with a forced smile on her face as she turned around to look out the window, "like my kingdom."

A smile instantly appeared on Eudora's face before she reached down and picked up the crown that was next to her. As soon as the object was in her hands, she walked towards her daughter until she was standing right next to her. "So, are you ready to don your crown and meet your subjects as their queen?"

"Yes," the curly-haired woman responded after a matching smile made its way onto her lips. That caused her mother to lift the crown into the air and place it on Tiana's head. As soon as the crown was in its rightful place, Eudora took a step back to admire her daughter.

"But on one condition," Tiana continued before turning to face her friends, "you all come out to meet them with me. Because I can't protect them all alone. And I am putting my trust in all of you...to help me."

────── ★★★ ──────

After finishing up at the police station, Everly didn't hesitate to rush home to spend the remainder of the night with her family. The moment she got home, chaos broke out. The twins were running around the living room with inflatable swords that Felix brought home from the market. While they pretended to be pirates on the Jolly Rogers, Cassie and Roland laughed and talked on the couch. A small smile formed on her face when she spotted Felix with his back to her in the kitchen. He was standing over the stove as he stirred whatever he was cooking in a pot.

As soon as they noticed she was home, Fletcher and Dawn abandoned their swords and rushed toward her. Laughter cut through the air as Everly stumbled back from the force of their hug. It wasn't long after that when Cassie and Roland called out greetings from their places on the sofa. After the twins went back to playing pirates, the Thorne woman walked across the room and into the kitchen. It wasn't long after that when a familiar smell greeted her, causing her to stop in her tracks. The smile on her face did nothing but grow as Felix turned around to face her.

"I haven't smelled that in a very long time," Everly said, making a small laugh pass over Felix's lips.

The Thorne man didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his. The two of them stared down into the pot of the stove for a moment before Felix spoke. "Lost Boy Stew. The only good thing to come out of Neverland."

"The Saved Boys and I would make it, too. I guess it was a universal meal," the Purest Heart responded, earning another laugh from the man next to her, "I'm surprised they hand all the ingredients here."

"Well, I had to find replacements for a couple of ingredients but it tastes almost identical," Felix told her before scooping up a bit of the stew on a spoon and holding it out to her.

The smile on Everly's face did nothing but grow after she tasted the meal that everyone loved on Neverland. "You're right. It's not the same. It's so much better."

It wasn't long after that when the couple called their children to sit down for dinner. They all laughed and told stories about their day as they had their dinner. It was almost enough for Everly to forget about the missing pieces of their family...but not quite enough. But instead of dwelling on those not with her, the Purest Heart forced herself to enjoy what she had. Especially because it wasn't that long ago when no one remembered who she really was.

Just as they were about to finish their meal, there was a loud knock at their door. The family exchanged looks amongst themselves before Everly stood up and went to see who it was. The Purest Heart felt her family's eyes on her as she walked over to the door and pulled it open. She would never have guessed she would find a very distressed-looking Jasper standing on the other side.

"Hello, Thorne," the blonde woman greeted with a small smile on her face while trying her best to mask the confusion that was flowing through her veins, "is everything alright?"

"Is, um...is Cassie here?" the Tremaine boy asked, causing the smile on Everly's face to fall, "please don't try to convince me you don't know who she is. I know you're all awake."

Despite wanting to question the boy further, the Purest Heart stopped herself, knowing Jasper had gone through so much in so little time. Instead, she stepped aside and allowed the brunette boy to enter. As soon as Cassie saw the distress in her friend's eyes, she got to her feet and pulled him in for a tight hug. It wasn't long after that when the Thorne girl led him to her room so they could have a private conversation.

Just as Everly heard the door to her daughter's room close, her phone went off. The confusion within her did nothing but grow after pulling it out to see a text from someone else she didn't expect.

RUMPLESTILTSKIN:
The doctor wasn't killed by the
coven. She was in the coven.
There's someone out there
killing witches.

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