"Excuse me. Hi. Do you mind?" Uma demanded. She didn't bother hiding her annoyance. Uma was used to having all eyes on her while speaking, and someone playing with cards instead bothered her.

"I do, actually," the Queen of Hearts replied. She rose to her feet and let her hands float beside her.

"Mom, what are you doing?" called out Red. Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe they should have checked the looking glass before traveling back.

"Why, playing my favorite game," Queen Bridget cooed, turning around to face her daughter. Her hands clasped in front of her.

"Hearts!" The queen sang, while throwing a deck of cards into the air.

Smiles flooded the crowd as all present stared at the sky. Shimmering bubbles in the form of hearts emerged from the cards and floated downwards.

"Oh, I love bubbles!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed.

Even Uma was enthralled. She had heard all about the Queen's favorite game, but had never seen it herself. It was magical.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself!" apologized the Queen as she turned back towards Uma. "I'm just so excited for my daughter to be here!" she beamed. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Well, nothing I say is gonna top that. So, have a great year, y'all," Uma chuckled. The crowd's response was thunderous applause.

Chloe pivoted to face Red and exclaimed, "You saved our moms! You changed history!"

"No, we did it," assured Red. The two girls stared at each other, both wearing massive smiles. Their eyes shimmered. Neither made a sound, too afraid to ruin the moment. Eventually, both girls turned their gaze from each other back to the Queen of Hearts.

As the pair of royal hearts began to approach each other, the world around them disappeared. They started to sing Bridget's favorite lullaby. Once the two got close enough to touch, their hands clasped together.

After being pulled into a hug, Red cried, "You know, Mom, you actually are really wonderful."

Shortly after the two embraced once more, music began to play. Everyone started dancing. A few present even popped some heart bubbles, creating a display of shimmering glitter.

"Mom!" Chloe yelled.

"There she is," Cinderella responded. Her simple words brought tears to her daughter's eyes.

As parents and their children danced together, Red finally started to understand what it meant to live happily ever after. Finally, it was her turn to have a fairy tale ending. At least, that's what she thought.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The somehow thunderous noise caused all heads to turn. The music ceased.

Standing at the main courtyard entrance was a woman with algae-colored locks. Fishnets and shells accentuated her teal, mermaid dress.

Though her body and face had matured, it was an easy feat for Red and Chloe to identify the woman. Uliana. Their hearts plummeted to their stomachs.

"Well, well... Isn't this just a touching celebration?" Uliana mocked.

"What are you doing here?" shouted Cinderella. She had already begun to move between Chloe and the sea witch.

"How could I miss Red's big day?" Uliana scoffed.

"Oh, Uli! I'm so glad to hear you say that! We were just dancing! Why don't you come join us?" urged the Queen of Hearts.

"Bridget, she's mocking you. Uliana's not here to join in on our celebration," Cinderella illuminated.

"Ding, ding! Little Cindy wins the prize!" the sea witch cackled. "I'm not here to join in on your dancing, if that's what you call that atrocious display. I'm here to get revenge! For everything you have done to me!"

"Aunt Uls!" Uma called out. "You don't have to do this! I know how mom is, but you can be better than her! You can still make the right choice here!"

"Oh, Shrimpy... Another villain gone soft. It's sad, really. I am already better than both Ursula and you. Is that what you really call a pirate crew, Shrimpy? Let me introduce you to a real one." Uliana threatened.

As soon as she snapped her fingers, pirates appeared from the shadows.

They blocked all potential exits. Each was armed with at least one weapon. Closer inspection would reveal most of the crew brandished hidden ones as well.

"Bibbidi Bobbidi B—" started Fairy Godmother.

Suddenly, no sounds could escape her throat. Fairy Godmother was forced to watch in horror as a glowing ball was pulled from her mouth. A cloud of purple smoke pulled it into Uliana's necklace.

"Enough! Let's finish this!" Uma shouted, pulling out her sword. She motioned for her crew to begin engaging the enemy.

"There's that villainous temper I remember! Come at me, Shrimpy! Let's see if you've gotten better at fighting since I saw you last, though I doubt it," Uliana sneered.

Four tentacles sprouted from the sea witch's back, each clutching a cutlass. Uma charged forward. Rather than do the same, Uliana took a few steps forward then got in a defensive stance. Her pirate crew did the same, forcing the crowd into a smaller area.

As swords began to clash, Red started to search for the crowd for Chloe. They could go back. They could go back and stop this from happening.

Meanwhile, Chloe had pulled out her sword and started fighting back. Most had come to the event unarmed, but this princess never went anywhere without her father's gift. Chloe was sure her training had prepared her for this moment.

Unfortunately, pirates fight dirty. Anytime Chloe managed to get the upper hand, there was always another pirate ready to throw her off balance. They continued to force the crowd into a tighter circle. The princess persisted in parrying all the attacks being thrown at her, but was steadily losing ground.

In the middle of the circle, Uma and Uliana were locked in the fight of their lives. Neither willing to back down. Neither willing to let their opponent gain even an inch of advantage. However, one combatant was starting to lose steam.

Uliana's tentacles were a tornado of cuts and slashes. Each strike designed to disarm Uma. The younger sea witch was not unfamiliar with this type of onslaught, but experience only goes so far. Her muscles began to ache. Uma's blocks grew weaker with each attempted blow. Her face paled. All it would take is one more key wallop and—

Clank!

"No!" cried Uma, as her sword fell to the ground. She dove towards it, but two tentacles wrapped around her legs and lifted her off the ground. Her body tensed. Uma tried to push off the tentacles, but her attempts were in vain.

"Oh, look who's head over heals for me now, Shrimpy!" Uliana crowed.

"Chloe!" called Red. She had finally managed to locate her friend amidst the crowd. "Grab on!" Red pulled out her watch and held it out for Chloe. All the other girl had to do was grab the chain then they could both go back.

"Ooh! What's this?" posed Uliana, as one of her free tentacles yanked the watch from Red's hand.

"Give that back! It's a family heirloom!" Red lied. She started to sprint towards the sea witch, but pirates reached out to grab her. Red managed to slip through their grasp for now. Still, the crowd had gotten pushed so close together that there was little space for her to maneuver.

"A family heirloom? Strange that I've never seen it before. Must be really valuable if you've hidden it from me all these years then," replied Uliana, pocketing the watch. "Stop messing around and grab those two girls!" She snapped.

Any pirate not already occupied began to focus on detaining Red and Chloe. With how little space there was available for the girls to escape to, it wasn't long before they were captured. Blood drained from their faces.

"Not my daughter! Uli, you leave my daughter and her friend alone!" demanded the Queen of Hearts. "You need to stop! It's time for you to end this nonsense!" She announced.

"Time to end this is right, my dear Bridget," Uliana cooed. From one of her pockets, she pulled out a flask of swirling black smoke. "This little cat-and-mouse game has gone on long enough. I'm sure you're tired. Why don't you take a nap?" She chuckled.

As the bottle fell to the ground and smashed open, the black smoke enveloped the courtyard. The two girls felt their eyelids grow heavy. Their vision turned black then their bodies slumped to the ground, along with the rest of the crowd. Only Uliana and her crew were left standing. Both potions had worked like a charm.