𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖘𝖒𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖛𝖔𝖎𝖈𝖊

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The town was bustling with life and joy as a young girl weaved her way through the market stalls, her delicate feet hitting the cobblestone as she rushed towards the docks.

The sea breeze hit the girl's face and she couldn't help but grin at the sight of ships docking at the port. 

With a wistful smile, the girl leaned against the wooden fence, her hands crossing over each other as she watched the ships dance atop of the ocean.

How she wished she could just hop onboard one of those ships and sail away from the small kingdom.

The belltower chimed lunch time.

But she couldn't. And she never will.

Picking her skirts up from the ground, she spun on her heels and began to rush back towards the centre of the town.

With her cloak hood kept up, she moved between villagers and palace guards as she made her way to the servant's entrance of the kingdom's castle.

And as she ran through the stone walls, Fleur could feel whatever peace at the idea of freedom slipping away with every step she took.

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Valeria stood in her kitchen, leaning on the marble counter as she waited for her dinner to heat up in the microwave, with her Dalmatian - Purdy - lying on her dog bed by the fridge. When the machine beeped, the girl pushed herself off of the counter and pulled her meal out of the microwave. She ripped off the plastic cover of the store-bought dinner when the front door opened and her parents appeared in the hallway.

"Hi." The girl called out, making the two adults jump and turn to see their daughter standing in the kitchen.

"Hello, dear." Her mother barely sent her a smile as her father only grunted and went straight upstairs.

"Rough day at the office?" Valeria asked knowingly, due to her father's colder than usual greeting.

"Your father's just stressed." Her mother shrugged, "You know how he is."

Valeria nodded with a sigh, "Yeah. I do. Would you like something for dinner?"

"We already ate at work. And besides, I had a surgery today that was very tiring." The woman waved her hand, making her way for the stairs, "Goodnight, Valeria."

The girl frowned as her mother disappeared upstairs, "Goodnight, Mom." She whispered, grabbing a fork from the drawer and sitting down on the barstool, eating her microwaved dinner by herself.

The girl went to open her phone and call Elizabeth when everything suddenly began to shake, making Purdy whine and Valeria let out a shriek and grab onto the marble counter to steady herself, the trembling only last a couple of moments before it stopped.

"What the hell?" Valeria whispered, checking that Purdy was alright before rushing to the front door and opening it, stepping out to see her neighbours looking around, just as confused as she was.

―

"None of this makes sense." Lydia sighed, as she and Marie were sat at the kitchen table of the blonde girl's apartment, doing their homework.

"It's algebra." Marie said, "It's not supposed to make sense."

Lydia let out a laugh, looking over at her friend with a smile, "Thank you for staying the night with me." She said, "Living alone is great for independence and all, but it does get a little lonely sometimes."

Marie grinned at her, "Anytime. I wouldn't want to struggle over homework with anyone else."

Lydia chuckled, before letting out a content sigh as the microwave oven beeped, signalling that their popcorn was now cooked, "It's nice to have some time with just us again." She said, standing up and getting the hot package of hot kernels out of the microwave, "You know - no Henry going on about storybooks, no accidentally helping my boss try and steal a baby."

"I get that." Marie laughed as Lydia poured the popcorn into a bowl, "I'm glad we're having sleepovers again."

"Me too." Lydia nodded with a smile as she started to walk back over to the table, "I think the last time we had one was-"

The blonde girl was cut off when the apartment began to shake, Marie ducking under the table and Lydia losing her balance and falling to the ground, the popcorn going everywhere.

When the shaking stopped, Marie gingerly came out from under the table, "Are you okay?" She asked, helping her friend up.

"Well, my ego's bruised, as well as my side, but I think I'm fine," Lydia chuckled, before pouting, "Aw, the popcorn's all over the floor!"

―

Most of the town had found out the cause of the tremor, which lead them to the old mining tunnels.

Valeria stood next to Regina, shivering in her thick coat as the woman addressed the concerned crowd.

"People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels. But fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe – to rehabilitate it into city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it." Regina announced, 

"Pave it?" The voice of Henry asked as he broke through the crowd, "What if there's something down there?"

"Henry. What are you doing here?" Regina asked her son, frustrated.

"What's down there?" Henry pressed.

"Nothing. Now step back." She told the boy as Lydia pushed her way through the crowd, lightly grabbing Henry's hand and pulling him back into the crowd, earning a thankful smile from Regina, who then cried, "In fact, everyone! Please, please step back. Thank you."

"I swear, I'm like a dog running after his owner when Henry's around." Lydia shared a laugh with Marie as she watched the boy begrudgingly go and wait in his mother's car.

"And you have such a lovely coat of fur." Elliott chuckled, passing the them and ruffling her blonde hair.

"Shut up," Lydia swatted his hand away, "Or I'll bite you."

Meanwhile, Valeria walked over to Regina - who was dishing out orders, "Mayor Mills? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Valeria, you can go home now." Regina waved her off, going to talk to Marco and the fire department.

―

Over in Regina's car, Henry was getting agitated and once he saw his chance, he got out of the car, beckoning Emma, Archie and Lydia over to him.

"This requires all of Operation Cobra." Henry said once they were all gathered near a police car, "All three of you."

"I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra." Archie said.

"Of course you are." Henry scoffed, "You know everything. We can't let her do this. What if there's something down there?"

"They're just some old tunnels." Emma shrugged.

"Yeah, Hen." Lydia nodded, "They're just old mine tunnels. This was gonna happen eventually."

Henry gave Emma a dry look, "Old mining tunnels that just happen to collapse right after you get here? You're changing things. You're weakening the curse."

Emma sighed and shook her head, "That's not what's happening."

"Yes, it is!" Henry stressed, "Did you do anything different today? Cause something made this happen." He asked, making Emma glance down to her deputy badge, running her fingers over it.

"Henry." Regina snapped, walking over to the four of them, making everyone stand up straight, "I told you to wait in the car." She then turned to Emma, "Deputy, do your job."

Henry and Emma both left in different directions with heavy sighs. Archie went to leave, but Regina called after him.

"Dr. Hopper. A word, please?" She asked, making the man turn around as the mayor glanced over at Lydia, "Lydia, I suggest you head home. It's a school night, after all."

"Right." The girl nodded, walking away and back over to her friend.

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Feet pounded on the fallen leaves below, tattered cape dragging on the floor and rough, laboured breath bounced off the trees.

Fleur's head whipped behind her, eyes widening as she picked up her pace, the creature hot on her tail.

Turning her head back in front of her, she let out a gasp as her forehead came into hard contact with a low hanging branch and her body flew backwards, all the breath leaving her body as she landed on her back.

A chill ran up her spine as the heavy foot behind her landed by her head. Breathing heavily, Fleur slowly flipped onto her stomach and looked up.

The large, hideous ogre looked around, its nose twitching as it attempted to catch a scent of the terrified girl.

Holding her breath, Fleur slowly and steadily began to rise to her feet. Taking a small step back, she couldn't help but cringe as one of her feet landed on a small branch that snapped underneath her weight.

The creature's head swung round in the princess' direction, the corner of its' large mouth curling up in a grotesque snarl. The ogre let out a roar, its ginormous fist swinging up - making Fleur scream and close her eyes in preparation for what was to come.

But nothing did.

A large thud to her side made Fleur's eyes snap open and she looked around to see the creature face-first on the ground, an arrow stuck into the back of its head.

Fleur's head whipped around, her breath coming out in pants, hands shaking as she looked for the shooter of the arrow.

"You know, I nearly had it back in that glade." A voice said, making Fleur whip round to see a girl about her age emerging from behind the treeline, "You know, before you let out that gasp that had it chasing you hallway across this forest."

The girl looked between the stranger and the fallen creature, "Y-You did that?"

The purple-haired stranger looked around her, shaking the crossbow in her hand, "Well, I am the only person around here with the crossbow."

A grin spread across Fleur's face, "And you're a girl."

The stranger paused her walk towards the creature, raising an eyebrow, "Keen observation."

Fleur's eyes widened, "N-No. I-I didn't mean that in a bad way. I-I think it's amazing. I've never seen a woman in my kingdom so much as even hold a crossbow - let alone shoot down a-a creature with one."

"Then your kingdom has many an issue." The other girl noted, crouching down next to the ogre and tugging the arrow out with a grunt.

"W-What is that thing?" Fleur asked, taking a nervous step forward.

The strange girl let out a small chuckle as she studied the slimy blood on the arrow, her lip curling up in slight disgust, "What? You never heard of an ogre before?"

"That's an ogre?"

"Well it's not a bunny." The purple-haired girl shrugged, waving her hand and a vial appeared in her hand, surrounded by a small puff of purple smoke. The astonished look on Fleur's face made her chuckle again, "You never seen any kind of magic before either?"

Fleur bit her lip as she looked down at her interlocked hands.

The girl raised an eyebrow as she dripped a few drops of the slimy blood into the vial, "Your kingdom's pretty sheltered, huh?"

"It's more me than the kingdom." Fleur admitted with a blush.

"Is that why you were originally running?"

"Not running." Fleur shrugged, wrapping her cloak tighter around her, "Just... taking a break."

The girl gave an unconvinced nod as she put the cork on the vial, "Well, next time you need a break from your kingdom, I don't want to be here saving you again." She said turning to leave.

Fleur took an alarmed step forward, "Wait-"

But the mysterious girl vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

Fleur let out a disappointed sigh, shoulders slumping as she surveyed her surroundings. Looking down at the fallen ogre, she grimaced before turning on her heel and began to try and walk back to the kingdom.

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The next day, Valeria was at the town hall, running errands for Regina when she looked out of the window and saw Emma dropping Henry off in her yellow car, Lydia sat next to her in the front before the woman drove off. However, instead going into the building to greet his mother, Henry started to jog in the other direction. Valeria raised an eyebrow, putting the files in her hand down on her desk before quickly making her way out of the building.

"Henry!" She called after the boy, making him look over his shoulder and gasp, running faster, "Henry!" The girl cried again, picking up her pace to try and catch up with the boy, gritting her teeth at her choice of wearing heeled boots today - not like she knew she'd be chasing an eleven-year-old down the street.

Reaching the collapsed mine, Valeria's eyes widened at the sight of the boy making his way into the entrance of the mine.

"Henry?!" She cried out again, racing over to the boy and grabbing onto his arm before he entered the mine, "Henry, stop! What are you doing?!"

"I'm seeing what's in there!" He told her, breaking away from her grip and running into the mine.

"Henry! No it's dangerous!" Valeria yelled, running in after him.

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"Where have you been?"

Fleur jumped at the sound of her voice as she entered her bedroom.

"I was on a walk." She answered, averting her gaze as she took off her cloak.

"On a walk where?" The woman perched on her bed asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Around the village." The girl muttered, eyes focused on the piece of clothing that she was holding.

The woman swiftly stood up and approached Fleur, grabbing her chin between her fingers, forcing the girl to look her squarely in the face.

"Do not lie to me."

"Mother-"

"Do. Not. Lie." Queen Vivienne glared down at her daughter, her grip tightening, "Where were you walking?"

Fleur swallowed thickly, "The forest." She whispered.

Queen Vivienne let out a scoff as she roughly let go of the girl's chin, "What have I told you about going out there?" She snapped.

Fleur dropped her head, "I'm sorry, mother."

The woman's lips curled up into a snarl, "No. You never are." She looked her daughter up and down and shook her head, "Get changed. You look like a mess and we have guests coming soon."

"Yes mother." Fleur said quietly, gaze downcast.

"And Fleur?" Queen Vivienne paused at the door.

"Yes, mother?"

"You'd better behave. Otherwise there will be consequences."

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"Henry!"

Emma, Lydia and Archie were at the entrance to the tunnel as they called Henry's name and Pongo sniffed around the entrance, after finding out from Regina that Henry was not at her office - where they had dropped him off an hour ago before they went to go and give Archie a piece of their mind for trying to take away his fantasy.

"Henry!"

"What do you got there, Pongo?" Archie asked his dog.

"I don't think he's here." Emma told the other two. 

"I think he is," Archie said as he found one of the candy bars that Henry had in his backpack and held it up, "Candy bar. He had these with him." 

Lydia nodded, "They're his favourite," She said examining the ground further, raising an eyelid when she spotted something on the ground, picking it up, the blonde examined it, "Oh, crap." She muttered.

"What?" Emma asked.

Lydia showed the two adults the ID card that she held in her hand, "This is Valeria's. She must have gone after Henry when we dropped him off."

"Crap." Emma repeated, when suddenly the ground started to shake and the mine started to collapse.

"Henry!"

"Valeria!"

"Henry! It's not safe!"

Just before the mine was about to collapse, both Lydia and Archie ran forward to try and get inside the mine. However, Emma lunged forwards to grab onto Lydia's jacket, pulling her back - to which the younger blonde fought her grip, only giving up when the entrance had fully collapsed and Archie was already inside.

Emma loosened her grip on Lydia, only for the teenager to slowly fall the the ground as the pair staring at the rock-covered entrance in shock.

―

Valeria wiped the sweat off of her forehead, letting out a small shriek as the ground started to shake and rocks began to fall.

"Henry!" She cried, spying the boy and running over to him to cover his body and head as more rocks fell before the tremors ceased. Pulling away, she crouched down to look at him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Henry nodded, before continuing in his way.

"No, Henry." Valeria huffed, grabbing his arm and pulling him back over to her, "We have to go back. It's not safe here."

"You don't understand." Henry stressed, "This is important. I have to do this."

"Do what?"

"Find proof!"

Valeria let out an exasperated sigh, "Proof of what?"

Henry went to speak, but got cut off when Archie's voice called out to the pair.

"Henry!? Valeria?!"

The boy's face lit up in a grin as he ran back and jumped out from behind a corner, "Archie!"

"Henry!" Archie sighed in relief, relaxing more when Valeria rounded the corner, "Valeria!"

"You're here to help me!" Henry smiled.

"No, Henry, listen. We got to get out of here, okay?" Archie told him.

"So, you're still against me?" Henry asked, voice cracking.

"Henry, there's no time for that. Come on, Henry! Come on!" Archie shook his head, only for Henry to step further away from the man.

"You don't believe me? You'll see. You'll see!" He cried, running off, making Archie and Valeria call after him.

―

Still chasing after him, Valeria reached out to stop the man from running, "Okay, I can't breathe and you need to give me answers." She panted, the pair now walking to catch up with the boy, being careful not to fall over fallen rocks.

"Answers?"

"To why he's here." The girl told him, "I'm not an idiot, it's obviously something to do with your sessions."

Archie hesitantly shook his head, "That information's classified."

"Not to Emma and Lydia." Valeria countered, "I saw you four last night. There's something going on."

Archie only sighed, still unsure.

"And it will make coaxing him back outside much easier." She added.

―

After Valeria receiving a crash course of Operation Cobra, the pair continued to rush through the mine, eventually finding the boy shining his flashlight down a hole.

"Henry!" Valeria sighed in relief once they reached him.

"You got to slow down." Archie told him.

"There's something shiny down there." Henry pointed to the hole.

"Henry, this is so dangerous." Valeria stressed, gently moving the young boy away from the gaping hole in the ground, "We have got to get out of here."

Henry shook his head, trying to get past her, "It could be something."

The girl put her hand on Henry's shoulders "Henry, you need to take your mind off of the fairy tale world right now. This is serious stuff."

Henry's face lit up, "You remember?!"

Valeria frowned, shaking her head gently, "No, Henry." She said, making the crushed look on his face reappear, "Archie's just told me now."

The boy pushed her away, "And you don't believe me either."

"Henry, look at me! Look at me! We're frightened for you, Henry." Archie told him.

"Because you think I'm crazy?" Henry asked as Valeria bent down in front of him.

"No! No, because we are trapped, okay? We are trapped underground in an abandoned mine, Henry."

"And there is no way out."  Archie added.

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Fleur let out heavy breaths as she came to a stop in a familiar clearing, leaning against a tree for support. Resting her head against the bark, exhaustion washed over the girl and the tears she'd been holding back finally fell.

Soft whimpers turned into cries and her cries eventually turned into loud sobs that wracked her body. They were never ending, though she wasn't sure if she was ready for them to stop.

A low growl caught her attention, turning her weeps into a gasp as she whipped around, clinging onto the tree behind her as she came face to face with the snarling face and enraged eyes of a wolf.

The creature bared its teeth, ready to leap at the girl - who closed her eyes, letting out a shriek - before the growling suddenly stopped and the wolf fell to the ground with a small whimper.

"I thought I said that I didn't want to have to save you again." A voice to her right said.

Fleur couldn't help the relieved sigh she let out as a few more stray tears fell down her cheeks, "You're here." She smiled.

"And so are you." The girl with the purple hair nodded, "Needed another break?"

"Something like that." Fleur nodded, swallowing thickly and clenching her hands to try and stop them from shaking, "What about you?"

The other girl looked up at the full moon before glancing back at the wolf with a dagger in its throat, "Needed some more blood." She said, crouching down beside the dead creature and gently stoking its head, "Seems this glade is crawling with them."

Fleur's eyebrows knotted in confusion before she took a closer look at the glade she had run to. It looked different in the night, but she was sure it was the same place the two had met yesterday. Though it was the dead ogre that confirmed it.

"R-Right." She nodded.

The other girl looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, taking in Fleur's flustered appearance and muddied ballgown.

"You were running from something more than just your kingdom this time, weren't you?"

Fleur hastily wiped away the last stray tear on her face, "Maybe."

The stranger bit her lip, looking between the dead wolf and Fleur, "Y-You can tell me about it if you'd like."

Fleur sniffed as she shook her head, "You wouldn't understand. You wouldn't know what it's like to be-"

"Trapped?"

Fleur's eyebrows shot up as she looked over at the girl. She nodded shakily, "How did you know?"

The purple-haired girl smiled bitterly as she waved her hand and another vial appeared, "One caged bird recognises another." She said, taking her dagger out of the wolf with a small grunt, closing her eyes for a moment as she felt a sharp pull inside of her.

"Y-You don't seem like the kind of person who'd let herself be caged."

"We're all different people to who we once were, princess." The other girl sighed as she stood up, letting the blood from the dagger drip into the vial. She glanced up at Fleur's shocked face and chuckled slightly, "Well, it's not so difficult to guess." She said, nodding at her attire.

Fleur looked down at her ballgown, smoothing down the puffy skirt, "I wasn't exactly anticipating running through the woods tonight." She sniffed.

The stranger looked her up and down again as she sheathed her dagger and pocketed the vial. Though this time, she was looking at Fleur differently. There was more understanding in her eyes.

"It's not just the castle, is it? The cage?"

Fleur bit her lip and shook her head.

"Who is it?"

"His name is Prince Gabriel." She said with a small sigh, taking a seat on a nearby tree stump, her dress willowing out around her, "Or as I will be calling him by the end of tomorrow, my husband."

The other girl nodded in understanding, "And you don't want to marry him."

"No." Fleur whimpered, more tears beginning to fall, "I don't want any of it. A husband, my life at the castle. I just want to run away and never come back."

The stranger looked at her for a long while.

"That's what you really want?"

Fleur looked up at her, sniffing as she wiped the hot tears from her face, only for them to be replaced with more, "More than anything."

The girl nodded again, "Okay."

A small cloud of purple smoke wrapped around her hand then quickly disappeared, revealing an arrow in her hand.

"Take this."

"A-An arrow?" Fleur asked, gently taking it into her hands.

"Tomorrow, if you still feel this way before your wedding, take this arrow and shoot it into the sky."

"W-What will happen?"

"I will make sure that you will never be caged again."

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Meanwhile outside of the mine, the whole town was bustling around, trying to open the entrance again, via machinery.

"Archie's smart." Marco said, "He will keep the boy safe until we get to them."

"So is Valeria." Elizabeth nodded from where she was standing next to Lydia, "They'll be fine."

The digger took another swing at the ground, making it shake again.

"Watch out!" Marco cried.

Regina then ran onto the scene, shouting and waving her arms around as she ran over Emma, "Stop! Stop! You're making it worse!"

"I am trying to save him!" Emma glared at her, "You know why he went down there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove."

Regina matched her glare, "And why does he think he has anything to prove? Who's encouraging him?"

"Do not put this on me." Emma growled.

"Oh, please!" Regina exclaimed, rolling her eyes, "Lecture me until his oxygen runs out!"

Shaking her head, Lydia marched over to the pair, "Both of you! Shut up! Arguing is not going to help get Archie, Henry and Valeria safely out of there."

The two woman shared a look.

"She's right." Emma sighed, "We have to stop this. Arguing won't accomplish anything."

Regina crossed her arms and shook her head, "No, it won't."

"There we go." Lydia nodded.

Emma met the mayor's gaze, "What do you want me to do?"

And for the first time in what seemed like ever, Regina looked at someone with pure fear vulnerability, "Help me."

Emma nodded firmly.

"We need to find some way to punch through the ground." Regina said, "We need something big."

Emma raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

Marco perked up, an idea forming, "Explosives."

―

Archie, Valeria and Henry were still navigating the mine when they heard barking.

"Do you guys hear that?" Valeria asked the two.

"It's Pongo!" Henry cried with a grin.

"Follow the noise!" Archie instructed. 

The three followed the barking and came across an old elevator shaft.

"It's the loudest over here." Valeria said, walking over to it.

"What's... What's this?" Henry asked.

"Looks like... an old elevator." Archie mumbled.

"It's to get the mine workers in and out." Valeria explained, inspecting the shaft, "It goes all the way to the top. That's why we could hear Pongo." 

"Can we make it work?" Henry asked. 

Archie rolled up his sleeves and answered, "Let's give it a shot."

Valeria and Archie turned the wheel that moved the elevator, causing it to move slightly. Turning to the boy, Valeria ushered, "Come on!" Henry nodded and moved to help the two with moving the shaft.

―

The workers lay down the lines for the explosives, as everyone cleared out of the area.

"Okay. We're all clear." Emma nodded as the town had finished positioning themselves.

"Blow it." Regina gave the order.

The explosives were set off, everyone covering their heads, looking back as the smoke cleared. Emma ran to the entrance of the tunnel to check the results.

"Did it work?" Regina asked from where she was stood next to a worried Lydia.

Emma shook her head, "It didn't open."

Sheriff Graham paled. "Then what did it do?"

Regina moved her head to glare at the workers, "What was that? What the hell was that? You said you could do this!"

"Madam Mayor!" Emma cried as Regina stalked over to the workers.

Regina turned to the woman with a fire in her eyes, "They could have killed my son!"

Emma nodded, "I know, but this isn't helping."

"If we knew exactly where they were, we could drill down to them." Marco said, with gestures to accompany his plan, "Maybe... Maybe rig something to bring them back up."

Graham raised an eyebrow, "But drill where?"

With her hands on her hips, Lydia looked around, her eyes settling on a barking Pongo sat in the fire truck, "I've got it." She said, jogging over to the vehicle and letting the dog out, "Come on buddy!"

Regina raised an eyebrow, "What are you thinking we-"

Emma shook her head, "No, Lydia's onto something. It's Archie's dog." She said as they followed the sniffing animal, "He's found something. Look! This is where they must be. What is it?"

Graham and Marco moved aside a piece of metal, underneath which was a grate.

"What is that?" Emma repeated.

"It's an air shaft." Graham said.

―

After unsuccessfully trying to move the elevator, Henry, Archie and Valeria were sat on the elevator floor when Henry spoke up, "I'm really...really, really sorry." 

"It's alright." Archie shook his head.

"Well." Valeria sighed, earning a nudge from Archie.

Henry frowned, "I just wanted to find proof." 

"You know, it's really alright, Henry." Archie repeated, "And um, um, I'm sorry, too. Look, I... I don't think you're crazy. I-I just... I just think you got a very strong mother, who's got a clear idea of a path that she wants you to be on and when you step off that she... She gets scared. And, you know, it's natural. But it's also natural for you to be able to be free to think the things that you want to think. So, anyway. I... I didn't mean those things I said and I never should have said them." He apologised.

"Then, why did you?" Henry asked the man.

"I guess I'm just not a very good person." Archie shrugged with a frown, "I'm not the man I want to be."

Suddenly, the elevator shifted farther down the shaft.

"Oh, I'm gonna die." Valeria whispered to herself, the girl grasping the metal of the elevator so hard that the metal was starting to cut into her skin as blood slowly trickled down her hand.

―

Marco put a hook attached to the trunk of his truck around the grate.

"Okay. Alright – gun it." Emma nodded, "That's good! Alright, we got it. Alright." She stopped the truck.

The grate was then pulled off and everyone peered down the shaft.

"So, what's next?" Regina asked.

"You need to lower someone straight down." Marco told them all, "Or the line will collapse the side of the shaft."

"I've got a harness." Graham said.

Regina nodded, "Lower me down."

"Oh, no way. I'm going." Emma shook her head.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the woman, "He's my son."

"He's my son, too. You've been sitting behind a desk for ten years. I can do this." Emma promised.

Regina's eyes glossed over, "Just bring him to me." The woman said, before walking away.

Lydia met Emma's gaze, sending the older blonde a reassuring smile, "You've got this, Emma. Bring them back to us."

―

"I think you can be him." Henry spoke up after a few moments of silence, "I think you can be a good person. I mean, you're Jiminy Cricket."

"Oh my God." Valeria whispered, leaning her head back against the elevator.

"Henry. Henry, Jiminy Cricket was a... He was a cricket, okay? And he was a conscience. And... And I hardly think that's me." Archie shrugged.

"But before he was that, he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do." Henry told him softly.

A small smile pulled on Archie's lips, "That kind of sounds like me."

"Now it's harder for you because of the curse. To hear the voice inside of you. To be who you want to be." Henry added as the elevator jerked again, moving farther down the shaft.

"Hey, can I ask you again?" Archie asked Henry.

"Ask what?" The boy wondered.

"Why do you think it's so important that your...your fairy tale theory is true?" Archie inquired, causing Valeria to look at the boy in curiosity.

"I don't know," Henry shrugged.

"Give it a shot." Valeria prompted.

Henry frowned, "Cause this can't be all there is." He said after a small moment of silence.

"I understand." Archie nodded.

"I thought if I found proof... But I didn't find anything." Henry sighed.

"Well, that's not true. I was lost and you found me, right?" Archie asked.

"You mean, you remember?" Henry excitedly asked.

"No, Henry. I... I don't remember, but I-I do remember the kind of person I want to be. I just got to listen harder." Archie told him, smiling slightly. 

Pieces of rock suddenly fell through the grate at the top of the elevator and the three looked up to see a light.

"Wh-what's that?" Henry asked.

"I think that's the rescue." Archie smiled as Emma came into view.

"You guys okay?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, we're... We're okay," Archie breathed out.

"We're fine." Valeria nodded, the three of them standing up.

"Hang on, Henry. Okay, that's good. Stop." Emma told the people at the top of the shaft.

"Here you go. Up," Archie said as he and Valeria lifted Henry and passed him up to Emma.

"Come on. I got ya. Okay. Okay, I got him." Emma confirmed.

"You got him?" Archie asked.

"Is he safe?" Valeria added as the elevator started to shake.

"Archie? Valeria?" Emma called.

"It's going to fall!" Archie cried as he wrapped an arm around Valeria protectively, the pair both breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry!" Emma said down to the two, tears in her eyes as she looked at their frightened expressions.

"It's okay!" 

"ARCHIE! VALERIA!" Emma screamed out as the elevator fell down the entire shaft.

The dust cleared and Emma and Henry smiled as they saw Archie holding his umbrella, which he attached to Emma's belt as Valeria was grabbing onto his waist for dear life.

"Thank God I did those pullups at the gym that one time." Valeria sighed in relief as they were hoisted up out of the elevator shaft.

The four got pulled out of the elevator and Regina ran to hug Henry as Marco embraced Archie in a hug.

Valeria let out a huff as Elizabeth grabbed her hand, pulling her fully out and tackling her into a hug, "You worried me so much."

"I'm okay, Liz." Valeria sighed, "I'm okay."

━━━━━━━✧✧✧━━━━━━━

"You look beautiful, My Lady."

"Thank you, Marla." Fleur nodded, nervously running her hands over the tulle of her wedding dress, "W-Would you mind giving me a moment? To just clear my head."

Marla nodded, "I'll be back in a few minutes. You're expected to walk down the aisle soon." The maid said, giving the princess a curtsy before leaving the room.

Once the door shut, Fleur let out a long, shaky breath as she leant against her bedpost. Taking a few calming breaths, the girl steeled herself. Reaching under her bed, she pulled out the arrow the magical stranger had given her, as well as the bow she had stolen from the armoury during the early hours of the morning.

Taking another deep breath, the girl notched the arrow and walked to her open window. Fleur swallowed thickly as she pulled the sting back, aiming at the sky. With inly adrenaline coursing through her body, she let go and watched the arrow soar into the sunset before it exploded into a purple cloud.

Looking out of the window, Fleur bit her lip as she noticed nothing changing, worry and doubt starting to creep in.

"You ready to change your life."

Turning around, a grin fluttered onto the princess' face as she nodded, "More than ready."

"The let's go." The purple-haired girl smirked, walking to Fleur's side.

"Where are we going?" Fleur asked.

"Some dwarves owe me a favour." The other girl shrugged as she offered Fleur her arm.

"I'm Fleur, by the way." She said as she looped her arm into the girl's.

"Elara."

When Marla re-entered the bedchambers, she was shocked to find nothing but whisps of purple smoke.

━━━━━━━✧✧✧━━━━━━━

An hour or so later that evening, Lydia walked over to Henry and Emma, sitting next to the boy with a smile as she pulled him into a hug.

"Never pull a stunt like that again." She told him, pulling away.

Henry nodded, "I'll try."

Lydia and Emma both let out a laugh as Archie and Marco walked over to them, "Oh my God."

"Gentlemen." Emma nodded in greeting, "Well, come on. Your mom wants to take you home." She said, starting to take Henry over to Regina.

Henry then stopped them all from walking, "Hey! Listen."

They all paused and listened.

Archie smiled, "Crickets."

"They're back." Henry stated with a grin, "Things are changing."

Lydia smiled, looking out at the scene in front of her, her gaze resting on a nearby ambulance, "Well, I'll se you guys later." She waved, giving Henry one more hug before walking over to the vehicle.

"Bye, Lydia."

"See ya, Lyds."

"Hey." The blonde girl said quietly as she approached the back of the ambulance.

Valeria looked up, "Hi."

"How's your hand?" Lydia awkwardly asked, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets, gesturing to the taller girl's bandaged up hand.

"Three stitches." Valeria shrugged, "It'll be fine."

"Cool." Lydia nodded, the pair sharing an awkward silence before she spoke up again, "Thank you. For looking after him."

Valeria shrugged, "Well, I wasn't going to let him go in there on his own."

Lydia nodded, "Well, you kept him safe. I owe you one." She said, before walking away.

―

Later that night, an exhausted Valeria unlocked the front door to her house, closing it behind her as Purdy bounded up to the girl.

"Hey, Purds." Valeria grinned, stroking the dog as she excitedly wagged her tail and licked her owner's face, "Where's mom and dad?" The girl asked the Dalmatian as she stood up, "Mom?" She called out, "Dad?"

Walking over to the kitchen, Valeria spotted a piece of paper on the counter.

"'Staying the night at the office. There's dinner in the fridge if you want'." She read out Valeria stared down at the note with a frown, "Great."