CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
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i. brother, bear !

the enchanted forest .

— THE SOUND OF HEAVY FOOTFALLS BROKE THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL EMERALD ATMOSPHERE, boots pounding against dirt ground, kicking up dust in their wake. Long, hanging branches of old trees were messily and haphazardly swatted away as the pair of boys ran as quick as their legs could carry them, the morning sunlight flitting through the canopy of leaves above their heads.

"Kenai!" A boy yelled, falling slightly behind, ripping his caught sleeve away from some jutting bark, "Slow down!"

Kenai seemed to push himself further, heaving air into his burning lungs, "We can't slow down, Koda, not yet."

"But Denahi- Sitka-"

"Are dead. You saw that thing, Koda, there's no way they survived that." Kenai wiped a few droplets of blood from his face, only furthering the stain into a deep red smear along his cheek as he used his free hand to grab his brother's, urging him to pick up his slowing pace.

"Kenai, please!" Koda cried, tears leaving rivers of shimmering emotion along his skin.

Finally decelerating to a stop, Kenai gasped heavily, wiping a single tear of his own away from his face, the blood a and sweat mixing to create a light pink liquid that dripped down his chin.

"Kenai, what are we supposed to do now?" Koda sobbed, shivering as his own sweat began to freeze in the cold winds.

"We keep going." Kenai insisted.

"Going where? We have nowhere to go!" The younger boy shouted, birds fluttering away in alarm as they heard the volume of his voice.

"I don't know, buddy, but we have to keep running-" Kenai's insistence was cut off, by a still whimpering boy.

"I can't... Kenai, I'm tired." He breathed, a chill running up his aching spine.

"Koda." Kenai tried, "One more time."

The boy looked up at his brother, observing his face for a moment, regaining his breath as he did.

"One more time?" He asked hopefully.

Kenai nodded, and Koda reluctantly returned the nod, agreeing and preparing to run once again.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked.

The boys froze, tucking close to one another as they looked for the source of the woman who'd spoken, expecting the worst, considering the tragedies they'd already been exposed to.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The woman spoke, suddenly revealing herself from behind a dense thicket, her green and earthy toned cloak blending wonderfully with her surroundings, though her light blue dress was a stark contrast.

"Who are you?" Kenai asked defensively, brandishing a stone-carved knife from his pocket, allowing Koda to hide behind his taller frame.

"My- my name is Belle... I promise, I mean no harm." She uttered, raising her hands in defence and lowering her hood to reveal her coffee-coloured hair. "Are you okay? You're bleeding-"

"It's not our blood." Kenai swiped his hand across his face and revealed that the blood that resided in little splatters against his skin, indeed, were not from any injuries of his own.

"What happened?" Belle asked carefully, growing slightly wary of these strangers, but keeping an open mind.

Kenai and Koda shared a look, briefly communicating through the silence.

"Our brothers..." Koda muttered.

"We were attacked by a beast." Kenai explained in muted anger, practically spitting his next words, "A bear- bigger than anything you've ever seen... it killed our older brother, Sitka..."

Kenai glanced at his brother, "Koda and I ran before we could see it kill Denahi, too."

Belle's heart began to bend at the boy's tired faces and broken spirits.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, wishing she could do something- anything- to help.

Then she noticed the shake in Koda's shoulders, and she dropped her small basket of books and light luggage on the forest floor, beginning to unclasp her cloak.

"Here," Belle offered, pulling her cloak away from her shoulders and offering it to the small boy. "You're freezing."

Koda graciously pulled the cloak over his own shoulders, wrapping the long excess material around himself like a scarf, "Thank you."

Belle frowned as the boys wiped away tears escaping from their eyes.

"I just wish I could do more..." She said.

Kenai pocketed his knife, having determined that Belle was no threat to them, "Actually-... do you know of anywhere we can go? We have nowhere, and we have to keep moving before that- that thing catches up."

Belle seemed to ponder for a moment, a distant hint of muted worry in her eyes as she came to a certain thought, "The Dark Castle isn't far from here, a few hours at most... nothing would follow you there."

She offered them a few other things- just odds and ends, trinkets that she could spare, and then sent them on their way, hoping that the Dark One would find the kindness she knew was in his heart, and provide shelter to the two boys who'd clearly been through hell.

the enchanted forest .

— THE DARK CASTLE WAS QUIET WITH THOUGHT, as if the walls themselves were contemplating their very existence. A lone tea set was placed out on a dining table, the tea within the glistening teapot growing colder with each passing second as two cups lie completely unused.

The light squeak of old wood was ever present, echoing along the large room as Rumplestiltskin sat at his spinning wheel, turning light yellow straw into heavy ropes of glittering gold.

The click of heels against tile is what interrupted his deep pondering.

"Flimsy locks." The Evil Queen chuckled, inviting herself into his home. "I have a deal to discuss."

Rumplestiltskin barely spared her a glance before returning to his work.

"A certain mermaid." Regina explained briefly.

The Dark One hardly seemed to care about whatever it was she was doing, returning to his thoughts,

"I'm not dealing today." He said solemnly.

"Are you angry with me?" Regina asked amusedly, pouring herself some tea, "What is it this time?"

"Your deception failed." He turned to her, "You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie, but you're never gonna beat me."

Regina pouted mockingly, "Oh, is this about that girl I met on the road? What was her name? Margie? Verna?"

"Belle." Rumplestiltskin corrected quietly.

"Right." Regina glared, returning to making tea as nonchalantly as possible. "Well, you can rest assured I had nothing to do with that tragedy."

Rumplestiltskin paused and stood from his wooden stool, anger building in his chest, "What tragedy?"

"You don't know?" She asked, a smirk tugging at her lips, "Well, after she got home, her fiancé had gone missing. And after her stay here, her association with you, no one would want her, of course."

The Evil Queen moved around the dining table, putting it between her and the Dark One.

"Her father shunned her." Regina continued, a shadowy look in her eyes. "Cut her off. Shut her out."

"So she needs... a- a home?" Rumplestiltskin asked, almost hopefully.

"Well, of course." Regina nodded, "If it weren't for those bandits that found her first."

"Bandits?" His eyes narrowed.

Regina hummed, "Two boys, ruthless as they come. They found her wandering just outside the castle, and recognized her as the princess... so they tortured her for a little extra change, hoping to get as much as they could carry."

Rumplestiltskin's eyes went dark.

"They took everything from her. They had no idea her father wanted nothing to do with her, so... they killed her to keep her from telling dear ol' daddy." Regina let her smirk bloom, "She's dead."

"You're lying." Rumplestiltskin denied.

"Am I?" Regina challenged.

The man seemed to mull over the idea, growing more and more angry and grief ridden, "We're done." He spat.

Regina chuckled, "Fine. I have other calls to make."

She began following Rumplestiltskin to the door, knowing when she was no longer welcome, though she dragged her fingertips against the wooden tabletop as she went.

"This place is looking dusty, Rumple." She hummed, her heels clacking against the tile as she met him at the exit. "You should get a new girl."

Tilting her head with a sly smile, knowing that she had just devastated the man, she left with her head held high, walking with pride and even a small amount of happiness, leaving only sadness and rage in her wake.

storybrooke maine .

— IT HAD BEEN HOURS SINCE REGINA HAD CONTINUED HER SEARCH. She felt as if she had scoured every inch of Storybrooke's forests, twice, to no avail. She'd seen a deer or two in her hunt, maybe a few squirrels and chipmunks scattered about the place- but not a single bear cub.

She would have given up hope if not for the faint but prominent hum of the still beating hearts within her shoulder bag.

Kenai and Koda were out there somewhere, and she was determined as ever to find them.

She tried to call out for them again- quietly, so as not to alert anyone that could be nearby, "Kenai? Koda?"

No response, just the two hearts beating away in her bag, and the squeaks of a mouse that scurried along the dirt floor a few paces away.

It was as if they were purposefully hiding from her. Which, Regina knew, they very well could be. The last thing they remembered of her was having their hearts stolen before they were whisked away in a dark curse.

That could indefinitely leave a bad taste in one's mouth.

Just as Regina was about to call it quits for the night- intending to go back home and wallow in loneliness for a few hours- a snap sounded out from behind her, causing her to turn towards the noise, defensively raising a hand.

She was met with fluffy ears, and curious, beady black eyes.

A dark brown bear cub stood before her, terror in its features, looking as if it'd been caught with its paw in a honey jar.

"Koda?" Regina carefully stepped forward, causing the cub to back up in fear, raising its head in a noisy groan.

Another huff was heard, this time, from the exact opposite direction.

Regina glanced behind her and saw a lighter bear, still just as large as he had been in the Enchanted Forest.

"Kenai." Regina breathed in relief, glad to have finally found the fuzzy little beings she had been searching for.

Kenai moved cautiously, clearly eyeing his brother and wanting to move closer so as to protect him, but not wanting to go anywhere near the Evil Queen.

"I'm not here to hurt you, I swear..." She whispered, keeping her hands visibly still.

The larger bear's ear flicked slightly at the claim, putting one experimental paw forward. When Regina didn't so much as flinch, Kenai stepped around her and glared as he moved past, not wanting to take an eye off her for a single moment.

Regina waited until Kenai and Koda were together once again, Kenai standing protectively over his brother.

"I came to apologize..." She uttered, "None of this would have happened if I hadn't been so blinded by my anger, and my grief. I'm so sorry you got caught up in all of it, the way you were."

Koda sniffed and looked up at Kenai who huffed in return, staring at Regina for any sign that all of this was really just an elaborate bluff.

It wasn't, and Regina was determined to make them see that.

"Please... Let me return what I took from you..." She took off the strap of her shoulder bag and unzipped the front, revealing the lids of the wooden boxes that resided there, side by side. "Let me make this right..."

author's note

character background 🔐 unlocked
sorry this one took so long omg I had to spend a lot of time watching the show to fact check that my plot does, in fact, make sense lmao

anyway I know we're all excited for more Killian + Winnie (I say 'more' like there's been any yet aksnsns how do you put up with me) but I wanted to go through Kenai and Koda's backstory so I don't forget to do it after the reunion because this stuff is need to know, so, unfortunately, the next chapter will be a bit of backstory too, but after that we'll get back to more of the main plot ♥️

also for anyone interested, I just opened a new graphic shop 🎉
also also, there's a lil Killian + Winnie easter egg of sorts in the examples of the shop 👀

anyway, I missed u guys 😭 how are you all? what have you been up to lately? let's chat 😭💕

as always i love you all so much, thank you for sticking around, I really appreciate all the support, you are just the coolest lil community and I'm really proud to be part of it ♥️