CHAPTER ELEVEN
BLOODSTONE MANOR

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When Josie made her way downstairs the next morning, she found her parents already seated at the dining room table with someone she did not expect to see. Snow White was sitting next to her mother, all three of them in front of an array of papers Josie didn't recognize. And from the way they quickly ushered them together, they didn't want Josie to see them. This was quite strange and made her even more curious about what was going on as she pulled her robe tighter around her to shield her night clothes from the gaze of someone who wasn't her family.

"Good morning Mother, Father," she greeted her parents. "And to you as well, Snow White. I did not expect us to have company so early, my apologies for my lack of dress."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Snow assured her. "I just stopped by to help your parents with the funeral arrangements."

"Funeral arrangements?" she asked. "For Frank?"

"Yes," Abraham said. "If we can finish getting everything in order today, the funeral will take place tomorrow."

Josie felt a sense of relief. She was glad they would finally be able to put Frank to rest. He had done so much for their family and hadn't deserved what Morgana did to him. With such a gruesome end, he deserved to find peace. She could only hope that, despite his flaws, he had found it.

"Do you need any assistance in planning?" Josie asked as she sat down across from her mother and Snow.

"Oh no, darling," Luella said. "You are having tea with Elsa and your father today, that is all you need worry about."

"As you say, Mother."

"Henry is quite eager about meeting Elsa Bloodstone," Snow told her. "Apparently she's a character in one of his comic books."

"Comic books?" Josie asked, head tilted to the side in confusion.

Snow faltered when she realized they didn't know what a comic book was and would have to explain it to them. She thought on her words for a minute, trying to come up with an accurate description.

"Well, a comic book is kind of like a book, except it's made up of a bunch of pictures instead of just words. Henry's are about all manner of different heroes, quite different from the ones in his storybook," Snow explained.

"I see," Josie said. "Perhaps he can show us these comic books sometime."

"I'm sure he would love that."

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Standing in front of Bloodstone Manor with her father, Nicholai, Henry, Regina and Emma, Josie started to remember being there before. She was young when it happened, she recalled staring up at the large, dark manor through the beautiful wrought iron gate flanked by two stone gargoyles and thinking it looked impossibly large, the biggest home she'd ever seen apart from Castle Dracula and she'd never been this close to it. Now standing there all grown up, while the manor still loomed large and dark above her, it didn't seem so impossible anymore. It was a large and beautiful manor which Josie was almost jealous of, but it fit into her worldview now.

The manor was made of a dark, nearly black stone which reminded Josie once again of Castle Dracula. There were many large windows and the building was decorated with the architectural flares common to the style the rest of Nightmoor was decorated in. It seemed to have been mostly spared the jagged combination treatment the rest of Nightmoor and Storybrooke had been given. Though it seemed the large grounds of the manor had been plopped down in the middle of nowhere, given how they'd had to go a little ways into the woods to get there, most of the road was the cobblestone which Josie was familiar with. Not long after they'd turned down the road which led solely to Bloodstone Manor, the unfamiliar black roads of Storybrooke had made way for the familiar cobblestone of Nightmoor until they reached the gate they were now standing at.

"Well?" Josie asked, turning to Henry. "Does it look like your comical books?"

"Comic books," he corrected. "It looks just like in the comics."

Josie smiled at his excitement and turned to her father. "I think we are all ready, Father."

"Let us proceed, then."

Abraham approached the gargoyle statue on the left of the gate, stepping up in front of it as if waiting for something. For a moment Josie was puzzled, then remembered her father doing the same thing when she was last here, though she didn't remember what happened. To her surprise, as well as everyone but Abraham's, the gargoyle moved, looking down at the man standing in front of it and its eyes now glowing red as it began to speak.

"What should you remember when fighting a monster?"

It was a strange question, Josie pondered, as it could have any number of answers. The things you needed to remember when fighting a monster depended on the monster you were fighting. There was no need to keep stakes and crucifixes on hand when hunting a rogue werewolf and no reason to remember silver tipped arrows when hunting a vampire. And that was not even to mention the caution you should always use when hunting or making sure you had the right skills and knowledge for the particular monster.

"Fear not the monster," Abraham answered calmly despite being stared down by the red eyes of the statue. "But what made it become one."

The latch on the gate opened and Abraham stepped over to push it open as the glow dimmed from the gargoyle's eyes and it returned to its former stationary position. Once the gate was open, her father turned back to look at everyone, who were watching him in a mixture of confusion and awe. Josie couldn't help feeling a little ashamed of herself for not guessing the password correctly. Here she was thinking of the practicalities of fighting monsters when her father was thinking of philosophy. He'd always stressed the practical elements of hunting to her, never the philosophies, never as hard. Why would he skip over something he so clearly thought important?

"That was not in my comic books," Henry said with a smile. "Can we go in now?"

"Yes, we can," Abraham said, returning Henry's smile. "Elsa will be expecting us."

They followed after Abraham as they made their way up the path and to the front door. The doors were large and painted in a deep red colour which reminded Josie of the colour of the gargoyle's eyes. She wondered if it was just a coincidence or if Elsa just liked that particular shade of red. Abraham knocked twice on the door and then took a step back so he was standing with everyone else.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal Elsa Bloodstone herself. Her hair was dark and hung just past her shoulders with dark eyes to match. She was dressed in clothes more similar to Josie's hunting outfits than her day-to-day wear, with trousers and a red shirt underneath a long, dark coat. Around her neck there was a necklace which sat tight to her neck, a red gemstone adorning the front of it which almost seemed to glisten in the light and draw you in.

"Abraham," Elsa greeted with a small smile and a nod of her head.

"Elsa, so lovely to see you again. May we all come in?"

She narrowed her eyes at Abraham at his question as if suspicious of his wording. Her dark eyes turned to the face of everyone they had brought with them before turning back to Abraham.

"You may."

Elsa stepped to the side, holding the door open further for them, but remaining there. She watched everyone carefully as they entered one by one, all they could do with the space she had given them. Josie watched as she carefully studied each of them, watching them cross the threshold as if she was waiting for one of them to get stuck on the other side. But they all crossed over easily and Elsa closed the door behind them, still eyeing them all with suspicion.

Once they were all inside and the door shut, she gestured for them to follow her, informing them that they'd be having their tea in the parlour as they heard the story they had come for. When everyone was seated, Elsa went to the kitchen to fetch the tea, allowing them a moment to take in her decor.

For the most part, Josie found it quite lovely. Though in darker tones, it was all still in the style of Nightmoor, the one Josie was familiar with, all of the furniture looking quite old, as if it had been here for at least a generation. But on the walls, Elsa had mounted the heads of various dark creatures she had killed. Josie spotted a werewolf, a vampire which Nicholai was eyeing uncomfortably, a basilisk with its eyes sewn shut, a draugr, a siren, a hellhound and a troll before Elsa returned with the tray of tea.

She set the tray down and began to pour out the tea and Josie sat forward, helpfully asking people how they liked their tea and handing it to them once prepared. Once they all had a cup, Elsa sat down in an armchair, slouching in it in a way Josie couldn't see as comfortable but given the way Elsa had immediately assumed the position, must be.

"So, Abraham, you're finally ready to tell your daughter about when we encountered Morgana?" Elsa asked.

"I am," Abraham agreed, taking a sip of his tea casually as if Elsa's tone hadn't been a little bit teasing. "We have discovered she is the one behind our collision with this other world, this Storybrooke."

"So that's why the view out the back window has changed."

"Indeed," Abraham said, skillfully dodging Elsa's attempts at teasing him once again.

Why was he so good at that, Josie couldn't help but wonder. How could he know her well enough to do so when he'd never made mention of her before and only brought her here once when she was a child? A visit she scarcely remembered due to her age at the time. If Elsa was so skilled a hunter that he had hunted with her, why didn't he trust Josie enough to tell his daughter about her?

Before anyone could say anything else, Nicholai cried out from beside her, dropping his teacup and shooting up. From the smoke coming from his mouth, Josie could only deduce that something had been wrong with the tea and if that was the case, she realized it must have been spiked with holy water. Elsa had been suspicious of them at the door, of Abraham asking permission for them all to enter so Nicholai didn't have to say it and out himself as a vampire, but she couldn't tell who the vampire was. This was a surefire way of figuring it out.

Quick as can be, Elsa sprung up out of her seat, a stake already in her hand and aiming for Nicholai. But just as fast, Abraham jumped in front of her, blocking her path to Nicholai while Josie jumped in front of her best friend, intent on using her own body to shield him. Luckily, Abraham was able to stop Elsa, if only by preventing her from moving forward with her attack and not getting her to stop entirely as the stake was still gripped tightly in her hand and she seemed intent on finishing the job.

"Stop, stop," Abraham said. "Elsa, you don't have to kill him!"

"You bring a vampire into my home?" she accused him. "And without telling me, without warning me? If this was a test, I don't appreciate it. I trained you better than this."

Trained? Josie thought incredulously. If Elsa had trained her father — which she didn't entirely believe given she looked younger than him — then why was she a secret from Josie? Every new thing she learned was another confusion.

"He is no threat to you, I assure you," Abraham promised.

"Unless you continue to attack him," Josie said, even when it earned her a disapproving look from her father. "In which case, he isn't the only threat."

"I thought you were stronger than to become a vampire's thrall, Abraham," Elsa said, still fighting to get loose.

"We are not his thralls. He has been with us for years, he works for me. Elsa, for God's sake, he's like a son to me!"

"And a brother to me!" Josie agreed. "He doesn't approve of his father's methods or the rest of his kind. He came to us to get away from it all. I won't let you kill him, no matter who you are to my father."

"His father's—" Elsa cut herself off and turned to look at Abraham with a scowl. "Don't tell me you've brought a Dracula into my home!"

"Elsa, please, you know me. I wouldn't have done it if he was a threat. Do you really think I'd allow him around my children, my wife, if he was?"

This seemed to cause Elsa to relax a little. She studied Abraham's face for a moment before turning to Josie, taking in how she'd placed herself protectively in front of Nicholai, the determination in her face which demonstrated her obvious willingness to fight for him and how it contrasted with the clarity in her eyes. Finally, she looked at Nicholai and since she was refusing to move from in front of him, she couldn't see what Elsa was but she could guess. Nicholai hadn't said a word since his exclamation upon being scalded by the holy water, he'd kept quiet, let Abraham and Josie, the people Elsa was more likely to believe, do all the talking. He'd stayed still behind Josie — something she could feel from the way she was standing right in front of him — the entire time, not standing up as straight as he usually did to make himself smaller, less intimidating, less of a threat.

It was easy to forget sometimes, when Nicholai looked about the same age as Josie, that he wasn't. That he had years of experience in reading people.

Of course, Elsa's fears weren't altogether unfounded. It took years and years of experience and a very good teacher, but vampires could learn how to turn people into thralls who would do their bidding without question. There'd been a time when they had suspected Renfield was a thrall but he was too present, he wasn't mindless enough for that. Maybe it was because Count Dracula, Nicholai's father, was the first vampire and there were things he could do that none he created could. Nicholai was much the same. Where the sun burned and incapacitated most undead, Nicholai could tolerate it without serious injury. Sure, it wasn't fun and it was known to give him a serious headache, but he could do it. In theory, Nicholai could have made thralls of the van Helsing family. But in practice it wasn't so simple. Not to mention how Nicholai wouldn't have even considered it.

Whatever Elsa saw in their faces seemed to calm her and she stepped back from Abraham, lowering the hand which was holding the stake. After a moment of consideration, Abraham also backed away and so Josie did the same, stepping to the side so she was no longer in front of Nicholai.

"Should we do a round of introductions, Mr van Helsing?" Nicholai asked, his voice steady and calm despite the events of just a moment ago. Josie could see the remnants of panic in his eyes.

"Yes, Nicholai, that would be a good idea, I think." Abraham nodded his agreement. "Perhaps something we should have done sooner."

"You think?" both Josie and Elsa asked. They looked at each other in confusion.

Nicholai went first, dipping into a bow. "Viscount Nicholai Dracula, at your service."

He really is laying it on thick, Josie thought as she rolled her eyes. Nicholai straightened, an easy smile on his face even as Elsa appraised him with an unimpressed look.

"Josephine van Helsing, a pleasure to meet you," she said, extending a hand to Elsa.

"Yes, I know," Elsa said as they shook hands. "Your father talks about you."

Once again, Josie couldn't help but wonder about why she didn't know Elsa. It was getting stranger and stranger the more time they spent here. It was one thing for her to be a friend of the past who her father had once hunted with but lost contact with before Josie was born. It was one thing if she was a friend who he'd lost contact not as long ago or if they'd had a falling out. But recently enough that her father talked about her and Josie still never heard him mention her? It didn't make sense.

"Emma Swan," she introduced, extending a hand.

In all honesty, Josie has forgotten Emma and Regina were even still here in all the commotion.

"Regina Mills, and this is my son, Henry."

"Hi," Henry said, stepping toward her with a smile that showed just how excited and nervous he was to be meeting the woman from his comic books.

Before he could get anywhere near Elsa, Regina had pulled him backwards by his backpack, the former Evil Queen staring at Elsa and the red gemstone around her neck with skeptical eyes. Josie couldn't really blame Regina for being overly protective of her son, as she was also curious as to why the gemstone seemed to draw you in the way that it did.

What was it?

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Bloodstone," Henry continued, seemingly unphased by his mother's behaviour as he continued speaking without even sparing Regina a glance. "I've read all your stories and I'm such a fan of what you can do."

Elsa smiled, as if knowingly, like there was something about what Henry said that she knew. It only confused Josie more. For what could she possibly know about Henry? About any of them?

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Mills," Elsa bowed her head slightly at him. Then, she formally introduced herself to those that may not know who she is. "Elsa Bloodstone, current holder of the Bloodgem." She sat down again in her chair.

"Bloodgem?" Emma asked in confusion.

"The Bloodgem is an ancient and powerful gemstone," Elsa explained, motioning to the shimmering, red gemstone around her neck. "It belonged to my father for many, many years. I inherited it when he passed away."

"What does it do?" Regina asked.

"It bestows upon their wielder immense strength," Elsa put it simply. "You are both witches, I'm sure you can sense the power within it from where you sit." Both Emma and Regina nodded in confirmation. "So long as I wear the Bloodgem, it will protect and empower me from any creature that dares cross my path."

Josie had a feeling Elsa wasn't telling them everything. She had a nagging feeling that wasn't all the Bloodgem was capable of doing. It was obvious Elsa wasn't telling them everything on purpose. But why? Was the Bloodgem really that sacred she couldn't specify the powers it bestows upon its wielder?

She glanced at her father, wanting to know if he felt the same way she did. If he noticed that Elsa wasn't telling them everything. However, Abraham was unbothered, as if he perhaps knew the full capabilities of the Bloodgem already and didn't need to be more specific like the rest of them did.

"Now, shall we get on with it?" Elsa asked, skillfully changing the subject, only leaving Josie more suspicious of the gemstone around the woman's neck.

Perhaps Henry might know more about it, Josie thought. If the Bloodgem even exists in those stories of his. She made a mental note to ask Henry about them in private later.

"Yes, yes we shall," Abraham agreed.

Black Forest, Nightmoor
Eighteen Years Ago

The most dangerous thing about the Black Forest, Abraham van Helsing thought to himself, was the very reason why so many dark creatures liked it. With trees as densely packed as they were, light from outside the forest faded away before reaching the forest floor. The darkness seemed to press in on you from all sides, making it a sanctuary for those creatures who preferred the night and who could see better under the moonlight. It was hard not to feel like you were being watched as you made your way through the trees.

Luckily, the torch Abraham carried was enough to scare any of the weaker creatures away from the road and any of the stronger creatures would be biding their time, watching, waiting to see if they were even worth the effort. Hopefully, the weapons they carried were enough to show they were more effort than they were worth as a meal.

"How much further?" Abraham asked.

"According to my map, only a few hundred more yards ahead and then fifty yards to the right," Elsa Bloodstone told him.

"Into the trees?"

"That's what the map says."

Abraham pulled his crossbow from his back. If they were going into the darkness of the trees, they'd have to be ready for anything. Stepping off the sanctity, the safety, of the path, where the most of the setting sunlight was able to reach them was dangerous. He had to be more careful now, he had a wife at home waiting for him to come back.

Just the thought of Luella made a smile pull across Abraham's face. They'd been married for a year now and even despite the dangerous job he did, he couldn't have been happier. Everything seemed to be easier, knowing he would be coming home to his smiling bride at the end of the day. Elsa had already teased him about their lengthy goodbye when she'd met him at his home to depart on their journey but Abraham couldn't find it in him to care as he once had about her teasing.

He couldn't wait to get home to her already, even though they hadn't been apart for that long. Though the home they shared was his long before it was theirs as it had been in his family for a long time, Luella had put her own touch on the home, making it actually feel like a home for the first time in many years. Abraham was gifted at many things, but interior design was not one of them.

"You're thinking very loud," Elsa said from in front of him.

"I don't know what you mean," Abraham said, looking over at the back of his friend's head in confusion.

"I can tell you're thinking about her," Elsa said.

There was only one her Elsa could be referring to and it made a slight flush rise on Abraham's cheeks. "There is nothing wrong with thinking about my wife."

Oh how I love being able to say that, Abraham thought. My wife.

"We're in the middle of the Black Forest on a hunt, Abraham," Elsa chided him. "T'is not exactly the time to get distracted."

"Ah, indeed," he realized. "My apologies. I shall refocus myself on the task at hand."

Elsa laughed at him, clearly disbelieving in his ability to stop thinking about his wife. He didn't know if he should be insulted she thought he couldn't do the job anymore or pleased that he was so clearly in love it was unbelievable he'd be able to stop thinking about his love for any significant stretch of time.

"She seemed nice," Elsa said after a moment of silence.

"She is," Abraham agreed, a smile growing on his face again.

"I'm happy for you."

"Thank you. I'm very happy. I wish you would have come to the wedding."

Elsa didn't seem to have a response to that and so they just kept on walking. When they reached the appropriate spots as indicated by Elsa's map, they turned into the trees and stopped. There was a small break in the trees here, not large enough to be considered a clearing but enough that more sunlight reached them and no trees immediately blocked their view of each other as Elsa crossed to the other side.

"This is the spot?" Abraham asked.

"Doubting me?"

"Well, there is nothing here like what you said."

"It isn't supposed to be here yet," Elsa told him before turning her gaze up to the sky. "Soon, though."

Abraham's brow furrowed. "What is it we are waiting here for, exactly?"

"A portal."

Bloodstone Manor

Present Day

Everyone stared at Elsa and Abraham in shock at what they'd just revealed. They had known there was going to be a portal there? How was that even possible?

"You were expecting Morgana?" Emma asked.

"We didn't know what we were expecting," Elsa said. "All we'd been able to read was some kind of magical event was going to happen there. I'd come across a reading this strong once before, many years before and knew it would be a portal. I didn't know a person would come out of it."

"So you knew about other worlds, other realms?" Henry asked.

"In theory," Elsa confirmed. "Many things I previously believed to only be a theory have recently come to be proven correct. Just as I never thought I'd see another world, I never thought I'd meet an Author."

Once again, everyone turned shocked expressions on Elsa. Her gaze was fixed intently on Henry.

"You know about Authors?" Henry asked.

"I do. You are the vessel through which fate writes our stories," she told him.

"I don't want that kind of power over people's lives," he said.

Elsa laughed. "You are simply the vessel, you are not the inventor. Fate writes our stories through you and others like you. You may be the Author, the one with the pen in your hand, but it is fate who guides you."

Josie looked over at Henry, finding something like relief on his face. Perhaps sensing eyes on him, Henry looked back at her, a smile pulling on his features and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Fate is unfolding before our very eyes," Elsa said, causing Josie and Henry to look away from each other and at her, alarmed at her words. "We are in an entirely new world. Fate brought us here for a reason."

Black Forest, Nightmoor

Eighteen Years Ago

The last thing Abraham had expected when the portal closed was to see a woman in a tattered dress standing there. Her hair was long, dark and tangled, her eyes wild but also confused. She looked like she'd just been in a fight which made Abraham tighten his grip on his crossbow.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"The Black Forest," Elsa said. "Nightmoor."

"I've never heard of such a place... how far did that pretender send me?"

"Identify yourself," Abraham demanded.

"I am the witch Morgana le Fay of Camelot, the dark sorceress, enchantress, rightful Queen of Camelot, archenemy of the sorcerer Merlin who is forever trapped in a tree and Arthur, the King with the broken sword."

None of those meant much of anything to Abraham aside from identifying her as dangerous. He didn't lower his crossbow or loosen his grip. This witch may not have attacked yet, but he wasn't going to give her a chance to catch them by surprise. Not when he had someone waiting for him at home, someone he intended to build a family with.

"Now tell me how far I am from Camelot," Morgana demanded.

"I have never heard of such a place," Abraham said.

"Do not lie to me," the witch hissed.

"He's not lying," Elsa said. "There is no such place as Camelot in these lands."

Morgana looked between them, clearly searching for evidence of their lies. But neither of them were lying, Abraham had never heard of such a place as Camelot in all his studies. And if Elsa had, she was hiding it better than he was. But there'd be no use in lying to her. Even if they didn't necessarily want to just send her back to wherever she was before to continue terrorizing the people there, they'd need to be able to find her again should she get away.

"You lie!" she accused.

She lashed out with magic, sending both Abraham and Else flying backwards into a tree. Abraham's head throbbed from the impact against the wood and his legs gave out under him, causing him to slide down to the ground. Though his vision was blurry and he was seeing double, Abraham could see Morgana advancing on Elsa, who was scrambling for her weapon. He raised his crossbow, aiming at Morgana, narrowing his eyes to try and see just a bit more clearly. Abraham wouldn't let this witch hurt his friend. He fired.

Just as he thought the bolt was going to hit her, Morgana whirled and caught it, her eyes now narrowing at him. Abraham frantically began loading another bolt onto his crossbow before the witch reached him, but his unsteady hands and blurred vision made him too slow and the witch reached him before he had reloaded.

Morgana grabbed him by the neck and pulled him up, keeping him pinned to the tree. The confusion in her eyes had totally vanished, leaving the wild look to be accompanied by simple malice. She may not have known them before coming out of the portal and they may not have done anything to her, but it didn't matter now. She was intent on hurting them.

"I believe this is yours," she hissed at him.

After taunting him with the bolt he'd shot at her by holding it in front of his face, she adjusted her grip on the bolt and then stabbed it into Abraham's hand, pinning it to the tree. He cried out in as much pain as he could with a hand still clamped around his neck.

"Let go of him!"

From behind Morgana, Elsa had managed to get her bearings. She had charged at the witch with energy manifesting from the gem she wore around her neck and was able to get her attention. Abraham was let go, allowing him to slide down to land on unsteady feet and look at the hand which was stuck to the tree. The pain was more than anything he'd felt in a long time but he couldn't let it distract him. Elsa needed his help.

Doing his best to ignore the pain, Abraham grabbed his discarded crossbow and used his free hand and his legs to finish loading it. When he raised it, he had to adjust his grip so he'd be able to hold it up and shoot it with his one hand but after a moment of analyzing the fight between Morgana and Elsa, he raised his crossbow and fired.

This time, the bolt landed right in the witch's shoulder.

It wasn't a killing blow, but it was enough to distract her and better than Abraham had expected given he only had one hand. Morgana cried out in pain and turned to glare at Abraham once again. Then, just as Elsa aimed another blow at her, she disappeared in a column of smoke.

Bloodstone Manor

Present Day

"That's how you got the scar on your hand," Josie realized. "You told me it was done by a witch, but I didn't think..."

I didn't think you'd lie about the truth of it, she thought to herself. How dedicated must her father have been to keep Elsa and their encounter with Morgana a secret that he believed he must lie to her about how he got a scar. She had always asked about his scars, always wanted to know where they came from and how he got them. It was an opportunity not just to learn, but to hear her father tell stories of his encounters with the dark creatures of the world. When he'd never elaborated on the small scars on his hand, she'd assumed there just wasn't a story to be told. She didn't think it was the biggest story of them all.

"That's also why Morgana came after you," Emma said, her tone one of realization as if she was just putting it together herself. "Why she kidnapped you, lured you away from your home."

"Indeed, well observed, Miss Swan," Abraham said. "Witches hold grudges. Dark witches most of all."

"Can't really argue that..." Regina muttered.

"What happened after she disappeared?" Josie asked.

"I got your father to a doctor," Elsa said. "Then home to his wife."

"Did you not go after Morgana?" Nicholai asked.

Abraham shook his head. "Not right away. We looked for her. Heard word of a different kind of dark witch from various counties and towns. We even heard she was in the Whispering Woods at one point, though he didn't follow that one down for obvious reasons."

"Obvious reasons?" Emma asked.

"The Whispering Wood is... a place of the dead," Josie explained, thinking on her words. "Ghosts linger there, lost or perhaps just trapped in the trees. All those who wander in hear the whispers of those ghosts, preying on your darkest fears to convince you to... stay with them. Forever."

"And the witch went in there willingly?"

"It's not uncommon," Elsa said. "Certain magics can ward off the ghosts though it isn't a place to linger. But it's not just those with magical protections who might want to go in."

"Elsa stayed on Morgana's trail," Abraham said, steering the conversation away. "I had more pressing business at home in Transylvania. The vampire epidemic was getting worse and—"

He was cut off by a ringing sound from within Emma's pocket. She apologized as she pulled it out, looking at something before turning her apologetic expression to those around her.

"I'm so sorry, but looks like there's a disturbance of some kind happening in town, I need to take care of this."

"As good a place as any to leave off," Abraham declared. "Thank you for the tea, Elsa. I hope to see you again soon."

"Safe hunting, my friend."

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an. I know this was a bit of a longer one, but it was necessary to get in all the details I needed so I hope you enjoyed it, regardless!