────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly couldn't help but tell Sam and Katherine about what happened when she woke up the following morning. They listened in silence as she talked a mile a minute, not leaving out any of the details. When she finally finished her story, she made sure to add in Rumplestiltskin's threat and how they couldn't tell another soul about what happened. Both Sam and Katherine instantly agreed to keep the secret, knowing it was the only way to keep Killian safe.

About an hour passed when Everly received a text from Mary Margaret telling them to meet everyone outside of Granny's. The Jones girl was shocked to learn that they only had until sundown before the Snow Queen's curse overtook Storybrooke. Instead of staying to experience what the Spell of Shattered Sight felt like, Emma suggested they left town. So now Everly, Sam, and Katherine found themselves sitting in the bed of David's truck along with the Overland brothers.

When they finally arrived at the border, they found the ice wall still standing. Everyone stood in front of it and stared at the obstacle in front of them while trying to think of ways to get over the wall. While they did that, Everly stood back with Sam, Katherine, and the Overland brothers. Silence surrounded them as they studied the one thing keeping them trapped in Storybrooke. And yet, all the Jones girl could think about was the danger Killian was in.

"Are you okay?" Sam whispered, causing Everly to look over at him with a blank expression on her face.

The Purest Heart kept her eyes glued to him for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "We have to figure out a way to help him."

"How are we going to do that with Rumplestiltskin's threat?" Katherine asked after Jackson and Jacob walked away to try and use their magic to take down the wall.

"I don't know," was all Everly could say as a wave of defeat washed over her.

After the Overland brother's attempts to break down the wall were futile, David approached the barrier with a pickax and some rope. A loud bang cut through the silence when he hit the wall, only for an unseen force to throw the prince backward. While Mary Margaret and Emma rushed to help David, everyone else watched as more ice began to grow in front of the spot he hit. It wasn't long after that when a crack formed at the base of the wall, causing Elsa to take a few steps forward.

"Elsa, no. Stop. Hey, no!" Emma cried after seeing the Queen of Arendelle bend down to grab something out of the ice. A faint rumbling was heard not long after that, making the Savior grab Elsa's wrist and pull her away from the danger. "That thing could go off again! Come on!"

"It's Anna's necklace!" Elsa exclaimed, not even worried about the dangerous ice wall in the slightest, "I thought it was gone. It's like a miracle."

"Glad you found it, but sentimentality is not worth risking your life over," Jacob told her in a tone that made it seem as though he was scolding a child, earning an annoyed glare from the woman in blue.

After Elsa rolled her eyes at her old friend, her attention fell back on the necklace in her hands. "It's a sign, Jake. A sign we're going to win."

"If we're going to win, we need to stop wasting time," Everly stated while trying her best to hide all the emotions she was feeling. However, her parents saw through her walls, making both of them send her curious looks.

"I agree," Emma responded as if her sister was not on the verge of having an emotional breakdown, "Mom, Dad, Leroy, go tell everyone what's going on. When this goes down, everyone needs to be separated from their loved ones if they don't want to hurt each other. Killian, go to the waterfront. See if we can use boats to get some people out."

Everly couldn't help but look over at the pirate captain at the mention of his name, only to find him staring at Emma with an unreadable expression in his eyes. It wasn't long after that when he sent her a simple nod in response, not even a smile. If Rumplestiltskin was trying to hide the fact that Killian didn't have control over himself, he was doing a terrible job.

The Jones girl kept her eyes glued to Killian for a moment longer before her attention fell back on her friends. "Let's go with Mary Margaret and David."

The only response she received was nods from th five of them before they got back into the bed of David's truck. The ride back to town was silent as they all thought about what was to come. None of them could imagine what it would be like fighting against each other and they weren't ready to find out. But they also knew there wasn't much they could do to stop the spell from being cast.

It wasn't long before they found themselves stopping in front of Granny's. After jumping out of the truck, the Overland brothers went back to their place to see if they could find a way to stop the Spell of Shattered Sight. Everly, Sam, and Katherine were planning on joining them but that was before the Jones girl received a text from Emma about Belle finding a counterspell for the Spell of Shattered Sight. The princess was with the fairies at Granny's working on it. So now the three of them were sitting in a booth in silence as they listened to the fairies and Belle work.

What felt like an eternity passed before Katherine decided it was like to break the uncomfortable silence surrounding them. "This isn't going to end well, is it?"

"Probably not," Sam responded as he looked away from the redheaded girl sitting next to him to meet Everly's gaze, "what do we know about the curse?"

"All I know is that it's gonna bring out the worst in everyone and turn them against their loved ones," Everly told them before a wave of realization washed over her. A long sigh passed over her lips as she placed her head in her hands. "And I won't be affected by it because doesn't affect me."

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" Katherine said, drawing the Jones siblings' attention to her before she continued speaking, "if you won't be affected, then you can keep us from hurting each other."

A small smile appeared on Everly's lips before she let out a forced laugh. "We can only hope."

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asked, earning confused looks from both girls before he let out an annoyed sigh, "come on, we can't wing this. We need to come up with something."

Knowing that the blonde boy was right, Everly took a moment to gather her thoughts "I guess I can keep you guys inside somewhere. I can lock you in separate rooms so you aren't anywhere near each other."

"That's a lot better than most of your plans," the Jones boy joked, making Katherine elbow him in the side.

Everly felt as though a weight was being lifted off her shoulders knowing that at least Sam and Katherine would be safe. But the surreal feeling left as soon as it came when her mind wandered back to Killian. That caused her to excuse herself from the booth before she walked towards the back of the diner. When she found herself standing alone by the jukebox, Everly took out her phone to call the pirate captain.

"Hey, Evie," Killian greeted in a tone that made it seem like he was forcing himself to sound happy. When Everly didn't respond right away, the Jones man let out a sigh and continued speaking. "Look, I get you're scared. I am, too. But I'll be okay. I need you to worry about yourself for once. Especially now with the Spell on its way."

Everly couldn't help but laugh, finding it funny that everyone seemed to forget that she was immune to curses. "I won't be affected by the Spell of Shattered Sight. I guess there are some benefits to having the Purest Heart."

"That's good," Killian responded before silence was the only thing coming through the phone. That lasted for a moment longer before his next words caused Everly's blood to run cold. "Hey, I have to go. Stay safe. I love you."

The Jones girl hesitated for a moment, not wanting to end the call. She was afraid this was the last time she would ever hear his voice. The last time that she would know he was alive and well. But she knew that they didn't have time to spare. "I love you, too."

────── ★★★ ──────

A day had passed since Adam shot an arrow into Felix's shoulder. Everly's leg bounced faster than she thought possible as she waited for him to arrive. Just as she thought he would never show up, she heard a set of approaching footsteps. A wave of relief washed over Everly after she looked down to see Felix climbing up the tree. After he sat down next to her, Everly's eyes settled on his shoulder, only to find his wound fully healed.

"Good as new?" the Jones girl asked after her eyes left his shoulder to meet Felix's gaze.

"Better," the Thorne boy responded while moving his shoulder around for her to see.

"That's good. Can I ask you a question?" Everly said, causing the smile on Felix's face to fade due to the seriousness in her voice. He just stared at her for a moment before sending her a small nod in response. "Why were you at the cove?"

Felix didn't respond at first as he tried to find the right words. While he did that, Everly went back to bouncing her leg against the trunk of the tree, hating the silence that surrounded them. It wasn't much longer after that when the Thorne boy finally opened his mouth to speak.

He didn't respond at first. It looked as if he was thinking about how he'd respond. "I wanted to make sure Adam was safe. He...he reminds me too much of Fletcher. I wanted to make sure he was going to be okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, Everly noticed his eyes beginning to water. She didn't know how to respond so she let the silence fall over them once again. After what felt like an eternity passed, the Jones girl pulled him in for a tight hug before he started crying on her shoulder. "I promise no harm will come to Adam. Sam and I will keep him safe."

"You're fighting against Pan on an island he controls," Felix said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "how can you be sure Adam will be safe?"

Everly couldn't help but laugh as she reached forward to take the Thorne boy's hand into hers. "I'm sure because he's with Sam and me."

"You're willing to keep him safe even though he can barely hold a bow?" the Lost Boy questioned, earning a small smile from the girl sitting across from him.

"Just because a person can't carry a weapon doesn't mean they deserve to die."

And then it was Felix's turn to smile before he pulled Everly close enough for him to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "You're absolutely nothing like Pan."

The Jones girl looked up at him before placing a kiss on his lips. Once they broke apart from each other, they just stared into each other's eyes once more. It was at that moment that Everly realized she really needed to get Felix, Sam, Adam, and the rest of the Lost Boys off of Neverland. They all deserved to have a happy ending...even if that meant leaving her behind.

────── ★★★ ──────

It wasn't even ten minutes after Everly ended her call with Killian when Rumplestiltskin walked into the diner. The Dark One looked over at the teens sitting in the booth before he began walking over to Belle, who looked equally as confused as everyone else. Everly, Sam, and Katherine kept their eyes glued to the powerful man before getting as close as they could to each other to have a hushed conversation.

"Something's not right. Why would he be here?" Sam questioned while keeping his eyes glued to the man in question.

"I don't like this," Katherine admitted after her hands balled into fists before she looked over at Sam and Everly, "should we leave?"

"I don't know," Everly told them before a question began bouncing around in her head, "where's Killian? There's no way Rumplestiltskin wouldn't let him go off on his own"

Before their conversation could continue, their attention was drawn back to the situation at hand with Mother Superior began speaking. "What do you want?"

"Excuse me. But I'd like to borrow my wife," the Dark One responded after he stopped a few feet away from Belle, who was still staring at her husband with shock in her eyes, "I need you at the shop for a short while."

"She's working. We need her," the Blue Fairy announced without even attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Mother Superior's right. This is too important," Belle declared after the confusion on her face was replaced with a small smile, "we're really close here, Rumple. Please, be patient."

After seeing the slight irritation in the Dark One's eyes, Sam leaned in even closer to the two girls. "Something's definitely wrong."

"Of course. Well, until you can go, I'll just, uh...I'll just keep you company," Rumplestiltskin responded with a forced smile on his face while keeping his eyes glued to Belle. Behind the counter, Mother Superior looked over at him with a hint of concern in her eyes. "Perhaps I'll be helpful."

While Belle smiled up at the man in front of her, the Blue Fairy stormed through the door that led to the kitchen before stopping right in front of the powerful man. "This is light magic, Dark One."

"Well, then maybe I'll learn something," Rumplestiltskin responded before the two of them had a staredown. It wasn't long after that when the Dark One sent her a small smirk.

Something was definitely wrong.

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────