────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

────── ★★★ ──────

As soon as her message was delivered, Everly turned off her phone before slipping back into her pocket and letting a small sigh pass over her lips. Once her nerves were somewhat settled, she put her full attention back on Roland, who was still sitting on the floor with his confused wide eyes plastered onto her. A million thoughts ran through the blonde woman's head, only for her to quickly shake them off and put them aside for when the boy was calmer before she helped the brunette boy to his feet and led him to the couch.

The pair just sat in silence for a long moment before a small sigh passed over her lips and she turned to face the confused Roland. Everly studied him for another minute or two then finally decided that she couldn't hold her questions back any longer.

"How much do you remember?" the Purest Heart asked, causing the son of Robin Hood to look away from his intertwined fingers to meet the blonde's eyes. When she saw the blank look on his face, the Thorne woman felt as if the world was collapsing around her once again before she cleared her throat and spoke once again, "maybe you can start with the last thing you remember?"

"I remember the curse and teaching Fletcher and Dawn how to use swords while you were off with Cassie to help her control her abilities. I remember you and Felix taking me after my dad...died. I remember everything, Eve," he whispered before looking back to the floor beneath his feet while fighting back at the emotions threatening to escape, "it's like I had to live through everything all over again."

"I understand the feeling," Everly muttered while thinking back to the time when she got her memories back after her, Henry, and Emma left Storybrooke to evade Pan's curse, "I know this is overwhelming but do you have any idea how you got your memories back?"

Her question caused the brunette boy to snap his head up to meet the woman's gaze before his eyes studied every inch of her face. When he couldn't find any sign of her joking around, Roland leaned back on the couch and rubbed his hand over his face before he opened his mouth to speak. "Didn't you use your magic to free me?"

"If I had my magic and was able to restore everyone's memories, I would have done it a long time ago," the blonde woman told him before she got to her feet and made her way over to one of the pictures of her and Cassie hanging on the wall, "this wasn't me, Rol. Or, at least, I don't think it was."

The duo went back to sitting in silence while trying to figure out what could've caused the boy to suddenly remember everything about his life. This continued for another minute or two before Everly finally caught a faint light shining through the sleeve of Roland's shirt. Her eyes stayed glued to his forearm before they traveled to hers to find a small shimmer coming through her sleeve as well.

The blonde woman hesitated for a moment before slowly rolling up the fabric that covered her arm to find the light mark she gave herself during the attack of the Dark Ones shining brighter than ever. As soon as Roland saw what Everly did, he copied her actions to find the mark she gave him right before the curse hit shining as well then he turned his full attention back to the woman sitting next to him.

"I guess it was your magic after all."

"Okay, but why now?" the Purest Heart questioned without taking her eyes off the glowing symbols, "why would some of my magic start working now? What's so different that-"

Before she could even finish her statement, a thought made its way through her head then she looked up to find the son of Robin Hood staring straight back at her. When their eyes met, she instantly knew he had come to the same conclusion.

"Henry."

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The next day Everly and Roland found themselves sitting in a booth with Hook and Sam at Roni's while Regina paced around the open space. It took everything within the Purest Heart not to stare across the table at the blonde man before she felt a comforting hand placed on her leg. When she looked up at the boy next to her, she found him staring back at her with a small smile on his face right as a soft knock cut through the silence.

Everyone sitting in the booth turned their attention to Regina as she rushed toward the entrance and looked through the blinds. Once she saw who was on the other side, the former Evil Queen let out a relieved sigh before unlocking the door to allow Henry to enter the bar.

"What's that?" Sam asked the brunette man while gesturing to the pink box in the latter's hand.

"Wasn't sure what was appropriate for a gathering like this, so...I picked up some doughnuts," the Truest Believer told them while opening the container to show them the sweets before placing it on the table in front of them.

"Right, because the key to bringing down Victoria Belfrey is a bear claw," Roland muttered, receiving an elbow in the side from Everly before she sent her nephew a small smile.

"Thanks, Henry. I didn't get a chance to eat this morning," the blonde woman told him while she and Sam both grabbed a doughnut from the box, "and just ignore Zach. He can be a little stubborn."

"Yeah, well, you're new around here, Henry, so soon, you'll be stubborn, too. Just give it time," Regina sighed as she pulled up a chair to sit with the rest of us at the booth.

"Well, you brought us together because you said you had something," Hook said, causing all eyes to land on Regina.

"Yes. Last night, I had a customer who works for the building commission. Got pretty drunk," the Mills woman explained while her gaze traveled around to each person sitting in front of her before she continued her story, "started spouting off about how he was going to make some real money off Belfrey. She needed him to do her a favor. Heard him say that they were meeting this afternoon in Hyperion Plaza across from Belfrey Towers."

"Bribes, public officials, redeveloping the neighborhood at the expense of the new guy. This is good. This is really good," Henry muttered to himself then looked up at the allies that surrounded him to find them staring back at him with confusion on their faces, "I...I mean, it's...bad. It's, uh, it's bad. It's a good story. It's a bad thing."

Everly stifled a laugh at the brunette man's rambling before she caught Sam sending a smile her way. The two kept eye contact with each other for a moment longer before they were brought back to the situation at hand when Hook volunteered himself and his two blonde partners for a stakeout. Out of the corner of her eye, the Purest Heart caught Henry sitting up as straight as possible with a small smile on his face.

"A stakeout, huh?" the author said as he watched the officers with curiosity in his eyes, "that sounds pretty cool. Always kinda wondered what one of those was like. Mind if I, uh, tag along with you guys?"

"Sorry, mate. I think we'll be less conspicuous alone," Hook told the brunette sitting next to him as Sam nodded along with the statement, "why don't you stick to your expertise and try and...do a little research? Figure out who our target is."

"So I'm the research guy. Fun."

"Zach can help you out," Everly offered, receiving a small glare from the boy next to her before she elbowed him in the side. Her gesture caused his glare to fade and he sent the Mills man a smile before the blonde woman continued to speak, "I can also talk to Thorne. He's one of Cassie's friends and also hates his mother just as much as everyone else in this town. Maybe even more."

"And while you do that, I'll keep pouring drinks and make sure to keep my ears open."

────── ★★★ ──────

Everyone followed Henry through the woods of the New Enchanted Forest for the last couple of days after Regina finally got her magic to work. Everly and Felix walked hand-in-hand a few feet behind the rest of the group as the three toddlers laughed and giggled in the space between. As she watched the three children chase after each other with giant grins on their faces, the Jones woman couldn't help but wonder if they would have chosen this path if they were older.

Her eyes stayed glued to the kids for a moment longer before her hand received a gentle squeeze, causing her to look away from Cassie and the twins to meet Felix's gaze. The blonde man stared back at her with a smile on his face then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before they realized the group in front of them stopped right outside a large clearing. After exchanging a confused look with Felix, the two of them picked up the toddlers and picked up their pace to join the rest of the group before they saw dozens of tents set up in the large open space.

Right as they entered the campsite, their attention was quickly drawn to a pair of women talking away from the rest of the people staying there. The Purest Heart was about to open her mouth to ask her nephew if either of them looked familiar, only for her question to be answered by him speed walking toward the duo. A small smile formed on Everly's face as she and the rest of their group followed after the brunette man until they reached the two women.

"You want a fight? Don't worry. It's coming."

"Maybe we can help," Henry told them before Everly noticed the woman in blue's body stiffen as she turned around to face the Mills man with her mouth slightly open, "you look surprised to see me. Didn't you want me to find you?"

Before Ella could respond, the man held up the glass slipper that they had been using to follow the woman's trail. Her brown eyes scanned over the object for a moment then her eyes flashed back up to meet Henry's.

"You said you don't believe in signs," the Truest Believer resumed speaking as the woman watched him with a small smile on her face. This continued for another moment or two before Henry's eyes slightly widened then he gestured toward the group standing behind him.

"Oh, uh, there's some people I want you to meet," the Mills man told her as he rested his arm across the former Evil Queen's shoulders, "this is my mother."

"Regina. It's, uh...nice to finally meet you," the brunette woman smiled while taking a small step closer to Ella, "it would have happened sooner, but I had a few kinks in my locator spell I needed to work through, so..."

"Well, I'm glad you did," the brunette woman responded before Everly caught her dark-haired companion staring at Regina with an unreadable expression on her face while Ella's attention drifted to the pirate standing on the Jones woman's other side, "and if this is your mother...don't tell me...this is your father?"

"Well, not quite. Captain Hook, at your service," the raven-haired man told her as he held his hand toward the woman, who happily returned the gesture.

"Oh, and this is Everly, Felix, Sam, Katherine, and Austin," Henry said to the two women as he pointed to the five other adults before he looked down at the three toddlers in their arms, "and that would be Cassie, Marci, and Will."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," the brunette responded with a smile then gestured over at her curly-haired friend, "this is Tiana."

"Is it true you have magic?" Tiana questioned after sending a small smile in their direction, "you could help us defeat Lady Tremaine?"

"A few of us do, but it might take us a few days to gain control of it in this realm," Everly told her as Sam and Austin sent her an awkward wave while Regina sent her a smirk.

"Then maybe we do have a chance."

────── ★★★ ──────

After going through her normal routine on her final day off of work, Everly hopped out of her car and made her way up to her apartment to get everything ready for her shift in the morning. She was surprised at first that the Curse gave her the job of being a police deputy but she quickly grew to love it and wouldn't have wanted any other life. It was also a way for her to get close to Sam and find out everything that was going on in Hyperion Heights.

Just as the Jones woman went to unlock the door of her home, her eyes landed on an envelope that was just barely visible under her doormat. Confusion filled every inch of her body as she bent down to grab the envelope when she noticed her name messily written on the outside. Everly just stared at the object in her hand for a long moment before she pushed open the door and entered her apartment. The Purest Heart threw her things on the dining room table and made her way across the room to sit down on the couch. A wave of hesitation washed over the woman as her eyes scanned over the envelope one last time before she tore it open.

Everly rushed to pull out the paper inside and unfolded it to reveal a picture of five people drawn on a piece of notebook paper. Her eyes scanned over the illustration for a moment before her blood ran cold. Painted on the paper was a portrait of Fletcher, Dawn, and Felix. But what really made the Purest Heart become as still as a statue was the three others in the picture with them. Between the twins stood Cassie and behind them next to Felix was Roland with Everly on his other side.

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