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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

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Roland left soon after seeing the teen's eyes glowing pink to go get some food, leaving Everly alone with Cassie. Neither of them had said a word since the Thorne girl asked about Lucas. Her daughter looked up at the Purest Heart every now and then as if expecting her mother to answer her question. But Everly just didn't have it within her to tell her daughter that her true love only saw Cassie as his classmate and nothing more.

It wasn't until the front door slammed, signaling that the Hood boy had returned, that the blonde girl looked up at her mother again. Everly just studied the pleading look in her daughter's eyes that she simply returned with a guilty stare. When she realized that her mother wasn't going to willingly answer her question, Cassie placed her hand on Everly's knee.

"Please tell me where Lucas is," the Thorne girl whispered just loud enough for the Purest Heart to hear.

The immediate response the woman gave her daughter was a small sigh before she looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to hide her tears. Everly never thought the first conversation she'd have with her daughter after she got her memories back was this one. But she knew she couldn't keep the truth from Cassie any longer.

"He's with Austin...and he's safe," Everly hesitated for a moment as she took in every aspect of her daughter before continuing her explanation, "I'm really sorry, Cass but...but he's still a victim of the Curse...so-"

"He doesn't remember me."

The Purest Heart sent her daughter a small nod before taking the girl's hand into her own. "If it's any consolation, I'm doing everything in my power to break this and get back to our normal lives. We're close...I can feel it."

"We?" Cassie questioned as she looked up to meet her mother's gaze. The two of them just stared at each other until Everly watched realization flash across her features. "Fletcher, Dawn, and Lucy told me who I was. They remember too."

"Well, I'm still not sure if Lucy remembers or just believes but Fletcher and Dawn remembered everything the second they found their necklaces," Everly explained then gestured to the dreamcatcher hanging around her daughter's neck, "just like how you remembered when you got that back."

Out of instinct, Cassie reached up and touched the one object that gave her control of her abilities. The very thing that let her control her nightmares instead of trapping her within them.

"Will that make Lucas remember if we find his moonstone? And dad with his bracelet?" the Thorne girl questioned while continuing to trace the outline of her dreamcatcher with her fingers, "is it as simple as that to make everyone remember who they really are?"

"That's what I'm hoping for, Cass. Because I don't know how else we can prove to everyone that this is just an illusion."

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After receiving numerous texts and her daughter convincing her that she was okay, Everly left Cassie to catch up with Roland while she went to meet up with Ella and Tiana. They told her in their messages that they bought a food truck and needed help fixing it up. Apparently, Fletcher, Dawn, and Lucy mentioned something to them about the Thorne woman being good with making repairs. Which was nothing but the truth, but it was all thanks to Henry.

Everly just hoped Regina's plan to bring him to the food truck later worked and got her out of helping them fix up their truck all day. What the Purest Heart really wanted to do was figure out how something as simple as jewelry could bring back her children's memories. Everything she'd been through in her life has taught her that nothing is that easy.

Just as she turned another corner that would take her one step closer to where Ella's and Tiana's new food truck was parked, Everly slammed into something. She stumbled back a bit and was about to trip over the curb when someone grabbed her shoulders to steady her. The Purest Heart let out a relieved sigh before looking up to thank her savior, only for her mouth to slam shut when she found Sam staring back at her.

"Sorry, Jo. We didn't see you standing there," the Jones man said while trying to ignore the awkward tension that began to form between them. Sam cleared his throat in an attempt to break the silence before he showed her the book in his hands. "I was a little distracted."

"It's no problem at all," Everly told him before her eyes left him and went to the object in his hands, "I guess Rogers let you borrow that."

"Yeah. He found out I never read it before and practically ordered me to," Sam explained and let out a laugh that seemed more forced than genuine.

The two of them just stood there in silence and stared at each other for a long moment. Everly soon found the awkwardness becoming too much and was about to dismiss herself when she saw something change in his facial features. It was like a switch was flipped on and the Purest Heart couldn't decipher if it was a good thing or not.

Just as the Thorne woman was about to ask her brother if he was okay, Sam began to rapidly flip through the book in his hands. Everly just watched the scene play out in front of her until the shining knight eventually found what he was looking for. His facial features changed once again as if he was thinking long and hard about something. When he turned the book around to show the Purest Heart what was bothering him, her blood ran cold.

"I'm only asking you this because I heard you know a lot about this book," the Jones man said before using his finger to point to the picture of two teens standing in a clearing in the middle of an all-too-familiar forest, "do you how Henry got the only picture I have of myself with my late sister?"

"I'm sorry, Braxton, but I don't know how-" Everly cut herself off the moment when she fully took in the man's words. After she gathered her bearings and gained her courage back, the Thorne woman looked away from the picture and back up at Sam. "Late sister?"

"Uh, yeah...late sister. Her name was Emily...she, uh, she died from cancer when we were kids."

A lump formed in Everly's throat that she tried to ignore before she forced a sympathetic smile onto her face. "I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a sibling...well, it's one of the hardest things you could go through."

"Sounds like you've had some experience in that department."

"You could say that," was all the Thorne woman was able to say as she tried to keep her emotions in check.

The awkwardness that once surrounded them soon returned as the Jones siblings stood on the corner. Everly just watched as Sam studied the picture in Henry's book with a confused look on his face. It brought tears to the Thorne woman's eyes that she was forced to hold back. She wanted nothing more than to just walk forward and wrap her arms around him. But she knew that would only confuse him more and she couldn't risk letting the Tremaines know she remembered. That could ruin everything she'd been working toward.

Luckily, they were soon saved from the awkwardness by the sound of Everly's cursed name being called in the distance. When they both turned toward the source of the sound, they saw Lucy and Regina walking toward them.

"What are you two doing here?" the Purest Heart asked as soon as the pair were close enough before she was pulled into a tight hug by the Mills girl.

"We're gonna see if anyone at the police station can look up an adoption in Boston," Lucy told her, causing Everly's smile to slightly falter as she looked up at Regina for a better explanation.

"Apparently, the person I really am adopted a baby so we're gonna see if it's true," the brunette woman simplified while Sam continued to watch them with confusion in his eyes.

It wasn't long before the Jones man snapped out of his daze and closed the book in his hands. All attention turned toward him as he stepped forward to stand next to Everly.

"If I was higher up in ranks, I would definitely help the two of you," he told them before the smile on his face slightly faltered, "unfortunately, that would be Detective Weaver's department."

"Of course, it is," Everly sighed then looked back to her niece and step-grandmother, "I'll come in with you. You could use all the backup you can get."

After walking into the police station, Sam said his goodbyes to the group of women before they all went their separate ways. Everly walked alongside Lucy and Regina through the building until they reached their destination. Before they walked into the detective's office, the Mills woman pulled out a bottle from her bag and sent Everly a knowing smile. The Purest Heart responded with a small laugh then the three of them entered.

The first thing they saw when they walked into the small room was Rumplestiltskin typing on his computer before his eyes moved to lock with Everly's. Chills ran up and down her spine as he just looked at her until Regina broke their staring contest by placing the bottle on his desk.

"It's a get-well gift," the former Evil Queen explained after seeing the confused look form on the Dark One's face.

"How can I help you, Roni?" Rumplestiltskin questioned as he leaned back in his seat with a blank expression on his face.

"Can you find out if a certain woman applied to adopt a baby in Boston?" Regina asked while her granddaughter looked between the three adults in the room with a hint of hope in her eyes, "I'm not sure about the year."

"Her name's Regina Mills," Lucy added, making the detective's blank expression falter just enough for Everly to see before he leaned forward and pointed toward the bottle on his desk.

"That's bought you this conversation," he stated before his eyes left the drink and landed back on the three females standing in front of him, "now, what would make me want to take this on?"

Everly watched Regina hesitate for a moment before she caught the hint of disappointment in Lucy's eyes. Just seeing the look in her niece's eyes made something stir inside the Purest Heart and she knew she had to do what no one in the whole town of Hyperion Heights or Storybrooke would want to do.

After letting out a small sigh, the Thorne woman landed forward and rested her hands on Rumplestiltskin's desk while keeping her eyes locked with his. "I'll owe you one."

The emotionless look on the Dark One's face soon turned into a smirk as he leaned back in his chair once again. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before Rumplestiltskin finally opened his mouth to break the silence. "Then we have a deal."

────── ★★★ ──────

After leaving the police station, Everly began to head back to her apartment despite Regina and Lucy wanting her to stay. Even though she wanted to continue helping out the pair, the Thorne woman needed to get back to Cassie to see how she was doing. She also wanted to figure out how her daughter's magic was activated in a land without magic. There was no way it simply came out of nowhere. Even the little magic that Everly possessed was brought back to her by finding a small blue flower growing out of the sidewalk.

When she finally arrived back at her apartment, the Purest Heart found Cassie and Roland sitting and laughing on the couch with an empty pizza box between them. A small smile appeared on Everly's face as she watched the duo talk and laugh for the first time in a very long time. All her children were as close as they could be but they always were found in pairs. While Fletcher and Dawn would be playing or training with Felix, Cassie would stay back and talk with Roland. The two of them became much closer than Everly ever imagined...she just wished Robin was still around to see the man his son had become.

The Thorne woman let out a small sigh as she closed the door behind her and walked further into her apartment. Cassie and Roland instantly turned their attention toward her and watched as she sat down in the chair across from them. The three of them sat in silence for a long moment before Everly decided it was time to put an end to their fun night.

"Cass, do you have any idea how you got your magic back?" the Purest Heart asked her daughter while Roland's attention left Everly and landed on the girl sitting next to him.

"I have no clue," Cassie admitted, causing the hint of hope that filled the room to slowly fade away.

"What's the last thing you remember before coming home last night?" Roland questioned before he glanced over at his adoptive mother, "maybe that can help us figure out what happened."

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Everly responded then both she and the Hood boy cast their gazes back toward the Thorne girl, "what happened last night?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Marci, Jasper, and I were at Roni's doing our homework like we do every day after school. She gave us some free food and water and asked Jasper a few questions about her mother and sister but that's..." Cassie trailed off as a look of realization appeared on her face. Her eyes instantly snapped to meet her mother's before they widened to the size of small planets. "Drizella came in about an hour before we left. She pulled Jasper aside to tell him something then offered to get us a few sodas. Do you think there was something in the drinks?"

"It's possible," Everly told her as soon as she finished replaying her daughter's story over in her head, "the only thing that doesn't make sense is why Drizella would wanna wake you up and give you your magic back. How would that benefit her?"

"Because she wasn't trying to wake me up," the blonde girl stated after remembering something that didn't seem important before but could now be the solution to their problems, "she gave Jasper a Mountain Dew and me an Orange Soda. Jasper hates Mountain Dew so I offered to switch with him."

"So she must have been trying to wake up Jasper," Roland reiterated his sister's words before a confused look formed on his face, "but why would she wanna wake him up? He doesn't have any magical abilities and doesn't trust or even like his family one bit."

Their conversation was soon interrupted by Everly's phone going off. The Thorne woman let out a long sigh as she took the device out of her pocket, only for her blood to run cold when she read the message on its screen.

REGINA:
We have a problem.
A big problem.

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