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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒

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Everly landed on the ground with a loud thought, getting the wind knocked out of her. She just lay there and took in a deep breath before looking over at Henry. It didn't surprise her to find her nephew lying face down in the dirt. Traveling through portals would never be an easy task. Both of them stayed on the ground for a moment longer before finally forcing themselves to their feet.

The Jones girl couldn't help but look around at the forest with irritation in her eyes, not liking that she was once again trapped in a magical world. It reminded her too much of Neverland, especially since they had no idea what was about to happen. Beside her, Henry was looking at the world much differently. A large grin formed on his lips as he spun around to take in all of their surroundings.

"So this is what the Enchanted Forest looks like," Henry muttered under his breath just loud enough for Everly to hear.

The Purest Heart looked over at her nephew with confusion in her eyes. "You've never been here before?"

"The only magical realm I've been to is Neverland, and that wasn't very fun."

Everly had her bite her tongue to avoid saying what she wanted to say. Deep down she knew this wasn't going to be the fun adventure Henry was imagining, but she didn't want to ruin it for him. Instead, she made her way over to a nearby table to look at the handmade vases. Her fingers ran over the small details as she did her best to calm her raging emotions. When she looked back over at Henry to make sure he was still nearby, she found him staring at a sword in awe. A small smile formed on Everly's lips as she watched her nephew for a moment before turning her attention back to the vase.

"Feel like a real hero now? Don't get used to it," The sound of the familiar voice made the Purest Heart's smile drop. She instantly turned around to face the Mills boy, only to find Isaac standing in front of him. Before Everly had a chance to think, the Author swung a shield at Henry's head, knocking him out cold. The raven-haired man stared at the brunette boy for a moment before looking over at Everly. "You should've stayed in Storybrooke."

"And you shouldn't have done," the Jones girl retaliated while attempting to make a ball of light in her hand, only to fail.

Everly just stared down at her hand for a moment before looking back up at Isaac, only to find a huge grin plastered on his face. Her whole body seemed to freeze as she watched him walk closer to her with the shield still in his hands. "There's no Purest Heart in my world."

Before Everly had a chance to think, Isaac swung the shield through the air. The force against her head sent her tumbling to the ground before the world around her went black.

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It had been a week since Harry's threat and the Saved Ones had been preparing for him to strike. When they weren't working on their hand-to-hand combat, they were practicing their archery and swordsmanship. Everly thought they all seemed very prepared and she was confident that Harry wouldn't defeat them. But she was still nervous about what could happen. After all, she had been wrong before.

The Jones girl was currently in the middle of sharpening their arrows when she heard someone approaching her. A small sigh passed over her lips as she looked over her shoulder to find Sam walking over to her. Everly had a feeling she wasn't going to like what he was about to say just by the look in his eyes, but she kept her mouth shut. Instead, her eyes followed the Wilbert boy until he was sitting in the sand across from her.

Sam just stared at her for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. It wasn't long after that when he finally opened his mouth to speak. "You have been sharpening those arrows for three hours."

"Funny how you always know the time on Neverland," Everly responded before going back to sharpening the arrow in her hand with her dagger.

"It's almost noon and you haven't seen him in a few days."

His words made the Jones girl freeze. She wasn't expecting him to encourage her to meet up with Felix, but there was always a first time for everything. Everly just stared at the arrow in her hand for a long moment before breaking out of her trance. "He's recovering."

"Go, Everly. You need a break," Sam said, only to be ignored by the girl who was refusing to look at him. Just when Everly thought he would let it go, the Wilbert boy snatched the arrow and dagger out of her hands. It wasn't long after that when the Jones girl forced herself to look up at him right as he began speaking. "Go see Felix."

Everly let out a long sigh and sent him a nod in response. Not even a second after that passed when he stood up before helping the Jones girl to her feet. A million thoughts ran through her head as she grabbed her bow and arrows before making her way out of the cove.

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Everly's world was shaking as she slowly came around from her forced slumber. Once she remembered what had happened, she forced her eyes to snap open before taking a deep break. She instantly looked around to find Henry, only to find him tied to the wagon beside her. The Jones girl watched as he struggled to break free, which would explain the shaking. It wasn't long after that when she turned her attention to the man sitting next to them, who was staring at the restrained teens with a sinister smirk on his face.

"So, now we're all trapped in the book. Congratulations," Isaac told them as he looked around the world surrounding him, "let me tell you about this place. It's cold, there's no running water, and things are always trying to kill you."

"Let us go!" Everly demanded, only to receive a confused look from her nephew in response.

"Can you just poof us out of here?"

"She can't," the Author announced as the smirk on his face slowly grew, "she has no power in my book."

"Let us go!"

"Not a chance. This book we're in, it's worked out quite nicely for me. I don't need you two running around changing things," the raven-haired man told them after the smile on his face vanished, leaving only irritation and determination in his eyes, "this is my story. And no hero gets a happy ending."

"Why? Would that somehow destroy the book?" Henry questioned, causing the Author to look over at him with a new emotion in his eyes. Fear.

"He's right, isn't he?" Everly said when Isaac showed no sign of responding, "a hero's happy ending will destroy this reality."

"That's what you're afraid of, isn't it?" Henry pushed without even bothering to hide the smile forming on his face

"Doesn't matter," the Author shook them off while turning his attention toward the trees in front of them, "you brought us into the final chapter."

"How do you know?"

"I know because I wrote it," Isaac declared after looking back over at the teens as the annoyance returned to his features, "and I know how it ends. With the loud tolling of bells at sunset. When you hear that sound, it'll mean we've reached the last page. The book will end and everything will remain exactly how I wrote it."

It was only a second after he finished speaking when the ground began to shake followed by a loud roar. They all turned their attention toward the source of the sound to find an ogre coming out of the forest. Terror began to flow through Everly's veins as she watched the monster sniff the air, looking for its next meal.

"There we are. Right on time," the Author announced after jumping to his feet.

"What is that?" Henry asked while glancing over at Everly.

"An ogre," the Jones girl answered without taking her eyes off the beast in front of them, her mind filled with the stories Sam told her.

"And the inciting incident of this chapter. An ogre attack," Isaac added without even attempting to hide the joy in his voice. He sent them one last smile before turning to walk away, only to look back at them one last time. "And you know what they say, you don't have to be faster than the ogre, you just have to be faster than the next guy."

"Wait!" Henry called out to Isaac, only for the latter to walk away from the struggling teens.

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"There you are," Felix said with a smile on his face after watching the Jones girl approach him. It wasn't long before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a light hug. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before they ended their moment, giving the Thorne boy a clear view of Everly's face. The look in her eyes was enough to make his grin disappear. Something was wrong. "What's going on?"

Everly just stared up at him for a moment, needing to gather her thoughts. She knew she needed to tell Felix what was going on. At the same time, she didn't want him worrying about her like he always did when something bad was happening. But he needed to know. "Harry threatened us for not helping him take down Pan."

"You need to tell him," the Thorne boy responded without an ounce of hesitation, earning a confused look from the girl in front of him, "he will see Harry's a threat and send him away."

"I can't just send a boy away because he's causing me trouble," the Jones girl retaliated while trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"He's a threat to Neverland," Felix defended, only to receive the same look from Everly before he let out a long sigh, "what about your Saved Boys? What if you can't help them?"

Once again, the Jones girl just stared at him, unsure of what to say. Even though she knew he was right, Everly was a bit insulted. She knew she could protect the boys without Pan's help. She had done it many times before. But the real question was how far would Harry go? So after what felt like another eternity, the former Lost Girl let out the longest sigh of her life."Fine. I'll talk to Pan...but I'm not happy. I'll go to your camp tomorrow."

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Henry continued to shout for help as the ogre got closer and closer to them. Sam's stories continued to bounce around in Everly's head as she watched the beast. It wasn't long before the ogre was only a yard away from them and roared in their faces, sending a strong gust of air in their direction. Just as the Jones girl was about to give up all hope of survival, she heard the faint sound of hooves against the dirt along with the clanking of armor. The galloping and clanking got louder and louder until it finally stopped. Despite the fear flowing through her veins, Everly forced herself to turn as much as she could. Shock began to mix with the terror inside her when she saw a knight sitting on a horse right behind them.

The ogre soon turned his attention toward the knight and began making his way over to him. However, the beast only made it a step when the knight shot a beam of white light out of his hand. The magic hit the ogre square in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"The monster is dead! The Ogre Slayer saved us!" a villager exclaimed after walking out of her cottage and toward the hero, "thank you. If there's anything my family and I can do to repay you."

The knight didn't hesitate to lift his helmet's mask, revealing a face very familiar to Everly and Henry. The teens couldn't help but gasp as they stared at Rumplestiltskin, who had a large smile on his face. "Good deeds have their own reward. This comes with no price."

It wasn't long after that when Rumplestiltskin's attention turned toward the restrained teens. His eyes scanned over them for a moment before he used his magic to untie Henry and Everly. He continued to study them for what felt like an eternity before opening his mouth to speak. "Are you alright? What're your names?"

"Henry. And this is Everly."

"I am Rumpelstiltskin, a knight at your service," the brunette man announced with pride in his voice, "do you have any family around here?"

"Yeah, I think so. Yeah," the Mills boy responded, still in shock by the man on the white horse.

"Then I suggest you run home for supper, kids, because I, I have another village to save."

The smile on Rumplestiltskin's face does nothing but grow before pulling his helmet back down. It wasn't long after that when he rode off into the distance. Everly kept her eyes glued to the former Dark One until she was out of sight before looking over at Henry. "That was weird for you too, right?"

"Totally," Henry told her while pulling Isaac's book out of his coat pocket.

The Jones girl couldn't help but groan as soon as her eyes landed on the book. "Why do you still have that?"

"Because this is the story we're in."

While the Mills boy continued to read through the book, Everly looked around at their surroundings. The villagers began going back into their houses, as if they were pretending nothing happened. It wasn't long before her attention landed on a bow and quiver of arrows leaning against one of the cottages. The Jones girl didn't hesitate to walk over and pick up the items. After slinging them both over her shoulders, she turned around to find Henry staring at her with disbelief in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" the Mills boy questioned, only to receive a blank look from his aunt in response, "that's stealing."

"Not if this world isn't real," Everly retaliated while readjusting the items on her back.

Henry hesitated for a moment as he continued to stare at her before letting out a long sigh. "True. Let's go. We need to find my mom."

"Which one?" the Jones girl asked as she followed him down a path that led them away from the village and into the forest.

"Regina."

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