────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by the view of Storybrooke from the fire escape. She pulled the blanket that Killian wrapped around her closer to her body while she thought back to the dream she had last night. Felix's words replayed through her head as she watched a couple walk down the street below her. A small sigh passed over her lips in an attempt to calm her nerves before she went back inside.

After putting the blanket back on the bay window seat, Everly changed into a baggy sweatshirt, leggings, and running shoes before tying her hair up. Her eyes landed on the sleeping forms of her found family as she grabbed her bow and arrows from the trunk near Sam's bed. Before leaving the motel room, the Jones girl left a note on the table before leaving the room and walking down to the diner. Everly quickly grabbed some breakfast from Granny then walked out onto the streets of Storybrooke and towards the Merry Men's camp.

The air that surrounded the forest felt ominous as Everly got closer to her destination. A sigh passed over her lips while she took her bow off her back and loaded an arrow onto the notch. Just as she reached the outer ring of trees that circled the camp's clearing, Robin's shouts filled the air. Everly froze for a moment as she listened to his voice then she sprinted in the direction of the sound. Everly kept her bow gripped tightly in her hands as she pushed through a group of low branches to find Robin aiming a crossbow at the Dark One's chest. Once the initial shock of the scene in front of her faded, the Jones girl copied the Merry Man's actions and aimed her arrow at Rumplestiltskin.

"You know, this arrow never misses its mark," Robin told him with the most expressionless look Everly had ever seen on his face.

"If I could stand down, I would," the Dark One responded as he slowly turned to face the brunette man, "heed me. Give me the heart."

Just as the leader of the Merry Men refused the Dark One's request, one of the nearby bushes began to rustle. Everly instantly glanced in the direction of the sound expecting to see the Wicked Witch, only to find a young boy walking into camp with a collection of sticks in his arms. It didn't take long for the boy to sense the danger that surrounded him before he let the wood fall from his grasp. His large brown eyes stayed glued to the Dark One standing a few yards away from him while his body became as still as a statue.

"And who's this?" Rumplestiltskin questioned after turning his attention to face the child in the beanie.

"Roland! Go back!"

"Come here, little boy."

"Don't you dare touch him," Everly hissed as she tightened her grip around her bow and pulled the string back even farther.

"I don't want to. I really don't," the man confessed while a hint of remorse flashed across his face. The Dark One and the Purest Heart continued to have a staredown before the former let out a quiet sigh and turned his attention back to Roland.

"Come closer, little boy," he ordered before a wave of magic emitted from his hand. Roland's small shouts filled the air as he was forced to walk closer against his will. As soon as Rumplestiltskin felt the young Merry Man was close enough, the ripple of magic faded before Roland sunk into the ground up to his knees.

"Daddy, help!" the Hood boy exclaimed as he struggled to free himself from the earth.

"I didn't want to do this, either. But..." Robin mumbled before releasing the arrow from his crossbow, just for the Dark One to use his magic to stop it in midair.

"It never misses its target...and I've just changed the target," Rumplestiltskin stated as he made the arrow turn before it was aimed directly at Roland, "if I drop my finger..."

"No!" Robin shouted while his Merry Men moved to join the fight before they glowed an eerie blue and became frozen.

"I don't want to. But I will."

As Everly tried to keep her focus on the situation at hand, the faces of Lost Boys who lost their lives during Pan's games ran through my head. Her eyes met Robin's terrified ones before she let her bow fall to the ground to make an attempt to get to Roland. Just as she was about to reach the boy, the Jones girl felt a force wrap around her waist before she was thrown into a tree followed by a loud snap.

"Wait! Wait!" Robin pleaded, causing Rumplestiltskin to turn back to the leader of the Merry Men as the latter carefully placed his crossbow on the ground.

Once he knew he had the Dark One's attention, the brunette man cautiously took a few steps toward the tree next to him. Robin glanced over at Roland one last time before he took a small black bag out from the stump. The leader of the Merry Men then reached into the back and pulled out a heart. Everly tried to ignore the pain in her arm as she watched Robin carefully place the glowing object into the powerful man's hands.

"Thank you," Rumplestiltskin told the Hood man once the black pouch was in his grasp, "and I am sorry. Truly."

Everly's eyes widen after watching the Dark One's hand fall. The arrow shot through the air and towards its target before stopping inches from Roland's head and dropping to the ground. After Rumplestiltskin vanished into thin air, the leader of the Merry Men sprinted towards Roland. While Robin pulled the boy out of the ground, one of the Merry Men helped Everly to her feet and began using a piece of cloth to form a makeshift sling for her arm. The Jones girl tried to ignore the pain that shot up her before she glanced over at Robin.

Her discomfort slowly faded as she watched him hold Roland in his arms as the boy sobbed into his father's shoulder. As if sensing her eyes on him, Robin turned to meet Everly's gaze before mouthing "thank you" to her. After she returned it with a smile and a nod, a wave of pain shot through her arm before she let out a gasp as the man moved her in front of her chest. Just as he finished putting the sling around the blonde girl's arm, Regina appeared through the surrounding trees with a concerned look on her face. As soon as his eyes landed on the woman, Robin placed Roland on the ground as the Evil Queen made her way towards him.

"What happened?" she questioned after stopping in front of the leader of the Merry Men.

"I'm sorry. It's gone."

"Was anyone hurt?" she asked as they both unconsciously looked over at Roland before Robin gestured over at Everly.

"Luckily, it was just a broken arm," he told her then he let out a long sigh, "again, I must apologize. You trusted me, and I let you down."

"No, you didn't. Nothing is worth the loss of a child. But now, we have a problem. I'm alive," she stated, causing both Everly and Robin to exchange a confused look before they turned their attention back to Regina, "she has my heart. Gold's taken it for her. And since she hasn't crushed it and killed me, that means she needs it for something far worse."

"What could possibly be worse than crushing it?" the Jones girl questioned while trying to hide the panic in her voice.

"It doesn't matter. Because I'm going to stop her,"  Regina stated before she turned her attention to Everly and pulled her arm out of the sling, "now, don't move,"

Though the pain was unbearable, Everly forced back her cries while trying to stay as still as she could. Her eyes stayed on the Evil Queen as she used her magic to mend the girl's arm. The process caused more pain than the break and Everly could hardly stand it. When the pain finally ceased, the Purest Heart slowly opened her eyes to find Regina staring at her with a small smile on her face.

"I'm surprised you stayed quiet. Most people would make some sort of noise during something like that," the Mills woman said as she and Robin studied the Jones girl.

"I guess I'm just used to the feeling from all the times I had to go through it back on Neverland," Everly explained, making their smiles slightly falter.

Unable to stand still any longer, the Jones girl sent the pair another smile before picking up her bow and heading to the training area. Everly just stared at the target across the clearing for a long moment then loaded an arrow onto her bow and fired it at the tree. The projectile sailed through the air before landing in the center of the target. Just as she went to grab another arrow, a small gasp met her ears. Everly's eyebrows scrunched together as she turned in the direction of the sound to find Roland and Friar Tuck standing just outside the clearing.

"You're almost as good as my dad!" the young Merry Man exclaimed with a large grin before he rushed forward to stand in front of the blonde girl, "can you teach me how to do that?!"

"I think that's something your dad would want to do," Everly laughed as a smile to match the boy's formed on her lips.

"Indeed I would," a new voice said, causing the three of them to turn their attention to Robin as he walked through the clearing and stopped next to Friar Tuck and his son, "may I have a moment alone with Everly?"

Friar Tuck nodded in response before taking Roland back to the camp. Once their footsteps faded, Robin turned his gaze back to the blonde girl with a small smile then gestured for her to sit with him on a nearby log.

"You were very brave back there," he told her as soon as the two of them were sitting side by side, "I just wanted to ask. If I ever need a safe place for Roland to go, can I count on you?"

"Of course. Roland is always welcome to come with me. Even if it's just to have some fun."

────── ★★★ ──────

After shooting arrows with Robin and hanging around their camp for a few hours, Everly headed back to the motel to see what other madness was going on. The only one she found in the room when she returned was Sam, who was lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling without a care in the world. A small smile made its way onto her face at the sight of the boy before she closed the door behind her and made her way to the trunk to put away her bow and quiver.

"Where is everyone?" Everly asked as she made her way toward the former Lost Boy and lay down next to him on the mattress.

"Killian went to Regina's house to talk about something important, as usual. He invited me but I didn't wanna go. It's rare to get downtime around here," he explained as he closed his eyes and let out a silent sigh, "and Katherine went shopping."

"Shopping?" Everly questioned while forcing herself up on her elbows to look down at the boy next to her, "with what money?"

Sam's immediate response was his eyes flashing open before a confused look formed on his face. The Jones boy stared up at the ceiling for a moment then he glanced over at Everly. "I honestly don't know."

The Jones siblings continued to stare at each other in silence then Everly simply shrugged and lay back down on the bed. The two of them stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before Sam shifted beside her and got off the bed. Everly's eyes flashed open to find Sam staring down at her with his nose scrunched up. "You stink."

"That's what happens when you hang out with the Merry Men all day," she laughed as she sat up on the bed before her attention was drawn to a small silver box sitting on the nightstand, "what's that?"

"A gift for Katherine. It matches her necklace," he explained as he took the box into his hands with a small smile.

Katherine had always worn a necklace that she was given by her birth parents when she was a baby. It had a symbol on it but none of them knew what it meant and they couldn't find anyone in Stroybrooke that had seen it before. The trio knew Rumplestiltskin could tell them, but they also knew that wasn't an option.

"Let me see it," Everly said, only for Sam to hesitate for a moment before opening the box to reveal a silver bracelet with an arrow charm, "she's going to love it."

As soon as the words finished leaving the Jones girl's mouth, Katherine walked in with a bag in each of her hands. Sam quickly put the box in his pocket while the Scott girl made her way toward the pair and placed her bags on the table.

"I got gifts for the two of you and Killian to say thank you for not throwing me back out on the streets," Katherine told them as she took the items out of the shopping bags.

"Killian won't be back for a while."

"That's fine. I'll give you yours now," she responded to Sam as she took out two boxes and placed them in from of the Jones siblings. When neither of them made a move for the boxes, Katherine let out an irritated sigh before sitting down on the other bed across from them. "Go on. Open them."

Sam reached for his first and slowly opened it before carefully pulling out a sword necklace. The smile on his face did nothing but grow as he secured it around his neck. Everly watched the two of them for a moment then reached for the box in front of her and slowly opened it to reveal a heart charm. After studying the golden charm, the Jones girl sent her friend a grateful smile and added it to her necklace.

"I have something for you, Kat," Sam told the redhead before handing her the box he hid in his pocket.

As soon as the shiny box was placed in her hands, Katherine opened it. Her eyes widened as she carefully took the bracelet out of the box and studied it for a long moment. The grin on her face did nothing but grow as she put it on her wrist and thanked the Jones boy with a hug.

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────