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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐍

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Everly, Sam, and Katherine were currently sitting in their motel room and trying to piece together everything they discovered the previous day. No matter how hard she tried, the Jones girl couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the Wicked Witch of the West was real. Even though she shouldn't be surprised to hear someone from a fictional tale was real, she always found herself taken off guard when they showed up in the town.

Just as the three of them accepted the situation they were in, the door swung open to reveal Killian standing in the doorway. After he stared at the teens for a short moment, his eyes landed on Everly before he gestured for her to follow him into the hall. A small sigh passed over her lips as she got to her feet and followed the pirate into the hall.

"Please tell me you don't need me to track someone else," Everly said with a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood as she crossed her arms over her chest, "because I don't feel like watching someone else turning into a flying monkey."

"Then consider yourself lucky because, this time, I need you to go to Robin's camp," the pirate captain told her with an emotionless look, causing the Jones girl's hands to fall to her sides as she stared at him with confusion in her eyes, "it's safer there. And before you fight me on this, because I know you will, I know you and Sam can protect yourselves. But I need you to make sure Katherine can as well."

"So you want me to train Katherine?" Everly questioned, only to receive a small nod in response before she let out a quiet sigh, "I don't have anything to use to train her, Killian. I don't even have my bow. Pan took it from me back on Neverland."

As soon as those words left her mouth, the emotionless look on the pirate's face transformed into a smile. Everly never had a chance to question his sudden mood change before Killian walked into his room across the hall. Confusion and curiosity coursed through her veins as she followed him into the room. The first thing she saw when she walked through the doorway was Killian walking towards a trunk at the end of his bed. Her attention stayed glued to the man as he opened the storage container before her whole body froze and her blood ran cold. Everly just stared at the object the pirate captain held in his hands until her eyes moved back up to meet his.

"How long have you-"

"Since we got back," Killian told the girl in front of him before she could finish her question as he handed Everly her bow and quiver of arrows, "Mary Margaret and David found it."

A small smile formed as she carefully examined the curved piece of wood in her hands. While her eyes scanned over the item she protected with her life of Neverland, she thought back to the day she first received it.

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Everly was forced to spend more time with Felix ever since the Ollie incident because Pan wanted someone to watch her when he wasn't around. They stopped in the training hollow after being dragged away from Baelfire and out of the camp by the tall Lost Boy. The blonde boy made the lone Lost Girl stand in the center of the clearing while he walked over to the tree where all their equipment was stored.

"Pan wants you to be able to protect yourself," Felix told her before he turned around and made his way back over to where she stood with a bow and quiver of arrows in his hands.

"I'm not gonna hurt anyone," Everly stated as she crossed her arms over her chest then her eyes left the objects in his hand and met the Lost Boy's gray eyes, "especially not for a boy trying to control our every move on this island."

"It's self-defense," the blonde boy responded while shoving the bow and arrows into her arms, "he wants you to be able to protect yourself when...if one of the Lost Boys decides to turn on you."

After letting out a loud scoff, Everly's attention turned back to the bow in her hands before she noticed the many carvings that covered the wood. Her eyes wandered from the stars that practically covered every inch of the bow before they landed on her name carved neatly in cursive letters. She slowly ran her fingers over the letters and looked down at the heart on the other end before her attention was drawn to the sun directly in the middle of it.

"Did you make this?" Everly asked in awe as she looked back up at Felix.

"Only the best for our Lost Girl."

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After wiping away the single tear that rolled down her cheek, Everly looked back up at Killian, who was watching her with a small smile on his face. The two of them just stood there for a moment in comfortable silence before her thoughts went back to the two other people waiting in the room across the hall.

"What about Sam and Katherine?" the Jones girl asked as she placed her bow around her shoulder.

The only response she received was a smirk from the pirate before he went back into the trunk. Everly watched him dig around for a moment before he pulled out another bow with a quiver of arrows, three daggers, and a sword. "You decide who gets what."

After playfully rolling her eyes at Killian, the Purest Heart took the pieces of equipment across the hall to her room and tossed them on her bed. Sam and Katherine just stared at her in confusion until she explained their forced plans for the day. It wasn't long before she slung both bows over her shoulders then she tied the quivers around her waist. As soon as she finished getting the archery equipment situated, Everly handed Sam the sword and a dagger before placing one in her and the other in the side pocket of the quiver. When the three of them were ready to go, they headed out to the streets of Storybrooke and walked in the direction of Robin's camp.

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Everly, Sam, and Katherine walked along the forest trail as leaves crunched beneath their feet and birds flew above their heads. Smiles spread across their faces at the sight of the tall green trees that made all three of them feel more at home than the streets and buildings of Storybrooke. But that didn't surprise any of them considering how they lived for the majority of their lives.

It wasn't long before various voices and the sharpening of arrows could be heard in the distance. The three teens followed the sounds until they arrived in a small clearing filled with tents and Merry Men. Everly's whole body stiffened after watching everyone's attention land on her. None of the Merry Men showed any emotion while they studied the three teens as if trying to decide if they were threats. Another moment of uncomfortable silence passed before the Jones girl glanced back at Sam and Katherine to find them just as uncomfortable as she was.

"Everly Jones," Robin broke the silence after emerging from his tent, causing everyone to go back to what they were doing before the three teens arrived, "what can I do for you and your friends?"

"Killian wanted us to get some training in and told us to come here," the blonde girl explained while readjusting the bows on her back, "I mean if that's okay with you. This is your camp after all."

"Of course. We have some targets set up over there," the leader of the Merry Men told the teens while gesturing towards a small trail to his right.

The smile on the Hood man's face did nothing but grow as he led them to another small clearing just outside of their makeshift camp. An unexpected wave of nostalgia washed over Everly while she looked over the Merry Men's training area. After thanking Robin for allowing us to train at his camp, the Jones girl took the extra bow off her back and placed it on the ground next to the spare quiver and dagger. Just as she was about to start training Katherine, her attention landed on Robin as he stood at the edge of the clearing. "Don't you have important 'Merry Man' things to do?"

"I do but I'd rather see if you're as good at archery as you are at tracking," the brunette man responded with a giant grin on his face while crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against a tree.

After rolling her eyes at the leader of the Merry Men, the Jones girl turned back around to look over the items on the ground in front of her. Katherine stood in silence while she watched the blonde girl look at the bow and dagger as if they were speaking to her. The Scott girl didn't know how much time had passed before Everly looked back up at her with a hint of determination in her eyes.

"I'll demonstrate how they work and then you can decide which one you like best," the Purest Heart stated before she noticed the nervous expression on the younger girl's face, "does that sound good to you?"

The only response she received from the redhead was a small nod before Everly went to stand in front of one of the targets. Her hand reached down to pull her dagger out of her boot while getting into the stance she learned back on Neverland. The Jones girl let a long breath escape her lips then she hurled the dagger at the target. Her eyes stayed glued to the metal object as it soared through the air before hitting the bullseye. A small smile formed on Everly's face while she walked across the clearing to retrieve her dagger. As soon as the metal object was back in her grasp, she turned around to face Katherine once again. "Your turn."

Before the Scott girl could respond, Everly placed a dagger in her hands. Katherine studied the metallic item for a moment then moved to stand where the Jones girl previously was. It wasn't long before the Purest Heart noticed that her form was off and immediately rushed to her aid.

"Feet shoulder-width apart," Everly corrected, receiving a nervous look from Katherine before she did as she was told, "now close your eyes and take a deep breath." After she followed the older girl's instructions, her eyes flashed open before the Jones girl noticed her breath slow back to a normal rate. "Now throw it."

As soon as those three words leave Everly's mouth, Katherine hurled the dagger at the target. The two of them watched it fly across the clearing before it made contact with the tree, barely missing the center of the circle.

"Nice throw. I didn't even get it to land in the tree the first time. But you need to practice your aim a bit more."

The two girls shared a smile while Sam pulled the dagger out of the target to train with. After watching the boy walk off with a somewhat smug grin on his face, Everly bent down to pick up the bow and quiver of arrows and handed them over to the redhead. Katherine's eyes widened to the size of small planets as she studied the objects in her hands while the Jones girl took her own off her shoulders.

As soon as she was able to draw the Scott girl's attention to her, Everly went to stand in the middle of the clearing once again. A quiet sigh passed over her lips as she placed an arrow on the notch of her bow and pulled the string back while taking another breath. Her eyes stayed glued to the target for a long moment before she released the arrow with a long exhale. The arrow soared through the air and across the clearing before landing in the center of the target.

Katherine didn't hesitate to take Everly's place once the latter took a few steps away from the target. The Scott girl easily set herself in a perfect stance that made it seem like she had been doing archery her entire life. The Jones girl just watched her for a moment while trying to figure out how the girl in front of her could possibly know how to hold a bow. There was no way Rumplestiltskin would've trained her, especially if he kept her locked away all her life.

"Relax. Take a deep breath," the Purest Heart told her after shaking off her previous thoughts before she watched the younger girl follow her instructions, "now exhale and release."

They all watched the arrow as it soared through the air and landed in the center of the target. The largest smile appeared on Katherine's face as she looked back at an equally ecstatic Everly. It wasn't long before she went back to working on her archery while Sam went back to his swordsmanship. After watching the two of them train for another moment, the Jones girl found herself walking over to the smirking Robin Hood. "So, what's the conclusion?"

"Your archery is much more impressive than your tracking," the leader of the Merry Men responded before turning his attention away from Sam and Katherine to look at Everly, "where did you learn to shoot like that?"

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Felix and Everly were back in the training hollow working on the Lost girl's archery skills with her new bow and arrow. On the other side of the clearing, Baelfire was working on his swordsmanship while simultaneously watching the pair to make sure nothing happened to his best friend. After shooting her tenth arrow and missing the target once again, the Purest Heart found all positive emotions fading within her. Her eyes stayed glued to the empty target for a moment longer before she turned around to face the Lost Boy.

"I'm never going to get this."

"Only because your form is horrible...and so is your aim," Felix scoffed, causing the girl to shoot him a glare as he walked over to stand next to her.

"Gee, thanks for the pep talk. Inspiring," Everly muttered, earning an eye roll from the Thorne boy before she let out a long sigh, "can we be done now?"

"A Lost Boy...er, Girl doesn't stop until they get it right. No matter how long it takes."

After she let out an irritated groan in response, Felix sent the blonde girl a playful smirk. Everly was taken by surprise when he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to face the target again. The Lost boy then grabbed another arrow from the quiver on the Jones girl's back before placing it in her hand.

"Feet shoulder-width apart," he instructed as he tapped her feet with his until they were spaced to his liking, "place an arrow on the bow and take a deep breath." After putting an arrow on the notch of her bow, Everly pulled back on the string before filling her lungs with air. " Now exhale and release," he whispered into her ear before the Lost girl did as he said.

The two of them watched the arrow fly across the clearing until it hit the target dead center.

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"An old friend," Everly answered Robin as her eyes wandered away from Sam and Katherine and landed on Felix's bracelet.

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