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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

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A smile spread across Everly's face at the sight of how comfortable Katherine was getting with her bow. It wouldn't surprise the Jones girl if her friend soon surpassed her skills. The two girls continued to fire their arrows without a care in the world and managed to hit their target almost every time. Robin remained at the edge of the clearing to watch the three teens practice and prepare for what lay ahead.

Just as Everly was about to put down her bow and join Sam to work on her swordsmanship, her name being called cut through the air. The Jones girl immediately stopped what she was doing and turned in the direction of the voice to find Killian walking towards her with Emma by his side.

"We need your help with tracking something," Killian told her as soon as the two of them stopped a few feet in front of the Jones girl.

Hesitation flowed through her veins as Everly slung her bow across her back and secured her quiver around her waist. The Purest Heart looked past the two in front of her and landed on the archer. After a moment of watching the redhead, a hand was placed on the blonde's shoulder before she looked up to find Robin smiling down at her.

"I'll help her train, even though we both know she doesn't need it. You go help them with whatever it is they need."

After sending him a thankful smile and a nod, Everly told Sam and Katherine about the situation before following Emma and Killian into the familiar yellow bug. The Swan woman instantly started the car before they drove to the other side of the forest. The three of them sat in complete silence as they journeyed through the trees until they ended up on the path that David told them about.

"What exactly am I looking for?" Everly asked as soon as they got out of the car and began their adventure through the forest.

"Holly berries," Killian responded, causing the girl to stop in her tracks before the pirate and the Savior turned around to face the confused teen.

"Holly berries? As in a plant that grows on a bush?" the Jones girl questioned, only to receive nods in response from the two before Everly let out a loud laugh while rubbing her hands down the sides of her face, "you know that I've never tracked plants, right? I've only tracked animals and the occasional person. You know...things that can move."

"Well, I'm sure the Lost Boys taught you something useful."

"Not about tracking plants. How do you even track berries?"

After receiving an eye roll from the Jones man, the three of them continued walking down the dirt path. Another silent moment passed between them before Everly unconsciously looked to the ground. Her eyes studied her mud-covered boots and her ears listened to the crunching leaves. Just as she was about to give up on their search, her attention fell on a small stream a few feet to her right.

If you follow the water, you're bound to find a plant you can eat. Maybe some fruit, if you're lucky.

"Follow the stream," Everly said without an ounce of hesitation, drawing Killian's and Emma's attention back to the younger girl as she continued to stare at the stream, "fruit always grows near water."

The two of them sent her small nods before they followed the small stream. After walking for a few minutes, they stopped as soon as a bush full of holly berries came into view. The trio rushed forward until they reached the plant then Killian shook the bush with his hook, causing a few berries to fall to the forest floor before the sisters send him small smiles.

"You'll look for any excuse to use that thing, won't you?" Emma mocked the raven-haired man.

"At least we know we're in the right place. What now?"

"Now we start searching."

As they continued down the trail, Everly found herself trailing behind Emma and Killian while they had a conversation that she easily tuned out. They continued to walk through the silent forest until the two adults came to a sudden stop, causing the Jones girl to almost ram into Killian. The blue-eyed girl looked around the pirate once she regained her bearings to see Emma looking at the pirate with doubt in her eyes. While the two of them continued to have a staredown, Everly silently wished she didn't tune out their conversation after all.

"You're lying."

"Excuse me?"

"What happened back there?" Emma questioned Killian as she took a few steps closer to him before stopping a foot away from him, "what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. That's my tale and I'm sticking to it," the pirate captain replied while trying to keep his voice as steady as possible.

"Still don't believe you."

"Well, let's leave it at that and you can just say, 'thank you.'"

"For my memories? I already did."

"For saving you from a loveless marriage."

"Let's just get back to looking for the witch," Everly interrupted their awkward conversation, hoping to stop it before it got out of hand.

As the two began to have another staredown, the Jones girl grabbed the raven-haired man's wrist in an attempt to get them to start walking once again. When he did nothing but shake her off, an irritated sigh passed over her lips while she rubbed her hands over her face.

"Is that what you think you're doing?" Emma asked, completely ignoring her sister's previous request to continue their search.

"He was a flying monkey," Killian responded in a condescending tone.

"I didn't know that."

An awkward silence fills the air as the two of them stare at each other with no emotion on their faces. As the stillness of the forest surrounded them once again, Everly went to sit on a nearby rock before she turned her attention back to the two in front of her.

"Were you considering it?" Killian questioned, breaking the uncomfortable silence while Emma continued to stare at him with emotionless eyes, "his proposal?"

"Does it matter?"

"Humor me."

"Yes. Okay. I was in love. So, of course, I was considering it," Emma told the pirate without even attempting to hold back the venom in her voice, "but, as usual, he wasn't who he said he was and I got my heartbroken. That enough humor for you?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad to hear that."

"You're glad to hear I had my heart broken?"

"If it can be broken," Killian said as he took a step closer to her, "it means it still works."

A few more seconds of them staring at each other with a longing look in their eyes passed before Emma turned her back towards the pirate and continued down the path. Killian looked over at Everly with a blank expression on his face as she walked toward him before stopping in front of him.

"Never flirt in front of me again.  Especially if it's with my sister. It's disgusting," the Purest Heart scoffed while rubbing a hand over her face once again then muttering, "this family tree thing is confusing enough as is."

After receiving another eye roll from the pirate, he walked past the young girl and gestured for her to follow him and Emma. Everly didn't move for a moment before she let out a groan and hurried after them. The three of them continued walking through the snow in silence until they reached a small hill. None of them hesitated to start trekking up it before they found themselves at a small structure in a snowy field out in the middle of nowhere.

"The Wicked Witch of the West has a farmhouse," Everly said as the three of them stood in the distance and stared at the old-looking building, "if anything, you have to appreciate the irony."

Emma and Killian both sent the girl an annoyed look before they resumed walking toward the farmhouse in silence. Everly's mind raced with a million different ideas about what they could find inside as they got closer. When they got on the front porch, the Jones girl walked away from Emma and Killion to peer inside the nearest window.

"There's definitely someone living here," the blonde girl whispered just loud enough for her allies to hear after she studied the non-dust-covered furniture and pots on the stove. When no movement caught her eye, Everly turned her attention back to Killian and Emma to find them looking through a different window on the other side of the porch. "Looks empty now, though."

"Then why are we whispering?" Killian asked before the three of them continue to journey along the wrap-around porch.

"Because good hideouts always look empty," Emma explained to the pirate like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "trust me. I spent a lot of time tracking down people who don't wanna be found. I know about hiding out."

Silence surrounded the trio once again as they looked around the corner of the house to find a bike with a wooden basket on the handlebars. Everly tried to hide the small smile threatening to form on her face at the irony of the situation. It was like she was living through one of her favorite movies and she couldn't help but enjoy it a little.

When she turned her attention back to the two behind her, the Purest Heart found her sister looking out into the distance. Everly instantly followed her gaze until her eyes landed on a door sticking out of the ground.

"Storm cellar," Emma stated before walking off the porch and towards the doors with the two pirates on her trail.

"Whoa! Wait, wait, wait," Killian told the Swan woman as soon as they reached the metal door, earning an irritated look from the blonde before he continued speaking, "it's one thing walking around a deserted farmhouse. It's quite another descending into a one-way cellar with no way out."

"Scared?" Everly mocked the raven-haired man, causing him to send her an annoyed look followed by a slightly irritated sigh.

"There's a difference between fear and strategy," he explained to the sisters to get them to see the situation from his point of view, "we know she's got flying monstrosities, who knows what's down there? If this witch is as powerful as we think, we could use some magical backup. Unless the two of you have been practicing in New York City."

Even though she knew he was right, Everly rolled her eyes at the man while Emma agreed with his request. The two pirates watched the woman take out her phone, only for confusion to make its way onto her face. The Savior just stared at the object in her hand for a moment longer before she slightly shook her head.

"It's David," she explained while tapping the screen one more time before the charming prince's voice filled the air.

Emma, it's David. I'm at the trailhead and I think I found her. The Wicked Witch. I'm going after her.

The three of them didn't even let the voicemail finish before they sprinted back the way they came. As they raced back down the trail towards Emma's Bug, Everly silently hoped David didn't do anything too heroically dumb even though she knew he most likely did. After stopping in town to pick up Regina, they arrived at the trailhead to find David on the ground on all fours. The blue-eyed man slowly sat up onto his knees while the four of them raced over to the man.

"David! Are you okay?!" Emma exclaimed as soon as they reached him, only to receive a nod in response from their father as he continued to take deep breaths.

"Well, where is she?" Regina asked while she gestured around the empty clearing.

"It wasn't her," David responded after slowly getting to his feet.

"Then who was it? You look whiter than a fresh sail," Killian questioned before the Nolan man looked over at the Joneses, making Everly see how much pain he truly was in.

"Myself."

"Excuse me?" Everly said, drawing all attention to her as she quirked an eyebrow at David in confusion, "did you just say it was yourself?"

"It's the witch," Regina stated then she let out a long sigh, "she's toying with us."

"Did you guys find where she might be hiding?" David asked while looking over at his daughters and the pirate captain.

"A farmhouse."

"We think it's hers," the Purest Heart added as she continued to study the shaken man in front of her, "didn't actually see here there though."

"Then let's end this," David declared, causing them all to look over at him before the man cast his gaze over to Regina, "send that witch back to Oz."

"Any particular reason the witch would send a demon that looks like you?" Killian asked as the group made their way back to their vehicles to journey then to the farmhouse.

"No idea," David explained before letting out a sigh as he thought back to his previous encounter, "it was just there, wearing my face, harping about my deepest fears."

"It knew your deepest fears?" Regina questioned after coming to a sudden stop while staring at David with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Yeah. Things I never told anyone, not even Mary Margaret," he replied before they all stopped next to the Evil Queen in the clearing. The four of them stared at Prince Charming for a long moment before he continued his story. "It wasn't until I admitted them that I was able to defeat it by stabbing it with the hilt of my sword."

"Where is it? Your sword?" Regina asked with a hint of urgency in her voice as realization began to make its way through Everly after thinking back to something Pan once told her on Neverland.

"That's the strange part," David told her before letting out another sigh, "after I killed it, the hilt, it disappeared."

"What's that mean?"

"When we face our deepest fears our true courage comes out," Everly answered for the Nolan man, drawing everyone's confused looks to her, "it was a lesson from Pan on Neverland."

"When you used the hilt of your sword to vanquish your fears, your courage transferred into it," Regina added after sending the Jones girl a nod.

"Then why'd it disappear?"

"It didn't disappear, she took it."

"Hang on," Emma said, drawing all eyes to her, "the Wicked Witch stole his courage?"

"Just a symbol of it at least," Everly said before looking over at Regina for confirmation. Once the Evil Queen sent her another nod, she continued her explanation. "But symbols can be powerful tokens."

────── ★★★ ──────

Once they arrived back at the farmhouse, the five of them instantly walked toward the cellar. Chills ran throughout Everly's body as soon as she noticed the one object that was different than before.

"The lock," Emma spoke her sister's thoughts, making everyone cast their gaze down towards the object, "it wasn't busted before."

As soon as they shared a look with each other, the four adults prepared for a battle. However, when Everly reached for an arrow, Killian's hand grabbed her wrist and forced her to stop. Confusion coursed through her veins as she looked up at the raven-haired man to find him staring down at her with determination in his eyes.

"Stay here," he told the girl, causing irritation to run through her veins. After staring at the man for a short moment, Everly opened her mouth to respond, only for him to cut her off before she could even begin, "I know what you wanna do but right now, I don't care. You're staying here."

"He's right, Punz," David said from his place on the other side of Emma.

"Fine...but I'm coming down there if it even sounds bad," the Jones responded, knowing she couldn't win a fight against both her father figures.

They both sent her a nod in response before David turned his back to her and reached down to open the cellar doors. As soon as they deemed it safe to enter, Everly watched them descend into the dark cellar. A few seconds of silence from the dark room below passed before Killian called up to the Purest Heart. A relieved sigh escaped her lips after knowing they were okay then she went to join them.

Once she stopped in between Killian and David, Everly's eyes landed on a massive cage in the middle of the small room. Chills ran up and down her spine as she stared at the metal structure before her attention drifted down to the lock that looked as if it was twisted right off. "What would the Wicked Witch keep in a cage? Monkeys?"

"No, not monkeys," David responded while reaching for the chain above him. When the light filled the room, all eyes landed on a spinning wheel sitting in the center of the cage. Everly looked up at Killian without even thinking to find him looking back at her with a worried expression on his face. When the two pirates turned their attention back to the situation at hand, they watched David pick something off the ground before holding it up to the light.

"Now how many people do we know that can spin straw into gold?"

"Rumplestiltskin."

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