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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒' 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄

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After following the piece of the Red Queen's cloak through the forest, the heroes found themselves hiding in the bushes that surrounded a clearing. Despite none of them wanting to admit it, all of them were shocked by the scene playing out in front of them. In the center of the field, Anastasia was tied to a wooden pole and surrounded by villagers from a nearby town. All of them were shouting at their former queen while waving torches and pitchforks around in the air. It wasn't long before the crowd shouted in agreement in response to something one of their allies said, making chills run up and down Indigo's spine.

"We can't just leave her there," Kaden said just loud enough for his companions to hear without giving their position away.

"We don't even know what they're planning, though I grant it's not looking good," Alice responded right as the crowd in the distance shouted in unison once again. It wasn't long after that when she finally noticed all three of her allies staring at her with disbelief in their eyes. "If we were the ones tied to stakes, do you think she'd lift a finger to help us?"

"Well, you're right. She probably wouldn't," Indigo declared before turning her attention back to the crowd gathered in the center of the field, "but we're a lot better than her."

"Alright, we'll save her," the Kingsleigh woman gave in without even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

After coming up with a somewhat decent plan, Indigo stayed behind as their backup, knowing her magic would come in handy if things didn't go as planned. Everything within her told her to join her friends as she watched them enter the clearing and walk toward the villagers. Despite this, the Lark girl stayed in her place and silently hoped she wouldn't need to make herself known.

At first, Indigo couldn't hear anything that was going on in front of her, which was driving her even more insane. It wasn't until she remembered a spell one of her guards taught her back in Atlantis that a smile formed on her face. After letting out a long sigh, Indigo muttered the incantation under her breath. As soon as she was finished, her ability to hear doubled, allowing her to be part of what was going on in the field across from her.

"Think about what you're doing," Anastasia told the crowd in front of her, all of them unaware of the three people coming out of the forest and walking toward them, "feed me to these creatures tonight, tomorrow you will be no better off than you are today. But you hold me ransom and the reward that I'll fetch will fill your bellies for years to come. I'm worth more alive than I am dead."

Silence filled the clearing as everyone stared at their former queen. It wasn't long after that when their leader took a few steps forward to address the woman who had done them so much harm. "Alright. Who? Who would pay to save your life?"

"I'm the Queen! Surely somebody would!" the blonde woman exclaimed while struggling against her restraints in an attempt to break free.

"Give us a name."

Anastasia just stared at the man in front of her as her brain tried to come up with someone, anyone to tell him. But no one came to mind. What felt like an eternity passed before the Red Queen finally accepted that no one in the world cared about her. At least, not anymore. "No one."

"We'll pay," a new voice called out, causing Indigo to turn her attention to the other side of the clearing along with everyone else to find Cyrus, Alice, and Kaden walking toward them. The villagers began having hushed conversations with those surrounding them as the trio made their way over to them. It wasn't long after that when the former genie opened his mouth to continue speaking. "True, the Red Queen has done terrible things. She ruled you by fear. Now the tables have turned, and you want the same. You are good, honest people. But if you kill her tonight, in cold blood, well, then you're no better than she is."

The villagers just stared at the three strangers standing in front of them before the leader pushed past his followers to stand in front of them. "How much are you gonna pay for her?"

The smile that formed on Indigo's face after hearing the crowd's cheers instantly fell. Her eyes stayed glued to the villagers' leader for another moment before going to her allies. She just watched as they had a hushed conversation that her temporarily enhanced hearing couldn't pick up on. It wasn't long before they turned their attention back to the man in front of them with large smiles on their faces.

"It was really more of a metaphor," Kaden told them in a tone that masked the fear in his voice as he scanned over the annoyed faces of the villagers.

"Move along, strangers, and leave us to our business," the leader told them while the crowd around them shouted at the three heroes.

"We're not leaving without the Queen," Alice announced while unsheathing her sword, causing Cyrus and Kaden to stare at her with shock on their faces while Indigo rolled her eyes.

"Then you'll suffer the same fate," the man announced before his followers began closing in on them. Despite wanting to jump in and help them, the Lark girl simply watched from her hiding place as her allies were surrounded by the villagers, knowing that she would stand a better chance when they were alone.

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What felt like an eternity passed before night finally fell on Wonderland. Unfortunately, the spell Indigo cast to enhance her hearing had faded, forcing her to wait a few more minutes to ensure that the villagers were truly gone. A small sigh passed over her lips as she stepped out of her hiding place and walked toward her allies. However, she didn't make it very far before she heard howling in the distance. Chills ran up and down Indigo's spine as she looked in the direction of the sound, only to wish she hadn't.

Despite being hidden by the forest, the eyes of the mome raths shined through the darkness. Their growls continued to cut through the air while Indigo stayed glued to her place for a moment longer before she finally gathered the courage to move. Her feet moved faster than the Lark girl thought possible before she found herself standing between her allies and the monsters coming out of the forest. Her instincts took over before she could even think as she drew water from the grass beneath her feet. It wasn't long before she had enough water to form two liquid whips in her hands as she prepared herself for the upcoming fight.

"You need to get rid of the torches," Anastasia told the curly-haired girl, who kept her eyes glued to the approaching creatures, "that's what they're drawn to."

Indigo simply watched the mome raths for a moment longer before forcing one of her whips back into liquid. Without taking her eyes off her enemy, the Lark girl used the water in the air to extinguish the flames that surrounded them, leaving them almost in complete darkness. However, the monsters continued to approach them.

"Yeah, putting out the flames sure helped," Indigo scoffed as she transformed the water back into a whip, "got any better ideas, Your Majesty."

A moment passed with nothing but everyone's heavy breathing and the growling of the mome raths breaking the silence before Anastasia realized what the creatures were attracted to. "Alice, it's your necklace!"

Not even a second after the former queen made her announcement passed when Alice got one of her hands free. The Kingsleigh woman didn't hesitate to yank her necklace off of her before she stared at the glowing object in her hand.

"I've never seen it glow like that," Cyrus muttered under his breath while staring at the brightly shining object in his true love's palm.

"That's really lovely, but get rid of the thing! Throw it!" Anastasia shouted after watching Indigo use her water whips to fight against the monsters approaching them.

Alice only hesitated for a moment before she hurled her necklace across the clearing. That instantly caused the mome raths to turn around and chase after the object. After watching the creatures fight over the piece of jewelry, Indigo let the water in her hands go back into the grass before she turned to help her allies. Once everyone was free, they sprinted away from the mome raths, leaving the monsters with Alice's necklace and empty bellies.

As soon they were a safe distance away, the group of five slowed their paces. Their heavy breaths were the only thing heard throughout the dark forest as they continued to get as far away from that village as they could. Once her breathing was back to normal, Indigo found herself looking over at Kaden, only to find him staring straight back at her. The two of them shared smiles before the Red Knight interlocked his fingers with the love of his life.

"What you did back there was pretty cool," the Scarlet boy told her as he and Indigo continued to lead their group through the dark forest, "I didn't know you could do that with water."

"I didn't either," the Lark girl responded before letting out a small laugh, "I just saw you in danger and that was all it took for it to come back to me."

A comfortable silence surrounded them as they followed the path through the forest. Nothing but the distant conversation between Alice and Cyrus could be heard. That was until Kaden finally built up the courage to ask the question that had been bouncing around in his head. "Are you sure you want to do this? Do you really want to take on Jafar?"

Indigo instantly looked up to meet Kaden's gaze, only to find him looking anywhere but her eyes. She just stared at him for a long moment before opening her mouth to respond. "Why wouldn't I want to help defeat Jafar?"

"You just got your memories back, Didi. You're still trying to figure out who you are," the brunette boy said as he finally looked down to meet Indigo's gaze, "what if something goes wrong because you can't remember a piece of your past?"

The Lark girl hesitated for a moment as she looked back at the dark forest in front of her. Her grip around his hand soon tightened without her meaning to as she thought back to what the dark sorcerer did to her kingdom...to her family. It wasn't long after that when Indigo finally found the right words to answer his question.

"Jafar destroyed my kingdom, killed my parents, and took my memories away from me. I didn't know who I was or why I was alone for ten years because of him. He needs to be taken down and I need to play a part in that." After finishing her explanation, Indigo let out a long sigh and looked up to meet Kaden's gaze. "There is no way I'm backing out of this fight."

Kaden stared down at her for what felt like an eternity before a small and somewhat forced smile appeared on his face. "And I will be by your side the entire time."

Before Indigo had a chance to respond, a popping sound coming from a town in the distance cut through the air. The noise caused the couple to stop in their tracks, allowing their allies to catch up before the five of them stared at the colorful lights. A wave of confusion washed over the Lark girl as she continued to stare at the fireworks before her attention turned to Anastasia when she began speaking.

"Fireworks? That doesn't make sense," the former queen muttered under her breath while looking over at her allies.

"Why not?" Cyrus questioned without taking his eyes off the lights in the sky.

"That's one of the poorest villages in the kingdom. They can barely afford food," the woman in red explained as waves of realization washed over the heroes in front of her, "they certainly can't afford this."

"Maybe they could, if someone wished for it," Alice responded while keeping her gaze glued to the colorful explosions in the distant sky.

A smile slowly appeared on Indigo's face as she looked away from the fireworks and up at Kaden. "And if someone made a wish..."

"Then we just found our genie."

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