ᴘᴇʀꜱᴇᴘʜᴏɴᴇ | once upon a time [ EDITING ]

- ᴏʟᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ.

— ᴏʟᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ.

Snow White was overseeing the preparations of everybody's departure to the Queen's castle. Hopefully, they would be able to return to what was once their home and build up the kingdom that was once destroyed in the Dark Curse.

But then someone suddenly catches her eye. Snow quickly turns to her husband and pulls on his cloak. Prince Charming looks up and sees his wife holding onto him. "What's wrong," he asks her with a worried look on his face. Snow White didn't say anything but nods her head in a certain direction. It was a blonde girl in a simple black gown, saddling up a horse.

Charming nods his head slowly now he understands what his wife meant. He takes her hand and together they approach the girl. "And where do you think you're heading off to," he asks aloud. Presley looks up to see Emma's parents suddenly standing behind her. So much for leaving without notice, she thinks to herself. 

"I'm not staying. I-I don't belong with.. any of you," she says, waving over at Granny and Red arguing and the dwarves marching on in unison. "But you can be," Snow ensures her. She takes a step forward and takes Presley's hands into hers. "Come with us. You were like family to Emma, which means you are part of our family as well."

Presley pulls her hands back from Snow's gentle hold and holds them by her side. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Fact of the matter is that.. I still have to figure out what happened to me here. Who I am. Inside some palace walls I won't be able to do that." Snow takes a step back, looking a little defeated. "O-of course. If that is what you wish." Presley sees her reaction and feels guilty for being so blunt and cold. But.. she really wanted to go off on her own. At least then she did not have to consider everyone elses feelings.. or her own, for that matter. Felix' death left a stain on her heart that could never be washed away. It would always be there, burning in her soul and reminding her every moment of every day that he was no longer there. That he would never return.

Charming tries to ease the tension by reaching for his belt. He pulls out a dagger. Just a plain dagger. He hands it to her. "If you want to go on your own, you need to at least be armed." He rubs the back of her head, smiling kindly at her. "Be safe, Presley. Keep in mind who are waiting for you on the other side."

Presley gently takes a hold of the dagger. "As if I could ever forget," she whispers. She had lost Emma and Henry. Though she may not know Henry too well and was not exactly on the right foot with Emma when they were separated, she knew she would miss them. And then there was the Darlings.. Wendy. Their time together was so short yet so worth it all. 

She quickly shakes her head, physically ridding herself of her thoughts. "Thanks, you never know when you need one," she says, tucking the dagger into the belt around her waist. Presley looks down at herself in irritation. The first thing she would do when crossing a town is buy pants, she thinks in frustration. Charming and Snow stand hand in hand as the girl sits down on the horse. They wish her good luck on her journey, while Presley tells them she hopes that they find the Queen's castle. "Whenever you are in need of help, go to the castle and we will do whatever we can," Snow tells her. Presley waves them off awkwardly and presses her heels gently into the abdomen of the horse.