Enchanted Storybrooke

Chapter 2: Savior

The marketplace was a lively part of Enchanted Storybrooke to hang out and buy the bare necessities. Hundreds of people browsed the many selections of items for sale. Different types of produce, vegetables, furniture, herbs, and even fortune tellers filled the marketplace to where it was near impossible to find one person. This was the problem for Hope.

She wandered through the crowds of people, briefly glancing at their faces to make sure they weren't Roland. She about ran into one person due to her attention being on the previous people's faces she previously passed by.

"Hey! Watch it!" the person shouted without turning around.

Hope cautiously raised her hands as she backed away. "I am very sorry."

The person's shouting caught the attention of one Roland Hood who was across the marketplace. He was calmly standing in front of a booth trying not to bring any unwanted attention to himself. He slowly moved his eyes towards the loud voice and saw Hope. The afternoon sun lit up her blonde hair and made her skin flawless. Roland stared at her.

"Wow." Roland froze when he realized what he said. He rubbed his eyes and took one more look at Hope to make sure he was seeing correctly. Her hair was now a dull yellow and her skin had blemishes. She looked different, but the feeling in his gut and chest was the same. It was small but it was there.

Hope started to walk by a produce booth when she saw a small child. There was a pear that was just out of the child's reach. The want in her eyes hurt Hope's heart.

"You must be hungry." Hope grabbed the pear and gave it to the child. "Here you go. Go on."

The child happily ran off and Hope watched her. Before Hope could continue her search, the booth attendant called out to her, "You better be able to pay for that."

Hope was confused for a moment. "Pay?" She then realized what she had done. Before she could say anything else, the attendant grabbed her arm.

"No one steals from my booth."

Hope's eyes widened. She realized that she left in a hurry from the station. She didn't have anything on her. "I'm sorry, sir. I-I don't have any money."

"Thief!" the attendant accused. Hope yanked her arm away from him and started to try and back away with her hands up.

"Please! If you let me go to the palace I can get some money from the Queen!"

Hope's wrist was taken by the attendant. "Don't you know what the penalty is for stealing?" The attendant took the knife he used to cut the produce and pinned her arm down on the table.

Hope became terrified. "No! Please, don't!"

Someone then pulled Hope's wrist from the attendants grasp just before the knife hit the table. "Thank you so much, sir! I am so glad you found her!" The person turned to Hope and that's when she realized: it was Roland. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Hope's eyebrows wrinkled. "What on earth are you doing?" she whispered.

"Just play along, okay?" Roland whispered back. Hope immediately put an innocent smile on her face that had a hint of anxiety in it. She also put her hands behind her back to keep them safe.

"You know this girl?" the attendant asked, crossing his arms in disbelief.

Roland placed his hand over his heart. "Of course. She is my sister, but she is a little crazy." He twirled his finger next to his head as he said the word "crazy". Hope scoffed at the story he was trying to sell.

"She said she knew the Queen!" The attendant walked up closer to Roland. Hope took a step back due to being alarmed. Roland's eyes seemed to have the same sentiment.