Alice's plan to overthrow the Queen of Hearts is thwarted by a dashing pirate with a hook. Years later, after the curse is broken, they reunite once again.
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We've been hiking for hours before we reach a spacious clearing in the woods. Dusk is settling in, the light thinning between the trees. Although I'm not a praying woman, I pray we'll set up camp soon. I put my hands behind my back, tilting my chin up to the sky, and take a deep breath. Then another. Turns out spending nearly three decades in a cell with minimal food does wonders for destroying your stamina. I already feel heavy and achy, my legs trembling.
I must have been running purely on adrenaline when I killed that dragon.
"This will do. We'll make camp here. We just need to find water and collect firewood." Mulan says, scanning the tree line.
I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally.
"If we're hiding from Ogres." Emma starts, dry as dust. "Shouldn't we maybe, I don't know, not start a fire?"
"Ogres are blind. They hunt by sound alone." Snow explains calmly.
"Like bats!" I say without thinking. "Well, not blind, technically, but-"
"Right." Emma cuts in sharply. "'Cause that's something everyone would know about Ogres."
Mulan and I share a look, stepping back to give Snow and Emma some space.
"Look, I know you're out of your element-" Snow begins gently.
"I'm fine." Emma snaps.
"I know." Snow closes her eyes for a moment, steadying herself. "But maybe you should just stay here while we get wood and water? Guard the campsite?"
"You mean the big empty clearing?" Emma asks with a doubtful look.
"It's the safest place. We'll be right back."
She turns and leaves before Emma can argue, disappearing into the trees. Mulan heads off in the opposite direction. After a beat, I follow Snow. I imagine this isn't how she pictured any of this going.
"She'll come around," I say halfheartedly.
I bend down to pick up some smaller sticks for kindling. I'm not sure who I'm trying to convince.
"I don't know," Snow says quietly from somewhere behind me.
"She just needs time." I offer, glancing over my shoulder. "Especially being stuck here. Away from Henry."
I shoot her a sympathetic smile over my shoulder. She manages a small smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
"So," she says after a moment, softer now, "what really happened between you and Cora? You mentioned a prophecy."
I clench my jaw at the mention of that witch. I've avoided this story for years. First, because I wanted to forget it. Then, because I wasn't sure it had even been real.
"When I was a child," I say slowly, "I fell through a portal. I ended up in Wonderland by chance. Or so I thought. I spent a whole year there before Cora realized I was the one prophesied to overthrow her. So, she erased my memories and sent me back."
