Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (EDITING)

XIV. The Tower

The missing year...

"It's down!" Grumpy called as they all watched the protection spell that surrounded the kingdom slowly lower until it was nonexistent.

"Move on the castle, now!" David called back as everyone grew more alert and readied their weapons out in front of them. The entire group quickly rushed forward and passed the line they once couldn't cross and quickly entered the castle's territory. It wasn't long after they broke past the gates that they headed straight for the courtyard, and it wasn't long after entering the courtyard that they realized the castle was completely deserted. The only thing to tell them that there were any people left was when Regina and Robin came out from the other side of the courtyard. The look on their faces told them that there was no battle to be fought, and so most everyone lowered their weapons. Regina's face, however, was off putting, as she didn't look too happy that their witch was nowhere to be found. Finally, the two of them met the group of heroes in the middle of the courtyard as Regina began to tell them what she knew.

"The witch is gone," she said simply.

It was unsettling, to say the least, that their witch was nowhere to be found, or at least it was for Grace. Her eyes scanned across the courtyard carefully. "Do you know where she went?" the teen asked calmly, though she was masking her true feelings.

"Well if I knew, I wouldn't be here right now." Regina snapped, her emotions getting the best of her. Grace looked away from the woman, unnerved by the facts.

David, not seeming to understand the severity of the situation, asked, "Well, isn't it a good thing that she's not here?"

Regina growled in agitation. "Good for you maybe. Not so good for me, or even Grace for that matter," Regina let out, catching the group's attention. Finally, she looked directly in the teen's direction before beginning to explain herself, "As much as it pains me to say, you were right. Apparently, the witch and I have history. I just didn't know about it until she explained why she wants to kill me." She had a sarcastic bite to her comment, and it was clear that she was aggravated just by the thought of the Wicked Witch.

Grace sighed, knowing that pain well. "I didn't want to be right, but it made sense."

Snow gave Regina a curious look. "Well, what is it? What history does she have with you?"

Regina only sighed. "I can't get into it right now. But for the meantime, you're safe."

"Well, how do you know that?" David demanded, "She's not just after you, she's after Grace, too."

"Regina, if this witch wants you both dead, she's not going to stop until she gets what she wants. Trust me, I know this firsthand," Snow let out solemnly.

Regina didn't appreciate her comment. "Don't you think I know that?" she said with a glare. "I'll surround the castle with a protection spell and we'll get these people to safety."

"And then what?" David asked as he looked to her expectantly.

"And then you'll all continue on with your lives, while I've got a witch to catch," Regina said dramatically before walking off, her no doubt headed in the direction of her designated room in the castle. Everyone else remained in place as they watched her walk off until eventually, she was nowhere in sight. After a moment of silence, David turned back towards the large group of people and gained a very authoritative look. Grace knew then that he would be the one shouting orders to the people to get this place up and running again.

"We need to get this kingdom back to the way it used to be," he spoke to all the people that had followed them into the courtyard, "Regina is casting a protection spell that will shield the castle from the witch. In the meantime, we need to gather food, water, anything we might need to help these people. Now, I know I haven't been a leader for a very long time, so it might be awhile before we get back into the swing of things. But until we do, we need to work together and make sure this kingdom stays safe." He then turned to face the dwarves. "Grumpy, you and the dwarves can gather wood--and lots of it," he instructed.