After Henry (Once Upon a Time)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Rise of the guardians

Lake House, Seattle, one hour earlier...

Ivy: Victoria Belfrey stood outside Lake House, her little minion was nowhere to be found, probably ran off after having her fairytale dream shattered to pieces, but the silver haired woman didn't really care about her step-granddaughter's whereabouts, only about the shattered belief whose power could bring back Anastasia.

The woman kneeled before the swimming pool, where Once Upon a Time version two met its entirely demise. The ink already blurred, the cover was torn apart, just as the rest of the pages, which melted in the water's cold embrace.

Victoria picked up an old item she brought from the Enchanted Forest when the curse hit. The fairy wand stolen, many years ago.

In a land without magic, the wand was of no use, but the cold blue eyed lady found some, in the dying pages of Henry Mills' magic fairytale book. She picked up the wand and lift it, facing the thick air. With just a flick of her wrist, the wand lighted itself, meeting the magic of the book which drowned in the cold swimming pool. 

Once a chaotic funeral of colorful pages, Once Upon a Time became a thick mass of shining magic, orange, bright, Victoria turned it into a shining liquid, kind of a potion, she then picked up a small glass bottle and stored the magic liquid in it, ready to wake up Anastasia.

"Won't be long now, my dear, the day we've been waiting has finally come."

Hyperion Heights, Seattle, later...

Arriving at the final destination, Victoria stared at her long lost daughter's slumbering body, rested in one of the hospital's beds, in a very private room, where machines screamed dead vitals, low heart rate, and cold temperature.

Belfrey found a way to persevere Ana's body with a spell, cast by the fairy wand, which locked one tiny last breath inside the blonde's wrinkled lungs.

Without further ado, Victoria leaned beside her only loved child and kissed her forehead. In her heart, something she thought to be dead for a long time, awoke itself to meet the horizon of a blissful night, joy! 

After so many years, crossing realms and facing all odds, the moment the silver-haired woman waited for had finally arrived and when her thick lips met the blonde young woman's forehead, an incredible sense of deja vu sprung the memory of an old fairytale lost, deep within the heart of a world far away from reach.

All the moments spent together before Cora took Ana away drowned Victoria's mind in a sweet sense of nostalgia, which reminded her of better times, where they used to be a family and their hearts were pure.

For a moment there, it was as if Victoria realized how wicked her soul became in the name of one daughter, that the life she had along with me and Anastasia was forgotten. There was a time when mother loved both of us when we were united against the dark storms of life.

Everything turned upside down in that cold night of winter, the loss of one child cracked the mirror and suddenly everything screamed the missing of the blue-eyed guardian, ripped away from us too soon. A guardian turned evil...the unmerciful Red Queen.

The shining liquid stored in the glass vial fell on Anastasia's forehead, the yellow light went deep inside the girl's body and with one intense gasp, she was brought back to life.

"Mother?!" Anastasia called, after a long unsteady loud breath. Victoria widened her eyes so much, they almost expelled out, the joy of finally being reunited with the girl screamed away from the pain of decades and the suffering darkness brought, sickening the soul.

"Yes, it's me! My sweet, Anastasia, I saved you! When it comes to my family, I always find away." A strong gasp of fresh air slipped inside Belfrey's lungs, her smile was light up by stars when she hugged her daughter as strongly as humanly possible. Suddenly, the pain of loss was shallow and small in comparison to the joy of being reunited with one lost daughter.

Lake House, Seattle...

"Jacinda, calm down, it will be okay. Lucy is a tough kid, I'm sure she just ran away somewhere but we will find her." I tried everything I could to appease my sister's spirit, but the brunette kept pacing around, biting her nail and thinking about all the places her little girl could be. "Have you tried Roni's? Is there a chance Luce could go there? This is insane..." She gasped and breathed unsteadily. 

"We already called everyone, I even tried the hospital and they are on the lookout. I'm so sorry this happened, Jacinda, it was my fault." Henry blamed himself for the girl's disappearance and I could only wonder what happened between them at the swimming pool.

That night was supposed to be the beginning of a new chapter, filled with hope and happy beginnings. I couldn't believe that I fell over Jacinda's good graces, after so long hating each other with every ounce of our beings. The path towards redemption and happiness was building up and thought I hated myself for thinking like it, I kept blaming Lucy for everything that was happening lately. It was as if the girl wasn't opened to give me a chance, no matter how small, tiny, fragile, little, for God's sake!

"Henry, we need to talk." I asked my boyfriend, engulfing him in an intimate bubble, as we spoke almost in another frequency. Amy sat by Jacinda's side, on the couch and they both tried to call the police, the hospital and other places where she could have been. "Babe, what did you say to Lucy?"

"Me...I..." He was so nervous. I could tell by the sweat covering his entire forehead, the shacking hands that dripped in drops of warm water and his eyes almost completely black and numb. "I told her about the curse."

"What?! Did you tell her the truth? Henry, we talked about this."

"I know, I do...It's just...I couldn't keep lying, she was so convinced and sure I'd go back to Ella, then she showed me the original Once Upon a Time book, with our story in it, and I just lost it, okay?"

"I see...I don't blame you, this isn't your fault. Though now, I'm a bit more relaxed, cause she probably just ran off, out of anger and I'm sure she'll be back asap."

"No, I don't think that's what's going to happen, Ivy. Lucy wouldn't run away just like that, I'm fearing the worse. Look, that book was nowhere to be found, and I'm thinking Victoria was the one to give it to her, she manipulated the whole thing."

"Wait, you're thinking that my mother wanted Lucy to show you the storybook and for her to learn the truth from your mouth?"

"Yes, that woman is wicked."

"But why? I don't understand, what does she gain from it."

"Think about it. Victoria could use Lucy's shattered belief to wake up Anastasia."

"If Lucy gave up her belief, willingly, yeah...Victoria could get her hands on it and use it for her purpose. But, you're forgetting that she doesn't have my sister's body."

"Are we sure about that? Belfrey did promise you to find Ana, no matter what."

"Henry, if mother has Ana's body and Lucy's belief, your daughter doesn't stand a chance!" I explained, feeling the urgency to find the ten year old.

"We need to stop her."

"Guys?" Amy called us with a deep frown.

"It's from the hospital..." Jacinda completed. "Lucy is in a coma." The brunette finished her sentence, as tears screamed the pain of loss in her eyes.