SILVER AND GOLD, once upon a time

one; eight-fifteen

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one; eight-fifteen
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SOPHIE SWANN HAD RARELY BEEN TO THE ENCHANTED FOREST. It was a little hard to believe, in retrospect, that all her journeys had not brought her to its shores more often, but as she stared at the mostly unknown land around her, she was thankful that she had her uncle with her. Though Jack Sparrow was more likely to get her into more trouble than help her figure out exactly where they were. She hoped he did know where they were, as he had been the one to send the raven to her parents and brother with their location.

Following her uncle, Sophie absent-mindedly rubbed at her wrist, still sore and red from the iron cuffs she'd been forced to wear. They had been heavy and cold, just loose enough to bang against her wrists whenever she moved. How Jack had managed to get the key without being detected, Sophie didn't know, but she suspected that at least one had lost their life in the process. As much as she had been raised not to kill without good reason, she couldn't find it in her heart to be sorry about any of the lives that had been lost in the pursuit of her rescue and escape. They had been bad men who deserved what they got.

With a sigh, Sophie glanced behind her, seeing the water slowly disappearing from view down the path they were on. The narrow dirt road was lined with forest on either side and ahead of them, it remained the same until it disappeared over the horizon and they could see no more. Ahead of her, Jack seemed to know where he was going but whether that was because he was actually familiar with the area or just him being himself was unclear. And she suspected she wouldn't know either way till they walked right into trouble or something clearly familiar.

"You do know where you're going, don't you, Uncle?" she asked.

"Do I look like a man who doesn't know where he's going?" Jack questioned her.

"Actually, with everything I know about you, I will have to answer yes to that question," she answered honestly.

Jack didn't reply to that, just continued to stumble on down the road. Sophie sighed and stuck her hands in her pockets, fingers touching something cool and metal. In confusion, she pulled out the object and inspected it, finding it to be a gold ring with three small, blue gems set in it. A smile pulled on her lips. Warm, comforting memories flooded her as she slipped the ring once more on her finger and felt reassured as she continued walking, despite not knowing where she was going. She would get home again. She would.

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STORYBROOKE WAS A SMALL TOWN, and everyone knew that Helen Falconer was a solitary woman and always had been. She had never been one for friends, even as a girl. In recent years, the young woman had willingly allowed one person to get close to her for he made her smile with his innocent optimism and the endearing idea that everyone in their small town was actually one of the characters in his book of fairytales. Yes, ten-year-old Henry Mills might be considered the only friend that Helen had.

Most days, Helen could be found sitting at the beach or the docks with her headphones in and a notebook in her lap, scribbling away in it about things that no one knew, for no one had ever been allowed to look in the notebook. It was almost as common for her to be seen sitting with her headphones hanging around her neck, smiling and listening intently to Henry talk and explain his newest theories about his storybook. She had never been able to put her finger on it, but the young boy reminded her of someone who she was sure had been very dear to her.

When someone pulled out one of her earbuds, she startled, turning to see none other than Henry Mills smiling at her, the large, leatherbound storybook wrapped up in his arms. A smile pulled on her lips and she turned towards him, watching as he sat down across from her on the dock at the beach as she stopped her music and hung her headphones around her neck.