Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (REWRITING)

Chapter Two: Lady of the Lake

"Ow! Be gentle!" The blonde woman complained for the millionth time while Mulan tied their wrists together. They seemed about as clueless as to where they were just as Mulan, Grace, and Aurora were to who they are.

After finding the two women under the pile of rubble, they had stirred awake immediately, causing Mulan to quickly point her sword at them in a threatening stance. Meanwhile, Grace just stood aside and watched it all play out, mainly because she was too lazy to do anything else. According to Mulan, they had to treat them as a threat, seeing as how they knew nothing of them and because of the fact that they were the reason the wraith got to The Enchanted Forest in the first place. Grace was a bit skeptical of that last one, though she didn't question her and instead watched as Mulan tied both of the women's hands together before dragging them over to the horses.

Mulan decided against the blonde woman's request and roughly tied them to the back of the horses' saddles, keeping them a safe distance away from the horses for when they would start off towards camp. Grace hopped on her own horse, as did Mulan with Aurora on the back, before heading off in the camp's direction. They had to trudge through the grass slowly as to not badly injure either of the women - as tempting as it was. Grace actually had to force herself away from the reins, the thought of dragging them through the dirt seeming very humorous to her. The brunette quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and instead focused on the blonde woman's complaints.

Grace's eyes seemed to wander on their own, them eventually connecting with the two being dragged from behind. "First time being in ropes?" She asked humorously, much to everyone's shock. It was her first time saying anything since they'd found the pair, and it appeared that they had only just now realized how young Grace was. Said girl couldn't help but chuckle quietly at their faces.

"No," The blonde finally spoke up, "it's not."

Grace only shrugged, "Well, then you should know more than anyone - you get used to it after a while." She stated, casually letting the two know that they wouldn't be released anytime soon.

No one spoke a word the rest of the way there, that was until they had all come into sight of the village. "What is this place?" The dark haired woman questioned skeptically.

"Our home." Mulan answered coldly.

They all slowly made their way into the village before hopping off their horses and turning back towards the two women. Grace just couldn't help herself from presenting a cheerful smile upon her face as she spoke, "Welcome to our humble-abode!" She said, waving towards the less than pleasant camp as if the pair were tourists and not possible terrorists. Mulan glared at Grace for that comment before releasing the women from their ropes, yet still keeping the bounds on around their wrists. They walked forward as Mulan strapped the horses down to their respective posts. Aurora and Grace trailed slightly behind the two as they looked around. Everyone in the camp stopped what they were doing and looked at them as foreigners. Well, that's because they were.

"It's like they're refugees." The blonde woman said to the other, and as much as Grace wanted to be offended by her comment, she actually wasn't far off.

Mulan, however, felt very differently about the matter. "We're survivors." She snapped at them as they continued on. Before long, the dark haired woman drooped forward regretfully before suddenly turning around toward Grace and kneeing her in the stomach. Said teen fell to the ground with a groan as the two women made a break for it.

"Emma, run!" She shouted at the blonde. Grace's eyes widened in shock as she held her stomach painfully on the ground. Aurora dropped down beside the girl to check if she was okay, only for Grace to push her away. The brunette forced herself up in order to go after the two women. However, Mulan beat her to it.