Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (REWRITING)

Chapter Thirty: Quiet Minds

The Enchanted Forest
One Year Ago...

"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. Anyone who could fight if they had to went first, as they were being used as the offense of their group. People like Grace went in after, and that was mainly due to the fact that her parents wanted her to stay safe. Grace sort of didn't mind. She really didn't feel like using her sword right now anyway.

The entire group quickly rushed forward and passed the line they once couldn't cross before and quickly entered the castle's territory. It wasn't long after that they broke past the gates and were headed straight for the courtyard, and it wasn't long after that when they realized that the castle was completely deserted. The only thing to tell them that there were any civilians still 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 put down 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 them in the middle of the courtyard as Regina began to tell them what she knew.

"The witch is gone." She said simply, though Grace knew there was more to that judging by her facial expression.

She wasn't quite sure how that was a bad thing though. I mean, wasn't the whole plan put in place to get rid of the witch and take back the kingdom? David seemed about as clueless as she had been and so he quickly stepped in. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Regina growled in agitation. "Good for you maybe. Not so good for me." Regina looked down at that, her no doubt going into thought about all of this. Meanwhile, they all just stood around her, gazing at her curiously as they wondered what could've happened while Regina was inside. Finally she looked up before she began to explain herself. "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.

Snow, being the nosey person she was, 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."

Snow seemed more concerned for the woman herself. "And what about you?" Regina didn't respond, which only seemed to put Snow off even more. "Regina, if this witch wants you dead, she's not going to stop until she gets what she wants. Trust me, I know this firsthand."

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. She knew he was only asking her this because Regina seemed to know most about this witch.

"And then you'll all continue on with your lives, while I've got a witch to catch." She said dramatically before walking off, her no doubt headed in the direction of her room in the castle. Everyone else remained in place as they watched her walk off until she was out of 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 running again.