《Artemis || OUAT》16. The Miller's Daughter
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Astrid sat at the table as her mother stood beside her, both listening to David talk over the phone on speaker. "Hey, I just talked to Emma. It's a bad wound. She says it's poison. He can only cure it back here in Storybrooke. They're taking the ship home." David began.
"What about Hook?" Astrid inquired in slight concern but was ignored for what feels like the umpteenth time.
"Well, let him know that they have the knife, okay? Who knows what the wicked woman would do?" Snow replied to her husband and then they hung up.
Snow sat down in the chair beside her daughter's at the table and moved her hands over her face, removing them with a small sigh. "You're failing as an influence of that pirate, Astrid."
Astrid silently scoffed but faked a convincing amused smile and remarked, "He'll be okay. He always is."
Astrid ran quickly through the jungle on the island known as Neverland, using her sword to cut away branches in her path. She was trying to find a way off of this island, so that she could find her real family.
It grew dark as the girl stopped and decided to set up camp, starting with building a fire to keep herself warm. After making the fire, she laid down and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep.
The next morning, Astrid woke up to the excited shouts of the Lost Boys as she quickly stood up and ran in the opposite direction.
Astrid then felt herself being quickly pulled into the air by her ankle. "Ah, bloody hell! Stupid trap!" She muttered under her breath as she now hung upside down ten feet from the ground.
Astrid tried untying her foot but it was no use; She listened as the voices got closer and closer until the group of boys surrounded her from below, smirks on their faces.
"Looks like your game is over." Peter smirked towards the still dangling girl who glared at him and replied, "Pan, let me down."
Peter waved his hand and Astrid swiftly went crashing down onto the ground face first as she groaned in pain and sat up. "Throw her in the cages, boys. That'll teach her for running away." Peter said in amusement, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched the girl in front of him with his signature smirk.
Astrid folded her arms across her chest and smiled sarcastically. "I can escort myself to the cages, thank you very much." She remarked in annoyance as she stomped back to the camp and over to the cages.
Astrid, Snow, and David had just arrived at the pier as Emma, Henry, Gold, and Neal were getting off of a small boat; Ruby was already there, helping Neal help Gold walk.
Snow immediately asked her grown daughter, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Emma sighed, finishing tying the small boat to the pier, "Yup. We're all right."
Henry immediately saw his aunt, grinned, and exclaimed, "ASTRID!" He then ran over to her, almost knocking her off her feet as he hugged her.
Astrid couldn't help but to smile also as she picked him up off the ground and held him in her arms, letting out, "I can't believe I'm about to say it, but I missed you too, buddy."
"I drove a ship." Henry commented proudly.
"Did you now?" Astrid inquired while setting him back onto the ground but kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"Yeah, my dad showed me how." Henry answered, looking at Neal who added, "That's me."
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Gold said in a strained voice once they reached the back of the truck, "Thank you. Thank you."
"Is Cora trying to control you with the dagger?" David asked him.
"Oh, you'd know if she was." Astrid and Gold both remarked, sharing a look between one another as Gold added, "And most of you would be dead by now."
"Well, then we'll just have to take the fight to her before that can happen." Snow spoke up.
"We will." David replied as Snow finished herself, "And this time, we finish it."
"Mary Margaret-" "Mom-" David and Astrid both started towards the woman.
"David, Astrid. She needs to be stopped. She needs to be killed." Snow cut them off, "This is our family. We are going to protect it."
David stepped over to her and stopped her, "Of course we will, but what you're talking about goes far beyond that. Plus, killing her would hurt Astrid. She's already told us that she doesn't want her dead."
"Cora just tried to kill her twice. And she is the reason you've never met my mother." Snow replied as David said, "I know. I know what happened to Queen Eva, and I have zero problem with Cora dying for it, but not by your hand and not out of vengeance and not if it hurts our daughter."
Astrid tuned them out and then finally noticed Neal fully now and widened her eyes, voicing her shock aloud, "Baelfire?"
"Wait... Astrid?" Neal replied, stepping over to her with a big smile on his face, "You haven't even changed a bit since the last time I saw you."
"And you-- Well, you grew up nicely." Astrid remarked with a small smirk, punching him in his chest hard.
"Ow, okay I probably deserved that-" Neal said while rubbing his chest a little bit with one hand. The two of them then hugged as Astrid stepped back slightly, resting her hands on top of the handles of her swords at her hips.
"You two know each other already?" Emma warily asked the two of them as everyone glanced over at the two.
"We go way back." Astrid told her and then added to Neal, "And I'll let you know if I'm mad at you still. I haven't decided yet." She lifted an eyebrow towards him in a challenging way.
Neal nodded slowly with a small sad smile as he replied, "I know. Take your time."
"I will never get to you, will I?" Astrid remarked.
"Nope, but I sure do appreciate the effort." Neal also remarked. Astrid scowled some and made a slightly annoyed sound, "Ooohhhh." And she then stepped away from him, wrapping an arm around her nephew's shoulders again as Henry wrapped his small arms around her waist.
"You okay?" Emma asked Gold who answered her, "Ah, I'm beginning to feel a bit stronger. Take me back to my shop. The magic there can protect us."
"Let me guess. I get to go with Ruby." Henry sighed, tightening his hold on his aunt.
"You got it, kid." Emma replied.
"I'll keep him out of the crossfire." Ruby assured them, laying a hand on the eleven year old's shoulder.
"Thank you." Snow told Ruby.
"Don't look so worry. You'll stop Cora. You won't let her get away." Henry also assured his mother.
"You know I get why you want to keep the kid on the sidelines, but you should know that Henry's smart and could help." Astrid defended her nephew who looked up at her in thanks, "He knows the stories better than maybe all of you from his books. Hell, where I'm from, they send boys younger than he is to war."
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"Well, we're not there. This is Storybrooke and the real world, Astro. Henry's just a kid." Emma commented with a shake of her head at her twin sister.
"Whatever you say, Em." Astrid shrugged as Henry hugged her once more before leaving with Ruby.
Astrid watched two Lost Boys throw a shaggy-brown haired, brown eyed teenage boy into the cage next to hers; She rested her forearms across her knees, her back against the back wall of her own cage, as she sighed.
"Hi... I'm Baelfire." The boy started towards her after noticing Astrid once the cell door was shut in front of him. "You were the first Lost Girl here, right? I heard tales of you from some of the Lost Boys."
"What's it to you?" Astrid remarked unamused, not even bothering to look over at him.
"From what I heard, you're one of Pan's favorites." Baelfire tried again, "That's one of the reasons why you get to keep those swords and axe on you, right?"
"I don't trust him." Astrid muttered with narrowed eyes, "I know about Pan-- My father told me all the stories. From what I've gathered and seen, Peter Pan's not a forgiving type... So, why aren't I dead yet?"
Baelfire glanced down at the floor of his cage before his eyes met Astrid through the bars, simply saying, "Honestly, I don't know."
The dark haired boy looked down at the campsite and added, "If I've learned anything, Pan loves his games more than revenge. He likes being in control, knowing everything about everyone. You, however, showed up here by surprise and broke half of his rules at least."
He laughed when he noticed that Astrid was now facing him, her arms on her knees and chin resting in her hands. She grinned and replied, "No, no, go on."
Baelfire chuckled and finished, "You're a puzzle, a mystery, you don't just spill your secrets to the first person you see... From what I've heard, he knows only a little bit about you, and he wants to solve the mystery known as you."
"I think there's something more to that, though. I just don't know what yet." Astrid murmured, "It's more than his curiosity."
"So, you ever going to tell me your name?" Baelfire smiled, extending a hand in between two bars and towards her cage.
"Astrid, but you probably already heard them say my name, huh?" Astrid remarked, shaking his hand briefly before withdrawing hers back into her cage and folded her hands together.
"Yeah." Baelfire hummed.
Peter then walked over to where they hung above them and lowered the girl's cage; He opened the cell door and looked at her with a small smirk. "Get out Sweetie."
Astrid stuck out her tongue at him and remained seated inside of the cage; Peter looked at her with one lifted eyebrow and remarked, "You don't want to spend another week in this cage, do you?"
Astrid sighed, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Good." Peter held out his hand towards her as she reluctantly took it and was helped out of the cage.
Astrid pretended to stretch her legs a bit dramatically and smirked up at Baelfire who still was in the cage above them and then began sarcastically, "Finally. I mean, really. I injured two of your Lost Boys and bloody shoot you, Huckleberry, with an arrow and I don't go to the cages, but I run away and you don't like that one bit. Seriously, who made these bloody rules?"
Peter glared at the girl in front of him and grabbed her wrist roughly. Astrid looked at him unfazed and replied, "Oh, right."
Peter sighed and said, "You do realize that I won't let you out of my sight from now on, right?"
"Would despair if you did." Astrid sarcastically remarked with a cheeky smirk on her face.
"Astrid-" Peter started to scold as Astrid grinned and cut him off, "Whatever you say, Huckleberry... Ha-hurr!"
"I don't even sound like that." Peter complained/argued slightly, releasing her wrist.
"Uh-huh, okay." Astrid smirked and skipped over to a log near the campfire and sat down on it, now twirling one of her silver daggers in her hand in boredom.
Astrid helped her father and Neal lay Gold on the couch in the back of his shop. "Emma, did you find it?" Gold inquired towards the woman who moved over to them while holding an empty jar.
Astrid now stood behind them, idly twirling a dagger in her hand; Emma shook the jar and started, "Yeah, but there's nothing in it-" Emma stopped when a clinking sound came from inside of the jar, "What the hell?"
Emma retrieved the invisible object as Gold explained, "Invisible chalk. Use it in the front doorway. Draw a line. The rest of you-- you might want to prepare for battle."
Astrid smirked, stepped out of the back room and into the front of the store first as David, Emma, and Neal followed after her.
The three of them began to grab nearby swords while Astrid tucked away her dagger and grabbed her twin swords out of their cases on her sides and twirled them around in her hands impressively.
When the teenager glanced up, she noticed Neal with an amused grin and her father with an impressed expression on their faces, Emma watched her with slightly wide eyes. "Show off," Emma commented.
"Hey, when you got it, you got it." Astrid shrugged and jumped up onto the counter and sat on top of it.
"That is one of the reasons why you're Astro." Emma murmured under her breath to herself but Astrid heard her, "So stellar."
Astrid glared at the back of her sister's head and then began to sharpen one of her swords with a sharpening block lying on the table next to her.
Emma glanced down at the invisible chalk in her hand as she got on her knees and started drawing a line at the front doorway.
Astrid scowled, tightened her hold on the sharpening block and moved it across the blade of her sword, paying little attention to what Neal and Emma said now.
Astrid suddenly realized that she is angry. She's mad at her sister and Neal, but she just does what she always does-- Ignore her own feelings to keep the peace between her loved ones.
"-I didn't mean for Tamara to be a surprise-" Astrid heard Neal start.
"-You think I care that a guy I dated a decade ago is engaged?" Emma cut him off.
Before Neal could say anything else, David walked back into the room and spoke up, "We're all clear outside." He noticed the awkward tension between Emma and Neal and the unusually silent teenager sitting with her legs crossed on the counter while sharpening her swords, "Everything okay in here?"
Neal let out a chuckle as he glanced over at Emma and then at Astrid who didn't bother looking up; Emma nodded at David in response.
"No," Astrid spoke up as she laid her swords down beside her with a purse of her lips and then a slight smile, her hands somewhat folded in her lap now, "It is not."
David lifted an eyebrow but just squeezed Astrid's shoulder as a comfort and stepped in the back to check on his wife.
Emma went into the back room to check on Gold as Neal now stood across from the teenager, the two of them now alone.
"So... You ended up being Peter Pan's true love." Neal started lightly with a small chuckle sheepishly.
"What are you talking about? I don't havebloody feelings for him." Astrid muttered after lifting an eyebrow at him.
"Huh. You two both do that eyebrow thing. That's funny." Neal commented.
Astrid rolled her eyes and sarcastically mumbled, "Yeah, hilarious."
"Still angry with me?" Neal asked suddenly.
"Your job was to stay." Astrid also suddenly answered, Neal nodded somewhat as she added, "You were my best friend on Neverland and one of the few people I truly relied on. You were one of the few where I thought you would never leave... but you did. You left like Hook did."
"I'm sorry... But, you know, you could've went with me. Because don't forget, you chose to stay there." Neal said.
"You knew why I why I had to stay! I had to get the answers of my birth from him!" Astrid argued angrily.
"You could've let it go and went with me, Astrid. You were the only family I had left. I wanted you to go. Believe me, I really did..." Neal tried again, his voice still slightly quiet.
"I'm glad I didn't." Astrid muttered, glancing down again.
"I'm sorry. If I was you, I would've stayed too. I should have stayed for you... After all, we were partners until the end." Neal commented, laying a gentle hand over her left arm across her thigh.
David walked back into the room as Snow came from the back room, both heading towards the window to watch outside for any signs of Cora and Regina.
Before Neal could say anything else to the teenager across from him, Astrid heard her father ask her mother, "What's wrong? Did Gold tell you something?"
"No, I mean... He just said that Cora's determined to hurt us, especially Astrid." Snow lied as Astrid narrowed her eyes. She knew her mother was lying now.
"We will do whatever needs to be done." David assured as Snow nodded and commented to him, "You're right. You're absolutely right."
Then a sudden loud earthquake shook the whole store, making Astrid fall off of the counter and onto her butt on the floor; Her parents quickly moved over to her on both sides in concern and helped her back onto her feet.
The three of them moved over to the window to see Regina and Cora attempting to enter inside of the store.
David stepped into the back to warn Emma, Neal, and Gold; David, Emma, and Neal entered the front room as Astrid handed her sister a sword from behind the counter and smirked, lightly saying, "Ready, Sister?"
"Not really." Emma remarked with a light shrug, now holding the sword in her hand.
Astrid slid her twin swords out again and twirled them around once as her father gave his daughters a quick look and told them, "Be careful, girls."
"When am I ever not careful?" Astrid replied, "Wait. Don't answer that." David smiled somewhat as he also held a sword in his own hand, standing beside his teenager.
The door busted open as Cora and Regina walked in; Emma immediately began, "Regina, think about what you're doing."
"Don't talk to me." Regina snapped, slinging the woman against the wall by her magic.
Snow discreetly exited out of the store as no one noticed her while Regina made a fireball in her hand; As she started to throw it at Emma, David ran in front of Emma and blocked the fireball with his sword.
Astrid looked at her father impressed and commented to him, "Nice save, Dad."
Before anyone else could make a move, Regina quickly tossed David out of the front door of the shop and shut the door behind him. Astrid exclaimed, "DAD!" and Emma also yelled out in unison, "DAVID!"
Cora slung Astrid across the room as the teenager hit her head; Emma was then pushed back with Cora's magic behind the counter as Neal ran for Cora who then disappeared, dropping the Dark One's dagger.
Regina began to choke Emma against the wall with her own magic; Astrid stood up, shaking off the grogginess from the concussion, and quickly withdrew one of her daggers and threw it through the air near Regina's head, just barely missing the woman.
Regina released Emma and looked at the teenager in shock. "That was just a warning throw. Leave my sister alone." Astrid commented, "Come on, Regina, I know there's good in you. You don't have to do this."
But before Regina could say or do anything, Emma grabbed her sister's dagger beside her and wrapped an arm around Regina, holding the knife at her neck.
Cora glanced at Rumplestiltskin's dagger and then Regina as Neal inquired to her, "What's it gonna be?"
"Mother!" Regina replied in surprise.
"Choose wisely." Astrid added.
Cora used her magic to make the dagger move across the floor and into her hand as Emma tossed Regina over the counter.
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