My hands sank into the spring, collecting the water. The bowl I made with my hands carried the water, allowing me to drink it easier. The water touched my lips as a shiver washed over me. It was very cold. Once I had drank three handfuls of the water, I stood up and stared at the spring. My life had now been changed.

Footsteps were heard behind me as I quickly turned around, only to see Jesse. He held a vile as he pushed past me in order to collect water for Winnie. I didn't stop him at all.

Jesse quickly stood up and flipped around to face me. He grabbed my arm and walked by me. "Hello there!" A voice called as I turned around to see the Man in the Yellow Suit.

"You!" I scoffed, pointing at him.

The Man in the Yellow Suit laughed. "Me! Where's your little friend? You see, I own these woods now!" The Man in the Yellow Suit explained as I stood next to Jesse.

I took a step forward, making Jesse stand behind me. "What?" We both asked at the same time.

"Yes, so why don't you show me what you've been hiding!" The Man in the Yellow Suit spoke cheerfully, walking towards us.

Jesse stepped next to me. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

The man laughed again, getting closer to us. "That is simply not true. Once upon a time, once upon a time started just like that. My granny told me a story. How that woman loved to gab!" The Man in the Yellow Suit explained.

Jesse raced to the other side of the man. "What does this have to do with us?"

"Only everything!" The man laughed. "Said there was a man with a wife and sons, as the story goes, the beauty froze. Sound like anyone familiar? Or should I take a stab!" The man yelled at Jesse as he creeped up to him.

Jesse stepped back, keeping his distance. "You don't know a thing about me!" Jesse yelled as he backed away.

"I know you know where the spring is, so why don't you show it to me!" The Man yelled as I quickly picked up a rock and threw it at him, hitting his back.

Miles ran up to us pointing his rifle at the man. The rest of the family trailed behind. "Miles! It's him! This is the man!" I yelled as I pushed the man away from me.

The man turned around and noticed Miles and put his hands up in defense. "Hold it right there!" Miles warned, aiming his gun at the man.

Mae ran in between Miles and the Man. "Miles! Miles no! This is not who we are. Give me the gun." Mae stated as Miles hesitantly handed the gun over to his mother.

The Man in the Yellow Suit looked around. "Oh my god. It's all of ya! The tale's come to life just like my granny said! I didn't- don't know why I was expecting something a little more impressive." He laughed as Jesse ran to Mae.

"Ma, he knows the secret!" Jesse whispered loudly to Mae. Miles beckoned me over to him, holding his arms out wide. I raced over and hugged him, letting him scan me over for any injuries.

"And I've been guarding it with my life! My lips are sealed, granny didn't raise a snitch. I can make you filthy rich! We'll bottle the water and sell it for a fee. Split the profit equally!" The man shouted as he walked over to Angus, holding his hand out.

Miles left the hug, but still held tightly onto my waist. "We would never!" Miles yelled.

Angus backed away from the man. "You're mad!"

"We just wanna live our lives in peace!" Mae reasoned with the man, but he was growing angry.

The Man in the Yellow Suit was furious, staring at all of us. "What is wrong with you people! You could be sultans, you could have kingdoms! Did you not think of this before? If we could put a price on eternal life, they'd pay anything and more." The man shook Miles, making me back away from the two. "All you have to do is lead me to the water!"

"And why would we say yes?" Miles asked, joking around slightly.

The man smirked. "Well I-" Suddenly, he pulled out a handgun and grabbed Winnie, putting the gun to her head.

I lunged forward, hoping to help Winnie. The man pressed down on the trigger, a bullet hitting my head. I fell backwards, hitting the ground. "Charlie!" Winnie cried as Miles raced to my side.

"Damnit!" I yelled, holding my head. The Tucks left out a breath of relief, knowing that I was okay. Winnie furrowed her brows. Everyone does swear when they get shot.

"Please! She's just a child!" Mae begged, watching as Miles helped me up.

Jesse held out the vile of water he had collected earlier. "Here! Take the water!"

"Jesse!" Mae yelled at her son, trying to stop him from giving the dangerous man the water.

Jesse ignored his mother's warnings. "Just let her go!" Jesse cried, begging for Winnie to be released.

"Oh my god. There it is!" The man cheered, still keeping a hard grip onto Winnie. "Today is the day."

Jesse held a serious look as he held the vile. "You take this."

"The waiting is over." The Man in the Yellow Suit walked towards Jesse.

"I'll show you the spring." Jesse said. Angus and Mae held their ground. Miles held onto me tightly, hoping that I wouldn't freak out again and get someone else shot.

The Man in the Yellow Suit released a hand from Winnie, going to touch the vile. "The odds are so simple. So perfectly pure."

"Please just let her go!" Jesse yelled as the man stood a few feet away.

"The secret to eternal life and now I'll never-" The man opened his arm to the vile. Winnie ran out of his grip and into Angus. Angus held her tight as Mae took the rifle and hit the man over the head with it.

Mae let out a loud yell as she hit the man. The villain collapsed to the ground. There was silence as we all stared at his unconscious body. "Is he dead?" Winnie asked, hoping he was.

Angus took a deep breath. "Don't look." Angus handed Winnie over to Miles and me and we hugged her tightly as he inspected the body. He checked for a pulse. "Yes."

Mae held two shaky hands over her mouth. "What have I done?" Mae asked herself as she studied the body.

Angus stood up and held Mae in his arms. "You protected your family, that's what. And no one needs to know." Angus said as a voice was heard in the distance.

Two pairs of footsteps ran through the woods. "Over here, Hugo!" Constable Joe directed as he ran onto the scene, his deputy behind him.

"Winnie!" Hugo cheered as they studied the scene. I snatched the gun out of Mae's hands, although she tried to fight me off.

Joe looked at the Tucks, assuming what had happened. "You step away from the girls!" The Constable yelled as the family backed up.

"We're okay Constable Joe." Winnie smiled as she looked at Hugo. Joe ran over to me and stole the gun from my hands, handing it to Hugo.

Angus looked beyond confused. "You know this man?" Angus asked us as we nodded, but Joe stepped in front of us.

"I'll ask the questions here! Starting with who is responsible for this." Joe studied the corpse as I stepped forward.

Miles's shot me a worried look. "I am, sir. If I have to go to jail, I will."

Joe gave me a sad look. "It wouldn't be jail, it'd be a hanging."

My eyes went wide as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of my head. Thank the heavens for being immortal now. "No it wouldn't!" Miles yelled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards him.

"It's not true!" Winnie exclaimed as she stepped forward. "I hit him with this." The youngest Foster pointed to the gun as Hugo's eyebrows shot up.

"Winnie!" Hugo blurted out as he looked at the girl.

Joe was at a loss for words. He didn't know who to believe now. He quickly pointed to Miles and Angus. "You two, you take this man out of the town with you." Angus pulled the man over his shoulder as Miles follows him out of the woods that lead into the next town. "You're safe now Winnie. Suppose you could tell me the true story of what's going on here?"

Winnie took a deep breath. "Well, it started when that man pulled a knife on Jesse at the fair. And then he followed us in the woods and he pulled out a gun and then-" Winnie rambled as Miles and Angus came back to the murder scene.

Miles immediately held onto me again, almost worried to let go. "You know what, on second thought, the less I know the better. Just give me a minute to think." The Constable stated as he looked at the ground.

Hugo quietly walked over to his boss. "If it's a child acting in self defense she's sure to get off easy." Hugo whispered as Joe shooed him off.

"I'm thinking." Joe spoke harshly as there was a pause in the conversation. "I'm done. And I believe you."

I looked a bit surprise. "You do?" I asked, trying to figure out why this outlandish tale was believable.

The Constable walked up to me, standing between Winnie and I. "You're Nathan Foster's daughters, aren't you?" The Constable asked, my heart shrinking a bit.

"Always." We both answered, nodding our heads.

Joe looked at the Tucks. "Now, who's the Swiss Family Robinson over here?" He asked as he gestured towards Angus.

Angus smiled and held a hand up in a friendly manner. "How do?"

"These are my friends!" Winnie smiled as she stood by everyone. We all smiled as we looked down at her. I actually started to feel a bit sorrowful.

Angus and Joe shook hands. "We we're just passing through. Didn't mean to cause any trouble." Angus explained as Joe smirked.

"Good handshake." Constable Joe noted as he looked to Hugo. "The first thing to do is to get this girls back to their poor family. Hugo, you take the body back to town."

Hugo fumbled on his words. "Um dad I-I mean sir! I can't." Hugo explained as he showed off his flimsy arms.

Joe let out a loud groan. "Alright Hugo, you make sure Winnie and Charlie get home in one piece, and I won't take any of the Hill Billy Hue stuff."

"Yes sir!" Hugo smiled as he saluted his mentor.

Joe gave Hugo a soft grin. "You'll make deputy yet." Joe said as Hugo did a small fist pump. Hugo gestured for me to walk over to him, but I shook my head.

"I wish I could explain more, but I'm leaving Treegap." I explained as Hugo and Joe's eyes went wide. "Again, wish I could explain more, but it's kind of personal." Winnie smiled secretly at me. She earned one back from me.

Mae looked around. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Joe laughed and smiled. "Sure is! Now, I don't know your story, but I bet it's longer than I have time to hear. Now I'm the risk of Sally finding out, so why don't you folks leave my town and never turn up again." Joe said as I let out a sigh.

"Pretend you never met us. Come on Mae." Angus said as Mae quickly ran up to Winnie.

Mae looked down at the young girl. "Wait, Winnie! I know I owe your mother an apology, but all I really want to do is congratulate her."

"For what?" Winnie asked, beyond confused.

Mae gave her a light-hearted smile. "For raising you. Here! To remember us by!" Mae pulled out her music box and gave it to Winnie."

Winnie laughed and hugged Mae around her waist. "I could never forget you! You just saved my life!" Winnie praised as Mae smiled.

"I think it's the other way around." Mae joked as the two embraced.

Angus joined the conversation. "You've reminded us we still have something to live for. Goodbye Winnie." Angus smiled as he patted Winnie on the shoulder. Him and Mae walked hand and hand away from the young girl.

Winnie waved at the old man. "Goodbye Angus."

Miles broke away from me and looked at Winnie. "So long kid." He smirked as he looked at Jesse. "Waiting for you to get ahead of me."

Jesse grinned from ear to ear. "Really?" He asked, jumping with excitement.

"Really. I only got one brother." Miles said as he held my hand and started to lead me away, but caught me looking at my sister. "I'll leave you to say your goodbyes." Miles smiled as he gave me a kiss on the forehead. He entered the woods after Mae and Angus as Jesse talked to Winnie.

Jesse handed Winnie the vile. "It's all up to you now." Jesse said as Winnie tightly held the bottle. "Put it somewhere safe. Drink it when you're seventeen and then come find me. I'll leave direction somehow and I'll be planning great adventures for us."

Winnie nodded. "So will I." She held out her hand and Jesse shook it. "Think of me everytime you climb a tree. Or get in trouble."

"Everyday then!" Jesse joked as the two bursted into laughter.

Jesse ran after Miles as I finally looked at my younger sister who I will probably never see again. My feet lead me to her as I set my flower crown on her head. "Don't do anything stupid."

"How can I? You're taking all of the stupid with you." Winnie laughed as a few tears dripped down from her face. "I love you." Winnie cried as she embraced me.

"I love you too." I smiled as tears ran down my face. "I'm going to miss you so much." We broke apart after what felt like forever, and I kissed her forehead. "Don't be afraid of death. Be afraid of a unlived life." I finally said as I walked away and into the woods.

"Goodbye Charlotte." Winnie smiled as my eyes darted back to her.

I wiped away my tears using my arms. "Bye Winifred." My feet dragged me into the forest as I left my sister with Hugo.

As soon as I saw the Tuck's again, a new wave of tears came from my eyes. This is where my new life began. Miles gave me a side hug as we walked out of Treegap and into another adventure.