《Artemis || OUAT》19. Lacey

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Henry sat at the counter, his chin resting on his folded arms on top of the surface of the countertop, thinking of what it could be. Emma moved over to him and noticed his thinking face and spoke up, "What's up, Kid?"

"What's up with Astrid? She's... different, not the same." Henry answered reluctantly.

Emma sighed and sat in the chair beside him and carefully began to explain, "She's sort of lost who she is-- or wants to be. And she lost her hope. Maybe if you spend more time with your aunt, some of your hope will rub off on her." She added the last part in a light humor way.

"I'll call it Operation: True Astrid." Henry assured while standing up from his seat with a grin and then ran upstairs and to Astrid's room.

The eleven year old knocked on the door and then pushed it open after discovering that it was cracked open already. "Hey, we need to talk, A..." He began once he saw Astrid who was sitting in her bay window.

"What's up, buddy?" Astrid lightly replied, moving her eyes away from the window and glanced over at her nephew.

Henry took a deep breath and then stepped over to her before saying, "You're so busy trying to be what everyone wants you to be that you don't know who you are, right? Well, you can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love."

"They told you I don't know who I am anymore?" Astrid comment, her face blank.

"And that you lost your hope as well." Henry added as he sat down beside her in the window seat.

Astrid slowly nodded while replying, "Buddy, I know you can't control your twisted need to fix people's lives... I'm fine believing that nothing much is going to happen for me. Otherwise, I'm full of hope. You hope for things, you get disappointed."

"Believing and hope are two very powerful things." Henry stated, "You know the thing I most believe in and put my hope towards? It's you."

Astrid glanced over at him curiously and inquired, "How is it possible that you can still have hope for me?"

"Hey... I have hope for something four billion miles away." Henry answered with a smile, referring to his belief that Pluto is a planet even when science says it's not.

Astrid smiled a little and nodded. "Not bad, Bud." She pushed him softly as he laughed lightly.

"So, until you find your hope again, I'll just have to hope enough for the both of us." Henry grinned while laying his head on his aunt's shoulder as she laid the side of her head on his. "I love you, Astrid."

"I love you too, Henry." Astrid replied.

Astrid paced in front of Tinkerbell inside of a dimly lit cave. "I have to get off of this island, Tink." She began, now rubbing her face with both of her hands as she stopped pacing.

"Pan loves you, so... Why don't you use that to your advantage? You want to find answers about your birth family, let him know..." The ex-fairy replied in thought, "And maybe, his love for you is strong enough that he'll allow you to leave Neverland."

Astrid gave a small sad guilty look and slowly admitted, "I sort of also may have fallen for the boy, too."

Tinkerbell looked at the teenage girl like she had three heads and started, "How could you fall for ? Didn't Hook warn you that the boy is-"

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"A bloody demon. Yeah, I know, I know... I didn't mean to." Astrid cut her off while sitting down on the floor with her legs folded Indian-style, "It's just-- He somehow makes me feel... not as broken- or lost... Somehow, he restored my hope in people and things."

Tinkerbell smiled a little and placed a hand over the girl's shoulder, saying, "I'm happy for you, even if it Peter Pan. So, why do you want to leave him then?"

"I loved someone back home and I need to get back to him." Astrid quietly answered, "Plus, I want to go find my birth family."

"Then instead of you using Pan's love for you- because you won't be able to do that to him-" Tinkerbell commented, "Go to the mermaids. They can get you off of the island, but you have to be careful of some of them."

"Thanks, Tink... Why don't you come with me?" Astrid replied.

"It's not my time just yet." The fairy answered solemnly, extending her hand towards the girl who gratefully took it and was hoisted back up off the floor. "But be careful. Pan knows everything that goes on on Neverland."

Astrid nodded and hugged her tightly, admitting, "I'm gonna miss you, Tink. Thank you for having my back, even after Hook..."

Tinkerbell hugged her back and murmured, "Of course. After all, you've had my back countless times and have saved my life. This is the least I can do for you. Take care, Astrid."

"You too, Tink." Astrid smiled and stepped back before turning around and then ran out of the cave.

Astrid hopped in the bed of David's truck and patted the roof of the vehicle while David, Snow, and Emma entered inside of the truck. "Let's go already." She said with an amused grin.

It took about ten or fifteen minutes to arrive at an empty field in the middle of nowhere; Emma exited the truck after their parents as Astrid jumped out of the bed of the truck and onto the ground beside her sister.

"Why are we in the middle of nowhere? Why aren't you guys telling me what's going on?" Emma questioned curiously and a little bit impatiently, "W-Why the secrecy?"

"Because you need to see it." Astrid simply grinned as Emma remarked, "Great. That always goes well for me. Listen, whatever it is, it can wait. August was trying to warn me about something- someone dangerous."

"Doesn't matter." David replied.

Emma furrowed her eyebrows now even more confused and inquired, "Why not?"

"Because of this." Snow answered as she and David pulled Astrid and Emma towards the empty field and entered through the invisible shield, now facing a large patch of magical beans.

"Astrid, Emma!" They suddenly heard as they saw Anton aka Tiny running over to them. Emma who was still in shock said, "Hey." She then hugged the former giant and stepped back as Anton then hugged the teenager beside them.

"Are you here to help? It's not quite harvest time yet." Anton commented.

"Beans. You're growing magic beans. That's what you were up to when I was in New York?" Emma replied as she looked towards her parents and then glanced over at her sister and added, "Were you in on this?" Astrid nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

David chuckled and said, "We are telling you. We kept it a secret to protect the crop. Mother Superior- and Astrid- cloaked the area. That way, Anton can do what he does best."

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"Actually, you haven't seen me play darts. Though, the only person who can defeat me at that game is Astrid here. She's a perfect shot." Anton remarked.

Astrid smirked and commented, "That's what I'm known for-- being a perfect shot, I mean."

"But, uh, yeah, I do this pretty good." Anton added about the crop.

"Um, Anton, don't take this the wrong way, but w-w-why... Why are you so...?" Emma stammered out to form the right words to the question.

"Small? Cora. She and Regina brought some magic to make me human-sized." Anton answered as he glanced down at his size and looked back over at Emma and then Astrid, "Kinda like it."

Leroy walked over here then and spoke up, "Enough lollygagging! Back to it." He clicked the shears in his hands and stepped back over to the crop.

"Wow. Dwarves really like to work. It's great to see you, Emma- and always a pleasure seeing you again, Astrid."

Emma and Astrid both chuckled, "You too." Emma then frowned and looked back over at her parents and twin again and realized then, "You want to use the beans to make a portal to go back to the Enchanted Forest. That's the real reason you didn't tell me."

"I voted to tell you, but I was overruled. Sorry, Em." Astrid smiled sadly.

Emma nodded slowly and then glanced back at their parents. "What about ogres and destruction and danger?"

"We can fix all that. We did it before. We can do it again." David answered while glancing over at his wife and his teenage daughter as Snow added, "We can start over, Emma."

"So you changed your mind. You wanna go now, too." Emma replied and then asked towards her sister with a little bit of hurt in her voice, "What about you?"

"Over there is all I know. It's home for me, so I'm for it... but I also understand if you decide that you don't want to follow us for the same reason as mine." Astrid answered with a small glance towards their parents and looked back at Emma.

"I didn't change my mind, it's my heart." Snow added, "After what I did to Cora, I think restoring our land is the best way to mend it."

"It'll be good for all of us, the whole family." David also added, "Astrid, Henry... and you."

"We're from there. You're from there." Snow began.

"Like Astrid said, this world is... my home." Emma pointed out.

"It's been nothing but cruel to you. If we go back, I think you might be able to have your happy ending." David replied as Emma turned around and faced the growing beans again.

Astrid couldn't believe it. She was going to leave Neverland. She was going to leave Neverland.

She found Shadow and started, "Tell me about my family, about my birth." The shadowy creature hovered in front of her and nodded, moving his shadowy hand over the side of her face as images overwhelmed her mind.

They were images of her birth; She also discovered that she had a twin sister out there somewhere.

Astrid nodded in appreciation and said, "Thanks." She then took off running through the jungle of Neverland, her feet padding through the soil beneath her.

She finally reached the shore and moved over to the sea and found that it was really calm, but she knew better. "Come on out, I know you are there."

Three mermaids emerged from the sea and stared at the blue eyed girl in front of them. They had learned that Astrid was just as dangerous as Peter.

The mermaid with raven hair, silver eyes, and a teal-colored tail spoke up, "What do you want, Mortifera?"

Astrid frowned at their name that they discovered about her. It came from Berk. It means 'Bearer of Death'. Though, she has seen a lot of people die, so it does make sense on why the mermaids would call her that.

Astrid shook her head at that and answered, "When I am off of Neverland, tell Peter that I'm sorry but I had to find my family. Tell him, maybe one day, I shall return."

"We will... Hm, you planning on leaving? Does that mean you need our assistance to transport you off of this island?" The second mermaid, a violet eyed, brown haired mermaid with a violet-colored tail, spoke up.

"Obviously." Astrid remarked with a slight roll of her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Where to? Your home in Berk or the Enchanted Forest?" The third mermaid inquired. This one had long white hair, blue eyes, and a golden tail.

"Berk." Astrid commented just as the mermaid with the teal tail offered her hand to her. Astrid withdrew a dagger for protection, daring them to try anything other than transport her away from this island, and took her hand.

The water rippled around them from magic; The dark, forbidding blue turned vibrant and pulsed, seeming like a living thing of its own.

That's when Astrid heard him. "ASTRID! NO! WAIT!" Peter's voice cut through the night air like a sharp blade, the breeze around Astrid built up and the water glowed even brighter. And it didn't stop.

Peter finally arrived fully on the shore just a few inches from where Astrid was in the water, meeting her eyes just as the wind rushed and the ocean swallowed the girl and the mermaids whole.

"Astrid." Peter murmured sadly.

Astrid stood in between her father and Leroy as Granny walked over to them with a tray full of to-go bowls of chili. "Eleven bowls of chili. No beans. You two and the dwarves got something against beans?"

Astrid smirked a little as David replied while taking the money out of his wallet, "Uh... Let's just say we've had our fill over the past couple of weeks."

"What exactly are you boys and your daughter up to anyways?" Granny questioned in slight suspicion and curiosity.

Leroy answered this time, "Just a little landscaping."

Granny narrowed her eyes at him just as Gold walked over to them and spoke up, "Is this seat taken?" Leroy gave him a suspicious look as Gold told him, "You may want to run along. I need to chat with the Prince... and even the Viking there."

"It's okay, Leroy, we've got this." Astrid assured the dwarf beside her who reluctantly stood up from his seat and walked away.

"So, what do you want to chat about?" David asked the man beside his daughter now.

"Regina. She, uh, helped jog Belle's memory." Gold started.

"That's good then." David shrugged, he and Astrid starting to walk away until Gold stopped them again.

"No, wrong memories. She now thinks she's a scantly clad barfly named Lacey. She has a false life." Gold corrected himself and looked over at David, "As you did under the curse with Kathryn. Only hers... partly involves a lot more alcohol."

"What do you want with me?" Astrid and David both questioned the man in front of them in unison.

Gold slightly shrugged and answered, "I want to know how you did it."

"Did what?" Astrid asked curiously, her eyebrow lifted in amusement now.

Gold sighed before answering, glancing at David first, "Even when your head were filled with false memories, David Nolan won Mary Margaret's heart." He glanced over at the teenager beside her father, "And I recently found out about you true love and how you managed to make someone like him fall in love with you."

Astrid forced a small smile at the mention of Peter Pan. "So, you want us... to help you?"

Gold nodded and remarked, "Well, I'm certainly not here for the overpraised lasagna." He received a slightly sassy, dirty look from Granny as Astrid stifled her laugh.

David pointed out, "You got my wife to murder someone-"

"Technically, he got Mom to use someone else to murder that person-" Astrid cut her father off quietly as David nodded slightly.

"Someone who would've killed all of you." Gold cut the teenager off, "Look, if you two don't want to help, that's fine. But, if you do, for the first time ever, I'm gonna owe you a favor."

David sighed and then finally agreed, "Alright."

"What do you say, Astrid?" Gold inquired.

"Yeah, I suppose everyone deserves a chance at their true love. So, sure, I'll help, too." Astrid shrugged after glancing over at her father.

"Regina cursed Mary Margaret, me, and everyone else in this town, but there was still a sliver of Snow and Charming left." David began, "The real us inside."

"So, how do I bring back the real Belle?" Gold asked.

"Show her the man she fell in love with." Astrid answered, resting her hands on top of the handles of her swords strapped on her hips.

"Meet me at the Rabbit Hole, the bar, tonight. That's where she will be." Gold commented and then walked out of the diner.

Astrid cheekily grinned up at her father as he noticed and shook his head. "Absolutely not. You are not going to a bar. You're just a teenager." David told her with a pointed look on his face and his hands over his hips.

"I've been in taverns before, though. That's just a little part of being a Viking- and a pirate." Astrid replied, "Come on, it'll be a good father-daughter bonding or whatever you guys call it."

"Astrid-" He sighed.

"You do know that I'd just sneak in after you guys, right? Come on. We'll just be there to help matchmake Gold with his love." Astrid cut him off.

"Fine, alright, but stay close to me once we're there. Understand?" David gave in.

Astrid bounced a little on her feet and nodded. "I understand clearly." With that, she gave him an innocent grin.

Astrid broke the surface of the water and coughed some and then looked around the cove where she was at. She recognized the scenery as her home in Berk.

But then she felt her heart break some as she remembered the hurt in Peter's voice. He didn't want her to leave and wanted her to stay with him.

Astrid want to stay, but she also wanted to stay with her betrothed, Hiccup. Yet, in that moment, she decided that she wanted to go back to Neverland— and she no longer loved Hiccup like that and love Peter more.

"Take me back! Take me back to Neverland!" Astrid exclaimed as she turned around in the water, her legs and arms moving under the water to keep her above the surface.

The violet eyed mermaid shook her head with a small grin and replied, "With you gone, there's one less threat to the mermaids. So, have a good life in Berk, Astrid Hofferson."

"But, do not worry, we'll tell your precious Peter Pan what you told us to deliver to him." The blue eyed mermaid added.

With that final message, the three mermaids dove back under the water and transported back to their realm.

Astrid swam to the shore of Berk and sighed, glancing up at the second star on the right in the sky and thought of Peter again and felt her lip tremble some.

"I'm sorry, Peter." She found herself murmuring softly before walking down the cobblestone pathway up to the village of Berk.

Astrid walked into the Rabbit Hole in between Gold and her father just as Gold noticed a man sitting next to Belle at the bar flirting with her; Gold glared at the man and told the two beside him, "You might want to wait outside."

David held him back, however, while saying, "Ah, bad idea."

Astrid nodded over to the counter where Belle- or Lacey- was still sitting at just as the man had left and added, "Come on."

Once they reached the bar on the other end of Lacey and Gold, a familiar man to Astrid stopped her by grabbing her lower arm tightly in his hand and started, his voice cruel, "Well, if it isn't little Mortifera. Come to the Land of No Magic to spread more death?"

Astrid glared up at the merciless gray eyed, long brown haired man. He was a sturdy, big and muscular man with a curly long brown beard that stopped at his chest as his hair on his head stopped on his shoulders.

His name was Harold Rainfroy and was from the land known as Berk. Astrid replied nonchalantly, "Rainfroy... What are you doing here?"

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