《Artemis || OUAT》41. A Curious Thing

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Riley landed her silver dragon which was a Razorwhip named Windshear; Hiccup greeted her first, "Hi, you. We thought you could use a couple of days to rest up."

Riley smiled, saying, "Thanks, Hiccup. I really appreciate this." Fishlegs stepped over to them panting somewhat as Riley started, "Fishlegs!" He waved at her and smiled. "Thank you so much for the letters."

Tuffnut spoke up then, "Hey! We should sing the Dragon's Edge welcome song."

Hiccup pointed out to him, "Tuff, we don't have a Dragon's Edge welcome song."

"Sure we do. It's very catchy," Tuffnut insisted, "I can perform it in several keys and there's sort of a dance that I do along with it."

Astrid stepped over to them and began to move over to Riley as she spoke up, "Yeah. I think Riley would rather set her gear down and get settled."

"Astrid!" Riley exclaimed and hugged the blonde haired girl who hugged her back. She looked over at Tuffnut and added, "I'd love to hear your song later, Tuff."

"Good. Oh, Riley, you're gonna love it," Tuffnut commented proudly, "And now I have time to warm up." He began to babble incoherently.

"Good idea," Riley nodded while he continued to babble and then he said, "Ruffnut smells."

Riley and Astrid entered the guest hut as Riley placed her shield and battle axe up on a wall and sighed.

Astrid spoke up, holding Riley's other, smaller battle axe in her hands, "You know, you could've come back with us in the first place." She handed the axe to her as Riley took it. "You just disappeared. We didn't know what happened to you."

"And I feel terrible about that," Riley admitted guiltily, "But I knew that you guys would just try to get me to stay. Sometimes you need to be by yourself to figure things out."

"Your letters to Fishlegs seemed like you were struggling with a lot," Astrid commented.

"You read those?"

"We were all worried about you. We wanted to know what was going on," Astrid admitted.

"It was weird. All that time with Dagur, we were playing a part," Riley started, "I didn't have a minute to think about the fact that he is actually my brother."

"Maybe you shouldn't think about it then," Astrid shrugged lightly.

"I have to, Astrid," Riley sighed, "What if I have that Berserker insanity inside me? What if, deep down, I'm just like him?"

Astrid placed a hand on her shoulder in assurance and replied, "Riles, you are nothing like Dagur." She dropped her hand and added, "Look, if you were, we would have dropped you in a volcano a long time ago."

Riley chuckled, "So, let's talk about something less depressing. How about Hiccup?" She tossed Astrid her axe who caught it easily in her hands.

Astrid blushed and replied, "What about him?"

"Astrid," Riley started, "Life is too short. You need to express your feelings. Stop wasting time. You two are perfect."

"And I could say the same to you about a certain pen pal," Astrid remarked, tossing her axe back to the brown haired girl who caught it, "You two have practically worn out our flock of Terrible Terrors."

"No idea what you're talking about," Riley denied her crush as both of them started laughing.

Astrid had changed the topic because she still had feelings for Peter Pan back in Neverland. And Riley seemed to sense that she had feelings for someone else also.

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Astrid jumped on top of the staircase railing and slid down it, flipping at the end and landing on the floor gracefully.

Snow and David looked at her with raised eyebrows as Astrid grinned and twirled around before facing her parents again, her greeting them, "Hello, Mom and Dad! What a glorious day to do whatever is going to happen today!"

She hugged her parents and twirled like a ballerina briefly as David furrowed his eyebrows and asked in a whispered tone to his wife, "What's going on with her? She's never this nice in the mornings."

"Hook had mentioned what happens when she gets lack of sleep-- uncontrollable sense of euphoria," Snow whispered back to her husband.

David stood up from his seat at the counter and moved over to his teenage daughter and asked her, "Astrid, have you slept recently?"

"Nope! Not a wink, but I feel sooo amazing!" Astrid happily answered him, "It's like I have wings! I feel so good. I feel sooo good!" She began to leap around the room, flapping her arms like wings.

"What do we do?" David inquired to his wife, "Do we send her back to bed and tell her get some sleep? Because she won't listen to that."

The two adults seen Astrid collapse on the floor, starting to make a floor angel by moving her arms and legs back and forth.

"Seriously, what're we gonna do? We have to meet Regina, Emma, and Hook at Granny's," Snow started while helping Astrid to her feet.

Peter walked into the loft then as the three of them looked over at him, Astrid grinning and letting out, "Oh, you're so cute."

Peter narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked at her parents before asking, "Lack of sleep?"

"We believe so," David sighed and replied, "Watch her and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble like this. Try to get her to sleep. Snow and I have to meet the others to talk about Zelena."

Astrid bounced to her feet and excitedly asked, "Where are we going? To see my other dad? Or sister? Or nephew?" She stepped in between her mother and father and leaned on both of their arms while looking at them curiously.

"You are gonna stay here and sleep," Snow replied while Astrid shook her head in amusement, saying, "I'm good. I'm going, too."

"No, you need sleep," David repeated his wife slightly, "Stay out of trouble."

Astrid spun around out of their arms and over to Peter, propping against him, before saying as serious as she could be, "Mmhmm. Yeah, yup, no trouble for me. Go. Have fun on your little adventure."

David narrowed his eyes a bit at his daughter and said, "Good luck, Peter. You're gonna need it."

"Keep us informed," Peter told the two adults who nodded and left out of the apartment. He faced his girlfriend who smirked and took off running towards the door. "Yup, this will be fun." He muttered before chasing after the girl, "Astrid, come back!"

Astrid had already exited the building and let out a wolf-like howl just as Stormfly shot out from a portal in the sky and swooped down to her, landing beside Astrid.

"Hey, girl," Astrid grinned, hopping onto her saddle just as Peter ran out of the building and noticed them. "Want a ride?"

"Astrid, you need to sleep-" Peter began but was cut off by Astrid, saying, "And you need to lighten up more. When'd you get boring?"

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Peter lifted an eyebrow and remarked, "I'm not boring." She gave him a pointed look. "Alright. Fine." He jumped up onto the saddle on the back of her dragon and was now sitting behind Astrid who smirked and said, "Hold on."

Stormfly ran and then leapt into the air, flapping her wings, as she now flew in the sky; Peter wrapped his arms around his love's waist a bit tight while Astrid lifted her arms in the air, a genuine smile on her face.

They flew into some clouds as Peter opened his eyes again and looked around slightly breathless. He didn't realized how bad he had missed flying until this.

"See? Told you this would be fun," Astrid happily commented, glancing over her shoulder to look at him.

"You were right, A," Peter replied also with a smile. He watched her tap Stormfly softly behind her neck, making Stormfly pull up and perform a back flip.

Astrid leaned forward and hugged her dragon who continued to fly them around the sky. "I miss this. I miss my friends and Berk." She admitted, "Nothing gets better than this."

"Not even this?" Peter smiled and pulled her in a loving kiss. Astrid kept her smile and looked at him fondly, saying, "You get me."

"I always do," Peter shrugged as she made Stormfly swoop down and startle her parents, Regina, and Emma who was heading towards the apartment.

"Hey, Em, Mom, Dad, Regina!" Astrid shouted with a wave while her family watched with slightly wide eyes.

Stormfly landed on the ground when Astrid jumped off and flipped forwards, landing gracefully on her feet. "What? You think I'd forget about Stormfly?"

Peter slid off of the dragon and now stood behind his love closely, but kept a hand on Stormfly too, while David placed his hands over his hips and looked at the girl in front of them, saying, "We told you to get some sleep."

Astrid snorted and remarked, "When do I ever listen? Like seriously?" She pursed her lips out in interest before adding, "I'm gonna go hang with Hook. He's more a father, anyway."

"She doesn't know what she's saying," Peter spoke up quickly.

"I do, too," Astrid complained slightly and laughed some, "I'm more of a parent to these two than they are to me."

Snow and David both raised their eyebrows while Peter quickly defended her choice of words, "Yeah, she didn't mean that, either."

"Astrid, how can you think that?" Snow began.

Astrid laughed some more, saying, "I'm only saying what's true. You wanted honesty between us. There it is."

Peter pulled Astrid behind her and sheepishly started to her parents, "She really doesn't know what she's saying. She just says things when she gets like this."

Emma stepped in their conversation and spoke up to her sister, "Okay, Astrid. I know you haven't been sleeping at all. We all know that. But we need you to keep yourself in check. We have to help Henry remember who he is, and really... I need my sister. I need you."

Astrid nodded slowly and wrapped an arm around Emma, saying, "I've always been here. You got me." Emma smiled a little as the six of them entered inside of the Blanchard apartment, heading to Snow's closet.

After several minutes of going through bags of shoes and clothes of Snow's and Astrid juggling the boxes in the air and catching them, David spoke up, "Why do women keep their shoe boxes?"

Snow stuck her head out of the closet to look at her husband and answered, "Because after true love, there is no more powerful magic than footwear. It has to be protected."

"Any sign of the book?" Emma inquired, peeking from where she was sitting on the floor of the closet beside Snow.

Peter sighed, "No. I don't think it's here."

"You don't know that," Snow replied while tossing another box. Regina sighed and picked it up, placing it on the bed while grabbing another suitcase and searched through it.

Emma walked over to the box and opened it while saying, "Maybe it's in this thing... Some scarves, some shoes, some purses-" Emma sighed and admitted, "The book is not here."

After a second, Snow moved over to her and replied, "Hold on. Let me check." She opened it and began searching through it and then stopped, feeling something as Emma's eyes widened.

Snow pulled out a leather bound book that had 'Once Upon A Time' printed on the cover. Emma let out in confusion, "I... don't understand."

"Can I see that?" Regina started and took the book from Snow's hands while flipping through the book, "I know there are chapters on Oz in here. I want to know who's heart Zelena crushed to enact this curse. Because if there's something she loved, that's her weakness."

"As Astrid would say, it's always nice to have someone devious other than herself and me," Peter smirked and then frowned once he noticed his love's silence, "Wait... Where is Astrid?"

David furrowed his eyebrows and looked around the room as did everyone else. "Astrid?"

"Now where did she go?" Snow questioned.

"I don't know, but we might want to find her with her uncontrollable euphoria," Regina remarked.

"She might be with Hook," Emma started.

The group spread out and looked through the entire apartment until Peter spoke up in the kitchen, "Found her!"

The other four stepped over to where Peter was at and looked at what he was looking at and noticed Astrid sleeping on top of the counter, completely passed out.

"Everyone, be extremely quiet," David spoke up in a hushed tone while throwing a throw blanket over the still sleeping Astrid tightly clutching her battle axe in her arms.

"Right. She needs the sleep." Snow added also in a hushed tone. The five of them slowly and quietly backed away, heading out of the apartment.

***

Astrid woke up groggily after her axe had fell to the floor loudly, causing herself to roll off of the counter also, landing on the floor with a thud. "What in bloody hell?" She suddenly felt something happen with her family as Astrid quickly stood up and ran out of the apartment.

She hopped onto Stormfly as the dragon took off and flew towards the dock quickly.

Once Stormfly landed at the docks, Astrid jumped off and lodged five arrows in her bow and pulled the drawstring back, shooting the arrows at the flying monkeys making them burn and disappear.

Everyone briefly glanced over at Astrid who simply smirked, saying, "Told you I had your backs."

Regina threw a fireball at one flying monkey which killed it and made it disappear too. Once the monkeys were gone, Emma went over to Henry and helped him up to his feet, asking in concern, "Henry, you okay?"

"Yeah- you- what were those things!?" Henry stammered out in confusion, looking over at David and then Astrid, "Why do they have swords and she has a bow and arrows?"

"It's okay. It's all gonna make sense in a minute. I promise," Emma assured her son who questioned, "What are you talking about!?"

"I'm sorry I was keeping things from you," Emma replied, "You were right. You deserve to know the truth." She handed him the storybook.

"About fairytales? I don't understand," Henry began as Emma asked, "Do you trust me?"

Henry nodded and replied, "Yes, of course I do."

"Then I need you to believe," Emma commented.

"Believe in what?" Henry asked as Emma answered simply, "Believe in magic."

"From a book?" Henry started with Emma replying, "It's more than just a book. Do you believe in me?"

Henry confidently assured her, "Yes." Emma nodded and whispered, "Then take it."

The twelve year old reluctantly took the book in his hands as he suddenly remembered his life in Storybrooke and his family. He looked at Emma and let out, "Mom?" He then glanced over at Regina and smiled, "Mom!"

Regina chuckled and rushed over to him, both of them hugging one another. "I remember!" He faced Emma and repeated happily, "I remember!"

"Do it, Emma," Regina spoke up, "Break the curse." But before Emma could kiss their son, Henry disappeared.

Zelena spoke up, "I'm so sorry to interrupt." Everyone faced the red haired woman who was holding Henry hostage. "Now, who wants to say goodbye first?"

"Who are you!?" Henry questioned as he struggled in her arms.

Zelena smirked, saying, "You can call me Auntie Zelena."

Regina glared at the red haired woman and commented, "Enough of this." But before the raven haired woman could do anything, Zelena threw her back by her magic.

"Let him go. He had nothing to do with this," Emma stated.

"Don't blame me. The Captain failed me," Zelena simply pointed out with a glare over at Hook who then shot back, "Damn you, Zelena."

Astrid spoke up, now standing in between Hook and Peter, "He didn't fail. He did the right thing."

"Hook, what's she talking about?" Emma questioned, glancing over at him and then her twin.

"He knew what the price of that failure was-" Zelena answered, choking Henry now as the boy began to gasp, "Your son's life."

"Stormfly, spine shot!" Astrid exclaimed just as her dragon threw spikes from her tail towards Zelena's shoulder from behind.

The red haired woman gasped in pain with the spike now lodged in her right shoulder, her releasing Henry as Emma yelled to him, "Run!"

Henry noticed his aunt for the first time and ran straight to her, her immediately hugging him with one hand on the back of his head. Peter now stepped slightly in front of his love and Henry protectively then.

Zelena grunted and glared at Astrid, saying, "I'm really getting tired of you. And enjoy this moment together, 'cause you don't have many left!" With that said, she disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

Henry looked up at his aunt with fondness and grinned, letting out, "You saved me."

"You're my nephew, my little buddy. We're forever," Astrid replied with a small shrug and a light smile.

Henry's grin grew even more and hugged her even tighter, saying, "I love you." Astrid rolled her eyes and kissed the top of his head in assurance just as a wave of magic passed through all of them, pushing them back slightly.

Regina woke up and stood up off the floor as everyone shared looks of remembrance and relief; David and Snow hugged one another.

Emma slowly realized towards her sister, "It wasn't me. It was you." She faced her parents while Astrid and Peter also hugged one another. The two of them remembered the last time in that year they had seen one another, which was Astrid dying in Peter's arms.

Regina and Henry was having a small moment and then hugged, too. Emma asked, "Mary Margaret, David, Peter, Astrid, did it work? Do you guys remember the missing year?"

"Yes. Everything." Snow replied.

"How did Zelena cast the curse?" Emma asked as her mother admitted, "She didn't, Emma. We did."

"You cursed yourselves?" Emma inquired in confusion.

"Zelena's weakness is light magic. That's why she had me locked up and wanted me on her side. That's why she's threatened by you, Em," Astrid suddenly spoke up, "It's clear now, more than ever. You are the only one who can defeat her."

"That's why we paid the price of Regina's curse-" David added, "To find you... Also, Astrid..." Snow and David both rushed over to their teenager and hugged her tightly in their arms in relief, glad that she wasn't dead and still with her family.

Emma reluctantly began, "The price of the curse is the heart of the thing you love most. If one of you cast it... how are you both still here?"

Astrid sat in the corner alone in her cage next to Rumplestiltskin's cafe; She then felt something strong in her heart completely snap, pain feeling her completely.

Astrid let out an anguished scream, tears dropping onto her cheeks coldly. She could feel her father die by his heart being crushed.

"Dearie, are you alright?" Rumplestiltskin questioned her in concern.

Astrid didn't bother to look up from her shaky hands against her knees as she suddenly felt numb.

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