Peter Pan

Peter let go of Wendy so she could tend to Alice's wounds, as he had to hold himself back from running to her aid. Besides, he never really bothered to know where the first aid stuff was kept. It was generally Wendy's job to tend to his wounds, or it used to be.

His mind was racing, how the hell does he get himself out of this awkward situation? Having tea with a dying flame and an ignited one. was less than ideal. And the horrible lie that spilled out of Alli didn't leave much room for an excusable exit, not while the storm raged on. His only option was to excuse himself, but how? And did he really want to leave these two to their own devices? Not that Alli would delibrately sabatoge them, but an accidental slip?

"So what's the plan ladies? Wendy, you know I'm not into this whole playing host stuff." He said almost frantically. He wasn't lying, he really did hate the whole playing house thing, he found it incredibly boring. The room was shrinking, but he had to hold his ground, for now. His tactic, leave the ball in their court.

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling

Great, of course this is her luck. She's either been drugged and his having one hell of a trip or, well, there is no or. Now she's in god knows where with a funny talking lunatic, here's to hoping he's just a LARPER. She accepted his assistance and stood shakily on her feet, the heels of her black booties sinking into the gaps of the rocks beneath her feet. Mackenzie wearily used the gentleman for balance. She followed him to where ever he may lead her, at least until she reaches something recognizable. She hoped for asphalt and headlights, signs to the nearest hospital, but nothing of such familiararity crossed her path.

"So, Ever After, huh? What's close to Ever After, any bigger more recognizable counties?" Come to think of it, she can't think of a forest of this caliber so close to Los Angeles. Not that hiking was on her top ten activities of enjoyment. She pulled her brown leather jacket tighter around herself. "Do you have a phone I can borrow?" She asked meekly, so as not to upset the man. The last thing she wanted was to upset this guy, as he did seem a little off. Please don't let him hack me up into a million little pieces and bury me all over the forest.

Gaston LeGume

"Tell me more about my eyes." Gaston seemingly joked to the red head swooning over him on his lap. She giggled as her hands haphazardly groped the muscles in his arms and chest. However, Gaston was not joking, and truly wanted to hear more about himself. His self loving bliss was interrupted when Diablo's call rang in Gaston's ears. Icy blue eyes glared at the bird resting on the sill of an open window, satisfied that the wretched bird unhappy in the rain. Oh, how I will have you on a dinner plate one day. His Maleficent was summoning him, and her timing couldn't have been more perfect. This red head, as eager as she was to please him, would hold ill will against him for mixing pain with his pleasure.

"Off bar wench." The red head frowned before doing as she was told. "Good girl." Gaston then stood on his chair. "Ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to say, that I must take my leave for the night. Lefou will, as always, run the tavern in my absence." He could hear the boos and awes as was just about to jump from his makeshift soap box and it was music to his ears. "Oh, and a round of ale for everyone on me." He decided to award his pets for their proper responses.

He landed with a thud, though it was barely audible through the cheers and laughter. He then made his way to his room on the second floor. He locked the door behind him, no one would dare to bother him anyway, and then approached seemingly normal mirror.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, take me to her grand hall." The metallic surface moved ever so slightly, like a disturbed glass of water. Sadly, it no longer reflected sinful features of Gaston, but Maleficent's room. He stepped through its liquid surface, slightly disoriented by the darkness that Maleficent kept her castle in.

"I have a most important job for you."

"I'm not your work horse, Mal." Gaston didn't even bother to turn and face her. He listened as the click clock of her heels drew nearer. He felt her hands forcably breach his shirt from behind him, the heat of her skin pressed against his back. Dagger like nails then tore into his skin slowly, the blood slowly seeped through his white shirt. Damn this woman, she knew how to push all the right buttons.

"Oh, but I promise it will be repaid upon your return. Just a small little favor." The mocking innocence in her voice clued him into the treat he was in for. He turned to face her, his hand wasting no time in finding her silky black hair. Mal gasped as he roughly filled his fist with those resentful strands and pulled her head back, exposing a vulnerable part of her body, her neck. It wasn't often she allowed him to have her in all his glory. The pain she inflicted on him was blissful, but to be the abuser, to her of all women, was truly magical. He pressed his lips to hers harshly, excited about all the horrible things he would do to her.

"Use the hand mirror, its on the table." He angrily let go of her as she doled out her directions, pissed at her for ruining the moment. "I need you to pay a visit to Cadwell, the queen of lunacy, and I need you to enlist her services. Its time for me to exact my revenge on the happy couple of Feather Brooke. I need Cadwell to have them lift the protection spell on Feather Brooke. As payment, I'll let her have some fun with Prince Phillip, but his life is mine, along with Aurora's. She can then do whatever it is a mad former queen does about the castle."

Gaston didn't ask any questions. He simply pocketed the mirror and took his leave. "Mirror mirror on the wall, take me to the maddest of them all."

((OOC: I don't care how Gaston appears with Ember, whether he's forced to knock on the door or automatically gains entrance within her lair/castle))

Chelsey jumped up and down happily and giggles when The Hatter told her a riddle, "Oh....that one is easy...." She was about to say the answer when he already did it by himself and she stops jumping and frowns. "Awww....". She loves to ask him for riddles and doing tea parties with him, mostly because he is the only one that loves tea parties and secondly, it is his part, like in the story. When he asked her the second riddle her eyes brighten up again and she smiles, "Why is a raven like a writing desk? that is your hardest riddle! hmm....maybe if I found out everything will be better!". Than she hugs Zach and ran away happily back to her library, to look for the answer. Kinda completely forgot about The Chosen One she told her mother about. She entered the library again and quickly searched for some books, grabbing them all, looking sluggish with the heavy books and laid them on the thick rug she always read on it. She opened one book and started reading, forgetting almost everything except of her mission.

Belle
Belle and her horse, Philippe, looked down over the town of Feather Brooke from their vantage point atop a rise not far from her castle. She watched the hustle and bustle of the townspeople, she glanced over at Gaston’s tavern and a small twinge of longing clenched her belly. Belle averted her eyes quickly, Philippe snorted and stomped his front foot. “What is it, Philippe?” She asked her horse softly. Since the love stone was stolen she had been less talkative toward her long time friend because some of the magic in his eyes has died. He responds to her voice less and less these days. His face and eyes becoming more like that of a dumb beast than the loving friend she remembered. Even now, the horse sidestepped but she yanked his reigns and brought him under control quickly though his eyes did look a little wild.
A drop of water landed on her forehead and made her look up. The sky was darker than she had seen it in quite some time, if ever. Goosebumps raised the hair along her arms and she quickly lifted the hood of her cloak. The moment after she lifted her hood it was as if God dumped an endless bucket of water on them. In seconds, she and Philippe were soaked. Lightening struck the ground not far from where the pair stood. The horse whinnied loudly and bucked and for a moment Belle thought she would lose control.
Instead she whispered softly to the old horse, calming and soothing his raw nerves. “Take us home Phillipe.” She whispered and in the years following the theft of the love stone the horse would snort in response and turn them toward the direction of the castle post haste. Instead it was Belle who directed the animal and made toward her castle at a reasonable pace but the last thing she’d want to do was have the horse slip and take a tumble with her on it.
When she got to her courtyard she slid off the horse and grabbed his reigns in one smooth motion while he was still moving. She handed him over to a soaking wet stable boy and made her way up the front stairs to the entryway of her castle. What was once her prison.
She opened the door and slid in to it quickly and was met by Cogsworth. The squat, fat little man was making his way toward her at quite a clip. Belle sighed softly, pulling the string of her cloak so it slipped from her shoulders. She bundled the wet cloak into her hands and plopped it unceremoniously into Cogworth’s chest. His face contorted into a look of disgust as he held the sopping bundle away from his body. She continued to walk and Cogsworth followed her nervously. He was less annoying when he was a clock. “Madam, Prince Adam is not feeling well and is on bed rest for the rest of the day.” ‘Thank God’ she thought to herself with relief. The last thing she needed was his neediness when her thoughts were filled with Gaston. “He has asked not to be disturbed in the West Wing.” This made her pause for only a moment, her mind flashing back to the days of the Beast.
“Why? Is it forbidden?” She asked slyly. If she wasn’t soaked she would go there directly. As it was, however, “I’m retiring to my chambers.” She stated before he could stutter out an answer. She took back her old prison cell as her bed chamber. A lovely cell, yes, but a cell nonetheless. Her handmaid came in shortly after her arrival to help her undress, bathe and redress. She watched the friendly old woman with curiosity. Everyone had so much more life when they were furniture. There was no more singing, dancing or the careless abandon she felt when she first arrived. Now everything was stale, servants just going through the motions. “Do you know what ills my husband?” She asked what was once her wardrobe. “No m’lady.” Was the short lifeless response. She stared at the woman for a moment, wondering whether she was oblivious or lying. She decided on the former which meant that Adam was keeping something from the castle.

Prince Adam shivered in his sleep, as cold sweat poured down his face. In his mind, he was having quite the nightmare. Of course, nightmares had been more and more frequent for him recently, but this one was something more than that. In it, Belle was leaving the castle, paying him no heed at all. With every step she took, he became more of the Beast, and the entire castle was reverting to its old days of being his personal hell. However, just before the transformation was complete, a bright light blinded his vision, not something that normally happened in his nightmares. He stared at it in wonder, as it became the only thing he could see.

When the light faded, Adam looked at himself to see everything was gone, an empty void. He himself had turned back to his human self. "Prince Adam", he heard a strange but familiar voice call. He looked around, not seeing anyone. He finally looked to where the light came from, and gasped in awe as he recognized the figure above as the very enchantress who had transformed him into a beast that fatefull night. "You again?" he said in wonder.

The enchantress did something he never would have expected. She smiled at him. "I having been watching you since that fateful night." she said. "And I have watched you learn to be a kind and gentle soul. Know this now: The change you are undergoing now is not of your own fault. The source of this problem, however, is one you still must address." She snapped her fingers, and an image of a glowing red stone appeared. "You recognize this stone, correct?" Prince Adam, rapt with amazement through all of this, finally spoke up. "Yes, it's the love stone. It was stolen recently, right? I read the reports, but have been keeping the knowledge only with those I trust most." The enchantress nodded her head. "Yes, the love stone. It was stolen. This is the source of all of your troubles. You are not the only one affected by its disappearence. All over Ever After, couples bound together by the love stone have begun to find their relationships strained. It must be returned immediately. I would tell you where it is, but it is being concealed by a dark power that is stronger than my own."

Prince Adam spoke up again, and said "Well, what must I do then?" "You must band together with others who have been affected by this. You must work together to find the love stone, and undo what has been done. Start with your fellow royalty of the other kingdoms. Work with them to find leads to its location. One last thing: Do not trust the one called Gaston. He is implicated in this as well, though you cannot prove it yet. Now go. Do what must be done." With that, she vanished, and Adam woke up.

He woke to find trusty Mrs. Potts pouring tea for him. "Oh, Master." she said. "I heard you were ill, so I brough up some tea for you." Adam was slightly angry, as he had told everyone to leave him alone, but let it pass. Mrs. Potts meant him no ill will. "Thank you." he said. "I could use some tea. By the way, can you send for Lumiere and Cogsworth? I need to speak with them. Alone." She smiled and said "Of course Master. I will send for them immediately."

They were there in a moment. Adam had already written letters to the royals of the kingdoms of Red Rose, Feather Broke, and Beloved kingdoms, expressing his wish to meet and discuss this issue. Lumiere burst in just as he finished, declaring jovially, "Master! Good to see you feeling better! Wonderfull indeed!" Cogsworth staggered in, stating "Um, what he said Master." Adam couldn't help but smile. He never tired of Lumiere's shenanigans, but he couldn't stand on ceremony now. He handed the letters to Cogsworth, saying "I need you to send these to the corresponding royalty of each kingdom. I may have a way to reverse what is happening. Keep it hush hush, though." Lumiere smiled and said "Of course Master! I am an expert at discretion!" Cogsworth couldn't help but smirk and mutter "Sure you are, Lumiere. Sure you are." Adam waved them off and said, "That will be all. Thank you." The two of his favorite servants left to do there work, and Adam returned to his bed to rest.

Prince Thomas
Prince Thomas couldn't believe his horrible timing. He had left the castle to inspect the garrison of soldiers in the village who he had sent to protect from the increasing chaos that was spreading through Ever After like wildfire. Just as he had left, practically minutes after they left, the downpour began. "Really?" he muttered to himself. "Of all the times it could have rained, it had to be now?" He called to his accompanying guardsmen, declaring jovially "Let's pick up the pace a bit. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can all warm up by the fire, and have some warm drinks." A round of agreement followed this, as they broke into a full gallop.

Finally, after being drenched about ten times over, they reached the castle gates. The gates opened promptly, as they were more vigilant for their prince when the storm broke. He walked through the main hallway, soaking wet, to be met by James, his personal servant. "Prince Thomas!" James greeted him. "You wouldn't happen to have gone swimming, would you?" Thomas laughed and replied, "I may as well have been. I probably would have been drier if that was the reason. Enough of that, though. Where is my wife?" James replied, "Last I saw, she was headed to the library. She should still be there." Thomas couldn't help but smile. Kathryn, or Cinderella, as she called herself now, certainly loved books. "Alright. I will be changing my clothes, and then will head down to meet her." As an after though, he added as he was halfway out of the room "Don't tell her I'm coming. I want to surprise her."

Thomas changed quicklly, getting out of his soaking wet suit, and switching to more comfortable attire for everyday life at the castle. He walked down towards the library, whistling a happy tune. Of all the things he could do, he didn't know anything that made him as happy as spending time with Kathryn. Even his favorite hobby of sword fighting took a back seat to it. He walked through the doors to find her organizing the books, the birds somehow getting involved as well. He had absolutely no idea how she could do that, but the effect was certainly something. Collecting his wits after a few seconds of being dazed by this, he spoke up and said, amused, "You know, if you want the library cleaned, you just have to ask."

Kathryn was in there for nearly an hour before she had even come close to being halfway done with her organization. The birds had taken the books and flitted them to their correct spots on the shelves as she ordered them on the floor, and she had no need to move from her spot on the floor.

It was about another hour when she heard footsteps in the hall outside the door. She continued to go about her business, completely ignoring them; that is, until the door opened. She didn't bother to look up and see who it was, figuring it to be a maid or servant that had come to check up on her.

"You know, if you want the library cleaned, you just have to ask."

Her head shot up, her face paling before going alight with pure joy. "Thomas!" she cried, scrambling up from where she sat. She straightened her skirts, looked up at him for a moment, before she took off to him. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, sniffling a little. "I missed you so much," she whispered, hiding her face in his shoulder.

She remained that way for several moments, refusing to allow him to push her away - not that she figured he would - but it was better not to chance it.

Finally, she pulled away and went on her toes to gently kiss him, then dropped back down to the flats of her feet. "I have something to tell you. Something that you'll love," she said, smiling brightly up at him. She took a step back and grabbed his wrist, lowered his hand, and pressed it against her flat stomach through the fabric of her dress. "I'm pregnant," she murmured, tilting her head back to look up at him. Her lips twitched in amusement. "I wasn't going to tell you yet, but I figured it would be the best decision to let you know."

Snow gazed out the window as a storm brewed. She could feel in her bones that something was coming. Perhaps something good, to help them, or something evil, to wound her and her kingdom more. She could only hope it wasn't the latter. Her husband forced his way into her thoughts, causing pain equivalent to a stab to her heart. She had loved him so much, but he had abandoned her and his own daughter. How could she ever justify that? And yet, she knew that if he came back her first response would be to run into his arms and forgive all of his wrongs. Why? Because as much is it hurt to admit it, she still loved him.
Snow flinched and curled her hand into a fist tight enough that her nails bit into her palms, as she tensed in the chair where she sat.

Snow jumped slightly as her daughter burst into the room and jumped into her arms. Confused, she held her close and opened her mouth to speak but her daughter beat her to it. "Mom, she is coming." She told her excitedly, and Snow's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment. "Who?" She asked softly, hoping desperately that she wouldn't say her father. "The chosen one" She answered, and hugged her.

Just as quickly as she had come, her daughter jumped up and left. She turned at the door, waving to her mother. "Come on mom, we need to find her....." Snow quickly got up, and followed her daughter just as she bumped into the mad hatter. She took a half step back, half smiling as they spoke, and her daughter quickly ran off to grab some books. She quickly stepped towards the hatter. "Keep my daughter here. Do not allow her to leave this room, let alone this castle." She told him firmly, her eyes sharp. She trusted him and the others at the castle, but her daughter's safety was one thing that she did not fool around with.

With that, she turned and left. She bundled herself, wearing a thick, dark cloak and pulled the hood over her head so it covered her face and hurried out. She made her way to the closest fairy tale creature that she knew could handle this. Some adventurous and brave.
She knocked up Peter Pan's door firmly, her stance radiating power. When the door was opened, she offered them a tight smile and looked straight Peter. "Good afternoon. Peter Pan, I have an advent our for you. Someone has just entered the kingdom. I do not know wether they are friendly or not. So what I am asking you, is to find them and if they are good, please try to bring them back to me. We cannot allow them to fall into the wrong hands." Her bright blue eyes wandered over to Alice and Wendy Darling. "Alice! You are our newest to Ever After, so why don't you accompany him?" Alice, like Peter was very courageous and adventurous. She had caused a lot of change and trouble, and it appeared by the tension in the room that she still was. With a friendly nod, she turned and returned to her castle.

Wendy Darling

The sudden arrival of Snow White both surprised and confused Wendy, She was suggesting that Alice should go with Peter to investigate this new person who arrived. She wasn't going to let that happen, she had a careful plan. Smiling widely she turned to Alice and Peter, "Yes, Alice you should go with Peter," She would lean against the counter sipping her tea. This is perfect, This way if they try something then I will be there! "Good thing im not going out there, Have fun you two," She would say laughing.

Mad Hatter

---

Hatter looked a little dumbfounded as Chelsey ran back to the library. She was such an energetic, fun, sweet girl. It always reminded him of Alice in a way. It was those kind people like Chelsey who always made him feel a little bad about working for both sides. When he turned from watching the little princess run down the hall, jumping a bit when he saw the Queen suddenly there behind him. He stood quickly, bowing respectfully to the Queen. He listened to her command with a small grin, it felt good to know the queen trusted him to watch over her daughter, it really made him realize that he was going a great job with hiding the fact he worked for both sides. He bowed again, "As you wish, your majesty." He followed after the direction Chelsey left. Zac entered the library, looking around for a second before spotting the little princess. He watched her for a bit, looking with a wide grin as he saw her reading enthusiastically. Hatter plucked a random book from a shelf, plopping down in a seat beside Chelsey, opening the book and 'reading' it, looking over his book at her. Unbeknownst to him, he was holding his book upside down as he looked to Chelsey.

Roza watched Christopher move ever so slowly so she could enter the house. She would just stay long enough to become dry then she would head home. Lately shes been noticing something off about Christopher and she really didn't like it. She walked insode and shuddered when Christopher mentioned the wolf.

"If I have had the chance by now I would have killed him but its not that easy" she said blantly as she went to the kitchen and put some water in the kettle then put it on the stove to heat. She took off her cloak and put it over a chair to dry, she was wear breechers and a white button down shirt. Her hair was left down, with the white streak hanging down in her face.

She took a seat in one of the chairs and looked at Christopher "So what is going on with you, and don't tell me nothing. You seem off and not in a good way" she crossed her legs and waited to hear what Christopher had to say.

Chelsey was so much concentrated on the book she was reading and wandering in thoughts about the riddle she didn't notice The Hatter walking quietly into the library and sitting beside her. Chelsey at first was staying on her mission to read and find the answer and suddenly she remembered why she was still feeling distracted on the task at hand. She jumped and noticed Zach sitting beside her on a chair near the rug she was laying on, and she smiles "Oh....". She giggles, "I didn't see you.....". She looked around thinking her mother is here also and when she saw she isn't she frowns a bit but than her eyes wide with a smile and she looks hopeful to Hatter, "Where did mom go? Did she go to find her?". Chelsey was again looks very enthusiastic and started walking to the exit of the library, "I have to help mom.....".

Abel Cheshire

Abel quirked a brow at the girl’s questions. “Phone? Is this some sort of contraption of your world? I do not have one, I apologize”. A smirk crossed his features. “I don’t think you fully understand, woman. You aren’t in your world anymore. You are in Ever After, it’s a completely different place. I suppose you could say it runs parallel to your world”.
He laughed, leading the girl away from the beach and towards the trees, wondering how he could better explain the predicament to the girl. “I’m sure you have fairytales in your world. Absurd as it might be, they are not just tales after all. You know the story of Alice in Wonderland, right? Well, it’s a true story. Something like what happened to Alice has now happened to you. It doesn’t happen very often, and I sure don’t know why it ever does but for some reason, sometimes silly girls like you find your way into our world” he paused in speech, awaiting the response he would get from her.
Of course, she wouldn’t believe him but she would soon enough.
“Perhaps I could take you to Alice, since the two of you have so much in common… No, no, maybe Cinderella, she’d want to know of this… Oh, hell, I surely do not know” he said, mostly to himself as he stroked his chin in pondering.
He stopped walking a moment and turned to the girl. “What is your name, anyway?” he asked. Irrelevant as her name might be, his curiosity always forced him to gather as much information as possible.
He surely must figure out where to take this girl. As far as he was concerned, the sooner he got rid of the poor, drenched thing, the better. Now under the cover of the trees, he lit another cigarette. He believed they helped him concentrate.

Frederick Florian

“Nobody knows I’m alive.” He thinks to himself as he lies on his hammock in the middle of the forest. He had just gotten back from sword play, alone. Now he was relaxing in front of his cabin (alone) that he’d built before deciding to run from his responsibilities. The cabin he shared with no one. He was once a social butterfly. He loved being the center of attention. Now he was just alone, his own thoughts to keep him company. Sometimes the wolf came by and as unpleasant as that was he hungered for companionship.

Well, now and again he would receive a pigeon with a brief message on it. Sometimes about his daughter, sometimes about Snow. When he helped to steal the Love Stone he had hoped it would stop his love completely. Love is a wretched emotion. It had destroyed his freedom and given him more responsibilities than he had ever wanted. He had expected to marry a wife with no spirit and rule the kingdoms through his adviser. But no, he had to fall in love with the strongest woman he had ever met. Frustrated to where his thoughts had led him he bounds off of the hammock just as the rain begins.

As much as he tries he can not rid himself for the love he feels for his family. From what the letters suggest, she still loves him, even though she somehow found out that he wasn’t really dead. How she knows makes no difference. He could go back to her on his hands and knees and beg forgiveness. “No. I will never go back to that life.” He growls aloud as the thunder rumbles overhead and the rain pours down on him. He runs his hands through his hair. He would talk to wolf. The man was a monster but an intelligent monster. All of this thinking has gotten Frederick frustrated. He’s just going in circles. There has to be another way.

Belle

Her bath was refreshing. She felt like a new woman once all the mud and grim of the horse was scrubbed off of her. She dressed herself in clothes that were unusual for her before she snapped out of her day dream that was life in this castle. The skirt was a shorter than what was fashionable and her neckline plunged down until it almost reached her navel. She looked in the mirror, admiring the beauty in front of her. Her hair was up but stray curls fell in ringlets down over her shoulder. Tonight she was going back to Feather Brooke. She needed a few drinks in her. And more than a little part of her hoped to see Gaston. Just thinking his name sent a shudder of excitement into her belly. But for now, she would go to her husband.

A devilish smile crept over her features when she imagined what his face would look like when he saw the way she was dressed. Would his face flush with embarrassment? She knew what a prude he could be. Or would his eyes flash with longing only to change to disappointment when she denied him? She felt the goosebumps rise along her flesh when she imagined his tight lipped rage when he learned she was planning to go into town dressed like this. She couldn’t wait any longer, her excitement at his anger was too much.

With a giggle she strode from her room, passing servants who were giving her side long glances but no one dared utter a word to her. She’d been setting them straight for a while now. She was tired of them offering advice to her. They had no business opening their mouths unless they were spoken to. She passed Cogsworth on the way to the West Wing. He opened his mouth to say something to stop her but nothing came out except wordless stutters. She made it up the stairs and rounded the bend until she came to the large doorway. She raised her gloved hand to knock but thought better of it and opened it silently, creeping in as it opened.

She walked along the four poster bed until she saw her once beloved. He looked quite peaceful when he was sleeping and also quite handsome. She felt a twinge of love in her chest and quickly stamped it out. This was the monster that imprisoned her and nearly killed her father. He kept her in this prison on the pretense of his love, but he could never love anything. He didn’t deserve her love. “Good Morning, Darling.” She said with a mock tenderness that was so sharp she was surprised it came out of her.

Peter Pan
Peter didn't know to breath a sigh of relief or hold his breath as the knock on the door echoed into the aparment. The interruption, however, was very welcomed and Peter eagerly made his way to answer the door. His muscles tensed as the queen stared back at him from the doorway, a surprise he did not see coming his way.

"Your Madjesty." He nodded and shuffled out of the way so the Queen could step out of the pouring rain. She smiled warmly at the trio, but when her eyes fell on Peter once again, they were full of urgency and sterness. He felt his chest swell up with excitement and pride as the Queen's quest fell upon his ears and wrested on his shoulders. This high was temporarily stunted when Alice was addressed. He was snappped back to the current situation in all its uncomfortable glory.

"It would be my pleasure, your Madjesty." Peter gently closed the door behind the Queen, a sudden realization sinking his soul ever so slightly. His ability to fly, to say it was hindered would be a great understatement. That ability would have been a blessing, making this scavenger hunt so much more effective. Beside that, the inability made him feel less adequate, a piece of him still missing. What more, Wendy's demeanor suddenly changed, she became cool and calculated. Her laughter snipping at what few strings he had left at happiness.

'Awesome.' He thought to himself as he wordlessly brushed by the two women and walked up the stairs to dress and pack for the adventure before him. Once upon a time, the word held meaning of spledor and wonderful times. Now, its seems almost a burden. 'What else go do wrong.'

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling

Oh yea, this guy was completely off his rocker. Figures, this was Mac's luck, always succumbing to the strangest forms of Murphy's Law. She listened to his obviously malfunctioning mind while still concentrating on not falling over, heels and nature do not mesh quite well. She would have to ditch them if she had to make a run from the potential serial killer.

"Fairy Tale Land, yea, right. So who does that make you? The Mad Hatter?" She mumbled in a cynical tone. But when he started his own mumbling of who he should take her to, Mac couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Okay Mac, he obviously believes all this crap. So there's only one way out of this, speak his language.'

"My name is Mackenzie." She darted under the brush for cover from the rain. It was the most relaxing thing to happen to her since last night, to have a break from the constant assault of water. Her dark eyes watched him as he contemplated. "How about we stay clear from any villains or bandits, and you take me to the closest, nicest, person in power who can help me get home." An innocent shrug. "I hope that narrows it down."

Alice glanced at Wendy awkwardly, shifting her weight from leg to leg uncomfortably, until here was a knock at the door. She let out a deep breath, very grateful for the distraction.
When she saw who it was, she immediately straightened her back and smiled back at the queen politely. "Good afternoon. Peter Pan, I have an adventure for you. Someone has just entered the kingdom. I do not know wether they are friendly or not. So what I am asking you, is to find them and if they are good, please try to bring them back to me. We cannot allow them to fall into the wrong hands." Her bright blue eyes wandered over to Alice and Wendy Darling. Alice tensed slightly, glancing at Peter. "Alice! You are our newest to Ever After, so why don't you accompany him?"

Objectively, Alice could understand why she asked her to go with him. She had probably wound up here in Ever After under similar circumstances as she had. As far as she knew, she was the only one who had been shoved into this world, completely unwillingly.
Alice nodded politely. "Yes of corse." As the queen left, she curtly offered her a half wave with her uninjured hand. Having come from a very high class family in old England, she knew well to mind her manners. Usually.

When Snow White had left, Wendy acted. . . well, very highly suspiciously. "Yes Alice, you should go with him." Wendy smiled broadly, while sipping her tea. "Good thing I'm not going out there. Have fun, you two!" Wendy laughed, as Peter brushed by them and left them alone. She wasn't quite sure what it was about how Wendy acted, but it rubbed her the wrong way. "Oh, we'll if you're staying inside would you mind if I borrowed your coat? I forgot mine, and it's awfully cold out there." Alice batted her think lashes innocently, offering her a sugary smile as she sauntered over to the sink and cleaned out her hand.

Gaston LeGume

He focused on his reflection, his icy blue eyes staring back at him. The world around him was swirling, as if each item was over come by its own twister born from the darkness. The ground beneath him shook violently, though he remained still. Still he kept his gaze fixed upon himself, not daring to waver from his beautiful reflection, not until everything seemed calm and stable.

Finally, the world around him settled. He pocketed the small mirror and took a moment to gather in his surroundings. He was in a short corridor, and though the walls were once white, they were now stained and aging. To his right was a statue, a graceful woman with flowing stone dress. All but her head, which was missing and was replaced with the helmet of one of her would be guardsmen. Clearly, this was the home of a mad woman. He could hear the laughter coming from just beyond the corridor. Gaston adjusted his jacket walked toward the voices.

He leaned against the archway, his arms folded nonchalantly against his chest. Now this was interesting, The Mad Queen and the Captain. He listened intently as they humored they're empty little ideas of a murderous plot.

"Why waste your time with someone so trivial? I mean, if your gonna go on a killing spree, might as well go all out. What would you say if I told you I can offer you aid from someone very powerful and the lives of royalty at your mercy?"

Abel Cheshire

Abel chuckled at the girl’s response as she gazed upon him like he were a madman. Okay, well he was a madman but he wasn’t that mad. Of course, this was how she was expected to react.
“Me? The Mad Hatter? Don’t be daft. No, no, not at all. Not that he isn’t a rather pleasant chap but… Well, I’m Abel and I suppose you could say I was the Cheshire Cat”. He paused to admire his reflection in a puddle that had formed on the ground beneath him, straightening his hair. “Oh, it never does sit quite how I want it to… Well, I guess you’ll need more to go on to believe me so…”
So Abel promptly shifted before her, appearing as a rather large black and silver striped cat, only somewhat to convince her of his story but mostly to shock her as he was just that kind of guy. The shift was never painful for him. A witch friend had brewed him a potion, and if he ingested a small dose of it each morning the shift would be rendered painless, only remaining slightly uncomfortable. The brew itself was rather bitter but it definitely beat the agony of the transformation. Now, if that doggie Abraham wasn’t such an evil bastard, he might’ve shared his secret with him… then again, he might not have because he was selfish like that.
Moments later, he shifted back into human form, bowing naked before the girl. “Thank you, thank you”, he said as if expecting applause. “Now, if you’ll excuse me” he said as he hurriedly redressed. Once that was over, he looked upon Mackenzie with curiosity. “Right, right, so I suppose Snow White is rather nice. Perhaps we could pay her a visit. Shall we?” he said, pointing in the direction of the Red Rose kingdom.

Abraham Lupus

Abraham had been waiting in the rain for some time now, his fur soaked. Of course, the odor of wet dog was not a pleasant one. Getting fed up with waiting for Red to leave the village again, he racked his brains for some plan as how to get to her.
His ears pricked as footsteps approached. As the sound drew nearer, a merchant appeared, traveling along the path. Perfect. Abraham launched himself upon the man, intending to only knock the guy down and ended up, well, killing him.
After shifting into human form and recovering from the pain, Abraham’s palm collided with his face. “Great. Killed another one”. It was now clear to him he would not be able to stay in this area for very long. All he’d wanted was the man’s cloak, not his blood for God’s sake.
He picked up the cloak, thankful that the material was black and that it still rained so he wouldn’t automatically appear like the murderer he was. He dressed himself in the item, pulling the hood over his head in his best attempt to disguise his features and entered the village.
Tracking down Red by scent alone wasn’t an option now, but he didn’t need to. He’d stalked the woman enough to know where she would be. Whatever she saw in a pup like Christopher Robin, he was blind to.
The house drew closer and so far, nobody had shouted ‘Big Bad Wolf!’ so it would seem luck was in his favor today.
He didn’t bother to knock on the door, letting himself in and there was that stupid boy who just made himself even more stupid by running at Abraham unarmed. Well, apparently his disguise didn’t fool everyone. As per usual, Abraham’s anger would again get the better of him. His rage over the fact that Red would choose this idiot over himself meant that… well, he lunged at Christopher, dropped him to the floor, beat that fool’s stupid face to a pulp and kept going, despite the fact his own face was being covered in the boy’s blood.
Once satisfied Christopher could no longer make attacks at him, he stood up, taking in the amount of damage he had done. Dead? Unconscious? Dying? He didn’t care. He had far more important matters to attend to. He didn’t have time to feel guilty, the moment he’d been waiting for had come. She would now be his.
He turned to face Red, a wicked grin on his blood-spattered face. “Oops. Might have killed your plaything. Now, are you going to run? Please do, it will make this far more exciting”.

Peter Pan
Peter had all the essentials packs: sleeping hammoks, flint, rope, change of clothes and of course his most prized posession, his sword. He dashed down the stairs, the back pack slung over his shoulder. It was evident he was in a foul disposition as she began to wrap some bread and non perishable food for the trip.

"Alice, go upstairs and grab one of my other jackets from the closet in the bedroom." He didn't dare look at Wendy, what reason was there to? It was obvious she was on to them, and her seeming denial had rather been a tactic to calm herself. There was an elephant in the room, one of enormous potential. Though he despised Wendy for his current life, for growing up, he couldn't deny the feeling he had once felt for her.

Once the food was wrapped he packed it up and walked over to Wendy, his green eyes staring into hers sorrowfully. He kissed her gently on the forehead, a subtle sorry for his betrayal.

He tossed up the hood of his jacket and waited for Alice to be ready before making his way on his reluctant adventure.

"Okay, Alice, any ideas on where the newcomer will have surfaced? Tink has always stressed the power of reflection."

He made haste in his steps, though he had packed for a possible over nighter, he did not intend for it.

Mackenzie Alicia Aisling
Mackenzie simply watched the peculiar man fussed with his hair, with a slight shake of her head. The Cheshire Cat was who he claimed to be and Mackenzie just smirked lightly to herself. For a moment, she felt sorry for the man, a man who obviously can't stand the world the way it was or couldn't stand himself. His narcissistic behavior, although convincing, probably just a front and a pathetic attempt to love himself. Still he exuded confidence and in mere moments, Mackenzie discovered why.

She simply stared at the large black and silver stripes, almost Bengal like in its regalness. Mackenzie's eyes were almost as wide as cat's naturally wide set, her breath caught in her throat. A small squeak that resembled that of a rusty wheel escaped her motionless lips. It was safe to say that her concept of the reality she knows imploded on itself. The world was over as she knew it. The girl remained a statue, unmoving and unchanging as Abel bowed and dressed himself. The thoughts flooding her mind were too fast to keep track of and it took her a moment to jar herself back to thinking logically, well as logically as she could possibly be. It was clear she needed to adapt.

"I'm sorry I doubted you." She mumbled in a weak voice, surprised that she could form words so quickly. Almost zombie like she continued in the direction Abel guided her to. This wasn't a fairy tale, she was truly on her way to see Snow White.

Captian James Hook

James could feel a nice sort of buzz going as he drank most of the red queen's liquor. It was most definelty the best time when he could spend it with the queen, thinking of devious plots. But the voice that came from the archway that lead into the kitchen sobered him right back up. He scowled in Gaston's direction pulling out his gun and pointing it at him. A click could be heard as he turned the safety off. Well he hadn't become the pirate he was from making idel threats. "I'd say you're full of bull shit." he growled out, chugging down the remainder of the bottle in his hands, tossing it behind him. If he was terribly honest, James would have to say that he utterly hated Gaston, not only for the fact that Ember was obsessed with him, even though that was a large part of it, but also because he was obsessed with himself, and that just rubbed James the wrong way. "I'd rather go back to the high seas and jump in a swarm of crocodiles than work with you, no matter the reward, if that's what you're implying."

Thomas smiled as Kathryn rushed towards him and embraced him. "I missed you so much," she whispered to him. "I know." he replied. "I missed you too." To be honest, he had only been in town with the garrison for a few days, making sure the defenses and order amongst the troops was perfect, but every moment he had been away from her had pained him with longing for her presence. He wondered to himself just what made his wife so beautiful to have this kind of effect, but a gentle kiss from her answered that question rather easily.

Kathrn gently placed Thomas's hand on her stomach, saying "I have something to tell you. Something that you'll love. I'm pregnant." Thomas's breath caught in his throat. PREGNANT!? Thomas was quite surprised and caught off guard, but he was elated as well. "Thats wonderful, my dear!" he said. He was so happy that he lifted her and spun her around in the air a bit. "We're going to have a wonderful child, Kathryn. I just know it. How long have you known?"

"That's wonderful, my dear!"

She let out a delighted laugh and braced her hands upon his shoulders, her delight evident in her bright smile. When he lowered her, she had to steady herself so as not to topple over from her dizzy giddiness. She held onto his arms and leaned against him, feeling like a young, teenage girl with a crush on her own husband, as she always did when she was with him.

"We're going to have a wonderful child, Kathryn. I just know it. How long have you known?"

She dropped her hands and stepped back, tapping her fingers together and looking at him through her lashes, her expression guilty. "Well ... This is the part where I'm afraid you'll become mad at me," she murmured, biting her lower lip, in the exact way that he said, in exact quotes, 'drove him crazy', in hopes that it would keep him from becoming too angry with her.

"I've known for about a month or so ... I spoke with a doctor, and he told me that I'm about a month and a half along ... Now, before you get mad," she threw up her hands to ward off anything he was going to say, "I only kept it a secret so as not to worry you. I know how you get, and at the time, when I found out, I mean, you were busy making sure all of the defense around the kingdom were up to standards, and ... I just didn't think it was a good time. Then more things began to happen, and I couldn't find a good time to tell you." She bit her lip again and looked down, before turning her gaze back up to his. "I'm sorry I kept it from you, Thomas."

Ember

Just as she thought the night couldn't get any better, Gaston turned round the corner with his handsome angelic smile. Ember wasn't sure at first if he was just a figment of her imagination, but the click of James' gun assured her otherwise. She simply giggled and twirled dancing circles around them both.

"Royalty." She twirled herself to just behind James and raised herself on her tippy toes to whisper softly into his ear. "Think of the possibilities, the death of royalty at our hands. It's our chance to show this world what we're capable of." She then moved to his other ear, a manipulative grin curling on her face. "Our chance to show them what happens when they dare to forget us and leave us to the darkness." James was fun to play with, her own personal play toy. "We were important once." She backed off slightly and walked over to the kitchen counter and hopped a seat, bringing a knee to her chest. "Let us hear what he has to say?" Green eyes flashed innocently and pleading with him.

Gaston

He had to hold back the laughter that urged to crack through his smile, Hook's reaction to him priceless. He didn't flinch or waiver with the gun in his face, actually, it only fed is ego. Ember pranced around like the loon she truly was, and as crazy as the wench was, she did have her usefulness.

"Hook, always a pleasure. And lucky for us, you wont have to jump into any croc infested waters. I'm only your humble messenger, it'll actually be the sweet Maleficent you'll be working with." The adjective he chose to describe his meal ticket was of course, dripping with sarcasm. He had to pause a moment to let the fact sink in, the fact that Maleficent was truly alive. He slowly began to pace the room.

"Now that she is back to her lovely self," He turned to Hook with a wink and a lowered voice. "Actually, quite improved, between us." Of course, he was referring to her new appearance. Even her dragon form was more impressive than the ghostly gaunt figure of a woman she once was.

"Anyway, she wishes to exact her revenge on the Feather Brooke Kingdom, more importantly Aurora and Phillip. This is where you come in, my dear." He pointed to the nutty once upon a time queen who eyed him up and down. "She needs your manipulating expertise. There's a protection spell on the land, permitting her from entering. Either one of them needs to usher the words of an invite for Maleficent."

The fiery red head furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to speak, but Gaston was one step a head of her. "Maleficent wants them both to suffer, but Aurora may fall at your hands, as long as she falls, slowly. Prince Phillip on the other hand, he's all Malifecent's." He rested his back on the wall. "So what say you?"