The Modern Fairy Tale Town Book 2: The Price of Magic

Chapter 11: Into the Deep

"No..." Audrey whispered with even wider eyes.

"Yes..." Lonnie nodded gravely. "He fell straight into the ravine below them and soon, luckily an old friend helped my mother back up to safety... But of course, as you can tell, my father wasn't so lucky."

"Oh, my gosh..." Audrey whispered.

Lonnie nodded her head before she looked down, taking a deep breath as she tried very hard not to cry right now. "It was a very rough day... I then decided that I had no other choice... So I decided that I would marry Lord Qin's son to make peace and please The Golden Dragon of Unity... And as a way to hopefully and maybe forget about my father so I wouldn't be too sad all the time... I didn't want to lose him... Neither of us did..."

"You couldn't help that," Audrey frowned as she put her hand on Lonnie's shoulder. "I think that it's okay to feel sad sometimes... But the part of it is is that you don't have to be alone... Even if you really miss your father... Like how I miss my parents... There's still people to come together and help pull you back into a happy place," she then paused thoughtfully before sniffling and sighed. "...Like my aunts did for me... Until you and your cousin showed up anyway."

"Oh... Thank you, Audrey..." Lonnie said softly with a sad smile before she flinched and felt a lick against her cheek and then looked down from her pocket before she laughed a little as a certain reptilian tongue had touched her. "You too, Mushu."

"...Mushu's a good dragon." Audrey then said, sniffling as she smiled back at Lonnie.

"Yes, he is," Lonnie smiled back. "He was sent by my ancestors after all."

"Is that a fact?" Audrey then asked.

"Why, yes... Yes, it is..." Lonnie nodded.

"Hmm... Well, all right," Audrey replied. "I'll take your word for it."

Lonnie smirked a bit before hugging Audrey. Audrey looked surprised with wide eyes before she gave a soft smile and then gently patted Lonnie on the back, very much appreciating the help and comfort. Soon, Aurora was heard whimpering and struggling. Audrey and Lonnie then looked at each other and looked concerned as they went to go and comfort Aurora who appeared to be having a very terrible nightmare.

Meanwhile, Evie, Emma, and Mary Margaret were walking together back into the woods after a bit of a talk.

"So what exactly did Cora do to you, kid?" Emma asked. "What does she want from you?"

"I'm pretty sure she was just trying to get to me since she couldn't get to my mother and you know that my mother has issues, especially around you," Evie said before looking at Mary Margaret. "No offense of course."

"I understand, dear," Mary Margaret said softly before she hugged Evie suddenly. "We're just so glad that you're back and alive."

"And not just because Regina would totally kill us if you got hurt in a terrible way." Emma added with a slight murmur in her voice.

"Yeah... And not just because of that," Mary Margaret agreed. "You must be exhausted after that long misadventure, especially since we had to do a little beanstalk climbing without you."

"Beanstalk climbing, huh?" Evie asked. "You mean like Jack?"

"Let's just say it's a long story and it involves pirates and I don't mean like Jack Sparrow," Emma replied. "Let's just get you back to the campground and hopefully you can relax for a little while. You probably really need it after all that you've been through."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Evie nodded. "I feel pretty exhausted anyway."

"We thought that you would," Mary Margaret replied. "Let's get you to lie down for a little while. Li and Leah probably are right now too along with Aurora."