The Princess and The Hatter

Into the Woods

Happy (early) birthday @Cowbarn15

As soon as they jumped in to the portal, everything went black. The only thing Ana could hear was the swoosh of air as she fell in to nothingness. She reached out to each side and began to panic when she felt nothing. But before she could try to get her bearings she slammed in to the ground. She lay still and waited for the trees above her to stop spinning. Around her she could groans and annoyed utterances.

As she sat up she could see Henry across the clearing from her, the only one who didn't look like he'd just been hit with a ton of bricks. "That was awesome!" He exclaimed. "Can we do it again?"

"Maybe later," Jefferson replied from beside her as he heaved himself to his feet.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Neal cut in. He nodded towards what the rest of them had failed to notice. Between them sat the hat, crumpled and with smoke billowing out of it. "Looks like this wasn't a round trip."

Ana looked towards Jefferson, expecting a reaction out of him, but instead he replied calmly, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, all that matters is it got us here." He walked over and snatched the smoldering hat. Ana looked around at exactly where here was. They were in the middle of dreary forest. The sky overhead was overcast and the air was eerily still. Something about it sent a chill down Ana's spine.

"Now what?" Emma asked. "Do we have some sort of plan? Or are we just going to wander around and hope we find something?"

Jefferson turned to Ana to respond. She explained how she had enchanted the rabbit before. "I figured I would be able to do it again."

There was a prolonged pause as everyone thought it over. Finally Neal spoke up. "It sounds fine, but there's one problem. I don't feel comfortable wandering around a strange place unarmed. Who knows what could be out there."

"I've got my gun," Emma offered.

"And Ana has magic," Mary Margret chimed in. Then after a second thought she added, "So does Emma."

The girl mentioned turned red and looked at her feet. "My powers aren't very refined. I wouldn't be very helpful."

"Ok, but what happens when you run out of ammo? And magic is unpredictable. We can't rely on it."

"I agree," Jefferson said. Ana couldn't suppress a look of surprise. "We need to be protected. I know a place where we should be able to find weapons. It wouldn't be hard to locate, I can go and see what I can gather."

"I'll go with you," Ana immediately volunteered.

"No. You've done plenty today already. You should stay and rest." The prickly look she gave him caused him to add. "Maybe you and Emma can work on your magic skills. While we shouldn't depend on it, it's still useful."

"Fine," she relented. "But you're not going alone. You can take Mary Margret."

Mary Margret was surprised at the suggestion, but if she was opposed to the idea she didn't say so.

"Alright," he agreed. To Emma he added, "We'll need your gun too."

She passed it over to Mary Margret, who gripped it tightly.

"We'll be back before sundown," Jefferson promised. Very aware of their lack of privacy, Ana grabbed his hand and squeezed it in a simple goodbye. Before he turned to leave Jefferson met the eyes of Neal, and the two of them shared a nod, as if reaching an agreement. Ana didn't understand the exchange, but knew the simple gesture spoke volumes between them. And with that Jefferson, with Mary Margret following behind, started off into the woods.