Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (EDITING)

IV. Nasty Habits

It was yet another warm night on Neverland, the air thick with moisture from the neighboring ocean while the trees acted as an insulator for the humidity. This made the journey to Neal's old hideout incredibly tiring for the group trudging through the jungle, sweat clinging to their exhausted figures as they pushed themselves to keep going. David struggled the most on this journey, the Dreamshade injury he had acquired just a day before already worsening his overall condition. He remained quiet about it though, and chose to only focus on the task at hand: saving Henry.

Walking alongside his wife, he noticed her gaze pointed at the ground, appearing forlorn as a single thought plagued her mind. David recognized the look, simply because he found himself wearing it often himself. Gently, he slid his hand down Snow's arm and into her palm, squeezing it tightly. "We'll find her again, Snow."

His words didn't deter her hopeless expression. She barely turned in his direction, her eyes locked on their adjoined hands. "How do you know that?" She muttered out.

"Because I have faith, and so should you." David said, walking closely beside the woman.

"I know. It's just..." She trailed off as she glanced up at the girl leading them all through the jungle, "meeting Grace and seeing how she is after having to grow up here... I can't help but think that our little girl grew up the same. And just like Emma... she's an orphan." Her words were disheartening to the prince, and begrudgingly, he found himself worrying about the same thing.

David only squeezed Snow's hand harder as he gazed down at her with comforting eyes. "She won't be forever. We will reunite this family, Snow." He said, the statement being enough to uplift his wife's spirits momentarily as she smiled at him. His confidence alone was almost enough for Snow to believe wholeheartedly that they would. Keeping his words in her mind, the two were able to carry on in their trek.

"How much farther is this place?" Emma asked shortly after, and though she was clearly driven by her will to rescue her son, it was also apparent that she was exhausted.

Hearing the desperation in her tone, Grace chuckled. "What, you getting sleepy?"

"I'm getting impatient." Regina cut in bitterly. Her mistrust for the girl was evident by her expression alone. "I need to find my son, not go frolicking through the jungle on a whim."

Grace bit her tongue to refrain from talking back, as it probably wouldn't do her any good here, though she sure was getting tired of the group's continuous complaints. "It's not much further." She said shortly, turning back to the path in front of her. She used her cutlass to sever any leaves or branches hanging in her way, taking out her aggression with every slice.

Not long after, Emma approached Hook from behind. Craning her neck forward, she called the pirate's name quietly, causing him to turn back before slowing his pace to be in step with the blonde. Now walking beside him, Emma asked the one question that's been burning in her mind their entire journey. "How much do you trust this girl?"

At those words, Hook sighed and looked down, as he was unsure himself. "Well, you saw just how much she trusts me." He deflected.

"I'm not asking her, I'm asking you."

The man clenched his jaw out of habit. As much as he wanted to say he trusted Grace, he knew that she didn't dare trust him now, so how could he? After all, she's already tried to kill him and would no doubt try again at some point, but even then, he still couldn't blame her. It was his fault that she was filled with rage, rage that was not only directed at him, but everyone around him. As a result of what happened, Grace was betrayed by the only person left that she trusted. It hurt him to think that it was all because of him - because of that deal with Pan. Even though she had yet to hear his side of the story, he knew that Grace would never truly listen. No, for her mind was already made up. All she saw in him now was a pirate, a thief, and - the worst of all - a liar. Taking this into account, Hook let out yet another sigh and gave a lackluster response. "I'm not sure how much there is to trust, I'm afraid. But, given the circumstances, she's the only lead we've got. We don't have many other options."