Finding Alex | TLOS

Ch.13

Bree wandered around the forest for a few hours until she found Morina sitting by a cave by the lake. 

It was dark outside, and the stars were out and shining brightly. The moon reflected off the water, giving it such a magical glow. 

Bree walked towards her friend and sat beside her on the rock.

They were silent for a moment, until Morina turned. "Have you ever wondered if all the stars in the sky were another world? Like if The Land of Stories, was one of those stars up there?" her face was red, and that's when Bree noticed she had been crying. 

"Hey," she said softly. "Are you okay?" 

Morina sighed, and wiped the freshly fallen tears from her face. "Yeah," she said. "I was just thinking, that maybe, in another world, I wouldn't have been the evil monster everyone thought of me as."

Bree felt as if her heart had broken into pieces for the young girl sitting beside her. "Oh Morina," she started. "No one thinks you're a monster." She felt doubt in her own words as she said it. Bree knew Morina wasn't a monster, but before all this, she did  think she was a monster who planned to take over The Otherworld.

Morina started to grind her teeth together. "You're lying, Bree. You're all lying to me," she kicked the grass in anger. 

It was silent once again, except for the sounds of the birds and the crickets by the water. 

"I am," Bree said bluntly. "But I'm not lying when I tell you that no one will think that when I tell you what happened with Alex." 

Morina sighed. "Just stop, Bree. I don't know what to think anymore. Please, just let me be," Morina stared out onto the water, lost in her thoughts.

Bree sighed, and slowly started walking away from the creek. Bree made her way back to the village.

In the morning, Arthur and Merlin were already up and eating breakfast when Morina and Bree descended the stairs. Arthur was dressed in suited armor, and Merlin was in his usual dark blue robe.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Asked Bree as she sat down on one of the breakfast stools.

Arthur finished chewing his pancakes. "We're going to send soldiers out to find Alex," Arthur said. "It's the fastest way." he explained. 

Bree was hesitant. "But, won't that scare her away?"

"She's not a wild animal, Bree," Merlin offered, trying to lighten the mood. "But, I get where you're coming from. Arthur, might it be better if we go search for her?"

"No," Arthur snapped. "Alex will definitely run away from me. But from soldiers? How will she know it's from me?" 

Bree had to side with that response. "How will we get the soldiers?"

"Well, we report it to the sheriff's office. And, I'm the prince." Arthur said nonchalantly.

Morina was silent for the whole breakfast period. When Bree and Morina went back to their room to get everything, she called for Bree to wait. 

"Should we tell them about The Lady of the Lake and how we need to get revenge on her?" Morina asked.

"No," Bree said. "Not yet, at least," 

Morina sighed. "Okay, fine, Bree," she said. "I'll tell you. For years and years, The Lady of the Lake has been trying to make a love potion for Arthur. All she wants is power, and by making the prince of Camelot fall in love with her, she'll be able to return to her human form and rule over Camelot. After she has taken over the throne, she will drown Arthur. I believe she's also trying to make someone jealous by doing so, I'm not sure who though," Morina explained.

"And why does that tie all together with you?" Bree asked, her eyebrows raised.

"To make the potion, you must connect the five biggest stars in the sky." Morina said. "All what are the stars in the sky exactly? 

"The Otherworld, the Fairy Tale world, Neverland, Oz, and Camelot." Bree felt sick to her stomach as Morina continued explaining. 

"For the Otherworld, she drowned herself and made her one with the water. The Lady of the Lake was born in the Otherworld. For the Fairy Tale world, she kidnapped the fifth Charming child. You might ask, who? In the Charming Dynasty, there was a fifth. And it was the one and only princess.

"But thank goodness, she hasn't drowned her just yet. Apparently the princess was the strongest swimmer ever."

"I want to be the good girl, for once. And I'm not going to let The Charming Princes die. I'm going to finally be a hero, in my own kind of way," Morina concluded, feeling proud that she said it out loud. 

"What's the princesses name?" Bree asked, shocked that she hadn't known this information.

Morina had to think about it for a while. "I believe her name is Princess Claire," 

"How old is she?" Bree asked. The questions just kept forming in her head. Where was she right now? Did she ever try to escape back to the Fairy Tale world?

Morina frowned. "I think she's just turned 12. She was much younger than her older brothers."

Bree felt as if her heart had broken in half. A girl, kidnapped and taken when she was just a baby. Now 12 years old, she was still prisoner. 

"Oh my," Bree said softly.

Morina continued, "By conquering Neverland, she kidnapped Tinker Bell's assistant, Yukon Grace. She's not dead either, actually..." Morina sighed. "For Oz, she captured one of the baby flying monkeys, and for Camelot she intends to capture Arthur, the heir of the crown, and drown him. But she hasn't gotten around to doing it just yet. People say she's waiting for Arthur to come to her."

Bree took deep breaths. "But, why? I don't get it. Why go through all this just to have a throne?"

"That," Morina said, "Is the question everyone has been asking."