Cheers to Forever, Love.

Fate is Bull

Chapter Five.

In the year and a half since Freya's return to 'the real world', she had decided to buy a rather large yacht and travel the world.
The yacht, aptly named 'the Stowaway', was rather quickly filled with trinkets and mementos that reminded her of her time in Neverland, but also grimoires and spell books to try and find a way back to the world she missed so dearly.
But her journey had to come to an end at some point and when she finally decided it was time to re-join the Human race on land, she bought the most outlandish car she could find – a bright yellow 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle Type 1 - and drove to all her old stomping grounds – places writhing with Witch activity.
Her first stop was New Orleans, where she spent time with very old friends, including her Vampire sire. After that was Salem, Santa Cruz, Yazoo City and a few locations in Virginia.
But she simply couldn't find any magic powerful enough to create a doorway through time and space.

Choosing to settle down for a while, Freya landed herself in Portland, Oregon. Somewhere she felt was close to her time with Emma, without being exactly the same.
She bought herself a luxury apartment with stunning views of Mount Hood from the rear and the perfect city skyline from the front.
She awoke one morning and sat on her balcony with a glass of blood, courtesy of the local blood bank.
From her seat, she looked down to see her Bug, sat patiently in an alley round the side of the apartment building.
On her researching days, she enjoyed people watching from her balcony, but today would be different.
She watched as a young blonde approached her car.
"Oh Hell no." She grumbled, using her Vampire speed to run to out of her apartment to the elevator.
On the ground floor, she switched to Human speed to the alley where she found the blonde in her driver's seat.
She looked around briefly to check to see if anyone was looking before she Vamp sped towards the driver's door, throwing it open.
"You picked the wrong car to steal, lass. Get out. Now." Freya growled.
The blonde looked up, instantly falling into a state of shock.
"Freya?!" She shrieked.
Freya frowned, but quickly recognised the girl.
"Emma?"
"Freya?" A male voice sounded from the back seat.
behind Emma, Neal appeared.
"Neal?!" If the Heretic were ever faint of heart, she probably would've passed out by then.
"Who the Hell are you?!" Emma looked back at the man.
"The man who was originally going to steal this damn car." He looked awfully confused. "Wait, Emma as in foster daughter Emma?"
"Yeah... Apparently this world is whole lot smaller than I thought. Both of you come with me. Now."

Up in the apartment, Freya placed down a cup of coffee each on the breakfast bar.
"Still living the high life, I see." Emma mumbled, wrapping her fingers around the cup.
"No small talk. I'm done with that crap. How the Hell did both of you manage to find my car out of every car in the country?" Freya demanded.
"It must be fate." Neal shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Fate is bull. We make our own destiny. It was just one Hell of a coincidence." Emma scoffed.
"Well whatever it was, I'm glad it happened." Freya gave the pair a small smile.
"Yeah, me too. You can finally tell me why you abandoned me." The blonde practically glared.
Freya quickly glanced at Neal, who looked a mixture of sympathetic and awkward.
"Emma... Please believe me when I tell you I didn't abandon you. It's... It's a long a complicated story. I don't even know where to begin." Freya sighed.
"The beginning is usually a good start." Emma replied, coldly.
"She was kidnapped by pirates." Neal butted in.
Freya and Emma simultaneously shot a look to Neal.
"Yeah, okay. And I was fostered by Tinkerbell." Emma's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"No, he's right. In a sense... The night you thought I left, I went for a walk along the beach and the next thing I know, I'm waking up on a boat nowhere near any land. I couldn't use a phone otherwise I would've called you." Freya confirmed. Emma looked down at the cup in her hands, attempting to process the information. "I would never abandon you. Truth is, I was planning on adopting you. But when I finally managed to get back, you'd been taken in by another family – a really nice looking one. Look, I kept tabs on you and everything."
Freya jogged to her study, locating Emma's foster agency file instantly.
She walked back through to the kitchen and passed it to the teenager.
"Okay..." Emma mumbled, studying the file before looking to Neal. "Does he know what you are?"
"He knows everything. The first time we met was the night I found my way back to Maine. We bonded." Freya replied, earning a small smile from Neal.
"Including your..." Emma trailed off, opened her mouth and motioned so her index fingers looked like fangs.
"Everything." The Heretic nodded. The room faded into a silence. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, awkward or even content, it just was.
"So what happens now?" Neal broke the quiet.
Freya sighed, eyeing her car keys on the hook next to the front door.
She walked over and grabbed them, turned and threw them to Emma, who caught them in one hand.
"Emma Swan, Neal Cassidy. Neal Cassidy, Emma Swan." She sarcastically introduced. "You can take my car. Go wherever you wish on two conditions."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "What are they?"
"You keep in contact with me and you two look out for each other. Neal, I trust you to be Emma's guardian angel. So don't screw this up. This is your chance at freedom, kid. Remember that." Freya warned.
"And what will you do?" The blonde asked.
"I'll tell you what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to force myself back into your life. So I'll be staying here in Portland, living my life until I get bored and start anew." The Heretic walked over to Emma, cupping her face. "You've turned into a stunning young woman, Emma. Don't wreck your life by getting caught stealing useless crap you don't really need."
"I won't. I promise." She nodded, a tear pricking in the corner of her left eye.
"Now go. Before I change my mind and hold you prisoner for the rest of your life." Freya chuckled, giving Emma's forearm a soft, jokey tap.
Emma rose from her seat and wrapped her arms round Freya's neck in a strong, tight hug.
"I've missed you so much, Freya. I'll see you soon." She whispered.
Freya smiled, snaking her arms around the girl's middle.
"You have no idea how badly I've wanted this back." She breathed, allowing a few tears to escape.
The pair separated, but held each other at the elbows to take one last good, long look.
"Go have fun, kid."

Freya sat on her balcony later that evening; a glass of Scotch in hand as she gazed over the heavenly Portland skyline, finally feeling content with herself.
There was only one thing left to do, and that was to find a way back to the Enchanted Forest.