The sessions that Teresa Holmes had scheduled with Archibald Hopper over the next couple days went well. She talked, pouring her out to the former cricket about everything that was bothering her. They spoke about Inman and the moments before she had died; how she reunited with Alice in the Underworld and the events that transpired, telling him about the pain she felt when her body was consumed by the River of Lost Souls; how much she missed her mother, Robin Hood, and her little brother, Roland; how she wanted the Evil Queen to just go away and never return, and to take Hyde with her; the desire she feels to find and meet father, Sherlock Holmes. And even how she found it difficult to go on with life knowing that so many other people in Storybrooke had lost people that remained dead, and yet she could come back all because of a damned prophecy and her future with Henry Mills.

Today, she didn't have an appointment scheduled with Archie, so Henry had decided to take her mind off things by bringing her along with him to find the stories of everyone from the Land of Untold Stories. He had gotten a large stack of books from the library in the author's mansion, which she helped collect from the desk in his bedroom and together they carried them down the sidewalk toward Granny's, where they intended to read while enjoying steaming cups of cocoa.

By the time they reached Granny's Diner, a light drizzle of rain had fallen. Henry, not wanting the stack of storybooks that rested in his arms to get wet, quickened his pace to get inside. Teresa went to follow him but she paused midway up the path, a figure moving down the sidewalk capturing her attention from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see who it was and found that it was a girl who couldn't be any older than herself.

The girl wore brown trousers, and a darker toned brown vest that matched in colour with her shin-high leather boots laced all the way to the top, paired with a white blouse underneath and a navy blue trench coat, her long, dark hair pouring around her pale face in gentle waves. She was walking in circles down the sidewalk, a strange-looking weapon made up of wood clutched in her hand as she stared at the world around her with confusion. The archer frowned, knowing that this girl couldn't be from this realm and must be from the Land of Untold Stories. She began making her way over to the girl.

When Teresa reached her, she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and said, "Hey, are you okay?"

And what happened next occurred in the blink of an eye.

One moment, Teresa was placing a hand on the girl's shoulder to gain her attention while asking if she was okay, and the next moment Teresa was on her back, a painful grunt falling from her lips. The girl had turned around, knocked the storybooks from her arms, swept Teresa's foot from beneath her, and straddled the archer with her wooden weapon held threateningly against Teresa's neck.

"Make any move and this stake will puncture your jugular."

"Alright, alright." Teresa held her hands up in surrender. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I came over here to help you. You're from the Land of Untold Stories, right?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "What's yours?"

"Teresa Holmes," she was quick to introduce herself. When the girl still wouldn't remove the stake from her neck, Teresa sighed. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. I'm actually trying to help everyone who came here─"

"Where is 'here'?"

"Storybrooke, Maine. It's a realm outside of our world, as I'm sure you are well aware by now. You traveled here on the dirigible, right?"

The girl applied pressure to the stake, making Teresa grimace. "How did you know that? Have you been spying on me, is that it? O are you some kind of witch?"

Teresa raised an eyebrow when she noticed how the girl spat out the 'witch' as though the word was poison on her tongue. She decided in that moment to keep her powers a secret from this girl.

"You are a witch, aren't you?" The girl applied more pressure against her neck and Teresa felt a warm trickle of blood flow down her neck.

"I'm not a witch," Teresa spoke through clenched teeth, grimacing under the pressure of the stake pressed against neck. "I saw the dirigible crash in the woods. Everyone did. It didn't exactly make a quiet entrance nor landing. Ever since it landed, me and my friends have been trying to find everyone that landed here so we can help them return home. We can help you too, if you'll allow us."

The girl stared down at Teresa for several moments, before something caught her eye. There, on the ground, was a book. Made up of black leather, the letters written in a glistening silver made her eyes widen. The Legends of Nightmoor. Her grip on the stake loosened and she nodded toward the book. "Where did you get that?"

"Get what?" Teresa asked, voice laced with confusion. She followed the girl's gaze and saw that she was staring at a storybook. "The book?"

"Yes, the book."

"It's from the author's mansion," Teresa explained. "I know that makes little sense to you, but let me explain. The author was a man that wrote all of our stories. I'm in them. So many of us are. I'm sure you are, too. We use the books to help people get back to where they come from." She stared up at the girl's face, waiting for her reaction. Much to her surprise, the dark-haired girl removed the stake from her neck and climbed to her feet.

"I hope you can forgive me for attacking you, I don't take too kindly to strangers," she said while extending a hand for Teresa to take.

Teresa rubbed at her neck as the girl helped her to her feet. "Don't worry about it."

"My name is Josie," she introduced, sheathing the wooden weapon she had called a stake into the holster on her hip. "Josie Van Helsing."

Teresa offered her a small smile as she bent down to pick up her fallen storybooks. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well," Josie replied. She bent down to help Teresa collect her belongings, taking the Legends of Nightmoor book into her arms and brushing her fingertips over the cover.

Teresa watched her for a moment before saying, "Is that where you are from? Nightmoor?"

"Yes," Josie replied. There was a longing in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by the archer. "It is my home."

"Teresa!"

The voice caused both of the teenage girls to look down the sidewalk, where they found Henry Mills walking towards them with a worried expression on his face that quickly morphed into relief when he saw his girlfriend standing alive and well.

"Where did you go?" he asked when he reached their side.

"Took you long enough to realize that I was gone," Teresa said, causing him to frown. "I saw Josie here walking down the sidewalk and, well─"

"I attacked her," Josie finished for her. "But we have made amends now."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Wait ─ what?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Never-mind that. She's a newbie, Henry. And you've been so obsessed with wanting to help the new residents lately, so I sort of just... did it for you. Josie told me she comes from Nightmoor, which is the title of one of your books."

His eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yes," Josie nodded. She handed him the book, and he peered down at the title. "Teresa explained to me you use these books to help people go home. Can you do that for me? Can you help me go home?"

Henry hooked the book beneath his arm. "I'm sure we can." He motioned for them to follow as he said, "Come on, Josie, you can get some cocoa with us while we try to find your story."

"What is cocoa?" Josie asked, voice laced with confusion.

"It's a very sweet and chocolaty beverage. You'll like it, trust me," said Teresa.

Josie thought about it for a moment before she nodded her head. "Well, alright. I suppose a cup of this... cocoa?" she questioned as they walked, receiving a nod from both of them in response. "Would be nice to have. I have had little food or water since I landed here."

Teresa frowned. "What have you been eating and drinking all this time?"

"Hyde had the dirigible stocked with supplies for the trip," Josie explained. "A lot of us took some supplies for ourselves before we parted ways in the woods. I've been held up in a cave not far from your... peculiar village, but I needed to replenish my supplies, so I left. Then I met you, Teresa."

"Don't worry, we can get you some food and drink," Teresa assured. "Granny, the owner of this establishment, has been very generous with all the people from the Land of Untold Stories, offering them free shelter, food and even a change of clothes."

"That's very kind of her."

"Yeah, she's the greatest," Teresa smiled.

When they came upon Granny's Diner, Henry opened up the door, allowing both girls to walk inside. He followed them and they all made their way toward the booth Henry appeared to have already claimed for them, given the mountain of storybooks settled on the table along with the two steaming cups of cocoa awaiting them. As soon as they sat down, Granny appeared at their table with a notepad and pen in her hands.

"Who's the girl?"

"Granny, this is Josie. Josie, this is Granny," Teresa introduced them both to each other. "Can we get another cup of cocoa and the number one meal for Josie, please?"

"Of course," Granny nodded as she jotted down the order. "Let me know if I can get you three anything else." She leaned her hand on her hip, staring down at the dark-haired girl with a warm and welcoming smile. "If you need to arrange some shelter, you come find me, Josie. I have a few spare rooms left in the Inn that I can have freshened up in no time."

"Thank you," Josie replied, unable to believe the unwavering kindness she was receiving from complete strangers.

Granny flashed them one more smile before leaving.

Henry turned to face Josie, a thousand questions jumbling in his brain and waiting to fall from his tongue. "So, Josie, what is your full name?" he asked, taking out his pen so he could get her name written on the list of residents.

"Josie Van Helsing."

His eyes widened. "Your name is Van Helsing?" Henry repeated, sounding just as shocked as he looked.

Josie gave him a strange look. "Yes..."

"Henry, stop staring at her like that, you're going to freak her out."

"Sorry," Henry apologized. "It's just... do you know who the Van Helsing's are, Teresa?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're about to tell me."

"Her father, Abraham Van Helsing, is the greatest vampire hunter in both cinematic and novel history."

Josie raised an eyebrow.

Teresa sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Here we go again. How many times do we have to go over this? Vampires do not exist."

"Actually, they do," Josie stated, causing Henry to smirk victoriously toward his girlfriend.

"If they exist, then how come I never come across one? We come from the same realm and I always remained in the shadows," Teresa argued.

"It's complicated," Josie replied. "Vampires are unable to cross over the border of Nightmoor. It's a massive amount of land, with a majority of our own kingdoms and villages within the borders, shrouded by eternal darkness and ever grim. You would know if you ever visited it, believe me. And to answer your question, Teresa, I suppose it is possible that you just never ventured far enough into the shadows to come upon my homeland."

Teresa remained quiet, accepting her defeat with a cross of her arms as she leaned back in her seat.

Henry, however, smiled as he asked Josie questions about vampires, starting with, "Does Dracula exist?"

Josie chuckled. She had met no one so eager to learn about vampires and Nightmoor before. "Yes, he does. He is the Eternal Maker. Every vampire in creation is his descendant. I have not been home in quite a while, but when I was last there, the Count was still thriving we remained unable to breach his castle. Every time we get close enough, we are swarmed by more of his followers."

"Are all vampires evil?" Henry asked, thinking about all the vampire movies and novels that he has watched and read and how some of them follow the life of a vampire who never feasts on human blood and rather is good, a protector to all human life.

"I have only ever met one vampire that did not thirst for blood as much as Dracula himself," Josie replied, bringing Henry to edge of his seat. "My best friend, Nicholai Dracula."

"Nicholai Dracula? I've never heard of him."

"He is Dracula's son."

Henry's eyebrows shot up. "Son?"

"That's right."

"Why would he condemn his own son to such a life?"

Josie glanced toward Teresa. "He did not want to lose Nicholai to time, to watch him grow old and die while he lived forever, so he made his son immortal. When I met Nicholai, things changed between father and son. He was rebelling against his father by helping us rid all the vampires from Nightmoor. I just hope that he is still alive and keeping my family safe for me."

Henry and Teresa exchanged a look, both of them frowning.

"How did you get separated from them?" Teresa asked, hoping to not strike a nerve, but Josie didn't seem to mind the question.

"We were fending off a witch from our village," Josie replied. "Everyone referred to her as the Bell Witch, though her name was Kate. My father had killed her younger sister, Kora. It devastated Kate, of course, as it would anyone. Her grief brought the strongest storms Nightmoor had seen in quiet a while. When we came to face her next, to rid Kate from our land, we discovered that her dark magic had grown and was no match for us. It was like she had harnessed her sister's magic, making her twice as dangerous. To teach my father a lesson for killing her sister, she sent me away. Kate threw me through a portal and I found myself in the Land of Untold Stories with no return."

"That's awful."

"So, you don't even know if..."

"My family is still alive?" Josie finished for Henry. The vampire hunter frowned and shook her head. "I can only hope that my father made it out of there alive and that Nicholai has been helping keep everyone safe alongside my father."

Teresa frowned. "I'm sorry."

"How long were you there? In the Land of Untold Stories?"

"Two years."

Before anyone could say anything else, Granny cut the conversation short as the she arrived with Josie's meal and cocoa, setting both in front of the dark-haired girl, who looked up from the table to greet her with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Granny."

"It's my pleasure. Enjoy," Granny replied before leaving.

Josie reached for the steaming beverage first, nursing the warm mug into her hands. She brought it to her nose and sniffed, smelling chocolate with hints of cinnamon. The girl parted her lips, hesitating, unsure if she would like it or not despite the wonder aroma wafting from the cup.

"Go on," Teresa urged.

After a moment, Josie brought the cup to her lips, and she took a sip. The flavors exploded off her tastebuds in wonder, and she smiled while wiping the whipped cream from her upper lip with the back of her hand.

"Well?" Henry asked.

"It's delicious."

Teresa smiled. "Told you you'd like it."

　
✧ ✦ ✧
　

Half way through reading the Legends of Nightmoor, Henry and Teresa learned some intriguing things about the rather grim world in which the obsidian-haired girl lived. According to Josie and the author's entries in the book, the realm was full of vampires, demons, malevolent spirits, dark magic ─ any creature that goes bump in the night and gives you the worst of nightmares. Neither one of them could believe that such a place existed, or that Josie had come from there. But one thing made sense to Teresa; if she was from such place, she would have attacked her as well.

Not too long after exploring the storybook and listening to Josie's many stories about her realm and all the adventures she had experienced with her father and best friend, Nicholai Dracula, David had arrived at Granny's with intentions to purchase lunch for himself and Snow White, but the man had first stopped at their booth with intriguing knowledge that piqued Josie Van Helsing's interest most of all.

According to the Deputy of Storybrooke, Maine, the name Van Helsing was already in their system down at the station, which seemed to confuse Henry, for the boy had seen the list and had never come across the Van Helsing name before. If he had, he would had rubbed it in Teresa's face to prove to her that vampires existed much earlier.

"But... I've read it so many times," Henry frowned.

"Can you show us the list?" Teresa asked. "We're trying to help Josie find her way back to Nightmoor."

"Well, I'm not so sure she'll be able to go home, or if she did, there would be anything to go back to," David replied.

Josie frowned, his response making her stomach churn with unease. "What do you mean?"

"If your family is on the list of residents, that means they're already here in Storybrooke, that the first curse had brought them and possibly everyone from Nightmoor to this realm."

"Hold on," Teresa's eyes grew in size. "Are you telling me that there are actual vampires and demons and... whatever else that Nightmoor has are running around in Storybrooke right now?"

"It's possible."

"Great," she muttered under her breath. As if I don't already have things to worry about, now I have to worry about being attacked by a vampire or a demon or a─

"No, I don't think so," Henry shook his head. "If people from Nightmoor were here, I would know about it. I mean... I don't even recognize any of the names in this book."

"You also didn't remember Van Helsing was on the residential list."

Henry shot his girlfriend a look.

"I'm confused," Josie piped up. "Does my home remain intact or not?"

"I'm not sure," David replied. "We must ask your family, Josie, assuming that they are the Van Helsings' mentioned in the residential list." He motioned with his head toward the door. "Come on, the station is just around the corner. We'll have a look at the list, find out where your family is staying, and we'll pay them a visit."

They wasted no time.

They left Granny's and ventured down the sidewalk toward the police station in silence.

When they arrived, they found the place empty, the cell which had been housing Lady Tremaine empty, which meant that Emma and Killian had taken the prisoner outdoors for community service. They entered David's office, and the Deputy plopped down at his desk, searching through his computer documents for the residential list. After finding it, he clicked on the icon and they waited for the program to open.

"What is this contraption?" Josie asked, staring at the computer in awe.

Teresa chuckled, the memory of her own confusion coming to mind. "It's too difficult to explain, but it's called a computer."

"What a dascinating piece of hardware..."

"Here we go," David said after scrolling through the list. He highlighted the Van Helsing name and discovered that there were three of them living in Storybrooke; Abraham, Luella and Victoria, the latter attending Henry's school though at elementary level.

Josie's eyes glistened with tears upon reading their names. A smile broke out on her face. "That is them. My father, mother and sister. They're here... in Storybrooke."

"It says they live three blocks away from the school, which isn't too far from here. We can go on foot if you'd like, or I can drive us there," said David.

"We should walk," Teresa suggested. "A car might be a little too much for Josie right now."

"Good point," David agreed, closing the program on his computer and rose from the chair, pushing it into his desk. "On foot it is." He turned to face Josie and smiled as he placed a hand on her arm. "Are you ready to see her family?"

"Ready?" Josie breathed. "I have waited two long years. Please, lead the way."

They left the station after that and David lead the way down the sidewalk toward the Van Helsing home. The walk was peaceful and silent. None of them knew what to say, but the silence didn't seem to bother any of them. It was a comfortable silence that eased Josie Van Helsing's restless nerves that were set aflame the closer they neared her family.

David leads them across the street, walking along a couple crosswalks and down sidewalk after sidewalk. They took a few right turns and one left before coming upon Elm Street, which was a rather fitting name if you thought about it, considering the residents which lived three houses in.

"This is the one," David said, coming to a stop before a two story Victorian-style home.

Josie approached the gate, stopping just in front of the large home.

The Van Helsing home was beautiful, though not at all what Josie was expecting. It was far too... light and was certainly an upgrade from the grim home painted in dark tones and fashioned with old furniture handed down through the generations of the Van Helsing family that she remembered so fondly. The house in front of her with the pale green paint, white shutters, porch swing and lively garden looked the exact opposite of Nightmoor and it made her wonder why her parents would choose such a place to live after a lifetime of shrouded in darkness.

David stepped forward, placing his hand on the hesitant girl's shoulder. "Are you ready, Josie?"

"I... yes."

They could tell she was nervous.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Teresa offered.

"No, thank you. I would like to do this on my own," Josie replied.

"Alright," David nodded. "We'll wait here."

Josie blew out a nervous breath before walking forward. She opened up the white picket gate and closed it behind her, fastening the lock before making her way up the porch steps. The girl turned to glance behind her at the three people who helped her before turning back around and knocking thrice.

David, Henry and Teresa watched as the door opened up and a man with dark hair stepped out on the porch. He said Josie's name and reached out to touch her as though he didn't believe that she was real before he took her in his arms. Footsteps could be heard and two more figures appeared in the doorway. It was a woman in a purple floral apron and a small girl with pigtails. Josie broke apart from the man and a group hug was formed between the family, the heartwarming moment full of tears and smile and laughs of joy before they led Josie inside. They smiled at the beautiful reunion, the three of them exchanging a look, before heading down the sidewalk and back to their own lives.

.･:✦ ────────────── ✦:･.

a/n: For those of you wondering,
Josie Van Helsing and Nightmoor
are a character/original realm
from pseudonym-lux's Henry Mills
fanfic, "Something Wicked This
Way Comes" which I highly
recommend if you haven't already
checked it out because Liz's writing
is AMAZING!!

Liz, I hope this was a splendid
surprise and that you enjoyed it!
Also, do you remember when I
won your little Insta story contest
a while back and my reward was
for Teresa to be featured in your
fanfic? Well, that's how long I've
kept this chapter a secret for. I
really wanted to tell you that I was
going to make Nightmoor canon
in my own fanfics, but I knew
that it would be such a good
surprise, so I fought hard to keep
my lips sealed. REALLY HARD.
You have no idea how hard this was
to keep from you and I'm honestly
so relieved that I don't have to keep
it from you anymore.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed
the chapter! Care to make any
predictions about what is to come?

Also, you guys are going to HATE
me for what I'm about to do...