Now alone, as I rode on the stolen mare across the Harrah Desert, exhaustion began to nag at me. The blistering heat didn't help either, I thought as I took a long swig of water from a canteen I had also stolen from a traveler. All to see Ella's lover, all for a promise.

I had parted ways with Hades and my maids at the border city of Winter, Summer, and Fall. None had been happy to part ways- putting up a fight. But, I begged Hades to remember that he had a kingdom to oversee, and my maids could not survive blistering heat, and with great reluctance, they went on their own way. 

Now, in the middle of the Summer Realm, stuck in the seemingly never ending desert that just happened to be the biggest in world, I was not happy. 

When an oasis finally came in view (and it turned out it wasn't a mirage, thank the stars) I collapsed in under the shade of the palm tree, and allowed the mare to rest. Draining the canteen, I refilled all the empty ones and without shedding any clothing, I dove into the cool water. 

A content sigh escape my lips as the refreshing water washed out the sand that clung onto me, and my sweaty skin meeting the cold sent shivers of pleasure down my spine. 

I wanted to bob in the water forever but forced myself to swim to the edge of the oasis and climb out, retrieving the map that had also been stolen. 

I had covered more than half the distance of the desert and was less than a day away from the North Sea. The shade of the palm trees was comforting as a gentle breeze swept the oasis, making a surge of cold rush through me. I grabbed a can of soup I had swiped off some food vendor in the border city of Subosa, where I had parted ways with Hades, Lacey and Paige, and began drinking out of the can. 

The tomato soup was surprisingly great, and despite my urgency to reach the port city of Omia by tomorrow, my heavy eyes slid shut and I was pulled into a whirlwind of dreams. 

~ 

"Evelyn?" Amber's sharp voice cut through the mists like a knife. 

"Amber." 

Amber's form appeared- her long dark hair pushed up into a bun, eyes wide with urgency, and lips slightly parted, "Eve. Oh Stars, I was so worried that Rumpelstiltskin killed you or-"

"I ran away. He's after me." I interrupted, my lips unsmiling, "What are you doing here? You'd only look for me if you need something from me."

Amber's eyes flashed with hurt for a second, "Eve...I love you-" 

"But you'd always put yourself first, right? Just like that night we ran from the Fall-"

"Fine, you're right. I do need something. But please believe me when I say I do love you, and I was worried sick." Amber's eyes plead with me, so lonely and lost. 

I gestured for her to continue and she said, "We need to meet up and talk. Regarding Ella. Where are you right now?"

It was now or never. I couldn't let my sister's rage take out another innocent. I couldn't. 

"Amber, you should know something. Please don't take your anger out on Ella... It was me. I let her go to the ball." 

Amber was never the type to play with a poker face around me, and despite the devastation and hurt evident on her face, she asked calmly, "Why?" 

I closed my eyes, "I thought... I thought she could use a second chance. She's really not so bad after all-"

"How can you say this? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you never listened! All you want is revenge, revenge, revenge. Amber, please don't-"

"No." Amber's cold voice interrupts me. 

I tried again, "You're right. We do need to talk. Where are-"

Amber shook her head, her eyes shining with tears, "No- we are done. I don't want to see you ever again, do you hear me?"

I couldn't stop the onslaught of tears, and I cried, "I'm sorry, Amber, I'm so so sorry." 

And for a second, she seemed to hesitate, but a split second later, she was gone and I was thrust into a current of memories. 

~

Gaston stroked my cheek gently, a lover's carcass, as we stood in the rain, our bodies wet. "Look," He breathed into my ear, pointing at the tentative rainbow peaking out in the distance. 

"It's beautiful," I whispered, awestruck. 

"Like you, my love," Gaston murmured, tugging my hair loose from it's loose ponytail. Now, with my hair free and loose, I smiled to myself, and felt my spirit fly higher than the clouds. 

"Gaston...do you want to have children one day?" I asked, as the rain kept pouring buckets. 

He stiffened, "I... I would like to have children. A lot of them. With you," He murmured hoarsely. I smiled gently and traced a finger down his jawline, "S'kay if you don't. Assuming... assuming you'd be with me?" A little hope lingered in the words, and he heard it. 

My lover tucked a bit of hair behind my ear, "I would give anything in the world for us to be married. Anything." And I could hear the truth ringing louder than all the bells there were in the universe. A part inside of me knew there was a "but", but I just pushed the voice away and focused on Now.

I let out a loose and carefree laugh, and kissed him, so high on happiness I felt as if I could overdose. His wide smile against my lips sent my spirits soaring as he returned the kiss, and in that moment, I wondered if I could ever get tired of kissing Gaston. 

As lightning cackled somewhere in the city, I murmured, "We should probably get inside," against his lips. He swung me into his arms as we pulled apart for air, "I'll never get tired of us." 

"Neither will I," I responded, and when he gently set me-

~

The dead plants gave my gently pale skin on my legs cuts, and I hoped none of them were infected. Amberly was yards ahead, and I struggled to keep up with her, my mother running just as hard. 

Wisps of black smoke left my fingertips as I used magic to cover the tracks we left behind. "Please Amberly, let us rest," I begged, breaths coming out in ragged gasps. 

"Save your breath for running, Aveline," She snapped. I shifted into a black raven, my exhausted wings struggling to keep my from falling out of the sky. And that was when I heard it. Soldiers. 

I let off a small caw, which sent Amberly and mom into a halt, gasping for oxygen. "Soldiers?" Mom gasped. I nodded, shifting back- that nearly sent my knees buckling, but I staggered and threw a black cape of magic over us, rendering us invisible and manipulating our heavy breathing to cease to exist in their ears. 

It was then I collapsed on the ground littered with dead leaves and debris, panting for life. Mom followed in a similar fashion but Amberly just tried again and again to catch her breath, while her expression was of one of contemplation and calculation. 

At last, she said, "We can flee to the Summer Realm. Their ties to Fall are strained at best, and it is just a three day journey from here."

~

"Look what we found here?" A loud, obnoxious chuckle rousted me from my sleep. 

I looked up to see three pirates standing over me. Fear seized my heart but I collected my wits enough to say, "What are a bunch of stinky barrels doing out here in the desert?" 

The short, balding pirate snickered, "None of your business, girlie. Now what are you doing out here?" 

I peered up at them, "By any chance, is your captain James Hook?" 

The three exchanged weary glances, "Maybe," I could hear the pride in their voice, so a yes, then? 

"Great! I guess you're returning to him, right?" I hosteled myself up and brushed the annoying sand off my pants. 

"Maybe." The tattooed and tall one responded with a careless shrug.

"So, I guess we'll be going the same way. Nice to meet you all, I'm Evelyn!" I held out a hand. They started like it was a foreign object. 

Retreating my hand, but undeterred, I responded, "Well, aren't we going to make haste?"