Cast (in order of appearance):
Aline Morrison: Dianna Agron
Celine Portman/Princess Aurora: Natalie Portman
Tyler Hale: Tyler Hoechlin
holly Dobrev: Nina Dobrev
Paul Salvatore/Prince Stefan: Paul Wesley
Maleficent: Angelina Jolie
James Ford: Josh Holloway
Colin Jones: Colin O'Donoghue
Jessica Day: Zooey Deschanel
Amber Brie: Alison Brie
Albie Collins: Lily Collins
Logan Jackson: Logan Lerman
Rachel Leslie/Jaime Locksley: Lily James
Richard Stark/Prince Robb: Richard Madden
Rana Mitchell: Shay Mitchell
Nicolas Grace: Topher Grace
Peter Lannister: Peter Dinklage
Maria Michele: AnnaSophia Robb
Fatemeh Tonkin: Phoebe Tonkin
Prince Darren/Coma Guy: Darren Criss

Chapter 5: The devil never sleeps


The storm had taken it's toll on the town. Aline was walking through the streets, staring at the sight. A few trees had been torn from their roots kwa the wind, and there was even a hole on the roof of Celine's diner. As she walked inside, she saw that Celine was staring at it in distress.
"What are wewe gonna do about that?"
"Well, I already called the repairmen, but they alisema it's gonna take a few hours for them to get here", Celine sighed. "It was a horrible storm, wasn't it?"
"Wouldn't want to see it again. Can I get a coffee to go? I have to get to work:"
As she sat down to wait as Celine poured her coffee, Tyler walked in and sat inayofuata to her.
"Have wewe gone to see her yet?"
"Who?" Aline asked.
"You haven't heard? There was some sort of blow-up at the station yesterday, while Rachel and Richard were there."
"Are they okay?" Aline asked in shock. How had she not heard yet?
"Well, I think so, but Rachel's in the hospital. I'm sure she's gonna be fine. wewe know her. I'm surprised wewe haven't heard."
"Who was her emergency contact?" Aline asked. "Was it me?"
"No", Tyler sighed. "It was her father. Obviously there's no calling him, so the nurse I spoke to alisema she called you, but wewe didn't answer."
Aline felt guilty. Her phone had been off all night. She felt even worse when she thought about Rachel's dad. He'd died years ago, but he and Rachel had always been very close, and the fact that Rachel had never even thought of changing her emergency contact made Aline very sad indeed.
"I'll go see her now."
"You can't. Since she's in the hospital, it's your job to track down the lunatic who ran out of the mental ward last night. Her name's Jessica Day. She's got long, black hair and bright blue eyes. She's about your age."
"Why don't wewe go and find her? I have to go see Rachel!"
"Rachel is fine. She'll wait. This has to be done now. And I'm going to go look too, but don't wewe think it'd be faster if two people looked for her instead of just one?"
Aline had to admit that made sense. "Fine. wewe go north, I'll go south. Call me if wewe find her."
"You, too." With that Tyler left.
Aline drank her coffee on the way to the car. This was not the best way to start a morning.



Tyler was surprised to find holly standing kwa his car as he got out. "Hey", he smiled as he walked over to her. "What are wewe doing here?"
"I heard wewe have a fugitive on the lose. I can help." In truth the Mayor had ordered her to help to make sure Jess would not meet anyone, talk to anyone au do anything, really.
"She's not a fugitive, she's just a runaway from the mental ward. But yeah, help would be needed."
"It's much zaidi efficient to go on foot, wewe know", holly said. Tyler nodded, following her as she begun to walk. "So, I heard the Sheriff's in the hospital. Is it serious?" It better be, holly thought.
"Not really. I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Oh", holly tried to hide her disappointment. "That's good. I suppose the debate will have to be postponed, then. au cancelled."
"What debate?"
"Between Richard and the Mayor. It was supposed to happen tomorrow, but I assume Richard wants his little sponsor there with him."
"Yes, I'd imagine he would. Could wewe inform the Mayor? Maybe the debate could happen inayofuata week?"
"Sure."
Tyler wasn't very good at small talk, to say the least. Especially not around someone like Holly. She was beautiful, witty and utterly intimidating, even to someone like him.
"Nothing happened to wewe last night, right?" Tyler asked. "It was a pretty bad storm."
"I'm fine, wewe don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself." Indeed she could, in zaidi ways than Tyler could ever understand.

"Do wewe need help?" Celine turned around as Paul walked into the diner. "I couldn't help but to notice the hole in your roof." He had an adorable smile on his face, but Celine merely shook her head. "I can handle it."
"Are wewe okay? Because last night you..." After the kiss Celine had made some lame excuse about going to kitanda early, because she truly was shocked kwa the things she'd seen, au felt, really. It was like she was having a deja vu but she had no idea what it was that she was remembering.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it", Celine rushed to say.
Paul was a little taken back kwa this, and he was just about to speak when Celine said:
"I actually have a lot of work to do, so I'll see wewe later?"
She tried to avoid the hurt look on Paul's face as he nodded and walked out. She didn't know why she'd even done that, but she felt like she needed time to think.



Maleficent had not always been this way. Once she'd been nothing but a sweet, innocent girl. But over time her hunger for power had taken over, and she'd become something else entirely. She had always been a jealous soul, jealous of all the girls who were prettier than her, all the ladies who married handsome boys and became rich wives to them. So one siku she decided that she would put an end to it, all the self-righteous little girls. Especially the princesses. She would start with the one who was the only child, the heir in the kingdom where Maleficent had grown up. She was already way past childhood when the girl was born, and the way she was pampered and coddled made Maleficent sick in her stomach. And of course the little girl grew up to be a beautiful princess named Aurora. But Aurora also had a flaw, one Maleficent was going to use to her advantage. Aurora wanted to believe there was something good in everyone, so she trusted people easier than she probably should. Which meant that when she faced Maleficent, who had made her way to one of the towers in the ngome and used her magic to curse the spinning wheel there. She hadn't been able to provide herself with a killing curse, and she probably wouldn't have used it anyway. She wanted the women to suffer. And spending her entire life in a sleep she could not wake up from was a curse that would surely fit for Aurora.
So when the princess walked into the room, expecting to find one of the servants, she found only the spinning wheel. As bored as she was, Aurora walked over to the spinning wheel, sat down and touched the wheel, and that was all it took. She fell down to the floor, overcome kwa sleep.
And with Aurora, the entire ngome fell asleep. Her parents, the cooks, the maids, the stableboys, everyone, they all fell under a sleeping curse no one could wake up from.
au so Maleficent thought. But what she hadn't realized was that every curse could always be broken, no matter how powerful.

Aline was heading towards the forest. It wasn't a likely place for Jess to wonder off to, but Aline had already searched everywhere else, basically.
"What exactly are wewe doing?" she turned around as she heard the familiar voice, and smiled in amusement when she saw James Ford looking at her. Aline hadn't realized how close to the cottage where Harry and Grace lived she'd wandered off to.
"I'm looking for a missing person. Have wewe seen anyone?"
"Not since the storm", James said. "But I'll ask the kids."
"Are wewe here often? Don't wewe ever go home?" Aline asked as James was about to walk off. "You do realize what a great thing you're doing for them, don't you?"
James snorted. "This ain't a great thing. It's just something I need to do. Because I used to be them, and I don't want anyone to go through what I went through."
Aline smiled at this. It was a great thing to do, but apparently James didn't want to hear it." Well, if wewe see anyone, give me a call."

She walked a few minutes, almost ready to give up. It wasn't like she'd walk through the entire forest. Before she knew it, she was at the lake. That very same lake where she always liked to go to. The storm hadn't done much to the place. In fact, it looked rather untouched, as if it was protected kwa a magic bubble au something.
"This time I swear, I wasn't following you", she smirked a little as she heard Colin's voice.
"So wewe admit that wewe were following me last time?"
"Maybe."
"What are wewe doing here, then?" Aline crossed her arms, glaring at the man.
"This is where I run", fair enough, the man did have clothes fit for running, sneakers, a hoodie and sweatpants. "What are wewe doing here so early?"
"I'm looking for someone. Her name's Jessica Day. She escaped from the mental ward last night during the storm."
"You mean her?" Colin pointed to the other side of the lake, and as Aline turned around, she did see a figure at the other shore. It would take a while to get there through the forest. "How the hell did she get there?"
"Walked, most likely."
"Let's go", Aline grabbed his arm and so they ran. But there was really no need to. Once they reached the girl, she was still sitting exactly where she'd been sitting when they first spotted her. She was staring at the water in front of her, mumbling nonsense no one could make out.
"Jessica? Jess? Can wewe hear me?" Aline didn't really know how to talk to crazy people.



Colin smirked. "I don't think she's answering, love. Here, let me", he walked over to Jessica, touching her shoulder lightly. When she did nothing to respond to this, Colin lifted her up, walking her over to Aline. "See? She doesn't even notice. Where's your car?"
"A long way from here", Aline groaned. "Let's go."
They walked in silence for a while. Colin had aliyopewa Jessica his jacket, for she looked to be freezing. She had only been wearing the hospital gown. They tried talking to her at first, but she didn't even seem to notice them.
"What do wewe think made her run away now?" Colin asked as they walked.
"The door was probably left open and she took her chance. I can't say I blame her. Being locked up in a place like that, it can't have been nice."
"Well, maybe she did something to deserve to get locked up."
"Or maybe she became like this for being locked up for so long", Aline knew Colin was probably right, but there was always an alternative.
"Maybe. wewe look quite nice, kwa the way."
Aline smirked. "Thanks."
They walked in silence until Jess muttered out a word: "Peter."
"Did wewe hear that? She alisema Peter!" Aline said. "Do wewe think that could be someone in town?"
"Well, you're the deputy. Is there a Peter in town?" Colin asked.
"Probably!" Aline was starting to get excited. "Once we drop her off, we should get to the station and check the town register!"
"Yes, we should", Colin smiled, just happy to be spending time with her.


Amber was sitting in the teacher's lounge, drinking coffee and kusoma the newspaper. It was still very early and she had some time before her first class. Still she couldn't concentrate on what she was reading. Her thoughts always seemed to come back to James. Was he okay? And the kids? It was a bad storm and the way this house was barely standing made Amber worry. And of course she hadn't had enough presence of mind to ask for his number when they met. If she had, she could call him to see if everything was okay. Of course, she wasn't planning on following Albie's advice and "let herself go", she would want his number for the kids. Dropping the newspapers on the table, she sighed. There was no point of trying to read it if she was thinking of something else. Looking at her watch she saw that her class didn't start before another half an hour. She hoped to see Harry and Grace there, meaning that nothing happened and they were fine. All three of them.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Albie sat down inayofuata to her.
"Hey. Pretty awful weather yesterday huh?"
"Yeah. I stayed home."
"Me too." Albie looked at Amber and immediately noticed something was wrong. "Are wewe okay?"
"Yes. It's just that I'm worried for Harry and Grace. If wewe would have seen their house, there's no way it could have resisted the storm."
"I'm sure they're fine Amber. " Seeing that her friend was still worrying she added "Have wewe spoken to James?"
"No, I don't have his number. I thought of passing kwa this morning but I would look like a crazy person."
"Yeah maybe." Albie chuckled a bit.
Amber sighed, she knew her imagination always had run wild but she couldn't help to worry. Noticing she forgot her bag in her car due to her absent-minded state, she excused herself and exited the room.
Albie looked at her friend go with an heavy heart. She knew she couldn't do anything to reassure her friend and they would just have to wait and see.



"Huh- excuse me." a male voice alisema behind her.
Turning around, she saw a young man of her age holding a bag full of rackets.
"Yes."
"Hi. My name's Logan. Logan Jackson. It's my first siku as a teacher here and I was wondering if wewe knew where the gymnasium was. I'm totally lost."
"Oh you're the gym teacher. I didn't know we had one."
"You didn't. Someone called me yesterday for the job, saying that for some reason, the position had been vacant."
"Oh yeah that's odd. Anyway, we don't really have a gymnasium, we have a room that can be used for PE. The school is rather small wewe see" she alisema with a smile.
"It's okay. It might work. Do wewe know where it is?"
"Yeah. I'll take wewe there."
"There's no need, I don't want to bother you." Logan said, while scratching his neck nervously. He was used to get a little nervous around girls he found pretty, and Albie was gorgeous.
"It's okay. I have time before my class." At that, they started to walk towards the room. "So, you're new in town?"
"No. I lived here as long as I can remember."
"Oh. Me too." Albie alisema with a smile. After that the fell quiet. It was an awkward silence as both of them didn't know what to say. When they reached their destination, Logan recovered his ability to speak.
"Thank wewe so much for helping me, huh."
"Albie. Albie Collins." she said, while mentally slapping herself for not saying her name sooner.
"It was nice to meet you, Albie Collins." Logan said, nodding his head.
"Likewise."
Albie turned around and waved him goodbye. Logan smiled and watched her go and like that, he knew he was a goner.



Aline had finally taken Jess back to the doctors' care at the hospital and was now heading towards Rachel's room. Colin had returned nyumbani to change and would meet her at the police station later so she had time to check on her friend.
When she reached Rachel's room, she hoped she would not wake her up but as the door was open, she could see the young sheriff kusoma a bunch of papers in her bed.
"You should rest." Aline said, entering the room.
"Well, wewe know what they say, no rest for the wicked and those witches are preparing for war. I have to beat them."
"Is this work about the campaign? How the hell did wewe get that?" Aline alisema incredulously.
"I asked Tyler to bring this to me." Rachel said, shrugging.
"You're unbelievable."
"I can't waste any zaidi time. What are wewe doing here? Tyler mentioned that a mental ward patient escaped."
"I found her, she is with some doctors now. They are running tests to see if anything happened to her while she was outside."
"Good job. I knew the station would be in good hands while I am here."
"Thanks. Speaking of that, how are wewe doing?"
"Fine. Just some broken ribs, nothing too serious. I'll be out in a couple of days I think."
"Good. I'm glad." Aline took a kiti, kiti cha inayofuata to her friend's kitanda and knew she had to bring up a painful topic. "Rach, about wewe being here. Tyler alisema that wewe didn't change your emergency contact-"
"I've changed it now." Rachel alisema abruptly. "There's no need to talk about it."
"Rach-"
"It's changed now. Can we please not talk about it?"
"Okay. I just want to tell you, I'm here and I know what it's like."
"It's different. wewe never knew who your parents were, I did."
Aline nodded, Rachel was right. It was a different situation. "So huh, when I found the girl earlier, she mentioned a name. Peter. Do wewe know any Peter?"
"No. Did wewe check the register?"
"Not yet. I'll do that when I'm back at the station."
"You'll have all the time in the world to investigate, especially now that the debate has to be rescheduled."
"Oh yeah. kwa the way, is Richard okay?"
"He's fine. Not even hurt. I guess that their plan failed."
"What are wewe talking about?"
"The hag and her little ice princess. They are the ones that planned the accident."
"What? Rach, I know wewe think that are bad but killing people? Seriously?"
"Both of them threatened me in the past few days. And the wires were cut out. It was clearly not an accident."
"Rach, I don't know. I mean- Sure Irene looks at people like she wants to destroy them. Like the way she looks at Mary Margaret? Creepy. But murder? For an election? Seems a bit extreme to me."
"I know. But this woman is pure evil, there's nothing she wouldn't do to get what she wants."
"Let's say she did plan this. It could not have been because of something as little as being the mayor of this town. There must be something else."
"Power makes people lose their minds."
"Perhaps. But wewe guys are okay. So if they really want to kill you, wewe have to be-"
"Careful. I know."
A knock on the door interrupted the discussion. When Richard entered the room with some flowers, Aline knew it was time to go.
"Hi Richard. Nice to see you're okay. She's all yours."
"It's okay, I can wait outside until wewe guys are done."
"No, no. Go ahead, I have to see how damaged the station is anyway. Rach, rest and be safe."
Rachel nodded and waited until Aline was gone to speak to Richard.
"Hey there."
"Hey. I brought flowers." he alisema handing them to her.
"Thanks. I'm not the maua, ua type but they are lovely."
"So how are wewe doing? The doctors didn't let me visit earlier."
"Good. Broken ribs. I guess that's what happens when you're thrown against a wall. I'll be fine though. I'll be out in time for the debate."
"I don't care about that right now. I just want wewe to be fine."
Rachel smiled a little at this but decided to change the topic.
"While I'm here, I'll be working on the campaign. We have to establish what you're going to say at the debate."
"It's a good thing I took a siku off then." Richard alisema while sitting in the chair inayofuata to Rachel's bed.




Many years went kwa and Aurora was still asleep in her tower. During this time, a dense forest grew around the ngome and a fence of thorns appeared all around, as if to guard the door. Soon, the legend of a sleeping princess waiting to be awaken kwa True Love's kiss spread in the nearby kingdoms. All princes were raised in the hope to be the one breaking this curse and when they reached the age of twenty-one, they were sent there. Alas, no matter how brave au strong they were, all of those princes died in their attempt to reach the castle. Some got Lost in the forest and were never found, some died kwa the poison of the thorns guarding the entrance. When Prince Stefan turned twenty-one, he was extremely nervous. He knew he would have to leave in order to attempt to deliver this princess from the curse and he knew he was going to fail. How could he give her True Love's kiss if he didn't even know what she looked like? He knew he had to do his duty no matter what. When he was younger, he always thought his older brother, Damon, would be the one making the journey as he was the eldest. However, a few weeks earlier, his brother left in order to rescue a princess that was locked in a tower because of an evil witch. Naturally, their father chose Stefan as a replacement. The inayofuata day, it was with an heavy moyo that Stefan left the castle.
He rode many days until he reached the forest that killed so many princes. Gathering his courage, he entered it. He had heard many stories about these woods. People alisema it was haunted, some that lived nearby alisema that wewe could hear whispers at night, others that a gigantic dragon was living in a cave and it was this creature that had killed everyone that had entered it. Stefan didn't know what he would have to face but he had his sword ready just in case. Leaving his horse behind, he walked and walked for what felt like forever until he finally reached the end of the woods. Surprised of not coming across any danger, he walked slowly as if he was expecting to see a dragon to appear of all a sudden. When he finally arrived in front of the thorns, he thought that maybe all these stories were maybe just that but he would take no chances. With his swords, he cut through the thorns while always being careful that they didn't touch him. When he had created a passage big enough for him to enter safely, Stefan lead into the castle's courtyard. As he moved mbele through the castle, he noticed people asleep everywhere. He tried to wake a few up but soon found out it was pointless. It was most likely one of the effects of the curse, Stefan thought while putting his sword away. He knew he had to find the princess in order to bring everyone back from this endless sleep. He remembered that the princess was supposed to be in the highest tower of the ngome and he began to look for her. After searching a few rooms, he entered one with a spinning wheel. Besides it, there was a kitanda where the most beautiful girl he has ever seen was asleep. Amazed, he could not move. So there she was, the legendary princess, he thought and he just knew. He knew that from the moment he had laid eyes on her, he had fallen in upendo with her. Stefan was not a believer of upendo at first sight but he had to admit, what he was feeling could only be that kind of love. A kind of upendo that never dies. But would it be enough to wake the princess up? Taking his chance, he approached the bed. The princess had been sleeping for a long time and yet, she didn't seem to have aged at all. Holding his breath, Stefan lean over her and kissed her lips gently. He took a step back as she opened her eyes. She seemed disorientated.
When she saw Stefan, she sat up. "Who are you? What are wewe doing in my bedroom?"
"I'm Prince Stefan. I was sent there to put an end to your curse."
"My curse? It was real? It felt like a really really long dream."
"You were asleep for many years."
"How many?"
"I don't know. A long time."
"This means that my- my parents. They are dead." Aurora alisema with tears in her eyes.
"No. When wewe fell asleep, they did too. You're awake now, maybe they are as well."
Aurora smiled at him. "There's only one way to find out." and they both ran down the stairs and saw that Stefan was right.



Rana entered Nic's office as soon as he arrived.
"Nic. I don't know what to do."
"What? What's happening?"
"I went to the hospital yesterday, like we planned. John Doe, he's awake."
"Did wewe speak to him?"
"No. But he seemed really fine, he was kusoma a book."
"Which book?" Nic alisema with a spark in his eyes.
"Does it matter? We have to tell Maria!"
"You didn't yet?"
"I thought it was best to tell wewe first. She's your best friend, I thought it would be better coming from you."
"Okay. I'm telling her to meet us at the hospital. You're coming?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't miss it for the world."



After leaving Rachel in the very capable hands of Richard, Aline returned to the police station to find Colin already waiting there.
"Eager, are we?" she smiled.
"How is your friend?" Colin asked politely.
"She's fine. She's stubborn and a workaholic, but she's fine." Aline walked over to Rachel's dawati and grabbed the town register from the drawer. "Let's see if we've got a Peter."
"Shouldn't we use the computer?"
"No one has bothered scanning this information", Aline said, looking over the book until she stopped. "There's only one Peter in town. Peter Lannister."
Colin snorted. "Of course. I should have remembered."
"Why? Who is he?"
"The town drunk", Colin chuckled. "I know where to find him. Let's go."
Aline had no choice but to follow.

Indeed, they found Peter Lannister in the town bar. At two in the afternoon. And he wasn't exactly what Aline would have expected. He had messy, brown-blonde-ish hair, and he had a scar going from the right side of his face right to the left corner of his chin. And he was a dwarf.
"Hello, Peter", Colin sat inayofuata to the man and ordered himself a drink. "Are wewe even allowed in a bar?" he smirked at Aline, who rolled her eyes.
"It's way too early to come and talk to me in such a loud voice", Peter muttered, taking another sip of his drink. "What can I do for you? I'm sure you're not here for the pleasure of my company."
"No, but the sight of wewe does brighten up my everyday life", Colin said. "We have a swali for you."
"Do I look like Google to you?"
"No, but wewe will once I'm done with wewe if wewe don't help us", Aline snapped.
"I'm not sure that is even an insult", Colin said.
"Look at me, girl", Peter turned to look at Aline. "I'm not sure how much wewe can do to improve my good looks. What do wewe want?"
"Do wewe know a girl named Jessica Day?"
"No. I only know people I know I will need favors from one day. A girl from a mental hospital is not one of them."
"You alisema wewe didn't know her."
"Yes. But I know of her. Everyone's talking about her disappearance. I assume wewe caught her, otherwise wewe wouldn't be here, interrupting my drinking."
"She alisema 'Peter' when we were taking her back to the hospital", Colin explained. "So we figured that maybe she meant someone in town."
"Brilliant deduction skills. wewe should work for the FBI", Peter chuckled. "Peter is a very common name, au so I'm told. I assume you, I've never spoken to this Jessica Day. So go bother someone else."



Aline and Colin shared a look before leaving the bar.
"That wasn't very helpful", Aline sighed.
"We'll keep looking. While Rachel is in the hospital, I'm sure wewe could use some extra help", Colin smiled.
"I never asked for your help. Not really."
"No, but wewe didn't refuse it either."
To this Aline could do nothing but smile.

Nic and Rana went to get Maria from work at the diner and basically dragged her to the hospital without telling her what it was about.
"What is it?" she groaned when they finally arrived. "Did wewe see John Doe? Is he okay?"
"He's awake!" Rana smirked. "He's awake, we have to go see him."
"But there are no visitors allowed", Maria sighed.
Nic remembered Richard telling him he'd go visit Rachel, so he quickly dialed his number.
"Hey", he answered.
"How did wewe get in to visit Rachel? I thought no visitors were allowed."
"Well, they let Aline in because she's with the police force, and I went to the station and Tyler wrote me a note giving me permission to-"
"I need that note."
"But what if I want to visit again?"
Nic smirked a little at this. His plan was working. "Just drop it off real quick and I'll bring it back for you, I promise."
Richard hung up, but a few dakika later he appeared in the lobby, handing the note to Nic with a grim look on his face. "You have to bring it back. Room 40."
"I will, I promise", Nic said, and with that he, Rana and Maria rushed off.
Maria rushed all the way to the room where John Doe was supposed to be, and froze at the door. What would she say to him? What was there to say?
But before she had time to think any more, John Doe had turned to look at her, and the shock on his face scared Maria. What had she done?
"You", he breathed out.
"What?"



Before John Doe had time to explain himself, the nurse Fatemeh rushed into the room, pushing Maria out. "No one can see him yet! He's in a very delicate state!" she slammed his door closed and glared at Maria. "Get out." And however shocked she was, Maria had no choice but to obey.

Rana and Nic had been walking around the hospital, killing time while Maria talked to the coma guy, but as they walked past the room where the mental patient had been strapped down for recovery, Nic froze. He stared at her in shock. Could it really be....? But she was dead, he'd always thought she was dead.
"Nic, what is it?" Rana asked. "Nic?"
Nic tried to speak, but for once in his life he was speecheless. She wasn't dead, she was right here, in front of him, but then-
"What the hell do wewe think you're doing here?" they turned around to holly glaring at them in anger. "You're not authorized to be here."
"I have this", Nic offered weakly, inaonyesha the note.
"Deputy Morrison wrote that for Richard Stark. To go see the Sheriff. Are wewe Richard, and is this Rachel? No, I didn't think so. Go. Leave", Nic was just about to say something when Rana grabbed his arm. "It's not worth it. Let's go."
Nic wanted nothing zaidi than to say, to go to her, to grab her and take her away from this place, but Rana was pulling at him to go, so he followed. After returning the note to Richard, they met up with Maria outside.
"Something weird just happened", Maria said. But for once in his life Nic was too preoccupied with himself to focus on his best friend. She was alive, and she had no idea who he was. Somehow that hurt zaidi than anything else.



Aurora didn't want to admit it, but she was still afraid. After all this time, she was still afraid. Maleficient was still out there, possibly hurting some other poor, innocent girl. And she could do nothing to stop it. She had neither the skills au the ability to stop a sorcerer like her. Which was exactly what Stefan told her when she shared her doubts with him.
"She can't hurt you. Never again", Stefan promised as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, his chin coming to rest on Aurora's shoulder. "I'll keep wewe safe."
"It's not just about me", Aurora urged. "What if she's hurting someone else?"
Stefan sighed. "Alright. How about this? We put out a tafuta for her. Anyone with any sighting of her is rewarded with ten dhahabu coins. That ought to make the smallfolk alert."
"Good. We have to make sure everyone knows", Aurora said.
"They will", Stefan nodded, storking her cheek. "I upendo you."
"I upendo you, too", Aurora smiled. It was the night before their wedding, and despite all her worries, Aurora was salama and happy with the man she loved. Maleficient hadn't been able to defeat her. Perhaps she would have no better luck with anyone else. So Aurora leaned closer, pulled her future husband in for a kiss and forgot about her worries, at least for the time being.

After seeing Harrry and Grace at school, Amber was a tad less worried, for the children seemed to be alright. But she found herself also worried for James. Where he was, what he was doing, if he was alright. She hadn't dared asking the kids, that would seem too invasive, in her opinion anyway. So she walked all the way to the woods, to the cabin, kibanda and knocked on the door. She had no idea whether James would be here au not, but to her surprise he did open the door.
"Hey", he said, sounding zaidi than a little surprised. "What are wewe doing here?"
"Well, I just.. I wanted to see if wewe were okay. wewe and the kids. With the storm and all."
"Were they not at school?"
Amber blushed a little at this. "They were, I just.... uuh... this was stupid. Here", she handed him a bag of groceries.
"Did wewe duka for us?" James asked. "You do know that we don't need your help, right?"
"I do, it's just.... I.... I didn't want wewe to have to shoplift."



This made James blush a little, but zaidi in embarrassment than anything else. "We don't need your help."
"Okay, I get it", Amber rushed to say. "I get it. But keep that anyway. For the kids. There's some Candy in there for them. I won't bother wewe again", with that she walked off. James wanted to call after her, to tell her thank you. But he couldn't bring himself to do so. It was like he was cursed to repeat himself.