THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Somehow, Adalia had managed to avoid being locked away until now. Unfortunate, as she had a long list of other streaks she would have been much happier to break. Which, yes, was saying something.

The damn place was everything a good and proper dungeon should be. Dark and dank, underground, muddy – Oh, she hoped the gunk on her boot was mud. She leaned against the back wall, one boot propped up behind her; she appeared to be a woman completely at ease, when in reality, she was . . . not.

Honestly, at the moment, she felt more like a girl.

Footsteps. From several feet. They echoed towards her down the long brick corridor as incomers neared the bend before her cell. Their shadows danced madly in the torchlight and made the visitors seem larger than life, and far more menacing, so when the five men came around the bend in the corridor, it was a bit anticlimactic. Enough so that Adalia smiled. As the men came toward her, she went towards them. And as she draped her arms through the iron bars, she realized that, while four of the men were dressed in the predictable sort of armor she had seen on every palace guard she had ever come across, their leader was not. She straightened. The head man was dressed in a white shirt, blue pants, and a pair of shining boots that must have cost a pretty penny or two or thousands. Her eyes slid up. His black hair was without fault. And those blue eyes . . .

"You're Prince Eric," she said.

He came too close to her. Not a smart move on his part, but she wasn't about to try anything. The prince said, "And you're . . . ?"

She smiled. "Imprisoned? Brunette? Charming beyond belief?"

There was a twitch at the corner of his lip. "I was hoping for a name."

He spoke gently. A good sign. She had been told that he was kinder than his father, which was why she was hoping Daddy would send the future king down to deal with such trivial business as she.

Well, that and other reasons.

"It's Adalia," she said.

"Adalia. That's a very pretty name."

"Ah, that's kind. And you're not even the charming prince." She smiled wide enough to make it clear she was mocking him. The fact that she dropped the smile just as fast drove the point home, and Prince Eric furrowed his brow. Adalia said, "Tell me something, Not-the-Charming-Prince – don't you think it might be a bit much to lock away a petty thief in the royal dungeons? Honestly, your men should have just taken my hand. Saved your time as well as mine."

"I have no interest in crippling young women. Neither does my father."

"Well, advise your father to cripple me or execute me . . . your Highness." She pressed her face against the bars, pierced him with the green-grey eyes she had taught herself to use so well, for so many things other than simply seeing. "Those are the only two ways you'll keep me in here, alive, for very long."

It surprised her a bit that he smiled. But it was not a happy smile. "You have a restless spirit, I take it?"

She inclined her head.

"I can relate." He ducked his head for a moment, and Adalia couldn't help eyeing the sword on his belt. But she stood at attention when he spoke again. "You're in the royal dungeons," he explained, "because you're more than a petty thief. You stole no jewels, no money. You stole maps. Very important maps that could do a lot of damage if they were to fall into the wrong hands."

Adalia said nothing.

"And, upon being caught by my men . . . you commenced to draw your sword and defeat three of them."

"I did defeat them. I did not, however, kill them. You're welcome. Your sailors got their bloody maps back, and I spared three lives I could have taken – albeit with a little bloodshed on their part. But wounds heal, death doesn't. My point, dear Prince, is that I believe we're even. Why don't we all just call it a day and go home?"

"Why did you let them live?"

"What?"

"Why did you let them live?"

She tapped her fingers on the iron bars. "There was no point in killing them. Your men had me surrounded."

"But it would have been self-defence," Prince Eric said.

Adalia brought her hands together to twist one of her rings, but as soon as she realized what she was doing she locked her fingers onto the bars again. "You've found me out, your Highness. I don't like killing." She paused. Softer, she said it again: "I don't like killing."

"No," the prince said quietly. "I didn't think you did."

Her eyes fell to the ground.

"But we've received reports that the crew of The Tiger's Eye was spotted with a young woman who appeared to be very skilled in swordplay."

"The Tiger's Eye?" Adalia's eyes widened. "That pirate ship your men let dock a fortnight ago?"

"A mistake," Prince Eric said, for a moment losing hold of his sweet disposition, which was nearly satisfying to Adalia; she found it much easier to deal with someone she wanted to throttle. "One that will never happen again, I can assure you."

That was when Adalia became certain that this man had little to no experience with pirates. Or guards who loved gold. Or guards who enjoyed life. No, a man who knew pirates knew that putting them with either or both of those last two elements made docking a pirate ship as easy and natural as a sunset.

All she said, however, was, "Well, I suppose that's good to hear."

"They tell me this girl – the one seen with the pirates – was small in stature, but strong and quick, with pale skin and long dark hair."

"I'm sure she's lovely."

The prince huffed out a breath, rubbed his eyes. "Can we please stop playing games?" he asked.

"I don't know what you're –"

"You were the girl on the pirate ship."

Adalia took a deep breath.

Prince Eric said, "You're a pirate."

The words weren't loud enough to echo through the dungeon. But they repeated in Adalia's mind all the same. Soon enough, a tear slipped from her cheek. "I never wanted to be," she whispered.

"I know," said the prince, his voice gentle and sweet again. "I can tell. That's why I'm going to help you."

She wiped away the tear. "In what way, your Highness?"

He stepped closer. "By giving you a chance to help the Maritime Kingdom and earn your pardon."

"I – I'm a pirate, how can I be pardoned –?"

"As I said." He found her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You're going to help the Maritime Kingdom."

Adalia widened her eyes. She again wiped away tears, and then smiled at the prince in a way that made his heart melt for the girl.

What he didn't know was that Adalia's smiles were something else she had taught herself to use so well, for so many things.

. . . . .

A.N.: You guys have a feeling for it yet? Let me know - I would love to hear your thoughts (or questions - questions are fun.). This is going to be the basic layout of the story, with more present-day Callie than past Adalia (for now), and I won't be covering every single episode of OUAT, just the ones I feel would be most relevant to her . . . and, if anyone is wary of OC-centric stories, I can assure you that Callie's will eventually be very involved with the lives of the main characters. I'm looking forward to writing more of this, I hope you guys are looking forward to reading. Thanks for getting this far! - CR