knight-rook-a-history

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Fears - Day 1

@knight-rook-a-history: Tower Tales Headcanons

- Alice is so excited about the outside world and getting to explore what little part of it she can that whenever some insect comes in through the window–be it a fly, a bee, a butterfly, a beetle, a wasp or whatever else–she immediately tries to catch it without considering the possible danger in that. She is not afraid that any of those animals may try to hurt her. Her papa definitely is, though. So he resorts to chasing them away but after the first few times that that ended up in Alice crying and being upset about it for days, he figured that that isn’t a viable strategy. So he allowed her to watch and study them on condition that she won’t touch them. She still managed to get her hands on some of them, though, when he was busy doing some chores or was out of the tower. He was super scared for her because if something happened that would require medical attention, he wouldn’t be able to get help for her since she was trapped in the tower. But the insects never seemed to try to harm Alice since she was always gentle and loving towards them.

- Killian decided that he had to teach Alice very well what is dangerous and what isn’t. And not just in her immediate surroundings. He dreaded the thought of Alice finally being free only for her to run into an ogre or try to cuddle into a bear because it’s fluffy. So he made sure to explain to her which things were dangerous and why from a very early age. Alice knew so much about the world that sometimes that knowledge just frustrated her because it made her prison seem even smaller. She just wanted to get out there and explore. However, she didn’t want her papa to worry about her so she always diligently tried to remember everything he taught her.

- Alice was never really afraid of the dark. She said that it is true that hostile creatures may lurk in the shadows. But there was always the chance that they are even more afraid of you than you are of them. So she was willing to offer a hand to any “beast” she might meet in the darkness. But the one thing that truly scared her was loneliness. She’d prefer to meet a monster than spend eternity all alone. And sometimes after she woke from a nightmare, she’d cling to her papa to the point where he’d have to spend the night in her bed if he wanted her to be able to go back to sleep.

- When Alice becomes older and starts seeing Gothel in her dreams, the witch is added to her short list of fears. Even if in most of her dreams she doesn’t do anything. Alice is really scared of her, of the threatening presence that’s always there and that she can’t free herself of. She even refused to sleep at one time because she was afraid of seeing the witch in her dreams since that always put her so on edge. Killian had to put off one of his trips to the outside world because he couldn’t leave her alone. He had to make her some tea to help with her nerves and convince her that sleeping is the only way for her to see the sea in her dreams. But he promised that he’d soon change that. Even if one of his biggest fears was that he’d fail to keep that promise. His starfish’s comfort was more important and he knew that for her he’d find a way to do anything.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Fears - Day 4

@knight-rook-a-history: Hyperion Hysteria Headcanons

- Tilly has claustrophobia. She can’t explain it but she’s had it ever since she can remember. The thought of closed spaces drives her crazy and it’s worse the smaller the space is. That’s why she ran away from social services before they could even get her to a foster home. Her boxcar isn’t quite so small so she tolerates it since she needs to sleep somewhere during the cold nights. But she still prefers to sleep in the open when the weather allows it. She has a vague memory of watching the stars with her father. So sometimes during the summer she’ll sleep in a park, pretending that she’s gone camping. It feels super lonely still. Ever since she lost her father, she’s never felt welcome anywhere. She doesn’t even remember the feeling of home. But she hopes that one day she’ll have a cozy place that she’ll be able to share with her loved ones and it won’t feel like a prison.

- Tilly doesn’t take her pills because the silence she feels in her head when she takes them scares her. She knows she shouldn’t have voices in her head. But she can’t help but feel lonely without them. And the pills force a cold, empty silence on her that feels so isolating. The voices at least keep her company so that she’s not alone. However, after she shoots Weaver, she’s scared of hurting people and she prefers to take the pills if that will ensure that she won’t harm anyone. Even if to her it feels like cutting herself off from the few companions she has.

- Rogers is afraid that he’ll never get to make his dream to see the ocean come true. The years keep passing and he’s just as alone as ever, except he’s getting older and his time is slipping through his fingers. Still, he doesn’t dare go alone. Something is holding him back. There’s just this overwhelming sense of despair that fills him every time the thought of visiting the ocean on his own comes up. That would be the loneliest thing. Finally fulfill his dream with no one by his side to share it with. It seems even worse than never getting to see the ocean and only keep dreaming about it and painting it from what he’s seen in pictures and documentaries.

- Tilly has one of the worst days when she’s trying to prove that she’s innocent. She’s the lead suspect in a murder, no one seems to know she exists, and she’s threatened with the possibility of going to jail. Yet, Rogers is there for her. And then he offers her a place to stay. A home, actually. She knows that’s what it will be even before they get there. Because she’s always felt safe with Rogers and she knows he cares about her. He sees her and respects her and the way she views the world. He’s been there for her. And there’s that warm, fuzzy feeling that she can’t quite remember feeling in a long, long time. But it’s there now. She’s found a home. And it’s not a place. It’s a person. A person that will look after her no matter what. So that she doesn’t have to fear anything anymore.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Fears - Day 5

@knight-rook-a-history: Happily Ever After Headcanons

- Alice and Robin put together a haunted house for Halloween that is inspired by all of Alice’s trips across the realms and Robin’s round-the-world trip. They have all types of monsters in there that are sure to get even the most brave and prepared guests. Case in point, Wish Killian and Zelena were caught of guard which was Alice and Robin’s sign that they’d done well with it since neither Zelena, nor Killian are not scared easily. They do, however, make a far less scary and even kind of funny haunted house for children. They don’t want to scare the poor kids out of their minds. They also have the adults pay for entering the haunted house with candy that they give to the children as a reward for daring to go into the kid version of the house.

- Henry and Lucy and Alice and Wish Killian start a Halloween war about which pair can scare the other one more. At first, it’s just the four of them but soon Robin and Ella also join in on the spookfest. Before long, Regina and Zelena are also roped up in the whole thing and it becomes a family tradition. Also, things get more real with the addition of Regina and Zelena’s magic since they have far more resources now. At one point Emma and Killian also get involved but on opposite sides as Emma joins Henry and Lucy and Killian joins Alice and his counterpart.

- Alice is scared that Robin will get all the cavities from eating so much sugar. She’s putting candy on everything. Especially on Halloween when she has an excuse to do so. It was cute at first but it I really starting to become a problem so Alice decides to take matters in her own hands and gives away all of Robin’s sweets to the kids that come trick-or-treating at their door. Robin gets angry at first but Alice smothers her in kisses to compensate for all the sweetness she lost from the candy.

- When she watches Lucy’s enthusiasm at being taken trick-or-treating by her parents, Alice gets a little sad that she never had the chance to do that with her papa. But they still dress up as a fearsome pirate duo–though, everyone jokes that for Killian that isn’t really masquerading–and go in search for the treasure that Robin prepared for them. It is also good to give away candy together. And years later, they all go trick-or-treating with Alice and Robin’s daughter like the big happy family they are.

- Alice and Robin have a tradition of watching horror movies and having a marathon the night of Halloween. Both of them pretend to be scared so that they have an excuse to cuddle. They don’t need an excuse really but it is fun to make it a game and see who can be sneakier and play the part of being scared better. They mostly end up laughing at each other’s overdramatic reactions and cuddling and kissing each other while the movies are forgotten in the background.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Destined to Always Be - For @knight-rook-a-history

A/N: Set in 7x08 after Alice tries to reunite with her Papa. This got away from me when it came to this month’s theme of fear, but I think it still fits. I blame my csrr fic for tempting me with explorations into madness. Credit to Danny Alexander for the quote.

~/~

The pretty witch said they were cured. She promised the nightmare was over. So, why couldn’t Alice wake up from it?

She’d hurt him again. 

Perhaps, nearly killed him this time.

In her panic she’d run back here. Wonderland. Where it was a wonder if you could ever leave the land without losing yourself to the madness that permeated every breath a wanderer took. 

She’d lost herself her once. Fell head first down the rabbit hole. Sipped tea with a Hatter, a Hare, and a Haggard door mouse. Hedged through mazes, shuffled with cards, faced fearsome foes who’d claimed she was nothing more than a mad girl because she saw the world differently.

She’d wallowed here. Separated from her beloved Papa and desperate to find a cure. That desperation had made her crazed, but it also kept her sane.

Now she feared sanity was just another illusion. Just another ripple in the fun house mirrors. Another stripe on the Cheshire Cat’s back, fading in and out of existence and leaving behind a smile of twisted mocking.

Like the pretty witch’s smile. Alice could see it now. The falsity hidden beneath pink stained lips. She should have recognized it sooner, then her Papa wouldn’t be suffering. 

His external appearance might once again be young and virile, but Alice knew he was still a frail crumbling man beneath that magicked shell. Each moment in her presence chipped away his vitality, eroded his endurance, and deteriorated the connective tissues tethering him to life itself.

How much longer could they go on like this? Could he go on like this? 

Perhaps she was mad after all? Mad to think she’d ever find a way to cure him. Mad to think she could best the magic she’d fought against her entire life. First to be free of the tower, and now to be freed from an existence of loneliness and despair. 

She’d traveled through madness once before. Traveled through madness to find herself, only to find herself alone. Now she’d have to travel through the fear that alone was what she was destined to always be.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Fears - Day 3

@knight-rook-a-history: New Quests, New Friends Headcanons

- When Killian first learns that Alice has powerful magic, he’s scared that Gothel will try to get close to Alice or outright threaten her or even steal her powers to use for herself. Regina offers to help teach Alice some magic so that she can have better control over it and be able to protect herself. Killian is still worried, though, because he can’t be there for his daughter–and there’s that little treacherous voice in his head that tells him that he didn’t even manage to protect her when he was around–and his concerns are only fully put to rest once he realized that Rumplestiltskin is always watching over Alice and wouldn’t let anyone harm her. As much as he’s been wary and distrustful of the Dark One in the past, he is glad that someone so powerful is looking after he’s daughter and making sure she’s okay when he can’t be there for her.

- That also help soothe Killian’s other worries that some of his old enemies may try to harm Alice as revenge against him. He knows she’s survived a lot on her own and she can take care of herself, not to mention that she has powerful magic, but he is still worried about his starfish. And now that they’re communicating again and he’s making a name for himself as a part of Queen Tiana’s court, he’s afraid someone will make the connection that Alice is his daughter and try to use it against him. So knowing that Alice has someone to watch over her constantly is very reassuring. Even if that someone is the Dark One. He proved that he cared about her and Killian knows he can count on him to look after her. He hesitated to get help from Rumplestiltskin years ago, but he’s glad to have it now.

- Killian realizes that Alice has no fear from heights from the things she tells him about in her letters and that nearly gives him a panic attack as he imagines all the times she’s put herself in danger because she’d been trapped with no way to fall out the window in the tower and now doesn’t have a healthy dose of fear of heights. He’s pretty sure his hair starts turning gray again after the information sank in so he made sure to write to Alice and warn her to be more careful from now on since her poor papa’s heart can’t handle the stress that even the images of her jumping from tree to tree thirty feet off the ground causes him.

- After searching so many realms for a cure for the poisoned heart, Alice starts fearing that she won’t find. It really is a big world but no matter where she’d gone she only ever found dead end after dead end. And after years of realm-hopping she’s no closer to finding a way to be reunited with her papa. The story of Ella’s parents doesn’t really do much to help her calm down. Wherever she looks, all she gets is another proof that no one has ever been cured of the curse poisoned heart. She’s scared that she’ll find out that the world is not big enough to contain a cure and that will break her heart.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Fears - Day 2

@knight-rook-a-history: Separation Anxiety Headcanons

- After her papa is thrown out of the tower, Alice is afraid that Gothel will come back for her. She doesn’t know what the witch wants from her, why she wants her to be miserable. But it seems like that is her objective and Alice is scared that she can’t fight against her. She is little and the witch has powerful magic. And Alice’s pleading for her to not take away her papa had absolutely no effect. Without Killian Alice is lonelier than ever and left to the mercy of the witch. And the worst part is that she doesn’t know if the witch will come back. Because if she doesn’t, Alice may never see another human again. Too bad that that seems exactly like the objective of the woman who took her whole world away.

- Alice is afraid that she will never be able to leave the tower. When she had her papa’s warmth and support, she knew that he would do everything in his power to save her. But now that she’s left all alone, all hope of ever getting free is slowly fading. She’s trying to hold up and believe but as the years pass and she has no one to talk to besides her little stuffed friends, it becomes harder and harder to get out of bed every morning with that fragile hope in her heart that maybe today will be the last day she needs to spend in her bloody prison, only to go to the same bed in the tower that has held her captive for the entirety of her life.

- Alice is constantly scared about her papa and his well-being. The last time she saw him, he was groaning in pain after being thrown across the room. She doesn’t know what happened to him. She knows that he’s alive but not how he’s doing. And the fear grips at her even tighter when she thinks that she may never get to see him again. The pain of his absence is so crushing that sometimes she wishes he’d forget all about her so that he won’t have to suffer the same vicious misery that she is.

- Meanwhile, Killian is always thinking about his starfish and it pains him when he imagines how she must be doing alone in that tower. It is the worst kind of pain he’s ever felt. Losing Milah and his hand never burned quite like the loss of his daughter does. And even if he’s defeated death a lot of times before, he is scared that this time will be different. He feels himself getting older and with each passing day the hope that he’ll see his daughter again dims more and more as he remembers the pain in his heart that Gothel’s curse caused him. His days are numbered while Alice’s life is put on hold because of the bloody tower.

- It doesn’t help that he’s blaming himself for what happened. If he’d just gone sooner to Rumplestiltskin, it could’ve been different but he’d been too scared. If he’d swallowed his stupid pride, it would have been different, he’s sure. Alice would’ve been freed and Gothel wouldn’t have been able to separate them. It was him who allowed her to do it and he’s afraid that it is too late for him to fix all of his mistakes.

[knight-rook-a-history]

@knight-rook-a-history Hyperion Hysteria: Fears

Rogers’ fears: the memories of a girl that haunt him, never finding that girl and being alone forever.

Tilly’s fears: being percieved as nothing more than ‘Crazy Tilly’, having no tether to the world, not existing at all and of her nightmares and her memories of another life getting jumbled with those of her real life.

[knight-rook-a-history]

@knight-rook-a-history Seperation Anxiety: Fears

My headcanon of the beginning of Alice’s fear of becoming like Gothel (which may have been exacerbated when she discovered she had magic), her fear of her and her father’s seperation being due to the fact that she wanted to leave, her fear of her father not returning and her fear of the witch in her dreams having more frequent visits.

[knight-rook-a-history]

@knight-rook-a-history Tower Tales: Fears

Alice’s fears: something awful happening to her Papa, the witch in her nightmares, the dark, her father disappearing, dark magic, being seen by others as insane for her differences and being trapped in the tower for eternity.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook: A History - October Theme!

The only thing scarier than this month’s theme is how long it took to reveal it!!! MWHAHAHAAH!!!

So, this month’s theme is FEARS!

...Do I even need to explain this one?! Any interaction at all with Gothel would be enough to give anyone nightmares! XD

But seriously, fear has truly dominated much of Killian and Alice’s tale of tragedy. Between the fear of death and the fear of never seeing each other again, there was always a source of peril for our favorite father and daughter.

However, fear needn’t always be a bad thing! Like watching horror movies, being afraid can be a source of fun too, and despite all of their lives’ difficulties, Killian and Alice’s lives have seldom been short of fun.

So please, feel free to depict the concept of fears in whatever way feels right for you!

Once again, we have a loose schedule, but here is the breakdown for what avenues you can explore!

Tower Tales (Alice’s childhood from birth until the poisoned heart curse was placed on Killian)

Separation Anxiety (Everything from Killian being poisoned until he joins Henry and Regina and Alice escapes the tower)

New Quests, New Friends (Everything from Killian joining the new heroes and Alice escaping the tower until the curse is cast)

Hyperion Hysteria (Rogers and Tilly’s adventures)

Happily Ever After (Basically, everything after Alice and Killian are cured of the poisoned heart curse)

AU’s (Alternate Universes/Massive Deviations From Canon)

As always, if you want to participate in all the fun and feels, just post an original new work and tag our page @knight-rook-a-history ! Afterwards, we’ll reblog you onto our main page!!!

I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!

[knight-rook-a-history]

@knight-rook-a-history Tower Tales: Nature

Some of the things Killian brought to Alice to help her experience the world outside

[knight-rook-a-history]

@knight-rook-a-history Happily Ever After: Nature

After the curse breaks, Killian and Alice go on several camping trips around the united realms. They see all sorts of beautiful and strange plants and creatures. And suprisingly, Neverland ends up being one of their favourite places to set up camp.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Nature - Day 5

@knight-rook-a-history: Happily Ever After Headcanons

- After Killian is cured from the poisoned heart and they have all settled down in the United Realm, he teaches Alice how to sail the Jolly Roger and Smee even takes them and Robin on board for some sea adventures. Being with the people she loves causes Alice to radiate happiness all around via her magic and the positive emotions draw in a lot of sea creatures to the Jolly Roger – dolphins, sea turtles, schools of fish, even a few whales. A lot of starfish seem to have attached themselves to the bottom of the ship and sail along with them. They even meet a few mermaids that are charmed by Alice’s powers to the point that Robin gets jealous. The mermaids pick up on that quickly, though, and leave them alone to continue their happy voyage.

- After they’ve spent a good amount of time sailing the seas, Alice and Robin decide to go on a trip around the world. Wherever they go, Alice always feels nature reaching out to people. Even in big cities, it extends its arms to them – through the trees that produce oxygen, the flowers that adorn the tables at a restaurant to make lunch break a little more pleasant and green, even the little blades of grass growing through cracks in the concrete. Animals are also present everywhere–no matter wild or domesticated–and nature has not turned its back on people. It’s reaching for them even more at these hectic times and looking for their help and support to save the beautiful symbiosis between them.

- When they return to Storybrooke, Alice quickly sets up a blog that is all about ecology on a smaller scale and finding your connection to nature. She knows her magic and her nymph blood allow her to feel more than ordinary people can, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t feel anything. People are a part of nature, and as such, they are deeply connected with it. Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses in order to remember that connection and feel in touch with nature again.

- In the United Realm Alice takes the initiative to set up a monthly meet-and-greet with forest animals. They always answer the call of her magic and with her acting as a buffer between them and the residents of the United Realm–at first, it was mostly curious children and their parents, but soon most everyone became interested and the event became a big hit–they manage to build a connection between them. Ruby is a big supporter of the idea since she sees both sides and it makes people more receptive both to werewolves and actual wolves. (Hope is immediately drawn to a wolf and Emma is pretty convinced that that’s the same one that caused her to crash her car that first night and kicked all following events into motion.) Snow offers to teach kids–and anyone else who wants–to talk to birds.

- Alice comes home one day to find Robin in the backyard waiting for her. There’s a bunch of robins on her shoulders that start singing at the sight of Alice. She can feel the love in the notes as if it is spoken in words. She is stunned by it. It means Robin really managed to connect with the birds if they can translate her love for Alice so well in a song. Robin admits that it took long talks with them–possible thanks to Snow’s lessons–and an effort from both sides to understand and connect with a form of life so different from theirs, but ultimately, with Alice’s tips on connecting with nature, it became possible. Alice is extremely touched and proud and thanks the robins that chirp in return and fly off of Robin’s shoulders so that Alice can draw her into a hug and kiss.

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Nature - Day 4

@knight-rook-a-history: Hyperion Hysteria Headcanon

Tilly can feel that something is happening in the Heights. The air is different and there is an insistent buzz in her head. Then she remembers that it is Halloween. She remembers she is wearing a mask. She remembers she plays Tilly who is Alice in disguise. And she remembers the voices of nature. She can hear them all around, calling to her as if to warn her about the upcoming war. The special and mystical energy of the day allowed her powers to break through the haze and wake her. And she manages to wake Rumple for the price of shooting him. And for the price of falling back under the Curse herself without even having seen her papa. As the voice of nature turns to a buzz in her head again, she puts all her faith in Rumple. He may be the Dark One but he is their only light in the darkness of the Curse.

Tilly knows something is wrong when she sees that woman, Eloise Gardener, being driven away in an ambulance, and Rogers following, leaving her on her own when she needed help, too. There is something wrong in the air. But the guilt and sorrow weighing on her heart just make everything in her head hazier and she can’t focus on that. She can’t focus at all. The look of betrayal on Rogers’ face seems to have cut her off from the world and she’s drifting away until Rogers reaches out to her and she’s connected again. She’s a part of the world and sees all the changes in it. And she helps Rogers see them as well.

The whole mess with the Candy Killer leaves her shaken and feeling invisible, just like the voices in her head. The voices that keep getting her in trouble but she keeps listening to them because she can’t ignore them. And they’re trying to make her stay but she’ll just get in trouble again if she does. And she can’t go to jail. Just the thought of concrete walls and metal bars is suffocating her. Sleeping on a park bench during the cold part of the year sounds more tempting than that. She needs her freedom, needs to roam around as she pleases, needs to stay in touch with the world. Luckily, Margot saves her, pulling her out of her thoughts and of the way of a speeding car. And Rogers saves her from being imprisoned and feeling cold and alone. And she’s content enough to ignore all of her senses screaming haphazardly at her and just enjoy the moment at hand.

It all goes well until the voices return – loud and clear, and alarming, impossible to ignore. And Weaver tells her she’s done her job protecting that wavy knife he pulled out of her backpack, but all she knows is that she might have ruined her chance with Margot. She’s so relieved to have Margot understand and forgive her that she swears she won’t let anything come between them again. And if the air feels loaded with pressure or the street animals give off that frantic energy, she ignores them and concentrates on the butterflies in her stomach and the stars in Margot’s eyes. She ignores the signs until it’s too late and the voices are taking over her mind. They feel like they’ve never felt before – threatening and violent, and she’s scared. She’s scared for Rogers, and for Margot, and for everyone else, but she can’t do anything. The presence in her head is stronger than her, the witch did something to the voices to manipulate her and them and she can’t fight them.

They are finally free and they remember, and she knows now that all those things she was hearing all along, all those voices were nature whispering in her ears to guide her. And she has her powers back, she can understand what nature is telling her, she’s fully connected to it once again. But she’s lost her father once again, and she’s facing a monster. She’s scared to go against Gothel. She remembers how she turned her powers against her, how she turned nature against her. But with Robin and her papa by her side she can feel the love in her heart and she reaches out to nature with it, begging it to help her save everyone. It responds to her call and she feels the power surging through her, Gothel’s own magic inconsequential compared to the power of love that she’s using. And so they win and no one is severed from those they love anymore. Nature finds its balance again.

[knight-rook-a-history]

while “zuko sent to find one single person who hasnt existed in 100 years and then he actually does” can be very funny in concept, can we just talk about how fucking heartbreaking it must be for iroh? 

like. he knows this is an impossible task. and it does happen–yes! in the first episode, so maybe we don’t even think about it that much! but when ozai tells zuko to go find the avatar, it’s an impossible task. and iroh knows this. and zuko might have everything riding on this, and he’s a kid and hasn’t learned what’s impossible yet, and so he’s plugging his ears and saying “i can do it! i can do it and then dad will love me again!”, but iroh knows the only reason this specific task was assigned is because ozai doesn’t want him. he doesn’t want him back. ozai didn’t want him to betray them so he gave him a little hope, a little “of course i could still love you, you can come back, that’s a possibility, just don’t disappoint me” because, you know, he’s an abusive dick. but iroh knows his brother, and he knows 

i think as a kid, while i loved loved iroh, it was a little hard to reconcile his silly moments with his wise moments. it’s not anymore 

i’m just thinking of the pai sho tile, and how silly it seemed at the time that it was just in his sleeve. silly old man! so forgetful 

no. no, that wasn’t it at all 

because every moment he stalled, every moment he mucked up the plan, every moment he just generally wasn’t helpful, that was another moment where he could still have a chance. where he might get through to zuko. where he could delay what was suddenly now a very real possibility: 

that ozai sent zuko away, but zuko would actually come back, expecting to be loved. and that’s what iroh didn’t want to happen. winning ozai’s love was more unrealistic than finding someone who’d been dead for 100 years, in the end 

[knight-rook-a-history]

@knight-rook-a-history AU: Nature

Modern AU where Killian frequently takes Alice to the great outdoors and teaches her the importance of nature

[knight-rook-a-history]

Knight Rook a History: Nature - Day 3

@knight-rook-a-history: Nature - New Quests, New Friends Headcanons

- After she escapes from the tower, Alice loves to spend time in the woods. Among the trees, it feels like home. It feels like she’s not alone. Each tree is alive and Alice can feel their presence. They all feel like friends and it helps her deal with her loneliness. They cannot speak, yet, they tell so many stories. Alice can sense all the life that the trees shelter – the birds in their branches, the rodents having hollows in their trunks, the bugs under their bark, the microoragnisms in their roots, the fungi eating the fallen leaves. Each tree brims with life, and they all weave an amazing tale that she can read and hear in the forest so that she feels less alone.

- Alice draws strength from the life she can feel around her. Every tree towering tall above her and every little insect at her feet give her hope and courage to keep breathing and keep believing. Life continues and knowing that everything in nature–from the biggest ogre to the smallest blade of grass–keeps striving forward towards more sunshine and survival, helps her find her inner strength to keep going despite the current pain.

- When she’s in Rumple’s presence, Alice has noticed that every living thing seems to pull away from him as if cowering away from the darkness inside him. It looks like the grass itself is trying to get as far away from him as possible. And that just makes Alice want to spend more time with him and keep him company. She may be lonely without her papa, but at least she has the soothing presence of nature all around her. And Rumple seems to be deprived of even that. So until he can find his way back into his wife’s arms, she’ll be his companion. She’s not afraid of the darkness for she’s seen what lies underneath, just like Belle had.

- When her papa is near, there is also a shift in nature. The tress seem to retreat in themselves and close off to the world in their sadness. Alice now knows that she can actually feel what they feel and knows that they’re weeping for her papa and her, for having to stand between them as a barrier for the curse. She can feel it and it wounds her deeply for nature does not seem to know of a cure that can help them. The trees would’ve long reached out for her if they did. But just like them she will bend under the storm, but she will not break. She knows that there will be a happy ending for her and her papa because they share a magic stronger than that that separated them – they share love. And she also knows that nature cares about her. It responds to her presence and helps her feel less alone. And her papa may not have her powers but he has friends by his side to keep the loneliness away. With all of that on their side a curse stands no chance. They will find a way to be together. Even if it takes all the patience she can draw from nature.

- After each of Robin’s visits, there are new flowers blooming around Alice’s cottage. It might be the middle of the winter, but there will be flowers. Alice’s magic reaches to the new life that’s hiding in the soil and her blooming love for Robin urges the flowers to bloom as well. Alice does not even realize she does that until Rumple tells her. She blushes, remembering how Robin commented on the pretty flowers just a little earlier. It gives her an idea how to confess to Robin, though. She takes a seed and uses her magic to help it grow before giving it to Robin and enlightening her on how she did that. Robin is the one to blush then, but before long she’s commenting on how she was right and those are the most beautiful flowers she’s ever seen after which she pulls Alice into a kiss.