[center][img]http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o620/Vicier/Yoshi%20-%20OUAT%20RP%20-%20Characters/Isabella%20French_zpsmhmnaaje.gif[/img][img]http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o620/Vicier/Yoshi%20-%20OUAT%20RP%20-%20Characters/Elizabeth%20Madden_zpsuggufsq5.gif[/img]
[h1][color=Moccasin]Isabella Français[/color] and [color=DarkCyan]Elizabeth Madden[/color][/h1]
[h3]Enchanted Forest ~ Kingdom of Avonlea[/h3][/center]

She couldn't do this. It just wasn't right, it just wasn't... love. She didn't love him. She didn't love Gaston, well, at least she didn't love him anymore, that was more to the point. There was a time when she would have done anything to have been with him... to walk down the aisle to where he was standing there waiting for her, to have her father give her away to the man she would be spending the rest of her life with, to no longer be Isabella Français, but instead to be Isabella Le' Gume... but those days were gone. Shaking her head as though to rid herself of the thoughts, Belle gathered up more of her wedding dress, her feet moving as quickly as they could underneath her as they carried her further and further away from her families castle, her long dark brown locks flying back behind her with every step that she took, and her feet kicking up small dust clouds behind her as she ran down the road.

Things had changed, and now she couldn't go through with it. She just couldn't marry Gaston. She wasn't his, she wasn't even sure if she was still the same woman anymore. All she knew for certain was that her heart was no longer his... her heart no longer belonged to Gaston Le' Gume, but instead belonged to another man. All that time spent alone with him at the Dark Castle-... Gods she loved him. It wasn't even something she could describe to herself, let alone try and explain it to another. [i]He[/i] was the reason she was running as fast as she could, [i]he[/i] was the reason she couldn't go through with the wedding - she would be marrying the wrong man... [i]He[/i] was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with; she wanted to stand tall and proud by his side, but the first thing was first, she had to get back to him, preferably before she was chased down by her father's knights and dragged back to the castle. She had to get back to him, she just had to tell him... She had to tell Rumpelstiltskin that she loved him.

Turning her head, Belle took a chance and looked back over her shoulder at the path she had been taking, there wasn't anything yet, but there was no way she was getting away with this for very much longer than she was. They were going to realize that she was missing, sooner rather than later, she knew that. So the best she could do was run. Run as far as she could, and until she couldn't run any further. Belle's attention was dragged away as the sound of a ravens caw filled the air around her, her eyes flicking up to the sky just in time to catch the sight of black feathers disappearing among the green leaves of the trees, the forest growing denser with every minute that passed her by.

"A-Ah..!"

Falling backwards onto the ground, Belle shut her eyes tightly, a pain shooting up through her wrist as her mind tried to figure out just what had happened, just what it was that had stopped her from moving in the first place. She had hit something... something hard, but still soft at the same time... a person? No... it couldn't be... They couldn't have found her already, they couldn't have caught up to her yet. That was impossible, she had run not moments after being left alone in her chambers. Lifting her head up, Belle stared at the person standing over her, her brilliant blue orbs searching the grayish-blue ones that stared back at hers, her chest heaving up and down in the white gown as she shook her head lightly.

"Please... Please, you can't take me back there... I can't marry him..."

"M-Marry him..? Woah there... what in Wonderland are you talking about? I'm not here to take you anywhere, I'm here looking for my partner." Raising her eyebrow, Elizabeth stared down at the woman on the ground at her feet, her grayish-blue orbs flicking over the white dress she could only assume was the woman's wedding dress. A bride..? No, the woman wasn't just a bride... from the way she was talking, the look in her eyes... the woman was a run-away bride... Though why exactly she was running away was a complete and utter mystery to her. Shaking her head, Elizabeth reached forward, doing her best to help the woman back up to her feet before she began to dust off the front of the beautiful white gown. If this woman was from around here... then maybe she could help, maybe she knew Kaeden and where to find him...

It had been two weeks... two weeks since she had returned to Wonderland for her last job, two weeks since she had been turned to stone in front of Kaeden's eyes-... Gods she could only hope that he had gotten away before they had caught up with him. He was resourceful... smart and cunning... not to mention he was fast when he set his mind to it. He would have gotten away... he just [i]had[/i] to get away, if he hadn't- Elizabeth shook her head, shoving the thoughts straight from her mind, she didn't want to even think about what would have happened if he had of been caught. No, the last time he had gotten away from Wonderland, he had ended up here... in Avonlea, serving the King as a Knight, and if their plan for meeting up, should they ever get separated, worked the way it was supposed to, then here was exactly where she would find him. Somewhere in this Kingdom... it was just a matter of finding him before meeting back up with Robin and the others.

"Listen, I'm not here to take you anywhere, you have my word; thieves honor..! I'm just looking for someone...think you can help me out here? He's about ye high, brown hair, kinda weird but has a body to die for..." Her voice trailed off slightly as she found her mind wandering, her cheeks turning a light shade of red at the thought of Kaeden in that manner, realizing her mistake, Elizabeth quickly snapped herself out of it, turning her attention back to the woman in white, "..Oh, and he goes by the name Kaeden Liddell, you haven't seen him have you..?"

“K-Kaeden Liddell..? I-… I know him, admittedly though, I do not know him very well… He once worked for my father, under Sir Gaston’s instruction…” Belle’s voice trailed off slightly as she spoke about her fiancé, the thought causing her stomach to twist nervously for a moment, turning her head slightly, she looked back over her shoulder in the direction that she had been running from, taking a few moments to make sure that the path was still clear, and that she wasn’t yet being followed. She was pushing her luck by standing around and speaking with this woman, the longer she did, the less time she would have to get away from them if they-… no, it wasn’t a matter of [i]if[/i], it was a matter of [i]when[/i] they came looking for her…

Tearing her gaze away from the road, Belle once more turned her attention back to the woman who she was speaking with, choosing now to take the ever fleeting chance to look over the others appearance, her brilliant blue orbs showing just how curious she was about why she was looking for the Knight here of all places. He hadn’t worked in the Kingdom for as long as she could remember, in fact the last time she had seen him was the morning he had set out with some of the other Knights on a routine transport job… the last she had heard was that something had gone wrong… nothing had been recovered, however all the men had returned… all except for Kaeden…

“I’m sorry to give you news I understand you are not going to like, but… I have not seen him for quite some time. If he had been at the castle, I would have been sure to speak with him, I have missed his company, and much has happened since we last saw one another.”  Dropping her hands down to the folds of her dress, Belle gripped at the material, ruffling it slightly as though she were pressing the point that yes, much had happened since the last time she had been able to speak to Kaeden. There was so much that she could tell him… but if this woman was looking for him, then maybe something was wrong, maybe something had happened, “I’m sorry I could not be of better help…”

Elizabeth’s chest tightened increasingly at the information that he wasn’t here. He wasn’t back in Avonlea like they had planned… at least, he wasn’t back at the castle, so maybe- yes, there had to be a chance… she couldn’t give up on him, not yet. He was still out there, still alive, she could feel it in her heart. He had gotten away, he [i]had[/i] to have gotten away… No, she couldn’t think like that, if she did-… Lifting her hand up from her side, Elizabeth unconsciously gripped hold of the strange looking locket that hung around her neck, her clasp around it tightening and holding it fast against her chest, as though her very life depended on keeping it as close to her heart as she could. She had lost everyone… Jefferson, Grace, Alice… she couldn’t lose him too. She was already alone, if he was gone- oh gods, she didn’t even want to think about it.

“N-no… No, it’s okay… there’s no need for you to apologize to me about this... I mean, it just means that I’m going to have to look a lot harder for him… I-It just probably took him a little longer to get back from home…” Yes… That had to be the reason he wasn’t here yet. Or maybe he had just forgotten about their meet up plan, maybe he was back with Robin and the others, it would explain why it was that she hadn’t run into him yet, and it wasn’t like she had checked in with Robin since she had gotten back… so it was entirely possible that it was where he was. Pulling herself back from her little daydream once more, Elizabeth focused her attention back on the woman in white, watching curiously as she continued to look back down the way she had come from, as though she was expecting something to happen… or someone to come running after her… was that what was happening here..? It helped to make her earlier statement make more sense…

“Woah, sorry about that, didn’t mean to get caught up- are you alright? Like, I realize that you’re obviously not okay; I can only assume that you just ran away from your wedding..? I mean, the dress is kind of a dead give-away…” Furrowing her brows slightly as she watched the woman look over her shoulder once more, Elizabeth leant to the side slightly, her head tilting until it rested completely on her shoulder, her grayish-blue eyes narrowing out of pure curiosity as she did her best to try and find out what was so fascinating about that general direction, “But for a woman who just ran to her freedom, you don’t seem too terribly happy about it. So please, feel free to satisfy my curiosity; I would offer you a cup of tea, but I was never as good as my brother at making it… and I seem to be lacking a kitchen, teacups, and more importantly the sugar bowl…”

There was no denying it… the woman was strange, but it was comforting, it reminded Belle of how Kaeden used to be around her, especially when she was upset. The reference to the tea- it was always something that made her smile… made her feel better, and as she was finding out, it must have been a quirk that everyone he knew from this mysterious ‘home’ had. Unable to help the small smile that crossed over her lips as she continued to watch the woman, Belle furrowed her brows slightly, a soft chuckle slipping through her lips against her better judgement, “Uhm… yes, I am running from my wedding- but I do have my reasons... By this time, I was supposed to have been given away to Gaston, to my husband… but I couldn’t do it. My heart, it does not belong to him anymore. I am in love with another, and I feel as though I have to tell him... even when I know that nothing is going to come from it…”

She paused for a few moments, Belle's head dropping as she brought her hands together in front of her body, her fingers nervously playing with themselves as she did her best to sort through what it was she was thinking… There was no going back from this… at least not that she could see anyway… She was running away from her chance at a life she had once dreamed about, just so that she could tell Rumpelstiltskin that she loved him, even when she knew that he would just turn her away again, send her away from the Dark Castle once more… or worse… She didn’t care though; he had her heart, intentionally or not, she had given it to him, and now she was making her choice. Her choice was him… it was always going to be him. She was never going to be happy with anyone else- Gaston was never going to be able to make her feel that way, not anymore, she knew that.

 “..I have to try righ-…”

Belle's words cut off the instant that she heard it. The thundering of hooves… it was too late, they were on their way… she had wasted too much time by standing there talking to- she didn’t even know her name..! She had to leave, now. She had to get out of there, or else she was just going to be dragged back to the castle to go through with a wedding she didn’t want any part of, “I-I’m so sorry..! I-… I have to go now… they’re coming for me… Forgive me for not being able to help you with Kaeden as much as I had hoped to…”

“Wait… Are- Are they after you?”

Frowning heavily as she watched the woman nod in answer to her question, Elizabeth turned her head back and forth, her eyes searching about their surroundings before they came to rest on a couple of trees standing tall by not only a boulder, but also a clump of wild bushes. It wasn’t much, Elizabeth would have preferred to have been in Wonderland with this situation, hiding a woman in a wedding dress behind that was going to be a lot harder than hiding her behind one of the wild mushrooms… not that she had ever been in this situation before. It was pretty damn strange, even by Wonderland’s standards, and that was saying something, “Come on, I’ll make sure they don’t find you, then we can talk about that teaspoon. Cheeky little bastard that one is… He’s always playing hide and go peek-a-boo…”

Not even giving the woman a chance to respond, Elizabeth shot her hand forward, taking a firm but gentle grip on her wrist as she began to lead her over to the only place that she would be able to hide both her and the dress she was wearing. The last thing she wanted to tell the woman was that in order to hide she was going to have to strip. It was completely inappropriate… wasn’t it? She couldn’t really remember the standards of clothing now a days, not with all the ‘hopping’ about she had done as a collector… Oh well, she would be sure to ask Robin about it later when she had the chance, right now she had something to do- what was it again? Oh! Right, she had guests to entertain!

Making sure that the woman was completely hidden, Elizabeth turned her back and made her way back to the road, sitting herself down comfortably in the middle of it before she began to fumble around in her bag, the look on her face one of pure concentration as she searched for something, the sounds of the horses growing louder before finally they came to a stop in front of where she sat, each of the five men looking down upon her before exchanging confused looks with one another. Where was it… she knew she had brought it with her, and if she couldn’t find what it was she was looking for, then she was going to be late, and that was no way for anyone to start the day…

“You there..! I’m looking for a woman… she has a beauty beyond belief… have you seen her?”

“Oh my…” Straightening her back slightly, Elizabeth turned her head to look up at the man who was addressing her, her hands retracting from her bag to pull out a small handkerchief which she laid out on the ground in front of her, her hands once more returning to her bag, searching ever still for whatever it was the girl needed, “Flattery my dear Knight will get you everywhere. I realize that my beauty might be hard for even you to resist dear sir, but I must tell you… my heart is already spoken for by another man…”

“I-… “ Scrunching up his face in slight confusion to her answer, Gaston turned his head, exchanging a questioning glance with one of his men before he shook his head, clearly this conversation was going to need to be taken with a different approach, “..Forgive me, for I was not clear… I am looking for a woman; my fiancé to be precise… long dark flowing locks, eyes as blue as the sky, and as sparkling as the stars that line it during the night… I ask again, have you seen her..?”

“Oh..! That woman..! Pfft, now why didn’t you say you were after a beautiful woman before? Really, you must learn to be vaguer with your requests…” Rolling her eyes as she shook her head, Elizabeth began pulling things from the depths of her bag, each item causing the men to look even more confused than they already were. She had gotten used to those looks, it had taken Robin and the Merry Men quite some time to get used to her quirks, and even then, they were still finding more.

Pulling a teacup and saucer out of her bag, Elizabeth reached up, balancing them both on the top of her head before she pulled out a small plate covered in sugar-cubes and a small teapot that (if one looked ever so closely) looked to be issuing steam out of the spout. Lifting the teapot up above her head, she closed her eyes softly, her shoulders shrugging lightly as she began to pour the hot liquid without so much as a second thought, her other hand lifting up one of the sugar cubes, Elizabeth's eyes opening up so that she could examine it before throwing it over her shoulder in slight disgust.

“Not everyone is like me you know, they aren’t going to understand your every word. Now… about that teaspoon- wait, no, that’s not right… Teaspoon, tea, mouth… Right, about that man you were after. I saw where he went; maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. What’s it to you?”

“Uh… she… my fiancé is a she… and you just said you saw where it was that she went. Please, tell me where she went, I shall make it worth your while; anything that you want.”

“..Ahh…. very well then, I shall tell you what it is you wish to know…” Lowering the teapot down to rest on the handkerchief that she had already lain out, Elizabeth lifted her hand back up to take hold of the teacup, leaving the saucer perching on her head as she brought it to her lips, taking a small sip of the sweet liquid, “The woman in white is who you seek… She zipped past not too long ago actually, ran right into me and went tumbling into the ground, such a shame really… It was such a beautiful dress… Point is, she didn’t choose to hang around, caught sight of me and like the bread’and’butterflies, she flitted off down the road. I believe you’ll be able to catch up to her in the next village.”

Nodding enthusiastically as he listened, Gaston sat a little straighter in his saddle, a look of hope crossing over his features at the thought of being able to catch up to her, and at the thought of bringing her home, “Yes… yes, of course. Thank you so much for your help. Now… about your reward… What is it that you wish?”

“I have but a simple request… A matter that I have been giving much thought to as of late…” Closing her eyes for a moment, Elizabeth let herself take another sip of her tea, reveling in the taste before she opened her eyes again, the cup still lifted as she spoke, her gaze lifting to meet with his, “Tell me… Why is a raven like a writing desk..?” 

“I-I… I beg your pardon, what..?” To say that he was utterly confused by her question was a complete understatement, though as a man of his word, he wasn’t going to back down… he just needed to understand that he had heard her correctly first... “I’m sorry… why is a raven like a writing desk?”

She almost choked on her tea. Clenching her jaw tightly, Elizabeth lifted her head up to glare at him, the look on her face clearly showing him and the other Knights that she had been offended by his words, and that she clearly wasn’t happy about that fact either, “Why is a raven..? Why is a raven..?! How dare you ask such a thing of me..! You barely even know me, you animal..! Go, shoo! Get out of here!”

Closing her eyes as she bided her time, Elizabeth waited until they had past her by before she opened her eyes once more, her brows furrowing slightly as she watched a couple of black feathers float down in front of her on the breeze, one falling to the ground while the other rested softly in her tea causing her stomach to churn nervously. It couldn’t be [i]him[/i] could it..? No… she was probably just being paranoid, besides, what in the hell would [i]he[/i] want with her or the run-away bride she was helping out?

“Y-You helped me… You didn’t have to do that, I mean… you barely even know me…”

It was the third time that she had gotten carried away. The third time that she had gotten lost within her own thoughts… Snapping herself out of it once she heard the womans voice, Elizabeth lifted her head up, her gaze turning over to where the woman in white was standing and looking at her with a gratitude that she hadn’t seen in quite some time, “Huh..? Oh, right. It’s no problem; honestly, I’ve never really been one for the rules anyway…”

Tossing the rest of her tea back over her shoulder, Elizabeth worked quickly with what it was she had in front of her, making sure to get it all back into her bag before she got back up to her feet, dusting herself off as she turned to face the woman, a warm smile playing over her lips as she tilted her head to the side slightly, “Well, the time for tea has past, and that damn spoon still hasn’t shown his face. I’ll have to try again tomorrow… It seems as though I have the rest of the day to myself, how’s about we get you somewhere, where they aren’t going to find you easily?”

She was still willing to help her? Even after she had already done so much… the woman barely even knew her, she didn’t even know what her name was, and yet she was still blindly offering Belle help for the situation she was in. She really was a lot like Kaeden… Smiling softly towards the woman, Belle nodded her head as she took a few steps closer, closing the gap just a little so that the conversation could continue the way it had been earlier, before they had been interrupted by Gaston and his men… “That would be really amazing; I can’t thank you enough for all your help Lady..? I’m sorry; I just realized that I never actually caught your name…”

“Ah yes! Names! Interesting things names are, especially when one can’t remember their own. Such power, for such a tiny and seemingly insignificant detail…” Elizabeth's voice trailed off slightly towards the end of her sentence. She had heard Caterpillar speak about names before, and the power that they held, though she never really put too much stock into it. Forgetting names was basically an art form, especially in Wonderland; it was something they learnt to do at a young age, though the skill was never perfected no matter how much they tried. Chuckling softly, Elizabeth held her hand out to the woman in question, a bright and warm smile playing over her lips, “The name is Elizabeth Madden, but most people call me Lizard. You can certainly do the same thing, cause I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t.”

“Lizard… It’s very fitting. Well Elizabeth, it’s a pleasure to meet you. To be honest with you, I don’t think I would have gotten very far without your help, and for that I owe you much.” Smiling sweetly towards the woman she now knew as Lizard, Belle reached out and took hold of her hand, shaking it softly as she thought about the fact that she had unintentionally made a friend by physically running into her. It was a strange way of meeting, but now that she had done it, it didn’t seem so strange after all.

“If I am to be truly honest, I am really glad that I ran into you. Isabella… My name is Isabella Français, though please, everyone calls me Belle.”

[i]Belle[/i] - the name seemed to echo off into the distant treetops and beyond. The Raven, perched in its branch, looked down upon the duo with its heartless black eyes, staring intently as though it were eyeing a piece of carrion. 

The woman who had earned the attentions of both the Dark One and the Evil Queen, standing there so oblivious, completely unaware that the two gods of the Enchanted Forest were playing a grand game of chess with her as the lucky pawn. 

Cawing once, the Raven took off into the air with a resounding beat of its wings, whooshing through the treetops before disappearing once more into the heavens above. 

Elizabeth’s attention was drawn up to the sky as she heard the sound of a raven’s caw, her smile fading into a frown as her gaze caught upon the tail end of what was unmistakably black feathers, the same black feathers that she had come into contact with moments earlier. She wasn’t happy with the situation… wasn’t comfortable with it what so ever. Something just didn’t seem right, wasn’t sitting well with her, and that right there was reason enough for her to get the two of them moving from this spot on the side of the road, “..It’s an honor to meet you Belle… come on, we should get moving before they realize the information I gave them is as useless as the Dormouse during nap time…”

There was no need for her to scare Belle, no need to tell her that she thought she had seen [i]him[/i]… not when she wasn’t even sure that they had been watched… it would just cause unnecessary panic for them both, and that was the last thing she needed. Motioning with her head for Belle to follow, Elizabeth began leading the way down the road, heading now in the opposite direction to which she had originally been moving, her stomach churning nervously with each and every step that they took together… this day was already proving to be a long one…