Episode 8

**Episode 8** of Forever After is the eighth episode in the series.

## Summary

Hira's curse takes hold in the story of *Little Briar Rose*, forcing Tank and Robin to leave the story for a later time.

## Plot

Robin and Tank can't find Briar Rose after searching everywhere they could, mentioning that they have a bad feeling. The King proposes that Robin should spend some time at the adult function they came from, only to be distracted by lightning cracking over the west tower of the castle. The King and Queen fall asleep as Robin and Tank realize that they were too late to stop Hira's curse, and Robin almost gets caught up in the sleeping curse as well, but Tank refuses to let her fall asleep and drags her away from the rapidly growing thorn hedge by her hair to the outer wall of the kingdom.

    Robin grouses about Tank's alarm clock methods, but climbs over the wall as fast as her sleepy self and manages. Once safely on the other side, Robin and Tank could only watch as the briars envelop the castle and spill over the walls. Robin grouses about dealing with plants again, but draws her sword to fight her way through and quickly gets her weapon stuck in the still growing shrub.

Robin tries to tug her sword out of the growing garden, but is distracted by the arrival of the Wicked Witch, who she accuses of being behind what was happening. The Witch refuses to claim what Hira and done, and asks if Robin was going to get her sword back as Tank demands to know what he wants, which is to gloat and offer Robin some advice: since she's not cut out for this, go home before she gets hurt or curses someone else.

Tank interjects that Witches were the only ones who curse people, and the Wicked Witch asks if Tank counted what the Fates did to him as a curse, and is met with Tank's denial and Robin's confusion. Tank brushes it aside and says they need to focus on their goal, and the Witch points out that Robin's attempt to chop the briars into pieces has led to the loss of her sword. The Witch points out that Hira's curse will last for 100 years, and that Robin and Tanks should make themselves at home as they wait for it to end as he leaves with a swirl of dark magic.

Robin curses as lightning flashes overhead, falling to her knees as she questions how they failed the easiest story, and Tank asks if the curse really lasts 100 years. Robin confirms that it does, and it was the original prince's great-grandson who 'beat' the curse by being there when the spell wore off, so Tank suggests that they come back to this story later, and Robin inquires about what he means.

Tank pulls off his shoe to get a bag inside as he explains that sometimes the best thing to do is fall back and regroup, especially since he didn't think they'd manage the hedge as they currently were. Robin wonders how they'd come back in 100 years, and how did time even work in Forever After, so Tank explains that time moves differently. Time has slowed to practically nothing in the real world, and even stories in Forever After move at different speeds, depending on if a Prince Charming was working on the story.

Robin asks about the bag Tank has, and he explains that the magic powder is used to move between stories, demanding that Robin pick a new story. Robin tells Tank to pick the story since she had no idea what she was doing. At her let-down face, Tank takes the book and picks a story that has already been started, and gently blows a small handful of magic powder over Robin, taking them away from the story of *Little Briar Rose*.

## Important Events

* Unable to finish the story of *Little Briar Rose*, Robin and Tank travel to a new story.

## Characters

Briar Rose

Robin

Tank

Briar Rose's Parents

Messengers (Cameo)

Wicked Witch

Hira (Mentioned)

The Fates (Mentioned)

## Credits

*Written by Violet Matter*

*Storyboarding by Valery Yu*

*Art by Hannah Patten*

Backgrounds by Megan Roberts

*Lettering by Kylie Hunsinger*

*Copy editing by Kat Vendetti*

*Produced by Quinn Sosna-Spear and Wil Kennedy*