Chapter 7: Déjà vu
Emma Swan
This was more than déjà vu. Graham was dying in my arms. Again. And again, there was nothing I could do but shout his name. The worst part about it, was that it was my fault. Again. Regina killed him so that I couldn't have him and now he was dying again so that I would remember. For a savior I sure had a tall kill list. The only thing keeping me sane in the midst of all of this was Hook's hand on my shoulder. Hook. Killian Jones. That was a whole other issue. I couldn't deal with that until I knew what was happening right here right now. A million questions still floated through my mind. Did Henry magically remember after my kiss with Graham? Who was the women who had hit me? Because looking back she had been very precise with the injury she made and it was the same on as when Regina hit me the day Graham died the first time. She was involved, I was sure of it. Where did she go? Hook had said my family was in danger. Where were Mary Margaret and David? Had Killian really tried to use true love's kiss on me? Did he really think it would work? Why hadn't it worked? Whoa. Where had that come from? Did I think Killian was my true love? These all raced through my mind in seconds and I was drawn back to the man in my arms once more. His hand was resting on my shoelace bracelet and a tear was dripping down his cheek. His eyes were opened but I knew he was gone. He was disappearing. Right before my eyes he faded away. First he just looked fuzzy, like a blurry picture. But then he turned nearly opaque and within a minute, he was completely gone. My arms were empty. Sobs wracked my body. This was my fault. Graham was kind. He had saved my mother from Regina. He had befriended Henry when he felt the most alone and he had believed in him when none of the rest of us had. And he had loved me. He made me feel loved, like I had only felt one other time before him. I had liked him. I had liked him a lot. He brought me back to life when I was at a low point in my life. But had I loved him? Maybe. The way he loved me? No.
Despite all of that, he was my friend, he had looked out for me in New York when I was lost. He brought back my memories. And his death was, once again, my fault. So I wept. Out of guilt, for my fault in his death, out of shame, for not being able to truly love this wonderful man who so clearly loved me, and out of sadness, for my friend who was gone. Then Killian's hand was gone from my shoulder. A quick glance up through my veil of tears and I saw that he was staring out the window. I couldn't see his face, but I knew from his stance that he wasn't happy. I turned to look at Neal and my brow furrowed. He was hugging a woman. The woman who had cut me.
"Who are you?" I asked bluntly, my voice quivering. She smiled. A beautiful and delicate smile. Killian turned to see what I was talking about and gasped, his hand clutching at his heart. Was he about to fall? The way Graham had fallen? I jumped up and reached an arm out to him a sob catching in my throat, when I saw that he was staring at the women like she was a ghost. The way I had been looking at Graham moments ago. I turned back to the stunning woman, understanding.
"You're Milah, from the tattoo." She laughed. An image of waterfalls ran through my mind. If that was Milah, I had absolutely no chance whatsoever with Killian. He was simply flirting, I was the second choice. Perhaps 300 years had lowered his standards but now that he saw her he would never go for someone as simple and non-special as me. She nodded.
"I know what you're thinking, Emma, my dear." She said. Her voice was lower than I had expected, but it suited her. And it was just as perfect as everything else about her. "Graham and I have been watching over you all and I feel as though I've known you long enough to see exactly what is on your mind. Emma, this is not your fault. Neither was his death the first go around." My hands slowly stopped shaking. I had never met Milah before, but her words were calming, they held weight within me, like I trusted her. I mean the woman was dead for God's sake, she saw everything. She must know what she was talking about, right? "Regina killed him then, and he choose to die now."
"Were you part of the deal?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "He kept saying 'we'." Milah rolled her eyes as if amused.
"He was being a bit melodramatic." She responded dryly. "I wasn't supposed to come back but I needed to see my boys again. Oh and I needed to make sure Graham did the job right! He's a weakling, had I not been here he would have kissed you on day one, the fool." I let out a laugh through my tears. "Emma, he is fine. I am taking care of him. It's the least I can do after you gave me the most beautiful grandchild this world has ever seen." I started at that. Of course, Milah was Henry's grandmother. I hadn't thought about that. And Hook and Milah…and then in Neverland we…between Neverland and curses these timelines were extremely screwed up. "Now I don't have much time. You, young man." Milah clutched Neal's face in her hands. "First, my darling I am so sorry for leaving the way I did. We were going to go back for you once you grew up but a pirate ship was no place for a child and your father loved you more than he could ever love me. Had I stolen you away, he would never have let me go and I couldn't return. I was a coward and I will never forgive myself for that." Neal shook his head, trying to respond but she battled on. "No, no, I don't have much time." she held up a hand. "See I am already fading. I want to tell you how tremendously proud of you I am. I love you more than anything and I am so, so proud of you. You were a fantastic son, and you are an even better father. I'm not quite sure how you got to be such a great parent, seeing the references you had. Why you're horrible at relationships I understand, but,"
"Hey!" Neal blurted out, looking offended.
"Oh come on, you left a perfectly wonderful girl, pregnant, and about to go to prison for something you did because a wooden man with a lying problem told you to? You were the adult! Hell she was 17 and you were, what? 250? You should have known better, young man. And don't get me started on that idiot Tamara! But enough with you," She turned to Killian who was still staring at Milah warily. "My dearest love, I've missed you so much." She reached her hands out and clutched his hands in hers. She pulled him in close and whispered something in his ear. My heart broke in two. Of course. He belonged to Milah. I didn't have a chance with him. Milah was claiming him now, in the simple act of confident familiarity. Killian had always been so comfortable around me, always flirting. But I had always felt so uncomfortable, so unsure. I couldn't open myself up, I couldn't make a choice between my first love, so familiar and easy, and this all-consuming true love that I was so afraid of. But now that the choice was gone, now that I knew I could never have him, I realized that it was the familiarity that I held on to, not Neal. I knew now that I loved Killian, that had I retained memory of who he was True Love's Kiss would have worked in a heartbeat. I loved Killian Jones. And he loved her. And there was nothing I could do about it.
This was more than déjà vu. Graham was dying in my arms. Again. And again, there was nothing I could do but shout his name. The worst part about it, was that it was my fault. Again. Regina killed him so that I couldn't have him and now he was dying again so that I would remember. For a savior I sure had a tall kill list. The only thing keeping me sane in the midst of all of this was Hook's hand on my shoulder. Hook. Killian Jones. That was a whole other issue. I couldn't deal with that until I knew what was happening right here right now. A million questions still floated through my mind. Did Henry magically remember after my kiss with Graham? Who was the women who had hit me? Because looking back she had been very precise with the injury she made and it was the same on as when Regina hit me the day Graham died the first time. She was involved, I was sure of it. Where did she go? Hook had said my family was in danger. Where were Mary Margaret and David? Had Killian really tried to use true love's kiss on me? Did he really think it would work? Why hadn't it worked? Whoa. Where had that come from? Did I think Killian was my true love? These all raced through my mind in seconds and I was drawn back to the man in my arms once more. His hand was resting on my shoelace bracelet and a tear was dripping down his cheek. His eyes were opened but I knew he was gone. He was disappearing. Right before my eyes he faded away. First he just looked fuzzy, like a blurry picture. But then he turned nearly opaque and within a minute, he was completely gone. My arms were empty. Sobs wracked my body. This was my fault. Graham was kind. He had saved my mother from Regina. He had befriended Henry when he felt the most alone and he had believed in him when none of the rest of us had. And he had loved me. He made me feel loved, like I had only felt one other time before him. I had liked him. I had liked him a lot. He brought me back to life when I was at a low point in my life. But had I loved him? Maybe. The way he loved me? No.
Despite all of that, he was my friend, he had looked out for me in New York when I was lost. He brought back my memories. And his death was, once again, my fault. So I wept. Out of guilt, for my fault in his death, out of shame, for not being able to truly love this wonderful man who so clearly loved me, and out of sadness, for my friend who was gone. Then Killian's hand was gone from my shoulder. A quick glance up through my veil of tears and I saw that he was staring out the window. I couldn't see his face, but I knew from his stance that he wasn't happy. I turned to look at Neal and my brow furrowed. He was hugging a woman. The woman who had cut me.
"Who are you?" I asked bluntly, my voice quivering. She smiled. A beautiful and delicate smile. Killian turned to see what I was talking about and gasped, his hand clutching at his heart. Was he about to fall? The way Graham had fallen? I jumped up and reached an arm out to him a sob catching in my throat, when I saw that he was staring at the women like she was a ghost. The way I had been looking at Graham moments ago. I turned back to the stunning woman, understanding.
"You're Milah, from the tattoo." She laughed. An image of waterfalls ran through my mind. If that was Milah, I had absolutely no chance whatsoever with Killian. He was simply flirting, I was the second choice. Perhaps 300 years had lowered his standards but now that he saw her he would never go for someone as simple and non-special as me. She nodded.
"I know what you're thinking, Emma, my dear." She said. Her voice was lower than I had expected, but it suited her. And it was just as perfect as everything else about her. "Graham and I have been watching over you all and I feel as though I've known you long enough to see exactly what is on your mind. Emma, this is not your fault. Neither was his death the first go around." My hands slowly stopped shaking. I had never met Milah before, but her words were calming, they held weight within me, like I trusted her. I mean the woman was dead for God's sake, she saw everything. She must know what she was talking about, right? "Regina killed him then, and he choose to die now."
"Were you part of the deal?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "He kept saying 'we'." Milah rolled her eyes as if amused.
"He was being a bit melodramatic." She responded dryly. "I wasn't supposed to come back but I needed to see my boys again. Oh and I needed to make sure Graham did the job right! He's a weakling, had I not been here he would have kissed you on day one, the fool." I let out a laugh through my tears. "Emma, he is fine. I am taking care of him. It's the least I can do after you gave me the most beautiful grandchild this world has ever seen." I started at that. Of course, Milah was Henry's grandmother. I hadn't thought about that. And Hook and Milah…and then in Neverland we…between Neverland and curses these timelines were extremely screwed up. "Now I don't have much time. You, young man." Milah clutched Neal's face in her hands. "First, my darling I am so sorry for leaving the way I did. We were going to go back for you once you grew up but a pirate ship was no place for a child and your father loved you more than he could ever love me. Had I stolen you away, he would never have let me go and I couldn't return. I was a coward and I will never forgive myself for that." Neal shook his head, trying to respond but she battled on. "No, no, I don't have much time." she held up a hand. "See I am already fading. I want to tell you how tremendously proud of you I am. I love you more than anything and I am so, so proud of you. You were a fantastic son, and you are an even better father. I'm not quite sure how you got to be such a great parent, seeing the references you had. Why you're horrible at relationships I understand, but,"
"Hey!" Neal blurted out, looking offended.
"Oh come on, you left a perfectly wonderful girl, pregnant, and about to go to prison for something you did because a wooden man with a lying problem told you to? You were the adult! Hell she was 17 and you were, what? 250? You should have known better, young man. And don't get me started on that idiot Tamara! But enough with you," She turned to Killian who was still staring at Milah warily. "My dearest love, I've missed you so much." She reached her hands out and clutched his hands in hers. She pulled him in close and whispered something in his ear. My heart broke in two. Of course. He belonged to Milah. I didn't have a chance with him. Milah was claiming him now, in the simple act of confident familiarity. Killian had always been so comfortable around me, always flirting. But I had always felt so uncomfortable, so unsure. I couldn't open myself up, I couldn't make a choice between my first love, so familiar and easy, and this all-consuming true love that I was so afraid of. But now that the choice was gone, now that I knew I could never have him, I realized that it was the familiarity that I held on to, not Neal. I knew now that I loved Killian, that had I retained memory of who he was True Love's Kiss would have worked in a heartbeat. I loved Killian Jones. And he loved her. And there was nothing I could do about it.
Chapter 8: Explanations
Killian Jones
She was disappearing right before my eyes, and yet somehow this pain was nothing compared to the knowledge that Emma was gone from me, yet still here. She leaned in and whispered something in my ear
"Love her. She would be a fool not to choose you. I am lucky enough to know True Love when I see it and this is it." Then after a kiss on my cheek and a final smile, she too was gone. True Love. Ha. Emma loved Graham and even with him dead she would never choose me over Neal. He was the father of her child and she had wanted a family since birth. She had been alone and a family with Henry and Neal and her parents, it was exactly what she needed. I just mixed up the picture.
"Hook," She began. There it was. That knife in my heart. Hook. I could never be Killian Jones to her, she could never love me the way I loved her. Look at what she must see-just a one handed pirate with a drinking problem. She deserved so much more than me.
"Come on, we need to get Henry and get you home. The Enchanted Forest needs a Savior." I stormed out of the room and pressed the button on the wall that called the moving box and waited. Emma and Baelfire followed. We were silent, our dead haunting us still, despite their physical absence. Emma waved her hand and a yellow car pulled over. I followed her lead and we all pilled in the back seat. She gave an address and the taxi sped off. Emma turned to me ready to speak, but I didn't want to hear it. I turned my head, staring out the window as we slowly crept through crowds of these zooming horseless carriages, buildings that touched the sky and people. There were people everywhere. I didn't know if I had ever seen this many people at once. Lights were flashing, horns honking and more noise than a man could focus on in his lifetime. It was all a welcome distraction. I didn't want her half-hearted apologies, explanations or even false testimonies of love. I knew the truth. And it broke me. After the awkward pause that followed my actions Baelfire spoke up.
"Who was he?" His voice was cracking. I knew seeing his mother again after she abandoned him must have been excruciatingly difficult and had I not been so angry I would have wished to comfort the lad.
"Graham. He was the sheriff when I moved to Storybrooke. He was the huntsman. He saved Snow White's life and Regina took his heart for his trickery. She kept it so that she could control him. They were having an affair until I came and," She trailed off. I hazarded a glance back at her, to see the expression on her face. Embarrassment. I perked up a bit at this. Not heartbreak, not the painful memory of a loved one, she was embarrassed to tell this story.
"And?" I prompted.
"And he left her for me so she crushed his heart."
"But he remembered?" Baelfire asked.
"Yes. He kissed me and remembered. He said thank you and kissed me again and then he was gone." I shuddered. That was exactly what had happened with Milah. I so wanted to hold her hand, to comfort her but Baelfire had already put an arm around her shoulder. I continued to stare out the window until we reached a large brick building. We hopped out and Emma asked the driver to stay for a minute. Baelfire and I followed Emma into the building and through the maze of white hallways. We entered a small room and Emma walked up to a women at a desk.
"Hey Pam, I need Henry, there's been a family emergency." She said hurriedly. I could feel Neal tensing up beside me. Of course he would be excited to see his son, I was happy to see the lad and he wasn't even mine.
"Oh my God Emma, is everything okay?"
"My mother is ill and we need to go help them. They live in," She paused and looked at us. "Um, England. Yeah, so he will be missing school for a while. I will contact you and let you know when he'll be back." Emma replied nervously.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Let me call him up here for you." She picked up one of those phone things and pressed the brightly colored buttons. "Yes, Miss Dahlberg? Could you send Henry to my office immediately? Tell him to bring his things, his mother is here for him." She waited a moment, apparently listening to a response. "Wonderful! Thank you Miss Dahlberg!" She set the phone back down and turned to us. "He will be here shortly!" Emma smiled and turned to us.
"I'm sure he will be running down here after what happened this afternoon." She said quietly, glancing over her shoulder to look at this Pam. She quieted her voice. "I'm assuming you have a way to get us back." Baelfire laughed.
"Oh yeah, just wait and see."
"And my parents? Is it Regina?" She asked warily.
"No, Regina is on our side for once. It's a different witch." I added.
"You won't believe this Emma." Baelfire said.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"The Wicked Witch of the West." Emma burst out a sharp laugh.
"Are you kidding me? Have you tried throwing some water on her?" I turned my head sharply.
"What is that about? In the first battle you dumped your water bottle on her and simply increased her anger at us. You never explained properly why." I asked Baelfire.
"You dumped a water bottle on her?" Emma laughed. "That's fantastic!"
"It would have been fantastic had it worked."
"What was it supposed to do?" I asked, cutting in to their little private conversation.
"Melt her." Emma said simply. "What about the monkeys? IS that real?" Neal groaned.
"I wish. She has an army of flying men. They are short and move in a monkey-like fashion but they think and act like ruthless little men who can fly."
"And Dorothy? Is she there?" Emma asked. Baelfire bowed his head.
"Not exactly. You see," His head shot up. "Henry!" I spun around.
"Hey mom!" He said. Baelfire's grin lit up his face and he began to speak but I put my hand on his arm. I knew that look in his eyes. It was the one Emma had on her face a couple days ago when I acted to familiarly with her. He didn't know us. "Is everything okay?" Emma noticed it too and was looking back and forth from Henry to Baelfire.
"Um, let me explain in the car, okay?" she said shakily. She led Henry out glancing back at us with a forlorn sense of sadness in her eyes. Glancing at Baelfire I saw the heartbreak in his face as well. This was not going to be an easy day.
She was disappearing right before my eyes, and yet somehow this pain was nothing compared to the knowledge that Emma was gone from me, yet still here. She leaned in and whispered something in my ear
"Love her. She would be a fool not to choose you. I am lucky enough to know True Love when I see it and this is it." Then after a kiss on my cheek and a final smile, she too was gone. True Love. Ha. Emma loved Graham and even with him dead she would never choose me over Neal. He was the father of her child and she had wanted a family since birth. She had been alone and a family with Henry and Neal and her parents, it was exactly what she needed. I just mixed up the picture.
"Hook," She began. There it was. That knife in my heart. Hook. I could never be Killian Jones to her, she could never love me the way I loved her. Look at what she must see-just a one handed pirate with a drinking problem. She deserved so much more than me.
"Come on, we need to get Henry and get you home. The Enchanted Forest needs a Savior." I stormed out of the room and pressed the button on the wall that called the moving box and waited. Emma and Baelfire followed. We were silent, our dead haunting us still, despite their physical absence. Emma waved her hand and a yellow car pulled over. I followed her lead and we all pilled in the back seat. She gave an address and the taxi sped off. Emma turned to me ready to speak, but I didn't want to hear it. I turned my head, staring out the window as we slowly crept through crowds of these zooming horseless carriages, buildings that touched the sky and people. There were people everywhere. I didn't know if I had ever seen this many people at once. Lights were flashing, horns honking and more noise than a man could focus on in his lifetime. It was all a welcome distraction. I didn't want her half-hearted apologies, explanations or even false testimonies of love. I knew the truth. And it broke me. After the awkward pause that followed my actions Baelfire spoke up.
"Who was he?" His voice was cracking. I knew seeing his mother again after she abandoned him must have been excruciatingly difficult and had I not been so angry I would have wished to comfort the lad.
"Graham. He was the sheriff when I moved to Storybrooke. He was the huntsman. He saved Snow White's life and Regina took his heart for his trickery. She kept it so that she could control him. They were having an affair until I came and," She trailed off. I hazarded a glance back at her, to see the expression on her face. Embarrassment. I perked up a bit at this. Not heartbreak, not the painful memory of a loved one, she was embarrassed to tell this story.
"And?" I prompted.
"And he left her for me so she crushed his heart."
"But he remembered?" Baelfire asked.
"Yes. He kissed me and remembered. He said thank you and kissed me again and then he was gone." I shuddered. That was exactly what had happened with Milah. I so wanted to hold her hand, to comfort her but Baelfire had already put an arm around her shoulder. I continued to stare out the window until we reached a large brick building. We hopped out and Emma asked the driver to stay for a minute. Baelfire and I followed Emma into the building and through the maze of white hallways. We entered a small room and Emma walked up to a women at a desk.
"Hey Pam, I need Henry, there's been a family emergency." She said hurriedly. I could feel Neal tensing up beside me. Of course he would be excited to see his son, I was happy to see the lad and he wasn't even mine.
"Oh my God Emma, is everything okay?"
"My mother is ill and we need to go help them. They live in," She paused and looked at us. "Um, England. Yeah, so he will be missing school for a while. I will contact you and let you know when he'll be back." Emma replied nervously.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Let me call him up here for you." She picked up one of those phone things and pressed the brightly colored buttons. "Yes, Miss Dahlberg? Could you send Henry to my office immediately? Tell him to bring his things, his mother is here for him." She waited a moment, apparently listening to a response. "Wonderful! Thank you Miss Dahlberg!" She set the phone back down and turned to us. "He will be here shortly!" Emma smiled and turned to us.
"I'm sure he will be running down here after what happened this afternoon." She said quietly, glancing over her shoulder to look at this Pam. She quieted her voice. "I'm assuming you have a way to get us back." Baelfire laughed.
"Oh yeah, just wait and see."
"And my parents? Is it Regina?" She asked warily.
"No, Regina is on our side for once. It's a different witch." I added.
"You won't believe this Emma." Baelfire said.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"The Wicked Witch of the West." Emma burst out a sharp laugh.
"Are you kidding me? Have you tried throwing some water on her?" I turned my head sharply.
"What is that about? In the first battle you dumped your water bottle on her and simply increased her anger at us. You never explained properly why." I asked Baelfire.
"You dumped a water bottle on her?" Emma laughed. "That's fantastic!"
"It would have been fantastic had it worked."
"What was it supposed to do?" I asked, cutting in to their little private conversation.
"Melt her." Emma said simply. "What about the monkeys? IS that real?" Neal groaned.
"I wish. She has an army of flying men. They are short and move in a monkey-like fashion but they think and act like ruthless little men who can fly."
"And Dorothy? Is she there?" Emma asked. Baelfire bowed his head.
"Not exactly. You see," His head shot up. "Henry!" I spun around.
"Hey mom!" He said. Baelfire's grin lit up his face and he began to speak but I put my hand on his arm. I knew that look in his eyes. It was the one Emma had on her face a couple days ago when I acted to familiarly with her. He didn't know us. "Is everything okay?" Emma noticed it too and was looking back and forth from Henry to Baelfire.
"Um, let me explain in the car, okay?" she said shakily. She led Henry out glancing back at us with a forlorn sense of sadness in her eyes. Glancing at Baelfire I saw the heartbreak in his face as well. This was not going to be an easy day.
Chapter 9: Dorothy's Trip Home
Neal Cassidy
He didn't remember me. My son had no idea who I was. I stumbled out of the school after Emma and Hook and slowly clambered into the back seat of the taxi. Hook sat in the front and Emma sat between Henry and me. Emma had finally remembered and I had to watch her with someone who considered her the love of her life. My mom had come back and then disappeared before my eyes. And now my son, my little boy, had no clue who I was and I didn't know how to make him remember.
"Mom, what's going on?" Henry asked.
"My parents have contacted me. They need my help. So we are going to help them."
"But why? They gave you up? You don't owe them anything! If I had been put up for adoption I wouldn't give my birth parents anything." He said angrily. Emma turned to me sadly.
"He's been very anti-adoption lately." She said softly.
"Who are these guys?" Henry said bluntly.
"And the pre-teen attitude has begun." She turned back to Henry. "Henry this is," Emma paused and swallowed hard. "Baelfire." She looked at me and shook her head slightly. "Not yet." She whispered. "And that is Killian." While Hook perked up at the sound of his real name on Emma's lips I shuddered. That was the part of the past I didn't want to be associated with. It was bad enough that most of the Enchanted Forest called me Baelfire but now for some unknown reason Emma had introduced me to my son as Baelfire as well. But Hook wanted to forget his present and go back to his youth. Simply hearing Emma saying Killian had perked him up immeasurably. Hook had been bitter all day. Ever since we found out Greg was in fact Graham who had been Emma's Storybrooke boyfriend, he had been acting more like the Captain Hook of the past few years than the Killian Jones he had been trying to be since Neverland. "They are old friends and they are going to help us go home."
"Why do we need help? Where do your parents live anyway?" He asked.
"They live in a pretty remote forest and it is going to take some work to get there." We pulled up at the harbor and Emma threw some money at the driver. We walked down the plank to the Jolly Roger and Hook hoped aboard, throwing down the gangplank.
"We're taking a ship?" Henry asked excitedly. "It looks like a pirate ship mom! This is so cool!" Henry rushed aboard and began checking everything else.
"Do you have a bean?" she asked. I shook my head.
"We had one but we used it to get here. We have a different method to get home but it's all on you." I helped her aboard and led her to the safe. I twisted the combination lock and pulled out a bag. "There's a reason the Wicked Witch is fighting your parents. It wasn't random. We stole something from her, something that will bring you back." I pulled back the edges of the bag and showed her our prize. She looked up at me shocked.
"After everything in Storybrooke and Neverland I never thought I would be shocked until this moment. Ruby slippers? A pair of ruby slippers are supposed to bring me home? Don't they just transport the wearer? What about Henry and Killian and you? Am I supposed to be able to bring you with me?"
"They aren't exactly like the Wizard of Oz portrays them." I assured her. "Actually there is no Wizard of Oz which was highly disappointing." She laughed. "You are going to be placed in the Maidenhead of the ship, click your heals three times and focus on the Enchanted Forest while saying-"
"There's no place like home?" She asked. I grinned.
"Yeah." I glance over at Henry who was now asking Hook about a million questions about his ship. "When are you going to tell him?" I asked. Emma looked down at her feet and kicked at a loose nail in the wood.
"I don't know. I assumed he would have remembered when I did. I don't want to freak him out."
"What did you tell him? About who his father was?" she grinned halfheartedly.
"Regina must actually like you because for the longest time I would make up stories about how his father was the son of an evil magician and had to leave us to go save his people. At least, that's what we both remember. After we got our apartment in New York he asked again and I couldn't remember why it was so important that I lie to him so I told him what I knew to be true." Emma hung her head. "I'm sorry Neal." I shook my head and lifted her chin up.
"I told you in Neverland. After everything I put you through, you don't ever have to apologize to me for anything." The ship began to leave port and I saw Henry up at the helm, Hooks arms around him helping him steer the Jolly Roger. I remembered when I was just a boy and he had shown me how to sail, trying to be a father to me. My blood boiled a bit at that. Now he was trying to be a father to my own son. And there was nothing I could do about it. I stalked up to the main deck and stood next to Hook. "Hey, Captain, why don't you let me teach Henry to sail. I know as well as you do." I glared at him. Hook nodded and stepped back.
"All right lad, this is my First Mate, Baelfire. He is going to show you where to go."
"Aye, aye captain!" Henry shouted happily.
"There's a good lad." Hook chortled and walked away slowly. There was a silence in the air. I didn't know how to speak to him now that I was keeping so many secrets from him.
"So you've got a really cool name." He says, breaking the silence. I laughed.
"Thanks. My parents were a little crazy." Henry laughed. I loved that sound. He was happy. That, at least, was something.
"So where are we going?" he asked. "Where is this forest?"
"A long way off, your mom is going to get us there." I glanced back down at Emma and my stomach clenched once more. She was speaking to Hook. Of course. He had been trying to take my family from my father first and now he was taking my new family from me. But as I looked harder I realized that it was Emma who was trying to speak to Hook and he was practically ignoring her. What was that about? I pointed Henry out into open sea as Emma pulled her boots off and slipped on the ruby slippers. "All right Henry, that's enough for now. Come on, we've got to help your mom." He followed me and we walked up to Emma. "Are you ready?" I asked.
"As ready as I will ever be." She turned to Henry. "Come on kid, I've got to explain something to you." They sat down and she began telling Henry the truth. Part of the truth anyway. She doesn't tell him who I am. She simply goes over the curse and how she and he broke it. At the end he is looking at her like she's crazy.
"Are you okay?" he finally asked.
"Yes. And I'm about to prove to you that I'm telling the truth."
"How?" he asked.
"Do you see these shoes?" She poked a foot out.
"Yeah, they look like from the Wizard of Oz." he replied. Hook's eyes narrowed.
"What is this Wizard of Oz? Baelfire brought it up when she showed up in the first place." Hook cut in.
"Well the Wicked Witch is attacking my parents and we need to go stop her. So you've got to try to believe as hard as you can and we are going to go to the Enchanted Forest, my home." She said finally.
"Mom, I don't know what you're trying to do, but how can you expect me to believe in something as ridiculous as that?" Emma put her hand on his head and ruffled Henry's hair.
"Because kid, you've got the heart of the truest believer." She looked at me.
"Stay with him?" I nodded and smiled at Henry who looked back at me very suspiciously. Emma followed Hook to the maidenhead and laid still as he tied her to it. Closing her eyes Emma took a deep breath. A small smile appeared on her face as she began clicking her heals.
"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Wind began to pick up and the water around the ship began swirling like a cyclone. I grabbed Henry's hand and we both clung to the mast. Hook wrapped his arms in the netting and I looked at Emma nervously. She had a wide grin on her face and instead of holding on for dear life, her arms were outspread, like a bird in flight. Water sprayed up around her and the shoes on her feet were glowing a bright red color. The Jolly Roger began quaking, rocking back and forth and lifted straight up out of the water.
"Holy crap!" Henry yelled over the wind.
"Hey!" I called back, my father instinct kicking in. "Watch your language young man!" He grinned back deviously. A bright green light flashed around us and suddenly we were descending once again. The Jolly smashed into a deep ocean and water splashed violently over the edges of the ship effectively soaking all of us. I looked first to Henry, making sure he was all right. Water was dripping from his hair and his mouth and eyes were wide open.
"That. Was. So. COOL!" he exclaimed rushing to the port side, looking at the castle in the near distance. "What is that castle? Where is the witch? Where do we live? This is so cool!" he exclaimed. I ran to untie Emma from the Maidenhead. She stepped onto the deck again, grinning ear to ear.
"I forgot how magic felt." She said briefly. Magic. The root of my problems and yet the answer to so many as well. Hook emerged from his cabin with Snow's raven. He lofted her into the air and the bird took off for the castle.
"To let them know we're here." Hook said before returning to the helm. "The wind is against us, we may need to sleep aboard the ship." He added. "Princess Swan, you and Henry shall share the captain's cabin and Baelfire and I will use the first mates." Emma frowned slightly at the formal use of her name but scowled at his guess on timing.
"No. I want to see my parents today." She said determinedly.
"Well I'm afraid I cannot control the wind nor the waves, even for you Princess. There's nothing I can do." He scoffed angrily. Okay, what was up with him? I thought he would be fighting to win her back tooth and nail and here he was being rude, arrogant and calling her Princess, something she hated more than anything else.
"Maybe not." Emma replied, obviously stung at Hook's odd manor. "But I can." We all looked at her as Emma raised her hands and closed her eyes. Green light emanated out from her and the wind changed directions and sped up. The sail swung around and the ship leapt forward making insane time towards the docks. I gripped at the rail to avoid being thrown off.
"Emma!" I yelled out. "Slow down!" She didn't and we sped hastily towards the shore. We were closing in on the docks before her hands dropped and the wind died down.
"Mom!" Henry yelled gleefully. "That was awesome!"
"Was that necessary Princess?" Hook snarled, running about his ship setting things to rights.
"Is calling me Princess necessary, Pirate?" She returned, just as angrily. Something was happening between them and I didn't know what. The anchor was dropped and Emma took Henry's hand and pulled him to the gang plank. They stepped out on the dock and Emma looked around, tears in her eyes. The only time I had ever seen Emma cry was when I was falling down the portal. Her arms wrapped around Henry and she stood still until a movement at the end of the docks caught her eyes. I followed her gaze and saw Snow White and Prince Charming running towards the Jolly Roger. Emma stood still and she didn't move until her parents had nearly reached her. Suddenly she ran forward and jumped into their arms. Henry stood back behind Emma, looking warily at Snow and Charming.
"Henry!" I looked back down the dock and saw Regina sprinting down the dock, her arms opened wide. Henry looked startled and stepped back, holding onto Emma, avoiding Regina's open embrace. The smile on Regina's lips faltered and fell as she looked into Henry's untrusting eyes.
"Regina," Emma began sadly, "He doesn't remember."
He didn't remember me. My son had no idea who I was. I stumbled out of the school after Emma and Hook and slowly clambered into the back seat of the taxi. Hook sat in the front and Emma sat between Henry and me. Emma had finally remembered and I had to watch her with someone who considered her the love of her life. My mom had come back and then disappeared before my eyes. And now my son, my little boy, had no clue who I was and I didn't know how to make him remember.
"Mom, what's going on?" Henry asked.
"My parents have contacted me. They need my help. So we are going to help them."
"But why? They gave you up? You don't owe them anything! If I had been put up for adoption I wouldn't give my birth parents anything." He said angrily. Emma turned to me sadly.
"He's been very anti-adoption lately." She said softly.
"Who are these guys?" Henry said bluntly.
"And the pre-teen attitude has begun." She turned back to Henry. "Henry this is," Emma paused and swallowed hard. "Baelfire." She looked at me and shook her head slightly. "Not yet." She whispered. "And that is Killian." While Hook perked up at the sound of his real name on Emma's lips I shuddered. That was the part of the past I didn't want to be associated with. It was bad enough that most of the Enchanted Forest called me Baelfire but now for some unknown reason Emma had introduced me to my son as Baelfire as well. But Hook wanted to forget his present and go back to his youth. Simply hearing Emma saying Killian had perked him up immeasurably. Hook had been bitter all day. Ever since we found out Greg was in fact Graham who had been Emma's Storybrooke boyfriend, he had been acting more like the Captain Hook of the past few years than the Killian Jones he had been trying to be since Neverland. "They are old friends and they are going to help us go home."
"Why do we need help? Where do your parents live anyway?" He asked.
"They live in a pretty remote forest and it is going to take some work to get there." We pulled up at the harbor and Emma threw some money at the driver. We walked down the plank to the Jolly Roger and Hook hoped aboard, throwing down the gangplank.
"We're taking a ship?" Henry asked excitedly. "It looks like a pirate ship mom! This is so cool!" Henry rushed aboard and began checking everything else.
"Do you have a bean?" she asked. I shook my head.
"We had one but we used it to get here. We have a different method to get home but it's all on you." I helped her aboard and led her to the safe. I twisted the combination lock and pulled out a bag. "There's a reason the Wicked Witch is fighting your parents. It wasn't random. We stole something from her, something that will bring you back." I pulled back the edges of the bag and showed her our prize. She looked up at me shocked.
"After everything in Storybrooke and Neverland I never thought I would be shocked until this moment. Ruby slippers? A pair of ruby slippers are supposed to bring me home? Don't they just transport the wearer? What about Henry and Killian and you? Am I supposed to be able to bring you with me?"
"They aren't exactly like the Wizard of Oz portrays them." I assured her. "Actually there is no Wizard of Oz which was highly disappointing." She laughed. "You are going to be placed in the Maidenhead of the ship, click your heals three times and focus on the Enchanted Forest while saying-"
"There's no place like home?" She asked. I grinned.
"Yeah." I glance over at Henry who was now asking Hook about a million questions about his ship. "When are you going to tell him?" I asked. Emma looked down at her feet and kicked at a loose nail in the wood.
"I don't know. I assumed he would have remembered when I did. I don't want to freak him out."
"What did you tell him? About who his father was?" she grinned halfheartedly.
"Regina must actually like you because for the longest time I would make up stories about how his father was the son of an evil magician and had to leave us to go save his people. At least, that's what we both remember. After we got our apartment in New York he asked again and I couldn't remember why it was so important that I lie to him so I told him what I knew to be true." Emma hung her head. "I'm sorry Neal." I shook my head and lifted her chin up.
"I told you in Neverland. After everything I put you through, you don't ever have to apologize to me for anything." The ship began to leave port and I saw Henry up at the helm, Hooks arms around him helping him steer the Jolly Roger. I remembered when I was just a boy and he had shown me how to sail, trying to be a father to me. My blood boiled a bit at that. Now he was trying to be a father to my own son. And there was nothing I could do about it. I stalked up to the main deck and stood next to Hook. "Hey, Captain, why don't you let me teach Henry to sail. I know as well as you do." I glared at him. Hook nodded and stepped back.
"All right lad, this is my First Mate, Baelfire. He is going to show you where to go."
"Aye, aye captain!" Henry shouted happily.
"There's a good lad." Hook chortled and walked away slowly. There was a silence in the air. I didn't know how to speak to him now that I was keeping so many secrets from him.
"So you've got a really cool name." He says, breaking the silence. I laughed.
"Thanks. My parents were a little crazy." Henry laughed. I loved that sound. He was happy. That, at least, was something.
"So where are we going?" he asked. "Where is this forest?"
"A long way off, your mom is going to get us there." I glanced back down at Emma and my stomach clenched once more. She was speaking to Hook. Of course. He had been trying to take my family from my father first and now he was taking my new family from me. But as I looked harder I realized that it was Emma who was trying to speak to Hook and he was practically ignoring her. What was that about? I pointed Henry out into open sea as Emma pulled her boots off and slipped on the ruby slippers. "All right Henry, that's enough for now. Come on, we've got to help your mom." He followed me and we walked up to Emma. "Are you ready?" I asked.
"As ready as I will ever be." She turned to Henry. "Come on kid, I've got to explain something to you." They sat down and she began telling Henry the truth. Part of the truth anyway. She doesn't tell him who I am. She simply goes over the curse and how she and he broke it. At the end he is looking at her like she's crazy.
"Are you okay?" he finally asked.
"Yes. And I'm about to prove to you that I'm telling the truth."
"How?" he asked.
"Do you see these shoes?" She poked a foot out.
"Yeah, they look like from the Wizard of Oz." he replied. Hook's eyes narrowed.
"What is this Wizard of Oz? Baelfire brought it up when she showed up in the first place." Hook cut in.
"Well the Wicked Witch is attacking my parents and we need to go stop her. So you've got to try to believe as hard as you can and we are going to go to the Enchanted Forest, my home." She said finally.
"Mom, I don't know what you're trying to do, but how can you expect me to believe in something as ridiculous as that?" Emma put her hand on his head and ruffled Henry's hair.
"Because kid, you've got the heart of the truest believer." She looked at me.
"Stay with him?" I nodded and smiled at Henry who looked back at me very suspiciously. Emma followed Hook to the maidenhead and laid still as he tied her to it. Closing her eyes Emma took a deep breath. A small smile appeared on her face as she began clicking her heals.
"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Wind began to pick up and the water around the ship began swirling like a cyclone. I grabbed Henry's hand and we both clung to the mast. Hook wrapped his arms in the netting and I looked at Emma nervously. She had a wide grin on her face and instead of holding on for dear life, her arms were outspread, like a bird in flight. Water sprayed up around her and the shoes on her feet were glowing a bright red color. The Jolly Roger began quaking, rocking back and forth and lifted straight up out of the water.
"Holy crap!" Henry yelled over the wind.
"Hey!" I called back, my father instinct kicking in. "Watch your language young man!" He grinned back deviously. A bright green light flashed around us and suddenly we were descending once again. The Jolly smashed into a deep ocean and water splashed violently over the edges of the ship effectively soaking all of us. I looked first to Henry, making sure he was all right. Water was dripping from his hair and his mouth and eyes were wide open.
"That. Was. So. COOL!" he exclaimed rushing to the port side, looking at the castle in the near distance. "What is that castle? Where is the witch? Where do we live? This is so cool!" he exclaimed. I ran to untie Emma from the Maidenhead. She stepped onto the deck again, grinning ear to ear.
"I forgot how magic felt." She said briefly. Magic. The root of my problems and yet the answer to so many as well. Hook emerged from his cabin with Snow's raven. He lofted her into the air and the bird took off for the castle.
"To let them know we're here." Hook said before returning to the helm. "The wind is against us, we may need to sleep aboard the ship." He added. "Princess Swan, you and Henry shall share the captain's cabin and Baelfire and I will use the first mates." Emma frowned slightly at the formal use of her name but scowled at his guess on timing.
"No. I want to see my parents today." She said determinedly.
"Well I'm afraid I cannot control the wind nor the waves, even for you Princess. There's nothing I can do." He scoffed angrily. Okay, what was up with him? I thought he would be fighting to win her back tooth and nail and here he was being rude, arrogant and calling her Princess, something she hated more than anything else.
"Maybe not." Emma replied, obviously stung at Hook's odd manor. "But I can." We all looked at her as Emma raised her hands and closed her eyes. Green light emanated out from her and the wind changed directions and sped up. The sail swung around and the ship leapt forward making insane time towards the docks. I gripped at the rail to avoid being thrown off.
"Emma!" I yelled out. "Slow down!" She didn't and we sped hastily towards the shore. We were closing in on the docks before her hands dropped and the wind died down.
"Mom!" Henry yelled gleefully. "That was awesome!"
"Was that necessary Princess?" Hook snarled, running about his ship setting things to rights.
"Is calling me Princess necessary, Pirate?" She returned, just as angrily. Something was happening between them and I didn't know what. The anchor was dropped and Emma took Henry's hand and pulled him to the gang plank. They stepped out on the dock and Emma looked around, tears in her eyes. The only time I had ever seen Emma cry was when I was falling down the portal. Her arms wrapped around Henry and she stood still until a movement at the end of the docks caught her eyes. I followed her gaze and saw Snow White and Prince Charming running towards the Jolly Roger. Emma stood still and she didn't move until her parents had nearly reached her. Suddenly she ran forward and jumped into their arms. Henry stood back behind Emma, looking warily at Snow and Charming.
"Henry!" I looked back down the dock and saw Regina sprinting down the dock, her arms opened wide. Henry looked startled and stepped back, holding onto Emma, avoiding Regina's open embrace. The smile on Regina's lips faltered and fell as she looked into Henry's untrusting eyes.
"Regina," Emma began sadly, "He doesn't remember."
Chapter 10: The Battle Begins
Regina Mills
This was bullshit. I had not pissed off the most powerful witch ever, the most wicked being in any world, to get back a son who had no idea who I was. Emma Swan remembered, Snow White was as happy as could be with her daughter in her arms hugging her back. But here my son was hiding behind Emma Swan. What kind of sick twisted fate was this? Emma had told me what happened but I still didn't understand. Somehow Rumpelstiltskin (who was dead by the way) brought back Graham (Also dead) and Rumple's ex-wife/Hook's love (again, dead) to live near Emma and grow close to her so that exactly when they wanted to return everything to rights Graham (the dead guy) could kiss Emma and give her all her memories back. But it wasn't true loves kiss or Henry would have remembered too. So it was some other magical kiss that no one knew about. And I thought conjuring tornados to take us to other worlds to capture a witch and steal her magic shoes to bring Emma and Henry back was complicated.
I stared at Henry as he and Emma followed her parents into the war room, hand in hand. He didn't even glance back at me. Of course! I knew what would trigger it! I ran up to my room and opened up my bedside drawer. From it I pulled the book. I had searched the entire kingdom to find Henry's book and when I had, I never left my bedroom. I hugged it to my chest. It had shown Henry the truth originally, it must be what would trigger his memory now! I returned to meet everyone in the war room as Charming and Baelfire began laying out our plan for Emma. I tapped Henry on the shoulder and he jumped, grabbing Emma's hand and looking at me warily. I paused, choosing my words carefully.
"I'm so sorry." I began as calmly as I could. "I didn't mean to startle you. This is your book, I thought you might like to read it. Perhaps it will trigger something?" Henry looked up at Emma who smiled down at him and nodded. He reached out and took the book, looking warily at it and me. Emma nudged him and he looked back at me.
"Thank you." His voice was stiff. I clenched my jaws. Well until he remembered I might as well stop torturing myself and be useful against this bitch.
"No!" Charming was saying. "We need to be unified. She will have her flying men with her so we need to be in the air as well."
"We've got fifteen griffins but only four of us actually can ride them!" Snow exclaimed angrily.
"If we are on the ground they will come to us." Hook added, staring into Charming's eyes.
"If we're on the ground they will overpower us." Baelfire insisted.
"There are hundreds of them, they will overpower us in the air as well." Hook shot back with a glare. Well at least I had Emma's twisted love life to amuse me.
"How am I supposed to do magic from the back of a griffin?" I snapped at Charming. "Your plan is ridiculous. I cannot believe I am saying this, but I agree with Snow. We've no chance in the air, but on the ground we might be able to hold our own."
"We've got another problem." Granny stepped forward cautiously. "Ruby and I won't be able to help you all."
"What?" I snarled. "Why not? Is it against your moral grounds to fight another half-breed?"
"No witch, it's a full moon tomorrow. If she really arrives tomorrow evening as our scouts expected we won't be able to ride griffins, we would kill them. Even if we have gotten better at not killing our friends in wolf form, that doesn't mean we would put you all in danger." Ruby growled back at me. She turned to Henry sweetly. "Hi. I'm Ruby-your book will tell you all about how I'm little red riding hood but also the big bad wolf." Henry smiled back shyly. The fighting continued but I stepped back and watched my son. He had that look in his eyes. It was the same look he had when he figured out I was the evil queen, the same look he had when he made up the name of one of his 'operations', he had an idea.
"Emma," I said quietly. She turned to look at me. Those last few months in Neverland and my gift of happy memories had mended a bit of the rift that was between us. When she looked at me there was no anger or mistrust in her eyes. I nodded at Henry and she smiled, seeing how he was looking at the war table. Then she looked back at me, understanding.
"Hey, guys." Everyone ceased speaking. I rolled my eyes. Had I said, that no one would have even looked at me. "What are you thinking Henry?"
"I get that being unified is important but wouldn't it be more important to use your strengths? Let loose a wolf on them! Have a few people on griffins with bows and arrows, and get your best sword fighters on the ground."
"I think the lad might be right." Hook finally said after a pause. Agreement ran around the table and Emma smiled at Henry who was grinning ear to ear. Emma looked up at me and smiled.
"Thank you." She mouthed at me. I nodded, looking at my son, a slight smile on my lips. Charming and Hook began moving the figurines around the table. I moved my own piece in the center next to the green figurine. I would kill that bitch if she made a move towards my son.
"So the Princess and Prince Henry will be in the castle, tending to any wounded with Granny, Doc and Whale." Hook said summarizing the plan.
"Whoa, why is the princess locked away?" Emma spat out glaring Hook down. "I should be fighting, side by side with the rest of you. You're only in this fight because you had to bring me back, I'm not just going to sit to the side and do nothing."
"Yeah! My mom is good at magic, why can't she help with that?" Henry added.
"Because she's very new to magic and on top of that she's been out of practice." I said more snappily than I had intended. But he had called her his mom. I was his mom.
"On the way here she did make some pretty powerful weather magic," Baelfire said. "Papa always said weather was harder than most other branches of magic and not only was that wind powerful but it was pretty accurate." My lip curled. I wasn't the only one.
"You aren't a warrior you are a Princess you've never fought in a battle of this scale before. Forgive me Princess, but you aren't prepared for a war like this. You do not belong with us out there." Hook roared.
"Well there's a first time for everything Pirate," Emma snarled back. "And you cannot tell me what to do or where I belong." Wow. There was clearly something going on between the two of them. They were fighting over something. And it was unsurprisingly amusing.
"I say we give her a chance." Snow White added quietly. The look Charming gave her was one of absolute shock and horror. "Oh come on. Mulan, Regina and I, we may all be girls but that doesn't make us any less warriors. Emma can help Regina out and if one of the winged beasts come near her she's got a pretty great right hook too." Snow winked at Emma. David sighed.
"Fine. Who are we to tell you what you can't do anyway?" After the Prince spoke everyone seemed to get on board. Well almost everyone. Hook's jaw was clenched tightly and a vein was popping in his neck. Personally I didn't mind a little help, especially if she was as powerful as Baelfire had said, I just didn't want Henry to be more impressed with her magic than mine.
We set off for food and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Henry was reading the fairy tale book all through dinner. When we set off for bed I found myself peering through the door to Henry's room, watching Emma put my son to bed.
"Wishing it was you in there?" Baelfire's voice whispered from behind me. I jumped and ran my hands over my gown in an attempt to calm my nerves. I hoped he didn't see the tears that had been falling down my cheeks just moments before.
"How did you guess?" I asked, having a feeling that I knew the answer.
"Because that is exactly what I was thinking. That look in his eyes, it's not only that he doesn't remember it's that wariness he gets when he looks at me. And she hasn't even told him that I'm his father yet." I nodded.
"In the end I felt like we were getting somewhere, he loved me. And now, we are further apart than we've ever been." We stood in silence and listened as Emma Swan tucked our son into bed.
"It's kind of cool, right?" She asked him. "Living in a castle," Henry nodded and hugged his book. "And you have your book back, you always loved that book." Henry shrugged and opened it to the middle.
"So that little baby is supposed to be you?" He asked her. Emma nodded and ruffled his hair.
"You know, the first time around you were trying to convince me of all this." She joked. Henry smiled and flipped through the pages, asking questions about each story.
"So who were the guys who came to get us? Killian and Baelfire?" Henry asked. I could feel Baelfire tense up next to me, listening intently at what Emma would tell him. "I haven't gotten to their stories yet." Emma took the book from him and flipped through the pages.
"Well, Killian Jones is Captain Hook, see? You were on his pirate ship today." Emma showed him a picture in the book and Henry's eyes grew wide with excitement.
"That's so cool! Mom, I was sailing Captain Hook's pirate ship!" He looked back down at the book. "But I thought Captain Hook was a bad guy."
"Storybooks back in our world didn't always get things right. Peter Pan was the bad guy. And sure, Killian did some bad things but he had his reasons, and he changed. He's one of us now." Henry nodded.
"And Baelfire?"
"Baelfire is Rumpelstiltskin's son. He lived in our world for a while, too." Emma showed Henry the book. She hesitated as if contemplating her next words carefully. "Henry, he's-"
"Wait a minute," Henry cut her off. "The Queen, the lady who gave me this book, the one you're fighting next to tomorrow, that's Regina?"
"Um, yes, but-" She began.
"Mom! You can't do that! She's the Evil Queen. What if she kills you? What if she's really siding with the Wicked Witch of the West? Mom she's a villain, you can't trust her." I felt as though I would choke. My heart broke in two, my son thought I was a villain without redemption, giving him that book had been a mistake. Baelfire put an arm comfortingly around my shoulder and I leaned into him, not caring if he saw the tears in my eyes.
"No! Henry, she isn't like that anymore." Emma tried to reassure him. "She was the one who adopted you in Storybrooke. She has always loved you." Henry sighed, looking altogether unimpressed.
"Just be careful mom." Emma nodded and kissed his forehead and set his book on his bedside table. I turned and fled back to my own room. I lay down on my bed and sobbed. Everything I did I did for Henry. And now he thought I was some evil witch. Hell, he had been more accepting of Captain Hook than of me. I cried myself to sleep that night and when I awoke in the morning I didn't even try to magic the bags out from under my eyes. I dressed in a red and black gown and walked down the hall to Swan's room. She opened the door after one knock and I saw that she knew I had heard every word.
"Regina, I am so sorry. We are going to make him remember everything and then he will understand. You know he doesn't actually feel that way. I nodded stiffly.
"I understand. Actually some of the people here have been talking about your dress and I was wondering if you might want to borrow something of mine?" She paused, surprised at what direction this conversation was going. Then understanding covered her eyes.
"Of course. That would be amazing." I nodded and led her back towards my chambers. "And I will be sure to tell Henry where the clothes came from." She added quietly. I looked at my feet and nodded appreciatively.
"Thank you Princess Swan."
"Oh, Regina, please, just Emma." I nodded. We reached my chambers and I looked through my cupboard until I found it. It had a high ruffled collar and a low dipping v neck. The bodice was fitted tightly but the skirt was large and attention grabbing. This gown too was red and black.
"I thought we could be a bit united. In our coloring I mean." Emma nodded.
"Thank you Regina." I helped her dress and pin up her hair. "Regina, I don't want to fight anymore. And any day Henry will remember and he won't want any of his parents fighting, can we just be friends?" I bubble rose into my throat and I nodded, speechless. We walked side by side into the dining hall and both our breaths caught in our throats when we saw that Charming had dressed Henry up in more traditional Enchanted Forest clothing.
"How do I look mom?" He asked, excitedly bursting out of his chair.
"Oh, Sweetie you look-" Emma and I simultaneously began, we looked at each other startled and I plastered a fake smile on my lips and nodded for her to finish.
"You look wonderful." She turned to me and put a hand on my arm. "Doesn't he Regina?"
"Absolutely regal." I added. I went to sit at the spot on the far end of the table. Snow motioned for Emma and Henry to come join her and David at the table's center but Emma shook her head. I looked up, shocked and watched suspiciously as Emma took Henry's hand and led him to the seat next to me.
"Mind if we join you Regina?" she asked loudly, daring anyone to say a word.
"Not at all." I smiled at Henry but he simply glared at Emma. Emma and I continually attempted to rope Henry into the conversation but when it became clear that his preteen stubbornness was going to be a problem, we lapsed into planning for the war ahead.
"Regina I get that you're far more practiced than I am so I'm just going to do what I did in Neverland and follow your lead." She said after I began attempts to explain different techniques to her. I smiled grateful that she wasn't going to be as stubborn and difficult as our son.
"I think that might be best, dear." The day continued in that fashion. Everyone was preparing for the inevitable battle that would decide our fates and Emma continued to try to get Henry to like me. Sadly the second mission was not as successful as the first. Soon after lunch Aurora whisked Henry away to show him how to help in the infirmary and after that Charming and Baelfire were teaching him basic defense skills in case our walls were breached. Dinner time came and everyone was growing silent. We knew the battle was fast approaching and we all wanted to prolong our time before it fell upon us.
Finally, an hour before dusk set Ruby and Granny rose from their chairs and left, preparing mentally for the transformation Ruby was about to endure. Not ten minutes later we heard it. The sound of the winged men screeching in the cool air came. Everyone took a deep breath and leapt into action. Emma handed Henry off to Aurora with a kiss and some reassuring words. One glance at Baelfire and I knew that he, too was wishing that he could hug his son and sooth his fears. Our forces walked out to the courtyard and waited. I could hear the rustling of the griffin's wings as Snow, Ariel and Eric mounted them. We waited with baited breaths until we heard the horrific cackling of the wicked witch. Then there was silence. And then, in one second, we went from standing in complete silence to the heart of war.
This was bullshit. I had not pissed off the most powerful witch ever, the most wicked being in any world, to get back a son who had no idea who I was. Emma Swan remembered, Snow White was as happy as could be with her daughter in her arms hugging her back. But here my son was hiding behind Emma Swan. What kind of sick twisted fate was this? Emma had told me what happened but I still didn't understand. Somehow Rumpelstiltskin (who was dead by the way) brought back Graham (Also dead) and Rumple's ex-wife/Hook's love (again, dead) to live near Emma and grow close to her so that exactly when they wanted to return everything to rights Graham (the dead guy) could kiss Emma and give her all her memories back. But it wasn't true loves kiss or Henry would have remembered too. So it was some other magical kiss that no one knew about. And I thought conjuring tornados to take us to other worlds to capture a witch and steal her magic shoes to bring Emma and Henry back was complicated.
I stared at Henry as he and Emma followed her parents into the war room, hand in hand. He didn't even glance back at me. Of course! I knew what would trigger it! I ran up to my room and opened up my bedside drawer. From it I pulled the book. I had searched the entire kingdom to find Henry's book and when I had, I never left my bedroom. I hugged it to my chest. It had shown Henry the truth originally, it must be what would trigger his memory now! I returned to meet everyone in the war room as Charming and Baelfire began laying out our plan for Emma. I tapped Henry on the shoulder and he jumped, grabbing Emma's hand and looking at me warily. I paused, choosing my words carefully.
"I'm so sorry." I began as calmly as I could. "I didn't mean to startle you. This is your book, I thought you might like to read it. Perhaps it will trigger something?" Henry looked up at Emma who smiled down at him and nodded. He reached out and took the book, looking warily at it and me. Emma nudged him and he looked back at me.
"Thank you." His voice was stiff. I clenched my jaws. Well until he remembered I might as well stop torturing myself and be useful against this bitch.
"No!" Charming was saying. "We need to be unified. She will have her flying men with her so we need to be in the air as well."
"We've got fifteen griffins but only four of us actually can ride them!" Snow exclaimed angrily.
"If we are on the ground they will come to us." Hook added, staring into Charming's eyes.
"If we're on the ground they will overpower us." Baelfire insisted.
"There are hundreds of them, they will overpower us in the air as well." Hook shot back with a glare. Well at least I had Emma's twisted love life to amuse me.
"How am I supposed to do magic from the back of a griffin?" I snapped at Charming. "Your plan is ridiculous. I cannot believe I am saying this, but I agree with Snow. We've no chance in the air, but on the ground we might be able to hold our own."
"We've got another problem." Granny stepped forward cautiously. "Ruby and I won't be able to help you all."
"What?" I snarled. "Why not? Is it against your moral grounds to fight another half-breed?"
"No witch, it's a full moon tomorrow. If she really arrives tomorrow evening as our scouts expected we won't be able to ride griffins, we would kill them. Even if we have gotten better at not killing our friends in wolf form, that doesn't mean we would put you all in danger." Ruby growled back at me. She turned to Henry sweetly. "Hi. I'm Ruby-your book will tell you all about how I'm little red riding hood but also the big bad wolf." Henry smiled back shyly. The fighting continued but I stepped back and watched my son. He had that look in his eyes. It was the same look he had when he figured out I was the evil queen, the same look he had when he made up the name of one of his 'operations', he had an idea.
"Emma," I said quietly. She turned to look at me. Those last few months in Neverland and my gift of happy memories had mended a bit of the rift that was between us. When she looked at me there was no anger or mistrust in her eyes. I nodded at Henry and she smiled, seeing how he was looking at the war table. Then she looked back at me, understanding.
"Hey, guys." Everyone ceased speaking. I rolled my eyes. Had I said, that no one would have even looked at me. "What are you thinking Henry?"
"I get that being unified is important but wouldn't it be more important to use your strengths? Let loose a wolf on them! Have a few people on griffins with bows and arrows, and get your best sword fighters on the ground."
"I think the lad might be right." Hook finally said after a pause. Agreement ran around the table and Emma smiled at Henry who was grinning ear to ear. Emma looked up at me and smiled.
"Thank you." She mouthed at me. I nodded, looking at my son, a slight smile on my lips. Charming and Hook began moving the figurines around the table. I moved my own piece in the center next to the green figurine. I would kill that bitch if she made a move towards my son.
"So the Princess and Prince Henry will be in the castle, tending to any wounded with Granny, Doc and Whale." Hook said summarizing the plan.
"Whoa, why is the princess locked away?" Emma spat out glaring Hook down. "I should be fighting, side by side with the rest of you. You're only in this fight because you had to bring me back, I'm not just going to sit to the side and do nothing."
"Yeah! My mom is good at magic, why can't she help with that?" Henry added.
"Because she's very new to magic and on top of that she's been out of practice." I said more snappily than I had intended. But he had called her his mom. I was his mom.
"On the way here she did make some pretty powerful weather magic," Baelfire said. "Papa always said weather was harder than most other branches of magic and not only was that wind powerful but it was pretty accurate." My lip curled. I wasn't the only one.
"You aren't a warrior you are a Princess you've never fought in a battle of this scale before. Forgive me Princess, but you aren't prepared for a war like this. You do not belong with us out there." Hook roared.
"Well there's a first time for everything Pirate," Emma snarled back. "And you cannot tell me what to do or where I belong." Wow. There was clearly something going on between the two of them. They were fighting over something. And it was unsurprisingly amusing.
"I say we give her a chance." Snow White added quietly. The look Charming gave her was one of absolute shock and horror. "Oh come on. Mulan, Regina and I, we may all be girls but that doesn't make us any less warriors. Emma can help Regina out and if one of the winged beasts come near her she's got a pretty great right hook too." Snow winked at Emma. David sighed.
"Fine. Who are we to tell you what you can't do anyway?" After the Prince spoke everyone seemed to get on board. Well almost everyone. Hook's jaw was clenched tightly and a vein was popping in his neck. Personally I didn't mind a little help, especially if she was as powerful as Baelfire had said, I just didn't want Henry to be more impressed with her magic than mine.
We set off for food and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Henry was reading the fairy tale book all through dinner. When we set off for bed I found myself peering through the door to Henry's room, watching Emma put my son to bed.
"Wishing it was you in there?" Baelfire's voice whispered from behind me. I jumped and ran my hands over my gown in an attempt to calm my nerves. I hoped he didn't see the tears that had been falling down my cheeks just moments before.
"How did you guess?" I asked, having a feeling that I knew the answer.
"Because that is exactly what I was thinking. That look in his eyes, it's not only that he doesn't remember it's that wariness he gets when he looks at me. And she hasn't even told him that I'm his father yet." I nodded.
"In the end I felt like we were getting somewhere, he loved me. And now, we are further apart than we've ever been." We stood in silence and listened as Emma Swan tucked our son into bed.
"It's kind of cool, right?" She asked him. "Living in a castle," Henry nodded and hugged his book. "And you have your book back, you always loved that book." Henry shrugged and opened it to the middle.
"So that little baby is supposed to be you?" He asked her. Emma nodded and ruffled his hair.
"You know, the first time around you were trying to convince me of all this." She joked. Henry smiled and flipped through the pages, asking questions about each story.
"So who were the guys who came to get us? Killian and Baelfire?" Henry asked. I could feel Baelfire tense up next to me, listening intently at what Emma would tell him. "I haven't gotten to their stories yet." Emma took the book from him and flipped through the pages.
"Well, Killian Jones is Captain Hook, see? You were on his pirate ship today." Emma showed him a picture in the book and Henry's eyes grew wide with excitement.
"That's so cool! Mom, I was sailing Captain Hook's pirate ship!" He looked back down at the book. "But I thought Captain Hook was a bad guy."
"Storybooks back in our world didn't always get things right. Peter Pan was the bad guy. And sure, Killian did some bad things but he had his reasons, and he changed. He's one of us now." Henry nodded.
"And Baelfire?"
"Baelfire is Rumpelstiltskin's son. He lived in our world for a while, too." Emma showed Henry the book. She hesitated as if contemplating her next words carefully. "Henry, he's-"
"Wait a minute," Henry cut her off. "The Queen, the lady who gave me this book, the one you're fighting next to tomorrow, that's Regina?"
"Um, yes, but-" She began.
"Mom! You can't do that! She's the Evil Queen. What if she kills you? What if she's really siding with the Wicked Witch of the West? Mom she's a villain, you can't trust her." I felt as though I would choke. My heart broke in two, my son thought I was a villain without redemption, giving him that book had been a mistake. Baelfire put an arm comfortingly around my shoulder and I leaned into him, not caring if he saw the tears in my eyes.
"No! Henry, she isn't like that anymore." Emma tried to reassure him. "She was the one who adopted you in Storybrooke. She has always loved you." Henry sighed, looking altogether unimpressed.
"Just be careful mom." Emma nodded and kissed his forehead and set his book on his bedside table. I turned and fled back to my own room. I lay down on my bed and sobbed. Everything I did I did for Henry. And now he thought I was some evil witch. Hell, he had been more accepting of Captain Hook than of me. I cried myself to sleep that night and when I awoke in the morning I didn't even try to magic the bags out from under my eyes. I dressed in a red and black gown and walked down the hall to Swan's room. She opened the door after one knock and I saw that she knew I had heard every word.
"Regina, I am so sorry. We are going to make him remember everything and then he will understand. You know he doesn't actually feel that way. I nodded stiffly.
"I understand. Actually some of the people here have been talking about your dress and I was wondering if you might want to borrow something of mine?" She paused, surprised at what direction this conversation was going. Then understanding covered her eyes.
"Of course. That would be amazing." I nodded and led her back towards my chambers. "And I will be sure to tell Henry where the clothes came from." She added quietly. I looked at my feet and nodded appreciatively.
"Thank you Princess Swan."
"Oh, Regina, please, just Emma." I nodded. We reached my chambers and I looked through my cupboard until I found it. It had a high ruffled collar and a low dipping v neck. The bodice was fitted tightly but the skirt was large and attention grabbing. This gown too was red and black.
"I thought we could be a bit united. In our coloring I mean." Emma nodded.
"Thank you Regina." I helped her dress and pin up her hair. "Regina, I don't want to fight anymore. And any day Henry will remember and he won't want any of his parents fighting, can we just be friends?" I bubble rose into my throat and I nodded, speechless. We walked side by side into the dining hall and both our breaths caught in our throats when we saw that Charming had dressed Henry up in more traditional Enchanted Forest clothing.
"How do I look mom?" He asked, excitedly bursting out of his chair.
"Oh, Sweetie you look-" Emma and I simultaneously began, we looked at each other startled and I plastered a fake smile on my lips and nodded for her to finish.
"You look wonderful." She turned to me and put a hand on my arm. "Doesn't he Regina?"
"Absolutely regal." I added. I went to sit at the spot on the far end of the table. Snow motioned for Emma and Henry to come join her and David at the table's center but Emma shook her head. I looked up, shocked and watched suspiciously as Emma took Henry's hand and led him to the seat next to me.
"Mind if we join you Regina?" she asked loudly, daring anyone to say a word.
"Not at all." I smiled at Henry but he simply glared at Emma. Emma and I continually attempted to rope Henry into the conversation but when it became clear that his preteen stubbornness was going to be a problem, we lapsed into planning for the war ahead.
"Regina I get that you're far more practiced than I am so I'm just going to do what I did in Neverland and follow your lead." She said after I began attempts to explain different techniques to her. I smiled grateful that she wasn't going to be as stubborn and difficult as our son.
"I think that might be best, dear." The day continued in that fashion. Everyone was preparing for the inevitable battle that would decide our fates and Emma continued to try to get Henry to like me. Sadly the second mission was not as successful as the first. Soon after lunch Aurora whisked Henry away to show him how to help in the infirmary and after that Charming and Baelfire were teaching him basic defense skills in case our walls were breached. Dinner time came and everyone was growing silent. We knew the battle was fast approaching and we all wanted to prolong our time before it fell upon us.
Finally, an hour before dusk set Ruby and Granny rose from their chairs and left, preparing mentally for the transformation Ruby was about to endure. Not ten minutes later we heard it. The sound of the winged men screeching in the cool air came. Everyone took a deep breath and leapt into action. Emma handed Henry off to Aurora with a kiss and some reassuring words. One glance at Baelfire and I knew that he, too was wishing that he could hug his son and sooth his fears. Our forces walked out to the courtyard and waited. I could hear the rustling of the griffin's wings as Snow, Ariel and Eric mounted them. We waited with baited breaths until we heard the horrific cackling of the wicked witch. Then there was silence. And then, in one second, we went from standing in complete silence to the heart of war.
Chapter 11: In the Midst of Battle
Killian Jones
My sword was striking down the winged beasts as fast as it could, the Prince by my side copying my motions. Even Baelfire was making use of his cutlass. We were providing a circle of protection around Regina and Swan. They fought against the green one with magic, the resulting lights flashing around them like fire. Swan still getting a grip on her powers so Regina was doing most of the magic, but the green one was more than capable of taking on Regina alone. Snow and the mermaid were riding griffins above us with a handful of people I didn't know, taking out as many of these beasts as we were down here. The Wolf Girl was nowhere to be seen. I looked up at the sky. Dusk was still minutes away but it was a full moon and the moment the moon appeared, so would she. Henry was locked up with the cricket man, Whale and Princess Aurora in the tower, more protected than anyone else as the lad should be. A snarl ripped through the woods followed by the dying screeches of the winged men. The wolf had appeared. Two wolves, as I saw later. The old woman had shed her own cloak for the first time in years to help with the battle.
Just then, Regina was hit with a bolt of green light and she collapsed on the ground. The Green One spun around and found herself face to face with Emma. I couldn't help it. I abandoned my post and ran to help her. Despite what I told myself, despite her anger at me and despite the idea that I would stay away from the Princess, I loved Emma Swan. And I wasn't about to let that witch destroy her. The women began fighting ferociously, colors flying around disorientingly. Emmy fury fueled her powers and her skills picked up. The witch noticed that Swan wasn't about to let her win and reached her hand out, plunging it into Emma's chest.
"Emma!" I called out instinctively. No. Not again. Emma was about to be ripped out of my grip in the same way as Milah had been so many years ago. 'Love her' Milah had told me. Had she known that Emma would be killed in this way? Despite my actions in the past week I loved Emma Swan more than I had ever loved anyone or anything in my entire life, and here she was, about to die and once again there was nothing I could do about it. Emma looked down in horror but then, meeting the witch's eyes with her own she grinned. What? Emma had seen people forced to endure this retched fate before, how could she smirk like that? Of course. Emma wanted to be with her true love. She wanted the witch to die so she could be with Graham. I could still stop her. I could rush ahead and knock her aside, let the green one tear out my heart instead. A small voice in my head whispered in my ear. But if this is what she truly wants, who are you to stand in her way? As soon as Milah was gone I would have gladly died fighting for revenge because I would have been with her. And if Emma wanted to die, I would let her, and I would finish killing the witch, and I would find a way to follow her. Because in life or death, I would follow Emma Swan anywhere.
Emma Swan
I had stood back as much as I could, afraid to get in Regina's way. But Regina had been knocked unconscious and now it was my turn to stop the witch. Emotions rushed through my veins. I knew what Regina always told me, anger fuels magic but I had a different idea. Any strong emotion would do, anger, frustration, sadness, sure, but also joy, happiness and love. And if my past told me anything, it was that love was power, not weakness. So I focused on Henry, a bright red bolt flew from my hand to the witch's face. She blocked it. And my parents, a wave of water overtook the fire she threw at me. My friendship with Ruby, and a blast of energy knocked her backwards. How the lost boys found happiness again and I could protect my mother above us as the witch threw a bolt of lightning at her griffin. How I felt sailing, flying, and how I felt about Killian a blast of energy tore through me and pulled the witch in close enough that any magic she used would affect her as well. Or how I had felt about Killian I should say. Hell who was I kidding? I still had feelings for him, okay fine I loved him. It was true love, I had found it, but he didn't love me back. And that was what killed me. I got distracted, the witch took advantage and plunged her hand into my chest. I looked down in mock horror and pretended for a second that she had the upper hand, literally. But the joy I felt when I heard Killian shout my name made me forget about the façade I had planned for this moment. I looked up at her triumphantly and smirked.
"Oh, right." I said sarcastically, "There is something you should know." Rolling her eyes she tried to pull my heart out. Her smile faltered and she pulled harder. I clenched my muscles, trapping her hand. "You see I am the product of true love so I've got this super powerful love-magic thing going on and it's kind of impossible to take my heart." I tipped my head and feigned concern. "Did I not tell you? Oh no! Well that hardly seems fair! Well, while I've got you here, all trapped and unable to magic yourself out of this one, maybe you could call off your monkeys."
"They aren't monkeys!" The witch screeched. "Why do you keep calling them monkeys?"
"I don't know!" I yelled back angrily. "Why don't you sing about it?" I heard a snort from Neal and looking around I saw that the fight had stopped and every man, woman, flying creature-y thing and beast were staring at us. "Well go on, tell them they are free from your captivity and should leave us alone." The witch glared at me but after a moment more of her struggles and attempts of magic she sighed.
"It is as she says." The witch admitted, struggling with the words. "Go. Go now." The creatures looked around at each other until one threw down the rock it was attempting to beat Ruby with and flew off. Within moments the rest had followed and we were alone with the witch. Regina was stirring and appeared shocked at the sight around her.
"And what about me, my pretty?" She asked. "Your precious Evil Queen isn't powerful enough to kill me and you aren't dark enough, so tell me do you have another witch? Someone who is as powerful as the girl who uses love to make her magic yet dark enough that they would kill someone. My smile faltered, but before I could say a word a voice from behind me made my jaw drop.
"Not a witch, dearie, a wizard!" a gleeful laugh accompanied this statement. "And all the power in Oz!"
My sword was striking down the winged beasts as fast as it could, the Prince by my side copying my motions. Even Baelfire was making use of his cutlass. We were providing a circle of protection around Regina and Swan. They fought against the green one with magic, the resulting lights flashing around them like fire. Swan still getting a grip on her powers so Regina was doing most of the magic, but the green one was more than capable of taking on Regina alone. Snow and the mermaid were riding griffins above us with a handful of people I didn't know, taking out as many of these beasts as we were down here. The Wolf Girl was nowhere to be seen. I looked up at the sky. Dusk was still minutes away but it was a full moon and the moment the moon appeared, so would she. Henry was locked up with the cricket man, Whale and Princess Aurora in the tower, more protected than anyone else as the lad should be. A snarl ripped through the woods followed by the dying screeches of the winged men. The wolf had appeared. Two wolves, as I saw later. The old woman had shed her own cloak for the first time in years to help with the battle.
Just then, Regina was hit with a bolt of green light and she collapsed on the ground. The Green One spun around and found herself face to face with Emma. I couldn't help it. I abandoned my post and ran to help her. Despite what I told myself, despite her anger at me and despite the idea that I would stay away from the Princess, I loved Emma Swan. And I wasn't about to let that witch destroy her. The women began fighting ferociously, colors flying around disorientingly. Emmy fury fueled her powers and her skills picked up. The witch noticed that Swan wasn't about to let her win and reached her hand out, plunging it into Emma's chest.
"Emma!" I called out instinctively. No. Not again. Emma was about to be ripped out of my grip in the same way as Milah had been so many years ago. 'Love her' Milah had told me. Had she known that Emma would be killed in this way? Despite my actions in the past week I loved Emma Swan more than I had ever loved anyone or anything in my entire life, and here she was, about to die and once again there was nothing I could do about it. Emma looked down in horror but then, meeting the witch's eyes with her own she grinned. What? Emma had seen people forced to endure this retched fate before, how could she smirk like that? Of course. Emma wanted to be with her true love. She wanted the witch to die so she could be with Graham. I could still stop her. I could rush ahead and knock her aside, let the green one tear out my heart instead. A small voice in my head whispered in my ear. But if this is what she truly wants, who are you to stand in her way? As soon as Milah was gone I would have gladly died fighting for revenge because I would have been with her. And if Emma wanted to die, I would let her, and I would finish killing the witch, and I would find a way to follow her. Because in life or death, I would follow Emma Swan anywhere.
Emma Swan
I had stood back as much as I could, afraid to get in Regina's way. But Regina had been knocked unconscious and now it was my turn to stop the witch. Emotions rushed through my veins. I knew what Regina always told me, anger fuels magic but I had a different idea. Any strong emotion would do, anger, frustration, sadness, sure, but also joy, happiness and love. And if my past told me anything, it was that love was power, not weakness. So I focused on Henry, a bright red bolt flew from my hand to the witch's face. She blocked it. And my parents, a wave of water overtook the fire she threw at me. My friendship with Ruby, and a blast of energy knocked her backwards. How the lost boys found happiness again and I could protect my mother above us as the witch threw a bolt of lightning at her griffin. How I felt sailing, flying, and how I felt about Killian a blast of energy tore through me and pulled the witch in close enough that any magic she used would affect her as well. Or how I had felt about Killian I should say. Hell who was I kidding? I still had feelings for him, okay fine I loved him. It was true love, I had found it, but he didn't love me back. And that was what killed me. I got distracted, the witch took advantage and plunged her hand into my chest. I looked down in mock horror and pretended for a second that she had the upper hand, literally. But the joy I felt when I heard Killian shout my name made me forget about the façade I had planned for this moment. I looked up at her triumphantly and smirked.
"Oh, right." I said sarcastically, "There is something you should know." Rolling her eyes she tried to pull my heart out. Her smile faltered and she pulled harder. I clenched my muscles, trapping her hand. "You see I am the product of true love so I've got this super powerful love-magic thing going on and it's kind of impossible to take my heart." I tipped my head and feigned concern. "Did I not tell you? Oh no! Well that hardly seems fair! Well, while I've got you here, all trapped and unable to magic yourself out of this one, maybe you could call off your monkeys."
"They aren't monkeys!" The witch screeched. "Why do you keep calling them monkeys?"
"I don't know!" I yelled back angrily. "Why don't you sing about it?" I heard a snort from Neal and looking around I saw that the fight had stopped and every man, woman, flying creature-y thing and beast were staring at us. "Well go on, tell them they are free from your captivity and should leave us alone." The witch glared at me but after a moment more of her struggles and attempts of magic she sighed.
"It is as she says." The witch admitted, struggling with the words. "Go. Go now." The creatures looked around at each other until one threw down the rock it was attempting to beat Ruby with and flew off. Within moments the rest had followed and we were alone with the witch. Regina was stirring and appeared shocked at the sight around her.
"And what about me, my pretty?" She asked. "Your precious Evil Queen isn't powerful enough to kill me and you aren't dark enough, so tell me do you have another witch? Someone who is as powerful as the girl who uses love to make her magic yet dark enough that they would kill someone. My smile faltered, but before I could say a word a voice from behind me made my jaw drop.
"Not a witch, dearie, a wizard!" a gleeful laugh accompanied this statement. "And all the power in Oz!"
Chapter 12: And the Wizard Is...
Rumpelstiltskin
I laughed gleefully as the green one's eyes bulged in shock. "What?" She shrieked in anguish. "No! I brought you back to life to be on my side! You were my final resort if they got rid of my warriors!"
"Yes well, dearie," I glanced over at my Belle. She looked beautiful. She was wearing the outfit she had worn the day she and Mulan hunted down the Yaoguai. I had been watching her. I watched her every day she was away from me in that mirror until the day the queen had told me she was dead. I had smashed it in fury. I saw my Belle's look of utter happiness and it gave me every bit of strength I would ever need. I grinned at the witch in all my Rumpelstiltskin glory. "Perhaps you didn't notice, that boy over there is my son, the one they've got locked up in the tower for protection? That's my grandson, my daughter is here too and the love of my life is standing over there, did you really think that a silly dagger could make me turn against them? Oh no, your wickedness, I am not the Dark One any longer, True Love has broken that curse." I turned to Emma Swan, staring at her significantly. "True Love can break any curse." The witch is now desperately trying to pull her hand out of Emma's chest but Swan is holding on tightly. "Well don't just stand there Oz," I looked behind me at all the people the Wicked Witch had enslaved over the years, the talking animals, the flying men, the trees, the munchkins, the pack of werewolves she took, the Winkies, and the Quadlings. I knew I had no right to take their revenge for them, she belonged to them. "She's all yours dearies, take her away." The mob converged around Emma and Regina, pulling the witch away from them and running off with her in tow. As they passed over the hill I could faintly hear her screeching.
"I'll get you my pretties!" Then there was silence. Weapons dropped to the ground and Griffins landed around us, their riders slowly dismounting and looking around. Finally Regina broke the silence.
"Well that was easier than I thought it would be." A burst of laughter and cheers rose up around us as I ran straight into Belle's arms. Tears ran down both our cheeks.
"You were right, True Love was worth breaking the curse." She smiled up at me and captured my lips in hers. I pulled her close, holding my beautiful Belle in my arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Baelfire was standing at my shoulder in a moment and I pulled him into a hug, keeping one arm around Belle and the three of us stood there in that moment for what felt like an eternity, and yet when that moment was done I felt as though I had been pulled away from them too quickly. All around us people were hugging and celebrating. To my surprise Regina and Emma had embraced and were talking intently glancing at the tower where Henry was kept. Even more surprising was Hook. Instead of running to Emma like the boy in love that he was he simply stared at her in shock and then turned around and walked away. Slowly everyone funneled back to the castle where Henry and the others greeted us warmly. Belle tugged my hand. Without a word needed I knew what she wanted, time alone. I took her hand in mine, nodded at Baelfire and together, Belle and I walked away hand in hand. It was no longer strange that she would want me. I was finally the Rumpelstiltskin that she had seen from the beginning. I wasn't the Dark One, I wasn't Old Mr. Gold with a grudge and a limp. I was Rumpelstiltskin, and my heart was finally true.
I laughed gleefully as the green one's eyes bulged in shock. "What?" She shrieked in anguish. "No! I brought you back to life to be on my side! You were my final resort if they got rid of my warriors!"
"Yes well, dearie," I glanced over at my Belle. She looked beautiful. She was wearing the outfit she had worn the day she and Mulan hunted down the Yaoguai. I had been watching her. I watched her every day she was away from me in that mirror until the day the queen had told me she was dead. I had smashed it in fury. I saw my Belle's look of utter happiness and it gave me every bit of strength I would ever need. I grinned at the witch in all my Rumpelstiltskin glory. "Perhaps you didn't notice, that boy over there is my son, the one they've got locked up in the tower for protection? That's my grandson, my daughter is here too and the love of my life is standing over there, did you really think that a silly dagger could make me turn against them? Oh no, your wickedness, I am not the Dark One any longer, True Love has broken that curse." I turned to Emma Swan, staring at her significantly. "True Love can break any curse." The witch is now desperately trying to pull her hand out of Emma's chest but Swan is holding on tightly. "Well don't just stand there Oz," I looked behind me at all the people the Wicked Witch had enslaved over the years, the talking animals, the flying men, the trees, the munchkins, the pack of werewolves she took, the Winkies, and the Quadlings. I knew I had no right to take their revenge for them, she belonged to them. "She's all yours dearies, take her away." The mob converged around Emma and Regina, pulling the witch away from them and running off with her in tow. As they passed over the hill I could faintly hear her screeching.
"I'll get you my pretties!" Then there was silence. Weapons dropped to the ground and Griffins landed around us, their riders slowly dismounting and looking around. Finally Regina broke the silence.
"Well that was easier than I thought it would be." A burst of laughter and cheers rose up around us as I ran straight into Belle's arms. Tears ran down both our cheeks.
"You were right, True Love was worth breaking the curse." She smiled up at me and captured my lips in hers. I pulled her close, holding my beautiful Belle in my arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Baelfire was standing at my shoulder in a moment and I pulled him into a hug, keeping one arm around Belle and the three of us stood there in that moment for what felt like an eternity, and yet when that moment was done I felt as though I had been pulled away from them too quickly. All around us people were hugging and celebrating. To my surprise Regina and Emma had embraced and were talking intently glancing at the tower where Henry was kept. Even more surprising was Hook. Instead of running to Emma like the boy in love that he was he simply stared at her in shock and then turned around and walked away. Slowly everyone funneled back to the castle where Henry and the others greeted us warmly. Belle tugged my hand. Without a word needed I knew what she wanted, time alone. I took her hand in mine, nodded at Baelfire and together, Belle and I walked away hand in hand. It was no longer strange that she would want me. I was finally the Rumpelstiltskin that she had seen from the beginning. I wasn't the Dark One, I wasn't Old Mr. Gold with a grudge and a limp. I was Rumpelstiltskin, and my heart was finally true.