Fairytale Land: Missing Year

Killian stood at the bow of the Jolly Roger, taking in the sight before him as the blip of a distant kingdom came into view. He could have just stayed in the Enchanted Forest; logically this would be where he was most likely to find any hope of a way back to Storybrooke. But as the days wore on, his hopes continued to dwindle, he was growing tired of Smee's attempts to "cheer him up" by buying him bar wenches, and he was restless. So he had rallied his crew and set sail in hopes that some distance would help him forget that he would never see Emma again and possibly assuage himself of the guilt he felt over taking someone else's happy ending simply because he had lost his.

"I was wrong about you Captain, you're selfish and you're heartless. That is what will bring you wasted years and endless torment, and I feel sorry for you," Ariel had said to him just before she leapt into the ocean swimming off after her only link to finding her lost prince; the link that Killian had just condemned to death by shark infested waters.

It only took a few more hours for the ship to reach its destination and dock at the port of Thebes and night was settling in. Killian left his crew to tend to the details of ensuring the safety and security of the Jolly Roger and ventured off to find either the local tavern or some other form of night life that might help him forget his current troubles. Thebes didn't seem to be unlike many of the other kingdoms he had visited on his travels. There was much less greenery, and the humid climate reminded him of his time spent in Neverland. The architecture was much less flashy than some of the palaces he'd seen in the Enchanted Forest, much of it seemingly built out of stone. It did have one thing in common with most of the places he'd been, and he smiled as he entered the marketplace and followed a gaggle of drunken men and busty women to a nearby Inn and Tavern. Once inside, he found a table and not long after, enticed a group of locals to join him for a few games of dice.

Killian sauntered out of the tavern a few hours later, buzzed enough for his mood to have lightened, but not drunk enough to forget. He smiled to himself as he tucked a pouch of coins and his trusty loaded dice into his pocket and set back off toward the harbor. The next thing he knows he was slammed into by someone running down the pier and found himself flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. He lay there momentarily stunned, taking a few gasping breaths as stars swim in front of his eyes.

"I am so sorry!" a flustered female voice rings out.

Killian managed to push himself to a sitting position, his breathing slowly normalizing and finds his assailant dusting herself off and extending a hand to help him up. He eyes her up and down, scowling a bit. She's covered from head to toe in a dark cloak, her face obscured. The only thing visible is a pair of sandaled feet.

"I really am sorry about that," she says again, her hand still extended.

Killian notes that she seems distracted, glancing around as if she is looking for something or someone. After a moment he takes her hand and lets her help him to his feet.

"Well since you seem to have a grievance against my ribs," he huffs, "Would you mind telling me your name?"

The woman looks around again and seems to be about to answer when a voice hollers out, "You there, halt! By order of the Queen!"

Killian automatically reaches for the sword at his hip as a few more men appear out of the dark, surrounding them on both sides and he wonders what he's gotten himself into.

"I suppose introductions will have to wait," the woman chuckles, reaching into her cloak and pulling out her own sword. She turns to the first man to step into her space, raising her sword and verbally spars with her opponent, "You can tell the Queen if she wants me, she can come get me herself!"

He quickly turns back to fending off his own opponent. He and the woman are standing back-to-back, each of them fending off what Killian assumes is now some Queen's royal guards. They continue sparring, battling fiercely for their lives, metal clanking with metal, bodies dropping with heavy thuds. Every so often Killian glances over, making sure the woman doesn't need any assistance and finds that she seems more than capable of handling herself. It's in a moment of distraction that he hears her holler at him.

"Duck!"

Killian ducks as she swings her sword over his head, taking down one of the men who had come up behind him. It doesn't take long before they are both panting and trying to catch their breaths, a pile of dead guards on the ground around them.

"Now…would probably be a good time," Killian bends forward, resting his hand and hook on his knees as he breaths heavily, "For you to fill me in on…" he waves his hand at the carnage.

"I suppose since I saved your life, Captain, I at least owe you my name," the woman replied, slowly lowering the hood of her cloak. A mass of dark brown hair tumbled out, falling around her face. She gave her head a shake and reached up to pull the stray hairs up into a band on the top of her head. "The name's Megara, but Meg will do. And we should probably get out of here before more of these idiots show up."


Storybrooke: Present Day

Killian made his way down to the diner, choosing to use the back hallway that connected the restaurant with the Inn. Normally he would simply grab two coffees and wait for Emma at her yellow vessel before walking her to work, but she had called him and wanted to meet for breakfast. The diner was unusually crowded this morning, and he scanned the room looking for a place to sit. He spotted Meg sitting alone at one of the far booths and sauntered over, dropping down in the empty bench across from her. She looked surprised for a moment that he would choose to join her over any of the other diner patrons.

"Good morning, Meg," he greeted her cordially.

"Good morning, Captain Hook," Meg replied with a smirk, "Wait, I forgot. It's Killian now, right?"

"I haven't seen much of you around since the curse that brought us back," he eyed her as he picked up a menu. "How are you settling into this world?"

"I'm nothing if not adaptable," the brunette said with a shrug. "You seem to be doing quite well here though. Where's the old ball and chain today? It's strange not seeing you attached to her side."

Killian ran his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He'd forgotten Meg could be a bit cheeky. "She's actually meeting me here for breakfast."

"Speak of the devil," Meg gestured toward the door just as Emma entered the restaurant and made her way over to them.

"Good morning, love," Killian smiled as Emma cast a sideways glance at the other woman and leaned over to give him a kiss.

"Well then, I will leave you two lovebirds to it," Meg said, rolling her eyes slightly as she slid out of the booth. "Good seeing you again, Killian. You too, Emma."

Emma slid into the other side of the booth across from Killian. "Boy you know everyone, huh?"

"You should know as well as anyone, everyone in this town has some sort of connection to each other," Killian replied. "I can assure you, Meg and I are merely acquaintances."

Choosing to let the topic go, Emma flagged over the waitress. They ordered their food and ate in relative silence, then grabbed coffees to go and headed to the station. Emma settled in behind her desk and while she waited for her dinosaur of a computer to boot up, finally got up the nerve to ask, "So, how do you know Meg?"

Killian swallowed a sip of his coffee. "Are you going to do this every time you find out I have a past with someone of the female persuasion? If so, we are in for some bumpy seas."

He was referring to their previous discussion on his past with Ursula the sea witch, a conversation that resulted in both of them ending up more than a bit heated.

"I'm just asking," Emma huffed. "Just…trying to get to know more about you."

"In this instance, love, I can assure you that I did not break her heart, I never wronged her or stole from her, or anything of the dastardly sort. Honestly, I really don't know much about her other than she was once married. She needed to flee her kingdom and I assisted her in doing so."

Their conversation was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Killian was just about to leave the office and let Emma alone with her work when she held up a hand for him to stop.

"Where did they find him?" she asked the person on the other end of the phone. "How long ago? He's at the hospital now? Yeah, yeah we'll be right there."

"What is it, Swan?" Killian asked.

"The Merrymen found an unconscious body in the woods. Your friend Meg...her full name is Megara, right?"

"Yes," Killian replied slowly. "Swan what are you getting at?"

"And you said she was married once?"

Killian nodded.

"The man they found in the woods, he regained consciousness at the hospital. He told them he desperately needed to speak to his wife and that his name was Hercules. He asked for Meg."

TBC