Chapter 1

"Would you mind telling us what you have in mind?" Killian asked.

He, Henry, David, Regina and Jasmine were gathered at the Charmings'. Snow was sleeping and was still unaware of the last events. She didn't know that her daughter was missing, sent to another realm because the Evil Queen had made the wish that she had never been the saviour. Since the incident, they had been discussing where to find her and how to get her back, and Regina had just mentioned she knew what to do. Everyone was inquiringly looking at her, waiting for some clarification.

"The Evil Queen forgot one crucial element: we are the same person," Regina announced.

"And where does that lead us?" Killian asked impatiently, not in a mood for riddles.

"It means that she's not the only master of the lamp. All I need to do is to go to her and Aladdin, and make the wish to be sent where Emma is. Then, all I'll have to do is to find her and bring her back."

"That's brilliant! Should we all go together?" Henry asked.

"No, lad. You know how that works, there's a price to pay," Killian reminded him. "You're staying here."

"He's right. You're staying here," Regina approved before addressing David and Killian, "I'm counting on both of you to take care of him."

Henry frowned, disliking being treated like a child.

"Wait," he interrupted and addressed the two men. "You said the Evil Queen's wish was that Emma had never been the saviour."

"Yes, that's what we repeated over and over already." David was losing patience. He cast his wife a concerned glance and hoped that their daughter would be back before he would need to awake her.

"Killian should be the one going," Henry said.

"What?"

"You should be the one going," the boy repeated.

"Why should he be the one going there?" Regina asked. "I can go. I'll have the lamp."

"And you can make the wish for Killian, just like the Evil Queen did for Emma," Henry suggested. "Think about it: my mum is the saviour because she was supposed to be the one breaking the Dark Curse. But if she's not the saviour, that means she must be in some alternate reality where you didn't cast the curse. Imagine she's living in the Enchanted Forest with her parents, like she would have if you hadn't cast the Dark Curse. You wouldn't be welcome there."

"Maybe if I didn't cast the curse in this other reality, it's simply because I don't exist," she assumed.

"No, no, that would have too many consequences. If being the author showed me one thing, it's that magic always keeps it as simple as it can be. It's just easier if the Evil Queen is there. There would be too many changes to make if she wasn't. That means you won't be welcome there."

"Very clever, lad." Killian proudly patted his shoulder. "I'm the one going to find Emma."

"There will be a price to pay," Regina reminded him, probably in an attempt to dissuade him.

"Whatever the price is, I'm willing to pay it if it is to save Emma."

"And of course, she won't remember who she really is," Henry added. "You can make her remember."

"That's right," David approved. "She fell in love with you once, she can fall in love with you again. You're her best chance."

"Take the book, it might help," Henry handed it to the pirate.

"Let's go and get that lamp," Killian told Regina whilst slipping the book in a bag and tossing its strap on his shoulder.

She unwillingly nodded and they turned to the door but Henry interrupted them.

"Can I come?" he tried again.

"No," Regina and Killian both answered in unison.

"But nobody will know who I am because I surely don't exist in this other reality! And I could help!"

"No, lad. I'm not taking the risk of taking you with me."

They left and Killian was only half-listening whilst Regina talked about how they would proceed and expanded on what the Evil Queen might be doing, or on what she would personally do if she was the one in charge of bringing Emma back. He was mostly thinking about the one he loved, wondering where she was, and about Henry, trying to convince himself that he had made the right choice by making him stay in Storybrooke.

Before entering the Mayor's office, Killian checked that he had everything he needed; the book, his sword and his rum. He could think of nothing else that could be useful. Because they suspected he would land in a realm not as civilised as Storybrooke, he had also traded his modern clothing for his old pirate's outfit.

"Remember, you don't do anything and stay hidden until-"

"Until you're ready to make the wish." Killian interrupted her and completed her sentence. "I know. You said that already."

They entered the building and Regina indicated him a spot behind the door where he could hide. Killian knew she had been right to assume that the Evil Queen would be in her office when he heard the voices inside the room. Listening to this conversation was rather odd as it sounded like one woman talking to herself, but he could actually differentiate Regina and the Evil Queen rather easily because of their different intonations. Picturing them in the same room made him even more impatient to leave this place: he could barely stomach one and was now stuck with the two of them. On the lookout for the cue, he needed to listen carefully but, only eager to reunite with Emma, he sighed as the conversation seemed to go on and on. Aladdin was there too. At last, it was time.

"Genie of the lamp," Killian heard Regina say and came out of hiding. "I wish for Killian Jones to be sent at the same place as Emma Swan."

Killian barely had time to catch a glimpse of the Evil Queen and Aladdin. Everything around him disappeared and the next thing he knew was that he was in a forest. He quickly checked that he had the book, his sword and his rum before glancing around and spotting the closest path.

"Bloody hell," he cursed under his breath and rolled his eyes when he heard whistles. "These dwarves are everywhere."

Walking with their axes over their shoulders, the seven men stopped abruptly when they saw Killian.

"Ahoy dwarves. Do you know where I can find Emma Swan? I mean, Emma," he quickly corrected himself. "Emma, daughter of Snow-White and Prince Charming."

A dwarf whose name Killian had forgotten took a step forwards and asked, "Do you mean Princess Emma?"

Grumpy nudged him in the ribs and suspiciously looked at the pirate.

"Princess Emma," Killian repeated dreamily. "Is there a castle anywhere around here?"

Grumpy threateningly stepped forward, holding his axe in front of him. "What do you want with the princess? Who are you?"

"I'm not a threat, dwarf." The pirate used his hook to push the axe away and realised his mistake when the dwarf gazed at the piece of metal.

"You're Captain Hook!"

Killian rolled his eyes again when the dwarves took a step back. "I used to be flattered by this, but not anymore. I'm Killian Jones, her… an old friend."

He was tempted to insist but their looks imprinted with suspicion and fear made him give up on the idea. Feeling like he wouldn't manage to get anything from them, he let them leave, turned around and walked away.

Killian was unsure about where he was going but he knew the path would take him somewhere: if it wasn't the castle, he would probably find some village or reach the waterside. There, inhabitants would possibly be more useful than the dwarves and indicate him the way to the castle. That was what he had in mind, but he actually happened to be luckier than he had expected: hoping to find the castle, he had not even considered the possibility to directly come across the one he was looking for. But he couldn't be mistaken about this voice: it was hers. He stepped away from the path to follow her voice. He had never heard her sing before but there she was, picking flowers and humming. Standing behind a tree, Killian watched her with a tender smile on his lips. She looked alike and at the same time very different from the woman he knew.

A few meters were still separating them when he came into the open and called her, "Emma?"

He had tried to keep his voice as soft as possible but she still jumped with surprise. She turned around and quickly looked him up and down before gazing at his face.

"Who are you?"

He could hear the hint of fear in her voice but could also see how she was staring at him. Hoping she might remember, he didn't answer straight away in order to give her some time. But she didn't seem to remember and looked like she was ready to step back.

"I knew seeing me wouldn't be enough." Because of how the dwarves had reacted, he dreaded telling her who he was. But he knew that if he wanted her to trust him, he couldn't lie to her. He didn't want to lie to her. "Look, I'm someone you can trust. I could lie and hide who I am but you will find out anyway so I'd rather tell you now. I'm Killian Jones, but you may have heard of me as Captain Hook."

"Captain Hook?" she repeated.

She looked down at his hook which hadn't caught her attention yet and stepped back.

"Bloody hell, I'm even more famous in this realm than I truly was," he commented in a low voice. "Love, I mean, Emma… You need to trust me when I tell you I mean you no harm."

"Why are you fitted with a sword?" she asked suspiciously.

Her question was so unexpected that Killian repressed a laugh. "It's just a protection. I don't plan on using it now. If that's what you're worried about, I can put it down."

He unsheathed his sword and set it down on the ground.

"What is in your bag?" she asked.

"Nothing to be scared of, but I'm glad you're asking." He brought the book out of his bag. "Because the story in this book is what I want to talk to you about."

Her gaze shifted between him and the book. He could see in her eyes that her curiosity had been tickled, but that fear was prevailing; he could feel that she was about to run away.

"I should leave," she said, confirming his guess. "My parents and Henry will be looking for me."

"Henry exists in that realm too?" He asked and she cast him a surprised look. "Never mind. That's not what's important right now. Please stay, I can see you're curious about all of this. You don't have to be afraid. Deep down, you must know."

She finally gave in to curiosity. "I must know what?"

"That none of this is real." A light crease appeared between her eyebrows and he stepped forward before explaining, "We're in an alternate reality. Actually, that might not even be a reality at all. Everything you believe is wrong, and all of this," he said while indicating the forest surrounding them, "is an hallucination. The real story is in this book."

"The real story is in a book?" she repeated sceptically.

"Yes. And your parents and Henry are waiting for us."

"For us? Do they know you?"

"Yes, they're waiting for you and I. We…" He trailed off, guessing that telling her so soon that they were in love and living together was probably not wise.

She still looked both curious and suspicious as she stared at him. "Why are you here? What do you want from me?"

"I came here to save you. We need to go back to Storybrooke."

She opened wide eyes. "Storybrooke?"

"Do you remember?"

"I've heard that name in a dream."

"You did?" Killian asked, encouraging her to go on.

"Yes. Last night, I had this dream about a strange place where everything was different from here, and this place was called Storybrooke."

"Do you remember anything else from that dream?"

"Yes. In my dream, the Evil Queen did cast the curse. A curse she was planning on casting years ago but my parents defeated her before she could. But in my dream, she did, and I was the saviour." She was absorbed in her tale but stopped abruptly and suddenly looked concerned. "I shouldn't tell you all of this. I don't even know you."

"Emma, you can tell me anything," he quickly reassured her. "This dream you had, it was not a dream."

His last sentence made her frown. "My parents said it was."

"But it wasn't. You are the saviour. The Evil Queen did cast the Dark Curse and she's still alive, in Storybrooke. You were fighting her when she used a genie and made the wish that you were not the saviour. That's how you landed here."

Emma shook her head incredulously. "That's nonsense. My parents said it was a dream."

"And I'm telling you it wasn't. Use your superpower, you'll see that I'm telling the truth."

"My superpower?" She looked more and more suspicious.

"Aye, your superpower to see if I'm lying."

The look on her face made him realise that not being the saviour probably meant she was also deprived of her superpower.

"You're a crazy person," she commented.

"Well, that's not the first time you're calling me that. But I can assure you I'm telling the truth. We need to leave this place and go back to Storybrooke."

There had been so much information for her to take in that she grasped the meaning of his presence only at this moment. "You want me to leave this place? I can't do that. I have all my life here. My parents, Henry…"

"They're not real. None of this is. Storybrooke is real, and that's where your parents are."

"My parents are at the castle."

"These ones aren't real. The real versions of them are in Storybrooke."

The way she stared at him made it obvious she was taking him for a madman. "You're even crazier than I thought."

Afraid, she took a step back.

"Emma, wait. Look, I know you. And I know that you need some time. Take the book. When you're ready, come and find me. I will be waiting at the tavern of the village down the castle."

She gazed at the book he was handing her. "I'm not sure if I should…"

"Take it," he insisted.

"Fine."

She took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. She laid her hands on the book but didn't take it from him straight away. Her mouth was slightly open and she was searching his eyes in a way which reminded her of the Emma he knew. For one moment, he even imagined that the magic of the book had been enough to make her remember, but he quickly rejected this theory. She was gazing at him and he could see her questioning look: she was still Princess Emma, and he would need to find a way to make her remember.

"I will be waiting for you," he reminded her.

She simply nodded, took the book, glanced at him one more time and walked away.