A/N: This is my first fic for OUaT, and for some reason, it's this. However, I saw a prompt for this on Tumblr, albeit addressed to someone else, and I couldn't resist. And it turned into this monster. For Storm of the Wolf followers, the next chapter is finished and will be up as scheduled tomorrow.
Found
Emma jerked awake, moving from unaware to alert in an instant. The first thing she noticed, apart from the fact that she was blindfolded, was that she also happened to be chained to a wall. Only, she couldn't remember how on earth she got there.
"Okay, think Emma, think!" It was floating just out of reach, hovering, waiting for her to remember. "Damn it!" She tugged against the chains binding her wrists, getting nowhere.
"Such language from such a pretty little thing," a reproachful voice floated in.
"Zelena?" Emma called, and with that, it all came rushing back to her. The call from Zelena, the midwife, informing her that her mother had gone into labor early. Leaving Henry with Hook while she hurried to the hospital. Running in, meeting Zelena, then...
…nothing.
"It was you?" Emma asked, bewildered. "You're working for the Wicked Witch too?"
Zelena cackled, her voice closer. "I work for no one, little Savior." The blindfold was ripped off Emma's eyes, revealing the midwife. She leaned in to whisper in Emma's ear. "You really should have stayed in New York. You should have ignored that pirate, and left the potion well enough alone. Then you'd be with dear Henry, and not here. What's he going to think, when he realizes his mother just – disappeared?"
"You bitch, you leave Henry out of this!" Emma yelled, pulling furiously at her restraints.
"Maybe I should send Walsh? To keep him company, of course. A familiar face would do him wonders, I would imagine," Zelena pondered.
"You can't send Walsh, he's a -" understanding flooded Emma. "You," she said in disbelief. "You're the Wicked Witch. You've been in Storybrooke this whole time." Her eyebrows furrowed. "You've been taking care of my mom!" she yelled in disgust.
"The product of True Love is a powerful thing. I thought to raise Snow White and Prince Charming's child as my own, turn it to my will, but then you so helpfully came blundering back in to this quaint little town," Zelena said offhandedly. "And breaking someone is so much easier than building one. Not to mention faster. I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner," she finished thoughtfully.
"If you think I would ever help you, you can just go to hell," Emma spat.
Zelena laughed shrilly, sounding delighted with Emma's defiance. "No one ever said this was going to be easy for you, pretty one," she said with a smile that sent shivers down Emma's back.
Emma focused inward, trying to bring her magic forth. A year without practice when she was still a novice meant that she was practically back at square one. But still, she concentrated, attempting to call up a ball of fire. Henry, she thought desperately. Henry, and Mary Margaret, and David are all at home, waiting for me.
"Ah ah ah," Zelena said, resting a hand against Emma's chest. "Not so fast, dear. I haven't even started with you yet." Green smoke gathered around Zelena's hand and flowed into Emma. Instantly, it was as though her veins had caught fire. A burning sensation spread through her body, from her chest to her feet. Emma fought back a groan, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth in the effort to stay silent, all thoughts of fighting fleeing from her mind as the pain consumed her.
"Open your eyes, little Emma," Zelena ordered. "I want to see you." When Emma refused, the fire inside of her increased in ferocity. She cried out in pain and opened her eyes, forcing herself to look at her captor.
"There's a good girl." Abruptly, the fire stopped, and Emma sagged against her chains, barely conscious. "I look forward to more chats, my pretty." With a wave of her hand, Zelena replaced the blindfold over Emma's eyes and left the cell.
Once she was sure Zelena was gone, Emma allowed a few tears to fall, cursing herself for her weakness. Come on. Get it together and concentrate! She tried to call up her magic once again, but her quivering body refused to allow her to focus. She switched tactics, instead pulling against the chains that bound her, but only succeeded in shredding the skin off her wrists. After a few minutes, Emma was forced to give up as the pain in her body crested, bringing blessed unconsciousness with it.
Emma didn't know how long she'd been a captive of the Wicked Witch. Her cell was windowless, and made of stone, allowing no light through. The only time her blindfold was removed was when Zelena was paying her another one of her 'visits'. She got a few sips of water every couple of visits, food less often – barely enough to keep her alive.
Emma figured that the Witch came in every one or two days, and tried to estimate that perhaps she had been a prisoner for two weeks. Maybe more. Every visit meant more fire in her veins, and Emma knew that when the blindfold came off, to expect pain.
But the Witch didn't stop at physical torture, oh no. She didn't have the title of Wicked for no reason, after all. Every visit also included a new form of mental abuse as well. Sometimes, she talked about Henry. "He's so lost in that strange little town. No memories, no idea where is mother went, leaving him with these strangers who act just a little bit off around him. So alone, just as he was when you gave him up, only he doesn't know that, does he?" Emma had tried to attack her at that one, and earned an extra magical attack for it.
Other times, Zelena taunted her about her parents. "Mary Margaret broke down in my office today during her appointment. Seems that they can't find a trace of you anywhere. But too many people are disappearing – they're going to have to stop looking for you. They don't have time to search for even the Savior. But you're used to that, aren't you Emma? Forever abandoned, forever an orphan."
Last, the Witch would sometimes talk about Hook. "And the dashing pirate captain. The one who saved you from your false memories. I guess he got tired of saving the Savior. He never even bothered to join the search parties. In fact, he sailed away from Storybrooke, a few days after you disappeared, leaving Henry with your parents. Why would he stay, when you've given him no reason to hope?"
Time and time again, the Wicked Witch came at Emma with magic and words, speaking Emma's deepest and darkest fears – that she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't wanted, that she didn't truly belong anywhere. Each verbal dagger was reinforced with a painful, magical one. Slowly, Emma's world began to exist solely around Zelena's presence. The only time she had her sight, it was filled with the Witch. The only words she heard came from her. And finally, though she fought against it for weeks, Emma, with no evidence to the contrary, began to believe that what the Witch said was true. That her family wasn't looking for her, that they couldn't be bothered to find her, and Hook – God, Hook – he was gone for good this time.
After a few weeks, Emma started hallucinating. From pain, lack of nourishment, she didn't know. But she'd dream that Hook, or sometimes David, hell, even Robin a time or two, had come to rescue her. They would rush in, unchain her and begin leading her out, but the dream always ended right when they reached the cell door. She would look up at them, or they'd speak, and that would jolt her awake, because she was starting to realize that she couldn't quite remember what they sounded like, or what they looked like, anymore. She was even beginning to lose Henry's face.
The only person she could remember in any detail now was Zelena. Hers was the face she saw whenever her eyes opened – the only voice she ever heard. Slowly but surely, the Wicked Witch was consuming her, and Emma was losing the ability to fight back.
"I'll give you a choice, Emma dear," Zelena offered one day when she came in for their regular visit, not even bothering to remove the blindfold. "You seem to finally be willing to listen to reason, so here it is. You agree to do what you are told, to work with me, without question. The pain stops, I let you out of here, you'll be free as a bird. But you will answer to me and me only. Or, I kill you, and take your sibling when they are born and raise them as my own to use instead. It's your choice. Either way, you would do well to have an answer by the time I see you again." With that, she swept back out of the cell.
Emma was horrified. Her parents and the rest of the town may have stopped caring and looking for her, but she couldn't just let Zelena take her baby sister or brother and use them for evil. No, she was the Savior, her parents couldn't lose another child.
But to be under the Wicked Witch's command, forced to do who knew what. What if she ordered her to kill Regina? Henry had already lost Neal and now her, he couldn't lose his last parent too. Or what if she wanted Emma to kill her parents and take the child, or God, kill Henry? She couldn't betray them like that, not her family.
It was an impossible choice, one that Emma couldn't force herself to make. Zelena left her alone for an unusually long time, presumably allowing her time to make her decision. After agonizing over the choice she couldn't make for hours, Emma finally fell into a restless sleep. Every time she came close to waking up, she forced herself back into sleep so she could avoid having to make the decision for just a little bit longer.
Eventually, a voice whispering urgently in her ear pried her into wakefulness. "Swan, love we have to hurry before her Witchfulness comes back. Come on, Swan, wake up!"
"No," she groaned. "No, you're not real."
Hook chuckled. "I assure you love, I am very real. And normally I would describe in detail how I'm going to prove it to you, but we need to move now so come on." The chains disappeared from her wrists, causing Emma to collapse to the ground. Hook caught her with a curse, lifting her easily. "Gods woman, you need to eat more. The rations no good here?"
"You left me," Emma moaned. "She told me that you left. No one's looking for me."
"The whole bloody town's been searching for you for weeks, love. And I couldn't just leave. Not after I promised you that fun."
Emma shook her head weakly. "I don't believe you," she whispered before passing out.
Unfamiliar sights and sounds assaulted Emma whenever she came close to regaining consciousness and so she did her best to remain asleep for as long as possible. She had dreamed that Hook had rescued her, and had actually heard his voice this time, in perfect detail, and she wanted to hang onto that. She didn't want to wake up back in that cell and tell Zelena that she would work for her. It was the only option. Emma couldn't risk her unborn sibling's life.
"Sheriff Swan – Emma, can you hear me?" someone asked. Emma tried to pull away, to sink back into the welcoming dark, but a touch to her shoulder sent her jolting into awareness. She pulled away from the unknown touch while keeping her eyes closed.
"No," she groaned.
"Emma, it's alright. You're in the hospital, you're safe."
Emma's eyes jerked open. Hospital...Zelena. The hospital was Zelena's place. Dangerous – going to make me choose – I can't choose, she thought desperately. She looked around the room and saw Zelena standing in the corner, grinning menacingly. Emma tried to move away, shutting her eyes so she couldn't see the Witch anymore, and managed to fall to the ground. She scooted away until she was safely tucked into a corner with her face buried against her knees as she curled up in a defensive ball.
"Emma! Emma you're fine, you're safe," the man said again. "It's Doctor Whale, I promise, she can't hurt you anymore."
Emma shook her head. "You're not real," she muttered, refusing to open her eyes. "I'll wake up, and she's going to be there, going to make me choose. Every time I wake up she's there, and the more the dreams talk, the faster I wake up, so please stop talking," she pleaded.
Her chest hurt, she could practically feel the fire running through her body again. She curled up even tighter, trying to hold herself together.
"Emma," Doctor Whale spoke soothingly, "she can't get to you anymore. This isn't a dream. But I need you to let me look at your wounds." Even with her eyes closed, Emma could feel the man getting closer, reaching out to touch her.
"No!" she cried, flinging one arm out. An unfamiliar feeling rushed through her and out of her fingers, and then she heard a loud crash across the room. The doctor groaned. "Touch ends the dream," she muttered to herself.
"Okay Emma, I'm going to go get your parents. They're anxious to see you."
"Nobody's looking for me," Emma told him. "She said they stopped looking."
Doctor Whale limped out of the room towards where Mary Margaret and David were impatiently waiting for any news on their daughter.
"Well?" David asked.
Whale hesitated. "I'm afraid her psychosis is severe. She's convinced that she's dreaming, and that any talking or contact is going to send her straight back into that cell Hook pulled her out of. Also, she woke before I could get a good look at her injuries, but physically, her wrists are missing several layers of skin and are infected, she's malnourished and dehydrated, and by the way she's carrying herself, it's safe to say that she was tortured." Mary Margaret gasped, and David put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her close. Whale went on. "These may not be visible injuries, as I would assume that it's probable that the Witch used magic on her. And from the way Emma's talking, there was a mental aspect as well. Hook mentioned Zelena told her that everyone left her."
"Why would she believe anything the Witch would say?" Mary Margaret asked.
Whale shrugged. "You would need to talk to Doctor Hopper about the intricacies of the brain. I'm not a psychologist. But my best guess is that Zelena pounded it into her mind that she had been abandoned over and over again while physically hurting her. With that and the amount of time it took us to find her, I would imagine that Emma would begin to lose hope."
"We need to see her," David said.
Whale paused. "Normally, I would agree, your Majesties, but Emma is traumatized. She's been held captive and tortured for over a month. She's potentially mentally unstable, and physically weak. The trauma Emma has experienced has left her confused. She's not in control of herself – she threw me across the room with her magic. I'm afraid it may not be a good idea for you to see her right now. She may not know you."
"Damn it Whale, we are seeing our daughter. Now," David insisted. Mary Margaret nodded.
Whale sighed. "Of course, your Majesties."
"Emma? Your parents are here, they want to see you."
The man was back. Emma curled into a tighter ball and buried her face again. She'd managed to not wake up, but if they kept talking, she didn't know how long she could hang on to sleep.
He was speaking quieter now – maybe to someone else. "Remember, she's weak. Don't over-exert her. Stay calm, we can't afford for her to get upset. And don't touch her unless she initiates contact. That may set her off again."
"Understood." That voice was familiar. A calm tone that she associated with safety. But she pushed that away. She wasn't safe.
"Emma?" That was a woman. Also familiar. Not quite place-able. "Emma, sweetie, it's Mary Margaret. And David. Mom and Dad."
Mom and Dad. Emma shook her head. They couldn't be here, it was one of Zelena's tricks. Her parents weren't looking for her – couldn't have found her. "No, you aren't real, this is a dream," she whispered. "You need to stop talking and go. I can't wake up yet."
"Emma –" David started, but Mary Margaret shushed him.
"Emma," she said softly. "Why can't you wake up? What will happen if you do?"
"She'll make me choose," Emma whimpered.
"Make you choose what?"
"An impossible choice. Either way – can't win." Emma began to rock back and forth, afraid all the talking would force her awake, but needing to talk about it, even if it was with her parents inside her head. "One choice, the pain stops, but I do what she says. Pain goes away, but she uses me against you and everyone else. Betray my family. I can't do that, I'm the Savior. No one looking for me but I get it – the Savior has to save herself too, maybe. Other, I die. Pain still stops, but then she takes the baby and she uses it like she would have used me. Can't do that. Mom and Dad already lost one kid, can't lose the other too. So first choice it is, but I don't want to do it, so I can't wake up, so you really need to stop talking," she pleaded.
She heard Mary Margaret – fake Mary Margaret, she told herself firmly – gasp softly. Someone moved to kneel next to her, and Emma scooted as far into the wall as she could, facing away from the person. "No! You can't touch me. I always wake up when the dreams touch me."
"Okay Emma," David soothed. "I won't touch you. But can you open your eyes and look at me?"
Emma shook her head. "Only thing I see is her. She's always there."
"What will convince you, Emma, that this isn't a dream?" Mary Margaret asked. "What do you need?"
Emma felt a hand touch her pants but she squirmed away before they could make actual contact. "No!" she cried. "I said no!"
"Alright, Emma, calm down, we're sorry. What do you need, honey? Tell us," David asked.
"Him," Emma gasped out. "She said he left but he said differently. He needs to tell me again. That he didn't leave."
"Okay, sweetie," Mary Margaret said. "We'll go get him."
Hook was waiting impatiently downstairs. He had spent the last month searching tirelessly for Emma, and now he was wondering if he'd found her too late. She'd been so far gone, delirious and thin, almost unrecognizable. But he'd hauled her out of there, and now he was stuck down here, waiting.
Then David came down the stairs, and Hook rushed over. "Is she awake? How is she? Is she hurt?" he asked frantically.
David held up his hands to stop the barrage. "Easy. Yes, she's awake, but that's about the only positive I can give you."
"What are you talking about? What's wrong?"
David sighed. "She thinks that this is all a dream, and she's going to wake up any second back in that cell with that damned witch. She thinks we stopped looking for her, that we abandoned her again," he said sadly.
"Aye," Hook said softly. "She said much the same to me when I found her. How do you plan to convince her of reality, then, mate?"
"We're not. You are."
Hook looked at him, confused. "How do you expect me to do that Dave? Just saunter in there and tell her she's not dreaming?"
David gave him a small smile. "No. Emma said that Zelena told her that you left her behind, and that you told her you never did. She said that she needs to hear you say it again."
Hook hesitated.
"Please, Hook. Emma's so traumatized, I'm afraid we're not going to get her back," David begged.
"Aye, mate, of course. I'll do it. You know I will."
Emma heard the door open again softly.
"Hello, love," his voice said quietly, the sound of it causing her to relax the tiniest margin.
"You're still here," she said disbelievingly.
"Aye, I'm still here Swan. She told you I abandoned you, didn't she?" he asked, still speaking softly. "That we all left you behind."
"Yes," Emma gasped out.
"It was a lie, love. A lie to make you lose hope. Your boy was worried sick about you. David was out searching for you everyday. He never stopped. Mary Margaret would have looked too, but she had the baby a couple weeks ago and had to stay with her and Henry. You have a baby sister by the way," he added. "And I looked for you. Everywhere. Constantly. I swear none of us even considered stopping until you were found. And I finally did find you."
"How?" Emma whispered.
"Saw Zelena sneaking around near the town line yesterday, followed her to a cave in the woods. Waited until she left, killed the simian guard, and found you. You didn't think I was real."
She could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "I'm still not sure you are."
"Open your eyes and find out, love," he urged gently.
Emma shook her head. "I can't. All I see is her."
"How about this then." There was movement near her, and all of a sudden a presence next to her. He grabbed her hand, and when she whimpered and tried to pull away, he refused to let go and rested it against his cheek. "See, love?" he asked. "Real."
Emma didn't answer. She was too busy running her hands through his hair, against the scruff on his jaw, down his shirt to the hard planes of his stomach. "Please," she finally begged, eyes still shut.
He understood. He always did. He sat on the floor next to her and pulled her into his chest. "It's time to open your eyes, darling," he said. "Come back to me, Swan. Please."
Emma finally peeked her eyes open, to find herself staring into his beautiful blue ones. No green in sight. She gasped, and threw herself into his chest, clutching at him tightly. He held her, a reassuring hand running through her hair. "There you are, love. Never doubted you for a second."