"Storybrooke. It's my home," Emma said as she faced Killian. She felt the ends of her lips curl into a faint smile. The two gazed at each other for a long, extended moment. Their eyes struck a long cord with one another, as if expecting something to happen. When nothing happened, they embraced tightly. Emma felt comfort in his arms, and Killian was the same. He'd given up his ship for her, but he didn't know if he'd ever get the right chance to tell her how far he'd be willing to go. Well, it was really because he still had doubts about if Emma replicated his feelings for her, so he placed the figurative ball in her court. Without her knowing of course. It was up to her to make a move, and if she didn't, Killian was happy enough where he was with her.
Rumple hadn't taken the potion to forget the two yet, but he stood there watching them. "Well, I want to forget you both now."
Killian and Emma quickly broke away from their embrace and shouted in perfect unison, "No, wait!" Emma clenches her fist and Killian nods to her, letting her speak. She stuttered for a moment, unsure of the words she was about to say. "I… I want to make a deal!"
Rumpelstiltskin gave his crazed chuckle and said, "Why would I want to make a deal with you, hm?"
She promptly responded, "Because I can tell you all about your future before you take that potion. I can tell you all you want to know about… about…" She paused and clenched her fist tighter. "About Baelfire. Whatever you want to know."
Rumple squinted his eyes at Emma and gave a demonic grin. "You've caught my attention. What do you want from me?"
"I can't make it back home without magic beans or something like that. My magic isn't powerful enough to send me home, either. So… Because I'm in the past, and I don't want to affect anyone's future or have any further effects on this world, could you make some kind of spell or curse that erases everything I do in this land? If I talk to anyone or mess anything up, I want it to be fixed so the path that is supposed to happen will happen."
The Crocodile, as Killian called him, said, "Perhaps… Let me see what I can come up with."
Killian and Emma smiled to each other and said, "Once you have that done, I will tell you all you want to know. And, also, Kil- Hook, sorry, he exists in this world already. I would know," Emma said as she gave a glance towards Killian, who folded his arms across his chest and gave a visible huff. She continued, "Can you give him a different appearance in case someone should see him."
Rumple straightened his face and waved his hand, a contract appearing beside him. "Because of that extra...favor that I will do, you will tell me what you know about me in the next life, past my curse."
Emma pursed her lips and she gave a sigh. "Deal." She took the quill floating in the air and signed. Just before she could peruse the contract she just signed, but is disappeared with an insane cackle. Rumple snapped his fingers, and a necklace appeared around her neck, and Hook wore a ring.
"These will make you… Not matter, really. The spell will make it so anyone that hasn't seen you in over twelve hours will completely forget any interactions you had with them while you had these pieces are on: the necklace and the ring. Your little adventure? Whoever you met during it will remember you, but if you see them again, they won't remember anything past that if they haven't seen you in twelve hours. You see them at an inn, you leave, they never see you again, they forget they even met you a second time. Anything you take will be replaced by the spell after the twelve hour period"
Killian looked at the ring that appeared around his thumb, "Looks perfect, Crocodile."
Emma said, "I think you still wear more jewelry than I do, Hook," to which Killian winked slyly at her before she continued, "What about Hook's appearance? He doesn't look different to me."
Rumple replied, "He is different. Look at him in a mirror." Killian went over to a mirror that was in the rear of the vault, and he rubbed his chin, smirking. Emma went up and peered at the unfamiliar man in the mirror. Thick and long dirty blond hair went just past his shoulders, and Killian now donned a thick beard. He had both of his hands, right there, and he gazed at them, no, stared at them. His once sea-blue eyes were pale gray. He was just as striking as he was in his own appearance, and to that Killian grinned.
"You think I look better like this, Swan?
She shook her head and laughed with a scoff behind it. "You're simply enjoying that hand of yours."
His grin turned devilish as he raised a cocky eyebrow. "I think you'd enjoy it as well."
Rumple interrupted them and took them back to the main room at his castle. "Where is my son? Tell me. Will I find him?"
Emma took a hard gulp and sat down. She explained all she knew to the Dark One, whose face twitched with strong emotion here and there as she spoke, but for the most part, he was so absolutely struck with hurt that he made no expressions.
"I think that's all I want to hear from you, dearie," Rumple said, the same expression on his face. Without noticing, Emma had clutched onto Killian's hand, but Emma pulled her hand away as soon as she noticed what she was doing.
"The deal is done. I don't want to hear anything else about this future." Rumple shooed the both of them out before he drank his potion.
Killian and Emma walked out of Rumplestiltskin's castle. Actually, that was a lie. They ran as fast as they could, considering how hostile the Dark One was towards Killian when they first arrived. Once they were a good length away, they stopped for a long breather, which they deserved. Killian hunched over to breathe while he laughed. Emma laughed as well, looking to him while hunching over herself.
She said, "So, you're the expert on the Enchanted Forest. You got any bright ideas on how to leave?"
He huffed and stood straight while his thumb grazed over his bottom lip. "I've got a couple. Not sure you'll like them, but they're at least ideas."
"Well, tell me!" She waved her hands in exclamation towards him, egging him on to talk freely.
"One: magic sprout from Anton. He's still in this land."
"No. I don't want to climb up another beanstalk. Please. We also don't have any of Mulan's sleeping powder or anyone else to help but ourselves..."
"Ah, but you are forgetting the memories we had there, love."
"How could I forget handcuffing you and leaving you there to die?" She rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead, yet she laughed. "Sorry, Killian."
He wrinkled his nose in disapproval and shook his head. "Two: the compass. Even get it before Cora can get anywhere near it."
"No. Absolutely not." She looked at him and said, "Well… We could wait for the curse, right? See how that turns out for us. Shouldn't be too long I think, maybe a few months."
"A few months?! Swan… That's actually not half bad, and we don't need to get ourselves into too much trouble, do we?"
"That's all dependent on you, Hook." She smirked at him and continued, "We need somewhere to be safe for the time being though."
"The sea. There's no safer place, especially if we stay in generally good seas."
"I don't want to burst your little sea bubble, pirate, but where are we going to even get a ship? I'm not doing the whole charming-you-in-this-land-just-to-get-what-we-need thing again."
Killian grumbled at the thought. "Bah, what a lowly man he was."
"He's you, don't forget that."
"No, I'm me. He's the me that is no longer me."
"How does that even make sense?"
"It just does, Swan!"
She laughed heartily in response and looked at the environment around her. It was grassy, a decent forest stood to their southeast, south, and southwest area. The sky above was blue as it could be, and no cloud could block out the rays of the sun that bounced off of the colorful flowers in the valley they were in. "I'm guessing I still have to charm some captain for their ship?"
"Oh, definitely not. We're going to steal one. Like real pirates do." His grin widened as he pointed to a nearby stable with a dark horse stabled in it.
Emma widened her eyes at him. Her fair skin became paler at the thought. "What? There is no way we can steal a ship, Killian! I don't like this plan."
"Hm, well I do, so let's get a move on, shall we?" He winked at her and started at a skip, and then gradually accelerated into a sprint. Emma followed as best as she could, but the fact she was still wearing a dress certainly didn't help at all. "We just stopped running, come on!" He was at least a few hundred feet ahead of her, and he shouted back while running, "The faster you get here, the less time you have to run!" She did laugh at the thought, but she continued to run, holding up her dress at the same time.
The two of them snagged a horse from some poor stable, but they knew all would be fine, the horse would be replaced by the spell on them. Killian didn't look too comfortable on a horse, but he looked much more comfortable than Emma did. She bobbed up and down and wondered how people could have rode these things for so long. It seemed like they'd been riding for days, yet it'd only been just a couple of hours. Luckily, they had a clear path to the nearest port town in The Frontlands. Killian knew this was where he met Milah, in these lands, but he did not say a thing to Emma, who had her arms wrapped around his chest, clinging on for dear life while on the back of the horse. They really hadn't said anything to each other, instead enjoying their natural surroundings. It was green, and to Emma, it was mesmerizing. Her heart fluttered in remembrance of watching her parents fall in love in the Enchanted Forest, and smile appeared on her face as a cause of that. She remembered Killian telling her that not everyone gets to see their parents fall in love, and she could count her lucky stars that she was in that lucky bunch. It gave her insight on how they really were, or at least how they even met by seeing it herself.
There it was, the port town they'd get their ship from. This port was where Killian met Milah, and they trotted through the town, Killian did not say a word. His heart, too, fluttered. Not for Emma, not for Milah, but the thought of lost love in general. He thought of losing Milah to Rumplestiltskin and his revenge, and the thought of Emma dying passed through his mind as well. It made him sick to the stomach, but he couldn't help think about these things.
Emma said, patting his arm after noticing some level of discomfort within him, "Hey, Killian, are you okay? You haven't said anything for the past couple of hours."
The pirate looked back at her and gave a half-real half-forced smile. "Of course, love. Why wouldn't I be?"
She laughed to break any kind of awkward interaction, but she found it was unsuccessful. She said, "That was my next question, but it seems you don't know the answer."
He grumbled in response and turned forwards once again, Emma's arms still around his midsection. The cobblestone underneath their feet was worn down by travel, and the port when they arrived was full of muck and sailors cursing at each other. Killian quickly stopped the horse and hopped off, offering his not-hook-hand to Emma to help her down. She noticed the faint undertones of sadness in his eyes, something she had spotted often with him. When he said he would back off and let Neal and Emma have a chance again, when she blew off their first kiss in Neverland, deeming it as nothing. It was something to him, and she knew it was something to her as well. She'd even felt a flutter or two in her stomach while holding onto him on the horse on the way to the port town, but she did take his hand and accept his help to come down.
She smiled, easing the situation between the two, "What a gentleman you are, Hook."
He cracked a smile at her comment and bowed his head almost satirically. "It grieves me to think of how long it took you to think that, my dear Princess Leia."
Emma rolled her eyes, but her smile was still there. This was something Killian was uniquely able to do with her. Their banter always gave her a smile, but in that moment she was reminded of Henry and her parents, her want to go home struck a nasty chord in her heart that reverberated into her body language. Killian was already turned away, so she followed with those thoughts. They came to a shop, and Killian held the cracked, wooden door open for her as she walked in.
She looked around and furrowed her brow at the clothing they found in there. Leather, everywhere. Black leather. There was also an abundance of decorated vests, long coats, and…
"Leather pants," Emma said, shocked at the abundance of pirate-like things. "What is this place? Pirate depot?"
Killian looked at her blankly and shook his head. "I'm not too sure what a depot is, but this is a good place to act our part of pirates. I may look different, but my clothing needs to be changed as well. So does yours. Grab something you like and I'll do the same." He walked towards the shop-owner, who was a young woman. The young girl's face looked generally unhappy, but it sparked into a smile as Killian walked closer to the her. Emma couldn't hear their conversation, but she was sure he was charming the girl into giving them clothing for free.
While he was busy, she took the opportunity to look around for clothing she'd wear. She went to pick out something before Killian tapped her on the shoulder. "I've got something perfect for you, love. I guessed your size," he eyed her, motioning his hands to her body, "I think I've got it right." He tossed a sly wink at her and pulled out a frilled white blouse, which didn't look too bad, a brown corset, black leather pants, several rings for her various fingers, dark brown boots, and of course, a red-burgundy long overcoat to imitate her favorite red leather jacket at home. Emma looked at the clothing and blinked.
"Really?" The clothing almost fell straight out of her arms, but she held on to them.
"Yes, really. You want to fit in, don't you, love?"
She pursed her lips tightly and sighed, taking the clothes and moving to the back of the shop to put them on. Emma struggled to get the pants on, comparing them to skinny jeans back in her world. Her corset felt tight, but it fit, along with the shirt. She put on the rings, tricorn hat, and even the coat before her boots. She did like the boots, a dark leather with black straps over them. It looked like something she might've picked out herself. Once done, she went outside of the back room where Killian was still chatting up the shopkeeper, but when she came out, his eyes beamed straight to her and did not move away. The shopkeeper even looked at her, smiling. "Those look great on you!"
Emma stared towards the shopkeeper. The clothing did fit her, she thought. He oddly guessed her size just right, but that was something she'd have to ask about later. She never had imagined herself as a pirate in an enchanted realm, but if she could guess now… This is what she'd look like. It fit her style, and she enjoyed the thought of the red coat as well. "Oh, well, thanks."
Killian's eyes were still glued onto Emma, but he shook himself out of it and sauntered over to her and raised his hands to her shoulders, just to adjust her coat."You look incredible."
"I look like a pirate."
"Yes. Yes you do. A great one at that."
She moved to pull her pants up and said while struggling, "Please tell me something: why leather?"
"Because it looks good," Killian said with a half-smile that was aimed at her. "You'll also need this." He handed her a rapier, thin yet sharp, simple yet striking. "The lovely shopkeep here had it in the back. You'll need it."
The rapier was strapped to her side by Killian, who was also in new clothing himself. It looked pretty standard, but it was good on him. She decided not to comment on it, but she did decide to speak.
"Let's go get that ship."