The wheels just keep on turning,

The drummer begins to drum,

I don't know which way I'm going,

I don't know which way I've come.

The wind brushed against the earth, its hesitant touch warm and mellow, rustling nothing but a few leaves and a few hairs. It seemed to physically push serenity into Emma, the air of trouble and doubt that surrounded her falling away in one facile swoop.

Her entire life prepared her to be instated as Queen, from lessons of manner and justice, to viewings of court procedures and governing meetings. She grew up in the graces of royalty and within the halls and arches of a castle. Her kingdom, fought for and won by her parents, never so much as reached a drought or financial woe, its steadfast prosperity lending her a blessed and comfortable life.

It seemed as though her life was like a rain drop gliding down a window, it ran smooth and clean until someone threw a rock and ripped her world apart. She became troubled with what most seem to be cased with, love. It bore her a son and broke her heart in a manner not fitting for a princess. Though her kingdom cared not and neither did her heart, for it eventually found its true love, allowing her parents to step down and for her, and her love, to seize the throne.

It didn't settle quite right with Emma.

It seemed as soon as her body found its way onto the throne the great ties between prosperity and her kingdom snapped and landed to the ground in an aching and deafening tone. It began with a barren field in the west, crossing towards a robbery in the town center, and alighting a barn in the northern section that spread to 3 other farms, until, eventually, every other citizen seemed plagued with some manner of illness.

Killian helped her often, melting into her and blocking the stress that knocked her nearly incapacitated at times, even though he was inflicted with the same disease she was. When she rose to be Queen he came with her, though the crown that symbolizes his status as King never did look anything but funny atop the former pirates head. Nevertheless, when she was confused on how she could be enough for the kingdom he was confident in her ability. When she was shy in her addresses to the court, he offered his strength. When it felt as though all came crashing down, he seemed to glue every piece back together. He treated her as though nothing else mattered, but she can tell the hardships bore down on him in every heavy handed blow.

It became more of a challenge to see one another, their duties ripping them apart from each other during the day. The only true time they had another was when the sky grew dark and they retired to their room where they would lie underneath their blankets and talk in just the way they used to, their laughter being the only thing that seemed to truly push away the ever cold gleam of ruling. Though, on some perverse days, it seemed that all that flowed in each of their minds was nothing but the kingdom.

But her time was not to be spent of focusing in on that. She rarely escaped out of the castle and the clutches of reigning for anything so she forced herself to instead appreciate the path she was walking and the curiosity that seem to flare in her son at every tree and crack he happened past. It did bring her great joy to see him like this, to see a person of such wonder arrive from the ugliest of situations. When nothing she did felt enough all she had to do was remember Henry and she would know that no situation is without its beauty, that she would find her footing as Queen and the kingdom will find its silver lining.

"Hello!" A sweet voice cried out, cracking at the edges but strong. The sound was cheerful and bolstered a feeling long gone in Emma, the kingdom did not care about her heartbreak and child in any way that was detrimental to her position but she felt the doubt and caution that spread from their bones when she approached. It held nothing of the reverence they once felt and Emma's heart almost broke every time.

She turned towards the sound, just enough so that her eye was never required to shift far from Henry, and greeted its sender, "Hello, madam. How are you?" She smiled well and true and watched as an elderly lady, far older than anyone she had seen before, emerge from behind a plentiful apple tree, basket filled to the brim with red apples and one green apple nestled gently on top.

"I never expected to encounter royalty in the apple gardens. You must excuse me." The lady bowed at the hips slightly before her, her joints emitting a few low cracking sounds.

"I'm sorry to intrude, it's just my son," Emma smiled and gestured towards where Henry seemed to be enthralled with an ant colony," wishes to know the kingdom he calls home and I cannot help but oblige."

"It's of no worries to me your Highness, none at all. I only hope the humble garden is up to your expectations. There has been a slight drought as of late and the plants seem to be taking it the worst."

Her smile faded, "I am aware of the drought. I wish there was something I could do to help. If there is anything I could offer or provide, please tell me."

"My dear there is nothing you could do to help this, the weather is out of your control, aggravating as that fact may be." She chuckled softly and waved her hand as if to dismiss the very notion of her fault, "Here, that worrying will deplete you entirely if you let it. We mustn't let our young Queen fade away." A wrinkled hand plucked the green apple out of the basket and outstretched her hand towards Emma, the green striking as it sat against the open palm of white.

"I shouldn't. I have plenty at the castle for me and my family. We have plenty of food to supply us, I can't take some in such a manner." She gently pulled away, not wanting to disturb the already thinning bond between her and the citizens.

"It's just an apple, we down in town have been noticing you thinning. It would save us a great deal of fretting if you just took it." She smiled and pushed it further towards Emma, who resigned with a small smile and the taking of the fruit.

"You are too persistent for your own good, you know that, correct?" She joked as she fumbled with the opening to the bag slung across her shoulder. After a moment the clasp unlocked and Emma placed the apple gently inside, making sure to position it in such a way that it wouldn't become disturbed by the jostle of her gait.

"I would say persistence is what you need in this world most of all, wouldn't you agree?"

Emma chuckled as she called Henry over and, after bidding her goodbye and wrapping an arm over her sons shoulder, called out, "You might be on to something there."

The night fell quickly as she organized her affairs and projects for the upcoming weeks, Killian working along beside her on his own. They sat silently at the table in their bedroom, the moonlight illuminating their work and the gentle reassurance of one another's presence comforting them. The work went quickly as every time she hit a slag in effort he leaned over and just gently brushed his lips against hers, trailing them up for a kiss at the tip of her nose and then across for a peck at her cheek before heading off. The action reminded her of why she became burdened with her duties in the first place and so she would be sent back into work, her mind and hands reaching an equilibrium as they sorted through her requirements.

Killian sighed as he finished, the sound pleased but woven with exhaustion. He launched himself upwards from his chair, his body resisting the motion as his muscles cried in protest, and walked towards his armoire. Enervation ebbed out from his every cell as he picked out his night clothes and undressed, almost deciding to not even dress again before remembering that Smee may barge in with any number of crisis's from across the kingdom and he didn't wish for his chamberlain to know him that well.

He moved slowly back towards her, pressing a swift kiss to her cheek as she finished and stood up to repeat his motions, "How was your day, love?" He asked with a sigh, his body already relaxed underneath the large comforter that cloaked their bed. His good arm reaching down and pulling up the blanket allowing it to engulf him as his stumped arm wrapped firmly around the pillow, waiting for Emma to arrive and reach its resting place against her waist.

Emma chuckled as she undressed, "Much the same, only difference seems to be that I encountered an old lady while out with Henry today."

"Hmm." Killian hummed as he sunk further into the pillows, his eyes barely propped open as he forced himself to stay awake, focusing not on the comfort of the bed but instead of the sound of Emma's voice.

"She was very sweet," Her eyes drew wide as she exclaimed, "She even gave me an apple! I completely forgot about that, it must still be in my bag."

He rose slightly at that, "Emma, love, you haven't eaten dinner today. Please tell me you put your bag where it normally resides?" She nodded, "Please fetch it and eat the apple. You're putting the world atop your shoulders nowadays and it's pressing down on your health."

"Killian, I-"

"Emma, please."

With a sigh she agreed, "On one condition, however, you must go to sleep now. For someone who chastises me for not taking proper care of myself, you sure can do an awful job of it yourself."

His smile, half covered by the poof of the pillow, was the last thing she saw as she headed out of their chamber and down the hall. She entered into a closet where she had stored the leather satchel atop a chest filled to the brim with survival supplies if, in any strange circumstance, her family needed to escape, she was prepared. Sighing, she ruffled inside the bag before removing the apple, promptly wiping off any remnants of dust or dirt, and taking a bite.

The effect was instantaneous, a thunderous clap bounced off every wall and reverberated in her ear, the sound hollow and deafening. She so badly wished she could shield herself from the hysterics that tore her mind apart and into a splitting headache but she instead became locked in a vortex of black, its tentacles whipping around the small confines of the room that started tearing down the shelving, spraying its contents all around, and ripping apart the paint that marked the wall. She was nearly struck by her bag as it spiraled hopelessly and violently, caught on by the winds that began to pick up the faster the arms turned. She felt pulled towards its center, a new form of gravity taking over and making it her first victim. She swore as though she was being swallowed up, the force of it ripping her in by every blood vessel and nerve. It was as though she was slowly sliding down a sinkhole but where it reached she did not know. She tried to cry out but every sound was drowned out, the relentless winds tearing her voice apart at its base. It was agonizing, it felt like she was being pulled apart and smashed together in some harrowing new way, her very atoms being picked off, transported away, and shoved back together every millisecond.

"Emma!" The aggression of the vortex did not allow for any movement that was not her own, though she did not have to turn to recognize the voice that called. Killian.

She was helpless, however, and was only allowed for a few scared tears before being sucked away completely, nothing but a spinning green apple and a mess of the room left in her wake.

"No!" He shouted, fists pounding heavy on the top causing its contents to jump upwards, "No! I will not accept that. It is magic! We know magic, we have several magicians in our kingdom, in our bloody arsenal. We can find someone who can trace that damn vortex and find her." He was seething, his anger making his blood pop and bounce through his veins, his senses training in on everything as though it would help inform him of Emma's whereabouts.

Snow sniffled and a sob rang out, her head laid weakly on top of her hands as though it could no longer bear its own weight. Charming rubbed her back in slow circles, his own despair making it almost too hard to push on, "What is there for us to do?" A lone tear slid slowly down his face, tracing the curve of his cheek and dripping pitifully onto the table, "No magic in the world can chase down that portal."

Killian started pacing, his hands flying upwards and tearing harshly through his hair, the roots of every stem crying out, "Okay, maybe we can't chase down the portal but what about her, what about Emma? Doesn't that demon," he gestured wildly to where his left hand used to reside, "doesn't he have any sort of potion or spell that can find her?"

Snow raised her head slowly, tears freely falling down in unkempt grace, others residing in her eyes biding their time until they too were allowed to flee, "Nobody has seen Rumpelstiltskin in years, Killian, you know this." She choked on her words though they were nothing more than a soft, broken whisper.

"No." His eyes steeled, he knew that she could save herself, knew that when all was said and done she was the toughest, the smartest, but a voice whispered that this was the one time she was helpless to it all, "No, there must be something we can do. I'm not going to give up."

"And you think we are?" Charming argued, voice booming across the great hall, "She is our daughter. She's his mother!" He pointed towards Henry who sat quietly, a puzzled look spread across his face, "We are hurting just as much as you."

Killian snickered, a dry tasteless laugh erupting out from him, one he could hardly contain, "Yet you're sitting here giving up."

"We're not giving up, we're being realistic!"

"Realistically, you're giving up!"

"We want her back just as much as you do, if not more so!"

"Oh, and whys that? You still think her pirate husband –"

"ENOUGH!" Snow shouted, hands slamming down onto the table and raising her up, "We will never get Emma back if you two keep arguing. We need to sit down and agree on a plan." Her voice was stronger and her eyes were harder, her old flame for battle coming back.

The two shifted their weight on their feet for a moment before relenting and slowly sliding down into their respective chairs. "So," Charming began, "Any ideas?"

Emma woke with a jolt, her body wrought with pain and her mind filled with flashes of a memory. "Killian?" She mumbled, eyes still shut so the light wouldn't tighten her headache. The bed felt hard against her skin, her muscles sore and cramped. Her fingers tried to find him but instead found the sharp, jagged edges of rocks.

"What the hell?" She whispered, finally willing her eyes to open.

She was met not with the comforts of home but instead of an empty, rusted, cell of which she was trapped inside of. Alternating bars sprouted out of the ceiling and floor, each one meeting in the middle and producing a sharp pointed end. The cell itself was an oblong half circle, the material of the walls (that spread past her confines) seemed nothing more than rocky earth, as though someone found a cave and erected a jail in it, only a few magic –lit torches irradiating the rocks. Nothing resided with her beside a bed of straw with a quilted, faded blanket.

"What the hell?" She walked over to the bars and shook them, hands grasping everywhere she could reach hoping one section would break under stress. She went up and down until her arms were sore and her hands bleed slightly from the rough material.

She tried calling for help but all she received back was a dull echo of her voice, its desperation more and more evident every time it cried back. She kicked harshly at the base of every bar but all it gave her was soreness in her foot and exasperation. She attempted to climb up the bars and tried to squeeze through the gap between as if it grew wider the higher it went. She hopped down and surveyed the cell once more, hoping to find anything that could offer her some hope to escape.

She was completely and utterly trapped.

Henry was quiet since he had heard the news. He stayed quiet when he was woken by Killian's frantic screaming, he stayed quiet while his family swore up and down at each other, he stayed quiet while they planned. He was quiet. But now, as the castle drew weary and the cries of the work force slowly dwindled, he was loud. The second he sat down on his bed a sob raked itself out of him, one he had been suppressing all day. It stung as it filled the air, the pure violence in its nature nothing compared to the pain that caused it.

His mother was gone. She was gone, scared, maybe hurt, and they had no clue where to find her. He stayed quiet because he stayed in thought, scanning his mind for any morsel of information that would help him find even a clue of what had happened. But all the reading in the world couldn't have prepared him, couldn't have helped an impossible situation.

He was so lost in thought that he hadn't heard Killian come in until he stood right before him, coughing awkwardly, "Henry?" He asked quietly.

Henry blinked rapidly, a poor attempt at clearing his tears, before slowly bringing his head up to meet his eyes, "Yes, Da…. Killian?"

Killian almost smiled at his referral to being his father but it currently felt as though the muscles required for smiling no longer existed, that they were ripped right down into whatever portal stole Emma. "Your grandparents seem intent on doing everything by the books so how about we reach back into my pirating days and find her ourselves. What do you say, lad?"

Henry launched upwards at the prospect and, with the most enthusiastic smile he could muster, set about preparing a bag for whatever they might encounter. He filled a leather satchel, identical to the one Emma used frequently, with various survival equipment he kept stored in secrecy around his room.

He was very much like his Mother.

Killian almost smiled at that.

Emma was pacing. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Her feet were aching, exhaustion was pulsating though her body in equal rhythm, causing the mattress to seem more than alluring. But she could not sleep. She did not know where she was and the last day, and thus the events that lead her here, was still a flicker and not yet a flame of a memory. She felt as though the beat of her feet would tame the flicker, that the next time it danced across her mind and taunted her with its illusiveness she would finally catch up and retrieve it, finding all that it withheld from her.

She thought if she could just grasp it, if she could just get some insight on the last 24 hours that wasn't shredded images of tentacles of black, that should could have some understanding of her circumstances, that she would find that this was all a big puzzle and all she had to do was jump up and down three times and clap her hands twice for the cell to open and for her to return home.

Home. In an instant the flicker extinguished and instead all that filled her mind was worry for her son, her husband, her parents. If she was trapped in here, where were they? Were they too locked up as well? Or were they free and looking for her? What if they became injured?

For a brief second a shred of fear that they wouldn't come searching at all tore through her brain, knocking out her senses and leaving a swirl of panic that lodged itself deep into the tissue of her heart. She tried to fight out, to argue it, but it was of no use. She knew it wasn't rational but it began to gnaw at her, try as she might to ignore it and push it back into whatever dark place of her brain it escaped from.

But, if she hadn't a clue where she was, how could her family find her?

"This is your pirate plan?! What happened to you being against my grandparents doing everything by the books?" Henry exclaimed wildly as he looked around, dumbfounded as this was the last place he expected the pirate to lead him to.

"Hey, I had to pick the lock to enter here. Show some respect." Killian said as he began to poke and prod his way through every shelf, examining the contents with a wary eye.

"This is literally doing things by the book. You brought us to a library."

"Ah, but a library no one is allowed to enter. That's the beauty of it, lad. This here," he gestured about him, "is a room filled with books that are filled with instructions on how to cast dark magic. This is how we're going to find Emma."

"How do we know she was taken by dark magic?" Henry questioned as he pulled down several books that caught his eye, already starting to flip through the first with desperation.

"Well, she was swallowed by a swirling vortex of black."

"Right." Henry almost laughed as he felt his hope surge back, it starting to grip at each bone and add bounce to his every movement. Each passing page only meant that they were one page closer to finding out what happened to her, to finding out how to bring her back. Each passing page meant hope and hope began to blossom the happiness that shriveled away from him since her disappearance. But his happiness was short lived as he glanced over towards Killian who lost his smile and started to stare at the books with worry-wrought eyes and a plagued expression.

"We'll find her, Killian. I know we will." He reached out and placed a reassuring hand atop his arm.

"I hope so lad." Killian smiled roughly, his unease palpable as he began the slow search through the stack of books Henry laid out before them.

It was tedious work, having to read every ancient spell and examine every messily scrawled liner note. They went through dozens of books and to Killian it seemed as though their progress was nothing at all, that instead of reaching her she was simply slipper farther every away with every turn of a page. Though, with no other option he knew of, he pushed on, hoping that he hadn't created a grave miscalculation.

Henry babbled along beside him about every other spell that involved the mentioning of blackness and he tried to pay attention, tried to tell him the exact details of what he saw, but every time it felt as though he was inching towards a cliff that dropped him into the unknown. Perhaps it hadn't struck him how exactly desperate the situation was until now, the weight of her absences not having entirely made itself known until now. He almost wished he could plummet off of that metaphorical cliff into the unknown, that perhaps it would be easier to fend off broken bones and damaged skin in a land that he did not know than it would be to find the answer to save her. The more he festered in that fear, the more he sat beside his step-son and realized the gravity of the situation at hand, the more he realized that he would not hesitate to jump off without knowledge of where he would land at all, if it meant that she was found and safe.

He began to feel cold, his skin was icy and his heart was frozen. It was gripped in the fear, in the knowledge, of all that he would do to save her, to bring her back, and was iced over by the acceptance that he could do none of it at all. He could not sail to some far-away kingdom and duel the King for her back, he could not race against time itself as he darted across woods and over fields horseback to find her stowed away in some forgotten cabin and rescue her, he could not challenge a pirate, he could not fight a dragon, he could not overthrow a town. Instead he could agonize over if he accidentally turned two pages instead of one and missed the spell entirely, instead he could sit in cold shame with the knowledge her sent her to bite that apple. Instead he could sit, useless, helpless, and praying to any God that he could remember to let him jump off that cliff and save her.

His eyes began to glaze over as he sat in an almost catatonic state as he processed it all, the only thing he was taking in was the small sounds that Henry made every time he read something that peaked his interest. All he saw was the life he so badly wished for himself become dust, insubstantial, nothing more than a dream he never wanted to wake from. It began to vanish before his eyes, a future that, despite its flimsiness, despite their fears and despite their insecurities, held strong and true, held proud against all the threatened to break it. But now she was gone and he knew he was useless to fight against it.

She sat with her back pressed against the wall, the rocks rough against the contours of her spine. A memory came back. A partial memory. One where Killian begs her to eat the apple that sent her here. Surely, he had no way of knowing. He loved her too much, she knew that to be true. He gave up his home for her, his livelihood, his friends, everything, for her. Surely, he didn't know.

She was the most miserable queen, she thought bitterly. Given a doting husband, a perfect son, a loving family, and a prosperous kingdom. And yet she led the kingdom astray enough to garner such hatred that she be cursed by a powerful magic user.

"I knew I wasn't enough to be a Queen." She whispered to nothing but the still, damp air.

Killian hadn't moved in hours, still halfway stuck between a dream and his nightmare reality, the only change being that he no longer heard the page turning and muttered responses of Henry. He tried to drag himself out of it, sometimes he brought himself conscious enough to notice Henry dutifully working through the books next to him, but just as fast he would snap back into the dream where Emma was safe back into his arms.

While he was lost into the expanses of darkness in his mind, Henry stumbled upon a great discovery. With a gasp and a smile tugging at every corner of him, he shouted towards Killian, pushing and prodding him until he rose slowly out of his mind.

It took minutes for him to come around but when he did he felt a surge of unharnessed energy, "What is it, have you figured it out?" Killian turned on the spot, spinning around to face the young boy.

"I think I have." Henry passed an open book onto Kilian's lap, pointing to the spell on the lower right page, "It's a transportation spell but a pretty rare one. Most land you anywhere between 2 and 3 miles of where you want it but when you prepare this one all you have to do is think of the place where you want it to go and boom, you're within 5 feet of the destination. You have to be pretty advanced to cast it and then to put it onto an apple? The best of the best."

Killian stared dumbfounded at the book, "How do we find her?"

"Logical thinking. We know that whoever is powerful enough to cast this isn't dumb, so they're not going to send a queen to the middle of the forest to be found by just anyone, they're going to lock her up." Henry squinted his eyes, focusing on nothing but the thoughts running in his brain.

"They're not going to send her to any normal cell, it's going to be magically protected so even if we find her we won't be able to bring her out easily." Killian felt his heart deflate, the little hope he stored deep inside plucked painfully out with the realization.

Henry, however, bounced up in excitement, "She's in Rumpelstiltskin's old cell! It makes perfect sense, no one ever goes down there and it's magically protected! Plus, transportation spells are a lot more reliable if they transport someone nearby!"

Killian and Henry shared one split second glance before bolting upright and racing out of the room, it lay secret amongst the many alleyways and corridors of the castle so by the time they reached the outside courtyard both of their lungs gasped for the hint of a breath but they pushed onwards, running and running and running.

The light of a new day started to stretch across the land, guiding Henry and Killian through the thickly forested terrain that surrounded the castle. They had to stop often not due to shortness of breath, though their lungs ached with a fire never before felt, but due to the hidden nature of the cavern that stored his cell. Well off the beaten trail and in a section of a forest no one dared look, a cave entrance shrouded by bushes was the object of their desire. It was grueling, having to carefully trace and follow a path well-worn away by years of inactivity but they pressed on, excitement to find Emma rolling off their body and reenergizing their muscles.

"There!" Killian cried, placing a hand atop Henrys shoulder and guiding him. Several paces away was the cave, the years of no human stepping inside allowed for ferns to almost overtake the entrance entirely, just a small band of it allowed to be shown, crowning a few inches over the tallest plant.

Their steps were suddenly slower, heavier, the weight of the last day pressing down on them. They paused before they unveiled the entryway, the excitement wearing off and doubt making its way in. What if they were wrong, what if they don't find her down there? The world would feel like its crashing in on itself but, with hope being something Henry does not have in limited supply, they pulled apart the ferns and entered despite it all.

There was a small, twisted segment they had to walk through before reaching the main room of the cave. It felt maddening to traverse, to know that they will either find Emma or be left with crushing despair, and Killian swore the walls echoed his pounding heartbeat back to him. The passageway itself was not long in length, no more than 300 yards, but it seemingly stretched on forever, his anxiety weaving its way through the rocks and charging back at him.

It only fueled him though and soon enough they broke though and meet the main chamber of the cave, where, pushed the furthest back it could be, held the cell and Emma inside. They shouted immediately, both barreling forwards the fastest their legs could take them. They grappled at the bars and attempted to scan her for injuries, eyes purposely avoiding the damp and cold cell to which she was confined, instead zeroing in on her every movement.

Emma shot upwards instantaneously, life flooding back into her cheeks as she gazed at them in shock, "You found me. I-I can't believe you found me, how?" She moved slowly towards them, as though they were nothing more than her mind playing tricks on her, another curse of the spell.

"I can't believe you doubted we would." Henry and Killian replied simultaneously, both lunging their hands forward to grab one of hers when it came into reach.

"It was mostly the lads doing, I'm afraid I just picked a lock." Killian chuckled awkwardly, smiling shyly at the young boy beside him, before leaning through the bars and pressing one sweet kiss atop her forehead.

"Well whatever you did, you did a great job." She smiled at them, an all-consuming smile that broke past her every pain and illuminated her face like she was nothing short of the sun itself, "Now, how do I get out of here?"

And in an instant the boys faces fell, "Well, love, that seems to be the one thing we didn't figure out." Killian smiled slightly, ashamed at his ineptitude regarding the whole situation.

"Oh," Her smile faltered slightly, brows tugging down into thought, "Well, whoever did this must have a reason so let's offer them a deal! I know the castle jails aren't kept in the… best of shape, so I'm sure they'll be willing to cooperate."

Henry coughed and Killian scratched behind his ear, his eyes now traveling everywhere but Emma, "You don't know who did this, do you?"

"Nope." Henry popped the 'p', weight shifting from foot to foot.

"Well, you still beat the odds and found me. Now we can work it out together."