Chapter 2
Queen Emma sat in her throne room, surrounded by her court, when the party of Mesa arrived to discuss the fate of their Thief. The sight of them made her angry, as she hadn't sent an official message to King Liam stating that she had his Thief. She had just waited, expecting King Liam to make some sort of effort to extract him. Instead he had sent a trope to sit before her, baiting her. The messengers were led before her, and bowed low.
"We have been sent by King Liam of Mesa to discuss the fate of his Thief." One of them spoke.
"I figured as much." Emma answered curtly.
"King Liam has offered you to name your price for ransom. He will pay any amount."
"No." Emma stated simply. Her answer didn't surprise the messengers.
"Our King figured as much as well." This messenger was mocking her earlier statement. Emma's anger flared, knowing she had to sit and listen to these veiled insults. Of course, she had expected Liam wouldn't be happy about his brother's capture.
"Our king has sent us to tell you that the gates of the Emots Lake will be closed and he will only open them when his Thief is back home." The messengers, finished with their business, were led out of the room.
"Clever." Emma laughed coldly.
She had ascended the throne after her parents' assassination. Ever since then, Misthaven had been struggling for financial stability. King Liam knew that Emma needed the crop that was growing this summer to fill the treasury. Without the Narrow River running down from Emots Lake at the top of the mountain, they had no way to get water to the crop, and the crops would wither in the summer heat.
"Bring the Thief to me." Emma ordered.
She sat on her throne, thinking quietly what to do. It didn't take long until the guards were bringing him forward. Killian was blinking at the light in the room. Having spent a few days in the dark dungeon, it took a while for his eyes to adjust to the light. He was still dirty, dust stuck to his face, and as he sweat, it turned the dust to mud. His blue eyes seemed to stand out more against the dirt and grime. His clothes were still bloody, as his wounds hadn't been tended to.
"Your brother sent his messengers telling me he offered to ransom you, but I declined." Emma slightly tilted her head, looking for a reaction.
"I never expected you to take it, your Majesty." Killian muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
"I can't risk letting you go, as you would only come sneaking back and leaving me notes around the palace." Killian smiled in spite of himself, which seemed to aggravate Emma more. "I told those messengers that I wouldn't accept a ransom of any size. Do you know what they told me?"
"I haven't a clue." Killian replied.
"He told me that the Narrow River won't flow until your brother, the King, has you back home. He's closed the gates of the lake, so the river can't run to water my crops." The Queen rose from her throne, and descended the platform which her throne sat on. She was standing directly in front of him now, he had to lift his head to meet her eyes. "What do you think of that?"
"Smart plan, although it's safe to assume it won't work. Am I right?" Killian gave the Queen a smile. She smirked at him in return.
Emma turned from him without a response, pacing slightly, brushing her finger over her bottom lip while she thought. She could always force him to swear his services to her. Heaven knows he would be a useful asset. But the more she thought on it, the more she knew that having him as her Thief would be more of a threat to her. He had caused her enough humiliation as it was.
He knew her palace too well. She knew this. If she let him go now, she knew she wouldn't be able to catch him again. He wasn't likely to make the same mistake twice. There was no question on that front. She couldn't just let him go.
Emma stopped, turning to him again. Killian looked up at her once again. He knew he was hiding his fear from her. He didn't want her to see how actually frightened he was. Not of dying; but of what Emma would do to him before she had him killed.
Killian observed her, titling his head slightly. He always seemed to forget how beautiful she was until she was right before him. Her blond hair was up in a fancy knot on her head. Her skin was flawless and so fair. They had called her mother the Fairest in all the Lands. Killian couldn't recall what Queen Snow had looked like, but he'd bet Emma had her mother beat in looks. In kindness, no. Definitely not in kindness.
Gaining his courage, he decided to mock her just a little more before he was sentenced to death. Maybe if he got her mad enough, she would rush to have him killed, instead of dealing with him. Smiling widely up at her, he asked, "Have you decided on my fate yet, Swan?"
With the last word, Emma's reaction was immediate. Her face fell, and her eyes flashed. Then she struck him. His cheek stung where her hand had made contact with it. He groaned softly. She had turned from him again, and was making her way back to her throne.
She threw her command back at them with her back turned. "Hang him. Get him out of my sight. Send his body back to Mesa, and we'll see if the river flows."
Emma sat back on her throne, and watched at the guards picked Killian up and started leading him out of the room. He had his hand covering the side of his face that she had struck. Beside her, Nathaniel, the ambassador from Regina's empire overseas, caught her attention.
"I don't know what Liam thought he could achieve. He can hardly keep the river from flowing forever." Emma observed.
"Long enough. To ensure that maybe his brother gets a quick death. I mean, he must know what death sentences you've inflicted on some of your prisoners. Perhaps this is his way of manipulating you into giving his Thief a more merciful sentence." Nathaniel noted.
"Stop!" Emma commanded. Her guards took heed immediately, and turned around. Killian was facing her once again.
Whatever her neighbors thought, she didn't use violence with no conscious. If some of her ways of sentencing her prisoners to death were a little sloppy, it wasn't because she wished to be brutal. The country just couldn't afford a more private way of execution. If she pulled hearts out and crushed them, it wasn't because it gave her satisfaction. It was because it was cheaper than ordering an execution.
Regina took hearts. She was branded with the title, the Evil Queen because of how frequent she took them, not just to crush, but to collect. Emma hadn't gone as low to use someone's heart as a way to control them. But because she had taken a few to crush in front of the court, it had earned her a barbaric reputation.
In any case, she needed to not rush her judgement on what to do with Killian. She needed to find a thought out punishment that he deserved, and also sent a message to King Liam for thinking he could threaten her. Liam was trying to get her to rush her decision, and she refused to give him the satisfaction. The lake would eventually overflow, and flood Mesa if Liam kept the gate closed for too long. She just had to decide if killing Killian was worth the loss of her crop.
Emma didn't exactly care for Nathaniel. He was a sleazy sort of person, and seemed to be trying to squeeze himself into her favor. But she tolerated him for her own reasons. He was certainly insightful, and was right in this case.
Emma gestured for the guards to bring Killian to her once again. They dragged him to the base of her throne, and she looked down at him. Emma reached forward, and placed her hand under his chin, tilting his head up to look at her.
"That was a little hasty of me." She whispered. He could feel her breath on his face, and he shuddered. "Take him back to his cell. I guess I need a little more time to decide what to do with you."
He was led away again, but he turned his head to look at her as he was being dragged away. Emma leaned back into her throne, sighing.
"It's a pity about the ransom." Emma said, moving a stray hair from her face.
"Would it really have been such a large sum, anyway?" Nathaniel said.
"Maybe not to your Empress. But I could put that sum to a great use here."
"Take it then, as a gift from my Empress." Nathaniel offered, as Emma was hoping he would.
"Seriously?" She asked.
"Of course. Nothing would make Regina happier than to be of service to your kingdom." Nathaniel bowed his head. Emma smiled, very pleased.
Killian was pacing his cell. He stopped, pounding the wall with his fists, and then leaning his head on it. He hated himself for getting caught. The pain in his hand from hitting the wall took his attention from the bite wound on his leg, temporality. He it helped him think clearer. He sat trying to think of a way out of this.
His last attempt to piss the Queen off enough to force her into a hasty decision seemed like a good idea at the time. It had almost worked. He would've been hung by now, and wouldn't have to face whatever she had planned for him. A hanging, although not exactly something he wanted, was better than some elaborate torture she had planned for him.
Some food was pushed through the cell door. Killian looked back at it.
My last meal. He thought bitterly.
He walked over to it, looking at the stale piece of bread sadly. The soup was cold, and had no taste. Not exactly a meal fit for a royal. But he had never wanted to be one anyway, right? Killian finished his food quickly, and then lay on his bed. He fell asleep staring at the ceiling.
He was awoken by the door being forced open, and a guard calling to him.
"Oi! She's made up her mind. Come with me." He was pulled roughly off the bed, and pushed down the passage.
"I heard that she ordered for your hangin, then changed her mind." The guard laughed. "Don't worry. She never changes her mind for the better."
Killian flinched. "I know that, mate. But thanks for your insight."
He was led through into a small chamber. There were all sorts of tools hung around the room on hooks. The room looked like it belonged to a blacksmith. Killian felt his stomach drop, when he looked around and saw a chair in the middle of the room, with chains ready for him. The Queen was standing in front of the chair, waiting for him.
Killian made a feeble attempt to escape the guard holding him, but he was easily overpowered, and thrown into the chair in front of the Queen, and was chained down, his arms tied tightly to the chair arms. His head bashed harshly on the back of the chair, as he thrashed, trying to free himself. The Queen was smiling, seeming to be satisfied with his struggle to get free.
Killian struggled for a few more minutes, before he lost the will, and finally stopped. He looked at her. She was still watching him.
"Your Majesty, please." He said desperately. "Let me serve you."
Emma's eyebrows shot up in amusement. "You would betray your brother so quickly?"
Killian didn't answer. He had discussed this possibility before, and Liam had mentioned that if he needed to save himself, to pledge himself to Emma. He had never pictured that it would come down to it, but he was desperate now.
"And what could you steal for me, Thief?" Emma asked him.
"Anything. I can steal anything." Killian whispered.
"I know your reputation." Emma said softly, glancing down. She strolled over to him. Reaching for his arm, she traced a small line. "And why would I trust you?"
"I give you my word." Killian declared. The place where she traced on his arm burned as if her fingers were made of fire.
"Your word. What good is the word of a Thief?" Emma asked. She had a fair point. "I guess your brother would rather you serve me than lose your life? He has nothing I want, so obviously he thinks I couldn't use you against him."
Emma bent over him, cupping his face in her hands. "Your brother may think I can't use you against him, but I can. Your ambassador sent word that your brother accepted my right to have you hanged, but nothing 'too barbaric.' So we are going to use the old punishment for thieves. You know what that is?"
Killian tried to pull himself from her grasp. He looked over at his right hand. Emma followed his eyes with her own, smiling down at his hand. She released him and stood back. The guard grabbed a sword from the wall. Killian looked at the guard with the sword, and then back at the queen. His expression was something hard to deceiver.
Emma stared at him curiously. Was that… heartbreak? Adverting her gaze from his, she signaled the guard. The sword swung onto the wood of the chair, and Killian watched his right hand disappear behind it. The color drained from his face as his body jerked, and he looked away from it. He didn't make a sound. Emma expected him to cry out, but he just sat there, flinching, his mouth twitching in pain.
Through his haze of pain he heard her. "Killian. Was this too barbaric, do you think?"
He heard himself whisper a response. "No, your Majesty."
"Burn the wound quickly to stop the bleeding." Emma instructed. The guard did as she commanded.
Emma sat and watched as Killian struggled against the pain of the burn, her heart clenching slightly at the sight. She looked away for a second, trying to get her composure. It wasn't supposed to affect her like this. She looked back at him, seeing that he had passed out from the pain. She walked forward, inspecting him slightly, making sure he was still breathing. Small puffs of air came from his nose, and she breathed easier.
"Get a doctor to check him. I don't want that infected." Emma ordered, leaving the room quickly.
She moved through the castle quickly, until she was in her bedchambers. Her handmaidens came in, helping her undress, and then brushing her long blond hair. Emma waved them off before they were done. They retreated out of the room.
Emma sat at her vanity, biting her thumbnail. She found that her hand was shaking violently, and instead started rubbing her temples with both hands. She never got this shaky after punishing her prisoners, but something in the Thief's eyes… like he broke… Emma shook the vision of him from her head. She did what she had to do, that was all. What could a thief steal with only one hand?
A few days later, The Queen stood outside his cell. It was opened for her, and she walked inside, followed by her persona l guard. The captain, August walked by her side. Killian shifted in his bed, and turned to look at her. His breathing was shallow, and he was shivering. His injured arm rested on his stomach, covered in bandages.
As Emma walked closer to him, she noticed he was still very pale. His skin shone white contrasting his dark hair that was covered in sweat, and sticking to his face. His eyes were shining, when she leaned over him. She expected to see hatred for her through them, but they were only pain and fever. And something else she couldn't quite decipher.
"Don't hurt me anymore." His voice was pleading, and low. It shook her, but she brushed it off quickly, not wanting anyone to see.
Emma bent closer to him, needing to be sure… "Tell me Killian. What can you steal with only one hand?"
Killian stared back at her, his eyes filled with tears that he didn't let flow.
"Nothing." He spat back at her. Emma nodded her agreement.
Inspecting him a little more, she saw that the bite wound on his leg had a nasty infection. Emma sighed in frustration, and stood up and turned to the prison guard.
"I thought I said I wanted a doctor to check him."
"He did, your Majesty. He came and checked the burns." The prison guard was suddenly very nervous.
"Only the burns?" Emma asked.
"That's what you ordered, ma'am." He explained, hurriedly.
"What makes you think that if I didn't want him to die of one infection; I would want him to die of another?" Emma said through her teeth.
"I'm very sorry, ma'am."
Emma sighed, running her hand through her hair in frustration. She glanced back at Killian on the bed, considering for a second healing his wounds with her magic. But he was her prisoner, not a guest.
"Send him back to Mesa before he dies." She said to August.
"Yes your Majesty."
