I got so involved in this chapter that it got much too long for me to post as a single chapter. I've broken it down into two parts. This is the first. The second should follow within a week.
Ch. 2: New Clothes (Part 1)
"So where to first?" asked Snow once Emma and Hook had caught up to them.
"First we must find the 6 Princes and the Gnomes," the pirate answered.
Emma blinked at him in confusion. "Princes? Gnomes? In Neverland?" she wondered aloud.
Hook raised an eyebrow. "Aye. We need to see if the princes have heard of foreigners intruding on their lands. As for the gnomes, the lot of you will likely need additional clothes at some point."
"Gnomes? Clothes?" Emma queried, completely at a loss. She'd never heard of gnomes in Neverland…
"Excellent tailors, Miss Swan," Rumpeltstiltskin offered.
Regina's nose wrinkled. "I think I'll be fine. I don't need grubby little men pawing at me for clothes I don't need."
"They wouldn't," Mr. Gold continued placidly, "It would be the grubby little women pawing at you."
The former evil queen's resulting look of revulsion was almost comical. Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Somehow, Regina figured out what she was doing and gave her a dirty look.
"She does have a point, though," Snow commented, "Do we really need more clothes? We were just fine in the Enchanted Forest with what we had. And how would we pay for it?"
Hook gave her pronounced look of 'Really?' "If you insist on maintaining your current attire throughout our time here, feel free to do so, I won't force the issue."
Emma considered the situation. Yes, they'd made it through the Enchanted Forest fine. But this wasn't the Enchanted Forest. Who knew what sort of situations they would end up in? And Hook knew this place as well as Rumpelstiltskin, if not better. Not to mention, they didn't know how long they would be here. The thought made her stomach sink. She didn't want to even guess how long this was going to take. What if they never found Henry? And who knew if they'd even find a way back? That had been the last magic bean…her stomach sank further. Mentally shaking her head to clear it of the troubling thoughts, Emma forced herself to focus on the here and now. She turned to her mother.
"We should probably follow Hook's advice," she told her. Snow tilted her head in question.
"He's the one who knows this place," Emma pointed out in explanation.
"So does Mr. Gold," Charming commented, turning to the older man. "What do you say, Rumpelstiltskin? Should we listen to Hook on this clothes thing?"
The man in question frowned contemplatively and harrumphed. "In this instance, yes."
Charming scowled. "Fine."
"Okay, so how do we get there?" Emma asked the pirate, who was once again glaring at the other men in the group. He turned to her at the question.
"The princes live at the center of the island, by that mountain," he explained, pointing in the direction of a tall peak in the distance. "Though each of them owns an individual kingdom, small though it may be, all six reside at the central palace."
"But then how do they rule?" asked Snow. "They should be close to the people."
"Unless the people call them 'Evil'," Regina grumbled under her breath. Snow ignored her, though Charming threw her an irritated glance.
"They don't exactly rule a people," Rumpelstiltskin threw in helpfully.
"What do you mean?" Emma wondered suspiciously.
Hook was the one who answered. "Neverland has no formal rulers." His face darkened. "The princes are merely Lost Boys who have grown to adulthood."
"How did they become princes, then?" the blonde woman asked.
"They merely declared themselves, and since they were adults, no one challenged them," the pirate replied.
"Are they dangerous?" Snow queried cautiously.
Hook considered this. "Compared to the other Lost Boys, no. These men are no longer under the Shadow's control. Or at least, not at the same level."
"So this…Shadow. It's in charge of the Lost Boys?" Charming wondered aloud in the first half-civil comment he'd aimed at Hook since they'd embarked.
The pirate's gaze darted to the prince. He nodded. "He is the one who brings them here...and never lets them leave. A small portion of them are his immediate representatives. They are the most dangerous."
"Why?" Snow asked warily.
"That's neither here nor there," Rumpelstiltskin declared. "Shall we get moving, Captain?" There it was again, that note of scorn he employed when referring to the pirate's title.
"We should go to the gnomes, first," Hook answered after a stare-down (well, really more of a glare-down) with his nemesis.
"I refuse to allow those creatures anywhere near my person," Regina declared regally, her eyes daring the others to contradict her.
"As I told Miss Swan's mother, I won't force the issue," Hook repeated. The dark-haired woman nodded triumphantly.
"Oo-kay, then, why the gnomes first?" Emma asked.
"Their settlement is on the way to the 6 Princes' Palace," the pirate told her as he stepped forward in the general direction of what looked like a path between two particularly large trees.
"But how are we going to pay them?" wondered Snow as she fell into step next to her daughter.
Hook stopped so abruptly that Emma almost ran into him. Turning enough to face Snow, he grinned slightly. "I have my ways, milady."
Charming came forward to stand next to his wife. "Lead the way, pirate." He practically spit the last word. Emma rolled her eyes while Hook smirked.
The captain gave an arrogant bow, "Of course, your majesty." He turned swiftly, the tails of his coat flying as he went into the jungle. Snow gave her husband an irritated glance before following. Charming gave her a confused look as she passed and then went after her.
"Ladies first," Rumpelstiltskin said, giving the path a pointed look as he rested his hands on his cane. Regina and Emma eyed him warily, then one after the other, headed into the trees. When they reached the interior of the jungle, they turned back to make sure he was still following. He was, at a leisurely pace as he observed his surroundings.
The three of them caught up to the rest of the group quickly. As they did so, the unlikely sextet turned as one and headed deeper into the jungle, unaware of the eyes that were watching them.
About an hour into the walk, the humidity which had been practically nonexistent by the ocean had definitely kicked up. Though not unbearable, Emma could tell it wouldn't be long before it was. Letting out a disgruntled breath, she pulled off her jacket. At least it didn't seem like mosquitoes existed here...
"Hook, do you know where we could get some water?" Snow asked as she followed behind the pirate.
Hook looked over at her and nodded. "There's a waterfall in the next clearing."
"And you're sure it's safe to drink?" Snow asked.
"Yes, and the clearing is open enough that we should be able to keep an eye on our surroundings," Hook replied.
When they broke through the trees, the group (excluding Hook and Mr. Gold, who had seen these sorts of things before) stopped and stared in awe at the massive waterfall, at least 5 stories tall and rumbling into a cistern scattered with…huge pink boulders? Emma incredulously looked at Hook, who had stepped aside to allow the others to come through. Was she really seeing this?
"Aye, lass, those stones are in fact that color, no magic necessary. The glow they cast at night is quite lovely, if you survive trekking through the jungle long enough to see it," the pirate answered in reply to her unasked question.
"Is there a way we could take some extra water with us for the rest of the journey? I don't think the 3 bottles we have from Storybrooke and Hook's canteen will be enough," Snow asked as she walked forward toward the river.
Hook looked around the clearing. He nodded at some tall reeds that seemed about as wide as a fist. Emma thought they almost looked like bamboo. "Those reeds ought to be sufficient," he said.
Approaching them, he pulled out a wicked-looking knife and slashed through one of them. Pulling down the portion he'd cut off, he examined it and strategically cut it again so that he had a piece about a foot and a half long. Curious, Emma walked up to him and checked out the reed herself. She was surprised at how hollow it was. And it really did look like bamboo.
"How do we make sure the water doesn't run out?" she asked him as she looked around the clearing for some sort of inspiration.
Her mother beat him to the answer. "We could find a stone that's just the right size to stop it up. Then, weave a plug out of some of these other grasses, cover it in mud, and place it below the stone and at the end of the reed to seal it and make it even more sturdy."
Hook looked at the short-haired woman in admiration. "Exactly so, milady."
"Mud?" Regina asked aloud disgustedly. Emma couldn't help but share the evil queen's distaste, though she knew better than to show it.
Snow grinned. "It isn't as bad as you would think it would be."
"Ri-ight, so how many do you think we'll need?" the blonde woman asked, not bothering to argue.
"May I?" Snow asked the pirate as she put out her hands. Hook placed the reed into her hands and watched as she seemed to weigh it. "They're not too heavy on their own, but with water they'll be a bit heavier," she commented, "I do think we each need one of our own, though. So six should do it. I know we have the canteen and water bottles, too, but better to be safe than sorry."
By the time that they had cut down the reeds and plugged them, then filled them with water, another half hour had passed. Taking one last sip out of his own canteen and swiping his sleeve across his mouth to wipe away any excess water (which he couldn't feel thanks to the humidity) , Hook turned to the group and gestured to the opposite side of the river.
"The path continues through those trees," he commented.
Emma looked down the river. "There's got to be a bridge or a shallow portion of the river that we can cross," she said.
"Something like that," Hook grinned, then pointed at a log a ways down.
"Oh no," Regina replied, shaking her head. "There is no way I am crossing a flimsy log like that."
"Well, my queen, it isn't nearly as flimsy as it looks, though I would recommend removing your boots before crossing," Hook answered as he started to move toward it. The group followed, Regina trailing it as she scanned the bank for another way across.
When they reached the log, Hook took the initiative and gracefully hopped onto it. Some members of the group held their breath as he did so. Others were mentally crossing their fingers that he would end up going for a swim. The latter's wishes went ignored as he comfortably and confidently turned back to them.
"As you can see, this log is far more sturdy than one would believe. Who would like to prove their mettle first?" he asked as his gaze swept over the others, a challenging gleam in his eye.
Charming narrowed his eyes at the provoking invitation. Rumpelstiltskin kept his face stoic. Regina simply pursed her lips while Emma and Snow regarded the log warily.
"Oh, I'll do it," Emma bit the bullet as she approached the makeshift bridge. As she did so, Hook raised an eyebrow and surprisingly offered her his hand. She looked at it, then at him, her mind wandering back to another recent, similar situation…When she looked at his face, she knew he was remembering too. Though his face remained passive, his eyes were almost amused and arrogant. Guarded, knowing he had a right to just yank her up and throw her into the river for what had happened before, she placed her hand in his. Her father let out a shouted protest, but she was too focused on getting ready to go for a swim to pay him any attention.
"Good lass," Hook commented instead of tossing her into the river. His eyes softened a bit from their previous dare. Emma had a feeling she'd just passed some sort of test.
Carefully, she stepped up onto the log. It was wider than it had looked from the ground, enough for two average-sized people to stand next to each other. Roughly in the middle, it had been worn to a smooth surface by who knew how many feet. Shifting her weight slightly, she checked to make sure it wouldn't roll. It didn't. Emma cautiously took a step forward. Still stable. She looked at Hook.
"Go on," he encouraged her, tilting his head in the direction of the opposite side of the river. She nodded back and made her way to the other end of the log. Stepping down, she turned around to see the pirate offering his hand to her mother, who seemed to smile and thank him, much to her father's outrage. Snow turned to her husband once she was on the log, said a few words, then put her hand out for him to take. Though still glaring at Hook, he took his wife's hand and followed behind her as she approached Emma.
Now only Regina and Rumpelstiltskin remained. Obviously, the older man would not want the pirate's assistance. Regina, on the other hand, still looked utterly indignant as she glanced from left to right trying to find another way across.
"Regina, there's no other way across!" Emma shouted, "Just take off your boots and come across. Henry is waiting!"
The last sentence seemed to hit home. Looking down at her feet, the former queen shook her head with a scowl and accepted Hook's proffered hand. Her face paled as she stumbled a bit when she stepped up, but the pirate stabilized her with his hook at her back and a firm grip on her hand. His steadfast assistance made her blink and look up at him in surprise. He didn't react, just urged her to continue. She hesitated and looked down, paling at the distance from the bridge to the water.
"Don't look down, Regina!" Snow called.
The nervous woman jerked her head back up and threw a glare at her stepdaughter. Returning her attention to the task at hand, Regina took a deep breath and released Hook's hand as she stepped forward. Putting one foot in front of the other and making sure not to look down, she made it across and almost collapsed with relief when she touched down on the solid ground. Knowing that would only make her seem even more pathetic, though, she managed to keep her head high and her knees from buckling.
At the other end of the log, Hook and Rumpelstiltskin were staring each other down. Emma was worried that Mr. Gold would knock Hook into the river himself or that Hook would take a swing at him. Then what would happen? They needed both men to rescue Henry and if one ended up incapacitated, what would they do?
But though tense, neither man confronted the other. Instead, the older man just waved his hand and poofed back into existence next to Charming, who startled back a step when it happened, then gave him a narrow look. Emma wondered why Regina hadn't done the same rather than confront the log…
Hook's gaze had swung to them when Rumpelstiltskin rematerialized. Pressing his lips together when he noticed what had happened, he walked toward them. Emma thought the sorcerer may have just poofed the log away as Hook went across, but he didn't. She couldn't help but wonder why…
"We should get moving," Hook commented to no one in particular as he stepped off the log and began walking toward a break in the trees. The rest followed without any remarks.
Yet another hour into their trek, Emma's prediction about the climate came true. Though they were in the shade for the most part, the humidity did, in fact, become practically unbearable. Everyone was basically wilting as they trudged down the path…except for Hook. Somehow, he managed to keep himself upright and didn't seem any worse for wear. Even with all the leather and that ridiculously heavy coat he wore…A sudden thought came to her mind. She caught up to him from where she'd been lagging.
"Hook…why are you still wearing your coat? Isn't it kind of hot for that?"
"Are you asking me to disrobe, Swan?" Hook purred at her. Thankfully, Charming was far away enough that he didn't hear.
"No," she answered. She lowered her voice a bit. "Did the gnomes make it?"
Hook's eyes gleamed. "I knew you were a smart one. Aye, they did."
Emma studied the outfit. It looked like regular leather to her. "Is it enchanted or something?"
"Would you like a closer look? I'm sure I could arrange a…private examination," the pirate asked her with a waggle of his eyebrows.
The blonde woman rolled her eyes, though she was glad that it looked as if he'd finally loosened up since they started the journey. "I think I'll pass. So? Enchanted?"
"Truthfully, lass, I'm not entirely certain what they did to it. The gnomes are quite secretive about their methods, you see."
Emma considered this tidbit thoughtfully. "So can they make any sort of clothes?" she asked finally.
"Well, I'm afraid I'm woefully unenlightened as to that, my dear. Though I would say it is not a far-fetched possibility."
She nodded at this information, her mind whirring with all sorts of options. Then, she focused her mind on more pressing matters. "How much longer until we reach them? Or some water? I think we'll be running out soon…" she asked, glancing back at the rest of the group, which seemed as haggard as she was. Even Mr. Gold seemed to be less…bouncy than usual.
Hook continued to walk forward, pushing aside some branches. "We should be reaching the gnomes soon," he answered, "They ought to have some water for us as well."
"How soon?" Emma wondered.
The pirate gave her a casually amused glance. "Patience is a virtue."
As he said the last word, he pushed aside a particularly thick bunch of branches and stopped. Watching Emma, he tilted his head, inviting her to look closer. She did and when she peered through the branches, her eyes widened. She turned to Hook.
"Is that…?" she asked. He nodded. Turning her head back to the view, she took in the details of what she was seeing.
A rocky clearing was punctuated with one particularly huge outcropping that stood taller than any people she knew. In fact, it sort of reminded her of a miniaturized version of Pride Rock from that Lion King movie she'd seen as a tween. Surrounding it were even more stones of all different sizes. Scattered among the stones were small round buildings with mud walls decorated with various odds and ends from the jungle, a flower here, a colorful pebble there. The roofs seemed to be made of intertwined branches. On the outskirts of the town loomed much larger buildings that were also made of mud. However, it seemed to Emma that an ordinary human could easily stand in one of them…
Wandering around the buildings were humans. Sort of. They were about two feet high and relatively stout. Most of the men had beards, though Emma noted that there were a few clean-shaven ones mixed in. All of the little people had elaborate hairstyles which matched their equally extravagant clothing, which in turn did NOT match up with their buildings.
By the time she'd taken all of this in, the rest of the group had gotten close enough to see the village. Snow, in particular, was completely enthralled while Rumpelstiltskin was completely bored. The others were at various levels of interest in between.
As they observed the goings-on in the clearing, though, Charming sneezed. Loudly. At the sound, all of the gnomes turned to look at them, uttered a relatively harmonious squeal in unison, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared. Emma was thunderstruck. Where had they gone so quickly? She turned to ask Hook or Gold, but both men were, for once, cooperating. By glaring at Charming. As was Snow.
"I couldn't help it," the prince said to them defensively.
"Where exactly did they go?" Regina asked suspiciously.
"Below ground," Rumpelstiltskin answered drily, "Our dear prince seems to have startled them."
"I said I couldn't help it!" Charming argued, "Besides, if you were paying attention, you would have noticed that they ran away after they SAW us, not when I sneezed."
"So how do we get them back?" Emma wondered.
Hook frowned. "We'll simply have to wait for them."
"Maybe if we sat closer to the village, they'd feel better about coming out?" Snow asked. "We are sort of suspicious just watching them from the trees."
"So just…sit there?" Emma couldn't help but inquire.
"Well, yeah," Snow replied. "If we sit there and act non-threatening, maybe they'll come out and talk to us."
"Would that really work?" Regina commented, raising a skeptical brow.
"She has a point. We're not exactly non-threatening," Emma replied, looking pointedly at the others. Well, except her mother. She didn't exactly scream 'I will throttle you' like the rest of the group.
"I think we're civilized enough to control ourselves and sit still for a time," Mr. Gold said wryly.
"You sure about that?" the blonde woman muttered under her breath. Fortunately, only her mother heard and tossed her a sharp look, which Emma returned with a raised brow of her own. Snow shook her head.
"Well, unless someone else has another idea, I think we should give Snow's a try," Charming announced, giving his wife a wink.
"Where do we sit, though?" Emma asked. As she perused the clearing herself, Hook pointed to a rough circular field in the center of the village.
"I believe, Miss Swan, that that would be our best bet," he told her.
"Isn't that kind of risky? Smack dab in the middle of town? One wrong move and it wouldn't be hard for them go after us," Emma commented, recalling how she'd been warned that this Neverland was not what she thought it was.
Hook grinned slightly. "It's rather unlikely that they'll attack us. The gnomes are one of the more…tolerant of the groups that live here. Their nature is to hide, not fight, unless directly confronted." His face softened slightly. "You can trust me, Emma."
The blonde woman in question looked up at the last comment, startled. Had he just-? She swallowed nervously. Her eyes darted away from him, then back. She nodded once, then moved away from his scrutiny, not wanting to see his expression.
Eventually, the group assembled itself in the middle of the village as best they could. Settling in, everyone looked at each other.
"So do we just sit here and wait?" Emma asked.
"Well, I have some rations if anyone is hungry," Snow replied, digging through her bag. The rest of the group shook their heads. She put the bag down. "In that case, Mr. Gold and Hook can tell us some more about Neverland."
The two men scowled at each other, not pleased with being grouped together, though it was for a valid reason. Not taking his eyes off his nemesis, Mr. Gold spoke.
"Well, as has been pointed out, the Captain has had more recent experience than I," he sneered. Hook bristled at the insult his title had become on the older man's tongue, but he seemed to recall the need for peace and restrained himself from lunging forward and throttling him, though the dangerous glimmer in his eyes remained.
"Aye," the pirate said tightly, "I have. However the knowledge is vast. And much of the information is completely unnecessary for the present."
"Then stop wasting our time dodging our questions and tell us what is necessary for the present," Charming growled. Hook threw the prince a glare, which then turned into a smirk.
"Temper, temper, mate. Recall our current situation," he censured. Charming's jaw worked as he did just that. Snow, who'd made sure to sit next to her husband just in case something like this happened, grasped his hand warningly. He glanced down and, with effort, raised his eyes to the pirate.
"What do we need to know?" he asked with bare civility.
Hook looked around the village. "When we have the gnomes' cooperation, it will take them only hours to complete whatever new attire we request. While they work, we will continue on to the 6 Princes. When we finish our interrogation, we will return here to retrieve our purchases and return to the ship."
"What if the Princes keep us longer than we think?" Emma wondered.
The pirate turned an ominous gaze on her. "Let's hope it won't come to that," he answered.
At this point, Snow detected movement around them. Looking around, she took note of some shapes rising from the ground that hadn't been there before. Catching Emma's attention, she darted her eyes in the direction of the shapes. Acknowledging them, the blonde woman checked out the rest of the group. They also seemed to have noticed. Most of them purposely relaxed their poses, though Regina became even stiff-backed and Rumpelstiltskin seemed quite comfortable as he was.
The shapes solidified some more until a group of what looked like children encircled the sextet. Though keeping a distance, Emma could tell they were curious, at the very least. She smiled slightly as a few of the little gnomes cautiously inched forward and watched them with large, inquisitive eyes.
Encouraged, she chanced a glance at Hook and she couldn't stop her grin from widening even more. It seemed the largest group of children had congregated around the pirate and were closing in on him. Unlike Regina, however, who became more visibly uncomfortable when those around her began sneaking in closer, Hook became more relaxed. When one of the littler ones tripped and bumped into his boot in their progress forward, he chuckled. That same little gnome, a girl from what Emma could tell, hastily backed up a bit and stuck her thumb in her mouth, then regarded the pirate shyly, twisting her hair with her free hand. Hook's smile widened, then he threw a glance at Emma and winked. The woman laughed lightly, disbelieving and entertained by the fact that he could even charm toddler gnomes, though she wasn't too surprised. Taking note of her amusement out of the corner of his eye, Hook leaned forward slightly and spoke to the little girl gnome.
"Hello," he greeted her. She giggled, then trotted behind the next closest child and bashfully waved at him from her new position. At the conclusion of the little exchange, the other children became bolder and began prodding him, tugging at his clothes, and generally being children. Some even began to climb over his legs. He watched with a raised brow and amused smile, but made sure not to make any abrupt movements that would scare them away again.
Fascinated by the interactions, Emma suddenly felt a slight tug on her hair. Diverting her attention to where the tug had come from, she saw two more little gnomes examining her hair and attempting to weave it together. Feeling it would be best not to engage them just yet, she turned her attention to the rest of her own group to see how they were faring.
Her mother's face was split into a huge grin as she watched the shenanigans of the children around her. Though not as bold as the ones currently using Hook as a playground, the kids around Snow were nonetheless fairly comfortable with her. Instead of climbing her, though, they'd decided to use her as seating. Most of them were using her legs as backrests, while others had discovered her bag and were currently fiddling with it, examining the seams and trying to figure out how to get into it.
At Snow's side, Charming had attracted his own little group of admirers. Though smaller than either Hook's or Snow's broods, they were just as curious. He stayed almost completely still as they poked and prodded him. However, when one of them poked his side, he twitched slightly as he seemed to try and suppress an involuntary grin. The child apparently noticed this and a mischievous grin crossed their own face. They poked him in the same spot again. This time, he twitched a little more vigorously, then looked down in alarm. The child's smile got even bigger and Emma could see that her father knew exactly what was going to happen. He threw a desperate look in Snow's direction, but she was too absorbed in watching the little gnomes around her to catch it. Thus, she wasn't able to rescue him from his imminent doom. The child summoned a few more kids with a wave of their hand and, as one, they all began to poke him in roughly the same spot as the first child. Charming convulsed and helpless laughter escaped him as the little ones continued their assault, and it wasn't long before he was rolling on the ground, desperately trying to get away from their fiendish fingers without crushing them or bringing the wrath of the adults down on them.
