The Well
Bae slowed on the road and stared up at the sky for a moment before noticing the well. He walked toward it, and he felt the same sensation he felt when he entered town. The air was different here. According to August, this was where all of Storybrooke's magic originated. "August also says the waters here can restore what has been lost," Bae said to himself as he leaned against the well. "I could use a little piece of mind right now, or maybe a little help. I'm pretty lost."
A globe of water floated up from the well and stopped when it was eye-level with Bae. While the water moved slightly, it retained the shape of a near perfect sphere. Bae pulled the crystal indicator from his pocket and held it up for comparison. The indicator began to glow, and the water responded in kind. Bae tentatively released the crystal ball, and it floated next to the globe of water. "What can you do?" he asked the crystal ball. It merely floated and glowed.
"You have no idea how crazy you look."
Bae whirled around to face the speaker, the last person he expected to see in the woods: Captain Hook. "What're you doing here?" he asked.
"I'd ask you the same question, but I can see you're asking inanimate objects for advice and it isn't working quite so well for you." Hook walked up to the well and asked, "Are you using that drop of magical water?"
"I don't even know how."
"You're doing yourself a disservice." The captain unscrewed a mason jar he had evidently carried with him, with a little help from his hook, and worked it around the floating drop so that it touched the inside of the jar and spilled into the bottom. He replaced the lid and hooked the jar onto his belt, next to a small pouch that also failed to escape Bae's notice. "Magic can do amazing things."
"That's what everyone says."
"It's the truth."
Bae smirked and stared at the floating crystal ball. Then he studied the captain in profile. Usually Hook gave him a terribly dangerous vibe, but this time it wasn't so. "Why're you here?" he asked. "For real this time."
"For my brother. Don't you remember?" the captain replied. Oh, Bae remembered, alright, but he said nothing. "By the way, did you have any luck finding him?"
"You turned on us, so I started to suspect this brother of yours didn't exist."
"He does, or rather, he did."
"Is it safe to assume that whatever happened to him had something to do with the wraith?"
"If my thinking is correct," Hook said carefully, "then he became the wraith."
Bae's eyes widened. The captain nodded as if to say, "Yes, I said that." "And you think this happened because your brother made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin." The captain nodded again.
"Are you willing to try not to kill me in the course of this?"
"Yes. I'm getting desperate."
"I can tell."
"I need you alive."
"Why? Am I the only one able to find your brother? Because I doubt that. There are a lot of bounty hunters and bailbondspeople in this world."
"I need you alive because if my brother is the wraith, you're the only one who can save him."
"Why do you say that?"
"I just know these things."
Bae snatched the crystal ball and said, "I'm watching you," gesturing to the captain. Then he turned and started back down the path toward Storybrooke.
"Aren't you the least bit curious about what you are? About the magic that burns inside you?" the captain asked. Bae stopped and turned but one degree toward him. "So you are, then."
"Unless you intend to sell me out again."
"You don't know that, so I should assume you are." Bae turned to face Hook. "Fire destroys, but it also creates, brings light and heat, provides incentive, if the right things are burned. Fire is a force of nature."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"What's your name?"
"You mean what do I call myself?"
"No. I mean, what's your name?"
Bae took a step forward and said in a low voice, "Baelfire."
"That's what I thought."
"Excuse me, but where is this going again?"
"Do you know what Baelfire means?"
"I never thought to ask."
"Baelfire," Hook said as he stepped toward Bae, "is Old English for "fatal fire". It also means "great fire" or, according to some, and this shouldn't much trouble you, "evil fire". I'm telling you all this because you will need to know it."
"Why would a man who almost killed me or my father want to willingly offer this information?"
"Because I got what I needed by temporarily playing you false. Now, I need you on my side, so I need to be honest."
"Are you?"
"Last time I checked," Hook said with a smirk. Bae pocketed the ball and studied the captain. He hadn't once felt that Hook wanted him dead or harmed in any way during this encounter, but he hadn't felt that Hook had Bae's goodwill at heart, either. Granted, Bae didn't need the captain's goodwill. He didn't need anything from the captain, when he thought about it. He wanted nothing from the captain but his honesty, and he made sure his voice and demeanor made that fact abundantly clear when he stated this fact. "Yes," Hook said. "I understand."
"Good. I'll still be watching you." Bae walked down the path and back toward Storybrooke.
"It still stands, what I said about my brother."
"I know."
