CHAPTER 4

DOUBT (noun) – A feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.

Sunlight filtered through the trees, the striking beams cutting through the foliage and down onto the soft earth beneath Hook's feet as he walked stealthily through the forest. His eyes constantly darted from side to side scanning for any signs of danger, sword in hand, always prepared.

The sound of a twig snapping suddenly brought him to a halt and he dared hardly breathe as he listened intently for any further noise. A gentle breeze ran through the trees causing their leaves to rustle softly as the branches swayed a little and then…nothing.

He waited a few moments more then began walking again. Slower this time, more cautious. He didn't wish to be detected or followed.

Unfortunately, he managed neither.

Out the corner of his eye he caught a movement off to his right just a shade too late and by the time he'd turned and raised his sword there was already a crossbow aimed squarely at his chest. He regarded his captor with obvious irritation then held up his arms in a gesture of surrender.

"Oh, it's you, Captain," Robin declared with some relief as he lowered his weapon, "I thought that maybe you were the Witch."

"Aye, as I did you," Hook replied, still aggrieved that he'd been caught by surprise.

Robin eyed him curiously then a small smile tugged at his mouth.

"So, are you just out for a stroll on this fine day? Or are you here for the same reason that I am?" the thief enquired knowingly.

"I wager you know the answer to that already, mate," the pirate answered as he sheathed his sword and glanced around the forest before turning back to Robin and asking, "I take it you know where the vault is?"

"I do," he replied with a nod.

"Shall we then?" Hook requested a little impatiently as he lifted his arm and gestured to his right.

"Certainly," the thief replied brightly before heading off in the opposite direction.

The pirate dropped his arm to his side then looked heavenwards for a moment and gritted his teeth. The man was positively irksome at times. With a shake of his head, he dutifully began following Robin's lead and it wasn't long before they reached the small clearing that housed Regina's vault.

The two men slowed their pace then ducked down behind a particularly large ferny plant and each scoured the area for any signs of the Witch or one of her winged army. Satisfied that they were alone, they both relaxed a little and shifted to more comfortable positions, as they knew they were going to be there a while.

"So, does the Saviour know that you're here watching over her?" Robin ventured in a low voice after they'd been sitting in silence for a few minutes.

"Does the Queen know you're here?" Hook countered pointedly.

Robin laughed softly and shook his head.

"I doubt that Her Majesty would be best pleased if she thought herself in need of protection, nor do I think would the Lady Swan."

Hook let out a grunt of agreement. He couldn't argue with that. He knew Emma wouldn't be happy if she discovered he was out here keeping a watchful eye like she were some damsel in distress.

Both Emma and Regina were strong, independent women who could very easily take care of themselves and had done so for many years. He respected that, but it didn't mean he couldn't provide some back up…just in case.

"Aye, well, what they don't know won't hurt us," the pirate quipped dryly.

"Except that we do," came Regina's cool voice unexpectedly.

Both men stilled then shot each other a slightly concerned look before turning around to see Regina and Emma standing behind them with their arms folded. Feeling very much like a child that had been caught with his hand in the biscuit barrel, Hook immediately stood up and grinned widely at them to cover his discomfiture.

"Ladies," he greeted warmly, "what is a pleasant coincidence."

"Uh oh," Robin muttered apprehensively under his breath as, he too, stood up and faced both women.

Regina stared back at them clearly annoyed whereas Emma, surprisingly, bit back a smile and ducked her head much to Hook's dismay. He'd get no help from her it would seem.

"What are you doing here?" the Queen demanded with a frown, directing her question to Robin.

"Uh…we, we were…" he stammered slightly as he tried to think up a good enough excuse.

"We were…hunting," Hook quickly supplied with another ready smile, "Robin was just showing me the fine art of the bow and arrow whilst searching for this evening's repast."

"He's using a crossbow," Regina pointed out wryly.

The pirate's eyebrows quirked up and he glanced over at the weapon before dismissing airily, "Aye, that too."

Regina's eyes narrowed at his blatant fabrication but then they widened again seconds later as an idea obviously struck. The truly conniving smile that lit up her face was one he was familiar with and it sent a trickle of dread down his spine. Swallowing hard, he took an involuntarily step back and observed her warily.

"Well, since you're here, I might as well make use of you," she commented thoughtfully.

Before anyone could react, Regina raised her hands and a swirl of purple smoke enveloped all four of them. When it cleared, Emma, Hook and Robin looked around in surprise. They were in a large room of what appeared to be a castle. Light spilled in from two large stained glass windows, dappling the stone floor in a rainbow of colours and at each end of the room there was a door.

"Where are we?" the Saviour asked in confusion.

"It doesn't matter," Regina answered as she turned to look at her protégé, "All I want you to focus on is your magic. We've established that your power comes from your emotions but your constant doubts in your own ability are holding you back. So far I've not been able to find the trigger that opens you up to the rest of your potential."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked with a frown. She'd thought she'd been doing well but apparently not.

"I think she means that you have to embrace your magic, love," Hook interjected when it appeared that Regina was fast losing patience. He gave the Queen a stern look as he walked passed and came to a halt in front of Emma. Smiling softly he added, "You need to accept that it's a part of you, that it's what makes you the Saviour. They're not separate things; they are what make you whole and all it takes is a little bit of faith. Just believe in yourself, Emma, I know I do."

The blonde stared at him, her mouth slightly open as she listened to him speak. He made it all sound so simple and perhaps it was if she could find the same amount of confidence in herself that he so frequently seemed to have in her.

"Yes, well, that's all very nice but I was more thinking along the lines of when there's something…or someone you care about at stake, it'll just happen naturally," Regina suddenly cut in, effectively ending the moment.

Hook rolled his eyes at the interruption and turned his head to say something but before he could, Regina casually raised her hand in his direction and then he was gone.

Emma barely registered Robin's gasp as she suddenly stared at empty space where the pirate had just been standing. She blinked then looked around the room trying to fight down the feeling of trepidation that swirled unpleasantly in her gut. When it was obvious that Hook had disappeared, she turned and gave the brunette a heated glare.

"What have you done to him?" she asked, the low tone of her voice carrying an obvious threat.

Regina merely smiled back at her and shrugged.

"That's for you to find out," she retorted unsympathetically, "Channel your emotions and let your magic guide you to him…but be quick, he doesn't have much time."

Emma's eyes widened at the caution and she felt a fresh wave of anger tinged with panic crash through her body.

"If you've hurt him…" she warned.

"Oh, he's not hurt…yet," the Queen interrupted flippantly, "but if you continue to waste your time talking I can't guarantee that it'll stay that way. Now focus, Emma."

"Milady," Robin began to protest as he took a step forward but the Queen held up her hand and he froze where he stood unable to speak.

The Saviour gave the Queen one last furious look then resolutely took a deep breath and shut her eyes, trying her best to relax. She took another breath and then another until she felt the first stirrings of her magic. She immediately thought of Hook and was surprised at how quickly her power seemed to increase. She tingled everywhere as it spread rapidly through her body and curled around her nerve endings making her fingers twitch. She stood for a moment just relishing the feel of her heightened ability before reaching out with it to find the pirate. It didn't take long to get a sense of him, his being felt…familiar to her; there was hurt and guilt obviously but there was also an overpowering feeling of warmth, safety…love.

What worried her the most though was that it was all interspersed with fear.

"That's good," Regina praised as she watched the blonde closely, "Now take control and use it."

"I already have," she answered shortly as she opened her eyes and began hurriedly walking towards the door on the right, "I'm going to get him."

Not waiting for any kind of response, Emma left the room and headed out into the dim corridor. Tuned into her power, she knew exactly which way to go to lead her to Hook. Her pace quickened as she felt his trepidation grow. Running now, she turned a corner and went down some stone steps then through another door that opened up into a medium sized room with an impossibly high ceiling.

Breathing hard, she took in the scene before her and felt her stomach drop to her toes.

There were two tables placed parallel to one another in the middle of the room. Upon each one a man was lying down spread-eagled on his back with his arms and legs shackled tightly, allowing minimal movement. Both were staring fixedly upwards and when she followed their gaze she drew in a sharp breath at the sight of two enormous scythe-like blades that were swinging to and fro, from head to toe, directly above each of them. Every time they swung, there was a loud metallic clunk and the sharp, curved blades dropped a notch lower, relentlessly coming ever closer to ultimately slicing the man right below it completely in half.

And each of those men looked exactly like Hook.

"No!" she exclaimed, causing both men to quickly turn their heads and fix their worried gaze on her.

"Swan!" they replied in unison then looked at each in irritation.

"What the hell?" she gasped as her gaze constantly darted between the two of them, "Hook?"

"Yes," they answered together again. There was another flawlessly timed shared glance of annoyance then they added, "Regina told me to tell you that this is your next test. You have one chance to choose which one of us is the real me, love. If you get it wrong…I and my doppelganger here shall perish."

The blades clunked and lowered again drawing the men's gazes back to them as the deadly metal swished passed causing their hair to ruffle in the resulting breeze.

"You don't have much time, Swan," they told her. "Another three passes at best I'd wager."

Emma felt a surge of terror bubble up inside of her as he…they stated the conditions of the Queen's latest trial. How was she supposed to tell who was the real Hook? Every little movement they made, everything they said was perfectly in sync. She looked around wildly to see if there was a way to manually halt the pendulums but there was absolutely nothing. Her breathing started to quicken as the pressure of the dire situation took hold. She wasn't strong enough for this; hadn't practiced enough; she was going to fail him.

"Remember what I said, Emma, you just have to believe in yourself. I know you can do this."

The absolute surety of his words managed to breach her internal panic and she desperately clung onto it as she dragged herself back to a calmer place. His unshakable belief in her, even when faced with the possibility of death, gave her the courage she needed to search deep within even as she saw the blades drop down once more.

Drawing in a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. She soon found what she was looking for and for the first time in her life welcomed her magic with open arms. 'I know you can do this, I know you can do this,' became her mantra as the feeling grew and grew, it's warmth and light spreading throughout her body until she felt as though she fairly glowed with it.

The clunk of the pendulum announced yet another drop and she opened her eyes just as the blades swung lower barely skimming over Hook's bodies causing them to flinch slightly as the curved blade whizzed past dangerously close to their faces.

She was out of time. They all were.

But she didn't care. Now that she'd finally let her magic in, she found it surprisingly easy to identify which pirate was hers. Maybe it was because he had been the one to help her unlock it or maybe it was because her power enabled her to see through Regina's handiwork. Whatever the reason, her body practically hummed as soon as she looked at him. With a flick of her hand, the bindings holding the man lying to the left of her disappeared and he was free.

Hook shot her a quick smile then deftly rolled off the table and fell onto the floor just as the pendulum swung back, missing him by inches. His doppelganger was not so lucky and she quickly turned away as the sound of flesh tearing asunder briefly assailed her ears before everything went silent.

"It's alright he's gone," Hook told her and she looked back in time to see him grimace slightly as he added, "Although that will be a sight I shan't forget in a while. No one should die in such a gruesome way. Not even me."

Emma shook her head at his levity and let out a shaky sigh.

"Are you OK?" she asked running her gaze over his form in search of any sign of injury.

"I'm fine," he declared her with a dismissive wave of his hand, "You?"

"Yeah. I did it," she realised suddenly and gave a little laugh before repeating, "I really did it."

The pirate walked over to her with a grin, enjoying her obvious pleasure in her own success.

"Aye, love, you did. I never doubted you for a minute."

It would have been a throwaway comment coming from anyone else but looking into his warm blue eyes as he drew closer, Emma knew without a doubt that he meant every single word.

"I know," she assured him with a soft smile. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his arm and squeezed it gently, hoping to convey just how much she valued his unwavering belief in her.

His grin faded at her gesture and he looked down at her hand, swallowing hard. The sincerity of her words rung true in his ears and he needed a moment to gather his wits as his heart drummed out an uneven beat. It meant so much to him that she was starting to accept not only herself but…maybe even him a little as well.

"Good," he finally stated quietly when he was able to raise his eyes to her face once more.

They stared at one another, each reluctant to look away yet also uncertain as to whether they dared be the one to make the next move.

The choice was taken away from them suddenly when a large swirl of purple smoke appeared, billowing all around them. Seconds later they squinted against the sunlight as they found themselves standing in the forest just outside the vault with Regina and a concerned looking Robin.

"I suppose I should say well done," the Queen commented archly, "It seems you finally discovered what you needed to unlock your potential."

"You could've found a better way to do it," the blonde admonished irritably as she glanced over at the pirate. "Although why am I not surprised that it turns out you like Poe?"

"I have to admit, his words do hold a certain diabolical poetry to them that I find quite fascinating," Regina revealed. Her voice took on a wistful note as she further mused, "The things I could have done with a man like that in the Enchanted Forest back in the day."

"Oh, please," Emma groused derisively.

The Queen gave her a withering look then glanced at the two men.

"We're going to be here a while longer. If you plan on sticking around to play guard, I suggest you make yourselves comfortable," she told them before waving her hand in the general direction of where they'd previously been hiding.

Hook and Robin turned to see a pile of dark brown blankets next to some sandwiches and drink that were set alongside a small fire that was happily crackling away. They looked back to offer their thanks but were both acutely disappointed to find that the ladies were no longer there.

After casting one last lingering glance at the door of the vault, Hook went over to the almost ready-made camp and picked up a couple of the blankets. He placed them on the ground then sat down on them with a heavy sigh. Now that the adrenaline of his near death experience had left his body he was feeling decidedly tired.

Robin joined him and reached over for a couple of bottles of water. He offered one to the pirate who declined with a shake of his head and brought out his flask instead. Popping the stopper he took a long draught then held it out for Robin. The thief took his own lengthy swig and handed it back.

Hook put the stopper back in then dropped the flask on the ground and leaned back against a tree, his thoughts never straying far from the blonde beauty that had irrevocably stolen his heart as surely as if she reached in a pulled it out herself. His fingers absently rubbed over the spot on his left arm where she'd touched him and he wondered if there would ever come a time where she'd love him and much as he did her. A time where he'd finally be able to tell her exactly how he felt with no fear of reproach…or rejection. Maybe it was best if she never found out. The depth of his love would probably scare her away.

"You look done in, Captain. What happened in there?" Robin queried, breaking into the other man's reverie.

"Emma found herself," Hook replied with a little smile of pride.

Robin nodded but still looked perplexed.

The pirate closed his eyes then tilted his head back against the rough bark; his smile becoming a full on grin as Robin spoke again.

"So…who's this Poe fellow?"

Hook couldn't hold back his laughter at the blatant jealousy that coloured the other man's voice and opened his eyes. He toyed with the idea of pretending not to know but considering he understood the pain of unrequited love quite well himself, he decided it was the least he could do to ease that particular burden from the thief's mind.

"He's a writer of books. Dark, scary tales that chill the blood and he's quite dead so you do not have to worry that he also is vying for the Queen's affections."

Robin smiled self-consciously then ventured, "Am I that obvious then?"

The pirate shrugged and shook his head a little.

"Only to me, but then I'm very well acquainted with the signs."

"Do you think we stand a chance?" the thief asked after a moments silence.

Hook looked back at the man's hopeful gaze then thought back to Emma's words and touch and nodded.

"Aye, mate, I think we do."

END CHAPTER 4