A/N: Regarding to the end of the chapter, don't forget this is dark!Killian so we don't get all the unicorns and rainbow stickers~

Emma arrived at the door of her new friend and knocked a few times, waiting for a simple 'come in' before she opened the door and walked inside. She looked around a little - the room was similiar to hers just more…comfortable. It looked more like a home than hers, but it was no surprise since Tink had lived there for quite a while now. When she spotted the blonde woman, she smiled and walked over to her, sitting down in the chair next to her.

"Emma! What can I do for you?"

She smiled slightly; Tink was probably the only person, besides the servants, who was nice to her here. Well, and Ruby, of course. But Killian wasn't very nice or gentleman like, and she barely saw the king. The guards didn't talk with her, and the servants only said something because it was their job. Ruby spent time with Victor, and she was sure that both of them already had a thing. Lucky her.

"I…well, I have a question."

Tink raised an eyebrow and turned her chair around so that she could look at Emma with a smirk.

"Of course! Ask me anything you want."

Emma laughed a little because she seemed to be excited. She scratched her neck for a moment and thought about what she could say.

"It's about the burned wing of the castle with the big black door that seems to be locked all the time. What happened there? Why is it locked?"

From one second to then next, Tinkerbell's face changed, and she looked down at her lap for a moment before she raised her gaze again. She ran her hand over her face, and Emma watched her closely, not quite sure if it was so smart to ask the question.

"You don't have to answer!" Emma added quickly, afraid that she could have made Tink feel uncomfortable with her question, and she didn't want that.

"No, it's fine. It's just something we normally don't talk about because it's a tragedy."

Tink shrugged, and Emma tilted her head. A tragedy? What kind of a tragedy? She didn't want to ask, not sure if her friend would tell her something about it or not, but when the other woman shifted, Emma knew she was going to get her answers.

"It's been a few years ago, I think…maybe six? I'm not sure anymore. It was in the middle of the night when the fire started in the queen's room. No one noticed at first, so it spread very fast, and in the end, the whole wing burned down before they could stop the fire. The queen and a few servants died, and people say it was a spy from the crown's enemies who set up the fire. No one ever enters that part of the castle since the fire, not really."

Tink's voice was kind of quiet while she spoke, and she sounded sad, looking to the ground a few times. Emma listened to her, and the more she heard, the more she widened her eyes. Is that why Killian went there? Because his mother died in there? So maybe he talked to her now and then when no one was around, when he felt safe? Maybe he was only able to let his walls down then? It would at least mean that he was just broken and not mean.
Emma smiled sadly before she bit her bottom lip.

"Is that the reason why Killian is how he is? Because his mother died in there?"

Tinkerbell raised an eyebrow and shook her head a few times with a wry smile on her face.

"She wasn't his mother, she was the new wife of the king. Killian's mother died when he was a young boy," she told her and ran her hand through her hair, trying to avoid Emma's look.

The princess frowned and sighed. She figured that Killian was probably just a broken man who grew up without a mother most of his life and lost his second one after the king married again. But that didn't make it easier. How could she be mad at him now when he would just be rude to her again? She felt bad for him right now. She never lost someone like that. Not one of her loved one's died, and she couldn't imagine how horrible it had to be for him.

"But why are you asking?"

She heard Tink's voice and raised her head again, pushing her thoughts aside. Why was she asking? What should she tell her now? Emma sighed and shook her head slightly, biting her bottom lip. She felt bad for spying on him and for eavesdropping, for asking another person what was going on.

"It's just that…well, I saw Killian going in there, and it made no sense."

Tinkerbell frowned and gritted her teeth slightly, biting the inside of her cheek before she shrugged. Obviously, she didn't have an answer either.

"I really don't know why he would do that, but stay away from him. He doesn't like it when you try to spy on him," she said with a soft laugh and got up from her chair, walking to the door. Emma followed her. Both women knew the conversation was over.

"Thank you, Tink."

"No problem."

Both smiled before Emma left the room and walked toward her own. She knew she should probably get some sleep, but she was even more curious about what Killian was doing in that burned wing.

She couldn't sleep. She still had her clothes on because she couldn't stop thinking about what Tinkerbell told her and what she heard from Killian and the king. While she lay on her bed, everything went through her head again. The fire, the request for more guards in front of the door even when there was supposed to be nothing. Why did he go there? What was so special about a burned wing if no one entered it after it had burned down?

Emma closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Damn her, she needed to know. It was in the middle of the night, the full moon was up and shone into her room, the sky was literally awake, and she couldn't sleep. Everyone in the castle was probably asleep except for the guards, and on her way back, none of them were in front of the burned door. She needed to know.

After a few moments, she got up and fumbled with her dress before she made her way outside and down the hall to the door. On her way she looked around to make sure no one was there. She didn't want anyone to see her sneaking around the castle in the middle of the night. She was way too nosy, and she knew it, but how was she supposed to live here and marry Killian when she had no idea what was going on? She was suspucious of many things since she was a kid, she barely trusted anyone. It did get better, of course, but sometimes, her gut told her not to leave a thing alone until she knew what was going on. And this right now was such a 'thing'. She didn't trust Killian anyway, and now that he was acting so weird, she wasn't going to be able to sleep peacefully.

She walked down the empty hallway until she could see the door to the burned wing. She stepped closer and swallowed, grabbing the door handle, she tried to open it and…it wasn't locked. Emma frowned and bit her bottom lip before she walked through the door. The last time Killian was inside of here it was locked. Did this mean he wasn't here? Did he just forget to lock it up again? She had to be careful if she wanted to figure out what was going on in there.

As soon as she walked a few steps, she could smell the scent of burned wood. Dust was everywhere, some doors were broken and open, but nothing was inside. Grime covered the ground and spiders had put their cobwebs in all the corners. A shiver ran through her body; it was such a strange place and didn't compare to the rest of the castle. She actually loved this place - the castle was an impressive building and the garden was wonderful, but this here? No, this didn't fit.

A crack behind her had her jerking around, but nothing was there. She let out a deep breath before she continuing to walk slowly and in silence until she stopped in front of the last door. It wasn't burned or broken, not like all the others. She tried to look out of the window, but the dust and grime made it impossible, and she wasn't very keen on rubbing her dress against the glass to see something.

She shouldn't be here, she knew that. She should be in her bed, sleeping and not thinking about this part of the castle, but she couldn't help it. Gods, she felt like she was betraying someone, but maybe she would figure out why he was the way he was. Why he acted like that, why he talked like that. Maybe someone had broken his heart before and that's why he had his walls up? She knew the feeling, and that why she wouldn't be surprised.

The princess took a deep breath and opened the door, afraid of what might await her, but as soon as the door was open she frowned. The room was completely fine, no burned furniture. It seemed to be untouched by the fire. The brightness of the full moon shone into the room and illuminated it so she could see everything. Only a little bit of dust here and there on the things in the room, but besides that, it seemed to be fine. How was that even possible? Tink told her the whole wing burned down, and now she found a room where the furniture was still there, where the door wasn't burned, and where it looked like someone had been inside?

Someone meaning Killian. She swallowed. What would he do in here? It's not like he hadn't his own room that was probably way more comfortable than this one. It was kind of a big room with a bed, chairs, a table, and a few other things around. It almost looked like someone would be able to live in there if not for the dust.

She walked farther into the room and looked around until she found some old paintings leaned against a wall. She squatted down and took one of them in her hands. She was able to see the king and two boys. One had slightly curly hair, and the other one reminded her of Killian in a way, but they all looked similiar to each other. Did he have a brother? But if yes, why hadn't she met him? Or was he-

Another painting caught her attention, and she put the one in her hands back. The other one was larger and had a woman on it. She looked beautiful. Long brown hair and blue eyes, a smile on her face, and a crown on her head. Was this the queen? The first one? She looked a lot like Killian, actually. So maybe this was his mother, and because she died, they put her painting inside of here, trying to forget the painful memories? But that didn't explain what happened to his brother.

She really hated it when she didn't know what was going on. It drove her crazy. With a huff, she stood up again and walked over to the bookshelf. While she read the books that were there, she noticed that there was no dust in some places, like someone had removed the books. What the hell was Killian doing in here with old books? Probably just being creepy and mysterious because there was nothing else in this room. It was just an old room with a few old paintings as a reminder of the past. She sighed and was about to turn around when another door caught her attention. Had it been there before?

Emma shook her head and walked toward it. Some people wouldn't notice it because it was kind of hidden behind the shelf. She had been able to see it because the moonlight shone directly on the doorknob, and the sparkle had caught her attention. She looked at the door, not quite sure what she should think about it. A hidden door. In a room that was in a burned wing. Sounded great, eh? But she couldn't stop herself and reached forward. She had to know.

Her hand touched the cold doorknob. She was about to turn it to open the door, but something stopped her. Cold steal on her throat, a presence behind her. She swallowed hard and could feel the sharp blade on her skin. Another body was right behind her, and she held her breath, didn't dare to breathe or to turn her head. She let her hand sink down again and bit her bottom lip. The heavy breathing behind her wasn't very calming either. Did someone see her come inside? Did he follow her? Her gut told her it was a man, and she should be right about it.

"You shouldn't be here, princess," said a deep and dark voice right behind her. She swallowed.
Killian? Her eyes widened, and she felt him creep closer, pressing his body against hers from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her against him, his blade still on her throat. Why would he do that? Did he follow her, or had he been here before?

"What are you doing?"

She stopped when he pressed the blade further into her skin, not breaking it, not yet. What was he doing? Gods, she made a mistake. She should never have come here. Would he really hurt her? Too many questions right now. She needed to concentrate on the fact that he was pressing a damn knife against her throat. One wrong movement, and he could kill her.

"Shhh, princess. I don't want to hurt your pretty skin or your pretty face."

He removed the dagger from her throat and ran it across her face, nuzzling his nose against her hair. She wanted to scream or tell him to stop, but she had a huge lump in her throat. She shivered when he ran the blade back to her neck, pressing it against her skin even more this time.

"Afraid?"

Killian was playing with her, and she knew it. She just didn't know why he liked to play with her like that. Maybe it was his generel attitude because she really couldn't remember ever doing anything to him.

"No."

She wouldn't let him win this stupid game, but she also wouldn't play it. Of course, she was kind of afraid. She barely knew him, and she didn't know what he could do to her, and right now he had a knife pressed against her throat. A broken man could do a lot, she knew that. Broken people tended to be rude sometimes, and some people became killers when their loved ones died.

"You know, love, I'm really curious. Why are you in here? What did you hope to find?"

His voice was rough and husky right next to her ear now, and another shiver ran through her body, goosebumps raising on her skin. No matter how much she disliked him, his voice had something…special. It was deep and rough, a slight accent, and under other circumstances, it would probably be hot.

"I…I don't know."

Every time she spoke her larynx ran over the sharp blade, and she was afraid that at any second she could make a wrong move and would cut herself.
She heard him laughing behind her and felt how he shook his head, pressing himself more against her, running his hand down her stomach.

"Some doors are supposed to stay closed, love. And more importantly, some doors should never be re-opened."

Killian took the dagger away and ran his hand up her body to her neck, closing his hand around it and lifting her chin up. She couldn't stop herself from swallowing, and he started to laugh again.

"So you are afraid, my love."

Gods, she wanted to tell him she was not his love, darling, or anything like that, but right now, as long as he had the knife still close to her, it wasn't smart. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss on the skin of her shoulder before he turned her around, pressing the tip of the dagger under her chin so she was looking up at him. She felt a brief pain, but she wasn't bleeding, not yet, but speaking was no option anymore now.

Emma would have swallowed if she could because she saw nothing human in his eyes. They were dark, dull, and dangerous, and she probably should be afraid. She really should, but she kept telling herself he couldn't kill her or do anything to her because he had to marry her. It was the agreement - they had to marry each other, otherwise both kingdoms wouldn't survive the upcoming war. The ogres were already close, and they still had no idea what was rising in the west since no one was able to break the magic barrier or even wanted to go close to it.

He slid the blade down her throat to her cleavage, but his gaze was fixed on her eyes. His hand was on her hip, her body close to his. After a few moments, he rolled his hips slightly forward, and damn her, her body responded. No, no this was bad. This was so bad, and the smirk on his lips didn't make it better. He knew. Or well, no, he didn't because there was nothing to know. She admitted he was attractive but nothing more.

"You shouldn't be in here, princess."

He licked his lips and raised an eyebrow while a dark and wolfish grin settled on his lips. She was in trouble, in so much trouble. He took a step forward, she took a step back. They played this game until her back hit the door she had found, and he stood right in front of her, tilting his head, sliding the dagger up to her neck again.

"I was really curious how long you would need until you came in here. I thought you would at least take a few days, thinking about the possibility that I might have noticed you while you followed me, but obviously this wasn't an option."

Her eyes widened while he spoke. He knew that she had followed him? Gods she wanted to scream; she felt so stupid. She had never seen anyone around, and now he told her he had known. Asshole.

"And running off to Tink wasn't a smart idea, sweetheart. Did you really think I wouldn't know?"

"Did she…tell you?" She blinked at him and was kind of relieved when he shook his head. She had thought for a second that Tink had betrayed her. She was her friend, and it would hurt to know she couldn't trust her.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere in this castle, love. Too bad she wasn't able to tell you the truth."

She could see how much he enjoyed this. The blade pressed against the side of her neck now, could still kill her if he wanted to. She really didn't know if she should be afraid or if he just wanted to play because he was bored. But what was he even talking about? Not the truth?

Emma bit her bottom lip and swallowed, feeling the blade against her skin even more before she looked to the ground for a few seconds, then back into his dark eyes.

"What do you mean with the truth?"

He chuckled darkly and slid the knife up to her cheek before he cut her. She hissed in pain and felt the warm blood running down her cheek. Bastard. But as long as he held the dagger close to her, it wouldn't be a smart move to insult him. She just took a few deep breaths, and it seemed to amuse him.

"You're a brave girl, love. I like that, but are you sure you can handle the truth?"

She was about to snort but held it back. Smug asshole, of course she would be able to handle the truth. That was at least what she wanted to show him. It was like with dogs. If you show them you are afraid, they would notice it and use it to their advantage. Right now, she felt like Killian wouldn't be different. He was probably some kind of sadistic asshole that had fun making people cry or scaring them, and yes, she was afraid, kind of, but she wouldn't show it. She would be a queen one day, a strong and independent queen.
So she just raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him with just one look, and his wolfish grin got even wider.

"I did it. I set up the fire and killed all those people."