Hook had resumed his sullen silence as they passed through the lush green grass filled with perfectly spaced white flowers throughout. His mind was desperately trying to avoid picturing the hell that Emma must be experiencing that was likely a stark contrast to the serene scene before him.
Merida pulled her horse up at the edge of the meadow and pointed through the thicket to a lone tree standing at the base of a rough rock ledge.
"Look! It's a rowan tree!" Merida exclaimed, awe and excitement emanating from her tone until she saw the looks of bewilderment pass between the pirate and the mayor. "Aw, come on, don't tell me neither of ye've ever heard of the lore around the rowans!"
Another glance at the dark-haired pair confirmed their ignorance.
"Right useless bunch you are," Merida huffed, not quite under her breath.
Regina and Hook took turns appearing slighted before returning to looks of patience and ambivalence.
"Please, inform us," Regina prompted, though her tone belied slight irritation.
"Okay, well in our lore, the rowan is the tree that bore the first woman to life," she stated, matter-of-factly. "There's a lot more to it than that, but the point is, we're awfully close if the rowan's standin' here. Especially because it's said to protect against witchcraft."
"Including that of the Dark One?" Regina asked as she hopped off her horse and led it a few paces towards the tree.
"Exactly," the redhead said, an almost dreamy expression spreading across her face as she recited the words her mother had taught her as a child.
"Rowan tree, red thread, hold the witches all in dread," she murmured as she slowly separated a few strands of hair from her mass of curls and tugged. The two foreigners simply watched in silent wonder as the girl carefully pulled down a branch and gently detached two small twigs from the limb and formed a cross, tying the center securely with the strands of fiery hair.
"What are you doing?" Hook asked unceremoniously as Merida pocketed the small item she'd just fashioned. Though Regina sensed there was magic in the girl's action, she'd never seen a spell like that before and was equally curious.
"The rowan tree protects from harmful magic and evil spirits. Ye'r not supposed to use a knife on a sacred tree like that one, but using a couple twigs for a purpose like protecting ye'rself from the Dark One oughta be alright, I gather. One of 'em should do it. Wouldn't wanna risk upsetting the balance of magic 'round here, would ye?"
Hook and Regina nodded their agreement as Hook dismounted his horse and followed the two women past the sacred tree and through the thicket towards the sound of water bubbling heavily over rocks.