Chapter 4

Another few days, and they were still walking. The yellow-brick road stretched all the way to the horizon, a golden path towards the glowing green sunset. Jefferson insisted they were almost at the capital city, but with no buildings in sight, it was hard to believe that they would be reaching the Emerald City any time soon.

Jefferson and Emma remained polite, but they were clearly ill at ease with the others presence. Despite Killian's insistence that Jefferson could be trusted, Emma was reluctant to talk to the hatter. She had, however, retained a curt manner whenever they did speak, something that only caused Jefferson to reply in kind.

However, it wasn't only Emma that was causing the difficult atmosphere between the trio. Jefferson was more than eager to converse with Killian, yet Emma's presence quieted him, the man becoming more introspective than he had ever been during their long acquaintance. Something about Emma upset him and made a bitter expression settle across his face, and Killian could not figure out what the reason was.

That morning, Emma had linked her hand with his the moment they began walking. Jefferson had looked down at their joined hands and strode ahead without comment. Killian had shaken his head in slight annoyance, but remained determinedly by Emma's side. The more days they spent on their trek, the more despondent Emma became.

"Emma?" Killian muttered once Jefferson had wandered hundreds of metres of ahead, now only a black silhouette in the distance. "We're almost there. We'll see the wizard and we'll find whoever it is you're looking for and then the four of us will go back through the portal and you'll have your son back before you know it."

"Optimistic." Emma uttered, releasing his hand and nudging his side with her elbow. "I like it."

"Perhaps I can find something else you like even more?" he suggested, sidling across the small gap between them and throwing his arm around her waist to pull her into his side.

She sighed, exasperated, but still leaned up to press a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw. "Not now." she murmured. "We need to focus on getting to the Emerald City as soon as we can. Maybe then we can discuss things that I like."

"As tantalizing as that is, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Killian admitted, glancing up to check that Jefferson was still forging on ahead of them. "It's about Jefferson."

"Have you spoken to him about me?" Emma challenged, frowning at the distant figure. "Because he's being just as unaccommodating."

"That's a rather kind word for the way he's acting." Killian told her, chuckling at how she had admitted she too was being impolite. "With him, I fear that reason will simply make him more troublesome. I believe that you would be more willing to listen to logic."

"I suppose." she muttered, placated by his attempt at an explanation. "So what is it?"

"Look, Jefferson helped me when I was still hunting for my revenge. The last twenty-eight years, we spent together. In Neverland." He began, a smile crossing his face when he felt Emma's arm slink around his back, her attention fully on him. "He was the only one who could travel out of Neverland. He was the one who found me all those books and showed me how Rumplestiltskin could be defeated."

"Why did he go to Neverland with you?"

"That's not something I can tell you." Killian faltered, thinking that he really should have expected such a question. "All I can say is that no one chooses to go to Neverland for a good reason. I needed time and Jefferson, he wanted to run away. He's lost a lot in his life, and I believe he wanted to get away from that."

"And now?" she questioned. "What's making him so grumpy?"

"Jefferson has seen me at my worst, sweetheart." Killian confessed, pausing when he remembered the way he had he exploited Jefferson's fear in order to get him to help with his revenge. "Until I met you, I was convinced that I would never be able to move on and that my vengeance was all I had. I would have done anything to get revenge because I had nothing to lose. I'm not proud of who I was back then."

"You know I don't care about what you did in the past." Emma interrupted, pulling him to a halt and stepping in front of him, arms folding around his neck.

"I know." Killian said quietly, distracted from his story by the way Emma was looking at him, eyes wide and earnest. "And I can't imagine how someone like me can possibly deserve that, but I will never stop being thankful for it, for you." He bent his head, nose brushing against hers, but didn't kiss her, choosing instead to simply enjoy the intimacy that came from them being wrapped up in each other. "And that, Emma, is what makes things trying for Jefferson. I expect he may have found comfort in the fact that I was as lost as he was. Here and now, however, he is seeing us together. He can see that we managed to find each other. We had both believed it to be impossible, but you saved me from myself. You made me happy. I presume that, at this moment, Jefferson is feeling more alone than he has been in decades."

Emma swallowed, understanding dawning in her eyes as she shot one more look at the far-off hatter. "I didn't realise." she muttered, one hand snaking up from the back of his neck to bury itself in his hair. "About him or about you. How can I have saved you when you saved me?"

"You?" Killian asked, receiving no verbal answer. Instead, Emma simply rose onto the balls of her feet and pressed her warm lips against his, pulling him deliberately closer to her as they kept the kiss chaste, breathing each other in.

Their lips parted, and his hand skimmed the side of her body before cupping her cheek, their foreheads still pressed together, breath mingling in the small space between them. As breathtaking as every one of their kisses had been, this one flared with a simmering heat, rather than a burning intensity, and the heat it ignited was one that lingered with him after their skin had lost contact. He hadn't shared a kiss like that in centuries, and he felt almost overwhelmed by the feelings rising inside of him. "Emma?" he breathed, lifting his head so he could admire her. "You do know that I adore you, don't you?"

"I'm rather smitten with you too, sailor." she replied, an air of contentment softening her voice even as she teased him. He beamed down at her, his arms dropping away when she took a small step back. "So are we going to keep walking?" He nodded, hand instinctively taking hers as they turned back to continue along the yellow-brick road.

It was only when the sun began to set, the now familiar green haze in the distance growing more intense as it mixed with the orange of the sunset, that Jefferson decided to wait for them. He stood in the distance, looking impatient, as Killian and Emma approached. He was clearly irritated, one hand tapping furiously against his thigh, and Killian felt the loss of Emma's hand in his keenly, his hand cold for what seemed like the first time in weeks.

"Aren't you two just precious?" Jefferson snapped, but Killian caught the appreciative gleam in his eye when he noticed the way that Emma had dropped her hand from Killian's, their feelings for each other not as glaring to him as it had been on previous days. He glanced away, gesturing ahead of them and drawing their attention to emerald buildings that had appeared at the horizon, rising up from a vast red field. "The Emerald City. We get past the field of poppies, and we're there."


They stood in the centre of a crossroad, the straight road vanishing into the poppy field, the other roads circling the field. Directly ahead of them was the Emerald City, no longer a distant silhouette, now a looming metropolis, larger than any city Killian had ever seen before. The field itself was massive, a vista of small, rolling hills and brilliant red flowers.

"We should walk around." Jefferson instructed firmly, but Emma grasped at his wrist before he could move away. He looked at her, a puzzled expression gracing his face. "What is it, princess?"

"Well, hatter," Emma replied, clearly irritated by the use of her title. "Going across the field is bound to be quicker. We should do that."

Jefferson made to reply, but before he could speak, she had already strode ahead, poppies brushing against the side of her cloak. Killian stood still, caught off guard by her quick movement. Only a few feet into the field, she staggered, Jefferson leaping forwards to grip her arm and pull her backwards, thrusting her into Killian's arms once she was out of the poppy field. Killian gazed down at her, surprised to see her eyes closed and her breathing slow.

"She's asleep." he stated, raising an eyebrow at the hatter. "How?"

"You've heard of poppy dust, correct?" Jefferson asked, brushing invisible dust away from his coat. "Walking through that field is as potent as handfuls of the powder. If your paramour had waited one more minute, I would have explained that to both of you. And now, we have to wait for the princess to wake up before we continue our journey."

"No." Killian decided, waving Jefferson over and wheedling him into helping move Emma so she was balanced on his back, arms hanging loosely around his neck, his hands gripping her thighs. "We don't want this to take any longer than it has to. I'll carry her for as long as I can, and then, if she hasn't woken up, we wait." He felt her head loll onto his shoulder and he chuckled, turning an amused look to Jefferson. "Besides, I thought you wanted to bypass the field simply because of your anthophobia. I remember how much you hated the plants in Neverland. And Wonderland, now that I think on it."

"I didn't know what the Neverland plants were, and the ones in Wonderland were taller than me." Jefferson protested, the two of them starting along the yellow-brick road once again. "I had a perfectly valid reason to dislike those plants."

"If you insist." Killian muttered under his breath, chortling when he saw Jefferson's exasperated eye-roll. They walked in an amicable silence for a few more miles, Killian pausing occasionally to adjust his hold on Emma. When Emma nestled her head closer to his, Killian caught Jefferson's reproachful look and exhaled. "Look, Jefferson, I am sorry that we didn't realise that our relationship was causing you pain. I understand, truly, why you feel that way."

"Do you?"

"I know that you don't think that you can return to the man you used to be, the man who was prepared to give up everything in order to make sure Grace had the best life possible." Killian began warily, anxious that Jefferson would react badly to his blunt statement. "You feel that after everything you've done and after all the people you've killed, that you don't deserve to be a father to Grace and to have her love you the way that she used to. I feel the same."

"That doesn't seem to stop the two of you from being all… content." Jefferson lamented. "How can you be happy with her when you know you're not worthy of her and that you've done things that can never be forgiven?"

"I'm happy with her because simply being at her side is enough to make me happy." Killian admitted, a tender smile on his face. "As for the past, Emma knows that I've done terrible things. Perhaps not all the fine details, but I am more than willing to tell her if she asks. I'm terrified that one day she'll realise what I really am and leave me, but I'm not going to lie to her. I want to be open with her, and that is a miracle in itself. She's still chosen me, even if I can't fathom why. All I know is that I don't want to be the man I used to be. Emma made me realise that I wasn't proud of who I was. I wanted to change, and not just for her. I may not be able to make up for the past, but I can try and be better now."

"You found someone who inspired you." Jefferson added, a melancholy look on his face. "But it's not the same for me. You changed from the idealistic lieutenant to the vengeful pirate and now Emma's motivated you to be good again. This man that you've become with Emma, he's always been there. I'm different."

"How are you different?"

"I'm not a good person. Before I met my inspiration, my Elizabeth, I wasn't an upstanding citizen." Jefferson grimaced, warily keeping his stare away from Killian. "I never told you this when we were travelling together. I preferred to talk of my time with my wife and with Grace. Before I met Elizabeth, I worked with the Dark One. I did terrible things purely to get gold. I helped make the Evil Queen who she is. Elizabeth made me try to be better and when I lost her, I tried even harder to be the parent my Grace needed. But I'm not meant to be good, Hook. All that I got from being good was losing the only things that ever mattered to me. I would rather be who I used to be, who I always was, than lose everything all over again because I failed to do the right thing."

Killian didn't know what to say, his mouth dry as he stared at his friend. Jefferson looked like he could break if Killian said the wrong thing, and he didn't want that. For a minute, he wanted to regurgitate Juke's story, the one about regret, but he doubted that would comfort Jefferson. "I did terrible things for centuries, Jefferson. It's not as simple as you make it sound."


Killian had not expected the Queen of Hearts herself to be the person he was looking for, but he was relieved that it made the mission so much easier. Cora seemed to be waiting for the guards to leave, and with her attention drawn away from him for a brief moment, he took the opportunity to mentally prepare himself.

To kill Cora, he needed to take a heart. This was something he'd never wanted to do, the memories of Milah's final moments flashing through his mind, but he was willing to do what was necessary.

The rest of the court finally out of sight, Cora looked back at him and he smiled smugly back, wanting to appear completely unaffected by her commands. "Your name, pirate?"

"Hook." he answered succinctly, bowing respectfully at her and raising an eyebrow slightly when she comments sarcastically on his nickname. He stood, rummaging in his pocket for a large pearl necklace he had never got around to depositing in the Jolly Roger's treasure stash, glad now that he still had it with him. "I come bearing gifts, if you'll allow me."

He didn't wait for her response, dangling the necklace from his hook and walking towards her with his arms held wide. She met him almost halfway, ignoring his offer and surprising him with her knowledge of the hat. "This hat, your portal. If I understand correctly, the same number who travels through, must also return." His mouth quirked slightly, the only outward show of his shock. "You arrived with him, but who shall you return with?"

She gestured towards the corpse of Claude, but he didn't look back. He's going to do it now, and he needed to make sure that he's not thinking of Milah's death when he reaches inside Cora and takes her heart, when he crushes it and sees the woman die the same way Milah had. "You." he snarled and he doesn't hesitate, throwing the necklace over his shoulder and plunging his hook into her chest. It felt strange when the hook simply slides into her body, no flesh or bone stopping its fall, magic allowing it to pass through her without resistance.

But there's nothing there. An empty cavity with no heart inside. He pulled his hook out and stared at it, confusion flooding him. He thought, just for a moment, that if people can survive without hearts, why isn't Milah still by his side, but with Cora standing right in front of him, he couldn't dwell on that. "What?" he breathed, staring up at the Queen and wondering about her amused smile.

"I'm the 'Queen' of Hearts." Cora stated, her voice thick with laughter. "Do you really think I'd be so careless as to keep my heart where everyone else does?" Before he could react, she sunk her hand into his chest and took hold of his heart, squeezing it and sending a sharp jolt of agony racing throughout his entire body, a grunt escaping him. "This is how it's done." she murmured, using her grip on his heart to pull him closer to her and smiling at his constant anguished gasps. "Tell me who did this. Who sent you here to kill me? Who?"

"Your daughter." he panted, grinning when her hold loosened slightly and she let him fall back, her surprise evident on her face.

"Regina? She… wants me dead?" Cora sounded almost upset, her eyes searching his for answers. Her brows furrowed at his lack of response and her grip tightened once more, swaying him closer. "You are now going to tell me everything and do exactly what I want. Because when you hold a heart, you control it." She squeezed his heart once more and then waited for him to speak.

He told her everything. He had never experienced such pain as he felt whenever her hand constricted around his heart, and each time she was unsatisfied with his explanation, she took advantage of that. He spoke of Regina's plans, and of his, a dark gleam in his eye when she forced him to speak of Milah and his need for revenge, her own hand twisting his heart cruelly as he spoke of Milah's death and how her heart had been crushed in front of him.

"I've told you all I know." he implored, voice strangled, hating the power that Cora had over him and wanting it to end. He would rather have death than lose his freedom to her and have her control him with his own heart. "Now have some honour and kill me."

Once more, she laughed. "Honour? For the pirate who snuck into my palace to assassinate me?"

"At your daughter's behest." he hissed, hoping that the reminder would anger her enough for her to finally finish crushing his heart, instead of toying with it.

"She should've come." Cora moved even closer, and Killian tried futilely to move his head back and keep his distance, fury evident in the Queen's voice. "She should've killed me herself."

She leant over him, squeezing his heart until he felt as if it was giving in, the pressure and pain forcing an anguished moan out of him as blackness began to obscure his vision, and then she let go, standing over him as he collapsed to the floor. Killian tried to stand up, his knees shaking as he staggered upright. "Mercy seems a bit out of character."

"Oh, not mercy, Hook." Cora declared, gaze locked on the hand he was holding to his chest, breathing still shaky. "You're going to help me. Regina knows my methods better than anyone. If I was controlling you, she'd know. This has to be your choice."

He exhaled heavily. The mission for Regina had turned out poorly enough, and he was reluctant to enter into an arrangement with another woman who could betray him as easily as Regina had. She had to have known exactly who her mother was and what she could do, and she had hidden that information from him. Cora seemed likely to treat him similarly, and he was disinclined to assist someone who had seemed to thoroughly enjoy his pain. "Why should I?"

"Because, my dear, I'm the only one who can give you what you want."

He smirked in bemusement. The promise itself was similar to her daughter's, and he had to admit he was intrigued to see what she could possibly say that would make him work with her. "Is that so?"

"This curse my daughter plans to enact? This new land she's taking everyone to? You won't remember who you are. So tell me, Captain, how do you expect to kill someone, when you can't even remember him? But, if you do what I say, I'll make sure you not only kill him, but that you remember every single moment."

"Well, what shall you have me do?" he responded in a resigned tone, knowing there was nothing he could say that would get him out of this, but at the same time his thoughts were racing over what she had just told him. If what Cora was saying was true, and he had his doubts, he would enjoy helping her to kill Regina. The Evil Queen had used his desire for vengeance against him, enlisting him in an assassination that would either kill him or lead to a curse that would render him ignorant to his own enemy. Either way, his revenge would be unsated. Working with Cora seemed to be the only way to achieve his vengeance.

"Get me close to my daughter. And then, I'll rip her heart out." He winced at the lack of emotion in her voice, but nodded in agreement, gesturing to the exit of the castle.

"Well, shall we go?" he asked, eager to leave this realm for a more familiar one. However, Cora shook her head.

"Not yet. I find it unlikely that Regina will believe you accomplished a task such as killing me in so little time." she decided, standing from her throne and pointing towards her castle. "We shall go tomorrow. Take tonight to rest, Captain. I'll have a servant call you for supper where we can discuss exactly what you need to do."

He made to follow her directions, but before he could enter the palace, a guard stepped either side of him and grabbed at his elbows, holding him prone between them. "Your Majesty, do you not trust me?" he complained, feeling the guards start to drag him towards the castle. "I'll have you know that I'm a man of my word."

"You're a pirate." she pointed out, enjoying the way the guards were needlessly manhandling him. "Can you blame me for having doubts?"


Emma woke suspiciously soon after Killian and Jefferson's conversation had come to a sudden, slightly awkward, halt. After she had pressed a kiss of her own to his temple, a first for her, she slid off his back and took her place next to him, hand brushing his but not taking it.

"Thanks for pulling me out of that poppy field." she told Killian, who shook his head apologetically and shot a meaningful look at Jefferson. Emma frowned, but turned to look at the hatter, who shrugged. "I mean, I guess I should be thanking you. I should have listened to you when you said that it would be better to go around the field."

"Yes. You should have." Jefferson agreed with a mocking smile. "It's lucky you only took a few steps into the poppies and weren't too far for either of us to reach you. You'd have slept there forever."

Killian sighed, but Emma just brushed it off and moved to stand between the two men. "I haven't said this before, hatter, but I really am grateful that you're helping us. With everything."

Jefferson seemed mollified by her gratitude, and he looked away for a few moments. Emma took this as an opportunity to link her little finger around Killian's hook, apparently wanting to have some contact with him, and he smiled at her.

"Why did the Dark One take your son?" Jefferson asked suddenly, staring intently at Emma. "Why did you need to make this deal in the first place?"

"Long story short, my Henry is Rumplestiltskin's grandson." Emma answered, laughing harshly when Jefferson stopped short and stared at her incredulously. "Yeah, I was just as surprised as you were. Turns out that Rumplestiltskin prefers to keep his family with him."

"I imagine that the Dark One doesn't like someone else having anything that could compromise him." Jefferson stated thoughtfully, shaking his head as if he was physically getting rid of his shock and then continuing to walk. "I suppose that even Rumplestiltskin would do anything to keep his family at his side. And I suppose you would do anything to be with your son again."

"I really would." Emma said, a determined edge to her voice.

"I once felt that way." Jefferson acknowledged. "My daughter, Grace, is the most important person in all the realms to me. I'm sure you heard Killian mention my daughter back in Sherwood. I would have done anything for her. I tried. I made a deal, the same way you have, to do something for the Evil Queen and in return, Grace would never want for anything. I wanted her to have that. That deal lost me Grace. I haven't seen her since the day I walked out of my cottage and told her that I would be back for tea. You may have made this deal, but don't trust that Rumplestiltskin will keep his side of the bargain. He's clever. If he wants your son, he'll keep your son and for all you know, you'll end up trapped here with no way back. Or dead."

"Is that what happened to you?"

"Doesn't matter." Jefferson bit out, his warning apparently the limit of his good will towards Emma. "Grace no longer needs me. The Evil Queen made sure of that."


The yellow-brick road finished rather suddenly, vanishing under a tremendous gate that glittered with brilliant emeralds. Killian's eyes were drawn to the treasure and for a minute he considered prizing a few off with his hook. Before he could do anything, Jefferson pressed a green button and a muted ring could be heard through the crack beneath the gate. The door opened slowly, creaking with each small movement, and revealed a vast hall, the ceiling arching hundreds of feet above the three of them, green glass walls veined with marble and decorated with even more emeralds and diamonds, a spectacular room that Killian had never seen the like of before.

The three of them stepped inside, staring in awe at the entire room. The actual city seemed to be contained inside the hall, the ceiling arching over tall towers and onion domes. An opening seemed to lead into the inner city, a green cobblestone pathway winding between green marble houses and elaborately trimmed gardens.

"This is incredible." Emma breathed, and the two men nodded their agreement, the three of them walking through the opening together. The pavement continued straight for miles, appearing to be a direct route into the town centre, a palace rising up from the horizon and towering over all other buildings, the shimmering emerald building lined with gold and a green flag fluttering from the highest tower. "That has to be where the wizard is, right?"

"Of course." Jefferson explained. "Right in the centre of everything."

They remained silent as they walked further into the metropolis, each of them too busy gaping at the magnificent architecture to talk to each other. The palace square was a marvel, the green cobblestones merging into a glossy malachite floor, the buildings surrounding the palace including restaurants, museums and theatres.

Jefferson hovered at the edge of the square, but Killian and Emma strode up to the palace doors, Killian's arm linked with Emma's, his hook buried in his coat pocket. Emma swallowed, and then used the giant golden knocker to rap on the palace door three times.

Instantly, a small window opened, a foot below Emma's shoulders, and a man peered out. He wore emerald glasses and a furry, green hat. "Do you have an appointment?" he asked, his voice high-pitched. "Entrance is by appointment only."

"No, not exactly." Emma stammered, staring down at the guard. "But this is important."

"Many people visit the wizard and many believe that their issues are more important than any other." The guard scoffed, his hand reaching out to close the window, but Emma grabbed it before he could.

"You don't understand how far we've travelled to get here." she protested. "Please, we need to see him."

"I can make you an appointment." the guard offered. "That's all I can do. I can't offer preferential treatment because you believe you deserve an audience now. If you are so desperate, the wizard is available tomorrow evening. I'll put your names in the book and you can walk through the palace gates then."

"Okay, yes, that would be great. I'm Emma." Emma said, shooting a relieved look at Killian and curling herself closer towards him. "Thank you." The window slammed shut immediately, no further time given, and Emma turned to Killian, her expression excited. "We're almost there."

"Indeed." Killian murmured, sauntering close to her and pulling her hips to meet his. "And now, we have a whole day to have some fun of our own in one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen."


There you go! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. Thanks to everyone who added this story to their favourites or to story alert, as well as Mrs-N-Uzumaki, buffybabe42, Nouqueret, ScapeArtist, mela16, alias093001, the-art-of-escape, fox24 and the two guests for reviewing. Big thanks, of course, to BlackDragon733 for the beta-ing!

Reviews would be appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own OUAT or the characters, and most of the dialogue in the flashback scene is from the episode 'The Queen of Hearts'.