Chapter Six - Raise the Stakes
"Guys…guysss…shhh"
Three figures could barely be seen through the dingy lights of the House's wine cellar. Well, it was more like uncle Henry's wine cellar, but he had still yet to figure out that Regina had copied a key to the door when she was sixteen.
August, Emma and herself often snuck down there after Henry and Cora had gone to bed and… sampled the fine wines. They were careful to leave the ultra expensive bottles alone. Tonight was no different. They had discarded their uncomfortable attire and had changed into more breathable clothes. Emma put on light washed, distressed jean shorts that were adorn with holes and tears and a plain gray, loose fitting tank top that hung just past her naval. Regina had on navy cloth lounge shorts on and a snug fitting crew neck sweatshirt. August had slipped on athletic shorts and a plain t-shirt.
Just as they occasionally had in their youth, the three were now rip-roaringly drunk. August had slipped from his wooden bar stool and now lay in a heap on the cold concrete floor while Emma tried to help him up. But she soon joined him in his position, as she couldn't hold in her laughter. Regina was looking about in paranoia, as she was afraid someone would hear them. A completely ludicrous idea since the cellar was solid concrete under the House just next to the shooting range. The only way to hear their nonsense was to be in the subterranean vault with them. Still the brunette tried to shush the couple rolling on the floor holding their sides but her slurred words were lost on them.
As her older cousin regained some of her judgment, a yawn struck her face, "Oook I really-I reeeally shuud gho to sweep now. Its soo latee." Her speech was just as slurred as her cousins only sending August into another fit of giggles. This time Regina was not immune. "One more drrrink?" August asked to his snickering companion. "One more drunk!"
If it weren't for the familiarity with the House, Emma would have never found her way back to the Face's floor. However, she did have a few bumps and bruised from her clumsy state of mind. Her thoughts were foggy as her feet carried her independently. Finally she reached her destination. It was pitch black and she did not intend to change that. Clumsiness taking over again, the hazed blonde tripped over a shoe she had not remembered placing there. As she picked it up and threw it out of her way, another fit of giggles struck her as it hit the wall with a loud thud.
The heat from the wine had overcome her in the hallway. The cellar was cool and kept her body temperature down, but back upstairs the summer night had warmed the halls and her skin. She quickly discarded her tank top and shorts and walked towards her sanctuary.
Killian was still awake when his bedroom door was opened. Light from the hallway flooded the entryway as he noticed a tall, lean figure enter and close the door behind her. His eyes were adjusted to the darkness by now but confusingly stared at the stumbling girl walking towards his bed. As she stepped closer, his eyes registered the face and narrowed in more utter puzzlement. As she threw one of his dress shoes and proceeded to snicker like a grade schooler he realized she must have been inebriated. But still, he said nothing.
It wasn't until she had pulled her tank top over her head when his stomach flopped. Her hands then moved to her short's zipper and dropped them forgotten on the floor with her abandoned top. The little light that came from the opened window revealed a fit figure in black lace boy short underwear and a matching black lace brazier. The dress she had worn that night had not done her figure justice. Her long tanned legs were sculpted and arched with muscle with each passing step. Her stomach was flat and tight adding length to her torso, which reached right up to her full chest.
The King of Spades remained perfectly still in his position on the left side of the bed. She hadn't made the reason for her presence known as of yet but he would wait it out. She then threw back the sheets on the right side of the bed and climbed in gracefully. A large sigh was released from her figure as she quickly drifted off to sleep. When her breathing evened out Killian came to recognize she hadn't noticed him there and must have thought this was her own room.
He contemplated sleeping on the leather sofa at the end of the bed like a gentleman. He figured that would be smarter than waking up to a screaming Queen when she finally realized whose bed she was actually in.
Cheerful sunshine stirred Emma out of her comatose slumber only to shine light on the fact that her head was splitting in half. She knew the nights would be the hardest for her right now. Nighttime was her favorite time with Henry. They had their routine down perfectly now. First it was bath time. He would splash around in the water and make up skits for her with his bath toys. Then they would go to his room and cuddle in the plush rocking chair. She would sing him the same song she had since he was a baby, Blackbird by the Beatles. And then she would read him a story before she tucked him into bed. Recently he was only interested in fairytales. She had read him the story of Rumpelstiltskin multiple times.
It was no accident that she gathered Regina and August in the wine cellar last night. She knew it would be uncouth to get drunk in front of the rest of the organization but she couldn't make it sober.
Groaning out of annoyance Emma couldn't remember why her curtains weren't drawn. Opening her heavy lids her clouded senses went into overdrive.
This wasn't her room.
Except it was.
But her old room, from her time as Queen. Now it was completely different, almost unrecognizable. The furniture was industrial and contemporary compared to her classic cherry wood finishes, the soft lavender walls were now a pale gray and even the large king sized bed was in the wrong spot. The scent of sandalwood and evergreen signaled that it was most definitely a male's bedroom.
Since Emma knew exactly what August's room looked like, her heart accelerated thinking about the two other options. And she really hoped she wasn't about to have Regina hate her for the rest of her life for sleeping in her boyfriend's bed.
Before the blonde could even move from her sheeted safe haven, the large white door to the bathroom was opened; steam rolling out as a brunette in boxer briefs used a towel to dry his hair.
A sigh of relief left Emma's lips as her seated figure relaxed against the headboard, still clutching the duvet over her chest in suspicion. Warily, she eyed the half naked King. His body was that of an athlete. His broad shoulders curved and dipped with each passing movement; his taut skin stretched over his chest and abdomen, flexing with power. His chest was also covered in a thin layer of dark curled hair which seemed so masculine in the moment.
"Sleep well your highness?" Killian was not surprised to see the female awake. It was just past 8am but the sun was quickly rising through his large bay windows.
"My bed was much more comfortable than this one, and I usually kept the blinds closed in the summers, but I like what you've done with the place. It doesn't even look like a girl's room anymore." She looked around feigning interest, leaning forward on her covered knees, somewhat exposing her bare back and sides.
His suspicions from the night before were accurate then. She must have forgotten this was her old room in her drunken state.
"Well maybe we will just have to break the mattress in so it is more to your liking, love." Killian's eyes were ablaze as he smirked and wrapped the towel around the back of his neck, making no move to alter his less than modest state.
Sensing his arrogance, Emma threw back his soft silk sheets and slowly stretched her body and stood from his bed. Obviously she too was not ashamed of how she was dressed, or lack thereof.
As he could have guessed, her form looked just as good in the daylight than it had the night before. The light played with her tight muscles as she twisted her back and elongated her athletic torso that reached all the way down to her bare hip bones and lacy undergarments. She lifted her hands up under her hair and mused it a little giving it even more of a wildly voluminous look and smirked at the soon to be Ace, "Sounds like a plan, but there is one thing I reeeally want to do first." She drew out her words as she seductively walked towards the tall man in front of her.
Her make up from the ball was still perfectly intact and looked even more exotic in the daylight. Her bright green eyes had a mysterious glint in them as she grew nearer to Killian. She was so close now that he could smell her natural scent, the smell of wine long gone.
She was completely aware of his darkening blue eyes as she drew nearer to him. She licked her lips and she inwardly laughed at how his gaze drooped down her face. In a hushed tone, Emma leaned closer, "I hope you didn't use all the hot water." As fast as a light she had snatched his towel from his shoulders and shut the door to the bathroom after her.
She really did love messing with him.
About twenty minutes later the blonde emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy white towel.
Killian was adorning the brown leather coach at the foot of his bed, typing on his iPhone. He was now dressed in khaki shorts, a navy stripped shirt and boat shoes. His dark locks had air dried and were softly tousled around his forehead. His casual demeanor was anything but that of a trained killer. If anything he just looked like a normal guy.
Before she could hold it back, "What are you still doing here?" one hand holding her towel, the other throwing her long wet hair off of her bare shoulder.
Without even looking up from his phone, "Well this is my room."
"Honest mistake."
"Have fun last night?" he stood, placing his phone in his pocket and, again, eyeing her form.
"Yes the ball was divine," She claimed, sarcastically, with pseudo sophistication.
"That's not what I was referring to." Killian gave her a suggestive look implying he knew of her intoxicated escapades.
Smirking at the fogged memories, "In all these years I'm surprised aunt Cora hasn't noticed the amount of bottles that have gone missing from her cellar."
Ignoring his yearning for wanting to hear the rest of that story, Killian asked, "Are you hungry?"
"Famished." Emma replied genuinely.
"Good." The man grabbed his keys from his nightstand and started towards his bedroom door.
"Now what shoes do you think will go with this outfit?" Emma asked sardonically as she looked down at her towel-clad body.
Turning back to look at her, Killian then realized she was still in a towel, hair dripping on his hardwood floor. A low chuckle escaped his lips as he opened his door and checked both ways down the hallway then signaled to her it was clear.
He walked her down the few doors to her own quarters in silence. Neither dared to glance over at their companion, choosing to walk in uncomfortable silence. The few steps seemed to take ages when finally they reach their destination. Again, without any words, Emma forced open the door and quickly closed it behind her. Killian did not expect an invitation inside but now he was forced to lean against the hallway walls in anticipation of her return. I mean, she couldn't take that long…right?
Fifteen minutes later, the large artisan door was reopened. Killian's slouching figure was again alert as he observed his cohort. Her long honey blonde hair was slightly drier as it still hung down, around her shoulders in natural waves. She was dressed casually in distressed, white boyfriend capris and a light, button down cambray shirt tucked in. Brown leather wedges strapped to her feet and sunglasses on her head signaled she was ready.
The ride was silent. After the initial small talk about Killian's F-Type R Jaguar the two again fell quiet. At first Emma questioned why she had agreed to this luncheon but she knew she had to come around to the future Ace eventually. Admittedly, she liked badgering him and even toying with his sanity but maybe this was the perfect opportunity to wave her white flag.
The scenery through the windows was eerily familiar to the blonde. The streets, the signs and even the little shops. The small beach town was self-sustaining and hadn't changed in the years of her absence. Just as Emma was relaxing into the expensive leather seats, her driver pulled into a familiar beachfront dinner.
As Killian held open the glass door for her she still was unable to resist making a few last jabs, "A sleep over and a meal? You really are a gentleman." They sat down in the corner booth. Ignoring his menu that was placed in front of him, Killian made direct eye contact with smirking Emma, "I did not bring you here to bullshit. I want to strategize." Immediately, Emma's face sobered as the air between the two was all of the sudden tense and serious. Sensing the solemn shift, she dropped the pseudo flirtatious shield and concentrated on his dark eyes.
"From the intel I have gathered, I believe we know where Henry is."
It was such a heavy sentence and Emma thought she almost misheard him. Her vision blurred for a millisecond and her heart sped up considerably. But she stayed silent.
"Gdansk to Ankara, Turkey is a three hours flight. There is a warehouse leased by Gold's assistant there and my gut is telling me that's where he's keeping him." Killian shifted as he took out a thick piece of folded paper from his back pocket. Unfolding it and laying it on the table Emma could see that it was some type of blueprint.
"There are exits here, here, here and here." Killian pointed to each angled line that signified a door out. "There is no electricity, windows or air vents in this particular room. It is also the one spot in the entire building that was built using reinforced steel welded into the walls and doors. It's a room that almost impossible to get in to and even harder to get out of. If I had to guess, that's where Henry is."
Emma's stomach ached with the thought of her son being kept in the room he just described. Without any lights or windows or even circulating air. Henry had never had a problem with the dark but this was ludicrous. How could anyone keep a child locked up like that?
Her stomach was hallowed as she finally gathered enough strength to speak, "No one can know about this." Killian noticed her demeanor had completely flipped. She now reflected more of the woman he saw in the Ace's office the day before and not the cynical one infuriating him. "I cannot risk the lives of the others in the House or all the innocence effected by the Cezenne Accord if it were released."
"I agree. We will take the private jet. I trust you can co-pilot?" Killian was now casually looking through the breakfast menu as he replied in a way Emma was not expecting.
"You're willing to go in this with me?" She grabbed his menu and pulled it down so his eyes had to focus on hers. Her face was genuinely confused and pleading.
His own clenched face relaxed at the sight of the heartbroken mother, "Only on one condition. Tell me why you faked your death."
At those words, Emma released his menu and stared out the large windows into the overcast ocean sky. It had been years since she retold the story to her entire family after she lived it and since that night she locked it tightly inside of her, wishing never to revisit it again. But who was she kidding? It haunted her day and night. The only thing yielding the pain was seeing his handsome son's face.
Still staring out the glass she started, "As you've probably learned from Regina and Robin, relationships within the Faces are kept private. The rest of the Cards are to be kept in the dark of any affairs until there is an official engagement." She paused fingering with the large diamond ring that had moved to her right hand since that day. "No one knew about the relationship between Neal Cassidy and I besides the Faces and his mother Milah. The pregnancy was unexpected and unplanned. But he was happy that he was going to be a father. But the night I told him, we were ambushed by Gold's men." Silent tears fell from her eyes, as the scenes in her head were still so vivid.
"The Faces decided as a whole to announce my death as well as his. I gave up my future title as Ace so my son wouldn't have to go through what I went through. Worrying every mission his family went on. Not being able to sleep until he knew we were safe. And eventually having to come to terms with the fact that someone he loves was taken from him. I experienced that pain too often to wish it on anyone, let alone my own child."
Emma's misted eyes now stared at Killian's face, only they looked through him. "I've been living in Oregon ever since. But somehow Gold found me and took Henry. And now that I am back, and Gold knows I am alive we cannot run again. The safest place for us now may just be the House." Her eyes refocused on his as her mind returned to the present, "I told you the truth when I said I wouldn't reclaim the title of Ace. I doubt my father would even give it to me if I did want it. I know I gave you a hard time about all this before but you must understand that these people are my family and being away from them for this long can drive a person crazy. That's why I can't involve them, if I watch another person I love die…I don't think I'll survive."
Her graying eyes looked deep into Killian's own intense stare, "But you have to promise me one thing," She reached out to grab one of his resting hands from the table, "If I don't make it out of this, you get Henry back here." Killian only shifted the grip to squeeze her cool palm in reassurance.