I am so dragging my feet with this story and I apologize for that. I'm fully prepared to blame my muse for abandoning me but the truth is I'm just lazy XD
Anyway, we're close to the end so hopefully it won't be too much longer.
As always, enjoy!
~The Last Ronin~
I stare at the blonde woman asleep in the hospital bed. She shifts slightly, hair falling across her face, and murmurs something unintelligable. Carefully I reach over to tuck the lock of hair behind her ear and electricity shoots through my fingertips as they brush across her cheek. What the bloody Hell?
What is it about this woman that stays my hand? For hundreds of years I've done nothing but plot my revenge against The Crocodile and now I'm here, within reach of my goal – Hell, we'd been in the same room – yet something is stopping me. It's this woman – I'm almost certain of it – but I'm equally certain I've never laid eyes on her before a few days ago. And yet…
The Crocodile's woman said the reason I can't remember this…Emma…is because I tried to kill Pan – why would I try something so crazy? – and was struck with a curse that made me forget the one most important to me. If that's all true though, then why is it I remember Milah? Surely if all this is true then I would have forgotten her. Is it possible that…but it can't be true. Milah was my True Love…wasn't she?
x-x-x-x-x
"Should you be up?" My dad asks as he knocks on the doorframe, his expression a mixture of concern and amusement.
"I'm fine, really," I groan as I stretch out my sore muscles, "besides, I'm going to go crazy if I spend another minute here."
He laughs and shuts the door, looking away as I start to pull my own clothes on. If I ever see another hospital gown…or bed…or room…oh Hell, if I ever see a hospital again I'm going to go postal.
"Where's Hook?" My dad eyes the chair my pirate had been occupying these past few days.
"Tracking down Whale so I can get discharged and back to work," I answer as I tug my hair out of the back of my shirt and try to tame the mess with my fingers.
"Are you sure it's wise to let him wander about alone?"
"Yes." Maybe it isn't from a legal standpoint but I doubt Killian will try to go after Gold right now, nor is he a flight risk. And since I can't exactly lock him up I really don't have much of a choice other than to keep him occupied. With any luck we'll be able to break this curse fairly soon and finally put all this Neverland nonsense behind us.
"And what about Pan?" My dad hands me my jacket as we head towards the front desk where I'd told Killian to send Dr. Whale. Hopefully he's found the doctor by now and I can get out of here.
"I really don't give a flying fuck about Pan." I shake my head, "After all the crap he pulled he can rot in that bed for all I care."
"Slight problem there love," Killian says as he appears, an irritated Whale behind him, "the bloody demon has vanished."
I sigh.
Of course he has.
x-x-x-x-x
The pawnshop door hasn't been fixed yet and I can't help but smirk a little as I recall Rumpelstiltskin's face as I blasted him ass over tea kettle through it. I so wish I had a picture of that!
"Afternoon Belle," I smile at the tiny brunette as I enter the shop, missing the usual jingle of the bell over the door, "is Gold around?"
"Oh, hello Emma. Glad to see you back on your feet." Belle's bright smile turns a bit nervous, "You're not going to hurt him are you?"
"Not if he cooperates," I smile back at her reassuringly, "I just have a question for him."
"Ok then," her smile returns, "he's in back."
"Do you know where Pan is?" I ask as I enter the back room, Belle quickly moving to her boyfriend's side.
"Why Sheriff…"
"It's a yes or no answer," I stop him before he can start spouting some nonsense about not knowing what I'm talking about, "and don't even try to say 'in Neverland' because I'm well aware of the fact that you and Killian brought him with you when you came back here."
The older man glares at me and I sigh, my head back to pounding again. Why the hell won't this migraine go away?
"How about we make a deal," Rumpelstiltskin starts, "my dagger for information."
"I don't think so," I laugh, "that dagger is my insurance that you behave for once so cut the crap and answer the question."
He glares furiously at me once more and opens his mouth to spit some vile threat no doubt before a hand connecting with the back of his head interrupts him.
"Rumpel!" Belle smacks him again for good measure and I barely manage to smother the laugh that threatens to bubble out of my mouth, "How hard is it to just answer a question? Do you want to be sleeping elsewhere again?"
Sleeping elsewhere? What does…I look at how the other woman is glaring daggers at The Dark One. Did she actually kick him out of his own home? Judging from the scowl on the man's face…yes, yes she did. Holy shit.
"I don't know where he is," he sighs after a minute, "last I saw him he was dead on the side of the road just outside the town line."
I snort, "He wasn't dead. Ruby and Leroy found him and he was brought to the hospital; seriously injured and unconscious, but very much alive."
"Hmm…well that's interesting," the old man muses, twisting the head of his cane thoughtfully, "I guess then that he woke up and is back outside the town."
"Outside? Why would he go someplace without magic?" I watch Gold carefully, waiting for the lie I'm sure is coming.
"Because I cursed him so that his body physically repels magic and this entire place is magic," The Dark One grins, "apparently the curse isn't effective while he's asleep though…a side effect of me casting it on him while in Neverland I bet…so I imagine he woke up and was…ejected from the town."
"Ejected?"
"Wish I could have seen that," Rumpelstiltskin smirks, "I imagine it was entertaining."
I growl to myself. I'd been hoping to use Pan to try and figure out how this curse on Killian works. Without him though…wait a minute. Duh. I mentally smack myself.
"The curse, the one that makes people lose their memories if they try to kill Pan, how does it work? How can I break it?"
He chuckles, "that curse has a loophole – well, several really. The curse isn't bound to the person who attacks Pan but rather to the object they used to try and kill Pan. Have them willingly part with the weapon and the curse will leave them."
I stare at him. He's telling the truth…again. Why is he telling the truth?
"Oh please," he cackles, apparently seeing the question in my eyes, "why do you suppose I had the pirate attack Pan in the first place? I wanted Pan gone but didn't want to risk the curse so I used Hook because I knew you would do everything you could to break that curse at which point the pirate would be out of my hair once more."
I stare at him. Could it really be that simple? Surely there's a catch; some way that Gold is trying to screw me over in all this. But if that's all there is to it then… He's right too. Of course I'll do whatever I can to free Killian from this curse. How could I not?
"If you're lying…"
"Ms. Swan I am many things," he interrupts, "but a liar is not one of them."
"Even so," I glare at him, "If this goes sideways in anyway I will be back and this time neither Regina nor Belle will save you."
Rumpelstiltskin smirks, his eyes flashing reptilian, "Oh I do look forward to that dearie."
