One last one to round off the week.
"Watch your footing, Lass," Killian chided, grabbing for Emma's arm to help steady her.
"You know, I'm pretty sure this whole plan was just a ruse for you to tie me up and do what you want with me," she grumbled.
Killian had bound her wrists in front of her, before they'd set off again. He wasn't willing to take the chance that Cora wouldn't be watching them, as they made it closer to the Lake, and Emma had agreed with him.
"Darling, if I wanted to tie you up and have my way with you, we would not still be trekking through these woods." He arched a brow in her direction and Emma forced herself not to think of what that alternative would look like.
"How much further?" she asked instead.
"Not long now."
"Guess you should start playing the Big Bad Captain Hook, then," she mumbled, watching her feet so she wouldn't trip over something else, and give him another excuse to touch her.
"Don't worry, Lass. Cora knows I'd never be able to resist such a beautiful woman."
Emma knew the moment they'd reached the lake.
She didn't know if it was the magic that used to reside in its waters, or the clearly evil aura that seemed to surround Cora, but she could feel it raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
A quick look at Hook confirmed that he could feel it too, and Emma watched as he transformed from the quick-witted captain she'd come to know, into the carefully calculating pirate that she was just meeting.
She could understand now how Hook had survived for so long.
"Ahh, Captain, you've brought a guest," Cora drawled, as Hook gave Emma a shove forward. She stumbled a little under his forceful push, but managed to maintain her footing.
"She keeps getting in my way." He threw Emma a look that was a little disturbing, before turning back to Cora.
Hook definitely knew how to play his role well.
"You could have just killed her," Cora purred, running a hand down Hook's chest, that had Emma fighting back the urge to gag. "Or was she too pretty for that?"
Hook carefully removed Cora's hand from where it had wandered down his naked torso, and turned back to face Emma. "I thought she could be of use to us. We have never been to the Land Without Magic, but she has. Can't hurt to have someone with knowledge of the place we're going."
"Hmmm." Cora didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push the issue either. "Okay, Captain. Are you ready to exact your revenge?"
The look in Hook's eyes had Emma reeling slightly. The thirst for revenge, the desire to hurt, and that glee that his target was finally in sight. It was a startling reminder that Hook was not good for her.
Damnit, why did the hot ones always have to be the dangerous ones?
"Do you have the compass with you?"
"Aye," Hook lied smoothly, patting at his heavy leather coat. "But I think we're missing something." He used his hook to gesture around himself, at the barren landscape that had once been Lake Nostos.
"So little faith, Captain." Cora raised both of her hands in a somewhat dramatic motion, and for a moment, nothing happened.
Emma felt the rumble beneath her feet before she saw the geyser open not far from where Hook was standing, water shooting out into the air above them, before it began raining down. The next one opened on the other side of the lake. And before Emma knew it, Hook was dragging her back to avoid the opening under her feet.
"Careful, Lass," he whispered, as her boots scrambled for purchase on the now, wet and slippery ground.
With the water rapidly filling the lake, Emma cast a desperate glance around the surrounding woods, hoping that her mother, Aurora, and Mulan were in place and ready to act. She needed the distraction they would provide if she had any hopes of getting close to Cora.
"The compass now, Captain?" Cora called out, holding out a hand as if she were expecting it to fly out of his coat and into her palm.
And maybe she was… because the thunderous look on her face had Hook quickly backing away, his hook working the ropes that were binding Emma's wrists.
"Ahhh, so… um… I may have misplaced it." He was stalling, and Emma could tell. If Emma could tell, it meant Cora could too, and neither of them had long to make their plan work.
"Misplaced it?" she asked, with a deadly calm.
"When I say 'misplaced' what I really mean is…"
Hook was cut off suddenly by the sound of Mary-Margret's voice. And Emma had never been so grateful to see her mother before. "He means I have it."
Cora looked back and forth between the new arrivals, at the lake, and Hook, who was slowly moving away from Emma, drawing the witch's attention from her.
She quickly finished pulling the ropes from her wrists, before slowly edging around the lake, hoping she wouldn't draw attention to herself.
"You betrayed me?" Cora asked, fire burning behind her eyes just before Emma saw it spring to life in her palm.
"Not exactly," Hook rambled, holding up his hook and hand in supplication. "They made me a better offer. What kind of pirate would I be to resist?"
Emma inched ever closer to her target, while Cora advanced on Hook, the fireball in her palm spinning restlessly. "Oh really, Captain? Are you sure it wasn't the promise of a pretty and willing young woman that swayed you?"
Emma resented that accusation.
She was not easy.
"What about your revenge?" Cora pushed, stepping forward for every two steps back Hook took. Emma was behind her now, biding her time for the perfect moment to make her move. She only hoped Hook would be able to keep the witch occupied long enough.
And not die in the process.
"Would you really throw away your quest for revenge? Your pursuit for justice? For the woman you love? Over some pretty blonde that will never look at you again?"
Emma was just in touching distance when Hook began his defense. She thought she saw a hint of worry for her, in his eyes, but quickly brushed it away. She didn't have time for distractions.
"I will still have my revenge," he vowed, as Emma slid her fingertips into the top of Cora's pocket. "I will see justice served. The Crocodile will not walk away from what he has done."
Emma's entire hand was now inside of Cora's pocket, her fingertips brushing against the velvet bag full of ashes from the wardrobe.
"But my passage to the Land Without Magic will be much safer without a witch like you in tow."
Emma used Cora's momentary pause, over Hook's biting tone, to grasp the bag and pull it out of her pocket as quickly as she could. She tossed the ashes in the direction of Mulan, who caught the pouch effortlessly. But the time she took to do so, gave Cora just enough time to spin around, the fireball fading into nothing, as the witch plunged her hand into Emma's chest.
Thanks for reading.
