Merry Christmas Eve Eve! Sorry for my word vomit that is this chapter. Things are going a little differently than I originally planted, but hey, that's the writing process for you! Hope you enjoy this chapter. xoxo
The sun shines brightly down on Emma and Hook as they continue their walk through the forest. Emma didn't have the best sleep last night. After their talk, she felt on edge all night. She tossed and turned all night long.
"Can't we talk the Jolly Roger or something?" Emma asks, resting against a tree.
Hook stops walking, watching as she takes a drink from the water flask. "Wonderland isn't exactly a destination that can be traveled to by my ship."
"If we even manage to get there," she says defeated.
Another vision hits Emma. It's of her and Hook again. They're in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by flowers. She sees herself getting off a horse with the help of Hook. He walks her into the middle of the meadow of flowers, picking one for her to give.
"What do you see?"
"Lots of flowers."
"Very good. Now what don't you see?"
"Rumpelstiltskin."
The vision ends and Emma's left wondering what the vision means. Why would Rumple be haunting her everywhere she goes? What was Hook trying to distract her from in that vision? She's so immersed in her confusion that she doesn't hear Hook calling her name. Looking up, she sees him holding a piece of bread.
Taking the piece from him, she chews on it, staring into the distance. It tastes stale and like the dirt. Nonetheless, she continues to eat it. Being on this journey doesn't exactly offer any decadent dining.
"Rumple's still locked up in Maleficent's castle since it's been abandoned. My parents thought it would be best to keep him locked up away from everyone. Her castle is definitely out of sight," Emma says in between bites of the bread.
"That's about another day's journey, love."
Emma nods her head. "Yeah, but it'll be worth it. Once we have the bean, we can kill Regina."
Hook's eyes flash with something she doesn't recognize. "Let's get the bean."
Emma senses the uncertain tone of his voice. If she can detect anyone, it's when they're hiding what they really feel. Hook is definitely having doubts about going on this quest with her. But why? And why does she even care? She never asked him to come along with her. Though, she's thankful for his company.
"Uh oh," she grabs his arm so he's looking at her. "You're lying to me."
Hook meets her eyes. "Maybe your father was right. Emma, this is dangerous. The queen is powerful and-"
"And I'm just as powerful," Emma retorts. These visions may be shaking her powers, but she has no doubts that she can't defeat the queen.
"I never said you weren't."
Growing annoyed, she lets his arm go. "But it was certainly applied. If you don't want to go with me, then don't. I never asked you to come with me."
"I wanted to protect you in case anything-" just as he was about to finish the sentence, the ground moves. Emma's eyes widen as the sky rips open and a cloud of blue smoke appears in front of them. Hook grabs her hand as they duck from the smoke. It starts to dissolve and appearing before them are two figures. They're lying on the ground, unmoving.
Emma looks at Hook before going over to the two figures on the ground. They appeared from the ground as if by some kind of portal. For a moment, she thinks about how they were able to procure a bean. Shaking those thoughts, she rushes to the two figure's sides. Her breath catches in her throat as she looks down at the two figures.
One looks identical to Hook except he wears different clothes. The other man looks like her father in a much younger fashion. Another vision hits her. It's the two men on the ground with her in the middle. They're in that silly diner with the Evil Queen and what appears to be a genie. The Evil Queen is wishing for Emma's wish to never be the Savior and then Emma is being sucked into the genie lamp. Emma opens her eyes to the men before her.
"Killian. Dad." She stares at them before reverting her eyes back to Hook. "Oh gosh…"
"Emma!" Hook yells for her, running up to her and the two men.
Suddenly everything is coming back to Emma. Her life back in Storybrooke. Her real life. Not this one. Her memory is restoring her previous life. She now remembers the Evil Queen wishing that Emma be granted the wish of never being the Savior. This whole thing has been some kind of weird dream or reality. She's not exactly sure what this all is. All she knows is that her father and Killian have somehow managed to get stuck in this reality as well. Then the Evil Queen here must be…Regina? Emma falls to the ground in bewilderment as Hook crouches down beside her. He's saying something to her but nothing is registering. This is too much to take in.
Just then Hook looks at the two men more closely. "What the-"
Emma puts her hand against her face. "I can't explain."
Her dad wakes up first, squinting as he looks up at Emma. "Emma."
"Dad," she rushes over to him, helping him up from the ground. He grabs her into a hug before his eyes bulge out of his head as he looks at Hook.
"You remember," he says in disbelief.
"I've been having these visions for a couple of days of my life. Then the smoke came and everything started making sense again. Is Killian okay?"
They go over to Killian who still seems to be unconscious. Emma puts her hand to his heart, thankful when she feels it beating against her palm. She lets a tear slide down her cheek at the relief she feels. Emma closes her eyes with her hand still presses against his chest. She lets her magic do its work, and Hook is opening his eyes as soon as she opens hers. He reaches for her hand with a smile.
"Swan."
"Missed me?" She repeats his words he said in New York City after waking her from yet another curse. Except this one seems to be a lot trickier than that one. For starters, they're stuck in a wish realm with no ways of getting back home. Then there's the problem with Hook also being there and Killian. And oh gosh…things just got so complicated.
"Love?" Hook says from behind her.
Killian arches an eyebrow as he looks up at his wish realm self. "Bloody hell."
Emma gets up with Killian's help. He doesn't let go of her hand as she starts to explain things to Hook. "Um…Hook this is well, Hook."
Hook regards Killian warily. "What the bloody hell is happening and why the devil does this man look like me? Except with an atrocious attire."
"Atrocious?" Killian says in offence.
David laughs at her side. "Two Hooks? I can barely tolerate one."
"I'm not surprised that you managed to get tied up with me in this wish realm, love?" Killian winks at her as he approaches himself.
Emma rolls her eyes at his comment. Of course he manages to make light of this. She doesn't know to tell him that she definitely had some feelings for his wish realm self. At least her thirst to murder Regina has decreased. Princess Emma sur had some darkness hidden within her. She can't help but wonder what kind of elements the Evil Queen added to the wish when Aladdin granted it.
"Emma," Hook still looks perplexed. "Do you mind telling me what the devil is going on?"
Looking at her dad and Killian for guidance, she tries to explain the best she can. "The visions I was having weren't visions. They were from my previous life. It's hard to explain, but the Evil Queen sent me to this realm; I'm not really a princess."
"So what happens now? The queen?" he asks.
"I won't be killing the queen. I guess now I have to work on returning to my old life, and we'll still need your help. You know this realm more than any of us," Emma says.
Hook regards her dad and Killian with scrutiny. "When you were having visions of us, they were really of the two of you." He points at Killian.
Emma nods. "In my real life, we're together. But this version…not you."
"Well he is devilishly handsome."
Killian gives Emma a smug smile. "You're not so bad yourself, mate."
"Okay," Emma steps between the two men. "If you're both done admiring yourselves, we have an important mission to accomplish. We still need that bean."
"Where do we get a bean?" David is the first one to ask.
"The Dark One," Killian and Hook say at the same time.
David and Emma look between each other as the two men look at one another. Yeah, this could get real confusing real fast. "This is weird."
The four of them start to venture towards Mal's castle. The sun is descending in the horizon. Funny, Emma only thought they've been walking for a couple of hours. Unless there's some kind of dark curse brewing. Maybe the Regina that's in this realm isn't Storybrooke Regina but the actual Evil Queen Regina. Emma lets out a groan at the thought. This is turning into her own personal Hell.
David and Hook walk in front of Emma. Her feet are growing tired with each step. These shoes are not meant to make a long trek for a magic bean. She would kill for her boots back in her closet at home. The home that Killian and her share. That brings a smile to her face. No matter what happens, Killian and her are always able to find each other.
"What's that smile for, love?" Killian asks her.
"Oh nothing," she sing-songs.
They walk together in silence for a few beats. "Did you kiss him?"
Emma stops walking at the question. She feels a sense of guilt washing over her at the realization that she was kissing Hook only nights prior. But does it count as cheating if she was technically still kissing her true love? How does this kind of this work anyway? They're the same person just in different realms. It's not like she slept with this version of Killian.
"If I say yes-"
"I'll kill him." Killian's eyes dart to his wish realm self.
Emma laughs. "Are you jealous, Killian?"
"Of course I am. Your lips are only for me and nobody else. Especially not a dirty pirate like him."
Emma puts both hands on Killian's shoulders and presses her lips gently against his. She's missed him even though she didn't really know she missed him. He was unknown to her and she never wants to go through that again. She can't imagine a life without Killian at her side. And this jealousy is something she kind of likes. It lets her know that he has no intentions of ever leaving her side. She's never had someone stay with her. Her life growing up didn't leave her with the best examples of relationships. She had assumed Neal would never leave her, but he did. With Killian, she knows he's in this for the long haul. Even with her upcoming fate, he still continues to stand by her side.
"I love you," she says against his lips.
Killian smiles. "I'm still going to kill him, love."
"You two coming?" David says with his hands on his hips. He's giving them both his best dad look of disapproval. Even though him and Killian get on well enough, he still feels protective over his only daughter. Emma can't blame him for that thought. Hook and him do have a history in the Enchanted Forest.
"Coming," Emma assures him. "How's Mom?"
A look of pain washes across his face. "Still asleep. We need to get that bean and go home. And fast."
"But where's the fun in that?" Cora appears before them with Regina at her side.
