Killian groaned. His head was pounding. He wondered briefly which cheap rum was to blame for his current predicament before his full memory returned. He sat up with a start, then groaned again, because the sudden movement had resulted in a stabbing pain behind his left temple. He opened his eyes and tried to focus. They were lying on a cold floor in some sort of small cell. Next to him, Emma was stirring, clearly returning to consciousness as well.
"My, my, don't you two make quite the picture."
Emma came fully awake at the words and quickly scrambled to her feet, drawing him along. Then she grabbed her head in pain he knew all too well. The Wicked Witch stood in front of their cell, smiling at them, well, wickedly.
Emma glared back at her and raised her hands. Regina had given her several magic lessons but for some reason Emma had refused further instructions while the two of them were bound. Now, her brows were knitted together in concentration.
"Don't waste your energy, saviour." Zelena spat the last word, like it was something distasteful. Emma opened her eyes and looked at her with dawning realization.
"Magic requires a high level of concentration. Especially this white magic you're so fond of, needs, let's call it, a certain purification of thought." She gave a little laugh. "And your thoughts, my dear Emma, are certainly far from pure."
Killian looked at Emma in shock. He could see a faint blush forming on her cheeks. She'd clearly given up on trying to summon her magic.
"Why do you think I chained you to the pirate in the first place?" Zelena chuckled. "Although to be fair I had higher expectations from you two. I can't help but notice how you're both still alive. How very prude of you."
Emma glared at her, regaining some of her composure. "Couldn't you have found an easier way to kill us?"
"Of course, my dear, but where would have been the fun in that?" She stepped closer to the cell. "But since you do bring it up, I actually need one of you dead." She was still smiling at them. "Ingredient for an important spell, nothing you need to concern yourselves with. So, which one of you shall it be?" She looked back and forth between them. "Eeny, meeny, miny ... never mind, how about you pick?"
Well that's easy, Killian thought. "Me", he replied without hesitation.
Now it was Emma's turn to look at him in shock. He faced her, looking defiant. "I'm more than 200 years older than you, love. And you have a son."
Zelena gave a delighted giggle which reminded him of the crocodile. "How noble of you. A shame that I was only teasing. Obviously, I'll kill both of you. In time."
With that, she turned around and walked away, leaving them in their cell. Killian walked up to the bars, trying to get a better sense of their surroundings. They were in a damp stone basement. There was nothing in terms of furniture or decorations. It was bare stone walls all around and iron bars in front of them. He sighed and rested his head against the bars.
"And just when I thought things could not possibly get any worse."
Emma was still looking at him strangely, something new in her expression he could not quite place. After a moment, she shook her head and lifted her hands again as if to blast the bars with her magic. Nothing happened.
"Maybe you just need to concentrate harder?", he suggested unhelpfully. Emma glared at him, then returned her attention to the bars and closed her eyes. Several minutes passed without any occurrences.
"Have you tried focussing on something related to light magic, for example, fairies or unicorns?" He said, trying not to smirk.
She opened her eyes and glared at him with such ferocity that he was about to suggest she'd better try her glare on the bars if she really wanted to melt them.
"Have you tried shutting up and letting me think?" She almost yelled at him.
He raised his hand and hook in defence. "Hey, I am just trying to help."
"How about you stop trying to help and stop looking so damn attractive while you're at it", she snapped at him. His eyebrows shot up to almost meet his hairline. A slow grin spread over his face. He could see that Emma was furious at herself for letting that slip.
"I will do my very best, my lady, to contain my devilishly good looks."
She turned to him, clearly about to give him a snarky retort, when he saw her face take on a calculating look. Before he knew what was happening to him, she crashed into him, backing him against the wall, her mouth on his, demanding entry. Her left hand shot up and entangled itself in his hair. With her right, she grabbed his hand and pushed it against the wall next to them, effectively pinning him.
It was their first kiss in Neverland all over again, only a thousand times worse (better). He fought for control of the kiss and admitted defeat within seconds. Emma rocked her hips against his and he growled and reversed their positions, pinning her against the wall. She drew her legs up around him and impossibly though it was, their kiss became even more needy, even more desperate.
Killian could feel the familiar fire ignite again, setting him aflame. Everywhere her body touched his, his skin was on fire. He could feel it down to his very core, this searing need for her. He could feel it consume him and it scared him. He pulled his head back and looked at her. Emma must have seen the worry on his face because she put her legs back on solid ground, withdrawing from him as much as the curse would allow.
"Bloody hell, Swan." Killian cursed, panting heavily. "What in the twelve realms was that?"
Emma was gasping for air as well and didn't answer him for a long time. When she looked him in the eye again, her face was still flushed and Killian felt another pang of desire shoot through him at the sight. She looked completely dishevelled, her pupils still blown wide.
"I thought it might help", she admitted sheepishly.
"What? Why on earth would you think that?"
She had the decency to look embarrassed. "Well, I might have been ... fantasizing. A little. About kissing you. I thought if I just did it, I could get it out of my head. Like scratching an itch."
Killian tried to get his breathing, and his emotions, back under control. "Did it help?"
Emma didn't even try to use her magic before she replied. "I think it actually made it worse."
Killian groaned and dropped his head against the stone wall. He immediately regretted the move when his earlier headache made a reappearance.
"Maybe we should just get it over with, let the bloody curse run it's course."
"What?"
He turned his head on the stone wall, meeting her eyes.
"Enact the final part of the curse. Well, one version. I die, you get your magic back, you blast the wicked witch to Kingdom come."
Emma narrowed her eyes, looking at him as if she was trying to read his mind.
"Where is this coming from?"
"Logic? I should think it rather preferable to both of us perishing."
"No, that's not it. Earlier as well, you were so quick to throw away your life like it was nothing. Do you have a death wish?", she challenged.
"Nah. I just have a you-being-alive-wish." He said it flippantly, but he could hear the sincerity in the words himself. Shit.
She stepped closer to him, suddenly very serious.
"Killian, we're going to find a solution. We're going to get out of this cell somehow. Nobody is going to die. We'll find a way get rid of this damn curse, too."
"So you can run away?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He saw her flinch.
He almost apologized, but his stubbornness got the better of him. After all, it was true.
She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a blast from upstairs followed by loud yelling.
"What now?", Killian asked wearily.
Emma smiled. "That's probably the cavalry coming to our rescue." At his confused expression, she added, "I told David where we're going and what to do if we're not back by nightfall. Looks like he got a rescue party together."
"I hope you're right, love. I would sure enjoy something going our way for once." He eyed the staircase wearily, not daring to hope for a change in their luck.
