Underworld, present day
Well that was the most vivid dream yet, Colin thought to himself as he levered himself out of bed and endeavored to start the day.
He'd dreamt that he was thrown into the sea by an angry woman with…tentacles? He'd been unconscious. He knew he must fight, must swim to the surface, but his body wouldn't move, wouldn't respond to his command. As the cold salt water began filling his lungs and he began to be desperate for oxygen, suddenly he was pulled to the surface by…a mermaid.
She'd maneuvered him onto his bunk in the captain's quarters of his ship, and then when he'd woken, she'd delivered a sharp slap to his face—one he instinctively knew he deserved. She'd proceeded to remind him that if he wished to have his happy ending, he must go about getting it in the right way—as a hero rather than a villain.
The next thing he remembered, he was in some sort of a cabin with the blonde woman, his muse, the light of his life. Still her face was a blur, but her beauty was undeniable
As was her relief.
She'd been concerned about him; worried when he didn't arrive as expected. After he'd done…whatever it was he'd done next, she was proud of him, beaming at him like he hung the sun in the sky. (Ridiculous that, she was the sun, bright and brilliant, shedding light and warmth on all she met. She'd melted his frozen heart, pulled him from the cold dark winter he'd lived in for more years than he could count.).
But still, worries marred his joy. It was perfect here and now with her, but there was an absolute, immutable fact of life that he must face sooner or later.
"With all of this talk of authors and the book," he said hesitantly, "we've never discussed one fact. I was a villain."
Her face softened, and her voice was like a caress. "But you're not anymore."
He wished it put him more at ease.
"Neither is Regina, but she still lost her happy ending," he said, putting voice to the fears that had been plaguing him for days now, "If we're to believe the rules of the book, then it's only a matter of time before I lose mine."
"Wait," she said suddenly. "If you're afraid of losing your happy ending, that means you found it. What is it?"
Did she not know? Could she really not see? "Don't you know, Emma?" he said in a voice near to breaking with emotion, "It's you."
Her eyes widened, and he could read the emotions as they passed over her face—surprise, shock, disbelief, joy. For long moments she merely stood there, and then, ever so slowly she leaned in, closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. They moved together, speaking the words neither was yet ready to voice in the only way they knew how. Her lips met his, and he poured every ounce of his love into the kiss.
It was heaven, utter bliss. If he hadn't been sure before, he certainly was now. This, this right here was what a happy ending felt like.
When he'd woken, he'd slowly, almost reverently touched his mouth, swearing he could still feel her soft, sweet lips moving against his.
It was strange. He never used to remember his dreams. He would pass long, peaceful nights of calm and silence. Now…his dreams were vivid, exciting, endlessly emotional. In them, he was a man of action, a man accustomed to fight for what he wanted, to fight for those he loved.
A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets.
He had no idea where the thought came from, but he felt it like a firm conviction. But had Colin ever fought for anything? Had he ever had anyone he cared about—who cared about him enough to fight—to even be willing to die—to promote their good?
He didn't think so. For as long as he could remember he'd been solitary, an author, a man who spun adventurous tales where the hero fought through nearly impossible odds and in the end defeated the villain—sometimes on his own, sometimes with the help of his lady love.
For years (or so he thought? Time seemed odd…almost non-existent lately) he'd been content living within his imagination. He may be careful never to leave the confines of his comfortable home, but his soul was free to soar. As his fingers moved across the keyboard he could be anyone and anything he wished—a knight, a hero, a naval lieutenant, even a pirate.
But lately, in the last few days, a strange restlessness had come over him. It no longer seemed sufficient to live the adventures vicariously. He wanted to be a hero in reality, to be courageous and strong, to find a woman like the one in his dreams and fall madly, passionately in love. He wanted to live.
If only he could leave this house.
He sighed as he sat down at his desk and rubbed at the scar on his neck—a scar he still didn't remember receiving. It was all just a pipe dream. Wish as he might, he knew full well that he could never leave; the consequences would be catastrophic.
There was nothing for it; he'd best do what he excelled at—spin other men's stories.
He booted up his computer, and opened up his latest manuscript in a word document. He read over the last few paragraphs and then nodded in satisfaction. He'd been looking forward to writing the coming scene for a long time.
He'd finished yesterday's writing session on a bittersweet note at best. Peter Pan cast the dark curse over Storybrooke, threatening to make the citizens of the town into his own personal slaves. The only way to stop it was for Regina, the Evil Queen, to destroy the curse she'd cast creating Storybrooke in the first place.
Colin had written the heartbreaking scene as his protagonist had said goodbye to the woman he loved, vowing to think of her every day, and then watched her drive away. She'd escaped the curse, but she'd lost her memories of her family, the man who loved her, everything that was true in her life.
Funny how compelled he was lately to write about memory loss spells and things being quite different in reality from the way they appeared.
At any rate, today was the day Colin cancelled out the bitterness with a healthy dose of sweetness. Having learned that the magical shield was down and transport between realms was once again possible, Hook had made a desperate deal and found a way to get back to the woman he loved.
Now he must find a way to restore her shattered memories.
Colin wrote steadily, detailing Captain Hook's arrival at Swan's New York apartment, his failed True Love's Kiss, his subsequent attempts to get her to listen to him. He'd just reached the moment Swan decided to take a leap of faith and drink the memory potion, when suddenly there was a knock on his door.
Two visitors within the space of a week? This was truly extraordinary, unheard of.
Curious, Colin got to his feet and walked purposefully toward his front door. He opened it to reveal a lovely woman—long, curly dark hair pulled up in a ponytail, bright blue eyes, tentative smile.
Colin was quite sure he'd never seen this woman before in his life.
She stood silent for long moments, looking at him carefully, with furrowed brow. Finally he broke the silence. "Can I help you, love?"
His question seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she'd been in. She shook her head lightly, and blinked. "Sorry," she said. "I have a gift for you."
"A gift?" he asked blankly. "What's the occasion."
"I really have no idea. All I know is it's from the Distinguished Gentleman," she said. "I was asked to deliver it to you."
With that, she reached into her bag and produced a large, ornately decorated book. "It's a dictionary, I believe. Not the most original gift for a writer, I suppose, but it is a rather beautiful book."
"Aye," he said, "looking down at the offering. "That it is indeed. And a dictionary may not be an original gift, but it's much appreciated none-the-less. I must confess to finding dictionaries quite fascinating. They are…"
He took hold of the book, and for a moment they both held it—she on one side and he on the other. The moment his hand touched the leather binding, the strangest sensation went through him—like a wave of warmth blanketing his whole person. If the look on the woman's face was any indication, she felt it as well.
And suddenly pictures, disjointed visions began dancing through Colin's head. He saw this woman dressed as a peasant sitting across from him at a tavern, listening as he told exciting tales of adventure. He saw her dressed as…a pirate, sailing the seas. He saw her broken and in pain as he held her close.
With the visions came a quick barrage of feelings—tenderness, love, fascination, pain, loss, anger, and finally—acceptance.
What was happening to him? This woman was a stranger to him. Where was this sea of feelings coming from?
"Eh…" he said finally, reaching up to scratch behind his ear. "Pardon love, but…do we know each other?"
She gave him a long look, and it was several moments before she spoke. "No," she said softly. I don't believe we do, but…I almost feel as though we've met, as though we were once…close."
"Aye," Colin said, "just so. Would…would you like to join me for tea?"
"I would be honored," she said, stepping inside as he gestured forward.
Over the course of the next two hours they talked like old friends as they sipped at their tea. He learned her name was Rachel and she'd worked as a crossing guard at the elementary school for as long as she could remember.
"And do you enjoy your job?" he asked.
"Yes…" she said carefully.
"But?" he prompted.
"But, nearly every day I have the strangest sensation," she said, "like I'm missing someone. In my mind I can see him—a small boy with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He looks at me sorrowfully as though I've betrayed him. I can't understand it, but I wish…I wish there was some way to make it right."
She was silent for a moment and then laughed self-deprecatingly. "I must sound crazy!"
He shook his head. "Not at all," he answered. "I know what it is to…have the strangest sense of connection with one who resides only in my head. For me…it's not a feeling of regret or sorrow, but rather of longing, of love. It's a woman I see—blonde, green-eyed, beautiful. I wish to be with her once again. A ridiculous thought, that. After all, how can one be with someone again when he's never been with her to begin with?"
She shook her head. "Do you ever get the impression that things are somehow…I don't know, not quite right around here?"
He chuckled. "All the time, love, but even more so in these last days. I feel a strange restlessness, as though something monumental is on the cusp of happening."
"That's it precisely," Rachel agreed. "I couldn't have put it better myself."
"I must say," Colin went on, "I'm quite happy you paid me a visit. Knowing someone else sees the peculiarity—it assures me I'm not crazy."
"Or at least you're not crazy alone," she qualified.
They laughed together, and then she got to her feet. "I really should get going," she said, "but thank you for the tea and conversation. It was nice meeting you."
"You're quite welcome," he said, walking her to the door. "It's always nice making a new acquaintance. Feel free to stop in again sometime should you wish to discuss our collective madness."
"I'll do that," she said with a grin.
Rachel walked down his porch steps, and then stopped, turning abruptly back toward him. "You know, your description of the woman you dream of? The one you long for?"
"Aye."
"It reminds me of something," she said. "Yesterday this woman came up to me at the end of my afternoon shift. She looked like what you described—blonde, green eyes, beautiful. She had a teenager with her—boy by the name of Henry."
"Aye?" Killian asked uneasily. Henry. The name of his protagonist's true love's son. Very odd coincidence that.
"Yeah," Rachel continued. "The really weird thing is she was looking for someone. A man. She showed me a picture, and I didn't realize it until just now, but…the picture looked an awful lot like you."
"Me? This mysterious woman was looking for me?"
"I think so," Rachel said.
Colin took a deep, ragged breath. A mysterious blonde with a teenaged son was looking for him? Was it merely a coincidence…or was something else at play here?
"Um…" he said, feeling his heart begin to pound. "Well, if you happen to see her again, feel free to send her my direction."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Held by Pain on one side and Panic on the other, Rumple found himself unceremoniously "escorted" into Hades's private sitting room when Cora sat calmly and the god of the dead paced in evident agitation.
"You called for me?" Rumple asked with a sneer.
Hades stopped pacing and glared, evidently so angry the steam nearly poured from his ears. "Yeah," he thundered. "I think it's about damn time you explain yourself, don't you?"
Rumple calmly took a seat across from Cora and crossed his legs, being careful to never let the smirk slip from his face. "I haven't a clue what you're talking about," he said. "Maybe you should enlighten me. And while you're at it, you might consider showing a little bit of common courtesy—such as, for example, not sending your thugs to drag me bodily into your presence."
Hades's hair fire shot to the ceiling, and his eyes bulged out as he told Rumple off at roughly the decibel level of a jet taking off. His tirade was, indeed, so loud the chandelier hanging above the coffee table in the center of the room began to rattle in a most precarious manner.
Pain and Panic ducked for cover underneath a sofa on the far side of the room, but Rumple remained unmoved. If this buffoon believed he could intimidate the Dark One, he had another thing coming.
"Dearest," Cora said softly, when Hades finally stopped for breath. "Maybe you should attempt to calm down."
"Calm down?" he bellowed. "Why the hell should I calm down? This incompetent fool bungled his mission. Completely!"
"Careful," Rumple said, mocking smile sliding from his face. "I don't suffer anyone—mortal or immortal to impugn my character and my abilities."
"Oh and just what are you going to do about it?" Hades said, getting in his face. "Getting a little too big for your britches, aren't you Dark One?"
Cora intervened once more, placing a calming hand on her husband's arm. "If you don't calm yourself you're going to make your blood boil. Not only that, but if you continue to yell this loudly you'll shatter another chandelier, and I grow tired of replacing them."
"Fine!" he shouted before taking a deep breath and then moving to sit beside her. "I'll calm down, but this fool will explain himself to me!"
Rumple rolled his eyes. "Just what am I supposed to explain?"
"Do you know what I've had Pain and Panic doing over the past day?" Hades asked.
"I couldn't begin to guess," Rumple drawled, "but if it was anything more intellectually challenging than sitting in a room and twiddling their thumbs, I'd wager you're highly displeased with the result."
Pain peaked his head out from his hiding place under the couch. "Hey!"
"As it happens," Hades said, "they succeeded far better than you did. I've had them camped out beneath one of Colin Delamer's shrubs all day long, keeping watch on his meeting with Rachel."
"And they were scarred for life after witnessing the pair in a passionate embrace, is that it?" Rumple asked.
"No!" Hades thundered. "Not even close! Rachel showed up, gave him the dictionary, spent a couple of hours in companionable conversation with our author, and then left. Neither of them ended up even the slightest bit smitten! Tell me, Dark One, how does that happen?"
Rumple's eyes widened in spite of himself. "I have no idea. She was his grand passion, and that dictionary was bathed in the strongest love potion in all the realms. They should be holed up in his bedroom for the next week straight!"
"Yeah, well, they're not," Hades said. "Not so much as a smooch. You sure you didn't grab the 'indifference potion' rather than the 'love potion'?"
Cora got to her feet and glared at both of them. "Enough! If Rumple used his strongest love potion and 'Colin' and 'Rachel' ended up feeling nothing more than pleasant regard, then we've got an even bigger problem on our hands than we originally thought."
"Yeah?" Hades asked worriedly, "and what exactly is that?"
"There's only one reason a love potion completely fails this badly. That only happens when the one who takes it is already so deeply and truly in love with someone else that their heart can no longer even contemplate wavering. It would seem Hook and Emma's love is stronger than we'd believed."
"Sounds like 'true love stronger than death' to me," Panic said cheerfully. "Hey, that's part of the prophecy about your defeat, isn't it?"
Hades roared, and Pain and Panic high-tailed it out of the room.
"Now, now," Rumple said, with a placating motion of the hand. "There's no need to…well…panic. All is certainly not yet lost. There's only a week and a half left before the blue moon. We've only to keep Miss Swan and the pirate apart for that long, and the success of our plan is assured."
"Well…that is true," Hades conceded.
"Milah was only an insurance policy anyway," Rumple continued. "After all, no love is strong enough to defeat the dark curse in less than two weeks. Fear not, Hades. Our plan is still very much on track."
Notes:
-I just wasn't feeling the Hercules back-in-time story today, so I decided to push that off to chapter 11. Besides, the "Colin and Rachel" meeting and the Hades freak out took nearly as many words as an average chapter.
-So, love potion or no love potion, Rumple's matchmaking scheme fell through. (I really have no interest in cheap love triangles—and I'm so invested in Captain Swan by this point that I don't have any desire for either one of them to fall for someone else—even while cursed. Of course I couldn't tell you that ahead of time, though, because where would be the drama in that? Lol.) "Colin" clearly has warm feelings toward "Rachel", but it doesn't go beyond that. Why? Because Killian's moved on. He'll probably always love Milah, but he's gotten over her and fallen in love—an even stronger love—with someone else.
-Also…it's always fun when villains' plans end up having the opposite effect than they intended. Because Rumple sent Milah over to Killian's, he now knows that a blonde woman with a teenage son is looking for him. Milah now knows where Emma can find the man she's looking for—and can tell her if she ever runs into her again. So…Rumple actually kind of paved the way for Emma to find Killian. :-)
-Up next: This time we really will meet back up with Hercules. He sets out on a quest to find out who he truly is, and he meets someone quite familiar to all of us. In the present time period, the gang meets up with one more person in the Underworld—someone who actually has some very useful information in their "find Killian" venture. They're about to have a major breakthrough!