Chapter 10

"She wants Rumplestiltskin?" James said to Emma.

"He created the curse. If she wants revenge, he's definitely the person to go after. We need to get Henry somewhere safe." Henry started to protest but Emma silenced him with a sharp look. "Everyone needs to get to safety."

"I doubt anywhere is safe right now. We should keep Henry with us. We can protect him." James's hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, but it wasn't at his side. He didn't have a sheath for it and he hadn't wanted to take an unsheathed sword to a diner full of people.

"We should get everyone out of Storybrooke. At least for now. We can take them out the back and…"

"Emma," James interrupted, "we can't."

"It's alright; we just need to keep Regina distracted until everyone is out. If they go together…"

"No, Emma, you don't understand. They can't leave Storybrooke."

Emma stared at James, stunned. Henry mirrored her expression. "But…the Blue Fairy…"

"Whatever barrier was surrounding Storybrooke is gone, and magic is definitely limited to within its borders. But a few families tried to leave last night, like Snow suggested, and…" He looked down at Henry, not wanting to continue.

"Something bad happened," Henry said quietly.

James nodded, his eyes filled with concern. "Two of them died. A father and his son. Everyone else was terrified; they came back here and told Jiminy everything. Apparently they were fine when they first left, but after a couple miles they started feeling strange. Their bodies ached and they're heads were throbbing. They stopped, wondering what was happening, and one of the young children got impatient and ran off. He didn't get very far, and suddenly he just collapsed. His father went to check on him, and he collapsed, too."

"But what happened to them?" Emma asked, horrified.

"Jiminy went out with the Blue Fairy to investigate. They think it's Regina. We're all connected to her somehow, and we can't break that connection. That's why the barrier existed – to keep us from wandering too far from Regina and dying. It could be that Regina isn't completely aware of the connection, since no one has ever made it that far out of Storybrooke before, but if she does find out she could use it to reel us in like fish on a hook."

"So all the bad stuff that happens when people try to leave…that's just a barrier to keep them from getting killed when they go too far?" Henry couldn't help his curiosity.

"Apparently," James said.

"Henry, how did you even know about the barrier? Or any of the rules of the curse, for that matter?" Emma asked.

"There's a story in the book about Rumplestiltskin offering the Dark Curse to the Evil Queen, and another one about the Evil Queen trading it to Maleficent. It explains all sorts of things about the curse." Henry felt his stomach tighten.

"I need to read that book," Emma told him. Henry nodded slowly.

"There's no time for that right now." As if to emphasize his point, another explosion sounded. People in the diner seemed to be recovering from their shock and were talking fervently. Snow seemed to have regained some control over the crowd and Emma could hear her discussing ideas with Granny and Jiminy.

"No, you're right. What we need now is to find Rumplestiltskin."

"No need." Emma jumped, nearly falling on top of Henry, the voice having startled her. A gasp travelled through the diner as one by one people turned to see Rumplestiltskin standing in their midst, looking down at Emma with a cheerful grin. He was still dressed in Gold's typical business suit, but as Emma looked up into the semi-familiar face it dawned on her that she had made a grave mistake. This man was not human. This man was even more powerful than Emma had suspected. And this was not the kind of man to whom anyone should owe a favour. She looked up into his impossibly large, swamp-coloured eyes and couldn't supress a shudder.

James was on his feet almost instantly, putting himself between Rumple and the rest of the diner. Rumple giggled. "Hello, Dearie. Still as charming and foolish as ever, I see. But I'm not interested in speaking with you today. I have more pressing business."

"Yeah, with her." James jerked his head in the direction of the last explosion.

Rumple giggled again. "Oh no, not her. Her." He pointed at Emma, who was now on her feet. Henry was safely hidden behind Snow, who was flanked by the dwarves on one side and Granny and Red on the other.

"I'm not interested," Emma deadpanned.

"Oh, how soon we forget." Rumple flicked a hand carelessly and James was knocked aside. Rumple kept his eyes locked on Emma as he stepped towards her, bringing their faces unbearably close. "You don't have a choice."

Emma felt her pulse quicken and she struggled to keep her fear at bay. She didn't want to give Rumplestiltskin the satisfaction of knowing that he scared her. As Mr. Gold he might have been powerful, but now Emma – thanks to Regina – recognized fully just how out of her element she was. Even without magic Rumple had the upper hand, but with magic he had the power to enforce the deal they'd made. One favour. Maybe that hadn't intimidated Emma when the deal was struck, but now she understood the full implications of what she had done. Nothing was off limits anymore. There was nothing Rumple couldn't force Emma to do – not when the consequences of breaking their deal involved magic. "What do you want?" Emma asked, unable to make her voice any more than a whisper. It didn't matter; her voice could be heard loud and clear in the absolute silence of the room.

Rumple smiled, his eyes filling with glee. He leaned in even closer so he could whisper in Emma's ear, intending his words solely for her. "I want you to kill her."

Fear washed over Emma. She felt sick to her stomach. "I can't," she whispered.

"Are you breaking our deal?" Rumple asked, his voice taking on a more menacing tone despite the glee that never left his eyes. Emma glanced around and realized that everyone around her was perfectly still. She looked more closely at James, who was closest to her, and saw that he was frozen. "Don't worry about them, Dearie. It's just the two of us now."

Emma met his gaze and she knew he saw the fear in them. She didn't care anymore. "Anything. I'll do anything else. But if I go up against Regina…she'll kill me."

"Very well." Rumple tilted his head to the side and peered very theatrically behind Emma. He pointed to where Henry was peeking out from behind Snow. "Kill him, then." Emma could only stammer, tears threatening to fall. "It's her or him. Your choice."

Emma took a deep breath, pulling herself together as best she could. She managed to blink back her tears. "Tell me how to kill her."

"Oh, well, that's not part of the deal now is it?" Rumple vanished and Emma heard another collective gasp as everyone around her unfroze, only to see Rumple gone.

"What happened? What did he say to you?" James demanded, recovering quickly from the broken spell.

Emma turned to face Snow. Henry stepped out from behind her and looked up at Emma. She took a few steps forward and crouched down in front of him. "I have to go take care of something. Promise me you won't go off by yourself no matter what."

"Emma, don't listen to him. You can't do what he wants. You can't trust him!"

"Henry, promise me!" She said, her tone filling with such authority that Henry was shocked. He nodded. She brushed a strand of hair out of his face with a weak smile. "I'll be back soon. Don't worry." She hugged him tightly. It was difficult to release him.

"Henry, let's go get you something to eat," Red said, holding her hand out to him. He seemed on the verge of declining the offer, but Snow gave him a slight push and he reluctantly followed Red into the kitchen.

Emma stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Snow before she could attempt to talk Emma out of anything. "Take good care of him," she whispered in Snow's ear. She heard Snow's breathing catch in a sob, but she supressed it. Without meeting her gaze Emma released her grip and turned to leave the diner. She paused for a moment as James rested a hand on her shoulder. She tried to give him a reassuring smile but it faltered. He stared at her for a moment, fear and concern quickly washed away by grim determination. He nodded once, slowly, and Emma felt a little of her courage return. She gave her own nod before stepping out into the street.