Chapter 10: The Ring

Days went by and, as it was planned, the Jolly Roger remained moored on the docks. Emma and Killian were spending a part of their days with Rumplestitskin. After experiencing this alternate reality in which the Evil Queen had visited them at the mansion, Emma hadn't been willing to take any risk and they had decided that it would be safer for Henry to stay on board with Liam. Though reluctant, the boy had not tried to contest this decision. Afraid that something bad might happen, Emma had also tried to convince Killian to stay on the ship and let her go alone, but he had flatly refused.

Rumplestitskin had diverse methods to help Emma with her magic. Every day, he was coming up with something new. On the first days, he was simply asking her to remember how it had felt when Killian had awakened her from the alternate reality; watching the dreamcatcher, he had confirmed that the true love's kiss to wake her up had led to a magic of the most powerful kind. Once she was focusing on how it had felt, he was asking her to summon objects to her, to push them away, to make them disappear and reappear. Killian was then standing in a corner of a room, watching her, and casting her an encouraging look whenever she was glancing at him.

Rumplestitskin's methods proved to be efficient: Emma generally needed several trials, but after a few attempts, she was usually sending objects all around the room. That was until the day when he asked her to make objects appear out of nowhere: she made several attempts but nothing happened. The Dark One was watching her, examining what she was doing.

"Conjuring objects is not as easy as moving them." He glanced around and spotted a bottle on the shelf. "Let's try something else. Can you see the purple bottle there? Summon it to you."

Summoning charms were the ones Emma was mastering the best; a trick she was usually able to perform on her first attempt. But on that day, she needed to try many times before the bottle landed in her hand. And on the next day, it was even worse.

"What's happening to me? Why can't I use my magic?"

"That's the question I've been asking myself yesterday, and I happen to have an answer. There is something you're lacking: motivation."

On the defensive, Killian was the fastest to reply. "How can you say that when she's putting all her energy into learning how to control her powers? She wants to control her magic, and all you're saying is that she has no motivation?"

"I haven't said she didn't have any, dearie. I'm saying she has less motivation than when your heart is out of your chest."

"Don't do this!" interrupted Emma, stepping aside to stand between the two men.

"I'm not going to rip your pirate's heart," Rumplestitskin sniggered. "I have another idea. Alternate reality worked very well on you. I can send you to another one of them. There's no reason to panic already; this one wouldn't be about your deepest fears. And this time, I'll come with you."

"May I come as well?"

"No." The Dark One smirked, delighted to reject his request. "Her motivation will be to come back to you. You need to stay here."

Killian didn't argue but turned to Emma, checking whether she was feeling ready.

"You can do it, love," he said confidently.

"Drink this," said Rumplestitskin, holding a phial in front of her.

"What if she doesn't come back on her own, like the other time?"

"Don't kiss her awake. I will be with her. She will come back."

"How are you coming with me?" Emma asked, still holding the phial.

"So many questions. I'm taking care of everything so you can just drink the potion and travel to this alternate reality, and I still get all those questions," he sighed dramatically. "Hold my hand while you drink the potion and I'll come with you."

"It's that easy?" Emma asked, arching her eyebrows.

"Yes." He led her to the couch and let her settle there. "Whenever you're ready, I am."

Emma fell asleep as fast as the first time. She found herself at the foot of a rock cliff and, when she glanced around, realized the cliff was surrounding her.

"Yes, you're trapped," Rumplestitskin sniggered, making her jump with surprise in the meantime as he was right behind her. "See you up there!"

Before she had time to understand, he disappeared.

"Up here!" he called from the top of the cliff. "Now, if you want to go back to your pirate, you better find a way to come up here as well."

"You wouldn't leave me here."

"Don't test me, dearie."

"How did you go up there?"

"Why, magic of course," he said with this theatrical tone, obviously enjoying the situation. "Teleportation is quite difficult to achieve and require a considerable rallying of powers. May I suggest you to conjure a rope instead? I believe you're already experimented in climbing; once you have the rope, it shouldn't be difficult for you to climb the cliff."

"I can't conjure things. You were there when I tried."

"Someone must believe in them if they want to see their favorite one-handed pirate again," Rumplestitskin said with a singing voice, sitting on the edge of the cliff, looking down at her. "How disappointed he will be when I come back without you and tell him you're still trapped for the only reason you convinced yourself you couldn't do it. He seemed to have so much faith in you. The poor captain will be heartbroken, knowing that you were not up to his expectations and gave up so easily."

"Shut up!" His words and the tone of voice he was using had made her so angry that her hands flared.

"This is the energy I want to see! Now, using it wisely is up to you. Conjure a rope and climb up, or you'll remain trapped down there."

Her hands still flaring, she closed her eyes and imagined a rope. The rope had to be long enough, and safely attached to the top of the cliff. Emma opened her eyes and looked up; there seemed to be trees around: she could simply tie the rope around one of them. Again, she closed her eyes, imagining the rope she needed. But minutes went by and nothing happened.

"It's not working!"

"You're not trying hard enough."

"What do you think I'm doing?" she asked, anger getting back on top.

"Failing, obviously."

The flares became more intense, but she didn't know how to turn this anger into the magic she needed to conjure the rope.

"What a waste of energy! Look at the flares: your magic is still here. You just don't know how to use it. Because, again, you're thinking wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you wondering why your magic is flaring but nothing is happening? The only explanation is that you're doing it wrong. Let me guess," he said, making his theatrical mimics again. "You were thinking of how the rope had to be, instead of why you needed it."

Emma didn't reply anything and bit her lip, realizing he was right.

"Am I wrong?" he asked.

"No."

He laughed and stood up. "When will you keep in mind that magic is about emotions? You have enough power to do it. Just answer these questions: why do you need this rope? Who are you willing to go back to?"

"You know that very well," she replied, annoyed by the fact he kept talking while she was trying to focus.

"Say it!"

Wishing he would just stop talking and let her focus, Emma felt a wave of anger wash over her. She knew very well what she wanted, but didn't feel the need to say it out loud. What good would it bring her to reveal she hated being trapped at the foot of this cliff and that all she wanted was to go back to Killian? The anger made her hands flare even more and she tried to use the energy it was giving her: closing her eyes, she thought of Killian, of how much she wanted to be with him. She needed to get out of this trap and go back to him. Suddenly, the warmth in her hands spread through her whole body and she felt like her head was spinning.

"This exceeds expectations," she heard Rumplestitskin's voice say, much closer than before.

Emma opened her eyes and saw that, indeed, the Dark One was standing right beside her.

"How did I do that?" she asked when realizing she was at the top of the cliff.

"By using your power properly."

"Was it teleportation?"

"Indeed. Conjuring a rope would have required much less magic. What you've just done is rather impressive for someone who is still learning how to control their powers. Time to go back."

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Rumplestiltskin made them disappear.

"Emma!"

"Killian!" Jumping up on her feet, she tossed her arms around his neck and hugged him. "My magic came back!"

"You teleported?" asked Killian.

Back in their quarters, sitting on his lap, Emma had told him everything about the alternate reality.

"Yes."

"You're amazing."

"I don't know how I did it. It just happened," she said, playing with his collar. "He didn't expect me to do it."

"He should believe in you more than this." Killian lightly frowned. "I've been there most of the time, and I don't like the way he treats you; how he talks to you as if you were not putting enough effort in what you're doing."

"He's demanding, but that's how he is. He's doing all of this to help me," she said, looking up at him. "And it's working."

"This won't change the fact I do not approve of his manners."

"I know." She was now trailing her fingers along his jaw, examining his stubble, before a sigh escaped her.

"What is it, love?"

"I've just missed you. In these alternate realities, all I want is to come back to you. And that's why these alternate realities work so well. But I always feel so lonely, there." Once again, she locked her eyes on his. "Anyway, with a bit of luck, I'll control my magic soon and then, bam, no need to see him again. We can leave the land and sail the seas."

"I love the sound of this."

He kissed her and she smiled against his lips. Her hand slipped down to rest over his heart, before her fingers closed on his collar. Leaning her forehead against his with her smile lingering on her lips, it was only when she heard a clicking sound that she opened her eyes again. Wondering what he was doing, she watched him take off one of his necklaces. And she opened wide eyes as she saw what was on the chain, her thoughts going wild.

"Whoa!" A ring; it made her think of a possibility she had until then never even considered. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa."

Her hand started to reach for his, but stopped midway. She kept her eyes locked on the ring. Was it really happening?

"Calm down, Swan. I'm not proposing."

Glancing up at him, she looked again at the ring. She had been taken by surprise and hadn't felt ready for what she had thought was happening, but now that he was saying he wasn't proposing, she wondered what would have happened if he had. Her eyes still locked on the ring, she lightly tilted her head on the side, realizing she wouldn't have minded if it had happened, because she knew what her answer would have probably been. Looking up into his bright blue eyes confirmed her guess: he was the best thing that had ever happened to her; she would gladly promise him a future with her.

Gazing at her with his head slightly tilted on the side and a hint of curiosity on his features, Killian was trying to read her thoughts. He then focused back on the ring, placing it in the palm of her hand.

"This ring, you should have it. I've had it for many years, it belonged to my mother. I've kept it with me all this time."

"Wow, are you sure you want to entrust me with this?"

"My love, I would trust you with my heart. Keep it," he said, closing her fingers on the necklace. "So you can know, whatever alternate reality you're in, that I'm somewhere out there, waiting for your return." Looking into her eyes, he flashed her a crooked smile, remembering the words she had used one day. "At the very least, it's a reminder that you've got a piercing-eyed, smoldering pirate here who loves you."

With one of the brightest smiles, her hand slipped in the nape of his neck and she kissed him.

"Thank you," she smiled against his lips before once more looking into his bright blue eyes. "I love you too."

"I know," he grinned and pressed a kiss on her cheek. Emma put the necklace on and he lifted her hair before rearranging it over the chain. "You're beautiful."

Her smile brightened and she tucked her face in his neck. Discreetly, she tried the ring on and felt like it seemed to fit. She glanced down, her forehead still in the crook of his neck, smiled as she saw the ring on her finger, and removed it before hugging Killian.

"Henry, do you know where Liam is?" Killian asked.

He and Emma had left the quarters and were on deck, where Henry was sitting with some ropes, working on his skills and tying them together.

He looked up and got back on his feet as soon as he heard them, giving up on what he was doing. "Liam told me to tell you he'd be back soon."

Killian raised an eyebrow. "Where did he go?"

Emma was examining her son with her head lightly tilted on the side, feeling like he knew more about it.

Henry caught her eye and answered. "Well, there's this girl."

"Is there indeed?" The pirate smirked, obviously curious but also amused by this information.

"It's not like that… I think," said the boy. "Yesterday, you spent more time than usual at Rumplestitskin's. Liam started to worry and he wanted to call him, so he went to the docks. But before he had time to summon him, this girl came to ask for his help. And she came back again today."

"Who is she?"

"Relax, mum. Not everyone is here to hurt us. I don't know who she is, I had never seen her, but he says we can trust her. He said she's on our side."

"Why didn't he tell us anything about her?" Emma asked.

"Maybe because he didn't think she would come back?" suggested Henry. "Anyway, he should come back soon. You can ask him then."

Henry, Killian and Emma stayed on deck, the boy asking the captain some help with the ties. While the two of them seemed relaxed, Emma kept anxiously casting a glance overboard, waiting for Liam's return.

"Love, you don't have to worry."

"But what if this is a trap?"

"The girl looked nice," reassured Henry.

"Trust me, I know my brother. He can be stubborn, but he knows what he's doing. I've never seen him take a wrong decision."

To Emma's relief, as Henry had predicted, Liam indeed soon came back.

"Apologies," he said, "I wanted to warn you before leaving the ship, but you two were locked in your quarters."

Henry suddenly became suspicious and addressed his mother. "What were you two doing?"

"Hey, we were just talking," said Emma while Killian chuckled.

Liam flashed them a smile before heading towards his cabin, without any other word. Exchanging a surprised look, Killian then nodded, letting Emma understand he was taking care of this.

"Speaking of talking…" The one-handed pirate trailed off midsentence, following his brother. He waited to be below deck before patting his shoulder. "Liam, are you alright?"

"Aye, I am. But that's not the case for everyone," he said while entering his cabin.

"What do you mean?"

"The Evil Queen. It seems like she's been even worse than usual, lately."

"How does that affect us?"

"Killian. Why do you think she got even worse? The boy," Liam said. "And now she's making everyone suffer. Because he's with us."

"Henry must never know about this."

"Why not?" asked Liam, looking at the ocean through the porthole.

"He needs to be protected. Can you imagine the guilt he would feel if he knew? He would probably go back to her by himself." At first unsettled by his brother's question, Killian then tilted his head. "You're not considering handing the boy over to her, are you?"

"No. Of course not," he replied, keeping his eyes locked on the porthole. "But that's unfair to everyone else she's making suffer."

"Liam, listen to your words. She's always been a monster. She already was when we were working for her. And she had him, then. Anyway, what happened to make you think she's even worse than before?"

"Rumors are that her black knights are everywhere in the realm and that her favorite occupation has become to slaughter villages of innocents. She even declared war to the underwater kingdom."

"Is the girl the one who told you all of this?" asked Killian. Since Liam kept staring at the porthole, apparently not expecting his brother to be aware about it, he added, "Henry mentioned a girl. Who is she?"

"Someone you don't need to worry about. She doesn't know Emma and Henry are here. She doesn't even know where the ship is."

"How did she come back to you today if she doesn't know where to find you?"

"She can call me when she needs to. With one of those."

Liam pulled out of his pocket a rather large seashell. Killian opened wide eyes before looking up at him.

"Brother, the only time I've seen one of those was in Neverland. Is she one of those mermaids?"

"She is a mermaid, but she's different than the ones we met. We can trust her, she is on our side."

Examining his brother, Killian tilted his head on the side again, a teasing smile making its way to his features. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you quite fancy this girl."

"Killian, don't be ridiculous."

Of course he was denying, thought Killian. His brother had always been secretive with how he was feeling: when they had lost their mother, and then when their father had left them, Liam had never showed his feelings. Instead, he had taken care of his little brother, setting for him an example of what Killian had seen as strength. But this time, something in Liam was reminding Killian of how he had been feeling himself just a few months earlier.

"Ridiculous, am I?" asked Killian, amused by the turn of the conversation. He kept examining his brother; he could definitely recognize the way he was staring at the ocean while getting lost in his thoughts. "When you least expect it, a woman can walk into your life and turn your whole world upside down. I know what it feels like. I've been there."

Liam finally tore his gaze away from the porthole. "Killian, it's not like that. There's nothing between me and her."

Not convinced, his smirk lingered on his lips. "Are you going to tell me what her name is or should I keep referring to her as the girl?"

"Her name is Ariel, and she is out there, fighting with her family a war she shouldn't even be involved in. The underwater kingdom had been living at peace for decades, and now they're at war again for the sole reason the Evil Queen is going mad."

Killian became serious again. "Why did she come to you?"

"The Evil Queen took them by surprise. A part of her kingdom has been besieged without any explanation. She has this bracelet allowing her to walk on land, so she came here to know what was going on, and I was the first one she found on her way. She asked me if I knew anything about the Evil Queen and her recent deeds."

"What did you tell her?"

"I haven't revealed anything about your identity or Emma's, or about the fact Henry was here. I simply said there were rumors about her son going back to his real mother. Today she came back to ask if I knew more, and to confirm it all seems to be related to Henry. She's been investigating since yesterday. That's how she learned about the slaughtered villages."

Killian scratched his forehead, thinking of how to handle the situation. "Will you see her again?"

"Perhaps. We agreed to share any information we might get."

"Alright. Just make sure not to tell Henry a word about all of this. He doesn't need to know."

"What about Emma?"

"I'll tell her," said Killian as if it was obvious. "I am not willing to hide anything from her."

Emma hesitated but finally agreed that they shouldn't tell Henry everything: he could know that wars had been declared, but the reason why the Evil Queen was doing all of this shouldn't be mentioned. Like Killian, she was thinking that, if he knew Regina was slaughtering villages to find him, he would turn himself in and, against his will, would go back to live with her; something they couldn't let him do.

Since Ariel didn't come back with some more news in the next days, Emma's fear to see the Evil Queen appear on the docks subsided as everything seemed to go back to normal. Every day, she kept going to Rumplestitskin's mansion and spending a few hours there to work on her magic. Right in front of Killian's eyes, she improved a lot. She was finally mastering the conjuring charm: when Rumplestitskin had taken her to another alternate reality, she had found herself at the top of a ravine, with the Dark One standing on the other side, asking her to join him. Closing her eyes, she had tightly closed her fingers on the ring Killian had given her and, thinking of him, had managed to conjure a bridge to cross the ravine.

The more she was learning about magic, the more she was enjoying her powers and the more time she was spending practicing when back on the ship. The only limit she had was tiredness: she could feel using her powers was draining her energy if she was practicing for too long; the price to pay for her magic, had said Rumplestitskin. But this wasn't stopping her. What she loved the most was to see wonder settle on Killian's features when she was conjuring feathers she was making float above them, in the mornings while they were still in bed, or his eyes full of love when she had lit up candles for an intimate dinner she had secretly planned.

Killian wasn't the only one to benefit from her magic. After coming back on board, on one of the days when she had been working on conjuring charms, she spent a moment with Henry on deck.

"Do you remember the question you asked me when I told you I had magic?" she asked, sitting beside him on the railing of the ship.

"Yes! I asked if you could make a hot chocolate with cinnamon appear!" he said enthusiastically. "You can do it?"

Emma flashed him a smile before a mug appeared in her hand, which Henry happily grabbed.

"You can even get some whipped cream, if you want."

"Really?" he asked. Emma closed her eyes and, the next second, some whipped cream topped his chocolate. "Awesome!"

Conjuring one for herself, they then knocked the mugs together before drinking.

"Mum, it's delicious!"

Emma smiled brightly. Once again, what she loved the most about her magic was not the fact it enabled her to conjure a hot chocolate, but the fact that she was able to bring some happiness. And every time she was practising magic with Killian, it was the same: this look full of awe and love she was seeing in his eyes was one of her favorite things in the world.

Emma didn't stop improving with her magic: every day, she was learning new enchantments. After finally mastering the conjuring charm, she had asked Rumplestitskin to learn how to cast a protection spell; like the one he had cast on the Jolly Roger to make it invisible, and thus prevent the Evil Queen from appearing on deck like she had done months earlier. At first telling her that this spell was very complicated, he had eventually agreed to teach her.

"We'll use an alternate reality, since you usually succeed more there than when we stay here," he said while handing her the phial she was now used to.

The potion took her to a clearing in the forest.

"Protection spells act like an invisible aura around the object you're trying to protect. The object will disappear from view. If you're close enough to your target, the aura will cover you and anything else around. This is why you can still see your ship: you were aboard when I cast the spell," explained Rumplestitskin. "Your turn, dearie. Try to cast one of these spells on the rock right over there."

The said rock was a large one, resting on the edge of the clearing. With no further explanation, the Dark One teleported to sit on a branch a few meters above the ground, leaning back against the trunk. Emma closed her eyes and, like any other spell, focused on what she wanted to do. But she felt nothing was happening, and whenever she opened her eyes to check, the rock was still there. She tried over and over again, but the rock didn't disappear.

"I can still see it," Rumplestitskin sniggered. "But don't worry, dearie. I did warn you protection spells were not easy to cast."

Emma didn't succeed on that afternoon. On the following day, she asked him to try again and he sneered.

"And what makes you think you will be more successful than yesterday?"

"I want to give it another try," she replied, ignoring his sarcastic tone. "This time, I will succeed."

"Oh, confidence. I like it."

Rumplestitskin handed her the potion which brought her back to the clearing in the forest. Facing the same rock than on the day before, she closed her eyes and focused again. She was feeling more confident because during the previous evening, Killian had reminded her of those times when the crocodile had been wrong not to believe in her. This had made her realize she had let the Dark One convince her that she wouldn't be able to cast this spell. But Killian did believe she would succeed, and she had been willing to try again. Keeping her eyes closed, clutching the ring, she imagined Killian was sitting on the rock; he needed to be protected.

The first attempts proved to be unsuccessful, but at last, she felt the warmth of her magic spreading through her body and, when she opened her eyes, a smile brightened her face: the stone had disappeared.

"You did it," Rumplestitskin noticed, sounding surprised.

"If someone was to walk there, would it be as if there's nothing standing in their way, or would they stumble on it?" Emma asked out of curiosity.

"A powerful magic, but not so much wit," Rumplestitskin smirked. "Was Henry able to get aboard your ship, or did he walk straight into the water?"

"He got aboard," she said, regretting she had not taken some more time to think before asking her question.

"Exactly. Protection spells create an aura which is only hiding the target from view, not making it truly disappear. The aura is tethered to the target: if you move the target, the aura will follow. If someone is covered by the aura, they will be able to get out of the cover and still see the target." Walking around her, he bent down to pick a stone. "The aura isn't visible, but you can get an idea about its extent by doing this."

He threw the stone towards the rock and, in mid-air, it disappeared. It reappeared a few meters beyond the rock before reaching the ground.

"Anything or anyone getting in the zone covered by the aura will be hidden from view as well."

"Can the aura be removed?" asked Emma.

"Only the one who cast the spell can undo it."

Back on the ship, Emma and Killian found the deck to be quiet. Henry was usually running to them, excited to know whether his mother had learned anything new. Emma guessed he was probably reading in his cabin or in her quarters. Killian also noticed there was something unusual. He frowned as they passed his brother's cabin; there was nobody there.

"Liam?" he called.

But there was no answer.

"Henry?" she asked.

Again, no one answered. Feeling like there was something wrong, Emma let go of Killian's hand and hurried to their quarters. The door was open, and the view made her gasp: the room was empty and one of the chairs was knocked over. A quill was lying on the floor, and quickly she noticed the piece of parchment on the table.

"No!" Dropping the piece of parchment, she bypassed Killian and ran back to the deck. "Henry!"

Killian had been checking the other cabins. Seeing her run past him confirmed something was wrong; he had time to glimpse the panic imprinting her features. Noticing at first the chair which was knocked over, he then spotted the note on the floor and picked it. The few words had been without any doubt hastily scribbled by the boy.

'Someone's on board surely here for me. Black knights. Don't blame Liam, told him I was safe and he could go.'

"Bloody hell!"