Chapter Ten

Get lost and then get found,
And you'll come back to me,
Not swallowed in the sea

And you belong with me,
Not swallowed in the sea

"Worry not, mermaid. I'm not interested in your life," Blackbeard said, bursting through the door and, judging from Ariel's gasp, successfully taking his new prisoners completely by surprise. "Your silence, on the other hand, is something I'm certain we could both benefit from."

"What? What exactly do you want from me?" Ariel asked him, the sudden fright on the mermaid's voice making both her and Emma renew their attempts at tugging on the ropes binding their wrists hoping they would at least became loose enough that they could slip their hands through the loops.

"Why, I've just told you. I want your silence, nothing more. You're of no use to me, which is why you are to leave this ship soon." Both women looked at each other then, something about his wicked grin making them more worried than relieved. "But, I am releasing you on one condition: you will tell no one that I've captured your friend. You'll go back to your beloved prince and simply tell him you parted ways with the lady Swan after arriving at your originally intended destination with no problems."

"I'm not leaving Emma behind. What kind of person do you think I am?"

"The kind whose life is currently in danger. The kind who is indebted to the man who did no less than saving you before," Blackbeard stated calmly. "You don't have much of a choice in any case, darling. I anticipated your rather heroic sense of morality wouldn't let you abandon your friend - at least not willingly - so I thought I'd come prepared."

He pulled a small green shell the size of his palm out of his coat pocket. Turning it in his hand with a bemused smirk on his face, he sent the two girls a challenging look before bringing the object to his lips and apparently blowing on it. Emma heard no sound coming from it, but the next moment she felt Ariel moving aggressively behind her and turned her head to see her friend as much as she could. The mermaid had suddenly become extremely agitated, her eyes were shut, her face twisted into a pained grimace, her shoulders were shaking and she let out an agonised cry - at which point Blackbeard finally stopped blowing on the shell.

"You're hurting her! What are you doing with that thing?" Emma demanded, glaring at the man before them and briefly looking over at Ariel to see her catching her breath, apparently recovering now that the shell stopped doing - whatever it was doing to her before.

"This, milady," Blackbeard said, the way he pronounced the last word while looking pointedly at Emma making her stomach twist with sickness, "is an enchanted shell I got from an old lady friend of mine. It can summon mermaids with a rather unpleasant sound only they are able to hear and force them into singing."

"I felt that. Somehow it felt like the only way to stop the pain was by singing, but I thought that couldn't be related to the shell. How- how is it possible?" Ariel said, still a bit breathless and growing visibly more nervous by the minute.

"Don't ask me, I know very little of how magic works," Blackbeard said with a shrug of his shoulders. "All I know is Ursula told me her father would use it when he needed to control some mermaids who were rebelling in his kingdom. A mermaid's voice is a very essential part of their being, as I'm sure you know well." He directed an arch look at Ariel, who cringed with apprehension.

"Did you just say Ursula? How do you know her?" Emma asked, suddenly feeling a rush of panic threatening to break her controlled expression. An impossible suggestion arose on her mind that maybe the two villains were allied to compromise her mission somehow. It didn't make any sense of course, otherwise why would they send her on a task she was doomed to fail? The one thing she knew for sure is she was closer to admitting she had gone insane with every passing day.

"I'm actually surprised you know her," he replied, watching her with a new interest in his eyes. "Well, suffice it to say that I knew her back when she was a new face in the dark side of these waters. She had so much power she barely knew how to use it, much less for evil."

"She wasn't always a villain?" Emma asked, genuinely interested in knowing more about a potentially good soul who somehow found herself among the queens of darkness at present, while also wanting to buy some time distracting Blackbeard as Ariel used her long nails to rip out the ropes tying them.

"Far from it. Why should you care, though?"

"I'm just curious," Emma retorted.

"You know, curiosity can prove quite dangerous for a defenceless lass like yourself, darling. Especially given your present situation as an unwanted guest aboard my ship," Blackbeard said, slowly and carefully pronouncing every word in a menacing tone.

Not your ship, you sodding bastard - Emma had to bite her bottom lip to stop Killian's voice, that suddenly started echoing inside her head again, from tumbling out of her mouth taking the shape of actual words. Seriously, what was that about?

"If we were really unwanted you'd have released us straight away. And I'd rather take my chances," Emma replied, giving Blackbeard the best insolent look she could muster under the circumstances. "So, tell me, why was Ursula apparently struggling with using her powers for evil?"

Blackbeard simply huffed and replied in a not-so-amused tone this time. "That's what happens when you try to change yourself completely - you just can't. Who you truly are always remains, no matter how deep you try to bury it," he mused, while Emma thought he saw a longing look on his face. She wondered if he, too, hadn't always been a villain, but this particular train of thought was interrupted when the pirate raised the green shell to his lips again.

Ariel had been quite close to tearing her way through the ropes around her wrists, but the moment Blackbeard started blowing on the inaudible shell she almost lost control of her own thoughts. She was so close to releasing her hands, but she couldn't focus on her actions anymore, letting her head fall forward as she raised her shoulders and curled within herself as much as she could in the chair, desperately trying to shield her ears from whatever terrible sound was torturing her. She let out a loud whimper that sounded every bit as agonising as she must have felt and Emma reached out for Ariel's hands, hoping to offer her some comfort besides the calming whispers she was trying to distract her friend with to no avail.

"Stop resisting and I'll stop the pain, Ariel," Blackbeard said after lowering the shell and taking a few steps closer to the two women. "All you have to do is sing for me and you shall be free. Our debt will be ended and you can live happily ever after with your prince."

"No, I am not going to abandon a friend," Ariel bravely said, managing to lift up her head enough to look him in the eye with a steady gaze. Emma could clearly notice how her breathing sounded laboured and part of her was inexpressibly grateful that Ariel would put herself through so much just to help her, but a bigger part of her couldn't bear to let her risk what could be her only chance of getting out of there alive.

"Ariel, just do it," Emma said, gently squeezing her friend's hands behind them. "I'll be fine, but if you don't give him what he wants he might find a worse way of charging his debt. You've already been too kind to me, and I know I wouldn't have come this far without your help. You saved my life once and now it's my turn to try to repay you. Go, get out of here and get to safety."

"I won't do it, Emma - not if I have a choice," the mermaid said determinedly, craning her neck as far as she could to give Emma a small smile.

"Your friendship is touching, really. It's too bad I won't leave it up to neither of you to decide." Blackbeard then brought the enchanted object to his lips once more, making Ariel start writhing in pain all over again as Emma kept holding her hands and tried hard to keep her useless tears at bay.

With a deep intake of breath Emma decided now was the time to resort to her powers. As worried as she was that in her current state of worry for her friend it might not work (or, what would be even worse, it might get out of control and hit all three of them in the process,) Ariel was already in too much pain for her not to try what she had hitherto left as her last resource. She held on to the mermaid's hands tighter and closed her eyes, trying to summon all the energy lying asleep under skin just waiting to be called into action again, and recalled the few of Rumple's words that had actually proven useful to her.

(Conjuring magic is not intellectual endeavour. It's emotion. You must ask yourself, why am I doing this? Who am I protecting? Feel it.)

She finally allowed herself to remove that invisible clamp she had on the feelings swirling in her chest, letting them grow free and become stronger, willing them to feed her magic. She could feel each one of them distinctly, as if her emotions were so intense each was turning into a spontaneous source of power on its own.

Fear. Worry. Desperation. And anger. Lots and lots of anger.

Emma knew those weren't good feelings, she knew she would not be able to conjure light magic out of the ire she was feeling at that moment, but she was also far from caring. All she knew is her friend was being tortured because of her, because she didn't want to let her down, and she would be damned if she didn't do whatever it took to save one of the few people who had never expected her to act as the Saviour she was supposed to be.

Even if she had to embrace her darkest feelings to bring her magic to life, it was for a good cause.

She could feel it start stirring within her, could almost feel that familiar simmering sensation spreading all over her body and getting more charged. She knew she was on the right path. This is how she prepared for battle, the only difference being the nature of the magic she would normally conjure. She wasn't willing to let her temporary lack of hope and faith stop her from saving a friend, though.

But Ariel's cries grew louder and louder, and before Emma could feel the well known prickling of magic on her fingertips, the mermaid suddenly gasped and then started to sing as tears ran free from her eyes and down her flushed cheeks. The swelling of her melodic voice seemed to bring a new glow to the dark walls of the brig, and it was a few moments before Emma noticed that wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her mind. Ariel's voice was transmuting into a golden glow before their eyes, as it rolled from her mouth into the shell in Blackbeard's hand, who laughed with a satisfied sense of having accomplished his cruel aim.

Ariel stopped singing at last and the place fell into complete darkness again, except for the small green shell on Blackbeard's hand, which was now glowing with the golden twinkle of the mermaid's voice.

"Thank you, Ariel. I am much obliged to you," the pirate said, flashing them a smirk that definitely didn't bode well. "You see, this shell enables me to curse your singing voice. And now that I've trapped it in here, the only way you'll be able to sing again is if you obey my commands." He brought the object to his lips again, and Ariel instinctively turned her head away, Emma reaching for her hands and holding them again. "You shall not tell a soul that Emma Swan is a prisoner aboard my ship. You will not tell anyone I've captured her."

"You're a monster," Ariel shouted, finally getting rid of the ropes tying her hands and charging at Blackbeard with gritted teeth and puffy red eyes. He merely stood still and opened his arms wide, daring her to come closer and attack him. She strode over to him and stopped just a few inches from his face. Even through the darkness Emma could see she was fuming as she slapped the pirate hard across his face.

"And you," Blackbeard said, grabbing a hold of the mermaid's arm still in mid-air and letting out an amused chuckle, "you are too good to even hurt me like I deserve."

"Ariel, just go! Get out of here," Emma shouted from her chair.

"You should listen to your friend," Blackbeard said, pulling Ariel's arm so she stood right in front of him again. "I can always undo the spell and think of a more advantageous way we could be even."

Ariel swallowed hard and lowered her head, apparently contemplating the planks of the Jolly Roger's brig for a few moments. She tugged her arm free from him and turned to look at Emma, fresh tears about to spill from her red-rimmed eyes. "I am so, so sorry, Emma." Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, clearly on the verge of breaking.

"Don't be. You've done more than enough for me already," Emma replied, unsure if she felt worse about not being able to use her magic to save both herself and her friend, or about the prospect of being left alone with Blackbeard. Either way, the profoundly sorry look on Ariel's face was too strong a reminder that she was still not safe. The only way things could get worse now, Emma thought, is if her friend would still suffer more because of her. "Now go!"

Ariel nodded and hurried to the flight of stairs that led up to the main deck, turning her head to look back at the scene she was running away from after a few steps.

"I strongly suggest you get out and jump into the water before I change my mind," Blackbeard warned her with a dark look in his eyes that conveyed his cruelty too clearly for her to cogitate staying. Ariel knew she was doing the best for both her and Emma by getting out of that ship, and that's what she would keep telling herself thereafter until she was sure her plan would work.

Emma saw Ariel running up the remaining steps and, after a few minutes, a loud splash was heard from above. She let out a breath of relief and hoped her friend would find her way back to the island safe. However brief their friendship had been, she was grateful for all Ariel had done for her, and she was well aware the mermaid didn't have any sort of obligation to help her at all. She might have contributed to Emma's mission a great deal with her suggestions of wiser strategies to get to the Dark One's castle, but, looking back at their short acquaintance, what had left a deeper impression on Emma's memories were their bonding moments when they discussed their pasts, their families, and their loves.

She had spent over a year fending for herself in a foreign realm, having to go on every day not knowing how her family was - if they were really okay or if the villains were doing unimaginable things to them while waiting for her return. This was a thought that occurred to Emma more often than she wished to consider it, and the fact that she had no way of knowing whether it was true or not only made her more anxious the longer she spent without getting the damned book from the author. Having someone to confide in, someone who listen and offer the emotional support she hadn't realised she was in desperate need of, was what made her certain she would never forget Ariel. Which is why Emma knew she would never forgive herself if after everything the mermaid couldn't return home because of her.

Blackbeard's approaching steps brought her out of her thoughts and back to the present. She felt a shiver running down her spine when she looked up at him, who shook his head with a smirk on his lips as if he had just recalled something awfully amusing.

"Tell me, miss Swan, am I to assume you're the reason Hook had gone soft after centuries of being the second most cut-throat pirate on the seven seas?" He asked, his mischievous grin and his darkening eyes the only features Emma could see clearly in the dark.

"What?" She breathed out.

Apparently she was wrong. There was another way things could get even worse from then on.

"Oh, I was just wondering how your Killian would feel knowing that I've got you now, and on his former ship to make everything even better."