Author's Note: Oooh, a long chapter this time! Thank you guys so much for your patience with this thing! I think we're at about the halfway point, but I'm not completely sure.
As always, reviews fill me with rainbows and sunshine!
I'll answer reviewer questions in the footnote!
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Hook woke Emma at midnight, shaking her shoulder lightly. He withdrew his hand as soon as she stirred. She blinked up at him, smiling lazily. He gave her a tight smile in return and drew back so she could sit up.
She did so, stretching. She stood up slowly, arching and rolling her back and shoulders. She looked around the clearing. Hook had tended the fire, and it burned steadily, lighting the space between the trees. The pile of extra wood was smaller.
"Thank you," she said, meeting his eyes again.
He nodded and took her place on the bed roll, doffing his coat and hook but keeping his boots on.
"Please wake me an hour before dawn," he said formally before rolling to face the trees as she had done.
"I will," Emma replied in the same tone, moving to poke the fire.
Her watch passed uneventfully. She drew patterns in the mud with a stick to pass the time. She refused to think about the man lying just a couple yards away. He occasionally sighed in his sleep or mumbled incoherently. The sound kept catching her off guard.
When she finally woke him, shaking his shoulder gently as he had done for her, he rolled on to his back and smiled up at her sleepily.
"Swan," he murmured, his face relaxing into a warm expression. He reached for her, making her eyes widen in surprise. The face she made seemed to snap him awake, and he withdrew his hand quickly, mumbling something about dreams as he turned away and clicked his hook into place.
When he stood up, he was cool and composed again. He put on his coat and gave her a little closed-lip smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.
"Ready?" he asked quietly.
Emma nodded.
Hook buried the fire while Emma rolled up her little mattress and strapped it to her satchel.
"I'll take the trap," Hook said, holding his hand out for it. "My flint is far faster than your bow-drill."
He'd seen her, she thought, her spine stiffening. He'd been watching her while she'd started the fire. He'd snapped a twig on purpose to announce his presence. The thought should have upset her, but it didn't. It made her feel warm.
She handed over the coconut without a word.
They hiked the rest of the way to the Dark Hollow in silence, keeping a polite distance from one another. When they arrived at the mouth of the cave, Hook held up a finger to his lips, cautioning Emma to be quiet. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that, since she hadn't said a word since they'd left the clearing.
They crept into the dark cave silently, listening for movement from within. Creeping forward, they searched the cave for any sign of the shadow.
They were taken by surprise when the shadow struck from behind.
It whipped a spectral arm at Emma, knocking her off her feet. Her breath came out in a huff when she landed, and she scrambled quickly to her feet.
"Swan!" she heard Hook yell in a panicked voice.
She turned to find the shadow had him pinned to the wall and was trying to rip his shadow from him.
"Hook!" Emma screamed, drawing her sword. She knew it would be useless against the shadow, but she had to do something.
She took a step toward the shadow, cutlass raised, but the futility of the action cut through her thoughts. She couldn't stop the shadow that way.
She had to find the flint.
She spotted it on ground near the coconut, and she dove for it. The shadow swatted at her again, but she dodged. Emma rolled into a seated position and tried to light a spark with the flint and her sword, but the blade was too large and awkward. She couldn't direct the spark the way she needed.
"Swan," Hook yelled again, his voice choked with pain and worry, "run!"
Not hardly, she thought, trying again to strike a spark.
She heard a thud and looked up just in time to see that the shadow had dropped Hook and was coming for her. She guessed it had an idea what she was trying to do.
The shadow knocked the sword from Emma's hand and threw her across the cave. She landed hard, her head cracking painfully against the floor. Dizzy, she tried to sit up. She was relieved to see she'd somehow managed to hold on to the coconut.
The shadow took hold of Hook again, pinning him to a pillar of rock and yanking at his shadow as he cried out wordlessly in pain.
Emma was dizzy, her vision was swimming, and she had no idea where the flint was. All she had was a coconut and a desperate desire to save the blue-eyed man across the cave.
She needed the candle lit. There was no choice; there were no options.
So she lit it.
A feeling of serenity flooded through Emma and she closed her eyes. She made an instinctive hand gesture: a flick of the wrist as she closed her hand. She felt the power course through her, sweet and warm. She opened her eyes to find the candle was lit and the shadow was being sucked into it. Emma closed the coconut trap with a quick snap and immediately wrapped the lace around it. She could feel the shadow's anger making the coconut vibrate.
Emma sat the coconut down carefully before crossing the room to where Hook had fallen. He was lying against the pillar and breathing hard. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow.
"Thank you, Swan," he gasped as she helped him to his feet.
Hook took a few minutes to catch his breath. Emma went and retrieved the coconut, ensuring the laces were tied tight.
"How did you manage to light it?" Hook asked tentatively as he picked up his flint from where it had landed across the room from Emma. Emma picked up the cutlass the shadow had ripped from her hands.
Emma kept quiet as she wiped the dust off the blade with the hem of her cloak before re-sheathing the cutlass.
"Magic?" Hook said very quietly.
"I'm sorry," Emma blurted guiltily, turning to look at him with wide eyes.
Hook reeled back a step, surprised.
"Sorry? It was brilliant, love," he said appreciatively. "Would have been nice to know you could do that going in, but I'm not complaining."
"You're not angry?" she whispered.
"Angry..?" he said incredulously. "With you? For saving my life? Darling, why would I be angry?"
"Magic always comes with a price," she intoned.
"That may well be," Hook said, brushing himself off, "but the price wasn't our lives, so that seems bloody well worth it to me."
Emma chewed her lip and thought about that.
"Come, lass," he said, reaching his hand toward her and crooking his fingers in invitation, "let's be out in the sunlight while we wait instead of in his dark pit."
Emma took his offered hand and they walked out of the cave together.
"Now, I'll wager," Hook said when they got back to the clearing near the cave, "that you have something hidden in your bag that we could eat. What say you fetch that out and we have ourselves some breakfast?"
Emma couldn't help but grin at that. She handed Hook the shadow trap and rummaged in her bag for dried trail rations. They ate without much conversation.
Two hours passed in a tense and awkward sort of silence. Emma and Hook's eyed flickered frequently to each other and to the coconut containing the shadow. But beyond some minor shaking, the trap seemed to hold. During the second hour, Hook began pacing the clearing. It made Emma uncomfortable. She spent the time scratching patterns into the recently-dried mud.
"Let's be off," Hook said abruptly, pulling Emma out of her reverie. She looked up to find him standing over her, quite near, looking anxious.
Emma looked at the sky, but the angle of the sun didn't seem to indicate it was late enough. She raised her eyebrow at Hook.
"It's not getting out," he said, tapping the coconut with the toe of his boot. "And I'd rather wait on my ship. That way we can get the hell out of here the moment Tinkerbell arrives with the dust."
Emma couldn't really argue with that, so she nodded and stood up, brushing the dirt from her hands and clothes. Hook had picked up her satchel, which made Emma frown, but she did feel oddly tired—maybe it was the use of magic?—so she let it go without comment.
Hook set a quick pace, hiking hard through the jungle. Emma was able to keep up, but just barely. When they broke through to the beach, Emma saw the ship again, majestic and beautiful, anchored in the bay.
Hook walked out into the sand until the foamy waves were just lapping at his boots. He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle consisting of a low tone, a high tone, and then the low tone again. Emma had heard the sound before, when she was allowed to visit the docks. She'd always seen the sailor making the call using a boatswain's pipe, however. Hook didn't need a pipe for volume. His whistle was quite loud without it.
Several heads on the ship turned to look. A couple of men waved. One man in a red hat started yelling at the other men and a row boat was soon lowered over the side of the ship. The man in the red hat rowed the boat to the shore.
When the sailor arrived at the beach, Hook helped him out of the boat. He clapped the man on the back with a smile.
"Ah, Smee, allow me to introduce the Lady Swan, who will be our guest of honor on our next journey," Hook said to the sailor. Smee doffed his hat and gave Emma a little shrug of a bow.
"M'lady," Smee said.
Emma dipped reflexively into a curtsey.
Hook turned to face Emma.
"And Swan, this is my first mate, Mr. Smee."
Emma and Smee made polite faces at each other.
"Lady Bell will be joining us shortly, Smee. See that she's brought on board—politely. She will also be our guest."
Smee looked surprised.
"A-aye, cap'n," he stammered.
"I'll send Turner back out with the launch to keep you company."
"Cap'n?" Smee said, confused.
"I'm going to take Lady Swan aboard," Hook said. "Stay here and keep an eye out for the pixie."
"Aye, Cap'n," Smee said. He still looked a little startled, but he had been given a direct order and didn't seem the kind to disobey (openly, at least).
Hook gave Swan a devilish smile, and then he swept her off her feet, eliciting a startled gasp. Emma grabbed Hook's shoulders as he chuckled and carried her over to the row boat. He deposited her in the little skiff and climbed in after.
Mr. Smee watched the captain and the Emma with unveiled curiosity. At his captain's request, Smee helped launch the boat. Hook took up an oar, ignoring the second one, and began paddling them out to the ship, alternating strikes of the oar on each side of the small craft.
"I could help row," Emma said, raising an eyebrow.
"And what example would that be setting, love, having the 'guest of honor' rowing the captain to his ship?" he said quietly, his voice not matching his cocky expression. She realized he was acting for the crew's benefit.
"We can't have that," he continued, "but the captain rowing for a guest? That proves her status far better than words could do."
Emma nodded. She remembered lessons with her tutor back in the castle about behaving at court. She'd never really cared about the proper angle to hold a fan or how who spoke to whom first indicated status. This seemed to be much the same.
"It's a game," she said quietly, meeting his eyes in understanding.
"In a way," he replied, giving her a smile. "My men are loyal, but they still expect me to play my part."
"And portraying me as the guest of honor will help them mind their manners," she said, making it a statement, but raising her eyebrows to request confirmation.
"You are the guest of honor, Swan, and they will mind their manners," he replied, meeting her eyes with a sincere, serious expression. "I trust my men, but I don't plan on letting you out of my sight."
"And how long with the voyage be?" Swan asked.
"A few days at most, depending on which kingdom you are from," he said. "I'm afraid you may have to give me a genealogy lesson once we're aboard. I highly doubt the kingdoms are ruled by the same monarchs who reigned when I was last in port."
Emma nodded again. He'd said both that he'd been in Neverland more than fifty years and that he was nearly a century in age. To Emma's eyes, he looked no more than twenty.
She saw a flicker of doubt cross his face before he resumed his mask of confidence for the onlookers.
"Time spent in Neverland doesn't always coincide precisely with time spent elsewhere," he said very softly. "Your five years here might be ten years in the Enchanted Forest, or only three. We won't know until we arrive."
Emma swallowed hard, thinking about that. The dark-haired witch who'd sent her to Neverland had told her that nothing would change while she was away. Did that mean no time had passed for her family? She started chewing her lip.
"Don't do that, love," Hook murmured, his eyes on her lips. "Give us a big smile, or at least try to look bored. Don't let the crew know you're nervous."
"I'm not nervous," she said in a huff.
He raised his eyebrows incredulously at her but said nothing.
Emma tried to make her face look serene, channeling the lessons her etiquette tutor had given her. Hook didn't say anything else before they arrived at the ship. Once there, he smoothly entered 'captain mode' and whipped the crew into action. He sent a young man named Turner back to the beach in the skiff, yelled at a couple of crew members about miscellaneous details of the ship's care, and otherwise took over.
Emma was impressed. Hook was clearly in his element on the ship. In a matter of moments, the deck was abuzz with action as sailors rushed to tend to the items Hook had pointed out.
The way Hook stood steady and unyielding with the deck swaying beneath him took Emma's breath away. He looked almost regal.
His eyes found hers and he read her expression of awe. He winked at her.
She rolled her eyes as he approached her. He was grinning. He held his hand out to her, and she took it with a raised eyebrow. He bowed over her fingers elaborately.
"Please allow me to show you to your quarters, my lady," he said loud enough for the nearby crew to hear.
He was laying it on thick.
Emma let him lead her through the ship to a well-appointed cabin. Looking around at the table covered in maps and instruments and the size of the bed—which was quite large for a ship bunk—Emma realized whose cabin it was.
"These are the captain's quarters," she accused, turning to frown up at him.
"Aye," he said, setting down her satchel, "but they are your quarters for duration of our journey. I'll board in the first mate's cabin."
"No," Emma exclaimed, making Hook raise an eyebrow in surprise. "You should stay here."
Surprise flickered across Hook's face.
"Swan…" he choked out, his adam's apple bobbing.
"There's plenty of space," Emma said quickly. "I can roll out my mat—"
"You will not," he interrupted.
"I won't steal your bed," she protested.
"I give it freely," he said, his voice rising slightly.
"I'm fine on the floor," she gritted back at him.
"Then I will sleep on the floor as well," he declared, giving her a stubborn, challenging look.
"That's ridiculous, Hook," she admonished. "There is no reason for both of us to—"
"Which is precisely why you will sleep in my be—the bed," he corrected quickly, blinking and looking away.
She frowned at him, chewing her lip.
"My ship, my rules," he quipped when he turned to face her again, his expression all captain.
She rolled her eyes at that.
"Fine," she sighed with a slight grimace. She didn't want to inconvenience anyone, but the idea of sleeping in a real bed was exciting.
Hook smiled a victorious smile. He sauntered toward her, his expression melting into a cocky smirk that made Emma's heart speed up. He stopped just in front of her, standing in her personal space. She looked up at him with wide eyes.
He opened his mouth to say something more, but a knock on the cabin door made him and Emma both turn.
"Cap'n?" came a muffled voice from beyond the door.
"Aye?" Hook called with a trace of annoyance in his voice. He gave Emma a quick, almost wistful look and then crossed the room and opened the door.
"Beggin' your pardon, sir, but the pixie's arrived," said a dark-haired man with a pock-scarred face.
"Excellent," Hook said, turning to give Emma a little grin. He bowed elaborately to her from the doorway. "Prepare yourself for departure, my lady. We should be underway very soon."
He spun dramatically, his coat tails flicking out, and left, letting the door close behind him.
Thirty seconds later, Emma slid bonelessly to the floor in exhaustion. She was tentatively excited about going home, but a part of her was sure that there would be some catastrophe to keep them from leaving Neverland. She thought briefly about going back on deck to watch the tragedy unfold, but decided against it. Hidden in the cabin, she could curl up into a ball without worrying about appearances. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rolled her shoulders forward, hunching into as compact a shape as she could. She closed her eyes.
She could feel the slight pull on the starboard side of the ship when the crew drew the skiff out of the water. She could hear muffled voices through the doors and walls of the ship. She recognized Hook's voice every time he spoke, but the other voices were a jumble.
She clearly heard Hook's command to "weigh anchor," and felt the subtle change in the ship when the command was obeyed. Then they were moving. Emma took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the bottom to drop out from this plan. Pan would come. The shadow would come. She'd wake up.
And suddenly, the steady motion of the sea fell away and the ship was vibrating lightly with the hum of magic. Emma could feel it emanating from the walls of the ship. The ship was moving, forward, and fast, but it was no longer in the water.
Emma was on her feet in an instant, pressing her face to the window pane without remembering the steps she must have taken to cross the room. Her mouth fell open as she saw the ocean below them, a perfectly smooth blue mirror, reflecting the bottom of the flying ship.
Emma left the cabin, running to the deck. She was suddenly eager to see the island shrinking below her.
She slammed headlong into a black leather-clad pirate captain.
"Whoa, easy, love," Hook murmured, wrapping his arms around her. She grabbed the lapels of his coat to steady herself.
"I was coming to fetch you," he explained, seeming as surprised as she was. "I thought you might wish to say goodbye to Neverland."
She nodded, staring into his eyes and not letting go of him.
He didn't let go of her either.
"At the rate we're flying, it will only be visible for a matter of minutes," he said, his voice a little lower. He ducked his head ever so slightly toward hers and licked his lips.
Emma's gaze flickered to his mouth for a second, her eyelashes fluttering.
"But if you'd rather stay here…" he whispered, leaning in closer. Emma let her eyes close as her heartbeat hammered in her chest. She felt his breath hot on her lips as he leaned even closer.
"Is she all right?" Tinkerbell said from behind Hook. "Swan?"
Emma thought she heard Hook make a small, frustrated noise before he released her and stepped back. The lapels of his jacket slid smoothly from her fingers.
"Swan?" the pixie said again. "You look a little flushed. Do you feel well?"
Tinkerbell stepped forward to examine Emma. She looked back and forth between Emma and Hook, a brief look of surprise and then a smirk creeping across her face. She let out a little chuckle.
The fairy grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her out on to the deck of the ship.
"You don't want to miss this," the fairy said.
Emma let Tinkerbell lead her out to the railing. When she looked down, she was surprised at how small the island already was. It grew smaller and more distant as she watched. Emma stared, unblinking, until Neverland was just a speck on the horizon. She continued to watch until it was concealed by clouds as the ship climbed higher in the sky.
A few moments later, Tinkerbell's body relaxed beside her and she let out a contented sigh. The fairy squeezed Emma's hand. Emma looked at her with curiosity.
"It's over," the fairy said with wonder in her voice. "We just crossed the border of the realm. We're free. We've made it out of Neverland."
Emma crinkled her brow. She certainly didn't feel any different. Emma was still weary, tired, and nervous, but the pixie looked relieved.
Tinkerbell patted her hand.
"You should rest," the fairy said, lifting Emma's hand and patting it gently. "We're safe now."
Emma nodded dumbly. Tinkerbell released her and gave her a gentle shove in the direction of Hook's cabin. Emma shuffled that way, her head reeling.
Could it really be that easy?
"So, where exactly are we headed?" Emma heard Tinkerbell ask. She slowed down so she could listen.
"The Enchanted Forest," Hook answered easily. Emma glanced over her shoulder to see Hook making a measurement with a golden contraption—a sextant, she thought. "I won't be able to set a proper course until after sunset, but at least I can get us well clear of that blasted island, thanks to you."
"You did the hard part," Tinkerbell said dismissively. "Where in the Enchanted Forest?"
"Where should you like to go?" Hook replied, evading her question.
"Where are you taking Swan?" Tinkerbell countered.
"That's her business," Hook said coolly.
"I'm just curious," the fairy said a little huffily. There was a pause, but Hook didn't respond, so Tinkerbell continued speaking. "I guess I'll go where she's going. I haven't really got a destination in mind. I'm just glad to be away from Neverland."
"Aye," Hook said. "Shall I show you to your cabin?"
"Whose cabin was it yesterday?"
"Mr. Smee's," Hook replied, "my first mate."
Hook and Tinkerbell's voices were becoming fainter as she got farther away from them.
"Don't do that," Tink admonished. "I'm good with a hammock in the hold. Leave Smee in his quarters."
"Are you sure, Lady Bell?"
"Yes," she said. "I can handle your crew. Don't worry about me."
Emma was at the door to Hook's cabin, then, and she didn't have any excuse for continuing to eavesdrop, so she entered the cabin and closed the door behind her.
She stumbled toward the bed, untying her cloak as she went. She kicked off her boots, letting them lie where they fell. She touched the cream-colored sheets tentatively, running the smooth fabric between her fingers.
She let out a little sigh as she climbed into the bunk, feeling a real mattress beneath her for the first time in over half a decade.
The bed smelled amazing.
The aroma was a mix of salty sea, leather, rum, and something that was uniquely masculine-uniquely Hook. Emma wrapped her arms around a pillow, burying her face in it and inhaling deeply. She felt some of the tension in her shoulders loosen as she shimmied into a comfortable position.
She was still nervous, even after hearing Tinkerbell's reassurances, but she was also exhausted.
Emma was grateful when sleep claimed her.
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Author's footnote:
- It tickled me pink to see a reviewer notice some of the song lyrics I dropped into Chapter 12. There will be more where that came from!
- Likewise, the reader response to my version of the curse is so validating. Thanks for the support!
- Yes, I have transplanted the Downton staff to the Enchanted Forest. I stole Gwen for the first chapter, and someone called me on it, so now I'm making it shamelessly obvious. I couldn't help myself after they had Mrs. Patmore play Snow's servant on the show.
- "Excitement" is exactly why Hook wandered off into the jungle after the kiss! But I do still think I'm handling the sexual tension at a T level. I'd love some more feedback on that... If I need to bump it up to M, I will.
- In response to ages: Emma is physically sixteen. Killian is physically twenty-ish. I haven't decided exactly how old he is (physically or chronologically). I picture Snow and Charming exactly as they are on the show, even though they should be at least ten years older. Regina is, of course, exactly as perfect as she is on the show. Neal is slightly older than Emma: 18-20ish.
- Emma has never seen a mirror in Neverland, therefore Regina has never seen Emma in Neverland. As to whether Regina knows what is going on in Neverland... I will not comment on that at this point.
- I love each and every one of you who review. Muah!
- I'm on Tumblr, too! Same icon and same name: Scheherezade06 and my fanfic tag is "Scheherezade's 1001" I'd loooove to hear from readers there, too! Please feel free to contact me!