Alice won't stop crying, and screaming.
She doesn't know what to do.
Emma has never seen her like this. Considering she's known the girl only a few weeks, it wasn't saying much, but in that short time, Emma really felt like she knew Alice, knew both of them. Alice was a strong girl, strong and resilient.
When she'd come back after sneaking out she was in a similar state, but it was different then. Then they both knew Killian was a walkie-talkie call away. She'd held it together for the most part, talking through tears. Even though she was scared, even though she was confused, she was strong.
The difference is that Killian wasn't coming this time. Emma is alone with a devastated young girl who doesn't know how to be strong without her Papa.
Emma doesn't know what to do.
"Alice…" Emma tries, but Alice's magic is sparks, making it even harder to get close to her as it bites at her skin. Emma notices that they're both still in pajamas. They were in their pajamas in the middle of the woods.
Emma doesn't even have any shoes on. Emma has no idea how to fix any of it. She doesn't even think there is any 'fix' to this. Everything was just broken and Emma is the last person equipped for this.
God, this is such a god damn mess.
"The bad people took Papa." She says, eyes full of tears, she was shaking, trembling with anger, fear, sadness all of the above really. It was a god damned mess that makes her want to cry, let alone a 6 year old.
Alice can't stand still, walking a few steps and then turning around, almost rhythmically, like a pattern to help her get some control back.
But everything is out of control and Emma has no idea what to do to get it back, to try and fix things. Emma doesn't fix things, Emma breaks things and runs away. "Papa!" Alice wails as if Killian had the power to come back, to appear in thin air and soothe a distraught Alice. She broke this. She was unable to protect them and now everything was broken again.
Emma can't run away. Not now, not when someone needs her, when Alice needs her. Alice the little girl she'd made a flower crown for, the little girl she's read to and eaten spaghetti with; Alice the little girl who had magic just like her. They are the same.
Emma has to fix this.
"We'll get him back." She promises, kneeling down on her level, looking the girl in her eyes. She tries not to think of how red and puffy her eyes are. "I promise, we'll get him back." She tries to touch her, embrace her, but Alice refuses. Her sadness turns to anger quickly.
It reminds her a bit of Killian.
"Is it true?" She demands, "Did you help the bad people? Did you betray us?" She asks. "My Papa loves you."
Emma knows. Emma knows Killian loves her, heard it in his voice, saw it in his eyes. Emma knew true love and that was it, that look was it. That was all Emma ever wanted from anyone. She felt his love for her in that moment saying goodbye.
And she felt her own love for him that night in bed together; when she swore she'd never let anyone hurt him. Emma wasn't going to lose anyone else.
But that's exactly what she did. She lost Killian, Alice lost Killian.
"Did you let the bad people take him?" Alice asks.
Emma shakes her head adamantly. "No. Never. I never told them, they never sent me." It doesn't matter what lies Gothel, Eloise, spews. That was the truth. "But I did know them. I-I told your father that I thought going with them was a good idea." She admits.
Honesty, Emma knows, is the best thing right now.
"No!" Alice yells. "They're bad scary people!" She stomps her feet. "They'll hurt my Papa! They told me so." Emma nods. She believes her now. She believed it when Killian sounded terrified at the very thought of going back, the anger he expressed. It had been surprising to see that look on Killian, it reminded her of herself when her social workers tried to send her back to a previous foster home.
"I know, that's why we were fighting, I didn't understand. I didn't know they were the scary people. They tricked me." She admits. Honestly, Emma feels so stupid for believing them. Hadn't she always thought that when things were too good to be true they most likely weren't? But after Graham died, she needed something, someone to run to. Emma was lost and they prayed on that. "They tricked me." She repeats, defeated.
"They tricked us to." Alice says in a breath, calming down a fraction. "I wanted a Mama so badly. She said she was my Mama, but Mama's don't take you out of school and away from home. Mama's don't threaten to hurt Papa's unless you did something. She's not my Mama." Alice confirms, sounding far older than her 6 years
Emma nods adamantly. "She isn't. You're right; she's not your Mama." She doesn't know what to do with Alice right now, she feels she's crossed some line; like this is a talk between her and Killian. Emma feels like an intruder of a very delicate topic.
"Then who is?" Alice asks. "Why don't I have a Mama? Why do these bad people keep chasing us away from our homes?" Alice seems defeated, tears running down her eyes asking Emma the big questions. Questions she doesn't have the answers to.
Killian would know what to do. Emma thinks. She decides on the truth. The truth is all she ever wanted as a child.
"I don't have a Mama or a Papa." She says eventually. "But I did have an Ingrid." It catches Alice's attention and stops the tears suddenly, so Emma continues. "She wasn't my Mom. But she loved me like a Mom does. She took care of me and watched over me and tucked me in at night. She drove me to school, and cleaned up my scrapped knees."
Alice nods. "Papa does those things."
"Because he loves you. That's what you need Alice, that's all you need, people that love you. You don't need to call them Mama for them to love you." It brings a small smile to her face.
"Do I have an Emma?" She asks in a small voice. Emma nods, embracing the child. She doesn't know how it happened, but the moment she met Alice she couldn't imagine ever letting anything bad happen to her.
In that moment Emma vows not to run away until Alice was ok. She vows not to run until Alice was with Killian once again.
Alice nods in a huff and takes her hand. "Let's get going." She says simply. It catches Emma off guard.
"Going?"
"We have to follow the plan. We need to get going."
"Going where?" Alice turns to look at her. She seems unsure.
"I don't think you're ready yet." She says simply. Emma nods. She isn't sure if Alice forgives her entirely, but she could live with this.
/
They walk for a while, through thick forest life and Alice is making a beeline through the trail, almost like she's following a map. Meanwhile Emma's trying not to step on any twigs or rocks.
"Papa made me practice." Alice explains, almost as if she's read her mind.
And with this kid, Emma wouldn't be surprised.
"Once the Stars told me how to get places without walking, Papa showed me where to go. First we did small distances and then we decided where to land, out of sight he said, so that I don't scare anyone."
Emma nods, sensible she thinks, she knows first-hand how terrifying magic could be. Boston had definitely not been a fan of magic. To be fair she herself hadn't been a fan of magic until recently...
If she's honest she doesn't even really know how to use her magic. It usually only kicked in when she was in fear for her life, or someone she cared for. Protecting Killian from Gothel's spell had been the only time it ever did as she wanted it to.
"We had a place to go, then I'd make a call and I'd be safe until Papa came to get me." She explains. "We got waffles whenever we practice."
That gets her attention.
"Waffles?"
"Papa makes me get peanut butter ones because they're a good source of protein, but I was thinking I could get the chocolate ones this time." It makes Emma pause, because out of the list of concerns rattling around in Emma's head, whether or not the kid had a balanced breakfast wan't one of them.
"I don't see what's wrong with chocolate." Emma agrees slowly, not exactly sure where they were going, but if there were waffles it couldn't be too bad right?
Eventually they do make it to the road and Alice stops, looking around quizzically.
"Everything ok?" she asks.
Alice doesn't answer, obviously deep in thought. She takes Emma's hand and they cross the road. "Always look both ways according to Papa." She responds automatically.
"Of course."
/
They do eventually make it where they need to go, a beat up dinner with exactly 2 cars in the parking lot. The waffles suddenly make a lot of sense.
"Alice, I don't have any money to pay them with." Emma insists. She's also pretty sure they don't serve people without shoes. She tries to wipe off as much of the dirt on her feet before entering as possible.
"That's ok, Uncle Liam will pay the lady when he gets here." Alice offers.
"Uncle-" But Alice is already bounding towards the entrance before she can get a word out.
Honestly, Emma should have expected Liam to be Killian's Plan B. But honestly the idea makes her a little nervous.
Liam was supposed to be Killian's big brother, his confident, and his idol. Emma was pretty sure that he would find problem with his niece calling him without Killian and meeting him with a strange woman without shoes.
However, it seemed like their only option. Lord knew Emma had no one else to call.
The waitress greets Alice warmly. A slender brunette around her age, Lily's her name and the name tag looks worn and faded. It looks like she's had this job a long time.
"Where's your daddy?" the woman asks before glancing her way with a sour expression. "And who's this?" She asks looking Emma over. It makes Emma bristle uncomfortably. Something seems off in Emma's opinion.
"Hi Lily, this is Emma." Alice introduces warmly. "Can I use your phone?"
"Of course sweetie, your usual booth?"
"Yes please."
Lily directs Emma as Alice rushes off towards the phone. She looks very pained as she does so. "Alice knows me pretty well; I've been friends with her dad for a while." Lily says with a smirk. "We've bonded over some deep stuff." She says it with this voice of ' you wouldn't understand.' She leaves without so-much as giving Emma a menu.
Emma rolls her eyes. Typical. She thinks. As if Emma doesn't have enough to deal with, she has a snippety waitress being jealous. It was the perfect way to top off her day.
But compared to her day of losing Killian, of being nearly skewered by Miss Candy Land, this was nothing. She could handle this, Emma could keep her cool and everything would be fine.
Alice practically skips back over and slides into the booth, Lily slinking back immediately afterwards.
"Hey sweetie, decide on anything?" Alice nods.
"Chocolate chip waffles!" She exclaims happily. It brings a smile to Emma's face. Lily frowns.
"Doesn't your daddy usually say to get the peanut butter ones?" She offers gently. It makes Alice frown, looking confused. The blonde looks back at Emma unsure.
"She said chocolate." Emma intrudes firmly. Lily turns to glare at her, as if she's interrupting something. Lily takes a breath and gives a sigh.
"Ok, if you're sure pumpkin." She moves to leave shooting daggers at Emma, but Emma raises her hand.
"Coffee please." She says it quickly and smirks at Lily sharply. "Cream and two sugars." The woman slowly nods then leaves with a huff. Emma is pretty sure that the woman was going to spit in her coffee.
"Is she always here when you come?" Emma asks, alarms bells slowly starting at the look of this place. It looks like something from the early nineties.
"Yup. Well not the first time, there was an older woman here who was very nice, but Lily's been here the rest of the time, she talks a lot to Papa, but he always tries to get out of here as soon as possible. I don't know why because waffles."
Emma smiles. "I don't know either. But do you know what's better than waffles?" She leans in as if Emma is about to tell her some deep dark secret when a voice calls over them.
"Alice! phone!" Its Lily, because of course it's Lily. Alice jumps up the booth excitedly and rushes into the back, mumbling about what could possibly be better than waffles
Lily comes back without a word, practically dropping her coffee on the table. "Whoops." She says as some of it spills on the table, completely intentional as far as Emma could tell. This woman's behavior was really ticking her off. Emma is literally moments from decking the rude waitress.
She knows it would get her removed from the establishment, but it would feel so good.
She keeps it together; she just needs to keep it a little while longer for Alice. Liam would be here soon and then…Well Emma didn't know what then, there was a good chance Liam would take Alice and leave Emma behind.
But that didn't matter; Emma would hold it together until she got Alice somewhere safe, that's what she promised Killian after all.
Alice was the goal here. Keep her happy and content until her uncle arrives. It was a simple plan relying on some chocolate chip waffles. Maybe with extra whipped cream.
Speaking of which, the meal just arrives in the arms of the older waitress, an older blonde woman this time.
"Right there please." Emma says simply as the woman smiles. "Thank you." They are covered in chocolate chips and a swirl of chocolate syrup with an absolute ton of whipped cream. Alice is going to lose her mind when she say it. She smiles just thinking about it.
"Can I get you anything else?" She the woman asks. Emma shakes her head, there looks to be plenty of whipped cream on those pancakes, not to mention the amount of syrup. Alice was going to have a sugar rush in no time, but then Emma freezes. She feels her stomach drop.
Lily is printed on her name tag.
"You're both Lily?" Emma says slowly. It could be a coincidence she reasons. The name tag looks brand new. Lily wasn't uncommon enough for it to be impossible. The woman looks at her confused.
"Who?" She asks with a genuine confused expression.
"You're name tag…"still trying to process what's happening, process that the person serving them was not an employee, or was a figment of her imagination or…She hears the phone ring, loud and clear above all her racing thoughts.
They never heard the phone ring. Alice wasn't on the phone.
That's all she needs to burst from her seat and run to the back where Alice is, where Alice was.
Emma sees the phone all alone and the door leading outside still swinging open. "You can't be back here!" The waitress yells, but Emma ignores her. She needs to get to Alice. She needs to get to her now.
Emma should never have left her alone, not for one second. Not with Candy Land and Gothel after them. She was so stupid.
'Lily' had her hand on Alice half leading, half dragging her towards her car obviously in a rush. A faded red corvette was in the parking lot, looking strange compared to the old trucks and station wagons parked besides it.
"Hey!" Emma shouts making them stop in their tracks. Lily's head snaps back towards her in surprise. "Get your hands off of her." Alice looks up, face bright and oblivious.
"Lily says Uncle Liam wants to meet in town!" She exclaims. "Lily says she'd take us! They have waffles there too!"
Emma glares at the brunette, "Is that so?" She snarls. Her blood is boiling and Emma is exhausted in every sense of the word. She's tired from walking, from the emotional drainage of a day, worse of all; she's tired she can't even give this girl waffles without it blowing up in her face.
Emma swan has had enough.
"Yup." she says, curtly. Emma doesn't need her superpower to know Lily was full of shit. She strolls up to them, trying to get Alice behind her before she escalated the situation. And Emma had every intention of escalating the situation.
"Alice." Emma says slowly. "Come here."
"But-"
"Now Alice." The girl does as she's told, here blue eyes wide with confusion but she trust Emma.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be." Lily growls.
"I could say the same to you." Emma snaps back.
There's a pause, and Emma swears Lily's eyes are glowing green with murderous rage. Perhaps, they glow a fraction too much to be normal.
"I'm really glad you were a crappy waitress." She then decks her in the face, making her stumble backwards. "Because that felt fantastic." She hits her again harder, before kicking her in the stomach.
Emma moves to hit her again, aiming to knock her out fast, but when she lunges, Lily grabs her wrist and cracks her neck, blood trailing down her lip. Her eyes no longer look human, her pupil is a singular slit, much like a lizard.
Shit. Emma knows things are about to get dangerous.
She pulls out of Lily's grip. "Run Alice!"
Thankfully she does as it let them both get far enough away from her before she breathes actual fire at them.
Because of course she breathes fire. Why the hell not.
"You couldn't have just let me have her could you?" Lily growls; strolling towards them, her arms hanging down loosely. "You couldn't have just let me win?" She hisses; cracking her neck again, heat radiating off her entire being, and not fever type heat, but Emma was confident that even touching her would burn. Emma backs away from her for a moment, watching her stalk towards them. Something happening to her as she does so, her skin seemed to melting away, leaving blotches of scales in their wake.
"Emma? What's happening?" Alice asks clutching onto her leg.
"I don't know, but I don't want to stay and figure it out." She admits honestly, pushing her further and further away from Lily.
"I just want to take her to Mother. People like you always get in the way."
"People like who?" Emma asks, because now Emma knows exactly what this is about. It makes her tense up more because she knows know what they're dealing with: Desperation.
Her limbs seem to twist as she moves, moving and shifting into place. They seem to transform her into some sort of creature, some sort of lizard.
"People who don't understand what it's like to be different!" Lily shouts. "People like you get everything handed to them!"
Now that grinds her gears. "I think you need to just shut up."
Not understand what it's like to be different? She seethes, different is all Emma ever felt.
Since the moment she was born she was the foster kid. When her magic started to manifest when she was 12 years old it only got worse. It got so much worse. She felt different every moment of every day, different when she caused a candy machine to short circuit when she got angry, when lights started to flicker when a teacher or a bully made her feel scared, different when every single foster family sent her back because she was a bad luck charm.
Lily takes this moment to blow another puff of fire her way, but Emma's not scared this time. This time Emma was ready. Magic gathered on her skin, prickling and protecting her practically pushing them back, it made Lily jolt in surprise.
When Graham died and the whole town thought it was her fault. They never liked them together in the first place, but it hurt when they wouldn't even let her go to the funeral. It hurt when they tried to erase her from his life. It hurt when they blamed her for his death, telling everyone she caused the heart attack.
Emma thought it was because of the people she was with, thought normal people would never understand her. She thought that she was better off on her own, or maybe people like her. People with magic in their veins just like her.
"Then you should understand." Lily snickers. "You should join me, come home, where we are wanted and-" power gathers in her hands and she blasts it, hitting her right in the chest.
She never felt wanted; never felt she belonged until she met Killian and Alice.
"They don't want us." She snaps. "They want to use us. Any place that only wants us if we do bad things isn't worth going at all. It's not a home."
Home was a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. Home was playing checkers with chess pieces, home was reading stories, and tucking in Alice at night.
Home was Killian and Alice and they destroyed it.
"Well it's better than nothing." Lily snarls, lunging at her again, this time Emma can't get her magic to appear, it short and sputters in her hands. She hears Alice scream as she's lost in claws and scales and feels nails dig into her neck, feeling her skin hot and fiery.
She begs her magic to fling her off, to work, to help her get Alice home.
She can't breathe, feeling a lizard snout in her face, sharp teeth forming. For a moment, Emma thinks she's going to die.
She thinks Alice is going to be taken to where Killian would rather die than see her go. And Emma was powerless to stop her.
"Oh enough of that." An unfamiliar voice calls. The weight on top of her vanishes as it's flung away in a flash of green light. Lily hits a tree and stops moving completely. Emma sucks in a deep breath of air. She's startled, looking around for the presence. She sees a pair of people looking over at them, one female, deep orange hair over a black blouse and long skirt, she looks rather annoyed at the whole situation, the other is male, familiar blue piercing eyes, but his hair is lighter and curlier.
"Who-" Emma stutters out, getting to her feet slowly. "Who are you?" Somewhere deep inside, she knows. She knows exactly who he is.
She gets her answer promptly however, "Liaammm!" Alice howls, running at full speed practically tackling the man. Prepared, he kneels down and scoops the now sobbing 6 year old into his arms, murmuring softly to her. His weapon, a hand gun dropped at his feet. She hears him call her by name, and then calls her 'starfish' as he tries to soothe her.
Seeing Alice with her family, Emma immediately feels at ease.
The woman ruins that peace however. "Where's Robin?" The woman snaps, strolling up to her impatiently.
"Robin?" Emma repeats, trying to remember if she even knew that name. "I don't-" The woman doesn't stay long enough to hear her answer, deciding to go investigate the spot Lily fell instead. She doesn't know how to respond, especially when the man, still cradling Alice strolls up to her. He looks furious.
"The better question is who are you, what are you doing with my niece and where the hell is my brother?"