Chapter 25: Touring the Bayou
Before they left to meet Tiana, Emma gathered everyone on the deck of the Jolly Roger. "Remember," she warned, "we're just ordinary tourists from Maine. To people here, Hook, Robin Hood and the Evil Queen don't exist beyond books and movies, so be careful."
"I spent twenty-eight years hiding the fact that I was the Evil Queen," Regina responded, "so I think I can handle it for a few hours."
"That may be true, but you didn't have magic then. You and I will have to be really careful not to use magic around her. We don't want to arouse any suspicions."
"Why not simply explain the truth to her?" Robin asked. "Hiding it seems to make the whole situation unnecessarily complicated. Is the thought of other realms really that unthinkable to people in this world?"
"Yea. You should have seen what it took to convince Mom," Henry answered.
"There is no way we could easily convince her of the truth of who we all are and what we're doing," Emma replied. "She'll think we're either all crazy, or we're messing with her. Either way, she's not going to want to help us. So let's just keep the whole Storybrooke thing under wraps. The last thing we want to do is attract any attention in town or give Facilier any warning if there's even a chance he doesn't already know we're here."
"Are we all going on this expedition?" Robin questioned.
"I think we should," Emma answered. "We're gonna need all of our skills to track this guy down. And if he attacks, we'll be ready."
When Tiana returned to the tavern to meet the group of tourists, she found them all standing on the sidewalk with awkward formality. "Everyone alright?" she asked as she looked them over. They all answered with a cacophony of reassurances and she nodded slowly. After examining the group's attire, she said, "You know we're going into the bayou, right? Walking around in the swamps?"
"We're ready," Emma replied for the group.
Tiana seemed to hesitate, still studying the group in front of her, but when Regina held out the promised money, the younger woman quickly grabbed it. "Are you crazy?" Tiana asked. "You clearly don't live in a city, do you? You don't hold out money like that for everyone to see."
"Do you want it or not?" Regina calmly asked, unconcerned with any small time criminals that might try to steal from her.
"Yea I want it," Tiana said, quickly pocketing the cash and looking around.
"Then let's go," Regina immediately responded.
"You all take touring to a whole new level," the waitress stated. "So…serious."
Emma nodded, "We're excited."
"Alright. Well, we'll take a streetcar to a place where we can rent a boat."
"Are you sure you can still find it?" Emma asked.
"Oh, I'm sure," Tiana answered as she led them down the street to a streetcar stop. They all hopped on the streetcar, and, making conversation, Tiana asked, "So where are you all from again?"
"Maine," Emma answered.
"What about you?" Tiana asked Robin.
"Maine," he affirmed.
"Have you lived there long?"
"All my life," Robin calmly answered, immediately seeing Emma's eyes go wide.
Tiana doubtfully replied, "How'd you get an English accent in Maine?"
"He meant all of his adult life," Regina explained.
"Right," Tiana said, obviously finding her companions' behavior sort of strange.
They rode for a while on streetcars until they were close enough to walk to the boat rental shop. Tiana initially smiled when she saw the friendly, middle-aged proprietor wave to her from inside the shop, and then she heard laughter coming from a dock nearby, and she seemed visibly annoyed. On the dock, enjoying the sun and a few cold beers, sat a young man and three female companions. Two of the women were giggling at him and the other was visibly fawning. The young man himself was definitely handsome. He had an amazing physique, a golden tan he'd clearly earned, gorgeous dark eyes and a well-chiseled jaw. He was, in many ways, the epitome of tall, dark and handsome, but Tiana was clearly not one of the members of his fan club.
He waved at Tiana though, offering a dashing grin and shouting with a thick Latin accent, "Finally decided to join us, eh Tiana?"
"I'll have to pass," she muttered quietly. Clearly he couldn't hear her, but she seemed to want him to think he was being ignored. "Right this way," she signaled to the group she'd been commissioned to take on tour.
"Tiana," the proprietor greeted with the same thick, almost aristocratic accent of the younger man who'd been lulling outside, "it's so good to see you."
"You too, Mr. Rey," she responded.
"What brings you to me today?"
"I'd like to take my friends here on a little bayou tour."
"How long would you like the boat?"
"We'll take it for the day."
Mr. Rey grabbed the appropriate paperwork and began to fill it out. "So you haven't come to tame my son? It's high time for him to grow up," the older man said as he looked up from his form and grinned.
Tiana responded, "No offense, but your son is a spoiled little boy. I don't have time for spoiled little boys."
"Sadly, I know this." He turned the form toward Tiana and pointed to places where he needed her to sign. "One-hundred dollars even. I'll give you the family discount. Because you never know, perhaps, one day…"
Tiana chuckled, "Had your son inherited your charm and work ethic, I'd be all over that. For now, I wouldn't hold my breath."
"I'll give you the discount anyway…just in case," Mr. Rey responded, his affection for Tiana blatantly apparent.
Tiana looked at Regina and waited. "Oh yes," Regina replied, digging into her pocket for money.
"You want lockers?" Mr. Rey offered.
"For what?" Regina asked.
"For anything else that isn't really needed," Tiana answered, dropping a few bottles of bug repellent on the counter.
Initially, everyone wondered why Tiana had warned them about the nature of the swamp. They all enjoyed the ride on the airboat, zipping over the water. As they continued on, the channels that were wide and deep enough for their boat grew narrower and more shallow, the trees and vines on all sides and overhead grew thicker and they all started to understand why Tiana had wondered if they really wanted to go into the swamp.
She seemed to know where she was going though, her eyes seeking out landmarks and navigating through the terrain. She found a spot to moor the boat, and carefully tied it down. "Here we are," she announced, offering a hand to help Henry off the boat and onto the spongy ground.
"This is it?" Emma asked, scowling briefly when Tiana carefully took Emma's elbow to help her off the boat. Tiana seemed abnormally concerned about Emma's safety, and Emma guessed it was because she was pregnant. Tiana didn't know all of the things Emma had done and was going to do while pregnant, and that stepping off a boat most certainly wasn't one of Emma's more dangerous activities. "Trust me," Emma said to Tiana, "I don't need to be coddled."
Tiana shook her head, "I'm sure you don't, but watch your step."
Emma looked around and asked, "This is where Odalee lived?"
"Sort of," Tiana replied. "About two more miles. But the swamp is too thick through here, so we'll have to walk."
The walk to Odalee's former residence seemed to be much longer than two miles. Within moments, everyone was damp and muddy and fighting off the mosquitoes that seemed undeterred by repellent. Paths that used to be there were overgrown, the ground was soft, and in some places, they had to trudge through thick mud or slosh through shallow water. When the brush grew too thick, Killian grabbed his sword and started to cut through the vegetation. "What the hell?" Tiana asked when he drew the sword from inside his coat. "You always carry that thing around in there?"
"You said it was swampland," Killian answered. "I wanted to be prepared."
Tiana seemed to accept his answer, although a little suspiciously. When a snake slithered down a thick vine near Killian's shoulder, Robin screamed, "Hook, lookout!" as he grabbed the serpent and tossed it into the water nearby. "Are you alright?" Robin asked.
Killian, unscathed, replied, "Thanks, mate," before he continued slashing through the brush.
Everyone was watching Killian or helping to clear the debris, and then they paused when Tiana asked, "Did you call him 'Hook'?"
"Oh, yes," Robin said as he remembered to be cautious. "A nickname from our youth."
Tiana nodded, and it looked like she was going to ask where the nickname came from for a moment, and then Killian gestured toward the opening in the vegetation and said, "We can get through."
As soon as Emma went through the gap Killian had created, her eyes were drawn upward toward a house that was constructed in the trees. It looked a great deal like Odalee's house in the other realm, although it was situated higher in the trees, and had clearly been abandoned long ago.
There was some graffiti on trees nearby, but oddly enough, none on the home itself. Emma wondered if it was because they feared Odalee, respected her, or a combination of the two. Some of the windows were cracked or completely broken, and there were a few places where the boards were so rotten or warped that they could see through the space between them.
The steps were narrow and steep and didn't seem terribly safe, and had Tiana not been there, they definitely would have forgone the stairs and used magic to ascend. Robin climbed the staircase first, testing the strength of each step, and when he found the steps to be sound, each member of the party climbed up one at a time.
The inside was eerily like Odalee's home in the other realm, although it was obvious the place had been looted on more than one occasion. Many of her books were tossed on the floor, bottles on shelves had been emptied, broken or taken, and the hangers that had once held herbs to dry were all empty. Odalee's chair and large cauldron still sat in the middle of the room, though, likely because they were too heavy and unwieldy to take down the steps. The remaining liquid in the cauldron was a putrescent blend of rotting organic matter and rainwater, and the foul odor filled the room with a smell like death. Someone overcame their respect for and fear of Odalee enough to plunder those things that had belonged to her.
"Maybe if you can give me an idea of what you're looking for, I can help you find it," Tiana offered.
"Did you know her?" Emma asked.
"No. She was gone long before my time, my mother's time, too. If the stories are true, she and a whole group of people disappeared from town when my grandmother was small. To be honest, I don't even know for sure if she really lived here or if it's all just local folklore."
"What folklore?"
"They called her Mama Odie. She was widely known for her use of voodoo. Not the pins-and-needles-in-dolls kinda voodoo…mostly she was known for helping people and giving advice. That's why they called her Mama. She was said to look out for her people."
"Her people?"
"New Orleans is a diverse place. She didn't just look out for Creoles or bayou residents. Mama didn't judge people by color, language or what neighborhood they were from…she did have a soft spot for those who didn't have much. They say she was very powerful, but if someone came for wealth, power or fame, she sent them out the door. And with all of the power she was supposed to have, you see how little she had for herself."
Tiana told a few stories about people Odalee was rumored to help, and while everyone was listening to Tiana's stories, Emma was searching the home. She felt for loose floorboards and checked the shelves for hiding places. There were plenty of loose floorboards, but nothing beneath them. Emma was losing hope, fearing that any clues had long since been pilfered. She flopped back into Odalee's old wooden chair, frustrated but convinced that there must be a clue left behind that was somehow eluding her. She was just about to give up when she shifted in the chair and the seat beneath her seemed to move.
Emma jumped up so quickly that everyone took notice, and Tiana stopped talking while she watched. Emma knelt in front of the chair and started feeling the seat and arms.
"Are you alright?" Tiana asked. When Emma didn't answer, Tiana turned to the rest of the group and added, "Is she alright?"
"What did you find, Swan?" Killian asked.
"Nothing yet," Emma absently answered as she continued to search the chair.
Just when she started to think her search was in vain, Emma pulled one of the decorative supports between the arm of the chair and seat, and she heard the distinct thud of an ancient lock opening. Then she saw it, a drawer that opened beneath the seat. "Got it," Emma victoriously announced.
Sliding the drawer open, Emma pulled a number of rolled up papers from inside. Everyone gathered around and watched while she unrolled them. She found sketches on the pages. The first was a picture of the talisman they'd already retrieved, and that gave them confidence that they were on the right track. The next few sketches truly astounded them. There were drawings of Killian and Emma, pictures of a shadow swirling around infants, and a beautiful picture of a woman who was obviously Emma holding a baby with green eyes and dark hair that reminded them of the images they'd seen in Raina's castle. The final image was one of Killian on the deck of the Jolly Roger, black pirate flag flying behind him. Tiana was peeking through the group to see the pictures, but when she saw the picture of Killian and his hook, and remembered that Robin had called him "Hook," she started to feel uneasy. "Is someone gonna tell me what's going on here?" she asked.
They were all engrossed in the images, and Emma said to Killian, "These papers are obviously really old…probably almost a hundred years old."
"Which proves that she, or someone, knew about us even then. She said they'd been waiting for us until we messed up our path," Killian replied.
"So they did what they had to do to put us back on it," Emma said.
"Is anyone gonna answer me?" Tiana asked, becoming a little more nervous. No one answered her again and she added, "Someone is going to tell me what's going on, or I'm going back to the boat and I'm going home."
"It's complicated," Emma finally answered.
"This is some role-playing thing, isn't it? Or maybe you're all just a bunch of mental patients." Tiana pointed at Killian and said, "The hook, the pirate ship…who is he supposed to be…Captain Hook?" Tiana had been chuckling over the notion, but when everyone looked nervously back at her, her smile disappeared. "You really are all crazy…or at least weird," she answered solemnly. "Either way, I want nothing to do with what's going on here. I'm leaving. Now. If you still want a guide, follow me. If not, you're on your own."
"I know this seems strange," Henry said as he dashed up to Tiana, trying to convince her to wait and that there was nothing to fear.
As he reached the edge of the porch, the board beneath him snapped in half, and Henry began to fall. Emma saw what had happened, and her instincts immediately used magic to catch him and transport him safely back into her arms. Emma stood there, tightly hugging Henry, and Tiana screamed, "What in the hell was that? How did you do that?"
"Give us a moment and all can be explained," Robin answered.
Tiana shook her head and began to leave, carefully testing her weight on the steps and trying to flee as quickly as possible. "We can't just let her leave," Regina said, using her magic to bring Tiana back up into Odalee's home.
"Let me go!" Tiana yelled. When no one answered, she started screaming for help.
Killian approached, trying to calm her, but his words fell on deaf ears as the woman panicked.
Regina finally waved her hand, and Tiana's cries silenced. She was still yelling, but no noise came from her lips. The young woman was thoroughly panicking now. Killian stood in front her and said, "If you'll agree to be quiet, I'll have Regina restore your voice. We can explain everything, but we can't when you're screaming like that. No one here wants to do you any harm."
Tears were forming in the corner of Tiana's eyes, but she bobbed her head in agreement. Killian nodded at Regina, who restored Tiana's voice. Defiantly, the young woman looked at Killian and said, "If you so much as lay a finger on me-"
"I told you," he reassured, "no one here wants to hurt you."
The structure around them creaked again, and they all started to wonder if it was going to collapse. Emma gathered the pictures and said, "We need to get out of here before this whole place crumbles."
"We can't go back to town yet. What if she tells everyone about what she's seen?" Regina said, looking at Tiana.
Knowing that they needed to explain everything to Tiana in the hopes that the young woman wouldn't run through town telling everyone what she'd seen, Emma nodded. "Tiana, we're going to take you to our ship so we can explain this to you, okay?"
"I want to go home," the younger woman replied.
"We can't let you do that just yet," Emma answered, "but I promise you'll be home soon." In the next blink of an eye, they were all on the Jolly Roger.
Tiana looked around at the ship, looked at Killian and yelled, "Oh my god. Do you actually think you're Captain Hook or is this all part of whatever game you're playing?"
"My name is Killian Jones, but most people know me as Hook," he answered.
"Where is your hook?" she argued.
He removed it from his coat and replaced his false hand with it, and she shook her head, trying to find a new argument to prove he was wrong. "Shouldn't you have been freaking out about those alligators back in the swamp? They were really close to the boat."
"Why would I fear them?" he asked.
"Isn't that what took your hand?" she argued, feeling like she was about to win this fight.
He tilted his head and then as the answer dawned on him, he corrected, "Are you talking about the Crocodile?"
"I figured an alligator would be close enough to worry you."
"How do you know what I call him?" Killian asked with confused interest.
"The 'crocodile' who took his hand isn't really a crocodile," Emma explained. "That was just a nickname."
"Right...," Tiana answered, "because it's crazy to think the crocodile was real, but Captain Hook, well I should believe that right away."
"Some of the stories you know have elements of truth," Emma tried to explain.
"I don't remember Captain Hook having a lady," Tiana argued. "Who are you supposed to be? Mister Smee got a sex change and lost a hundred pounds?"
"I didn't lie to you. My name is Emma Swan, and believe me, I was just as skeptical as you, maybe more. But at some point, I knew there was no other explanation for the things I was seeing."
"And you?" Tiana asked Regina. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"Well," Regina tactfully replied, "Where most of us are from, I'm known as the Evil Queen. But there's no need to be frightened-"
"Which evil queen?" Tiana interrupted. "Isn't there an evil queen or mean stepmother or something like that in pretty much every kids' story?"
Regina's mouth gaped for a moment as her reaction changed from shocked to offended, "There is only one Evil Queen."
"Okay, ma'am. Whatever you say," Tiana replied. Mumbling under her breath, she added, "You're all delusional," as she stared up into the masts. She silently admitted, if this was a trick, it was certainly an elaborate one.
"Even if we are delusional," Regina answered, "how exactly do you think I stopped you from talking? How did Emma stop Henry from falling to his death? How did we all end up here?"
"I'm not sure yet. Hollywood smoke and mirrors? Sleight of hand? If people can make the Statue of Liberty disappear, they can make almost anything look real. Or maybe this is a dream…or maybe those fumes we were breathing at Mama Odie's place made me hallucinate this whole thing."
"This is all very real," Emma replied. She directed Tiana toward a wooden provisions box and patted the top. "Have a seat. If you really want to know, I'll explain everything. All that I ask is that you have an open mind."
"Doesn't seem like I have a lot of choice in the matter," Tiana answered.
"You could agree to wait here on the ship until we do what we need to do and we're ready to go home," Emma said with a smile.
"Or we could try to make a memory potion, and help her forget this whole thing," Regina suggested.
"I'm not waiting here and I'm certainly not taking any potion," Tiana retorted as she leaned back, finding a more comfortable position. "But if you want to try to explain all of this, I'm all ears."
Emma told Tiana their stories. At first, Tiana was beyond skeptical, but as she listened and Emma and Regina showed her their magic, Robin's always accurate arrow, and some of the items on Killian's ship, they could see she was beginning to wonder if maybe her captors weren't entirely crazy. Still, it was a lot to convince anyone of in the space of a few moments. Noting Tiana's continued hesitation, Emma said, "Look, I know you don't want to talk about him, but as you already obviously know, Facilier is not a good man. He's threatened my children. I can't overlook that."
"They aren't the first. He's known for some pretty terrible things, if the rumors are true," Tiana said.
"If that's normal behavior for him, then I'm guessing you can probably agree that he needs to be stopped."
Tiana paused, but finally nodded, "I do."
"So regardless of whether or not you believe our story and who we are…you agree it's in everyone's best interest to make sure he can't hurt anyone else?"
"Yea."
"All that we're asking is that you give us some time to find him," Emma stated.
"Okay."
"And we'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone else about what we've told you. We don't want to attract a lot of attention."
"Alright," Tiana agreed. "Not like anyone would believe me anyway."
"Thank you," Emma replied. Turning back to the rest of the group, she said, "Well, we know that Odalee knew about us a long time ago. Which means Facilier has probably known about us for a long time."
"Unfortunately, we're no closer to finding him," Killian added. "I didn't see anything that might lead us to him."
"Neither did I," Regina admitted.
"I guess we'll go back to town. Maybe take one of those tours and see if we can catch any leads," Emma replied.
Tiana cleared her throat and said, "I know where to find him. I'll show you."
"I thought you didn't want to get involved with anything related to him," Regina answered.
"I don't. But someone needs to stop him."
"Why do I get the feeling that there's something you're not telling us," Regina suspiciously suggested.
"He's hurt people I care about," Tiana answered, "and that's all I'm saying on the matter."
"Maybe we're not so crazy after all?" Emma asked.
"Oh, I still think you all are crazy. But crazy or not, no one deserves to have their babies taken by that monstrous excuse for a man. Just make sure you get him. I'm putting my neck on the line helping you."
"We will," Emma replied.
"Now can I go home?"
"Aren't you going to take us to find Facilier?"
"I'm not going to that part of town at night. I don't work until tomorrow afternoon. I'll take you in the morning. I'm exhausted, and I still have to get back out into the swamp to get the boat back to Mr. Rey."
"Emma and I can take you to the boat and escort you home," Killian offered.
"Are you sure you two want to go alone?" Regina asked.
"You all look quite weary. You and Robin can stay here with the boy and rest. We'll be back shortly," Killian replied.
As much as Killian liked Henry and enjoyed the company of Regina and Robin as well, he missed being alone with Emma. While they had been gone, they'd sailed together, spent months venturing out on their own while they'd stayed in Raina's castle, and he wanted just a few moments for the two of them after they dropped Tiana off at home.
Killian added, "If you have any problems, we can call you on the communication device."
"What kind of communication device?" Tiana asked, waiting for an outlandish, other-world explanation.
"He means a cell phone," Emma replied, hugging Henry and whispering him a good night. "We can handle it. You guys get some rest."
"How are we going to get back there? It's dark," Tiana asked.
Taking Killian's arm and walking closer to Tiana, Emma replied, "Same way we got here."
With a flip of her hand, Emma magically transported the three of them to the shore next to the airboat. "I have to admit," Tiana said, looking around, "I don't know how you do that, but it's a really cool trick."