Emma was right behind him, but he was still out of sight before her eyes could adjust to the muted light of the street. No matter. She knew where he would go. She was about to take off running when her parents stopped her from the doorway of the town hall. She wouldn't have any of it.
"Just stay here," she told a slightly nervous David and Mary- Margaret. "Let me go talk to him."
She didn't wait for their response before running down the street towards the docks. It took her a moment to realize that Regina had followed her, and was now sailing down the street alongside her. "What part of 'let me talk to him' was confusing?" she asked the mayor, slowing down a bit.
"We just discovered the king of Hell could be lurking in any shadow, and you want to go off on your own in the middle of the night? You may be the savior, but even you're not that good."
Emma was about to take off running again when she noticed Regina take a tentative step towards an alley across the street. Not again, she thought, turning to see what Regina had seen. But, the alley was completely empty.
"Regina," she started, catching the queen's attention once again. "Maybe you should go home, and rest. There's nothing there; you're just tired."
But Regina wasn't tired, and she knew what, or rather, who she had seen hiding in the shadows. Oh well, it was too late to warn Emma now.
"Regina," a sickeningly familiar voice sang. "It's been far too long, my dear." And then, Cora was in front of them, taunting them with her very presence. It was ironic, Emma thought, as ever since she had lost Killian, for however brief a time it was, her dreams were filled with the horror of losing him. A few nights, she'd even found herself dreaming of seeing Cora's hand inside Killian's chest, reminding him to keep in line.
"Mother, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Regina sneered, playing the bit of the evil queen quite nicely.
"Oh, I think you know," she started, her eyes trained on Emma. "Everything comes with a price, Emma. You won't get out of this one." She took hold of Emma's wrist to keep her from running, scalding her skin. It was like the night with the fury all over again. One look into the ex- queen's dark eyes, and Emma was feeling dizzy. The feeling only lasted a moment though, before she was blasted away by Regina's magic.
"You, I never really cared for you the first time around and now that you're dead? You're even worse."
"Hades will have what he came for," Cora cackled breathlessly as Regina grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her in the direction of the docks.
Though a part of her, way in the back of her mind and heart, knew that this was coming, Emma couldn't help the broken sob that forced its way through her lips at the sight of the Jolly Roger. It was peaceful, and looked perfectly normal, if you avoided the spot right in front of the wheel. She made her way to him on shaky legs, dropping to his side when she was close enough. Surprisingly Regina was right behind her.
"Not again, please not again," she whispered to herself over and over subconsciously. He promised.
"This is impossible," Regina stated, disbelieving at the seemingly dead pirate in front of her. "No one steals from me, and they do, they never live to tell the tale."
Emma rubbed her damp eyes and turned her gaze to Regina. "What are you talking about?" she asked, unsure of what her statement had to do with anything.
Regina sighed, and summoned the box, just as Mary- Margaret and David reached the ship, running out of patience for the people in this town, and worried for their daughter, Henry right behind them. Waving her hand in front of the box to undo the magical seal, Regina popped the box open and smiled, lifting the heart out. "It's still here," she declared, confused, and slightly, strangely, relieved.
"What did you do?" Emma demanded, finally looking up from Killian's face.
Regina immediately went on the defensive. She did not need to go back to being the bad guy. "He asked me to take it- to protect it. Remember when I told you that he thought your dreams were prophetic?" She asked, and Emma nodded. "But this doesn't make sense," she said, looking at the heart strangely. "He's still alive. Somehow."
A/N- Am I still evil?
