AN: If you've made it to this point, you know: italics are thoughts, bold words are lines from the show, and the characters belong to Adam and Eddie. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it.
Of Devils, Black Sheep, Villains, and Knaves
Chapter 51
As they made their way down the back exit to the Mayor's office, Killian got an idea. Let's see how up for adventure you are, Elsa. He looked back at the ice witch, who was following him deftly. They made their way to the end of the alley and Killian checked for pedestrians. He had heard Leroy and the mob and waited until they had safely passed.
"All right. Coast is clear." He said and began walking away, but Elsa didn't follow. Killian sighed. "That means go, love."
"I'm not coming with you." Elsa shook her head. "There's someone out there with powers like mine. I need to find out who. I...I can't just hide out in some sheriff's station."
Good on you, lass. Killian smirked, "Oh. Well, that works out quite nicely, then. 'Cause that's not where we're going."
"It's not?" Elsa asked, surprised.
"With Emma running into danger? Not a chance in hell." Killian replied, and pointed, just for future reference. "And the sheriff's station's that way."
"And what's that way?" She nodded in the direction he'd been heading.
He smirked again, "With any luck, danger."
Just one stop to make first. I'd hoped to hold on to this a bit longer. Killian opened the door to Gold's shop, Elsa's look was curious, but she said nothing. Apparently, the ice queen was content in the knowledge that they were going to look for the person who froze Marian and created the wall. And by now she'd probably figured out that the Dark One was their go-to for magical answers.
"Wait here. And have that hair ready for if he agrees." Killian instructed and walked over to Gold, ready to blackmail the Dark One.
As expected, Gold had a counter for almost every argument, until Killian pulled the trump: Belle. The Dark One couldn't be with his wife all day every day. It would take almost nothing for Killian to tell her the truth and get her to attempt to call the Dark One. Despite a rocky start to their relationship, Killian liked to think that he and Belle were almost friends and certainly no longer enemies. And Rumplestiltskin's history meant that Belle could (probably) easily question whether or not her husband had given her the real dagger.
Gold was furious. "That's a very dangerous insinuation."
Killian raised an eyebrow, maintaining a stance of almost threatening nonchalance. "So we have a deal?"
"I do hope Miss Swan's worth it." The Dark One muttered.
Aye, she absolutely is worth this and more. Killian smiled and turned to Elsa. "Good news! He's agreed to help."
Elsa wasted no time. She held out the frozen hair. "This hair is from Marian. Someone cast a freezing curse on her. We need to know who it is."
"Well... you're in luck. Magic can change forms, but never be destroyed. We'll simply return it to its natural state." Gold explained and waved his hand.
The hair vanished and in it's place were snowflakes.
"Magic similar to yours, dearie, though not quite the same." The Dark One pointed out. "Much like a snowflake, each person's magic is unique."
Spare us the magic lesson, please. "Poetic. How does that help us?" Killian asked.
The Dark One blew the snowflakes into the air and told them to follow it to the person who created them.
I've ten doubloons that we end up trekking through the forest. Killian sighed as he and Elsa started off after the small little white flakes.
Sure enough, as they reached the edge of Main Street, the flakes headed off into the woods. As they walked, Killian marked a tree every so-often. Elsa was curious about why.
"Leaving a trail." Killian explained. If you knew how many times I've journeyed through the woods following something or trying to find something, you would understand. "I'm more accustomed to outrunning bad weather than following it."
Elsa seemed to take offense to his statement. "Snow isn't bad. And we're following magic."
"Try to outrun that, too, when given the chance." Killian replied. At that, Elsa giggled. "What's so funny?" He asked.
"It's just Emma has magic, and you clearly don't want to outrun her." Elsa pointed out.
"More like the other way around." Killian sighed.
"Maybe she feels the same way about pirates as you do about magic." Elsa suggested.
A year or two ago, that might have been true. He thought about it a moment, but that couldn't be it. Emma had never really cared that he was a pirate, only about his actions and who's side he was on. "I've worked to change. Though, in fairness, being a pirate is not necessarily a bad thing. Particularly a charming one like meself."
"I think your self-appreciation is blinding you to a simple fact…" Elsa said with certainty. "This isn't about you. It's about her."
"Is that right? A few short days, and you know Emma so well?" He asked, clearly not satisfied with the blonde's assessment. To be fair, she might be right. A lot of Emma's running is due to her past, not necessarily to the people around her.
Elsa shrugged. "We're a lot alike. When you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, it can be hard to let people in, to trust them. Even when they want what's best for you."
The certainly does describe Emma. Maybe Elsa is on to something here…Killian thought over his interactions with Emma and his knowledge of her. She was certainly one to take on more than her share of responsibility and she'd been an orphan, that left trust issues that ran deep.
His reverie was interrupted when the pair stumbled on to the Snow Queen. Quickly, they ducked behind a log and Killian tried to call Emma on the mobile device. She didn't answer. Dammit, Swan. "Why should I carry around this ridiculous thing if you're never there when I use it? We found the person who froze Marian. Get to the west edge of the woods right away." He said quietly, leaving Emma a message.
Keeping out of sight proved to be more difficult than he thought. Elsa was extremely curious about the Snow Queen, having never seen anyone with powers similar to hers, so she kept trying to look at the woman. Killian was getting antsy, Emma hadn't returned his calls and the longer they stayed there, the more likely they were to be discovered. As soon as they tried to make a move, Killian found his legs stuck in ice, unable to move his feet.
The conversation between Elsa and the Snow Queen was fascinating. The Snow Queen clearly knew Elsa, but based on the younger woman's expressions and face, Killian decided she did not know the Snow Queen, or at least didn't remember that she did. This is Storybrooke, lost memories are kind of a rite of passage.
Killian listened as the Snow Queen justified her actions and claimed that Marian was an accident. Like hell it was.
"No, it wasn't. You wanted them to think it was me. To blame me. Why?" Elsa demanded, clearly agreeing with Killian's mental assessment.
"I was trying to teach you a lesson. Eventually, everyone turns on people like us. Even friends. Even family. They're just waiting for a reason." The Snow Queen waved her hand and sharp icicles above Killian's head began to grow and shook like they were ready to drop.
Bloody hell, this isn't good. Killian thought, and saw out of the corner of his eye Elsa try to use her powers, but nothing happened. He started chipping at the ice with his hook, but he wasn't making any progress.
"When your friend is found, you'll look responsible. Then they'll turn on you and they'll treat you as the monster that they truly see you as, and you'll know that I'm right." The Snow Queen said.
Just then, Killian heard his favorite voice and he knew the calvary had arrived.
"Hey! Dairy queen!" Emma called, distracting the Snow Queen from her current plan to murder him.
"Emma?" The older blonde asked with a tone of recognition.
That sounds like they know each other. How does this woman know both Emma and Elsa but neither of them know her? Killian thought as the two women exchanged words and Emma blasted the Snow Queen back. David was by his side, helping him chip away at the ice. Suddenly, the icicles shook and Killian knew they were about to fall, but then he felt himself pushed away by a warm wind that smelled faintly of lavender and vanilla and cinnamon - Emma. Unfortunately, the momentary distraction of having to save her father and Killian had allowed the Snow Queen to escape.
They checked the forest for a few minutes but found absolutely no sign of her, other than the strange ice castle formation the Snow Queen had made.
"No sign of her. Not even tracks." Emma sighed, pacing.
"What is it? You okay?" David stood in front of his daughter, stopping her. "Hey, we're gonna find her. Don't let Regina shake your confidence."
"It's not that. It's this snow queen. It's like she didn't just know Elsa. She knew me, too." Emma replied, frustrated.
That is what worried me too, Swan. Killian nodded.
David wasn't convinced. Either that, or he wasn't going to worry about it in front of his daughter. "Well, you are the sheriff and the Savior and royalty. I think pretty much everyone in Storybrooke knows who you are."
Emma sighed. "There's something more. It's like, when she said my name, I-I-I don't know. It sounded familiar."
"Well, we'll figure it out. But today you did good." David smiled. "You stopped her. It was a pretty impressive show, sheriff."
"That it was." Killian chimed in. "But perhaps we should keep searching, find the villain's lair, as it were."
Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "So you can almost get yourself killed again? That's exactly why I told you to go to the sheriff's station."
Killian watched, surprised and hurt, as Emma walked over to check on Elsa.
"What did you do?" David asked softly.
"Haven't a clue, mate. This was pretty much a normal day for us in Storybrooke." Killian shook his head. "She'll tell me when she's ready. I hope."
David didn't respond, merely gave a nod and changed the subject. "You need a ride back?"
"Aye, but drop me off on Main. I've some errands to run." Killian nodded.
