A/N: Regroup. Things are going to be coming to a head soon, but I wanted the opportunity to tie up a few loose ends allowed by this setting. Thanks for reading and please review :)
"Hey!"
The voice repeats, more urgently this time, and Regina lowers her foot down onto wet dirt surrounding gnarled roots and allows Henry to slip down so that he stands behind her. She turns around slowly, knowing that now is not the time to be doing anything without haste, but her heart feels as though it has frozen in her chest and her entire being seems to be trembling.
No. Please. We've come this far. We're so close... We're supposed to escape. We have to!
She silently bargains with a deaf god, but when she finally sees the object of her fear, she lets out a choked cry.
"Snow?!"
"Regina! What are you-"
But the younger woman's question dies on her lips as the brunette grabs a hold of Henry's hand and charges towards her hiding place amidst dense foliage. Her brows raise almost to her hairline when the Mayor completes this out of character act by placing a hand on her shoulder; almost as though she means to embrace her, but that, of course, would truly be madness.
"What are you doing?"
She asks, throwing her arms around Henry, who buries his face into her chest and reciprocates her tight hug eagerly.
"What does it look like we're doing?!"
Regina snaps, and the younger woman shakes her head warily as she muses
"Climbing trees... But I'm sure you have your reasons."
Dark eyes narrow dangerously at this, but Mary Margaret's response is so similar to something Regina can imagine Emma saying, she finds herself at a loss for the venom she might like to spit back at her long ago nemesis. Unlike Emma, the schoolteacher's query lacks any trace of sarcasm or dry humour, and the expression on her face is one of confusion and concern.
"We had to escape and there were too many of them inside the treehouse. I'm low on magic- low on everything right now- so I went with the only other option."
The darker woman explains, squeezing her eyes shut and massaging her temples. Snow regards her anxiously as she does so; taking in the extreme fatigue and hardship written across ordinarily fine features. The brunette's clothes are wrinkled and stained with dirt and a couple of specks of what looks alarmingly like blood. Swallowing nervously, and looking from Henry to Regina, Mary Margaret speaks up fearfully
"...Regina, where's Emma?"
No answer, as the darker woman bends over and rubs at her leg through ripped pants. When she straightens back up again, her expression is grave.
"I don't know."
"What?! What do you mean you-"
"-They took her. The Lost Boys, they took her... Tink, too."
"How could you let them-"
"-I didn't! That word has no place here! 'Let'?! As if there was a choice to the matter?! Believe me, there wasn't... There wasn't."
The brunette repeats wearily, and Henry nods beside her in agreement. He had been shocked back in the treehouse when Regina had insisted they stay hidden and allow the events in the main room to play out, but he knows his mother well, and her mannerisms and tone since they stepped out of the closet lead him to believe in her course of action entirely. Not just that though... When she'd held him to her in the shadows behind the slatted door, he had felt her heart beating against his cheek. Had felt it speed up with anger, with fear, with anxiety and with pain. Her stated regret that she felt unable to aid Emma in case she brought greater danger to them all- to him- had not consisted of empty words, and he turns now to Mary Margaret and insists solemnly
"We have to help them."
"We have to hurry."
Regina implores quietly, but her words come out slightly slurred and she seems unsteady on her feet. Taking in the ashen pallor to her complexion and the unsteadiness to her stance, Mary Margaret bites her lip and looks from the treehouse to the thickets behind her.
"Have you and Emma been travelling all this time?"
"Most of it... We had to take it slow because she-... Because it's been dangerous."
The Mayor confides, reaching out to steady herself by bracing her palm against rough bark.
"You should have come to us for help... We came here together for a reason, you shouldn't have gone off alone."
Snow scolds softly, but as she does so, she beckons for the others to follow her, leading them into the darkness away from the flickering lights of the treehouse and the torches that burn further into the undergrowth.
Hunters.
The Mayor shivers, limping uncomfortably as the deep bruises caused by the Lost Boys' trap shoot dull shards of pain up her leg.
"Where are we going?"
"You need food. And rest."
"But the others-"
"-We'll figure something out between us, we always do... Of course we wouldn't have to if you and Emma hadn't disappeared."
Mary Margaret grumbles, and the brunette sighs as she can tell that this will be a thematic matter of contention for some time to come. Still, Snow's levelheadedness- while crucial right now- leads her to believe that, like Henry, she isn't entirely aware of just how much danger they are all in. She wonders, if the younger woman could see her daughter right now, if she might gain a better understanding of their predicament, but she says nothing as she follows her blindly into the unknown with Henry's hand held tightly in hers.
"Where are the others?"
Henry asks as they reach a narrow crack in some hulking rocks.
"Through here. We were setting up camp and I'd gone to get firewood... We each promised not to stray too far after what happened with you lot, but I heard voices and saw the torches so I kept to where the path was darkest. I panicked and paid little attention to what direction I was heading in. We've been looking for you guys ever since Tinkerbell stopped by the camp, but until now we weren't sure what to look out for. When I got close enough to see the lights of the treehouse, I crept a little further to see where they were coming from. The rest was just luck. I was turning back to go and get the others when I spotted you two climbing down."
"Tink said she told you that we were fine and just checking something out."
Regina frowns as she works her way gingerly over the increasingly rough terrain within the caves.
"She did say that, but I know what Emma can be like. Tink suggested that once you two found what it was you were investigating you would come back to get us... I suppose that just didn't sound much like the Emma I know."
"... Miss Swan said something similar."
The brunette sighs as she follows Snow through the gloom with Henry following close behind her. Soon, she is able to see the tell-tale flicker of a fire, and before long, the soft murmur of voices accompanies the glow of the flames.
"Snow."
"Henry!"
David and Hook greet as they look over towards the narrow chasm leading to the cove where they've been camped out since the afternoon.
Mary Margaret nods, and Regina watches with pursed lips as Henry hugs Charming and extends a hand to the pirate.
"I'm afraid I didn't get any more wood as I had to hide, but I did run into these two."
Snow explains as she stalks over to the heap of bags stacked in the corner. She pulls out a sweater and hands it to Henry, who dons it gratefully despite its purple hue. Looking over at Regina, she addresses her dubiously
"We were kind of relying on you and Emma for food... I have the last of the bread, but that's it."
"She can't have that, it's all we have left."
Hook frowns, and Snow shakes her head- missing the strange expression the Mayor offers the pirate- as she sighs
"She needs it. And if Regina eats and rests for just a little while, then we should all be able to eat again. We have Henry, that's... Well, that's one thing."
She'd been going to say that it was the main thing, but with Emma absent, her relief at finding her grandson is heavily tainted. On cue, Charming turns from his expectant study of the chasm the others had entered through and addresses his wife with a frown.
"...Where's Emma?"
"Hey... Hey!"
Tinkerbell shakes Emma anxiously as she strives to get a response. She is only able to reach the Sheriff's leg, as the chains around her wrists restrict her from moving any further and the blonde sits slumped against the wall furthest away from her. She has no idea where they are, never having seen the small room- really more of a pit- that plays their current prison, but she would guess from the dank smell of dirt and rotting wood that they are somewhere beneath Pan's treehouse. A single torch held in a crude iron bracket illuminates their captive's quarters, and they appear to be alone for the time being which she tells herself is at least one positive factor in this highly adverse situation.
"Emma!"
She tries again, giving the younger woman's boot a stern tap. She has no idea how long they've been down here, having only just woken up herself.
Woken up... Is that what we're calling it? Came round- came to- more like. Last I remember was a blow to the head and then nothing. Darkness. Now I'm stuck here, chained to the fucking wall with Princess Sunshine herself.
"Hey!"
She barks irritably, and this time, when she grabs hold of Emma's calf and digs in her nails, she is rewarded with a furrowing of the younger woman's brow.
"Ouch."
Emma mutters groggily, and Tink sighs as she sits back- relieving her wrists of their tight pressure as she no longer pulls against her restraints- and addresses her cellmate irritably.
"I didn't squeeze that hard."
She reprimands, and the Sheriff opens one eye to regard her haughtily as her hand goes to her jaw.
"Not you. That tall bastard booted me in the face."
"Tall bastard?... Oh. You mean Felix."
The fairy muses, pulling a face as she speaks the boy's name that lets Emma know her assailant isn't well liked by her current companion.
"I think so, yeah."
She agrees croakily, lowering her hand from the throbbing pain in her jaw to the ominous ache in her gut. She imagines that unwelcome agony might cause her greater alarm if it wasn't offset by the bitter sting of her hands and she sighs as she regards Tink morosely.
"I fucked up."
She confides, and when the fairy offers her little more but the raising of her brow in response, Emma looks away but elaborates glumly
"I'm a mess."
"...Perception suggests that it's not the first time."
"Yeah, well, you can stick your perception a bunch of places..."
"I'm sure I can, but that doesn't make it less accurate."
"No... But I didn't mean it figuratively. I meant physically, I'm a mess... I hurt."
"Yeah?"
"Bad."
Emma swallows, and Tink sighs as she fiddles restlessly with the shackles chained to her wrists. The Sheriff wears an identical set fastened to the opposite wall, but she seems either not to have fully regained her awareness and realised she's been strung up with cruel iron, or is simply too exhausted to react.
"...Did the others get away?"
The fairy asks, not sure how to answer Emma's admission that she's in pain, and guessing that she would do well to tread lightly around the matter. Recent history has taught her the fabled Saviour has a fairly short fuse when it comes to niceties.
"I don't know... Last thing I know was that Regina and Henry were hidden in the closet, but Pan's boys were certain that they'd escaped. I hope they remain fooled, I hope it worked. If it did, they should be alright... I was very clear with Regina. She wasn't to give their position away, no matter what. No matter what happened with me, with that Tobias jerk, with any of the others, she was to stay in the closet."
"... Then I'm sure that's what she did."
Tink muses, and Emma looks up at her as she catches a small lilt to the fairy's voice, and allows a slow smirk to touch the side of her mouth.
"...I'd trust her to stay in the closet until I said it was okay to come out..."
The Sheriff elaborates seriously, and Tinkerbell stares her down with her lips pressed together to avoid laughing, when to her surprise, Emma cracks up helplessly with her hand pressed to her hip. Joining in after a moment's hesitation, the fairy throws her head back with devious delight.
"She'd kill you for laughing like this!"
Tink warns, unable to quell the giggles that make her body shake as all of the tension, the fear, the anxiety of the last few days find a short-lived but desperately needed release.
"I know!"
Emma cries breathlessly, trying to get herself under control as her chuckling sends white agony shooting up her side, but this fact in itself only makes her laugh harder.
"Stop! Stop! You need to stop!"
The fairy warns as her eyes prickle with tears, and she shakes her head as she catches the damp gleam of the Sheriff's sweater beneath bloodied hands, but she takes no heed of her own warning as she continues to giggle uncontrollably.
"I know, I'm trying!"
The younger woman chuckles through gritted teeth, before stilling instantly- panic flashing in green eyes to mirror blue- as a voice interrupts their giddy hysteria.
"I would listen to her, orphan... If you know what's good for you."
Pan warns, before stepping out from the shadows into the schizophrenic flicker of the torch light.
