DOUBLE FEATURE! :)
-FantasyWriterFoSho
Summary of the Previous Chapter: After important conversations at the hospital with Mary Margaret, Regina and Emma teleport to the forest because of a feeling the latter had about Killian. They showed up at the best time but each found themselves going up against an enraged Snow Queen.
...
Chapter Fifteen: Crucial Moments (Part Two)
…
When Emma fell behind to check on Killian, Regina had rushed forward. Her focus was on the Snow Queen, who was grappling on all fours, breathing brokenly.
Stopping a few feet away from her, Regina approached her with extreme caution. Bringing her hands up, she pointed them and poured all of her thoughts into immobilizing the ice witch. Body seizing for only a couple of seconds, the Snow Queen shook then broke through the spell, her head lifting up to make eye contact with a surprised Regina.
She's powerful, she acknowledged, noting how quickly she escaped the spell's grasp. A startling thought then popped into her head. Was she the one who harmed David?
The Snow Queen's pale face was trembling with unbridled rage when she finally made it to her feet, her white blonde hair now disentangled from her braided bun. Hands extending low at her sides, she flicked a wrist, sending five hurtling balls of energy at the dark haired woman.
Dismissing each with several rotating swipes, Regina then lowered her hands, eyes burning. Summoning fire into her palms, she smiled at the now defensive Snow Queen, the fiery tendrils licking at some portions of her wrists. "Scared?"
"I've fought worse than you and won," the other retorted icily. Her hands then frosted over, combating Regina's flames with protruding icicles and a swarming mist. Fingers poised, she pulled them into her palms then retracted, shooting the misshapen projectiles and fog in rapid succession.
Leaning forward, Regina rolled her wrist then pushed her magic forward, surging the orange and red light into its intended target with purpose. When it clashed into the Snow Queen's silvery blue glow, it jolted the two women back a few steps, the intensity practically knocking them off of their feet.
Grunting under the strain, Regina could feel a cold haze begin to wrap around her feet. Cursing, she tried to move away but it suddenly solidified and tore into her calf with its bumpy and ridged teeth. Trying to kick it away, her other foot slipped over the glistening sheen that was spreading below her. Pulling away one hand, she tried to direct some of her fire downward, her legs now sparkling with blood, but the moment she shifted her focus, was the moment the Snow Queen struck hard.
Putting both of her hands together, she doubled her efforts and blasted Regina with more waves of ice and fog, which overwhelmed and snapped the latter's remaining hand backwards, causing the magical fire to vaporize. Smiling, the Snow Queen then pointed her index fingers up and twirled them, commanding the sleet around Regina to swell upward and trap her in a pile of crystalizing snow.
Unconcerned with her opponent, she shoved her now fallen hair over her shoulder, her fingers stinging with used power. Turning, she then looked around, knowing that she had heard Emma's voice when she was paralyzed.
She didn't have to search far. Locking eyes on her, she spied on the couple's reunion, not liking how talkative Killian seemed to be.
So, she attacked.
Raising both of her hands, she knocked them over with a powerful blast that painfully flipped them backwards. Slowly approaching, she confronted them, her hands low but still outstretched.
"We made a deal, Captain," she called out again, watching them clamber to their feet; their arms seeking each other for balance. "You know the consequences if you choose to ignore them..."
Killian automatically stepped in front of Emma, who tried to pull him back. Flooded with the memory of their agreement, he narrowed his eyes. He kind of broke his deal with Gold by revealing his plans...dare he do the same with the Snow Queen? The one that directly coined Emma as his "leverage"? The one that caused her dad's unknown affliction?
"Emma," he whispered, giving her one side-look over his shoulder. "Do you trust me?"
She tugged at him, her fingers digging into his jacket. "I've always trusted you," she said, voice strained. "Do you trust me enough to tell me the truth?"
He paused then fully met her gaze. Electricity sizzled between them. "Aye," he answered thickly. Halfway turning to see her better, he leaned in close. "Emma—"
"Don't you dare!" the Snow Queen bellowed, quickly closing in on them. "You made a barg—"
"I swear!" Emma yelled back, lifting a hand at the older woman, who surprisingly stopped at the movement. "If you interrupt us one more time I'm going to turn you into something that doesn't have a mouth!" When she received nothing but a glare, she looked back at Killian.
"Can you really do that?" he asked, a smile gracing his face.
"Anything's possible," she responded before getting them back on track. "Tell me."
"I was bound to a deal with her too," he confessed. "She was the one who kidnapped Belle, the creature I alluded to, and she did so for unspecified reasons. She threatened me and David—him, with a shot of magic to the head and me... with..." he stopped to take a sharp intake of breath. "With you. She threatened me with you."
Emma felt like cold water had been dumped on her.
"If I stayed with you, you wouldn't fulfill whatever it is she wants you to do," he continued, his gaze raking over her face. "She wanted me to abandon you so that she could have you all to herself…"
"That's why you broke up with me?" she asked in a hushed tone.
"Aye. If the contract just affected me, it would've been fine," he further explained, breaking their eye contact. His heart felt like it was on fire. "But she threatened to harm you...and she's ever watchful...I saw her at the docks last night, right before I..." he trailed off, not wanting to voice what had followed.
Emma's mouth fluttered open but she had nothing to say.
"Your insolence will not be forgotten," the Snow Queen softly threatened, her expression wild. She was beyond infuriated. Her plans had been coming together nicely. Emma was emotionally right where she wanted her to be. When she saw her at the station, she was ripe for the picking. She figured that she only needed one more visit to convince Emma, to really sway her to join her, but now that Hook had broken his deal...she didn't know what to do.
Time to switch tactics, she then thought, looking at the couple, who were both regarding her with animosity.
"Since I got you here," Emma pivoted, slowly moving forward so she wouldn't wear out her voice by yelling. Pausing, she shot her eyes past the Snow Queen when something caught her attention.
Glimpsing at a struggling Regina, who was thawing herself free from a pile of half melted snow, Emma instantly resumed her eye contact with the other woman, not wanting to spark another attack when Regina was clearly unprepared for it. Killian followed close behind her, his eyes fixed solely on the Snow Queen. "I know about the kidnapping now, so, tell me why you took Belle?"
"That's between me and the Dark One."
"Tough," Emma responded quickly. "Your personal matters were thrown out the window when you involved my dad and..." she paused, not too sure about where they stood. "...and Killian."
The Snow Queen's face fell into her normal nonchalance, the unkempt and angry woman from earlier was gone in seconds.
"What did you do to my father?" Emma demanded, which greatly earned Killian's attention. Now, standing three feet away from her, she managed to summon some white energy around the tips of her already outstretched hand. "He's fighting for his life because of you. So, you're going to tell me what you did, why you did it and how you're going to fix it."
The Snow Queen internally weighed how much to say before setting her mouth into a straight line. "He's cursed," she began candidly, either unable to lie to her or afraid of losing what she believed they had. "Initially, it was presented as a speech inhibitor, but it's more complex than that. He's being forced to relive his worst nightmares forever in a sleep realm. As to "why", if I hadn't, the entire town would've known about what had happened. He's the honest, talkative type."
At Emma's horrified expression, she continued with a head gesture, her mind teeming. "The symptoms will disappear in time, but he'll remain in a permanent comatose state unless deemed otherwise."
"Make it otherwise then," Emma commanded, her tone harsh.
"No."
"I'm not asking."
The Snow Queen then smiled. "I know."
Thinking of how her dad may never wake up made Emma's bottom lip quiver. "What's wrong with you?"
"I know what I want," she responded, casually as if they weren't talking about something serious. "Plus, it'll be one less person in my way to get you and Elsa."
Emma's eyes widened. That's the first time she's mentioned Elsa being part of her plans. Did she do that intentionally?
"Nobody understands us, Emma," the pale woman continued, moving closer, which prompted Killian forward, but the Snow Queen wasn't worried about him. She had her eyes solely pinned on Emma.
"We're too different, too powerful in our own right and sometimes family gets in the way of that. They're not like us. Your family, Elsa's and mine. They held me back and I don't want the same thing to happen to you two. As sad as it is," she then looked away, a touch of pain clawing at her features. "My family got what they deserved. I even turned a member against another in order to tear them apart. It was easy. Very easy. The sister, though loving, held a streak of powerful jealousy and I turned that into rage..."
Emma watched her carefully. "And you're proud of that?"
"Yes," she said, resuming eye contact. "And no. I hold a small amount of regret about what happened afterwards...the magical sister ended up being trapped in a contraption for many years…"
"Do your plans include freeing her?" Killian asked, trying to understand her motives.
"When the time comes," the Snow Queen responded, glancing at him. "I'll make amends, but more pressing things need to be done first."
"Forgive me if I take everything you say with a grain of salt," Killian continued. "In our previous encounter, you told me that you were going to leave the town alone despite the townspeople being unable to escape because of an ice wall." He then narrowed his eyes. "But now, from multiple sources, including yourself, the part about you sparing the town is being stated as otherwise. Which is it?"
The Snow Queen didn't respond but she held his gaze.
"It looks like Gold isn't the only liar in this town," Emma interjected, causing the pale woman's mouth to frown at her statement.
"Emma—"
A blaring sound then burst around them before it suddenly collided into the Snow Queen, quieting whatever it was she was about to say when it propelled her off of her feet. She skidded and rolled before she stopped at the base of a tree, her expression completely stunned beneath a heap of light hair.
Emma and Killian spun around and saw an advancing Regina, who had one hand up and one behind her back.
Relatively recovered—she had healed herself when she had collapsed free from her confinement—she tried to ignore her wet and stiff clothes when she lumbered towards the pair. "Ice sucks," she scowled when she got close enough, still eyeing the fallen witch, who hadn't moved from her spot.
Pulling out her other hand, Regina revealed the pointy hat. It had been a few feet away from where she had been trapped in ice, so, she snatched it up without any second thoughts.
"I don't know what this ugly thing is but she didn't look too thrilled to be sucked into it."
"Don't, Regina," Killian advised, lifting his hand up to stop her. "Rumple planned on harnessing other people's magic then trapping them inside it. If you use it now, we bloody well better make sure to secure it away from him when he comes to."
"The Sorcerer's Hat," Regina breathed, recognizing part of the description. She then looked at it with more respect. "I've heard and read about this. It's an extremely ancient piece of magic."
"I saw a movie about it," Emma contributed, which made the other two give her a puzzled look.
"Anyways," Regina continued. "We'll guard it from Rumple. Right now, we—" She paused, her eyes frantically roaming in front of her. "Where did she go?!"
The Snow Queen was gone. Sometime during their conversation, she had quietly snuck away.
"Bloody hell," Killian muttered, nervously fiddling with his hook.
"Speaking of Gold," Emma said, reminding them of another issue. After removing the magic from her hands, she continued. "We still have unfinished business."
The three then turned around to face the crumpled form, which was still beside the tree she had flung him into.
"Regina, I need your help doing something," Emma stated, pulling away from the group to quickly head over to the motionless Gold. Hair flapping behind her, she continued talking when she noticed that they were following her. "As we work, Killian and I will fill you in on all of the details; both his and the Snow Queen's."
…
"...Make sure that you hold onto that train of thought, so, you can finish it off strong..."
Awakening to the sound of a familiar voice, Gold blinked his eyes open.
Groaning when he became aware of his throbbing head and body, he tried to move, but found that he couldn't. Shifting his head, he noticed four things: that his legs were stretched out in front of him, that his cane lay discarded off to one of his sides, that he was propped up against a tree and that his hands were weirdly fastened behind his back.
But as the fogginess began to fade from his mind, he registered why he was unable to get away.
He was tied up...and on top of his body being wrapped up and secured around a tree, his hands were independently bound...and done so very tightly.
Looking up, he made immediate eye contact with a standing Emma, whose eyes sharpened. Off to her sides, stood Regina and Killian, both of whom were staring at him, coldly.
Wonderful, he thought annoyingly.
"Good, you're up."
Emma hands were stretched out in front her and her fingers were pointed at him.
He looked down and analyzed what he now determined to be glowing rope.
"My how the tables have turned," she said, watching as he registered what was going on. Kneeling down, she leveled with him and whispered: "Now you're the one who's tied up with magical rope."
"Impressive, Ms. Swan," he acknowledge, his tone raspy. "You managed to conjure up your own string instead of enchanting one."
"I had a great teacher," she replied, gesturing at Regina.
Gold suddenly turned his attention over to his former pupil and sneered. It took him a moment, since he was still recovering from a major thrashing, but when he was able to fully register his surroundings, it radiated off of her in spades. "You broke our oral contract, dearie."
"You catch on quick," Regina stated, her eyes unreadable. There was still a small piece of her that was upset with her decision, but she knew it was wrong from the beginning. She couldn't bring happiness to herself through the misery of others. Day by day, she will make her peace with her new situation. "I decided that I didn't need it anymore," she continued with a shrug. "There are more important things than just mourning over something that clearly wasn't meant to be. Besides, what you did was wrong, you pathetic imp."
Gold chuckled. "You're making a mistake."
"I know what you intend on doing, Gold," Emma then said, ignoring his intimidation attempt. "You want to steal my magic and use it to peel yourself away from the dagger. You also wanted to get the Snow Queen's, but," she then smiled. "That didn't work out well for you, did it?"
Gold's eyes then flashed over to Killian. "Well, well, it looks like I have two deal breakers? Don't worry. I'm sure I'll repay you both when the time comes," he then glared back at Emma. "As for you Ms. Swan—"
"I'm not done yet," she cut in, her eyes hardening. "We won't let you get away with your deals, your threats or your devious ways this time. We have your hat now..." she waited, knowing that Regina had pulled it out from behind her back, again, to show it off. She had managed to turn it back into its original form and now held it squarely in one palm.
"What a remarkable little thing," Regina commented. "I remember you polishing this off when I came to you looking for Emma, Hook and David."
"Interesting," Killian then commented, remembering all that he was told about it.
Emma leaned forward at the surprisingly unworried older man. "Remember when we talked about changes? You told me that Killian hadn't changed at all. That he was 'a liar and a thief'..." she trailed off, feeling how uncomfortable Killian was beside her. "What does that make you? Unlike him, and I'll continue to stick by what I said before, he's changed. You haven't, not one bit."
If any of her words affected him, it didn't show. He just stared at her with a stoic expression.
Emma sighed. "Belle deserves better. When she finds out the truth, and she will, she'll be so disappointed in you." She saw something flicker in Gold's eyes. "If you truly care about her, you have a funny way of showing it."
"If you say so, Ms. Swan," he answered faintly, his gaze holding hers with a quiet ferocity that she didn't flinch away from.
After staring at him for a minute, Emma then straightened her posture and shook her head. "Let's go."
Regina then waved one hand in the air, summoning a dark purple cloud to surround all four of them, sweeping them away from the forest they were all so tired of being in.
Emerging back in town, she brought them to the Sheriff's Station where she then magically enchanted a cell, in a back room, making it inescapable for one with powers; even an influential practitioner like the Dark One.
Afterwards, Regina then split from the group to change into some dry clothes before then heading over to her vault where she could properly analyze the Sorcerer's Hat. She also decided to continue in the research on the Snow Queen, including looking into potent spells and potions, as well as checking into David's condition, despite what Emma had told her about it.
Back at the station, Emma called her mom and updated her about the situation, including what was really happening with David. She didn't tell her that he was reliving his worst nightmares, but she did say that Regina planned on assisting them with his condition, which rejuvenated Mary Margaret's hope in him waking up. When that emotional call ended, Emma then contacted Belle, asking for her to meet them in a few hours, but only after apologizing for how she had acted the last time they saw each other.
Before ending that call, she also asked for her to bring Elsa, who would most likely be in the library with her, doing research. They would like to update her about several things as well since she had now been mentioned by the Snow Queen.
Happy to have plans set in motion, Emma turned to Killian, who was wandering about the main room of the station, a worried look on his face. She knew that he was reliving that moment when Gold had burst in, knocked them out and kidnapped her—which was understandable since it had happened the last time all three of them were in the building—but they had to prepare.
"Killian," she said, making him look at her. "I think it would be best if we go check in on my dad."
That concerned look deepened but he nodded his head regardless. A twinge of guilt began skipping around in his gut. He hasn't seen David since the previous night and much has changed since then. The Snow Queen's spell had grown and taken root in him and even though Killian didn't cast it, he felt partly responsible for it occurring.
Gesturing to the door, Emma led him out with a small smile. "Since my car, and several other items, are already at the hospital, we'll have to walk, but...it'll give us time to properly catch up on certain things."
His eyes softened when he looked at the back of her head. "Aye, lass," he conceded. "That it does."
...
Back at her hideout, the recovered Snow Queen peered at her adjusted image via a grand decorative mirror, silently retracing the day's events with mixed emotions.
I won't let this fall a part…
I'm doing this for their own good…
We can be a great family if they'll only allow it...
Setting her jaw, she then twirled around and headed straight to a crystallized desk, which sat at the farthest side of an icy wall. Gently, she reached down and stroked three long yellow ribbons with a finger. Lost in her thoughts, she then picked them up and hummed.
"Three people will be spared," she then whispered. "Emma, Elsa and me. The others will destroy themselves." Dropping her hand, she then turned back to stare at the lustrous mirror. "But because of a broken deal, it seems that I have no other choice but to advance my plans…."
Expression hardening, the Snow Queen absentmindedly stroked the ribbons between her thumb and index finger. "Greatness reduced to a couple of days instead of being fulfilled in a week..."
Raising a brow, she then shrugged.
"Challenge accepted."
…
Please Review, Fav and Follow! :)