They rode fast and hard through the trees, the powerful horse clearing any objects lying in their way. With each second that passed, Emma could feel a wisp of the binding stretching between her and Killian. Yet somehow, this stranger was able to take her away. Her arm curled around his waist, securing her to him, and his hand remained around her wrist, acting as an anchor.
The wind blew through her hair and she laughed as he turned and smiled back at her, his grin wide and infectious. The moon beamed brightly down on them through the trees of the forest. She wasn't sure how long they had been riding, but she knew they were fairly far away from the town. Off in the distance, she heard drums beating loudly in the night. Music from various instruments followed and she could see a large fire glowing up ahead.
A moment later the horse slowed, coming to a halt. Once the horse had stopped completely, Baelfire jumped from the horse and then turned to offer Emma his hand.
"Where are we?"
"At a real party," Baelfire answered as he led her towards the cacophony of noise. There were people laughing and shouting. Drums beat wildly in the night while lutes and pipers followed along. A rowdy crowd of people was dancing about the fire, their happiness and glee evident. It was unlike anything Emma had ever seen before.
Almost immediately a young child, no more than seven or eight, came up and dragged Baelfire away, begging him to dance with her. He quickly acquiesced, sending Emma a lop-sided grin as he followed after the young girl.
"Don't worry, you'll be free here," he called out before he started dancing with the child. His smile grew as they twirled about, the light of the fire playing against his skin. And he was right. Though Emma could still feel a tendril of the binding between she and Killian, she also felt something else.
Freedom.
It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
Emma clapped and laughed as she watched, her own smile growing with each passing moment. The party was boisterous and loud. Unlike the filthy taverns Killian had brought her to, Emma found she enjoyed the beauty of the forest. It was so unlike the forest and gardens of her world. Beside her, men and women laughed and clapped and danced.
Women's dresses flew up and about as their partners twirled them about. Some men wore loose shirts that blew open in the cool night air as they twisted their partners to and fro. Others wore no tops at all, their chests bare as they laughed with one another. Women danced with other women and men danced with other men. Tankards of home-brewed alcohol were being passed around freely.
As the song came to an end Emma watched as Baelfire bowed deeply to his partner before whispering something in her ear and pointing at Emma. A moment later and he moved towards her, a smile alight on his face.
"C'mon," Baelfire insisted as he motioned for Emma to come towards him. The musicians already starting on another song, the first few notes being beaten on the drums before others followed.
"No… I…"
"Don't think, just c'mon!" The music started up again as he pulled her toward him. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her body flush with his. Emma gasped. "We're going to have to get a little close for this one."
"Wait, but I don't…" Emma started, only for him to cut her off.
"I told you, don't worry, just go with it." His enthusiasm was contagious as they started flitting about with everyone else. It was a fast, heavy beat. They jumped and whirled about, her dress flying every which way, swishing past her feet as he pushed and pulled her one way and then the next.
"Don't think, just feel," Baelfire encouraged. Their bodies swayed about as the music started going faster and faster, their bodies pressed tightly together. And for the first time ever, Emma did just that. She let go of everything she knew and just enjoyed the moment.
As the hours flew by Killian began to lose hope that his jinni would be found. Currently, his men were combing the town looking for any sign of her. There were whispers of gossip that some had seen a blonde-haired woman running off with a man, but most had paid them no heed as that was hardly an uncommon occurrence.
After tearing apart the taverns, Killian had ordered his men to look everywhere else; to leave no stone unturned. The inns were checked next. Doors were broken down as his crew searched each room, but nothing was found. It was as though they had vanished into thin air.
"Starkey, anything?" Killian asked as his second in command as he came up the gangway. Starkey shook his head solemnly.
"Nothing, Captain."
Killian cursed loudly as he kicked at a barrel off to his side.
"Keep looking. Find her!" He didn't mean to take his anger out on his crew, but he really couldn't help it. He wasn't angry at them as much as he was at himself. What had he been thinking?
Upon their return to the Jolly Killian had interrogated Meri, but she refused to speak, except to tell him there was nothing he could do. Some of his crew were working on the men that had been ready to kidnap their captain.
His heart squeezed tightly in his chest as he worried about Emma's safety. He wasn't even sure how she was gone considering the bond they had. The lamp remained tied around his waist, hidden within the confines of his leather coat. She had told him that if he or the bottle weren't close by then she would be pulled back into the bottle.
After sending his men out on another round of searches, Killian returned to the brig where he held Meri. Yanking open the bars of the cell, he grabbed Meri by her hair and pulled her to him, her feet dragging on the ground behind her. She yelped in pain. She bore a bruised eye and a gash across her cheek where he had used his hook in hopes of getting her to talk. Her clothes were stained with her drying blood.
"What did you do to me and where is she?" His voice was dark and dangerous. His eyes narrowed as he watched her quiver in fear.
"Nothing you can do now, Captain. She's gone," Meri insisted through her bloodied mouth. Despite her fear, she clung to her refusal to give him any answers.
His hook connected with the side of her face causing her head to snap to the side, blood spilling from her already broken jaw.
"Wrong answer, now try again, aye?" He pulled a dagger from his coat and dragged it slowly down her cheek. "I'm going to give you one more chance."
He heard her murmur something, but it was too soft for him to hear. A moment later something seemed to change as her eyes suddenly grew wild and afraid. She whispered again, but nothing happened.
"Rumpelstiltskin!" Her cry pierced the quiet night. Killian whirled around, dragging Meri with him as he looked for the coward imp, but no one else was with them.
"What did you say?"
"Rumpelstiltskin! Rumpelstiltskin! Rumpelstiltskin!" Her cries grew desperate as realization dawned on Killian. He brought the dagger to her neck, allowing the tip of the blade to pierce through her skin.
"One last try, lass. Where is she and what did you do?"
Realization dawned on Meri. Her savior was not coming as he had promised. She knew she only had one way out of this if she wanted to live.
"It was all Rumpelstiltskin! He said he could help me capture her," Meri cried out.
"What?" The dagger loosened in his hand for a moment before he regained his composure. The thought of that imp getting his claws on Emma chilled him to his blackened heart.
"Rumpelstiltskin said he could contain her; he promised to help. Bae was to convince her to leave and then we would capture her once you were incapacitated."
She collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking her body as she fought for air.
Killian thought for a moment, his anger growing.
"Spoiled your plans, did I? Well, here's what's going to happen." He kneeled in front of her, his hook dragging over her wounded cheek. His blue eyes were bright with rage. "You're going to tell me everything you know. Every detail of the plan. You'd do better to tell me everything."
He paused, letting the tip of his hook drag through the gash in her cheek. Meri screamed out in pain.
"To make sure that happens, I'll be using a few tools. See, I can't trust you, lass. You already broke that. But after I use a few devices, I'm guessing you'll own up to a few things. Hopefully, in time, we can develop a trusting relationship."
Meri shook with the force of her convulsions as she sobbed for someone to come help her. She began to scream as his hook dug deeper into her raw, injured flesh.
"Now be a good lass, and tell me everything you know," Killian whispered darkly, his voice drowned out by her screams of pain and agony.
A part of him wondered if what he was doing was right. He didn't always agree with his father, especially since he knew what would come next. And truth be told, Baelfire actually liked Emma. She was sweet and kind, and far more beautiful than anyone had warned him. She was unlike any of the other jinn he had met. She was not some cruel monster who tricked all that fell into their spell. And she certainly was not like her heartless master.
As they danced about with the gypsies and pirates, he found himself enjoying her smile and laugh. Right now, she was dancing with a little boy named Henry who was no older than eight or nine. The child blushed furiously when Emma bestowed a kiss to his cheek as the song came to an end. In turn, the child bowed and kissed her hand before turning and running away, the tips of his ears turning a dark shade of pink as others teased him.
Turning away from the scene, Baelfire wandered just beyond the encampment. The forest was quiet at night, the trees offering a place to hide in the dark except for the moonlight that poured through the branches of the trees. From his jacket, he pulled an enchanted bottle and stared at it. His father had given him specific instruction and so far, he had done as told, but now he wondered if he should go through with the plan.
While he held a great deal of hatred and disdain for Captain Hook, Emma was not the same. Emma had not stolen his mother away. Emma had not killed his mother. In fact, Emma had had nothing to do with anything that Captain Hook had done.
She was an innocent.
A jinn, but still an innocent.
He could still remember the first time he had ever seen the Captain with his mother. Back then the pirate was not known by his more colorful moniker—Captain Hook. No, back then he had simply been known as Captain Jones.
Still, Baelfire remembered it like it was yesterday. He might have been young, but he still remembered wandering into that tavern. He had heard his parents fighting, his mother berating his father. When he had entered the tavern and caught sight of his mother, his only hope had been to persuade her to return home. But he had seen the way his mother looked at the Captain and the way Killian had looked at her. Still, he had thought his father had convinced her when she had returned home with he and his father.
The next morning, she was gone.
Word spread that Captain Jones had abducted his mother.
Later his father would tell him that he had tried to bring her back, but the Captain had bested him when they dueled and killed Milah in the end.
Of course, that was a lie. Much of what his father has told him had been lies and deceptions. There were whispers that his father had been the one to kill his mother, though not until many years later. Allegedly he also took Captain Jones's hand, leaving him with his new name—Captain Hook. However, that didn't mean Baelfire held any less contempt for Captain Jones. Or his father.
His father, who had held him captive in their home and refused to let him out unless he was to do his father's bidding.
Such as luring and kidnapping Emma.
When Meri had called upon Rumpelstiltskin and first appeared, Baelfire had hidden from his father view, quietly listening as the woman explained what she had seen and how she needed his father's help. Help to trap a jinni that belonged to Captain Hook.
At the pirate's name, Baelfire's interest had been piqued. The chance to take something away, just as Killian had taken something from him.
His father had enchanted the area, ensuring Emma would be unable to use her powers so that Baelfire could trap her in the bottle. Then he would return; Meri would be allowed three wishes from the jinni, and then Emma would belong to his father.
Something about that did not sit well with Baelfire.
His father had numerous jinn in his vault. Any of those could be used, yet for some reason his father wanted her.
When he had asked, his father had dismissed him, merely telling him that she was special. Eviler than any jinn alive. More powerful too. According to his father, King Monday had created a beautiful world in hopes of convincing her to stay. A world made completely of jewels and wealth far greater than any in their world. He had said that if he controlled her, she controlled him too.
Besides, those jinn in the vault were feral and uncontrollable. But Emma, she was different.
Shoving the bottle back into his jacket, Baelfire kicked at the ground, his mind reeling with the situation and what he should do. While his father was, well, his father, he didn't particularly feel anything for him. Often his father was doing horrible things that hurt a lot of people.
Good people, like Emma.
He had seen it too often. Everyday people coming to Rumpelstiltskin in hopes of getting ahead, only realizing too late that all he could bring was pain and misery. Could he allow his father to destroy Emma too? While Baelfire wanted revenge on the Captain, Emma did not deserve to be a causality in this fight. Back in the tavern, he had spoken the truth when he had said Captain Jones was seeking that which everyone else was. Freedom from the past.
Baelfire sought it every day.
Only, maybe now was his chance to find it.
Marching back towards the gathering, Balefire sought out the golden-haired beauty. He finally caught sight of her dancing just beyond the great bonfire. Her hair flew wildly behind her as a young man twisted her about. A smile lit up her face, though he could still see a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Maybe she yearned for freedom from her past too.
Making his way over to her, Baelfire nodded at the young man, silently asking for permission to steal his dance partner. Quite reluctantly, the man acquiesced. At his return, Emma smiled brightly up at him, her tinkling laughter relaxing him.
It was the closest he had ever felt to another person in his entire life.
"We should go," Baelfire cut in, causing her laughter to die. The music still playing loudly around them as the others continued to dance.
"What?"
"We must go. You must go."
"But…" Emma stuttered, flummoxed by her saviors changing behavior. She had been enjoying her night of freedom. It had certainly taken her mind off her master and what he was likely doing at this very moment.
Her master!
How could she forget? As much fun as she was having, Killian was her master. The bond she normally felt was completely gone. Severed. She felt nothing. Not even a glimmer.
When she tried to reach out, Emma suddenly noticed she didn't feel anything. She couldn't even read the people around her or hear their thoughts. When she attempted to conjure her magic, again, she felt nothing. Fear started to grow within her at the implication.
Baelfire grasped her wrist tightly in his hand and started back towards his horse, and Emma wanted to resist, but she knew she couldn't. She had no magic and he greatly outweighed her.
"If you wish to live; to be free, as free as you can, I beg you to leave," Baelfire pleaded with her urgently. When he saw the fear in her eyes, he softened. "I've done something horrible… I'm supposed to do something horrible. But I can't."
"Can't?" Emma queried. Her voice wavered as she looked up at him. The music from the gathering grew fainter the further they got.
"I won't." He stopped her in front of his horse. He could feel the bottle vibrating in his jacket, but he ignored it. "I was to lure you away and capture you; to exploit you."
"Why?" She studied him, watched his face slowly drop as he gazed down at her. His eyes slid shut as he silently shook his head.
"I thought it would bring me that which we all yearn for."
"And what do you yearn for?" She gazed up at him, her eyes imploring him to explain.
"Freedom from the past." At his whispered words, a part of Emma broke.
"Will it?"
"I never tried to move beyond it," Baelfire admitted. "Until now." A beat passed as he stared down at her. She was so beautiful. So pure. Unlike anything, he had ever known. "Emma, may I kiss you?"
She never got to answer. His lips brushed against hers, as light as the touch of a feather dragging against her skin. Her breath caught in her throat at the contact. And it was over before it even started.
It was her first kiss. And it was over before it even began.
"Thank you," Baelfire whispered as he stepped away.
Emma touched her fingers to her lips where he had kissed her, a weak feeling taking over her; it was so unlike the feelings a blue-eyed sailor created within her, yet no less special. She watched as he gathered his horse and offered to help her. Once she was settled, he handed her the reins. She had thought he was returning with her but now wondered what was really happening.
"Now go, before I keep you for myself."
He slapped the rear of the horse before she could respond, not giving her the chance to convince him to act in any other way. The horse galloped off, forcing Emma to hold on tight as it started heading back in the direction they had come from, the bond of lamp roaring to life and leading the way.
I apologize for the delay in updating. Life happens. However, yes, I am still working on this and do plan to finish. Stay healthy everyone, and take care of you and yours.
