Soft beams of sunlight streamed in through the gap in the curtains, attesting to the lateness of the hour when Killian pried his eyes open. Unlike the day before, he was alone in the cabin. And unlike the day before, he felt strong enough to sit up and maybe leave the confines of the bed.

His fever had fully broken early the previous morning. Bits and pieces of the tale of his illness had been given by Emma, Robin, and young Margot as they tended to him throughout the day, but he'd barely had the strength to grasp all of their words. He had vague memories of feeling poorly, of excruciating pain in his foot, and chills wracking his body. Flashes of being carried to the lake and the stinging pain of a thousand knives as he'd been submerged in the water mingled with the shadowy sensations of Swan's body pressed against his and the flutter that had erupted in his heart when he awoke with her in his arms.

Arms that suddenly felt as empty as his cabin.

Pulling back the blankets revealed his flannel clad legs with fresh bandages wrapped around his injured foot. He gingerly tested its mobility, pointing and flexing the joints and muscles. Though tender, it was not nearly as sore as it had been. Standing on wobbly legs, his hand shot out to steady himself against the wall, fatigue just about overwhelming him as he willed his body to move in measured limps towards the door.

He shivered slightly against the cool breeze that swept into the cabin. Bracing himself against the doorframe, his eyes sought out the forge where he expected Swan to be laboring away. His hand clenched against the molding as he recalled her exchange with Eloise the day before, his former sponsor admonishing Emma for shirking her duties to the village when there were others who could care for him. He'd succumbed to the effects of that bloody awful tea she kept insisting he drink while they'd argued, but he was glad to see, as he watched her work about the forge, she had sense enough to heed the trouble crossing Eloise could bring down upon her.

Eloise's absence did give him pause, though. Surely, she would have insisted on caring for him, but other than that heated interaction, he had no further memory of her being at his side. How had they managed to keep her at bay? Had Emma indebted herself further with Neal? Requesting his assistance in exchange for a favor down the road?

Killian's gut twisted painfully at the prospect, but it was soon replaced by a sudden swell of shocked disbelief as a golden haired girl began running toward him.

"Papa! You're awake!"

"Alice?" Killian's knees gave out just as his little Starfish reached him, allowing her to throw her arms around his neck. "Alice," he choked out on a half sob. "How… you're out. During the day. H-how is this possible?"

"They're saying it's a miracle, Papa," Alice exclaimed, her words muffled against his neck as neither were willing to pull away from the other. "You and me getting better. God sent us a miracle."

A shadow blanketed them, causing his eyes to snap up. Emma stood over them, her bottom lip secured between her teeth, attempting to suppress the happiness that shimmered in her eyes. For all the questions barraging his mind in that moment, her expression offered him an answer to his most pressing question. He may not know how his child had made such a miraculous recovery, but he did know that it had everything to do with the woman he felt certain was a literal Godsend.

"That He did, Starfish," Killian murmured, staring into the veridian gaze of their guardian angel with an intense affirmation burning within his irises. "That He did."

Emma's breath visibly caught in her chest, and she ducked her head briefly to school her features and regain some composure. Clearing her throat, she said, "Alice, why don't you see about getting a tray of food for your Papa while I check his dressing?"

Alice pulled back, but didn't immediately move from his embrace. Cupping her face with one hand, he toyed with her long pigtail with the other. "It's alright, Starfish. Do as Miss Emma asks and you can regale me with the tale of your healing while I eat, yeah?"

Alice nodded at them both before turning and heading off towards the dining hall, pausing briefly to say something to Margot as she passed. Killian knelt there in awe of seeing his daughter scamper about in the sunlight. Her usually weak limbs were steady and strong, the pallor of her skin had been exchanged for a healthy vibrancy that shone from her face and twinkled in her Jones blue eyes. Killian pressed his fist against his lips and his head fell forward. The pressure in his chest increased to a welcomed ache as hot tears of rejoicing streamed down his face.

Emma's hand rested on his shoulder and he felt her crouch down next to him. "Come on," she breathed in his ear while tucking an arm around him. "Let's get you up and back inside."

Killian allowed Emma to get him to his feet and lead him back into the cabin. "Not the bed," he said gruffly when she began to steer him that way. "Please. I've had enough convalescing."

She gave him a slightly amused and understanding look before turning him towards the sofa, easing him down onto the cushions before lifting his leg and resting it in her lap as she sat upon the coffee table.

"I know you have questions," she began as she unwrapped his bandages. "But some of them will have to wait to be answered. Alice will be back any minute, and there is much she doesn't know."

Killian nodded, holding back a wince when her fingers gently pressed against the tender skin surrounding his injury.

"This is looking much better." Her eyes flicked up to his, a sternness penetrating her gaze as she advised, "If I can manage to keep you off your feet and resting for the rest of today and tomorrow, you'll likely be good as new by the Celebration."

The Celebration. A time when the village came together to give thanks for all the blessings God had provided, much like the American Thanksgiving society had observed in the days before the pestilence. A feast would be shared, music would be played, and folks would enjoy an evening of merriment before setting about the business of preparing for winter. He'd forgotten all about the Celebration.

"Alice is very excited at the prospect of dancing with her Papa during it, and I know you won't want to disappoint her."

"No," he replied earnestly. "No, I most certainly do not."

"Good." Emma smiled then reached over to collect fresh bandages and herbs from the tray next to her, redressing his wound with a light touch that made his skin come alive.

"Perhaps, I could have the honor of a dance with you as well?" he inquired casually, even as his heart began to race in anticipation of her reaction.

Furrowed brows and a bemused expression was not the response he'd been hoping for.

"I figured it would be expected," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "Though I have to warn you, other than playing around with Anna and Elsa when we were kids, I've never actually danced with anyone before." A beguiling blush tinted her cheeks as she set her attention back to wrapping his foot.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm a tad rusty myself." Having finished securing the bandage, Emma propped his foot onto a pillow but remained seated across from him. "But I'd be honored to have the first dance. After all… you never forget your first."

His wink drew a quiet giggle from her and he could practically see the tension and worry she had to have been harboring the past few days release from her shoulders.

"Here you are, Papa," Alice announced, carrying a tray of food into the cabin and pulling his and Emma's attention.

"Here, let me help you," Emma offered, taking the tray from Alice's hands and transferring it to Killian's lap. "Why don't you have a seat and keep your Papa company while he eats. I have things to finish at the forge." She turned her gaze to Killian and gave him a look of particular significance. "I'll be back in a bit and we'll catch up on things you've missed while you were ill."

"That sounds grand, love. Thank you."

Killian watched Emma exit the cabin then turned his focus towards Alice. A fresh swell of gratitude bubbled up within him, though it was cautioned with a dose of pragmatism. Even though he firmly believed God had orchestrated the events that had led to Alice's recovery, he knew it hadn't been the sort of miracle most of the villagers would surely believe it to be. He'd long suspected that her illness had been manufactured by Eloise as a means to control and exploit him, but that was a theory he'd never wanted to burden his child with. Before he prompted his starfish to begin her tale, he fortified himself by clinging to that buoy of gratefulness, lest he drag them both under with his rage.

"My darling girl," Killian sighed with a tight smile, his lips stretched taut as they fought to hold back the emotion he felt burning in the back of his throat. "Tell me everything, Starfish. I want to hear all about this miracle."

Killian sipped on the broth Alice had brought him, and nibbled on the crusty bread as he listened intently. Her exuberance while delighting him with the story had the corners of his mouth twitching up more than once. She'd always been a ball of energy. Even during the harshest and most debilitating times of suffering, she possessed a fire and zeal that made it impossible for her spirit to wane. A spirit that had her prattling on in a way he'd heard other parents complain about, but he found it to be nothing short of wondrous.

"I don't think I'd even realized how much stronger I'd been feeling until Miss Emma hinted at the idea that you might be willing to take me on a nighttime adventure," Alice stated. "But when she came back yesterday to tell me how you were doing, I knew something was different. It wasn't until Miss Emma tripped and knocked down my curtain that I realized how different."

"Emma knocked down your curtain?"

"It was an accident," Alice rushed to explain, perhaps fearing the woman she'd clearly become just as taken with as he might find herself in trouble within his estimation. "It was my fault, really. Mother had told me earlier to pick Mr. Rabbit up off the floor, but I forgot and-"

"Alice, love," Killian cut her off. He moved the finished tray off his lap and opened his arms to her. Once she was nestled in his embrace he gently stroked her hair, just as he used to when she was a much younger child. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Or Emma's. Accidents happen," he soothed. The white lie slipped easily off his tongue. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the action of pulling down the curtain had been intentional. "What happened after the curtain came down?"

"I screamed," she admitted sheepishly. "I was expecting the sunlight to hurt like is always does, but… it didn't."

Killian closed his eyes and tried to imagine that moment. His daughter's expression morphing from fear to confusion to elation. He envied Emma that moment.

"My scream brought some of the villagers rushing to see what was wrong," she continued. "Miss Emma urged me to go outside to see if I could withstand the full impact of the rays, and when the villagers saw that I was unaffected, they all began to kneel down and praise God."

Killian let out an amused huff. Getting the villagers to declare Alice's healing a miracle of God was a sure fire way to make certain whatever Eloise had done to make her sick in the first place couldn't be easily repeated without causing a crisis of faith within the community. Killian sat in awe of the cunning Emma displayed in arranging such a triumph. The only thing that would make it truly sanctified in the eyes of the community would be-

"Elder Robin called for Elder Neal, and they both prayed over me. At first, mother looked angry, but then she and Elder Victoria joined them. Mother insisted that I rest for the remainder of the day, but this morning, when Margot came by to see if I wanted to help her and some of the other girls with the decorations for the Celebration, she let me go."

"And how are you feeling now?"

"Wonderful," Alice elated. "I've had so much fun with Margot and the others. I'm trying to heed mother's advice to take it slow, but there's so much I want to see and do, I can't help but be excited."

"I'm excited for you, Starfish." Killian squeezed her tighter and rested his cheek on the crown of her head.

"Papa?" Alice muffled against his side. "I know mother has looked after me ever since I got sick, but…"

Tension rolled over him. Did his little love somehow suspect Eloise of the same treachery he did? Was she about to ask him if he thought her mother capable of such a wicked act? What would he say to her if she did?

"Do you think it's okay if I include Miss Emma in my prayers of thanks to God? It's just… I can't help but feel as though she might have had something to do with it." Alice pulled back and looked up into her papa's face with furrowed brows that reminded Killian of Liam. "I know that sounds weird."

"Not at all, love," Killian countered. "I see nothing wrong with including Emma in your prayers."

Alice beamed up at him then snuggled back into his side. They sat there for an untold amount of time, simply enjoying the company of the other before something began to nag in the back of Killian's mind.

"Alice? Do you know what your mother is up to? I'm surprised I haven't seen her yet today."

"I think she's with Elder Victoria," Alice replied. "Ivy and Ana said she came by their cabin the day before yesterday, and they've been meeting on and off ever since."

Dread slithered down Killian's back. Nothing good could possibly come from such meetings. He expected some sort of retribution to be forthcoming, and would have to stay vigilant of her schemes until he was well enough for them to make their escape. Which, thanks to Emma, could happen as soon as he was fully healed.

A soft knock echoed from the open doorway, and both Alice and Killian turned to see Margot hovering at the threshold.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said with a tint of pink on her cheeks. "Ivy, Ana, and I are going down to the lake to do some of the washing. I thought Alice might like to come along."

Alice met his eyes, and Killian could see the torn expression on his starfish's face. "You go on, love. Have fun with your friends," he encouraged. "I have been ordered to rest. Although…" Killian turned his attention back to Margot and asked, "Is your father around?"

"Yeah."

"Would you have him come help me with something?"

He wouldn't mind a bit of washing up either.

~/~

Emma slipped her boots off outside of the door and slowly turned the handle, hoping to enter the cabin as quietly as possible in case Killian was resting.

She really hoped he was resting.

She hadn't been expecting him to be resting like that.

Reclined in a small copper tub, wafts of steam rising up from the water he was partially submerged in, Killian sighed, completely oblivious to her presence. His bandaged foot dangled from where his leg was draped over the side, the angle of the extremity concealing a certain appendage from her view. The same appendage she'd woken up to the last two mornings pressed against her backside with Killian's arms wrapped around her middle. Needless to say, it had been difficult finding the motivation to leave bed the past two mornings.

"Swan?"

Heat rushed to her cheeks and she spun around, putting her back to him, hoping he wasn't aware of just how long she'd been standing there staring at him. "I'm so sorry. I thought you might be resting and I didn't want to disturb y-"

"Swan, close the door," he prompted softly, the sound of displaced water echoing through the cabin. "Or is it your intention to have me once again catch my death so you can continue to nurse me?"

Emma suppressed an amused huff and closed the door, averting her eyes while he repositioned himself in the tub to a more modest pose. "I can come back later if you want-"

"No," Killian rushed in reply causing Emma's eyes to snap up to his. "Please, stay. I'd really like to hear about Alice. Just give me a second to get out and dressed. Please?"

Wetting her lips, she took a calming breath before nodding then turned around again to afford him some privacy as he got out of the tub. She almost whirled back around when a pained grunt reached her over the sloshing sounds of the water.

"Do you… do you need some help?"

"Um… aye. If you… if you don't mind."

Peaking over her shoulder, she was relieved to see he'd wrapped a towel around his waist upon standing. The end was getting soaked where it hung in the water, but at least he was somewhat covered.

"I can't keep my balance well enough to get my other leg over the side since I can't put my full weight on my injured foot yet," he explained, one hand holding the ends of the towel with the other braced against the nearby bookcase, keeping him steady.

She tried to block out the feel of his warm skin, slippery beneath her touch from the droplets clinging to him as she wrapped an arm around him. Droplets that soaked into her shirt when she pressed into his side and cooled the heated flesh beneath when his damp hand clutched the fabric at her shoulder. Supporting his weight so he could safely step out of the tub without causing further injury to himself, Emma's heart began to pound when the flap of the towel flipped up, involuntarily drawing her gaze to the exposed skin beneath when he hiked his leg up and over the edge.

The incident had not exposed him, so much as it revealed a large bruise on the inner part of his thigh. Emma's brows pinched together as she tried to remember how he might have come by the abrasion. "Where did you get that?"

"What?"

"That bruise on your leg? Did you run into something? It looks pretty bad."

"It's nothing," he waved off, limping out of her supportive embrace and pulling the towel more tightly around him.

"Are you sure? I could probably make something to help it heal faster," she offered as he swung open the door to the wardrobe, acting as a barrier between them as he dressed. "A bruise that severe has to be tender. Especially there." She felt her cheeks flame up once more. Whether from the topic or the flash of bare flesh from his ass when he stepped in and pulled up his boxers, she couldn't really say.

"So long as it doesn't require me to drink that foul tea," he groused good naturedly, shooting her a quick smile past the door before returning to his task.

"Hey! That tea was very effective in getting you well, I'll have you know."

"And I am grateful for it." Now dressed in a fresh pair of flannel pants and tee shirt, he shut the wardrobe doors and hobbled towards the couch. Flopping down he patted the seat next to him, inviting her to join him. "Given what I overheard yesterday when Eloise came by, I assume you did not seek out her assistance when I fell ill. So, how did you know about the tea and how to treat my wound?"

Emma plucked Ingrid's book off the shelf of the bookcase and sat down next to Killian. "With this. Ingrid used it quite a bit over the years, treating minor illnesses and injuries my sisters and I would fall victim to." She skimmed her fingers over the lettering on the cover with a light, reverent touch. "It was instrumental in saving Graham's life, too. I remembered the tea from when she nursed him back to health, and was fortunate to find the ingredients here in the village." Her eyes slowly swept up from the book to Killian's intent blues and she pulled her lip between her teeth before adding, "In Eloise's garden."

"You went into her garden? Without her permission?" he asked incredulously.

"Robin gave me permission as an elder, and stood by me when she confronted me about it the next day. I told her that I went there seeking yarrow. I didn't tell either of them that I'd found something else while I was." Before he could inquire what she meant, she flipped open to the fungus section in the book and handed him the heavy tome. "It was a mushroom," she stated while he skimmed the words describing the Gothel Mushroom.

His knuckles turned white from where he gripped the edge of the book and his jaw tightened. An audible draw of breath swept into his chest through flared nostrils, making his entire body go rigid before he remembered to exhale.

"I didn't know what it was at first," she continued on. "I caught sight of it out of the corner of my eye, glowing underneath a fern. Something about it just… I pulled it and took it with me. It wasn't until later that I found that passage, and I-" she paused and worried her lip, afraid that the anger she could feel rolling off of him would be turned on her when she admitted what she'd done. "I got so angry that I… I tossed it in the fire."

Those last few words were said on nothing more than a guilty exhale, but Emma knew he'd heard her from the feel of his gaze now settling on her.

"It was stupid, and impulsive, and I'm so sorry, I just-"

"Emma." He closed the book and set it on the coffee table before taking her hand. "Did you think I would be angry with you about that?"

When she looked up into his eyes, what she saw there nearly stole her breath. She had never seen them so clear, so intensely blue, so full of…

She shook her head and tore her eyes from his. "But the proof," she argued. "Without the mushroom, there's no proof of what she's done."

"Aye, that may be," he replied, tucking his fingers beneath her chin and prompting her to meet his eyes once more. "But it doesn't change the fact that because of you, she can never harm Alice that way again." His thumb stroked the line of her jaw, sending a trembling cascade down her spine. "I will never be able to repay you for what you've done, Emma. You saved us. Me and Alice. And now we can finally be free of this place. Because of you."

Emma's breath caught and her lips parted. Killian's hand tightened against hers as his thumb came to rest at the corner of her mouth. The air had become thick and charged around them, a heavy anticipation permeating the atmosphere and seeping into Emma's skin, leaving a wake of skittering tingles in her flesh. Killian's eyes bounced between hers before settling on her lips and the captive breath in her lungs released in a stuttered exhale of expectation.

It wasn't until the knock sounded at the door that Emma was aware of just how closely they'd leaned into one another. Relief and disappointment swept over her as she jerked back, Killian's hand falling away from her face as he called out a disgruntled sounding invitation to enter.

Robin appeared, a look of apology on his face when his eyes landed on their still joined hands. "I thought you might need help emptying and removing the tub," he said, leaning against the doorframe and not fully entering the cabin. "Assuming you're done with it?"

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Killian's words were faster.

"Actually, I thought Emma might want use of it first." He offered her a shy smile, scratching behind his ear as he continued. "You've been hard at work taking care of me while also performing your duties for the village. Seems to me you could use a relaxing soak in a nice, hot bath."

"It would give Killian and I an opportunity to discuss a few things at my place while you take advantage of the tub," Robin offered. "I'll make sure he doesn't overdo it while you get some much needed time to yourself."

Emma pursed her lips together and side-eyed both men. "Why do I feel like the two of you are conspiring against me?"

"Well," Robin looked over his shoulder then moved into the cabin, closing the door behind him, "there is something I haven't told either of you yet."

Killian's brows were raised, clearly expressing he had no idea what his friend was hedging at. "What's that, mate?"

"I've decided that… I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"When you leave," he whispered. "Margot, Roland, and I are coming with you."

Killian's face lit up, and as soon as his intent became apparent, Emma assisted him off the couch so he could embrace his friend. "I was hoping you'd agree to come with us," Killian muffled against Robin's shoulder. "We'll need your help to get what we need out of the armory, and now that Alice is well there's nothing stopping us from leaving right away apart from my injury."

"And apart from Eloise's suspicions that leaving is exactly what you have planned," Robin cautioned. "Suspicions I'm sure she's shared with Victoria and Neal by now."

"Aye." Killian swept a hand through his still damp hair before running it down his face, the tension Emma had noted in his shoulders before his soothing bath knitted itself within his muscles as he considered Robin's words. "I shudder to think what that foul woman might be planning in retaliation, but we'll have to remain vigilant against whatever scheme they're concocting. Especially you, Swan."

Emma swallowed heavily at the thought. She'd already gone toe-to-toe with Eloise a few times, and her ploy to get Neal and the villagers to acknowledge Alice's healing as a miracle had worked better than she'd planned, but she knew that a reckoning was coming. Alice had told her that her mother had spent hours in the garden since Emma had confessed to being there, and Eloise had sent thinly veiled comments Emma's way about robbing her garden of more than just yarrow when she'd come by the day before. Like both men, she felt it was just a matter of time before Eloise and the other elders would come to suspect them of planning an escape.

If they didn't already.

A heavy hand came to rest on her shoulder and she flicked her gaze up to Killian's. "Try not to think on it too much right now, love," Killian tried to reassure her. "Robin and I will get you more water to heat up the bath, and then we'll try and come up with a plan whilst you relax."

"But I can help," Emma protested, even if she did long to have a soothing soak in the tub.

"Aye, and once we've come up with a few ideas, the three of us will reconvene."

Killian squeezed her shoulder after she gave a consenting nod and followed Robin out the door. Emma knew it wasn't either of their intentions to sideline her. They knew more about the village and its logistics than she did, so it wasn't like she'd be of much help in the early stages of planning anyway. Any final trepidations at not being present while Killian and Robin hashed out the details melted away when Emma slipped into the hot bath. So what if she daydreamed that it was Killian's firm chest she was reclining against rather than the hard metal of the copper tub?

~/~

"So you're planning to broach the idea of Alice staying a few nights with us?" Emma inquired while she and Killian conversed later, straightening up the cabin now that the tub had been removed so they could settle in for bed.

"Aye. During the elder meeting tomorrow."

"And the idea is to…"

"Misdirect them," Killian responded. "If they do suspect us of planning an escape, they'll assume we'd leave on a night Alice is staying with us. The hope is to make them hypervigilant on those nights and less attentive on nights she's with Eloise. Since we know Alice is capable of sneaking out of her room within the children's quarter, we can arrange our escape on one of those nights instead."

"And you think Eloise is just going to agree to Alice spending the night with us? Without a fight?"

"Good heavens, no," Killian scoffed. "But now she's been healed, a miracle sanctified by Saint Neal himself, it isn't really a fight she can win." Killian paused and shifted his stance, stabilizing himself against his desk.

The rest was doing him good. Even in the few short hours since she'd assisted him out of the tub, he was much more sure footed than he had been. With any luck he'd be strong enough to dance on it at the Celebration. If that went well, then there was no reason to think he couldn't endure the miles they'd have to travel in haste once the opportunity to escape came.

Turning down the covers on the bed, Emma noticed Killian reach up and scratched behind his ear before uttering, "Swan, now that I'm better, I'm happy to take the couch again. I appreciate you letting me sleep in the bed with you while I was-"

"You can't," Emma interrupted, forcing Killian's brows to shoot up into his hairline. Her heart pounded within her chest and she felt her cheeks flame from the overly zealous tone her words had come out in. "I mean… um. Neal caught me sleeping on the couch the other morning." The muscle in Killian's jaw began to flicker and his eyes narrowed at the implication that the Head Elder had entered their cabin without invitation. "I told him it was only so I wouldn't disturb you, but he didn't seem convinced with that excuse. He sort of implied an assumption that we weren't…" Her voice trailed off. She could tell from the look on Killian's face that he'd gotten the gist of their exchange.

"I see."

"I think it would be best if we just keep sharing the bed," she suggested. "I wouldn't put it past him to come snooping again now that he knows you're better."

"Nor would I," Killian agreed.

It was an awkward few minutes that followed, both of them finishing their normal routines before tentatively climbing into bed next to each other. Emma felt silly for her racing heart and sweating palms. It wasn't as if she hadn't slept next to the man before. In fact, she'd spent more nights with him at her side than she had alone since he'd first appeared in her life. Nights that usually found them gravitating towards one another in their sleep, causing her to wake up in his arms. A very pleasant way to wake up, if she were being honest with herself.

That wall was totally failing her.

"Goodnight, love," Killian murmured after turning out the lamp and plunging the cabin into darkness, with only a few thin streams of moonlight filtering in through the window, illuminating his profile.

"Goodnight, Killian," she replied, snuggling further beneath the blanket… and maybe a bit closer to him.

~/~

"I have no objection with Alice staying a few nights each week with you and Emma," Eloise declared magnanimously.

Killian's jaw went slack and his head cocked sideways. "Really?"

"Of course not," she answered with a simpering smile. "In fact, why don't I send her over this evening so she can stay with you tonight?"

Robin caught his eye with his own incredulous look before Killian stammered out, "F-fine. Good. I'm glad that's… glad that's settled then."

Killian didn't believe for a moment that Eloise had agreed to his petition so easily out of the goodness of her heart. What was the witch up to now?

"Great," Neal commented, pulling the elders' focus back to the agenda of the meeting and recapping what they'd already discussed. "Everything is all set for tomorrow night's celebration, Robin will get with Nick about setting up one more hunt so we can address the meat stores before winter, and Alice's time will now be spent equally with both her parents. Is there anything else anyone wishes to bring up for consideration before we adjourn the meeting?"

"Yes," Victoria spoke up. "I would like this council to consider lowering the sponsorship age."

"Lowering the age?" Robin protested as cold tendrils of dread slithered their way into the pit of Killian's stomach. "To what?"

"Thirteen," Victoria answered with a flippant shrug of her shoulders.

"What?!"

"You can't be serious?" Killian outraged in tandem with Robin while throwing an accusatory look at Eloise.

"If we don't do something to provide companionship for the number of eligible young men within the village, they will wish to go out and find it just as you did," Victoria stated at Killian. "We need our men here, not traipsing about the countryside, putting themselves in danger. Lowering the age to thirteen would give us a number of young women for them to choose from."

"Two of them being your own," Robin pointed out in shocked disbelief.

"Aye, as well as yours and mine," Killian reminded him before being corrected with a pointed Ours from Eloise.

"Exactly," voiced Victoria. "Which means we will all be leading by example to the other parents within the community."

Killian balled his fists, but a feeling of helplessness began to permeate the fury burning inside of him. He felt his body begin to shake and his mind shut down from the assault of trepidation rising up within him, pounding in his chest and branching out into each of nerve endings . Robin's eyes were practically branding him, willing him to speak up, to say something, but he couldn't bring the chaos of his mind under any sort of control to put together a coherent thought.

"I think it is an idea worth exploring," Eloise commented casually. "Shall we table it for our next meeting?"

A frenzy thundered in Killian's ears, barely making him aware of Neal's compliance to her request. Before he knew it, the meeting was adjourned and Robin was attempting to shake him from his stupor.

"Killian? Mate? What's gotten into you?"

Killian shook himself and offered his friend a half-hearted apology before rushing off in pursuit of Eloise. He couldn't let her get away with this, couldn't let her do this to Alice.

"Eloise, please," he pleaded, catching her arm and spinning her around to face him. "Please don't do this."

"Do what?" she replied coyly, wrapping her fingers around his bicep and digging her fingers into the muscle.

"You know what," he accused. "This isn't about the men of the village finding companionship. This is about Alice, about you no longer having her, having me, under your thumb since Emma found and destroyed that mushroom."

Something flashed in Eloise's eyes and Killian realized that she hadn't known the mushroom had been destroyed, and with it, any evidence of her actions.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't," Killian snapped. "Don't pretend you didn't put Victoria up to this just to get back at me. She would have never made the request to lower the sponsorship age without your insistence. She can't want that for her girls." Killian shook his head and pondered, "How could you want that for Alice. She's just a child."

"She'll be the same age you were when I sponsored you."

Killian's stomach rolled and he closed his eyes briefly to try and stay the rising bile. "Exactly."

"You make it sound as though lowering the sponsorship age would be some sort of crime," she replied with mocked offense. "Victoria and Neal don't see it that way. In fact, with the three of us in agreement, we have enough votes to pass the resolution. However," she released her grip on his arm and trailed fingers over his skin, "you might be able to persuade me to change my vote."

Jerking back, away from her touch, he inquired sharply, "What do you want?"

"I want you to transfer Emma's sponsorship and tie yourself to me."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm very serious," she said, stalking towards him as he stumbled back, wanting - needing - to keep as much distance between them as he could. "I know you think you've broken away, but you'll always belong to me."

"I don't belong to you. I never have."

"Maybe not. But you will."

"Never."

She tsked at him then smiled sadistically when his back finally hit the wall. "Not even to save your daughter from the same fate you seem so set against."

"She's your daughter, too," he reminded her. "Do you really hate her so much that you'd see her suffer that way?"

"I don't hate her," she feigned in protest, bringing her hand up stroke the side of his face. "She's provided a valuable service of keeping you in line… until you brought her here."

Killian hissed when she swiped her hand away, leaving a few angry welts from her nails against his cheek. "Emma," he bit out through his clenched teeth. "Her name is Emma, and I am not transferring her sponsorship to anyone else."

"But there are so many others who'd be more than willing to step in as her sponsor. Neal, for example." Her hands crept up his chest, sending a shudder of disgust over him while a fresh spark of rage roared to life within his gut. "He's already agreed to change his vote in exchange for her. Would it really be such a hardship? It's not as if you love her."

"Actually." He knocked her hands away and tilted his head forward, staring her down with a look of unabashed fervency. "I do."

Eloise blanched. "You what?"

"I love her," Killian declared with a quiet but firm resolve. "And I won't trade her away. Do you hear me? I love Emma. Not you. Her."

"And are you so sure she loves you as well?"

He knew the question was meant to be like a slap in the face, her arched brow and smug smirk both raised in a taunting fashion.

"Actually, I'm fairly certain she doesn't." His words cause another flicker of shock to pass over her features. "But that changes nothing. I'll protect her regardless."

"Because you love her," Eloise sneered.

"Aye."

"More than your daughter?"

"What sort of question is that?" Killian growled. "You know how much I love Alice. What she means to me."

"Oh, I do know." Triumph flashed in Eloise's eyes. "Which is how I know that when it comes down to it… you'll be mine." She pressed against him, his back molding itself to the wall behind him as his eyes clamped shut at the feel of her breath along the shell of his ear. "Love is weakness, Killian. When will you learn that?"

~/~

Emma paced the cabin, her thumb nearly chewed down to the nub from where her nerves continued to nibble away at the nail. Robin had left some time before, dropping the bomb of Eloise's countermeasure as proposed through Victoria during the elder meeting before he had to go and meet with Nick on another matter.

Of all the despicable things Emma had considered the woman might do in response to her foiled plan and broken control over Alice, this was beyond any of her worst imaginings.

She paused her meanderings and wrapped her arms around her waist, doubling over from the sudden flood of nausea assailing her gut. Their only saving grace was that Alice wouldn't turn thirteen for another ten days, so even if the measure did get passed they still had time to get away before she could be Sponsored.

The same wasn't true for Margot or the other girls, though. A frightful reality that had clearly been eating away at Robin.

The door crashed open, making Emma jump. "Killian!" She started to rush towards him as he closed the cabin door, but something about his countenance made her stop short before reaching him. "Robin told me what happened at the elder meeting. He's pretty shook up by it. Are you… okay?"

He wasn't okay. A blind man would have been able to see that.

"I never thought it was a coincidence. You running into me that day." His voice was hollow, as were his eyes which were fixed at the floor. "I had prayed that I might find someone to help us, and God… He answered."

When he took a step away from the door, she instinctively took one back, not sure why she was keeping her distance, but feeling it prudent all the same.

"I almost made you come with me, did you know that?" They circled around one another, his eyes still unfocused on the rug at their feet, until they'd swapped positions. "I was so sure that you were meant to… I used it to justify my silence as we made our way here."

"I know," she said softly. "You told me all of this already. Remember?"

"I knew God would provide, and you'd changed your mind, and then agreed to stay and help even after learning the truth." His hands were trembling and the rise and fall of his chest was coming much faster now. "You discovered what was making Alice sick, you've made it possible for us to leave, and I thought…" His eyes finally lifted from the floor and sought hers. A haunting look of despondency shrouded the usual brilliance of their blue depths. "I thought I could protect you."

The words were barely audible, but Emma's heart clenched in response to the meaning behind them which spoke volumes within her soul.

"I'm so much stronger now than I used to be," he prattled on, the hollowness now reverberating an echo of mania in each syllable. "I'm an Elder. I have a voice now. People listen to me, but today… it was like I was… helpless all over again. It transported me back to that place. That place of feeling vulnerable and powerless."

"You aren't powerless," Emma asserted, closing the distance between them and cupping his face in her hands. "We are going to get Alice out of here. You're both going to get away from her. Forever."

"She's never going to stop," Killian continued on as if he hadn't heard a word she'd said.

Maybe he hadn't? By the crazed look in his eyes and the way his chest shuddered on the precipice of hyperventilating, Emma was pretty certain he had spiraled past the plane of reason and was falling headlong into a full blown panic attack.

"I have to make her stop. I'm stronger now…. I'm stronger now."

His body was shaking, on the verge of violent tremors. Tears stung Emma's eyes in brief commiseration at the helplessness Killian was expressing. She had to do something to pull him back from the brink. Anything.

Without thought she released his face and grabbed the open ends of his button up shirt. Pulling him to her, she crashed their lips together and cut off his ramblings of madness. The force of her action had them swaying, the only motion being initiated by either of them until Killian inhaled deeply and wraps his arms around her. The frenzy of his mind alleviated itself against her mouth as he devoured her with a kiss more passionate than any she'd ever seen referenced in those forbidden books Ingrid had kept hidden away beneath her bed.

Killian's hand slid up her back, briefly kneading the muscles at the back of her neck before burying itself in her hair. It remained there when their lips released each other. Both were desperate to fill their lungs, but unwilling to break apart any further than was necessary.

Killian's eyes fluttered opened, his breath warm against her swollen lips as he murmured, "That was…"

"The only thing I could think of to try and calm you down," she confessed. "I thought if I just-"

Her words were caught off by the urgent press of his lips. Before she could even acquiesce to the request his tongue was making at the seam of her lips, she found herself pinned against the door of the cabin with his hands over her wrists and his hips fused to hers.

So much for calming him down.