~Baelfire~
The confusion mounted as Bae was sat at the other end of the table, guards not leaving his side.
"Stabbed? What do you mean I stabbed him? Hook and I may not see eye to eye, but we've pushed past that, tell them Hook, we-we've worked well together this past year!"
"Aye, that is true. You don't remember stabbing me?"
He shook his head adamantly, and Snow turned to Emma. "Darling, are you sure this is the man you saw that day? The man who stabbed, and nearly killed, Captain Jones with a dagger?"
Emma knew it was him, but she also knew he was telling the truth. In the very least, he didn't believe, or couldn't remember, that he had stabbed his Captain. She herself had lived an entire day she couldn't recall.
Emma looked into the eyes of the man accused. Ignoring her throbbing back, she stared for a moment. There was something off about him, and she couldn't place it. Finally, she turned to her mother.
"This day is full of surprises, and confusion. I believe this man," she looked from her mother, to her father, then to Captain Hook. "in the way that he may not remember his actions of that day. However, it is the same man I saw. I'm sure of it."
"Captain, please."
Snow spoke up. "Bae-"
"Neal." Snow looked confused, before Hook chimed in, enlightening them on the alias.
"Alright then. Neal. I don't want you to be frightened. We are not the kind of people who ignore the truth. You will not be wrongfully imprisoned. However, we do need to understand. Perhaps you can enlighten us on a few things." He nodded, licking his lips nervously.
Hook spoke. "Perhaps we should start with when you remember seeing me last."
"I don't know how long ago it was. We were in Camelot, looking for Excalibur. We- uhm- we were back on the ship after we had just had a long winded conversation with a tree."
Emma looked at Hook with curiosity.
Hook breathed in deeply, nodding. "That was about two days before we arrived here. It was the day before Bae went looking for a witch who was said to reveal the future. He came back angry with me, picking fights over nothing."
Snow nodded, and asked Neal to share with them what else he remembered.
"Certainly not a week having gone by. One minute, we were on the ship discussing how to get Excalibur from Aurther, the next I woke up here, just outside your castle. I didn't know what to make of it, so I came here for help."
"Could someone have cast a spell on him?" Belle asked.
Regina spoke up. "Does anyone mind if I examine the man?"
David glared at her, about to speak. Without looking at her husband, Snow laid a hand on his forearm to calm him before nodding to the former evil sorceress.
With that, Regina stood from her seat and purposely sauntered over to where the accused sat. She made a triangle with her fingers, and Emma was reminded of the day she first saw her do that. To Hook, after Bae-Neal stabbed him. She had been worried about a man she barely knew, livid at another. She shifted in her seat, slightly, but enough to remind her of the bruise. She'd have to ask Regina to take a look. Gods knew she didn't want to ask Doc to appraise her there.
Regina spoke, breaking her from her thoughts. "Something magical happened to him, but I don't recognize the signature. It's white."
"What's white?" Emma asked.
"The magick. Whoever did this has white magick, not unlike you Emma. Only yours is pure with perhaps hints of pastels throughout, where this is simply absent all other colors. A ghostly white."
"Can you tell what happened to him?" Snow asked.
Regina turned her fingers to the people at the table, looking at each in turn. She slowly lowered her arms. "Perhaps I should talk to the King and Queen privately."
