~Explanation~

The strange man started to stammer something, but before she knew what she was doing, she suddenly appeared with the Captain in the dining room, back where Snow and Regina were sitting, discussing something. Doc had long since left.

Snow looked more surprised, standing as soon as they arrived at the head of the table, more so than Regina, who simply glanced over with an eyebrow raised and a huff of agitation.

"Help!" Was all Emma could muster before they sprang into action.

Regina knelt beside the fallen pirate, her fingers forming a triangle as she examined him through the space between her fingers. Then she waved a hand over him, the knife appearing in her hand, and the pirate choking air into his lungs.

"Emma, who is this?" Her mother asked.

"If you don't mind," Regina spoke, "Perhaps we should get him into a guest bedroom, allow him to rest, and then we could have that talk I've stuck around for."

"Is he-"

"He's fine, now. Left unchecked, that wound would have killed him."

It didn't take long to move the Captain when Regina levitated him behind her as they walked. Nor did it take long for the guards to find the man in the Red Cap, also known as Smee, who had been knocked out cold on the deck of the ship. He must have hit his head when the ship landed, but other than a bump, he was healthy. They were having trouble finding the strange man, but Emma wasn't worried. She never wanted to see him again, though why she felt such hostility towards him was beyond her.

Since it was nearly dinner, Emma, Snow, and Regina found their way back to the dining room, fully expecting a quiet conversation.

"Alright Regina," Snow started. "You said something earlier about not having time to explain? Why didn't you have time then? And what do you have to explain?"

Regina glanced at Emma. "Your daughter was experiencing an affliction. I knew that whatever needed to happen in order for it to dissipate did not involve me. I could tell it was progressing, and something needed to happen quickly." She paused. "You remember, I encouraged her to do whatever she would have had I not arrived."

"Why did you arrive?" Emma asked.

"You're welcome, by the way. I see that it's gone now."

"Is it, Emma? The cold is gone? What happened?"

"One thing at a time, mother." When nobody spoke, Emma groaned, shifting her stare at Regina to a look of angst at her mother. "Yes, I'm better. The man I saved… helped me. Your turn." She pointed at Regina.

"My dear, you have magick, if you couldn't tell after... transporting yourself with him here earlier."

"What?" Came from both mother and daughter, nearly in unison.

Regina sighed dramatically, crossing her arms. "Emma is the product of True Love. This gives her special powers." She looked at Snow. "No, hers is not Evil like mine was. Her magick comes from her heart. Mine came from hatred until… well, I found another way to channel it." She looked back to Emma. "Yours is very much… how do I put this?" She paused a moment. "Like blinking. You blink when you have to but you can also choose to blink." She looked between the two women, who were clearly not believing her.

Her gaze landed on Emma. "You nearly froze yourself solid, you pulled me away from my life with, mind you, all of my protections still active." She paused, taking an uncertain breath. "Then you opened a doorway between us and wherever that ship came from, and pulled that ship, including everything and everyone on it, into the portal similar to what you did to me. Not bad for a novice who knew nothing of her abilities up until... right this minute."

Emma's jaw could have been picked up from the floor. "No, none of that was me." She was shaking her head adamantly.

"Why would she do any of that?" Snow whispered.

"All I know is that she did it. Magick can be tracked. Everything I mentioned came from Emma, and can be proven if you really want to get into it."

"Why was he able to warm me up, end my cold… spell?"

"How did he do it?"

Emma's cheeks flushed, glancing shyly at her mother. "At first, it was his embrace. He carried me away from the ship, he saved me from being flattened by it. If he hadn't, I'd likely be dead. I realized I could feel his warmth, and something came over me and I…" She glanced again at her mother. "I kissed him."

Snow looked at Regina. "No!…"

Regina was already nodding. "Yes."

Emma looked rapidly between the two. "What?"

They both refused to answer.

"Tell me!"

Regina started again. "There's one other thing I should tell you before I leave." She rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, down to the bridge on her nose. "That curse I didn't cast? I've since discovered that I was meant to. From Fate's standpoint, the stars were aligned, and many things that should have happened, haven't and likely won't happen naturally… And I'm worried that the events of this day are just the beginning of fate realigning itself."