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-FantasyWriterFoSho
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Summary of the Previous Chapter: After much debate, Emma managed to remove the dagger. Regina also went to go research what was happening.
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Chapter Eighteen: Traumatized
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Sticky and dark red, the blood stained her shirt then began oozing down her sides, leaving crimson trails on her skin and at the hem of her pants.
For better visibility, Killian worked quickly. After hastily pulling Emma's hair back with a hair tie he had found around one of her wrists, his hand frequently brushing against her clammy skin, he then briefly propped her up before carefully slipping her arms out of her jacket. When it was removed completely from her body, he gently laid her flush against the floor. Folding the article of clothing, so that the fleece part was exposed, he then pressed it down firmly against her wound in order to try and clot the opening, the decision eliciting a small groan from Emma's clenched mouth.
She was bleeding profusely but he refused to give up on her.
Looking from one end of her body to the other, he felt the desperate need to do more. Placing her hands atop of her stomach and jacket, to keep it steady, Killian then removed his own so he could use it to prop her head up. After sliding it beneath the desired location with his hook, he urgently stared into her hooded eyes.
Keep her awake, he instructed silently. It's too risky to move her but she has to stay conscious. "Swan," he began, lightly shaking her. "How do you feel?"
"...The jacket...feels...better," she gasped, giving him a faint smile, needing to comfort him despite being the one who was injured.
"I'm glad," he said, his blue eyes sparkling. Laying his hand on top of hers, he intertwined their fingers. "Is there anything else that I can do?"
Breathing through the pain, Emma shook her head. "You know," she then said moments later. "Looking back...on it, I should've...seen this coming...I mean...trusting Gold...was stupid..."
"We all have our dire moments, love," Kilian replied, adjusting himself down into a lying position, his hooked arm resting around her head as he continued to look at her face. As his hand began to caress her knuckles, he pressed down a little bit harder, which made her shudder. "I too had one recently with the crocodile," he readily confessed. When she gave him a confused look, he told her about how he really got his hand for their date as well as the entire situation concerning the dagger.
"Well..." she began, swallowing harshly. "You...win...for...being r-romantic..."
Chuckling, Killian leaned in closer. "I'm always a gentleman, love."
Noticing that she was beginning to drift away, he then shook her a bit more. "Emma, stay awake. You have to stay awake."
Licking her lips, she then rolled her head to where he was, her temple rubbing against his shirt's sleeve. When Emma just answered him with several blinks, followed by a frail smile, he decided to switch tactics. "Do you want me to tell you an old, old tale?"
"Does...it include...swashbucklers and the...high seas?" she asked, the smile still on her face.
"It might," he replied, his heart pounding. "I'm an arsenal of wise and important knowledge."
"It has to be...interesting though..."
"Everything that I say is interesting, love" he countered with a boyish grin.
Coughing and breathing heavily, she tried to concentrate on the warmth of his fingers instead of on the pain that was wringing her entire body. "Go...ahead then."
As Killian began telling her some of his stories, he could see that she was enjoying them, but he also noticed that her eyes were dimming with every passing minute. Jaw clenching, he silently prayed that Regina would hurry.
…
After quickly stopping at her vault, Regina found some enchanted cuffs and used them to restrain the docile Snow Queen before locking her up at the station, which she magically enchanted for extra safekeeping.
Heading back to her vault, Regina quickly went through anything she could get her hands on; books, scrolls and pamphlets, but she couldn't find anything relating, or pertaining, to "wounds inflicted by the Dark One's dagger"...
Maybe no research was done about this? she thought, leaning against her long table. Maybe this is something only Gold knows about?
Biting the inside of her cheek, Regina straightened up then turned around to gather more books, but of the older variety. Flipping through them, her eyes skimmed over the familiar words until she found something that could be significant.
"The Transference Potion," she murmured, glossing over the details with wide eyes. "It won't damage the integrity of the object it's being used on...it has the ability to be used on whatever the orchestrator chooses...no cure...tricky...deadly...no further research..."
Nodding her head, she thought about that thick liquid she had found on the dagger. She wasn't completely sure if this was what the substance was but the feeling in her gut told her that she was on the correct path. As she read through it again, trying to commit all of the words to her memory, she was then interrupted by a shrilling sound in her pocket.
Reaching in, she pulled out her cell then brought it up to an ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's David. We just wanted to know if there were any updates. Have you and Hook found Emma yet?"
Regina's body stiffened.
Due to the gravity of the situation, she had completely forgotten to inform them of what happened. "Uh," she began, closing the book she was holding and carefully placing it down onto the table. "We did find her, but I'm afraid that things have taken a turn for the worse..."
Quickly informing him of how they had first used the potion to track Emma down before switching it over to Gold, she dove into what followed afterwards then quietly ended with how she had locked the Snow Queen up at the station.
She could hear David's shocked and pained reactions via his gasps, which prompted a nearby Mary Margaret to his side. Cutting into his many rushed questions and his demands to be taken to Emma, Regina shook her head to nobody in particular. "Listen to me," she reasoned, trying to pacify him through her receiver. "I'm doing all that I can to rectify the situation. The best thing you guys can do right now is to stay where you are..."
"But if she dies and we don't—"
"She's not going to die," Regina interrupted fiercely. "I'll fix this. Now, please...I have to go but I'll keep you informed." Hanging up soon after, she exhaled loudly. "Speaking of Emma," she then said, waving her hands up. "I should go back."
Disappearing in a thick cloud of smoke, Regina soon reappeared at the abandoned mansion, her eyes immediately seeing the only two figures in the room.
Killian was now sitting up, his hand pressing against her stomach, and was talking to her while Emma was facing him and listening to whatever he was saying.
Regina opened her mouth but closed it when she noticed a small puddle of blood beneath the blonde. Registering his reason for holding her like that and how flat the surface of her stomach now looked, she glanced down and instantly saw the discarded dagger near her foot.
"What the hell happened here?" she practically shouted, running forward and crouching down beside Emma, opposite of Killian.
"She somehow removed the dagger and..." he answered, happy to see that Regina had returned.
"...Started bleeding?" she finished, raising a brow. Gently peeling his hand away from the wound, she could see that some blood had pooled to the surface and was heavily permeating through her shirt and the jacket, painting both of them in various crimson colors. "This is getting out of hand," Regina frowned. "How was she able to pull it out?"
Killian shook his head. "I'm not sure..."
"Sheer...will..." Emma responded with a small shoulder shrug that she instantly regretted doing afterwards.
"Interesting," Regina whispered, leaning in closer. Lifting her shirt up, revealing a now gaping lesion, her eyes evaluated it before she raised a hand and snapped her fingers.
A tiny circle of magic swirled in her palm before it faded away, leaving a hefty medical kit in its wake. Dropping Emma's shirt, so she could open the case, Regina pulled out some supplies before then summoning a bucket of warm water near the injured woman's legs. "Since I can't heal this," she explained, dipping a clean piece of fabric into the pail. "We have to clean it..."
Killian nodded. "When you were gone, did you find anything?"
"Possibly," she answered as she wrung out the excess from the cloth. "The Transference Potion may be the answer to Gold using his dagger as a weapon but I'm not entirely sure about it; however, it is our best bet though..."
Gently wiping away the gore from Emma's stomach, Regina paused then swiftly handed Killian the rest of the supplies. "Use the gauze to apply some antibiotic ointment then dress it with this pad," she instructed, pointing to each item before standing back up again.
"Where are you going now?" Killian asked, his eyes wide.
"I have to find and confront Gold," she responded evenly. "I have to know what his plans are. Only he can give me a straight answer about all of this and we're running out of time, especially since Emma's life hangs in the balance."
His eyes darkened. "Do whatever it takes."
Regina nodded before disappearing from the mansion once again.
Instead of reappearing back at his shop, she did so at the hospital. Despite the brute force Killian wanted, she knew, at this point, that she would need something, or someone, powerful enough to sway him. He won't just come out with the information, not when he was within reach of whatever he was devising. So, as she strode into the lobby, her eyes immediately fell onto Belle, who was sitting down, consoling both David and Mary Margaret, alongside a forlorn-looking Elsa.
Breathing deeply, Regina walked up to them and braced herself for an onslaught of emotional spewing.
Mary Margaret was the first to see her and immediately popped up. "Emma? Where is she? How is she? Are you here to take us to her?!"
"Emma is..." Regina paused, looking at the distraught woman with soft eyes. "...She's as stable as she can be at the moment, but the outcome could be better if," she then glanced at the brunette woman beside her. "Belle came with me to confront Gold."
Everybody turned to look at her.
Slowly standing up, Belle nodded her head, her eyes steely. "Let's go."
"That was definitely easier than the last time," Regina retorted, somewhat shocked at her lack of hesitation.
"After what I saw at the ice cave," Belle began, moving to stand beside Regina. "It opened my eyes to many things. I also have several words to say to him."
"Agreed," Regina responded, lifting her hands up. Looking back at David and Mary Margaret, who looked more at ease than they did when she first came in. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
Waving a hand, they then vanished from the hospital, leaving those they left behind in a bundle of emotions.
…
Arriving at the Pawn Shop, Regina and Belle looked at the building with serious expressions. While in the process of being teleported, they tried the direct approach, but were instantly bounced back into the street, which immediately told Regina that Gold had his shop in a magical shield.
Clearing her throat, Regina observed the protected exterior before taking several steps back. Having Belle stand behind her, she took a moment to collect herself before attacking the shield with a burst of purple light. Strings and strings of energy struck against it until the barrier soon dismantled under her powerful bout of magic.
After watching the barrier collapse and rain down in sparks, the two women quickly walked to the door and opened it, their demeanors fiery and confrontational.
…
Minutes after Regina and Belle had magically vanished, Mary Marget, David and Elsa took a moment to collect themselves before they too left the hospital. They were about to finally make their way back to the loft—they were going there earlier but chose not to after Killian told them about Emma's escape—when Mary Margaret decided to go somewhere else.
Noting the intense look in her eyes, David acquiesced and they quickly discovered themselves heading into the direction of the station. It took them nearly an hour to get there—their truck was still deep in the forest—but nobody complained the entire time.
Opening the door, Mary Margaret made her way into the main room and was instantly met with the sitting form of the Snow Queen. Leaning back on her cot, she briefly glanced at them before returning her gaze upwards, her face lined with worry.
"Is Emma okay?" she then asked, her tone soft.
Glaring at her, Mary Margaret strode over to the bars with no trace of sympathy or compassion in her eyes. "I have a few questions for you," she said, ignoring the Snow Queen's inquiry. "And I suggest that you answer them."
The other woman didn't move or say anything in return. She just continued to stare at the ceiling.
"What were you planning on doing with my daughter, with the town and with all of us?"
The Snow Queen said nothing.
"What are Gold's plans?"
Again, she stayed silent.
"What is your connection to Gold?"
At that, the Snow Queen turned to look at her.
During her confinement, she actually had been debating about whether or not she even wanted to carry out her plans. It was now a genuine question for her. Her main concern would always be for her family and right now, one of them was out there, severely injured and there appeared to be nothing she could do to help her.
Especially since she was trapped in an enchanted cell.
"Is Emma okay?" she asked again, her eyes bright with emotion.
"Answer me!" Mary Margaret demanded, angrily slamming her hands against the bars.
David quickly appeared beside her. "Snow," he whispered. Gently wrapping his arms around her, he then began to pull her away from the cell. "We should go."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Mary Margaret relented and allowed him to walk her over to the door, her breathing ragged. Elsa, who had been observing from the entrance, had just opened it for them when the Snow Queen suddenly spoke again, but in a firmer voice.
"Is...Emma...okay?"
Mary Margaret's body stiffened before she ripped herself out of her husband's grip, her body snapping back around in order for her to, once again, face the cell.
"She is dying! She is dying because of your stupid obsession with her! If you had just left her alone, she wouldn't have been in the hospital to begin with! If you had left her alone, she probably would've been strong enough to withstand the dagger!" Her eyes then hardened considerably. "She is dying and it's all of your fault!"
The Snow Queen suddenly stood up and leaned against the bars, her fingers grasping them tightly. "I didn't want to hurt her! I did what I did to make her see the truth!" she exclaimed, her calm demeanor shattered. "I...want to help...I want to see her...Can I please see her?"
Refusing, Mary Margaret shook her head. "No. I don't want you anywhere near my daughter. You've done enough and for that you're exactly where you need to be." Turning around, she then walked past her company and out of the door, not waiting on them to follow her as she made her way down the street.
A few moments later, David soon caught up to his wife while Elsa gave the Snow Queen one last glimpse before she too walked out the station, deep in thought.
The three quickly made their way to the loft but before they could even step inside it, Mary Margaret, once again, changed her mind. Deciding that the most important thing for her to do was to be with Emma, she decided to get the coordinates from either Regina or Killian and make her way over there—damn the risks.
Inwardly debating, David looked at Mary Margaret and saw how resolute and desperate she was. She still feels horrible about how she treated her and wants to show Emma that she loves her, he silently reasoned, his heart clenching.
Nodding his head, he then turned his attention to Elsa. "Would you mind babysitting Henry and Neal for us? We would greatly appreciate it."
"Of course," she stated with kind eyes. "I know how it feels to not be with a loved one..."
"Thank you," David said with a smile. Ignoring the brisk air that brushed against his exposed skin, he turned to his wife and watched her take out her cellphone.
As the pair wrestled with finding Emma, Elsa quickly made her way into the loft, her mind wavering back the Snow Queen.
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