Curled up tight in his spot in the crow's nest, Will awakened before anyone else on the Jolly Roger. His neck ached from the strange position he had landed in when the fairy dust knocked them all out. He stood and gingerly stretched his shoulder and neck this way and that to work out the kinks. He had taken a lesser hit of the stuff than anyone else, so after crawling back down to the deck, he wandered around to look for injuries.
He found Killian at the base of the mast, one arm still tangled in the rope he had used to secure himself, the other wrapped around Emma. She had collapsed on top of him with her head on his chest, her body rising and falling with every breath Killian took.
Regina lay sprawled near the helm with Belle and Henry each clutched in one hand. Will disentangled Belle from the queen, picked her up and moved her to a bed in the crew's quarters. Will sat on the bed next to her, running his fingers through her long hair and wondering if he should try to wake her or simply wait for the effects of the dust to wear off. He grabbed a blanket from another bunk, ran back up the ladder to the deck and draped it over Henry. The morning stretched overcast and grey across the sky and the air carried a chill. Will quickly checked over David and Snow, made sure they were all right.
Will knew without looking where they had landed, but still he made his way over to Killian's unconscious form and liberated the spyglass from a loop on his belt. The light refracted differently in every realm he'd ever been in, and this one glowed with a vague but unforgettable hint of indigo, even through the cloud. Camelot. He trained the spyglass towards the shore. Sure enough, far in the distance were the familiar, candy-coloured turrets of Arthur's caste. He snorted in disgust. They had commandeered a pirate ship and crossed realms, only to end up back at the scene of the crime. Will knew that he would have made the same decision, though, if he were Killian. Take the fight to Arthur, take his castle, take his kingdom, then lure the king back and take the land.
Will's mind started ticking through the possibilities; they needed to find allies, the people loyal to Killian, or the idea of him as Arthur's son, or simply to Arthur's overthrow. Will had met a number of sympathisers, and he knew where to begin. They needed an army, however ill-equipped and small. And they needed a thief. Because Will knew that they only had to steal one thing to make the plan work, to force Arthur back to Camelot to face Killian: they just had to steal the queen.
…
Will waited an hour, but impatience got the better of him. The pirate looked entirely too happy there, prone beneath the mast with Emma passed out on him, both dopey with smiles in their fairy-induced sleep. Will lifted Emma carefully away, settled her on the bunk across from Belle and then fetched a bucket of cold seawater. He tipped it over Killian's head. To his credit, the pirate was on his feet, sword drawn and Will pinned to the deck, before the last drops had left the bucket. He shook off the seawater and the fairy dust and took stock of his surroundings.
"Bloody hell, Will. You could have just told me to wake up," Killian groused.
"Could have. Didn't want to. More effective and more fun," Will grinned.
Killian sat down on the deck and wiped the water backwards through his hair. "Where's Emma?" he asked in a sudden panic.
"Safe below deck with Belle. Pregnant ladies need their sleep, and I didn't want to get her wet. Everyone else is still out."
Killian took in the situation on deck. He reached down for his spyglass, only to find it missing. Will handed it over.
"We made it," Will said. "The castle's there," he pointed and Killian followed his outstretched hand to the turrets.
"Aye, we did," Killian smiled. He was always slightly amazed when magic worked out just as planned, particularly when he had been controlling it. He hopped up and strode over to the helm. "Wake David, Snow and Regina. We can carry on down the coast a pace to dock the Jolly Roger safely. Regina can cloak it."
Half a day later, they had the Jolly Roger anchored in a hidden bay down the coast. Everyone had woken except Emma. Killian suggested that Regina extend Emma's sleep for a bit. She had been through so much in the last 24 hours – the killings in their living room, the threat to Henry, the attack in the park, the attack by Sir Kay – that Killian wanted her to sleep until she truly needed to wake. Regina cast a gentle spell to keep Emma in her fairy dust-inspired dreams for another few hours. Killian carried her into the rowboat that took them to shore, and then waded the last few metres from the rowboat to the beach with Emma in his arms. They made camp in the woods at the edge of the beach so that Snow, David, Will and Belle could tell the others what they knew of Camelot and the resistance to Arthur.
They agreed that Will, Belle, Henry and David would start rounding up anyone who had loyalty to Killian. Meanwhile, Emma, Snow, Regina and Killian would walk into the castle as if they owned the place, tell the kingdom that Arthur was dead and use the confusion to find Mairead and Guinevere.
As David and Will put some food together over a campfire, Killian crawled into a makeshift canvas tent and the equally makeshift bed that contained a sleeping, smiling Emma. He placed a gentle kiss on her head and brushed the last of the fairy dust from her eyes. "Wake up, love," he said softly, watching for her response. Emma woke slowly, taking in her new surroundings.
"Killian," she asked anxiously, "did we make it to Camelot?"
"Aye, we did it," he smiled down at her, "We've all made camp on a bay not far from the castle and rendered the ship invisible. I just asked Regina extend your sleep for bit…"
"You did what?" Emma sat up quickly. "I've been unconscious again?" Emma seethed. "I am not a child that you can just keep sending off for naps while the adults make plans!"
"Emma, no one is doing that…"
"Yes, you are. This needs to stop, Killian. I can make decisions about my own well-being."
"It's not just your well-being, is it? The baby needs for you to take it a bit easier and get some sleep…"
"Don't you dare!" Emma was on her feet. "Don't for one second think that this baby gives you any measure of control over me."
Killian fought back the urge to argue with her. He kept his voice calm and his face neutral. "I am not trying to control you. You had simply had a very rough 24 hours and we all agreed that you needed a bit more sleep. Even Regina." Killian held out his hand to her. "Please sit down. Please, Emma. I will listen to you. I promise."
She glared at him, but she could feel her anger ebbing slightly. Ignoring his outstretched hand, Emma sat down herself down, across from him. "Listen to what, Captain? You've made a plan and I'm just here to carry it out."
"That's not how any of this has worked, Emma. You and I have done everything together. You already knew my plan; you saw my thoughts before we left the Land Without Magic. There's no power struggle here – whatever stupidity I displayed on my ship, I have apologised and I meant it - and I'd gladly give in to whatever demands you have to make you both happy and keep you both safe." Killian brought his hands to rest against her belly. "You hold all the cards, Emma," he explained quietly.
He was making her melt, again. She had no defence against his honest contrition and desire to keep her safe. "I'm getting a bit touchy about being knocked out, even when it's done for the best reasons," she admitted. "I understand why you did it, and you're right, I was exhausted."
Killian grinned in relief and gathered her up in his arms. "I love you," he murmured against her neck. "It's hard to know how best to protect you and the baby. I'm still learning, Emma. Please give me time."
Just then they heard Henry's voice at the opening of their tent. "Grandpa says to get off each other and come out for some food," he announced.
Emma and Killian laughed, breaking all the tension, and they gathered around the fire with their friends and family, ready to take on Arthur with their best and closest allies.
…
Gaining entry to Arthur's castle proved as simple as Snow had explained. They made their way as far as Mairead's quarters almost without hindrance. The two lone guards they encountered were quietly dispatched by Regina transporting them, unconscious, to a distance wood. The heavily guarded section of the castle began some way beyond, at the entrance to the tallest tower.
Snow knocked lightly at the door to Mairead's room. When the older woman opened the door and recognised Snow, she pulled her in quickly and made to shut the door again, but Snow stopped her. Snow took Mairead's hand and said in a hushed tone, "No, wait, there's someone I want you to meet." Snow pulled Killian into the room.
Mairead stilled. She put a hand over her mouth and stumbled onto the sofa. "It's like Davy himself come back to life. Oh, Lord, you must be little Killian," Mairead gasped. She launched herself off the sofa and straight at the pirate. She hugged him like he was a boy. Killian blinked. He'd known who Mairead was, of course, but even after meeting Mac and Oona and all the clann, he had somehow not expected the shock of meeting a woman so close to his mother. His father seemed like his mother's tormenter, betrayer and enemy. This woman had been his mother's closest friend. Killian had buried all of that pain so far down that he wasn't aware it could even be accessed anymore.
Killian took a step back and carefully disentangled himself from Mairead. He reached behind him for Emma and positioned her just in front of him, like a shield.
"This-is-Emma-my…" Killian stumbled on the word appropriate to describe Emma in this realm, "love," his head supplied quickly and he rattled quickly on, "and-she's-pregnant."
Emma rolled her eyes. So much for protecting her and the baby, she thought with a wry smile. She'd very clearly been thrown into Mairead's path as an emotional grenade.
"Oh, my," Mairead took a shuddering breath, "Orla's grandchild." Killian's strategy backfired as the woman stepped around Emma and gripped him in an even fiercer hug. "She would be so proud of you! I… I thought you dead all these years. I searched for you, Killian, I promise you that I did, searched for you and little Liam." Mairead looked deep into his eyes. "You Ma loved you so."
Killian stiffened and took another step back.
Regina put herself in front of him this time, and beamed down at the woman with her best regal smile. "How touching. We're all finding it a bit difficult to accept that Killian ever had an actual mother. Something one rarely considers in a 200-year-old pirate. But we need to find Guinevere, and quickly. Do you know where she is?"
Killian, still staring in emotional shock at Mairead, was clearly out for the count, so Snow jumped in instead. "Mairead, we need to find Guinevere. We need to secure the castle and force Arthur to return. How do we get to Guinevere?"
Mairead returned to herself. "You can't get into the tower without a bloodbath. But I can call her here. I am one of the few people she is allowed to visit."
"Allowed? Allowed by whom?"
"By Arthur. Even when he isn't here, she cannot leave the tower without a full guard leading her around. He loves her so, he protects her every move," Mairead explained. "But she can come this far with very little supervision."
"Protection… is that what they call it here? Sounds like imprisonment," Emma commented.
Mairead ushered the four visitors into the shadows of her room and called for a guard. As she passed Killian on the way to the door, she stopped to pinch his cheek. His eyes widened in horror and his hand clutched tight to the handle of his sword. Emma dropped a hand on top of his, prying his fingers off the metal. She smiled at Mairead.
"Your nephew is just feeling a bit out of sorts," Emma shrugged, leading him past his aunt.
"Nice one, Captain. Planning to run through your own auntie if she gives you a kiss?" Regina taunted.
"Don't, Regina, poor Killian is feeling overwhelmed," Snow intervened.
Killian shook himself out of his daze and glared at Regina. "Don't push it, Your Majesty. We all know what you've done to your own..."
Emma threw herself at Killian, kissing him fiercely and effectively stopping the next words from coming out of his mouth. Any mention of Regina killing her own father would be impossible to smooth over. When she pulled back from the kiss, she gazed up at him with a plea in her eyes, but just said, "Regina is trying to help, Killian. Please."
He calmed himself and bit back his retort to the queen, once again, for Emma. He could see Regina steaming in the darkened corner of the room, but she too said nothing.
Mairead told the guard that she desired a visit from the Queen Guinevere. Could her take the message to her? The guard bowed and disappeared down the endless corridors.
They waited in silence with Mairead seated at the window. More than an hour passed before Killian heard almost imperceptible footsteps in the hall outside Mairead's door. The lock clicked open and the door creaked on its hinges. The woman who entered was tiny, far smaller than Emma, and weighed down with a heavy gold necklace and bracelets, with a deep golden tiara woven into her dark hair. The satin train behind her blue dress stretched for metres down the corridor. It was an outfit designed to restrict and constrain. She moved slowly and deliberately into Mairead's room, scooping up the dress and closing the door behind her.
Mairead stood up from her spot at the window. "Guinevere, love, I'm so glad you could come to see me. I wanted you to meet someone."
Guinevere's eyes went wide as she watched Killian emerge from the shadows of the room. "Guinevere, let me introduce my nephew, and your husband's son, Killian Jones."