chapter thirteen ~ moment of truth
It didn't take long after Belle and Graham's shocking arrival for their whole group to be on the move again, not wanting to be too conspicuous, but also understanding the urgency of staying ahead of Rumplestiltskin, of having the dagger in hand already before the Dark One realized what they were about. Of course, one could never be sure he didn't already know everything the moment it was thought, through some uncanny knack or his unnatural power, but it didn't decrease their necessity for the element of surprise in the slightest; they could at least attempt it.
Thankfully, it was still quite early, even before the time Leroy routinely showed up at Granny's for the early bird breakfast special, so there weren't many Storybrooke citizens out on the streets to see them. Ruby, however, was putting Granny's specials board on the sidewalk out front as they passed by, immediately sensed the urgency in their brisk walk, and knew something was happening.
Clearly she could also gather their need to be as unnoticed as possible, for she didn't call out, only shrugged her jacket up higher on her shoulders and jogged after them wordlessly. Her long, rangey strides caught up to them in no time, despite the spike heels on her knee-high black leather boots, and she fell into step with her brother, obviously set on helping however she could, no explanation needed. She gave Henry a gentle smile when he offered her the sort of friendly wave he always did when he came to the diner for hot chocolate in the morning, and Emma's heart warmed anew for the outgoing brunette giving Henry just a hint of normalcy in the fraught situation.
Before very long, they had left the main track of town behind, and Emma was more than a bit glad they had three werewolves within their number, one of whom had studied the Dark One's ways and motives in search of a weakness for centuries and could lend insight on their foe that no one else could possibly offer. What Killian might not know had quite possibly been provided for them in the discovery of the petite librarian in their midst. Belle's insights and knowledge of Rumplestiltskin came from a completely different angle, having endeavored to know and understand him out of love and a thwarted desire to heal and restore, but it made them all the stronger to have both sides. It should help them not to miss anything - or at least that was Emma's hope.
"What now?" she breathed, slightly winded despite being in decent shape, at the pace they had been keeping and the rougher terrain as they had left the beaten path and trekked into the forest. The morning light had yet to penetrate much beyond a dull grey between the trees, and she found herself hoping it hadn't been a mistake to set off immediately with Henry in tow. Surely three adults who could shift into wolves at will could protect her son from any natural dangers which might lurk in the woods and the dark, but even the strength and agility of the shifters wasn't magic in the same vein or force as what the Dark One himself could command.
Without seeming conscious thought, both Killian and Ruby deferred to Graham with expectant looks. Ruby didn't surprise Emma, knowing the two had grown up together and were probably well used to working together to their best effect, but Killian did. A strong, virile, independent male wolf, especially one who was as capable and experienced as her love, and who had spent so much time alone, would not have struck Emma as someone to easily cede control to another - even if they were one the same side and Graham, as sheriff, held an acknowledged position of leadership. Mere moments later, she realized it must be because he recognized that Graham knew the lay of this particular land best and was a tracker by trade as well as animal instincts. He was acting in a way that maximized their chances for success and allowed their team to progress at its smoothest, even if it sacrificed some of his own pride or personal inclinations.
If she hadn't already been falling in over her head, crazy in love with him, that gave her just one more push - his willingness to do what was needed to keep all of them, the town, and her son, safe. She reached out even as Graham led them onward, veering slightly to the west and gently sloping downhill through the trees, and took Killian's hand. Even on the move, she had to show him that she understood what he was doing - and what it meant to her - without delay. Shooting a warm, knowing look his way as well, she smiled at him, gaining a pleased, rakish grin in return from the man who jogged beside her. His fringe of dark hair was falling over his forehead, and his already delicious spiced, musky scent was mingling with the pine, dewy mist, and fresh earth of the forest around them, along with the hint of sweat from their exertions, to make him even more irresistibly attractive than he had been already. Grinning broadly, Emma focused back to the path before them, anxious to see this through, make sure that Henry (and everyone else depending on her) was safe from the Dark One, and then she would hopefully have another moment to drag Killian off and enjoy having him alone once again.
His brow quirked, studying her profile, though he didn't speak a single word in his unfairly beautiful accented voice. Instead, to Emma's chagrin and causing an intense blush to rise up her face, he merely wet his lips knowingly, as if he could read her mind and approved her plans, and then turned his own attention back to the trail before them.
Before venturing too much further, Emma knew for herself where this path lead. They were quite close to the open clearing where the wishing well - the connection to Lake Nostos in the rest of her companions' own realm, as she had since learned of the destination for the disastrous ride August had once taken her on - stood in the midst of the forest pointedly noticable and yet belonging strangely at the same time. She was about to speak up and ask if they were sure this was the right way, when the trees opened into a wide circle, she could see the stone structure for herself, and knew that they had already arrived.
Coming to a stop, Emma drew in a ragged breath, and in that pause it was Belle who spoke up instead. "Wait, I know this place…" she murmured thoughtfully, as if trying to peer through memory and the mists of a dream. Stepping forward tentatively, Graham again right at her side; not holding her back, but seemingly unable to have her venture into any situation unknown without his assistance and companionship. Belle's hand reached out to lightly rest on the cool stone blocks forming the sides of the well, her mouth slightly open and her forehead creased in thought. When she spoke again, it was little above a whisper, exhaled on a surprised, awed breath. "I've been here before. Rumple brought me to this place...just after the curse broke. He- he brought Magic back from here...by something he dropped into the well."
Ruby already had her nose lifted, delicately scenting the air around them for Rumplestiltskin's trail, Emma supposed. Belle stood, biting her lip nervously and looking pained, as if she should somehow have been able to predict the insanity that would follow. Henry however, piped right in as the rest of them went quiet in breathless waiting. "That actually makes a lot of sense," her son stated, a tinge of genuine excitement at the adventure in his voice, despite the serious danger they were all in from Rumplestiltskin. "According to the storybook, Lake Nostos was the place where things once lost could be restored. This well is a genuine link, the water within it still holds those properties and symbolic power - if one believes," he tacked on the end hastily, seeing Emma open her mouth to argue that she had drunk from it once and hadn't felt any different, and cutting her argument off before she could utter it.
Giving her son a grudging half-smile and playful wink, Emma nodded, conceding the point. "Fine, kid, I'll give you that one."
Belle looked even more thoughtful at Henry's words, speaking slowly as she mused, "Rumple does value his magical totems and talismans… There's no doubt about that. And he isn't above a bit of superstition or situational irony either. But surely...with something this important… Would he really keep it somewhere so open to anyone's access?"
Probably without even considering, Belle looked to Graham as she asked her question. The sheriff clearly didn't seem any more certain than the rest of them on the thought processes of the Dark One, but he did know how to organize a search party. Giving Belle a reassuring nod and a gentle squeeze of her hand, he then spoke to all of them in a voice of quiet command with his answer. "Let's spread out. Check the whole clearing. We don't know for certain it's here, but scent and instinct led us this far, so we'd better make sure. Look for upturned earth, any places where rocks or brush might have been moved or dragged, anything that seems out of place."
All of them moved to do as he bid, Ruby again seeming to follow her nose as she lifted it to best catch the light breeze. Their five person party spread out around the grassy space surrounding the wishing well, but Emma's eyes were drawn almost magnetically to Killian. He wasn't searching all over as the rest of them were, but had instead moved directly to the stone structure in the clearing's center, brow dark and furrowed, a low hum in the back of his throat, seeming deep in thought. It wasn't even a conscious choice to turn from her own path and follow him; Emma simply did it.
As he reached the well, Killian's large hand came to rest thoughtfully on its lip, studying the stone as if the dagger might simply appear, plunged into its surface like Excalibur of old or as if the stone itself might speak and give him an answer.
When Emma could stand the concentrated silence no longer, she finally spoke up, her voice a mere whisper as her hand came to rest tentatively on his taut, muscled forearm. "Killian, what is it? What are you thinking?"
Killian's eyes, normally ice-chip blue, but now more simmering blue flame, flicked over for a moment to meet her concerned gaze. His voice was low but ferociously intent when he murmured. "Just about what Belle said, Love… and what I know of the Dark One after years of hate-fueled study. We may be making this all too difficult. Yes, the Dark One is clever - and a formidable foe, not to be underestimated, but he is also immortal and all-powerful. He has gone without equal for so long that he seeks a challenge. He makes deals out of sheer boredom, and I daresay may have grown more than a bit overconfident." As he spoke, Killian began to run his hand along the inner wall of the cistern, feeling along the stone as if he could somehow trace it by memory. Emma could practically read the focused determination in the very lines of his face, his movements as slow and methodical as his accompanying words, not wanting to miss an inch of the just-barely-hidden surface. "In fact, reckless as it might seem for one so usually calculated, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he hid it in nearly plain sight; thinking the rest of us not nearly clever enough to find it, nor powerful enough to stop him even if we did, not knowing what we had in our grasp…"
His voice trailed off as Killian went suddenly still, rigid attention quivering from every inch of his wiry frame, as Emma couldn't help freezing right along with him in response, waiting with anxiously bated breath.
"I think…" Killian finally breathed lowly, clearly working to break something his fingers had touched free. He gave a final tug and lifted his hand from within the lip of the wishing well, "...I may have found something!" he finished triumphantly.
There, clutched in his hand, was an insidiously wicked-looking dagger. Emma hadn't thought to ask for a description of the weapon they were seeking, but before she could even put a response together, she heard a gasp from over her shoulder that sounded like Belle, and the sound of the others' footsteps crunching over fallen leaves toward them. For her own part, Emma found disturbingly that she was a bit enthralled by the glistening silver surface of the blade, its edges curved and undulating like the sleek movement of a serpent, with darker black engravings of shapes and whirls and the letters of Rumplestiltskin's name.
"You found it," Belle confirmed with a sad type of certainty in her voice, as she came to stand at Emma's elbow, Graham on her right and Ruby on her left, Henry pressing right into the midst of their awed huddle. "That dagger is the source of his power, and the only known way to control the Darkness."
Killian merely nodded in understanding of her words, not speaking but clearly more than a bit transfixed by the reality of what he held in his hand. Emma, however, found somehow that Belle's reminder had snapped her from the object's hypnotic hold and galvanized her for action. "Good," she replied simply. "That's exactly what we need."
Turning to her lupine friend and sometimes baby-sitter (to Henry's always enthusiastic delight) she asked, "Ru, can you keep an eye on Henry for me? I want to make sure he's safe, however this goes down."
Ruby and Henry were both clearly about to protest being left behind and wanting to help, even as she could see Graham already shaking his head and Belle readying sage caution at tackling the Dark One head on, but something in the earnest plea in her eyes or the determined set of her stance, must have convinced Ruby and Henry at least that she wouldn't be swayed.
"You've got my word," Ruby promised solemnly instead, holding Emma's gaze before grabbing her in a quick, tight hug. "With my very life."
Henry merely clutched her around the middle, holding on tightly, which she savored, holding his lanky frame with just as much force, until she had to pull back, breaking the tension with an awkward chuckle and what she hoped was a reassuring half-smile. "Hey, we're gonna be back before you know it, and we'll all be the safer for it."
Henry nodded dutifully; despite the risk he was smart enough to understand, she could see his true believer's heart struggling to the forefront to have faith in her words regardless of the danger.
"Emma, are you sure this is wise?" Graham asked, clearly hoping to get her to reconsider, or at least take more people with her, but her mind was already made up.
"I'm sure it's crazy," she answered honestly, shaking her head and holding up a hand against further protests, "but Killian and I are going anyway." Her eyes went to him, realizing they hadn't actually discussed this beforehand, but he merely answered by placing the dagger in her open palm and nodding his complete agreement firmly. "Getting to him before he's completely prepared for us might be the only chance we have. We're going, and we're going alone."
She turned on her heel sharply and was off before anyone could argue further, moving from the clearing and back toward town at just short of a jog.
For several seconds all she could hear were her own feet striding through the underbrush and her heart pounding wildly in her ears, but soon, she felt Killian's warmth beside her as he caught her up and then matched her pace. He stayed at her side, a steady, comforting presence even though she could feel the tension coiled within his lean muscular frame as much as she did in her own, until they reached the treeline - the sheriff's station, the clock tower, and their destination, the pawn shop, in sight.
Just before she charged forward again, Killian caught her elbow, his depthless gaze searching hers for a moment before he cautioned, "Take a breath, Love. No, we don't want to squander our chance at catching the old demon unawares, but it isn't wise to storm in with our heads in turmoil. Slow down, draw a breath. Think - we must have a plan, just as he always does."
She sighed, knowing he was right, and that she was asking him to walk into what was at best a meticulous balancing act with severe consequences, and at worst, a deadly trap. "Of course," she relented slightly, "and I do have a plan. But," she sighed, running a hand through her hair, "there's no guarantee it'll work. You don't need to go in there with me."
Killian shook his head impatiently, clenching his jaw in a powerful way that made all of Emma's synapses fire. "I'd never leave you to do this alone, Swan, surely you know that."
She nodded when his eyes sought hers desperately, clearly not able to stand her thinking he'd abandon her to face their nemesis without him.
"Just keep an eye on him. There's no telling what he might throw at you," he murmured, pulling her close to press a kiss to her forehead and inhale her scent. "Be wary." Both of them needed one more embrace, just in the instance that this all went south.
Upon pulling back, each visibly squared their shoulders in preparation, and Killian vowed solidly, "I'm right beside you, Emma."
She nodded, stepping from the trees toward their target. "Thank you," she spoke up, truly touched and expressing it for a moment with a beautific smile that warmed him to his core before she hardened her armor once again. "Now, let's go put a stop to this… once and for all."
In the end, it seemed almost too easy. Emma strode into Gold's shop first, the little bell above the door announcing their arrival, with Killian right behind her. She almost expected Gold to materialize suddenly right before them - angry and ready to strike them down. So instead, when he stepped in from the back room in his genteel suit and wearing the smooth, appeasing smile of a businessman, it nearly put Emma back on her heels in surprise. Killian's cautions in her ears didn't allow her guard to drop far though.
"Why, Miss Swan, what might I do for you?" The pawnbroker face Gold wore when it suited him smirked with false politeness as he moved forward to stand facing her across the glass display counter. The man didn't even spare Killian a look; completely ignoring the quietly seething werewolf standing just over her right shoulder, as if he were invisible or didn't bear acknowledgement.
Whether her partner bore the slight well or not, it made Emma's blood boil, reminding her all over again just why Gold had to be stopped - he had all too much power and felt himself completely invincible. If he didn't, he would at least attempt to look contrite over all that had happened, or that he had done directly, in the last few days. Her emotions had already been running high, but seeing him standing there so calm - unruffled and unconcerned - despite all the pain and fear around him, caused the deputy to answer more sharply than she had intended, so tartly accusing in fact, that she felt Killian trailing the curve of his hook over her shoulder blade and down her back soothingly, as if afraid she might forget all resolve and attack the Dark One foolishly. "You could apologize to Killian, help us put this town back together, and swear not to attack us again," she spat, eyes narrowed with a blazing focus that she hoped scorched him with its ire.
Gold tilted his head at her display as if she were a curious oddity rather than an equal to be taken seriously, his maddening grin setting her teeth on edge and making her want to wrap hands around his neck. Still she pressed on, undaunted by his lack of concern at her anger. "But since I know we won't get any of those things from you, and that we'd be fools to trust it even if we did, I'd settle for you just listening to what we have to say, and then striking a deal."
The ripple of shimmering scales which passed across the villain's face sent a shiver down Emma's spine, flickering into her vision for a moment and then vanishing behind his unassuming facade once more. The titter of barely contained chaotic mirth which escaped the Dark One's curving mouth as it parted into a slow, sinister smile completed the eerie effect as he cocked his head, asking tauntingly. "And just what makes you think, Savior, that you have anything worth my making a deal with you? Or even worth my time you're wasting?"
Emma's look was one of grim triumph, for once knowing that they had the upper hand and Rumplestiltskin wasn't three steps ahead. She produced the dagger and brandished it before him, watching the conniving imp's eyes go wide and uncertain in fearful realization.
"Pretty sure this will hold your attention, Crocodile," Killian grit out the answer this time, through clenched teeth.
When the Dark One turned pawnbroker didn't respond, Emma arched a brow, driving the point home. "Now are you willing to see what sort of deal we have in mind?"
The strain it took for the Dark One to maintain a measured voice that poorly attempted to seem calm showed through the cracks in Gold's veneer; a tightness around his eyes, the anxious way his fist tightened on the counter before him, and the way his voice still came out a bit fervently desperate however he tried to appear, gave him away. "Yes," he finally hissed on a tense breath of air. "You know I will… Clearly, someone," his eyes darted to Killian's in angry accusation (though it hadn't been his enemy who explained the dagger's power at all), "has made you aware of that blade's importance. You know I barely have a choice. For all the high minded ideals you heroes spout, here you stand, aiming to control me - or kill me at last - just as any villain would have done."
Eyes narrowed, Emma practically growled her reply, her shoulders stiffening thinking how often the man before them had orchestrated events to his best advantage or manipulated them all as he saw fit, and yet was trying to pretend he was the victim and make them feel guilty for grasping their one chance at halting his machinations. She felt Killian go equally as rigid with affront and simmering anger at her back, beside the tensed alert he'd already held just attempting to have her back against an infinitely powerful sorcerer who would do anything to have his way.
"Don't even try that on me," she warned, voice steady despite the bitterness and anxious energy she felt. This snivelling fraud had been the root cause of so much that had brought them all here, had even first led Regina down the path to darkening her heart and given her the curse that had brought Storybrooke into being at all. The self-proclaimed Evil Queen had made her own poor choices, certainly, but the coward before them still had a hand in, and therefore a portion of the blame, for the pain her son was in at Regina's loss, having been the one who began teaching her dark magic, shown her the power that fed on her broken heart and simmering rage, and convinced her it was the way to take control of her life again. Gritting her teeth, Emma held the dagger up horizontally before her as she took a slow, purposeful step closer. "You're going to listen to me this time, and then - for once - you're gonna make a deal that's best for everyone, not just yourself."
The restrained power crackling behind Gold's eyes might have made Emma flinch back - if she hadn't already been so angry herself, and so determined that his rule had to end, right then while they had the one means to stop him in their hands. Gold clearly didn't want to answer her, to listen to her terms, much less agree to them, but the dagger was doing its work, constraining him to remain still and hear them out, as he stared back, eyes glittered maliciously as his only recourse to how he must have ached to strike them down where they stood. "Very well, Miss Swan," he finally hissed, words hateful and weighted, but forcedly polite all the same. "Let's have your terms then."
Emma never let her stare waver, warning this beastly man before them that she was on her guard, wouldn't let him take her by surprise, wouldn't let him hurt anyone else she loved. Drawing in a deep steadying breath, she spoke firmly without a hint of the waver which tried mightily to creep into her voice at the sheer import of what she was doing, pronounced exactly what she had worked out was necessary after Kilian warned her to slow down and think through every angle.
"We'll keep the dagger," Emma began, "somewhere unknown to you, but safe - not to use it repeatedly in ordering you around or for personal gain - which is what a real villain would do, as you well know, but to insure that you can't go back on your word. We will promise to otherwise leave you alone to go about your business, unpunished any further for teaming with Regina and Cora, blackmailing an officer of the law, and whatever else you might have had planned, if," and here she paused, making sure the crux of her deal hit home with impact, "...if you promise not to plot against or harm any of the members of my family, my friends and loved ones, or the residents of this town ever again. One you've sworn to that deal, and only then, will we otherwise leave this dagger alone in safekeeping and we'll stay out of each other's way. But I'm commanding you now, as you make the promise, not to break it, or you'll pay the price."
Gold glared back, his whole face sharp, intently focused, and quite obviously hoping to intimidate her into backing down. But Emma was doing no such thing; it was too important. Her eyes flicked to Killian momentarily, hoping she hadn't forgotten anything, but his quiet nod of pride steeled her to wait the Dark One out and stand her ground. Gold made a show of pondering her offer, but she had purposefully left him no leverage, and it was only a matter of time. Despite how sickly her gut quivered on the inside, knowing the Dark One would strike her down on the spot if he could, that if she didn't hold the cruelly curved blade of metal in her hand she would already be dust, Emma held firm and stared right back into Rumplestiltskin's cold, reptilian eyes.
At last, he dropped the semblance of debate, giving her a sleekly forced smile that didn't touch his eyes. Gold offered his hand to shake hers in agreement. "Very well, Miss Swan," he intoned silkily. "You haven't left me much choice in the matter after all."
"Certainly not," she shot back coolly. "Not when I know how much you love a good loophole." Beneath the surface, Emma was simply trying not to blink in stunned surprise. Could they really have managed to best the Dark One? She offered her hand as well, grasping his firmly as they shook to seal their deal. Before he could retract his arm however, Emma pulled him closer, a threat of her own in a low, serious vow right to his face. "Just remember this. You may be the Dark One - all powerful, immortal. But I am the Savior. And I will protect my family and my people. Don't test me."
Gold gave her an oily, obsequious smirk as he stood upright again, brushing imaginary lint from his suit fussily, as if her righteous anger had somehow soiled him. "Why, I wouldn't dream of it," he simpered, all false sincerity. The curve of his crocodile smile warned her of his duplicity and a shiver ran down her spine. He was only safe for the moment; he just didn't have a way to double cross them yet… and they both knew it.
Still, she would take the victory for the moment, glad that in the meantime her loved ones were safe from his retribution. If the need to fight him again arose in the future, she would be ready. With a curt nod of her head, she finished bluntly. "Good," and turned to leave the shop. She wasn't naive enough to trust him, but she would accept the peaceable stalemate they'd reach for the small triumph it was.
It wasn't until she was out on the sidewalk and nearly two blocks down the street, where she could be sure not to be seen or overheard, that Emma deflated. Turning to find Kilian right on her heels, she melted into his open embrace, the adrenaline and bravado that had kept her together while facing Gold fled, causing her to nearly collapse, drained, as his arms came up and wrapped around her tightly.
For several long seconds, she merely breathed in his scent from where her face was buried against his warm, solid chest, drawing solace from the enticing spicy musk of salt, the wood of his ship and perhaps a fair hint of rum, grateful he was there for her to lean on. She was still shaking, even as she knew they had to get going. They needed to report to the rest of their group, let them know they were safe and their gambit had paid off, check on Henry and, of course, seal and lock away the dagger in its agreed-upon location.
Pulling in the first full, steady breath she had gotten since entering Gold's establishment, Emma raised her eyes to meet Killian's, flushed and a bit sheepish as she peered at him through her lashes. "Thanks," she offered sincerely, letting her hand brush over his chest for a moment longingly. "I'm okay now, I promise."
Killian shook his head slowly, his blue eyes lit up with amusement and so much awed adoration that Emma found it hard to believe it could all be for her. Cupping her cheek delicately even in such large, rough-calloused hands, Killian answered, "Okay? Lass, you were more than just okay! Bloody brilliant you were! You beat the old crocodile at his own game, protected your boy. It was amazing, Love!" Grinning broadly, he picked her up and spun her around wildly in his arms, right there on the street in front of the sheriff station.
A bit stunned and giddy herself, Emma felt the jangling nerves release in giggling laughter at his antics and simply held on, revelling in his joy and their victorious moment. They had found a way, and for now she was going to focus on that.
Unbeknownst to them however, Rumplestiltskin remained at the counter of his shop, unmoving and grinding his teeth in impotent frustration. Even if they had taken much of the leverage he could have used in future, the scheming pawnbroker, and the powerful sorcerer beneath, was not as fully contained and defeated as the heroes might have hoped. Biding his time patiently until he could be certain that the Savior and her mangy pirate were neither returning nor lingering to watch his movements, with a flick of the wrist, Gold locked the pawnshop door tightly and shuttered the windows, obscuring any view in before he reached beneath the counter.
Pulling out a heavy tome on magic and various tools and vessels for its use, the Dark One opened the ornately decorated leather cover on the glass surface. Mouth a thin, hardened line, he deftly flipped through the ancient, brittle pages, knowing exactly the item he sought. His already existing hunt for it had now been moved up to his most pressing goal.
Locating the page at last, his bony hand stilled, fingers hovering over the drawing which delineated a rather unique cylindrical container - the key to his only loophole. "The Sorcerer's Hat," Rumplestiltskin murmured to himself in a sinister purr, practically stroking the illustration upon page with fond affection, a troubling gleam in his eyes. "They might have me now," he muttered, "but that only lasts while I am tied to the dagger. That will not always be the case…"