The Way Back Home

by CuteMcBeauty

Years after defeating the black fairy, Killian and Emma take their daughter Lizzie sailing when a sudden storm rips their vessel apart. After much searching, they assume she is dead. Killian and Emma deal with their grief while Lizzie Jones desperately seeks to find her way back home to her parents and family, all the while discovering the powerful magic within her.

8. Chapter 8

HI ALL! I AM SORRY ABOUT THESE DELAYS, I AM STRUGGLING WITH MY HEALTH A BIT, IT'S A SLOW RECOVERY. I'VE RECENTLY STARTED BACK IN SCHOOL AND I AM ALSO FACING MY FINAL GRAD TEST (FINISHED MY MASTERS! YAAAAYYY!), SO I HAVE BEEN KEPT PAINED AND BUSY. BUT I AM ENJOYING THIS STORY QUITE A BIT AND I WILL NOT LEAVE IT UNFINISHED. JUST A COUPLE MORE CHAPTERS AND WE WILL BE DONE

CHAPTER 9: PULLING RANKS

A YEAR BEFORE THE ACCIDENT

A contrite six year old girl sat shotgun to her angry mother, as she drove her daughter home. "Seriously, Emma Elizabeth Jones, you are grounded till you're old enough to vote! I'm not kidding!" She huffed. "Cutting class? You're like… six! Now I wanna know exactly what the hell you've been up to." Emma huffed. "Seven days, Elizabeth, SEVEN!" She pulled over and turned to her daughter. "Your father and I have done everything in our power to make sure you have all you need! I am teaching you magic, you take extra math class with your dad, you go to ballet, what else do you want?"

The little girl's pout reminded Emma of herself as a child; she had been a tough cat, a no-nonesense child who hated being called to attention by any adult, basically because as an orphan child growing up in a foster system, she trusted grown-ups as far as she could throw them. But Lizzie had a home, and a loving, supportive family. Emma could not imagine what the hell would make her daughter a truant, especially when she was so young.

"I am talking to you, young lady. You'd better start talking. Where the heck have you been going during class? And why on earth would you even…?"

"You don't know anything!" Lizzie snapped back.

"You're right! You're right, I have NO idea. You have everything and anything you need to be a good kid! When I was your age all I had were cereal box knick-knacks and a baby blanket in a plastic doggy bag! But you! You have a home, a family, all the support in the world, I honestly don't know what on god's green earth is prompting you to cut class!" Emma huffed and ran her hand through her hair, taking a deep breath. "I am the town Sheriff, Lizzie; your dad is a deputy, dockmaster and a reformed villain. Do you know how embarassing and harsh it is for the sheriff to show up to your school because the headmaster needs to report that MY DAUGHTER is playing hookie?"

Lizzie turned to the window. "You don't even care."

Emma felt her heart crunch and anger was replaced by hurt. "What the heck does that mean? Of COURSE I care, you're my daughter! Jesus, Lizzie, what is going on?"

The girl remained silent. "I wanna talk to daddy."

Emma slammed her hands on the wheel with an angered huff. "Yeah, of course you do. Because your dad will be won over by anything you throw his way and is ready to mollycoddle you with as little as a pout. Well, guess what? I've actually called him and informed him about your little adventures here, and he is less than pleased with you, so he won't be playing the devil's advocate tonight. No, young lady, you tell me, and we talk about this!"

"No." Lizzie defied her. "I don't wanna talk to you."

Emma didn't know which feeling was gaining momentum in her soul, anger or pain. But there was no way her six year old child would defy her authority as a mother.

"You know what? I don't care what you want, you will tell me where the hell you've been going, Elizabeth."

Lizzie turned to her mother in angry tears. "Yes, that much IS true, you don't care about what I want. You never care! You always lash out at me and get mad at me and never listen! You think I'm just this stupid little kid, well… no! I don't wanna talk to you, because you don't care! And I hate you. I HATE YOU!" Lizzie opened the door to the bug and ran out.

It took Emma's head a few seconds to stop spinning before she was able to leave the car and run after her daughter. "Lizzie!" she saw the child run some twenty yards ahead of her, long straight locks of her bouncing with every stomp.

Emma didn't know if perhaps age was finally catching up to her or if the girl was simply moving much faster due to some odd magical quality of her own, but Lizzie seemed to be gaining on some distance. More worried now than angry, Emma doubled her pace and ran like the wind, trying to picture herself a few years back in Boston, chasing a perp. Soon she began to catch up to the girl. But when Lizzie made a sudden, unexpected turn to the main road, Emma saw in horror as a pickup truck sped and was headed directly to her daughter.

"LIZZIE!" Emma shouted and threw her hand forward, the blast of white magic hurling the child into the air as the truck halted with a tumultuous screech. Lizzie landed on top of a pile of garbage cans, and Emma was there in an instant.

"Oh, my god, Lizzie…" she panted, her eyes glazed as she gently lifted the little girl by the shouders. "Oh, god, I'm sorry, I had to… Are you… are you ok?"

Lizzie was crying loud and she threw her arms around her mom's neck. "I'm sorry mommy. I'm sorry!"

Emma touched Lizzie all over. "Are you hurt? Are you injured, baby?"

"No…" Lizzie simmered down. "Are you?"

"No… well, I would have been though, if anything had happened to you!"

A small crowd of people had gathered around, and the driver of the truck trotted towards the pair. "Ma'am, is everything ok? She came out of nowhere, I didn't mean to…" When Emma turned, the man paled. "Milady Emma… madam sheriff… Oh god, I swear I didn't…."

Emma looked at the man and sighed. "It's ok, we're ok. Don't worry."

The people around began to scatter and once Emma reassured the driver that everything was under control, she turned back to her daughter. "Ok, look…" she sighed. "I'm sorry I got so mad, Lizzie, but… I mean…" Emma crouched down and took her daughter by the arms. "You have a sweet deal here. You have a family, a home! You know… your father was swabbing decks and mopping bilge out of a ship and getting whipped if he didn't finish when he was your age! Me, I was sleeping under a bridge and burning books to stay warm. So yeah, you're right, sweetie, I don't understand why! Why would you just… skip school! Are you angry, sweetie? Are you not getting enough? What is going on?" Emma caressed her daughter's hair and then hugged her, adrenalin from the chase and from almost seeing her daughter run over by a truck taking it's toll on her. "Don't ever run off on me like that again, Elizabeth Jones. Ever. Do you know how sad, how devastated your dad and I would be if ANYTHING happed to you?"

"I'm sorry mommy!" The child cried back.

Emma nodded and stood up, wiping off the tears with the back of her hand. "Okay then. Let's go back to the car and then stop at Granny's, so we can talk about this. But you need to tell me, baby, I want to help you, but I can't if you don't let me in."

"Okay." Lizzie sniffled and followed Emma, taking her hand as they two Jones ladies made their way back to Emma's car.

Once at the diner, Emma simply ordered coffee for herself and a lemonade for Lizzie. She interlaced the fingers of her hands and leaned them on the table with a deep, deep sigh. "Ok, miss. Now…" she looked up into her daughter's (her husband's) deep zaphire blue eyes and stared deep into them. "Are you going to tell me what on earth is going on?"

Lizzie looked down and shrugged. "I… I don't like school."

"Why?"

The girl shrugged again and remained quiet. "I just don't."

"Oh, no, I'm not buying that. I've known myself long enough to know how to make an excuse to conceal the truth and you seem to be trying to trick a trickster here. I'm married to a pirate. Come on, what is this really about?"

Lizzie frowned. It was plain for Emma to see that whatever was going on, Lizzie did not want to talk about it, but it was imperative that she did. "Lizzie… help me." Emma spoke softly. "Help me to help you."

The girl sighed and bit her lip. "Mommy… did you have magic when you were my age?"

"Yeah. Yeah I did. But I lived in a place where I couldn't do magic and nobody believed in it anyway. Besides, I never knew I had it till… well, till I was a grown up. So I didn't use it. But I had it." Emma squeezed her daughter's little hand. "What's going on Lizzie?"

The little Jones girl sighed. "It's just that… well, there's Mr. Teague."

"The Phys ed teacher?"

"Yeah."

"What about him?"

Lizzie looked up at her mom with sad eyes. "I don't like what he does to me."

Emma gulped hard; as a child in the system she had often heard stories about lecherous men who took advantage of little girls in the vilest, most terrible ways. More than once she had been exposed to such kinds of people and had it not been for her cunning ability to escape them, she would have probably been ten times as traumatized. The mere notion of anybody laying a finger on her daughter in any innapropriate way terrified her.

She struggled to conceal her sudden apprehension as shelicked her lips. "And… what is he doing to you, sweetie?" she swallowed. "Did he… touch you?"

Lizzie frowned at her mom. "No. No he hasn't." She looked back down at the table as Emma sighed with relief. "But… that's the problem. He helps all the kids in Phys Ed. But he won't come near me because… well, remember last year, when my hands sparkled and I pushed daddy with my magic?"

"Yeah?"

The little girl looked desperately sad and the shaky chin made Emma's motherly instincts leap to the point where she moved from her seat to sit next to her daughter and embrace her.

"He…. He... He said I was… I was dangerous and a menace. A freak." She looked up at her mom. "And he still doesn't include me in the dodgeball team. He tells the other kids not to pick me because… because I am amn… amb..aminormal…"

"Abnormal?" Emma frowned, her cheeks slowly acquiring rage rosiness. "That jerk called you abnormal?"

"Yeah. But this week…." The little girl sobbed hard. "This week, he told the kids to use me for dodgeball practice. They all threw the balls at me! And he was laughing! He said, he said I should use my freaky magic to dodge the balls! " She cried. "And I got very, very angry, mommy, and I blew the lights in the gym and…. And I wanted so badly to hurt him, but I remember you said never to use my magic to hurt anyone, so… I ran out, and everyone laughed at me and called me a freak!" She looked at her mommy pleadingly, sobbing so hard she had begun hiccuping. "Please, mommy, please don't make me go back to school!"

Emma was livid, both at the asshole grown-up picking on a tiny six year old child who happened to be her daughter, and at herself for having been mad at her. Lizzie was cutting school to avoid hurting a grown man who was bullying her. She licked her lips and held her daughter tight. "Oh baby… This has been going on for one year? Why didn't you tell us before? We could have stopped this!"

Lizzie wiped her face with her sleeve. "Because I thought that once you taught me how to control my magic Mr. Teague would see that I'm not evil… and he would leave me alone."

"Oh, sweetheart." Emma kissed her daughter's head. "I am so sorry, I should have listened to you earlier. I am sorry I got so mad." She pulled away. "Look, let's stop for an ice cream on the way home, you can have supper and we can watch American Tale together before bedtime. Ok? We will deal with this, your daddy and me. He will never pick on you again. I promise."

Lizzie nodded silently.

The next morning, the echo of basketballs bouncing on a wooden floor at the school gym blended with that of a coach whistle. Killian made his way through the hall and reached the benchers, observing in silence (angry silence) as the P.E. instructor refereed a basketball match between the junior teams in classes 7A and 7b. He swallowed a thick lump of bile and paced onto the wooden floor, not giving a damn about the damage his rigid boots were causing on the hardwood floor. The kids stopped playing as the ominous and famous leather clad figure of the once rogue pirate captain gone hero / prince paced towards the referee. The man stared at Killian with a sneer.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Oh, I am just one of many parents who board their children in this educational institution." Killian grinned. "Are you, mayhaps, the man answering to the name of William Teague?"

"That's COACH Teague, buddy. And I don't care who you are, this is MY court, MY arena and MY place of work, so, get the hell out of my gym. You're interrupting a game.!"

"Ah." Killian nodded with a wily smile. "Am I now? Well, I'll be brief, then." He simply threw a fist to the man's cheek. The coach huffed as his face turned from impact. The families attending the game, kids and on-lookers at the benchers all gasped as Killian reached for the man's collar, and pulled him upright. "Now, since we seem to be pulling ranks, I think I may have one over you: I am deputy sheriff of Storybrooke. And also, technically, I am a Prince. Furthermore… I'll have you know that that little child called Elizabeth Jones, yes, the one you apparently take pleasure in bertating in front of all her classmates, is the daughter of princess Emma, granddaughter of Snow White and Prince Charming… and MY DAUGHTER." He gave the man a shake. "As such, she is YOUR princess too. You owe her your allegiance, you bastard." Killian shoved him away and turned to the people that stood aghast at the benchers. "People of Storybrooke, I will have you know: My daughter, Emma Elizabeth Jones, is in second grade. She is merely six years of age. And yes… she wields magic, which she inherited from her mother, Princess Emma Swan, known to you as The Savior." The people gasped. "I will also have you know that my actions here today are justified: This man is an abuser, who has bullied my child to the point where she'd sooner skip school to avoid any conflict. This man whom you trust with the Physical Education of your children, has hounded a six year old child, called her a freak, and turned other children against her!" As the crowd gasped in horror, he turned to look at the man and pointed a finger at his face. "I tell you this now, "coach" Teague; my daughter indeed posesses magic far more powerful than the Savior's. We strive to teach her to use it strictly to do good. However… Should I ever again hear my child complain about you mistreating her, rest assured that she will have both my wife's and my blessing to transform you into the toad you trully are." The man's eyes widened, and Killian paced close to his face, raising a finger right before his nose. "And should that not deter you from wrongdoing my little girl, or any other child, I think it wise to remind you…" he sneered "…I wasn't always a hero. This hook on my arm, served more than just the purpose of a prosthetic. I may have fought hard to become a good man, but believe me… when it comes to keeping my beautiful family safe from the likes of you, I may or may not have any qualms with waking the inner angry pirate dormant in me, and trust me mate, that is one man you do NOT want to meet."

Killian turned and looked at the people, nodding moodily at them as he left the gym in stunned silence. Suffice to say, the game was over, and so was Teague's career as a PE coach in Storybrooke elementary.

Emma waited in the car as Killian opened the door and stepped in with a sigh.

"Please tell me you punched him in the face." She said, handing her husband a bagel.

"Aye." Killian nodded and took a sudden bite out of the salmon-filled pastry, speaking with his mouthful. "And, I reminded him who the hell he is messing with. From his reaction, I am fairly convinced he will not bother Lizzie further."

"Good." Emma nodded and started the car. "Remind me to teach Lizzie how to poof people away."

Killian swallowed and laughed softly. "I told the man Lizzie would turn him into a toad. You should have seen his face." He raised his eyebrows playfully. "Any idea how to do that, or did I cross a line?"

"A toad, huh?" Emma laughed as she pulled out and drove down the street. "That's actually not a bad idea. I'll ask Regina to show me how, just in case."

EIGHT DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT, MID-DAY

Harvey returned to the Forsaken Mermaid Johanna with the other two crewmen, looking somewhat crestfallen. Liam Jones turned to him, the poise and elegance of a Jones Captain glowing through every follicle in his body, and his grin dissapeared at the sight of the men. "Why… what sad news do you rbing that you look so downhearted?"

Harvey sighed and looked up at him. "Cap'n, we bring good and bad tidings."

"Well, don't linger! Speak, men, time is upon us! Bloom? Jacobson? What news?"

A tall and robust man with skin as dark as coal, with a single eye and a large hoop earring, stepped forward, speaking in a deep, coarse voice. "Aye cap'n. We found the sourceress you were seeking. Well, not found her, but know of her whereabouts. She is a sister of the see'er up north, a witch called Shazima. We were informed of her talents and possesions by a local fisherman, as well as her prices."

Liam shrugged. "Monetary? We've enough gold, it's not an issue."

"Aye, but it is, Cap'n." The burly, ginger-haired sailor Bloom cut in. "Her price is that of the magic she deals with. She is a dark sorceress, sir, quite unlike her sister, the see'er. But alas, she may be the only one to posess the artifact you need for the child to contact the mermaid, or the spell that might enable us to use your brother's charms and get us off this wicked island. Her magic will always come with a steep personal price."

"And the price might quite well be our very own soul…" Liam pressed the bridge of his nose between his fingers with a huff. "… or worse, that of my niece, or her family." He looked up back at the men. "Where is this witch?"

Jacobson huffed. "That, I fear, is the second problem, Cap'n. She dwells in the face of Blackbeard's vessel, not fifty yards off the dock. We have it on good authority that it may have been her who cast the spell to draw the child to the Cap'n, per his desire." The man huffed. "She is under his employ."

Liam frowned in thought and paced a bit. "No… No these dark sorcerers, they are never "under" anybody's employ. They work per their convenience. If we were to find an offer that migt tickle her interest more than whatever deal she has struck with Blackbeard, we may just be able to negotiate with her."

Harvey shook his head. "Cap'n, be reasonable. Negotiating deals with these sorcerers never amounts to any bloody good. I say we find other means to summon the lady fish. There are plenty of mermaids in these shores." The men shuddered at the mention of the creatures. "I know they're not the most trustworthy of beings, but should we make any of them an offer she may not be able to resist, she could quite well find this sea-maiden and summon her for us!""

"That may be hard, sailor, given the fact that she is currently NOT under water. The mermaid has a magic device that can allow her to communicate OUTSIDE the shores, not under them." He shook his head and leaned against the wooden mast. "No, this sorceress is our best bet. Dangerous as it may be." He bit his lip. "Did you find a hiding post for the girl? A place close to the Queen Anne so as to not raise any suspicions?"

Bloom smiled. "Aye, that we have, cap'n. One where no pirate would dare venture. The well."

Liam paled. "Are you daft, mad or both?" He stood straight. "Do you know what happens to the poor souls that venture into the well?"

Jacobson nodded. "Aye, cap'n, but none before have been a white witch. The little girl has thus far been rather resiliant to the magic of the cloak. She managed to conceal herself enough to follow Cobbleton and Spyke to the ship undetected, in an island where magic is hard to conjure. She is powerful." He smiled softly. "She might be the one to break the cloak, for all we know. She may be the white lady."

Liam shook his head. "That is ludicrous. She is but a child. You're talking about the well where the very cloak of Shoreman's Cove was first cast. Do you indeed suggest to conceal a little girl in there?"

"The waters beneath the island are magical. Tis a place where magic runs free." Harvey insisted. "Cap'n, perhaps that is the one place where your niece's magic might actually function, undetected!"

Liam thought for a minute. "Undetected…" He paced around, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, speaking of that… It's uncanny; a mighty dark witch casts a portal designed specifically to abduct the daughter of Captain Hook for Blackbeard, and yet… the child emerges sixty nautical miles north of where her spell was cast. This is a profesional sorceress we speak of. How do you suppose that happened? Why did her conjurement not function to produce the child for Blackbeard then and there?"

"Because of this!"

"The men turned to find Lizzie, now dressed like a cabin boy, hair cropped short and looking nothing like the Lizzie Jones that first boarded the vessel. She reaised the charms from under her shirt. "My dad gave me these, said they were my protection charms so long as they didn't leave my neck." She approached the stunned crew and Captain. "So, while the witch's conjurement succeded in bringing me here, the charms protected me and led me to the furthest spot."

"How… long have you been dropping eaves?" Liam shook his head. "And how… How did you…?"

"I'm little, not stupid." She shrugged. "I found the clothes in a trunk and the shears were just lying about. It was easy." She looked at Jacobson, and the tall and intimidating sailor was humbled by the sheer willpower of the frail Elizabeth Jones. "Tell me more about this well. What's it like?"

Jacobson nodded. "It's the only magical spot in the island. The cloaking curse for Shoreman's Cove was cast from there. The waters run deep, over a mile below, but they are magical waters. Tis a small, round stone well, up on the south hill. " he pointed to the hill in the distance.

"I wonder…" Lizzie narrowed her eyes as she concealed herself from the sun with a hand, focusing on the distant hill. "I do believe I may have found a way home, if all else should fail." She grinned. "There is a well with equal properties, back in Storybrooke." She looked at Liam. "I may not even need to leave the island. Maybe the wells are twins. If they are, then I could easily get to Storybrooke!"

"Aye, well that's not a chance I'm willing to take too lightly, Lizzie dear." Liam shook his head. "Till then, I still think contacting the mermaid is our best bet, at least to inform your parents that you are alive and well, and…"

"Cap'n!" A man shouted as he ran huffing to the deck. "Tis Blackbeard and six of his men! They are a mere three hundred yards away! Hither they come!"

"Bloody hell…" Liam paled. "Ok, Lizzie, you go back indoors. Use the trap door I spoke of. Hide in there and do not…"

The girl shook her head. "Who the hell might Lizzie be, Cap'n? I'm Billy Shanks, yer cabin boy!" She used her finest broken accent. With a twist of her hand she conjured a minor glamour spell that gave her big brown eyes, freckles and an angry-looking scar that ran along her cheek. "You rescued me from a Kraken just before you made port, remember?"

Liam frowned and shook his head in humor. "You amaze me lass… I mean, lad. Fine then…" He tilted his head at one of his men and immediately, the man ran back and produced a bucket and brush, which he handed to the girl. "You're on deck duty, master Shanks. Get to it now!"

A few seconds later, a boisterous round of laughter encored the entry of Captain Blackbeard of the Queen Anne's Revenge, followed by a crew of men that looked quite distastefully dirty. Lizzie knew her father would probably sneer at the sheer appearance of the mangy-looking men. She sneered and focused on scrubbing the planks.

"Captain Jones!" Blackbeard smiled a huge fake smile, as he held his arms out. "You have no idea what pleasure I get from speaking that title out loud and not looking your more infamous's brother's hideous countenance! How fair you these days?"

Liam chuckled. "You mean my older brother, Captain Hook?" Liam shook his head and paced towards the rivalling pirate, his hand steadily touching the leather grip of the cutlass under his belt. "I'm sure you must be mistaken. My brother is quite a handsome man. Envied by many for his devilishly handsome looks!" He leaned forward and smiled hard. "Mostly by other pirates who didn't seem to take the passing of time with grace." Blackbeard stopped smilling as Liam turned his back to him and paced back. "And what brings you aboard the Mermaid Johanna this fine morning, my dear Captain Teach? If it's loot you seek, I will dissapoint you. All I have in my cargo hold is mostly opium tea from Tortuga. And I will not sell for a low ball, just in case you were planning to swindle me into accepting less than its worth…"

"Oh, no, the booty I seek is far, far more valuable, lad." Blackbeard paced around. "I am on a quest for a young girl. A pretty lass, perhaps no taller than yay." He indicated an average height with his hand.

Liam winced. "My dear fellow, if it's company you seek, I do believe that seeking a infant lassie's favors is loathsome, even for someone of your ilk. There are plenty of lovely trollops down at the inn that still look fresh but that are aptly experienced and will gladly accomodate your need for enjoyment."

Blackbeard sneered. "This child is important to me. Tis not sex I seek. Or at least not till she comes of age."

Liam wanted to punch the captain and throw him over the edge of the Mermaid Johanna, but limited himself to grinning his cynical smirk. "So… a child. What is this lass you seek? What could possibly be so important about some suckling that has your breaches in such a twist?"

Blackbeard chuckled. "Well, here is the thing, Captain: I happen to be a pirate, but also I am a man of my word. A few years back, your dear, dear brother Jones played me false. We made a deal, I kept my part, and he… well, he slipped away back to that land without magic to marry some royal harlot he was madly bessoted over. I am, as you know, a man of business. If I don't collect what was promised, I charge with interest." He curdled his moustache and Liam concealed the shiver the image gave him. "In this case, the interest in question is the offspring of Killian Jones, your niece. You did know you had one, did you not?"

Liam nodded. "Aye, I knew of the lass. But how on earth would you find her here? In the cove? You may need a portal to go find her, but drawing a specific person into your land is considerably far more complicated. Black magic, perhaps?"

Blackbeard took three steps forward, menacingly. "Don't be coy with me, Jones. Your brother crossed me, and I intend to make him pay with royalites. And since you are kin to the little harlot, I have no question in my mind that she would come to your aid."

"How? She has never even met me."

"The lass wields magic. She knows things." Blackpeard paced around and suddenly zeroed on the young boy scrubbing the deck. He made a beeline to him and Liam gulped hard enough for him to hear it but quietly enough as to not be noticed. The older captain stood befroe the child on the floor. "Oi, whelp! Look at me!"

Lizzie raised her face and gave Blackbeard her best "recently orphaned boy" look. "H… hello kind sir… can I bring you some wine from the galley?"

Blackbeard squinted suspiciously. "Tell me, Jones…" He called over his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the young little cabin boy and deckhand. "How long has this wee lad been in your employ?"

"Billy?" Liam paced to the spot, his hand now tightly gripping his cutlass and his crew attentive to every move he made. "Oh, I don't know, I'd say about… three or four moons before we made port?" He shrugged. "I found him and his mother, floating amidst the debris of a shipwreck. Most likely a kraken… or mermaids, who knows. Alas, it was too late for the woman, but we saved the boy. That scar was deep when we first found him. Sea salt did the healing on this one. He makes a fine cabin boy." He looked at Lizzie with the proper authority of a captain that the girl had ony ever seen in her father. "Go on, Shanks, fetch some wine for the captain and his men."

"Aye aye, sir…" She stood, but was stopped suddenly by Blackbeard.

The nasty captain stared into the face of the kid and sneered. "Speak boy, and speak true. What happened to you? How did you come by this vessel?"

"Lizzie could feel her legs shake, but stood her ground. She pulled her best drama act and her eyes welled with tears. "Tis true, sir, what the good cap'n 'as told ya. Me mam and I, we sailed to a place named Arendelle from the Enchated Forest, but we were caught by a terrible,terrible storm. It was a kraken, you see, sank the ship in a single crunch of it's arm. Me mam took me and jumped before the vessel was crunched, but she… she did not live, sir. I floated for some time, next to me mam's remains, and was ready to meet my maker before the Mermaid Johanna fished me out like a lost catfish. Been 'ere ever since." She wiped her eyes. "You want that wine, sir?"

Liam rolled his eyes with a grin. The girl was a quick wit, for sure.

Blackbeard nodded and cleaned his nose with his sleeve as he turned to Liam. "Tell you what Jones… I'll buy you your cabin boy, and let you off the hook without a search of your vessel. Think of it. You may be enriched AND avoid any further harassment, what say you?"

"What say I? I say NAY!" Liam snapped back. "And I'll tell you why: I saved this lad from a certain death and delivering him to your employ would be worse than if I had let him perish in the high seas. I do NOT trade in human flesh, teach. And hear this…" he drew close to Blackbeard's face and the men from the Queen Anne's Revenge immediately lurched forward in case the captain needed swordsmen. ""I've not seen or heard of a young girl in these shores. I just arrived here from the north, ask anyone. But if I were to find my own niece seeking my aid, rest assured I'd not deliver her into the hands of a monster. I'd do anything to help her find her way back home to my brother, because unlike you, captain Blackbeard, my brother and I, we go by a code. Good form, we like to call it." He paced back and smiled again as he raised his hands. "Now if it pleases you, feel free to search my vessel, from stem tor stern. You'll find no child other than young Billy Shanks here. And, as I have said, he will not be leaving my employ until he comes of age and decides to leave on his own."

Blackbeard looked back at Lizzie and sneered. "Nay. You're a murky ugly little lad anyways. Not worth the trouble." He turned to his men. "Search the ship!"

Liam held his hand out to isntruct his crewmen to allow the search. Lizzie was garteful for poofing away her clothes and the long strands of hair she had cut, or she would be done for.

Ten minutes later, one of Blackbeard's men reprted. "No sign of the lassie, sir."

Blackbeard licked his lip, still eyeing Billy suspiciously. "Well, it seems I will let you be, Jones, by the sheer ethic of the pirate code. Alas…" He sighed and pulled his blade from his belt, touching the edge. "Shoud I hear that you too have swindled me, I will take no pity on you or your crew. You will die like dogs." He signaled with his head and his crew followed him as he paced out of the ship. "Mark my words, captain… I will find this girl, and your brother will pay in heartache what I lost when he decieved me. You best choose your allegiance, should you come across the girl: some extra gold in your cargo hold… or your life at the expense of defending the child of the man who murdered your father. You decide." He waved a not-so-enthusiastic farewell and abandoned the ship.

Liam heaved and went to the girl. "Are you well?"

Lizzie just about managed to nod before she passed out from fear and stress.

After Liam had placed her in his chamber, he went back to the deck, waiting for Higgins and Kwame to return, hopefully with a bean, or with at least good news.

Xxxxxxx

THE MORNING AFTER THE FUNERAL

"Oh how quaint, the entire family… or not quite so." Gold smirked. Killian resisted an urge to thump him in the face as the man with a caine made his way into the now familiar meeting diner. "I assumed you'd tell them but I never imagined you'd have the entire royal family here to hear out what I have to say."

"Like I said, whatever you need to relay on me, you relay on them. Now…" Killian hissed. "I am hoping that for once, you will be a man of your word, and simply help us becuase of the kindness of what's left in that hard lump of coal you have for a heart. So… Speak crocodile. What do you know of this? Who took my child?"

Gold chuckled and took a seat. "Many years ago, an old witch and I had somewhat of a falling out. I of course, was somewhat more powerful, so I banished her. But only she and I have ever had enough power to cast a conjuring portal… well, also the black fairy, but she is long gone now…"

"A Falling out with a fellow witch, huh… Not surprised." Regina huffed.

"Who is this witch?" Emma leaned forward.

Gold raised his eyebrows and sighed. "One I thought would not be able to cross the magic of a cloaking spell I convincer her to cast… or rather, I cast through her. More like, I fooled her into thinking she would be ever powerful and the queen of the land if she cast that spell, only to find herself safely incarcerated in that place. Seemed like a good idea at the time, except…" he glared at Killian. "…over the years the location became a haven for the foulest sea fairing creatures to ever roam the seas. Pirates." He looked back at them. "Somehow, she was able to provide the scum of the earth with charms that would enable them to leave or enter the island, alas… she would never be able to leave herself, unless…" He looked at Emma. "Unless she obtained the purest blood, the blood of a child born of true love, the one prophetically called "The White Lady". The death of the only witch powerful enough to defeat her is the only ingredient she is probably missing." He looked at Emma and Hook in turns and met their horrified gazes. "Who by the way, happens to be your daughter."

"So… this witch killed her to try and take her blood and break the spell…" Emma nearly felt herself pass out.

Gold chuckled. "Oh, no no no… the child wouldn't do her any good dead. She needs to actually have her alive to sacrifice her during a high moon. And there is another thing: she is unable to cast a conjuring spell or a portal of any sort for her own interest. I left no loose ends. So my only conclusion is, she cast it for someone else, someone whose interests coincidentially might align quite nicely with hers, someone who would want your daughter Captain, with equal interest. And being this a place where pirate's dwell, I can only think of one who may have reason to require your child. Someone whom you are edebted to."

"Blackbeard." Killian sneered hard.

"Indeed." Gold stood up. "But be sure of one thing, Captain: Blackbeard's intentions are nothing, comapred to what this witch can do, should she come through to our world and seek venceance on me for banishing her. I have a son and a wife here, and the love I have for my family is my weak spot. She will know how to hurt me, and thus, all of you. Right now, your best bet is to help me prevent that from happening and keeping the woman safely ensconsced in Shoreman's Cove."

Snow white raised a hand. "Wait, wait… you said that… she conjured Lizzie at the behest of Blackbeard… but that she needed Lizzie alive for her own needs…"

"Aye."

Emma's eyes widened. "So…"

"She could be alive?" David aksed, wide eyed.

"Indeed she could. And probably is, given that the witch has not quite used her precious blood to terminate her exile and come to hound me and my family. So, if that is the case, we have but a window of time to figure out whether or not that is the case, before the worst happen to both our families."

Emma turned to her husband. "Killian… the shell. It's in your chest."

Killian sprinted up the stairs and zoomed back down with the little shell in his hand and a beaming smile of hope on his face. "Got it!"

Gold raised his brow. "Unless we are eating escargot, I fail to see the relevance."

Emma took the shell from Killian. "Watch and learn Dark One." She spoke into the shell. "Airel? Ariel, can you hear me?"

Gold closed his eyes and nodded in the realization.

A few seconds later, a voice came back. "Emma, what a nice surprise! How are you?"

Emma smiled fwith joy or the first time since the accident and spoke back. "Listen, I'm gonna let Killian tell you, it's very important…" she hadned the shell back to her husband. "Do your thing.."

Killian took the shell an spoke. "Ariel?"

"Well hello, captain, t's good to hear you!"

"Aye, love, you've no idea how good it is to hear you too! Listen Ariel, we need a very big favor from you… Can you reach Shoreman's Cove?"

"Oh yeah. That cloak be damned." She laughed. "Why? Do you need me to find something?"

"Someone. My daughter, elizabeth. Find her, see whether she is dead or alive. And if and when you do, please come back to us and relay the news, Ariel, her life and probably ours depends on this." He swallowed. "Can you do that?"

Ariel was silent for a few secons.

"Ariel?"

"Captain… you can count on me."