Chapter 3: Journey

Sitting at the table, Emma was waiting for her laptop to switch on; of course, after more than a year, many updates had to be installed. Henry was asleep on the couch. It had been a very long day and she was exhausted as well, but she couldn't sleep already: there was something she needed to do first. Seeing her laptop indicate a progression of eighteen percent, she sighed and looked up. Through the window, she could see the lights of Boston, and she realized that, in the past year, not a moment had gone by when she had missed this view.

Nineteen days earlier, she had left for a journey to find the man she loved. After filling in Liam and Ariel about the situation, she had been to the castle with Henry, to try and cast a spell on a mirror to see where Killian was, but it hadn't worked. Her parents had joined them and, unable to convince them that they didn't need to come with her, she had agreed they'd come to Lake Nostos, where she was going in the intent to regenerate the magic bean. Her parents had provided provisions, maps and other useful equipment and, when seeing what they had chosen to bring with them, Emma had been relieved to notice they seemed to be aware that life aboard a ship was not as luxurious as life in a castle.

"Among the things I've never done, there's sailing," warned Charming when they were ready to set sail.

"That's alright. Killian's a great teacher," replied Henry with a bright smile. "He taught us. Mum and I can show you!"

Henry was reminding Emma of Killian: leading Charming and Snow to specific spots on deck, he told them what to do and, after asking his mother whether he could be the one behind the wheel, he proudly stood there. And this was not all: after putting some distance between them and the island, the boy went to the quarters and studied the maps to know in which direction they needed to go. Seeing how delighted he seemed to be, Emma did not interfere and only supervised him.

"You're making a very good captain," she told him. "Killian would be proud of you."

"You think so?" Henry asked, his features lit up by a bright smile.

"No doubt about it."

Beaming, the boy put the sextant down and hugged his mother.

When calculating that it would take them almost three weeks to sail to Lake Nostos, Emma considered the idea to teleport there. She spent a part of the afternoon standing at the prow of the ship and staring at the bow, trying to teleport there. Before that day, she had teleported twice, both times during her training sessions with the Dark One. On these times, she had known where she wanted to go and had simply stared at the spots where she wanted to be to teleport there. But on that afternoon, no matter how hard she tried to stare at the bow of the ship, she kept standing at its prow. While failing at using her magic, she realized that teleporting to Lake Nostos would require to teleport to a place she couldn't see and where she had not even been. She still persisted on the couple next days, trying to teleport from one part of the ship to the other, but ended up giving up on the idea, preferring the safe option of sailing.

Sailing to Lake Nostos was the occasion for Emma and her parents to learn to know each other. Emma learnt that her parents had not always been living in a castle. Previously, her father had already mentioned his debuts as a shepherd. As for her mother, Emma learnt that she had spent years known as a bandit, surviving on her own in a forest in which her face was plastered on many trees. Of course, Snow and Charming also wanted to know more about their daughter, and Emma surprised herself by being able to talk about her story, including her childhood, without the slightest heartache. It was like her armor was truly back as, unconsciously, she knew the only way to go through this was to conceal her emotions. Even at night, when she was systematically visiting Netherworld, she stayed calm: she used the necklace Henry had given her to wake up, and usually got up and went on deck to relay whoever was there. Snow and Charming were worried about her and were being parents by telling her, whenever they saw her come on deck after just a couple hours, that she wasn't sleeping enough. Every time, she replied that she was fine, and it looked like it at first. But after almost two weeks of sailing, one night, Emma opened the book she had not dared to touch all this time and, after knocking on her door, Snow entered to find her daughter sitting at the table, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Emma…" Snow came to sit by her side and tossed an arm around her shoulders to pull her against her.

"I miss him."

"It's okay," Snow comforted her. "It's normal that you miss him. What wouldn't be normal would be if you didn't let some tears fall down once in a while. Don't shut yourself away, Emma. You don't need to pretend you're not suffering."

"That's the only way I can deal with this." Staring at the book, her head leaning against her mother's shoulder, she let a few more tears roll down her cheeks. "It's too hard."

"I know. During one of the many times when your father and I have been separated, the pain was too much for me to take and, rather than living with it, I preferred to drink a potion and forget him."

Opening wide eyes, Emma sat up straight. "I don't want to forget him!"

"I know. And this is why you're stronger than I am. I couldn't live with this pain, but you've found a way to do it. You don't have to hide how you feel from me, or your father, but if concealing your emotions helps you deal with it, then do it. You're strong, Emma. Just don't lose hope."

"Thank you." Emma leant her head against her mother's shoulder again and took deep breaths. She remembered that when someone was coming to the quarters, it was because they needed something. "Why did you come here? Is everything alright on deck?"

"Yes. I just came to check on you. This evening, I felt like you were more thoughtful, as if your walls were not as solid as usual, today."

"Wow. I guess that's right." Emma looked down, taken aback by this observation. "You really managed to feel that?"

"You're my daughter. I'm supposed to feel those things." Hearing these words, Emma flattened her lips, fighting back against the tears threatening to come back. Snow indicated the book. "When was this?"

"Kind of all the time." Emma had shown the book to her parents, but had only let them quickly look through the pages because she wanted to read it before anyone would. Staring at the picture of her and Killian sitting on the railing of the ship brought a weak smile to her lips. "Killian and I stargazed almost every night. That's one of the things I miss the most. It was so peaceful to sit there by his side and to look at the stars."

"I'm sure it will happen soon again. In a week, we should arrive at Lake Nostos." Snow embraced her daughter, pressing a kiss on her cheek. "Do you want me to stay here a bit longer? Maybe having someone will help you sleep better."

"No, I'll be fine."

Snow nodded and got up, fully understanding her daughter's need to be on her own. Emma reached for her mother's wrist.

"Just… Thank you."

This moment shared with her mother gave Emma the strength she needed and, focusing on the fact that the situation was only temporary, she was able to hold onto hope and smile on the next few days.

The closer they were to Lake Nostos, the more time she spent thinking of what would come next. Leaning on her elbows on the railing of the ship, she was watching the land come closer when her father came by her side, adopting the same position and gazing at her.

He waited for her to glance at him and flash him a smile before asking, "Are you ready?"

"I don't know. For Lake Nostos, I think I am. Because I'll just have to dip the bean in the water, right? It's for what's coming next that I don't feel ready." Emma looked again at the ocean before admitting something she had kept secret until then. "I'm afraid. I'm scared of what's waiting for me there. I'm scared of what she did to Killian. What if she's done more than simply sending him there?"

This question had been a taboo as nobody had dared to broach the subject, but it had crossed Emma's mind more than once.

"I've thought about this." In his turn, Charming looked at the ocean. "Your mother and I have dealt with Regina a few times already, and I'd be surprised if she's left him free. My guess would be that he's locked up somewhere."

"I will find him. I will search every building if I have to."

"There's not only that. I thought of another possibility, and I think you should be prepared: Killian may not remember you when you find him. It wouldn't be the first time she plays with memories." Never having considered the possibility, Emma looked at him with wide eyes, and he quickly added, "But you can fix it. With a true love's kiss."

"Is this what you did? Snow told me she drank a potion to forget you."

"Oh, well. I did try the true love's kiss. But it didn't work."

"What? Why?"

"Because she's been the one making the decision to drink this potion. Killian hasn't decided anything. It will work. And maybe he will remember you; just be ready in case he doesn't." His daughter wasn't saying anything. A crooked smile crossed his lips. "I wouldn't need to warn you so early if I knew you let me and your mother come with you to this other realm."

Emma smiled as well, amused as her father kept bringing up the subject. "I still don't know."

"Sure you know," playfully teased Charming. "You don't want to need to babysit mum and dad in this other realm which is so different from this one."

Emma giggled. The question of whether her parents would come along had become a subject of teasing.

"You know it's not only that."

"I know," admitted Charming. "But it made you smile. That's the most important."

Biting her lip as she was smiling even more, she let him wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her by his side, and they silently watched the ocean.

"Emma!"

Emma stood up straight and looked around.

"Liam! Ariel!" Running to the railing of the ship when he heard the woman's voice, Henry was faster to spot the two heads out of the water.

"Ariel, Liam, these are my parents, Snow and Charming. You can also call him David," Emma introduced once they were all on deck.

"You look so young," pointed Ariel, her eyes shifting between them and their daughter.

"Long story," nodded Charming.

"Emma told us parts of it, already. That must have been strange to wake up after more than twenty years spent frozen. But it's nice to meet you." Ariel turned to Emma. "I'm glad we found you in time."

"We were afraid you had left to this other realm already," added Liam.

"Have you found anything?" asked Emma.

"Yes. But that's why we needed to see you before you left: we've found what I was thinking of, but there's enough only for two people."

"Once you regenerate the magic bean, you need to keep it for the way back," completed Liam, "Because there's not enough for three…"

"We kept looking, but that's all we could find."

"Okay…"

"Well," Charming addressed his daughter. "It sounds like you won't need to babysit us."

The fact only two of them could go to her former realm was indeed solving her dilemma: only Henry would go with her. If she had been hesitating for so long, it was because her reasons to let them come with her were as convincing as her reasons not to. Having them by her side would bring her some valuable support; she was aware that Henry and her parents had been essential for her to keep hope during this trip. But having them with her would also make her feel responsible: Charming had kept teasing her about it, but she was truly worried about how confused they would be in this new realm. Besides, the thought they might not succeed to come back had crossed her mind more than once, and she was not willing to get her parents trapped in a world which was not theirs. But as it appeared that she didn't have a choice, her reasons not to let them come with her suddenly seemed not so convincing anymore.

Snow seemed to notice. "Emma, everything'll be fine. You're strong, you don't need us."

"There's still one problem. If we had been there together, we could have left directly from the Enchanted Forest. But now, you need to go back to your island and you can't sail the Jolly Roger alone."

"With me, they can," said Liam. "You only need Ariel to go back to Killian. I can bring them back in the meantime."

"This way we can leave this realm soon!" said Henry.

They all agreed on this plan. Quickly, they reached the land and the next step of their journey started. This step required horses and Ariel, who feared to slow them down as she had never been on one, waited for them on the ship with Liam. After Emma cast a glamor spell on her parents, Henry and herself to be unrecognizable, they left the ship and borrowed four horses from the village's stable. Knowing the place, Snow and Charming led the way, while Emma and Henry were silently following them. All the way, Emma was lost in her thoughts, wondering what she would do in case the magic bean couldn't be regenerated. She guessed that she and her son would just take a one-way ticket to her former realm.

"It just looks like a normal lake," commented Henry when they found themselves in front of a lake after about one hour of horse riding.

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know." The boy shrugged, looking at the lake. "You said the lake had been refilled. Are you sure its water is still magic?"

"There's only one way to find out," said Emma.

Getting off her horse, she walked to the shore, followed by Henry. Bringing the small pouch out of her pocket, it was when she found herself right in front of the lake that she hesitated and looked back at her parents.

"So you think I only need to dip the bean into the water?"

"Yes," confirmed her mother.

"No, wait." Charming got off his horse. "Didn't you tell us that, once it would regain its magic, you'd only need to toss it on the floor or into the water? What if it regenerates so fast that it instantly opens the portal? We don't want that."

"He's right!" said Henry, looking thoughtful. "Mum, you need to keep the bean in your hands, while I pour some water on it."

"Okay, let's do that."

"Wait," Charming interrupted Henry before he had the time to collect some water in his hands. "We'll use my flask."

Emptying its content, he insisted to be the one to fill it with water. The bean in her hands, Emma held them out to him but, once again, her father countered her plans.

"If you don't mind, I'll take the bean," he said while using his shirt to dry his flask.

"Why?"

"Just give me the bean and take the flask," he said.

Though not understanding, she complied and, slowly, she poured a few drops of the lake's water on the bean.

"Wow!" Henry was watching the scene in awe as, right before their eyes, the dried bean became bigger and translucent.

"It worked!" With a bright smile on her lips, Emma picked the bean to examine it, before safely putting it inside the pouch.

"Indeed. And the water seems to be harmless," said Charming while examining his hands.

Emma looked indignant. "Is that why you wanted to be the one filling your flask and holding the bean?"

"I couldn't let my daughter take the risk to come in contact with some water whose effects we didn't really know."

"But…"

"Emma?" called Snow. "I've tried, but you can't change your father, he will never let his family take any risks when he can be the one to take them."

"And there was no reason to be afraid. The water happened to be harmless, and you now have the magic bean. Let's go back to the ship, it's about time you go and find Killian."

Having the magic bean in her pocket made Emma hopeful and cheerful, because regenerating it was one more step closer to finding Killian. Back on her horse, she cast her son a playful look and, catching it, Henry smirked, understanding her intentions; both of them went past Snow and Charming and galloped as fast as they could, racing each other. Charming's voice then resounded and Emma stopped to turn around, suddenly in alert.

"What?"

"Wrong way!" Charming shouted, indicating the path on his right.

"The first one to grandpa wins!" Henry defied his mother before turning back.

Leaving with a head start, Henry was finally caught up by his mother and they reached Charming and Snow at the same time, both laughing.

"That was fun!" said Henry.

"We're dealing with kids," commented Charming, sounding amused while looking at his daughter. "It's good that, after all this time, you can still give us this impression."

Emma flashed him a smile. "Never too late to catch up, right?"

"We have the bean!" announced Emma once they arrived on deck. "Ariel, I didn't have time to ask you: what is this thing that you found, that will allow me and Henry to follow you?"

The information that there was enough for only two of them had made her forget to ask about what it was.

"It's this." The mermaid brought out of her pouch a handful of green seaweed.

"Must be kidding me," whispered Emma, staring at Ariel's hand before looking up at her and Liam. "Is that gillyweed?"

"Yes! That's the name."

"Have you ever used this?" asked Liam.

"No, I just… I've read about it in books. I didn't know that was real."

"Mum! Can you make this waterproof?" Henry ran to his mother with his expandable bag.

"What do you need that for?" asked Emma.

"You said your realm was very different. Maybe I'll want to bring some stuff back from there."

"Kid, I'm not sure that'll work."

"I believe it will!" said Henry, before getting distracted by the seaweed in Ariel's hand. "What's that?"

"Gillyweed. That's what you and your mother will use to come with me and leave this realm."

"If it's like in the stories I've read, we will have gills and webbed fingers and toes."

Henry looked up, repressing a laugh. "But in your stories, Killian has perms and waxed mustaches."

"They're not the same stories. The story about this seems to be more accurate."

"Wait." Henry looked from his mother to the seaweed. "You really think we'll get gills and webbed fingers?"

"Yes," replied Ariel. "That's how you'll follow me."

"Awesome! Are we leaving now?"

"Not yet. There's still something I need to do."

"What are you up to?" asked Snow, following her daughter to the quarters.

"Something I haven't dared to do since we left. But I need to try once again. If it works, it could help me find him."

What was scaring her was the possibility of a vain attempt. But she needed to try; closing her eyes and clutching the ring, she used her magic to conjure a mirror.

"I didn't know you could create a new mirror just like this," commented Charming.

"I can, but I haven't done it earlier, or I would have spent my days standing in front of it, trying to get something else than a black screen."

"That's a good decision you made. Do you have enough energy to try now?" asked her father.

Emma nodded and, still clutching her ring, closed her eyes again, hoping to see Killian appear on the mirror. Focusing, she felt the usual warmth of her magic spread through her body.

"Mum! You did it!"

Opening her eyes, Emma found herself facing an image of a street.

"Wow! Is that what your world looks like?" asked her son.

"Yes, but I don't understand… Where's Killian?"

"I think he just went inside that Starbucks thing," said Charming. "The door was just closing when the image appeared."

"What's Starbucks?" asked Snow.

"It's a coffee shop." Getting over the disappointment Killian was not visible, Emma examined the image on the mirror. It was like she was seeing the view from the sidewalk and, across the street, there was the Starbucks.

"What's that?" Charming suddenly asked.

"Is that what you talked about?" her son asked. "Cars?"

"Yes. The traffic lights probably turned green," replied Emma, thoughtful. "I know this place."

"Really?" Snow came closer to her daughter. "Do you know where it is?"

"It must be somewhere in Boston. There are many of those Starbucks, but I'm sure I've already been to this one." Feeling the energy spent to maintain the spell, she let the mirror turn back to a simple mirror again, and turned to Henry and her parents with a smile full of hope. "I don't remember exactly where it is, but I can go back to Boston with Henry. That's where I lived, I can go back to my place. There, I'll have what I need to find this Starbucks. And I'll find Killian."

"Brilliant! Once we find the coffee shop, he won't be too far from there."

"He may even go back there. We'll just need to watch the surroundings until we find him."

"When do we leave?" asked Henry excitedly.

"Now." Emma looked up at her parents. "Liam will bring you back to the castle. Do you need anything before we go?"

"No. Go, Emma. Go and find Killian. And be careful."

"I will."

She hugged her parents and took care of the final preparations with Henry. Then, they found Ariel on deck.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes! I've been willing to go underwater for so long!" said Henry. "Are we going now? Like, right now?"

"Yes, it's time to go. Ariel?"

"Here's the gillyweed."

"Henry, if what I know is true, you'll need to eat this." Emma handed him a handful of gillyweed. "I know it's not very appetizing, but convince yourself that's salad. And then, it should be very quick."

Wearing skintight clothes, with their shoes and spare garments in Henry's bag that Emma had made waterproof, they were ready to go. Liam took care of setting sail and, once far enough of the land, Ariel went into the water and waited for them. Emma and Henry walked down the steps usually leading on the docks, each holding a handful of gillyweed, and stood on the last step. Looking down at the water, Emma wondered whether she was right to take Henry with her. But she convinced herself that leaving him there, in this realm where the Evil Queen could find him anytime, was not a conceivable option.

"Let's go."

Emma took a deep breath and tucked the gillyweed into her mouth. Henry imitated her and jumped into the water right after her. What happened next was the strangest thing she had ever experienced. The gillyweed acted exactly like she expected, but the feeling of gills developing in her throat was rather unpleasant, and the ability to use them and breathe underwater was indescribable. Another surprising element was to see her son swimming around, obviously fascinated by his webbed hands and feet. He swam back to his mother.

"It's awesome!" he tried to say, the sound of his voice muffled by the water.

Ariel indicated to follow her and led them deeper in the ocean. Emma was surprised by the immenseness of the ocean: as far as her human eye was able to see, there was nothing but the shadow of the Jolly Roger above them in sight. But even if they seemed to be alone, Emma kept close to Henry and, when Ariel was ready to open the portal, she grabbed her son's arm to stop him from swimming around.

The opening of the portal seemed to be controlled by the mind as Emma didn't notice any move coming from Ariel before a large and white circle of light appeared in front of them. If it didn't look reassuring to Emma, Henry seemed mesmerized. The mermaid indicated them to come closer. She took their hands before leading them through the portal. The bright light intensified, and they were able to see nothing but whiteness around them. After a moment, the light softened, and again they found themselves in the ocean. Emma looked around, unsure it had worked, as what was in front of her didn't look different. But she didn't have time to say anything as, suddenly, her throat became painful. This confirmed they were not in the Enchanted Forest anymore; they had expected the gillyweed to lose its effect through the portal. Clutching her throat, Emma felt Ariel grab her arm and pull her towards the surface.

"Henry! Are you alright?" Emma asked as soon as she emerged and caught her breath.

"Yes." Examining his fingers which looked like fingers again, he seemed disappointed. He looked up at his mother and smiled again. "That was the most unbelievable experience I've ever had! Did it work, are we in your realm?"

"Look behind you."

Henry turned around. "Wow!"

"I've never seen such a village," commented Ariel, looking at the town skyline.

"This is not a village. This is Boston." Emma was unable to repress a smile, not because she was back in this city she knew, but because she knew Killian was there somewhere: it had worked, they had travelled from one realm to another, and it had brought her closer to the man she loved.

Luckily, the ocean was calm on that day, and Ariel led the both of them to the shore without difficulty.

"Are you sure I can't help more?" asked the mermaid.

"You've already helped a lot and now, it's my turn to be in charge, because this is the realm I know. And Liam will get worried if you don't go back to him soon."

"Do you still have the seashell to call us if you need to?"

"Yes."

The mermaid flashed Emma a smile and quickly hugged her. "Good luck. Come back soon."

"We'll find Killian and come back as soon as we can."

"Mum! Your spell, it worked! Water didn't get inside," said Henry right after Ariel disappeared into the ocean, looking through his bag.

"Great. First thing we should do: change into dry clothes, or people will look at us strangely. They probably will anyway, but let's minimize the risks. And then, we go to my place." Noticing how her son was staring at her, she added, "What?"

"I think this deserves an operation name." As always, he was radiant, and his good mood was contagious.

"Do you have an idea?"

"How about Operation Going Home? The operation will be complete after we find Killian and go back home together."

"That works for me! And Operation Going Home starts now. Change into your other clothes."

"Don't look!"

Amused, Emma brought out of the bag her own clothes and went to change.

"Do you know where we are?" asked Henry once they were ready to go.

"Precisely. And I hope you're not tired already, because we'll need to walk about one hour to go to my place."

"I'm not tired!" Henry beamed, obviously excited at the idea of having one hour to discover this new world.

"Good. Come with me."

Holding out her hand, she waited for her son to take it before leaving the shore.

"Wow!" Though Emma had told him about cars and he had even seen an image of them when she had bewitched a mirror, Henry's eyes followed the first car which went past them. Walking by his mother's side, he kept looking around. "These look weird," he commented on the three-story houses surrounding them. "Does your place look like that?"

Emma gave him an amused look. "You may probably find my place even weirder. Do you remember these huge buildings we saw when we came out of the water? I live in one of those."

"Wow! And it's all yours?"

His question amused her. "Kid, we're not in a land of fairytales where people live in castles. I just have a small apartment."

"Other people live with you?"

"Not with me, all the apartments are separated. But we're all in the same building, yes. Careful!" Emma stopped him from stepping on the road right in time. Until then walking through quiet quarters, this was the first street with so much traffic that they crossed. "See the red light across the street? It means we have to wait. When the red hand switches to a white man, we can cross the street."

They kept walking through the town while the sun was setting, and Henry kept asking questions and commenting on everything he was seeing. Mostly amused by all these unexpected questions making her realize how different this realm was from the Enchanted Forest, Emma was taking the time to answer all of them. She talked about the buses, about all the different shops and restaurants, and about anything that was catching his attention. She also explained why they couldn't do like the woman who had waved at a taxi to stop it, telling her son that they had no choice but walking because she didn't have any money with her. Henry had countless questions to ask, but the closer they were to their destination, the quieter he was as tiredness became apparent.

"Mum, look! Starbucks!" He said after several minutes of silence. "Isn't that where the mirror showed Killian?"

Losing herself in her thoughts while he had been so silent and looking around at least as much as her son, thinking of how Killian could be anywhere near them, Emma felt her heart skip a beat when Henry pointed at the Starbucks. But her hopes quickly faded. "The mirror showed Killian at a Starbucks, but it didn't look like this one. When we arrive at my place, I should have what I need to locate the right Starbucks. We're almost there."

At last, they arrived. Emma had been worried about what could have happened during the year when she had been missing, but seeing her car where she had left it reassured her; if her car was still there, so would probably be her apartment.

"What's that?" Henry asked when the metallic doors opened in front of him.

"The elevator," Emma answered, once again amused. "Trust me, you don't want to use the stairs, my apartment is on the twentieth floor."

"What will it do?"

"You'll see. Come on." Emma led him inside and indicated the buttons. "It's very easy to use. Press the number twenty."

Henry complied and kept looking around. When the doors opened to a new place, he opened wide eyes. "Awesome!"

"Number two hundred and five is my apartment," Emma indicated her door which was, as she expected, closed. She brought out of the bag a metallic strand and inserted it inside the keyhole to work on the lock. "What I'm doing right now, it is not right. But in this situation, it is, because the apartment is mine."

"Are you trying to unlock the door?" Henry asked, watching her with attention.

"Yes."

Keeping her ear close to the lock, she moved the wire inside the keyhole while carefully listening to the metallic sounds inside it. At last, a victorious smile appeared on her features and she got up.

"And here's how you unlock a door without the key. But I repeat: that's usually not a right thing to do."

"Alright, that's bad form, I get it," summarized Henry before giving his mother an inquiring look. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Uh… That was a long time ago." Emma looked like a child getting caught as she admitted, "Not good form."

Henry chuckled at the idea of his mother misbehaving, and walked through the door she had just opened.

"Cool!" he commented as he looked around.

"It's exactly how I left it more than a year ago," Emma observed.

It seemed like nobody had noticed the apartment had been vacant for more than a year; the shoes and the dress she had been wearing on the last day she had spent there were where she had left them, and so were her keys and the wrapping of her birthday cupcake, laying on the table. Henry went to look through the window, gazing at the town on which the night was falling and, curious, walked around. He headed to the kitchen, which was to him the most intriguing part of the room.

"Wow! What's that?" he asked when he opened a door and lights were turned on.

Pulled out of her thoughts and until then still standing in the entrance, she joined him. "That's the fridge. It allows to preserve food. Well, for a limited time obviously. Yuk, let me get rid of all of this."

"You never talked about that fridge thing!"

"Surely I forgot to mention it," Emma said while throwing away the expired food. She opened one of the cupboards. "I do have pasta."

Walking past all these restaurants without being able to buy anything had made them hungry, and Emma had mentioned she probably had some pasta.

While boiling some water, she showed Henry around. The visit lasted longer than she had expected as many elements, though insignificant to her, seemed to be of great interest to Henry. She switched on her laptop, and the device got Henry's whole attention.

Emma flashed him a smile. "That's my own way to navigate."

"How does that work? Is it like a sextant?"

She considered the comparison for a second before shaking her head. "Not really. It's more like a map, and we can see what every Starbucks looks like. I'll show you. Well…" Emma sighed as the laptop started to update. "For now we need to wait. We have time to eat."

"What is it doing?"

"Updates. A lot of them, since I haven't used it for so long."

While eating some spaghetti Bolognese, Emma tried to answer his questions and explain him what were updates, the Internet and Wi-Fi.

"You know, I'm really trying," he said with a smile, "But I'm not sure I understand everything."

"Don't worry, that's totally normal. You're doing great already."

After dinner, Emma washed the dishes while Henry went to sit on the couch. By the time she finished, Henry was asleep. Seeing him made her realize she was exhausted as well, but she didn't want to sleep. She needed to find Killian, she needed to know where the Starbucks was. Sitting at the table, she sighed when she saw her laptop indicate a progression of eighteen percent. She looked at the city lights through the window, and quickly got lost in her thoughts, thinking of the journey which had led her back to Boston.

Emma started with surprise when a sound pulled her out of her thoughts; at last, the updates were complete. The desktop appeared and her attention was caught by the date: November the thirteenth; three weeks earlier, she had been in Killian's arms, celebrating her birthday. They had seen the lights in the sky, these lanterns her parents were sending in the hope she would find them. On the next day, she had found them, but in the evening of that same day, Killian had been taken away from her. Emma shook her head to avoid getting lost in her thoughts again and checked the Wi-Fi connection. She was relieved to see that in the past year, this had not changed: her neighbor across the landing had not moved and his Wi-Fi connection she had hacked was still available.

She knew exactly what to do, and being aware of how close she was to know more about Killian's whereabouts made her feel nervous. Impatiently, she waited for the page to load. When it finally appeared, she was taken aback by the number of dots on the map.

"There must be at least forty Starbucks!" The words escaped her and awakened Henry.

"Are you looking for Killian?" he asked while joining her at the table.

"Yes." She pulled a chair by her side. "Come here, I can show you if you want."

Henry sat down and examined the screen. "That's a strange map."

"Quite different from maps of oceans and forests, uh? This one is a map of the whole realm. You can zoom in and out. All of this is Boston. Here is where we are, and this place is where we arrived with Ariel." Emma indicated the different places on the map. "There's something very convenient about this map, I've used it many times, whenever I needed to find a place. You see all the red dots? Each one is a Starbucks. And what we can do is take this little guy here and drag him to one of them. This one for example."

Examining central Boston, Emma unclicked at the level of the northernmost dot and the street view mode was activated. She changed the direction and a Starbucks appeared.

"Wow! That, too, is technology?"

"Yes." Emma was amused again. "Still no magic in this realm. No magic, but hopefully we won't need it to find the right Starbucks. Which is not this one."

Emma proceeded to switch from map view to street view, checking dot after dot from north to south. Each time the street view was loading, she felt nervous, expecting to find the right coffee shop anytime. But it didn't happen.

"I'm sure I've checked them all…"

"Can you go back to this one?" Henry, who had silently watched what his mother was doing, pointed one of the dots and Emma switched once again to street view. "Don't you think it looks like what the mirror showed us?"

Hopeful, she examined it, but shook her head.

"No, it's not this one. I remember what the mirror showed. The building looked like this, that's the right color, but the right Starbucks must be at the corner of a street. This one isn't. We've checked only the central part of Boston, maybe it's one further from the center… but I'm sure I've been to this Starbucks the mirror showed, and I've rarely been in these parts of the city." Gazing at the map, Emma was thinking out loud as she tried to remember where she had seen this coffee shop. "Oh!"

Suddenly, it came back to her, and the image of the Starbucks found itself associated with the name of a street which she typed, along with the name of another city. Not understanding what was happening, but unwilling to disturb her, Henry remained silent as he watched his mother loading another map and switching to street view again. She rotated the view and there it was; the Starbucks the mirror had showed.

Emma looked taken aback. "Killian's not here, he's in New York."