Chapter 6.
The following day the travelling party approached the base camp on the small island.
"Something's not right." Stephen said as he slowed his pace until stopping. Rose and Mulan stood either side of him.
"You're right. It's far too peaceful." Rose agreed. The three warriors pulled their swords.
"What's wrong?" Snow asked coming up to them.
"We're not sure but something doesn't feel right." Rose explained.
"It's too quiet. Where's the look out? We always have someone in the tower." Mulan said, as she moved forward alongside Stephen and Rose, looking up to the wooden tower construction. Snow drew her sword motioning for Emma to be prepared. Emma put herself ahead of Aurora protectively as they followed after the others.
As they entered in to the camp they lowered their weapons looking at the devastation before them. Dead bodies and smouldering fires lay before them.
"They're all dead." Snow said as she stepped forward. Rose reached out taking Snow by the arm to stop her, allowing herself, Stephen and Mulan to go ahead of her. Snow shook off her sister and moved on.
"Who could have done this?" Aurora asked as she moved beside Snow.
"Ogres." Mulan said matter-of-factly.
"No look, their hearts have been ripped out." Snow said in anger and disgust.
"Cora." Snow and Rose said in unison.
"We need to stop her." Snow said hurriedly. "We need to draw her out and kill her."
"We weren't a match for her back at the castle, how can we be now?" Mulan said looking over the litter of dead bodies. All of a sudden Emma noticed movement under the bodies by her feet.
"Over here!" She called. "Someone's alive over here!"
"Please help me." The man begged as Emma and Stephen pulled him from where he lay.
"It's all right." Emma said helping the man stand. "You're safe with us."
"Thank you, thank you!" The man said as Stephen helped practically drag the man to the closest seat at a table.
"Rest here, we'll get some water." Emma said nodding to Mulan who went with her.
"Do you trust him?" Snow quietly asked Rose.
"Do you?" Rose countered. Snow looked over to the man who seemed visibly shaken by what had happened.
"I'm not certain." She answered.
"Well follow that instinct." Rose said watching over Emma with the man from a distance. Stephen continued to check the rest of the campsite for any further survivors. "She's good your daughter." Rose smiled as she watched Emma interrogate the survivor. "She has good instincts." Rose proudly said.
"She believes she can tell when someone is lying to her." Snow explained as she watched her daughter place a knife to the stranger's throat.
"And can she?" Rose asked turning to Snow.
"She certainly seems to be able to, but sometimes I wonder." Snow replied. All of a sudden Emma was pulling the man from his seat and dragging him away.
"Looks like we're moving out." Rose mused as she motioned for Stephen to follow after them. Snow and Rose bringing up the rear. Once caught up with Emma and the others, they found her tying the survivor to a tree in the opening they themselves were set upon by an ogre only a few nights ago. "I like this side of my niece." Rose proudly said watching Emma as she whistled loudly to attract the attention of near by ogres.
"You would." Snow said watching with interest and unease.
"The ogres are getting closer your majesty." Stephen said as he watched their backs.
"Give my niece time Stephen, I believe she knows what she is doing." Rose said, hearing the closeness of the ogres herself but trusting her niece's instincts.
"All right!" The man shouted as the group began to move away. "Well played. You win, Cora wanted me to befriend you, travel with you so that you would trust me to give more information about your world." The man explained.
"So you were to spy on us." Snow stated in disdain.
"What's your name?" Emma demanded.
"Killian Jones, but perhaps you know me by my more colourful moniker, Hook." Hook said sneering slightly as he did.
"As in Captain Hook?" Emma asked in disbelief.
"See for yourself, in my pouch." Hook motioned to Snow who opened his pouch that she wore around her and pulled out his shiny silver hook. All of a sudden the ogres roared, ever closer. "Now cut me loose before those monsters shred us all to pieces." Hook demanded.
"Why should we, you intended to hand us over to Cora!" Snow snapped pulling Emma away from untying the pirate.
"I know of another way back to your land. You need a portal and I know a way of finding one. I can take you to it, in exchange you take me with you to Storybrooke." Hook said in desperation looking fearfully over Snow's shoulder to the tops of shaking trees where ogre's roars came closer by the moment.
"What's in Storybrooke that makes you want to go there?" Emma asked, puzzled by the pirates desire to leave the Enchanted Forest.
"The man I want to kill. Rumplestiltskin!" Hook answered spitting out the name with venom. Snow turned to Emma and then Rose.
"It's your choice." Rose said. Emma moved forward and quickly cut the pirate free from the tree.
"Go on then, show us." Emma ordered.
"But one false move Hook and I will kill you." Rose threatened standing toe to toe with the pirate matching his height. Hook nodded as he moved around the red headed queen leading the group.
"We can't trust him Emma." Snow warned as they moved swiftly after Hook who had Mulan watching him like a hawk from behind.
"We don't have many other choices right now Mary Margaret. He says there's a way home, I want to try for it." Emma said moving away from her mother to keep up with the others. Snow sighed and moved to keep up with her.
"Emma is right your majesty, we cannot trust the pirate." Stephen quietly spoke with Rose as they followed. Rose nodded as she looked to the direction they were headed.
"I agree Stephen but I think I know where he is taking us. Snow and the others may need our help once there." Rose explained. Stephen only bowed his head and continued on.
After over an hours trek Hook stopped at the top of an incline.
"There." He said, motioning with his bound hands. The group followed his direction and spied a beanstalk standing tall into the clouds above.
"A beanstalk?!" Emma said in almost disbelief.
"That's right luv, if you want your way home you'll need the compass that is up that beanstalk and guarded by a terrible giant." Hook explained smirking.
"It's never easy is it?" Emma muttered to herself when her aunt softly spoke so only Emma could hear her.
"A quest never is Emma. Not when it's really worth it." Rose smiled to her niece. "Come on, the sooner we get there the sooner we can get the compass and get you home." Rose called across to Snow and the others. The group moved on and were soon stood in the shadow of the mighty beanstalk.
"The beanstalk is enchanted." Hook said as they all looked up through the clouds not seeing the end of the stalk. "I however have a cuff that can be worn to climb up it."
"And why should we trust that you're telling the truth about this?" Snow asked.
"Cora gave the enchanted cuff's to me, a way of getting you to trust me so that we can ascend the beanstalk and claim the compass. I'm here working with you now, not Cora. She may have the ashes of the wardrobe but she needs the compass to find Storybrooke. I'll give you the cuff and help find the compass in exchange for safe passage with you to Storybrooke." Hook said a smug smile across his face. "Now which of you will be coming with me." Hook asked showing them the spare cuff.
Rose stood back as Mulan, Aurora and Snow argued over who should go. In the end Emma won out, shouting over all of them that she would be the one to go with Hook.
"Emma no, I'll go. We cannot trust this pirate and…" Snow began to argue when Emma stopped her.
"I'm going and I'm not going to fail. I have to do this." Emma stated as she walked away from Snow taking Mulan to one side. Snow frustrated turned away from Emma and her stubbornness only to find Rose stood a few steps behind her.
"Why didn't you support me!?" Snow demanded projecting her worry and anger on to her older sister. Rose looked to her sister raising an eyebrow to her.
"What would you have me do Snow. Go instead?" Rose countered. Snow opened her mouth to speak when Rose continued. "Emma needs to do this herself Snow and you know that. You're fearful and I understand that, but she has to do this."
"And what if Hook betrays us and Emma is hurt or killed?" Snow asked still not impressed. Rose stepped closer to her sister breathing in deeply as she did a dark look running across her face as she spoke slowly and clearly in a low tone.
"Then I will kill him." Rose said. A slight shiver ran across Snow at the menacing tone her sister had. Rose walked around Snow over to where Emma and Hook were stood. Emma held out her arm to Hook who placed the cuff over her wrist.
"I'll need both hands to climb." Hook said holding up his arm that was missing its hook. Rose looked down her nose at Hook as Snow moved to take the hook from the satchel she was carrying. Emma took the metal hook about to attach it to his arm when Rose stepped in placing her hand over Emma's stopping her. Rose gently took the hook from Emma who relinquished it to her slightly confused. Hook smiled to the queen, Rose returned the smile as she moved him away slightly from Emma.
"Now pirate, you climb this beanstalk with Emma and you help her find the compass."
"That is my plan your majesty." Hook said trying to charm Rose when she roughly shoved and attached the hook to his arm causing Hook to wince slightly. Rose grabbed Hook by his throat with her free hand as the other still held on to the now attached hook, pointing it towards the ground.
"Should any harm come to Emma, any at all, I will kill you." Rose said narrowing her eyes as she tightened her grip around the pirates throat, Hook knew better than to try anything, he had heard of this warrior queen and that she was not to be trifled with. "Do I make myself quite clear pirate." Hook choked trying and failing to speak. "You need only nod your head if you understand." Rose explained tightening her grip a little more. Hook nodded to which the queen smiled. "Good Hook, good, we have an understanding." Rose said as she released him, Hook stumbled back slightly from Rose coughing and rubbing his throat. "Well, you'd best get going." Rose said looking to Emma and then to Hook. Emma nodded to her aunt and took a slightly wider berth as she walked around her to the base of the stalk with Hook.
"Let's get this over with." Emma said as both she and Hook began to climb. The rest of the travelling party stood back and watched them for as long as they could see them. Rose turned to Stephen as they spoke quietly for a moment.
"Stephen and I will go out and check the perimeter, make sure we are safe here with no prying eyes. We'll be back soon." Rose smiled to her sister then locked eyes with Mulan, without a word spoken Mulan understood what the queen was saying to her as she nodded her head to Rose. Rose turned and with Stephen left the three women to wait by the base of the stalk.
"What are you thinking Stephen?" Rose asked after they had walked in silence for several minutes. Stephen looked across to Rose as he answered.
"I am thinking that I still do not trust Hook. There's more to him than wanting to kill Rumplestiltskin." Stephen said.
"I agree, there is. I don't believe his allegiance with Cora is truly over either." Rose said. "But we use him as he is using us and hope that we win in the end." Rose said as they moved along the perimeter.
Hours later Rose and Stephen returned to the base of the beanstalk finding Mulan pacing by a stick that had been shoved in to the ground. Snow sat upon a log with Aurora sleeping by her side, her head resting in Snow's lap.
"You're back." Snow smiled with relief as Rose and Stephen sat close to her. "Everything was clear and all right?" Snow asked. Rose nodded to her sister.
"Everything was fine Snow, much to Stephen's displeasure." Rose teased the young captain as he sat back against a log. He looked to Rose to say something back to her but simply smiled as he settled, resting. "How's everything here?" Rose asked watching Mulan.
"Fine. Mulan seems to becoming more and more restless though" Rose hummed in agreement with her younger sister.
"And the princess?" Rose asked looking over the young woman.
"She suffers from the sleeping curse. Terrible dreams when sleeping, it makes a person not want to sleep." Snow said knowingly. Rose looked deeply in to her sister's eyes seeing the pain of her understanding of Aurora's troubles.
"And how do you sleep now?" Rose asked. Snow smiled to her.
"With David's help, much better." Rose smiled back to her sister relieved. The two sisters turned back to watch Mulan when she stopped pacing, standing in front of the stick she was using as a sun clock. Mulan hung her head for a moment.
"That's it." She said. "Time's up." Mulan turned on her heel and headed for the beanstalk. Seeing what she was about to do Rose jumped to her feet drawing her sword as she went. Mulan had drawn her sword at the same time drawing back readying to strike the beanstalk.
"Mulan, no, stop!" Rose shouted as she ran towards her. Mulan continued forward her sword poised. Mulan brought her sword down, before it could make contact Rose defended the stalk blocking Mulan's blow. The pair of warriors continued to fight.
"Emma ordered me to cut down the beanstalk if she did not return in ten hours. She hasn't, she must be dead." Mulan told the queen as they fought. Stephen tried to help his queen but Mulan was too quick for him as she took his sword from his hands and then swept his legs from under him.
"We must give her more time!" Rose said moving in to attack again and then having to quickly jump back save being cut by Mulan's blade. Mulan followed the thrust of the sword with a hard kick to Rose's abdomen knocking the queen back and down to the ground.
"I have my orders." Mulan defiantly said as she quickly moved to the beanstalk and struck it causing to break a large chunk away from the stalk and the enchantment to break. Rose clambered to her feet to again defending the beanstalk and her niece when Snow White rushed past her and in to Mulan taking them both to the floor. Snow wrestled Mulan's sword away her as she pinned her down.
"You will not jeopardise my daughter!" Snow yelled at the warrior as Rose took Mulan's sword making sure the warrior could not reclaim it.
"Stop!" Emma shouted as she landed roughly on the ground at the base of the beanstalk.
"Emma!" Snow cried as she rushed to her daughter.
"I was only doing as you told me to." Mulan said to Emma as she picked herself up from the floor.
"I know you did. Thank you." Emma replied catching her breath. Snow grabbed her daughter pulling her away for a stern talk. Mulan turned to find her sword only to find Rose stood behind her.
"Forgive me your majesty but I was only following orders." Mulan explained bowing her head slightly. Rose looked sternly at the young female warrior.
"That you were Mulan." Rose accepted handing her back her sword. "But next time my niece suggests such things you tell me and stop when I tell you to." Rose said.
"I did what I thought was right your majesty." Mulan said, sheathing her sword.
"I know you did, and I respect that Mulan, but be careful when such orders concern the safety of my family." Rose said as she walked over to Emma and Snow. Rose watched as Emma pulled her mother in to a tight hug before the pair then separated and Snow moved over to collect her bow and arrows. Rose walked up to her young niece, Emma turned to Rose seeing her stern expression.
"Pull that kind of stunt again and your mother and a giant will be the least of your worries." Rose stated albeit with a slight smirk. Emma nodded in understanding as she went on to walk with Snow.
"Where's Hook?" Aurora asked.
"He's a little tied up right now." Emma explained. "Come on we've got a ten hour head-start. Let's go get that dust from Cora."
