"That went well," Zelena said sarcastically as Arthur appeared in her house.
"Shut up," he growled.
"So, what's our next move?"
He held up a magic bean. "We have two options," he began with a wicked smile. "Option one, we send the stupid girl and her father back to the Enchanted Forest and give Emma a forgetting potion."
"Like the sound of that, and option two?"
"We get Emma and the three of us go back there"
"I quite like my home here in Storybrooke so I'm going with option one"
"Well then, let's get ourselves a potion and set a trap," they shared a wicked look.
"Arthur, where are we going?" Emma asked as he pulled her through the hallways.
"I'm getting you somewhere safe," he answered and walked just a little faster when he noticed that there weren't any guards anywhere in the castle. They hurried down the stairs just when David, Snow, Killian and a few of their men appeared around a corner.
"You! Stop!" David yelled. He quickly turned around, dragging Emma with him. He heard their footsteps behind them.
"Arthur, why are we running? They are my parents! They won't hurt us!" Emma said behind him while she struggled to keep up with him.
"Shut up! They want to take you away from me," he yelled back at her. Emma suddenly stopped, slipping her hand out of his and crossing her arms.
"How dare you speak to me like that," she snarled at him.
"We don't have time for this, darling. I promise I'll make it up to you later," he grabbed her hand again but when he turned back around he saw some of David's men come his way. Turning around and looking behind Emma he saw Snow, David and Killian running their way. He drew his sword, getting ready for the fight.
"Don't fight!" Emma pleaded like a child. "Let's just talk about it."
"I'm afraid there is not much to talk about, love," Killian said and she gave him a glare.
"Emma, listen to us," David said to Emma end extended his hand. "You have to come with us. He cursed you, please Emma."
The words didn't seem to registrant anywhere inside her head. "Father, mother, send back your army. I'm getting married, isn't that worth a celebration instead of a battle?"
"Indeed, listen to your daughter. We are in love," he focused his attention on Killian while he said it, earning a death glare from him. "No one can separate us now."
"To bad," Snow said and grabbed Emma's wrist, pulling her towards them and away from Arthur.
"Mother what are-" she stopped when her mother pushed a cloth against her mouth and nose. Her eyes drifted close, her limps relaxed fully and she almost fell to the floor if hadn't Killian caught her. While focused on Emma, Arthurs sword was knocked out of his hands.
"There you are," everyone turned to the sound of the voice. "You know an entire army is surrounding the castle right?"
"Zelena! Don't just stand there! get me out of here!" he yelled at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Urg, you could ask nicely, you know?" she waved her hand and they disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.
Killian, Emma and Sophia sat around the kitchen table. "What's the plan?" Killian asked.
"First, we have to get the darkness out of you," Emma said and squeezed his hand.
"How?" Sophia asked.
"We take Excalibur and reverse the spell so that the darkness will be sucked out of him instead of going inside him"
"Well, then what are we waiting for, let's go," Sophia stood up and walked over to where they had hidden Excalibur.
"It's not that easy. We have to be on the exact same spot where it happened and Killian has to be ready to let go of the darkness."
They turned to look at him. He looked between them and nodded, "I'm ready, I don't need it and I don't want it."
Emma stood up, taking Killian with her and walked over to Sophia who had Excalibur in her hand. Emma put an arm around Sophia's shoulder and closed her eyes. They disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. She opened her eyes again and now they were standing in the forest. Only a few feet away was the spot where Killian was taken by the darkness.
"Killian, I need you to stand over there," she said and pointed at the spot. "Sophia stand back."
They obeyed and Emma took the blade from Sophia, giving her a smile that told her that it was going to be okay. Sophia nodded and took a few steps back. Emma walked over to Killian, only stopping a few feet away from him. She concentrated on her magic, Killian smiled at her and she could feel her magic flowing through her veins. Closing her eyes, she held Excalibur before her.
"Not so fast," Zelena said behind them. Emma opened her eyes, looking behind her she saw Zelena holding a knife against Sophia throat. "Now, give that sword to me or your precious daughter will meet her end."
"Let her go!" Killian growled from behind her, leaving his spot to stand beside her.
"Don't worry about me," Sophia said, her voice shaking a bit but she kept strong. "Don't give her the sword."
Zelena pressed the knife deeper in her skin, drawing some blood. "Give me the sword," Zelena commanded. "And don't try to trick me or I'll end her without hesitation."
Emma and Killian shared a look, he nodded at her and she slowly moved forward, keeping her eyes fixed on Sophia. She held out the sword for Zelena who snatched it out of her hand as soon as she was at reach, pushing Sophia toward her. Emma caught her and immediately inspected her neck while Sophia whispered 'I'm fine' over and over again to reassure her mother she was okay.
Zelena giggled wickedly. "Wow, that was easier than I thought. Enjoy your last minutes together," with that she disappeared in green smoke.
She heard Killian approached behind them. He still kept his distance from Sophia, afraid he would hurt her again but she saw the worry shining in his eyes. With a wave of her hand Sophia's wound was only a mere scratch. "It will take a while to heal fully but at least the bleeding is stopped and it won't leave a scar."
"Thanks but we have to go get the sword back now, it is only a matter of time before Arthur or Zelena will use it on Dad," Sophia looked at them with a scared and confused expression.
"Killian can't be controlled by it. The cuff doesn't only take away his magic but also the ability to control him," she explained and saw her daughter relax a bit.
"How are we going to get it back?" Killian asked from behind them. She straitened herself and turned to him before answering.
"I don't know. What do they want with the sword in the first place?"
"It could be a trap, that they want us to come retrieve the sword," Sophia said.
Killian took a step closer. "Why would they set a trap?"
"Well, for one, Arthur is still into me," Sophia and Killian shared the same disgusted look. "He must have planned something. I saw him grab something out of a box just before he disappeared when you tried to kill him. It looked like a magic bean."
"Maybe he wants to use the bean on us, to get us out of the way," said Sophia. She thought about it for a second. It would seems logic. If they were out of his way everything would go back to normal.
"But why then take the sword? Why not something else?" Killian asked.
"True Loves Kiss can break the curse but not while you're dark. If he took something else we still could have gotten the darkness out of you and the curse would be broken," Sophia explained. "How do we get the sword without falling for his trap?"
They all thought for a moment until Emma got an idea and broke the silence, "We set our own trap."
They had run from the castle as far as they could before setting camp. Night has fallen and Killian had the first watch. David protested but Snow gave him one look that shut him up. Well, that look would shut anyone up. He sat beside Emma's sleeping form, absently stroking her hair. Her parents were at the other side of the fire. The men the King brought with him were too. He felt Emma move under his touch and quickly moved his hand away from her head. She opened her green eyes and looked at him. He saw the hate slowly build up as she sat up and moved back from him.
"Where the Hell am I?" she asked angry.
"Quiet Swan, there are people trying to sleep," pointing at her parents on the other side of the fire.
"I don't care, bring me back to Arthur," she crossed her arms. He felt his stomach drop a little at the mention of Arthur, that she rather be with Arthur than with him. He tried to remember himself that is was only the spell, or curse, speaking. He came up with an idea, it was crazy but it was worth the try.
"Alright then, I'll bring you back," he stood up and extended his hand.
"Thank you," she said sarcastically and ignored his hand, getting up without his help.
He walked deeper into the forest until he noticed a pink flower. Walking farther he noticed there were more until they stood in a field full of them.
"The Middlemist field," he heard Emma whisper behind him. "I always wanted to come her when I was a kid." She kneeled down to look at the flowers. She looked beautiful in the moonlight between the pink flowers. Looking up he saw it was a full moon, has it really already been a month since they met? When she stood up again she had one of the pink flowers in her hand. "I'm taking one with me for Arthur."
That was it. Without hesitation he walked over to her and kissed her. For a moment she was completely frozen until he felt her hand came up to cup his cheek. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, bringing his hand up to tangle his fingers in her hair. The flower fell out of her hand and came up to tug softly at his hair. When they broke apart he kept his eyes closed, resting his forehead against hers.
"Hook," she whispered softly.
He laughed a bit. "Call me Killian," he whispered back.
"Killian," she said, biting her lip. "Much better than Hook."
He chuckled and kissed her again. He could feel her smile against his lips.
"I've missed you, Killian"
"And I you, Emma"
They had located the sword somewhere in the forest, in an abandoned cabin. Emma and Killian insisted on Sophia going home and wait for them there because it was too dangerous but she said she had survived 16 years practically on her own so she could do this. After arguing for a full 20 minutes they gave up and let her come with them as long as she would be careful.
So there she was now, at the back of the cabin, listening to Zelena and Arthur talk. She couldn't hear what they were saying. The voices became muffler and she look through the window, spotting the sword and Arthur and Zelena in a different room. She tried to open the back door and was in luck to find it unlocked. As quietly as she could she opened the door, walked inside and grabbed the sword. This was easy, too easy.
When she turned around Zelena was standing in the door way. "You know it's really impolite to steal from people."
"Just like holding a knife to someone's throat," she shot back.
"Touché," she walked closer to Sophia. "Now, be a good girl and give me the sword."
She saw a small opening where she could slip through if she was lucky enough. Looking back at Zelena she prepared herself for the run. "No," she said and took off, through the little opening Zelena let open and into the woods.
"Don't just stand there, get her!" she heard Arthur snarl behind her. She ran, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She could hear Arthurs heavy footsteps behind her. Suddenly Zelena appeared before, ready to catch her and stop her. With a fluent motion she duct and slid past Zelena when she tied to catch her. Standing up she ran again, right to the spot where she and her parents would meet.
She passed the tree were her mother was hiding in. Behind her she heard Arthur yelp in surprise and cough. She looked over her shoulder to see Arthur kneeled to the ground, covered in a combination of powdered sugar and flower, coughing like crazy. She frowned when she didn't spot Zelena anywhere, but she kept running, she was almost there. Just a little farther.
When she finally arrived and stopped, letting her hands lean against her knees, her breathing came difficult but it got easier after a few deep breaths. Behind her she heard a swirl of wind, announcing Zelena's presents. She kept her head bowed while Zelena approached her. The footsteps stopped and she heard a thud sound. Looking over she saw her father beside Zelena who was frozen in place.
"How did you get squid ink?" Zelena snarled.
"Arthur's vault," Killian answered, circling around her.
Emma appeared a few second later with Arthur who was also completely frozen. Emma and Killian came to stand beside Sophia.
"Give us the bean," Emma commanded.
"What bean?" Arthur asked, not very well hiding his nerves.
"You know bloody well which bean," Killian snapped beside her, stepping forward. She placed her hand on his arm and he relaxed a bit and stepped back.
"Just give it to us," Emma said. "You lost, not hand it over."
"We can't give it when we're frozen," Zelena snorted. "And I thought you were the smart one," she muttered under her breath.
"Then tell us where it is," Sophia demanded.
"And why would we?" Arthur asked annoyed.
She took a few steps forward, raising Excalibur. "I'm sure you're familiar with Excalibur's legend" – he nodded – "than you know that if your cut with this sword…" she stopped right in front of him, holding it between them. "…the wound won't heal. Conclusion, there is no way you'll survive."
"You wouldn't"
"Try me," she brought the edge of the sword closer to his face.
"Okay, okay, you win! The bean is in the left pocked of my jacked"
She gave him a mocking smile and grabbed the bean out of his pocket. "Thank you for your cooperation," She turned and walked back to her parents, showing them the bean. They both looked at her in awe and surprise. Killian began to laugh.
"That's my girl," he said and gave her a fist-bump.
"My girl too remember," Emma laughed, "who do you think she got it from."
"Urg, just kill me already," Zelena said while rolling her eyes.
"Not yet," Emma said. She grabbed Killian's hand took off the cuff, walking over to Zelena and placing it on her wrist. With a wave of her hand, both Zelena and Arthur were gone.
"Where did you send them?" Sophia asked her mother.
"Sherriff station, in the cells," Emma explained and turned her back to them. "Now, let's get the darkness out of you" – she pointed at Killian – "and break this curse."
With another wave they were back on spot where Killian turned dark. Sophia gave Emma the sword and stood back again. Her mother walked over to Killian who stood on his spot, stopping again only a few feet away from him and lifted Excalibur. Sophia felt a strong wind surrounding them, making some leaves rise from the ground. The sword was now red glowing, darkness left her father and entered the sword.
Killian fell on his hands and knees to the ground, Sophia rushed over to him. "Dad, are you okay?" she asked carefully. He looked up at her and she saw that the brightness in his eyes was back and a smile spread across her face. She laughed and hugged him tightly. He laughed too and hugged her back. She felt someone tap her shoulder, she pulled away just enough to look at her mother.
"Care to share?" Emma said and Killian pulled her down, wrapping his other arm around her mother who giggled.
"It's over," she sighed and buried herself deeper in their embrace.
"Not just yet," her father said and they both look questioning up at him. "If I recall correctly, there still has to be a kiss." Raising his eyebrow and looking at Emma. She giggled and Emma slapped Killian playfully.
"Patience pirate"
A/N: Thanks to all readers for reading! Don't forget to leave a review, it really brightens my day! ;)