The Chicken Reform
A/n - thank you again for all the kind words. So nice of you to take to time to my little story. Sorely needed some fluff today after that heartbreaking scene in 5x03 *sob*
Chapter 5: Descent
Killian put one tentative foot onto the coal heap. Two pieces of coal rolled off and hit his other foot. Taking a deep breath, which did nothing to ease the hammering of his heart, he dropped to all fours. He was just about to take off when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at Liam who was squinting up at the hill to be scaled.
Liam had told the King that Killian was adept at climbing rigging but looking at the coal heap his mind couldn't help but draw a parallel to something else that he and his brother used to climb . . . and descend very quickly.
"Wait, Killian," Liam advised.
"Why did you stop him? There's no time to waste here," The Foreman said. He motioned for Killian to get moving, but Liam kept his restraining hand on his brother's shoulder.
"NO! I just realised how to get them down!" Liam announced as he cast his gaze every which way about the coal field, clearly searching for something. Evidently he found what he wanted. "Wait, just wait a tick. I'll be right back," he called over his shoulder as he sprinted off towards an overturned wheelbarrow resting on another coal heap. He collected the barrow, wheeling it to a stop next to Killian. He looked up at the Foreman expectantly. All he received was a furrowed brow and an exasperated expression.
"What do you think you're playing at? We try to move the coal, it comes down and we might lose the Princess," The Foreman snapped. "You're wasting time. Killian, get going." He gave the younger Jones a gentle push.
"What's the hold up? Why hasn't he started?" David appeared from the front of the coal heap. "Killian, are you too scared?"
"We need to get the tray off the barrow," Liam shouted to the King. "They can use it like a sled to get down." When the King nodded, Liam began pulling at the handles.
"Gods, Liam, that's brilliant," The Foreman praised him and thumped him on the back in approval.
Killian looked at his brother in awe of his cleverness. He watched as the Foreman who, courtesy of his adult strength, made short work of freeing the barrow tray. David, who hadn't wanted to leave Emma's sight, had heard Liam's idea and sent Graham over with another suggestion.
"Tie a rope to the front. When the Princess and Killian are sitting in it, we can use the rope to pull them down," Graham said. He pulled out a dagger and started to push it into the wood of the tray to make a hole.
Precious minutes went by as the tray was prepared. David turned his attention back to Emma. Even from 40 feet away he could see how badly she was shaking and that she had started to sink into the coal. Her little legs were buried to just below the knee.
"I'm so proud of you, Sweetheart. You're doing such a good job keeping still," David called up to Emma. He fought to keep the fear from his voice. He was shaking, too, as he reached a hand towards her.
Terror had well and truly set in for Emma. She didn't dare answer her father. Her knees and back ached as she tried to stay upright against the pressure the weight of the coal exerted on her buried legs. Her hands were covered in a cuts from the razor sharp coal. She was having trouble focussing as sweat mixed with coal dust dropped off her brow and into her eyes making them sting. Scared though she was, she held her ground, just as her father told her to, but couldn't stop a pained whimper from escaping.
Killian took the coiled rope off his shoulder and passed it to Liam to tie one end to the barrow tray while he tied the other to the rope about his waist. With a nod from his brother, he dropped back to all fours and began his ascent. He didn't look anywhere but a single foot ahead. He could feel the instability of the material over which he moved, but after he made it over the first few feet and into the area where the underlying coal was more compacted he actually felt almost secure.
His slight frame made little disturbance on the coal so he was able to climb at a steady pace, but just like Emma, his hands and knees garnered a nasty collections of cuts. He had made it a third of the way when he realised the knees of his trousers had been cut open. By the time he was halfway, his hands were getting slippery with sweat and blood. He had to stop when he breathed at the wrong moment and got a mouthful of coal dust. The subsequent coughing fit sent him backwards a few feet.
When he finally had his breath back, he carefully wiped his hands on his shirt and rubbed the sweat from his eyes. For a moment he nearly panicked when he saw how much of his skin had been cut from his hands, but he was well past the halfway point and his desire to be brave and save the Princess drove him on. "If she can do it, then so can I," He reminded himself. With every foot he climbed, his awe for how the little girl had managed to get so high up, grew.
It only took him five minutes to make the climb from base to Princess. Much slower than Emma had taken, but she had not given any thought to her safety as she had scrambled after the butterfly. Emma heard Killian's laboured breathing and couldn't stop herself from swivelling her head in his direction. Big blue eyes appeared from behind the edge of the heap and locked onto hers. She couldn't see him very well but she immediately felt more courageous now that she was no longer aloft her coal peak alone.
"Hello," Killian said, as if they were meeting in the street and not precariously perched on a small coal mountain. "I'm Killian, Your Highness."
"I know. I'm very pleased to meet you," she said, trying to sound brave, but her bottom lip quivered and under the coal dust she was very pale. "I hurt myself," Emma said, and held up her hands for inspection.
"I'll take care of you when we get down, alright?" Killian asked. "I cut my hands, too. This coal is sharp."
Emma bit her lip and nodded, her big green eyes were very shiny, but the tears were held at bay.
"Now, just hold still. I am going to come over to you," Killian explained. He dislodged several pieces of coal as he gingerly moved towards Emma. Killian stopped dead, hand in mid air and watched as the coal rolled away down the hill causing the King and company to catch their breath. When everything stopped moving, Killian closed the distance to the Princess, sending another scattering of coal down the slope.
Liam, Graham and the Foreman ran over to the King carrying the barrow tray, but David's attention was fully on Emma as she slumped backwards into Killian's arms.
"I've got you," Killian said quietly into Emma's ear. With his arms around her tiny waist, he could feel how hard her body was trembling. Her hands closed on his forearms in an iron grip. "You're very strong for a girl." He winced as the praise made her clamp down even harder.
"Carry me?" Emma asked.
"No, we're going down on a sled. Just like in the snow," Killian told her.
"I like sledding. It's a good thing you're here, Mama doesn't let me sled on my own. She can be bossy that way," Emma said with a humph. "I'm not too little!"
"My brother wouldn't let me go on my own, either. I'm going to dig you out first, just hold on," Killian warned, and once she let go of his arms, he cautiously scrambled out from behind the Princess. He freed her left leg and then the other. The knees of her breeches hadn't been torn open as Killian's had, as hers were made of a much stronger fabric. Laying back on the coal, Emma started to slip, and she squealed in fright. Killian lunged for her and grabbed her by the arm to halt her progress. They both held their breath until they were sure Emma wasn't going to slip further.
"Alright, I have to pull up the sled. I need both hands, sorry," Killian explained. He let go of Emma and began to coil in the rope. David and Graham placed the barrow tray carefully as high up as they could without disturbing the coal.
Killian had terrible trouble reeling in the sled. His hands were in agony. Emma noticed him grimacing and, knowing how badly her own hands hurt she wanted to help Killian. She pulled out her handkerchief which was only partially covered in coal dust and wrapped it around his right hand.
"I'm sorry I only have that one. Does it help?" She asked.
At a loss for words and blushing furiously at the thoughtful gesture, Killian nodded. He managed to get the sled up to them and threw the rope back to the King, who caught it gracefully.
"Don't waste any time, just get in. Killian at the back and hold on tight to my daughter," David called up.
Killian didn't trust the sled to stay very still once he got in, so he half lifted Emma in with him. He barely had time to settle them before the sled, unbalanced by the movement on the unstable slope, took off at a rate of knots. He wrapped both arms around Emma and leaned over to protect as much of her as he could. Everyone at the bottom of the coal heap pulled on the rope attached to the barrow tray and it fairly flew down, until it caught about 10 feet from the base and overturned, sending the occupants sprawling.
Killian and Emma rolled to a stop and David and Graham quickly picked them up and ran as the heap started to collapse where the sled's passage had upset the equilibrium. The movement was slow at first, then the middle just subsided and the whole thing looked like it had collapsed in on itself.
David hugged his little girl tightly, cradling the back of her head, as he was want to do and Emma threw her arms about his neck and kissed his cheek, leaving a big black smudge.
"Did you see me, Papa? I am NOT too small for sledding!" Emma declared.