Elizabeth looked around the shop as she followed Regina and Henry. It seemed to be a collection of personal items, odd and unique all of them. It was strange to her to feel more at home among these items than the people from her own realm. Then again, the 'antiques' were technically from her time.
"Regina," a male voice called out, an interesting lilt to his tone. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He smiled and looked at Elizabeth, and his smile faltered ever so slightly. "I see."
Regina looked between the two, holding up her hands. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means, dearie, that you're in over your head." He walked slowly towards Elizabeth, who took several steps back. He grinned and crossed his arms. "Are you afraid of me, girl?"
"Well I'm not stupid," Elizabeth spat, but couldn't hide the shake in her voice. "I know what you are."
"The Dark One. But that's not what you need, is it?" He giggled and waved his hands in the air. "You're just covered in thread not belonging to you. It's no wonder Regina failed you, Elizabeth Warren."
Her eyes widened, and she took a rebellious step forward. "You know me, monster?"
"Careful who you call names," he warned.
Henry stood between them. "She came in with the new arrivals, but she doesn't remember leaving the Enchanted Forest. How do you know her?"
"I don't," Gold stated simply and turned away.
"You know my name," she countered, following him.
"I deal in names."
"And what is mine to you, Rumpelstiltskin?"
He turned around to face her with a fierce look in his eyes. "That's a tad informal for having just met."
"He's only ever ambiguous when he's planning something," Regina said. "Start from the beginning. What can you tell us about her?"
"How can I get home?" Elizabeth added.
Gold grinned again. "That's a lot of questions. And many answers to go with them."
Elizabeth turned to Henry with a shake of her head. "I don't want to owe him anything. I appreciate your trying to help, but this is a waste of time."
"What did you mean about the threads?" Regina ignored Elizabeth's outburst as she stepped towards Gold. "Are you talking about-"
"Her fate, yes," he interrupted. "Miss Warren seems to be connected to people she shouldn't be or, more likely, someone is still connected to her who should be dead."
"I should be dead, but I don't know what happened." Elizabeth turned back around slowly.
"Oh, well I can fix that for you," Gold replied and a dagger appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke.
"Wait!" Henry once more stood between the two, appealing to his grandfather. "I know who it is." He turned to Elizabeth. "I know who you're connected to. Maybe it's why you have no memories. When your fate changed, maybe it was like a reset button and kept you paused until you got a new destiny or something."
"That's not really how it works," Gold offered.
Ignoring him, Henry continued. "It's Hook. You knew him once."
"Wait, you know Hook?" Regina said incredulously. "I suppose there are few women who don't know him."
"Well this is interesting." Gold smiled. "He was fated to die...multiple times. Technically, he did die. Twice. If your fate is in fact tied to him somehow, that explains the multiple threads. It's all the chances you had to live your destiny."
Elizabeth eyed more of the items around her. Globes, maps, weapons, small trinkets. All seemed to laugh at her for even daring to speak with the Dark One. "That doesn't account for the missing centuries of my life."
Gold once more approached Elizabeth and held his hand to her face. When she flinched, he gave a soft sigh. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have." He was silent again for a moment before he pulled his hand away.
"Anything?" Henry asked once he realised no one would.
"You didn't have your memories erased, taken, and you didn't give them away." Gold wiped his hand on a handkerchief as though cleaning away her germs. "It seems the boy was right. You were...paused. Not a sleeping curse, not even Neverland, although I wouldn't rule that out completely just yet. It's as though you didn't even exist during those years. I'm sorry. That's as much as I can do."
Elizabeth nodded, believing him. "And you require no payment?"
"No," Gold breathed with a shake of the head. "But perhaps your fiancé will have more answers than I."
She shook her head, feeling her blood begin to boil. "He came to you? That is how you know me."
"Ah, I don't know you. I know him. Or rather, I know his memories."
"Then you should know we were never engaged."
"I should rephrase that. I've seen his memories. Briefly."
"What did you do to him?"
"Why not see for yourself?"
Elizabeth turned to a silenced Henry and Regina. "I must go. Thank you, for what you've tried to do for me. I'll find another way."
"Elizabeth, wait, we can do this together!" Henry called after her, but she was already out the door. She walked quickly up the road, heading back to the forest. She slipped the hood of her cloak over her head once more. "How could my time frozen be linked to his memories? What did the Dark One do to him?"
Elizabeth stayed where she was, letting the person outside continue to knock on her door. It did make sense, what Rumpelstiltskin had said two days earlier. If her fate had somehow changed, her life would have to change as well. But...it hadn't. Her fate didn't change. She was still connected to him.
"Elizabeth?"
She looked at the door then, hearing Emma's voice. She had expected it to be Henry.
"Elizabeth I'm just making sure you're okay. Henry's worried about you."
"Tell him I'm fine. I just need some time to process," she called back. The Saviour was the last person she wanted to see.
There was a short laugh from the other side of the door. "Yeah, I get that." A pause. "You know, I didn't even believe in magic until Henry brought me here."
"I know your story."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't say that every now and then I still get freaked out by all this magic...stuff. And don't get me started on my family." Another pause. "Can you just open the door?"
Elizabeth groaned, but stood. She took the few steps needed to cross the room and opened the door enough to allow Emma entry. "I have no tea to offer, I apologize."
"Oh, no I'm fine." Emma stepped in and looked around. "Nice place."
"It's a place to sleep."
"And spend all day every day."
All women from this time seemed to be so….pertinent. "It allows me a place to think."
Emma sat down and put her hands on the table. "Henry mentioned that Gold didn't have any answers for you."
"Only more questions."
"If you're from so long ago, had you heard of Captain Hook before you came here?"
"No."
Emma smiled and leaned forward. "If you know my story, you know about my superpower."
Elizabeth met her eyes. "You asked the wrong question."
She leaned back in the chair and crossed her leg. "Fine. What's the right one?"
"The name. I didn't know Captain Hook."
"But you knew Killian Jones." When Elizabeth's silence acted as her answer, Emma nodded. "Look, I get this is probably awkward, regardless of what your history is with him "
"It's not history. Not to me."
"What do you mean?"
She took a deep breath. How much was she willing to reveal to this woman? "Henry told you I had no memories from before the Land of Untold Stories." When Emma nodded, she continued. "From the time I said goodbye to Killian to the time I woke up in that field, it had only been four months. And even then, it was only supposed to be five. He was supposed to return to port. Maybe he did."
"But you weren't there."
"There was an uprising. Word had gotten round that our king was corrupt. Being a port city, the rebels wanted to cut off trade. My father was a supporter of the king. He was killed. The rebels chased me from my home...and that's the last I remember."
Emma shifted before standing finally. "I think the only way to figure out what happened is to ask Killian yourself. If he returned to your city, he must have asked about you. Someone there must have known what happened."
"Unless they thought I was killed with my father. He would have been told I was dead."
"Then at least we know what people thought. But if someone saw who grabbed you, it's somewhere to start."
Elizabeth stood to see Emma out. "Perhaps. Not today. I'll think on it. I'm...I'm not sure I want to delve into this quite yet."
Emma opened the door but paused. "How long...were you two….?"
"Three years, nearly four."
"Come into town tomorrow," Emma said, moving past the time frame quickly. "We usually have lunch at Granny's." She hesitated before turning and went through the door.
For her, it had only been nearly six months. But two hundred years for him. She knew he would be a completely different man. And now she knew she would have to prepare for what tomorrow's reunion would bring.
