The six figures found themselves staring up at the beanstalk, the immense plant stretching up into the clouds. Nim winced as she rubbed at her wrists: they were still raw from the rope she had been bound with.
"It's a little freakier than I remember from the story," Emma muttered.
"Reminds me of death," Mulan put in, causing Nim to pull a face at the morbid statement.
"Encouraging," Mary Margaret murmured.
"Well, your compass awaits," Hook announced. "Shall we?"
Emma held up a hand. "Wait. If these beans create…portals, why not just pick one and go home? Why the compass?"
Nimueh rolled her eyes: this woman really was new here.
Hook seemed to be of the same mind-frame and explained, "Because there aren't any more beans. Whatever story you think you know, my dear, is most certainly wrong."
"There was a guy named Jack, and a cow, and something about an evil giant with a treasure and a golden goose…or harp…" Emma trailed off, frowning.
Nimueh blinked, exchanging a look with a very amused looking Hook.
"Sounds like a lovely tale," the pirate didn't bother to hide the laughter in his voice. "But the truth's a little bit more gruesome. The giants grew the beans but, rather than use them for good, they used them to plunder all the lands. Jack was a man who fought a terrible war, defeating all but one of the evil giants. The beans were destroyed by the giants as they died. If they couldn't have their magic, then nobody could. It's really very bad form."
Emma still looked confused. "Evil giants, who made magic portal beans? Why doesn't anyone just go up and grow some more?"
"Because one giant survived. The strongest and most terrible of them all. And we'll have to get past him to-"
"The magic compass," Mary Margaret finished.
Hook nodded. "The treasure remains, and amongst it is the compass. Now it will guide us to your land. Cora has the means to open a portal with the wardrobe ashes, but she can't find your land without the compass. Once we get it, steal the ashes from her and we're on our way."
Mulan was still suspicious. "How do we know that you're not just using us to get the compass for Cora?"
Nim sighed silently.
"Because you four are far safer company. All we need is a ride back. Nimueh and I will swear allegiance to whomever gets us there first."
Emma moved towards the beanstalk, "Then we'd better start climbing." The blonde made to put her hand on the plant but was stopped by Nimueh slapping the hand away. "Ow! What was that for?" Emma glared at the girl who only rolled her eyes in answer and pointed at Hook.
"Right, so… I may have failed to mention that the giant enchanted the beanstalk to repel intruders," the pirate shrugged.
"Alright," Emma grit her teeth. "So how do we get up there?"
"Nimueh and I have got a counter spell from Cora," Hook held up his bound wrists. "If you'd be so kind."
Mary Margaret stepped forward and untied him. In response, Hook and Nimueh both held up their right arms, showing two glowing leather cuffs.
"There is only enough magic for two of us, so who will climb the beanstalk?" Hook raised his eyebrows at the group.
Emma sighed, pursing her lips. "Nimueh stays here and one of us will go with you." Nim rolled her eyes at the fact that this woman thought she could order her what to do, although part of her was grateful that she wouldn't have to make the trip up the beanstalk: facing a giant was really not the top of her to-do list right now, especially without her magic.
Hook smirked. "So…which one of you four lovelies shall take her place? Hm? Go on, fight it out. Don't be afraid to, you know, really get into it."
Thus began an argument between the four women. Nimueh came to stand beside Killian, crossing her arms over her chest, and the pair watched as Mulan, Aurora, Emma and Mary Margaret all fought to be the one the go up the beanstalk.
"All due respect, I'm the best equipped to go. How many wars have you been through?" Mulan argued.
"My share," Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow.
"It should be me," Aurora put in and Nim turned her snort into a cough: that girl didn't seem capable of walking through a bloody forest, let alone climbing a beanstalk.
"You?" Mulan frowned. "You haven't fought in a battle."
"This is about getting home to our loved ones. Why would you-"
Aurora cut off Mary Margaret with a bitter statement of, "Because I have no loved ones. If I fail, you can still go on."
Emma finally butt in, "It's me. I'm going, and I'm not going to fail." Nim had been waiting for that.
Mary Margaret sighed. "You're new here."
Emma scowled. "It's about getting back to Henry." Nim frowned and mouthed 'Henry?' questioningly at Killian, who only shrugged in response. "I don't care what I have to face... You're not going to argue with me?"
"Would it do any good?" her mother murmured.
Emma smiled triumphantly. "No. Anything in that bag that's going to help with a giant?"
Mulan looked down at Hook's satchel. "Were you referring to Excalibur or the hook?"
"Hey!" Hook called.
Mulan took Emma aside and Nimueh turned to face Killian, holding out her arm for him to remove the cuff. Hook made to remove the magical item but stopped, noticing that Nimueh had given him her left arm.
"Nice try lass," he murmured, grabbing her right arm and unsnapping the cuff. Nim clenched her jaw and pulled her arm roughly out of his grip. The pirate only smiled sweetly at her.
"Ladies," Hook called. "In this world, we are slaves to time. And ours is running out. In other words, tick tock."
Emma made her way over to Hook and Nim with her arm held out, prompting the pirate to smirk. "I was hoping it'd be you."
"Just get on with it," Emma scoffed.
Hook placed Emma's hand on his shoulder and snapped Nim's cuff onto her wrist. "That's a good girl," he murmured and the woman ripped her arm away from him. "This will allow you to climb. There are other dangers. Thankfully, you've got me to protect you."
Nim snorted. 'Oh, thankfully.' Emma seemed to have the same thought, looking at the pirate with a 'Yeah right' look on her face.
But the pirate continued with, "I can't climb one-handed, can I?"
Emma dug in the satchel for the pirate's hook and handed it to him, watching as he screwed it on.
"And I know that Nimueh would be comfortable with Excalibur back?" He raised an eyebrow at Emma, who sighed and retrieved the sword. Her fingers brushed against something else in the satchel that Mary Margaret clearly had not seen when she searched the bag. Emma grabbed hold of it and brought it out of the bag.
It was a hip flask covered in ornate mosaic tiles which glittered blue and green in the sunlight. Nim's eyes widened and she jumped forward, snatching the flask from Emma as well as Excalibur.
The blonde blinked in confusion. "What is that?"
Hook swallowed, noticing the guarded expression on Nim's face. "Never you mind. Shall we?"
Emma narrowed her eyes. "Don't think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second."
"I would despair if you did," Hook grinned lecherously.
Emma ignored him. "Let's go."
With that, the two began their climb up the beanstalk.
Nim opened the flask and took a sip, closing her eyes as she felt the familiar warmth spread through her. She was sitting next to Mary Margaret, with Mulan and Aurora sitting opposite them and conversing amongst themselves, as the four females waited for Hook and Emma to return. Nim felt better now that she finally had her possessions back but was still virtually powerless. Mary Margaret frowned as she watched the girl drink from the unfamiliar flask, assuming her to be drinking alcohol and wondering at the girl's age.
Mary Margaret remembered that she had met the Lady of the Lake once in her childhood and the girl before her looked virtually unchanged. Despite the fact that they had met more than forty years ago, the girl had not aged. But, Mary Margaret supposed, half of that time had been spent frozen under a curse. The Lady of the Lake had always been someone Mary Margaret had looked up to and she had always treasured that meeting but this girl, whilst physically appearing the same, seemed like a completely different person.
What had changed her so?
"Hey," Mary Margaret nudged Nim and the girl looked up curiously. "I met you once. As a child."
Nim frowned momentarily, looking over the woman's face and realisation slowly dawned on her. She smiled, nodding as she recognised Snow White.
A loud sob filled the air surrounding the lake.
A young girl was sitting on a tree stump, her head in her hands, as she cried. Snow White had just lost her mother and the grief was practically tearing her apart. Queen Ava's funeral was to take place the following day and Snow had no idea how she was going to be able to deal with it. Her mother was her hero, the person she had always looked up to. And now she was gone and there was a hole in Snow's life that could never be filled. She had needed to get away from the castle, away from her father's sad eyes and mournful looks, away from the funeral arrangements.
She needed to grieve and so, distracting Johanna with a request for a certain kind of silk that could only be found at one particular market stall that Snow knew for a fact was not up today, Snow had run to the only place of solace she knew.
The lake.
Her mother had always loved this place and frequently shared picnics with Snow there. Ava had regaled Snow with tales of the Lady of the Lake, its supposed guardian, and had described in detail the beautiful magic the Lady possessed. Snow had always asked her mother if she had seen the Lady but Ava had gently smiled at her daughter and told her that it was said that the Lady only came to those who needed help, and only then to those with pure intentions.
Snow had always wished to see the Lady but never had.
Until now.
"Why are you crying?" A gentle voice startled Snow and she looked up to see a dark haired girl staring at her in concern. The girl was standing at the shore of the lake, her feet submerged in the water, and wearing a long blue silk shift that fluttered around her ankles. She walked towards Snow, a reassuring smile on her face, and crouched before the sniffling girl.
Snow's eyes widened as she realised who the girl was. "Are you the Lady of the Lake?"
She said the title so reverently that the girl chuckled. "Yes, I am. But you can call me Nimueh if you prefer. And what may I call you?"
Snow smiled weakly as the Nimueh gently brushed away her tears. "Snow. Snow White."
"Well, Snow White, what is it that has caused you such pain?" Nimueh took Snow's smaller hands with her own and squeezed them.
"My mother, she died," Snow murmured.
Nimueh made a sympathetic noise and moved to sit cross-legged in front of Snow, still not letting go of the girl's hands. "Ah."
"Everyone keeps telling me that they're sorry for my loss but…"
"…But you don't want them to be sorry," Nimueh finished. "You just want your mother back."
"I just, I don't know how I'm supposed to live without her," the girl muttered miserably.
Nimueh swallowed, understanding the girl all too well. "Do you want the truth Snow?"
Snow nodded. "Of course."
Nimueh took a deep breath. "It isn't going to be easy. There will be days where all you want is to feel your mother's arms around you or hear her laugh just one more time. And that hole in you that she left, well, it won't ever be filled again. You'll always feel like there's part of you missing…but eventually, you learn to be okay with that. Sure, there'll be days when you suddenly get scared that you can't remember what your mother's voice sounded like or what the colour of her eyes were, but you will get through it. It won't be easy but you have people that love you, don't you Snow?"
The girl nodded and Nimueh smiled, albeit sadly. "Well, then you're going to be fine."
Snow watched the girl carefully. "You sound as though you're speaking from experience?"
Nimueh shook her head. "No, my parents are both quite alive. I just…I haven't seen them in a very long time."
Snow gasped. "That's horrible."
"I've learned to live with it. But it's okay, because I got to meet you," Nimueh grinned and Snow grinned back. "Now, you best be getting back to those people that love you."
Nimueh stood up and helped Snow to stand, before straightening the girl's cloak and patting her gently on the shoulder. "It was a pleasure to meet you Snow White."
"And you…Nimueh," Snow smiled gently.
Mary Margaret smiled at the memory but the smile dropped when she saw the leather cuff sitting on Nim's left arm.
"I thought there were only two of those?" she asked, pointing at the magical item. Nim looked down and swallowed when she saw what the woman was pointing at.
Could she?
…This could be the last chance she got…
Nim pointed at the cuff and then turned to point at the beanstalk, before shaking her head. Mary Margaret frowned but, after Nim repeated the action, she understood what the girl what trying to tell her.
"The cuff isn't for the beanstalk?"
Nim nodded and then gestured to her throat. Mary Margaret's frown deepened at that. "It's got your voice?"
Nim nodded vigorously.
"Who did this?"
Nim frowned, wondering how she could convey that to Mary Margaret. After a while, she pointed up the beanstalk.
"Hook?" A shake of the head. Nim waved her hands, as if prompting Mary Margaret to keep going.
"…Cora?"
A nod.
"But why would she do that?"
Nim bit her lip as she thought. She held out her hands, flashing out her fingers repeatedly.
"…magic?" A quick nod. Mary Margaret gasped silently in realisation. "Cora's stopped you from using your magic!"
Nimueh gave her a sarcastic thumbs-up, although her anger was not directed at Mary Margaret but at the woman who had trapped her magic within her body. Nim could feel the pent up energy just screaming to be used but had no way of doing so and it was instead fueling her frustration. Nim had definitely not signed up to be stripped of her powers and her voice just to get her revenge on her father. It almost made her wonder if it would be worth it.
…Almost.
"So I take it that you can't remove the cuff?" Mary Margaret was asking and Nim shook her head sadly. "But what if I could? Would you get your magic and your voice back?"
Nim shrugged and then nodded: 'I suppose so'. Well, it was more of an 'I hope so'.
"Well, I've got to at least try," Mary Margaret smiled and she reached out, gently taking hold of Nim's left arm and laying it in her lap. Nimueh watched nervously as the woman took the cuff.
Mary Margaret's hand recoiled like a shot, as if she had been burned. The woman looked at Nim, a hint of fear in her eyes.
Nim closed her eyes in disappointment, feeling a weight settle in her stomach. Great. Just great.
"I'm sorry Nimueh," Mary Margaret apologised, cradling her hand. Nimueh turned to look at the woman's hand and winced when she saw the ugly red welt on Mary Margaret's palm. She touched it gently and looked up at Mary Margaret apologetically. Nim smiled slightly to show the woman that she was sorry that she got hurt because of her, and that there were no hard feelings.
"We'll find another way to get it off," the raven haired woman promised but Nimueh found it hard to believe her words. Cora was using this cuff against her to make sure she co-operated. Yes, Nimueh wanted to get back to Storybrooke so that she could get her father to feel the pain she had felt but of course Cora doubted her, perhaps thinking that some shred of sentiment for her father would turn Nimueh against her. And if Nimueh turned, Cora would be in serious trouble… hence the cuff.
Nimueh clenched her jaw and looked up to see Mulan drawing something in the ground with a stick.
"What is that?" Aurora asked and Nim stood up to get a better look at the drawing. It was a sundial.
"It keeps the time," the warrior replied, prompting a frown from Mary Margaret.
"You have somewhere to be?" she called.
Mulan ignored the question, instead saying, "We can mark watches- take turns sleeping. We'll most likely have to walk through the night again, so we should rest while we can."
"I'll take the first shift," Mary Margaret offered.
"I'll stay up with you," Aurora put in.
Mulan nodded, "Okay," and turned to walk off.
Nim stood up stretching and nodded at the two women before following Mulan, grateful for the opportunity to finally put her head down. She felt like she hadn't slept in…ooh, twenty eight years?
Nim awoke feeling only slightly rested. Her magic was simmering beneath the surface and had meant that she felt too awake to get to sleep. The girl sat up with a silent groan and pulled herself to her feet, checking her belt to make sure that both Excalibur and the flask were both in place.
She re-joined the other women to see Mulan peering at her sundial and Mary Margaret attempting to calm down an agitated Aurora. It appeared that the princess had had a nightmare as she was shakily explaining to Mary Margaret, "It was the same as last time. I was in this room. This…this red room. It was bright. Blood-red curtains. There were no windows or doors, so it didn't make sense, and I couldn't get in or out. I was trapped. The curtains- they were on fire. It was horrible."
Mary Margaret rubbed the princess' back as she listened to the girl's tale. "It's okay."
"I was hunched in a corner," Aurora continued, getting more and more emotional, "and I looked over into the other corner. And in the shadows, there was someone else there. I just saw his eyes. He was looking right at me."
It's okay," Mary Margaret comforted. "These nightmares…they will fade away. I promise."
"Did they for you?" Aurora asked and Nim finally understood what was happening. Aurora's subconscious had travelled to the land that it had been in when she had been under the sleeping curse. Nimueh had overheard her talking about it to Mulan back in the haven and she now made the connection that Mary Margaret had once been under the same curse.
Mary Margaret nodded. "Yeah. Come on. Come on. I'll sit with you until you fall back asleep. Who else do I have to take care of?" She looked up, noticing Nim's appearance, and smiled at her. Nim returned the smile and sat down on the log beside her, ready to take over her watch.
Nim didn't realise that she had dozed off again until a commotion caused her head to jolt out of her hands. She blinked then jumped off of the log to see Mulan, Aurora and Mary Margaret arguing by the beanstalk. Mulan had her sword drawn and looked as though she was trying to chop down the beanstalk, whilst Mary Margaret and Aurora were adamantly trying to get her to stop. Nimueh felt her stomach jolt at the idea of the beanstalk falling and ran to the archer's side. If that beanstalk came down, Emma and Hook wouldn't be able to return with the compass and they needed that compass.
"What, you're just going to leave her to die?" Aurora was shaking her head, eyes blazing at the thought.
Mulan sighed. "Ten hours. She may already be dead."
"No, st-"
The princess was cut off by Mulan swinging at the beanstalk. The other three women stared in horror as a surge of magic ran up it and disappeared into the clouds.
"No!"
"No stop!"
'No!'
Nim held her breath as she waited for something to happen, for the overgrown plant to come tumbling to the ground and, with it, any hope Nim had for getting some sense of closure.
But…nothing. Of course. Thank goodness Mulan hadn't thought to use Excalibur…
Her eyes fluttered closed in relief but snapped open when she felt Mary Margaret rush past her. The woman tackled Mulan to the ground and the two started fighting, pulling at each other's hair and clawing at the other's face.
Nim clenched her jaw and strode forward, grabbing Mulan who was now on top by the scruff of her armour and yanking the woman up. Mulan continued lunging at Mary Margaret, prompting Nim to take a tighter hold on her and shoot a look at Aurora to help her out. The princess rushed forward and grabbed Mary Margaret a lot more gently than Nim had.
"This was your daughter's wish!" Mulan hissed, breathing heavily.
"I don't care what you say!" Mary Margaret spat. "You do not put my daughter in danger!" With that, she shot forward out of Aurora's grip to backhand Mulan but a voice stopped them both.
"Stop!"
All four women looked up in shock to see Emma jumping down off of the beanstalk. Nim looked behind her, expecting to see the familiar figure of the leather-clad pirate, but frowned when Killian was nowhere to be seen. In her confusion Mulan shrugged out of her hands and came to stand beside her, one hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret called in glee, jumping out of Aurora's grip to hug her daughter. "You okay?"
Emma shrugged. "Two earthquakes and a jump from a beanstalk. I think my brain's still rattling around a little."
"I did what she ordered, nothing more than that," Mulan stated, nodding towards Emma as she tried to explain her actions. "Did you get it?"
Emma nodded, patting where the compass obviously was hidden. "Yep."
Aurora frowned, noticing the look on Nim's face and then the absence of the pirate. "W-where's Hook?"
Nim's eyes narrowed as Emma merely said, "He's detained. Let's go. Get your stuff. We've got ten hours before he follows us."
The three women began to move but Nim stayed stock-still, with her eyebrows raised as she looked at Emma. The blonde, feeling the girl's gaze, turned to look at her.
"Nim you coming with us, or do you want to wait for him?" Emma's question was loaded and Nimueh knew instantly that this was a test.
Was she going to stay and help them… or help Hook? Was she to be trusted?
Nim didn't miss a beat and nodded her head at Emma. The blonde nodded, satisfied, but Nim knew that she would still be keeping an eye on her. Nim didn't care. She had nothing to prove to this woman: she would help whoever got her to Storybrooke the quickest, no matter who that person was. And as long as that was Emma and her buddies, Nim would happily co-operate with them. Sure, Hook was an old friend, but Nimueh found that that hole in her chest only cared about one thing right now, and it wasn't him... And it certainly wasn't Cora.
Nimueh stumbled through the forest, clutching the flask to her chest as she knocked against a tree. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she swore when she saw the familiar garb of the Queen of Heart's soldiers. After all, she was wearing the exact same thing. Nim struggled to unbutton the scarlet jacket, unbuckling the belt and throwing it down as she continued to run. Maybe they wouldn't recognise her…?
"ACE!"
Or not.
Nim rolled her eyes, and threw a fireball over her shoulder, the other hand fastening the flask to the belt on her trousers. According to the pained grunts, it had hit at least one person. Nimueh smirked in satisfaction, running her right hand over the flask and allowing her magic to wash over it.
Ha. She'd like to see the Queen of Hearts try and control her without it. She'd never be able to thank Alice enough for retrieving it for her, for interrupting her adventure with the love of her life just to help her…
The smirk slipped off of her face when she caught sight of another set of the soldiers in front of her. Nim skid to a halt, swearing under her breath, as she turned to the left. More soldiers. And the right. More soldiers.
Nimueh span around hopelessly, her eyes widening as the soldiers closed in on her. She threw up her hands, pushing them back magically, but more kept on coming. A flick of the wrist caused a branch to fall down on a group of them and a swipe of her hand produced a blaze of fire. Nimueh bit her lip, wondering how long she could keep this up.
Luckily, she didn't have to.
"Enough!"
The soldiers parted to reveal the regal figure of the Queen of Hearts. Cora glided towards Nimueh, a mocking smirk plastered on her red lips as she surveyed the girl.
"Did you really think that I would allow you to leave that easily?"
"Well, I was hoping so," Nimueh snarled, sending a wave of magic at the Queen. Cora merely threw up a hand and the spell fell away uselessly.
"My, my Nimueh, you really have weakened whilst here, haven't you?" She was right in front of Nimueh now, her eyes glittering in triumph.
Nim scowled.
"Now don't be like that," The Queen scolded. "I have something for you. Something that I think you will be more than happy to take."
"What could you possibly have that I'd want?" Nim spat.
Cora smiled. "A way to get to revenge on Rumpelstiltskin."
Nim's eyes widened.
"There. I knew that that would interest you."
"How?" Nim frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and attempting to block the flask from sight. Cora noticed and her smile widened causing Nim to grimace: it was terrifying.
"Guards, escort the Ace of Hearts to the throne room. We have a lot to discuss."