AN: Hey guys! I bet you thought you saw the last of me. Alas, you did not. Sorry this took so long to get up. I kept pushing it back and pushing it back, but then I got some inspiration. If you ever need some inspiration to start writing a fic that you kind of gave up on for a while I would recommend reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It was so relatable and you can partially thank it for me getting the motivation to continue writing down these crazy things that buzz around my head before I fall asleep.
This chapter is a lot longer than usual, so here goes nothing!
Emma: The next week on the ship was rough to say the least. Nobody talked to each other unless it was in harsh whispers in the corners of the ship while throwing worried glances over their shoulders to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. Everybody kept Killian, she guessed that was what she was going to call him from now on, at arm's length. Trust was something that her parents had given out a lot of in the past according to Henry's storybook, but it seemed like ending up in Neverland instead of the Enchanted Forest was the start of giving up their old ways. She herself had avoided any sort of contact with Killian, the conversation they had the first night of their journey being a bit too out of her comfort zone for her liking, but it seemed her luck had finally ran out when she had caught her first sight of land.
"Emma, you know that you are going to have to leave your lad here on the ship with somebody when we venture to the island, right?" Killian asked her as he began turning the ship towards shore.
"He's going to go with us. He's a tough kid and he has been talking my ear off all week about getting to see Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. He would be devastated if he couldn't come. And he really needs something to take his mind off of the fact that his father just died," Emma spoke in a somber tone.
"No, love. I don't think you understand. This land is meant to be a home for boys to live without parents or adults of any kind telling them what to do. I have seen boys that would like to leave, but cannot no matter how hard they try. The land keeps them even from the sea unless they intend to return to land. I fear that your boy will not be able to leave the shore once he gets there, much less travel back to the Enchanted Forest," he spoke with concern as if he really cared about Henry's well being. I guess having him caring for Henry is something I'm going to have to get used to, but there is no way in hell he is going to separate us.
"I'm sure Henry will be fine. I don't think every other boy in Neverland is escorted there by seven adults. Henry is a special circumstance. He'll be fine. And besides, who would stay here with him anyways?"
She knew that Henry was going to be just fine. She couldn't come to think that anything could be at all wrong with Neverland. She had grown up in the foster system and she vividly remembered falling asleep every night wishing that Peter Pan would tap on her window to take her to a real family. She knew that they were going to find a way to all go back to the Enchanted Forest together and nothing, not even a magical force field keeping little boys prisoner, would keep her away from her happy ending.
"I hate to break it to you lass, but I don't believe that this is the same Neverland that is in the bedtime stories in your world. I spent three hundred years here and I don't think that bringing Henry on land is the best idea. And if you don't want to stay here with him, I would suggest asking somebody else. How about your father or the crocodile? They don't seem like the kind of people you would like to spend days with on a journey," Killian retorted.
"Well, Hook, I would like to inform you that I consider all of the people on this ship besides you family in one way or another and you have no right to insult them. Secondly, I am Henry's mother and I get to decide where he gets to go, not you. Henry will be going to go with us on this little journey to find this friend of yours that may or may not help us. My decision is final," Emma finished. She realized that her voice had gotten a bit higher as she reached the end of her little speech. She looked around and was grateful to find that nobody had overheard her yelling. She knew that if they had they would tell her that Henry was not going to go anywhere near land and he would be stuck on the ship. Then would come the conversation as to who would stay with him. She would not want somebody besides herself to watch after him because she would not be able to take a step without worrying about him. The exact same could be said about her if she stayed. She would feel completely caged on the ship with only Henry to keep her company and would worry sick about her parents.
"I guess the choice was always up to you, lass. It will not be me losing my son when we find a way to get home," Killian spoke in a sad tone that Emma might have mistaken for concern had she not known the pirate better.
"Who is Henry's father?" he asked quietly, but not quietly enough for her to act like she didn't hear him.
"Neal," she responded softly without looking back at him.
She would have thought that he hadn't heard her if he hadn't matched her tone as he whispered, "Baelfire?"
"That's the one." She still didn't look back at him; her eyes were starrin g daggers into her boots.
"I'm sorry for your loss," she heard him speak, a little louder than before.
She wanted more than anything to look back at him. He sounded sincere, like he and Neal had been close friends, but she could never be sure with Hook. For all she knew, they had run into each other once. That would certainly explain the fact that Neal could steer a pirate ship from Manhattan to Maine.
"I lost him long before now," was the only thing she could get out of her throat. She had no idea where it had come from, but it did make sense. She had lost hope in Neal when she decided to leave Tallahassee after waiting around for him for two years. Even when he had come back to Storybrooke with her, she had zero hope of him staying past a week. He had exceeded her incredibly low expectations she held him at, but she wasn't as relieved that he was out of the equation as she would have been a few years before. Henry now needed him and he was gone shortly after. She knew that she should have expected it, but it still hurt.
Emma suddenly realized that she had been standing in the same place looking at her boots for a few moments too long. She could feel Hook's eyes burning on her back, so she began to stalk away from him and over to her parents and Henry, who were pointing at the landscape of Neverland.
The island really was a sight to see. There were trees of all kinds everywhere, but there were also quite a few treeless meadows that she could see. But none of this compared to the huge volcano in the center of the island. It was taller than any mountain that she had ever seen before. There was a bit of ash lingering in the air at the spout as well as a few trickles of orange lava that she could scarcely see. Everything looked even better than what she had imagined as she fell asleep for years and years.
Snow turned around as she approached and put her arm around her as she pulled her a few steps away from David and Henry. "What were you and Hook arguing about back there, honey?" Snow asked innocently.
"Um, he wants Henry to stay on the ship. He thinks it is too dangerous for him out there, but I told him that Henry would be able to make it," Emma said while she suddenly panicked over the fact that her mother had overheard her argument with Hook and desperately trying to sound confident in her parenting abilities at the same time. Even though she was good at detecting lies, she hadn't always been the best at telling then and the last thing that her mother would let happen if she knew what Killian had told her is let Henry step foot off the ship.
"If you think Henry will be able to handle it, I know I can't change your mind, but I would at least take Hook's advice into consideration. Even though he got us into this mess in the first place, he does know the land better than anyone else," Mary Margret said. Why does she have to bring up so many good points?
"I just don't want to disappoint Henry. He has been really excited about Neverland since we got here, the only one to be so in fact, and I don't want to let him down by telling him he can't go with us, especially after Neal-" she trailed off hoping to get her point across without having to say anything else.
"I know, sweetie. I trust your judgment," she said as she pulled her into a hug. When they pulled away, her mother had a reassuring smile on her face and she knew that she was going to regret whatever decision she made about Henry's part in their little adventure.
Before she knew it, the Jolly Roger was as close to land as she could be and everyone in their group was loading into little rowboats to get to shore. Killian gave her a weary look as he offered her his hand to help her into one of the boats right after Emma had helped Henry get in. She had trusted Killian with one of her deepest secrets, her past, but she was not about to trust him to make decisions about her son, even if his ideas did make a lot of sense. She looked at his hand and then back at him. She gave him her signature Really? look and stepped into the rickety boat hanging from the side of the ship.
The boat leaned towards the Jolly Roger as she stepped in. For the slimmest second, she regretted not taking Killian's hand and feared that she was going to tip not only her but also her mother and son into the ocean far below.
Luckily, that second passed, the boat steadied, and she found her seat on the bench across Henry and Mary Margret. Without warning, the boat jerked drastically as Killian swung himself over the railing of his ship and into the seat next to Emma. Before she could give him a snide remark about his gracefulness, he sent a nod to David in the other boat and they both began slowly descending into the ocean.
Emma looked down to the bag she was carrying. It was packed to the brim with the little bit of food she was given to pack for the journey, a spare change of clothes that she had found in a drawer in her room, an empty water skin that Killian had handed her as they passed in one of the hallways a few nights before, her winter coat and her scarf. The weather was a lot warmer in Neverland than it was in Maine, but she still thought it would be a good idea to have something to use as a blanket and pillow as she had been told that they would most likely have to sleep in the woods before they reached Killian's friend (or enemy, she still didn't know what kind of relationship the two of them had) who would hopefully put a roof over their heads.
While she rowed, Emma looked out at the ocean and the Jolly Roger that they kept getting farther and farther away from. Even though she had gotten lost on it on more than a few occasions, she never really realized how big the Roger actually was. No matter how far they rowed, she could still make out all of the different masts and sails and all of the other parts of the ship that she never got around to learning.
Before she knew it, their boat hit the shore and Killian again had his hand out to help her onto the beach. This time, she took it. As she did, though, he sent a worried look towards Henry which she replied to by watching him hop out of the boat with the most adorable look of awe on his face. There was not strange noise or flash of light or pulse of energy when this happened, so Emma turned back to Killian with a smug look on her faceas if to say "I told you so". All he did was wordlessly shake his head, still one hundred percent sure that her son was never going to leave the island. She opened her mouth to give him a clever retort about how she had made the right decision when she heard the splash of the other boat hitting shore bringing her father, Regina, Gold and Belle. She scoffed and turned on her heel, one hand on Henry's back leading him further up the beach and the other holding her bag.
"We are going to have to hike until it gets too dark for us to see tonight if we want to make it to see my friend tomorrow with enough time left in the day for her to acknowledge our request. So, I suggest we all begin walking," Killian spoke loudly so that everyone could hear him as he began walking to a trail that cut from the beach and into the forest. When nobody made the move to follow him, Emma began leading her and Henry towards the trail and on to whatever adventure Neverland had for them next.
After walking for hours in almost absolute silence (besides Henry pointing out every plant and bug that he had never seen before and Hook piping in from time to time to tell him which ones were poisonous), their group came across a meadow covered with short grass. "This is where we will be camping for the night. There is a spring right down that trail if you need more water. I would like to be moving right after sunrise so we can get to our destination as soon as possible," Killian announced. Emma hated the smug look that he had on his face telling everybody what to do. She was sure that if Regina and Gold still had their magic they would have knocked him to the ground by now, but without their magic they knew they had no power over anyone else, making them weaker than they would like to admit.
Emma knew that they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, so she walked across the meadow and found a grassy patch that was right in between the trail to the stream and the trail they were going to have to take the next day. She pulled out her coat and scarf out of her bag; fashioning the scarf into a makeshift pillow and figuring that she would use the coat as a blanket. She had periodically eaten bits of the bread and jerky she had in her bag during the hike, so she wasn't hungry enough to eat the rest of the food she had brought. All she wanted to do is sleep and wish that she wouldn't have been stupid enough to let Hook throw the bean.
Her parents and Henry had come over to talk to her and she did for a while before mentioning that Henry needed sleep. She kissed his forehead before he ran over to Regina to say goodnight to her also.
She wanted to yell for him to come back and sleep close to her that night, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. After what had happened the past few months, Emma had finally come to accept that Regina was Henry's mother too and that she would do anything that she could to keep him safe.
She looked back at Henry once more then turned to her parents to tell them that she should get some rest as well. Neither of them put up a fight, Mary Margret only insisting to kiss her forehead just as Emma had done to Henry moments before while David pulled her into a hug. She didn't resist either in the slightest knowing how much she regretted not being able to wish Henry goodnight all of the years she was without him she couldn't imagine how her parents felt finding her after being away from her for 28 years.
When she was left alone to sleep, she closed her eyes to the sound of whispers from the rest of the group while she reran everything that had happened that day in her head.
She tried to piece together all of the inconsistencies and general odd things that she had found in this land so far. All day she had the eerie feeling that there were people following them and lurking in the trees just beyond the trail. She didn't dwell on it, figuring that it was just birds or animals wondering in the woods. Besides, who would be following them? The Lost Boys?
She also thought that the trails were a little bit too worn down to be just the occasional walking trail for people visiting the island. But that was something that she could believe the Lost Boys would do. It must get pretty boring being young forever, so why not run around and explore the forest?
The last odd thing about this land is that she could feel magic, almost tangible magic, in the air. It was stronger than the magic in the Enchanted Forest and much stronger than that in Storybrooke. Emma didn't know if this was because of the fact that she had done magical things before and this is the first time being in a naturally magical realm since then or what, but it made her happy and scared at the same time. She was happy that she may just be able to defend herself if anything bad happens to her or her parents or Henry, but also scared because she had seen what magic does to people. Everybody in their little group had been affected by magic negatively at some point or another. She didn't want to learn dark magic, which is what she assumed was what Regina and Gold knew, but she didn't know any humans who used magic for good. The only person she knew that knew "light" magic was Mother Superior, who she was told was a fairy in the Enchanted Forest and she didn't really want to become a fairy if she had the choice.
With all of these thoughts swirling through her head, Emma fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Emma rolled over once, twice trying to keep the sun out of her eyes. Why was the sun up anyways? It must have been way too early for the sun to be up; she was sure that she had only been asleep for a few minutes, an hour at most. She shielded her eyes as she sat up and looked around the meadow. Everybody was still asleep in their own little dirt patches, everybody except Killian. She quickly scanned around the meadow and saw a figure walking down the trail to the spring. She didn't care if it was Killian or one of the imaginary figures she believed was following them on their hike yesterday, she just wanted to know who it was. It must have been her stubborn nature kicking in. Like it ever goes away, she thought as she sat up and stretched her arms above her head.
She took one last look around to make sure nobody else was up and began walking to the trail. She couldn't believe that she still has the ridiculous notion that someone is stalking her, especially when she doesn't know why someone would be stalking her and her family.
As she was walking, faster than she usually would, she thought about what she would do if she encountered either one of the two people she thought she would come across. If it was Killian at the spring, she would have to confront him about what was really in Neverland and what they were going to do about them. She wouldn't mention the apparitions that were watching them, but she wanted to know the truth. Was the land of her childhood dreams going to also be the land of her death? There was that feeling again: not knowing. Not knowing what she was up against. Not knowing how to fight back. Not knowing if she had a chance of coming out of the fight alive.
Emma knew that Killian would be honest with her. He had been nothing but honest with her on almost all occasions. She was sure that he was hiding the truth from her as to not scare her, but she knew he would spill everything if she asked.
While talking with Killian may be a bit awkward after their little argument over Henry getting to land, the really challenge would be if she ran into someone she didn't know. A stray Lost Boy may ask a few questions, but shouldn't be too much trouble. But, she was certain whatever was lurking behind them was not a stray Lost Boy. She didn't know what else could be in Neverland. She was currently up at this ungodly hour and on her way to (hopefully) have a conversation with the main villain in Peter Pan. There weren't many other bad things in Neverland, as far as she knew.
The trail in front of her suddenly got a bit lighter and before she knew it there was a considerably sized spring right in front of her eyes. She stepped onto the beach and looked around; Killian nowhere in sight. As long as I'm here by myself I might as well wash off all of this grime.
She carefully stripped while making sure no perverts were watching and stepped into the clean, lukewarm water. As soon as she ran her hand down her arm she realized exactly how long it had been since she had taken a proper shower. Washing her hands and face in whatever spare water she could find on board the ship did nothing to compensate living seven days on a ship and a day hiking through the woods.
She dipped her head under the water and shrieked when she came back up. Somehow, Killian had appeared in front of her out of thin air.
"Holy shit!" Emma practically screamed while suddenly becoming very self-conscious. Her arms quickly covered her chest even though the water she was in came up to her shoulders and sunk down in the water just a bit more.
"What the hell are you doing here? Just, just go away. Please". She hated how she sounded whiny. This was not the time to sound whiny. This was the time to stare Hook in the eyes and tell him to get the fuck away from her, especially since she was naked. But, so is he, Emma's mind wondered before she could pull back to where it should be in a situation like this. Which was not staring at his amazing biceps out of the corner of her eye.
"As you wish, princess," he replied while keeping his eyes on hers. It really takes her aback that he isn't making snide looks at her thankfully covered chest, but she supposes that he can be a gentleman at times. "Take a look if you would like," Killian winks as he skirts around her and began walking to shore.
No matter how much that dirty little corner of her mind told her to, Emma did not turn around. Instead, she kept her back turned to the shore and the pirate that was more than likely gracing it in all his probably naked glory and ran over and over again in her mind what she was going to say to him when they were both fully clothed. She needed answers more than she needed to breathe at this point and she could barely wait any longer for them.
"You decent?" Emma threw over her shoulder while not looking, not matter how much she wanted to. What has gotten in to you? she silently screamed at herself. I know it's been a while, but really? A three hundred year old pirate?
"You tell me," was all she heard in response, which really pissed her off. She had things that she needed to do. And what would her family think if they woke up to find no sign of either her or Hook. She didn't know if she could stand to answer the worried questions they would throw at her when she returned.
"We do NOT have time for this. Are your clothes on or not?"
"Yes, love. And I would assume you would like me to look away while you put on yours?" he asked in a questioning tone as if he didn't already know the answer.
"Of course, you perv! Now turn around." Emma spat. After it was evident she wasn't going to gain a response, she quickly spun around to see Killian, like a perfect gentleman, standing with his back to her, hand grasping his hook behind his back with all clothes on his body. She began to walk towards the beach while paying more careful attention to covering sensitive body parts as they exited the water.
When she was once again fully clothed and had the upcoming conversation planned out in her head, Emma finally spoke up. "What are you hiding about this friend of yours, this island, everything. I need to know what risk I'm putting my family in before I follow you any farther into these woods."
"A lot of questions there, Swan. I suppose we can begin our conversation with my friend. I believe I mentioned that she is the most powerful person on the island. She is the princess of the kingdom that we are trespassing in at the moment and-."
Killian's explanation was cut off by screams and shouts. "And it looks like she has found us before we could find her," he stated in a mildly worried tone as he took off running and motioned with his head for Emma to follow him. Emma did not need to be told twice as she bolted off with him towards the camp.
It was almost like a race between the two of them, with one pulling ahead of the other only to fall behind just a few moments later. If the circumstances would have been less dire, Emma would have bragged that she got to the edge of the clearing before Killian grabbed her arm to bring her to a stop.
"Don't let them know we're here. Even though they probably won't hurt us until the princess commands it, for all we know she wants us dead," Killian whispered in her ear in deep, labored breaths. Emma followed his lead and took a few steps into the woods and peered into the meadow from behind the trees. Her family was standing back to back in the middle of a ring of five teenage boys holding swords at them.
"Are those-"
"The Lost Boys. Not as sweet and innocent as I'm sure they are depicted in whatever story they occupy your realm," Killian finished for her.
"How do we stop them?" Emma whispered back. She could see Henry's ear between Gold and Regina's shoulders. They're protecting him, just like I should be, she thought to herself. She wished that she could run in there and get these boys away from her family, but she had no idea how to.
"We're not going to, lass, because I'm sure they are going to take us right where we need to go."
With that, Killian stepped out from behind the tree line and motioned for Emma to follow him. They both emerged with their hands above their heads. A boy on the opposite edge of the circle from the pair yelled, "Taro, the others!"
"Easy, boys. We simply request counsel with the princess before you kill us. I'm sure her majesty would like to slaughter us in front of your ranks with pomp and circumstance if she plans to at all," Killian spoke in an even tone.
"Are these people your prisoners, pirate, or part of your crew?" the boy, Taro, demanded.
"They are neither prisoners nor crew. We have allied together to get to the castle and speak with the princess. If you came here to harm me, do not harm them. They were not involved with what happened last time."
Emma had her eyes fixed on Killian as he said this. His eyes stayed fixed on those of various lost boys until they rested on her at the very end. It sounded like he, after all of these years, was giving up on his life, his revenge, to help somebody, her. And she wouldn't let him die for it, no matter what he did to fuck up "last time".
Just as she was about to step in front of Killian to protect him from the advancing soldiers, the largest one, who seemed to be in charge, spoke. "Her majesty the princess requested that all pirates be escorted to the castle with no necessary harm done to them. If you will come quietly and without a fight you will all survive until the princess deems otherwise. Now, if you would, her majesty would like to converse with you before her dinner. Come."
Emma looked at Killian, who nodded at her. She had to go quietly or not at all. She ran over to her family once she no longer felt like her life was being threatened; she ran to Henry, and enveloped him in a hug. "I'll keep you safe. I promise," she whispered into his hair.
"I know," he replied and pulled away. "We have to go. We have to find a way to get home."
They walked for hours; not in a different manner than the day before. Nobody spoke today for fear of being silenced by force one of the ferocious teenagers that were marching them through the woods. Every once in a while she would hear a rustle in the branches above and catch a glimpse of one of the boys swinging through the trees above; almost silently keeping watch over them from above.
The woods also looked the same as they did before, at least until they reached a wide clearing. What she saw made her stumble for a second and catch her breath.
In front of her was a huge castle, even bigger than the one she had visited in the Enchanted Forest. Its tall towers and the hills surrounding it reminded her of Hogwarts, except more medieval and less magical. Except that the magic in the air that she had felt the day before seemed much stronger here.
The similarities to her favorite fictional castle seemed to end there. The children that she saw running around wore tan shirts and pants instead of black cloaks and colored scarves. The castle had an air of practicality about it that she never picked up on while watching Harry Potter through the years. She was almost positive that she wouldn't walk into this magical castle to find ridiculous shenanigans taking place.
They kept waking an passed through a grand courtyard with more teenage boys practicing what looked like military formations while others stood guard at every door she could see. Finally, one of her captors led them into one of the doors and through a long hall with paintings and tapestries hanging from the walls. He stopped them all at a large, ornately carved wooden door that stood at the end of the passage.
"You are about to be brought in front of the princess. Be respectful and may she and the gods have mercy on your souls," the large boy spoke in a tone that was not at all somber and nodded to the guard. They stepped through the door and into the largest rotunda Emma had ever been in. At the front of the room she saw a girl much younger than her draped in white and gold sitting regally at a throne under the light of a stained glass roof.
"Bow down before Cleopatra Selene the Second, Princess of Neverland!"
What do you guys think? So, we now know who Selene is. Expect more on that in the next few chapters. On a related note, I'm planning on having the next chapter up on Saturday. That scene in the stream kept giving me secondhand embarrassment like you wouldn't believe, so I kept giving up time and time again while writing it. Hope it isn't as bad as I think it is! Anyways, the next couple chapters are already written; I just had to skip over the whole stream thing when I originally wrote this for Camp NaNoWriMo.
I guess I'll shut up now. Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! Get ready for more Selene on Saturday!