Time was stretching, but she and David counted the days together, trying to keep track of how long they'd been locked up. Regina had been so sure she'd figured out at least part of the puzzle, and so she'd baited them. Continued to bait them, but she'd started to believe it had all been for nothing. Either no one was listening – something she highly doubted with how vigilant the guards were and how complex the compound was – or she'd been wrong, in which case they really were in a hopeless situation.
She kept quiet, holding onto the small shred of hope that they were biding their time. She'd hoped that they wanted a way to Storybrooke, to figure out how to get there; that magic beans would be enough to draw their interest. It would have confirmed her suspicions that they were keeping her and David together to hear them talk and to coax information out of them without them ever even knowing. She'd also hoped that if she gave them something interesting, they'd keep them alive long enough to figure out a way to escape.
Days were harder now – longer because of the hopelessness that had started to overwhelm her. David tried to keep her distracted and engaged. He'd even come up with a few lies himself to feed the strangers they imagined were listening in – he'd caught on to her plan surprisingly quickly, and at least one of them still had enough hope to keep trying. Silence was all she could manage now.
Seven days. That's what David had told her that morning. It had been seven hellish days since she first mentioned the beans, and she felt further away from escape than ever. Every day was the same. They'd wake from whatever form of sleep they'd managed to fall into, she'd pick at the breakfast she was given, not taking more than a few bites, wondering at how David would manage to eat all of it, and then the guards would drag them off one at a time for a shower and change of clothes. And every day she'd see that same quiet guard – the woman who stood silently, watching her, something like sadness in her eyes in the few brief times they'd met Regina's.
David had told her the day before to eat more so she could keep her strength up. She knew she'd grown thinner in their time here, but she couldn't bring herself to care. If they had no hope of ever getting out, what was the point in prolonging the torture? Still…there was that tiniest pinprick of hope – the one that told her she had to get out; for Henry. And so she ate just enough, kept her mouth shut and stayed close to David. Always an arm's length away until they forced him back to his cell for their daily rituals.
"This is a very interesting setting for a late night chat session," Gold said, watching Emma pace from the log he was sitting on. "I'm not sure why you insisted on such a long walk in the middle of the night. But then, I suppose, there's a reason we're out here when everyone else is asleep and your mother is supposed to be on watch duty? How did you manage to convince her to switch?"
"Not important right now, we don't have a lot of time."
"Oh? Mind enlightening me as to what's going on?"
"You can't tell me you haven't noticed something fishy going on?"
"Oh, so we're speaking of the pirate?"
"Gold, we don't have time for this," Emma said irritably. "This is serious."
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said in his playfully mocking way.
"Regina and David. They're not Regina and David."
"And I'm afraid all of that sea travel has gone straight to your head, dearie. They say that it can drive a person mad."
"Stop! Listen. Even you had to notice how weird they were being in between your man fights with Hook. And I caught them earlier tonight, talking. They're using some sort of magic to mask who they really are. Don't you have some way of detecting that or something?"
He stood from his place, observing her, and his posture tensed noticeably, any traces of joking gone.
"What do you mean they're using magic?"
"I mean, I heard them talking. They've been in Storybrooke for awhile, learning, watching David and Regina so they could take their places. I have no idea what happened to the real David and Regina, but they aren't the ones here in Neverland with us. Those people are someone named Portia and Ian and they're a part of the same group that Greg and Tamara are a part of. Whatever is happening here is way bigger than we thought. They were talking about Pan regaining power, sealing the portals between worlds, people dying. Serious stuff Gold."
He began to pace himself. "Are you sure you weren't simply dreaming?"
She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "Yes, because I'd love to drag you out in the forests of Neverland in the middle of the night to play therapy session with you. Shall we talk about my recurring running late dream next? Do you think it might be a subconscious fear that I'm behind on the things I want to do in life?"
"No need to get lippy."
"Really? Because I brought you here to tell you we have a serious problem, and you're asking me if I dreamed it all up. You know what? I'm going back to bed. I'll figure it out myself," she said tightly, beginning to walk away from him.
"Wait," he hissed, grabbing her arm to stop her and swinging her around to face him again. "If this is all true, then their magic is powerful. I wasn't able to detect it."
"Actually, you probably could. You've been distracted by Pirate Wonder. They were actually counting on your rivalry to distract the two of you from anything untoward going on."
Gold looked appropriately chastised for a moment before covering it up again quickly. "I'm assuming then that this trip to Dead Man's Ridge is playing right into Pan's plan to regain power."
"How quickly you catch on," Emma deadpanned.
"And while simply not following them to the top might have been an option, Henry is still there, regardless of what else might be waiting for us up there?"
"That would be my guess, yes. So no abandoning that plan," she said forcefully. "In case you were having any second thoughts."
"Me? Wouldn't dream of it."
"Sure." She huffed out a breath and ran her hands up and down her arms, surprised by the temperature drop despite the tropical climate. "So...new plan?"
"It would appear we certainly need one, yes." At her raised eyebrow and annoyed look, he added. "Patience, dearie. I'll need more information."
"So we should go back to camp, play ignorant for the day and then you'll help me come up with something?"
"I think you mean I'll come up with something that you will then help follow through on."
"Sure, yeah, whatever. Listen, I just want Henry back and to figure out what the hell is happening. We need to stop what they're planning or everyone back in Storybrooke is going to die. Belle included." She hated to play that card, but she knew it was the only way she could guarantee that Gold took the situation seriously.
There was silence for a moment, and then Gold gave Emma a considering look. "Why did you come to me with this information first, anyway? Why not go to dear mummy?"
"Because they wouldn't expect it," she said plainly. "You and I are not exactly friends, and I figured you'd be able to be discreet. You're shifty like that. I'll tell Snow, just not yet. When we have more information. She's going to freak about David missing, and while I want to figure out what happened to him, too, we have to worry about Henry and the rest of Storybrooke first. It won't do us much good if everyone's dead. Us included. I figured I didn't have to mention the part where they kill us?"
"No," he said dryly.
"So…that's it then. 'Night, I guess."
Gold watched her go, narrowing his eyes and looking up the mountain toward Dead Man's Ridge.
If this group thought they could fool Rumplestiltskin and get away with it, they were horribly mistaken.
Regina was exhausted, and near delirious with sleep when the guards came to drag her out of bed. Through a few doorways and down different hallways, and she realized with dread exactly where it was they were taking her.
Valery.
It was what she'd wanted, she supposed, but that didn't settle the feeling of dread coiling within her the closer they came to the room she'd first been questioned in.
Valery watched with his beady eyes as they strapped her back to the chair. She didn't struggle this time, struggling only ensured more pain later on, and she was ready to get this over with.
"We've found out about the beans," Valery said victoriously, though his voice remained at its usual calm volume. "There's no point in pretending any longer."
Regina bit back the smile that threatened to show. It had worked. She'd been so close to giving up hope, but here was the proof she'd needed. She'd set a trap, and Valery had taken the bait.
"It's only a matter of time before we find Storybrooke, and when we do, we'll have everything we need."
The torture this time didn't last quite as long, though there still wasn't a reason behind it other than Valery wanting to watch her in pain. But it was easier this time, as she held onto the idea that these people had no real information, outside of what she and David told them. The people sent to infiltrate Storybrooke had succeeded, yes, but they'd failed to report back, and now the only way back was with Regina and David's help.
When they brought her back to the cell, David was there waiting. She collapsed into his outstretched arms as the guards roughly tossed her in.
"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling her more tightly against him.
She nodded, hiding her smile in his shoulder. "It worked," she breathed. "He asked about the beans."
David managed to bite back his own smile - barely - and gave her an extra tight squeeze before letting her go. He took her hand to lead her to the bed.
Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted from her after being reassured that their captors had no real knowledge of Storybrooke. Still - she didn't know how much longer she could go on this way, and she was ready for it wall to be over with. They needed to figure out a way out of their prison.
For now, though, she just wanted to rest.
As if reading her thoughts, David was suddenly asking, "What's the first thing you'd eat if you could get out of here right now?"
Her eyes popped open and she turned so she could look up at him curiously.
"What?"
"Food. What's the first thing you'd eat?"
She shook her head a little at the unexpected question, but then settled back against his side, humming in thought. "French fries."
"Really?"
She felt his chuckle and she smiled. "Yes. But not the greasy kind you're probably thinking of. Homemade - thick wedges of potato with lots of seasoning." He hummed his approval before she asked, "What about you? What would you eat?"
"Honestly?" He paused and she wondered what was so difficult about admitting a favorite food before he finally answered, "Your lasagna."
She laughed outright at that. "You can't be serious."
"It's really good," he defended. "I was so angry when the curse broke and I realized I was probably never going to taste it again," he laughed.
"I'm flattered," she told him. "I know how much it takes to tempt the charming prince."
At that, David sighed.
"Regina…about that night—"
"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to tell your precious Snow about what happened," she said, her tone immediately dropping from fun to one of bitterness and anger, and he recognized her mask dropping back into place.
"No, it's not about that," he started, shaking his head. What an odd position to be in. Holding his former enemy against his side and talking about that time she almost kissed him. It was odd how circumstances could change things so drastically. "I just wanted to apologize."
It was her turn to shake her head in confusion, leaning forward slightly so she could look up at him in confusion. "Apologize? Why? What about that night could you possibly have to apologize for? I tricked you into staying, having dinner with me, and then I tried to seduce you even given everything that was going on at the time. I was trying to destroy any chance you had at getting back with Snow. If anything I should be apologizing to you."
"Still. I felt guilty leaving like that. I could tell you were upset, and I almost turned back, but the cursed me was a coward. Afraid of confronting feelings and problems, avoiding any kind of conflict."
"David, I was fine, I—"
"No, I knew I'd upset you," and he hurried on when she opened her mouth to argue with, "Most likely only because I'd foiled your plans to separate Mary Margaret and I, but still. I hated the look on your face and the way I made you feel. So, even though it's months late and you seem to deem it unnecessary, I wanted to tell you I was sorry."
She was speechless at that, unable to process any sort of response, and then she sighed, resting back against him. "Thank you," she finally said. She wasn't accustomed to people considering her feelings, but David had seen a whole new side to her since they'd been imprisoned together, and she'd learned to open up a bit with him.
They were friends now. Neither would say it out loud, but they'd become important to each other and both were glad the other was there.