Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters. This is also posted on AO3.
Set between 3a and 3b in the Enchanted Forest, everyone had to leave Emma and Henry in the Land without magic and travel there is no longer possible. Hook left the Charmings to search for his ship and find himself.
…
"Happy?"
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Er, I don't know," Snow replied, laughing at her friend. "Happy, you're the one that asked me to come here?"
"Hey brother, what the hell are you playing at?" Leroy grumped, shoving his brother hard in the shoulder. "Snow's a queen now we're back, she's busy nowadays, it's not like-" Grumpy's mouth clicked shut as he felt a cold trickle down his spine. Turning half around he saw Snow glaring daggers at his back. "Not that she wasn't busy as a teacher back in Storybrooke," he added hurriedly.
"The Queen?... Storybrooke… It's about Storybrooke?" Happy asked dimly.
"You're asking us?" Leroy complained, before Snow shushed him. Happy turned to look at them both properly, frowning in concentration, which morphed slowly into confusion and then fear as whatever he was trying to remember refused to materialise within his mind.
"I don't…there was…. You were sad," he said earnestly. "I thought I would… You seem very nice, you shouldn't be sad," he stuttered out vaguely. He lifted his hands to press on the sides of his head and the act of raising his arms made something large and heavy fall out of the pocket of his tunic. It was a mug. It was a coffee mug with World's Best Teacher written in bright text with a smiling cartoon apple next to the writing.
"My mug!" Snow exclaimed, snatching it from the ground and holding it close to her chest. "From my desk in my classroom in Storybrooke. Happy! How did you get this?"
Happy was still pressing the sides of his head but he gave Snow a hopeful smile.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
"Of course, it's wonderful," she replied.
"Oh, good," Happy beamed, his memory loss instantly forgotten. "I was worried about going to a witch but she had the goods huh?"
"What witch?" Leroy growled.
"Which witch what?" Happy laughed obliviously. Snow quickly caught Grumpy's hand before he could raise it in anger.
"Look," she said, pulling a piece of paper from inside the mug. "There's a receipt."
….
David left the carriage in a clearing about three miles from the town. It was the least expensive looking carriage they had and yet the further they had got from the palace the more they had stuck out among the small farms and wandering villagers. He'd felt kind of embarrassed to be honest. Not that long ago, relatively speaking, he'd been one these poor farmers. Now here he was sitting in a plush carriage while a coachman and a footman ferried him wherever he wanted to go. Even less time ago he'd been a town sheriff driving a mildly beat up pick up down Main Street. He missed his pick up, he'd only just had the tires changed when Pan's curse had dropped them back in the Enchanted Forest.
He strode down the packed earth of the road and heaved a deep cleansing breath. He felt positively breezy. Off to investigate something suspicious in a small town. His steps faltered a little. Was that inappropriate? He was in the land he grew up in. He was finally living the life the dark curse had stolen from him. Then why was he feeling more comfortable, more like himself the further he walked from the palace? Before he could analyse his feelings any further he heard a soft curse in the trees up ahead. He slipped behind a cluster of shrubs and peaked through. Standing in a wide clearing adjacent to the road was a knight. He was dressed as he should be, shining armour, clean tabard, well kept sword strapped to his side but he was spinning slowly in circles, his hands holding something towards the sky.
"Damnit" the knight cursed. "Come on come on, just one bar." David slowly emerged from his hiding place but the man didn't notice him. "Yes! No!" the man cried out, lowering and then shooting his hands back up. His armour was practically rattling with his anxiety. As David got closer his suspicions were confirmed. The knight of the realm was holding a cell phone. The sleek rectangle's face was lit up, a photograph of a women decorating the screen.
"Er, I don't think you're going to get reception here," David called out. The man blinked owlishly at him. "You know, cuz there's no cell towers?" The man continued to look at him blankly. "Here. In the Enchanted Forest," David added, pointing at the ground.
"Enchanted Forest?" The knight asked, looking around himself in confusion. "Hey, do you have reception?"
"No," David said.
"Man," the knight complained. "I just need to know the score you know? It's killing me. We were so close to qualifying and now I'll never know if we made it."
"Oh right," David said, trying to be sympathetic. His cursed and not cursed personas had never really been into sports. "What team was it?" The knight blinked at him. "Local? National?" he tried. Nothing. "What sport was it?" The knight's eyes took on an unfocused look and drifted back down to the phone in his hand.
…
David had managed with only mild difficulty to get the knight to go back to his carriage so his coachman and footman could keep an eye on him. They had both looked like they wanted to argue about him going off alone again but he'd shut down any complaints before they even started. He was going to stand out as it was. If he took his men with him in their uniforms they might as well take a neon sign.
He could see the buildings that marked the edge of the town now. Before them was a small bridge over a stream with a shack perched at one end. It looked like a toll bridge but as David neared no one came out to challenge him. Deciding it'd be beneficial to be seen by the least amount of people as possible he crept as silently as he could past the shack. As he passed by he heard soft music filtering out of the gaps in the wooden wall.
The venga bus is coming,
and everyone is jumping,
New York to San Francisco,
an intercity disco
David backpedaled to the little hut and peered through the tiny window. A man was sat on the floor staring at a combination FM radio and CD player. Scattered around like giant silver confetti were numerous CDs.
"What about this one?" the man muttered to himself, turning the CD this way and that. "What do you sing magic disc?" He pushed the eject button, jumped at the sudden pop of the lid opening and gingerly swapped the CDs before almost reverently pushing play.
Oh, I'll tell you what I want,
What I really really want
David left the man in his shack.
…
The town was an odd one, simultaneously appearing prosperous, plenty of people and stalls selling goods, a busy dock and rowdy taverns and also impoverished, wounded beggars stood at most corners, the buildings appeared randomly constructed from old ship parts and there was no evidence of a governing body or law enforcement as far as he could see.
The receipt from Happy was sitting in his pocket but it hadn't done him any good. He'd walked up and down the little town and the What Once Was Mine Atelier was not on any of the main roads and the few more reputable looking vendors he'd asked had only responded with smirks and side eye.
David suddenly felt the unnerving sensation of being watched. He suppressed the urge to turn his head and slowed his steps instead. Despite the noise of the street around him he could make out the steady sound of someone else's steps slowing in sync with him. Damn.
He glanced left and right as subtly as he could but saw no obvious source for help. Everyone on the street looked suspicious. Almost everyone was dressed in clothes inappropriately heavy for the weather but appropriate for hiding things, which was odd seeing as everyone was also openly carrying weaponry, even the children.
His attention had wavered too much. Unfortunately, he only realised when a dark hulking form moved into his peripheral vision. Before he could finish flinching something hard looped around his upper arm and yanked him into a side alley between two market stalls. The unexpected direction of movement made him stumble but he had enough experience to keep his balance so he could swing out at whoever had attacked him. He hit nothing but air but his arm was released and he was able to stand straight and press his back against the wall of the alley.
Two men had retreated to a safe distance. The man who'd surprised him on the road had taken up position at the entrance to the alley. Charming couldn't make out his features but he was large and round and carried an axe. David didn't think he'd be able to overpower him and escape before his friend caught him. The friend in question had moved to the other wall of the alley, he was taller and swamped in long black clothes and dark hair that were surprisingly familiar.
"What are you doing here, are you insane mate?" the taller man growled in a very familiar voice.
"Hook! What are you doing here?" David exclaimed. The pirate captain grabbed his arm, dragging him further into the shadows of the alley.
"This is a pirate town. Out of the two of us I'm the only one who should be here," he hissed, keeping their heads close together and his voice low.
"A pirate town?" David asked in surprise. Hook's flat look of disbelief made him feel pretty stupid. "Oh right," he said lamely. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."
"Aye, well let's get you out of here before one of these criminals realises an actual king's ransom wandered into town without even a single bloody guard." Hook's words were bit out through gritted teeth. Obviously he was angry but didn't want to draw attention to them. Hook was worried about his welfare. Charming couldn't quite suppress his smile in response, which earned him another glare from the pirate.
"Smee!" Hook yelled, too close to David's ear. The man at the entrance scurried forward, his red floppy hat bouncing as he approached. "Give the prince your coat," Hook commanded.
"Oh," Smee replied, looking upset. "But I only just got it Captain."
"I'm sure his royal highness has deep enough coffers to supply some recompense," Hook said, giving David a significant eye.
"Oh right," David replied. "Sure."
He dug in his pocket and pulled out all the coins he had. Looking at them he was dismayed to see only three so he quickly pulled off a ring and gave that to the pirate instead. Smee ogled at gold in his hands for a moment before rapidly stripping off his overcoat and handing it to David. As he pulled the coat on over the top of his jerkin he examined the style and the way it was put together.
"This looks like a coat you could have bought in Storybrooke," he commented. He stroked the fabric and felt something not far off the wool blend of one of Snow's coats back in the land without magic. It even had those little wooden peg like buttons. The two pirates exchanged a glance. "Where did you get it?" David asked, without trying for nonchalance.
"Don't remember," Smee replied carefully.
"You don't remember where you got the coat you just got?" David asked, expecting the same absent expression he'd seen on Happy and the knight to pass over Smee's face. Smee's expression didn't even flicker.
"If you're after a coat just like it mate, rejoice, for you have just bought one," Hook said, stepping in and breaking David's eye contact with his first mate.
"Hook, this is why I came to town," David said. "Something weird is going on with people's memories and at the same time things like from back home, I mean, back from Storybrooke... from the land without magic are turning up." The pirates exchanged another glance. "That's why you're in town too, isn't it" David guessed. Hook sighed.
"You're not going to leave now are you?" he asked, sounding tired.
"Not until I find out what's going on and if it could help get back to Emma," David replied. It was a bit of a low blow mentioning his daughter to the pirate, Hook had never hidden his feelings for his daughter from them, but he knew he'd need the pirate's help if he was going to investigate this town and he wasn't above a little emotional manipulation if it'd help him get it.
"Well your majesty," Hook stated. "If you're going to go about asking questions, you'll need a better disguise than Mr Smee's coat."
"Oh yeah, any ideas?" David asked. Hook punched him in the face. Completely taken by surprise David spun and was thrown back towards the wall, the rough brick grating his cheek. "What the hell?!" he yelled, climbing back to his feet.
"There now, in the time it takes Mr Smee to fetch you a hat for that pretty blonde hair, your face will have swollen up nicely. Let the blood smear a little and you'll look almost dangerous," Hook replied smugly.
"Damn you pirate," David grumbled, wondering if Hook's help really was worth this much trouble.
"I owe you for all those unwarranted jabs you took at me in Neverland," Hook replied.
"I thought we already moved past all that," David replied, surprised that he sounded genuinely upset. Hook blinked at him in similar surprise.
"Well," he said, shifting uncomfortably. "We're definitely square now."
"Fine," David agreed reluctantly, gently probing his cheek to see how hurt he was. "Just tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I know. You've probably noticed Smee's missing chunks of his memory. When did that start? Same time he got the coat?" He looked around and realised Hook's first mate had already disappeared.
"Smee's fine," Hook said.
"Are you sure? Everyone else I've seen with something from Storybrooke has lost parts of their memory," David said, wondering about the implications of Smee's memory being unaffected.
"Aye, he stole the coat from some fool at the dock, said he was wandering around lost as a newborn puppy." Hook explained. David gave him a deadpan stare. No implications or help at all then.
"The guy had probably had his memory stolen Hook," he replied exasperated. "Now we're never going to find this shop."
"Shop? Why do you think it's a shop we're after?" Hook asked.
"Here," David answered. He fished the receipt from his pocket and gave it to Hook, who looked at it with great interest. "Happy, one of Snow's dwarf friends, he got her a present but lost half his memories of her." Hook grinned. "It's not funny," David complained.
"Aye, I'm sure it's a tragedy. However, see this?" He pointed to a roughly printed image of a clock at the top of the receipt. The resemblance to the Storybrooke clock tower hadn't escaped David's notice. The clock hands pointed at twenty to nine. "I know where this is."
…
David itched at his head and worried about the diseases the ragged hat Smee had found for him had been carrying. He caught a glimpse of himself in a window as Hook led him along the back streets. The heavy duffle coat gave him a wide and slightly hunched posture, the hat was pulled down to shadow his eyes and how could he forget his swollen face finishing off his rugged disguise. Hook had been right, he looked downright dangerous. The furthest from a prince he'd ever been. Someone banged into his shoulder forcing him to stumble.
"Oi, watch yourself," David snapped, adding extra growl to the r's in his speech. The man's eyes widened in fright and he scurried away. Hook scoffed next to him. "What?" David asked.
"Enjoying yourself?" Hook asked.
"Where's this clock then?" he asked back instead of answering.
"Mr Smee and I have been in town a few days," Hook said. "We stayed nearer the docks for obvious reasons." They weren't obvious to Charming but he kept quiet. "The place isn't a high traffic area so I noticed a suspicious number of rather varied clientele coming and going. Thought it was a… well you know." Charming didn't know this either but was pretty sure he didn't want to know.
They rounded a corner and the street they were on opened into a grey featureless courtyard. The other side of which stood a grey featureless shop with no name painted on the sign and darkness beyond its windows. Above the door hung a clock with a white mullioned face, its hands pointing to twenty to nine.
"Stay here Mr Smee, don't let anyone in after us," Hook commanded. Smee gave David a reproachful frown, but nodded to his Captain and turned to block the entrance back to the street.
"After you, Your Highness," Hook said with a half bow. Charming rolled his eyes, strode across the courtyard and opened the door.
...
"You've come because you miss something. You've come because you need something. You've come because you love something… and the Madam can give it back to you."
The young woman giving the speech was beautiful. Her hair was tied up with wisps artfully escaping to frame her face. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her bright hazel eyes sparkled with excitement. Her clothes were a rainbow of pastel shades that seemed to flow as she moved. She looked like a heroine from a romantic period drama on TV.
As soon as that thought formed in his mind, Charming realised that that was exactly what the woman was going for. It was a performance and a good one, meant to entice, seduce? But now he was aware of it her eyes had a malicious edge colouring the excitement and her sweet smile had a tightness that showed it was forced. Well they seemed to be in the right place at least. He looked over at Hook and raised his eyebrows at the mirrored performance on the pirate's face.
"Afternoon love," Hook all but crooned, as he walked towards her. "No offense to your efforts but we're only interested in speaking to the actual proprietor, your Madam, did you say?"
The girl's expression fell into a look of disdain so pure it rivaled some of Regina's.
"The madam doesn't speak to just anyone," she sneered, the sweet girl who had welcomed them now unrecognisable.
"Oh we're not just anyone," Hook replied.
"Oh yeah? Who are you then?" she challenged.
David's hand clamped onto Hook's arm in alarm as he cursed himself internally. Why hadn't they discussed a plan before they walked in? Hook just gave him a bemused look.
"They call me Captain Hook," Hook said. He let his namesake drop onto the counter with a bang. "And I have a complaint." His words were now filled with dangerous menace and the girl stepped back, her eyes moving from Hook's namesake to his face, considering her options.
"I'll see if she's busy," she said and disappeared through a heavy curtain behind the counter.
"Be careful Hook," David complained under his breath.
"What, how can you continue to doubt me?" Hook grumped. "I'm not going to tell someone, who is obviously a witch, who you are."
"I wasn't thinking that," David replied, earning a raised eyebrow from the pirate. "But we should have decided on a plan before coming in here. What are we even going to say?"
"Aye well it's too late now, we'll just have to play it by ear," Hook conceded.
"Gentlemen?" A sultry voice called to them.
The inside of the shop was almost as grey and featureless as the outside except for the wide counter that partitioned the shop into two halves and a heavy velvet looking curtain which covered the back wall. From behind this curtain emerged a statuesque lady in a tailored white dress, with high collar, lace trim and a skirt that flared out behind her as she approached them. David guessed she was only a few years older than himself. Her makeup was dark and her hair was similarly styled to her younger companion, except every hair was perfectly in place.
"You're the owner of this shop? David asked. "This is What Once Was Mine, right?" The woman smiled and nodded.
"You've come because you miss something. You've come because-"
"Save the sales pitch love, we've already heard it," Hook dismissed harshly. The woman's mouth closed into a thin line and her eyes flashed with anger. David held up his hand, palm open in apology and pulled the receipt from his pocket.
"We've been looking for you," he explained, holding it up. The woman's smile returned although it didn't quite reach her eyes. She held out her hand for the receipt and David handed it over.
"Oh yes, the dwarf with the mug," she said, exchanging a glance with her younger assistant. "I understand it wasn't his item but a gift. Was it not correct in some way? I'm afraid we do not do returns."
"It is how you acquired it that is the issue, let alone the prospect of returning it," Hook replied gruffly. "How do you come by items from a realm that is closed off to travel?"
"We don't want to cause you trouble," David added, absently recognising they'd fallen into a good cop bad pirate routine. "We were there, in the realm without magic, and we left some…thing that we really want to get back to." The woman's eyes widened with interest and David felt Hook tense next to him.
"I see," she said, her gaze slid from him to Hook and a sincere looking smile spread across her face as she studied the pirate. "Estella, you were quite right. This is something I should deal with. Gentlemen, why don't we go through to my parlor and discuss this properly?" She motioned to the hidden doorway behind the curtain. David looked at Hook, a question in his eyes. Hook shrugged. They'd come this far, why turn back now? "Estella lock the door, I'll be indisposed until these gentlemen are finished," the older woman threw over her shoulder as she passed back through the concealed doorway. The young woman just rolled her eyes at them.
The room beyond the curtain was much larger than they expected and very unexpectedly set out for a party. It also smelt cloyingly sweet and sickly. There was a long table taking up most of the room covered by a thick expensive looking white table cloth. Piled on top were decorated overflowing baskets of fruits, little cakes and chocolates and large platters of ham and goose surrounded by vegetables. At the centre of the table was a large cake decorated with miniature copies of the fruits that were surrounding it. An impressive candlestick stood behind it giving it a dramatic flickering backlight. This room was also hung with heavy velvet curtains which covered almost all the walls and windows. They reminded Charming of the burning void the sleeping curse sent its victims to.
He and Hook looked at the woman expectantly but whatever event the room was laid out for she wasn't interested in explaining it to them. "I don't have a way to traverse the realms," she said without preamble. "It pains me to disappoint you… both. Is there something else I can offer you?"
"All I want is answers," David said firmly.
"That's really all you want?" she asked suggestively.
"Yes. So please tell us, where do you get the items from the land without magic?" he asked earnestly. The woman squinted at him, her eyes staring right into his.
"Odd," she muttered to herself. "Nothing there at all."
"What?" David asked, feeling offended.
"So witch, you steal people's memories. Unable to make any good ones for yourself is it?" Hook cut in impatiently. He had strolled over to examine the table and was plucking at the decorations, his nose wrinkled in disapproval. The woman marched over and smacked his hand away.
"I cannot steal them, they have to be given willingly, which is why we make a bargain," she replied stiffly, adjusting the position of a flower on the centerpiece by a fraction of a millimeter. "In return, my customers receive the object of their desire."
"You take advantage of those who long for something they once loved and have now lost," Hook summarised with a growl.
"I would not refer to it as taking advantage of, Sir," she replied haughtily. "These people come to me asking for my help. I create the thing they desire using the memory of that thing itself. You cannot eat your cake and have it too. How else would I know how to make half these strange items? Why were there so many little noisy boxes in this land without magic?"
David's heart sank. So there was no way back to Emma here. These things weren't even from Storybrooke. They were just copies. He looked awkwardly down at the coat he was wearing. This coat was someone's cherished memory? He shouldn't judge, but still, it wasn't that nice a coat. Did it have some sentimental connection?
"But what is the point of getting it if they forget why they wanted it?" he asked in exasperation.
"It is the way my magic works I'm afraid," she said, holding her hands up helplessly. "I do explain all this to the customers prior to the transaction of course. Everyone is always very agreeable."
"Aye, I bet they are, with their heart's desire dangling on a hook in front of them," Hook sneered. "Everyone returning from Storybrooke must have been quite a boon for you. An entire kingdom of people missing the things and life they had in the land without magic and no way to get them back, apart from you."
"There's nothing wrong with finding a niche in the market," she replied.
"But that's not all of it is it? I've met some of your customers," David said accusingly. "They haven't just lost the memory of whatever object it is you made for them. What is it you really take from them?" he asked.
"Oh that," she smirked. "It's love of course."
"Love?" Charming and Hook echoed in surprise.
"Haven't you heard it's the most powerful magic of all," she replied. "And it's so delicious. It makes you feel like you are the most beautiful, most important. Like nothing else matters in the world but you. Even love for ridiculous things like listening to music and watching some men run up and down a field or an especially favourite armchair."
"You took some fool's love of his favourite chair as a way to make yourself feel loved?" Hook asked. The witch didn't like his tone. Her expression growing hard, her eyes glittering at the pirate. David started to move so he'd be closer to them, silently willing Hook to keep a civil tongue in his head.
"A poor substitute I admit," the woman hissed through wicked gritted teeth. "But pure love is a rare commodity these days. That's why I am so happy… to see you."
Hook pulled out his sword to point at her throat but he wasn't fast enough. Twisting grey strands shot from her fingers and wrapped around his head covering his eyes and ears.
"Hook!" David yelled, launching himself towards his partner, but the witch only had to flick her wrists and grey streams were wrapping around his arms and legs dragging him back until he was pinned against the heavy curtains covering the walls. The thin grey bands looked like smoke but felt like iron chains holding him in place. David looked up as he heard Hook's sword clatter to the ground.
"You know," the witch said conversationally, giving David the briefest of glances, "I've been doing this for a little while now and I've developed something of an eye for tragic love stories." She walked in a little circle around Hook tapping her cheek as she assessed him. "They are my favourite. Poor Captain, your heart is plain to see, it's written all over your face, like a poem written out for me." She leaned close to Hook who hadn't moved an inch since she'd covered his eyes. "When you feel something you feel it with everything you are, don't you? I can't wait to experience it too." she purred into his ear.
"Get away from him," David growled. "Leave him alone."
"Alone?" the witch gasped. "But the poor soul is so alone already." She smirked at David and flicked her fingers at him. The grey bindings holding him in place got tighter.
He'd ended up close to the long dining table and his proximity meant he became acutely aware that the food was rotting. The fruits were crumbling into brown mush and flies exploded from the meats to buzz around the plates and cutlery. The surface of the large cake writhed with maggots as green fungus spread over its delicate decorations.
Whatever magic she was using must have been limited. She was unable to hold the two men in place and maintain the glamour that was covering the room. He watched as the decay and neglect spread from the large dining table and across the floor and walls. Thick cobwebs and layers of dust and grime were revealed on tattered and faded furniture. David twisted his face away from the disgusting sight expecting to see a similar transformation in the witch herself.
She looked the same. The image of the polished high class lady was distorted by a manic expression of malicious delight, but she was otherwise as statueque and imposing as when he'd first seen her. The long train of her white dress trailed across the floor dragging dust and muck with it as long painted nails reached out to play with the collar of Hook's shirt. David yelled at her but she just threw him an evil smirk and leaned closer to Hook.
"I see you. You are a man in love, but you are sad and lonely. Love is a hardship if you cannot be with the one you love. So, so sad."
"Hook, don't listen," David called out.
Don't listen to what? Hook thought dimly. He reached up to rub his eyes and clear his cloudy vision but he felt a cold hand prevent the movement.
"Your heart is broken. It doesn't have to be. Give me the memory. Cast off this weight on your soul. Go back to being free."
Yes, that is what he had wanted wasn't it? To go back… to go back, back to who he was, back to living for himself, back to being free. He was Killian Jones? That's how he'd introduced himself to Emma. Not Captain Hook, not the pirate. She had only ever called him Hook and now she was gone and so who was he now?
"Hook," a voice called. David's voice. Prince Charming was there with him. He was Captain Hook. He'd been happy as a pirate. Had he been happy? He'd at least known who he was, knew what course to set.
"Wipe these feelings away. Give them to me and you'll not feel lonely, you'll not feel lost ever again and in return I'll give you back what has been taken from you."
"Don't listen to her Hook," David called out again. He felt a small blossom of hope as the pirate turned towards his voice.
"I can give you your ship," the witch whispered into Hook's ear. He turned abruptly away from David. Damn they should have guessed by now people would know Hook was looking for his ship. This is why you should make a plan before walking into a witch's den.
"You can do that?" Hook asked, his voice sounding unsteady.
"Of course. If you remember. All you have to do is think of her. The last time you saw her, felt her… touched her.
"Think of… her," Hook mumbled. Helpless to his own mind, a vision of golden hair and bright untrusting eyes formed in his mind. His heart gave a little skip he'd long thought it incapable of. The eyes in his memory grew softer, the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen gracing her lips. Good, she said.
"Yes!" A victorious gleam shone in the woman's eye. David struggled against the bindings but they just bit into his skin without any give. "Think of her," the woman crowed. "Think of your love. Give those memories to me and the bargain is made."
Suddenly she was stood behind Hook. David cried out a useless warning Hook didn't respond to. He watched frozen as Hook nodded in submission and the witch drove her sculpted fingernails into his temples. Hook screamed. David curled his hands into useless fists as she drew back and long strands of grey magic could be seen extending from each finger. She pulled and jerked on the tendrils stretching and lengthening them until she had enough to start winding into a ball. Hook wobbled and fell to his knees, his eyes still closed. The witch didn't spare him a glance, concentrating on winding the grey magic around and around. Her eyes were wide, her pupils blown and focused somewhere far away. She shuddered with delight, humming and crooning in ecstasy.
"Yes," she moaned. "Love! I want to feel it. Give it to me. I want it. I need it. Mine! More. More! There must be more."
Enraptured by the emotional memories she was taking, the witch seemed to have lost control of herself. She began pulling grey cords of memories in abandon. The loops coming faster than she could wind them, falling to the floor instead, but something was wrong. The witch's eyes pinched together in a frown. She shook all over and her skin turned pale.
"No!" she yelled suddenly. "Not that! Stop it." She jerked and her eyes shut in concentration. "Stop it, she repeated. "I don't want that." She gave the grey tendrils a harsh tug which jerked Hook's head up and David could see silent tears tracking down his face. "Stop it," she snarled again. "Think of love. No. No! Not this heartbreak. Stop it."
Her eyes flew open and she stepped back but the grey magic was flowing faster than ever, the tendrils tangling in her long nails and wrapping around her boney wrists. The more she struggled the more tangled she became. What must have been decades of memories began pilling up in front of her as she tried to escape them.
"Stop it." she yelled, thrashing about. "How can there be so much? How much heartbreak have you lived through?"
The spells holding David in place evaporated and he immediately ran to Hook grabbing him around the shoulders to steady him and at a loss at how to help. The magic wrapped around the pirate's head also disappeared but he remained unresponsive, his eyes staring blankly at the floor. The witch was shrieking unintelligible curses as she tried to rid herself of Hook's memories. She backed into the long table, rotting food and cutlery clattering to the floor. Hook was pulled to the side and David instinctively grabbed the grey strands and pulled them back towards them. They felt hot and cold and empty and heavy all at the same time. His mind clouded with an overwhelming feeling of failure and loneliness but underneath was a burning hot fury that gave him a blast of energy. He yanked harder, a powerful rush of victory flashed through him as he saw the witch stumble to her knees dragging the tablecloth from the long table with her. But a flash was all it was, any positive emotions he had vanished instantly and again he was left feeling bereft. He let go of the grey magic and came back to himself. Ok so that's what hundreds of years fixated on vengeance for a murdered love feels like then.
There was a scream. The candlestick had fallen from the table unnoticed in the commotion and flames were licking up the long train of the witch's dress. David let Hook slump gently against the ground and ran towards her. The fire spread too quickly, before he'd made it to her side it'd reached her hair. She was flailing her arms and batting at her body in terror, still tangled in strands of memories. David yanked the tablecloth again, the large cake smashing into the ground sickeningly. Without sparing another second, he wrapped it around the witch patting and hitting any flames he could see. He felt blisters rise up on the skin of his hands but thankfully the dusty cloth was heavy enough that the flames were quickly smothered.
The witch had gone silent, gasping from pain or exertion or both. David peeled back a small portion of the cloth but quickly dropped it back into place. There was nothing he could do for her now. There was no 911 in the Enchanted Forest. He looked up as a dark figure stumbled into him.
"What happened to your face?" Hook asked, frowning at him, no recognition in his eyes at all.
"You did mate," David smiled. Hook frowned even deeper. David gave him a pat on the shoulder and pushed him into a sitting position next to them. Taking a breath he grabbed the grey threads closest to the witch and pulled them free of her hands. Even expecting it, the uncomfortable heavy hollowness and burning hatred was overpowering but as he pulled something else penetrated the darkness swamping him. Something light and calm and bright and invigorating. It felt like waking up, like coming home, like hope restored.
"Oh Emma," David sighed. The tendrils finally fell free and he sat back. His beautiful, amazing daughter. Gods he missed her, he'd barely got to know her, got to be with her and she'd been taken away from them again. Snow had put on a good show of being fine, but he saw cracks and when they held each other in the evenings in private they would let their tears fall. He looked over at Hook. He looked lost. David had never thought he'd feel sorry for the pirate. He couldn't say he would ever be supportive of a relationship between Hook and Emma, but he couldn't deny the truth of the captain's feelings either, even before he'd had a glimpse from inside them.
"Give him back his memories of my daughter," he commanded. The witch gave a feeble cough. "Give them all back, or tell me how to do it."
Her eyes looked pathetically up at him, pleading with him. Her hand drifted towards the grey memories heaped on the floor. David blocked her with his own hand. Was her addiction that strong? She'd feel all the heartache again for those moments of bliss? Of course she would. He looked back over at Hook.
"I'll give you some of mine," he said. "Give them back to him and in return I'll give you a memory of my love. I swear to you. Is it a bargain?" Her eyes narrowed studying him and then she nodded.
Her hand shook as she raised it and Charming had to reach out and support its weight for her as she whispered something under her breath. The tangle of heartbreak, vengeance and love on the floor dissolved into smoke that floated in the air before returning to Hook's body. Hook slumped over alarmingly but David could feel him breathing steadily against his side and took that to mean he was alright.
"Our bargain?" rasped the witch. Charming stared at her, unsure how far he could trust her, but he'd made a promise and she'd held up her end. Still supporting her hand, he raised it to his own temple. The sensation of her nails entering his head was indescribable. He picked a random day earlier in the week. Waking up beside his strong, beautiful wife, wrapping his arms around her as they lay safe and together, after so much uncertainty and strife. He quickly removed her hand before his thoughts slipped too far from the quiet blissful morning.
"Ah," the witch sighed, her mouth opening into a quiet cry of joy. "True love does exist. No wonder I couldn't tempt you to give them away. So precious. Thank you." Her eyes slid shut and she sighed one last time.
"David? Bloody hell what happened? Is she..?" A rough voice asked next to him.
David pressed his fingers against her neck. Her skin felt dry and brittle. There was no pulse.
"She's dead, yeah," he said, leaning back. "How are you? You got whammied pretty hard there."
"Aye, I owe you my thanks highness," Hook said wincing. He looked around at the decayed room as if searching for something. "I have not been myself recently, since we returned," he added with a struggle. "It was just the lever the witch needed to take what she wanted."
"Yeah," David agreed and that was all he was going to say about it. He was in no way ready to have a heart to heart with Hook about his feelings, especially if they were related to Emma.
Thankfully any possibility of difficult conversations was dissolved by a series of loud bangs followed by the sound of splintering wood and Mr Smee appeared struggling through the heavy curtains blocking the entrance. He stopped short, taking in the scene with a look of dismay.
"Ah, Mr Smee right when I need you as always," Hook sighed ruefully. "Would you see if you can secure us some quick transportation? I believe His Royal Highness is finally ready to go home. And see what you can make of that front room, but watch out for the lass, she might be trouble," he added, nodding towards the shop Smee had just entered from.
"Aye Captain," Smee said, his voice coloured by his standard mix of mild disagreement but stronger obedience. He gave David an untrusting frown and disappeared back through the curtain. What did he think, that all this was David's fault somehow? That out of the two of them David was the threat to Hook? He wasn't the criminal in the room. There was the sound of something breaking from the shop front.
"Wait a minute," David said, cursing himself for being slow on the uptake. "You can't just rob the place." He moved to get up but Hook held him back with a hand, much weaker than it should have been, grabbing his sleeve.
"Who's robbing the place?" he asked blithely. "I'm sitting here with you. She bloody deserves it anyway."
"Damn pirate," David muttered, not having the energy to get into an argument with him after everything they'd just been through.
"That's what they say," Hook replied.
….
Charming had managed to convince the two pirates they didn't need to commit even more thefts just to get him out of town, if they left quickly. Begrudgingly they had agreed to walk and David had ignored Mr Smee's bulging pockets in return. And he'd been right. The walk out of town had been as easy and unhindered as the walk in, although the man at the toll bridge had actually been at his post, which had cost him three coins. They were soon passing the clearing where he had met the knight that morning. They'd be parting ways soon. David slowed his steps and looked at Hook searching for the right thing to say.
"You didn't come here for your ship. You came here hoping to find a way back to the land without magic. Back to Emma," he said. Hook didn't answer. "I appreciate that." That got a response.
"You do?" Hook asked. The witch's rough handling of his mind must have still been affecting him, his usual mask of mockery and inappropriateness absent.
"Of course. Thank you, for trying," David said, hoping he sounded just as sincere.
"I didn't do it for you," Hook admitted.
"No I know," David shrugged. "You did it for Emma. I'm just saying I appreciate that."
"Yeah," Hook said pointedly, ending the conversation before it got more uncomfortable. Charming chuckled, acknowledging that turnabout was fair play. Hook joined in a moment later. Camaraderie with the pirate, unexpected but not unpleasant.
The clearing with the royal carriage, coachman, footman and knight of the realm came into view. David could see the knight and his coachman were in a heated debate. The odd word made it to them on breeze. Words like, relegation, second pick and grassroots. So the witch's death had led to everyone else getting their memories back too. Hook abruptly stopped walking.
"I doubt your men will take kindly to seeing you arrive with us," he said. David was disappointed to hear the cocky mask falling back into place.
"They don't get a say in who I arrive with," David replied. "Hey," he added. Hook looked up and David felt his courage weaken a fraction. "Er, I can't believe I'm saying this but, I'm glad I bumped into you. Even if you punched me in the face."
"It was effective, was it not?" Hook replied. "And yeah mate, as surprising as it was, it was good working with you too."
"Yeah well, if you need us, Snow and I aren't far away."
"I'll be fine," Hook said, dismissing any suggestion of needing help.
"What if we need you?" David asked. Hook was silent for a long moment.
"I don't know where I'll be mate," he said eventually. "I haven't found the Jolly Roger yet, and like I said before, I'm no hero."
David wanted to argue, wanted to point out how Hook didn't even sound like he believed what he was saying, but the words were caught in his chest and he stayed silent. Hook nodded as if David had agreed with him.
"Although for the King and Queen of the land, If things are so dire that this humble pirate is your only hope… Maybe I will find a small gap in my schedule." Hook's words were sarcastic but there was that new tinge of sincerity underneath them that David didn't miss. "You'll need to find a way to get the message to me though."
"Keep one eye on the sky pirate," he replied, enjoying the confusion that crossed Hook's face before he turned and made his way to the waiting carriage.
…..
Months later...
A bluebird flew down from the open blue sky and landed on the Jolly's helm right in front of him. It was a tiny thing and completely exhausted. Unable to stand, it flopped onto its stomach, a small glass vial clinking against the wood of the wheel as its little beak opened wide to gasp at the air.
Get this potion to Emma. Restore her memories, the note on the vial said.
…
Additional disclaimer and notes:
Did you recognise the villian? She's based on Miss Havisham from Dickens's Great Expectations. Estella, the feast and the clock motif are all clues taken from that book. She's such a gothic character, making her a witch was not a stretch.
The shop's name is taken from Tangled.
I loved that it was Charming who tried to convince Hook to stay with the heroes when they ended up back in EF and I always hoped they had bumped into each other at some point during that year. This didn't have to be a PI prequel but that is how I came up with the idea and it was on theme with the classic fiction villian. I really love writing in this little cannon of my own.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought? It's been a little while since I watched season 3, do you think I got Hook and Charming right?