Emma's role as sheriff was surprisingly light. Since Storybrooke was such a small town, she wasn't really busy. She wondered why the position was even available in the first place. After she was discharged from the hospital, Rumple said he would have to do some research to figure out the most likely place the curse was located. Emma had a feeling he was looking for something else. The last time she heard from him was a few weeks ago. Another problem Emma had to deal with was Regina. She had surprisingly been tame, but she did have weekly meetings with Emma to talk about some things about the town. Emma wished she could forgo the meetings since they were boring. She remembered one particular meeting where Regina cornered her before she left. Regina told her that she had to enroll Henry in school because she was living in the town. Hence, Emma was walking Henry to his first day of school.
"I'm on summer vacation. Why do I have to go back to school?" Henry complained with a slight pout, readjusting his backpack strap to keep it from falling.
Emma smiled at his grumbling. His facial expression was so adorable. She couldn't believe he was already ten. There would be only a few more years left for her to enjoy his interactions. He was growing up way too fast for her liking.
"It's still October here. We have to blend in remember?" She playfully ruffled his hair as she continued. "Think about it like you are going undercover and gathering intel," she suggested, trying to make him look at the situation positively.
She didn't blame him being a little peeved at having his break interrupted. She was glad she didn't have to go to school.
He tried lightly pushing her hand away, slightly embarrassed at the public display of affection. He frowned, considering her words before his face brightened. "I can find out about the cursed parents."
She smiled at his enthusiasm. Henry already found a positive for his bad situation. "Sure,kid."
At her words, he looked hesitant. He was thinking about something rather hard by the way his brows were furrowed in thought.
"So after the curse breaks, we are staying in Storybrooke?" He asked, voice hopeful.
Her hand rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably at the question. Didn't he enjoy Boston? They had a good life they left behind. She didn't understand the appeal of this town. The aftermath of the curse she didn't want to consider. She knew for certain that it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Henry, after Operation Cobra is over, we will go back to Boston. We don't belong here," she admitted. There was no use lying to Henry. She wasn't going to get his hopes up just to crush them.
Henry looked appalled at her answer. He opened his mouth and closed it rather quickly. She didn't mean to make him upset before his first day of school. His teachers would probably think that she was mean to him.
Finally, he found his voice. "You're enrolling me in school. We have a house, you have a job, and our family is here. Please, give this place a chance," he begged, his eyes were pleading with her to reconsider.
He was giving her that puppy dog look. No matter what Henry did, she wasn't going to sway from her decision. She had to tell him why. When Emma opened her mouth to respond, the sound of the school bell alerted them that Henry had ten minutes to get into the building. The sound couldn't have come at a better time.
"That was the bell. Hurry to class. You don't want to be late on your first day." Emma dismissed him with a smile.
Henry gave her a pensive look. He wasn't going to let the subject drop. Picking his backpack off the ground, he made his way to the school building. Emma watched his retreating back with a sigh. She needed to push Rumple to hurry up and find a way to break the curse. She didn't want Henry to get more attached to the town than necessary.
It didn't take long for her to reach her destination. Rumple's shop was only a five to seven minute drive to the school. Besides Granny's and the station, it seemed like the shop was a frequent place that she visited. Rumple was looking at the display case at the center of the shop. She didn't understand why he was looking at the same case every time she visited. As always, his head lifted up when the bell chimed.
"Ms. Swan, how can I help you?" He greeted with a small smile.
"I need to know how to break the curse. Henry keeps on trying to talk me into staying in this town," Emma explained slightly uncomfortable.
"Don't like the people here? I don't blame you. Some of them get annoying after a while," he admitted, his mouth upturned slightly into a smirk.
"We don't belong here. Boston is our home," she said truthfully.
Her eyes narrowed when he didn't answer her. His eyes were drawn to her neck. She wondered what he found so interesting.
"That's an interesting memento. Why are you wearing it?" He asked, his eyes continued to examine the object from afar.
Emma frowned at his observation and looked at the object that was hanging on her neck. She found it early in the morning and put it on but must have forgotten to take it off. She absently grabbed it, trying to take it off and hide it.
"A painful reminder of my past," she admitted. Her mind drifted to all the events the whistle played a role in.
"Ah, yes, I remember now." He limped forward to her, his cane tapped against the floor when it made contact with the wood. When he stood in front of her, he frowned. "It reeks of magic can I see it?" He asked, holding his hand out expectantly.
Emma would've noticed if it was filled with magic. Hell, she had it for years. His statement was peculiar. Removing the fake chain from her neck, she handed him the whistle. As soon as the object touched his hand, he dropped it on the counter as though he touched something vile.
"That has very dark magic associated with it. How exactly did you come across it?" He looked at the object with a sneer.
Why would a stupid whistle be filled with dark magic? Hell, she got the thing in her sex education class. This didn't make any sense.
"I always had it. When I blew on it when I was seventeen, I was taken back in time 300 years ago. I found it again after my wedding in Neverland," she recalled. Her eyes widened when she realized that something must have happened to it before she got it in Neverland. Before she could state her concerns, Rumple interrupted her.
"You went to Neverland?" He asked taken aback. She had hardly seen Rumple display any emotion besides anger. He wasn't bothering to hide the shock on his face.
"Yes, a boy thought he was Peter Pan and somehow obtained my whistle. He knew what was going to happen to me before it happened. He knew I would want to return to my time. He gave me a way out."
"You met Peter Pan?" He looked pale as a sheet. Emma wanted to know why mentioning Pan was bothering Rumple, but she wanted to move the subject away from Pan.
"He said he was Pan. I didn't believe him. Whoever he was, he was a little shit. All I was told was that if I blew on this whistle, my problems would end, but magic comes at a price. I was forced to go back. Then I returned by making a wish on the necklace you gave me. Apparently, the legend was true," she said with distaste. The next time she saw Pan she would wring his little neck for putting her through hell.
"If Pan was in on this scheme, he had something to gain from this plot which worries me. After I gave you the necklace, I used all my resources as the Dark One to determine the truth. I came to the conclusion that the legend associated with a necklace was a fake," he said with a glare. Besides getting cheated out of a deal, it looked like the Dark One hated being lied to.
Rumple wasn't making any sense. She hoped he had some plausible explanation on how she traveled back in time. She sure didn't dream the events because Henry was real.
"How was I able to go back in time then?" Suddenly images flooded back into her mind. She remembered being on a shore standing next to Calypso. Calypso warned her about venturing back into the past and stole the memory away as part of a sick game. The sudden influx of images caused her to have a headache.
"Are you alright?" He asked with a frown.
She nodded, rubbing her temple, and began to speak. "I was brought back to the past by a wish on the necklace. It is coming back to me. Calypso said I would have to wait a week before I traveled again. How did the necklace bring me back in time twice if the legend was a fake?"
"The necklace was one part of the key. That whistle was the other. You see the necklace had time magic, but it couldn't work by itself. That whistle was a conduit to what the magic transferred to. It was filled with time magic as well somehow and allowed you to travel to the past the first time. If you blew on it age 17, your seventeen year old self would have traveled back in time. If she primed her necklace's magic with the whistle, you would have traveled to the time she was stuck in because that's how she engineered the spell to work. Since you were in the land without magic, it used up all the time magic properties of the whistle and when you used the necklace," He explained, giving Emma a calculating gaze. Emma shifted uncomfortably under his gaze because he was looking at her like some interesting specimen.
"How was I able to summon Calypso?" She asked. She still didn't understand how this all worked.
"She isn't Calypso. She was watching you the whole time. I can't believe she tricked me into giving you the necklace. She knew you would use the whistle, and that you would want to return back," He admitted shaking his head before continuing his explanation. "The necklace opens the door through time. If what you were saying was true, I think it had enough for two uses that's why you haven't been back. The whistle now just calls the witch when she is nearby. It has no inherent properties." After his explanation, Rumple began to pace. Emma suspected that this situation was complex if Rumple was pacing. Gathering his thoughts, he began to speak again.
"It's interesting that this witch successfully traveled back in time. We don't hear many stories of people who have done it in the past, but I will have to wager it's unpredictable. It's true that magic comes with a price, but you haven't paid it. You returning to your time was part of a game on the witch's part. The price hasn't been paid yet," he said, his voice grave.
Emma became angry at Rumple's statement. She was sure she paid the price. What was worse than what she experienced?
"What do you mean? I had to leave the man I loved to come back," she said impatiently.
"Every time you use that whistle, it gets primed with your life force," he said with distaste.
"Wait, I lose years of my life?" She asked confused.
How can an object of fake metal cause her to die? If that was the case, then they could get rid of it or she doesn't use it.
"No, the whistle tethers your life force to it slowly when it is used. You used it once that's why it was returned to you so that the tethering spell could work. Then you used it a total of two times after Neverland. When it completely tethers your life force you will die, and it will extend that person's life. I believe the price had to be that the person who went back in time died. Unless she went to Neverland and bided her time. Which would make sense since you have the whistle still. In your particular case, she would steal your life and magic." He stared at the offending object as though it was an inconvenience. Knowing him, he was coming up with a way to get rid of it.
"Why and can I get rid of it?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"Perhaps to be more powerful. One thing I know- people only come up with elaborate plots for revenge. As for getting rid of the whistle, can you throw away your heart?" He asked rhetorically. He had a fair point and she couldn't say anything to refute him. At her silence, he continued. "Right now, it is essential to you. We need magic to unbind it to you because it has your life's essence in it," he said slightly perturbed.
"I won't use the whistle then to summon her again," she suggested logically.
Rumple shook his head at her statement. "I don't think it's that easy, dearie. She probably cursed you to have bad luck so that you are forced to summon her," he said with a shrug.
If Emma was forced to return to the witch, she was screwed. Her magic was mediocre at best what was she supposed to do now?
"How can I stop her? Her magic is clearly more powerful than mine." She cradled her head in between both of her hands. How did she always wind up in shitty situations?
"Her magic is nothing but a flamboyant display to make it look powerful, but I can assume she is no more powerful than Regina. In the event that you do get stuck in the Enchanted Forest again, there is some squid ink that I left on some parchment with your name on it in my old cell under your parent's castle. Wet the ink and collect it in a bottle. Force the witch to make a portal for you and throw the ink at her. When we bring magic to Storybrooke to break the curse, we will undo the spell and destroy the whistle so you won't have to use it again. Whatever you do, don't give her the whistle," he instructed, his gaze serious. Emma frowned as she watched him put a hand under his chin deep in thought. She wanted to roll her eyes as she watched him. She didn't know if she wanted to take any more bad news.
"It's still curious how she was able to get you to travel to the exact moment I killed Milah. It makes me wonder whether she traveled in time before. She purposely rigged the necklace to transport you to that time by using either my or Hook's blood," he said, voice wistful.
Emma froze at his statement. He mentioned Hook. Surely, it wasn't the same Hook in the stories?
"Wait, Hook as in Captain Hook?" She asked before her body was filled with dread. If Hook was involved, how did he get the ship? Did she want to know? "Did he kill Killian to get the Jolly Roger?" Her eyes shut as soon as she asked the question. Her curiosity got the best of her.
Rumple rolled his eyes at her question. He seemed like he said something that he meant to keep hidden. "No, your pirate's Hook. The last time I saw him he had a hook for a hand. He yelled some nonsense at me and he tried to kill me. "
"How long ago was this exactly?" She asked.
"Before the curse," he said evasively.
"That could have been hundreds of years ago." Emma countered. She couldn't understand why she was getting riled up at Rumple's unwillingness to give her a straight answer.
"No, it was more like 28. He unknowingly led me to the whereabouts of Lacey," He said begrudgingly. Rumple sounded like he was uncomfortable owing Killian a debt for finding Lacey.
"So, he is in the Enchanted Forest still?" She asked. Why was she doing this to herself? When Henry grew up she always said he died so she could move on. If there was a slight chance that Killian was alive, would she take it?
"Either he is 28 years older or dead. It doesn't matter where he is. We're stuck here now, and I'm going to make sure to destroy that whistle before you even wind up in the Enchanted Forest. Do yourself a favor and leave things in the past," he advised.
Three weeks had passed since Emma's talk with Rumple. She had many sleepless nights knowing the possibility of Killian still being alive. She thought about sitting Henry down and telling him but why get his hopes up? Rumple had a point. There was a possibility that she would never find the answer. There was no magic so the chances for her to travel to the Enchanted Forest was slim. On the one hand, she would never know about Killian's fate. On the other, she didn't have to worry about the whistle. She absently hit a button on her keyboard and swore. Moving her mouse did nothing. She wanted to throw her ancient Dell monitor at the wall.
"Everything alright?" David asked with a chuckle.
She turned her gaze to him and saw him casually leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. His expression was amused.
Emma glared at her computer as she spoke. "Why do we even have to work with these dinosaurs? The stupid thing froze while I was typing Leroy's report. I'm afraid if I turn it off then it will die. Do we even have backups of our files?" She asked with a groan, putting her face in her hands.
The last thing she needed was to lose all the data that was in the computer. Regina would get onto her.
"Graham must have a budget book he gave to Regina. Maybe if you find it and come up with expenses, you can make an appeal to buy new computers," he suggested.
"I'll keep that in mind." Emma made a mental note to do that otherwise they would subject themselves to further torment to deal with these computers from hell.
Her phone vibrated on her desk, catching her attention. She could see Rumple's number displayed on the screen.
Opening the text she read, Meet me in front of the Clocktower in five minutes.
After receiving Rumple's text, she left the office in David's hands. She had a feeling whatever Rumple found would take all day. The streets of Storybrooke were always deserted and so quiet. She could hear herself think sometimes. She paused when she felt eyes on the back of her neck. Turning around, her eyes took in her surroundings to see who was watching her. Her eyes narrowed when she found no one. This was the fourth occurrence where she felt like she was being watched. The only instance she found someone was the flash of black in the alley. Rumple's presence in front of her broke her out of her thoughts.
Her eyes furrowed in confusion when she took in battered name hanging above the door he was standing near.
"Why are we in front of an abandoned library?" She asked.
Rumple shifted his weight on his cane as he took in her appearance. "I did some research of the sinkhole near the mines. I looked at the layout of Storybrooke and found out that everything is connected to this central point in the town. Our key to breaking this curse lies in this building. Perhaps, we will destroy that whistle sooner than you think." He gestured to the object hanging around her neck before reaching into his pocket.
He pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock. He muttered something under his breathe when he met some resistance. Eventually the lock clicked, allowing them entry. The bookshelves were dusty. Cobwebs were in the corner of the walls. Dead bugs were on the ground. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years.
"Okay, Rumple, this is creepy. Are we going to light up some candles and do some sort of dark ritual to destroy this thing?" She held up the object in question.
"No, I told you we need magic. The key to bring magic here lies in this building. But once we have it, magic is so unpredictable in a land without magic. We have to be careful," he warned, stopping in front of an old elevator shaft.
She hoped that they weren't going to have to ride that. It looked like they would either get stuck or it was so unstable that it would drop them.
"Rumple, that looks like a deathtrap."
Rumple opened the gear box and assessed the controls. Satisfied, he closed it with a snap before directing his attention to her.
"I assure you it's safe. I have to operate it from here. You can get up on your own when you get down there." He gestured to her with a fisted hand.
Emma was going to protest going down alone until she noticed the flash of silver under Rumple's hand.
"Why do you have a sword?" She stared the longsword, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
Rumple held the hilt towards Emma for her to take. "This is your father's sword," he informed.
This whole situation was sketchy. No one in this century fought with swords. What the hell was he making her do?
"Why will I need a sword, and why do I have to go down an elevator shaft?" She refused the offered object, crossing her arms.
She wasn't going to do anything without getting a straight answer. As soon as Rumple opened his mouth to speak, the ground shook. Suddenly, a guttural roar could be heard from below the library. The sound made Emma's blood run cold.
"What the hell was that?" She yelled, slightly panicked. She never heard that sound before in her life. She had a feeling that the creature caused the tremor as well. The creature had to be big.
"That is Maleficent," he introduced, his gaze unfazed by the creature's appearance. He placed the sword in the elevator shaft since Emma refused to take it.
Where had Emma heard that name before? She remembered a story about a spindle. Some princess who fell asleep, but the question was that the same story? "As in Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent?" She guessed.
"Yes," he answered, his gaze serious.
At Rumple's answer, Emma's eyes widened when she remembered a particular detail about the movie.
"Why the hell is she a dragon? I thought there was no magic here?" She asked shocked, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Regina probably kept her in this form to amuse herself"- Rumple shrugged before he continued- "What you're going to do is kill her and retrieve the egg that Charming shoved down her throat," he instructed.
"So just slay a dragon and that's it? That's all I have to do? How is an egg supposed to help?" She said sarcastically. Rumple made the task sound like all she had to do was pick flowers, but she had to kill a fire breathing dragon.
"There is a potion of True Love in the egg. The key to breaking this curse is True Love. True Love can also bring magic to Storybrooke. We will bring magic back and force Regina to break the curse," he answered her, his tone slightly impatient at her sarcasm.
Emma shook her head and began to walk backwards as the weight of what he was asking dawned on her. Maybe she would have considered it a long time ago, but this was one act of selfishness she wasn't going to participate in.
"Rumple, you are asking too much. I can't leave Henry. Becoming sheriff was one thing. Having to voluntarily slay a dragon is another. Henry will be without a parent," she pleaded with him to understand.
"You promised me you would help me. If you were in my position and Henry was separated from you, would you do anything to find him? I spared your pirate's life, remember?" He reminded, his eyes were starting to be filled with anger at her attempt at breaking the promise.
Emma closed her eyes allowing Rumple's words to sink in. Rumple hadn't seen his son in centuries. She imagined herself in his shoes. She knew she would do anything to see Henry. She had a feeling she would regret this decision.
"That was a low blow. You have a point on both facts," she sighed, clenching her fists at her sides. "Dammit, Rumple...If I die-"
"Quit being so melodramatic. The key is to find courage within yourself. I know you have it. I've seen it when I trained you. You'll come back. I've seen it. Have a little faith," he interrupted and rolled his eyes, fetching the sword from its resting position.
He handed her the sword and it felt uncomfortable in her hand. She was used to cutlasses but a longsword matched her style. Longswords were used for brute strength whereas cutlasses were adept for those who relied on speed. It had fine craftsmanship but she could work with it. At her nod, he pressed a button and the elevator began to descend down into the dark abyss.
When she reached her destination, she debated going back up the elevator shaft. She came to the realization that this was a bad idea since the cavern was foreboding. Her nerves were all over the place, causing goosebumps to crawl over her skin. Where the hell was the dragon? Something so large should have been easily visible. She knew it was awake because she heard it earlier.
A polarized reflection caught her eye. As she approached she saw an object made of crystal. It looked big enough to fit a body. She didn't doubt that was the purpose it once served. What story had a glass coffin associated with it? Her eyes widened when she realized that it belonged to Snow White. "Well, I'll be damned. "She muttered under her breath. Regina had a real sick sense of humor keeping this here.
Her body tensed when she noticed something off in the atmosphere. Pursing her lips she tried to figure out what was wrong. It was oddly quiet and she could no longer hear the water dripping in the cavern. She could hear her heart beat wildly in her chest. She felt eyes staring at her. Turing around, slitted yellow eyes greeted her. She could feel the dragon's hot breath as it breathed through its nostrils. It easily was over twenty feet long, it had black scales, and was very massive. Opening its mouth, it revealed rows of pointed teeth and a forked tongue. She jumped to the side and barely missed the dragon's mouth as it lunged to bite her.
Shit. Shit. She ran, her footsteps echoed in the cavern. The ground shook as the dragon chased after her. Should she run in zig zags if the dragon breathed fire? Her thoughts were short lived as she felt moisture in the air disappear. Suddenly, the air became very hot. She quickly hid behind a rock as soon as the dragon let out a stream of flames. She closed her eyes as she heard the crackle of flames hitting the rock.
Her hand went to her side and clenched. She realized she didn't bring her gun with her. Damn it. The gun could have come in handy. How the hell was she supposed to fight that thing? If it took to the air then she was done for. Closing her eyes, she tried to come up with a plan. She would let it continue to waste its energy, trying to heat the rock that was now becoming unbearably hot. The playing field had to change because this rock was the only source of cover in the whole cavern.
"Hey you overgrown lizard, over here!" She waved her hand wildly, trying to catch the beast's attention.
It closed its mouth with a snap, letting out a deep growl. She watched the dragon as she slowly walked backwards. She the rock in her line of sight, ready to dodge in case it decided to rain fire again. When it lowered its head to bite at her again, she dodged behind the rock. A small crevice caught her eye. It was big enough for Emma to fit in but also get the dragon's neck stuck.
Emma smirked at the change of events. She could make this work. The dragon turned its angry gaze at her and Emma held the sword out. She was going to have to work fast. The dragon didn't bother to breathe fire at her anymore. It probably needed some time to recharge, but it still chased after menacingly. At the final lunge, Emma managed to make it in the crevice. The dragon let out an angry roar as it tried to pull its neck out. Emma could see the embers heating up in the dragon's mouth. The time to strike was now.
"Don't take this personally, Maleficent"- Emma began, lifting the sword above the dragon's head-"You have something that I need. Rest in peace," she said, bringing her sword down on the dragon's head.
The dragon let out a painful roar when the sword met. It took all of Emma's strength to keep the sword down. With a final thrash, the dragon's body began to burn away, leaving a pile of ash. Thank God, she thought approaching the pile. She thought she wouldn't have been able to exit the crevice because it would have been blocked. She was going to get dirty, pushing her way through the pile to get out and find the egg, but at least, she was hands began to sift through the ash, trying to feel for the metal object. At the first pass, her hands were empty. Maybe she missed it. It didn't hurt to double check. She began to frown after the second pass. On the third pass through the pile, she realized that the egg was missing.
Next: Unpredictable Magic