Chapter 2

So, here's the second chapter! Once more, thank you forever to my incredible and amazingly talented beta and editor Hilary (SilverRavenStar), who suggested some incredible lines and helped me with conveying Emma's and Killian's feelings perfectly. You're bloody brilliant and amazing, and I love you to the moon and back! :*

I would be a mermaid fair.

I would sing to myself the whole day;

With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;

And still as I comb'd I would sing and say,

"Who is it loves me? who loves not me?"

The Mermaid – Alfred Lord Tennyson

Emma felt as if she was gliding through something warm and inviting. The urge to let go altogether was very strong, but flashes of Henry swam in front of her eyes and she suddenly opened them, frantic, taking in her surroundings. She was completely submerged, that much was obvious. But she didn't feel as if she was holding her breath – or fighting for it, for that matter. "What the hell!"

She said those words aloud, she was sure of it. But instead of the sensation of drowning that should have come when she opened her mouth, she felt exactly the same as she did on land. And how was that even possible?

Emma looked down her body, and let out another surprised cry. Where her legs had been, there was now a fish tail instead, scaled in pearlescent blue-green, and her breasts were covered, barely, in the same stuff. Shocked, she tried to peel it off, but it hurt as if she was pulling on her own skin. Okay. This is only a dream. Or maybe I passed out from the heat. I just need to wake up.

Her reverie was broken by the sudden sound of soft and lovely music from somewhere far below, inviting and familiar. She felt herself start to undulate toward it, tail stroking powerfully through the water, and was amazed at the sensation of swimming so easily. She had never felt this free in all her life, she –

She came to a screeching halt and tried to turn around, to struggle up to the surface. No! You can't give in. You need to wake up, you need to get back to your parents, to Henry, to Killian…

At the thought of the pirate and their kiss the day before, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if an ice blade had been shoved into it, and cried out. She tried desperately to keep swimming above, but the song continued below. Her whole body turned and dove toward it, against her will.

Emma's brain kept telling her to fight, but the pull was so strong. She could feel the memories of her parents, of Henry, slipping away, and hot tears burned against her cold skin. No, this is not you! Snap out of it, dammit! But the farther she plunged into the unfathomable depths of the ocean, the more confused and dizzy she became. It was almost as if a whole new life was trying to replace her old one.

After what felt like hours (or was it? She could no longer tell) a huge cave came into view, and she couldn't help the urge to swim faster to reach it, one part of her brain screaming at her to turn back. But the other part, along with the complete joy she felt at the sight of it, whispered that she was a mermaid, that she belonged here, and there was no room for thoughts of the surface now.

Instead, she merely drank in the sight. The cave was huge and dazzling. Glinting stones of every imaginable size and color flashed with nearly blinding light from walls and ceiling, and the floor was heaped with treasure, chests overflowing with jewels and gold and riches. Her heart seized with joy once more, and, moved by a sudden impulse, she found a mirror and gazed at her reflection.

Her hair almost glowed with light. It was flowing out behind her as if stirred by a current, and her cheeks and lips were a beautiful red. She started in surprise, but that was ridiculous; this was who she had always been. Yet as the buzzing in her brain became almost unbearable, she dropped the mirror. It was as if two strong forces were pulling her in opposite directions, her vision clouding with black.

Emma shook her head, forcing it to retreat. Just then, in one of the nearby treasure chests, two sparkling, perfect sapphires caught her eye. Curious, she swam to them and picked them up. And when she looked closely, she saw a flash of blue eyes, deep as the sea, smiling back at her with an expression of complete love.

A pang of pain tore at her again. Killian! But the dizzying spinning made her welcome the darkness once more, still clutching the sapphires. As consciousness slipped away, a new thought settled in its place, bringing pure peace.

"Don't you worry, mermaid fair. Rid your heart and your head of all the sorrow and pain. You're home now. You're home."

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Killian had never thought that anything could be more agonizing than watching Milah die in front of his eyes, all those years ago. He had cursed the crocodile and the stars and every god known to man for taking away his love, and he had felt such a void inside his heart that he thought he would never recover. But now, as the terrible dread filled him, the complete certainty that Emma was in great danger, he knew that he hadn't felt true pain before, and he refused to believe he had lost her too. In fact, he was certain that she wasn't dead, but he had the terrifying feeling that nonetheless, she was slipping away from him. Fast.

He shot to his feet so suddenly that he almost knocked David over. Not wasting time apologizing, he extracted the map he had had the good sense to carry, and started navigating in the direction where Snow and Emma were supposed to be.

"Hook, wait! Where are you going?" David said frantically.

"We need to catch up with Emma. I have to know if she is all right. The women must be almost at the end of the path they were taking today, and I know a shortcut," Killian answered, resolve steely in his voice.

David fell into step with him. He was still frankly terrified by the notion that Captain Hook was Emma's True Love, but it couldn't be helped. He also understood the terror of knowing that your other half was in mortal danger, and felt a new sense of respect for the other man, the pirate that he had thought only cared for himself. "We are going to find her, Killian. And we're going to save her."

Killian was startled at the sound of that coming from Prince Charming, of all bloody people. He stopped abruptly and wheeled back, gaze questioning. "Not that I resent it, but why are you calling me by my name all of a sudden, mate?"

"I thought it was the right thing to do. After learning that you're my daughter's True Love and all."

At the sudden panic in Killian's eyes, David couldn't help a small chuckle. "Yes, I had the same feeling for a minute there. But when you have gone through it yourself, it's impossible not to relate."

"What? Do you mean the same thing happened to you with Snow?"

"Yes, just after Regina gave her the cursed apple. I felt as if my heart was being crushed inside my chest, and immediately knew that she was in danger."

A very different panic flickered in Killian's eyes. "You… you think she's cursed?"

David gripped his shoulder tighter. "Don't lose hope! If you really are her True Love, you are the only one who can save her, and she will find her way back to you. The family motto is there for a reason, you know? Now come on. Let's stop talking and go find them."

The pirate's expression flashed with fierce determination. "You're right. I'm not letting her go. I will always find her. Always."

David smiled, and they kept walking, or rather almost running. They finally reached a clearing with a chattering stream, but the sight that awaited them almost made Killian buckle in pain again. Snow was kneeling next to it, sobbing and calling out for Emma, her voice turning hoarse, clawing at the water furiously.

David sprinted to his wife's side and flung himself down next to her. "Snow! Please calm down and tell us what happened. Where's Emma?"

The words tumbling from Snow's lips were the last ones he wanted to hear. "She… she's gone! The water swallowed her, I couldn't do anything, one minute she was drinking from the stream and the next she was. . . gone."

Killian fell to his knees beside them. He was staring at the water, cursing himself for not having anticipated this, when he heard David ask, "Killian, what's that?"

A bright golden flower was floating innocently down the current toward them, and Killian grimaced in something close to flat-out terror. "Maighdeana glaoigh bláth… But it's impossible. I thought it was only a legend."

Before David could ask what on earth he was talking about, they heard Gold's voice behind them. "Oh no, dearie. It is very real."

Killian turned, glaring at the crocodile. Regina was standing to his left, watching Snow crying and being embraced by her husband. To Killian's surprise, the evil queen had a pained look in her eyes, one he had never seen on her face.

"Do you care to fill us in on what the hell is going on? And what happened to Emma?" David said exasperatedly, and Killian couldn't help but be amazed at how much Emma took after her father. He was about to launch into the whole sorry story, but the crocodile cut him off. He took it none too kindly, but now was not the time to fight. He was more concerned about Emma than starting a snarking contest with his former (?) foe.

"The maighdeana glaoigh bláth, or 'flower of the mermaids' call,' is an ancient curse the mermaids used to attract human women, and turn them into mermaids themselves," Gold explained, as infuriatingly calmly as if remarking on the weather.

"What?!" David and Snow stared in unison, bewildered.

"But that was just a legend!" Killian snapped. "I can assure you that in the three hundred years I lived here, I never heard of any woman turning into a mermaid! The tale was that these flowers had perished long ago, and that the mermaids, albeit vicious and dangerous, were almost extinct. I do recall hearing, however, that you were the cause of most of them disappearing," he added venomously, his blue gaze locking with the crocodile's.

"Well, Captain." Gold's voice dripped with matching disdain. "You certainly are lacking in knowledge of some of Neverland's most ancient magic. But truly, what can a simple pirate understand about such things?"

Killian almost lunged at him there and then, but was brought up short by David. "Hey! Let him explain! We need his knowledge if we want to save Emma!"

Killian nodded stiffly, and David let go of his arm, turning to Gold instead. "All right. We're listening. Explain what happened to Emma, and also, how did you know where to find us? Did you also have a map with all the marked paths?"

To their communal surprise, however, it was Regina who answered. "We felt a very strong surge of magic, a kind that even I couldn't understand. But Gold said he knew it, and feared that one of you had fallen prey to an old and dangerous curse."

Killian clenched his fist, his anxiety visible, and Regina turned to him curiously. "And how did you two gentlemen know something was wrong? Neither one of you have magic… or do you?" The queen's gaze was fixed on him as if she already knew the answer, a slight smirk threatening to show on her face.

Killian was about to respond, but David spoke first. "He felt Emma in danger. Fell to his knees clutching his heart in pain. Something I know a little too well."

At the revelation, Snow turned to stare at her husband. "Wait, are you saying…?"

"Yes, apparently Emma is my True Love, and I am hers," Killian answered, eying the crocodile warily. Absolutely bugger-all need to give him ideas.

"Well, well, well… whoever would have guessed? But even I have only ever heard of such a strong connection once before." Gold gazed nonchalantly at David and Snow, who wore identical open-mouthed gapes of shock.

Killian, however, had quite thoroughly lost his patience. "Can we discuss this later? We're losing time! Tell us about this curse already, crocodile, or I swear I'll change my decision not to kill you. At the very least, I'll slam my hook into your face. Improve your bloody looks!"

Instead of being fazed, the crocodile merely giggled, just as he had when he found Killian on that fateful day of Milah's death. "Ah, ah, ah. No threats from you, pirate, or I'll break my promise of letting you live too."

"Gold, I swear. If you don't tell us what happened to Emma right now, I'll help him kill you myself," David snarled, almost matching his counterpart's glare.

Gold raised his hands in mock surrender, but couldn't help one last quip at the sight of David and Killian teaming up against him. "Ah, yes. The Pirate and the Knight. Seems your choice of decoration wasn't that off the mark, eh, Your Majesties?"

But, prompted by the pirate raising his hook, he decided that now was not the time to discuss this new development (one he had most certainly not seen coming). With a heavy sigh, he started the tale. "When I was last in Neverland to procure the squid ink you and your daughter found in my cell back in the Enchanted Forest – " he nodded to Snow – "I made acquaintance with the last of the mermaids here who hadn't turned into a murderer yet. Her name was Ariel, and she only wanted the pretty part of mermaid life. The singing, the hair combing, the treasure hoarding, what have you. But her sisters kept insisting she must drown someone from the surface to become a 'true mermaid.' So she made a deal with me. I would get rid of her sisters for her and she would procure the squid ink for me, as it was hidden in the bottom of the darkest ocean here.

"But before I killed the three remaining mermaids, Ariel's sisters, I studied their magic and came across the maighdeana glaoigh bláth, a remarkable little flower that held a vicious curse inside its petals. Any mortal woman who touched it would transform into a mermaid, forgetting all pain, sorrow, or memories of her past life. Her heart would eventually grow cold as ice, robbing her of her humanity. It was said that nothing could break this curse, but I, of course, knew differently. True Love could, and that is why I stole one of the flowers and altered it a bit for the Dark Curse. It is what made all of you forget who you were and gave you new identities in Storybrooke, and that is also why I added one drop of the squid ink, in addition to the drop of True Love potion, into the parchment – "

Before he could continue, Snow interrupted. "So that's why you wrote Emma's name on that piece of parchment with the special ink! You wanted to make sure you would remember who you were the moment you heard it in Storybrooke!"

She was surprised and a little more than uncomfortable at understanding how much he had controlled all of their lives, and she was not the only one. "You filthy crocodile! You manipulated Emma as if she was a pawn in your sick game!" Killian lunged at him again, but this time it was Snow who stopped him.

"Hook… Killian. Please. We need to save Emma, let him finish." Snow laid her hand reassuringly on Killian's arm, and he grudgingly gave in. She was right. He had to focus on Emma. Had to. Anything besides disemboweling Gold slowly and forcing him to eat his spleen for supper.

Gold, for his part, continued as if nothing had happened. "Actually, at the moment, we can't do anything for Emma. True Love's kiss would work, of course, but it's not that easy. Apart from the fact that I doubt our dear captain can survive the journey to the mermaids' cave without drowning, there is still the tiny detail that Emma won't remember who she is. And you can attest to the inherent difficulty of making True Love's kiss work with someone who has lost sight of herself. Can't you, Your Majesty?" The question was directed at David.

"What is he talking about?" Killian demanded. Stinking reptile!

"I took a potion once," Snow told him. "A potion Gold gave me, when I had to leave Charming to save him from King George. That potion made me forget who I was, everything I was, and only left a desire for revenge against Regina. I almost killed her then, and Charming tried to save me with True Love's Kiss, but it didn't work. I couldn't love him back, because I didn't even remember him. He put himself in the path of my arrow before I could kill Regina, and at his selfless sacrifice, I remembered him. Only then did the kiss work."

"Well, I don't care what I have to do to convince Emma that I love her or to make her remember who she is. I'm not going to lose her too."

"That's very touching, but there's still the problem that you can't survive underwater long enough to find her," Regina pointed out coolly. "How do you propose to get around that?"

Gold grinned. "It seems we'll have to enlist the help of an old friend of mine."

"The mermaid you were telling us about? Ariel?"

"Indeed, Captain. But I'm afraid we'll have to convince her to help us. She may not be as ruthless as her late sisters, but she is still not very fond of humans."

Killian and David exchanged a last worried glance. Then Killian, choking on the words, growled, "Lead the way, crocodile. Where exactly does this Ariel lass live?"

"In Mermaid's Lagoon, of course."

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Under the sea, Emma woke up still clutching the two sapphires, which she had a strong desire to not let out of her sight. She searched the cave for something in which to store them, and finally, in one of the treasure chests, found a seaweed pouch with a string. Perfect! She placed the jewels inside and hung it around her neck.

That done, she glanced around. This cave is becoming a little dull. I think I need a different kind of treasure, preferably male, with black hair and blue eyes. She wondered briefly why she had such a specific image of her intended victim in mind, but shrugged it off. Mermaids were not ones to worry about such conundrums. They lived their lives in beauty and vanity and ease, and nothing else mattered.

She left her cave and started swimming through the ocean, enjoying her freedom and the caress of the warm water against her scales. She felt like she hadn't done this in forever, but that was a silly idea. What else would she have done, if not this? Yet why then did she have a nagging feeling that she was forgetting something she shouldn't? As if something on the surface was calling for her.

That's ridiculous! I don't have any business whatsoever up there! Maybe looking for that other treasure missing from my cave… but that only means I would steal him and drag him down here! I just need to keep swimming, and the waves will take the sorrows away. . . but I shouldn't have them at all.

Damn. It was like she was arguing with three different versions of herself, and she shook her head at all the silly thoughts in her head today. I'll head to the surface. See if I find my treasure there.

She swam steadily upwards, and broke the rippling, silent water at last, looking at the Neverland sky in amazement. She loved the stars, and tonight they were especially bright and beautiful. The sky was tinted purple and pink, which meant that high night was only a few hours away, and she wanted to look at the deep blue lights that came with it. It reminded her of her prized sapphires.

She spotted a suitable stargazing rock and hopped on it, sighing in contentment as she watched the bright stars, the changing colors. The sea sounded different on the surface, unlike all the other sounds when she was immersed in it, and the waves lapping against the rock soon lulled her to sleep.

At last, she opened her eyes to the sound of something different: gentle rocking, creaking wood, snapping canvas. It grew steadily more insistent, and she finally tore her gaze from the sky to look to her left, where she saw a boat – no, a ship. Two masts. A lantern on the stern cast it in a faint golden glow, eerily beautiful.

And then her eyes fell on a tall dark figure standing on the starboard side, his back to her, gazing at the night sky longingly. He was beautiful, his hair dark and silky, his long leather jacket billowing in the wind and giving him an almost regal look, with more than a hint of danger. Something metal glinted at the end of his left arm: a sharp silver hook. It made her imagine him pulling her close with it, its cold and smooth touch breaking shivers in her skin.

Now that was perfect for her collection. A dark, dashing pirate captain, and there was something shiny on him too. Mermaids loved shiny things.

"Mmmmm, yes, my dear Captain. I do believe I have found my treasure," she whispered, a glint in her eye and a seductive smile curving her lips.

A/N: "Maighdeana glaoigh bláth" is a name I came up with by looking for the words for "mermaids call flower" in Irish, as I thought it would be fitting. Please review? =D