Hello, and welcome to chapter 3 of Song of the Savior, The Prisoner! This ended up being a much quicker update than I expected... I probably shouldn't have spent three hours working on this today when I could have been doing homework... but oh well. It was the weekend, I wanted to do stuff for me, for once, lol. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Anyway, this is our first flashback chapter. It recounts most of the flashback material that takes place in 2x09 between Cora and Hook, and we'll get to see how Willow fits in. :)

Also, to the guest, I just wanted to say thank you for your review and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! If I can just make one person happy by writing this, I am happy for it.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time.

Chapter 3: The Prisoner

28 Years Ago

Willow had long since used a piece of metal to break free of her shackles binding her, but a pair of free hands made her no less a prisoner. The loneliness was crushing, far more than it ever was when she was tied to the forest. At least there, she had the birds and the animals to keep her company. But with a seal on the tower window and a locked door, she couldn't even call for Buzz.

Perhaps it was for the best. It was her love for that little hummingbird that got her into this mess to begin with.

What she waited for atop that tower day and night was an opportunity. Any possibility to escape and get out of this castle and back to her safe haven. She knew the dark curse would likely be coming before long, but she would much rather spend those last moments with someone she actually cared about than alone in this hole. In any other situation, she'd have escaped long ago. But without any magic to protect her, she hadn't the meager hope of an advantage over the Evil Queen.

And for several weeks this was her life, going back and forth in her head between wallowing in misery and plotting her big moment. The thing about plans, though, is that they don't always work out quite in the way you might expect.

And one day definitely ended up playing out a little bit differently than she expected.

It all began as usual, Willow sitting in her cell with her back against the stone cold wall, sick and tired of waiting but lost for other options. She longed to sing or dance as a way to pass the time, but for some reason while she was locked away in the dark she couldn't remember any songs to sing, or the steps to them. Her body suffered from the lack of sunlight.

Then came a sound outside her cell. She would normally have paid it no mind, if not for the fact that it was not the sort of noise she expected to hear. It wasn't the sound of guards conversing quietly between shifts, or a lazy cough or shuffle of keys. Instead, it was the sound a struggle or two people fighting. Someone let out a guttural groan.

Willow sprang up from her spot on the ground and crept over toward the door, where, outside, she could now hear footsteps. She swiftly grabbed her metal shackles, since they were the closest thing to a weapon that she had, and stood beside the door where no one would see her until they walked inside.

She heard the door unlock, and waited a heartbeat for it to open. Not wasting any time, she immediately lunged forward and smacked the intruder over the head with the shackles. The man grunted in pain and then slumped over, collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Leaning down to inspect him, she realized there was nothing particularly special about the man other than his admittedly dashing good looks and a hook replacing his left hand. So why was he here? He wasn't one of the guards—that much was clear. Did he come to rescue her? That seemed unlikely, and yet... there was something oddly familiar about him.

She dug around in his cloak and jacket to see if he had any weapons on him, but apparently not. All he had was the hook.

I suppose it'll have to do.

It came off easily when she twisted it and she internally thanked the poor sap who had waltzed into her cell for who knows what reason before slipping out the door. She took the keys as well and used them to lock him inside, hoping it might buy her a little time. Although she noticed it might not make a difference at all when she got a look at the two guards he slaughtered outside. She snatched up one of their swords, however, thinking it might do her more help than the hook, which she decided to keep anyway. Who knew? It might be better at close range.

After that she quietly and quickly made her way down the staircase, hoping to god that she didn't bump into the Queen along the way. She could take any of the guards in a fight. But a sword never did anyone any good in a battle of magic.

Willow's feet were bare, so they made little noise as she descended the steps, but every little echo was enough to make her flinch. She kept her new weapons as far away from the walls as possible, as she didn't even want to imagine what kind of racket that would make in this gigantic shaft.

Although she made it a point not to stop for any reason, she was still unsure how to plan out her next move. She never was one to do much of anything without at least some form of a direction in mind. But unfortunately for her, she hadn't planned any of this.

The only plan she had in mind this very moment: find her magic and get the hell out.

Later

When Hook awoke, it was with a pounding in his head and hazy vision. At first he thought perhaps it was due to a night of drinking, but once he sat up and his vision cleared, he realized how bad his situation was.

Bloody hell…

That little wench got the best of him before he'd even had a chance to speak with her. Apparently he'd underestimated what he was getting himself into. Not to mention his hook was missing.

"Have a nice nap, pirate?"

He glanced up with a hand still on his head, and squinted at the figure in front of him. He noticed immediately that she was the Queen, but to him she just looked like another woman with a sparkly dress and too much hair. He'd already had plenty of those in his lifetime. Couldn't she see that he was trying to think?

"Something I can help you with?" he asked when the Queen continued to glare daggers at him.

"Yes, maybe you can," she said in a cold voice. "My prisoner has escaped."

Hook stood up casually and brushed himself off. "Well, clearly, I can see that. You probably should have done a better job securing this place."

She threw her hand up, and suddenly Hook couldn't breathe. He choked on the air and grabbed at his throat, but she kept her grip tight, even from a distance. "You think this is funny? That girl was a valuable chess piece and you let her escape. I have guards all over the palace searching for her, and so far she's nowhere to be found."

He laughed, even as he struggled to get air in and out of his lungs. "Sorry—do I—look like I'm playing a game of chess?" The Queen scowled and released him, turning to pace back and forth in frustration. He coughed and gasped for a few seconds, silently relieved that he could breathe normally again. "If—it's all the same to you," he said, still catching his breath, "Might I have my hook?"

The Queen paused and cocked her head. "No."

"The asking was me being a gentleman."

"'No,' because I don't have it," she hissed. "Willow must have taken it."

"Oh, well, brilliant," Hook said, tossing up his arms slightly. "Then I guess I'll have to find her."

The Queen stopped him as he tried to move past her. "You'll do no such thing."

"Get out of my way."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" She laughed. "You have nothing, Captain. And now that you may have just cost me something important of mine, you're going to help me do something else in return."

"And why should I do anything for you?" Hook asked.

With a devilish smile, the Queen said, "You will if you want your chance to skin your crocodile."

"Things are about to change in this world," the Queen said as she poured Hook a drink. Handing it to him, she continued, "Radically. I have plans to enact a curse that will take everyone to a far-off land."

Hook raised an eyebrow, unsure exactly what the significance was. He had the strange and all-too-familiar feeling that his time was being wasted. "How will that help me?" he asked.

The Queen smiled in a way that made his skin crawl. "This new realm? It's a land without magic. Where the Dark One will be stripped of his powers. There, you won't need any magical weapon to kill him." She moved closer, until she was a few mere inches away and he could even feel the warmth of her skin. "You can do it with a mere flick of your wrist."

Well, that was more like it. Now, she'd actually caught the pirate's interest. "Tell me what I have to do."

Turning away, she went on, "There's one person I don't want following me to this new land. You're to see to it that doesn't happen."

Ah. He should have guessed. "An assassination. Who is it you want me to dispose of?"

There was a short pause, as if the Queen needed a moment to muster the strength to tell him. He understood when she turned her head back toward him again and said, "My mother."

Hook took an awkward sip of his drink. "Oh… family complications, I see?"

The Queen tilted her head and for an instant he thought he saw a hint of a spark in her eyes. "Yes, something like that."

Since he didn't feel as though he was welcome to ask for details at the moment, simply went with, "Well, then, where will I find this woman?"

Approaching him slowly, the Queen reached out for him. "Give me your hand."

Hook hesitated, not sure he wanted her touching him given the fact that she didn't need to touch him at all to hurt him. "What, why?" He asked, only a bit defensively.

The Queen rolled her eyes as if she thought he was acting like a troublesome child. "Relax and hold out your hand." After a few seconds, he relented, put down his drink, and did as she asked, allowing her to wave her fingertips over his palm. He flinched as he felt a tiny shock through his arm, and briefly wondered if he was about to lose another hand. He really couldn't imagine having to live with two hooks. It would be terribly inconvenient.

However, it was over in a matter of seconds and Regina pulled away. "It's now enchanted. It will enable you to rip out her heart. I believe you've seen it done before."

Hook curiously began opening and closing his hand, amazed that he didn't feel any different. "Yes," he replied.

"The enchantment will only allow you to rip out one heart, so make sure you do it right."

Crooking an eyebrow at her, Hook finally mustered the gall to ask his first question. "What could she have possibly done to warrant such brutality?"

Of course, she simply answered as he expected she would. "That's my business. Yours is to kill her, and bring her body back to me."

With a sigh, he said, "Easy enough. When will I set forth on this murderous journey?"

"Immediately. But you won't be going alone." She turned around with an overly dramatic amount of flare and walked across the open foyer room, pulling back a blanket over a reclining chair. "You remember Claude."

Hook shrugged, unimpressed. "Can't say that I do."

At that, the Queen looked at him incredulously, almost as if she were offended. "You killed him in the cell block."

He remembered who she was referring to, although he still didn't recognize the man's face. Instead, he just nodded. "Ah, yes. I didn't recognize him without my hook in his neck. Forgive me, but isn't he a bit of dead weight?"

"I banished my mother to a far-off land some time ago. You're going to need a portal to get to her." Striding back over to the wooden dresser and mirror at the other end of the room, she pulled out a large hat box. "The rules are simple: one goes in, one comes back. Or, in this case, two in, two back. You'll arrive with Claude, and you'll return with my mother."

"Now tell me… Which far-off land do I have the pleasure of visiting today?"

Extracting the hat with a smile on her face that once again made him feel slightly uncomfortable, she said, "Wonderland."

Wonderland… oh, joyous. "Happily named, I'm sure. How will I find her?"

"Oh, don't worry. She'll find you," the Queen said darkly. Then, holding the hat in two hands, she twisted and let go, and the hat began to spin across the floor. Faster and faster it spun, until he could feel a breeze blowing in his face. And as the portal to this Wonderland opened, Hook took one last moment to consider whether or not he was going to regret what he was about to get himself into.

Cora wasn't sure what to think when the guards offered her a scruffy, tall man dressed in black. What she knew immediately was that he did not hail from Wonderland, nor did he have any royal relations. A pirate, perhaps. But for him to have entered this world, he'd have had to come through the hat. And any kind of portal—well, they were in short supply across all lands in these days.

While on his knees before her curtained throne, the man said boldly, (perhaps too boldly)

"I'm searching for someone. In her native land, she goes by 'Cora.'"

Her eyes widened beneath her mask. No one called her that here. No one.

She stood on her feet, pulling her mask away from her face to fully gaze upon her visitor. "In this land, she goes by 'Your Majesty,'" she declared, looking down upon him. Then, gesturing to her guards and servants, she ordered, "Leave us," so that she could speak to the man privately.

"Your name," she said, "Pirate."

He bowed respectfully. "Hook."

She cocked her head slightly. "Interesting nickname."

The man, Hook, gestured with his left arm, which had no hand attached to it. "Well, usually I would consider it more fitting." Then, pulling a pearl necklace out of his pocket, he continued, "I come bearing gifts, if you'll allow me."

Cora descended the steps of her throne and approached him slowly. "This hat—" she said. "Your portal. If I understand correctly, the same number who travels through must also return. You arrived with him." She gestured to the dead man lying not far away. "But who shall you return with?"

Cora was always prepared. Having been taught by a brilliant master years ago, she knew how to stay one step ahead of her enemies. Which why when Hook threw the necklace over his shoulder and plunged his hand through her chest, she barely flinched. When he came out with nothing, she laughed with delight at his confusion.

"I'm the Queen of Hearts," she said. "Do you really think I'd be so careless as to keep my heart where everyone else does? This!" She shot her hand out and thrust it into Hook's chest where his heart lay. Pulling him forward as he sagged and groaned in pain, she smiled at him. "Is how it's done." Then, dropping her pleasantries, she demanded, "Tell me—who did this? Who sent you here to kill me? Who?"

Hook grimaced, but then choked out, "Your daughter."

His words registered in her mind and she pulled back slightly. "Regina?" she whispered. "She—wants me dead?" A heavy sensation fell over her—a sensation she didn't need, didn't want, didn't have the time for. So instead, she focused on getting her information. "You're now going to tell me everything, and do exactly what I want." She squeezed his heart still in his chest, causing him to grind his teeth from the pain. "Because when you hold a heart, you control it. You have the power."

She knew it was cruel to make him talk while her hand was stuck inside his chest, but she liked it that way. She didn't mind making him suffer for her enjoyment, taking out her anger over Regina's attempt on her life—and having control. Delicious control.

After he was finished spatting out an explanation for his actions, as well as Regina's plans to enact the dark curse and Hook's desire for revenge on Rumpelstiltskin, he said, "I've told you all I know. Now have some honor and kill me."

She laughed at the irony. "Honor? For the pirate who snuck into my palace to assassinate me?"

Hook lowered his voice and hissed, "At your daughter's behest."

Clenching her teeth, Cora said, "She should have come. She should have killed me herself."

And then, enjoying one more second to feel his beating heart against her fingertips, she pulled back her hand and let him drop to the ground, heaving. While he took a moment to catch his breath, she returned to her throne and sat down. "Mercy seems—a bit out of character," Hook breathed, pulling himself to his feet.

She smiled. "Oh, not mercy, Hook. You're going to help me. Regina knows my methods better than anyone. If I was controlling you, she'd know. This has to be your choice."

Hook placed a hand to his chest. "Why should I?"

"Because, my dear, I'm the only one who can give you what you want."

"Is that so?" Hook asked, not sounding convinced.

Cora leaned back slightly and raised her eyebrows. "This curse my daughter plans to enact—this new land she's taking everyone to? You won't remember who you are. So tell me, Captain: how do you expect to kill someone, when you can't even remember him?" Now she could tell she had his attention. So her smile returned. "But, if you do what I say, I'll make sure you not only kill him, but that you remember every. Single. Moment."

Caught in her trap like a fly in a spider's web, he asked, "Well, what shall you have me do?"

This was going to be the difficult part. But she learned years ago never to hesitate. Not even for love. "Get me close to my daughter," she said softly. "And then I'll rip her heart out."

To say the least, the plan went perfectly. With Hook's help, she could play dead just long enough to keep Regina from suspecting a thing. And then she'd do the unthinkable. Rip out her own daughter's heart and crush it into dust. After all, if her daughter could never love her—never need her—then perhaps it was for the best.

But even as a woman who had grown quite decisive in her old age, she grew conflicted when Regina directed Hook out of her vault and stood over the coffin.

"I'm sorry, mother," Regina whispered. "Without you, I never would've become the person I am now. But I had no choice. I had to do this." For the first time in years, Cora hesitated. She wanted to hear what her daughter had to say. "After you killed Daniel," Regina continued, her voice on the verge of breaking, "You told me something I've never forgotten. Love is weakness. Well, mother, you are my weakness, because… I love you. That's why I couldn't risk taking you to the new land with me. Your grip on my heart is just too strong. And for what I need to do… I can't have any weakness."

Now Cora understood. Regina loved her after all. So much, in fact, that she decided to have her killed to avoid any setbacks in her plan. And how could Cora blame her for that? How could she be anything but proud that, after all these years, her daughter had finally reached the point where she realized that she couldn't let anything stand in her way? She now understood the dangers of love as Cora always wanted.

And so, Cora kept her hands to her sides as her daughter rested a single rose atop her chest. "Goodbye, Mother," she whispered, slowly stepping away from the coffin and exiting the room.

A few seconds later, Hook reentered and approached her coffin. "What happened?" he asked, taking her hand to pull her up. "You didn't kill her."

"There's been a change in plans."

"And what would that be?"

Cora took the rose in between her fingers. "My daughter's curse is coming. We have to protect ourselves."

"How exactly are we going to do that?" Hook asked.

"I'll explain, elsewhere. First, we need to go, quickly." But as Hook proceeded to help Cora climb out of the coffin and onto the floor, there came a faint, unnatural sound from within the vault. Hook stole a glance at her, but she kept her eyes sharp, closely scanning the walls.

They weren't alone.

She let go of Hook's hand and stepped forward, preparing to enter the labyrinth of the vault looking for their eavesdropper if necessary. But instead, she simply said, "We know you're back there. Come out and show yourself."

Silence.

"You can't hide from me, whoever you are," she attempted, pulling her black cloak around her. She took another step forward, about to begin a search, but after a few seconds a young woman showed her face. In one hand she held a sword and a short chain with a tiny vial at the end of it. And in the other hand she held a hook, which looked like it may have belonged to her new acquaintance.

"I come in peace," she said softly. "Merely passing through."

"Merely passing through, no doubt," Hook sneered. "That, I believe, belongs to me." He sauntered forward, causing the woman to stiffen and hold her sword up toward him. "Hand it over, sweetheart," he said through his teeth.

Hesitantly, the woman held out the hook at arm's length. "My apologies. I thought I might need it."

Hook scoffed as he snatched it away and reattached it to his left wrist. "I don't take kindly to those who steal."

Cora smiled and approached the two of them. "Is this the woman who bested you in the tower, Hook?" she asked.

"More or less," he said begrudgingly.

What caught Cora's interest the most was the way the woman's eyes looked upon her, almost as if they'd met before, even though Cora was certain that was not the case. Glancing down at the vial in her hand, she asked, "What do you have there?"

Her eyes suddenly growing wider, the woman switched the vial into the opposite hand so that she could more firmly hold her sword. "That's not your business, is it, Cora?"

"My my," Cora said with a chuckle. "You know my name, but I don't have the pleasure of knowing yours. Let's see about that vial, shall we?" With the flick of her wrist, she manifested the vial into her own hand.

The woman seemed to explode into a panic, reaching for it recklessly. "Hey, that's not—"

"Now, now, no need for a fuss," Hook said, catching her from behind while she was distracted and holding his hook to her neck. She struggled against him, but didn't have enough leverage to escape his grip once he removed her sword from her hand.

In the meanwhile, Cora inspected the vial between her fingers, watching the green glow of the liquid inside. "Oh dear," she said gently. "Stealing magic. Not very ladylike at all. Or, was this yours? But then, it's not what you were looking for is it?" In a single motion, Cora manifested another vial in her hand, one that looked almost identical to the other.

The woman's eyes widened again. "How did you—"

"I saw it on Regina a bit ago," Cora said. "And I wondered, what use could my daughter possibly have for restorative magic? But then I realized when you were holding this—Regina must have created a fake one just in case. I'm assuming you must have realized—but you were too afraid to face Regina for the real vial, weren't you? Well, lucky you, I have some extra tricks up my sleeve."

"Does that mean you're going to give it back?" the woman asked, by now having stopped struggling to simply glare at her.

Cora tilted her head. "Well, I suppose I could. But then again—after what you did to Hook, and what you've seen… I'd say you owe us a debt."

"Why don't we just crush her heart?" Hook snarled.

"Thank you for the lovely commentary," the woman bit back, jerking at his arm in frustration. Then, glancing back to Cora, she asked, "What makes you think I'll be any use to you?"

"Well, this magic, of course," Cora laughed, holding up the real vial. "This is sap, isn't it? From the enchanted willow tree? I've read about it, but I heard that the tree was destroyed, long ago. But not its guardian." She smiled in satisfaction when she saw the woman's stricken facial expression, knowing her guess was right. "Hook, it appears we have a siren in our presence. This young lady is none other than the legendary Willow Maid."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Actually, I prefer to be called 'Willow.'"

Cora nodded. "Willow. Willow, it is. So, my dear. Tell me—all your magic is right here in this little vial, correct? Meaning that, unless you have it with you, you're powerless. My, it sounds terribly inconvenient."

"You have no idea," Willow said snidely.

"That means, I'm assuming you'd be willing to do whatever it takes to have it returned to you," Cora said. "So, I'll make you a deal. You do as I say, and when I see fit, I'll give this back to you."

"Doesn't sound like a very fair deal."

"It's the only one I'm offering," Cora replied.

Willow hesitated for several seconds. Cora could see the war in her eyes—she knew that Willow didn't see letting go of her magic as an option. After all, the sirens of the Enchanted forest were all bound by their very lives to the magic they were sworn to protect. If something were to happen to it, it would mean the end of her life. And predictably, most living beings had a powerful instinct to survive.

And as expected, Willow raised her head and looked straight into Cora's eyes with her defeated ones. "What do you need me to do?"

Willow watched from the safety of Cora's protection spell as the Queen's curse devoured land and everything in its path, whisking it away to a land without magic—a land Willow had always desired to see for herself. But as the black smoke covered the skies and passed her by, she knew there was no getting there now.

Honestly, she still couldn't believe that Rumple created such a thing, let alone that the Queen was able to cast it.

"This is more impressive than I thought it would be," Willow said as the wind whipped through her dark hair. "Enjoying the view, Killian?"

Hook scowled. "I told you, we are not on a first-name basis."

"But I like 'Killian better," Willow said. "Because it has 'kill' in it, which is exactly what I want to do to you."

Hook regarded her with a strange expression. "Fetching. I'm glad to know the feeling is mutual." Then, glancing at Cora, he asked, "Wouldn't it have been easier to reconcile with your daughter before her curse destroys the land?"

Cora shook her head. "Regina doesn't need me—not now. Not when she thinks she's about to win. But I still have a place in her heart. And the curse won't last forever. It will end. In twenty-eight years, there'll be a savior. And she'll break it."

Twenty-eight years?

"Twenty-eight years?" Hook echoed Willows thoughts.

With a smile, Cora said, "You won't even notice. You'll be frozen, like all those in this corner of the land." Willow looked away up at the sky, still letting it sink in, just how long she'd have to wait. "But, when the curse ends, our quest will resume. And, when it does, Regina will truly have lost everything, and then she'll need me. That's when we'll go to this new land. You'll get your revenge." She gestured to Willow. "You'll have your end of the bargain honored. And me, I'll… help Regina pick up the pieces."

It was in that moment that Willow realized Cora was officially out of her mind. Willow didn't know much about relationships between parents and their children, but didn't mothers usually want their children to succeed in life? This woman actually wanted her daughter to fail, just so she'd need her again. It wasn't as if Willow cared for the Queen in the slightest. But for the first time, she truly felt a hint of sympathy for her.

She had a terrible mother.

It was funny. The next twenty-eight years were about to be completely ripped from her, and she was helpless to stop it. From one prison to another. The bright side was, before she knew it the curse would be broken and she could start planning. She didn't trust Cora to honor her end of the bargain, nor did she trust either of the people next to her to not ask the impossible of her. Even if Cora had a hold of her magic, allowing herself to be backed into a corner was not an option. She would not be manipulated.

But as the curse passed by them, Willow wasn't thinking about any of this. Instead, she closed her eyes and listened to the whistling of the wind and imagined herself singing and dancing underneath her willow tree. She imagined a time when she was free—perhaps not to leave her forest—but when she was free to be herself.

I'll be a free woman, yet.

Okay, so... in case it wasn't clear, Willow is The Willow Maid. She's loosely based off of the Willow Maid from Erutan's song, also titled, "The Willow Maid." If you haven't heard the song, I highly recommend it. It's lovely :) But yes, she's a siren, and we'll find out more about her past and what happened to her tree later, and why she so desperately needs the sap in her vial. Also, as you can tell she partially took Belle's place in this chapter, which of course you will also find out why later, lol. Kind of like the show does, I'm taking flashbacks out of order. Also, in case you happened to notice and it bothers you, I did intentionally skip the little "test" Regina gives Hook. Reason being is that they don't get into that at all in the show until season 5 and looking back, it doesn't seem like it makes sense chronologically. Gotta love that OUAT timeline, though XD