Chapter 3
Enchanted Forest, long, long ago
"Be gone, ye young scalawag!" Sixteen year old Edward ducked as the fat shop owner hurled a rotting apple at him. "We've no use for the likes of you. Lying, thieving scum! That's all you lot have ever been."
Edward hurried out the door before the shop owner could hurl any more imprecations—or rotten fruit—at him. As he stepped out onto the dirty, stinking street, a familiar hopelessness settled over him. It had been this way—unrelenting hate and suspicion directed at him ever since…ever since it happened.
He closed his eyes remembering once again that terrible day nearly a year past. He remembered everything as though it were yesterday—the sight of his mother, stringy dark hair pulled into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, sweat beading her forehead as she stirred her stew on the stove. He remembered Anne, his irrepressible seven-year-old sister begging him to play dolls with him (not that they could afford real dolls. Anne merely played with ratty corn-husk imitations of the real thing). He remembered the salty sea breeze—scented with garbage and rotting fish—blowing in their one window. Malodorous though it was, the breeze was welcome. In at least a small measure, it brought relief from the stifling August heat.
And he remembered his father, eyes wide with terror bursting into the front door of their slum, dirty clothes hanging from him in tatters.
"They're coming for me, Peg!" he'd gasped in a high whine. "I must hide!"
Edward watched as his mother's mild, doe-brown eyes flashed venom.
"What have ye done this time, William?" she asked in a hard voice. Anne stopped her wheedling and slumped down behind Edward, clutching at his arm. Instinctively, he gripped his baby sister's hand and squeezed reassuringly.
His father rounded on his mother. "Why d'ye do that?" he bellowed, flecks of spit flying from his mouth in his anger, startling light blue eyes crazed. "I'm yer husband, woman! Yer to back me up no matter what!"
Edward waited for his mother to shrink back like she always did. His father in a towering rage was nothing to be trifled with. But this time…this one fateful time she refused to be cowed.
"I'll not stand by a shiftless no-account who can't go two days without fleecing our neighbors and making us the pariah of the neighborhood!" she bellowed equally forcefully.
Behind him, Anne whimpered, and Edward slid to the ground next to her, wrapping her in a comforting hug.
Their father roared like a wounded bear, and back-handed their mother across the face. She fell backwards, and Edward would never forget the loud crack as his mother's head connected with the unrelenting iron surface of the stove. Then she lay still.
"Mama!" Anne yelled. The sound drew their father's attention, and the man's wild eyes frightened Edward.
"Come, you two," their father rasped, "We've not a moment to waste! Ye must hide me. The mob is aiming for my head this time, and no mistake!"
Anger mixed with the dread Edward felt. He'd been cowed by this worthless excuse for a human being long enough. The brute had injured their mother, but he'd be damned before he let the man touch his little sister.
Edward rose to his full…though rather unimpressive…fifteen-year-old height and turned to face the man who'd sired him.
"No, Papa," he said firmly. "We'll not help you anymore. Ye'll not hurt us anymore..."
Their father took a menacing step toward them, and Anne whimpered yet again, huddling even farther away. Edward balled his hands into fists. He may be no match for the big, beefy man, but he'd not go down without a fight.
What might have happened next only God knew. Before Edward's father had a chance to respond to his challenge, the mob descended en masse. Edward grabbed his little sister and ran for their parents' bedroom. Shutting the door firmly, he listened as the crowd broke down their front door and took their father away. It was not until much later that Edward found out the crowd had promptly taken his father to the town square and strung him up for such crimes as thievery, rape and intended murder, stemming from a very unfortunate event at a local pub.
As soon as he was sure the mob was good and truly gone, he'd gone to his mother. While Anne cried in the bedroom doorway, he frantically searched for a pulse. He never found it. In one afternoon, Edward's whole world shattered.
In the months since, Edward did his best to provide for himself and Anne, but it was all he could do just to keep them afloat. No one would offer him more than small odd jobs. His father cast a long shadow. Nearly everyone in their village had a grievance against the man, and they seemed to wish to take it out on Edward.
It certainly didn't help that Edward was the spitting image of his father with his startlingly light blue eyes and jet-black hair. Even the first wisps of stubble that had begun to grace Edward's young face looked like his father's.
As a self-righteous village woman swept her skirts aside and shot him a look of loathing, Edward came back to the present. What was he to do? The store had been his last hope. If even the shop owner wouldn't hire him to clean and stock the store, how was he to provide for Anne? That morning they'd eaten the last crust of bread. Anne had shot him a sad, miserable look. She wouldn't complain, but she wasn't strong. If she didn't start getting steady sustenance soon, she would become ill.
A deep anger started in Edward's empty belly and quickly spread throughout his body. These self-righteous pigs! They thought he was a thief like his father? Fine! A thief he would become. If that's what it would take to care for his sister, that's precisely what he would do.
Edward roamed the busy docks with studied casualness. With the ease of a veteran pick-pocketer, he fleeced sailor, merchant, and gentleman alike. Perhaps his worthless no-account father had passed something useful on to him after all.
With a furtive look to both sides, Edward reached for another pocket…and then felt a vice-like grip on his thin wrist. He felt an icy dread as he looked up into hard brown eyes.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you lad," the man said in a surprisingly soft and gentle voice.
Edward pulled, trying to yank his arm free. He had to get away! He couldn't be caught like his father! But the large man before him held firm.
"Let me go!" Edward shouted with as much bravado as he could muster.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, me boy," the man said with a grim smile, "Hornigold suffers no man to rob him."
Hornigold? Benjamin Hornigold?He'd tried to rob Benjamin Hornigold? The infamous pirate known throughout all the land for the ruthless and effective pirate ring he'd started? Edward's heart raced and terror filled his eyes. He'd had it this time! He'd be lucky if the man only made him walk the plank!
The large man grinned down at him grimly. "I see my reputation precedes me."
"A..a..aye," Edward stammered unable to get more than the single syllable past the colossal lump in his throat.
Hornigold chuckled. "Well, me lad, a man's reputation is his bond," he said, "but reputation does not always reflect reality."
Edward couldn't have responded if his life depended on it.
Hornigold clapped his free hand on Edward's shoulder. "Come now, boy. Don't look at me like that! I'm a pirate, not a demon. The words are not necessarily synonymous."
"A..a..aye," Edward responded again.
The large pirate eyed him for long moments. "Ye look like a wind could blow you away," he said speculatively. "Come. I've a proposition for you. Allow me to lay it before you at the pub over a bite. From the looks of you, you could use more than a few."
It didn't even enter Edward's mind to resist. The man pulled him to a back table and instructed the flirtatious bar maid to bring him large quantities of food. As he ate ravenously, Edward listened as oH Hornigold told him all about his piracy operation.
"I watched you for quite some time as you worked the crowd, my lad," Hornigold said after taking his last bite. "Ye've uncommon skill. You'd make a hell of a pirate."
"I…I would?" Edward asked, eyes rounded. This might be the first time anyone had told him he would be good at anything.
"Aye," Hornigold nodded, "first rate. I could use your skills and ingenuity on my ship. What say? Will you join my crew?"
The prospect was intriguing. Edward imagined himself as a pirate. He imagined the riches he could amass. He had a vision of himself flush with wealth, wearing fine clothes like those gracing Hornigold. He saw himself getting as much food as he could want. He saw himself providing for his sister's every need.
And then the dream came crashing down. Anne. As tempting as the pirate life might be, he couldn't have it. If he left, there would be no one left to care for his delicate young sister.
"I'm sorry sir," he said tremulously. "It sounds wondrous, but it simply can't be."
Hornigold looked at him speculatively as he took a long drink of his ale. "Care to enlighten me why not?"
"You see sir," Edward said. "I have a little sister. I'm all she has. I cannot leave her unprotected and unprovided for."
Hornigold smiled. "Is that all, me lad? Nothing is simpler to remedy."
"What do you mean, Captain?" Edward asked, confusion creasing his brow.
"Simply this," Hornigold said, smile still draping his craggy features. "I have a maiden sister. A very wealthy maiden sister. She has a large house and an even larger income. And even larger than both is her loneliness. She's more than once suggested an intention to take in a ward. Someone to be a companion and heir. What say we introduce the two? I've no doubt my sister will take in yours. Your sister will want for nothing. All possible luxuries and advantages will be at her fingertips. Would such an arrangement meet with your approval?"
Edward imagined Anne rich…and with silks and satins…Anne provided with an education, with finishing school…Anne presented into polite society. It was more than he could ever hope to provide for her.
"Aye, sir," he said with a hopeful grin. "If your sister will provide for mine, I'll join your crew."
"Excellent!" Hornigold said clapping his big hands together. "Now suppose you provide me with your name and then we can shake on it."
"Edward," he said, "Edward Teach."
Storybrooke, present day
As Regina drove from Granny's to Gold's mansion on the edge of town, the panic slowly started to recede. As bad as things looked, at least they were doing something now. There was nothing worse than being stuck worlds away from the man she loved, the man who was in terrible danger, and being able to do nothing about it.
A soft chuckle from the backseat drew Regina's attention, and she peered at the Jones's in her rearview mirror. Emma sat so close to her husband she was nearly in his lap. They held hands, their heads close together as they talked softly. Hook smiled gently, releasing her hand to gently stroke her cheek.
The pair had been steadily stealing kisses throughout the short drive…whenever they thought Regina was otherwise occupied. Of course, it seemed they were so caught up in each other, they barely even knew there was another occupant to this vehicle.
A pang tore through Regina's heart. Would she ever have what these two had finally found? She was convinced she loved Robin with as deep and passionate a love as Emma loved her pirate, but would she ever see the man alive again? At the very thought of her outlaw's death, the fear threatened to take over again. Resolutely, she put it from her mind, instead focusing on the retribution she would take on whatever miscreant dared to attack the man and the boy the Evil Queen loved.
Hook and Emma were kissing again by the tell-tale sounds coming from the backseat, and Regina put herself in their shoes for the first time that night. Quite the wedding night this was turning out to be!
Regina cleared her throat. "Sorry," she said awkwardly, "for, you know, ruining your big night."
Emma pulled her mouth free, and stared at Regina in what could only be called astonishment. Was it really that hard to believe that she would apologize?
Finally Emma cleared her throat. "Well, I mean, I'm the savior," she said with a shrug. "It's kind of an occupational hazard."
Hook heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Let us just hope the Crocodile doesn't prove recalcitrant. If I'm to be denied the pleasure of lying in my wife's arms tonight, I don't want my sacrifice to go for naught."
"Oh he'll help us, alright," Regina said grimly, Evil Queen firmly in place. "Dark One or not, if he balks I'll curse him into oblivion.
Truth be told, Gold getting in touch with his malevolent imp side was the least of Regina's worries tonight. The man had been surprisingly pliable since his marriage to Belle. Who know all it took was a literary-minded beauty to tame the beast?
No, Regina's greatest worry was not that Gold wouldn't help them, but rather that he couldn't. As Hook said back at the bed and breakfast, every known method of traveling realms had been exhausted. Unless Gold had some deep, dark, magical…something…hidden away somewhere, they were on a fool's errand.
Regina turned on her blinker, pulled into Gold's estate, and put even the possibility of failure from her mind. She hadn't become the evil queen by lying down and giving up. Whatever it took, she would get back to the Enchanted Forest and she would save Robin and Roland!
…
"Well, here we are," Emma said, rather unnecessarily as the trio walked up to the front door.
"It seems the Crocodile did quite well for himself in this new land of yours," Killian commented, his voice only reflecting a hint of the normal distain he usually reserved for his erstwhile enemy.
"A price of the curse," Regina said absently as she rang the doorbell. "Before he'd tell me how to cast it, he insisted I provide him with a good life in Storybrooke."
Emma looked around the grounds as she waited for the door to be opened. She certainly saw Belle's influence already. The walk was lined with flower gardens. The entire place looked brighter and cheerier than the last time she been here—after Belle's father had stolen a teacup from Gold. For some reason, that particular theft had nearly driven the man ballistic.
The hall light went on, and a moment later, Gold opened the door, Belle clad in a fuzzy blue kimono, hanging off his arm. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in her and Killian. Emma smirked. She'd wager they were about the last people he expected to see tonight.
"Well, well," Gold drawled, "if it isn't the Jones's and their evil little side-kick."
"Look," Regina said irritably, "we don't have time for your crap. Are you going to let us in or not?"
Gold's eyes narrowed. "Tsk, tsk. No manners at all. You show up at a man's house at," he looked down at his watch, "10:00 at night and then greet him with unremitting rudeness?"
Regina looked like she was about to pull out the fireballs, but Belle, always the peacemaker, stepped into the fray. "Rumple, obviously something's happened or they wouldn't be here tonight—especially Emma and Killian. We should invite them in."
Gold stepped back, and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Be my guests, dearies."
Emma stepped inside, fingers laced with Killian's. It would seem her husband couldn't keep from touching her tonight—not that she had any objections, to be sure! Belle showed them into a formal sitting room and then wandered toward the kitchen to make them all a pot of tea.
Emma sat with Killian on a cozy loveseat, and then leaned into him as he wrapped an arm around her. Gold shot them an amused, mocking glance.
"Well, Dearie," he drawled, "I know the pirate's no catch, but was he really such an abysmal lover that you've abandoned the marriage bed already?"
Emma felt Killian tense beside her and rolled her eyes. "Save it, Gold," she said, "we don't have time for your feud tonight. Besides, Killian and I barely got started, and already he's the best I ever had."
She looked up into her husband's eyes, and the love and hunger she found there had her heart racing and her cheeks flaming.
Belle returned with a full tea service, fragrant steam wafting from the intricately decorated silver tea pot.
"So what brings you to our home tonight?" she asked pouring and serving the soothing beverage.
"We've got trouble," Regina said simply.
Gold sighed. "Why does that not surprise me?"
"What kind of trouble?" Belle asked.
"It's the Enchanted Forest," Emma answered. "It seems someone attacked the Merry Men and kidnapped Roland; maybe Robin too."
"And just how could you know that?" Gold asked skeptically.
"The queen only just received a missive from Little John detailing an attack on their camp. It seems the lad was abducted, and Robin is also missing," Killian provided.
Emma leaned her head on Killian's shoulder, and looked over the group. "The real question," she said, "is how the hell he managed to get a letter to Storybrooke. He talked about having a messenger that he hoped he could trust, but all the portals are closed. How did this 'she' manage to cross realms?"
Gold laughed—his old Rumplestiltskin cackle. "Really, Dearie?" he asked sarcastically. "Are you really as dense as all that?"
Killian tensed again, no doubt prepared to go into battle for her honor. Emma laid a gentle hand on his chest, and he relaxed. "Cut the crap Gold," she said in a voice liberally laced with irritation. "If you know something just tell us. Stop with this whole song and dance routine."
"Let's see," he said, putting a finger to his chin, "who do we know who can travel…or more precisely swim…between realms? Who do we know who has a 'true love' right here in Storybrooke, and a father and sisters in the waters off the Enchanted Forest?"
"Ariel!" Regina breathed.
"Exactly," Gold said with a small nod.
"But," Emma said, a frown creasing her brow, "that can't be right. Ariel would have told us, wouldn't she? I mean, she was one of my bridesmaids. She's been busy with all the wedding craziness just like all the rest of us over the last week or so."
"Well," Belle said after taking a dainty sip of her tea, "that's not precisely true."
"What do you mean, lass?" Killian asked.
Belle shrugged. "Yeah, she was there for the rehearsal and the wedding, but other than that she's kind of been MIA. And she seemed really preoccupied today. I saw her leaving quickly just after the ceremony. When I asked her what was wrong, she just muttered something about having to talk to her father."
"Well, there you have it then," Gold said, decisively setting his cup aside. "Now that everyone's been briefed on the happenings of the Enchanted Forest, can my wife and I get back to bed?"
"No you may not!" Regina said sharply. She got to her feet and started pacing. "Gold that's the man I love out there! We need your help; find us a way to get back there and save him!"
Gold chuckled again. "Are you daft?" he asked. He began speaking slowly, deliberately as though he were speaking to a slow child. "All methods of creating portals are gone. Obliterated. Used up. No longer accessible."
Regina stopped and glared at Gold with such venom, Emma half expected fire to shoot from her eyes. "I don't believe that," she said with soft intensity. "I can't believe that. I know you, Gold. You can find a way."
"Perhaps," Gold said with a maddening smile, "but if there is a way, it'll be more than difficult. It'll be damn near impossible. Why should I go to all that effort for you?"
It was Belle that came through for them. "Rumple, he's her true love," she said earnestly. He turned toward her, and his face softened. "You and I both know what it's like to believe your true love is dead or dying. We both know how it feels to be separated from the one we love."
"But Belle," he said softly, "I don't even know if it would work. Trying might be dangerous. Sometimes the cost is simply too great to balance the benefit."
"If true love isn't motivation enough for you," Emma said trying heroically to hold on to her patience, "how about this: Somebody's obviously trying to get to Regina. How much you want to bet if she doesn't show up in the Enchanted Forest, he finds a way to show up here? If we don't take care of the villain over there, we'll have to deal with him here. How's that cost-benefit analysis working out for you?"
"Sadly, the pirate's bride makes sense," Gold said with a sigh.
"You're just now discovering that mate?" Killian said with a grin in Emma's direction. "I've known she's bloody brilliant since the moment I met her."
"And this, Dearies, is precisely why we send newlyweds off on honeymoons," Gold said. "If we don't send them off to exorcise all the sappiness, the rest of us will drown in it!"
"We have more problems to deal with right now!" Regina insisted, dropping back into her chair. "Are you going to help us or not."
"I can try," Gold said doubtfully. "I know of only one possible method of creating a portal."
"And what's that?" Emma asked.
"A powerful magical artifact I have stored in my vault," Gold answered slowly. "But if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath. Activating said artifact will take a powerful dose of magic. I'm the most powerful magical being in the realm, and I doubt even my magic will be strong enough to do the trick."
"But you won't be alone," Regina said firmly. "Miss S…I mean Mrs. Jones and I will be with you. Our combined magic will be enough."
Almost as an afterthought, she added. "It has to be."
"Just what is this powerful magical artifact?" Killian asked.
Gold paused, obviously for dramatic impact. "The trident of King Triton."
Notes:
-Sorry for the long delay in updating. I'd only fully plotted out the first two chapters. I had to take some time to flesh out the rest with a detailed outline (complete with the backstories of the two villains and the present day story) before I could really dig into the rest of the story.
-In the long, long ago section, Benjamin Hornigold and Edward Teach were real historical people, or, more specifically, they were real historical pirates. I've done some research on them, and they're both rather fascinating. I plan to make their contribution to the story as historically accurate as possible (within the crazy fairytale world of OUAT…so who knows how accurate I can make it really? Lol!) Most of this chapter's events, however, come directly from my imagination. There's little out there on either man's family or younger years. It is true that Hornigold took Teach on as a kind of protégé, though.
-In the present day section, I hope you're not averse to sappiness. Being brand newly-weds, Killian and Emma just can't help themselves…and they haven't even had a real "wedding night" yet! If you are averse to sappiness…don't worry, pretty soon they'll be so busy with danger and adventure, they'll barely have time to nauseate those around them! :-) Beyond the lovebirds…so, Rumple has Triton's trident. Will his, Emma's and Regina's combined magic be enough to create a portal?
-Up next: We go back to around a year before the first curse and meet up with the story's second villain, who is currently busy raking a few poor unfortunate souls across the coals. (And that shouldn't be subtle at all for those of you familiar with Disney songs!) In the present day section, Emma, Killian, Regina, Gold and Belle retrieve the trident and attempt to open a portal.