Emma sat cross legged on the floor in the center of her and Regina's shared room. She looked both annoyed and impatient as Regina headed toward her with a worn down candle.
"You're the one who wanted to start teaching me right away," Emma complained the closer Regina got to her.
"Until you go looking for a candle on a normally dormant pirate ship, you don't get to whine about how long it takes to start a magic lesson," Regina replied before she lowered herself onto the floor across from Emma.
Regina mirrored Emma with her legs tucked under herself as she set the candle on the hardwood floor between them. She took a deep breath and released it with a subtle sigh in preparation for the long hour or so ahead of her.
"Whatever," Emma quickly dismissed Regina's comment. "How are we doing this?"
Regina closed her eyes and fought the urge to rub her temples out of frustration. She took a moment to calm down before they even began then opened her eyes.
"You're going to light the candle," Regina answered.
"How?"
"Don't upset me," Regina warned.
"How am I upsetting you? I haven't even done anything yet!"
"You've already done plenty, Miss Swan. I can assure you I don't have a high tolerance for your unrelenting sense of humor."
"Fine. Just tell me how to light the candle."
Regina paused to collect herself yet again before she spoke.
"Clear your mind of everything but the task at hand. Focus on the wick. Imagine the candle already lit."
Emma took a deep breath and stared at the candle. Her eyes never strayed, her focus seemingly on the unlit wick as suggested. Nothing happened. The room was quiet for the few minutes Emma appeased Regina, but she couldn't remain committed any longer than that. With a sigh and the drop of her shoulders, Emma tore her eyes off the candle and blinked.
"It's not gonna work," Emma insisted.
"Try harder," Regina pushed.
"Ugh. I can't do this!"
"Fine. Give up," Regina dismissively threw up her hands. "I'll just have to explain to Henry that you refused to learn magic and it got you killed long before you had a chance to be the hero he expects you to be, the mother he expects you to be."
Emma frowned and, for a moment, looked deflated before she sighed and shifted her position on the floor. She adjusted herself and retrained her eyes on the candle. She did as Regina told her and imagined the candle already lit. She allowed thoughts of flames to consume her mind and mentally recreated the flame from her birthday cupcake the day Henry turned her world, her life, completely upside down.
A flame flickered to life and a small, soft orange glow illuminated both Emma and Regina's faces.
Regina grinned.
Emma sharply exhaled as her features expressed delight and wonder. She beamed at the realization, beamed at her ability to use magic on cue.
"I did it," Emma excitedly said.
"The most basic form of magic," Regina stated.
"You can't let me enjoy anything, can you."
"You're capable of much more than lighting a candle," Regina added. "Enjoy that."
"Did you just compliment me? Regina Mills just complimented me, Emma Swan."
"It's not something to get used to," Regina dismissively said. "Care to learn something more effective for battle?"
"Uh, sure. What else you got?"
"Much more than you're ready for."
"Like...?" Regina grinned, a dark glint in her eyes.
Emma recognized the look on Regina's face as her usual malicious intent. Her expression fell to the exact opposite of Regina's, that read, "oh shit". She quickly looked like she regretted her decision and Regina blissfully noticed.
Magic crackled at Regina's fingertips before she shot out a short burst of electricity. She zapped Emma and gave her a tiny shock.
"Ow!" Regina chuckled.
"How do you do that," Emma asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
Emma narrowed her eyes at Regina and thought about making her magic physical. She applied Regina's advice about the candle to feeling her magic in her fingers. Blue sparks crackled to life after a minute and Emma reached out. She placed her charged up hand on Regina's knee and sent a shock through Regina's body.
"Ah," Regina jumped under Emma's touch.
Emma laughed as she pulled her hand away.
"Maybe next time you won't underestimate me," Emma smirked.
"Maybe next time you'll remember what I can do," Regina's grin reappeared, wider than before.
Regina stood and held out her hand, palm up. She gracefully waved her hand and the candle's flame grew to three times its original size. She flicked her wrist and sent the fire in Emma's direction, off to the side and away from causing major injury.
Emma scrambled to her feet and jerked away, but not in enough time to avoid the fire completely. The flames scorched Emma's pants as she threw herself toward the wall.
"Son of a-" Emma didn't finish her sentence as she looked down to inspect the damage. "These are my only pants!"
"Relax," Regina said as she waved her hand from left to right. "I told your father and now I'm telling you. There is very little I can't do."
Emma looked down and saw her pants, fixed as though they'd never been burned.
"Okay, you've been holding out on me," Emma said. "How do I learn everything you know?"
"Not everything," Regina frowned. "If I taught you every last thing, you'd be as black-hearted as me. Not many people want that."
"Fine. So not everything. Just...most of it."
"I'll teach you basic defenses and attacks. The rest is unnecessary given the circumstances and would take way too much time to teach you."
Emma sighed. "I guess that's fair. What's next?"
"You didn't defend yourself against my attack. The fire."
"Of course not. I wouldn't know what to do."
"That's exactly my point," Regina started. "There are a couple of things you can do. You can attack someone in retaliation to protect yourself or you can deflect."
"Let me guess. I'm about to learn how to deflect."
"Oh good. You're much smarter than your parents," Regina teased.
"Play nice."
"With your parents? Or with you."
"Both. I'm on your side, remember?"
Regina didn't have a comeback. She didn't even understand why Emma decided to stand up for her the way she had.
"Very well. Let's move on," Regina changed the subject. "Deflection."
Emma gave a small, brief smile.
"Deflection requires a little...finesse," Regina said. "What do you know about magic?"
"You have to feel it. Think about who you're protecting," Emma casually summarized Rumple's words.
"Okay. Use that knowledge and channel your magic into your hands like you did a minute ago."
"Then what," Emma asked.
"That's where the finesse comes in. Attack me."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I thought we just discussed I wouldn't do that."
"You can and you will," Regina assured her. "You just need to practice. I want to show you how to defend yourself and it's easier to attack someone, especially when it's you against me."
Emma laughed.
"You better hope I don't hurt you then," Emma joked.
"I doubt you could, dear."
Emma tried to think of a way to magically attack Regina. The candle still lit, she decided to copy Regina's previous attack and use the flame against her. She took a deep breath and thought about Henry, the one thing that seemed to help her control her magic so far that day. She eased her mind and cleared away all thoughts except raising the flame and turned it toward Regina.
Emma looked from the candle to Regina's eyes and focused solely on the woman that stood across from her.
"Need help," Regina asked with a condescending grin.
The flame rose and Emma smirked.
"I think I've got it."
Regina's grin transformed from one of condescension to one of satisfaction.
"Watch my hands," Regina said seconds before Emma flicked her wrist and pushed the fire toward the brunette.
Just seconds after she finished her sentence, Regina raised a defensive hand and waved it from left to right. As she deflected the fire, she aimed it at the wall to Emma's left and charred the wood. Though her hand moved quickly given the close proximity and severity of the attack, Regina's hand remained stiff as it smoothly, fluidly moved from one side to the other. The fire appeared to bounce off an invisible shield not even an inch in front of Regina's hand.
Emma took notice, as instructed, and saw it all. Her expression showed her wonder and awe at such a feat performed so naturally.
"Wow. I never thought magic was something to study, but...I don't know. It looks good on you," Emma said and instantly regretted it when she heard the words leave her mouth.
Emma closed her eyes and tried to pretend she was anywhere else.
Regina laughed.
"You gave me a compliment. Emma Swan gave me, Regina Mills, a compliment," Regina threw back Emma's earlier tease in the blonde's face.
"My first and my last," Emma responded as she opened her eyes.
Regina's laughter died down, but her smile still remained.
"If you insist," Regina said as she moved her hand with flourish over the blackened wall at a distance.
Emma turned and watched the other woman repair the wall.
When Regina's hand fell to her side, the wall appeared as untouched as it had before the fire burned it.
"Can you teach me how to do that," Emma asked as she pointed to the wall.
"Next time," Regina said. "You still don't know how to protect yourself. Healing, or repairing in that case, is maybe the third most important thing to learn. Of course, that's just in my opinion and my experience."
"Fine," Emma shrugged. "Deflection."
"Are you ready to try it," Regina asked.
Emma nodded.
"Okay," Regina said as she held her hand, palm up, at her hip and created a fireball. "You need to act fast."
Emma nodded again. Regina took a step back, fireball at the ready, and took a deep breath. Emma watched as Regina raised her hand closer toward her ribs and the sight reminded her of the last time she was at the well in the woods of Storybrooke. Emma's mind flashed from present day to that moment as she stared at the brunette. She remembered how Henry had gotten her to burn the spell that would make someone love another person. It had no relevance to the current moment, but it was an image she couldn't shake.
"Ready," Regina asked again.
"Yeah," Emma breathed out and readied herself.
Regina noticeably pulled her hand back in aim. She made sure Emma knew where the fireball was so the blonde could protect herself as planned, to give the younger woman a chance to learn, a chance in general.
Emma kept her eyes on the fireball and tried to feel her own magic. She thought of who she was protecting in that moment. Herself.
As Regina flung the fireball at Emma, the blonde lifted her hand in front of herself and tried to push the fireball away. As she moved her hand from right to left, her magic didn't sustain itself and the fireball soared past her hand and burned the bottom half of Emma's shirt at her left hip. Emma keeled over at the waist and yelped as she felt the burn, her shirt ruined and her skin welted.
Regina winced as she closed the space between them, her arms outstretched toward Emma. She placed one hand on Emma's shoulder and with the other, she reached for Emma's injury.
"Ah," Emma cringed and leaned against the once charred wall on her left side. "Fuck."
"Let me see," Regina calmly said as she nudged Emma to lean on her back against the wall.
Emma permitted Regina to turn her body to face the other woman, but kept her head down as she scrunched up her face. Emma's long blonde hair covered her face and most of her torso, which prevented Regina from seeing the burn she'd caused.
"Look up," Regina instructed as she removed her hand from Emma's shoulder and hooked her fingers under the woman's chin.
She tilted Emma's head upward and looked down at red flesh. Emma grunted and looked down as she felt the sting and hotness of the burn. She hissed and squirmed as her hair fell in front of the injury again.
"I can fix it," Regina said. "But you have to look up. I can't fix it if I can't see it."
Emma groaned and slowly looked up. She closed her eyes as she rested her head against the wall and deeply sighed.
"You were going easy on me and I still couldn't defend myself. Guess my own safety isn't as much of a motivator as I thought."
Regina kept her eyes on Emma's burn and held her hand over the raw and sensitive skin. Gradually, her hand emitted a faint purple glow and highlighted Emma's hip with the same light.
"It's not easy learning magic," Regina started. "You did much better than I did the first time I learned to protect myself."
Emma laughed.
"I doubt that."
"Why would I lie to you about that," Regina asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I like to be right about a lot of things and I don't like looking incompetent."
Emma thought about it. She knew Regina well enough to know she spoke the truth.
"Why would you tell me that?"
Regina's magic coursed through Emma's veins as the brunette healed her. Emma would be lying if she said she didn't like how it felt. There was a unique signature the brunette's magic left in her even after Regina would pull away.
"I don't know. Motivation, inspiration. Maybe you work better when you're confident, or in your case cocky."
Emma took a deep breath and Regina's magic settled.
The brunette pulled her hand away and slowly took a step back from the younger woman.
Emma opened her eyes and looked down. Her skin looked as good as new, the same could not be said for her clothes.
"You couldn't fix my shirt while you were at it," Emma asked.
"I could have not healed you at all," Regina shot back.
Emma huffed out a sigh before she spoke.
"Thank you."
"...You're welcome."
Regina looked at Emma's ripped and burned shirt.
"Would you like me to fix it," Regina finally asked.
"If it's not too much trouble. I really don't want to die of hypothermia," Emma answered without malice or venom of any amount.
"It's not a problem," Regina said as she waved her hand again.
She waved it across the expanse of the affected material. The shirt knitted back together before both women's eyes.
Emma, though she'd witnessed Regina fix the wall and her pants, still stared in awe at the work Regina did. Regina stood completely immune to the wonder.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that, Emma confessed.
"I'm not sure you'll have the chance to adjust," Regina said. "But...if you do, it becomes second nature. Nothing spectacular."
"I've been using magic on and off since I saved you from the wraith months ago," Emma started. "I'm not used to half the things I've done using it."
"Magic like that...it still amazes me. Rumpelstiltskin may have taught me much, but magic like yours can't possibly be taught. Magic like yours is something those like Maleficent wish to covet for themselves."
"Maleficent. Like Sleeping Beauty Maleficent?"
"One in the same."
"Is my magic something...you would want for yourself," Emma slowly asked.
Regina scanned Emma from head to toe and back again until their eyes locked.
"It's just that...you used my magic to help get us out of trouble earlier with the eels," Emma added then trailed off.
"At one time or another, perhaps. However, I've taken many things from people, but magic wasn't one of them. Now, I'm fine with the power I have and the control I have over it."
Emma nodded in understanding.
"Look, if you don't want to try any more spells today-"
"No, I need to learn. Clearly I still can't defend myself and I need to be able to do that much if I expect to save Henry," Emma quickly and honestly answered. "Throw some more fire at me. I'll get it this time."
"Determined," Regina stated before she created another fireball in her right hand.
"Kind of have to be," Emma said. "It's the only reason I made it through the system. On the streets. In prison."
Regina almost looked guilty as she stared at Emma. The thought and expression immediately faded as she focused on the task at hand. To be the teacher, not the compassionate young girl she was once upon a time.
"Whenever you're ready," Regina said.
Emma took a deep breath and slowly released it. With her eyes closed, she envisioned Henry and her desire to bring him home. She thought about how she promised he wouldn't grow up like her and thought about all the ways she had failed him since she gave him up for adoption. She tried not to think of her failures as failures, that she had done at least one thing right by giving him up.
"I'm ready," Emma said as she kept her eyes closed.
"Are you sure," Regina asked.
Emma replayed the memory of Henry being pulled into the portal with Greg, or rather Owen, and Tamara. She shot her eyes open, darkened with a fierceness Regina had only seen once when they argued on her walkway about Henry when she'd been accused of murder.
"Let's go," Emma said.
Regina threw the fireball at Emma and watched the blonde successfully push it back in Regina's direction. Regina grinned and palmed the fireball before she closed her hand into a fist. The fireball disappeared.
"Very nice," Regina complimented, still grinning.
"Again."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Come on."
Regina cocked her head to the side with a stifled chuckle and a smirk.
"As much fun as that would be," Regina started with a predatory tone, low and sultry.
"But just in case Ursula sends her eels again there are a few other things I think you should learn before you start practicing. It will be better for you to at least do several things once than to practice one thing several times so you can try to properly defend yourself should things go wrong."
"Right," Emma sadly said with a frown as she stared at the ground.
"Are you worried," Regina asked. Emma found Regina's eyes before she responded.
"A little. What if...what if I'm not good enough and I can't save Henry?" Regina gave a tight-lipped smile, forced and sad.
"I know the feeling," Regina admitted. "But...someone once told me 'you might not be strong enough, but maybe we are.'"
Emma's jaw dropped. She didn't know what to say. For the first time, she stood speechless mid-conversation with Regina Mills as she heard the woman quote her.
"For Henry's sake," Regina started. "We need to be in this together."
Emma sighed as she curled her lips into a small smile that didn't completely reach her eyes.
"Thanks," Emma said. Regina blinked a few times at the blonde's words.
"For what?"
"Teaching me magic, saving my mom's life the other day," Emma shrugged with a nervous smile.
Regina saw Emma's smile and it reminded her of their conversation outside Granny's diner during the welcome home party for Mary Margaret and Emma. The sight filled Regina with a sudden and foreign warmth in the pit of her stomach. It fluttered up to her chest like butterflies and surrounded her heart. Immediately, she averted her eyes to get rid of the feeling. Slowly, it faded. When she felt in control of herself again, she met Emma's gaze a second time.
"We should continue with the lesson, Miss Swan," Regina quickly changed the subject.
"Sure," Emma gave a single nod. "What's next?"
If she noticed Regina's avoidance, she didn't show it.
"Conjuring," Regina said, thankful Emma hadn't questioned her actions. Regina twirled her wrist and made an apple appear in her hand from a cloud of purple smoke.
"Don't think I'm gonna eat that just because you're being nice to me," Emma said as she pointed to the apple.
Regina chuckled with a devious grin and wicked gleam in her eyes as she looked from Emma to the apple. She looked back at Emma and brought the apple to her lips. She bit into it and grinned again as she stared at Emma while she chewed. Once she swallowed, she extended the apple to Emma.
"Care for a bite?"
Emma's eyes fell from Regina's to the apple. She kept her gaze on the apple for a few long seconds before she looked into Regina's eyes again and took the apple.
"This better not be poisoned because I'm starving," Emma said before she bit into the untouched side of the apple.
Regina shook her head with a smug expression.
"Are you ready to conjure something yourself?"
"Yeah," Emma answered with a full mouth.
Emma held the apple out to Regina in offering.
"No, thank you. Finish it if you'd like."
Emma swallowed the piece she'd chewed off.
"Thanks," Emma said. "I can conjure anything, right?"
"Yes. Just think of the object you wish to obtain and hold out your hand expectantly."
"You didn't just hold out your hand. You did the whole wrist thing."
"Yes, but I know how to control my magic. It'll be easier for you to conjure something that fits in the palm of your hand."
"I know just the thing," Emma smiled then stared at her free hand as she held it palm up in front of her face. After a few moments of thinking of only one thing, it appeared in her hand out of a blue puff of smoke.
"Yes," Emma victoriously hissed.
Regina rolled her eyes, but she couldn't contain her smile as she watched Emma bring a greasy cheeseburger with all the fixings to her mouth and take a large bite.
Emma appreciatively hummed as she reveled in the taste.
"I'm so glad I have magic," Emma said as she continued to chew. "Mm! Here."
Regina looked to Emma's outstretched hand and took back the apple. The second it left the blonde's hand, Emma grabbed the burger with her free hand and took another bite. Regina accepted the woman's behavior and flicked her wrist in a fluid motion that ended with her pointing two fingers at her bed. Purple smoke covered Regina's palm and dissipated as a small cloud of the same smoke appeared on top of the sheets.
Emma followed Regina's fingers and watched the smoke clear to reveal the twice bitten apple perched beside Regina's pillow with both bite marks on display.
"Do keep in mind I only taught you how to conjure so you can have any desired weapon at your disposal, should the need arise for you to protect yourself or others."
"Right," Emma started between chews. "Well, right now I'm protecting everyone on this ship from my crankiness if I don't eat something."
Suddenly, the room shifted as the ship presumably jerked from one direction to the other.
Emma shot out a hand as she stumbled toward the bunk bed and braced herself on the connecting post that framed and attached the two beds. She managed to keep the burger in her hand, but she couldn't school her features to conceal her shocked expression, eyes wide.
The movement shook Regina and threw her toward the bunk bed as well. As she exclaimed "oh", she slammed into Emma and unintentionally pinned the blonde against the bed post. Instinctively, Regina grabbed the wooden bed frame for the top bunk with her right hand and Emma's hip with her left.
Emma grunted when she felt Regina's weight trap her body between the brunette's body and the post. Their lips were inches apart, close enough for their breath to mingle. Green eyes stared at plump lips for a moment before they wandered up to find brown eyes.
Neither spoke and before either of them had a chance to do so, the ship rocked then drastically changed direction again. Both women were thrown to the right and in the blink of an eye, they flipped positions. Regina's shoulder blades connected with the top bunk's wooden bed frame and Emma crashed into her. Emma gripped the wooden frame with both hands on either side of Regina's shoulders. As she'd fallen on top of the brunette, she'd dropped the burger on the floor, but she couldn't care to think about that as she found brown eyes again.
Regina parted her lips to speak, but no words fell from her mouth. Not even the tiniest of sounds escaped her. She took a deep breath to help her form words, but before her brain could follow her actions, a booming voice filled the hallway outside their room.
"Emma! Emma, are you okay," Charming asked, concern and slight fear in his tone.
Emma pushed off Regina and left the brunette pressed against the bunk bed of Regina's own accord. She turned to the door and kept her eyes focused on the doorway as she anticipated her father's presence.
"Yeah. We're in here. We're okay," Emma answered.
Charming hurried into the room, his eyes found Emma first then briefly he looked over her shoulder at the former Queen. He looked at Emma again and placed his hands on both of her shoulders before he continued.
"There's a storm. We need all hands on deck. It's rough out there," Charming explained.
Emma nodded.
"Mom?"
"She's okay. She's working with Rumple to work the sails."
"Okay. What can we do?"
Charming looked from Emma to Regina.
"Magic?"
"You want to whisk us all away again," Regina asked as she took a step away from the bunk bed and toward Charming. "What happens when I run out of energy?"
"You were fighting off eels before you moved us to this part of the land," Charming started. "This time all you have to do is transport the ship."
"Dad," Emma warningly started. "She needs her strength. For Henry."
Charming stared into his daughter's pleading eyes for a moment. It was enough.
"Okay," he gave a single nod. "Then you can help with the sails. There's a nasty wind. Your mother and Rumple are struggling to do anything right now."
"Got it," Emma said before she turned to Regina as the brunette stopped short just behind her and off to her left.
"You ready for this?"
Regina nodded.
"Then let's do this."
Charming, Regina, and Emma popped out of the hatchway and onto the deck. Immediately, all were met with a heavy downpour of rain. Emma's long, blonde hair weighed her down after only seconds out in the storm. There wasn't a single part of her that wasn't drenched.
The same could be said for Regina as she stood alongside Emma. The brunette had to squint to see anything other than constant rainfall.
I doubt Jimmy Buffet would sing so pleasantly about getting caught in this kind of rain, Regina mused as she tried to keep her thoughts light.
Somehow, that thought struck Regina as odd considering that, even though she'd listened to a few Jimmy Buffet songs, the comment sounded more like something Emma would say.
Choppy water smashed into the ship and the Jolly Rodger violently swayed again.
Hook held fast to the wheel while Rumple collided with the wooden post of the sail he'd been working on. He clung to it for dear life as Snow stumbled backward. Her tailbone slammed down on the harsh deck, most likely bruised.
Charming's other persona David took over as he clumsily tripped over nothing and jogged over to his wife as if it were an attempt to hide his gracelessness. Emma took after him as she twisted and tumbled onto her side on the deck. She connected with the wood, hard. When the ship bucked against the aggressive waves, Emma effortlessly jumped into the air. It was a choice she hadn't made herself. She hadn't even had time to react before she found herself popped into the air like a kernel in the process of being made into popcorn.
Regina slipped on the wet deck and looked like a professional baseball player sliding into home plate before she managed to grab one of the ropes attached to a nearby sail. She gripped tightly to the rope and used it to anchor herself, keep her from sliding any further down the deck. She whipped her wet hair out of her face and tried to look back at the Charming clan. Her eyes landed on Emma as her flying lesson ended and the blonde's body thumped down on the deck.
The water on the deck caused Emma to slide, much like Regina, but not as far across the wood. She scrunched up her face as pain shot through her entire body. Air left her lungs upon impact and she assumed she'd be covered in bruises when she had the chance to inspect herself after the storm. She groaned as she slowly rolled onto her side and tried to sit up. After she propped herself up on one of her elbows, she instantly regretted trying to get up at all.
Directly in her line of sight, she saw lightning flare in the murky gray clouds. A clap of thunder growled and caused the ship to rumble and shake. It wasn't felt in comparison to the dangerous and high waves that threatened to drown everyone on board.
A lightning strike shot down in the nearby distance and illuminated the water beneath the surface.
"Mermaids," Emma exclaimed as her eyes widened in realization.
"Emma, get back," Snow called out to her daughter.
Regina let go of the rope and scrambled to her feet. If mermaids and a raging storm hadn't been an issue, the sight of the former Queen getting to her feet in that moment would have been comical. She nearly tripped over her own feet before she almost slipped on the slick deck again. After a goofy, ungraceful moment, Regina stood and hurried to one side of the ship.
Snow, Charming, and Rumple stood on the opposite side of the ship where the mermaids had been spotted.
Regina looked over the neglected side of the ship. Her jaw slowly dropped. What she saw was shocking enough to rid her olive skin of all color. She stood stock still, her face as pale as white linen sheets.
"No," Regina breathed out, her voice as small and soft as a whisper.
The ship lurched again and jostled Regina not only physically but mentally as she snapped back to the present. She braced herself on the edge of the ship, both hands on the banister.
A yelp sounded somewhere behind Regina and the brunette didn't hesitate to turn to find the source of it.
Snow had a hand raised to her own face but left it hovering. Within a matter of seconds, Regina realized why.
A pinkish orange starfish covered the left side of her face. The unexpected creature subtly moved against the woman's cheek. It only took a moment or two before Snow let out a pained scream and clawed at the starfish. As she tried to pull the starfish off her face, she shrieked. It wouldn't budge.
"Snow," Charming called out.
Before anyone knew what was happening, the ship was under attack.
"Shit," Hook muttered through gritted teeth. Hook tightened his grip on the wheel and tried to steer them out of harms way, but nothing he did seemed to help.
"We're surrounded," Charming announced as he struggled to successfully split his attention between the attack and his wife.
Emma had just barely gotten to her feet when a mermaid with auburn hair leaped out of the water with what appeared to be another starfish in hand. The mermaid flung the starfish at the ship and the creature landed on Charming's thigh. The mermaid disappeared under the sea to rejoin the rest of them.
At first, Charming didn't react to the starfish other than to acknowledge its presence on his thigh. But, like Snow, only seconds later did he feel the starfish move.
"Gah," Charming gave a strangled yell then hissed.
Rumple grabbed his forgotten cane and waited until another mermaid attempted the same thing, starfish at the ready to throw. He swung his cane at the mermaid in a combination of sword wielding and hammering a nail. The mermaid arched her back and dove in a back-flip into the water. She tossed the starfish at the older man but it fell short and attacked the side of the ship. The wood underneath it started to creak, not that anyone heard it.
Regina opened her mouth to warn Emma of what she'd seen as she tried to take even a step toward the blonde and away from the side of the ship. The second she tried to move, though, the storm threw the ship to one side. The Jolly Roger shifted toward the side Regina tried to move away from and the action caused the former Queen to bang against the banister. When her lower back connected with it, two merpeople – one merman, one mermaid – jumped up and grabbed either one of Regina's arms. She felt their grip tighten as she tried to fight them off. The merpeople used their forearms to hold themselves up on the banister.
The merman reached into the water with his free hand and grabbed a starfish. The mermaid on Regina's other side mirrored the merman's action.
Before Regina could summon her magic, the merman slapped the starfish on Regina's left wrist. A few seconds later, the mermaid placed her starfish on Regina's right wrist. Regina yelled out when the starfish began to massage her wrists in a most excruciating manner. She felt the starfish suck at her wrists and it surprisingly kept her from using her magic.
Emma spun around to see Regina trapped by the merpeople. Her eyes widened when she saw the anguished expression on Regina's face. She took two steps toward Regina and looked around the ship for something with which she could attack. Her eyes landed on the starfish and it clicked. She took a deep breath and slowly released it as she tried to focus. She awkwardly held out her hands and thought only about how she wanted to use her magic, what she wanted to do it protect someone. To protect Regina.
Energy, or rather magic, surged through her like it had in the mine in Storybrooke and again when she helped fight off the eels on the ship. It took a few moments, like charging a battery, before she outwardly expressed her magic.
Regina opened her eyes in time to see Emma shoot a steady blue streak of magic out of either hand, directed at her.
Oh, no, Regina thought as she watched the magic approach her. Regina closed her eyes and squeezed them tight seconds before she felt a strange yet familiar warmth consume her wrists.
She quickly opened her eyes when the warmth disappeared and took the pain she'd felt with it. She looked into Emma's eyes for a moment before she looked down at her wrists. The starfishes were gone. So were the merpeople that had restrained her.
Regina hurried across the deck, away from the side of the ship.
"You look surprised," Emma said as Regina fast-walked in her direction.
"You still don't know how to truly control your magic. I didn't think you could do that without proper training."
Emma curled her lips into a lazy smirk.
"Did I impress the Evil Queen," she asked.
"You will if you can do it again," Regina said as she reached out and turned Emma to face Snow and Charming.
Emma spotted her parents in pain, each with a starfish on them. She immediately understood Regina's words in that moment.
"I can't do that. I wasn't even sure it would work when I did it to help you!"
"Oh, so if you had accidentally killed me using your magic that would've been completely worth the risk," Regina asked, a little hurt but not at all surprised by Emma's confession.
"I thought the worst thing I could do was hurt your hands," Emma admitted. "One of them is on my mom's face!"
Regina let that comment wash over her like the pounding rain. Only one of them could freak out at a time and at that moment in time, Emma took it upon herself to be the one to do it. She relaxed and took a step closer to Emma from behind the blonde. She wrapped her hands around Emma's wrists and raised the younger woman's hands.
"What are you doing," Emma nervously asked.
"Just do exactly what you did a minute ago. Whatever you were thinking, whatever you were feeling...think and feel it now. It should be easier. They're your parents and I'm the bitch that did everything in her power to make your life hell since you arrived in my town."
Emma took a few calming breaths and closed her eyes for a moment.
Rumple surveyed the rest of the people on the ship after his eyes scanned over the mermaid infested water. His gaze fixed on the young Sheriff and a twisted grin slowly appeared on his face. Not only did he see the girl in a stance that suggested she was about to use magic, but Regina stood behind the girl in such a way. His eyes fell to Emma's wrists and he noticed Regina rub her fingertips in circles over fair skin.
"Feel your magic start in your heart and come down to your wrists. Right here," Regina applied more pressure with her fingertips on the blonde's wrists to ensure she would be understood. Emma slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at the starfish on Snow's cheek.
"She keeps moving," Emma grumbled.
"It's okay. Just follow where she moves. Nothing else about what you do will change."
Regina, once Emma made her new concern known, guided Emma's hands in the direction of Snow as the woman walked toward Charming. She kept panic and worry out of her tone, even as she turned to look over her shoulder at the side of the ship she'd been taken hostage. She forced herself to stay calm as her hands remained on Emma's wrists while the green glow started to emanate from the water. She knew she had to do something fast. Time was running out before things went from bad to worse. She turned back to long blonde hair and stopped rubbing circles over Emma's wrists.
"Breathe. Focus," Regina soothingly instructed.
Emma's breath steadied and after a few more seconds, she repeated her actions, thoughts, and feelings from the first time she'd performed that kind of magic.
Blue streaks of energy shot out of her hands and hit the starfish on Snow's face. Her magic dried out the starfish and it dropped lifelessly to the floor at the raven-haired woman's feet.
"Now your father," Regina said as she redirected Emma's attention to Charming.
Regina let go of one of Emma's wrists and turned half of her body to look back at the other side of the ship. The green glow had grown stronger. A mermaid jumped out of the water and threw another starfish at them. Regina curled her fingers and took control of the starfish mid-air and flicked her wrist as she moved her arm like the wind up of a pitch. She threw the starfish over the ship and into the water on the opposite side. She managed to strike one of the merpeople with it and the creature retreated before it had the chance to attack.
"Come on, Emma," Regina forcefully coached the blonde. "Do it one more time. We have bigger problems arising."
Emma turned to look back at Regina.
Regina felt Emma lower the arm she still held onto and her eyes snapped to the younger woman.
"Don't worry about it yet. Get that starfish off of him now," Regina ordered as purple clouded her irises.
Emma gulped, though not entirely afraid of Regina in that moment, and looked away from the brunette. She focused yet again on her father's thigh as he sat, writhing in pain, against the side of the ship.
Snow stayed by her husband's side and ran a hand through his hair as she tried to keep him calm. She wanted to help minimize his pain if not eliminate it completely.
Emma felt the urge to revert back into the sad and scared little girl she once was and cry over her father's pain, afraid there was nothing she could do. But she knew there was something she could do. What else did she need other than her knowledge to do it again, to help her own father?
Regina's hand left Emma's other wrist and the blonde suddenly felt alone. Immediately, she started to doubt herself. The first time she'd gotten rid of the starfishes on Regina, it was luck. The second time, when she got them off Snow, it was with assistance. She didn't believe she could really do it a third time.
Regina stood back-to-back with Emma, their bodies several inches apart, as the brunette faced the opposite side of the ship. She flung out her hands at each mermaid and merman that dared to emerge from the sea. She threw them back with flick after flick of the wrist. All of them were unable to release the starfishes each one threateningly held in their hands.
Harsh waves smashed into the front end of the ship and the force of it nearly overturned the Jolly Roger.
Everyone on board slid and shifted but for the most part they managed to stay on their feet.
Emma lost all focus after the ship tipped toward the back end. She kept her hands at her sides when she was finally stable again. She frowned and almost broke down in tears as she allowed herself to think she couldn't help Charming.
Regina took less than a second to refocus on the onslaught of mermaids that started to latch themselves onto the ship. Her eyes started to glow purple again as she felt her magic rush through her as naturally as her blood coursed through her veins. She growled as she saw them hold on tightly to the banister as they prepared to throw more starfishes.
A few, more vicious, mermaids opened their mouths and gave guttural screeches. Their teeth were as sharp as a shark's as they snarled at Regina. Their faces were sickly gray, dark circles under their sunken eyes.
Disgusting, Regina thought.
All the more easier to do what she did next.
Regina raised her hands palms up, and the choppy water rose with them. In one quick, fluid movement, Regina flipped her hands toward herself and moved them closer to her face. Then she flicked her wrists and pushed her hands outward, away from herself. The motion brought heavy waves down onto the mermaids latched to the banister. When she pushed her hands away from herself, it caused the waves to pull the mermaids from the ship while only some of the waves covered the deck on top of the torrential rain.
"Regina..." Emma more whispered to herself than called out to the woman.
Regina heard it all the same.
The purple in her eyes faded in less than a second as her attention snapped from the mermaids to Emma. She turned to face the younger woman and noticed, over the blonde's shoulder that Charming still had a starfish attached to his thigh.
"Why can't you do it," Emma asked her, a little panicked. "You have magic and you can control it."
It was like Emma could sense when she had Regina's attention, even when she couldn't see Regina turn to her.
Regina tried not to get too angry with the woman and balled a fist around Emma's soaked through T-shirt. She yanked the blonde backward and out of her way. She stepped in front of Emma and focused on Charming's thigh. She took a deep breath and held out her hands. Within a few moments, she zapped the starfish on Charming's leg with a single bolt of purple lightning. The starfish dried up and fell to the floor as it had when Emma got rid of the one on Snow.
"Thank you," Charming yelled to Regina over the storm.
The noble prince wasted no time and hurried across almost flooded wood to get to his sword, the one Regina had taken the time to conjure before she disappeared below the deck with Emma for a magic lesson.
Snow, convinced her husband was fine as she watched him take possession of his sword, went back to the sail she'd tried to control when the storm first started with a red, star-shaped mark on her cheek.
But yet another surprise changed the course of their trip within a matter of bone-chilling seconds. Waves crashed against port side and weighted the ship heavily on its right side.
Regina barely had time to glance around the ship as she stumbled toward starboard, but before the ship righted itself with a bit of Hook's help she watched a mermaid jump up and grab Emma's arm. Emma painfully collided with the right side of the ship, the side Regina had been protecting everyone from, and placed both hands on the banister to keep herself from falling overboard. In the end, it didn't matter. A mermaid came up on her right and gripped her forearm.
Emma felt herself being yanked into the water by her forearm and the last thing she saw on the ship was a flash of her own drenched blonde locks as her hair whipped in her face.
"Emma," Snow screamed in a blood-curdling octave as she watched her daughter's legs shoot into the air then tumble backward before everyone on the ship heard a loud splash.
The second Charming heard Snow's distress about their daughter, he looked away from the mermaids he tried to fend off with his sword and searched the ship for Emma. He only saw Snow and the three others on board that he deemed his enemies.
"No," he breathed out.
"No," he repeated louder as he gripped his sword with a surreal amount of force.
He defiantly strode to the other side of the ship, a determined and severely pissed off sternness to his face. His eyes found Regina as the woman he absolutely despised without question took a few steps toward the edge of the ship. He growled as his eyes took on a steely anger he felt as soon as he saw her.
"You," Charming barked at Regina. "You did this!"
The mermaid that had taken Emma under didn't get far with her before an eel swam up to them faster than any sea creature Regina had ever known. The eel slapped the mermaid with its tale and shocked the mermaid with white-green sparks. A second eel wrapped itself around one of Emma's biceps and waited for the other to finish with the mermaid.
Regina briefly turned to look at Charming to acknowledge his anger.
"I saved your leg," Regina shouted back. "Emma wouldn't do it so I did."
"And now what's gonna happen," Charming asked as he got right in her face. "I'd rather walk with a limp or be temporarily unable to fight than lose my daughter!"
Regina gritted her teeth and snapped her head toward the side of the ship to not only avoid Charming, but check on Emma as well. She walked away from Charming, but he didn't seem to like it. Or at least, that's what Regina took it to mean when he violently grabbed her bicep and tried to spin her around to face him.
She wouldn't have it.
The instant she felt Charming close his hand around her bicep, she threw out her other hand and used it to magically throw him across the deck. He landed in a small puddle near his wife's feet. Regina didn't pay him any attention after she used her magic on him. She went right up to the right side of the ship and looked over the edge. She saw one eel had wrapped itself around one of Emma's biceps.
Emma wriggled around and bopped the eel on the head a few times with the heel of her palm and her fist. The eel tightened its grip on her bicep and sent a quick jolt into Emma's arm. It affected every part of her as she trembled beneath the shockwaves.
The other eel swam away from the mermaid and left her body to lifelessly float up to the surface. It wrapped itself around Emma's unoccupied bicep and worked with the other eel to pull the blonde human deeper under the sea.
Regina had a choice to make.
"Regina," Charming angrily yelled as he started to get to his feet.
Regina heard the tip of his sword swipe against the deck as he picked it up, but she kept her eyes on Emma and the two eels. Her breathing quickened the further the eels dragged Emma away from the ship, the green glow of the water fading as they went.
Emma bucked against the eels' hold on her and twisted her body in an attempt to turn back toward the ship. After one eye glowed yellow on both of them, the eels repositioned themselves on her biceps in such a way that allowed her to spin around. They continued to swim toward the bottom of the sea with Emma in their slimy grasp.
Regina's gaze instantly settled on Emma's fearful green eyes as they stared straight at each other through the water.
Something inside the former Queen snapped like a frail twig.
"Save her," Snow yelled at Regina from her position at one of the sails. "Do whatever you have to. Just bring her back!"
Regina turned to look at Snow. She saw worry in Snow's eyes but also heard a silent threat and seriousness in the woman's tone of voice. Charming, however, asked nothing of Regina. His eyes stared right through her. His anger rolled off of his body and smacked against every ounce of Regina that could still feel anything.
"You make sure that my son is found no matter what happens to Emma," Regina warningly demanded. "Or the suffering I've put you through the last twenty-eight years will not compare to the suffering I'll put through if you don't get Henry back."
Regina didn't wait for a response of any kind, not even a promise to do as she ordered, before she turned away from Snow and Charming. She stared down at the distant form of the blonde she'd quickly grown to loathe and vanished in a hectic swirl of dark purple smoke through the horrendous downpour of rain.
A/N: Enter Ursula! What'd you think? Magic, eels, raging storm, angry mermaids. Leave me a review and let me know how you liked, or maybe didn't like, this chapter. There are a few questions to be answered and they will be...in time. First, a little "fun" is in order. ;)
It may be a little while before I can get the next update out, though I've already typed up about half of it. For those of you who read Settling the Score, that's the next story to be updated. I promise. It's going to be a little longer than the normal length, which I hope is good news. Anyway, don't forget to review! And thank you for all the support through following, adding this story to your favorites, and of course posting reviews that make my day. :)