Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters nor the first part of the story. It's just my edited version of it.
Authors Note: Thank's once again for following! If you guys could give me some feed back on how I'm doing that would be great! Sorry the last chapter was so short this one is longer! Namaste.
Neal was leant up against a tree waiting for Emma to finish changing. He had on rags similar to the ones he wore as a child, or the outfit he had magically appeared in when he returned a year ago. Same old, plain colours and itchy materials. It was definitely something he didn't miss from the Enchanted Forest. However he was a fan of the capes.
"Come on Em, like you said we don't have much time" Neal called. He was beginning to get impatient. Emma dragged herself out from behind a tree, trying to put gloves on.
"Is all this really necessary?" she asked knowing he was right before he had even answered the question.
"Well what would you have done if someone had seen us? From what I can remember red leather jackets aren't exactly gonna keep us under the radar." Neal replied. "Besides I think it suits you, your majesty" Emma glared at him.
"Don't scrub up to bad your self, Baelfire" She shot back with a smile on her face.
"Touché" He said with a responding smile. He took a step closer to her and began to lift her hood. "We need to stay hidden. Continue the rest of the way cautiously. Even one small screw up could cause major problems to the future."
Neal began to turn back towards the village in search for Zelena. Emma followed a few steps behind, trying to find a comfortable way of walking or breathing, in a corset.
"Do you think we should ask someone if they've seen her?" Emma whispered to Neal as they entered the village.
"I dunno we might screw something up." He whispered back. Emma was beginning to get frustrated, at this rate they won't get anywhere.
"This is ridiculous, I'm asking someone." Emma objected. She scanned the village. Her eyes landed upon an old woman counting gold coins. "Look, she seems harmless" Emma pointed the woman out to Neal as she began to walk up to where she was sat.
"Emma wait" Neal attempted to stop her but he knew it was useless. So he just followed behind trying his hardest not to be noticed.
"Hi" Emma sighed at the old woman. "I'm looking for a friend, I think she past through here" The old woman looked up at the two strangers staring down at her. Emma continued on. "She's got curly ginger hair and ermmm" The woman looked at Emma in confusion. She was hesitant as to what else to say.
"She's green." Neal said abruptly.
"I though we weren't trying to stand out" Emma mumbled in Neal's ear
"How else are we meant to describe her" He mumbled back. Trying to keep a smile on his face, so to not scare the woman.
The old woman looked between the couple. They could see she was thinking and didn't want to pressure her but they knew time was running out. Just as they were about to speak again, the woman spoke her first words of the conversation.
"Hello" She said simply. "Oh yes she was the lovely lady who gave me these shiny pennies."
"Do you know where she went?" Emma fretted.
"Why yes she went up to the king palace. There's going to be a wedding soon you know." The woman chuckled with a small smile. "Isn't that lovely?"
"Yeah it's wonderful, thank you for your help ma'am" Neal finished with a smile, as he bought the conversation to a close. Emma had already begun to walk towards the castle leaving Neal trailing behind.
Emma and Neal began the long trek to the Palace at the top of the hill just on the outskirts of town. Once they arrived they could see palace servants hanging up decorations and placing flower arrangements outside. Neal assumed it was for the wedding the old woman spoke of. They decided to go around the back to see if they could find a way into the palace without being seen. They were bought to a stop when they came across a large iron gate locked with chains; to stop peasants from entering the castle during the wedding. Neal began to fiddle in his bag in search of something.
"Perfect. How do you suppose we get in?" Emma asked looking through the gates to see he if could find Zelena.
Neal pulled two small metal wires out of his bag. "Have I taught you nothing?" He teased. Neal knelt down so he was eye level with the lock. He placed one of the wires in to it and began to move it around. He then took the other on and started to pick the lock. All of a sudden Emma had realised what he was doing.
"It's all about the tumblers" She quoted with a sigh, remembering back to the first day they met.
"It's all about the tumblers" He repeated with a smile. And with one final click the lock fell to the ground. Neal pushed open the gate and bowed to Emma.
"After you, your highness" He joked.
"Stop" She said with an unconvincing smirk. "Come on, I wanna get this over with as quickly and as quietly as possible" She continued entering the gates; hiding behind bushes, trying to stay out of sight. Neal crouched down beside her.
"Here" He said passing her a sword.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Emma questioned taking the sword from Neal's grip.
"Swiped it from the guards over the" He responded motioning to the two watch guards stood near the gate obviously not doing there job. "I thought it might come in handy, you know seeing as you don't have magic anymore." Emma was about to protest Neal comment with his spoke again.
"LOOK! There she is!" he said rather loudly. Emma turned to follow Neal's gaze. In front of her she could see Princess Ava, her grandmother, listening in on a conversation happening on the other side of the gazebo. Emma assumed it had something to do with Cora and was the reason why Zelena chose this time. Speaking of Zelena, there she was crouching down behind bushes just as Emma and Neal were. She began to rise and make her way over to a young Ava.
"We have to stop her!" Emma urged, raising herself and following Zelena. However before she had made it to the young princess, Zelena already had a magically grip on Ava's neck. Emma began to run.
"STOP!" Emma begged. "Please. Zelena if you kill her I'll never be born."
"And why would care. You will all feel what it was like for ME!" Zelena shot back tightening her grip on Ava's neck.
"Zelena you don't have to do this. There could be another way. We can help you." Neal interjected.
"NO ONE CAN HELP ME BUT ME." She shouted back. And just as she was about to tighten her grip one last time a bright orange light started to appear around them. It filled the spaces between the light and the darkness. The same high pitch screeching Emma had heard not long before began to ring in her ears again. No. this can't be it. Emma thought as she was engulfed by the light. Zelena had succeeded; this was her fading from existence. Her final thoughts were to be of Henry. All that was going through her mind was that she never got to say goodbye and that she would never see him again, as neither would have ever of existed. Her mind then trails off and her thought goes to her parents and how her mother will join her in fading forever. Then finally Neal crossed her mind. She wondered what his life would be like without her and Henry. This was it. I failed.
The light faded. Neal could see Zelena lying on the floor in front of him, clutching her pendant, screeching. He looked over to see Emma stood in the exact position she was in when the light hit. Her eyes tightly closed and her hand firmly griping the chain around her neck.
"You okay?" He asked breathlessly. Emma opened her eyes in realisation that she was still here. She looked around to see Neal's hand placed on her shoulder. She looked up at him, his eyes filled with fear and concern. She smiled slightly knowing that not all hope was lost.
"Yeah, I'm fine" she responded in the same breathless tone as him. Emma turned her attention to there new, or old, location. Her gaze went to Zelena. Emma charged towards her placing the sword to her neck.
"What did you do?" Emma demanded.
"Nothing you idiot! It was you and your.." She paused grabbing her chest in agony. "your- your st…tupid family!" Emma could see Zelena was in pain; her words came out in stutters.
"What are you talking about" Neal spoke up. Zelena changed her gaze to look at him.
"The p..p..portal it wasn't f..finished; the power… it n..needed." She stopped, letting out a screech of pain. "Yo..u s..s..stopped it. Time shifted again. And it will cont..tinue." Zelena clutched her pendant, she could feel it burning her skin. She ripped it off, accepting her fate. "But you're stuck. Now you… will know my…. Pain." And with those final words Zelena crumbled into ash leaving only the pendant lying in her wake.