Hook… I Will Always Find You
Chapter Thirty
Alice stepped away from the bed in order to get a basin for the water she drew from the brook and then Emma sat down again beside Killian as she reached down to take his hand in her own, while David carefully lifted his friend's left arm so he could get a closer look at the shackles to see how to go about freeing him from them. They were about as rusted as the heavy chain wrapped around Hook to hang him above the green river in the cavern the heroes had rescued him from was. However, the sheriff knew it was going to take more than brute strength to get them off without a key.
Robin joined David as he bent down to observe the shackles as well, knowing that magic wouldn't be able to help them whether it was from Emma, Regina, Lila, or Tink because of Hades' spell. Thankfully, the archer had another idea and Graham had the gunpowder in his coat they needed, then pulled it out when Robin suggested they use the powder to burn through the locks within the shackles.
"We may not be able to use magic to simply break the shackles, but I can enchant the gunpowder instead, so it will burn through the locks without causing him anymore pain," Lila said quietly when she took the pouch containing the explosive mixture from the hunter she loved and emitted her magic over the powder, inserted the particles inside the locks over Killian's arms and his ankles, then everyone waited patiently for the shackles to break. "Your friend has already suffered far too much."
"Thank you," the Savior stated to both Lila and their old friend in sincerity for their help once the restraints finally fell loose and clanked to the floor, then bent down to pick up the chains until Graham took them from her.
Emma looked into the Huntsman's eyes as he did so, then suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a firm embrace and kissed his cheek before she finally whispered, "It's so good to see you again. I just wish…"
He cut her off as he responded, "You have no need to apologize to me. Neither you, nor Regina either."
"You've become a hero as much as those you've come down here with, Regina," the hunter continued when he released his former deputy and then turned around to face the woman who had murdered him a few years back, while she stared at him with surprise as he spoke. "I can see that you have. Why else would you be here if you haven't? The Evil Queen you used to be didn't feel anything. Yet you feel remorse. I can see in your eyes. And the truth is… I forgave you a long time ago. So, let go of your guilt. I'm alright again. I've found love, despite being trapped in this Hell."
"I'm happy for you, Graham," the Queen answered sincerely as she looked between him and Lila when he took the woman's hand within his own, then Graham reached out to wipe away a tear in Regina's eye before it could fall. "And thank you. For your forgiveness."
Emma smiled, as she was happy for her two friends were able to find peace between one another after the tragedy that had occurred two years ago, then she returned to Killian's side once again and finally focused on his body which was coated in his blood because of the torture inflicted upon him. However, when she found the courage to look closer, beneath the sickening red substance, she could see several wounds that included a deep hole within his upper left shoulder inches away from his neck and one clean through his lower right side she knew had been inflicted on him by his own hook before Hades delivered it to her, as well as the multitudes of lashes, cuts, burns, and the least of it all… the bruises which covered him.
Emma's eyes grew cold the longer she stared down on the suffering the man she loved had been forced to endure and while she still blamed herself for Killian's death, for the first time since she lost him, the Savior finally put the blame where it truly belonged… on Hades, Captain Silver, and on any of the other souls working under the God's orders.
David could see the anger that came across his daughter's face and could sense what she was thinking, so he reached across the man lying between them to take her hand, then he spoke quietly in an effort to calm her saying, "Emma… while I'm glad to see that your finally putting the blame for Hook's suffering on who it really belongs, you need to push your anger deep down and focus on healing Hook. You may not be able to use your magic to do it, but you have two hands, you have your love for him, and you have the determination to keep fighting for him."
The Savior softened her countenance and nodded when she realized she had allowed herself to fall again into the dark place she's been afraid to admit to herself she had, then turned back to Killian while she laid her hand against the side of his head to run her fingers through his thick disheveled hair, as she waited for his mother to return to them with the basin she needed to pour the water into so Emma could begin to wash his body.
Within a few minutes, Alice returned again and set the basin down at the bottom of the bed between the woman who loved her son and her father, who then stood up from the chair which had been placed there for him and stepped aside so his friend's mother could take his place beside her son to help Emma care for him.
She nodded her gratitude to the Prince who smiled back at her, then he walked over to join the rest of their friends who had made themselves as comfortable as they could within the room opposite of where Hook was being cared for. There was a couch and a few chairs, but not enough for the number of friends there for Hook and Emma, so a few of them sat on the floor even though they had been told there were more chairs and a few beds upstairs where they could all get some rest and make themselves more comfortable. However, everyone simply preferred to remain together for now.
Alice picked up the deer skin flask containing the water she had given to Emma earlier and carefully poured the water into the basin, while the Savior took one of the fresh cloths given to her by Liam earlier as well, then soaked it before finally laying the wet cloth over Killian's chest to begin to wipe away his blood.
Alice did the same while she began to wipe away the blood coating her son's leg, then she finally broke the silence that had filled the room as she said quietly, "I have more water heating up over the fire I started in the hearth that we'll be able to use to help bring down his fever. It will be better than the cold water. The heat will be more soothing than the cold will be."
"Thank you," Emma replied gently, then took a few minutes to think about how to word the questions on her mind regarding the woman sitting across from her, whom Killian couldn't tell her anything about on account of Alice having died before he had known her at all himself.
"Whatever it is you wish to ask me… it's all right to do so," the older woman then stated first upon getting the sense that there were questions lingering on Emma's mind she was a bit nervous to ask her. "It's right that you should learn as much as you can about all those getting involved in trying to save my son. I've no doubt you took some time to question my oldest as well. Is that right?"
Emma nodded and then responded, "Killian has spoken very highly of him, but… the truth is that he has been down here in the Underworld for a long time, as you have. My family and I have only been here over a day and we're all on edge. That mostly has to do with our fight to find Killian and now figuring out how we can save him since we've succeed in that, but surely being trapped down here has changed you. Even if it's mostly just increased your sense of awareness or has made you more skeptical of the people you come to meet. My years of being everyone's Savior have certainly done that to me. Not that I don't love being who I am because I do. That's mostly thanks to Killian. He made me understand the importance of being the Savior and how much I needed and really wanted my family to be a part of my life when I was being stubborn and defiant because of anger, yet mostly fear."
Alice smiled down on her son, then froze when she began to wipe the blood away from his left arm until she came to where his hand and part of his wrist had been cut off as a tear slipped down her cheek, and Emma immediately reached out to take the woman's hand gently in her own while she stated, "Your son's made peace with the loss of his hand. It hasn't been easy for him, but he finally has. He wears a hook in its place and while it's what had given him the moniker he goes by, the villain Captain Hook was isn't who he is anymore. He hasn't been for a long time now. Your son is a good man and a hero to us all. It's why I'm not the only one who has come down here to save him. And his name, Hook… is now said with the highest respect."
"I appreciate that, Miss. Swan," the woman with Killian's hair and eyes, yet Liam's face answered sincerely, then reached up to her cheeks to wipe away the tears that had fallen while Emma spoke before she continued to care for him again. "So… you have questions for me. Ask me whatever's on your mind."
"I suppose my biggest question I have is, did Liam ever tell you about his and Killian's lives as… after their father… after he abandoned them?" the Savior struggled to ask as she kept her eyes down on the man she loved while she worked.
Alice looked into the other room towards her oldest, who had walked back inside along with the Green Fairy a few minutes earlier, then she despondently replied, "He did. It wasn't easy for him, nor was it easy for me to hear. But the despair in Liam's eyes when he told me spoke the most truth behind his words. I loved their father when we were both alive and I never believed Brennan could be capable of abandoning his children, especially not for the sake of his own life. A parent is supposed to sacrifice everything for their children. Had I lived, I would have."
Emma looked towards Liam as well, then turned back to Alice as she questioned, "How did you die? And why are you still here in the Underworld?"
"I became sick when Killian was about to be born," the brothers' mother responded sadly. "It was a mysterious illness which the few healers we could afford to see were unable to diagnose, nor could they do anything to help me. I managed to survive for a few years, but I only continued to worsen until… the disease took my life. As for why I'm still trapped down here in the Underworld… I barely knew my oldest son before I died, but he was six years older than Killian. I was barely able to even hold my youngest because I was so ill on and off. Not knowing who my sons had become broke me. And then Liam died a long time ago and I was finally able to learn of their lives through him. But neither of us knew what came of Killian afterwards until now… thanks to you and your family."
"I'm so sorry," the Savior answered with remorse when she finished, yet Emma suddenly felt a dreaded sense Alice was hiding something while she spoke and that she had even lied about something that wasn't good.
However, before she could ask the older woman about her sudden suspicions, Alice stood again and walked away without another word to her, then David walked over to join his daughter and friend again while he quietly asked, "Is everything all right?"
Emma glanced up at her father when he took a seat across from her, then looked down at Killian again while she stopped her ministrations to take his hand as she also began to caress his cheek, and finally she whispered, "She's lying about something. She's hiding something big, but she walked away before I could question her about it. She said something earlier that I felt a sense of dread from too, but I didn't think much of it until now."
"What were you talking about when you felt this sense before?" her father questioned again to try to help Emma figure out what was wrong.
"Alice said how she couldn't wait for the day when she could see Killian again," the Savior replied quietly, so only David could hear her voice while they talked. "But then… she mentioned Hades and how he was the one who did this to him. Her voice became cold and her face darkened. Something's wrong here, Dad. Whatever it is…"
The Prince quickly finished for her, "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out later. But right now, let's just worry about Hook and about helping him to wake up. I promise, we won't allow whatever this is worrying you to hinder our efforts in helping him. Nothing else either. Would you like me to stay with you? Your mother would be better at this. She always was, but if you'd like…"
Emma shook her head and then spoke again softly saying, "It's okay, Dad. I'm… Thank you, but I think I would rather just stay here with Killian alone for awhile. If, or when he wakes up, it's going to be easier for him to do so, so long as it's just me leaning over him. Besides, you and everyone else should finally try to get some rest like I suggested earlier. This might be the only peace we have until we leave here to make a run for it to get back home. Please. I'll be fine here. I promise to try to get some rest myself too… as soon as I know that Killian is as comfortable as I can make him."
The Prince nodded as he walked around the bed until he stood above his daughter and leaned down to kiss the top of her head while he rested his hand over her shoulder, then he finally walked away to leave Emma alone with Hook. She watched him once he turned away from her to do so, then turned back to Killian and continued to care for him on her own as the man she loved remained unconscious. It took willpower she didn't really feel she had much of right then to keep herself from breaking down, despite how much she wanted to.