A/N: We see the return of the Evil Queen and Rumplestiltskin in this chapter. We know these two have been behind the sadness in Emma's life and it can never be good when they get together. Our darling OTP is going to have some serious trouble after this meeting.
I really appreciate all of your comments and reviews. I love hearing what you have to say about the story. I hope I'm not giving you a fluff overload. I'm excited to watch 4X10 tonight and I'm hoping for a tearful reunion of our beloved Captain Swan.
I hope you like what I have in store for you.
Ch. 22
"Rumplestiltskin! Show Yourself!" called Regina.
She stood in her magical vault tapping her foot against the floor as she gazed into the mirror. She brushed her fingers through the streaks of white and silver that appeared throughout her hair that morning. It seemed to be getting worse daily.
"Your majesty!" said Rumpelstiltskin in a jovial manner. He bowed down to her twirling his hand in condescendence.
The man seemed to have a flair for flamboyance when he was pleased with a deal that seemed to go south. She knew he was here to gloat but she would have the last laugh this time.
"It's about time you got here. I need you to fix this. You made this mess and we had a deal!" she said.
"Our deal completed a long time ago Dearie!" he said through gritted teeth.
"You were supposed to keep that brat locked in your castle." She said.
"uh uh uh, the terms of our deal were that I give you the curse to suppress the Princess's powers and you help me produce a royal heir by tying her down to my son, which we both know was not her Twu Love. Both were done quite a long time ago." Said Rumple.
"This can't be happening. I can't lose my magic! I can't grow old!" shouted Regina.
"Ah, but you can and you will Dearie. Unless you kill my darling daughter-in-law." Said Rumplestiltskin.
"Kill her, I can't even find her! I've tried everything. It's like she's vanished." shouted Regina.
"Interesting. Very Interesting indeed." Said Rumple laughing.
"How did she escape anyway?" asked Regina.
"She served her purpose for me ten years ago when she produced my grandson. What my son chooses to do with his wife or not is not my concern. My grandson is home safe and that's all that matters to me. As I see it our business has concluded and you're on your own." said Rumple.
"You bastard!" said Regina.
"Have a nice day Dearie!" said Rumple.
"Wait! What if I told you about the curse on your son? Would that be enough to tempt you to help me? You're not the only one who can make deals." said Regina.
"Curse?" Said Rumple.
"Yes, Curse. I decided to get a little insurance policy just in case anything went wrong this time since the first time you helped me worked so well." Said Regina smiling.
He was in her face in an instant. She felt his magical grip around her throat and she was forced against the wall. He was squeezing her throat so hard that she thought her eyes may pop out of her head.
"If you did anything to harm my son, you're gonna pay Dearie." Said Rumple.
"Kill me and you'll never know." Said Regina through a strained voice.
"How about you tell me now and I won't kill you." Said Rumple.
Regina closed her eyes. She felt her air closing off.
"As I see it, if you don't help me I'm doomed to meet my fate so this is your choice. Help me find her and I'll tell you about the curse." Said Regina.
She fell to her knees and took a deep breath to replace the needed air that she was being deprived of. She massaged her throat and looked up to see him standing over her watching with his hands on his hips.
She stood and regained her regal stance. She felt her need to survive surge through her fueled by her lust for revenge.
"Show me where she is and I'll kill her like I should have the first time. I'll tell you about the curse on Neal. Do we have a deal?" Said Regina.
"Deal, now start talking." Said Rumple.
"I want your word!" demanded Regina.
He spit in his palm, extended his hand, and laughed.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head in disdain. She begrudgingly spit into her palm and shook his hand.
"No, START TALKING!" he shouted.
She shuddered at his command and rolled her eyes.
"After I was able to successfully place the curse on young Emma to keep my powers, I decided it was in my best interest to protect what I loved most, Me. "she said.
"I had no way of knowing if your son would be enough to keep Emma content so she wouldn't go looking for her True Love. If she ever found out about the curse it could ruin me and I would have nothing. As you so decidedly pointed out before I let you in on my secret." Said Regina.
"I don't have all day." Said Rumple.
"When Emma was about to come of marrying age I found young Neal at boarding school. I learned that you'd provided him with a false life memory and he was in a sense already cursed. He was miserable, unhappy and barely suitable to keep a princess happy. She would not have chosen to go with him."
"He believed his mother died in child birth and he was spending time with a group of boys that were putting him on a path to the brig. He felt unloved and lost. This was hardly a man who would be suitable for my plan. I decided to change his course." Said Regina.
Rumple was visibly vexed even though his eyes seemed to soften when she mentioned how miserable his son was.
He licked his lips and began tapping his foot.
"On a chance encounter, he and the other lost boys decided to run off during a field trip. He happened upon the village where he grew up. The villagers recognized him, since his likeness to his mother was remarkable, and they welcomed him in. He was extremely confused by their kindness and empathy. They were expressing condolences about his mother and he was confused by the fact that his mother was so loved by a village that sixteen years later and they were still remembering her fondly." Said Regina.
"Pesky villagers. Let a town live and this is what happens." Mumbled Rumple.
"He was able to find out the story about his mother's tragic death from a kind woman in the village who realized something was wrong. When he realized that his life as a royal was a lie he left the village and the lost boys in search of a way to get back home to you. He planned to confront you." Said Regina.
"You bitch! You took advantage of my poor boy. I could have helped him." Said Rumple.
Regina laughed.
"As I was saying, he was running away to look for you and stopped to rest his head at a little inn. He was confused and drunk by the time that I found him in their tavern. I approached him as a young barmaid and got him to tell me his woes. I pointed him in the direction of a town witch that could help him restore his memories. He sought her out in the morning." Said Regina.
"Let me Guess, You." Said Rumple through gritted teeth.
Regina nodded.
"I told him I would restore the memory of his mother but the cost was 1/3 of his heart's desire to be collected when I wanted it." Said Regina.
"He agreed without haste. He didn't even question my request. That's how desperate he'd been. You should have better prepared your boy for deals like this instead of hiding who you are. He will be your undoing. You know love makes you weak." Said Regina.
"I don't need you to tell me how to take care of my boy. Now Get to the Point." Said Rumple.
"I gave him a set of memories about his mother that would restore his compassion. He believes she died of a heart attack while tending her garden at the palace. It set him back on the path of decency and he stopped hanging out with the lost boys. He was still living a lie but a mother's love can make a man. That was enough to make him into the marrying kind of man, enough to get Emma interested and for me to deceive Charming into believing he should do what's best for the kingdom. Charming had to believe he was decent because as much as he wanted to protect his people, he loved his daughter more." Said Regina.
"I don't see anything bad about what's happened so far. How is there anything for me in this deal?" asked Rumple.
"After my deal with you was complete and the heir was born I came to collect. I setup a deal with Neal for business and he came to meet me. I reminded him of our deal and collected my reward, 1/3 of his heart's desire. Any affection he felt towards Emma was lifted, at the same time the false memories I put in his head were removed returning him back to the path he was on when I found him." Said Regina.
Rumple grumbled.
"Neal believes his mother died in childbirth, he believes he is living a lie, he has an affinity for loose women, gambling, and bad liquor. Without 1/3 of his heart's capacity he would be incapable of being a decent man, even if he learned the truth. So you can see in a way I helped you. Your desire to shield your son from your darkness has set him on a path to his own darkness. My part of the deal is complete. Now help me find the Princess." She said.
Rumple rubbed his chin in silence.
"When you kill Emma I want her heart. Bring me her heart and I'll restore your beauty. You do remember how to take a heart don't you?" Said Rumple.
Regina felt a surge of happiness. The imp had a way of making these deals go his way so she felt cautious to accept but she was still alive.
"Of course, just show me where to find her and it's yours when I kill her." Said Regina.
He rubbed his hands together and waved out his hand. He held a small golden compass in his hand.
"A Compass?" she asked.
"It appears that the princess is shielding. This compass will make it impossible for her to hide from you. You want to find the missing princess you'll need to use this. In order for it to work you'll need a drop of blood from each of her parents. You rub it on the center face of the compass and when their blood is combined the spell will tune the compass to find her at a cellular level. She won't be able to hide." Said Rumple.
"This is going to be fun and I get the added pleasure of torturing the Charmings." said Regina rubbing her hands together and grinning.
"Good Luck. You're going to need it." said Rumple through gritted teeth.
Regina let out the breath she'd been holding. Now she had to find a way to get to the Charmings so she could make the compass work.
"I'm coming for you Princess." Said Regina gritting her teeth and clutching the compass to her chest.
Emma woke to find Killian was missing. She felt slightly disappointed that his smiling face wasn't the first thing she saw. She stretched out her muscles and wrapped the blanket around her naked body. She walked to the window to see what the day was like. The sky was a solid blue with only a wisp of clouds in the sky.
They seemed to be heading directly towards land in front of them but it was still distant. She was excited to be able to explore a new place. She quickly grabbed her clothes and dressed for the day. She picked up her light green cotton dress and grimaced.
Why did everything she owned have to be green? Suddenly she had a brilliant idea. She held the dress close to her body and concentrated. She felt her magic prickle against her skin and thought of the beautiful sunset the night before. She focused on the pale pink color that covered the sky. She closed her eyes and envisioned the dress in that color.
She opened her eyes and her dress was now a beautiful shade of pale pink. She grinned and raised an eyebrow. This was going to be fun. She did the same thing to her shoes and her ribbons. She changed every dress to a different color; all but the dress that she wore the first time she kissed Killian. She liked how he looked at her in that dress and she wanted to remember that always.
She brushed her hair smooth and put in a thin pink ribbon to hold it back so she could walk up on deck.
She walked to the door and tried the handle. She was happily surprised to find it unlocked. It made her feel good to know that Killian was starting to trust her to move freely about the ship. She wanted it to be her home with him but she didn't want to remain locked in her bedroom all the time.
She climbed the stairs to the deck and saw Killian up at the helm. The wind was blowing through his hair and he looked amazing. He was such a dashing Captain and she loved watching him work. She leaned back against the side of the ship and breathed in the fresh sea air.
The crew was hard at work and the Jolly was moving fast. The weather seemed perfect for exploring. She looked back up towards Killian and caught his eye. He smiled wide and nodded in her direction. He turned to Smee and handed over the wheel. He was coming to her quickly and she felt a spike of desire shoot through her body as he got closer.
"Good Morning Love. You look beautiful. Is this a new dress?" he asked smiling from ear to ear.
"Good Morning Killian. You could say it's new but only the color. I changed it with a little magic." She said.
"Impressive." He said.
"I missed you this morning." She said pouting.
"I missed you too Love. You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you. We are close to the island and I needed to help the crew." said Killian.
She was staring at him, her eyes glittering green in the sun and smiling. She looked so soft and beautiful in pink. Her hair was blowing softly in the wind behind her. She looked like a goddess. When she licked her lips he almost lost it. He looked around and his crew had eyes on them.
"Come with me Love." he said extending his hand.
She wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him so badly but there were just too many men running about. She didn't want to embarrass him in front of the crew. She grabbed his hand and he directed her towards the south side of the ship.
"There's something I want to show you over here." He said.
He led her to a little alcove behind the freight boxes. As soon as she stepped out of view from the rest of the ship he pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. She moaned in relief against his lips. He pulled back and smiled.
"I needed to wish you a proper Good Morning." Said Killian.
"I'm so glad you did. I wanted to kiss you so much." She said.
She pressed her face to his chest and squeezed him. His arms were around her and he was kissing her head.
"We're almost there Love. I'll walk you below deck so you can secure yourself until we are safely at port." Said Killian.
"I wish I could help." Said Emma.
"Love, when we are safe I shall take the time to find a job for my Pirate Princess." He said.
She squeezed him tight.
"Alright, I'll hold you to that." She said.
She leaned up and kissed him tenderly until she felt like she was floating on a cloud. His lips felt so warm and he tasted like spice. She was happy no one was around to read her mind at that moment. There were so many things she wanted to do to him and going below deck alone was not one of them. She put all the emotion she was feeling into her kiss.
"Love." he said letting out a breath.
"I know. I want you so much right now. I can't help myself." She said.
"Vixen." He said grinning.
She raised her eyebrow grinning at him seductively.
"You love that I'm that way." She said.
"I do love that about you among the many other things I learn each day." He said kissing the tip of her nose.
He pulled her forward by the hand and escorted her back to the stairs.
"Love, we'll have plenty of time alone once we get to the island." he said as he raised her hand and kissed it tenderly.
"I'll hold you to that." She said seductively as she caressed his face.
He watched her make it into the room and close the door.
They made it to the island in no time. The Jolly was anchored slightly off the coast. They had to take a row boat to get to shore since it was an uninhabited island and the more modern amenities didn't exist, like a dock.
As they approached she took in the scene and tried to commit it to memory. Beyond the beautiful white sand beach there was a lush jungle with large palm trees and exotic flowers shielding her view from seeing further.
She looked up and saw the peak of a mountain above the trees that dipped into the clouds above. It was breathtaking.
They pulled up to the shoreline and Killian carried her out of the boat and placed her on the soft sand so she didn't get her dress and shoes wet.
"There you go Love." he said as he placed her down gently.
"Thank you, Killian. It's beautiful here." She said as she looked around.
He squeezed her hand.
"Looks can be deceiving. As beautiful as it is here the jungle holds many dangers. Stay with me and you'll be fine. "he said.
"I have no intention of wandering off in the jungle alone Darling." She said.
He smiled.
She watched as the crew came onto the island in the other boats. They were carrying supplies to make camp with them.
"The crew will make camp so we can sleep on shore tonight." He said.
"Sleep here on the island?" she asked.
"Aye, it's beautiful to sleep under the stars. Perhaps I can teach you some things about navigation if we get a clear night. I expect that we will since it's a beautiful day." He said.
"That sounds lovely." She said.
She'd always wanted to sleep out under the stars. To be able to do it with Killian would be amazing.
"Come along, I want to show you something." He said.
He extended his arm and she took hold.
"If it's anything like what you wanted to show me earlier lead the way." She said smiling.