A/N: Thanks to every single one of you who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed so far. I didn't realize how much it meant to have someone review your story until I was on the writer's end of it, so thank you very much :) I also want to acknowledge J-J-Sawyer-Phillips for agreeing to beta this story from here on out, as it's quite a generous thing to do for another writer and I appreciate it a great deal.
As you may have noticed, I have changed the rating to "M" permanently to allow for certain future events, but I will continue to specify the rating by chapter so you're warned beforehand.
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters, sadly. What they do in the coming chapters, however, is all up to me.
Emma had barely a second to react to Archie's words and there was a mad dash to the exit, people shoving one another to get out of the building.
She started to make her way to the door, but Regina grabbed her wrist. "Remember what I said before. No matter what happens, stick to the plan."
Emma racked her brain quickly to try and recall everything Regina had said as they both made their way out of Town Hall.
They were met with the stench of scorched wood and Emma did her best to see past the cloud of smoke from only blocks away. What had been the library was now a pile of rubble and flame.
"Understand what you need to do, Darling?" Jones' hand found hers and Emma squeezed it involuntarily.
Giving him a quick nod and dropping his hand, Emma turned her attention back to Regina as the remaining residents hurried out of the door. Some people were now yelling for one another, others getting into vehicles and driving away.
"Regina, what the hell was that? I thought you said the witch wasn't here yet." Emma didn't even wait for a response, her head swiveling side to side hoping to catch a glimpse of any other danger.
"We don't know it was her for sure, but if it was, I don't understand why she'd use the library to send a message."
They heard screams coming from the direction of the explosion and the three took off quickly towards them. It didn't take long to realize that a large circle of people had gathered around something directly outside of the library site.
Regina wasted little time and pushed the residents out of the way to see a burly man writhing in pain, his arm looking badly burnt. Archie and Belle were knelt down beside him, checking his wound.
"Anton, are you alright?" Archie was checking him carefully, the skin already blistering through the large tear in his shirt.
Regina didn't wait for a response, and spoke directly to the injured man.
"What happened here? Did you see anything?"
Anton turned his attention their way with a look of aggravation, but it changed to surprise once he noticed Emma.
"Hey, Emma. I heard you were back, but I-"
"Yeah, yeah. Tell us what you saw, giant."
He frowned at her words and glanced at Archie, indicating he was ok.
"I was making my way to the meeting when the library exploded. Luckily, I have pretty good reflexes and was able to dodge most of the flying debris. That's about the time that I ran into an old friend of yours."
He was looking right at Regina, his face now calm as he made eye contact.
"She was looking for you."
Emma turned to Regina for a reaction, but never heard the woman's response.
"That's right," a raspy voice said behind them. Everyone in the crowd turned, the gap opening again to reveal a slim, very tall woman dressed in black.
Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun and was covered by a wide brimmed, black hat. The collar on her robes encircled her neck and stuck out over her like an ominous plume of feathers on a peacock. Emma didn't need an introduction for this character, the green complexion giving her away immediately.
"I have indeed been looking for you, Regina."
The witch grinned viciously and Emma was pretty sure she'd never been so scared of a smile before.
The crowd began to back away from them, Emma and Jones remaining by Regina's side. She felt him pull her back slightly, his hand wrapping around her waist and Emma felt a sudden wave of exhilaration shoot through her body.
She stopped their retreat, resisting the urge to flee, and did her best to remain calm.
"Well aren't you going to welcome me to your town, Your Majesty?" The witch was only feet from them and her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she continued.
"I believe it's your turn to bow to me."
Emma wasn't surprised that Regina had enemies after what Jones had told her in the car. It was clear something had happened between the two women, and the witch had come to settle the score.
Regina remained silent, her face stoic as the witch continued her taunting.
"No? Very well then; I see I'll have to assist you."
The witch waved her hand, creating green, ropelike binds to wrap around Regina's arms and forcing her to her knees, the thud of bone meeting pavement making Emma wince. A loud, sinister cackle rang out around them and Emma saw a few people cower defensively.
Suddenly, she was being dragged away and realized that Jones wasn't letting her decide this time. Emma backpedaled slowly, keeping her gaze on the two women in front of them. The witch didn't seem to notice, now hunched over close to the side of Regina's face.
"Where is it, Regina?" Emma heard the witch's question, despite her apparent attempt to keep her voice low. "I know you are in possession of it, so hand it over now and I'll make your death a quick one."
Suddenly, Emma heard Belle's accented tone over the stark silence of the crowd.
"What is it that you want, you-"
The witch moved quickly, cutting off Belle's words with another wave of her hand. Emma turned to see that all of the town residents were frozen, like someone had pressed the pause button on a remote. She glanced back and was relieved to see that it hadn't affected Jones.
"There, that's more cozy," she said with another wicked smile that didn't reach her eyes.
This was nothing like seeing the small spark on the candle, or even driving across the border into Storybrooke. This magic was dark, and Emma suddenly realized the true gravity of the situation.
In spite of her fear and before she could stop herself, Emma's voice rang out over the street.
"Where is what? What is she talking about Regina?"
The witch snapped her head up to look directly at Emma, which sent chills down her spine. She could feel Jones tense beside her and Emma tried the best she could not to react to the witch's stare, her icy blue eyes penetrating her own.
"Ah, the child prodigy all grown up," the witch said as she slowly moved her way over to them. "I knew I'd eventually get you, my pretty."
She reached her long, bony fingers toward them and Emma could see that her nails were pointed and as green as her complexion. Emma noticed her eyes flicker to Jones. "And your little pirate, too."
Emma braced herself for whatever was coming next, but instead felt Jones' grip tighten around her.
"Keep your filthy hands off her, you hag."
The witch didn't even flinch, but gave a scornful laugh in response.
"Oh…how sweet. Perhaps we should consider sparing you both."
She leaned in to Emma this time, the witch's hot breath causing the hair to stand on the back of Emma's neck.
"After all, I always was a sucker for a love story."
Regina finally broke her silence, the words echoing out into the street.
"You could have taken what you wanted in the Enchanted Forest, Zelena. What else are you after?"
The witch swung around at the statement and was next to Regina in an instant, circling her slowly.
"The same thing you are." She paused a second, before Zelena leaned in closer and sneered. "Family truly is everything, isn't it Regina?"
Emma and Regina made eye contact, her face displaying fear for the first time since they'd met; and Emma's stomach dropped when she realized why.
The only relative that Regina held dear to her was Henry.
Oh God, please no.
Regina was still on her knees, the magical binds holding her in place. Emma noticed that one of her hands was reached for something in her pocket, and she suddenly understood what Regina was up to. She felt Jones give her a small squeeze and realized that he was in on it too.
"Well what are you waiting for then? I know she's here," Regina said, pausing in her struggle to look around them.
Confused, Emma narrowed her eyes and glanced around for any signs of movement, but heard the person Regina was talking about before she appeared.
"Well, well. Aren't we perceptive, as always."
Emma felt a presence sweep past them from behind and Regina's pursed her lips in discomfort. Another woman, who Emma had never seen before, took her time walking to Regina, like a lion that had cornered an injured gazelle.
The woman turned, her curly blonde hair billowing under a crown that made her look like she had horns, and the eyeliner she was wore would put Jones' to shame.
Zelena looked down at Regina, and sneered. "I believe you remember Maleficent, my sister."
Sister?
She heard Jones gasp behind her, and Emma tried not to feel satisfied that he was surprised for a change. He hadn't mentioned her in the car at all, and Emma briefly wondered why Regina hadn't either.
Regina's expression showed no further signs of fear and she met Maleficent head on. "And here I thought Hook finished you off down in that cave; although I can't say it did much to improve your complexion."
Maleficent didn't appear amused, but shrugged the comment off.
"Yes, well you and I both know that I can't be destroyed that easily." She looked at Zelena, a hint of satisfaction emerging on her face. "Luckily, I had a talented sister to brew a potion that returned me to my original form at will."
She turned to Regina again, her face serious. "You'll be sorry for double-crossing me, Regina. Twice," she added bitterly.
"If you remember correctly, I wasn't the only one who betrayed you," Regina spat out. Emma noticed that she had resumed trying to free the object from her pocket.
Maleficent suddenly waved her hand viciously, causing Regina to double over in pain.
"Silence! You've brought this on yourself. I warned you about using the Dark Curse, didn't I?"
Where her sister's voice was rough like sandpaper, Maleficent's was smooth and sweet; which frightened Emma even more, due to the contradiction of her menacing words.
Regina breath had become ragged, her body still showing signs of anguish, as Maleficent hovered over her tauntingly. "You were never satisfied with what you had, always playing with other people's lives. Now they all must pay for your miscalculations."
Suddenly, Maleficent moved her attention away from Regina and Emma saw her turn in their direction.
"So, we meet again, Savior." Emma swallowed hard, knowing that if the story was right about this one, she could be turned into a crisp in seconds.
"After Daddy-dearest hid that potion deep inside of me, I was sure no one would be able to retrieve it," she said, giving Emma a cold smile.
"But you did, didn't you?"
Emma quickly scanned her memory of what Jones and Regina had told her and seemed to recall something about her defeating a dragon with an egg hidden inside of it to try and rescue Henry.
Keeping an arm's distance from her and Jones, Maleficent twirled a blonde curl of Emma's hair around one of her fingers, on which Emma noticed a gold ring that seemed to turn a purplish hue at certain angles.
"My fight is with Regina, but removing you from the picture is just the icing on the cake."
Unwillingly, Emma raised her eyes to meet Maleficent's yellowish ones, appearing more sinister than she was prepared for. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off.
"You'll have to go through me first."
Maleficent laughed suddenly, and the sound was like an eerie and unsettling melody.
"Well hello there, Captain. I see you have another female to fawn over. Women always were your weakness, weren't they?"
Her skin was almost a pale green, not bright like her sister's, but Emma swore she saw a flash of red appear briefly on her cheeks.
You have got to be kidding me.
He responded with no ounce of amusement in his voice, and Emma's mind fleetingly considered just how well Jones had known this woman.
"I've taken you down once, Maleficent and I won't hesitate to do it again."
She gave him a sardonic grin, her lips shut tightly. "I'll deal with you both soon enough, but first…" she raised a finger, "I believe you've stolen something of mine, Regina."
As she made her way back over, Regina kept her eyes to the ground, cold and unwavering. Zelena squeezed her hand into a fist, and Regina strained against the magical binds holding her together, like a horse being pulled from a set of reigns.
Emma spotted something fall to the ground, and recognized it immediately as the object Regina was trying to pry free. She did her best not to let anyone else be the wiser, and redirected her gaze to Regina's face.
"It was never yours to begin with; but I don't have it, Maleficent. It seems your sister's wild theory regarding the wand has wasted your time."
Even from a good distance away, Emma could see Maleficent's sneer in response to that. She laid her hand flat out in front of Regina as if to ask for her to hand it over, but to everyone's surprise, a wand appeared there from thin air.
"You mean this wand, Regina?"
Emma heard Jones mumble something in surprise and saw confusion and euphoria written on Zelena's face.
"When did you come into possession of The Black Wand?"
Maleficent sniggered, waving her wand hand carelessly to indicate a feeling of indifference.
"Oh, sister… I happen to know that Regina always keeps her most prized possessions locked away in her vault." She leaned down, then, her face only inches from Regina's and continued.
"One of the many perks of being friends with her for so long, you see."
Regina looked livid, her eyes now searching for what Emma had seen fall out onto the ground before.
Suddenly, she heard Jones' angry tone beside her. "What the bloody hell are you doing with it, Regina? You know the Blue Fairy has been searching for that for over a year now."
Regina slowly pulled her attention back to Jones, appearing guilty and slightly apologetic.
"Well, well Regina. It looks as if you're still lying to those who are foolish enough to trust you." Malecifent shook her head in mock disappointment. "But no matter. The time for secret sharing is over."
Without warning, Malecifent flicked the wrist of her wand hand and every single one of residents who had been frozen, disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke.
Emma jerked her head back to Regina to see her struggling against her binds once again. Regina's face was red with rage and she was yelling at Maleficent now.
"What did you do to them?"
"Relax, my dear. They're still alive and well… for now. They, along with your lovely son and hooded boy toy, are back at home where they await their fate."
Henry.
Emma's heart was in her throat, and she felt Jones attempts to pull her back in time.
He wasn't fast enough.
She sprinted toward them with everything she could, but Emma felt herself being yanked back suddenly, helpless to defend against the magic of the wand. She slammed against a tree, purple ropes pinning her to the trunk. Hearing Jones' grunt beside her, Emma knew that Jones' had suffered the same fate, and was pinned against the tree with her.
"Always trying to play the hero; just like your foolish parents," Maleficent scolded and Emma heard Zelena's croaky laugh, like someone with a cold trying to clear their throat.
She could feel the blood trickling down her arms from where she must have scratched roughly against the bark. The blinding rage and adrenaline that had come on suddenly, was slowly ebbing away, the pain and regret now humming through Emma's body.
Well, so much for "the plan."
Regina was breathing heavily, apparently forgetting all resemblance of calm. She looked up to Zelena, her tone malicious. "You should have stayed in Oz with your monkey minions."
Turning to Maleficent, she added: "And if you touch a hair on my son's head, you'll wish you'd died down in that damn cave."
Maleficent didn't react, but Zelena smiled wickedly, waving her hands in mock horror. "Oooo, perhaps we should make our travel arrangements right away."
Suddenly though, her face turned cold, speaking to no one in particular. "After that bitch Dorothy 'accidentally' killed my twin sister, I thought I was finished too. Luckily, I escaped to survive in Pan-"
"Enough, sister! We have what we came for." Maleficent placed a ghostlike hand on the witch. "Go now, to the Enchanted Forest, to ensure all is in order until I can join you. I'll deal with these three."
Zelena nodded in agreement and turned to catch Emma's gaze. "Nice to have met you, Savior. Sorry it had to be cut so short, but I'll be sure to give Mom and Dad your regards."
With one last cackle, the witch disappeared into a puff of green smoke.
Emma saw Maleficent turn back to Regina, and decided it was time to start thinking of Plan B. Fighting against the rope, she heard Jones whisper over to her.
"You see it lying next to Regina, don't you luv?" He was bound very close to her, his fingers lightly brushing up against hers as he struggled.
Emma nodded her head slowly, hoping that Maleficent wouldn't catch on to their interaction. She could hear Regina cry out in pain and saw her try and reach for the object next to her again.
Suddenly, Emma decided to take action.
"Hey Mistress!"
Emma's voice echoed in the empty street; with only the howling wind and crackling fire from the explosion to be heard.
Maleficent's head snapped up to meet her gaze, as Emma continued. "Yeah, Mistress of all evil, right?"
She seemed curious that Emma knew her nickname, now moving slowly in their direction.
"It was you who sent me that message, wasn't it? In the restaurant... you used it to get me back to Storybrooke so you could destroy me, didn't you?"
A part of Emma wanted to confirm her suspicions regarding the message, but really focused her attention on maintaining a diversion for Regina as long as possible.
Maleficent narrowed her vivid eyes, the dilating of her pupils indicating a keen interest. Nothing about her features, though, suggested she understood what Emma had meant.
A sly grin slowly appeared on her face and Maleficent finally spoke. "No hard feelings, I hope? We can't take a chance on you getting your memory back and your powers restored. Aww, no need to fret, my dear. I'll make this quick for you and lover boy here."
Her smile disappeared then, and Emma's blood ran cold at her expression. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of your family."
Suddenly there was a flash of green light, blinding Emma momentarily and startling Maleficent, who stumbled backwards, turning toward the source.
Regina had somehow gotten to her feet and was standing next to a swirling vortex that Emma recognized as a portal; similar to the one in her dream that she'd had with the ghostly figure.
"Regina, go!" Emma didn't even hesitate, the words coming out of her mouth on instinct.
Maleficent let out a sound of anger, and aimed The Black Wand toward the vortex.
She saw Regina pause, apparently torn for a moment, as Maleficent hurried toward her. Emma caught her eyes with a determined gaze.
"Regina, Henry needs you. Go."
There was a brief look of understanding and regret before Regina hurled herself into the portal, her arms still bound by magic.
She heard Jones' stressed words beside her and Emma knew they must be running out of time.
"Do it now, Emma."
She understood without asking, closing her eyes and picturing Henry. She had to get back to him somehow. His face appeared before her and Emma flashed her eyes back open to see Maleficent drop her wand as if having been burnt by it.
The ropes holding them to the tree snapped off and Jones was pulling her toward the portal, running past Maleficent who was still swearing and reeling from pain.
Emma saw the portal start to close and heard Jones yell for her to hurry as they picked up their pace. Leaping forward into the swirling void, Emma had little to consider except the pull around her navel, her body being helplessly sucked into the green abyss, and Maleficent's loud wail of fury from behind them.
They both landed with a loud thud, the snapping of sticks giving way to their bodies' weight. Emma took a second to catch her breath and glanced over to see Jones slow to get to his feet, stuffing something back into his pocket.
Suddenly his good hand was gently pulling her up and Emma winced slightly, realizing she had landed badly on her right ankle. He noticed immediately and gripped her shoulder. "Are you alright, Darling?"
Emma nodded slowly, finally taking in their surroundings.
She and Jones were surrounded by trees, having apparently landed in some kind of forest. The covering of leaves above them was thick, letting only a few strong rays of light to pierce through the canopy and illuminate a few objects like stones, broken branches, and small plant life.
Coming to her senses, Emma looked around and shouted out. "Regina. Regina, are you here?" Her voice echoed through the silence of the forest, not even the sound of singing birds to be heard.
Ok, this is weird.
"Do you think she's with Henry?" She glanced over at Jones, but he wasn't looking for Regina, seemingly distracted by the strange atmosphere.
"What the bloody…?" Jones was peering up into the trees, no view of the sky being possible due to the foliage. Emma knew it was daylight, but there was certainly no way to tell given the surroundings.
Where Storybrooke had been chilly from the late October winds, this place was warm and the air quite thick around them. Though having been awake for hours already, Emma felt almost relaxed and lethargic, like losing herself in a hot bath after a long day at work.
Emma saw Jones staring into a puddle only a few feet away and narrowed her eyes. "As lovely as it may be, now's not the time to stare at your reflection, Jones. Do you know where we are?"
He didn't appear to have heard her, moving onto another puddle nearby. Giving up on him, Emma took the opportunity to look around a bit more. She noticed a piece of wood peeking out from layers of moss, lit up by a stray beam of sunlight.
It looked like it might have been a sign at one time, the black writing on it only somewhat legible. Seeming a little worse for wear, Emma carefully removed as much of the moss as she could and revealed a majority of the words engraved there.
Make your c-oice, ad-turous S-rang-r
Strik- the -ell and bide the d-nger
Or wa-der, till it driv-s you mad
What wo-ld hav- foll-wed if you -ad
Reading the words out loud to herself, Emma felt a bit foolish, since it wasn't entirely clear. It seemed odd that someone would leave a sign with a strange limerick in the middle of the woods like that. She was about to call Jones over, when his voice rang out.
"This is it, luv. Come quickly."
Taking the wooden sign with her, she walked over to where Jones was standing over a puddle, her eyes now narrowing in annoyance. "What is up with you and the puddl-?" She stopped in her tracks, feeling the twinge from her twisted ankle, and stared down in shock.
What had appeared to be a puddle was actually a pool, deep and as clear as a summer sky. There was a mountain range shining through, like a scenic painting, and Emma glanced up at Jones in confusion. "What is that?"
He didn't meet her gaze, but was looking into the pool as if preparing for something to jump out of it at them. "That's where we need to go. Here, grasp onto my hand."
Another portal? Oh, this was her lucky day for sure. Emma was starting to think they should have taken their chances with Maleficent.
Sensing her hesitation, Jones grabbed her hand in his, and she was surprised to find it didn't generate the heat between them that she normally felt. She dropped the sign, now forgetting it all together.
He wasted no time and murmured something about bracing herself, before tugging them into the pool. They landed hard again, this time into a shallow river, the water running over them quickly.
Shrieking in surprise, Emma got to her feet and made her way over to the riverbank, Jones closely in tow. She took off her boots, the suction of air causing a loud slurp, and Emma shot him a glare. "Just great, Jones. Where are we anyway? If that wasn't your homeland back there, then what-"
"Our homeland, Darling, and I believe we had better get moving." He was checking his pockets now, probably ensuring everything in them was still there. Emma removed a muddy leaf from her hair after squeezing as much water as she could from her shirt, opening her mouth to make a retort.
She was interrupted by the sound of hooves galloping behind them, the only reason she had been slightly warned before being surrounded. At first, she had thought it was an army of mounted men, possibly cavalry, but looking more closely she realized that they weren't actually men.
They weren't completely men.
Having read about them, even seeing a few in movies, had not prepared Emma for what stood before her. Encircling the two of them, all armed with weapons, were half a dozen centaurs.
Emma slowly grabbed onto Jones' arm and held her breath as the largest one stepped forward, his voice robust and genteel.
"I am known as General Castrix, leader of the Second Council's Army. State your business here. Why have you entered our kingdom?"
He had the upper body of a man; his chest was muscular and dusted with dark, curly hair. At the waist, however, was a horse's body covered in black fur. His front hoof dug into the ground as if he was irritated and suddenly all of the soldiers raised their lances, keeping her and Jones in the center of the circle.
"Easy, mates." Jones was holding his arms out in surrender, stepping in front of Emma as if to shield her. "She's just trying to get back to her young one. We're not here to cause harm, I assure you."
The general's long, wispy tail swished back and forth as he met Jones' gaze. "Who are you, strangers?"
Jones' smirk reached both eyes and his voice suddenly sounded relaxed. "This beautiful creature behind me is Emma Swan, daughter of King David and Queen Snow. I, my good man, am Captain Killian Jones, but also go by my more recognizable moniker: Captain Hook."
None of them seemed to recognize the name, which Emma was inwardly thankful for due to his notoriety. However, it didn't seem to matter much, as the general's stern look remained. "Seize them."
Jones struggled against centaurs' grasp, Emma hearing him still trying to smooth talk his way out of it. Finally finding her voice, she looked up to the general. "Under whose authority do you take us prisoner?"
He directly met Emma's gaze, then. His frown ebbed slowly from his face and was replaced by mild surprise. Emma noticed that his dark, scruffy beard twitched as he spoke again. "The only authority that matters, milady; that of King Andrew."
Who?
Emma tried to recall whether she's heard that name in any tale, when she felt the cold metal of the cuffs bite into her wrists, the centaur soldier's whinnies reaching her ears.
The general motioned for the group to move ahead, as he stayed to the rear, the centaurs moving in a perfect line. Jones was still struggling under his restraints and calling back to Emma from the front.
Suddenly the general turned to Emma, showing the only sign of mirth on his face since they arrived, his wide grin displaying perfect, white teeth that glimmered in the sunlight.
"We bid you welcome, Lady Emma, to the kingdom of Narnia."
A/N: Ok, for those of you who have read The Chronicles of Narnia series: just know that this will NOT follow the exact timeline and/or events of the books, and therefore will not be considered canon to C.S. Lewis' series. If you're like me and haven't read all of the books, don't worry. You won't need to have any background knowledge of the series, as it will not be considered a cross-over. Hook and Emma won't be in Narnia long, but plenty will happen while they are :)