Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters or anything from C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.

This Chapter's Rating: T, borderline M for stuff :)

Jones wouldn't tell Emma what he had planned to get them out of the castle, which of course infuriated her. She eventually swallowed her pride, and decided to trust him as he had asked her.

Which was starting to become a habit of hers lately.

It hadn't taken long for two faun guards to show up and take them to Castrix. Emma was expecting the rest of the castle to be ornate and grand.

She was wrong.

Much like the prison cell they were being held in, the rest of the castle was dark and dank. The stone walls and wooden floors did little to block the draft from outside. There weren't many windows to let any light in, and the few that did exist were draped with black, moth-eaten curtains.

The ceiling in the great hall was tall, which made the room look much larger than it actually was. Brass chandeliers hung not far above their heads, as wax dripped over their rusty edges. The only other source of heat or light was a large fireplace in the far corner.

She and Jones hadn't been placed in chains this time, but the faun soldier that followed had kept his spear close to their backs.

Castrix was laying on what looked like a bear skin rug at the end of the hall, flanked by three of his centaur soldiers. Emma noticed one of them was Dorian, who welcomed her with a friendly bow.

The general finished chewing his food and stood up, wiping his mouth with a large cloth. He frowned at them both and signaled for two fauns to bring them chalices of what turned out to be wine.

"Drink." His tone was curt, void of any emotion.

Jones glanced over at her and took a drink first as if to see whether it was safe. After a moment, he nodded and Emma followed. She found it to be rather good: sweet, with an overtone of earth and spice.

"I take it your rations were satisfactory?" Castrix was wearing a tight smile, which Emma thought didn't suit him.

Jones took another swig of the wine and placed his goblet down on a table nearby.

"No offense mate, but we didn't come here to discuss the facilities. The time has come to make a deal."

Emma narrowed her eyes, but stared ahead without looking at Jones, as she was still upset that he hadn't filled her in on what he was up to.

Castrix waved away all of his guards, except Dorian and another centaur so they could be alone. "Yes, Dorian mentioned that you may have something that would be valuable to us." Stopping a short distance in front of them, the general held out his hand expectantly. "So, let us have a look, Captain."

Jones seemed surprised to have the general address him as "Captain," but recovered quickly, and pulled the item out of his boot. Emma craned her neck to see that it was cradled in a white cloth and appeared no bigger than Jones' palm.

It was an antique, rather dingy device with a needle and letters written in four directions that closely resembled a compass.

Seriously? That was his plan? He wanted to trade a beat up, old compass for their lives?

She waited for the eruption of laughter, but it never came. Instead, Castrix's eyes widened and his voice was wrapped in awe as he took it carefully in his hand. "Is that a magic compass?"

Jones merely nodded. "Yes, indeed. It will point you in the direction of the thing that you most desperately seek."

Emma nearly spit out the wine she'd been drinking. Jones had something that might be able to get them home and he was trading it away?

She made her way over to him and whispered. "What the hell are you doing? Aren't we going to need whatever that thing is to get out of here?"

Jones made a slight shooing motion at Emma, which earned him a glare, before the pirate held his hand back out expectantly.

"Come now, gentleman, let us talk business."

Frowning, Castrix returned the compass to Jones and took a step back. "Your freedom for the compass?"

His large, black tail swished behind him and Emma was reminded of a different side she had seen of the centaur, one more dark and unwavering.

"Well, not exactly, mate." Jones placed the compass into his pocket and Emma saw the centaurs twitch in irritation.

"You see, the lady and I require assistance leaving this world and getting back to our homeland. In order to do this, we will need a portal or a way to the woods which held the magical pools."

Dorian and Castrix exchanged looks of confusion, the general staring back at Jones as if he hadn't heard him correctly.

"So your trip here was an accident, then?"

Emma could no longer contain herself and stepped forward. "Yes; a mistake on our part. General, we need your help. My son is in danger, and the longer we are trapped here-"

Castrix raised his hand gently to cut her off. "We mean you no harm, but you cannot merely come and go as you please into Narnia. Letting you leave is simply not my decision to make."

Jones nodded his head, seeming to understand where he was going with this. "Ah yes; your king. So, we will need his permission to leave then, I take it?"

Nodding solemnly, the general met Jones' gaze once again. "I'm afraid so."

Jones sighed deeply and shuffled over to observe a painting on the wall, scratching his chin as if deep in thought. Emma recognized the landscape on the painting as the same one they'd seen in the magic pool.

"That is quite a lovely view, no?" He pointed to the painting and the general quirked an eyebrow in response.

Emma was surprised that Jones had gone so far off track. Was he trying to confuse the general or trick him with flattery? Either way, she doubted his talent for smooth talking would help them this time.

Castrix nodded his head slightly and finished his wine, placing it on the table. "At one time, yes. That was the Western Wild, before evil overcame its terrain. It was once lush, beautiful, and far less dangerous."

"I see…" Jones made his way around the table and back to the group. "And what of the rings?"

Emma's eyes snapped up to Jones' in order to identify any foul play, but she saw that he appeared quite serious, awaiting the centaur's response.

Castrix seemed to have been taken by surprise again, although this time he tried to hide it.

"Rings?" His voice was low, but a bit uneven.

"You are not the only one familiar with legends, General. I have heard of four rings used for portal transportation, and they are somewhere in this kingdom; am I right?"

Emma suddenly remembered this part of the story, having read it as a child. She was constantly immersing herself in fairytales in order to escape the cruelty of her life. If her memory served her, there were two gold rings and two green ones that allowed passage into and out of Narnia.

Castrix looked at Jones carefully, as if to detect any dishonesty or bluff. "You are correct, indeed. There is a legend of four rings from this realm."

The small bit of relief Emma felt suddenly faded once she saw the solemn look on the general's face. "However, the golden rings were lost long ago, scattered at the corners of this kingdom."

Jones wasn't giving up as easily. "But they do exist." He glanced back at Emma before returning his gaze to the centaurs. "And each one can take us to another land of our choice?

Dorian and the other centaur guffawed, while Castrix smiled.

"Assuming you could find them at all, Captain."

Those were Emma's thoughts exactly. She assumed that he and his soldiers had probably tried to find these rings themselves, considering the power they possessed.

It was Jones' turn to smile. "Well, therein lies the drawback, mate." He pulled the compass back out of his pocket, swinging it back and forth. "In order to find the rings, we will need to take this with us."

Emma nearly snorted in disbelief, looking up to gage a reaction. Surprisingly, the centaurs weren't laughing, but looking at one another silently.

After a long minute, it was Castrix who spoke. "Give us a moment, please."

They began conversing amongst themselves in small voices, occasionally glancing over at her and Jones. Emma couldn't believe they were even considering the deal.

She shot Jones a look that meant "This had better work or it's your ass." He seemed to understand, a grin growing on his face as he threw her a quick wink which made her heart skip.

Damn him.

After only a few moments, the three centaurs turned around, Castrix addressing her and Jones. "We have no real need for the rings, so we will allow you to take two of them in order to leave our realm, assuming the king gives you his permission when you return. However…"

Emma let out a deep sigh. She figured there had to be a catch.

The general continued with a frown. "The compass could be what we need in order to lead us out of this permanent darkness. How do we know you will return here to fulfill your end the bargain?"

This guy didn't trust anyone, and now it seemed that Emma's own insecurities were coming back to bite her. Determined, she pushed pass Jones and kept her voice as steady as possible.

"You'll just have to believe that we're honest people and will bring back the compass, General."

As expected, Castrix pursed his lips and placed his bulging arms across his chest with a huff.

"Emma, just because you believe in something, doesn't make it true."

His words froze her in place, making it very hard for Emma to disagree with them, even now. How could she ask this guy to take a leap of faith, when she herself didn't trust anyone?

That was… until yesterday; when she drove seven hours to an unmarked destination and swallowed a vial of mystery liquid because a pirate told her to.

Meeting his eyes directly, Emma reached out her hand for him to shake.

"Then let me prove you wrong."

Despite feeling like a hypocrite at the moment, Emma held her breath and waited for him to reject her offer. Suddenly, Dorian whispered something to Castrix, before he smiled at Emma warmly.

Nodding his head, the general then turned his attention back to her, his face serious. "You took a chance to save another's life," he said slowly, reaching out to accept her hand. "Now we will take a chance on you, in order to save us all."

Emma's breath came out in a large whoosh, as Jones came wrap his arm around the small of her back, making the drafty room suddenly feel like a sauna.

She tried to ignore the heavy stare that Jones gave Dorian, as Castrix turned his attention to them.

"You'll need a map of the surrounding area, and I suggest you start by heading west." He motioned to one of the guards, who galloped over to join them. "Our soldiers will ensure you have the proper supplies and weaponry."

Emma began mentally preparing herself for the task at hand as Jones finished the last of his wine with a large gulp.

"Much obliged, mate. Say, you got anything with a hook?"

Despite Castrix urging them to wait until morning, Emma had insisted that she and Jones head out right away. With two hours still left of daylight, Emma was sure they could get at least 20 miles if they didn't stop to rest.

The centaurs gave them a map and had shared some areas of danger with Jones. More than likely, they had said, a ring would be somewhere near the Western Wild, as it was a major landmark in the kingdom.

Emma glanced up and noticed the sun had nearly reached the horizon, and although it had been mostly covered in clouds all day, she missed the small bit of light it had provided them.

Jones turned out to be quite the horseman, considering he only had one hand. His movements seemed to be in sync with the animal, apparently having experience in the area. She had never ridden a horse before, but Emma caught on quickly with Jones' help.

"It's a good thing one of us knows how to ride," Emma said to her side, as she and Jones' traveled at a steady gallop. She allowed herself to admire the way his legs wrapped tightly around the horse for control and her mind wandered a bit.

He turned and caught her staring at him, which earned Emma a lazy grin.

"A man of many talents; as I said before."

She pretended not to be amused, shaking her head and taking a long drink from her canteen. Over an hour of riding and she had already started to feel sore. Cutting the gym out of her routine the past two months had obviously taken its toll.

It was odd to think that it had been almost three days with barely a thought of New York; of their old life. She supposed that there was little chance of them ever being able to return to that lifestyle again. Her job, her friends (though she only had a few besides Josef,) and everything else that made up her and Henry's life, were now a not so distant memory.

"Care to share what's on your mind, Darling?" She was startled by his voice and nearly fell off her horse.

Emma thought it best to stay focused on the task at hand. Besides, talking about New York would only make her think of Henry, and she couldn't afford to lose her grip again.

She glanced sideways at Jones and tried to act casual.

"So how far do you think we've traveled?"

He pulled the reins so the horse would come to a stop, and took out the compass. "Can you pull out the map, luv?" Jones moved his horse closer to hers so that they could coordinate.

Grabbing the map out of her knapsack, Emma looked ahead to see that they were coming up a large field of what looked like wheatgrass. Unrolling the map, she felt Jones look over her shoulder, his face inches from hers. She shivered, blowing into her hands to fake being cold.

"We need to continue heading west, as I believe we are about to enter the battleground ruins. Perhaps we should stop to set up camp soon, as nightfall is rapidly approaching."

Emma quirked her eyebrow and turned her head to look at him.

"Just how much did Castrix tell you about the land?"

Jones paused to look at her strangely, before he held up the compass. "Thanks to the information provided by our compassionate general, I have no doubt we will find at least two of the four rings. Although, sadly this compass hasn't done anything exceptional so far," he added under his breath.

That reminded her of something and she narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get that compass anyway, and more importantly, why didn't you tell me about it?"

As much as Emma wanted to keep the peace, she couldn't ignore the fact that he kept the magical compass from her until today. He was ready to trade it away and hadn't even consulted her first.

Jones put the compass back into his pocket and nudged the horse to go forward. "I was actually waiting for you to tell me," he hesitated before continuing. "I failed to share the details on how we came into possession of it, in hopes that the memory would come back to you."

"Wait, what do you mean 'we came into possession of it'?"

She could tell that he hadn't been looking forward to answering this question, his eyes looking ahead.

"You do recall my mention of the beanstalk before?"

She did remember him saying something about fighting off a giant for a magical trinket to get them to Storybrooke. Emma nodded so that he would continue.

"That was our first journey together, and due to the circumstances of our meeting, you had quite a difficult time letting me in."

Kicking the horse to move faster, he seemed to look for any signs of danger and continued. "Of course, I could tell from the beginning that it wasn't the only reason you were afraid to trust me."

Emma wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was getting harder and harder to accept that this man knew her so well when she knew so little about him.

"We were able to obtain the compass after you trapped the giant git." He shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "I recall being so impressed with your cunning and nerve from the moment we met."

Between his expressions and tone of voice, Emma could tell that finding the compass had meant more to him than obtaining its magic.

Her interest piqued, as the horses stepped into the golden wheat field, the rods rustling in the gentle breeze.

"So what happened then? I thought you ended up going to Storybrooke with Cora after that?"

It was remarkable how much detail she could still retain after everything. Between his and Regina's accounts, and now what she learned about Narnia, Emma needed a notebook to keep it all straight. Her ankle started to ache for the first time since they left, but Emma pushed past it.

"Well, things took a bit of a turn after you obtained the compass," Jones turned his head toward her, the words sounding rough against the evening silence.

"A turn?"

When he had craned his head, Emma was certain she had caught a whiff of his scent, only this time it was nearly overwhelming, striking a bolt of desire throughout her.

He pursed his lips and his voice was low. "You said you couldn't trust your instincts, and left me chained in the giant's lair."

She was suddenly aware of his change in demeanor. Jones was no longer looking at her, his brow furrowed and his hand grasped the reins tightly.

"You mean that I left you there to die?"

Her body was really starting to recognize the cold beneath the many layers she had on, the horses' breath coming out in large puffs of steam.

"No, you struck an accord with the giant known as Anton to release me once you got away. I imagine that you believed you and I were getting too close; that you were afraid of what you may have felt."

Anton. He was the big guy who was injured in Storybrooke. He hadn't seemed like a ferocious giant to her, and Emma figured that she must have had a good reason to leave Jones behind on that beanstalk.

The faint humming of the insects and woodland creatures seemed to amplify over the plains, the horses' hooves crunching the blades of wheat beneath them.

Suddenly, Emma felt very anxious. There was still so much she didn't know about Jones; so much he hadn't said about his past.

"You know, for someone who talks so much about trust, you sure don't reveal a lot about yourself."

She happened to catch the dark look creep on his face, despite the lack of light.

"What do you want to know?"

The horses panted under them, seeming to tire with every step. Unless she was wrong, they hadn't quite travelled two hours, so it didn't seem to make sense for them to be this exhausted already.

"You once said that our relationship was 'complicated,' but you didn't say how or why it-"

Suddenly, Jones turned to her sharply, his words coming out in a near shout. "Do you think it's easy giving your heart to a woman, only to have her ripped away from you without warning? Once was hard enough…"

His tone had struck her so deeply that it was suddenly difficult to breathe. Tears stung her eyes, and Emma felt a deep, resounding fear spill over her. The horse she was riding stumbled, pulling against her grasp as if fighting the will to move forward.

Emma surrendered the reins, her ankle throbbing, and she turned to see that Jones had stopped too. He was facing her, his chest heaving. They seemed to be at a deadlock, their eyes gazing into one another with a jumble of emotion.

In that moment, the two of them seemed to understand that something was amiss. His eyes widened and he looked around them, alert, but his frown remained.

"Come on," he yelled out to her.

Digging his boots into the horse, Jones managed to get the poor animal to move toward the edge of the forest. Emma tried her best to focus, and followed him out of the field, now realizing his plan.

As her horse made its way out of the last blades of grass, Emma felt her head start to clear, and her awareness return. The sounds of the creatures around them were now subtle, the deep cold was lifting from her extremities, and Jones' scent only made her somewhat dizzy, rather than completely.

The feelings of fear and uncertainty that had plagued her were now fading away, like the sun over the hills. Something in that field had nearly turned them against one another.

Jones must have felt the same, because he moved close enough to place his hand on hers.

"Bloody hell, lass. Are you alright?"

His eyes searched hers, a look of concern replacing the one of anger and misery that was there only moments ago.

She nodded her head and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"What was that? One minute we were talking, the next-"

"The Plains of Perception. Apparently, the grass heightens one's present senses and emotions to the extremity. The general had mentioned it, but I was too distracted to take notice."

He dismounted, shaking his head in frustration, and looked up at her again. "Twas my failure, Emma."

She put her hands on Jones' shoulders, as he helped her get down from the saddle. "I think we should make camp for the night," he murmured, now looking around. "The tree line should provide some cover from any further evil that may await us."

His hand remained on her waist a moment longer, the last remnants of her heightened senses ebbing away as he finally broke eye contact, and turned to make his way into the forest, mumbling over his shoulder.

"I'll just go and collect some firewood, then."

Emma woke to the crackling of fire, its smoke filling her nostrils with hints of pine and mold. She glanced over to Jones' sleeping bag to see it was empty, and guessed he was probably getting more firewood.

Or avoiding her.

After what he'd said while they were on the PMS Plains, or whatever they're called, Emma couldn't help but wonder how much of it had been true. She knew the grass pushed a person's current senses to the brink, but that could only mean one thing: Jones had already been angry before they entered the field.

Breathing a deep sigh, she removed her jacket from under the sleeping bag, her sweater being plenty to keep her warm. The centaurs had made sure they were properly supplied, that's for sure.

Even so, if that field was just the beginning of obstacles they were to face, Emma concluded that she and Jones needed to deal with whatever this was between them, and fast. It was clear that she had hurt him, but unless Emma understood what they had gone through, it could only spell more trouble.

Emma decided to find Jones, looking over to see her boots warming by the fire. She sat up and reached over to grab them, before hearing the snap of a twig behind her.

"Hey," she said in a low voice, Jones walking slowly toward the campsite. It was still quite dark, as Emma supposed it must be very early morning.

"Look Jones, I think we need to talk about-"

"Shhhh." He had knelt down in front of her, his face covered in shadows and dim firelight as he placed a finger to her lips.

"It is I who should apologize, Darling."

Recognizing the spark from just a press of his finger, Emma shook her head.

"Neither one of us saw that grass coming; it wasn't your fault."

He merely nodded, settling on the ground next to her and maintaining eye contact as she continued.

"But I also know that you're going through something I can't totally understand, so you need to tell me everything if we're going to get out of this alive."

Without a word, he moved his hand to cup her face. His tongue darted out quickly to wet his lips and she noticed, swallowing hard. His gaze moved to her throat, as she reminded herself to stay focused.

"I know that we've hurt each other, and that it's taking me longer to get my memory back than you'd probably like," Emma murmured, her breathing picking up.

Despite the damp ground, she could feel the heat generating off of Jones' body and wondered if it really was coming from him, or if they had wandered into that damn grass again. A low hum escaped his lips as he slowly drew patterns on her arm with his fingertips.

"And…uh, well…after everything that's happened, there's fear and frustration on both sides, and we-"

"I'd be happy to assist you with any frustration you might have, luv." His usual playfulness was gone, replaced with an unbridled look of lust that both scared and exhilarated her.

For a moment, Emma was fixated on the curve of his bottom lip, moist from where he had licked them before, and the way it met perfectly with a small patch of stubble.

He whispered in her ear, his voice husky. "Just say the word."

Closing her eyes, Emma felt Jones' words reverberate to her bones, goose bumps emerging all over her skin. She didn't hide the deep intake of breath, filling her nose with a mixture of leather and sweat.

Unwilling to push aside the urgency anymore, Emma open her eyes to meet with his, her voice low.

"Yes."

Jones didn't hesitate for a second, placing his good hand behind her neck and pulling her into him.

She was on fire.

The roughness of his beard scraped against her jaw at first, his mouth hot and wet against hers. She let his lips massage into her own, her hand pressed against his warm chest, which was dusted with dark curls. Emma felt his tongue edge its way in and she met it willingly with her own.

If she had thought the haziness of the fields had been too much, Emma hadn't realized what she was getting herself into. She still wasn't certain of how much they had done before, but it was no secret that her body needed this- now.

Emma picked up the pace, using both of her hands to pull on his jacket for leverage, the thrashing of her heartbeat against her chest urging her on. His hand moved from her face and down her back to settle above her hips, as she savored the spicy taste of his mouth.

She was the first to pull apart to breathe, wrapping her hand into his dark hair roughly. Jones moved his way down, suckling on the exposed flesh on her neck and pulling her sweater down over the one shoulder. Without thinking, Emma let out a moan that echoed over the quiet forest and felt the fire ignite down into her core.

He chuckled darkly at her enthusiasm and his hand pulled her left leg to rest over his lap, fitting them more closely together. Emma thought she was going to explode, the relentless heat between them fogging any rational thought.

The arm of his gloved hand wrapped around her back, the other sneaking its warm fingers under the fabric of her shirt. He cupped her breast over the bra, making her ache for him. "Jones," she said; her voice ragged and hoarse.

She pulled Jones' mouth back to hers roughly, her breath coming out in short bursts. Emma let any feeling of self doubt leave her as she lowered herself down onto him, grinding her pelvis into his.

"Mmmmmm," he groaned against her mouth, nipping at her lower lip. "Swan…"

Emma's vision began to blur, the overwhelming heat nearly unbearable, yet drawing her further and further into a lusty abyss. There was no turning back, even if she wanted to. He had consumed her entirely, as the last remnants of thought gave way to the humming of her body.

"Swan."

Her arms were shaking, and she could feel the heat slowly fading from her. Jones' lips were still ravishing her neck, but it felt like someone was jerking her shoulders violently.

"Swan! Emma…look lively, luv!"

Suddenly she was drenched, the coldness of the water biting into her still smoldering skin. Emma opened her eyes and had to squint immediately, the brightness of the morning sunlight beaming through the forest trees.

Coming back to her senses, Emma's vision cleared and her sight was met with the image of a fully-clothed Jones standing over her with a torch. "What are you doing?" She spluttered out, utterly confused.

He didn't answer her right away, swerving his head from side to side in haste, as if he was looking for something. "Where the bloody hell did it go? Blasted thing…"

Emma stumbled to her feet, looking down at her drenched clothes. "Jones, why in the world did you-"

"I think it's gone, but we need to get out of here." He started packing their things, his gear already packed. Emma had assumed she was dreaming, but it didn't explain his behavior.

"Jones…?"

He swung around from rolling up her sleeping bag and frowned. "It was an incubus, Darling. And they don't much care for being interrupted, so I suggest we get a move on."

Incubus? Like the band? Emma was so baffled she didn't even reply, still slightly flustered from the dream she just had.

Don't think about that right now.

Noticing the compass falling out of his satchel, Emma grabbed it and flung it around her neck, water still dripping from her hair.

Pulling on her boots, she narrowed her eyes at him as he lifted her things over the horse's saddle. "Did you have to throw water on me? Now my clothes are all wet."

He merely shook his head, a humorless laugh coming off his lips as his breath showed in the chilly morning air.

"You were fortunate that I was able to wake you at all, lass."

She opened her mouth to make a retort, but Jones' eyes grew wide. He was walking over to her slowly, his sightline heading right for her chest. Emma frowned in annoyance, but realized immediately that he was looking at the compass she had thrown around her neck.

The front face was glowing ever-so-slightly, and felt warm against her skin. The needle spun wildly for a moment, before stopping on a point between North and West.

Jones looked up from the compass, his eyes meeting Emma's. "It's working, Darling," he said as a wide smile spread over his face.

"Now, let us go and get one of those rings, shall we?"