This one goes out to reader natalie of turner manor, who asked about Finn... (for those of you who've not yet read "The Memory Keeper's Daughter", this is also a prequel to what will eventually be Finn's story.
"So when are you going to tell me where we're going?" Emma said, standing next to her husband at the wheel.
"You'll not get it out of me," Hook smiled down at her. "Though you're welcome to use your wiles and try."
"We've been at sea for days. Whatever this place is, it had better be amazing."
He put an arm around her, pulling her in. "Patience, love. It's worth the wait, I promise."
He pulled the wheel to starboard, and they rounded a large, rocky cliff.
"Wait for it..." Suddenly the channel opened up and in front of them was a frozen fjord, covered in ice unlike anything Emma had ever seen before. It was gleaming, crystalline blue instead of white, and within the high walls of the mountainside was a castle, chiseled into glistening white marble, reflecting the blue below.
"It's breathtaking!" Emma said, glancing around with her mouth open. "Wow." She turned to look at her husband. "And you've been here before?"
"Once, on a previous voyage. I was with my brother then." He leaned back, taking a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air. "We were sent as emissaries, to deliver a trade agreement between kingdoms. I've never forgotten the beauty of the place, though I'd never make it a home - it's bloody cold up here if you haven't noticed."
"Are we sailing into the palace harbor?" Emma asked, squinting in the dazzling sunlight reflecting off the ice.
"Well, you are a princess," He reminded her. "It wouldn't do not to pay the King a courtesy visit. Your parents sent word ahead that you were coming and he's extended his hospitality if we'd like to stay at the palace."
She leaned into him. "Hmmmm. What do you want to do?"
"I say we pay our respects to King Markus, and then we walk through the cobbled streets of the picturesque village below, sample the delicious food and excellent grog at the market, and then we make our way over there." He pointed across the channel to an ivy covered stone cottage, sitting on top of a low, rocky cliff overlooking the gorge. "The proprietor makes the best bread you've ever tasted, the beds are soft, and there's a lovely view of the sea."
"You had me with the food. Let's go."
An hour later, they were escorted into the castle only to learn that King Markus had been called away on an urgent domestic issue. He'd left orders that they were to be welcomed as guests, but they declined, choosing to stay at the cottage instead. Emma let his advisor know where she could be found, and offered to return again for a visit before she left to go home.
They strolled down through the marketplace, buying various gifts for family and friends, including a new cloak for David, a bejeweled bird carved from a walrus tusk for Snow, a beautifully illustrated book for Henry, and what had to be the biggest stuffed polar bear Emma had ever seen for Meriel.
"Good God. This thing is bigger than I am!" She said as Hook paid the vendor for it. "You're not planning on carrying that around, are you?"
'Course not. I'll have them deliver it to the ship before we leave." He stroked the soft, white fur with the back of his hand. "Meriel will love it." He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "And I purchased an extra bearskin for our room at home."
"We might have to take with us now," Emma said, arching a brow. "Does our room have a fireplace?"
"Look around you love," He said, gesturing toward the ice. "Every room has a fireplace around here." He tossed the vendor an extra coin. "See that the skin is delivered to the inn on the cliffs, if you please," He said to the man. "We'd like it there by nightfall."
He gave Emma a wicked smile and she almost laughed. "C'mon," She said, looping her arm through his. "I'm starving. Let's find some dinner."
They found a lovely cafe with a roaring firepit in the center and the smell of the venison they had roasting over it was enough to pull them in from the street. Hook helped Emma remove her new fur-lined cloak and settled her into the chair, ordering them both cups of mulled wine to warm them.
"Wait - " Emma said, stopping the serving maid. "I'd rather have water, if you don't mind." She smiled at Hook. "Honestly, after all that walking, I'm getting good and tired. If I drink wine now, you might as well have that rug delivered to the ship when we leave."
"Fair enough," He said. "Let's feed you well and conserve your strength."
The maid returned with two large helpings of delicious venison stew, served in hollowed-out loaves of bread, followed by a baked berry cobbler that had Emma asking for seconds. By the time they'd finished their meal and opened the door to go back out to the street, it had started snowing, and hard.
Hook reached down to pull Emma's hood up on her cloak just as a bluebird swooped in and started to circle his head.
"Post time," He smiled, reaching his hook out for the bird to perch on. Emma reached up, unfastening the letter that was wrapped around the bird's leg, giving him a stroke on his feathers before he flew away.
"And how are things at home?" Hook asked, guiding her with his arm about her since she was trying to read as she walked.
"Meriel is running everywhere and it's making my father crazy," Emma said with a smile. "He says she's an instigator, because Leo goes wherever she goes."
"That's our girl," Hook said with a chuckle. "Always up for an adventure. Perhaps we should assign her a personal guard."
Emma looked up from the paper. "Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind." She looked back down, reading again. "She's eating mashed peas now and still hates turnips."
"She gets that from her father." Hook made a face. "Vile things. No purpose to them, really."
Emma rolled her eyes, continuing. "What? Henry has a girlfriend! Her name is Emeline, and he met her at the market. That's all the information they gave." She looked up at Hook. "That's it. I have no idea who this girl is."
"He's old enough now to be noticing girls, love. He has been for a while."
"Don't remind me." Emma said, darkly.
"If it's any comfort to you, the poor boy has little hope of finding romance. Not with you and Regina breathing fire over his shoulder. It's probably a good thing we got away for a little while - it'll give him some room to grow."
He pulled her in closer as they reached the house at the cliffs, shaking the snow out of their hair and clothing and accepting a bottle of wine and a loaf of warm sweet bread with nuts and raisins from the owner as she showed them to their room.
"Oh, Killian," Emma said softly, as the door closed behind them. "You've really outdone yourself."
The back wall of the room was floor to ceiling windows, looking out over the fjord and the sea. A roaring fire was set in the hearth on the wall to the left, and a large sleigh bed took up the wall to the right, along with a doorway to a watercloset that featured a claw-footed tub big enough to hold the both of them. Leaning against the bed was their new bearskin rug.
"Shall we have a bath first, love?" Hook asked huskily. "It'll warm us up."
"It'll take hours to heat the water and fill that thing," Emma observed. Hook walked over to a large lever set into the floor and wrapped his hand around it. "Stand back," He cautioned, and then he pulled. The drain in the tub suddenly bubbled, spewing out steaming water that swirled until the tub was three-quarters full. Hook pushed the lever back, stopping the flow.
"This whole area is volcanic, and there are springs all through the caves in the cliffs below." He walked back over to Emma, pulling her gently into his arms. "We'll have to wait a while for the water to cool enough that we don't get cooked," He observed. "Perhaps we could pass the time in a way that would really make a bath necessary." He leaned in, rubbing noses with his wife.
"Gads!" He exclaimed. "Your nose is like ice, love." He picked up her hands, chafing them. "Let's warm you up." He walked over to the table near the fire and poured them each a glass of wine, carrying hers over to her. "Now, you drink up and I'll spread the rug."
He made short work of getting the soft, fluffy bearskin situated, then he removed his coat, rubbing his hands and warming them in front of the fire. He turned back to Emma, who had removed her cloak, but still held her untouched glass of wine.
"Finish your wine, love. We can't have you spilling it on a white rug."
She smiled at him. "I can't."
"Is it bad?" He walked over to the table, picking the bottle up and examining it.
"Killian. It's fine. But I won't drink it."
He walked back over to her, raising a brow. "It's not like you to turn down wine, love. Not since - " He stopped dead in his tracks, and his jaw dropped so comically, Emma laughed.
"Took you long enough to figure it out." She said with a smirk.
"We're having another baby?" He asked, in hopeful disbelief.
"Looks that way." She set her wine glass on the table, then took his hand. "You okay?"
"Okay? 'Course I'm okay. I'm bloody fantastic! This is wonderful news, love!" He picked her up, swinging her around. "Can you tell what it is?"
"I've got a hunch but I'm not entirely sure yet. Does it matter?"
"Not one bit. Though it would only be what I deserve to have two beautiful little girls to defend." He pulled Emma in, kissing her lingeringly. "A baby." He said, with satisfaction oozing out of him.
"Yes. You impregnated me again, you virile pirate." Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Honestly. It's almost pre-historic, the gratification men get out of knocking up their woman."
"My woman," He said, already tugging and pulling at her clothes as he maneuvered her over toward the bearskin. "I've always liked the sound of that immensely."
He laid her down and let his hand follow every flicker of where the firelight played, stroking her gently and kissing her with smoldering restraint until she couldn't bear it anymore, pulling him against her and begging him for more. He finally slid deeply into her, moving carefully, as though he were afraid somehow that she might break. Emma wasn't having any of that, moving with him, her hands running all over him as her legs tightened around him. He rocked them both into a long, shuddering climax that left them sinking down into the fur beneath them, warm and utterly spent.
Eventually, they made their way to the tub, where they washed each other carefully, and Emma laughed as she made designs in his chest hair with her soapy hands. He pulled her out of the tub soaking wet and kicking as he carried her back to the bearskin, toweling her off with long, caressing strokes that led to another extended sesson of lovemaking, this time with Emma on top, hair tangled and bathed in the fireglow. Hook offered to tame it for her afterward, and Emma fell asleep in his arms as he brushed her hair before the fire.
She came awake a little as he put her into the bed, then slid in next to her.
"Wha - what is that?" She asked groggily, staring at the colors dancing across the walls.
"The northern lights," He answered. "Legend holds that they light the sky every time magic touches the land."
"That's nice," She said, yawning.
"I certainly consider my performance tonight to be magical," He postulated, rubbing his beard.
"You are such a pirate," She said, not even bothering to open her eyes.
"Yes, love. And you're my woman." He smiled, rolling on his side. He slid his hand across and laid it on her belly. "And that's my baby."
###
"Are you all right to walk, love? I can hire a carriage to take us, if you'd like."
It was morning, and after an excellent breakfast of eggs, cheese and the owner's delicious bread, they decided to make one more trip through the market, pay their respects at the castle and be on their way before evening.
"Actually, I'd love to walk," Emma said. "Can we walk along the cliffs?"
"It's still quite early," Hook replied. "It'll be chilly."
"I have new cloak." She pulled it around her. "And I have a personal warming device, anyway. Remember how it was with Meriel? I don't think I wore a coat or a cloak all winter."
"The view alone should make it worth any frost upon our noses," He said with a smile. "You can keep me warm, love."
They set off down the path that led away from the village, out to where the cliffs were lower and the land gave way to rocky stretches of beach. It was wild and rugged and so very different from the forested shores of their kingdom or the sandy beaches Hook had taken them to before.
Emma carefully picked her way over the rocks to a flatter section that led closer to the water's edge, mindful of the wetness on the ground because there were patches of ice here and there. She'd just stepped over a larger, pointed rock when she saw it.
"Oh my God," She said, crouching down. "Is that...blood?"
Hook peered over her shoulder. "It certainly looks like it," He said. "And there, as well." He pointed to another splash on the rocks a little further down. It was clearly a path of blood - a lot of blood, and it looked relatively fresh. They followed it back around a rocky ledge that jutted out of the cliff, but it stopped right in front of a huge bush growing out of the sand. The bush was being overtaken by a vine growing out of the rock, to the point where it was bowed over, forming an archway that nearly touched the ground.
"Someone must've been hunting, or perhaps a predator. The animal must've tried to find shelter in the bush, and didn't make it." Hook looked around, but there was no sign of whatever it was. Still, he didn't want to take any chances. There were caves nearby and a wounded animal could be a dangerous thing.
"We should go, love," He said. We need to get over to the castle, anyway."
"Yeah, I guess so," Emma agreed. "I'm ready to get home. Only this time, you have to show me how to navigate. You promised, remember?"
"You'll learn by compass, first, before I move on to the sextant," Hook said, reaching into the pocket of his waistcoat. "And I happen to have just the compass for your lessons." He smiled, dangling it from his fingertips. He bent over, putting his face close to Emma's belly.
"You hear that, little one? This is what I used to ensnare your mother." He straightened up again. "Well, this and my stunning good looks."
Emma gave him a smirk. "I think I know how to use a compass," She said. "And besides, you - "
Whatever she was going to say was cut off by the sight of a woman, running frantically up the beach toward them, a baby in her arms.
"Help us! Oh, please my lady - help us!" The woman was dressed well, but obviously a servant, possibly to someone wealthy. She was young, and she drew closer, it was clear that the baby was newly born, still trailing an umbilical cord and showing traces of blood on it's skin.
"Are you all right?" Emma called out, "Did you just give birth? You need to lie down!" She reached for the woman, but the woman, who was clearly in shock, had a different agenda.
"My lady," She said. "The babe 'twas hers." She glanced around. "Where? Where is she?" The woman turned frantic eyes to Hook. "Where is Sir Tristan?"
"We've seen no one," Hook said. "Here, lets get you somewhere safe. It's too cold out here for the babe."
That brought the woman's focus back on the child. "The babe," She said, clearly terrified. "He'll come for her."
"Who?" Emma said. "Who's coming for the baby?" The woman let out a shriek at the sound of hoofbeats approaching from the road. The baby began to cry.
"King Markus. He'll come for her - we mustn't let him!" She reached out with one hand, grabbing Hook by the sleeve and jerking his arm. "Please! He cannot have her!"
Emma put an arm around the woman, prying her fingers off of Hook. "Let's get someplace warm and we can talk about this, okay? We need to get the baby out of the cold."
The woman was near-hysterical now. "The babe!" She cried again, as the horses grew louder and the shouts of men could be heard above the sound of hooves. Suddenly, she shoved the baby at Emma, hard. "Take her! Take the babe! You must! Claim her as your own!"
"What?" Emma gently, but firmly tried to push the baby back into the woman's arms. "You hold the baby, and let's get someplace inside, all right?"
"There's no time! No time!" The woman whirled, pulling the baby who was perched precariously between Emma's arms and her own. The baby flew from her hands with a shrill sound and Emma cried out in shock as the tiny body slid right into the opening between the bush and the vine.
And then disappeared.
All three of them stared at the opening in total shock, then Hook sprang forward, running his hand along the branches of the bush.
"Enchanted wood," He said, almost to himself. "Something magical made this bush."
"What happened to the baby?" Emma asked, coming up behind him. She started to push her hand through the opening in the bush, but Hook pulled her back.
"Careful love - much like the wardrobe that brought you to Storybrooke, this is a portal. The child could be anywhere, and if you're not careful, you'll be next."
Emma stepped back cautiously. "But we can't leave her alone out there - wherever she is. She could be hurt."
Hook didn't like it either, but there was nothing to be done. "There's no guarantee that you'll end up where she is, love."
"The compass!" Emma said. "Could it guide us to her?"
"I don't know. Perhaps. But you're carrying a child of your own, love. I don't know what it would do to the baby, traveling through a portal. You won't even risk a glass of wine. Can you live with yourself risking this?" He asked, gently.
"We could give it to her," Emma said. She turned to gesture at the woman and realized a split-second later that the woman was gone.
Emma spun about. "Where did she go? She was here and now she's gone!"
Hook shaded his eyes, looking down the beach in both directions. "Well, she can't have gone far. We should find her - the woman needs help."
"Maybe if we give her the compass she can calm down a little - the baby's already away somewhere."
Emma squatted down, picking up the compass from where Hook had dropped it when the woman grabbed his arm. She dusted it off, giving it a shake to remove the rest of the sand, and then stood slowly, watching the needle. She lifted it up for closer inspection, and a frown creased her forehead.
Hook was just about to ask her what was wrong when the king's soldiers finally reached them. King Markus himself was leading the group, and he swung down off his horse, jumping down from the road onto the rocks and making his way to them hastily.
"You there!" He shouted. "Have you seen a serving woman?"
Hook gave Emma a look of uneasiness, and she mirrored it as well.
"You must be King Markus," She said carefully. "I'm Princess Emma - we were just getting ready to visit the castle again after a morning walk on the beach."
The King looked impatiently up and down the coastline, then finally decided to remember his manners when there was clearly no one else in sight.
"Forgive me, Princess Emma, for not being at the castle to receive you. I've had an urgent matter that has taken my attention." He looked at Hook suspiciously.
"My husband," Emma said, by way of introduction. "Sir Killian."
Hook's eyebrows went up, but he wisely said nothing, merely giving a deferential nod and a half-bow. "Your majesty."
"Sir Killian." The King nodded back. "I'm looking for an escaped...person. She may have had a child with her. The woman is a threat and the child may be in danger. We had word that she was along this stretch of the coast. Have you seen anyone?"
"It's just us here," Emma said, truthfully. As long as you don't count the disappearing woman and the magical, portal-hopping baby.
King Markus looked seriously angry. "Very well." He gave his men a signal. "I'm afraid I won't be returning to the castle today, Princess. You are still welcome to enjoy every hospitality there."
"Thank you, but we need to be leaving for home today. I'm glad we got to meet, even if it was just briefly." She gestured around her. "Your kingdom is beautiful."
He forced a smile. "It is. And it's going to stay that way." He glanced over at Hook again. "I wish you both a safe journey."
"Thank you," Emma said to his back, as he was already striding very determinedly to his horse. He mounted up, and with a snap of the reigns, the group took off, thundering on down the road.
"Well," Hook said, rubbing his ear and clearly perplexed. "That was...odd."
"Why did he want the baby, do you think?" Emma asked, a frown knitting her brow.
"Maybe it was his?" Hook offered.
"No. Then he would have said someone took his child. He never claimed the baby." She motioned for Hook to come closer. "And check this out." She held the compass up in front of his face.
"What? It's not moving." Hook said.
"I know. Watch." She put the compass in front of her at chest level. The needle still didn't move. She lowered it slowly, and it remained still.
Until she got to her belly. Then the needle spun suddenly, pointing directly at the portal. Then she moved the compass back up, and the needle went still once more.
Hook took it from her. "Let me see that." He performed the same exercise, lifting and lowering the compass, but the needle didn't budge at all when he did it. He stepped in, lifting and then lowering it in front of Emma, and when he reached her belly, the needles spun again, clearly pointing at the portal in the bush.
"I'll be damned. What's the bloody thing trying to tell us? We need to go through the portal? That the baby is part of your destiny?"
Emma had put her hand low on her belly while he mused, and she had her eyes closed now, concentrating. A warm, purple light glowed softly beneath her fingertips a moment, then faded out.
"Not me, Killian. Him." She said it with a bit of reluctance.
Hook looked at her, startled. "Him?"
"Yeah. It's a boy," She said. "And whoever that baby was, the compass thinks she's part of his destiny."
Hook tucked the compass back in his pocket. "My boy makes his own destiny," He said firmly. "Let's get out of here. My son needs to be with his sister."
Emma stood a moment, touching the vine where it tangled into the bush. "Hold on. What's this?" She reached into the leaves a little further, and her hand pulled back a heavy golden ring, twined into the vine. It had a pattern of leaves inlaid on it, circling the band. "Do you have your knife?" She asked, holding out her hand to her husband.
Hook placed his dagger in her palm and she used it to cut through part of the vine, releasing the ring. She handed the dagger back.
"Guess we've got a souvenir," She said, putting the ring in the pocket of her cloak as they turned and headed up to the road.
"We can stop at the market and buy more if you'd like," Hook offered. "Perhaps I should buy a sword. A really big one. After all, you just made me a knight."
"You are a knight," She said, smugly. "I made David sign a decree and everything."
"What?" Hook was flabbergasted. "When?"
"Three months ago. I was saving it for your birthday. I even made him promise to skip the whole 'swearing of fealty' thing."
"Sir Killian," He said, rolling it around on his tongue. "It has a lovely ring, but I'm not sure I appreciate you legitimizing me this way," He complained. "I have a reputation to consider, after all."
"I know," She said, taking his hand as he helped her up onto the road. "I promise, soon enough everyone will know that you're still a virile pirate."
He smiled, reaching out to stroke her belly. "Let's go home, love."
Emma laid her head against his shoulder as they headed back toward the dock.
Neither one of them had noticed the drops of blood, dripping slowly from the cut vine, sinking into the sand.