I wait for you like a lonely house ― Pablo Neruda
Robin couldn't stop blinking his eyes. He had heard many stories about mermaids and how tricky they were, alluring the sailors to their death, but he never had seen one with his own eyes before. Most of his days were spent in the woods, and the only beasts he had seen were trolls, flying monkeys and black knights.
The blood of the mermaid was all that remained as the body disappeared into the water. He was so focused in what he had just seen that he didn't even notice Killian and David talking with each other
"… Emma … I thought she was Emma …" – Killian said, trying to recover his breath.
"Killian, calm down" – David tried to say but Killian continued to talk.
"She said she was trying to rescue me ..." – he started to explain – "It was part of the deal … someone –"
"I don't understand" – David interrupted him – "If she was trying to help us then why did she –"
"She wasn't" – Killian quickly said – "It was just me. She just wanted me" – he said, running his fingers through his hair – "Someone sent her"
"Who sent her?" – David immediately asked, realizing that it was not Snow or Regina or Emma who sent the mermaid, otherwise she wouldn't just try to rescue Killian.
"I don't know … She said she couldn't tell" – Killian said, remembering the mermaid's words.
"Something isn't right" – David said getting up from the ground – "This doesn't make any sense. There are no mermaids in this realm"
"Apparently now there are" – Killian said with his head in his hands – "I can't believe I fell for that"
David looked into Killian's direction.
"Hey, don't blame yourself" – he said, touching Killian's shoulder – "She tricked you"
"I should have known that it wasn't her!" – Killian said, rising from the ground – "I should have tried to make her say who sent her instead of letting her seduce me. She could have been our answer to get out of this island and now, because of me, she's dead."
"She would have killed Robin or me if you had not killed her" – David said.
"Not if I haven't been so blind in the first place!"
"I once fell for that too in the Enchanted Forest" – David started to say. He had to make Killian understand that it wasn't his fault – "I was trying to help Abigail to save the man she loved. She needed some of the water of a lake with magical properties but the lake was guarded by a mermaid and when I tried to steal some of the water she appeared and transformed herself into Snow. She kissed me and for a moment it felt real but then, when she kissed me again I realized that something wasn't right, that something was missing" – Killian listened to David and remained in silence looking at his friend, remembering the similar situation that had happened to him minutes ago – "Of all the powers that mermaids have I think this one is the most dangerous of all" – David said – "We're human and contrarily to these beasts, we have feelings and sometimes those feelings can be used against us. The mermaids think that the human feelings are our greatest weakness but in the end they are our greatest strength"
"What did you say?" – Robin asked approaching them.
"Do you want me to tell the story again?" – David asked, looking at his friend –"Because it could ta-"
"No, not that …" – Robin interrupted him – "You said that mermaids have powers"
"Yes, they have many powers … They can allure men to their death, travel between realms, change the weather and …"
"Cause storms" – Killian stated, realizing what Robin was trying to say.
"What if the accident with the boat was not an accident? What if someone conjured the storm?" – Robin asked.
"Not someone" – David said – "The mermaid"
"She said that someone sent her. That person is probably the one who told her to cause the storm. It must have been part of the deal" – Killian said, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together – "That's the only explanation"
"But why?" – David asked – "Who would want to harm us?"
The men looked at each other trying to find the last piece of the puzzle.
"I have no idea, mate" – Killian said, looking at the sea. But I intend to find out – he thought.
Like the morning before, her subconscious still struggled by her deepest fears. Emma had woken up, sweaty and terrified. In her dream she lost Killian or the baby or both. She never felt so powerless. Being forced to watch herself losing the people she loved over and over again was starting to mess with her head.
She sat on the side of her bed and fought to control her breath. She instinctively touched her stomach, trying to assure herself that everything was fine; that it was just a bad dream.
She wanted nothing more than to be able to see him; to know that he was safe. That's when she remembered that, in a few hours, Killian would be there by her side. The trip was supposed to be only for a couple of days and this was the second day she had woken up alone, even if it seemed like a whole year. So, according to her counts, the men should return during today. She smiled at the thought of seeing Killian again. Truth to be told, she was not sure she would be able to sleep alone for much longer or wake up without the presence of him by her side.
After taking Henry to school she went to the sheriff station and tried to distract herself with work.
After lunch, Leroy entered in the station.
"Good afternoon, Leroy" – Emma said smiling at the same time she tried to organize some papers on her desk.
"Hi …" – Leroy said with a sad smile. Hearing the strange tone of voice of the dwarf, Emma looked at him – "Umm… Something happened …" – he said.
"What is it?" – Emma immediately asked – "Trouble at the mines again?"
"No … everything is fine at the mines …" – Leroy nervously said, approaching Emma's desk.
"So what is it?" – Emma asked again.
"The docks … Something happened at the docks …" – Leroy said without looking at Emma.
"Oh … okay, usually is Killian who takes care of the problems at the docks but if it is important …"
"It's important!" – Leroy quickly said –"It's about my boat … is at the docks and –"
Before Leroy could finish the sentence Emma rose from her chair.
"Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" – Emma exclaimed – "They returned" – she said unable to stop smiling.
"Emma … I –" – Leroy tried to say.
"Thank you so much for telling me" – she said, hugging him – "We meet at the docks"
As Emma made her way to her car, she called Regina and Mary Margaret telling them the big news. They agreed to meet at the docks.
Emma could feel her heart beating inside her chest. It seemed that Killian had been gone for a thousand years when in reality it had only been a couple of days. She couldn't help but smile as she drove to the docks.
He was back, safe and sound. He had returned home; he had come back to her like he always does.
She couldn't wait to meet his deep blue eyes again.
Emma pressed down harder the accelerator. She was ready to tell him everything.
When she parked the car and approached to the place where the boats were, she didn't expect to see half of Storybrooke there too.
Odd – she thought – Did they come to see them too?
She caught some of the dwarfs looking at her with a sad expression. She started to pass through the amount of people that were looking at the water and couldn't help but notice that some of them were looking at her with a worried look while others tried to avoid eye contact. She opened her mouth to ask why were all of them there; why were all with the funeral look on their faces, but she suddenly felt someone touching her shoulder.
"What the hell is going on?" – Regina asked behind her – "Why is half of Storybrooke here? Don't they know what privacy is?"
Both women continued to walk ignoring the way people were looking at them, at least, Emma was trying to; Regina gave them her Evil Queen look.
When they finally realized to where all people were looking at Emma reached for Regina's arm almost losing her balance. Regina suddenly became pale and almost forgot how to breathe.
The remains of what once was Leroy's boat were floating on the water. At that moment time had stopped for Emma and Regina. There was no sight of the men. All they could see was a destroyed boat with no one a board. Tears started to fall from Emma's eyes. Her nightmares were becoming true and this time she couldn't wake up and erase them; this time they were real.
No, no, no – she could hear her thoughts screaming inside of her mind – This isn't happening; this can't be happening. He was supposed to come back. Why did this keep happening to her? Was she destined to be alone? How could she be the savior and not be capable of saving the people she loved?
"He's not dead" – a familiar voice said.
Regina turned her body to look at Mary Margaret. Emma remained in silence looking at the remains of the boat, trying to ignore her mother's voice.
"They're not dead" – Mary Margaret said approaching them.
"Stop with your optimism about everythi –" – Regina tried to say, cleaning some tears from her eyes.
"He's not dead" – Mary Margaret said again –"We share a heart. I would have known if David was dead. I would have felt it … and if he's not dead, Killian and Robin aren't either. You have to believe!"
"Stop!" – Emma blurted – "Just stop acting like this is some fairytale! Because it's not … this is real life and they are … they …"
"Emma …" – Mary Margaret tried to speak.
"They're dead …" – Emma murmured crying – "I … I can't … He can't be …" – she said touching her stomach, feeling more powerless than ever. Why didn't she tell him?
She felt her knees trembling and her body started to shake. Regina grabbed one of her arms, preventing her from falling.
"Emma, breathe …" – Regina said. Emma looked at Regina's face, noticing her red eyes and some tears on her face – "Your mother is right … We have to believe … They would want us to believe" – she added.
Emma nodded and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She wanted to be optimistic as her mother and strong as Regina, but in that moment, as much as she tried, she couldn't be neither of them. She saw Mr. Gold and Belle approaching them and ran in their direction.
"Gold, help us" – she begged.
Rumpelstiltskin looked at Regina and Mary Margaret's faces and then to the place where the pieces of the boat were floating quickly realizing what had happened.
"Emma …" – he said trying not to hurt Emma's feelings – "There's no way …"
"It must be something that you can do …" – Emma insisted, trying to fight the tears that were falling from her eyes – "Please … your magic must be powerful enough to –"
"You know that it isn't" – he interrupted her, remembering Neal's death – "I'm sorry, but all the evidences indicate that they're gone" – he said, feeling Belle's hand on his arm.
"No … you don't know that …" – Emma said not knowing if she was trying to convince Mr. Gold or herself – "Mary Margaret … she says that David is alive … they share a heart and … and …" – she tried to explain, starting to cry again.
Belle approached Emma holding her in her embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Emma" – she whispered caressing her hair.
"It must be something … it must be something we can do…" – Emma said releasing herself from Belle's embrace and meeting Rumpelstiltskin's eyes – "If they are alive then it must be something that we can do"
"I can try to do a locator spell" – Rumpelstiltskin said – "But it may not work if they –"
"Do it!" – Regina interrupted him – "Please…" – she softly said.
Belle looked at her husband and squeezed his hand.
"Very well" – he said, looking at the women – "As you know, when Greg and Tamara kidnapped Henry I did a locator spell that showed us that he was in Neverland. I used a drop of my blood to perform the spell because Henry is my grandson"
"You need the blood of a relative" – Regina stated.
Before Mr. Gold could reply Emma spoke:
"You can use mine" – she said. There was no need to use Roland, Henry or little Neal's blood. David was her father so her blood could be used to perform the spell.
Rumpelstiltskin made appear the same globe he used when they followed Henry till Neverland. Emma pricked her finger on the needle and let the blood fall on the globe. They waited in silence as they watched the blood spreading.
"Something isn't right" – Rumpelstiltskin said, leaning his body to the globe – "There's something blocking the spell"
"What? What do you mean?" – Regina asked.
"I don't know how to explain it" – Rumpelstiltskin said, staring at the globe – "It's like there is some barrier blocking the spell" – he added – "I'm sorry but this spell is useless"
"So that's it? He's gone forever?" – Regina exclaimed, feeling all the hope she had inside of her disappear at the possibility of never seeing Robin again. She instinctively looked at her engagement ring.
"We can try to perform another locator spell but it can take some time …" – Rumpelstiltskin said – "And I'm going to need your help" – he said, pointing at Emma and Regina – "But I should warn you, the spell might not work and we can have the same result as before and there is nothing worse than false hope"
The men were sitting around the fire, trying to process all the information they got after the mermaid's incident.
David was making a list of some possible scenarios, writing them with a stick on the ground.
"So, according to our suspicions the boat accident was not an accident" – he said, pointing with the stick to the words he had written on the ground.
"Aye" – Killian said after drinking some of his coconut – "The mermaid conjured the storm which affected, specifically, the place where the boat was … and it worked"
"Then we managed to escape and found this island" – David said –"And today the mermaid showed her face saying that someone sent her, the question is: who?"
"It has to be someone with power and money, otherwise it wouldn't be able to make a deal with a mermaid" – Killian explained.
"Do you think the person who sent her promised her money?" – David asked.
"That or gold and jewelry" – Killian replied – "Mermaids are known for their vanity; they like expensive and rare objects" – he added.
"So, the person who sent her must be powerful and rich" – David said, writing his words on the ground – "But why us? Why did this person attack us?"
"I don't know, mate" – Killian said – "I made many enemies during the years I used to sail the seas but they are all dead now. Not many people have the chance to live for three hundred years"
"Didn't you make any enemy recently?" – David asked, looking at his friend – "During the year of Pan's curse, perhaps?"
"Blackbeard" – Killian said, remembering the year he spent away from Emma – "But he died"
"Are you sure?" – David insisted – "Because if there is a possibility of –"
"I'm sure, David" – Killian interrupted him – "I killed him" – he said low, remembering the day he threw the man to the sharks in his attempt to erase Emma from his memory and the constant reminder that he would never see her again; in his attempt to be the man he used to be before he met her.
The men remained in silence for a few moments hearing the sound of the ocean. There were only few stars in the sky because of the many clouds that were making the night seem darker.
"We have no idea who tried to kill us, then" – David said, throwing the stick away from him, breaking the silence.
"I don't think that someone tried to kill us" – Robin spoke for the first time. David turned his attention to the man sitting next to him – "At least not on purpose" – he added.
"Robin, the storm that destroyed the boat was caused by magic" – David said – "Someone wanted to destroy our boat"
"Then why did the mermaid say that she was trying to rescue Killian? It doesn't make sense if we were supposed to die in the first place" – Robin replied – "I think the storm was an attempt to get to Killian but things didn't go the way the mermaid planned because he hit with his head and fell overboard"
"It would be easier for her to kidnap me if I was unconscious" – Killian stated.
"Maybe she thought you were dead and didn't want to face the person who hired her" – Robin said – "If the deal was to rescue you and you were dead, she would gain nothing in taking you to whoever hired her"
"But why me? Why would someone pay to kidnap me and not to kill me?" – Killian asked more confused than ever.
"I don't know Killian, but whoever it is, wants you alive" – Robin said, noticing the concerned look on Killian's face – "We really need to find a way to go back to Storybrooke"
"We were supposed to go back today" – David said – "I'm sure, by now, they've noticed that something isn't right" – he added.
"I hope so because we're running out of coconuts" – Robin said, trying to cheer up his friends.
Later that night, Emma was at her parent's apartment reading one of the many spell books that Rumpelstiltskin had managed to find in his store. Most of them required specific ingredients that Emma didn't even know that existed.
She was not able to eat anything after knowing about the men disappearance. Fortunately, Henry did not remember that they were supposed to return during that day so he didn't ask any questions about it. Regina had managed to keep him and Roland away from the docks so they wouldn't find out about the boat accident.
Emma caught herself wondering how she would tell Henry about what had happened.
How did you tell a child that his stepfathers and grandfather are lost somewhere in the sea? How could she tell him that they were gone? How could she tell him that he would never see them again?
"You're really going to read all of these books?" – Henry's voice interrupted her thoughts. He sat next to her on the couch.
"I'm trying to improve my magic" – Emma said, faking a smile –"Weren't you the one who wanted me to practice my magic more often?"
"Cool" – Henry said with a big smile on his face.
Cool – Henry's words echoed in her mind. If only you knew the truth, kid – Emma said to herself.
"I think I'm going to drink a hot chocolate with cinnamon. Do you want something?" – he said, getting up from the couch.
"No, I'm good, kid" – Emma said glad that he didn't mention Killian.
She continued to read the spell book she had on her lap trying to keep her eyes open. She was very tired. The fear and the worrying were exhausting but she fought the sleep the best she could. She had to find a way to find him, no matter what.
She yawned a few times and without realizing her eyes started to close. She lay down on the couch; her hands still grabbing the book.
A few minutes later Mary Margaret found Emma sound asleep. Henry was in the kitchen drinking a cup of hot chocolate. She covered her daughter with a blanket and went to the kitchen.
"What do you think about sleeping in the spare room of your favorite grandmother?" – she said, sitting next to Henry.
"Does that mean that I can drink another cup of hot chocolate?" – he asked, looking at Mary Margaret with his puppy eyes.
"I don't know … did you make enough for two?" – she asked, grabbing one cup for herself.
"What do you think?" – Henry said smiling.
I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reading and please review (: