The center of town felt incredibly crowded to Emma. When she reflected on that, she realized she hadn't been to the heart of any town since she was eleven and saw Wanted posters with her parents' pictures on them. She hasn't been around that many people in seven years.
As a result, she stayed close to Killian, and that helped keep her calm. It also meant she didn't have to dodge through people. To her amusement, Ashe quickly discovered that wherever Captain Hook went, everyone made way for him. Well, everyone except the wenches, but one long, cold glare from Emma fixed that to her liking.
She walked along with him to a shop. He opened the door for her, and she followed them in. The store owner obviously knew Killian and was pleased to see him. It was equally apparent to Emma that he didn't know what to make of her.
"Captain Hook," the man said, bowing politely. "How may I help you today?"
Killian used his hook to indicate Emma when he said, "I wish to purchase something for Emma."
Blinking in shock and obviously trying to process quickly what was meant by that, the shop owner said, "Of course, Captain. Did you have anything in mind?" He couldn't figure out what kind of relationship he was in with Emma. She was pretty and didn't look like any townswoman he had seen, but he hadn't seen Captain Hook with any woman before. All of the encounters he knew of Captain Hook having were strictly sexual.
Without answering, Killian walked over to the counter where he knew the man had jewelry. As he looked, he said, "She's with me. And do remember her, anything she wants in this shop gets charged to me. In fact, you can pass that around town."
"Emma, was your name?" The shop owner asked timidly.
"Yes," she replied, giving him a bright smile. "I'm his woman."
Killian wanted to groan over her awkwardness and praise it at the same time. He liked hearing her call herself his.
Then he looked and spotted a beautiful golden necklace with a swan pendant. Its craftsmanship and beauty caught his eye. He lifted it up with his hook and showed it to Emma. "It suits you."
She walked over and gingerly took the necklace from him, handling it carefully. "I couldn't…."
He knew she wanted it, but he sensed an odd underlying current to her hesitation. "Is jewelry a problem?"
"No!" she said, trying to reassure him. She then grew embarrassed and said, "I just don't have any."
The shop owner, sensing the potential sale of one of the most expensive items in his shop, kindly took the necklace and clasped it around her neck. "Why don't you at least see how it looks on you?"
As Emma went to the mirror to admire the necklace, Killian pulled gold pieces from his pocket and handed the shop owner the amount he had quietly indicated. He then walked over to Emma and looked into the mirror with her. "It looks beautiful."
"It's too expensive," she countered.
He whispered in her ear, "I'm a pirate, love. I stole the money anyway. Think nothing of the cost."
That made her burst out laughing. "Rogue."
"And you like it," he bragged.
She blushed lightly and said, "I really do."
Three minutes later, they were leaving the shop, and Killian was contently walking with her by his side. A man from one of the shops along a side street drew his attention and gave him the secret signal that he had information for sale to those who were willing to pay for it.
He glanced over at Emma and smirked in happiness. He could give her a bit of adventure now. Cloak and dagger information given in whispers over gold coins would be a new experience for her.
"Follow me and my lead," he said under his breath to Emma, and as he changed direction, she followed immediately.
When they stepped into the shop, he followed the man into the back room and pulled Emma along. When they both made it in, and the door was shut, the man, Titian, eyed Emma warily. "You're bringing your whore along?"
Killian had the man by the throat with his hook pressed to his carotid artery in a flash. "She's no whore, and if you disrespect her, I don't care what secrets you know. They will all die with you!"
"Sorry," the man squeaked out. "It wasn't a comment on the lady. I just didn't know…"
Letting go of his neck, Killian said, "What do you have?"
"Information on Queen Regina."
"The Evil Queen?" Emma asked, surprised.
Titian eyed her with a bit of respect. "Most wouldn't dare call her that. Even in private."
"Most are cowards," Emma announced. "What are you going to report on me since I called her Evil?"
"No!" He replied quickly. He then eyes Emma and said, "I have information about the Evil Queen." He didn't want her to think he was a coward.
"How much will it cost me?" Killian asked.
"Four gold coins."
Emma laughed hard at that in response. "Four?" Even her godmother, who was notorious in their group for paying too much, never agreed to pay that for information. She knew Killian probably thought this was all new to her, but she had been buying information for years. While everyone else had to disguise themselves, Emma wasn't known, so she wasn't at risk. It was the only thing her parents let her do to help them, and even that had taken a lot of persuasion from their friends. She turned to leave and said, "He's making a fool of you, Captain."
"It's a negotiation," Killian pressed. He then made his counteroffer, "Two gold coins."
"Three," came the expected number.
Emma turned and raised one eyebrow at the man. "One gold coin." He tried to object, but she pressed on. "You tell us the information, and then he tips you. I am highly skeptical that you know anything of value."
She then pulled a gold coin from her pocket and held it out to him. "Or we can leave, and you get nothing."
Titian growled out, "Your woman is a fool. She doesn't know how this works. Control her!"
Emma responded by smiling sweetly and muttered a spell under her breath. Killian caught the words "speak" and "command," and then Titian was talking. He said, "Queen Regina heard that Snow White and David are advancing on her position. She's set a trap for them with the villagers in their path. Once they step into town, they will be forced to alert their Queen."
Emma rolled her eyes, "Do you have anything useful?! Everyone above the age of three knows about those forcing spells."
"In two weeks, she is marrying Balefire, the Dark One's son. It will cement their alliance."
"Anything else?" Emma pressed. "Why is she marrying him?" She had assumptions, but she was wondering if there were any interesting facts to go along with his information.
"Queen Regina paid dearly for this alliance. She killed her own father to complete the spell to retrieve the Dark One's son from another realm. Word is that she's working on the ingredients for a spell to guarantee an heir. She needs one to maintain her reign. That is where the problem is for the other kingdoms. She needs the heart of a true heir for her spell, and every King and Queen is afraid for their oldest child."
When they left, the man didn't remember telling them anything, and inexplicably, to him, he had five golden coins in his pocket. Killian had provided three more coins beyond the one Emma had given him, and Emma had used her magic to slip in an extra in at the end.
As they walked away, Killian looked at the obviously troubled Emma. "That bothered you."
"Didn't it bother you? The Dark One has his son and a strong ally."
"We knew that. That's not when you grew pale anyway," he pressed. Killian wanted to understand what had obviously troubled the woman he cared for so deeply.
She spun to look at him. "You understand I want that woman stopped."
"Many do. I imagine you have a very good reason to want that, too."
"It's getting so much harder to do that now." If Regina were on the lookout for a true heir, she would be using magic to ensure a king didn't get cuckolded. She would need proof that the child was really what they were said to be. That meant an increased risk for her if she came into Regina's notice. The spell could be anything and be constantly in action. She could be discovered by accident.
Emma then paused and frowned at the ground by her feet. "She killed her father. That's the one evil I didn't think she was capable of." Her mother had talked many times about Henry. She thought he was one of the kindest, most gentle men she had ever met. She knew her mother loved him like a grandfather. It made her want to cry. She felt like her mother lost someone important even though she hadn't seen him in almost twenty years.
"She's evil. Why does that surprise you?"
"Because love can transcend evil. Or at least that's what my mother believes. It seems she's wrong."
Killian felt sick as he watched Emma's face harden a bit. To him, it felt very much like he was watching something fundamental about Emma and her upbringing be ebbed away before his eyes. He didn't know what was happening, but he was sure that whatever it was, he didn't like it one bit.
In an attempt to help, he said, "Not everyone gives their lives completely over to revenge. She has to be the worst example to base any system of belief on with how you see people."
Emma sighed, "If your system doesn't hold up in all cases, it's not a system; it's an assumption."
"So you base your view of how people are fundamentally off of the worst of us all?"
She looked pleadingly into his eyes. "This is revenge. You know she despises Snow White and wants to destroy her. Queen Regina would stop at nothing to kill her. She would even destroy the one man she loves to achieve her goal."
"And I'm telling you, not everyone is like that," Killian objected.
"You want to destroy the Dark One. You want revenge for him liking Milah and your hand, right?"
"You know I do," he said firmly. "I don't love her anymore, but I did when he took her from me."
"And I'm asking you to give that up. Let him live and walk away."
Killian was so caught off guard by her request he reeled back in shock. Her request angered him because he knew her goal was to go after Regina. He couldn't figure out what hypocritical reason she had for her request. "He hates me! I can't walk away from someone who will come after me himself!"
"Please," she begged. "I need this. I'm asking you to do this because you care for me."
"Because I care for you, I can't do that! He will absolutely rip your heart out, too! He will destroy anything I care about, and that's now you!"
"Then let's sail away to another realm —one where he can't find us. I'll even take us to a realm without magic. I'll be safe now."
"And the Dark One will live and be happy," he scoffed. "No, I can't. I can't live knowing I never had my revenge."
"But you don't love her anymore," Emma pressed.
"I have lived for centuries for my revenge. It's not about love. It's about destroying him." He then searched her eyes. "You knew this. You wanted this, too. You're the one who kept pressing that we would destroy them both together. I thought we agreed on this."
"You keep telling me I'm sheltered. You're right. Regina made me realize the truth. Revenge can outweigh love. What happens if I come out on the losing end like her father?"
"Your heart isn't part of a spell the Dark One needs. Don't be ridiculous!"
Overwhelming pain swept over her. She was terrified of him discovering that he could hand over her heart to Regina and, with it, gain her as an ally against his mortal enemy. Would revenge win for him like it did for Regina? Would it be her heart ripped out this time to destroy someone else?
She took a step back with a tear in her eye. "You're right. He doesn't need my heart."
Killian stepped forward, eliminating the distance between them and pulling her into his arms. "I need your heart. And because I need your heart intact, I know I can't rest until he's destroyed. It's the only way to guarantee your safety. I know for a fact that he would gleefully pull your heart out and crush it in front of me and that, this time, would absolutely destroy me. I won't let that happen. Trust me to protect you."
With tears in her eyes, she looked up at him and realized she didn't have a choice. She risked the crushing of her heart in so many ways, from the Dark One and his revenge, the Evil Queen discovering who she was, or from walking away from the man she was coming to love. She realized leaving Killian would crush her heart and leave her hurting the most. In that case, she would have to go on living —without him.
She took a deep breath and worked to calm herself. She didn't trust that she had a happy, long future ahead of her, but she trusted that she would destroy herself by walking away. She would just have to have hope, her mother's favorite word.
Emma kissed his neck as he held her, and she said, "I trust that I'm supposed to be here in your arms. The rest is the consequences of the path I choose, and I find that I can accept that."
"I will protect you," he vowed again. Emma just hoped that when the time came, his love for her would win over his need to gain revenge at any cost.