Witch Hunt - Chapter 3
—
"Wakey, wakey, dearies," the witch called, entering the cellar.
"Are you here to hear the story of how I met Rumple here?" Majo asked, "Because that started one evening in-"
"No," Zelena hissed, interrupting the warlock, "I'm here because we've got work to do."
She pulled the dagger out once again, "You are going to get my sister's heart, no matter what. I assume she gave it to the thief camping out in the forest," she ordered.
Gold stood and started leaving.
"If he's gone, what's keeping me?" the warlock challenged.
"Well, dear, nothing is. Unless, of course, you somehow care about our local pirate Captain or the son of the thief that holds dear Regina's heart? Rumplestiltskin is about to pay little Roland a visit after all. Who knows what could happen?"
"You'd kill innocent children just so you can murder your sister?" Majo asked, her disgust clear in her voice.
"Oh, I'm not murdering her," the witch chuckled, "I'm destroying her. She ruined my life but now I'm taking away everything she has, everything that was given to her while I got nothing!"
"So you're going to kill children because of jealousy?"
"I am not jealous!" she insisted, "I am simply righting a wrong," she took a deep breath to calm herself and gave the warlock a saccharine smile, "Now if you'll excuse me, I got places to be."
She waved her hand and disappeared in a swirl of green smoke.
Majo stayed where they were. They could not risk endangering the lives of Killian or Roland and she was sure that Zelena's words hadn't been an empty threat.
Besides, they had the Saviour on their side. She was sure her imprisonment wouldn't last forever.
—
A few hours after Gold had returned to their shared cell, Zelena visited them again. This time, she was holding out a suit for the man.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Gold asked.
"What do you think? Wear it," Zelena ordered. "I've got Regina's heart, Charming's courage, and right here," she pushed back some of his hair, "ready to be plucked, your lovely brains."
She stepped back out of the cage, "We've got what we need. It's a good time to celebrate, don't you think?"
"You don't have everything."
"The baby will come. Now, let's get you dressed."
"I'm not your doll," he protested.
"Aren't you? I'm not using the dagger. But I could. A certain baby could be here at any minute, so I'm going to give you the choice of how you want to live out the rest of this time. One choice is screaming in agony. But the other is much more pleasant. Choose well, doll"
She sauntered up the stairs, "Oh and you," she motioned to the warlock, "Better stay put, dear."
—
Majo was woken from their light slumber by Gold tumbling back into the cage.
"She wants to travel back through time," he informed them. This was the first time the two had actually spoken since their shared imprisonment began.
"What?" she asked. It was an impossible feat. No one had ever managed to travel through time. Not in this world or the next.
"She already has most of the ingredients."
"And you believe she can actually do it?"
"I think she'd be able to cast the spell, yes," his lips formed a grimace of a smile, "but I do not intend to let her succeed."
—
After making his claim, Gold started spinning again and continued to do so throughout the night and the next day.
The door to the cellar opened and Zelena walked down the stairs with an old wooden box in her hands. She opened the cage door and sat the box down on a little table. Her eyes followed Gold's movements.
"There, that will do," she decided. She kneeled down to the gold, "You said yourself. Spinning clears your mind."
Waving her hand, the gold strings melted and then grew back together in the form of a golden brain.
"Or should I say, "Your brain"?"
She opened the box and Majo could catch a glimpse of David's broken sword and a dark, beating, heart. The brain joined the other ingredients.
"There's just one more ingredient to collect."
"What?" Majo asked, "The sound of a cat's footfall?"
Zelena gave her a sarcastic chuckle and then waved her hand to bring all three of them into a barn.
"There. Dig," she ordered the Dark One after giving him a shovel.
Gold made a mocking "Huh" sound.
"You think I'll fail."
"I think destiny is destiny."
Zelena chuckled, "You're wrong. I can change it."
"That's impossible," Majo sighed, "no one has ever managed to travel through time. And even if they had, how are you so sure history can be changed?"
"I am more powerful than those who came before me," Zelena insisted.
The warlock lifted a brow, "Honey, you're not even half as old as most warlocks in this world. How can you think yourself more powerful than them?"
For a moment the witch seemed unsure, "There is no magic in this land. You're just trying to convince me to stop. But you won't succeed. I will fix the past and my mother will keep me," she started placing her ingredients on the ground around the markings that Gold was digging, "Regina will never have been born, and I'll get everything she ever had. With the right ingredients, I can do anything."
Majo scoffed.
"Whether it works or not is irrelevant, dearie," Gold told her, "Because no matter what you change of your past, one thing shall remain the same. Who you are. And that is a fate you can never escape."
"We shall see."
—
They heard voices outside of the barn and so the three spellcasters walked out to see Emma and Killian argue.
"Why are you so scared of staying?" the pirate asked. "I think it's because you can see a future here. A happy one."
"Let me guess. With you?"
Zelena awed, "You two are so adorable."
"Majo?" Emma asked as she saw the warlock standing behind the witch, "You're working with her?"
"Technically, I'm a prisoner," they remarked.
"We had thought she turned you into one of her monkeys," Killian admitted and glared at the witch, "You said you didn't know where she was!"
"Well, dear, I lied. Now, how about you guys stop staring at each other and focus on me? Although, without magic, that could prove to be a challenge."
"Next time you try to take my power," the Saviour told her, "Why don't you try enchanting the lips of someone I'll actually kiss?"
"See, Emma, you've got a decision to make. You can keep your magic, which makes you, oh, so sad. Or you save the man that you can't wait to run away from."
She lifted her hand and Killian flew through the air, landing in a well of water just deep enough to drown in.
"Killian!" Majo yelled but suddenly found herself with the Dark One's fist around her heart.
"Not you, dear," Zelena told her.
The warlock had to watch helplessly as Killian was unable to pull his head above the water.
"Choose wisely," the witch said to Emma as the Saviour tried in vain to free the pirate, "Try all you like. You can't free him."
The magic hold on him only left when Killian stopped moving. Emma pulled him from the well and laid him out on the grass.
"Hook! Hook! Hook, wake up!" she shook him, "Killian! Killian, come back to me," she looked from the Captain to the warlock who was still at risk of losing her heart, "Oh, God. Son of a bitch."
The Saviour pulled Killian's head back and squeezed his nose shut before covering his lips with hers.
Majo could see that magic was leaving the blonde's body but was more interested in seeing Killian cough out water and start breathing again.
"Swan?" he asked when he got his breathing under control. "What did you do?"
—
"What's going on here?" Emma asked as she and the pirates arrived at the hospital in a whirl of blue smoke.
"What happened? Did you find Zelena?" David asked.
"I did, but I couldn't stop her."
"She took your brother."
"Because I failed?"
"We're all still here," Killian told her, "So you haven't failed just yet."
"Hook's right," David agreed, "Come on."
"No, wait. Zelena took my powers."
"How the hell did that happen?" Regina asked her.
"It doesn't matter how. It just happened. So, we need to find another way to stop her."
"I am more powerful than she is," Majo told them, "If we can get the dagger from her, stop her control over the Dark One, I could take her."
"No," Killian said, "They have your heart now. If you move against them, they will crush it."
"She took your heart?" David asked.
"Gold did," Emma explained, "After she took my magic, he ripped it out and they left."
"Then you have to do it," Henry told his dark-haired mother.
Regina turned to her son, "Sweetheart, I don't think I can survive round three with my sister."
"Glinda was pretty specific," David nodded, "Only the purveyor of the strongest light magic can defeat her."
Henry looked from his grandfather back to his mother, "Zelena only beat you because you were using dark magic against her."
"Okay, but that's all I have."
"No, it's not," Emma realized, "When you kissed Henry and broke the curse to give everyone back their memories, that was true love's kiss. That's light magic."
"See? You can do it," Henry tried to convince Regina.
"Henry, I don't even have my heart right now."
Majo nodded in understanding.
"That doesn't matter," the boy insisted, "You broke the curse without it. And I know you still love me. I know there's good in you."
"He's right," a voice said, "I know you can beat the witch."
"Roberto!" Majo greeted.
"Majo," Robin replied, "nice to see you're not a monkey."
Henry looked at his mother again, "Once upon a time you were a villain. But you've changed. You're a hero now. And defeating bad guys is what heroes do. I believe in you. Now, you need to believe, too."
"Then let's go," Majo decided, "Let's kill the witch."
"Majo, if she sees you, she will crush your heart," Killian told her.
"So what, I'm just supposed to wait outside while you guys have all the fun without me?"
"I would be very grateful," David started, "If you could stay with Snow. This is the second time she lost her baby right after giving birth. It would probably be better if she isn't alone with her thoughts right now."
The warlock looked between her Captain and the prince before sighing, "Okay."
She made her way to the princess' room but no matter what they said, Snow would not respond. She just lay on the hospital bed in silence.
—
Charming entered the room with a baby in his arms. He walked over and presented the mother with it. Tears were streaming down Snow's face as she took her son back.
David kissed his wife's head as the two looked down on their baby.
Majo smiled at the two before quietly leaving the room.
In the hallway, they ran into Emma and Killian. The latter had a small bag hanging from his hook. He stretched it out towards the warlock.
"Is that?" she asked.
The captain nodded as they opened the bag and got out their heart.
"Neat."
They pushed the organ back into their chest where it was supposed to be.
"How do you feel?" Killian asked.
"Like I'm gonna pay the witch a visit," they nodded to herself and marched off, leaving Killian and Emma standing in the hallway.
—
"Are you here to kill me or to give me a speech about redemption?" Zelena asked from her spot in the cell.
Majo sat down on a foldable chair in front of the cell.
"Redemption, I guess?" she shrugged, "I'm not here to kill you at least. As long as you're not actively trying to harm people I care about, I don't care what you're up to."
The redhead scoffed, "That doesn't sound very heroic."
"Good thing I'm a pirate then," they told her. "And that warlocks don't tend to pick sides when it comes to mortal squabbles. We just do whatever is more fun."
"You told me before that there are warlocks in this world far older than me. Was that true? There is other magic here?"
"Yes."
The witch grinned.
"But," Majo added, making Zelena's face fall again, "you have to be born with it."
"I was born with magic!" she insisted.
The warlock sighed, "But you are still fully human. In this world, in my world, those with magical powers get those because one of our parents is a demon."
"A demon?"
Majo nodded, "That's why I have these," they motioned to their slitted eyes, "My father was a demon. Other warlocks can have horns, antlers, different skin colours, extra limbs-"
"Different skin colours?" the witch asked, "and it would be normal?"
"Aye," she snapped her fingers on her right hand and made a holographic image appear. It was a moving image of her brother and two of his friends; one of them with green skin and horns, the other with blue skin and snow-white hair.
The witch looked at it in wonder.
"I had a girlfriend with a forked tongue once," Majo grinned as the image disappeared.
Zelena pulled a face and then sat up straiter on her cot, "Well, you're not going to convince me to take Regina's offer."
"That's not what I'm here for," the warlock told her. "I'm here for answers."
"Answers for what?"
"You had my heart. It would have been easy to use me as a hostage when Killian and the others came to stop you. You didn't. Why?"
Zelena shrugged, "I forgot about it."
Majo stared at her. She knew this wasn't the full truth but they also knew that the witch would not tell them the truth if she didn't want to.
With a sigh, the warlock stood and collapsed the chair she had sat on. She leaned it back against the wall where she had taken it from and gave the cell's inhabitant a small wave, "See you around, Zelena."
They received no answer as they left the Sheriff's station and she did not yet know that this would be the last time she saw the witch in a while.