The night had been restless again and Zelena had only fallen into a shallow sleep towards morning, which in turn had brought bad dreams. She had skipped breakfast; she couldn't withstand Henry's worried look or Snow White's reproachful gaze at the moment. Instead, she paced restlessly back and forth in her chamber, her eyes darting repeatedly to the cupboard where her magic utensils and the remains of the potion were stowed.
The warning had been clear, but this was now more than just a brief conversation between sisters. Perhaps an accident had happened and the thought of it almost ate Zelena up from the inside. She was therefore all too willing to take the risk. It wouldn't be that bad.
She hesitated again only briefly before opening the cupboard doors and placing the goblet, the potion and Regina's earring on the small table. Finally, she took a seat and examined what she had laid out in front of her. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of involving Henry, but rejected it almost immediately. He had made it unmistakably clear to her what he thought of it and would not suddenly change his mind now.
Slowly, she poured some of the potion into the goblet and watched as the earring disappeared in the swirling liquid. She hadn't made a mistake when making it, it was perfect. She knew this not only because it had already worked; she was unbeatable at brewing potions according to a recipe.
When everything was ready, she put her arms on the table in front of her and placed her chin on them so that her eyes were only a few centimeters away from her brew. She scrutinized it intensely and faltered one last time. She could ruin everything with this action. She had reproached Hook for leaving the castle on his own, but at the moment she wasn't behaving any better than him. She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes. She had made a decision and stood by it.
She emptied her mind and waited for her breathing and heartbeat to calm down before muttering the ancient formula and clasping her hands around the chalice. "Sis, I'm coming," she whispered after completing the spell, feeling her body fill with warmth and a whirlpool seem to sweep her away.
Regina leaned her head back, glad that peace had finally returned. The doctors were of the opinion that she was well enough to be transferred to the normal ward. Nevertheless, the move had strained her and the frequent crossing of the elevator thresholds had caused her broken bones to hurt more again. Perhaps Emma was right and she should make more frequent use of the painkillers she was offered, but they made her even more tired. It was a vicious circle.
When the last nurse finally left the room, she was relieved and struggled to take slow, deep breaths, which resulted in an unpleasant twinge in her right side. It was exasperating! The transfer also had the side effect that it was no longer so easy to visit Emma. A few floors separated them and she wasn't sure if she would be able to make the distance without help. After all, her pride forbade her to ask for help.
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a green mist gathered in the room and thickened. Regina was only startled for a brief moment before she realized that the phenomenon was the same as back in the hotel room. She sat up in bed, ignoring her ribs, which protested against it, and scrutinized the smoke.
Just like last time, Zelena appeared, although this time she seemed more focused and a little pale around the lips.
"Zelena!" Regina was aware that her sister was straining from what she was doing and hoped to make the spell a little easier if she created a direct point of focus with her voice.
Zelena opened her eyes and looked at her sister before letting her gaze wander around the room they were in. "What happened?" she wanted to know immediately when she realized that she had landed in a hospital and that her sister was lying in one of the beds there.
"Everything's fine. It's good to see you," Regina began, but was quickly interrupted by Zelena, who closed her eyes and visibly had to concentrate.
"Just the most important thing, we don't have much time," she said brusquely. "We didn't reach you and we were worried. What's happened?"
Regina recognized the urgency in her voice and decided to give her the answers she needed. "There was a little incident where we lost the crystal and ended up in hospital," she replied. "Emma gave birth, she named the little one Hope. All three of us are fine, you don't need to worry." She spoke quickly and looked worriedly at Zelena, who was still narrowing her eyes in concentration.
"That doesn't sound particularly good, but for now I have to take your word for it," she replied tensely, a bead of sweat running down her forehead. "Hook isn't back yet, everyone else is fine. We're still looking for a solution, but..." She broke off and held her head, her nose starting to bleed.
"Zelena! Let go, you have to go back!" came Regina's immediate panic as she saw exactly what was happening to her sister. "You're overexerting yourself, let go of the spell!" she demanded, sliding to the edge of her bed as if she could have helped her somehow by getting closer to her. On the one hand, she would have liked to try to help her magically, but on the other, she knew that she would only cause more damage. Besides, she couldn't attract attention and risk someone entering the room.
Zelena literally slumped down; the blood running from her nose was joined by thin rivulets running down her neck and coming from her ears.
"Zelena, you have to break the spell! Now!" Regina heard in her own ears how her voice became shrill and almost overflowing.
And then it was suddenly over. Zelena disappeared along with the green smoke and the room looked exactly the same as before, as if nothing had ever happened.
Regina breathed heavily, the fear for her sister even making her ignore the pain that accompanied the chest movement. She felt hot tears running down her cheeks and she didn't care. She could only hope that her sister hadn't just died in front of her eyes. She couldn't get the blood from her ears out of her mind. The study of magic had also taught her its unattractive sides. All magic came with a price and it was not inexhaustible. Spells were only as strong as the person who cast them and Zelena had not seemed as if she had been particularly powerful. And she wouldn't be the first casualty of overconfidence.
Her hands trembled in her lap and she continued to struggle for steady breaths. Slowly, she lay back down and as the adrenaline subsided a little, the wave of physical pain that rolled over her almost robbed her of consciousness. She couldn't pass out now. Her breathing flattened and her hand held her ribs as if she could stop them from bursting completely.
Her vision only slowly cleared and the pain subsided somewhat. Sitting up quickly on the edge of the bed had been too much for her.
Once she was sure that her own condition had stabilized somewhat, she reached for her smartphone. Even if Emma couldn't help in this matter, she still had to tell her about it.
It was chilly in the below-deck cubbyhole where they'd locked him; all his things, including his coat, were being rummaged through at that moment by one of Redhat's sweat-smelling minions. Hook was annoyed at his own blueness. He should have known that he could never trust another pirate, his rival. But hopelessness and the desire to come to Emma's aid had driven him to it.
Like an animal in a cage, he paced back and forth, looking for weak points in the door, the walls, the floor, but could find nothing. And even if he had found something, where would he have gone? At the moment they were on the open sea and even with two hands he wouldn't have been able to swim ashore. All he could do was wait until they reached land and then take the opportunity to escape as soon as it arose. Not much was heard of Redhat, so he wasn't necessarily one of the worse contemporaries. This gave Hook hope that he wasn't the smartest and that escape was possible if he was smart about it.
"Hey, you in there!", a voice suddenly shouted from outside the door, banging it so hard with its fist that it seemed as if it would give way at any moment. "The captain wants to see you. Turn away from the door and towards the wall!"
Whoever it was, he would cooperate. So he retreated to the far corner of the empty room and waited to be led out. Hook recognized the hulking fellow as the pirate he had scrubbed the deck with on his arrival. "Do you actually do everything your captain asks of you?" Hook asked as he was roughly dragged towards the door by his bound arm, although he would have come along voluntarily.
"Shut up and come with me," was the only answer he received.
"Obviously," Hook nodded, confirming his own question.
"I said shut up!"
Hook remained silent and walked alongside him to the captain's cabin, the door of which opened as soon as they approached.
As soon as Redhat had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside, the other pirate, whose name Hook didn't know, disappeared.
"Well, Hook. We're approaching the mainland. It's time you gave us more precise directions," the captain of the ship demanded.
Hook raised an eyebrow and scrutinized him. His thoughts had only been vague, far too imprecise to be able to name the exact location of the bean. But it was all he knew and that was all he could tell them now. "I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't know an exact location. I can empathize with my old rival and imagine where he might have left a map, but whether it's true is another matter."
Before he saw it coming, Redhat's fist landed in his face and blood ran from a laceration on his cheek. "Don't you dare make a fool of me, Hook!" he snarled, and Hook mentally realized once again that he merely looked like an angry garden gnome in his red hat.
"I don't intend to do that. But I can't tell you what I don't know, it's as simple as that." He was aware that he was treading on thin ice and had to be careful not to go too far. Just because Redhat didn't seem particularly intelligent didn't mean he was slow in his reactions. One wrong word and it was possible that he would simply dispose of him.
Redhat crossed his arms in front of his chest and examined the wound he had inflicted with amusement. "Very well, as you say. Then I hope for your sake that we find what we're looking for at the suspected location. Otherwise, the sharks are in for a feast."
