"Which way next, Neal?" Emma huffed, sick of the swampy air, sick of the droopy trees, and sick of being so slow to progress in finding her son. Neverland, she decided, was the worst place she'd ever been, and that was saying something. She couldn't wait to save Henry and get out of there.
The group had been traveling for what seemed like forever, mucking through the forests, battling the lost boys, working through puzzles, all while being taunted by Pan. Last they heard of him was two days ago, after he had left a clue of where Henry was located.
Hook had a map, which Neal promptly plucked in an effort to show how able he was to navigate. Emma was surprised the pirate allowed this, but apparently he still had a soft spot for Neal. And Neal was all too happy to get a chance to prove himself.
"We should see a clearing up ahead, if I've got this right," Neal offered, looking up from the worn map.
"And you've been right about fifty percent of the time so far," Regina quipped.
Gold defended his son, "we don't even know how accurate the pirate's map is."
Hook glared at Gold, but didn't take the bait for an argument.
Not long after, they came to an abrupt end to the trail, looking out over a cliff.
Hook cursed under his breath. "Bloody hell, Baelfire. You did not bring us here of all places."
"It's a shortcut, Hook, and maybe not all of us will get past, but it'll get the majority of us there faster!" Neal shot back, glaring at the pirate.
"Uh, where exactly is here?" Snow spoke up. She peered down below the steep cliff, where a valley of dense trees ran quite a distance. There was another sharp cliff matching theirs on the opposite side. Between the two plateaus were a series of extremely tall marble pillars, spread across the entire length of the valley, in rows of two. The tops of each towering pillar almost appeared like stepping stones in the sky, creating a bridge between the cliffs. It was a peculiar sight.
"This is what is known as the Path of Trust. And you," Hook pointed a finger at Neal, "are a bloody idiot."
Charming stepped between the two men, pushing down Hook's accusatory finger. "Woah, come on guys. What exactly is the Path of Trust? Looks like we just have to carefully walk across to get to the other side."
"If I know anything about this forsaken place," Gold piped up, "nothing is what it seems."
"The Path of Trust," Neal spat out, pushing around Charming just to glare at Hook, "is a shortcut.. of sorts. But there is a catch." He gave a nervous look to Emma. "You can only cross if you go with the person you trust most, and they trust you the most."
"Let me get this straight," Regina interrupted, "you brought us here thinking that Emma trusted you enough to get across together, leaving the majority of us behind? Am I getting that right?"
"We don't even have an even number of people to all go across," Charming added, "surely there was a better way to go?"
Neal nervously scratched his head, ignoring the question. "You could give me a chance, Emms."
"Woah. No. No way. There's no chance in hell I could ever trust you again, Neal. Let alone you being the person I would trust the most." Emma sighed. After the Echo Cave, she had thought she had made her feelings quite clear. A lot of feelings were made clear that day. "This is a pathetic waste of time. How long will it take us to get down there and cross the long way?" She peered down into the valley. There didn't seem to be an obvious or quick way down, let alone back up on the other side.
"Come on," Neal pleaded, grabbing her hand. "Just give me another chance and trust me. I'm sure you could do it for Henry." He pulled her closer to the pillar walkway.
Emma pulled back, fighting against Neal's grip. Before anyone else could intervene, she had broken out of his grasp as they both fell backward. Neal landed on his bottom with a thud while Emma backed into Hook's leather claden chest.
"Steady there, Swan." Hook held her shoulder before she got back on feet. Emma gave a slight nod of thanks. She had been slightly avoiding the pirate after his confession in the cave, as much as she could at least. It made it harder for her that he was always there to catch her, or say exactly what she needed to hear, or distract her from the weight of the world with a flirty innuendo.
Neal stood up, brushing himself off while huffing.
Regina started heading towards the pillars. "Well, have fun with all your drama. I'm going to go find my son." She confidently stepped forward.
"Regina wait!" Snow shouted, "we need to go in pairs of two!"
"I don't think so," Regina turned and laughed, already stepping on the second pillar. "You see, we only have to go over with the person we trust the most. And for me, that person is... well, me!" She twirled around, setting off across the tops of the pillars. It appeared to be a dangerous trek across, but she was successfully, albeit carefully, heading to the other side.
"Wonderful idea, Dearie," Gold sneered, following behind her. His confidence gave way as soon as his foot hit the first pillar. He slipped and fell backwards towards the cliff, barely catching himself on the side.
"Bloody crocodile, it won't work for you. You don't trust anyone, let alone yourself." Hook reached out to pull Gold up, but he refused and swat the pirate away. Neal rushed over to help his father up. Gold appeared to have even more of a limp, but his ego was more bruised than anything.
Emma turned towards her parents. "Hey, you guys should follow Regina across the way. We'll catch up on the other side."
Charming reached out and gave Emma's arm a squeeze. "We can't do that, we don't want to abandon you again."
"No, go," Emma pleaded, "the more people we have closer to Henry, the better. I want you to go." She gave them both a smile of encouragement.
Snow gave her daughter a quick hug. "You're sure? Absolutely sure?" She waited for a nod from Emma before resting their foreheads together for a brief moment, quickly releasing before Emma could protest the affection.
Snow took Charming's hand before the two of them stepped out onto the pillars. He gave a nod before they turned around and made their way across the treacherous pathway in the sky.
Emma turned around to see Gold with his arm around Neal, unable to put weight on his foot. Neal was obviously going to have to support his father while walking the long distance across the valley. She sighed.
"Looks like we'll have to go the long way, after all," Hook stated, giving her a sympathetic smile.
"This is stupid." She sighed, looking at the group that remained.
Neal and Gold were going to slow them down, that much she knew. Between Gold's limp and Neal making everything about him.. then there was Hook. She had full faith he would get them across the valley as quickly (and safely) as possible. He had come back to Neverland, of all places, to help her. He seemed to always be there when she needed it. Say the exact right things when she needed it. Be truthful when she needed it. She was realizing how glad she was that he was there with her.
"We'll get there, love." Hook assured her, "I have full faith you'll save your boy. Then we can get off this bloody island."
"No, this," she repeated, looking up at him, then back towards the pillars, "is stupid."
"Aye, it's not an ideal situation, Swan. But you've gotten out of worse." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "We can do this."
She suddenly looked up at him, "Do you trust me?"
"Of course," he replied, quirking his eyebrow at the question.
"No, I mean really trust me," Emma prodded, "like, fully and completely?"
"Aye. More than anyone in the world." Hook looked confused. "Swan, what does this have to do with anyth-"
He was cut off as she grabbed his hand, gently pulling the two of them onto the first of the precarious pillars. He held onto her for dear life as they caught their balance, swaying slightly but remaining upright.
"Bloody hell, Swan! What the devil do you think-" Hook gasped, realizing they were successfully standing on the pillar.
"So.. turns out," she smiled shyly, "I might trust you, too."
"Aye?" He questioned, staring into her eyes.
"You're the first person that's always had my back, no matter what. I trust you more than anyone." She smiled, her hand gripped his tighter. "Come on," she said, pointing her head towards the path. "We got this."
Hook couldn't help but grin as they started walking down the path on the pillars.
"Emma, where the heck do you think you're going?" Neal yelled at them from the cliff, almost dropping his father in anger.
"Remember, Neal," she shouted back, "Not all of us will get past, but this path will get the majority of us there faster!" She laughed. "See you on the other side!"