Events in the Enchanted Forest
Chapter Two
Emma looked over her shoulder as she was being carried out, arm-in-arm with two of Regina's rough and frankly foul-smelling Black Guards.
In the corner she saw a flash of brown - Hook's hair, he'd managed to escape. She could hear the multiple footsteps of the Queen, herself, and the guards echo around the room. A sense of relief filled her, but also a sense of guilt. "If only my magic still worked..." Emma teased herself with this notion, "but then Regina might see who I really am and remember me later on. And I wouldn't be able to take that risk. Who knows what she'd do? She's the Evil Queen here. But the Regina I know and the Regina Henry knows, she's in there. Somewhere. My friend...my..."
Emma shrugged off these thoughts. What was she doing? The woman she is walking behind is the Evil Queen, the one who enacted a curse out of vengeance on her parents. Not the woman whom she promised to find happiness for, not the woman who looked after her son for years, not the woman who is just desperate to feel like she belongs, not the woman who gave her a happy, normal life in New York at the sacrifice of her own, not the woman who made her discover her full magical potential.
Regina Mills is in there, though.
This thought provoked Emma to think of when she and Regina first met, and how desperately thirsty Regina was for Emma's destruction. She tried just about everything to destroy her. This was the woman she was dealing with here, but deadlier. Not the woman she had grown to like, who had equally grown to like her. Hate, or whatever it was at the start, her and Regina did have a connection, even if it was just a competitive and angst-ridden spark. Emma knew this was mostly just her own denial, and that the spark they felt, even if it was just her own, was more. But what she didn't know - and what she had previously failed to ask herself while fighting with her thoughts once again, was the fact Regina didn't ask the guards to escort her to the dungeons.
Why isn't she sentencing her to death? And what could she mean by the ominous "Your night has just begun"?
She was being escorted out of the dazzling building when the Queen looked at her from the corner of her eye, and spoke intimidatingly to the Black Guards. "You take the carriage, lock this one away when you arrive. You know what to do. I'll be in my chambers. I will order you in when I require her presence." The Guards nodded and bowed, simultaneously chanting "yes, Your Majesty."
With that, the Queen vanished into a puff of purple smoke. Emma gulped. Who was she dealing with here? The Regina she knew? Or the Evil Queen she used to be? Emma's unfaltering belief in Regina was tiring her. She then, reluctantly, thought to Hook. She was worried that he would head straight first into danger, coming to rescue her. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt, and she didn't want another reason why she should love him.
"Where in the Enchanted Forest has he found himself? I hope that he is out of danger. I need to find my own way out of here. I can't let anyone get hurt for me." Just as she thought that to herself, she realised, she couldn't do anything while under the watchful eye of the Queen.
*
The Evil Queen appeared in her candle-lit chambers, standing directly in-front of her body-length mirror.
She looked in the mirror at her regal dress, its décor on the corset. She then gazed up at her smooth, silky dark hair, and her perfectly crafted makeup. Oh how she loved to cause fear amongst her subjects with her fierce looks.
The room she stood in was impeccable. A balcony viewed the entirety of the Enchanted Forest. Regina thought, whilst looking in the mirror, about how she had just stumbled upon an apparent supporter of Snow White. But she had suspected it was more than that.
She could tell right away the handiwork of the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin. He had bestowed a glamour spell on that mysterious girl. Her true self had bright, ocean blue eyes, high cheekbones, a button nose and bright red-lipstick to accompany her equally bright-red dress. Regina couldn't help noticing her striking beauty. The dress stuck out right away. She felt a twinge of jealousy, and also something else, something quite unfamiliar and forgotten. So she chose to ignore it, giving into the darkness.
Instead she ate one of her dark-red apples and thought fondly upon what the events of the night may lead to. Another heart being added to her collection was definitely at the top of her to-do list. She wondered as to why Rumplestiltskin had delivered this woman to her. She must be a spy, Regina thought. But she also thought that Rumple was far too clever for this, and could appear at any time, as he was rarely summoned by her these days.
On reflection, she thought, "I probably could have just brought her here myself. I could have got all my information, another heart, and either controlled her if she seemed of use, or killed her. But that kind of effort is not a job for a Queen. I will just wait until my men bring her to me." For now, she thought, "I shall write." With that, she strolled over to her desk, sat down, and in a puff of purple smoke a book and an ink and quill appeared.
She began writing, awaiting the mysterious stranger to appear. She began her entry with the loathing and anger she felt towards that darn accomplice, who seemed to have got away. He was probably under a glamour spell too, she thought.
*
Hook's feet started to ache.
He'd been running for one whole hour, and had found himself on a long winding road covered in dark green leaves and tree roots. The roots had emerged out from under the floor, and were protruding into his shoe soles and tripping him up every minute or so. He felt helpless and quite frankly, pathetic.
"Why did I become a Hero?" he asked himself half-laughing. He would have gone to the dungeons, he kept whispering to himself, "but I wouldn't find her there. The Queen wanted to entrap her personally. And it would just be a suicide mission. No, I need someone to help, anyone, and we need to get in and get Emma out."
His thoughts jumped from fairy-tale character to fairy-tale character - who would he seek out? The obvious answer was Rumplestiltskin, of course. He'd previously helped Emma and him with the glamour spell, cloaking their true identities. Hook realised this, but said, out-loud, "he only did that because Emma promised he would find Baelfire in the future. He hates me, if I do this, if I summon him, he might kill me. This is suicide as well. But I can't do nothing..."
Before Hook could continue rambling to himself, the Dark One appeared cross-legged on a tree-stump behind him. "Hello, dearie." Rumplestiltskin's green skin glistened in the moonlight, and he wavered his right hand, re-crossed his legs and smiled teasingly at Hook. Hook rolled his eyes and turned to face him, "I didn't even summon you Crocodile."
"For once, we are in agreement," Rumplestiltskin smiled and stood up, "you didn't, no. But I heard about the disruption at the hall, and I knew that you'd be running away, like the coward you are, Killian." Just after Rumplestiltskin said this, he laughed, his laugh resembling that of an excited child. Killian looked down at his arm and resisted the urge to plough his hook into the tree next to Rumple. "Coming from you, Crocodile, that is rich." Rumple sneered at this comment.
"That, dearie, I also agree with. But onto more pressing matters. Ms Swan, it seems, has been captured by her Majesty the Queen. Oh dear, oh dear, what will you do?" Hook sneered at the Dark One, "less of the sarcasm and more of the helping Emma. You got us into this mess, now you can get us out of it." Rumple raised his right eyebrow and smiled smugly, "I, got you into this mess?" he scoffed. "Your beloved Swan is the one who decided to mess up the most important moment, the one which ensured her very own creation. No, I will not take the blame for that dearie. Tell me, what do you expect me to do? Magic you into the castle so you can be killed too? Not likely, that would be too easy. My revenge for you needs to be sweet."
Hook took a sharp intake of breath and his jaw muscles started to twitch, he was getting angry with Rumplestiltskin. But for Emma's sake, he needed to calm down. "Less of the games. I could find the Wolf and maybe even Snow White, but you warned us before about affecting timelines..."
"That I did," Rumplestiltskin agreed, "but since you seem to have forgotten, I shall remind you. I bestowed a glamour spell on you dearie. Just tell Snow White you are Prince Charles and in search of your Princess." He smirked, and then the Dark One vanished into a puff of a black smoke.
Hook stared down the endless path of brown, wiry trees, and walked for a few hours. There was a thick, loud crunch every time he trampled on the green leaves and the odd frail twig. Hook sighed as he looked up at the moon. He worried greatly for Emma's safety. He was thinking about how absent she had seemed during their dance, away, indulging in her own thoughts. He had a brief idea of what he had to do to save her, and went about settling down for the night. He needed to rest before finding Snow White.