#I did try to play the Nautilus for a while so I’m not unfamiliar with Splatlings

[lovely-hikari-cosplay]

“Learning a new weapon” pains 🥲

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

A Wondrous Adventure (2/4)

OUaT/Captain Swan

S6 canon divergence

6000 words

Swearing and implied sex

AO3 / Ch 1 on Tumblr

Author’s Note: This is my attempt to make 6b what I wanted it to be – a celebration of my favorite in-show couple. The divergence began in “Murder Most Foul”. This chapter continues to follow Emma and Killian, who reach Agrabah and continue trying to get home.

Props to @ripplestitchskein for zippy beta-reading. :)

Aladdin and Jasmine stared at each other, then at the golden cuffs on the floor.

“What just happened?” he said.

“I kissed you. And....”

“And the curse broke. I’m not a genie anymore.”

“Looks like true love.” Not normally one to get misty-eyed, Emma couldn’t help sneaking a smile at Killian. “Well done. Now that Agrabah’s back, though, can I ask where it is?” She looked around the house.

“Not far from here,” Ariel assured her, the other two being far too wrapped up in one another’s eyes to answer. “A day’s swim, maybe.”

“At mermaid speed?” Killian frowned. “It may take us somewhat longer. And we have yet to repair the Nautilus.”

“This is taking so long.” Emma sighed and looked at the ceiling. More of Ariel’s collected objects hung from the rafters, along with fishing nets, baskets of fruit, and jugs of wine. “I just wish we had some way to get in touch with them.” She realized what she had said and gave Aladdin a nervous look, but he appeared to be truly de-genified. Jasmine said something to him about her father that made him laugh.

“Really?” Ariel brightened and started going through her shelves. “I might have something that will work. Killian, do you still have that seashell?”

“One of them. The other got broken. Very usefully, mind,” he added.

“That should do fine. I’m not sure if this will work across realms, though. It’s worth a try.” She rummaged for a few more minutes and came up with a shell strung on a cord. She handed it to Emma.

“A magic seashell? Like the one you gave Belle?” Emma looked from mermaid to pirate. “If it needs another piece to talk to, where’s the other half of yours?”

“In my chest at home.”

“Oh.” Emma deflated. “Doesn’t seem likely that anyone will hear it in there, even if it does work.”

“Maybe not, but there’s nothing lost in making the attempt.” Killian squeezed her hand.

“True. At this point, I’d take a carrier pigeon.” She lifted the shell to her mouth and thought hard about her family. “Hello? Can anyone hear me? It’s Emma. Hello?” No response. “Damn.” She missed their house, missed her son, and her heart ached at the thought of what they must all be going through, not knowing anything other than that she and Killian had vanished without a trace. Her parents would still be trading days and nights, always alone, taking care of Neal, trying not to give up hope. She would have to do the same. “I guess we can keep trying at different times of day, and stuff. Or check the mirror and see if anyone is around there ever.”

“That’s the spirit!” Ariel patted her on the shoulder. “Keep the shell.”

“I just want them to know we’re okay.”

“Then we’d best be getting back to the Nautilus,” Killian said. “The sooner we get to Agrabah, the sooner we all get home.”

“Yes, let’s. Everyone in the city must be very confused,” Jasmine said. “My poor father, it’s been so long.” Her voice faltered; Aladdin squeezed her hand.

“Are you sure you won’t stay for supper?” Eric invited. “I’m quite a good cook with fish these days, and there’s plenty of fruit.”

“Love to, but we have a submarine to catch. Thank you for the shell,” Emma said. “And keep an eye on Jafar, I guess. And maybe these, while you’re at it.” She picked up the golden cuffs and handed them to Ariel.

“Oooh, they’re pretty.” She gave them a speculative look but didn’t actually put one on . “I don’t think I would like being a genie, though. My collections wouldn’t fit inside a lamp. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure Jafar doesn’t go anywhere,” Ariel added. “He can sit in that bottle and stew for a century or so if he wants to.” She placed the bottle back on its shelf among a dozen similar containers, differing mainly in their degree of corrosion after being plucked from the ocean floor. “Perfect! It really makes the group, doesn’t it? Although perhaps just one or two more…. For balance? What do you think?” she asked Eric.

“Thanks for the shell. We’ll try to visit again,” Emma said, and put on the shell-necklace. The four of them headed back to the shore where the Nautilus waited.

To pass the hours of the journey, Emma borrowed paper and pens from their long-suffering host and set to making notes. It was an unfamiliar business, and slow. She might receive or create a file of information on a target or lately some minor crime, but she seldom had to put it all together from raw facts. Killian had offered once to be of assistance, which she refused. Since then he had occupied the organ bench, picking out sparse melodies while Emma muttered and scribbled. After a half hour, she had not made much progress.

Rumple > Dark Curse > Final Battle?

Merlin (was he a Savior?)  > Author > pen?

Emotion = magic; love?

Why only some magic?

Saviors >  villains > saviors > villains (storybooks?)

The last was underlined three times and circled. It refused to tell her anything new no matter how long she stared at it.

“Dammit!” Emma wiped her hand across the table; papers whirled to the floor. Killian looked up but didn’t comment. Emma sighed and started picking them up again as Aladdin came in.

“Uh… hi,” he said. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re not interrupting. This is probably a waste of time.”

“What is all this?” He bent down to help her pick up the rest of the notes.

“What we know about Saviors. Except I think it’s turned into ‘everything we know about magic,’ which is turns out is fuck all.” She waved a scrap of paper with a scribbled genealogy of Enchanted Forest royalty. “This realm is lousy at history.”

“Don’t think I can be much help with that, sorry.” From the direction of his glance, Emma thought that perhaps he had been hoping to talk to Killian.

“This isn’t getting me anywhere anyway. But you and I ought to talk some time. You’re the only other Savior I’ve ever met.”

“Yeah, um. About that? I don’t even understand why that trick with the ring worked. Of course, I didn’t understand why it worked before the Shears, so nothing lost really.”

“I think it has something to do with destiny. Or maybe fate.” Emma frowned.

“Same thing, surely.”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She wrote that down, too.

“Fate acts upon us,” Killian said, playing a few random notes. “Destiny is the end toward which it moves us.”

“Very gnomic. Bravo. The hell does that mean?” Aladdin asked.

“It means that we cannot refuse Fate,” he said, “but it is not Fate alone, but also our own actions that bring us to, or away from, Destiny.”

“Very neat,” Emma said. “So using the shears is the ultimate act of refusal. But it doesn’t end our ability to act.”

“I guess.” Aladdin shrugged. “What is it you’re trying to do with all of this, then?”

“Figure out how saviors work. If I’m going to get back home just to walk into some kind of ‘final battle,’ whether that’s with Gideon -- again -- or whoever, I want to know why. Never liked the thought of being toyed with by universal forces.”

Aladdin shrugged. “Jafar was still defeated, even though it wasn’t by me. And you’ve faced a fair number of villains by now? I’m not sure this is a situation with rules, so to speak.”

“Maybe not.” Emma chewed on the end of her pen. “Gold made it sound like I was a Savior because of the curse. But we’ve had curses since then with no saviors. In the Wish World, that version of him said that saviors show up because villains exist, but Jafar had been around for a long while before you became a Savior. Regina was Evil Queening it for years before I was even born. Plenty of people never got saved there.”

Killian closed up the organ and turned around. “This might be a stretch, love, but is it possible that the Dark One was not entirely truthful? Nor might Jafar have been with our friend.”

“You think?” Emma sighed. “Good point. I give up. Maybe we’re not supposed to understand it.”

“If we are, then I’m certain you will in time,” Kilian said.

“I’ll leave you two to talk. I’m going back to our room, gonna try the shell one more time before we make land.”

“Hello, this is Emma,” she said for the dozenth time that day. Their tiny cabin was already more familiar than she wanted it to be, and she paced to the extent that she could. She had the message down by heart, having repeated it every two hours since they left Ariel. “I don’t know if anyone can hear me, but we’re trying to get home, and--”

“Mom?!” The voice came very faint and muffled. Metal clacked, and the chest’s hinges creaked. “Mom?”

“Henry! Henry, where are you?” Emma brought the shell closer to her ear, hoping to hear more. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I came home to get some clothes, and I heard a voice and thought someone broke in or something. Mom, is that really you?”

“Yes, kid, it’s me.”

“Prove it. Back in New York, what was my favorite deli?”

“Smart.” Caught between laughter and tears, Emma recited the address. “It’s so good to hear you.”

“Yeah. Where are you? What happened? You guys just disappeared, your dad thought Nemo kidnapped you or something.”

“Long story, we’re in the Enchanted Forest -- ocean -- Gideon sent us all here -- but we’re getting back just as fast as we can. Is everybody okay? What’s going on at home?”

“Things are okay here. Mom and the Evil Queen came to an understanding.”

“They… what the hell does that mean?”

“Mom, language. They had a fight a couple days ago, and then Regina used the Shears of Destiny so they’re not bound together any more, and then they made up, and the Evil Queen went to the Wish World to get a new beginning. And Mom’s still trying to find a way to break the sleeping curse.”

“To the wish world? What?” Emma sat down at the little folding desk. “If they’re friends now, why didn’t Regina just ask her how to break it?” She did not ask, so is one of them still good and the other evil now, or are they both half and half, or what? And how much do I have to worry about her, or them, when I’m worlds away and can’t do anything about it?

“She said she doesn’t know. It’s a curse, it’s not supposed to be broken. But she’s doing her best. Uh, everything else is quiet? Whatever Gideon’s up to, he’s not doing it very fast. And Mr Gold is too worried about what he’s up to, to make any other trouble for the town.”

“Glad to hear it. Look, we’re on our way to Agrabah right now, with any luck we’ll be back in a few days. Just sit tight, okay?”

“Will do. Everybody’s going to be so relieved to know you’re okay.”

Emma bit her lip. “Wait -- you can tell your grandparents and Regina about this, but that’s it, okay? If Gideon’s been slacking off because he thinks we’re out of the picture for good, there’s no reason to let slip to him that we’re heading home. He might do something drastic.”

“Oh. Good point. Should I even tell them, then?”

“Yeah. Yeah, kid, you gotta. It’s not fair to keep them in the dark when they have so much else to deal with. But don’t tell Leroy, or anybody who might talk to Gideon. Not even Belle. Okay?”

“Okay. Say hi to Killian, and to Liam and the crew for me.”

“I’ll do that. Love you.”

“I love you, mom.”

The Nautilus docked at the tiny coastal town that served as the port for the kingdom of Agrabah. Once they were convinced that the vessel was not a sea monster, the dwellers proved quite talkative. Half the them tried to tell the newcomers that the city was gone, that the road they meant to take led nowhere but a featureless stretch of hills and a tiny spring; the other half cheerfully tried to sell them supplies for a much longer journey than they expected. As for Jasmine’s claimed identity, the princess had been missing nearly as long as the city, and the Savior was a rumor unseen in a generation.

“This is not the welcome I was hoping for,” Jasmine confessed. “They don’t even know that it was my fault the city vanished to begin with!”

“Not yours, Jafar’s. And at least they’re not trying to stop us.” Emma shrugged and checked the supplies.

“They’re not even sure you’re real!” She appealed to Aladdin. “Doesn’t that bother you?”  

“Always wanted to be a legend.” He grinned. “And I suspect they haven’t been paying any taxes these past thirty years. Perhaps we should not be surprised by the reaction.”

They readied themselves for the overland journey to the capital. Nemo left Liam in command, and came along to oversee the purchase of the needed materials to repair his ship.

“Any other mission I would entrust to him,” Nemo said, almost seeming apologetic as they set out. “But no one knows this vessel better than I do, and her needs are exacting.”

“I’m sure my father will be delighted to see you,” Jasmine said. “His best artisans will be at your command.”

“And they will receive fair payment for their work.”

“It would be an honor, for all that you’ve done for our realm.”

Emma adjusted her new hat against the sun, which was already oppressive, and tried not to sigh at this well-mannered one-upsmanship. She glanced back at Killian, who had shed his black leather coat as his only concession to the climate. He smiled at her, but looked deep in thought, so she applied her attention to the trail ahead. Though it had not been used in many years, the route was still well-marked, rutted by wagons and pack animals of centuries.

“It is beautiful,” Emma had to admit when the lights of Agrabah came into view. “But I think I was expecting something bigger.” The sultan’s palace didn’t dominate the skyline; it was the only thing visible on it. The entire “city” was smaller than Storybrooke, a walled, tree-rich garden tucked at the base of a range of dry hills.

“My father’s wealth is unparalleled,” Jasmine said. “Agrabah is a city of artisans, jewelers, and poets.”

“And thieves,” Aladdin said amiably.

“You’re not a thief anymore.”

Aladdin slipped his arm around her waist. “Perhaps this is all but an elaborate plot to make off with the crown jewels?”

“A successful one, if so, and the thief should be congratulated.”

Emma glanced at Killian and murmured, “I don’t think we’re this cute. Are we?”

“Better to ask an outside opinion, I suspect.” He grinned.

“Absolutely not.” She looked at Nemo, some ways ahead of them. “Been a little while since we got a royal reception anywhere.”

“Unexpected though it may be, this voyage is not without its recompenses.”

“Just like old times? This land does look a bit like where we found the beanstalk.” Her Enchanted Forest geography remained hazy, and she had no idea how far they actually were from that land, from Aurora’s kingdom or her parents’.

“I hope you’ll find no reason to knock me unconscious. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She wiped the oncoming melancholy away.

“Swan….”

“Just I found myself thinking about all of the empty houses here. All of the places people used to live. Anton’s family are gone. My parents’ kingdom is gone. I guess no one in Storybrooke wants to come back here, now, not like they used to right after the first curse. Maybe somebody else has moved in. They would have a lot of work to do, the place was a wreck when I saw it.”

“I can’t see you coveting a castle, love.”

“Ugh, I don’t. We already have more bedrooms than we need. It’s just being here makes me think about how much has been lost. I’ll never see it the way it should have been, only now that it’s all ruined. I don’t know.” She looked at him. “Are you happy in Storybrooke?”

“I’m happy anywhere you are.”

She pulled a face. “You’re a hopeless romantic. If we could go anywhere in all the worlds, as a family, where would you want to go?”

He looked nonplussed, a rare event. “I’ve never been tied to any particular place, never gave any thought to settling down until quite recently. The Jolly Roger has always been my fixed point, if you will. But if you insist,” he added, “I’ll consider it.”

Their reception at the city was quite different from that in the port. As far as those within the capital were concerned, the time under Jafar’s spell had passed in an eyeblink. There had been witnesses outside Agrabrah, however, herders with flocks in the hills who had witnessed their return. Word had quickly spread within the city that they had been catapulted into the future. The city guards welcomed Jasmine with relieved affection and Aladdin with surprise.

“Your Highness, what happened?” the boldest of them asked. “Was it Jafar? Are we under attack?”

“I can’t explain now,” Jasmine said, “but we’re quite safe from him. I’m sure my father will send out word at once regarding what has happened, once I’ve spoken with him. Please, I need to see him quickly.”

The new arrivals made haste to the palace with an escort of guards clearing the way. They found the court buzzing with confused activity, most of it martial in nature as the Sultan’s elite guard prepared to defend the city against whatever threat might appear. They whisked the five new arrivals into the palace interior, a graceful and pleasant series of rooms. Artful arrangements of corridors, greenery, and fountains created cooling breezes, perfumed by the flowers that grew in profusion throughout the city and the palace grounds. Emma could pick out Jasmine’s namesake and cedar, and found herself wishing she knew the names of more of them, that she could bring a bit of this with her. She didn’t know the first thing about plants, but she had a yard now, and roots of her own.

Jasmine’s father was a plump man with a brilliant smile, dressed all in white. He and his councilors took the matter of having been frozen in time inside a diamond for a few decades in surprising stride, but they had a great many questions about Jafar -- and while they were all more than pleased to have their Savior back, Emma thought there was a whiff of paternal dismay in the air at Aladdin’s abrupt-to-them rise in Jasmine’s estimation.

“I guess it really is a matter of what you’re used to,” Emma said. She felt extraneous to the conversation, and had withdrawn to the background while Nemo and the Sultan got into yet another mutual appreciation contest.

“Absolutely. Much like electricity that way.” Killian leaned in close to her and added, “I fear that more than one of these fellows trading fine compliments with the captain would mount an expedition to retrieve Jafar’s bottle this very night, if they knew where it resided.”

“I think it’s pretty safe where it is. Eric’s got a navy, which I suspect Agrabah does not. And I doubt anyone wants to piss off Ariel’s people.”

“Mermaid wars are ugly, true. What’s the word, Your Highness?” he asked as Jasmine and Nemo rejoined them.

“Messengers are going out now to find what you will require to return to Storybrooke. At least for tonight, my father hopes that you will accept our hospitality.”

“Naturally, I would be honored.” Nemo gave her a slight bow.

“Of course we will,” Emma said. “It will be nice to sleep in a real bed again.”

Killian, bless him, kept a straight face.

One of Jasmine’s ladies-in-waiting showed Emma to her room. It was spacious and cool, and the painted tiles and silken hangings were red and gold. Doves cooed outside in the evening air.

“I hope this is satisfactory, Your Highness? One of the servants will be right outside if you need anything.”

“You really don’t need to--” Uppermost in Emma’s mind was that fact that she and no one else was clearly intended to occupy the room, and Killian’s was two doors down. She probably ought to have expected it in this realm, but that didn’t make it any less annoying.

“Oh, but I must! We so seldom have foreign guests.” The woman’s eyes crinkled with her smile. “And you’ve had a long journey, as I hear. Was it very hazardous?”

Emma had to stop and think about that. “About average for this realm, I’d say. Hungry krakens, evil genies, friendly mermaids. Just let me brush some of the dust off.”

That minor annoyance aside, Emma did feel better after a chance to clean up, and she found herself enjoying the evening when they all met again. The sultan and his court knew how to entertain guests on short notice; soft music played, and the food was sublime. If most of the conversation was about local politics and also thirty years out of date, at least she didn’t have to worry about making a contribution and could just enjoy the chance to relax.

“Happier now?” Killian asked over the iced fruits at the end of the meal. The tide of conversation had turned toward Captain Nemo at the far side of the vast table.

“Yeah. Just thinking how weird it is that I’m the only one in the room who’s never been stuck in time. But this is nice.” Emma glanced around the hall. One of the servants caught her eye and started forward, and she had to shake her head to forestall them. “I mean, I’ll probably never get used to all of the fuss, but it’s okay once in a while.”

“Some fuss is be expected when a stray princess arrives at one’s door.”

“Just for being born. It’s not like I had anything to do with it really.”

“Perhaps, but even if you weren’t, you’ve surely earned accolades commensurate with the attention.” Killian gave her a look that warmed her like sunlight. “You’re a duly elected authority in your own world. Dragon-slayer, curse-breaker, defeater of giants, swordswoman, and a sorceress of unmatched puissance. What else?” He touched his lip with his tongue as he thought, which Emma considered unfair. “Outwitted Peter Pan, escaped the dungeons of the Evil Queen, fought the minions of the Wicked Witch.”

“Are you writing my resume? You should get some honors, too, Captain. Pretty sure most of that stuff was a team effort.” She very much wanted to play with his hair, that bit of curl at the nape of his neck, and get back at him for the lip thing, but they were sort of in public; she settled for leaning closer. “Speaking of which, don’t we have a tradition of dancing whenever we visit this realm? I suppose there won’t be any tonight. They did put all of this together on short notice.”

“That they did.” He dropped his voice lower, so even she could barely hear him. “Perhaps we could arrange for some later, to make up for the lack.”

Separate rooms be damned. “You’re on. See you at midnight?”

“I’ll leave a lamp burning.”

Emma had just settled down to a very impatient two hours of waiting when when a quiet knock sounded on her door. She found Jasmine and the promised servant in the hall.

“What is it? Trouble?” Emma scanned the shadows for any hint of a threat.

“No, no, I just… I needed someone to talk to. May I come in?” Jasmine had changed out of her Storybrooke clothes for dinner and back into what must be her own usual dress, beautiful blue and gold. Her hair was unbound, so she must have been abound to retire for the night. Emma had stuck with her own clothes rather than try climbing over balconies in a silk nightshirt.

“Sure.” Emma stood aside. “What’s up?”

“I feel terribly awkward asking you about this.” Jasmine paced from the door to the balcony and back again. “I’ve been away so long, living among strangers. For all my friends and ladies here, it has only been a few hours. It’s all familiar and so terribly alien. I suppose I should have expected that.”

“Sometimes coming home is the hardest thing imaginable,” Emma said.

“It is. But there’s something else. Um. Aladdin.” Jasmine sat down.

“Oh? I thought you two were getting along.” Emma dragged a second chair around to face Jasmine’s.

“Oh, we are! It’s amazing.” She smiled, but then sat forward with an earnest frown. “It’s just, well. True love? Really? I never really thought about it.”

“Feels like a lot of pressure to live up to?”

“Yes.”

Emma grimaced. “You really want my mom for this conversation. I’m not exactly an expert at love.”

“You certainly could have fooled me. And a few other people.”

Emma gave her a blank look.

“You have no idea how much you’re spoken of in Storybrooke, do you.” Jasmine raised a fine eyebrow. “Both of you.”

“I… guess I do not.” She found the idea more than a little unnerving. “But if you’re here for relationship advice, the point is that I am like way, way out of my depth.” She sat down with a sigh. “I mean, I can tell you that it doesn’t make things easy? You’ll still be the same people, still be scared or angry. I love Killian, and I know he loves me, but that doesn’t change that we’re here right now because we had a big fight the other day.” Jasmine looked shocked; Emma shrugged. “The thing is, you can’t spend your whole life with the dial turned up to eleven all the time? Even with love. Can’t be dying for each other every day. Life settles back. What makes it real is working through the day to day stuff.” She cast around for a way to explain as Jasmine looked dubious. “It’s like my dad says. He’s always talking about how important the little ordinary moments are, and -- hell, he and my mom argue all the time, shared heart or not. Usually, anyway, when they’re not cursed. But they love each other, so they sit down and work it out later. Does that make sense?”

“I suppose so.”

“Look, you loved him before, right? And he loved you. So what’s different now? Other than that you know how he kisses.”

“I’m not sure. I did love him, before, but I was so afraid for so long. It’s hard to set that aside, and yet -- it’s as if my perspective changed, in that moment. When we kissed. I know I’m the same, that he’s the same, but… I see him differently, now.”

“Yeah.” Emma smiled at her own memories. “That probably won’t be the last time it happens.”

“Oh, it already hasn’t been.” Jasmine leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “That was the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Perspective?”

“No.” She laughed. “Kissing. And, well, other things.”

“Oh?” Emma must have looked surprised; Jasmine blushed.

“In previous years, I’ve had neither time nor interest in dalliance with any of the court here,” she explained. “And in the Land of Untold Stories there are no new beginnings. So I find myself with little guidance in these matters.”  

“Got it.” Emma smiled. “Now here, I can probably be a lot more helpful than my mother would be. Bring on the questions.”

Jasmine left looking a good deal more thoughtful than she had upon arrival. Emma wished her luck, and went out to her balcony. The courtyard below lay in alternating blocks of moonlight and shadows. A few torches moved where guards patrolled the iron gates. Most of the palace windows went dark as she waited. The sound of drums and flutes drifted up from the city, where the last of the revelers were determined to last out the night, celebrating release from their strange prison. Agrabah’s rulers were evidently of a more sober cast than her people.

At last, a bell far off in the palace tolled midnight. Emma stretched and looked to her right. In between her room and Killian’s, Aladdin’s lamps had gone out some time ago. She considered using magic to get over there for half an instant, then decided that it would be cheating. It wasn’t that far from one pierced stone railing to the next, and the stone walls with their profusion of decorative carving offered plenty of handholds.

Emma swung a leg over the railing before she could have any second thoughts and started working her way across the gap. She had done a lot more risky things than this, she reminded herself, and for less reason. It was actually kind of fun. She made it to Aladdin’s balcony and stopped to catch her breath. No one stirred beyond the balcony curtains; he must already be asleep. She crept across the polished stone and repeated her maneuver on the other side, then peeked through the curtains to make sure that she did have the right room.

Inside, a lamp was still burning as promised. Killian lay stretched out in a chair near it, paging through a book. He had his sleeves rolled up, hook set aside for the night, a languid shadow all in black. He glanced up and smiled as Emma came in.

“I hoped that was you.” He started to get up, but she shook her head and joined him on the chaise, her gaze locked to his. Perspective shifts; light changes. Under a cold blue New York sky (maybe I do trust him), his eyes had been too honest for her to bear them for long. They were a little wide now, questioning her silence or her expression.

“Just enjoying the moment,” Emma said. “And the view.” On a gray morning in Neverland (maybe I do want him), she had wondered what else a mouth might do that kissed like that. She bent her head to his now; anticipatory warmth unfurled within her. She traced his lips with her finger and laughed when he captured her. A conversation in kisses followed. They wandered often -- she nibbled on his lower lip and felt his pulse quicken; he explored every sensitized inch of her neck until her breath came shallow  -- and then returned to where they had begun, a gentle question and reply.

Other lights and other skies meant other changes, meant a candlelit ballroom (maybe I do love him) and firelight and unaccustomed comfort grief. He moved his hand to cradle the back of Emma’s head. She melted down against him, rested her forehead against his and reached out to snuff the lamp.

“Leave it,” Killian said. “I thought you said something about bed.”

“We’ll get to the bed, promise.” She slid her hands under his shirt. Maybe this place wasn’t so bad.

In the morning they went out into the city. It would be two days before the artisans there could craft the parts Nemo required. Nemo himself would be supervising the work, and politely hinted that the others would only be in the way. Jasmine and Aladdin were meeting with her father and his advisors, trying to figure out how to reestablish the city’s authority after decades of absence.

“I don’t think we have much to add to that,” she said to Killian after breakfast in one of the palace’s tiny graceful salons. Fresh fruit, nuts, and some kind of honey pastry had left her feeling optimistic about the day. “I’m going to go stir crazy if we stay in here, unless maybe that’s the coffee talking, this stuff is incredible. It’s pretty, but I’ve had more than enough of being cooped up on the way here.”

“Alas, it does seem that we have little to offer Jasmine’s family. What have you in mind? The gardens are famous, I understand.” Killian gestured toward the nearest window, a tiny china cup almost invisible in his hand. Brightly colored birds flitted through the trees.

“Then we’ll do that. And we should take a look around the city, since we have some time to kill. Buy some souvenirs. Catch a play, or something. I mean, I know this isn’t New York, but it’s the capital. Must be something to do.”

“I’m happy to see you put aside worry for a time. This is a fine land in which to seek distraction.”  

The square beyond the palace gates was already crowded. They walked from there to the city gates, where a thin stream of new arrivals made their way past the resolute guards. The ancient road had a destination again, and word was spreading quickly. Young folk stared in wonder at a city that to them was a legend come to life, and their parents were little less amazed to see the capital and its people unchanged despite the years that had passed in the outside world. Two foreigners passed without any notice whatsoever.

In between pauses to watch the street performers and admire the city’s gardens (which she had to agree were of surpassing beauty), Emma watched Killian and wondered what was going on. He seemed to be looking for something, and twice wandered off out of sight while she considered some vendor’s wares.

“Is there anyone you know in this town?” she asked eventually, having found a scarf that her mother would like.

“I doubt it.” He quirked an eyebrow. “If I do, it’s probably no one I want to see.”

“It’s just that you seem to be looking into every door we pass since we got to the market.”

“Ah. Sorry. There was a shop I quite liked, somewhere in this quarter of the city.” He waved. “I forget exactly where. Probably long gone.”

“What do you want to buy?” That made sense, particular as she knew him to be about his clothes and gear.

“Stone is loose in one of these rings. It’s not terribly important.”

Emma suspected that was not the entire truth, but he wore a hint of a smile that reassured her; she let it drop and settled for enjoying the morning.

As mid-day approached and the heat grew intense, the crowds dwindled away. The two of them following the general migration indoors, and found one of the many low, white-walled refuges that lined the side streets around the market square. They shared some dried fruit and the sturdy local beer and speculated on events at home.

“Two more days, and then however long it takes to actually fix things.” Emma sighed. “I would have liked this visit if it was a real vacation.”

“Aye. But we’re doing all we can.”

She reached out and took his hand, and a comfortable silence fell. After a while Killian shifted to lean closer to her, though he kept his hand loose in hers. She heard him take a breath that sounded like a decision.

“This might not be the best time, but I’d like to ask you something,” he said.

Emma braced herself. “Go ahead.”  

“What was it like, when you became the Dark One.”

She blinked, trying to read his expression; he didn’t look upset, just thoughtful, so she tried not to get defensive. “Terrifying.” He nodded. She sought more words, though they were slow in coming. “I was utterly alone. I didn’t know where I was, what I was, how long it would last -- it felt like hours. I guess it’s what being born would be like, if you knew it was happening. Um.”

“Hm. I wonder if it’s different every time. If it knew that loneliness was a way in.”

“Probably.” She took a fortifying breath. “So… it wasn’t like that for you, then, was it.”

“Not exactly like, no.” He was quiet for so long that Emma wondered if he regretted broaching the subject. “The Darkness was new to you, and so it took some time for it to find a crack into which it might force a lever. With me, well. I was an old companion. Every moment of fury or despair was easily found to be relived there in that vault.”

“Re… lived?” He was always precise with his words.

“Aye.”

“Oh.” Her voice shrank. “Milah?”

“And my brother, and others.” He shrugged. “I’ve lived with the memories for centuries, they have little power to wound these days -- individually. All together turned out to be a different matter.”

“I think I understand. I--”

“This isn’t an effort to make you feel guilty, Emma. I just wanted to explain why I… succumbed, the other day. And I’m doing that because, well, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you, and I thought--”

Henry’s voice came from the shell Emma wore on a cord around her neck. “Mom? Mom, are you there?”

“Yeah kid, what is it?” She gave Killian a helpless look; his expression sharpened into concern, and Emma could see him shift into guard mode, watching the rest of the room to ensure they hadn’t attracted undue attention. She lowered her voice and spoke into the shell.  “We’re kind of in public right now.”

“You gotta get home right away.”

“We’re getting there as fast as we can, but--”

“It’s your parents. Something’s happened.”

End of Chapter 2