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The Rescue
Killian
The wind whipped his face and sticks snapped beneath him as he raced through the forest of treacherous greens and branches. They weren’t far behind him; he needed somewhere to hide.
It wasn’t long until he started to get dehydrated and unable to run. The thief dove into a bush when he saw a deer. The Knights behind would think it was just the creature making the crackling of leaves. He let out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes. After they were to pass, he needed to rest.
Waiting for nightfall (as well as them to come back around) he desperately searched for entertainment. Searching the satchel usually slung over his shoulder, Killian swiped out a folded paper that was over-creased and faded. Utterly confused on his find, his fingers tuck under the paper to unfold it. His eyes widened at the sight. Ink made long strokes across the page for something that resembled hair, he guessed. The face attached was obviously purposely made more vicious than…she… probably most defiantly was.
But, even with her crazy, tear-drawn eyes or the raging teeth ready rip a neck, she was familiar. The thought brought a tight pain throughout his brain. He clenched his face as what it seemed a box of déjà vú ran through the tubes of his mind. One split second after the moment ended, was a flash of a face-her beautiful face- full of concern. And then it was gone, and so was his energy.
Emma
Pain. It flooded her stomach and veins and mind as she screamed into the bricks of the tower, unable to do anything else.
"Hmh. And so your true self is released.“ she looked up unbearably to only see the one and only Evil Queen. "I knew it would come around some time. I knew I should’ve destroyed your egg when I slayed Maleficent. And that is my biggest regret.” then, with such bitterness oozing from each word, she added. “Not. Killing. You.”
And then she felt it. The black smoke that swooned over her until now, entered her body. She felt it take over every artery, every bone. She felt the spark that went off in her stomach that caught fire to every organ once it reacted to the acid. She felt death.
Emma was in too much pain to scream. She sat there, silent, as darkness consumed her soul.
The Queen, with her skin as pale as Christmas snow and hair as black as night, stood over the girl cackling.
"Make sure you hold on until my Huntsmen comes. I want you to be murdered. And not by your own darkness, but someone’s else’s.“ She sneered before a red cloud absorbed her.
Emma was able to hold it off. For awhile, until something…found her mind. As she shakingly looked around the prison, a shelf of rum stood in the corner. With her mouth dry and desperate for moisture, she crawled across the bricks of the tower with even strength she had. Something else besides her thirst was pulling her there. She could’ve lived without it for now, but it was the taste she needed. The taste no rum can offer, unless it’s been in a certain ones mouth.
Swiping up one from the lower shelf, she brought it up to her lips with shaking hands. The burn that set on her tongue made her gag. This…this was not the rum she was ever used to. This one was bitter-when the taste she remembered ever so slightly was sweet.
It triggered something. A faint sting came to her left hand as a face of a man appeared in her mind. Strict jawline, stubble. His blue eyes shone as he smiled down at her, brought off by his dark bed-mess hair. He was saying something she could not hear. She was desperate to hear his voice.
But pain struck her, and the image was gone. She cried in agony. Through the blurriness of darkness’ clouds was faint images of the one man-on a ship, hugging her-kissing her. But she did not know who he was. Rum. She screams. And a bloody waste of it.
Killian.
Killian Jones. But, most people choose to call me by my more colorful monica. Hook.
With this, the memory of him—his protection over her he provided, the hint of rum when they kissed—she was given enough energy to stand up. The pain and yearning for him-Killian- brought her to tear. She didn’t know what happened to him. And never would.
Snow White
"This is a disaster!"she called in rage. Letting out a growl, she continued. "That girl-that creature is now the bloody dark one? Fantastic! How ever so convenient for you, my Huntsmen.” She smiled at the man in the corner, viewing her rage. He looked slightly puzzled.
"Your majesty-“
"That’s right. I want you to kill this dark girl, before she kills me.”
"But-“
"You are my Huntsmen, right? You agreed to kill-”
"Well, to get technical, your majesty, I didn’t really agree-“
"I have your heart and will squeeze it when I want.” he stayed quiet. “Good choice.”
"Okay, I agree to kill her for you. But how do you want me to do it? Isn’t she immortal?“ The Queen gave a little sympathy into his question, considering it was a true and reasonable one.
"Not yet. You have 24 hours before the darkness consumes her, and then she becomes the true immortal Dark One. The only way killing her then is becoming it yourself.” She brought her hand in front of her, and a sword that glistened in the light pooffed into it. “This sword is cursed with the death curse. Sure, True Love’s kiss heals everything, but she’s not loved by anyone.”
"And where do I find her?“
"I don’t need to tell you. I will guide you along the way, with this.” she held his heart in front of him. “You just need have the guts.”
Killian
He couldn’t sleep. Every time his eyes flickered close, her face appeared behind them like a picture. If he closed them long enough, they moved. They were not in the Enchanted Forest for a lot of them. But sometimes, it seemed as if they were adventuring. Others they were in a Ball room, or desert.
The memories-or visions- brought a pain to his head. It came to his heart causing it to un-harmfully shatter as he saw a glimpse of her. She was like the sketch on the poster…but more beautiful. She was pulling her disaster of hair as she faced to ground, which was made of brick. Around her was more of it, so she was trapped in a room with cracked stairs and a window. Next to her was a rum bottle that was spilled and stained the brick in front of it. The window told him where to go, since it showed it was high up.
He needed to save her. Killian had a feeling that it was their fate to meet, his destiny to save her.
So late in the night he went through the magical forest in search of her tower, a beam of light to tell him. He walked and walked, more sticks snapping under his boots and occasional ruffling of leave that belonged to animals’ foot steps.
It was half passed midnight when his foot stepped onto something that wasn’t grass, but paved stone. This must be it. He thought. But where is the tower?
As he walked down a hallway of golden bricks, torches sparked into flame in front of him. At the end was a rock. A rock with vines hanging over.
The Huntsmen
It felt weird, he thought without his heart in his body. He felt empty and emotionless, but longing for it back. Especially when her voice boomed through her mind, saying “left” or “right” or “by that big tree”.
She had told him he found it when he steeped onto stone, and to walk down a dark hall that would light up along his walking. So, he was very confused when the hallway she directed him to was lit.
"Hey! Who goes there?“ No answer came back instead of an echo of loud footsteps racing faster and faster. "Stop! By order of the Queen!” He sped down the wall and chased after the vines then swinging side to side.
As he broke through them, he stopped in his tracks. A gold tower mounted above him with vines hanging down. Faint screams and cries came from the window. He looked at the base of the tower to see someone trying to climb up, and raced to pull him down.
"No!“ He cried, getting up off the ground. "You don’t understand! I need to save her!” He had a quitely thick accent as he begged the Huntsmen for mercy.
"And I need to kill her!“ He slashed his sword out in attempt to form a gash across the man’s chest. Unfortunately, he leaned back enough to survive it and slashed his own sword out. Fight him! The voice of her screamed. Fight! He obeyed the villain and swung the metal, but the thief revealed a secret weapon before it made a mark in his flesh. A hook. As a…hand.
"Who are you, thief?”
"Killian Jones.“ Killian spun around to clash their swords again. "But you can call me Hook.” The next second they were fighting, and the sound of their swords clashing ringed through the air.
The Evil Queen pushed and pushed strength on the Huntsmen, too much for killian. The sword lock they were in broke because of it. Killian’s eyebrows showed his defeat. He searched for mercy but found none.
More pain stung Killian’s mind, and when the Huntsmen’s sword sliced across his forehead, it didn’t help one bit.
"No!“ He screamed out. Dropping the sword, he fell to his knees and clutched his hair. Above him the Huntsmen served no mercy, and pointed the tip in front of killian. Images of her flashed through him; her. laughing, smiling, crying. A brief five seconds was filled with a tight passionate hug outside some strange land with a weird yellow box beside them.
"What’s going on?” The Huntsmen asked sternly. Then… the Huntsmen was in the strange world. And kissing the top of the woman’s head.
David.
He slowly stood back up, taking the sword into his hand. “I’m sorry, David.”
And with that he split open the Huntsmen’s leg.
Emma
She felt it. What ever Killian was doing, it wasn’t good. He was in grave danger. The thought on him being dead brought tears.
She was going mad in that tower. She kept forgetting him, but remembering. The moving pictures in her mind had started to confuse her. She couldn’t take how painful remember was. The darkness eating out her soul brought her body to fuze and hurt more. To the point she needed to scream.
So she did.
Killian
Looking back the man crying in pain and agony a few feet behind him, Killian felt severe guilt as he started to climb up the vines. But that feeling was taken away immediately when he looked to his left to find the beautiful blonde climbing next to him. And with a blink, she was gone.
But he redeemed his focus right away and started to climb up and up and up, higher and higher and higher.
About half way up this tower that was too tall to be realistic, cries and screams started to be released from the window opening, making him go faster no matter how much his muscles burned or torn his hands were.
So he continued to climb, even if he heard the death threats coming from the Huntsmen bellow.
He collapsed onto the window sill with a sigh. Swinging his legs over, he looked at his bloody hands. A flash of Emma’s cut on the beanstalk went through his eyes before he realized the same body on the floor only a few feet away from his own.
"Emma?“ he rushed over to her and pulled her into his lap. Her tear-stained face was still wet and red, and her eyes were screwed shut. But, as soon as he said that word, the two syllables that he was unaware of their forgotten time as lovers, was the same one that made her eye fly open.
Those green eyes were the only thing telling him it was truly her.
"Emma!” she searched his face as if looking for something. A small smile crept to her lips as a hand is brought to his face. The skin of his cheek left her palm warm.
"Killian…“ she whispered. He let out a choked laugh.
"You remember. Oh, you remember…” pulling her into his chest, he was surly unaware that the Huntsmen has reached the top of the tower and was then standing over them.
"I would hate to break a reunion,“ they shot their heads toward the voice. "But I have work to do.” Not thinking about the rules of magic, the Huntsmen shoved the majestic sword into Killian’s stomach.
Two seconds later the sword shattered, as both stared in shock.
No! the voice of the Queen boomed through his head. Look what you’ve done! That sword could only impale once! It was meant for her!
That made the Huntsmen stare in shock as well.
Emma jumped out of her trance when Killian collapsed to his back. She kneeled beside him, tears pouring from her eyes.
All the sudden his body turned wet, his back hair plastered to his forehead. Blonde hair framed her view.
Come back to me, she whispered. Come back to me.
But the setting quickly changed. Frizzy locks fell around her, and the grass was replaced by hard bricks. Blood covered his forehead in pace of water as his hair was everywhere. The only thing she focused on was the small cracks of his eyelids, and in between that was flooded with the glorious blue she can only surly remember.
"Emma, listen to me. I-“ he let out a grunt of pain. "I’ve been getting moving pictures of you-us all night. And I remember in one I said I was good at surviving. I don’t know what life that was in, what world, but it’s not this one. And i… im not the same in this world. And I’m definitely not a survivor.
"Killian, please. Please don’t leave me…” She looked at the wound. “Wait-I can heal it!” She started to run her hand down the open wound, but he grabbed it before it it made any effect.
"No, no.“ She looked at him with so much shock in her eyes it would’ve killed her as well. "It’s okay. It’s okay. My time is here. Leave it.” And with that, his body went limp.
"Killian! No no no! Wake up! Killian…“ she placed a hand on his cheek, which was now cold. Slowing registering the whole scene, she turned to the Huntsmen.
"You did this…took the only thing I loved away. Don’t you have anyone you care about?” She snapped, making him wince.
"The only family I have is animals.“ He said, too calmly for Emma’s liking. "And that was supposed to be meant for you.”
"Then why is he dead, and not me?!“ She replied harshly, choking back a sob.
"Well, first of all, I got mad at him the second he got away from our duel-”
"And what’s the second reason?!“
"If you are patient, you would’ve heard it already. I thought you would know what was going on and block him from it.” He threw in a small smirk at the end like it was a joke. That drove Emma furious.
Faster than she could react her self, she was on her feet and running to the small stove. Without realizing exactly what she actually was doing, the Huntsmen was out cold, and the weapon still in Emma’s hand was a metal frying pan.
Even though she was in quite shock, Emma found herself beside Killian’s lifeless body.
And with his single goodbye kiss, the princess woke from her curse with a gasp.
The thought of a fairytale from that other mysterious world made her sob, as she pressed her warm lips to his unreactant ones.
First, she felt the weight of the darkness disappear.
And then, she felt her memories come back.
Lastly, she felt him kissing back.
She pulled away quickly, to see his bright eyes sparkling in the dawn sun. Emma laughed and ran her hand through his soft curls.
"Your alive,“ she laughed, and then sniffed.
"It appears I am.” He said back.
Remembering his wound, the smile disappeared as she looked down to his stomach. It was healed, but bloody.
"Are you…alright?“ She looked back at his face with confusion.
"I think I should be asking you that, Mr. I-Just-Got-Impaled.”
"Well, you were the one who was forced to become Dark. You okay?“
"It’s gone.” His eyes widened. “I felt it all lift when I kissed you.” He laughed and threw his arms around her, pulling Emma close.
"Emma?“ Due to the voice of her father, Killian let her separate.
"Dad.” She whispered. Once reaching him, Emma jumped onto her father.
"I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please, I know it’s hard to forgive the man who just killed your boyfriend, but please try.“ David pleaded. Emma laughed at his urgency.
"If it wasn’t for you, no one would know who they really are right now.”
"Wait,“ Killian walked up to them. "How do we get them back? It’s not like we were cursed…”
Emma thought about his question for a moment. She took a stuttered breath once she realized.
"Because you…you’re my happy ending.“ his eyes widened. "And when you died, that sword was cursed. Every curse can be broken with True Love’s kiss…” Emma gasped herself, but went on. “And we were-” killian embraced her tightly.
"I’ve been waiting for those words since I met you.“ he breathed.
"And I was a villain, but still got my Happy Ending. Like a hero does.” Killian wanted to kiss her so badly, but took notice that they were accompanied by Emma’s father. Silently chuckling, David gave a small nod for reassurance. Killian grinned and winked back before connecting Emma’s lips with his own.