Chapter 28

"What the hell is he doing here?!"

Emma turned away from the man they were supposed to call August to see a petite woman in an oversized, belted green tunic storming toward them through the trees in the encampment. Wild blonde curls were messily tied behind her head, and her finger was extended accusingly toward Killian.

"Tink?" Killian and Baelfire exclaimed with surprise and in unison, leading Emma to conclude that, whoever she was, this woman had spent time in Neverland.

The woman – Tink – briefly shot a confused glance at Baelfire as she reached August's side, then resumed her fury toward Killian. "This man is a scoundrel and a liar." She spat at his boots. "Do not listen to him or any of these people with him. Whatever they've told you is not to be trusted."

Looking around, Emma saw the two guards on the wall both tighten their grip on their weapons and focus their aim. The one in armor was descending toward them as she did so. Emma's heartbeat kicked up a notch. "No," she pleaded. "I promise you, I'm telling you the truth-"

"Do not believe a word of theirs. Don't even let them speak. Lock them up." She jerked her head to the side in a gesture to the armored guard.

Biting her lips together to prevent herself from replying, Emma stared steadily at August, trying her best to silently convey her honesty. In return, his eyes flickered over her expression with skepticism. Only a moment ago, he'd understood she was sincere. Baelfire was less able to hold his tongue, but as soon as he tried to call out to Tink, his voice was muffled by a gag of linen held by another guard who Emma hadn't previously spotted. More appeared through the trees and surrounded the four of them, binding their hands and preventing their speech.

As was his reflex, Killian resisted at first, struggling with the two men who grabbed him, but thankfully caught himself before he'd done any damage. Any chance they might still have to get the information they wanted from the Resistance would be annihilated if they were to maul or kill any of these people. Nevertheless, his scowl was darkly menacing when Tink directed the guards to take his hook.

August's gaze bounced a few times between Tink and Emma, but in the end, he sighed. "Alright, fine. We'll hold them for now, but don't hurt anyone yet, especially not her." He instructed, indicating Emma. "I've got questions, but I can do some of my own research before we start our interview if you're that concerned." With a decisive nod, he acquiesced. "Go ahead. Take them away." Then, he paused. "Wait. Not that one." He pointed toward Mr. Smee, whose face instantly drained of color. "Send him back to the ship with their rowboat so it's not sitting on our beach waiting for them to make a break for it."

"That will only allow anyone else on the ship to mount a better-informed attack against us." The woman in armor expressed her dislike of the idea.

August only shrugged. "We have hostages." He turned his focus to Smee. "You be sure and let your crew know that if any of them try to set foot on this island without invitation, they'll get a much less friendly welcome than you did."

Frantically, Smee nodded. Killian glowered at him as he was ushered back toward the water. Once Smee's gag was removed, he did shout an apology to the captain, but Killian only rolled his eyes. Smee was cowardly at times, but they weren't here to fight. The dinghy shrank smaller in the distance with his departure, and once his escort had returned to the inner side of the palisade, the gate was lifted again, barricading the exit.

Several of the guards guided them deeper into the encampment as Tink led the way. Each had an unyielding grip. The two who held Baelfire were likely bruising his arms as he made incessant muffled shouts into his gag that were impossible to translate into anything coherent. They passed a handful of structures, all built with logs which were likely cut from the very space they now stood, and patched with clay. Some had windows of oiled linen, but the small shack where they were taken did not. Tink opened the door to expose a claustrophobic darkness inside.

The guards shoved Killian in first, locking him into shackles that hung from the wall. As they were pushing Emma in after him and similarly fastening her restraints, Tink lost her patience with Baelfire's unending noise. "What?" She demanded, ripping the fabric from his mouth. "What do you want? Why won't you shut up?"

"Look, Tink, I know you don't trust Hook and I get it. I really do, he's a jackass." There was a possibility he was taking advantage of Killian's inability to retort. "You don't have to trust him, but trust me. Please, trust me. We need your help."

"You? Why would I trust you? I don't know you. How do you even know my name?"

"Yes you do," Baelfire asserted with gentle confidence. "It'll come to you. I just got a little older, but you know me and I'm still the same person I was then."

"What are you? A Lost Boy?" She scoffed. "I wouldn't trust any of your lot as far as I could throw you."

"No, Tink. Look at me. You know me." He kept his tone soft and sincere, and it did the trick.

She gave his face another, more thorough examination. "Wait... I think I do. Are-are you Baelfire? Is that really you?"

His face broke into a relieved smile. "Yeah, it's me."

Her laugh rang like a bell as she threw her arms around him in a hug. "Oh my goodness, Bae! You really have grown. It's been ages since I saw you last, and I always wondered how you escaped. You'll have to tell me everything that's happened." She drew back and fixed a stern look on him, her hands still resting on his shoulders. "But most importantly what are you doing with the pirate?" She spoke the last word with a bitter distaste.

"I'm trying to find something." Baelfire gave the simplest form of answer. "He's helping. Like I said, you don't have to trust him, I'm only asking you to trust me. I don't want to see anybody get hurt. Will you help us?"

Tink crossed her arms over her chest and looked thoughtfully toward Emma and Killian, then back at Bae. "How do I know you're still trustworthy? It's been a very long time. I knew you back when you were a boy, Bae. You're a full grown man now."

"Still the same kid at heart, though. Look, let's talk. You and me. We'll just sit down and have a conversation and you can make up your mind," he proposed. "I'll tell you about all my adventures."

After momentary deliberation, she agreed to his offer, on the condition that Emma and Killian remained where they were. Thankfully, the gags were removed from their mouths before the door closed on Baelfire's contrite face and they were left in darkness. Emma didn't think there was really anything for him to be sorry for. He was giving them their best chance.

There wasn't even a pinprick of light to be seen fighting its way through the walls. It was as black in there as it had been in the brig, although it didn't hold the same all-permeating dampness. The silence and the darkness squeezed in on her, and a part of her brain chastised that she should be afraid, but Emma couldn't help it. The whole situation was just too absurd. She laughed. It started as an giggle she couldn't suppress that then grew an uncontrollable, rolling laughter from deep in her belly.

"Emma?" Killian's voice was understandably uneasy. "Are you alright there, love?"

She had to catch her breath before she could answer, because he couldn't see her nodding. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. It's just that, if you had asked me even a year ago where I thought my life was going, this would not have been my answer. I was a tavern girl, and now I'm here with you, held captive in a Resistance stronghold by a woman you clearly have a bad history with, being hunted by the Evil Queen, and searching for a baby I didn't know I had with a man I thought was dead." She let out another chuckle, and this time Killian echoed it.

"You're right," he conceded. "It is quite a turn of events." She could hear the chains that held him jangle and wished she could see what he was doing. "So what was it that you expected for yourself?"

"More of the same, really." She shrugged. "Working at the tavern was a pretty good deal, and I liked it there. In fact, I might still be there if I hadn't needed to make myself scarce to save my skin."

"Oh, I bet I could still have seduced you away." He paused. "And what about your hopes for the future? What were those?"

"Honestly?" She chewed her lip. "I never really figured that out. When I was out on the streets as a kid, I dreamed about maybe one day earning myself some big score that I could live off of forever, and I always thought that once I did that, I would disappear to the middle of nowhere, all by myself and continue on spending the rest of my life lazy and unbothered. Then as I got older, that last part started to seem a little too... I don't know." She trailed off.

"Boring?" Killian suggested.

"Boring." Emma agreed. "What about you, what do you dream about? What does 'happily ever after' look like for the infamous Captain Hook?"

"Don't you know, Emma?" He asked her, with a note of disbelief. "It's you."