Chapter 19

The sun started to rise, signaling the start of a new day.

Mulan was the first to stir. She scanned the room and spotted me still in the same position from last night — slouched in the corner, eyes heavy, arms folded tight.

“I’m guessing you didn’t wake anyone for their watch, seeing as you’ve got bags under your eyes,” Mulan said quietly.

I gave her a simple nod, not looking away from the nothing I’d been staring at all night.

“Listen, Alex… I know we don’t know each other well,” she continued, her voice gentle, “but if you need someone to talk to—or even just someone to sit in silence—I’m here.”

I didn’t answer.

Taking the hint, Mulan turned to wake the others. I grabbed my things and moved to wait by the castle entrance, not in the mood to deal with anyone else.

Footsteps behind me.

“Whoa, first one awake? That’s a first,” Emma teased, laughing and patting me on the back.

I stepped away from her touch. Her words from last night still clung to me like bruises.

“I just want to get back to Storybrooke,” I said flatly. “The longer we waste daylight, the longer I’m stuck here with you.”

Emma’s smile faltered. She backed off, the silence between us suddenly thick and uncomfortable.

Thankfully, the others didn’t take long to gather. Soon, we were heading back toward Lancelot’s camp.

——————————————————————————————————-

On the road, conversation turned to what we’d tell the camp about Lancelot.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Aurora said, wringing her hands. “I’m not a very good liar.”

“It’s not really a lie, Aurora,” Snow said gently. “Lancelot did die an honorable death. And Cora did escape. All true. Just… leave the particulars to us.”

“But don’t they deserve the truth?” I cut in, looking at the dirt under my boots. “We don’t know how he died. Or when. How can we call it honorable if we don’t even know what really happened? People want the truth. Even if it’s painful.”

The group fell silent.

“You’re not wrong,” Snow finally said, “but we also don’t want to cause panic. If people don’t know who to trust, they’ll start suspecting everyone could be Cora in disguise.”

I was about to respond when Mulan raised a hand.

“The tower,” she said. “We always post sentries there. Stay close.”

Weapons were drawn — all except Aurora, of course. We crept into camp.

It was in ruins.

Bodies lay everywhere.

“Oh my God,” Snow breathed.

We moved slowly, searching for survivors…but deep down, I already knew we wouldn’t find any.

“This was supposed to be safe,” Mulan whispered. “We were hidden. Protected. How did they find us?”

Snow knelt beside one of the bodies.

“Did you find something?” I asked.

“I don’t think ogres did this,” Snow said grimly. “This was Cora.”

We all looked at her.

“She ripped out their hearts. This is her magic—twisted and evil. We have to stop her.”

“We’re too late,” Mulan said. Her voice cracked. “She killed them. All of them.”

“And if we don’t stop her, more will die,” Snow added.

“How, Snow?” I snapped. “We just got our asses handed to us. What makes you think we’ll stand a chance next time? She’ll kill us too.”

“We’ll be more prepared,” Snow insisted. “She caught us off guard, but with your ability, Alex—if you transform—”

“I can’t control when or why it happens,” I said. “What if I freeze up? What if I can’t do it when it actually matters? We’ll all die.”

“We have to have faith,” she replied.

I scoffed. “False hope is what gets people killed.”

Before she could argue back, Emma called out, “Hey—hey! Someone’s alive under here!”

We rushed over as Emma and Aurora lifted debris off a man buried beneath a broken table.

“Thank you,” he gasped. “Thank you!”

Emma and Mulan helped him sit down then went to get him water. While they fetched water, Snow and Aurora fussed over him, asking if he needed anything else.

But I kept my distance — watching.

Cora didn’t leave survivors. If she was in a killing mood, no one walked away.

Except us. Once.

The man caught me staring.

“Not that I mind a beautiful lady giving me the eye,” he said, “but can I help you with something, lass?”

I forced a casual smile. “What happened to the hand?”

“Lost it in a mighty battle with an ogre,” he said. “Almost lost the whole arm.”

“Funny. A beast that big only managed to take a hand?” I raised a brow. “Either your hand tasted awful, or the ogre wasn’t as fearsome as you say.”

His smile faltered —just for a second— before he covered it with a grin. “Or I’m just that good with a sword.”

Yeah. Sure you are.

Emma returned with Mulan and handed him a cup.

“I can’t thank you enough,” he said, sipping. “Fortune, it seems, has seen fit to favor me.”

I rolled my eyes.

Emma gave me a questioning glance, and I shot her our old signal: He’s lying.

She nodded.

“An island full of corpses,” Emma said. “And you’re the only one who made it out. How exactly did that happen?”

“She attacked at night,” he said. “Slaughtered everyone in one fell swoop. When she started ripping hearts out, I hid under the bodies. Pretended to be dead. Luckily, it worked.”

“So much for fortune favoring the brave,” Emma muttered.

“And instead of helping your comrades, you hid like a coward,” I added.

“I-It was all I could do to survive.”

Emma leaned in. “Here’s the thing — I’m really good at knowing when someone’s lying.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

Emma smiled. She had him.

“We should go before Cora comes back,” Mulan said, standing.

Emma stood too but gave me a quick signal: Got him.

Snow was already on edge. “We need to find a new way back to Storybrooke. I only got five minutes with my husband—not to mention my grandson.”

“You have a grandson?” the man asked.

“It’s a long story,” Snow replied.

“Well, I know this land well,” the man offered. “I can guide you—”

He didn’t finish.

Emma’s dagger was suddenly at his throat.

“You’re not guiding anyone until you tell us who you really are.”

“I’m just a blacksmith,” he said quickly.

“Oh, well then,” I said sweetly, “if he says he’s just a blacksmith, we should obviously believe him. Let him go, Em.”

Emma looked at me, confused, but trusted me. She backed off.

The man relaxed.

“Thank you. I knew you wouldn’t hurt an innocent man.”

I leaned in close, whispering in his ear.

“Innocent men don’t lie.”

Then I punched him.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered, shaking out my knuckles. “That hurt.”

“Why would you do that?” Aurora gasped.

“Because when my sister says someone’s lying, she’s never wrong,” I said. “Now, if we want answers, we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

Emma got the hint and grabbed rope. Mulan helped her tie the man up. Even Snow didn’t argue.

Once he was bound, I dragged him to a clearing in the woods. We tied him to a tree, and I slapped him awake.

“Morning, sunshine. Ready to tell the truth, or sticking to the bedtime story?”

“I told you. I’m just a blacksmith.”

Emma gave a low whistle — and the forest echoed back with growls.

“You hear that?” I grinned. “That’s the sound of ogres. Hungry ones.”

“You wouldn’t—”

“Ta-ta,” I waved, turning to walk away.

“What if he’s telling the truth?” Aurora asked.

I rolled my eyes. “He’s not,” Emma said flatly.

More growls. Closer.

“Alright! You bested me,” he called. “Not many can say that.”

Emma and I turned back.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Killian Jones. But most people call me by a more colorful moniker… Hook.”

Snow checked his satchel and pulled out — yep. A hook.

“So you’re the Captain Hook?” I asked. “I’m disappointed. Where’s the long hair and ridiculous mustache?”

“I’ve never had a ridiculous mustache,” he said, almost offended.

“He’s telling the truth,” Snow confirmed.

More growls.

“You better hurry,” Emma warned. “They’re getting close.”

Hook sighed. “Cora wanted me to earn your trust, learn everything about Storybrooke. She’s planning to open a portal with the wardrobe ashes.”

“But the wardrobe’s destroyed,” Snow said.

“The enchantment remains,” Hook replied. “She’s using the ashes to create a new one.”

Emma frowned. “Now you know her plan. Can i go?”

“She killed innocent people,” Mulan said. “He helped her. Leave him.”

“Seconded,” I said. “Also still not over how lame his hook is.”

“I didn’t kill anyone!” Hook shouted. “That was Cora!”

We turned to leave again.

“Wait! You need me alive!”

Emma whirled around. “Why?”

“Because we both want the same thing — to get back to your land.”

“You’ll say anything to save yourself,” Emma said. “Why should we believe you?”

“Because I arranged transport with Cora. But if you’re more resourceful, I’m willing to switch teams.”

“How can you help?” Snow asked.

“She needs an enchanted compass to find your land. I can help you get it before she does.”

Emma looked to us. “Do we trust him?”

Snow frowned. “Sounds too good to be true.”

“Probably is,” I muttered. “You can’t trust a pirate.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Hook said.

Emma narrowed her eyes and pointed the dagger at him again.

“Then answer this — why do you want to go to Storybrooke?”

Hook’s smile faded. “To exact revenge… on the man who took my hand. Rumpelstiltskin.”

I threw up my arms. “Ha! I knew it! Ogre attack, my ass!”

Emma cut him loose — but I kept his hands tied.

“You don’t need hands to run,” I said.

We took off through the woods. At one point, I saw Hook trip and almost face-plant. Totally worth the delay

We stopped to catch our breath. Snow still looked wary.

“How do we know he’s not leading us into a trap?” she asked.

“It is a trap,” Emma said. “But we know that. We stay one step ahead.”

“And if he tries anything,” I added, “I’ll eat him.”

Emma and Snow stared at me.

“I’m kidding.”

Mostly.

We reached a massive beanstalk.

“No. No way. Tell me the compass isn’t up there.”

“It is,” Hook said.

“How do we get it?” Emma asked.

“Climb.”

“It’s not the climb that’s the problem,” Hook said. “It’s the giant at the top.”

“Great. Just great,” I muttered. “Why couldn’t it be buried somewhere normal?”

The beanstalk loomed above us. Way taller than it looked in the stories.

“This is freakier than I remember,” Emma said.

“It reminds me of death,” said Mulan.

“Encouraging,” Snow muttered.

“Well, your compass awaits. Shall we?” Killian asked, gesturing toward the towering beanstalk.

Emma squinted up at it. “Wait—if these beans create portals, why not just pick one and go home? Why the compass?”

“Because there aren’t any more beans,” Killian said. “Whatever story you think you know, my dear, is most certainly wrong.”

“There was a guy named Jack and a cow, and something about evil giants with a treasure and a golden goose… or was it a harp?” Emma said.

“I think it was a harp,” I added, half-remembering.

Killian chuckled. “Sounds like a lovely tale. But the truth’s a little more gruesome. The giants grew the beans, but instead of using them for good, they used them to plunder all the lands. Jack and his men fought a terrible war, defeating all but one of the giants. The beans were destroyed by the giants as they died. If they couldn’t have the magic, then nobody could. Certainly very bad form.”

“Great,” I muttered. “Another childhood story ruined by this place. I really hope the one about Red Riding Hood is still true.”

Everyone turned to stare at me.

“What? It was one of my favorites growing up. Girl comes home, finds out the wolf ate her grandma. Wolf dresses up as grandma—badly, might I add—girl miraculously has functioning eyes, outsmarts said dumb wolf, and a hunter shows up to chase him off. The end.”

“Ruby would never eat Granny! Who would even come up with that?” Snow said sharply.

“Wait—Ruby? As in the waitress from Granny’s?” I blinked.

“Ruby is a werewolf,” Snow replied. “So was Granny.”

I stopped walking.

“Wait, what? Granny was a werewolf?”

Emma smirked. “Yup.”

“Well damn. I guess that’s actually cooler than the fairytale. Not mad about it.”

“Getting back on track,” Emma said, turning toward Killian, “so evil giants made magic portal beans. Why doesn’t anyone just go up there and grow some more?”

“Because one giant survived,” Killian said, voice low. “The strongest and most terrible of them all. And now we’ll have to get past him to—”

“The magic compass,” Snow finished grimly.

“Indeed, the treasure remains. And amongst it is the compass. Now, it will guide us to your land. Cora has the means to open a portal with the wardrobe ashes, but she can’t find your land without the compass. Once we get it, we steal the ashes from her, then we’re on our way,” said Killian.

“How do we know you’re not just using us to get the compass from Cora?” asked Mulan, folding her arms.

“Because you five are far safer company. All I need is a ride back. I’ll swear allegiance to whomever gets me there first,” Killian replied smoothly.

“Then we better start climbing,” said Emma.

“Um, no thank you. I like the ground,” I said, immediately turning and making a beeline for a nice flat spot. “I’ll be staying here, but I’ll cheer you guys on. Mentally.”

Emma grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me toward the beanstalk.

“Not a chance. If we’re all going, so are you,” she said firmly.

At this point, I’m seriously considering just not wearing a shirt if it means she’ll stop yanking me into life-threatening quests.

“Right… so I may have failed to mention…” Killian interjected, “The giant enchanted the beanstalk to repel intruders.”

“Thank God!” I said, relief washing over me. “Guess we’ll just have to find another way. What a shame.”

“Not quite,” Killian said. “I managed to swipe a counter-spell from Cora. So, if you could be so kind…” He gestured to his tied-up hand with a grin.

I reluctantly walked over to release him.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said, just to piss me off.

He pulled out two bracelets. “Cora was going to accompany me, but lucky for you, I got a spare. So…” He looked at all of us with a smirk. “Which of you five lovelies shall accompany me?”

Ugh. Smug bastard.

We all looked at each other.

Well, I certainly knew it wasn’t going to be me. No thank you.

“Go on. Fight it out. And don’t be afraid to, you know, really get into it,” he added with an infuriating wink.

Now I wanted to go just so I could knock him out at the top and leave him as giant chow.

“I should be the one to go. I’m well equipped for it. How many wars have you been through?” Mulan said.

“My share,” Snow replied calmly.

“It should be me,” said Aurora.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? You? The most delicate one of us? Princess, when was the last time you even climbed something?”

Mulan joined in. “You haven’t fought in a battle.”

“This is about us getting home to our loved ones. Why would you—” Snow began, but Aurora interrupted.

“Because I have no loved ones. If I fail, you can still go on.”

The group fell silent.

“Enough,” Emma cut in. “Alex and I will go. And we are not going to fail.”

“Exactly—wait, I don’t get a say in this?” I asked, looking between them.

“No, you don’t. Where I go, you go,” Emma said, tossing my own words back at me.

I groaned. “Ugh, that stupid motto has only gotten me into situations I never asked for. But fine. Cool. Great. Love it. What’s the worst that can happen, right?”

“No offense,” Snow said gently, “but you two are new here.”

“It’s about getting back to Henry. I don’t care what I have to face,” Emma said, not backing down.

She waited, watching Snow for an argument, but none came.

“You’re not going to argue with me?” she asked.

“Would it do any good?” Snow asked.

“No,” Emma replied.

“Well,” I sighed, “guess our fates are sealed. Mulan, got anything in that magical black bag of yours that might help us against a giant?”

Mulan pulled me aside and handed me a white bottle. “This powder is made from poppies. He has to inhale it.”

I tucked it in my pocket just as Emma joined us.

“Your sword—how strong is it?” Emma asked.

“The most powerful blade in all the realms,” said Mulan with pride.

“What about Excalibur?” I interjected.

Mulan rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. Second strongest.”

“Doesn’t matter. Is it strong enough to cut through the beanstalk?” Emma asked.

“Indeed,” Mulan nodded.

“Give us ten hours. If we’re not back… cut it down. Keep going.”

“Snow won’t like that,” Mulan said.

“Snow won’t like that. I won’t like that. I did not agree to this, Emma!” I protested.

Emma turned to me. “Just trust me. We will be back. I don’t want to risk the giant coming down… or Killian getting away without us.”

“You always say ‘trust me,’ but it’s hard when that trust might get me squashed like a bug.”

“Alex, please. When have I ever let you down?”

I gave her a look. One that said: Really? You want to go there?

“Okay, fair,” she admitted. “But come on. Just one chance. Please, Alex.”

“Fucking hell. Fine. I’ll go. What’s the worst that can happen, right?”

“Thank you,” she smiled.

“Whatever. You owe me if we make it back alive.”

“Deal.”

She turned back to Mulan. “So… will you do it?”

“I will. You two better be back here.”

“We will. But if we don’t… get Snow home.”

Mulan nodded.

“Ladies,” Killian interrupted. “In this world, we are slaves to time. And ours is running out. In other words… tick tock.”

Emma and I walked toward him.

“I was hoping it would be you two,” he said with a grin.

“Just get on with it,” Emma snapped.

He attached the bracelets to our wrists. “This will allow you to climb, but there are other dangers. Thankfully, you’ve got each other to protect—”

“I’ll need my hook.”

Emma and I exchanged looks.

“I can’t climb one-handed, can I?”

“Well,” I said, smiling sweetly, “now’s a great time to learn.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Emma took the hook out and handed it to him. “Don’t think I’m taking my eyes off you for a second.”

“I would despair if you did,” he said smoothly.

“Let’s go,” Emma said, and we all turned to face the towering beanstalk.

God help me.

——————————————————————————————————-

I look down to see how much we’ve climbed. Oh God, do I regret it. I’m never doing this again, I said to myself. Fuck our stupid motto saying. And, of course, Killian just had to open his big mouth.

“First beanstalk—you never forget your first. You know, most men would take your silence as off-putting, but I love a challenge,” said Killian.

I just ignored him and continued climbing, leaving him with Emma.

“I’m concentrating,” I hear Emma say.

“No, you’re afraid. Afraid to talk, to reveal yourself, to trust me. Things would be a lot smoother if you did,” he said.

“You should be used to people not trusting you,” said Emma, continuing to climb, catching up to me.

“Ah, the pirate thing. Well, I don’t need you to share. You’re something of an open book,” said Killian, trying to keep up.

“Am I?” questioned Emma.

“Quite. Let’s see—you volunteered to come up here because you were the most motivated,” he said.

“That’s not perception—that’s eavesdropping,” said Emma.

“Ah, you volunteered her as well. Guessing that’s your sister, seeing as how you both somewhat look similar—which leads me to think you don’t want to abandon the people closest to you the way you were abandoned,” he said.

“Was I?” Emma said.

I’m not going to lie, he’s not wrong. Who knew Captain wannabe had a brain after all.

“I spent many years in Neverland, home of lost boys. And they all share the same look in their eyes—the look you get when you’ve been left alone,” he said.

“Well, my world isn’t Neverland,” Emma says.

“But once an orphan, always an orphan. Love has been all too rare in your lives, hasn’t it?” said Killian.

I kick a stone to his forehead while Emma angrily climbs away from him.

When we reach the top, before I ask if she’s okay, she nods and just takes a look around. I know what Killian said affected her, but I do know Emma—she’ll just sweep it under the bus, masking her emotions when she really wears them on her sleeve.

“What happened here?” she asks.

“It was where the final battle was,” said Killian, making it to the top.

I roll my eyes at him and take a look around, seeing the top of the beanstalk wrap around a castle-like structure.

I turn around to see Emma and Hook having a moment.

“If you two are quite done with whatever this is, what’s the plan?” I said.

“We were not having a moment,” said Emma, still not snatching her hand away from Hook’s.

“I think we were having a moment, love. No need to be embarrassed,” said Killian, tying what looks like a piece of cloth around her hand.

“The plan is to wait for the giant to fall asleep. When he does, we’ll sneak past him into his cave. That’s where the treasure is—and where the compass lies,” said Killian, finishing the cloth with his teeth, looking up at Emma.

“And then what?” I asked, already fed up with this display.

“We run like hell,” said Killian.

“We don’t have time to wait for a giant to fall asleep. The powder Mulan gave us—we need to use it. We’ve gotta knock him out,” said Emma firmly.

“That’s riskier,” Killian argued.

“Than waiting for a giant to fall asleep when we need him to?” Emma shot back.

“She’s right—it’s better to use the powder. Plus, less time to witness whatever this is,” I said, gesturing at the two of them.

“You wound me, lass. But I see your point.” Then he turned to Emma. “You’re quite a tough lass. You’d make one hell of a pirate,” Killian said, motioning for Emma to lead the way.

“Who’s Milah?” asked Emma, seeing Killian’s tattoo.

“Someone from long ago,” said Killian, his smile flat.

“Where is she?” asked Emma.

“She’s gone,” said Killian, walking away.

“Gold,” said Emma.

“Rumple—he’s the reason she’s gone,” said Emma.

“Man, he really fucked up your life, didn’t he? That’s why you’re going to kill him,” I said, feeling sad for the captain.

“For people who’ve never been in love, you’re quite perceptive, aren’t you?” said Killian.

I take it back—I don’t feel sad for him at all.

“You don’t know us, Captain. Let me tell you something about your perception—it’s as shaky as a wooden ship in a storm,” I said angrily, walking ahead without waiting for the others.

——————————————————————————————————–

SHORT EMMA POV:

“Alex… Look, Killian, maybe I have been in love. Once,” I said softly, the words almost catching in my throat.

Killian’s expression shifted—no smirk this time, just a brief, thoughtful pause. “I’m sorry, lass, Milah is a top subject for me—but I can’t believe grumpy over there has ever been in love,” he said, nodding toward Emma with a hint of seriousness.

I shot him a look. “She isn’t usually like this—being she’s had a rough couple of days and she yearns for someone who I don’t think will ever love her,” I said sadly, the weight of that truth hanging in the air between us.

Killian’s eyes gleamed with mischief again. “Oh? And who has captivated our dear Grumps over there?” he asked, nodding toward Emma.

I glanced back at Alex, walking just ahead of me, her expression guarded but thoughtful. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you?” I said, feeling the sting of the secret I was carrying.

“Try me,” Killian challenged, his tone daring.

“The Evil Queen,” I confessed quietly, my voice almost a whisper.

Killian blinked, shaking his head in disbelief. “Did you inhale some of that rum I poured on your hand, lass?” he joked, his usual sharp wit breaking through.

“I wish I did, but no,” I said with a small smile. “My sister’s heart has been captured by the Evil Queen. Love at first sight,” I added, glancing back at the moment where I first saw the spark in Alex’s eyes—though I doubted Alex even recognized it herself then.

“Well, I did not see that one coming,” Killian said, scratching the back of his head, clearly caught off guard.

“Just don’t tell Alex,” I warned, a little protective. “She thinks it’s just a simple crush, but I think it’s more.” I paused, then added firmly, “Anyway, let’s go. We’ve got a mission to finish.”

Killian chuckled and gave a nod of agreement, the moment of levity easing the tension as we pressed onward.

—————————————————————————————————-

I just want to take a moment to sincerely thank each and every one of you for sticking with me through the rough patches at the beginning of this book. Your patience and support mean the world to me. I promise I’ll be going back soon to make some improvements to those early chapters.Also, a huge thank you for all the votes and encouragement you’ve given me,it truly keeps me motivated. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! 

-Doc

P.S: Longest chapter I’ve ever written but worth it got all I wanted down. Tell me what you think. I might update again later today or early tomorrow.