The Night Before
The Nazgul were busy.
While their Master was currently indulging in some rather earthly pursuits, Morgul had been given orders on how he and his brothers were to expend their time while Sauron was indisposed. For all its technical wonder and decided lack of moral fibre, there was never any doubt in Morgul's mind that they would use the magic that had brought them here to return to the Third Age. As always, Sauron had revealed that he was always one step ahead of everyone by the secret enchantment he had placed upon the One Ring.
The fools at the Black Gate mostly likely believed that he and the Nine had been destroyed when that cursed hobbit reached Mount Doom. Little did they realise that it was only the prelude to the final battle that would see the end of all they knew. For even with the unmasking of Isildur's heir and unification of the Western lands in an unprecedented show of strength, Mordor's forces were strong. The defeat at Pelennor was a temporary victory for the enemy.
Mordor's forces were ten thousand strong on the plains of Gorgoroth and if not for the destruction of the One Ring; the rabble would not have breached the Black Gate, let alone reach the tower of Bara-dur.
However, the One Ring was now back with its Master and everything had changed.
While his physical manifestation in the flesh especially as a human, was an affront to the Maiar he was, it was assumed with design. It was because of the Valar whose assault upon Sauron had kept their Master from taking on a pleasing shape that had abetted the decision to be born again as a human. In the past, they knew his use of beauty had tricked many as he had done in Numenor. Sauron's choice of human was strategic. In a human shell, the Valar could not act against him as Eru had decreed that they may not affect the fate of men. Only Eru had the power to act.
Their present circumstances had proved as Morgul had always known, that Sauron was for nothing the greatest of the Maiar. He knew how to shape his own destiny. While Morgoth had been a creature of instinct, lashing out to fulfil his own theme in the Great Music, it was Sauron who applied the intricate machinations to Morgoth's war against the Valar that caused the most damage.
Now, Sauron would go back to Middle Earth and launch an assault so devastating that the world of men would never recover. It would send the elves hurrying back to their island sanctuaries like frightened old men and the dwarves huddling in the deep places of the world to be forever forgotten. However before they left this modern world, their Master bade them acquire some supplies first.
After all, it was the height of rudeness to return from a sojourn without some gifts; even Sauron recognised the forms. Of course, the gifts he intended to give the kings of the Western lands, would not at all be pleasant or trifling.
Astride their newly metamorphosed winged beasts, four of the Nine flew beyond the borders of Storybrooke. The curious enchantment that held the citizens of the little community trapped within their borders had little effect on the Nazgul. That spell was bound with magic that did not originate from this world that was but one of the many Eru had crafted, like sheets of glass, each one upon the other.
The Nazgul however, were of this world.
One hundred thousand years removed perhaps but this Earth had once been Arda. To all of the Nine and even Sauron, this was their home even if they were displaced in time. When Morgul, Khamul, Indur and Dwaw left the principality of Storybrooke, they noticed the barrier like a man would notice an insect crawling on his hand a second before he swatted it away.
Once past it, they had little difficulty finding what they needed.
The town of Wells was 3000 people strong, a collection of homes that made up a small coastal fishing village. It was located perhaps 30 miles from Storybrooke and if not for the magical barrier that separated the two communities, the thick national forest would have done the job as effectively. The Nazgul did not waste time with subtleties when they arrived in town. They had chosen the cover of darkness to make their approach from the sky but once on the ground, they were immediately noticed.
The streets were quiet when four of the winged beasts landed in the middle of the road. Tyres screeched as what cars were on the road at the time, swerved sharply to avoid the creatures that had suddenly appeared in front of them. What the beasts were had yet to register on the drivers, only the danger of obstacle. One car was unable to correct and slammed into a lamppost, driving its engine into the steering mechanism to the fatal consequence of its driver. Another crashed into a parked van on the side of the road while another scraped over the kerb and then climbed over it.
People were uttering cries of shock and horror, first at the sight of the creatures and the beings mounted on their backs and then later at the carnage of metal caused by the cars. Some were scattering, running off the streets while some went fearlessly to deal with the crash victims. There were a few who remained, watching in horrid fascination as the reptilian creatures in the middle of the street, snapping at them in annoyance.
Oh my God! Dementors! Someone shouted as the Nazgul dismounted.
The more religious had more different ideas. It’s Death! The Grim Reaper!
Morgul did not even bother to offer correction. The fear inspired was satisfactory enough.
*******
It had been, until then, a quiet evening at Norm's Gun & Ammo Shop.
Bobby Rayburn had been watching the antics of Tim Allen in Last Man Standing, thinking that it was good to have a TV show that didn't waste time with all the time touchy-feely crap that was a staple of most family sitcoms. Mike Baxter knew how things were and wasn't afraid to say what the rest of America was thinking, the part that hadn't been silenced by liberal television.
Much of Bobby's viewpoint was a product of his Arkansas upbringing. His mother had moved out here six years ago and Bobby hated it fierce. It was too far from his dad and people here were tree-hugging assholes who squirmed when you talked about hunting but still had no problem digging into a steak as if the cows died in their sleep. He was twenty years old and was saving up to get back to Arkansas and the only reason he hadn't gone yet was that Norm was a good guy and feeling poorly. He'd be back on his feet in a few months and then Bobby was gone from this Podunk town.
He'd been watching television in the backroom, occasionally glancing at the security cameras to satisfy himself that he heard no one coming in through the front doors without notice even though there was a motion sensor that would buzz if someone did. Thus, instead of witnessing what was happening in the street from the front counter, he had completely missed the excitement.
The doors slid open but the alarm did not sound, the sensors detected no one passing through the threshold. Bobby glanced at the CCTV just in time to see something black sweeping the edge of the screen. He rose to his feet and went to investigate because, in a gun store, carelessness could end up with you having a really bad day.
What he found standing at the front counter made him do a double-take. For a moment, he thought it was a bunch of kids screwing around but there was something about the four hooded figures that invited caution. He couldn’t quite place and the room had gotten cold. He wondered if the thermostat was busted.
“What do you freaks want?” He demanded, eyeing the drawer behind the counter where Norm’s 9 mm was kept. “Bit early for Halloween ain’t it?” He asked casually but the tension in his voice was there. Maybe they were here to rob the place.
The hooded figure turned to him with bright red eyes that seemed to bore right into his brain and hissed. “Weapons. All of them.”
*******
Shortly before dawn, Bobby Rayburn had finished emptying the store of all its contents.
The dark angel had promised him everything, riches beyond his dreaming, an adventure that would take him far away from this dull existence and power to make all his thoughts of the way the world functioned, happen. Bobby had listened to its promises, felt the ideas taking hold of his brain and in the depths of those red eyes, he saw possibilities he thought was beyond his to ever entertain.
All he had to do was to load the truck and drive it to someplace called Storybrooke.
“I don’t know where this Storybrooke is,” he explained once his labour was complete. Norm’s truck was loaded with every bit of stock he could cram in there. The truck was so heavy its tyres felt like they were flattened against the tar from the weight of them. Guns, grenades, rounds and rounds of ammo. Assault rifles and handguns, the dark angel had no preference and wanted it all. It's for a great war, beyond this world and he would be a general in it if he helped them.
Bobby liked the sound of that.
It was easy for Morgul to influence the young man called Bobby, who was now truly under the sway of the Nazgul. A weak mind already mired in the fantasy of a better life without the will to achieve it, it had taken a slight use of power to capture him the Nazgul’s thrall. Once the store had been emptied, it was time to leave. Other plans were in motion that the rest of the Nine were attending to and their Master demanded haste.
“I don’t know where this Storybrooke is,” Bobby insisted as they stood next to the truck, currently in the loading dock at the rear of the store. “Never heard of it.”
Of course not, Morgul thought. The community had existed in stasis behind its enchanted wall, ensuring that those who were not welcome did not see it when they drove through. He withdrew a short dagger from his robes and did not give the young man time to react before inflicting a sharp slash across the mortal's arm. He squealed like a stuck pig even though the cut was not deep and once again, Morgul had to wonder at the fortitude of the breed. Is this what happens to humankind without the power of Mordor? Do men become a race of soft-bellied weaklings?
"Why do you that!" Bobby cried out, clutching his arm. "I was helping you!'
The blight upon the wound was quick to appear. Dark veins ran across his flesh and through his blood. In a short time, he would see the world in an entirely different light, in shadow.
"You will live," Morgul answered indifferently. "You will take this vehicle and follow us to the town thirty miles north."
"There's no town!" Bobby complained, wincing at the pain that though bad was not intolerable. "Just a lot of trees!!"
"There is a town and you will now be able to see it," Morgul reiterated, resisting the urge to kill the fool but was painfully aware he was needed. This world was still new to the Nine and they needed vassals to help guide them through it. Morgul would bide his time until they no longer needed him and then it would be Morgul’s pleasure to remove this troublesome weakling once and for all.
It was now time to return to Storybrooke.
********
Robin knew he shouldn’t be doing this.
After he’d left the Charming’s apartment, he knew the sensible course should have been to head back to the camp and be with Marian and Roland. However, what he’d heard from Snow had driven the rational from his mind and all he could think of was Regina fucking a monster to get back at him for still being married. Of course, he was also aware that had Emma not gone back in time and retrieved Marian, Regina would have killed her in that dungeon.
A part of him was furious to learn just how his wife had originally met her end and at who’s hand had it been. Marian’s miraculous survival had not changed the years of anguish and guilt he had felt after believing her dead, especially when he didn’t know and thought that he might be responsible. And yet even as he thought all this; Robin was faced with the fact that Regina had done all these things as the Evil Queen. A person, he was convinced no longer existed.
She had saved Roland in the Enchanted Forest and since they had become close, she’d seen the real love she had for the boy. That person could not be the same one who had cursed the land or been responsible for so much suffering. with years of anguish before voice inside that was still very much love with her reminded him that she had done those things as the Evil Queen. One good deed was not redemption for a lifetime of cruelty but it blunted Robin's anger.
Regina was a different person now and God help him, he still loved her.
Even if she was with this Stephen. As he took the now-familiar path to Regina's mansion, his mind was filled with images of her body locked in lover’s embrace with a serpent who was leading her away from the strong, compassionate woman she'd become. The idea of some else being with her instead of him made Robin sick to his stomach and when the disgust had evaporated, only blind fury was left behind. The rage bubbled up inside him, not only at her but at himself because he had no idea how to resolve this situation between them.
All the way to Regina's, the only plan he had was to convince her not to throw away everything she’d won for herself because of a broken heart. He had to make her listen before it was too late.
Robin walked up the same red brick path that Snow had travelled earlier, his eyes fixed on the front door of Regina's luxurious mansion, thinking that it was only days ago, he had been welcomed inside as the keeper of her heart. How quickly things changed, he thought glumly as he stepped onto the porch and went to knock on the door and then remembered that you didn’t knock in this odd world. It made him miss Sherwood even more. Ringing the doorbell, he heard the chime echoing through the house and turned to face the street as he rehearsed what his plea when they were finally faced to face.
There were people who cared about her, he would say, not to mention Henry. Even if he could not be a lover to her, he would still be a friend to her. He could give her that much...
"You got to be kidding me," he heard a voice declare in disbelief behind him. "What are you doing here?"
Robin spun around and saw Regina standing at her front door, pulling the edge of her robe to cover her exposed shoulder before tugging at the belt to fasten it more securely around her waist. Her hair was dishevelled while her lips were slightly swollen and there were bruises that look very much like bites along her shoulder and lower. His jaw tightened as he recognised all the signs of passionate lovemaking and reminded himself that he had no right to be jealous, that he needed to remain calm and not make things worse.
"I came to see you," Robin said clearing your throat. "I wanted to see how you were."
"Oh really?" Regina glared at him sceptically, "and I supposed it had nothing to do with Snow finding out that Stephen stayed here last night?"
"No," he lied, feigning ignorance not wishing to worsen the relationship between Regina and Snow by his presence here. "Did he? Did he stay here last night?" He tried to look over her shoulder and see inside the house.
"That is none of your business!" Regina exclaimed with outrage, her cheeks burning hot as she noticed that her neighbours on the street were looking to see the cause of the commotion. Not that she feared or cared for the reaction but she had no desire to air her private business to the whole of Storybrooke either.
"Get in here!" She snapped and widened the door enough for him to enter.
Robin stepped inside, his gaze immediately searching for Stephen as he stood in the foyer and was disappointed that he could not tell if the man was present. Not that he had much opportunity to be sure as he heard the door slam behind him and turned to face Regina whose expression was stormy. He reminded himself that she was a powerful witch who could strike him down where he stood and for once, he wouldn’t blame her for the kill.
"What I do with Stephen or anyone else is none of your business or has your marital status changed in the last day?" She demanded, eyes blazing.
“No," Robin returned unable to meet her gaze, aware that he was on shaky ground. "However, I am not here as your former..."
"You were my former nothing," she said coldly.
As soon as the words left her lips, Regina regretted it instantly. Robin didn't speak but the hurt that flooded his eyes spoke to the love he had for her, still had for her. But not enough to leave Marian, Regina thought. In truth, she wasn’t certain she wanted him to abandon his wife, knowing what it would do to little Roland who deserved to have both his parents. That little boy meant as much to her as his father and Regina didn’t have it in her heart to see him hurt.
"That may be true," Robin replied quietly a few seconds after he’d recovered, unable to refute her words. His sadness permeated deeper than skin and he added, "But I am still your friend. I don't want you to do anything you might regret because you're angry with me or because you think that destiny requires you to love someone because of the tattoo."
"What tattoo?" A decidedly male voice asked and Robin looked up to catch his first glimpse of Stephen.
Of course, Sauron knew exactly what was being discussed when he descended the stairs and eyes Regina’s guest. Furthermore, he was curious to meet this potential rival for Regina’s hand and was more amused then he was threatened. In truth, Sauron was more interested in seeing how Robin would attempt to sway Regina back on him when his argument was built on such uneasy foundations.
"You know what tattoo," Robin accused as he approached the man, feeling his rage escalating at the fact that Stephen was dressed in jeans and little else, giving him no doubt as to what he and Regina had been doing before Robin had interrupted them. "The tattoo you're wearing is to trick her into making Regina think you're one true love."
"There is a tattoo that does all this?" Stephen asked, looking at Regina who appeared decidedly uncomfortable.
"Its nothing," she shrugged it off. "The tattoo has nothing to do with it." Regina insisted defensively. “Do you think that I’m that gullible? Robin, you need to leave, now.” She emphasized the last word with a hint of warning.
Robin ignored her and aimed his words at Stephen. "The tattoo belongs to the man who is Regina's one true love," he raised his hand and revealed the lion emblazoned on his wrist to show the enemy. "Like this."
"I see," Stephen remarked as he reached the foot of the steps and then raised his hand. "Or like this."
"You are using it as a way to trick her!" Robin snapped, aware that he was sounding desperate. He turned to Regina and implored, "Regina, you have to know that he isn't your true love. Not after what we were to each other. I held your heart."
"And then proceeded to shatter it," Stephen reminded smugly. "And how can you be her true love when you have a wife? I am not mistaken about that, am I? I fail to understand your purpose here when you are clearly unwilling to choose Regina over your family and yet you begrudge her the chance to know happiness? Is it your design to allow her to pine indefinitely for you while you do what? Use her as your mistress?"
"Go to hell!" Robin whirled around to throw a punch when Stephen's hand shot up and caught his balled fist.
“STOP IT!” Regina shouted, not wanting this scene to get any worse than it already was. “ROBIN!”
“I could kill you so easily for your insult to my Queen,” Stephen said glaring at Robin. “I have done far worse in my time then end you but your fate is Regina’s to decide. I will only warn you that this is the only time you will get an attempt to strike me. The next time, nothing will stop me from killing you.”
“Stephen let him go!” Regina implored. “Just let him go.” She could use magic to pry them apart but she didn’t think it was necessary. “Robin, please leave. You’ve said what you came to say and I’m telling you, it's over. Go home to your family. They need you more than I do.”
The man’s grip was like steel and Robin had no doubt that if this Stephen chose to crush his hand like kindling, he would do so with ease. When Stephen released him, the force of it sent Robin staggering backwards. He cast his eyes towards Regina but she looked away, unable to meet his gaze. He’d gambled and lost.
“This isn’t over,” he told Stephen.
“I’m certain it isn’t,” Stephen returned with confidence.
“Enough the both of you,” Regina snapped and opened the door for Robin. “You need to leave now. Don't come back here again Robin. We’ve said all we’re going to say to each other.”
Robin opened his mouth to speak and thought better of it. Instead, he left them both behind, stepping out into the sunlight but still feeling cold as death within.
When he was out, Regina shut the door behind him and took a moment to compose herself. Looking up, she saw Stephen’s hard expression had softened and he approached her slowly,
“Are you alright?” He asked gently.
“I’m fine,” Regina answered, finding herself walking into his open arms. “I wish he would get it in his head that it's over between us.”
“You are difficult to forget my lady,” Stephen replied but he detected a trace of doubt in her voice that troubled him. He wished he could have killed the fool for shaking the painstaking work of convincing her to come with him to Mordor. He would have to hasten his plans so that they could leave here sooner rather than later.
**********
It was weird being back in school again, Henry Mills thought as he stared out the window, wishing that on a day like this where it was nice and sunny, he could be on Captain Hook’s boat, playing at being a pirate. instead of being trapped indoors.
Henry had liked the Captain before Emma and he had decided to get together. The man didn’t treat him like a kid and took the time to explain things to him. Henry especially liked listening to Hook telling him about his dad and not for the first time, the stories helped Henry feel a little closer to father he had lost not long ago. When his mom, being Regina, had given him true love’s kiss to make him remember who he’d been after the second Curse had stolen his memories, it was to Hook that Henry had gone to after he’d realised his father was dead.
Henry knew Emma was hurt enough losing his dad and if she suspected just how devastated he was, he just knew she’d feel worse. So he’d gone to Hook and the Captain had put an arm around him and told him that his tears were precious and he shouldn’t be ashamed to express them. They’d sat on the dock for the rest of afternoon, talking about his dad and the adventures Neal had embarked upon with Hook during his time on the Jolly Roger.
In the background, he heard the teacher, Ms Eglantine Price, continue to drone about George Washington at Valley Forge and wondered who she’d been in the Enchanted Forest. More importantly, how’d she known so much about American history? One of the many mysteries about the curse, he decided. Thinking about the Curse made him think about his mom and whether or not he should drop by the mansion to see her. He was still pretty worried about her what with Emma bringing back Marian.
Henry understood that saving Marian had been necessary but he hated that the result had been his mom’s heart being broken again. Evil Queen or not, Regina was his mom and always would be; no matter how much he thought of Emma. He was still ruminating on all this when he heard screams suddenly erupting from the hallway outside his classroom.
“Children, stay in your seats!” Ms Price ordered as she looked up startled by the commotion. The class began to rumble uncomfortably as Ms Price hurried out the door and uttered a sharp cry of fright that turned the room into complete pandemonium.
Something was happening, Henry thought quickly and reached for his backpack to get his cell phone. Emma had always made sure he carried one in case of emergency. After the last few weeks in Storybrooke, Emma had become even more paranoid about it, convinced something was going to snatch him away as Pan had done months before. He no sooner started to dial her number when the door to his classroom swung open and hit the wall with a loud bang.
The phone dropped from his hands when he saw the three cloaked figures enter the room. The other kids were cowering now, too terrified to speak in the presence of these nightmarish characters. They were tall, wearing dark robes and had eyes that glowed red. His classmates were unable to cope and the cries of terror in his ears almost reached fever pitch. Henry watched the hooded men approach him, thinking to himself that they looked like the Dementors from those Harry Potter books.
“You are the son of the Queen,” one of the hooded figures hissed. Its voice made Henry’s skin crawl.
“No, I’m just Henry,” he said, trying not to give away his identity. Unfortunately, this was a moot point and his soon to be abductors were far ahead of him on that front.
“This is the boy,” the Nazgul declared to its two brothers who turned to Henry with gleaming eyes. “Take him.”
It was a sobering thing to know that even after all this time, he could still feel fear.
The events of the last few months had reminded him most starkly that he was not as strong as he believed and that there were still enemies in the world that gave him, the Dark One, a reason to be vigilant. The danger of complacency was a bitter lesson to learn and he swore that he would never again be caught by surprise. Not after he’d lost Bae. Not when he could also lose Belle or Henry, his last connection to his son.
In the days following Bae’s passing and Zelena’s death, Mr Gold aka Rumpelstiltskin had spent days reflecting on the events of his incarceration at the witch’s hands and realised that he'd spent half of his life being afraid of one thing or another. Before becoming the Dark One, he was always helpless against the will of others, usually, those who were stronger or crueller with words than he. Zelena had just been the latest in a long line of bullies that had been the bane of his existence.
Year ago, he should have fought in the Ogre Wars but instead allowed a Seer to prey on his fear of dying when it would have been simpler to ride into battle not knowing that the end was coming. The fear of death and leaving his family abandoned had driven him to hobble himself to avoid the battle and to this day, he still questioned whether or not it was done for them or himself. Whatever the answer, the choice had set in motion a lifetime of shame and regret though at the time he did not know its true cost yet. He did not know that one act of cowardice would lead to the loss of everything he held dear, one piece at a time.
In the end, the taste of humiliation became too much for him and claiming the dagger of the Dark One had transformed into a new creature that gave him the means for vindication. At first, it had seemed like justice, making the torment he’d suffered at the hands of so many bullies seem insignificant by comparison. It had been good to be able to fight back, to be strong enough to demand retribution from all those who had to spend years grounding his dignity into the dirt because he was weak and because they could.
In the years following his transformation, Rumpelstiltskin’s use of power became less about justice and more achieving his own selfish ends. Until Bae had been lost and the only way to get him back was to create a complex tapestry of manipulation and lies so that they could be united again. Like the straw he turned into gold, Rumpelstiltskin had made the people of the Enchanted Forest twist and turn, made them beg for their lives or do anything for a favour.
And no one could stop him.
No one in the Enchanted Forest was his equal; not Regina nor Maleficent, not even Cora. His absolute power had made him forget that he had begun his life as an abandoned son and then a weakling with the bad leg who had earned his wife's contempt and lost his son. Until Zelena took his dagger and reminded him that there were always bullies, no matter how strong you were.
He'd watched her kill Bae and was unable to do nothing to stop it. His boy, for whom he had altered the course of so many destinies, had died trying to restore him unaware that the caveat for such a resurrection was a life for a life. Rumpelstiltskin would never have allowed him to make the sacrifice but with Zelena’s machinations, it had come to pass. The woman had laughed at his anguish, thinking that a spell would be enough to make him forget what she had done, underestimating a grieving father’s fury.
Even while Regina was extolling the virtues of giving her a second chance, Rumpelstiltskin knew that there would be no such thing. There were some sins that were beyond forgiveness.
Now he was faced with another enemy with the power to eclipse his own. This Sauron was a dark god, of that Rumpelstiltskin, had no doubt and he feared Sauron hadn’t even unleashed all of his power upon them yet. As it was, Rumpelstiltskin had barely managed to hold his own during their earlier battle and in sustained combat, he was uncertain if he could win. It was the first time Rumpelstiltskin had faced such an opponent or had been forced into a position to fight in this way. He was starting to suspect that the only way to defeat Sauron was with the help of the Saviour and Regina.
If Regina was still willing to help them.
"What are you looking for?" Belle asked when she found him rummaging through the closet inside his study.
The house suffered no lasting damage from the battle the night before. Gold had repaired the damage to the kitchen and for the most part, their home had returned it to some semblance of normal though neither of them was now in the mood for honeymooning. For her part, Belle was still shuddering inwardly at what it had felt like to handle Sauron’s Ring because even at his darkest moments; she had never felt that kind of evil around Rumpelstiltskin.
"Well," Gold answered, not looking up at her as he continued his search, displacing objects he hadn’t seen in some time. "When Emma was telling us the story of how she was trapped in the past, she mentioned she opened the portal home by using a wand that I'd presented to her, a wand capable of recreating any magic wielded. So if we want to send this Sauron back to wherever it is he came from, we could use it to recreate whatever spell he used to come through in the first place.”
"Could it be at the shop?" She asked helpfully, having spent enough time after Rumpel's 'death' cataloguing the pawn shop's contents to develop a good idea of its inventory.
"No its here," he insisted, "I usually keep my more exotic trinkets here."
"By exotic you mean dangerous?" She looked at him sardonically, more than accustomed to how he liked to frame things to their least understated value.
Gold let out a short chuckle and glanced over his shoulder, giving Belle a look of affection at her insight. "Yes, I mean dangerous," he admitted. "These objects came with me from our land but have no place in this world. I felt it best to keep the more dangerous objects close to home so they don't become misplaced." He lifted rather ugly looking marble statue and golden urn out of the space, creating a small pile behind him before he delved deeper into the closet.
"Here it is," he exclaimed finally and seemed to disappear into the closet's darkness before emerging from the shadows a few seconds later, cradling a thin, wooden box.
"Rumple, you don't think that Regina will really help this Sauron will you?" Belle asked, having retreated to the desk, leaning against it so she wasn't hovering while he'd been conducting his excavation.
Gold got to his feet, holding the box as if it were something precious. "I can't say, Dearie," he said meeting her gaze as he carried the polished box towards the desk. "Regina has always been a creature who is a slave to her passions. If it's not love, its hatred. After the turn, Emma gave her by bringing back Robin's wife, I can understand why she might be angry enough to turn against us."
Belle frowned, not liking that idea at all. By definition, she had to feel sorry for Regina if she could forgive Rumpel for all of his transgressions. It wasn't always easy to forgive someone who had locked her away for decades but Belle reminded herself that Regina had saved them all by defeating Zelena. For that, Belle was able to muster some sympathy for the woman's heartbreak.
Gold set the box down on the desktop and flipped open the lid. The wand sat against the silk lining, held in place by a groove on the floor of the box. It was smooth and black, a twisting length of ebony that looked mysterious and ominous at the same time.
"This may be our only way to send him back," he said to her and waved his hand, hiding it in a cloaking spell. It looked like he was pinching his fingertips against the air as he slid it back into his coat.
"Can you beat her if she uses her powers against us?" Belle asked, already remembering the destruction that had taken place when Rumpel was fighting Sauron in the street. If Regina had switched sides then Belle shuddered to imagine that the two of them would be capable of together. After the battle yesterday, she wasn't blind to how exhausted he'd been. Combating Sauron had taken its toll on Rumpel and he’d slept most of the night as if he needed to recharge. Combating both Sauron and Regina would drain him even worse.
"I taught her everything she knows," Gold said confidently but inwardly it was a concern. It was part of the reason he'd sought out the wand. "But not everything I know. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve but truth be told, I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. If we can rid ourselves of Sauron, Regina may come to her senses anyway and there's of course, the boy."
"Henry," Belle nodded in understanding. He was the only person in Storybrooke that Regina truly cared for. She would not hurt him by fleeing with this Sauron character to parts unknown, not after how heartbroken she had been when they had returned to the Enchanted Forest with him.
"Yes however divided her loyalties might be right now, she does love that boy. She wouldn't leave him," Gold agreed. As someone who had watched how she had raised Henry for the last thirteen years, he could say that with some confidence.
"True," Belle answered, "unless she decides to take him with her."
Belle had made the statement as an offhand remark but the minute it was uttered, Gold stiffened and he turned sharply to her not because she was wrong but because she could be right. The dark possibilities began to take root in his mind, leading Gold to places he didn't want to conceive. His relationship with Henry was still somewhat new but the boy was his grandson, his only link to Bae. Gold was bound to protect the boy as he would his son because after failing so spectacularly to save Bae from Zelena, Gold would not allow the same fate to befall Henry.
"Belle," he said quietly. "Call Emma, call her. Ask her where Henry is."
******
When Robin didn’t come back to the apartment, everyone at the table guessed where he’d gone.
Unfortunately, there was little else to be done except confronting Regina and Stephen again and Emma had guessed a third visit to the former queen would not put the woman in the mood to listen to any of them. So for the moment, it seemed like the best course of action was to do nothing. After all, Stephen wasn’t an immediate threat and his only reason for remaining in Storybrooke was to continue his odd courtship of Regina.
Emma had decided to go to work at the Sheriff's office because life in Storybrooke went on in spite of Stephen’s arrival. The second curse had brought new residents to Storybrooke and not everyone was handling the transition well. There were incidents to review and after all the magical crises they’ve been dealing with since her return to town, Emma was actually looking forward to dealing with mundane problems instead of ones involving magic, witches and time-bending spells.
“I can’t believe that with Zelena running around loose, flying monkeys attacking people and a portal to the space-time continuum opening up and threatening to change everything, people are still taking time to...” Emma glanced at the handful of incident reports and flicked through them, “commit vandalism, rob a liquor store and oh my God, there’s actually a case of public indecency here!” She stared at David and Killian in astonishment.
“Actually that was one of the Merry Men,” David explained sitting at his desk while Killian was flicking through the channels of the small portable television. “It's connected to the liquor store robbery. The guy got completely wasted on a case of Jim Beam which he’d stolen and after that, it wasn’t that far of a walk to public indecency.”
“Oh and here I thought I’d miss New York,” Emma rolled her eyes.
“I don’t understand,” Killian remarked staring at the television, watching a show where there were a dozen brides were parading in front of a man, wanting him to choose one of them for marriage.
Emma glanced up briefly from the report she was reading to see what he was watching and commented, "he's meant to pick the one who's his one true love." Great, now she was starting to talk like a romance novel.
"No, I mean why is he still there?" Killian retorted. "That many women wanting to get married to the same bloke, how does this not end without somebody getting run through?"
David chuckled at Emma's exasperated expression and then added, "just count yourself lucky that Emma didn't grow up in the Kingdom, I don't think I would have picked a pirate for my daughter's suitor."
"Oh don't worry mate," Killian replied glibly, "I would have waited until she was on the high seas and then abducted her for ransom, giving me time to charm the lady until she couldn't do without me." He threw David a smug, wicked grin.
"Yeah," Emma rolled her eyes and said with a snort. "Because that's worked really well so far."
Killian's response was a wink that made Emma smile and David wished he had a bottle of that Jim Beam about now.
Suddenly her cell phone buzzed and Emma answered without looking at the display to see who the caller was. “Hello.”
Her face turned white a second later.
“Emma, what is it?” David caught the look first and the alarm in his voice made Killian turned immediately towards her.
“Thank you,” Emma said hastily and ended the call, already getting to her feet. Her expression was grave. Looking up at her father and boyfriend, both staring at her with growing concern, she tried to gather her frantic thoughts to explain what was happening. “Its Henry. Those...those things, those Nazgul we were fighting yesterday, showed up at his school and took him.”
“Took him?” David burst out. “Took him where?”
“I think we got a bloody good idea where,” Killian retorted jumping out of the chair to follow Emma who was already making a beeline for the door.
“Regina wouldn’t do this,” Emma protested weakly, “she wouldn’t just send those creatures to grab him like that.” However, even as she said it, Emma couldn’t be positively sure of that. Everything had changed since she brought Marian back from the Enchanted Forest. Everything had changed since she’d broken Regina’s heart again.
“Where are you going?” David demanded falling in line behind Killian as they headed out of the office.
“To Regina’s!” Emma exclaimed. “There’s only one reason those things would have taken Henry, to convince Regina to go with Stephen back to where he came from.”
“Grabbing Henry is a pretty good way to force Regina’s hand,” Killian commented. Like Emma, the pirate was still willing to give the former queen the benefit of the doubt, that Henry hadn’t been abducted at her behest. Of course, if Regina had made up her mind to go with Stephen and the only thing that might give her pause was Henry, would she not try to take him?
Emma pulled out her phone from her jacket and tried to call Henry, hoping that those Nazgul creatures wouldn’t know anything about cell phones when her phone started buzzing again as she emerged into the sidewalk. This time she did look at the display in the vain hopes it might be Henry calling her but instead, it was Belle.
“Belle I can’t talk right now, those Nazgul have taken...” she trailed off as she listened to Belle’s explanation that Gold had suspicions that Stephen might come for Henry and had prompted Belle to warn her. Too late, Emma thought with a sinking feeling. Too late. “I’m heading to Regina’s...” she started to say when Belle’s words halted her in place.
Gold had another destination in mind.
******
Despite herself, Regina could not deny that Robin’s visit had shaken her.
Of course, she’d considered the possibility that Stephen’s tattoo might have nothing to do with the man she had seen in the tavern that night so many years ago. She hadn’t seen his face so she had no way of knowing that it was Robin she was seeing. Then again, Stephen had claimed to have never set foot in their land so he couldn’t be her one true love either. Of course, Tink could have been entirely wrong about which man she had brought Regina to. She could go around in circles debating the question forever but she knew there would be no answer for her.
Even if Robin was her true love, he was married to Marian. Their romance was as epic as Snow White and Prince Charming. Where in the world did it ever say that Robin Hood would run off with the Evil Queen? Nowhere, that’s what. This thing between them had been passionate and brief but ultimately doomed to tragedy. Especially if what Emma said about where she’d found Marian was true. How could he be her true love if she was the one who murdered his wife?
As she stood in the shower, allowing the hot water to wash over her skin, Regina realised it didn’t matter if Stephen didn’t have a tattoo. She knew how she felt about him. He loved her and he wanted to give her everything. Together they would make their own happy ending and if it meant that she had to let Henry go for that to happen, she’d accept it. For all the terrible things she’d done, a happy ending couldn’t come easily for her, not without baptism in fire, not without her learning how to make sacrifices. Besides, she knew in her heart Henry would be better off without her. He’d have Emma and his real family. Hell, even Rumpelstiltskin had more of a familial bond to him than she did. They were related by blood.
She was just the person he couldn’t wait to run away from to find his real mother.
With Stephen, she could have children, as many as she wanted. They’d be all her own, she wouldn’t have to share them with anyone. All she had to do was walk away from Storybrooke.
Suddenly, the shower door slid open and with a coy smile, Regina waited to feel Stephen’s hard body pressing up against hers. She wasn’t disappointed.
“I’m never going to get anything done with you around,” she smiled as she felt his lips running over a slick shoulder.
His arm coiled around her waist as he started lavishing her neck with moist, lusty kisses. “Do you object, my lady?” He teased.
“What do you think?” She asked, letting him have his way with her as she tilted her neck to the side so that he would have more access.
“I think,” he said huskily, “that we need to be leaving soon.”
Regina blinked puzzled and started to turn when suddenly, she was struck by a blast of magic so strong, she had neither time or ability to fight back. The last thing she knew before everything went black was the bathroom tiles rushing to greet her.
Stephen or rather Sauron caught Regina before she landed against the hard tiles, his grip on her body firm before he had incapacitated her. Brushing a lock of wet hair out of her face, he kissed her lips gently before sweeping her into his arms and carrying her out of the bathing cubicle. While she had been in there, he’d taken the liberty of collecting some of her belongings, gathering what she would need for her journey to Middle Earth. Once they had crossed over and she had left this all behind, she would be more amenable to what he had done. To say nothing of the fact that she’d have her beloved son at her side.
And if the boy presence made it all the easier to control her, better still.
******
While Emma and Killian drove to the farmhouse where Zelena’s stone sigil awaited them, David had gone to get Robin. If Regina had actually directed Stephen’s Nazgul to abduct Henry, they needed all the help they could get and perhaps Robin might be the one person left in Storybrooke other than Henry that might be able to reach her. If not, it was going to take all of them to fight Regina and Stephen if she had gone completely over to the enemy’s side.
Killian didn’t talk as Emma drove but he could tell by the whites of her knuckles against the steering wheel that she was a furnace about to explode. He wanted to assure her they’d get the boy back but even he knew that was a tall order at this moment. If the Crocodile believed it required all three of them to fight Stephen then what were their chances now that the queen had joined him? Worse yet, Killian could see the guilt in Emma’s eyes, the anger she was turning inward at her decision to bring Marian back. If she had left well enough alone, Regina would not have become vulnerable to someone like Stephen who had undoubtedly taken advantage of her broken heart.
“Look,” Emma declared as they neared the site of the farmhouse. “There’s a truck. What’s a truck doing there?” She asked puzzled.
“I didn’t think Stephen would even know how to helm such a vehicle,” Killian declared. “Could Regina have driven it there?”
“Yeah she could,” Emma nodded, “but why should she? What the hell do they need a truck for?”
The truck was the only thing to provide a marker for where the farmhouse had been. The violence of Stephen’s arrival had devastated the entire parcel of land and as the small car approached the vehicle, a cloud of ash and dust followed in its wake. As they closed in, Emma’s stomach hollowed at the Nazgul unloading the truck. They were carrying wooden crates out of the back tray and stacking them neatly on Zelena’s seal. There was a someone else there too, not Stephen or the nine hooded figures; a man that she did not recognise.
“Killian, do you know who that is?” She asked as she sped toward the truck.
Killian leaned forward in his seat, trying to get a better look of the person when suddenly, Stephen stepped out from behind the truck. In his arms, he was carrying Regina. She appeared to be unconscious.
“Uh Luv,” Killian started to say as he saw Stephen standing in front of them, bold as brass, appearing as if he was daring them to approach. “Maybe we should have thought this through.”
Emma was about to agree with him when suddenly Stephen stretched his hand towards them and she suddenly lost all control of the car. For a moment she thought she might have driven off a ramp that sent the vehicle lurching through the air. Instead, she had only a split second to realise that Stephen had somehow caused the vehicle to flip over. Everything inside the car that wasn’t bolted down went flying in all directions. Seat belt! She thought distantly and thanked God that she’d insisted on Killian put his on when he’d climbed in or else he’d have gone straight through the windshield.
Emma let out a short cry when she saw the ground rushing at them, trying to hang onto something as the bug landed on the ground on the driver’s side, buckling the door dangerously inward as it continued to roll. The windscreen shattered with an almost deafening crash and she was barely able to raise her arms in time to shield her face from the spray of broken glass.
“Emma!” She heard Killian call after her.
“Killian!” She called back as the car rolled once more and the roof bowed towards them both, scraping the top of her head as the metal pressed down on them. She crouched as best she could, trying to remain in place until the vehicle stopped moving. Something caught her leg and she felt a white-hot flare of pain against her ankle. She uttered a soft cry and saw Killian’s reaction. There was fear in his eyes, mostly for her, not himself. Emma supposed her own eyes mirrored a similar terror.
When the car came to a rest, it was upright once more but the bug was dented on all sides. Disorientated, Emma heard Killian’s voice in her ear and then his hands were brushing over her, removing the glass from her body.
“Swan! Are you alright?” He demanded.
Emma blinked and nodded, despite the pain in her ankle. She met his gaze and saw that he had a cut above the eye but appeared no worse for wear than that. A smear of blood ran across his forehead, presumably from where he tried to wipe it away.
“You’re bleeding...” she declared at the sight of red.
“It's just a scratch,” he dismissed it. “Are you alright? Can you move?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, wincing when she tested her ankle but the memory of why they were here returned to her like she had been splashed with cold water. “Henry!” She exclaimed and made a frantic grab for her seat belt. Her hands were still shaking from the crash but she managed to unfasten the buckle and free herself.
Trying the door, it wouldn’t open immediately, not until Emma gave it a good shove that caused a loud creak as the sounded of metal grinding against metal tore through the air before it swung open. Stumbling out of the wreck, Emma winced in pain when she put her weight down on her foot. The dull throb she had noticed earlier became the sharp spike of a sprain and she had to brace herself against the car to regain control of her balance.
Killian got out of the car and was grateful that the cut was all he had sustained from the crash when he saw the appearance of the column of amber light that suddenly sprang forth from the ground behind the truck. It was identical to the light show they’d witnessed when Zelena’s death had triggered her time travel spell.
“Emma...” he started to say but she was already ahead of him.
“HENRY!” She fairly screamed, forgetting her ankle and rushing ahead. She limped the first few steps until the horror of the situation made her forget the pain and she was running in full strides, determined to reach her son.
The crates stacked tidily on the stone sigil vanished first along with the stranger that they had seen earlier. The man and the crates blinked out of existence as if they had been disintegrated. Once gone, she started seeing the Nazgul following suit, walking into the glowing strobe of energy like death descending into the Underworld. She couldn’t see Henry yet, Emma thought as she raced forward, tears in her eyes form the pain in her foot but she didn’t care.
Suddenly as the last of the Nazgul stepped towards the portal, Emma caught sight of Henry being carried in the creature’s arm. He was unconscious and unaware of her presence which sent a fresh surge of panic through her. Was he alive? What had they done to him?
“HENRY!” She cried out again, desperate to be heard but the only reaction she got was from the Nazgul who lifted its cloaked head in her direction, allowing her to be struck by the points of its crimson eyes. It gave her no more than a split second of its time before it stepped into the portal and disappeared from this world. Henry never even knew she was there.
“NO!” Emma screamed and the intensity of her emotions caused a stray blast of magic to explode out of her, flying towards the Nazgul that had already left this reality. It passed through the column of energy impotently, having no target to strike before dissipating completely.
Stephen stepped out from behind the truck. He was carrying Regina who was in the same state of unconsciousness that Henry had been. She was wrapped in a cloak, her hair damp as if she’d just stepped out of the shower.
“Where did you take my son, you son of a bitch?” Emma demanded, more than ready to go through the portal after Henry. She was vaguely aware of Killian reaching her but her eyes were fixed only on the enemy ahead.
“I have taken him back to Middle Earth of course,” Stephen said politely, appearing not at all bothered by their presence. “He is a wedding gift to my new bride,” he said glancing at Regina who appeared serenely unaware of everything. “I suspected she might have mixed feelings about taking the boy so I decided that it should be a surprise for when she awakens at our fortress in Bara-dur.”
“Bring him back, mate!” Killian had drawn his sword, determined to fight the bastard for all the good it would do even if it gave Emma enough a second of distraction to retrieve Henry, “bring him back or you’re not going anywhere!”
“And you presume to stop me?” Stephen returned, looking at the two of them with such smug contempt that Killian would have gladly traded his other hand to wipe the vile sneer off the man’s face. Stephen was staring at Emma like she was nothing and that was the one slight Killian could not abide.
“I’ll stop you.” Emma hissed, her hands turning into fists of concentration. She had to stop him, he was her only link to finding Henry. They didn’t even know where this guy had come from. If he escaped...the thought created such a well of dark despair inside Emma she could barely breathe. “I’ll stop you and get them both back!”
“Please,” He laughed in her face. “You were barely able to muster that pathetic attempt of an attack. Your magic comes from the chaos of emotion and desperation. You have no discipline, no control. Magic is not some parlour trick, it's being able to tap into the forces that created existence itself and you wield it like a child playing with her father’s sword. Leave it to those who understand its power for you certainly do not.”
And with a flick of his wrist, Stephen cast a spell of his own as he turned away from them and made his way to the portal.
Emma and Killian lurched after him, only to find themselves hitting an invisible wall that would not allow them to go any further. Some kind of damn barrier spell, Emma thought to herself, recognising the like when she’d battled Cora and Pan. It wouldn’t let either of them pass and there was a moment of clarity when all she could do was stand there and watch helplessly as Stephen took Regina and stepped into the portal.
Emma let out an anguished scream as she watched the lord of Mordor disappear into nothingness, taking the portal with him.
Not again, please God, not again. Please don’t tell me I’ve lost him again.
When the portal vanished leaving only the seal behind, Emma felt as if all the air had disappeared from the world and she couldn’t breathe. The enormity of what had happened was like a fist ready to crush her in its grip. She didn’t even realise she’d sunk to her knees and then crumpled to the ground after Stephen had vanished, taking with him any chance she had of reaching Henry. The portal had vanished promptly in his wake, disappearing as if it had never been opened at all.
How could she have let this happen? How could she not have guessed that the son of a bitch would take Henry?
Through the storm of despair raging through her soul, she became vaguely aware of Killian’s arms around her, pulling her close to him as he tried to penetrate her shock and horror at what had happened. Holding her as she completely broke down, she heard him whispering in her ear.
“We’ll get him back Swan,” Killian repeated himself until it sunk into her brain and she was strong enough to believe it herself. “I promise you, we’ll get him back.”
“I lost him Killian...” she sobbed into his shoulder, “I let him get taken again. My baby. I let someone take my baby away from me again...”
This wasn’t like before when Pan had taken him. Thanks to Regina’s gift, Emma had a lifetime of memories about Henry and their life together. Now she remembered every day of his life or rather the life that would have been if she hadn’t given him up. She knew what it was like to hold that tiny little baby in her arms for the first time, she knew was it like to feed him and to take him home with her after the hospital. She had memories of late-night feedings, diaper changes, baths and how it felt to hear him laugh and smile for the first time. She remembered the notches she’d carved on the door frame as he grew taller. Watching his first steps and taking him to school that first day.
All the things she never got to do but thanks to Regina remembered nonetheless. It was real to her and now made Henry abduction a thousand times worse.
The thought that Henry was beyond her reach was paralysing and once again, she kept thinking of Snow White her mother and the anguish she must have felt when Emma had to be sent to this world as the saviour. She’d never really understood the pain, not even when she and Killian were trapped in the Enchanted Forest. What sorrow she’d felt then was a splinter compared to the agony of having your child ripped away from you and be powerless to do anything about it. It made her wish Snow was here right now.
“Swan it will be okay. I promise you we’ll come up with some way to get the lad back,” Killian continued to say as he held her, uncertain by what power he could make this promise but refusing to let her believe anything else. They would find a way, they always did but this pain was deep, he knew that. It couldn't be assuaged with just words. His heart ached in sympathy but Killian was also contending with his own feelings over the boy's loss. Henry wasn’t just Emma’s son, he was Bae’s son too and during those days when Killian was asked to mind Henry while Emma dealt with Zelena, he’d grown quite fond of the boy and he believed the boy was fond of him too.
While Emma sobbed, Killian saw two cars approaching and knew immediately one of them belonged to Emma’s father, the other he’d thought he might have seen outside the Crocodile’s house. The vehicles tore across the ash-covered ground, closing the distance towards them. However as he held Emma in his embrace, Killian started to notice something else taking place in the background behind the horizon of the two approaching vehicles.
The sky which was blue a moment ago was darkening.
He sought the sun in the afternoon sky and noted its positioning. It was exactly where it should be and yet the day had darkened like a storm was approaching even though the clouds were scattered and few. The scent of ash which he’d attributed to the devastation earlier seemed stronger now. It felt colder too and a sliver of ice ran down his spine. As he watched the cars approached, the horizon continued to change and the hills which surrounded this parcel of land began to disappear into the grey horizon and was being moulded into something new.
“Swan, tell me what you see.”
The urgency in his voice made Emma remember herself. She was the saviour and her son was missing. She didn’t have time for this. She needed to pull herself together in order to get him back. Grateful as she was for Killian’s indulgence, she understood it couldn’t last. Drying her eyes, she pulled away from him and saw what he was looking at, saw the rapidly changing landscape before them. It was like they were watching an animated movie where everything was changing and evolving at lightning speed.
In the distance, the woods disappeared and in their place, tall, grey buildings began to appear out of the ground like jagged teeth. They sprung up fully formed, growing out of the earth like she was watching an old-time movie reel of a building being constructed except these were a whole lot of buildings and they didn’t look like anything she’d ever seen before. They formed against the sky like the serrated edges of a knife. The transformation continued even as Emma saw David’s truck and Gold’s Fleetwood Cadillac speeding towards them.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Killian demanded as he saw this terrible metamorphosis taking place in front of them.
Emma didn’t answer because her agile mind was pulling the pieces of the puzzle together, drawing from everything that had happened since Stephen, no Sauron had first arrived in Storybrooke. All this time, they had been believed Sauron had come from some distant land and it was only now that Emma realised how wrong they had been. The portal that Sauron had opened didn’t look like Zelena’s. There was no vortex. Just a strobe of bright light that seemed to rip into the fabric of the world and required only he and his minions to step through.
They had all thought that Sauron had come through Zelena’s portal and only now did she understand how wrong they were.
“Oh my God....” she whispered, her brow creased in concentration. “I think I finally understand this.”
The two cars came to a screeching halt with David and Robin emerging first. The former Prince was armed with his sword, the scabbard hanging off his belt while beneath his jacket Emma knew he was wearing his gun belt. It was such dichotomy that under different circumstances, it would have been funny. Robin of course was armed with the Barnett crossbow that Little John had lifted from one of Storybrooke’s stores. Stepping out from his Cadillac at almost the same time was Gold who needed no weapon at all.
Around them, the transformation was continuing, shaping the world beyond all recognition.
By now the only space that remained unchanged was a circle of land surrounding Zelena’s seal wide enough to hold them and their vehicles. The wide-open fields were now paved with grimy concrete slabs and those ominous buildings surrounded them on all sides. There wasn’t an inch of ground that was devoid of these dark monstrosities. It reminded Emma of when she had gone to Detroit on a job and found herself in the abandoned Motor City Industrial Park. There had been grime and dirt on everything and when you took a breath, you could smell nothing but diesel.
Now as Emma looked at the sky, she realised that it wasn’t that it had gotten darker but it was filled with the grey muck of pollution. There were no more birds either but the skies weren’t devoid of life. What she saw instead of the New England birdlife were the massive winged beasts that Sauron had created, soaring high above them amongst heavy, cumulous clouds pregnant with toxic chemicals.
Somehow, this dystopian alternate reality had become the world they knew.
She knew without needing proof that Storybrooke and all the people in it were gone. They were all that was left of them.
“What the hell?” David demanded as he swept his gaze across the sky with nothing short of horror. “What just happened? We were driving here and all of a sudden everything started to change.”
Robin first instinct was to scan the surroundings and the sudden appearance of this nightmarish world didn’t worry him as much as the absence of Regina and Sauron. “Where’s Regina and Henry?”
Emma blinked, unable to meet his eyes as the memory of Henry’s loss sent a fresh spike of pain through her heart. She couldn’t look at her father and tell him that she’d lost her son to a monster from a world they had no way of reaching.
“They’re gone mate,” Killian answered sombrely, reaching for Emma’s hand and squeezing it gently to will her some of his strength. She was trying so hard to be the saviour that it near broke his heart to see how much pain she was in. “That bastard took them through the portal. Henry and Regina.”
“What?” David burst out until he saw Emma lift her eyes and the despair he saw there reminded him immediately of Snow’s when they had lost Emma and then when Zelena had taken Neal too. It was a sight he never wanted to see again and immediately went to his daughter’s side to comfort her as only a father could. “He took Henry?”
Emma nodded, trying not to break down and reminding herself she had to be strong. “Sauron took him for Regina. I don’t think she knows he did it. He was carrying her unconscious before they went through the portal. He probably knocked her out to make sure she went without a fight.” She explained as David squeezed her shoulder, assuring her with his eyes that everything was going to be alright. It surprised Emma how much better that made her feel.
“We’ve got to get them back!” Robin exclaimed, his face a mask of outrage knowing that Regina hadn’t gone willingly, it proved every instinct he had that Stephen didn’t care for Regina at all and was just using her for her powers.
“I hoped you’d get here in time to stop it,” Gold complained, frowning as he observed the altered world around them. He had no doubt that those grey, depressing buildings were occupied and had no desire to find out what was in them. In fact, he was convinced that it wouldn’t be long before what was occupying them would soon come looking for them.
“We did what we could Crocodile,” Killian snapped at his old nemesis. “If you couldn’t stop him, what chance did you think we had against him?” The pirate gesture to the ruined VW. “Instead of pointing out our failures, do you have a suggestion as to how we might get the lad back?”
“And Regina too!” Robin reminded, wanting to ensure that no one forgot about the queen.
“It's bigger than just that,” David pointed out looking about them. “The land changing isn’t a coincidence. Something has happened to this world that’s more than just about Henry and Regina being taken away into the past or wherever it is that Stephen comes from.”
“Do you know what’s happened here Crocodile?” Killian asked Gold whom he prayed had answers because he didn’t think Emma could handle the disappointment.
However, it wasn’t Gold that answered him but Emma.
“Its because Sauron went back,” Emma explained, breaking away from her father’s embrace. “Everything we knew has been rewritten. Sauron going back has changed it all.”
“I don’t understand...” David looked at her puzzled. “How could he changed this world so much if he went back to his own kingdom.”
“That’s the question isn’t it?” Emma mused. “Did he go back to his own land?” Turning to the wizard, Emma asked, “Gold why did you pick this world for the Curse?”
Gold turned to her sharply sensing the purpose to her question and quickly replied, “because Bae chose it. He wanted a land without magic so we could live in peace.”
What Gold didn’t say that Bae had chosen it because here his powers would be useless. Bae had seen his magic as the reason for why things had gone so wrong between them.
“But you didn’t know whether or not it always like this,” Emma replied. “It had no magic when you arrived but you didn’t know whether it was always like this right?”
“That’s right Dearie,” Gold nodded finally seeing what it was Emma was getting at. “You think Sauron didn’t come from any faraway land.”
“No,” Emma shook her head. “I think he came from this land.”
“This land?” David exclaimed. “Emma are you sure?”
“It makes sense,” Emma declared gaining more certainty now that she said it out loud. “It explains why none of you has heard of this Gondor he comes from. I mean at the very least Gold would have heard something about a wizard with the kind of power he has, right Gold?”
“That’s right,” Gold admitted. “There wasn’t very much that escaped me, lass. It also explains the ring. If he came from the past, he’d want his ring somewhere he could find it. So maybe he sent it into the future so he could reclaim it. Much safer than sending it to some distant land he’s unfamiliar with.”
“And now that he’s got his ring and gone back to where he came from, he’s changing the past,” Killian concluded now that piece of the puzzle was revealed. “This world is reshaping itself because of how he’s altered the timeline.”
“To win his war,” Emma declared. “He told us Gondor was fighting a war and they’d won. If he was the enemy they were fighting, then he just went back with his ring and a whole bunch of crates with God knows only what in them to give him the edge to win.”
“Uh Emma,” David pointed to the empty truck and more importantly, the sign painted on the side of it. “I think I have a good idea.”
The words Norm's Gun & Ammo Shop explained plenty.
“Oh hell,” Emma whispered thinking about the weapons he’d carried and what modern guns would do in a medieval setting. "That will certainly do it."
“Yeah, Storybrooke and everyone we care about is gone. Either they’re back in our land or some other world the Curse brought them to or they’ve been erased.” David's expression darkened at that possibility, trying not to think about Snow and their child.
“Gone?” Robin exclaimed, the full scope of the change dawning on him with horror. “You mean Marian and Roland are all...”
“Afraid so mate,” Killian nodded grimly. “If he’s changed everything than the town is gone along with everyone in it. I’m rather surprised you lot managed to make it here at all.”
“We were probably lucky,” Gold answered trying not to think about Belle, about where she might be in this altered timeline, “but we may disappear too if we don’t go back and return things the way they were.”
“That’s a great idea but we don’t even know how far back he went,” Emma replied, feeling that well of despair threatening to rise up and choke her once more.
“We don’t need to know that,” Gold reached into his jacket and produced out of thin air, the wand he had wisely brought with him in anticipation of needing the portal reopened if they were too late to stop Sauron. “But with this, we can go after him.”
Emma’s eyes widened, recognising the wand that Rumpelstiltskin had given her in his castle to return to Storybrooke. “Is that the...”
“The very same,” Gold confirmed. “It's up to you Dearie. You’re the only one who can make this work.”
“Great,” she whispered. “No pressure there.”
However, Emma stepped forward and took the wand from Gold. She held it in her hand remembering that her long last realisation that Storybrooke was her home had made it work. This time, there would be no difficulty in focusing on the thought she needed to make it work because it was something just as important.
Her son.
******
Regina’s head throbbed like she was hungover.
She was lying against something soft. It felt like silk and was smooth against her cheek. For a brief moment, she was reminded of the sheets she used to have on her bed back at her castle in the Enchanted Forest. Those had been exquisitely woven by the finest linen makers in the Kingdom, something the world of Storybrooke had never quite managed to master with its mechanised approach. Machine-weaved fabrics were no match for the delicate touch of a skilled seamstress.
Regina’s return to consciousness was slow and gradual. The sheets beneath her and the blanket over her shoulders was soft and inviting and made the departure difficult. Just by the touch of the mattress and pillows, not to mention the fur coverlet over her shoulders, she knew they were of the feathered variety The warmth under the blanket made her feel snug and cosy and she reluctant to leave it when she could feel the slight nip in the air like someone had left the window open all night. It felt crisp and surprisingly fresh. As she nuzzled against the soft mattress under her body, Regina became aware of something else.
She was naked.
Suddenly, the memory of where she had last been returned to her with abrupt clarity. Her eyes flew open and Regina sat up, realising that the last thing she had remembered was being in the shower. Judging from her current state of undress, she had not been clothed since then. Running her fingers through her hair, there was no damp and was fully dried. Trying not to panic at not knowing where she was, Regina brushed aside the delicate lace curtain that surrounded the four-poster bed she was lying on and found herself in a room whose construction she recognised immediately. She was in a castle.
It didn't look all that different from her own castle in the Enchanted Forest. There was one door, a heavy wooden construct with arches that tapered into a point. The floor was covered with rugs that were russet animal pelts, belonging to some kind of a bear but the largest she'd ever seen. The room was furnished with ornate wooden furniture that was made from some kind of mahogany, with varnished deep dark red. Aside from the four-poster bed, there was a dressing table, a tall chest, window seats, a comfortable looking leather chair next to the lit fireplace.
The room felt warm even though experience told Regina that castles were by their very nature were always draughty. She spied a bag against the dressing table that looked like the Gucci she bought herself for day trips. Clutching the coverlet to her body, she raised one hand, she used her magic to bring the bag across the floor and onto the mattress next to her. Unzipping it, she found to her relief a set of clothes, though thoroughly inappropriate for the setting she imagined.
It was the clothes she'd worn the day before but the underthings were fresh and she saw that someone had more or less dumped most of her dressing table's content into the bag. Only a man packed for a woman like this. With a sigh, she conjured a spell that surrounded her with a light purple mist and produced clothing more suitable for where she now found herself. When the mist had dissipated, Regina felt a little more comfortable and stood up to admire herself in the mirror. She was wearing a red riding coat over a bejewelled dark vest with open collar along with comfortable leather breeches and boots.
She'd avoided going to the window until now but realised she had put it off long enough. Besides, she suspected she knew where she was; even if she wasn't thrilled at how she'd arrived here. Regina gazed out the window and saw first, beyond the walls of the city she now found herself, a land of breathtaking beauty and splendour. The green stretched into the distance where a silhouette of another city could be seen. It was stood white against the clouds of the afternoon sky. The land in between was green and magnificent with forests of such old trees that their age was comparable to the earth itself.
Where the beauty ended was where the chasm separating the city she was in from the rest of the world began. It surrounded them on all sides and only one great bridge separated it from the land beyond. Flanking it on one side was a craggy mountain wall with steps that had been carved up its length so you could cross the mountain by simply following them. The city that she found herself was nothing like the castles in the Enchanted Forest. Not even Leopold's city at the height of its power had this kind of grandeur.
Tall spires that stood higher than some skyscrapers, pierced the sky like spears. The city appeared to have been partially carved out of the mountain and seemed to blend seamlessly into it in places. Wide streets coiled through the buildings, creating terraces that took you higher and higher the further up you went. The smaller dwellings were constructed with marble and even the low born homes appeared grand and ornate. However, despite its artistry, she had no doubt of the darkness that seemed to emanate from this land. The shadows seemed longer and the marble gleamed with the grey of desolation and despair.
"You are awake." She heard him behind her.
Regina swung around and found herself staring at Stephen, except he was no longer in the clothes she had bought him. He was wearing a variation of his original clothes, high neck coat and vest, with breeches and boots. He looked very much the dark lord she now knew him to be. There was a sword hanging at his side but it was the ring she noticed most of all. It seemed to shine brighter than ever before as if being here in his place of power made it more potent.
He paused at the sight of her clothing and broke into a smile, "I do like your change in clothing. Much more in keeping with a queen."
"You kidnapped me." She accused him while at the same time, feeling chagrined at the fact that his compliment had filled her with elation. This man was going to be the death of her.
"I did," he said contritely, approaching her slowly. "But only because I could see you were in pain. You were trapped between pleasing the people who would presume to tell you how to live and your wish to be with me."
"That doesn't give you the right to snatch me out of my house!" Regina exploded. "I wanted to leave on my own terms."
"And what good would that have done but caused you more pain?" He said closing the distance between them, once again catching her gaze and reaching for her shoulders.
"I would have liked to say goodbye to Henry," she snapped but the anger was blunted as he looked her in the eye. She hated the power he had over her, hated and adored it at the same time. Lost in his gaze, she knew she was his creature now, no matter what she told herself.
"And would that have made your departure any easier?" He challenged, not prepared to tell her the boy was here yet, not until she was a little calmer. "This way, he can blame me for snatching away his mother instead of thinking you abandoned him." He paused and added, "I did it for you."
Regina felt her anguish at leaving Henry abate slightly. She had known how the boy would react to her decision to leave and perhaps this was for the best. "You still should have asked..." she pouted.
Sauron smiled and leaned forward, sensing that he was forgiven, to capture her mouth in a lusty kiss of greeting. For a few seconds, he indulged himself in the taste of her. The distraction of flesh, he thought to himself, he would not have thought it possible to be snared by its trappings after so many years in his single-minded pursuit of one goal. He was not completely lost by his affection for her and knew that if need be, he could do without her. However, he liked her being here.
Sauron also remembered that despite all appearances to the contrary, he was a creature of order. That had been his design when he threw in his lot with Melkor. He had wanted to create order out of chaos and the Valar with their procrastination had not the will to do the job. Only he; Sauron had been strong enough and to that end, he'd used Melkor to become more than he'd ever been as a servant of Aule. So in pursuit of order, was it not symmetry that he’d have a consort worthy of him? While he would share rule with no one, he would give her enough illusion of it for her to be happy. As that’s in its own way ordered?
"Come," he took her hand and led her to the window once more, feeling this odd feeling of accomplishment when he drew a faint smile out of her as she joined him. "Let me show you Minas Morgul and what will soon belong to us both."
Regina stared out the window and saw once again the vista that she'd spied earlier. This time, she noticed other details. His servants, the Nazgul were in the air, flying over the cities like they were dark angels of the sky. One of them, however, was standing at the bridge, his winged creature standing behind him. She couldn't see the gates from where the window but she imagined a loud trumpet that blared, signalling its opening.
The army that marched out made her breath catch. She couldn't see their faces clearly but in their formidable armour and carrying their weapons, she knew they were not human. There were thousands of them and she knew they were his army, preparing for war. Some of them were astride creatures that looked like wolves but far larger than any she'd ever seen in the Enchanted Forest. They were almost the size of horses. Cavalry was being accompanied by foot soldiers and archers not to mention the added support of the enormous trolls that lumbered along, their bodies armoured, carrying clubs and maces the size of tree trunks.
"Tonight," he said eyeing the army with triumph. “We will take the White City and tomorrow, the rest of Middle Earth.”
********
When the portal opened after she had used the wand provided by Gold, the powerful forces that swirled within the vortex immediately pulled her into its open maw. Killian had been holding her hand when the portal opened and somehow, he managed to maintain his grip as they were both drawn in. She kept the same iron grip on the wand, knowing that it would have to take them home after she’d found Henry. At this moment, Emma refused to acknowledge any possibility that she would not find him.
“We’re right behind you Emma!” She heard David yell as she and Killian were dragged to the event horizon before they were both sucked into the portal. Once again, Emma felt like she was being threaded through a needle as she passed through the aperture that linked one time from another. Around her, everything was a chaos of fiery energy and powerful, gale-force winds that rushed through her hair and had her tumbling about like a leaf in the wind.
“HANG ON TO ME SWAN!” She heard Killian shout over the sound of the maelstrom.
The journey through the portal took only seconds but it felt like an eternity. During the tumultuous passage through the vortex, Emma ignored all thoughts and focused on only one thing; Henry. She ignored Killian’s hand in hers even though it was comforting to know he was there at her side, even in this insanity. She ignored the urge to wonder her father, Robin or Gold had followed after them or whether or not Zelena’s seal would be there after the vortex closed. Portals took you where you wanted to go, she told herself so she used every ounce of will in her to ensure that it knew her desired destination.
Take me to Henry, take me to Henry.
She kept repeating the words until the vortex dispersed around her and the sensation of free-falling came to an abrupt end when she landed on a patch of thick moss. It made to take the brunt of her fall but Emma still ached from where her body had hit the ground. She’d landed on her hands and knees and felt the raw, untilled earth scraping at her hands and feet as she raised her head to see where they had fallen. She distantly heard the others landing with similar ceremony and looked over her shoulder to see that along with Killian, her father, Robin and Gold had made the journey to this place.
“Killian, dad, you okay?” Emma asked, her gaze shifting to the pirate who was closest to her.
Killian sat up, having landed just shy of a massive tree root, rubbing the back of his neck as he saw her. “I’m fine, are you alright Swan?” He asked with concern, forgetting his own aches and pains as he sat up and brushed himself off, taking a quick glimpse of the immediate area.
“I’m in one piece,” she answered shortly and saw her father doing the same. David was adjusting the scabbard on his belt so that the sword sat better against his side. “Where are we?”
“I’m not sure,” Emma replied, finally taking stock of their new surroundings. They were in a forest obviously but this seemed very different than the woods she had traversed in the Enchanted Forest. Even though it was daylight and she could sunlight piercing through the thick canopy of leaves overhead, it felt cold. The trees in the Enchanted forests resembled beeches and though they grew tall, they were nothing like what surrounded them now.
The trees in this forest were like redwoods and they stood saw tall, they looked like stone pillars or sentinels keeping watch over the forests. The width of one tree was easily wider than her little VW from hood to trunk. Their size was so immense that one branch if you could get to it, was wide enough to for anyone to take refuge at night. The lack of sunlight thanks to these magnificent behemoths left only a sparse covering of vegetation over the ground. Lichens and moss grew on rocks and fallen branches. There were waist-high shrubs in places but mostly, she could see exposed dirt.
“This is forest is really...” she searched for the words but it wouldn’t come.
She heard the loud rustling of leaves above and looked up to see if there were birds roosting in the tall branches but there were no signs of that. Something like a low moan echoed through woods, like branches bending against the wind. It wasn’t human and animal and it sent a chill down Emma’s spine hearing it. There was something dark and preternatural about it. Emma suddenly wanted to get moving.
“Old,” Gold completed the sentence she hadn’t and drifted over to one of the magnificent growths. There was dirt on his jacket and a smattering of it on his cheek. However, the wizard seemed unconcerned as he placed his hand against the trunk appearing as if a touch would offer him insight into what they were. “They’re very old. So old they’re almost alive.” He stated.
“They’re all alive,” Robin pointed as he collected the arrows that had come loose from their case when he’d fallen into this world, “They’re trees.”
It wasn’t in Robin’s nature to fear trees but there was a look to these ones that made him uncomfortable. In Sherwood, he’d encountered his share of magnificent old trees, with their branches spread out across the air, like open arms welcoming him and his men to take sanctuary within its embrace. These trees did not look welcoming and if he were to believe they had souls, then these were angry and brooding.
“No,” Gold shook his head able to sense more than that, “These are trees but they’re not just trees. They’re aware of us and I don’t get the sense that they’re happy.”
The thought made Emma shudder.
“Then maybe we should do them a favour and get out of here,” David suggested, looking around and searching for a path to take them away from the forest.
‘I don’t know even know this is the right place,” Emma complained, recognising nothing. These woods seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see and she feared if they started walking without a clear idea of where they were going, they’d get lost.
Killian reached into his jacket and produced a small brass object from an inside pocket. He flipped open the lid and for a moment Emma thought it was a pocket watch until she saw the face of it. It was a compass, old and ended but apparently functional.
“You carry a compass?” She stared at him.
“If I’m a good ship’s captain I do,” he glanced at her briefly before studying the face of the device. “If we head that way,” he pointed in the direction of the forest where there was something of a gradual slope. “We’ll be heading south.”
“Doesn’t help us if we...” Robin started to say when suddenly a voice spoke from behind them that made even Gold jump with surprise.
“Gandalf was right,” a voice said suddenly. “Something is afoot in the woods this morning.”
Standing on top of the rock was a tall, handsome blond man, wearing a tunic, breeches and a cloak of varying shades of green that seemed to blend into the background of the forest. He was staring at them with piercing blue eyes and his ears, his ears were pointed. As he stared at them, a group of men dressed not unlike Stephen emerged from their hiding places, all staring at them beneath dark green cloaks. Emma immediately recognised the white tree emblem on their tunics.
“Greetings,” Legolas Greenleaf said politely. “Welcome to the woods of Ithilien.”
Even though they were surrounded on all sides, David did not feel danger.
The men surrounding them wore cloaks that blended into the woods and though armed with an assortment of weapons, it was bow and arrow that was presently aimed in their direction. While the blond man with the oddly pointed ears stared at them with caution, his eyes were devoid of hostility. Taking in the fact that he and the others had yet to be riddled with arrows, David suspected that it was likely these men wanted information more than they wanted bodies. It allowed him some room to manoeuvre as he took the lead because Emma’s fears for Henry were overriding her usual practicality.
Spying the emblem of the white tree on the leather tunics of the men, David wondered if they were from this Gondor that Sauron had mentioned. The wizard had spun them a story about a war and the people of that city who had been fighting it for a long time at great cost to themselves. Their valiant effort to defend their homes had been victorious but not without casualties. If these soldiers were from that city, David could well understand their caution at the arrival of intruders into their territory.
“Alright everyone, weapons down.” He ordered calmly, sweeping his gaze across the faces of his companions and wordlessly indicating he wanted no action that could provoke a fight. The mood between the two groups was tense but so far civil. The last thing David wanted was the situation to escalate into violence, especially when they had no idea if they had followed Sauron to the right place and time to get Henry and Regina back.
The blond man, acknowledging David’s efforts at the peaceful exchange, assured the new arrivals in an equally calm tone, “We mean you no harm but we do need to know why you are here.”
"Let’s remember why we’re here,” David reminded them, “we need to know where we are so let’s try and talk this out first. Right, Gold?” He eyed the wizard in particular. If anyone was going to exhibit unpredictable behaviour, it was most likely the Dark One.
“For now," Gold agreed conditionally but he was watching the natives closely.
He knew immediately that one with the pointed ears was not human. Gold that he might be one of the Faerie like Tink but there was a difference that made him discount the thought. No, not Faerie, an elf perhaps but not like any elves he’d ever encountered. They were usually small and didn’t like to interact with other races. They were nothing like the warrior this one so obviously was. There was an aura of wonder about him that made Gold think of the stars and sea, it was ethereal and ancient in its beauty.
“Right mate,” Killian nodded, sheathing his own sword in a gesture of compliance.
Emma was full of questions and she wanted answers immediately but she was willing to follow her father’s lead because they did need information and these people might be able to provide it. Besides, David was good with people and he had a manner of sincerity that engendered trust. It was often David who was the voice of reason when Snow was on a tear.
"Okay," she nodded, trying to relax though it was hard.
Robin for his part lowered his crossbow but was quietly studying at the enemy's weapons with a mixture of caution and interest. The urgency of the situation did not stop him from admiring their bows. In fact, it appeared his observation was mutual because one of the men, the one standing closest to the blond leader, was, in turn, studying Robin's own crossbow. Meeting the man's gaze, Robin displayed the weapon just enough to give him a better view of it. The gesture was small but it was enough to help the thaw between the two groups.
Unaware of the connection being made by Robin, David faced the blond man and decided to start with the basics. "My name is David, this is my...” he paused a moment trying to decide how to explain his complicated relationship to Emma before deciding on the one least likely to produce more questions. “This is my sister Emma. That is Killian, Robin and Gold.”
Legolas nodded and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. “I am Legolas and this is Faramir," he introduced the man who had made a connection with Robin over the crossbow.
Faramir stepped forward, pulling back the hood of his dark cloak to reveal his ears were not pointed and that his uniform was remarkably similar to the clothes worn by Sauron when he was masquerading as Stephen.
"You're an odd party to be wandering these woods," Faramir pointed out. "We have seen much movement in these parts of late that has not at all been favourable. My men thought you might have been attached to the orcs we've been tracking until we realised that you were men of the West."
David had no idea what an orc was but he was quick to dispel the thought. "I assure you, we've only just arrived. We're not even sure where we are. We're trying to find a place called Gondor?"
Faramir exchanged a puzzled glance with Legolas, trying to understand how they could come to be so lost that they were wandering in the woods alone with no idea how they got here. And was there really anyone in Middle Earth who didn't know of Gondor?
"You are in Ithilien," he answered, "a fiefdom of the Reunified Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor, under the rule of King Aragorn Elessar. Where are you from?” He asked while being unable to stop himself from appreciating the lovely golden-haired woman who only made him miss more, a certain shield maiden who was waiting at home for him.
“To that, I am also curious,” Legolas added. "Gandalf had asked me to ride with haste to Ithilien because he sensed the presence of growing darkness in this land. Faramir tells me the orcs are on the move and now you are here. These woods are thick with menace. Even the trees seem disconcerted." His gaze shifted to hulking trees around them.
David tensed because he knew what the returning shadow was and once again, acted quickly to explain. Any considerations about the timeline had to be set aside for now because it was already corrupted. What they had seen in before leaving Storybrooke was proof of that. They were faced with damage control because these people's fate and their own were now intertwined. To undo it all, they were going to have a take a leap of faith and trust these men.
David exhaled loudly and spoke with all the sincerity he could muster. "We mean you and your people no harm. What we are about to tell you may seem far fetched but I swear on all our lives that it's the truth. We're from a town called Storybrooke. Three days ago, someone called Sauron arrived..."
He didn't get anything else out because their reaction to Sauron's name was extreme, to say the least. An exclamation of shock at the name rippled through the group of men. While Legolas and Faramir held their composure fairly well, the shock followed by horror David saw in their eyes was mirrored in the outbursts from the rest of their soldiers.
"It's impossible! He's dead!"
"Valar protect us, he has returned from the Void!"
"We saw him die!"
"It’s a trick! They're lying!"
The fact that the very mention of Sauron's name was enough to reduce these men to near panic sent a surge of cold fear through Emma as she realised what had made Gold so anxious back in Storybrooke. Casting a gaze at the wizard, she saw the Dark One's expression was grim and recalled what he'd said about Sauron using primordial magic and the fact that it may require all three of them, Gold, herself and Regina to stop him.
"Calm down!" Faramir barked, showing the authority of a commander on the battlefield as his order was immediately obeyed. The panic being displayed by his men slowly tapered off, quelled by their conditioning to follow his lead. "Sauron died a year ago during the War of the Ring. You best explain yourself."
"I'll do what I can but you must understand, we are as much in the dark as you," David assured Faramir before turning to Emma and the others. "We're going to have to tell them the whole truth."
"They'll never believe us," Killian was quick to argue.
"We don't have a choice," Emma sighed, "we need their help to find Henry and Regina. Besides, these guys might have been fighting Sauron a lot longer than us."
Each time she said Sauron's name Emma saw some of them flinch as if the word was a curse that affected them physically. Knowing that Henry was in the hands of someone who could engender this much fear in grown men did nothing to calm her already fraying nerves.
Agreeing with her, David faced Faramir and Legolas again. "We are from your future. We're not certain how far in the future but we suspect it is at least several thousand years. Your Sauron arrived in our town three days ago, he disguised himself as a ranger from Gondor named Stephen. We have magic in our own time and that brings strangers from other lands to our town so we tried to help him. However, it seems that what he was really after was, a ring."
The mention of Sauron had caused a bad enough reaction but the tension skyrocketed into the stratosphere when David mentioned the ring. He swore Faramir turned ashen while Legolas let out a gasp of shock. The men were threatening to break out into panic again. The existence of the ring seemed to affect them like a hammer punch to the stomach. He could see the horror in their faces, the reality that some terrible thought vanquished had returned again, in greater form than before.
"A ring?" Faramir spoke, his voice was almost a strangled whisper. "A gold ring with no markings?"
"At first yes, " Gold confirmed as he stepped forward, addressing them for the first time, impatient at how long it was taking to get the information they needed.
"He claimed to have made it,” Gold continued, “and after he put it on his finger, it came alive with strange writing. He called it the One Ring. I don't know what this War of the Ring of yours war but I think he sent it into the future so that he could retrieve for it himself. I'm guessing by the sheer terror I'm seeing in your faces that you know what it does."
Legolas answered because Faramir was still reeling from the possibility that not only had Sauron cheated death a year ago but he had somehow reclaimed the One Ring. His answer to this stranger who exuded power in a way he had only felt in Elrond's presence, was the recital of the ancient words that explained what the ring far better than any explanation he could give these strangers with their terrifying news.
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
"Well that explains where he suddenly became more powerful," Gold told Emma. "As soon as he had it, none of us could stop him. It’s not just his power but the power from the other rings as well."
"If he has the Ring of Power, he has everything he needs to take Middle Earth," Faramir announced gravely. "This is why the orcs are rallying." He said to Legolas. "They've heard his summons. We have seen them crossing these lands the last few days, on route no doubt to Mordor. When we fought him at the Black Gate, he had a force ten thousand strong and enough fealties in the lands of the east to bring reinforcements. We must return home to Minas Tirith. If he is truly alive, he will be coming for us."
"Wait a minute!' Emma spoke up for the first time, addressing Faramir who had been giving her the eye earlier. "You have a bigger problem than that. From what you're telling us, I think he came back earlier than we did. If he has been here for days and his gathering an army, you need to know that he didn't come back empty-handed. He’s brought a lot of weapons from our time. If you fight him while he’s armed with these weapons, he won't need magic to win.” Pausing, she turned her father and asked, David I need your gun."
David looked at Emma sceptically, wondering if the display was needed and then upon remembering just how many crates Sauron had brought with him through the portal, realised that she was right, it was necessary. These people had to know what was they would soon be facing. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the police issue Glock 19 he carried and handed it to her. She was a better shot than he anyway.
"Show them what they're up against Swan," Killian gave her a wink of encouragement, always in awe when he watched Emma taking the lead because she really looked quite magnificent doing it.
Emma noted the puzzlement on their faces as she took David's gun because they couldn't even conceive this small object she was holding in her hand was a weapon. That was an illusion was about to be shattered by a gunshot, she thought as she sought out a target to make her demonstration.
"Let's give them a good show lass," the wizard spoke up suddenly and with a flick of his wrist, tossed two bottles into the air, presumably conjured up without anyone noticing.
Emma saw both bottles flying into the air, one after the other, spinning and catching the light as they moved. She wasn't accustomed to sharpshooting like this but she was good enough to do what was needed. The first shot was fired with an explosion of sound like an ear-splitting thunderclap, shattering glass spectacularly and sending fragments in all directions. Emma repeated the action before the second bottle could hit the ground, showing how quickly another round could be fired.
If the noise of the exploding shell wasn't enough, the force behind each glass bottle's destruction was enough to make her audience cry out in shock and surprise. Their hands flew to their ears and when the ringing had died down, there was a rumble of troubled voices following in close pursuit. Emma wasted no time in trying to make them understand what they were up against. Holding up the gun, she removed the magazine and held it up for them to see.
"One of these clips holds nine bullets. With a good aim, I can use each one of them to kill nine people in under a minute. Sauron has brought back hundreds of these weapons, all of them more dangerous than this one."
"If this is true then Eru help us," Faramir exclaimed horrified, "we do not have the strength to fight this power."
"We need to tell Aragorn," Legolas told the Steward. "We must leave now."
He started to prompt everyone to move with the full expectation that the strangers would be going with them. The group of men shifted out of their positions, ready to leave the clearing they were gathered in. David, Robin and Gold started to do the same with only Killian holding steady because he was watching Emma, seeing the hesitation in her stance and suspecting that she wasn’t quite as ready as they believed to get going yet.
“Wait a minute," Emma shot David a look. "' I'm not going anywhere until I find my son.” She stated defiantly, more determined than ever to reaching Sauron after seeing how frightened these men were of him. If they could be so shaken, what would Henry be going through? He was just a boy.
“Your son?” Faramir stared at her and searched David’s face for an explanation. “What has your son to do with all this?”
“Sauron abducted two of our people,” David explained. “A woman who has powerful magic of her own and Henry, Emma’s son.”
“For what purpose?” Legolas asked confused as to why Sauron would need to abduct anyone unless there was some advantage to the act.
“He wanted Regina to come back with him,” David tried to answer as diplomatically as possible in deference to Robin’s feelings on the matter. The archer who had been quiet all this time maintained his silence but David saw his jaw tick as Regina’s name was mentioned again. Despite the fact that Marian now lived, Robin still loved Regina and some of this had come about because of the impossible situation they’d found themselves in.
“Regina has an attachment to Henry. Sauron probably thinks that he can get her cooperation if Henry is present,” David concluded.
“It doesn’t matter why,” Emma exclaimed, feeling the dam break on her restraint. “He has them and I’m not going anywhere until I find out where Henry is.”
“My lady,” Faramir said to her kindly, accustomed to hot-tempered females who dared to rush in where most men dared not. "If he has taken your son and now possesses the One Ring, he is at the height of his power. He has been gathering to him all his dark minions and what lies between you and your son are ten thousand orcs, Uruk-hai and trolls, to say nothing of the weapons he will arm them with if your words are true. You will die in the attempt without ever seeing him.”
“No,” Emma refused to believe that. “We’ve got magic,” she turned to Gold. “We can get him together...you said we could.” Her tone was almost accusatory which wasn’t fair but her rational mind wasn’t in the driver’s seat at the moment.
“Dearie, I said we might be able to do it with Regina but I told you, he wields primordial magic. You and I may be able to give him a bloody nose but we’re not going to be able to take him, not with what he's got waiting for us.” Gold said with genuine sympathy.
Of all of them here, he knew what it was like to lose a son most intimately and how desperation could make any folly seem perfectly reasonable. Furthermore, Henry wasn’t just Emma’s son, he was Bae’s and Gold would not put the boy at risk on a gamble.
Killian let out a sigh, stepping up because he knew he was the only who could reach her. Emma could be stubborn when faced with the truth that she didn’t want to accept. Perhaps that’s why they worked so well together. They gave each other an unflinchingly honest view of each other and that was a good place to begin a relationship.
“Swan," Killian spoke directly to her, ignoring all the other people in the place as he took both hands in his and made her look at him. The action had an effect because he was calm when she was frustrated, the one who could somehow reach into her and make her see sense, even when she didn’t want to know.
“Not that I'm one to ever agree with the Crocodile but you always said that you hate leaving things to chance. If you want to go after Henry, you know your brother…," he glanced at David, "and I will follow you to the ends of the earth without question. However, if you're wrong and we can't fight this bloke, we will not only end up dead but we will lose any chance of getting the lad home.”
Killian reached for her cheek with a gloved hand and brushed a thumb over her soft skin, “Emma, going it alone is a risk and were this any other time, you would be the first one to say that we need better odds."
Emma was torn. She knew Killian was right, she knew it but she was carrying the despair of losing her son and she knew she wasn’t thinking rationally. Of course, she knew she'd take the safer road because risking Henry's life not to mention stranding him in this world was more than she could stand. However, not doing something was also driving her crazy. Clutching the hand on her cheek, she dropped her head, wanting to hide from everyone the tears of anguish and frustration that wanted to come.
More than anything, at that moment, she wished Snow was with them. Even in the short time the woman had been in her life, Snow knew how to make things better.
Turning her head towards David, she said quietly "I wish mom was here."
David felt his heart beak at the tears welling in her eyes.
At that moment, David saw the little girl stolen away from him and Snow, the one that should have been theirs to raise, who should be a princess in a fairy tale world. Not the abandoned orphan who had gotten through life by believing she could rely on no one but herself because it was easier than being hurt. Seeing her vulnerable made him ache and he had to swallow away the lump in his throat because he wanted very much to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay because that was what Snow would do.
"Me too," he replied, just as quietly. "We'll get him back Emma, I promise."
*******
It had been a long time since Sauron was required to impress anyone.
In the early days of Arda, it was necessary to do so with Melkor, to prove his worth to the Valar whose method of accomplishing things appeared more attractive to the impatient Sauron than the dilettante idling of Manwe and his ilk. Melkor, a paranoid, vainglorious entity whose sole purpose for corrupting the Great Music was due to his need for recognition, had required Sauron to prove his worth and during the whole of the First Age, he had done just that. It was Sauron who was Melkor’s loyal lieutenant and the chief architect of most of the mechanisms Melkor had used in his wars against Feanor and the rest of the First Born.
After the War of the Wrath, he had impressed King Ar-Pharazôn so much that the Numenoreans had been led to ruin with Eru himself intervening to utterly destroy them, driving their island into the sea. While he had suffered some consequence, the elimination of a formidable enemy was never a bad thing. That was the last time he had to impress anyone and it was an action that he was grateful to be free of. Once Numenor was gone and he’d returned to Mordor, he used power and fear to gain allies which was a far less tedious method than pandering to their egos and greed.
Of course, he could do none of those things with Regina.
With Regina, it was all about impressing her with what they could do together. His kingdom needed a queen he'd said and for the promise of love and children, things that Sauron had to admit had never been something he'd thought he'd have to promise anyone, she was here with him now. While he knew that if she were to disappear from his life, he would continue as he always had without regret, he found that he'd enjoyed his time with her in Storybrooke and could actually miss her.
It wasn't just because he'd enjoyed her the way he'd enjoyed no one in his whole existence or the fact that the pleasures of flesh could be so distracting. It was the fact he wanted badly to release her from the chains of morality that she'd willingly bound herself. He wanted her to see what they were on the cusp of achieving, wanted her to revel in it as he would when he split open the skull of Isildur’s heir on his throne in the Tower of Ecthelion and fed the grey matter to his wargs.
When he had been promising her all those things in Storybrooke, Sauron hadn't realised that a part of him was drawn to the idea of a dynasty that would live on through all the ages of Arda. Between them both, they had a chance to reshape the entire history of the world. He would finally have the order he had wanted desperately enough to join Melkor.
Before she’d awakened from the deep sleep he had placed her in upon their return to Middle Earth, Sauron had set to work immediately. The Nine wasted no time rallying their forces scattered this last year by the encroaching forces of Gondor and Rohan into territories that were previously Mordor’s. He'd learned that Mount Doom had erupted, thanks to his spell drawing power from the volcano to fling both him and the One Ring into the future. As a result, his tower at Bara-dur was destroyed and he was forced to take up residence in Minas Morgul instead.
Many of the orcs who had fled the Battle of the Black Gate were now on route form the North and the Easterlings were making similar journeys from Rhun. It didn’t matter if it took time for them to arrive. Most of his forces at the Black Gate were intact, having retreated to Minas Morgul without him or the Nazgul to lead them. However, thanks to the weapons he had brought with him from the future, numbers had become inconsequential. The youth that Morgul had spellbound into returning with them was at this moment, teaching his Uruk-hai how to use their new weapons.
They'd taken to it as well as he knew he would for he had bred them to ruthless machines of blood and death that were adept at warcraft above all else. In less than a day, he would be descending upon Gondor with all the power he had and would reduce the city to rubble once and for all.
*******
Upon leaving behind the suite he had prepared for her, they descended the once high tower of white marble, long since tinged with a green hue from neglect and occupation by creatures of the spirit world. Their shadowy auras had left its mark upon the marble and mortar until it seemed to glow with an unearthly light. Thought it was afternoon, it seemed much later as the hulking range of Ephel Dúath cast a shadow upon the entire city.
Like its sister city, Minas Morgul formerly Minas Ithil had been carved out of the southern side of the mountain range and conically tiered from its peak to its base. The corkscrew path of the streets would take any traveller entering the city across the bridge to the very top of the tower. In its day, the lower section had been occupied by the soldiers whose task was to keep watch on Mordor, while the middle was allocated to the common folk and the top tier occupied by the stewards. Before and during the War of the Ring, Morgul had ruled in the city with his Nazgul brothers and it was here that the Uruk-hai were bred by Sauron.
"What happened to all the people?" Regina asked as she and Sauron walked through the eerily empty streets. It was disconcerting to see the numerous courtyards and squares left abandoned. The whole city had the atmosphere of a mausoleum.
"There was a plague," Sauron explained and it was partially the truth. By the time he had sent Morgul to take the city, most of its civilian population had died and those soldiers who remained had been demoralised by the losses. "I am told that it was quite devastating and those who did survive left, likely because they thought the place cursed.”
"It is still very beautiful," Regina remarked, admiring the architecture around her, “even if it needs a woman’s touch.”
She lifted her palm and blew, a mist of purple escaped her like breath and it swept across the immediate area, running across the dark marble and stripping away the veneer of dilapidation that had settled across it like a death shroud. The transformation took place in the upper tier, returning the place to some semblance of its former splendour as shattered windows repaired themselves and courtyard stones were no longer cracked and broken.
"There," Regina said with a wink. "Much better."
A genuine laugh escaped him as he admired her handiwork as well as her mischief. "What is it about your gender that finds the need to redecorate as soon as you arrive at a place?"
“Well if I am going to be your queen,” she returned smartly. “You’re going to have to put up with some of my demands.”
“You may have anything you wish,” Sauron agreed without hesitation. “Though I hadn’t considered remaining here once things are settled. I want to rebuild Bara-dur or perhaps we may even occupy Minas Tirith.”
For some reason, the thought of making the new seat of his power the beloved home of Isildur was rather an inviting one.
Regina knew he intended to invade this land and reclaim his power base. That meant war and destruction. However, she reminded herself that despite how she had come to Middle Earth, she had already decided to accept his proposal. She was tired of trying to be someone she was not. Zelena was right, being good just didn’t take. At least here, she could revert to her old ways without harming the people in Storybrooke, without Henry ever knowing what she’d become. Here, she was queen to a god who wanted her at his side, a man worthy of her.
“Alright then,” she nodded, “let’s win your war first. When is your army moving out?”
"Tonight,” he said with a faint smile, pleased at her use of the word ‘we’ indicating that she would fight at his side. Her magic was powerful but she wasted it by performing parlour tricks. Sauron used his own power in different ways, his spells were greater in scope though not immediately noticeable as hers was. He looked forward to seeing her use it in battle. “We march for Gondor tonight. This time, I will lead the charge myself.”
“I’ll come with you,” she offered, deciding that if she was going to be his queen then she would not hold back. He was her new reality and the person she had tried to be in Storybrooke had no place here. Being with this man, being his queen, that was her destiny.
After all, he was her happy ending.
Emma had only one word for the city of Minas Tirith.
Magnificent.
She had thought the cities in the Enchanted Forest to be lovely but this took her breath away.
The city had been carved out of a mountain resembling a several tiered wedding cake. Constructed from marble, each terrace took you higher and higher, until the topmost tower would undoubtedly allow you a panoramic view of the landscape. She was certain that it was done for strategic purpose but it was beautiful nonetheless. It was a city of spires, domed pavilions, dwellings with high Romanesque windows and tapered ceilings. There were statues and fountains, courtyards and squares.
Emma's fears for Henry were temporarily forgotten as she admired the architecture of this ancient city that had somehow become lost in time. David said they had gone back a few thousand years but Emma discounted it. It wasn't possible that there would be no trace of this place in recorded history. It had to be further back then that before such things were noted because she had never heard of this civilisation referenced in any history book.
Unable to ride a horse, Emma had been forced to ride double with Killian and she was sure he loved the whole carrying her about like a damsel in distress thing. Still, she couldn't deny that it was kind of romantic riding with him like this as they entered the city. They'd been led through the paved street that spiralled around Minas Tirith and Emma saw a happy place where the people were content with their lots. Merchants sold their wares on street corners, as women gossiped on their way to conduct the business of day while children played in courtyards.
Of course, their arrival created some commotion as people stopped to stare in passing curiosity at the strangers in their midst. One thing was clear however, Faramir and Legolas commanded respect. Their presence amongst the people of Minas Tirith elicited warm welcomes and words of greeting. Faramir tossed snippets of conversation back and forth from passer-by’s where he could, while Legolas waved back at the children who were staring at him in awe.
She thought of Sauron's story about how they'd fought against overwhelming numbers to emerge victoriously, and if this was indeed that city, then these people had a lot to be proud of. She hated thinking that son of a bitch was back to mess with them some more.
"Now there's a sight Swan," Killian whispered in her ear as they entered a courtyard at the very top of the city.
It was a courtyard the size of a football field and in the middle of it, was a single tree.
Emma recognised it immediately as the tree that Faramir and his Rangers wore on their tunics. The White Tree, she realised. At their right flank, the king's tower stood and like the rest of the architecture in the city, it was a grand structure of high ceilings and medieval-styled doors and tall impressive columns of white marble. Even in the evening, it gleamed.
"God it’s so beautiful," she whispered.
"Aye," Killian nodded, "they certainly know how to build here."
As they crossed the courtyard with its ornate fountains and Emma saw the guard towers placed strategically along the wide wall overlooking the rest of the city, she couldn't disagree.
******
"Is the king at court this morning, Bregar?" Faramir asked as he, Legolas and his strange party approach the steps leading into the Tower of Ecthelion.
Bregar, the captain of the guard let out a sigh. "No Lord Faramir. He said he is indisposed and cannot be bothered." The look of him told them that this wasn’t the first time the King had done this.
Faramir turned to Legolas, exchanging what looked like an expression of exasperation before glancing at David and the others and gestured at them to follow.
Heading away from the tall, ornate wooden doors, Faramir led them to a corner of the large courtyard, past the stone palisade that framed the topmost terrace of the city. Beyond it, Emma felt her breath catch at the vista of magnificent mountains with snow peaks running towards the west. The sun was starting to descend and the sky took on a rich, amber colour. This was the world, Emma thought, the way it should have been before progress destroyed it.
"I wonder where in your world this is," Killian said quietly as they followed Faramir down the wide walkway that framed the main tower.
"I don't know," Emma confessed, looking at the view again, trying to see if it appeared familiar. It didn't. "Could be anywhere I suppose."
They seemed to be in the part of the castle tower that was relegated for the household staff. As Faramir appeared, Emma could see his effect on the people who were carrying food baskets, doing laundry and other household chores. It appeared there were unaccustomed to seeing someone of his stature in this part of the castle.
"Where are we going?" David asked Legolas to satisfy not only his curiosity but those with him.
"To find the king," Legolas said with an almost amused smirk across his youthful face.
The distinct smell of animals began to waft through the air, tickling Emma's nose hair enough to make it curl and then she saw where Faramir was headed.
"He's in the stables?"
Faramir and Legolas exchanged looks and nodded with the former grumbling, "Maybe we should build him a throne room without a ceiling."
"It's not going to help," Legolas chuckled. "He only goes there to hide."
"To hide?" This time it was Robin who made the exclamation. "Why does he need to hide, he's the king."
Legolas suppressed a smirk and replied in an attempt at a sober voice. "Aragorn... the king was once a ranger like Faramir. He was accustomed to open spaces and going about where he wished. He has yet to adjust completely to his new station."
David could sympathise with that.
He remembered what it felt like to have his life hijacked when King George needed a substitute for his dead son. Until then, David had lived a simple life, unaware that he had a twin brother who had been adopted out to be a Prince. He'd stepped into the role because he had little choice in the matter and it had been extremely difficult to try and forget the simple freedoms he took for granted until then.
"I can relate," David replied, "How long has he been king?"
"A year," Legolas answered. "We defeated Sauron and he took his place as High King of Gondor. We would have had no victory without Aragorn. He rallied Rohan, helped defeat the Corsairs and gave Frodo the distraction required to destroy the One Ring."
"Then this is going to please him to no end then," Gold remarked under his breath.
They reached the stables which had every appearance of its royal pedigree. The elongated room housed some of the most magnificent horses David had ever seen, each stabled in their own pen. Fresh straw and constant sweeping kept the acrid animal stench to a minimum and the loft was connected to the ground by ladders placed uniform distance apart. Their arrival prompted the stable hands and groomsmen to look up but this time, they did not appear surprised to see Faramir. This was a scene they had witnessed many times in the last year, if not from the Steward then from his wife the Queen.
Faramir stopped in the middle of the stable floor and looked up at the loft. "Aragorn, will you please come down from there. For pity sake, you're the king. You cannot simply hide in there and hope the court disappears."
His demand was met with a loud curse from someone above in a language that Emma didn't understand but forced Legolas to choke down a laugh. It was followed by another disgruntled response.
"I can try," the voice returned almost petulantly. "Give me orcs to fight and I'll make myself available. Whatever argument, request, complaint, favour or map redefinition they want, you are the Steward, you should attend to it."
"Eru give me strength," Faramir shook his head.
"I like this bloke already," Killian grinned and Emma was now burning with curiosity with what sort of King they were dealing with.
"Aragorn," Faramir spoke with a more serious voice. "The shadow is rising from the east."
There was a pause and the next thing they knew, the king who had been taking refuge in the loft to escape the clients, ministers and officials climbed the ladder to the ground, jumping the last few steps. When he faced them, Emma saw a man not much older than David with dark hair reaching his shoulders and blue eyes that were the colour of the sky. He was ruggedly handsome with the fainted hint of stubble on his well-defined jaw and dimpled chin. Dressed in a light coloured blue tunic which was made from a mixture of silk and wool, breeches of a darker colour and boots, there was nothing except a silver ring on his finger to give away that he was king.
In the words of Ruby, a total babe, Emma thought and shifted her gaze because she was staring.
His gaze fell on Legolas and Faramir before shifting to the strangers behind them. "We have guests it appears." His eyes fell on Emma, taking note of her clothing first and the bow that Robin was carrying. "Welcome to Minas Tirith travellers," he said politely. "From where do you come?"
Aragorn in his near seventy years of travelling had never seen anyone who wore the clothes of these strangers or carried the weapon that one of them was wielding.
"Estel," Legolas spoke up, "this is not a conversation we should have here." The elf glanced at the folk in the stable. "The situation is grave and we need to speak in private."
"Then it appears my sojourn is over," he said, puffing up his chest as the petulance of earlier was dismissed by the return of the king.
*******
Once again, the throne room of the Elfstone was like the rest of his kingdom; magnificent.
The room was enormous with high ceilings and one wall sectioned into individually carved statues of the great kings of Gondor as if they were keeping watch over the elevated throne and the king who presided in it. Tall windows ran along the wall that faced the mountains that poured rays of light across the great hall, one after the other. The authority and grandeur of the setting gave a visitor no mistake that this was indeed the centre of civilisation throughout Middle Earth.
The king chose not to take his place on the throne, instead, he led them to a round dining table that made Emma think of King Arthur's round table. It sat in a secluded corner of the throne room, next to a fireplace and was large enough to accommodate all of them. A fire burning gave the corner a warm, amber glow while the shadow of flames flickered across the hung tapestries and statues that decorated it.
Despite the urgency to retrieve Henry, Emma couldn't deny that it was good to sit down for a minute to catch her breath and it must have been apparent to their host because the king was immediately calling for them to be brought some refreshment.
"Do you require rest my lady?" Aragorn asked politely with the barest hint of a smile and Emma found herself understanding what it was that had so mesmerized Regina so much about Sauron. Like his evil counterpart, Aragorn was quite magnetic.
"I'm fine, thank you." She said graciously, aware of Killian watching her and probably remembering what she had said about Sauron and his accent. She knew that one was going to come back and bite her on the ass.
"Well then," Aragorn eased back into his chair and sighed loudly. "I suppose it was too much to hope he would have been vanquished so easily. He has survived numerous efforts to end him already."
"Indeed," Legolas frowned. "It never occurred to us that he might have placed a spell on the One Ring but we should not be surprised."
"So it’s all about the ring?" David asked. "That's the source of his power?"
"Not exactly," Faramir explained. "In order to control the other rings of power, Sauron poured much of his own strength into the ring when he created it. However, in doing so, he weakened himself. Destroying the ring destroys him."
"So we need to get the ring," Killian remarked. "That will not be easy. He's bloody powerful with it."
"We do have some experience with it," Legolas said to Killian with a little smile.
"Emma and I can probably give you some help there,” Gold spoke. "We have magic that can distract him enough for someone to reach him and perhaps get it off but we can't defeat him."
"Regina would help," Robin spoke up. "If she knew he'd stolen Henry, she wouldn't stand for it." While Robin believed Regina loved Henry, the woman she had become would not sit still to allow the boy to be snatched from his friends and family to be ferried away to some strange land.
"We have to reach her first," Emma pointed out glumly, "and we don't know where she is."
"If the lady is anywhere, she will be in Minas Morgul." Aragorn frowned, standing up and drifting over the window where the faint outline of that dark city could be seen in the distance. "With Bara-dur gone. That would be the most likely place for him to use as his new place of power."
"Aragorn," Faramir spoke up. "Emma has shown us the weapons they have brought back from the future. They are terrible indeed. If he attacked us, we may not be able to stop him."
Aragorn didn't answer for a moment and lapsed into silent contemplation, considering the situation and how they never seemed to be free of the Maiar spirit. As the pause grew long with Faramir about to break it, he spoke again. "I keep thinking of Frodo."
Neither Legolas nor Faramir spoke but their faces spoke volumes. "Who’s Frodo?" She asked.
"A hobbit of the Shire," Aragorn said thinking of the frail little halfling who saved them all. "He was the one who took the One Ring to Mount Doom and destroyed it. It very nearly killed him doing it and its mark upon him still remains. He is one of the little people and he saved us. If the One Ring has returned, I will not have him blighted by its evil again. I promised him that he and his Shire would be safe from further darkness while I reigned as king, I will not break that oath."
Killian stared at the king for a long moment, saying nothing but thinking how he and Liam would have still been in the navy if they had been called on to serve a king like this. The one they served was petty and cruel who willing to sacrifice anyone to get what he wanted. His callous demand for an ultimate weapon in Neverland had cost Liam his life and ensured Killian's life as a pirate. How different it would have been to have served a king like Aragorn, who put the people he ruled before his own demands. Such a king could command the utmost loyalty and would have been the kind that Killian would have readily died for.
"We will not Aragorn," Faramir assured him. "We will call to Rohan for aid and what remains of the elves in this realm will stand for Gondor..."
"No," Aragorn shook his head. "We will not engage him on the battlefield if we cannot win. If these strangers are correct then sending our armies against his forces will only get them killed. If we are to defeat Sauron, we must do it before he launches his army. We need to take the ring off his hand and destroy it once and for all. The Mountain of Fire has now become a river. There is still enough fury in it to destroy the One Ring and this time, we will ensure that there is no enchantment upon it."
"We may not reach him in time," Legolas pointed out, "if he has been here for days, he may already be preparing to attack."
"I can get us there straight away," Gold declared.
"What?" Aragorn shot the Dark One a pointed look. "You have such magic?"
"I do," Gold nodded. "If you mean to send men after him then I can see to it that we reach him quickly. Now that I know where to go, I can do that."
"I will not be sending men after him," Aragorn said firmly. "I am going."
"That is not wise," Faramir protested immediately, "If he has the One Ring, he could kill you."
"If he has the One Ring and we fail to take it from him as Isildur did, it will not make any difference whether I am here or in Minas Morgul, Gondor and Middle Earth will fall. Besides," Aragorn said firmly, "It is time Sauron and I met face to face."
"Estel...?"
A new voice spoke from behind them and it was decidedly feminine.
Emma turned to see a woman standing at a small doorway leading to the rest of the castle. She was young and dressed very much like a fairy tale princess, not to mention exceedingly beautiful. With long dark hair that shimmered as she approached, the eyes that studied them were blue like the deepest depth of the ocean. Like Legolas, her ears tapered into points and her skin was so fair that it seemed almost luminescent. She smiled at them with perfectly shaped lips and Emma noted with some amusement that all the men at the table were immediately getting to their feet. Even the Storybrooke contingent was also staring at the woman like they were all transfixed by a vision of beauty.
It was hard not to feel a little under-appreciated.
"Don't worry," Legolas leaned down and whispered in Emma's ear as she saw their reaction. "She has that effect on most men."
"Who is she?" Emma asked not at all jealous but thinking that the woman didn't seem quite real like she'd stepped out of a dream.
"Undomiel," Aragorn approached her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I am sorry, I meant to join you for dinner but a situation has developed."
"I can see that," she remarked and turned to address her husband's guests, "I am grateful my husband has treated you to the hospitality of our home. He can forget the niceties sometimes. This is what comes of too much time wandering the wilderness like a vagabond." She said glancing over her shoulder as she teased him playfully.
Aragorn gave her a smile and then faced his guests, "May I introduce you to my wife, Arwen."
*****
They were soon joined by another woman of the castle, except this one didn't seem quite as ethereal as Arwen and was apparently Faramir's wife. After meeting Eowyn, there was no longer any mystery why Faramir had no trouble believing that Emma was capable of holding her own against Sauron. His wife had apparently killed one of the Nine during the last battles of their war with the dark lord. For that feat alone, Emma was similarly awed by the Shield Maiden of Rohan, especially when she remembered how the son of a bitch almost killed Killian.
"Of course you must go," Arwen said without hesitation or resentment. She knew Sauron was Aragorn's personal demon and for him to be the king she knew he could be, he had to face down the dark lord and put him down for all time. While she harboured real fear for his safety, she could no more ask him to stand down then she could ask him to deny who he was. "We cannot allow him to menace the world again. People are finally starting to feel safe, starting to feel hope for the future."
"Thank you," Aragorn said squeezing her hand as she sat by him at the table, grateful for her understanding. "I do not embark upon this quest lightly but I swore to protect Gondor and I will do it, no matter what the cost."
"Looks let's show some optimism here," Emma spoke up hating all this fatalistic talk. "I'm not going out there to lose my son. I know you guys have fought him a long time but we're here to help you and help ourselves at the same time. You know this guy and..." she looked at Gold, "we have the magic. Together, I think we can take him if we can get to Regina."
“We can’t be sure of her allegiances Dearie,” Gold pointed out. “Regina has always been led by her heart.”
"Well her heart's been broken," Robin spoke up in Regina's defence. "It was my fault that she was driven to him but she has fought so hard to be a better person that I cannot believe she would stand by and watch innocent people die."
"The lady has been promised a family and a future with someone she thinks loves her," Gold explained. "That is a hard illusion to break."
“And Sauron is very good at it," Legolas confessed. "His powers of deception are mythic and so artful that most of the time, one does not see the manipulation until it is too late. Your lady," he regarded Robin, "is no different than some of our greatest kings in their susceptibility to Sauron the Deceiver. Do not blame her for that."
"We don't," Emma said firmly, wanting everyone from Storybrooke to remember that because she knew what part she had played in all this. If only she hadn't brought back Marian, Emma thought for the hundredth time since that night. "However, we need her on our side. Regina has kick-ass magic. If we tell her the truth, that it's not just about Henry but everyone in the world we left behind, that might be enough to change her mind.”
"So what is our plan?" Killian asked. "Just showing up at his castle when he has an army is amassing is suicide. We have to find Regina first so the three of you can take the dark wizard."
"No," Emma replied, "We need to find Henry first then find Regina. If we simply tell Regina he's here, she may not believe us. She needs to see him."
"Alright then," Aragorn spoke up. "So what is needed is a two-pronged attack. My lady, if you and the wizard have magic, then we will need you to distract Sauron. There is no hope of conducting a search of Minas Morgul for your son otherwise. I will go with you for he despises me and will relish a chance at revenge. We need him to become angry and unfocused."
"I will accompany you," Legolas said to his best friend, "I have spent enough time trying to keep you alive to ensure you do not get yourself killed in any foolish acts of bravery."
"Thank you," Arwen said to him gratefully. Legolas gave her a look that told her that no thanks were needed. They had been friends for as long as either of them had walked the world and he was like the sister he never had. To protect her husband was also to protect his best friend and that was something Legolas would gladly do always.
"If a search is to be carried out of Minas Morgul then you will need me," Faramir answered. "I will guide the rest of you through the city. No doubt Sauron will keep the boy up high away from his Uruks and orcs. The smell of fresh meat could be too much for them."
"Oh, God..." Emma's stomach turned in horror. Fresh meat which meant... she couldn't bring herself to finish that thought. Her son. Her baby.
"Really my husband!" Eowyn chided, swatting Faramir across the arm for being so tactless. "Emma, if your son is as valued to Sauron’s new queen as you say, he would not risk harm to the boy."
"My apologies," Faramir apologised, rubbing his arm and giving Eowyn a small contrite smile. "My wife is far wiser than I."
"Look, if we get the ring from him and we can get Regina on board," David added. "We will take these weapons he brought back with us or at least make them useless so you won't be under threat from them. We've seen the future he creates because of them. We have no wish to go back to that."
Gold was listening to the king thanking the Prince when something like a strong wind swept through him. He felt as if he were standing on the top of a mountain and the fresh, crisp air was surging through his lungs, awakening every sense that he had. It felt like someone had blown open the windows and doors to the darkest recesses of his soul and let in a light so blinding it was almost overwhelming.
"Rumpelstiltskin, what is it?" Robin asked, catching the fact that the man was clutching the table, almost shaking. All eyes turned to him in concern.
"I don't know..." Gold muttered as he felt the sensation starting to subside, like a heat lamp that was turned up high now being adjusted appropriately. A crack of light caught the corner of his eye and Gold thought it might be coming from the window except when he turned to look, it was emanating from the open doors of the throne room.
"Greetings," Gandalf the White said, holding his staff as he eyed the new arrivals. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced."
Henry woke up with a start.
His head hurt and he didn’t know where he was. The last thing he remembered was being in school and standing in rising fear as the men in black robes that looked like Dementors closed in on him. Henry had tried to run and was aware of the other kids in the classroom screaming but after the black wall of robes had him trapped within their circle, there was no escape. After that, things had gotten really foggy and he couldn't remember anything else until now.
Sitting up in the bed, his limbs felt heavy and he felt like he did when he’d gotten that really bad flu a couple of summers back and had to stay out of school all week, with his mom bringing him ice cream when she shouldn't have really. Henry remembered how every joint seemed to ache and his head felt heavy and everything seemed to have an unreal quality about it. While he felt nowhere as weak and feverish as that occasion, he felt all kinds of messed up because he could still hear the low drone trying to get through all the stuffiness in his ears.
Blinking away his disorientation, he rubbed his eyes and faced front, eyes widening as where he was sunk into his consciousness. He glanced at the bed he was lying on and then the bed frame surrounding him. He recognised none of it nor did he recognise the room he now found himself and that unfamiliarity filled him with anxiety.
For starters, the room he was in looked like it was one that would be found in a castle.
The walls were made of stone. Big slabs of grey granite were fixed in place by rough mortar. They were no lights in the room but there were brass lamps fixed against the wall, though none of them was lit. There was light streaming through the one window he could see but even though he could see the sun outside, it felt dark and a little chilly. He pulled his coat a little closer to him as he looked over the bed he was sitting. It was just like something you saw in those old Victorian movies. It was way too big for a kid or for that matter The Rock.
Climbing off the edge, his socked feet touched the floor and he could feel the cool stone tiles even through the thick wool. Henry searched the floor and found his sneakers at the foot of the chair near the bed. He went to the chair and sat down, quickly putting them on. Having learned the lesson from Bruce Willis, a hero needed to have shoes or else he invited all kind of trouble.
Once they were on, Henry took stock of his situation to determine how much of a prisoner he was. He tried to brave like Emma and David, trying to decide what they would do in this situation. This is Operation Cobra for one, he thought to himself. Going to the wooden door, he once again thought that he was in a castle because the door was made of wood and pointed at the top, like in the Robin Hood movies. He twisted the old, tarnished doorknob and frowned when it was locked. Twisting and jiggling it for another two or three turns resulted in nothing but confirming to Henry he was indeed a prisoner.
With a frustrated groan, he turned back to the room and tried to rein in his frantic thoughts to think clearly. Was he back in the Enchanted Castle? It was possible now that the portals between the worlds were open. If Hook and Emma just got back, there was every chance he could have been brought that. Had his mom brought him here? Was she so mad at Emma for bringing back Robin's wife that she decided to leave Storybrooke and take her with him? The Evil Queen would have done that but she wasn't the Evil Queen anymore. She had used white magic to beat Zelena, she was good now.
Wasn't she?
Making a closer examination of his surroundings, he noted that the room was furnished wooden furniture with animal skin rugs sprawled across the stone floor and even tapestries hanging on the walls. He saw a washbasin and pitcher on the table and shuddered to think what the bathroom looked like. Did they even have bathrooms here? He didn't even like making in the bushes when they went camping, let alone use the rustic plumbing facilities of the Enchanted Kingdom.
A hero wouldn't complain, he told himself.
It was then that he realised the low drone that he attributed his disorientation hadn't left him. Instead, it took on the tangibility of city noise he had relegated to the background when he and Emma lived in their New York apartment. Once he discarded this notion and determined it was something real, Henry realised it was coming from outside the window. He had yet to look out the window because he had assumed that he was in the Enchanted Kingdom before and there was no mystery that needed immediate solving.
However as he went to the window to investigate, Henry realised that was a pretty big assumption. His eyes touched the sky first, it was beautiful and blue but the pristine quality ended there and then. His gaze lowered to the foot of the castle, and boy what castle, he was in. It looked like it had been carved out of a mountain. His eyes widened at the sight of the army gathered below him. It was nothing like any army he saw in the book that told him the stories of the Enchanted Kingdom.
Henry had read the book about the Enchanted Forest and its fables from cover to cover so many times he couldn't even count but at no time, did he ever read about this place. Suddenly a thought struck him that had not occurred to him until now. What...what if he wasn't in the Enchanted Kingdom? What if he were someplace else? Someplace that wasn't in the book? If this place was so different from any other he had been to, how was he going to get back home?
Worse yet, would Emma be able to find him?
Suddenly, the door creaked open and Henry found himself retreating from the window, pressed against a section of the wall that was the furthest from it. After realising he may be in a completely different place from what he originally thought, he wasn't certain he wanted to see what was coming through the door. Henry didn't scare easily because being the Truest Believer, he had an unshakeable faith that his family would eventually come for him but right now, he felt utterly alone. In this place he didn’t recognise, he felt very small and weak.
When the door opened to reveal his visitor, Henry felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the tall figure with the dark, sweeping robes that had come with its companions to his school and abducted him, stepping inside. Henry couldn't see his face beneath the hood, only shadows but he knew when the man was looking at him because the points of his red eyes seemed to flare brighter when he looked Henry's way. It made Henry shrink further back into the wall.
The hooded figure crossed the floor and stood w closed the distance between them, standing but a few feet away from Henry was standing.
"Where am I?" Henry demanded, trying to sound brave but sounding petulant to his ears.
The figure ignored him and pulled back the folds of his cloak to reveal the plate of fruit he was carrying. He moved soundlessly to the table and set the plate there, with just enough force to indicate he didn't like playing waiter.
"Where am I?" Henry asked again, frightened but still determined to get some answers as to where he was. "Please, tell me where I am."
The figure was about to turn away from the table when he paused and considered the question before turning to Henry and the darkness beneath his hood was so deep that Henry still couldn't see his face.
"You are in Mordor." He spoke and his voice made Henry's skin crawl. It was like the bug that you knew was crawling around your ear.
"Mordor?" Henry stared blankly. "I don’t know Mordor. Why did you bring me here?" He demanded.
"You are here because Sauron desires it," he answered. "Because it serves his purpose."
Sauron. That was Stephen's real name. Henry had heard Emma talking about Stephen and his mum. "Is my mom here?" Henry asked, suddenly realising that there was no reason Stephen would want him unless his mother was here too. She didn't know he was in here. That much Henry guessed. Regina would have been at his side if she knew he was here. She wouldn't let him wake up in a strange place without her.
"Please," Henry begged, playing up the scared kid a little because that might disarm this guy...if he even was a guy, Henry thought. "I want to go home. I'm scared."
The Dementor leaned forward replied, "Scared is a good thing to be. Fear makes you alert, makes you aware of things around you. Fear can keep you alive. Embrace it."
"I don't want to embrace it!" Henry cried out. "I want to go home! Where's my mom! Where's Storybrooke?"
"Gone," the figure said coldly, unmoved by his growing anxiety. "This is your home now."
And that prospect he was telling the truth was more terrifying to Henry than anything else.
******
When he was in Sauron’s presence, Gold had felt as if he were standing next to a nuclear reactor, threatening to explode and consume everything in sight. It had made him proceed with caution, made him worry that the primordial magic being wielded made him less of a wizard than he actually was. In truth, he was. Gold couldn’t think to take on Sauron alone. There were levels of magic and the one that Sauron tapped into was all the things that anti-life personified. It was like the coda for entropy.
In Gandalf’s presence, he felt an entirely different sensation.
It was like standing next to the ocean, feeling the world rush all over you. You could smell the salt, the wind in your hair, the slight spray of the surf against your skin. You felt apart of things, one grain of sands against billions. There was a calmness to it, mesmerizing like the glittering canvas of iridescent colours that came from watching the sunlight bounce off the ocean.
Even as he stared at the White Wizard, Gold was overcome with the humility of being in the presence of someone who was so beyond them that words could not describe it. He felt like a moth that flew too close to the candlelight and saw the glimpses of brilliance that was hidden beneath the transitory shell of the White Wizard. The others didn't realise what they were looking at. They saw an old man while Gold saw someone who was present at the birth of Creation.
Rumpelstiltskin aka the Dark One aka Mr Gold was awed.
Gandalf stared at the wizard before him and saw a curious mix of magic, dark and light mixed into an ambiguous mix. There was fury, despair and meanness but there was also compassion, sorrow and love. What a curious creature this wizard was. Someone who was neither one thing nor another and could not decide which he wished to be. Gandalf gazed at him and offered him a little smile of understanding, lacking in judgement.
"It is good to meet a fellow wizard," Gandalf greeted and there was welcome in his voice.
Gold knew that this wizard had looked inside of him, sensed the magic in him and chose to be kind instead of suspicious. Gold thought fleetingly that Bae and Belle would be proud of him for having enough good inside him to be accepted by a wizard such as this.
"Likewise Wizard," Gold replied touched by the greeting. "You are aware of our problem then?" He asked his usual acerbic manner stifled as he regarded the older man with the respect due.
"Yes," Gandalf raised his eyes beneath his snowy brow and nodded, his eyes shifting to Aragorn whose face was grim. "He has returned and he has the One Ring."
"Will this affect Frodo?" Aragorn asked, more worried about the little hobbit in his shire than his entire kingdom at the moment.
"I'm afraid so," Gandalf answered unhappily. "We must move quickly and rid this menace from our land before Sauron has a chance to rally more of his allies. With the One Ring in his possession, they will come far and wide to fight by his side."
"Could you stop him?" David asked, wishing more than ever they had seen Stephen for what he was. "If he gets them all to come?"
"No," Faramir said simply. "Not with the One Ring. We are still repairing the damage that was caused by the War of the Ring. We will fight for our lands and our king, every last one of us but we will lose."
Aragorn gave Faramir a smile of appreciation. "No, we will not fight him. We will do what has been planned. We will face him and finish it or die trying."
"Wait a minute," Emma interrupted. "No one's dying okay? We have a plan. We're going to stand up to him together and get this ring from him. I am not planning to lose my son. We are getting Henry back and we're going to get you your happy ending because anything else is not acceptable."
"Right," Killian tossed in, "like the lady said. We had a plan mates, let's get on with it."
"Pray to tell, what is this plan?" Gandalf asked, smiling in bemusement at Emma.
"This wizard has a way to get us to Minas Morgul quickly," Aragorn explained and when he does so, we must confront him. Lady Emma and the Wizard Gold believes that they have the magic to stop him."
"We can't do it alone," Emma replied, "We need our friend Regina. She's with your Sauron but I think if we can show her that he lied to her and stole Henry, she might join us to fight him. I know Regina's a bit lost right now but I can believe she'd condone what he did to bring Henry here. If we can get her to use her magic and combine it with ours, we might be able to defeat him."
"And if I were to add my magic to that, we can destroy him once and for all." Gandalf rumbled.
All eyes turned to him.
"If our strength can weaken him," Gandalf continued, "Aragorn, you must strike the same blow as Isildur. The ring must be removed from him."
Was he never to be free of Isildur's bane? Aragorn wondered silently. He had lived all of his life with that curse hanging over him and even after he thought he was free of it, the One Ring had returned to plague him again. "I will cut the ring from Sauron's hand but I will not take it up."
"I can take it," Legolas volunteered. "I can resist the Ring of Power for however long it takes to destroy it once and for all."
"No," Gandalf shook his head. "This Ringbearer must go to this young maiden here."
"Maiden?" Killian opened his mouth to remark when the warning glare he received from David made the words die in his throat. "Right, maiden."
"I don't know if I want Emma going near that thing if it is as dangerous as you say," David retorted, facing Gandalf.
Emma was about to protest, already wanting to deck Killian for his 'maiden' comment and now Dad or rather 'Dad' from behaving like an overprotective father but then again, that's exactly what he was, wasn't he? David's feelings for him were exactly the same as hers for Henry. The realisation made her quiet and she wanted to hug him. All her life, this was what she had wanted and now it was here, Emma still had to play catch up.
"It must be her," Gandalf replied and then asked, "She is a child of true love, is she not?" Gandalf asked pointedly. The wizard was aware of the exact nature of their relationship, puzzling as it was. However, in a world of magic, nothing was impossible.
David was taken back by the question before turning to Emma, his eyes shining with a father's pride. "The truest there ever was. She is the best of everything in her father and mother."
Emma smiled at David and wanted to hug him again, instead she extended her hand to father and squeezed when he reached out with his. The contact was brief but no one in the room could mistake the love there.
"Your magic is pure," Gandalf explained. "It is incorruptible and it will protect you from the darkness of the One Ring. The power of the ring is tempting and its ability to corrupt is strong. You have the magic inside you to shield you from its darkness but you also have something inside you that none of us possesses."
"What?" Emma stared at him with puzzlement, suspecting that it was not the white magic.
"The fury of a mother to protect her child." The wizard said with a faint smile.
"Well that is you," Killian agreed confidently and then regarded the wizard. "When she gets the ring, then what?"
"Then we will go to Mount Doom," Gandalf explained. "You and Lady Emma." He said to Gold, "will cast it in what remains of the mountain of fire. The ring was made there, only there can it will be destroyed for all time."
"And that will kill him?" Emma asked, thinking about Regina and how she would take the loss. It would be just another example of them ripping away from her someone could make her happy. Unfortunately, this time they really didn't have a choice. If Sauron was allowed to remain, their world would be altered irrevocably. Emma didn't even know if any of them would survive Sauron's altered timeline.
"He never really dies," Gandalf answered sensing some hesitation on her part but called no attention to it. , "but once this is done. He will never be able to affect the world again. His spirit will fade into nothingness and he will never rise again."
"Swell," Emma sighed and once again felt like the one plunging the dagger into Regina’s heart.
*****
The wind was lashing at him as he stood on the highest balcony of the tower of Minas Morgul. In the distance, he could see Minas Tirith under the moonlight waiting. The Stairs of Cirith Ungol creeping up the side Ephel Duath flanked the city and Sauron wondered if Shelob still lived in its cracks, cursing at the hobbit that wounded her. He could share her distaste of the race and once he was done with Minas Tirith, he intended to pay a personal call on the Master of End before burning his precious Shire down around the hobbit's ears.
Wearing armour and the raiment appropriate for the Lord of Mordor, Sauron stood surrounded by the Nazgul, all of them astride their winged serpents, their great wings flapping in the wind, awaiting for his order. Sauron glanced over his shoulder and saw his soon to be queen, standing in the background. She still felt a little anxious to be around the Nazgul and Sauron allowed her to fear, preferred it in fact. While he would make her his queen, she would never rule and the Nazgul were his creatures, in body and soul. The sooner she understood she could never command them, the better.
"Go to the White City," Sauron told Morgul who was hovering closest to him. "Show the people of Gondor we have returned. Then you will tell Arathorn's brat that I will be soon be arriving at Minas Tirith myself. If he surrenders himself, I will consider not reducing the city to rubble. Fight and I will tear the White City down, brick by brick and feed his queen to the wargs. It will be the last thing he sees before I take his head."
Regina listened to Sauron and felt her stomach clench involuntarily. Was this what she wanted? To plunge back into the darkness that had consumed most of her adult life? When she saw his army, she understood what she was giving herself over to. Sauron was a god-king and he was about to crush this Middle Earth in a fist of oppression. She would be his queen over all that punishment. Is that what she wanted?
No, it wasn't but Regina also knew that she could be the velvet glove to his iron mace. He was driven by defeat but once defeat was done and rule became the norm, she could temper his anger into something constructive. Regina knew she might be misguided in her conceit that Sauron could be changed but then again, hadn't he taken her as his queen? He said himself that she was the first thing he ever wanted for himself, a desire that was wasn't driven by his grand design for Middle Earth. He could have had any woman but it was Regina he wanted. No one else.
It was the first time in so long that anyone had ever chosen her over someone else. Not her mother, not Robin and not even Henry. Sauron was offering her the chance to be the queen of her own kingdom, one she had won at his side. Not one she had to marry into and there was a chance for her own children, something denied to her when Emma came back into Henry's life. Besides, she thought as she heard him make his ultimatum to the king of Gondor, hadn't she committed similar atrocities as he in her time as the Evil Queen.
In any case, they had years ahead of them, an entire lifetime as a matter of fact where she could teach him to be kind. Let him have his revenge on those who wronged him. Who
was she to deny him that when she had cursed an entire kingdom to satiate her own need for vengeance? Let it burn out of him and then they could move on together, Regina thought.
"With pleasure my lord," Morgul answered Sauron and tugged at the reins of his mount. The serpent's neck reared up and its wings flapped once, lifting it higher above the platform. The creature continued to flap until it was able to dive down and turn towards Minas Tirith. As it left the tower, the other eight Nazgul fell behind Morgul as they headed towards the White City.
Once they were gone, Sauron turned to Regina. "Aragorn is heroic and noble. He might take my offer."
"And then you'll spare the city?" She asked.
"Of course not," Sauron said with a little smile, "but it will be most pleasurable to see that hope extinguished. Hope my Queen is the most powerful weapon that any hero has. As long as a flicker of it exists, they will go to extraordinary lengths to keep it alive. I will bring down the White City because while it exists, it is a beacon to the rest of the West for rebellion. I will not suffer that nonsense again. This time, I intend to ensure that there is never an opportunity for man to build up his strength. First Gondor and then Rohan. Once the horse masters are done, Middle Earth will be ours."
"And then what," Regina asked, fighting the horror of it, reminding herself again and again that she was the Evil Queen and this was exactly what she had done or would have done before Storybrook. Before Henry.
"Then we will make something beautiful," he took her hand in one of his gauntlets and raised it to his lips before planting a kiss on her knuckle. "It will be ordered and perfect. It would be as it should have been before Melkor ruined the world. When we are done, the people of Middle Earth will be grateful. What we will do to bring about order will be harsh but they will not hate its outcome."
"Well then," she said smiling at him, thinking that was something she could work with, "When do we begin?"
He had to escape.
This much Henry knew after the Dementor left him. He had to leave this place and find his way home. He tried to remember what Stephen had said to him when the man had first entered the dinner. About the big war that he and his people were fighting. Maybe if he could find those people, maybe they could help him find a way home. He didn't know for certain but he had to try. Heroes just didn't let themselves be locked away in a high tower.
They tried to escape.
Of course, saying he was going to escape and actually doing it were two very different things. He was caught in a high tower and that made his options limited. However, he had looked out the window earlier and saw the Dementors flying away into the distance so he knew that those guys weren't his jailors any more. It didn’t occur to Henry that what might be guarding him could be worse but even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered.
With a methodology that came from the paternal side of his family, Henry studied the room he was in and then stuck his head out of the window. The drop to the balcony below was significant and he'd never make it. Furthermore, this high up, the winds were quite strong and could easily blow him away during any attempt to descend. Unfortunately, it was the only way out of the room and if any escape was to be made, it was going to be through that window.
*****
Tursk was unhappy.
Below in the courtyard and throughout Minas Morgul, his brothers were preparing to march on the White City, armed with the strange weapons provided to them by their Lord Sauron, newly returned to them. He was a veteran of the battles at Osgiliath, Pelennor Fields and the Black Gate, he deserved better than to be babysitting a whelp of human stock.
Unfortunately, that was precisely what he was doing because Lord Morgul had ordered him to do so. The child in the room was not to be let out under any circumstances or he would bear the consequences of his failure from Sauron himself. Tursk knew better than to fail because even if he had been presumed destroyed for over a year, the Sauron that had returned to them was more powerful than ever. He had the One Ring.
As the day drew towards twilight, he knew he had to go feed the little brat. Walking towards, the room, his nose curled in disgust at the food provided. Cooked meat that wafted its aromatic smells throughout the hall as he journeyed to the boy's room with a tray. Fortunately, Carsog was able to cook the meat to a remotely palatable state for weak human stomachs. This was too good for a prisoner, Tursk thought but Morgul had said that the boy was to be well taken cared of or there would be trouble.
Reaching the door, he heard no sound from the other side and saw nothing wrong in that. The little whelp was probably terrified out of his mind, Tursk thought as he opened the door and stepped inside, only to freeze in his tracks an instant later. The plate fell out of his hands to the floor with a loud clatter, splattering food across the stone slab.
The sheets were stripped from the bed, tied to each other from end to end and where there was no more sheet left to tie, the canopy covering the four-poster bed was used to make up the difference. The makeshift rope was tied to one of the four posts and stretched to the window and out of it. The slack and seemed to be fluttering which told Tursk immediately that whoever had used it to escape had already taken their weight from the end of it.
The orc hurried to the window and peered out, seeing the sheet hovering above the balcony and sputtered an impressive litany of curses as he realised what the little whelp had done. Crossing the room, he flew out of the room, running to reach the room the balcony led to before Sauron discovered what had happened and had him skinned alive.
A few seconds passed after Tursk’s departure before Henry pulled himself free of the narrow space between the wall and the bed frame where he had hidden. The orc had left the door wide open in his haste to conceal Henry's escape that when Henry stepped through the door into the empty hallway, no one was there to witness it. Aware that it wouldn't take long for his jailor to figure out that Henry had tricked him, he stared up and down the corridor and took the first door that he came across.
Stepping inside the new room, he found that it was a bedroom much like the one he had been except this was one was all covered in dust and appeared as if no one had been it in for a long time. There were cobwebs and draped over all the furniture and spiders dangled from corners like ornaments. Henry considered what was to be done next as he investigated the room for an alternate exit. Did he risk leaving this place and try to reach the ground or did he wait here until they stopped searching for him and night fell?
Henry wished he knew where he was. Not knowing made him even more afraid than he was already was. At least in the Enchanted Forest and Neverland, he had some point of reference but Stephen or rather Sauron's world was completely unfamiliar. Taking a deep breath, he decided it was safer to stay put and hide for the moment. His escape was only just discovered so it stood to reason they would be searching thoroughly for him. He stood a better chance of remaining free by staying where he was instead of running into someone as he tried to navigate unfamiliar terrain.
Moving deeper into the room, he found this room not so different than the one in which he had been held, prisoner. However, behind the large dresser was a doll's house, covered in dust and cobwebs. Seeing it made Henry examine the room once more and this time, he saw the lace trimming on the dusty sheets and a small harp lying across an abandoned desk near the window. Investigating the desk, he saw there were still parchments scattered across it.
Except these weren’t dusty at all.
Against the parchment that was barely paper, Henry saw the horizon he could see glancing at the window. Even though the work was done in charcoal, it was still a lovely rendering and he wondered who drew it. Searching through the parchments, he saw that some of the drawings were of the mountain, a terrible tower with a red flaming eye and some were of a beautiful city that was not this dismal place.
Where was this? Was this nearby? Whoever had drawn it could see it from this desk. Going to the window, he clutched the parchment and peered through it. He was careful that he wasn’t seen by anyone below to give away his hiding place.
Suddenly a voice spoke behind him, "That is the White City."
*******
"Oh I think I'm going to toss my cookies," Emma gasped out as the purple mist swirling around them dispersed into nothingness.
"Charming," Killian remarked, recovering a damn sight better than Emma after the Crocodile's trick of teleportation had materialised them in what appeared to be a dungeon and a rather foul-smelling one at that. However, after being in a New York jail, he could tolerate anything.
"Where the hell are we?" Emma heard Robin demand as the newly arrived group took stock of their sudden shift in surroundings. A moment ago, they were in the hall at Minas Tirith and after being swallowed up by the swirl of purple smoke, they vanished to reappear in these less than savoury surroundings.
"The dungeon of course," Gold answered from behind them, "it’s the last place anyone would look for intruders."
"I cannot fault your choice," Gandalf complimented him as the wizard regarded the stone walls around them. "Even the current occupants of this city would stay well away from here."
"You alright Luv?" Killian asked regarding Emma with concern. "The Crocodile’s method of travel is not easily stomached," he assured her despite his concern that only Emma seemed to be suffering the ill effects of teleportation.
"It is not the travel my dear," the White Wizard explained kindly, "It is the city. You are feeling its evil."
Emma straightened up and looked around her. They were in one of the dungeons and beyond it, she saw a narrow corridor separating another row of cells, one after the other. They were constructed of large stone slabs and were very much in keeping with the design Emma had seen in every other Robin Hood movie, down to the shackles attached to the wall and floor covered with straw to pass for bedding. The stench of the place was strong and acrid, reminding Emma of a barn and she shuddered to remember these rooms housed people, not animals. Layered on top of that already potent stink was the damp and mustiness of a place left abandoned for far too long.
It wasn’t just the stench of the place though, Emma realised. Gandalf was right; she could feel the horror and death that occurred inside these walls. The suffering and torture of the prisoners who were locked into those rusted shackles had soaked into the stone and everything around her screamed despair and darkness. There was no blood stains or telltale sign of corpses in any of the cells but Emma could feel the sinister tendrils coiling around her, trying to suck her into their dark clutches.
It chilled her to the core and her stomach heaved uncomfortably just being here.
"No kidding," Emma grumbled. "Morning sickness didn't feel this bad."
Killian stared at her, "I suddenly feel the need to apologise to my mother."
"There is much darkness here," Faramir explained as he checked his weaponry and made a move towards the open rusted door of the cell. "Minas Ithil was once a place of great beauty but now there is nothing left but lament and desecration."
"I can feel it," Legolas agreed, the elf appearing almost as disconcerted about being here as Emma and they shared a look of mutual misery. It was not the first time Legolas had found himself surrounded by such evil and it certainly would not be the last but he had not felt it since they stood in the presence of Bara-dur during the Battle of the Black Gate.
Stepping into the corridor, Faramir scanned the path ahead and sighted the steps leading out of the dungeons. He waited for the others to join him before he continued his narration. "There was a plague that may or may not have been the Nazgul’s handiwork. We never knew for certain but it killed most of this city's folk and when its defences were at its weakest, Minas Ithil was taken by Morgul, the Lord of the Nazgul. They have held it ever since and it has become corrupted and sullied beyond all redemption. Since the Battle of the Black Gate, some of the orcs have retreated here. Now it has become their last sanctuary in Middle Earth.”
"If we survive this night we will change that." Aragorn declared firmly, “This place will never be fit for human habitation again and the only way to remove its evil once and for all is to bring it down, brick by brick. However, this is a discussion for another time.” Turning to Emma, Aragorn said in a gentler tone. “My Lady, we must find Sauron and your son. If Sauron does not know we are here yet, he will soon enough. With the One Ring in his possession, I would leave nothing to chance."
"He's right," David agreed. "Emma, you, Gold, Aragorn, Legolas and Gandalf need to find Regina, Tell her what’s going on. The rest of us will go find Henry."
"I should go with them," Robin spoke up, looking at David and then Emma. "I can try and talk to Regina."
"No mate," Killian placed a hand on the bandit’s shoulder, shaking his head, "you can't. You being there will only make things worse. You know why."
Killian hated to be brutal but someone had to say it. While the people of this world had no idea the history between the bandit of Sherwood and the Evil Queen, Killian had developed a friendship with the man over the last few weeks. Despite their consideration for Robin’s feelings, someone had to give him the honest truth. If Robin showed up, it could actually make things worse, especially if they were asking Regina to choose Storybrook over Middle Earth.
Robin opened his mouth to protest but could find no argument that would make his case. He remembered the ugly scene at Regina’s house earlier that day, what seemed almost a lifetime ago now. Regina loved him but Sauron was giving her a future and anything he said to her would most likely be perceived as jealousy if she wasn’t outright furious at seeing him here.
"Alright," he nodded and said nothing further, beaten.
“Look I get it,” Emma said gently, sharing his pain because she wanted to go with David to get Henry herself but knew she had to go after Regina instead. Her magic was needed to help Gold and Gandalf fight Sauron, not to mention convincing Regina that her new lover had stolen Henry from Storybrook and was on his way to erasing the whole future of the human race from existence. With those kinds of stakes, Emma couldn’t afford to be selfish. “I want to go after Henry too but we need to stick the plan.”
Robin didn’t speak, choosing to answer with a nod before turning away.
"They'll likely be keeping your son in the Moon Tower," Faramir volunteered, prompting the group into moving. "It is the highest point in the city and most likely where Sauron can keep the boy out of sight. That is there we must go."
"Once you have him, find us in the main courtyard," Gandalf added. "Sauron is there now. His power radiates throughout the city like a burning torch. Even without the eye, his black spirit is breathed in flame. He has already sent the Nazgul to Minas Tirith. No doubt he will soon join them."
Emma could very well believe it. The sickly feeling in her gut was not just the dungeons but the powerful menace that lay beyond its walls. She hadn't sensed it before, not like Gold had in Storybrook but in this world, where Sauron was at his strongest, even her lack of discipline could not be ignorant to the force of his power.
Gold said nothing but hoped they had the power to strop him. What he felt in Storybrook seemed pale in comparison to the magic he was sensing now. It was like a furnace, prickling his skin and making him feel anxious. It was not a sensation he was accustomed to because when it came to magic he was always stronger than most other wizards he encountered. Sauron had been a kick in his complacency and once again Gold hoped Emma knew how much hinged on them convincing Regina to join them against the evil bastard.
"Have faith Rumpel," Gandalf said in a quiet voice as they moved down the hall towards the steps that led out of the dungeon. "All is not lost. There is always hope."
Gold found himself giving the older man a little smile, "I hope you’re right. There’s only one person who calls me that and I would like to get home to her.”
*******
It was a girl who was a ghost.
She was younger than him, with hair that might have been gold or light brown. There was no way to tell and Henry found himself thinking of those old movies in black and white where you had to imagine what colour everything was. He imagined her hair was gold and her eyes blue and her dress was yellow because it was a nicer colour than the spectral grey he was looking at.
She was standing behind him he perused the drawings on his desk and even though and even though he was surprised when he turned around, he was really afraid of her. Her skin was translucent and he could see the other side of the room through her body. She didn’t look scary or gross, just sad. It was the sad smile on her face that disarmed any fear he might have had. His heart immediately ached at her after she told him how long she had been trapped in this city with all the other dead things that wandered these halls unable to leave.
"What happened to you?" He asked, wondering he ought to run away but her sad, sad eyes compelled him to stay.
"I was sick," she answered softly, her voice like a breathy whisper. "Like everyone else. I went to sleep and didn’t wake up. Then I was just here and I knew I was dead."
After he’d processed the fact that he was talking to a ghost, he chose to handle it like his grandfather would, calmly. The women in his family, his moms, both of them, tended to shoot first and ask questions later. He knew that was not the best strategy here especially when she might be able to help him.
"Why, why aren't you...you know...gone, like to heaven." He asked tentatively, uncertain how she might take the question.
She looked at him puzzled, not understanding the word. "Do you mean the Timeless Halls?"
"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged, guessing that if it was the place that people here thought they went to after they died, it was close enough.
"I don't know,” she answered with a slight shrug of her shoulders, “but I think it has to do with the Nameless One. He brought many dead things here, including the Ringwraiths and because of that some of us weren't able to leave. I am not certain,” she confessed. “I get confused by it all."
"Oh," Henry decided not to press the matter since it seemed to upset her that she couldn’t remember and once again, he wondered how long had she been here. “I'm sorry. I wish I could help you but I'm trying to get out of here."
The mention of escape immediately animated her somewhat. “I know! The orcs are looking for you. I heard them. You need to stay here for a while. They don't like to come to these rooms. Some times I show myself and they get scared." A small giggle escaped her lips and supposed that if these ‘orc’ guys heard a ghost girl giggling in an empty room it would be pretty freaky.
"Okay," he agreed, seeing the sense in that. He had made up his mind to stay put himself before he’d run into her. "I'm Henry." He introduced himself because that was the polite thing to do, ghost or not.
"I'm..." she started to say and then paused abruptly her brow furrowing.
Henry didn’t have to guess she was trying to remember her name.
“Celene,” she said after a moment with some insistence as she remembered. “My name is Celene. I almost forgot. It's been so long since I had to introduce myself properly."
Once again, Henry felt a pang of sorrow for her, wishing she could go to this Timeless Hall she mentioned. It wasn’t right that she should be stuck here by herself. Even though she said there were other ghosts in the place, it felt like she was alone.
"So this is the White City?" He asked, deciding to move on from the subject to something else and regarded her drawing on the parchment.
"Oh yes," she nodded. "If you go to another window in the tower, you can see it. It is called Minas Tirith. This place used to be called Minas Ithil but now everyone just calls it Minas Morgul. That’s where the new king lives with his queen. She’s an elf. “Her smoky eyes seemed to shimmer with girlish excitement.
"New King?" Henry asked. Maybe if he knew the king’s name, he might figure out which land this one and work out how to get home.
"King Elessar,” Celene answered. “I hear the orcs talk about him, though they sometimes call him the Ranger. He is the King of Gondor, Isildur's heir.”
Gondor. Henry’s eyes widened. That was the name of the kingdom that Stephen had said he was from. It was the first real clue he had of where he was. Had Stephen or rather Sauron brought him here? Was his mom here too?
“Why do you want him to come here?” Henry asked somewhat puzzled. “Can he free you?”
“Yes,” Celene nodded looking around the room. “If he comes here, he can destroy the city. The others think that if the city is gone maybe we can leave too. We can go to the Timeless Halls and finally rest.”
Henry tried not to feel sad at the idea that her going to the Timeless Halls meant being dead forever but then again, limbo couldn’t be fun either. “Well if I can get out of here, I can get to the White City and see this King. Is he a good guy?”
It was a fair question Henry thought since the only other person he had met from this land was Stephen and he had lied to them from the start.
"I think so," Celene replied, "they said he has made Gondor strong again and chased away the orcs. He defeated the Dark Lord."
"The Dark Lord? Is that the same as he who must not be named?" Henry asked, teasing a little. It sounded so Harry Potter. Then he remembered she had no idea who that was and it ceased to be a joke when you realised, to her the Dark Lord was somebody real.
"We do not speak the name of Mordor’s Lord." She said quietly, her manner becoming apprehensive as if even in death the Sauron had the power to harm her. “Sauron.” She whispered after a moment when it became clear that he had no idea who she was referring to.
Henry stiffened. Sauron was the Dark Lord. Sauron who was with his mom. Sauron who had probably brought him and his mom here. Knowing that made Henry even more determined to get out of this room and reach her. His mom had fought so hard to be good and now because of a broken heart, she could go back to being the Evil Queen. Despite his attachment to Emma, he loved Regina. He didn’t want to lose her to whatever evil plans Sauron had in mind for her.
"Celene, can you leave this room?" He asked the spectral girl before him. She was a ghost, right? She could leave.
“Yes,” Celene nodded. “I go for walks sometimes but not everywhere. The others, some of them have gone mad from being here so long.”
He saw her flicker like static as she shuddered and he felt bad he was going to ask her this but he didn’t have a choice. He needed to know for sure if Regina was here too. He couldn’t imagine Sauron bringing him here without his mom. Maybe if he spoke to her, he could change her mind before she did anything she couldn’t take back.
“Celene, I need you to find my mom. Her name is Regina. If I’m here, I’m sure she is too.” Henry asked. “Sau…I mean the Dark Lord wouldn’t bring me here without her.”
Celene seemed to shrink back. “But if I find her, he’ll see me! He can see the dead. He could hurt me.” She cried out fearfully.
“She won’t let him!” Henry insisted, aware that he was taking a lot on faith that Regina would step him but he believed in his mother. If she knew he was in trouble, she’d do anything to save him. She saved him with true love’s kiss. He refused to believe that she was so far gone, she wouldn’t help Celene. “If you tell my mom I’m here we can get away and reach your king. Then he can bring this place down and you can rest.”
Celene nodded and looked behind her. “Are you certain?”
Her face showed her fear and Henry felt bad for making her so frightened. The dead shouldn’t have to worry about stuff anymore. “Yeah, I promise.”
Henry just hoped it wasn’t a promise he was going to end up breaking.
For the last time, an army crossed the Morgul Vale.
The remnants of Sauron's army, those who were not destroyed at Bara-dur and what remained of them scattered across Middle Earth, marched towards the narrow valley, taking a different route that led them away from the bridge ruined by the armies of the west following the War of the Ring. It did not matter, there were other paths known to the denizens of this land that would take them to Gondor and now with the return of Sauron, their spirit was renewed and their determination to win the war that was a lost a year ago, never stronger.
From the courtyard, he watched the army departing in numbers that would ensure the siege of Minas Tirith would be brief. The Nazgul were undoubtedly already there and their presence alone above the skies of the White City would do much to engender fear before the arrival of his forces. He himself would make the journey soon enough, once a climate of fear had been properly induced in the populace, he and Regina would arrive and finish it once and for all.
His new consort was still battling her doubts, he could sense the indecision in her mind as she stood next to him and watched the army leave. She would come around soon enough, he decided. Time was a teacher and immortality ensured she would have plenty. The notion of eternity with her was something that fascinated him. He'd seen the races of the world, in whatever their design, engaged in some unity but never felt the curiosity himself. He did confess a passing interest in Luthien and Melian before that but to be bound? Never.
It bothered him that he might have missed something. Even Melkor had an odd relationship with Ungoliant that might have bordered on love if it were not for the fact that Ungoliant's ravenous hunger drove her mad. The distraction of flesh, Sauron thought. As a disembodied, incorporeal flaming eye, there was no ability to feel things. In this human shell, he felt everything. The caress of the wind against his face, the explosion of taste that came from food, the ludicrous satisfaction of the sneeze and the warmth that seemed to spread across the heart and belly when a woman who adored you, smiled.
For the first time, he understood men beyond their ambitions and greed. He understood their need to burn bright, even if it was briefly. Maybe if he had understood, it would have changed things and how he had approached them.
Or maybe it would have changed nothing and he would still be exactly where he was now.
Suddenly, something swept across his consciousness that made his spine straighten up and he turned sharply away from Morgul Vale and back towards the keep. The familiarity of it immediately made him tense and he identified it almost immediately. He glanced at Regina and wondered if she sensed it but the only thing she noticed was the sudden shift in his demeanour as her brow knotted.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Someone is here," his jaw tightened. "We are about to have company."
"Company?" Regina's eyes widened. "Who?"
"Olorin comes," Sauron replied, his eyes fixed ahead until he remembered she had no idea who he was talking and added, "the White Wizard. He is here and I do not know how he managed to enter this place without my sensing it."
"Does he teleport?" Regina asked, aware that Sauron didn't practise that kind of magic.
"No," Sauron replied. "He does not have the power to approach me without notice not while I have the One Ring."
He could sense Narya gifted to Olorin by Cirdan, a ring forged by Celebrimbor and while the One Ring could not affect it like the Rings of Power he had forged, Sauron could still feel it. Gandalf the White was here and if he had entered Minas Morgul without being seen, what were the chances that he was alone? How he had managed it was no longer an issue, what mattered was that they had company.
'Carsog!" Sauron shouted to the orc Captain that still remained in the city. Carsog was one of a handful of orcs left behind to guard the boy although Regina did not know this.
Carsog who as always within sight of the Master, now that the Nazgul were gone, approached soon enough from one of the sentry turrets that flanked the courtyard. He a grotesque thing with bulbous eyes, serrated teeth and a thick scar running down one side of his face. "We have guests. They will be undoubtedly on their way to me, let them approach. They are to be left unspoiled."
"Yes Master," Carsog answered, knowing better than to offer protest. If Sauron wished the enemy to find their way to him, so would it be. Taking his orders, turned on his heels to carry out his master’s demand.
"Is that wise?" Regina asked him once Carsog was out of earshot.
"Yes," Sauron replied. "If the White Wizard is here then he will not be alone and their goal will be to face me. We do not have to expend the time to locate them, they will find us soon enough."
*******
Standing at the edge of the great courtyard in the Tower of Ecthelion, Arwen Evenstar could hear the rumble of dissent that was moving through the White City. With the moon in the sky, the air rushing at her was not merely from the wind but the flapping of wings.
All nine of them.
The entire city had seen the return of the Nazgul not after before Estel had gone with Legolas and Faramir to Minas Morgul with the strangers. The Nine who had terrorised the White City during the War of the Ring had flown across the city like birds of carrion, uttering that piercing cry that could belong to no one else. For many who had fought and lost loved ones during the defence of the city and during the battle at Pelennor, the return of the Nazgul was like a nightmare returned.
For they all knew that if the Nazgul was back then so was Sauron.
Now she stood at the edge of the courtyard, staring into the face of the enemy, Eowyn at her side. The White Lady wore a cloak that covered her whole body and shielded her from the cold winds. Also gathered were the king’s guards, watching cautiously, as the Queen answered the enemy's request for parlay. She knew the Nazgul expected to see Estel and Arwen tried to think up an excuse that would hide the fact that the king was on his way to face their master.
The creatures did not disembark their mounts, instead, the chief among them hovered in the air before her, close enough that she could smell the fetid breath of the winged beast. Even before she spoke, Arwen knew that the one before her was Morgul, Lord of the Nazgul. The others remained close but a short way behind, making their presence felt but not taking part in the discussions. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the fear in the eyes of the soldiers who would not abandon here but were shaken by the Nazgul’s presence.
"What do you want of the White City, wraith?" Arwen demanded over the sound of the rushing wind.
"We do not parlay with concubines," Morgul declared, every word dripping with contempt. "Where is Isildur's heir?"
"He has no wish to parlay with servants," Arwen returned smoothly. "Where is your master?"
Morgul's hood lifted with outrage. "We will have no discourse until he shows his face. Or is he too afraid to face us?" Once again, Morgul's tone was full of derision.
"Why should he be afraid to face you?" Eowyn spoke up, stepping forward. "You who allowed yourself to be killed by a woman?"
With that, she let the cloak fall from her shoulders and revealed the garb of Dernhelm, the clothes she had worn when she had killed him at Pelennor.
Morgul uttered a cry of fury and his beast seemed to react to his rage, rearing its head up until Morgul pulled at its reins. "I will split you open, Shield Bitch!" He hissed.
Arwen wasted no time and unsheathed her sword. "You will stand back and return to your master, with your tail between your legs. This sword is elven blessed, forged in Imladris. It will harm you if you attempt to come any further!"
"Let him try," Eowyn goaded. "He allowed himself to be stabbed by a hobbit and a woman, he does not deserve to face the king. Come then wraith, let us do this dance again and I will be happy to kill you a second time."
The other Nazgul screeched in anger and Arwen thought for a moment that Morgul's fury might provoke him into attacking but then he fell silent. He seemed to have little reaction to Eowyn's taunt. If anything, he seemed to be contemplating the whole situation.
When he spoke again, Morgul's voice was low and menacing. His tone made both Eowyn and Arwen feel a chill running down their spine. "You are delaying. Isildur's heir would not allow his precious elf queen to face us unless..."
Arwen tried to hide her reaction but even if she could conceal it, she knew it mattered little. Morgul had guessed the truth.
"He is not here!" Morgul growled. "He has gone to face the master!"
Without wasting any more time, Morgul yanked the reins of his mount and forced the animal to turn away from the two women. The beast's great wings flapping powerfully as Morgul directed it towards Minas Morgul in the distance. One after the other, the Nazgul fell behind their leader as the Nazgul made a hasty retreat from the edge of the courtyard and flew like an ill wind towards the dark city in the distance.
"Elbereth!" Arwen cursed as she watched them leave, knowing they were headed to their master to warn them about Estel or worse yet, help Sauron fight him and his company. "I had hoped we could have delayed them."
"There was never any real hope of that," Eowyn sighed, resting a gentle arm on Arwen's shoulder, sharing her fear. Faramir was there in Minas Morgul too. "Our hopes lie with the White Wizard and the strangers with him. Even so, have faith my Queen, your husband has a knack for surprising all of us."
"He has never faced Sauron with the One Ring in his possession," Arwen said softly, squeezing the hand offered. "I only pray that his lucks holds or else his doom will only be the beginning."
Yet even as she said that the idea of losing Estel made her heart ache and she lapsed into painful silence.
Eowyn did not offer comment but Arwen was right. If Sauron had returned with the One Ring and he failed to be stopped this night, then a second dark age would descend upon them all.
******
It was astonishing to Faramir just how much the design of Minas Ithil mirrored Minas Tirith during its construction. As he led the strangers away from the dungeon towards the Tower of Moon, he noticed that there were not many orcs about. It was not the first time that Faramir had been here. A year ago, they had swept through this fortress and found it abandoned after the end of Sauron and the Nine.
"Not many guards," David remarked as they reached the foot of the tower. They had seen the orc creatures that Faramir stated made up the bulk of Sauron's army but the number was slight and even then they seemed preoccupied.
"No," Faramir looked over his shoulder at David before peering cautiously through the main doors, a solid of construction of wood almost black from age and evil, to see if anyone was about. There was not. "They are on their way to Minas Tirith." His voice was grim.
"Was it me or did those beasties we saw look a might bit distracted to you?" Killian asked the obvious as they shuffled past the doors and saw the hall beyond, In the centre, was a corkscrew staircase that would take them to the top of the tower.
"They were looking for something," Robin pointed out. "I've been hunted by enough Black Knights to know what that looks like."
"I cannot imagine what," Faramir retorted, sword drawn as he led the way up the steps. "There were no prisoners after the War of the Ring and the dungeon we saw did not appear recently occupied."
Suddenly, they heard the screeching shriek of a child and following it the cries of horror from more guttural voices. A commotion broke out above them and was followed by the furious stampede of footsteps coming straight at them. The frantic pace of them was so quick that there was no time to retreat or decide on what to do because the orcs were soon upon them.
There were half a dozen of them, running down the steps, appearing terrified until the two parties met each other on the steps and froze. For a moment the orcs stared at the humans as if uncertain if what they were seeing was real. It was only that Faramir took a step towards them, that they realised they were under attack.
"RANGERS!" The lead orc bellowed and drew a cruel-looking blade and lunged at Faramir who was ready for him. The steps were wide enough for the other orcs to spread out and rush at David, Killian and Robin.
David had no idea what a ranger was but the orcs certainly took exception to it. One of the hideous beings came at him with a dagger and David was quick to defend himself, parrying to deflect the blade. Metal clanged against metal as David kicked out and shoved the orc backwards with the ball of his foot and sent him staggering. It gave him enough time to thrust his sword through the orc's chest, the honed tip driving through the mail the creature was wearing. The orc uttered a strangled cry of pain before he dropped to his knees and fell flat on his face.
Killian didn't need to show that much finesse, the creature coming at him was halted by his own sword and then slashed across the face with the hook. Skin and soft tissue gave easily under the hook which Killian rarely used unless he had to. However, these orcs were too much like the trolls and ogres of the Enchanted Forest and so she was taking no chances. Even though the steps were wide, the space was still too narrow for a decent fight especially with so many of them.
The orc howled in pain, clutching his face and leapt at Killian with such fury the pirate could do nothing to stop them both from barrelling down the steps. Killian's shoulder landed hard against the stone and he felt his shoulder pop. The orc had landed on top of him but the pirate rolled hard and threw the thing off him. The creature's breath alone was enough to make him gag. Considering what Faramir told them about the orc's diet, it was no bloody wonder.
Killian’s shoulder ached in pain as he got to his knees, the orc scrambling towards him like an insect. Snatching up the blade that had fallen from his grip when they’d taken the tumble together, he jabbed sharply forward and caused the orc to run straight into the pointed tip. The orc had taken at least two steps forward before he realised what he inadvertently did. He dropped his gaze at the blood slicked metal with surprise before looking up to meet Killian’s eyes. His expression was of one more or irritation than anger which lasted a second before the creature tumbled to the ground quite dead.
Meanwhile, Robin was able to shoot down two orcs with his crossbow. The weapon required less expertise than his usual longbow but Robin found it easier to use in close quarters combat such as this. Furthermore, the bolts used by the crossbow were made of solid steel and cut through the mail with far more efficiency than any arrow Robin had encountered back in the Enchanted Forest. He fired the first one and watched the bolt slice through the air, striking the orc in the eye and then through the skull.
Another orc taking advantage of Killian’s injury quickly closed into the pirate and Robin dispatched him just as quickly, with the orc falling over the side of the steps and plunging towards the hall beneath them. Robin didn’t have to hear the squelch to know that if the bolt hadn’t killed the creature, the fall surely would have. Robin hurried over to Killian who was clutching his shoulder as he got to his feet.
“You’re hurt?” Robin asked noticing the unusual angle of his shoulder.
“Nothing that won’t heal,” Killian retorted, wincing slightly.
Faramir finished off the last orc. The Steward was retracting the embedded blade of his sword from the body of the vile thing before turning to his companions who were as capable of defending himself as his rangers. “Is everyone alright?”
“Hook’s hurt,” Robin announced much to Killian’s annoyance.
“Hook?” David shot him a look of concern immediately, worried not merely for the pirate’s sake but not wishing anything to happen to the man whom he now knew to be his daughter’s true love. After what had happened to Neal, David didn’t want to see someone else Emma cared for die.
“I’m right mate,” Killian assured him, annoyed that he was the centre of attention. He hated it when people paid too much attention to him, especially when he was nursing some rarely spoken of insecurities about being short a hand.
“That doesn’t look okay,” David frowned, noticing the same thing about Killian’s shoulder that Robin had a moment ago.
“Let me look,” Faramir said closing the distance between them and before Killian could protest, the Steward grabbed him by both shoulders and with one quick movement popped the injured one back into place.
The pain was so sharp and blinding that Killian couldn’t help but cry out when felt the reconnect of the bone into the socket. However, Faramir’s action was quick and expert ensuring that even though Killian’s shoulder was sore, he’d have used of the arm again.
“Thanks,” he grunted a reply after a moment, once the pain started to abate and he could think clearly again.
“I am sorry I do not have the king’s lighter touch,” Faramir apologise, knowing the pain the action caused, “He is the expert in such things. I know only enough to give some immediate attention.”
“It’s appreciated,” Killian said gratefully.
“Uh gentlemen,” Robin spoke up suddenly, “I think you need to look at this.”
Robin had glanced up the stairwell and caught sight of something standing there that made him forget all about Killian’s treatment. Staring at it, Robin realised this was why the orcs had come charging down the staircase with so much terror without any thought as to what danger lay ahead.
“What is it?” David asked and turned to look up the steps to see what Robin was staring at. He stopped short as he sighted the little girl, standing there on the footstep. There was no doubt what she was. Not when he could see straight through her and her skin had the unearthly quality of someone who was not in the same plane of existence. After everything they had seen since Stephen or rather Sauron had appeared in Storybrook, this was no longer that much of a surprise to the former Prince of the Enchanted Kingdom.
“Bloody hell,” Killian exclaimed staring at the girl. “It’s a ghost.”
Faramir stepped forward, examining the girl’s clothes and realising that the fashion she wore was old and realised immediately that she was likely from Isildur’s time. While his initial inclination was a retreat, he also knew this was a child or rather the spirit of one, who was trapped here because of Sauron. Faramir was ashamed because he and Aragorn had not considered that with all the evil spirits lurking in these walls during the reign of the Nazgul, there were also innocent ones denied the chance to return to the Timeless Halls.
“Hello,” Faramir spoke. “What is your name?”
“I am Celene,” the spectre replied. “Did you come here to help Henry?”
“Henry?” David exclaimed and quickly stepped up to them. “You know Henry?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “He asked me to find his mother but she is near the Dark Lord and I was afraid to go near him. .”
"You do not need to approach Sauron," Faramir said quickly, seeing real fear in her eyes and once again wondered how many others were here, trapped within these walls. Then again, why was he surprised? Wasn't this the city of the dead? "We are indeed here to help Henry. Can you take us to him?"
"I'm his uncle," David added, "we've come a long way to find him. If you know where he is..."
"I can show you," the girl said, her luminescent spectral form shimmering when she nodded."But can you please ask the king to help us?"
Faramir's chest tightened because she looked so fragile and sad, even in death and he wept inwardly for her. "I will do all that I can. Tell us what we can do to help you find peace and I swear as the Steward of Gondor, that the King will do what can be done to help you. He is good and kind."
And he was. Throughout Faramir's life, he lived with the empty throne of the King in the Tower of Echthelion and lost all hope it would be occupied. The man who had come to claim it had made a promise to his brother Boromir to protect the White City and he had done it. However, more than just a king, Aragorn was a good man and it was Faramir's privilege to serve him.
"Please destroy this place," the girl begged. "We are bound to this city as surely as chains hold us against our will. We wish to go to the Timeless Halls. The others are mad with torment and I hide in my room, afraid that we will turn each other. We thought we might be freed when the Dark Lord was vanquished but we remain."
"Can you help them?" David asked Faramir quietly.
"Yes," Faramir nodded, addressing his answer to her. "We will do what must be done. We will destroy this place until nothing is left. You have my word."
The girl seemed to believe him and she gave him that sad, haunted smile that was so reminiscent of Eowyn when he found her in the House of Healing, this vision of tragic beauty. She turned on her heels and started walking up the stairs, leading them to Henry.
********
Henry ducked under the bed when he heard the knob twist on the door leading into the room he had been taking refuge in. As suggested by Celene, he took refuge inside her room during the day but had intended to venture out now that the sun was out. She had said she couldn't find his mom but Henry suspected she might be too afraid to searching in case she ran into the dark lord. He decided not to press her too much because he had no idea what Sauron would do to her if she was discovered and right now, she was his only friend in this creepy place.
Once he had decided to leave the room, Celene offered to chase away the orcs who were still in the tower because they were afraid of ghosts and did everything they could to avoid the spectres in the city. It would allow him the distraction he needed to make his way out of the tower without being seen. It was a good a plan as any and while she was afraid to search for Regina, Henry had no such qualms. He intended to scour the city until he found his mother because he was convinced that Regina was the only one who could get them home to Storybook.
However, it looked like Celene had failed and they had now found him.
Keeping himself still underneath the bed he was hiding, Henry tried not to make a sound while he avoided breathing in the dust and the cobwebs that had accumulated thereafter centuries of neglect. He could hear footsteps shuffling into the room and felt his heart sink with the knowledge that the orcs as Celene had called them, had found him.
"Henry?" A familiar voice called out instead, one that Henry recognised immediately. "Henry where are you?"
Henry's eyes widened and he scrambled out from under the bed, getting to his feet, dust covering his clothes and hands. He straightened up to see David standing there with Hook, Robin and a man he didn't recognise, dressed like Sauron when he first came to Storybook.
"Grandpa!" Henry exclaimed and ran straight into David's arms.
"Henry!" David wrapped his arm around his grandson and let out a loud sigh, as his being flooded with relief and joy at Henry's presence. "Thank God we found you! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He looked Henry over to ensure he wasn't hurt from his abduction.
"I'm fine," Henry assured his grandfather gratefully and was immediately approached by Killian who patted him on the back with similar affection. "I've been hiding in here. How did you get here? Where's Emma?"
"She's here lad," Killian answered, relieved to see the boy unhurt because Emma would have been destroyed if anything had happened to him. "We're going to get you to her right away."
"We would not have gotten here without the help of your friend," Faramir spoke up, gesturing to Celene who was standing at the doorway. She looked like she was smiling, happy to see that she was able to help her new friend.
"Celene," Henry went to her. "Thank you for everything."
Celene smiled at him and reminded him softly, "Don't forget to help me."
Henry turned back to the stranger, "can you?"
"Yes," Faramir nodded. "You have my word she will be freed from this place to join all her ancestors in the Timeless Halls."
"Then let's finish this," David declared firmly. "Let's find Sauron and get this done."
"Too right," Robin retorted, heading out the door first. "Let's go get Regina."
Once Faramir led the others to the tower and they left the dungeon, Gold saw no reason for them to make the trip to Sauron on foot. After all, Aragorn was been correct. If Sauron did not already know they were in the city, he would soon enough. Their approach on foot would only give him time to prepare for their arrival. Besides, the power the dark sorcerer was radiating was like a beacon and Gold had no trouble pinpointing his exact location. They would be able to ambush Sauron by appearing within a few feet of him.
"Are you sure about this?" Emma asked Gold as they stood in the small courtyard that the dungeon emptied into. So far they had not been seen but David did not imagine this was going to last. The city was a maze of wide streets, walkways, alleys and turns. It was too easy for Sauron’s forces to inadvertently stumble upon them. Although he normally preferred more down to Earth methods of getting around, Gold’s plan would give them the element of surprise.
And if they were facing both Sauron and Regina, they were going to need all the help they could get.
"We're not going to win this by the element of surprise lad," Gold retorted giving the Saviour a look of irritation. "We need to get to him fast and this is the best way."
"It is best that we use the tools available to us Aragorn," Gandalf explained to the king who looked just as dubious as Emma. "The sooner we finish this the better."
Aragorn shrugged in agreement, too many conflicting thoughts in his head at the moment to answer. All his life, he had been hunted by Sauron's for the sin of being Isildur's heir. If it was not Sauron that haunted him, it was the One Ring and the fear that he would succumb to it as his ancestor had. They had never met each other in battle but neither was ever far away from each other's thoughts.
In truth, Aragorn had no idea what would happen when they faced each other for the first time.
"He knows we are here," Legolas declared as he scanned the terraces surrounding them for any signs of orcs. He could feel the danger around them but for the moment, they appeared out of sight. Almost as if they were waiting for something or someone. "If I can sense him, he can surely sense me and if not me, he will sense you." Legolas glanced at Gandalf.
The wizard instinctively glanced at his finger at where Narya gleamed even in the shadows of the night. While Narya was not under the influence of the One Ring, Sauron would surely sense a Ring of Power was close by.
"Alright just get on with it," Emma grumbled, bracing herself for teleportation. Her stomach had just begun to settle after their trip and now they were going through this again. "Next time Gold, you better give me warning so I can bring Dramamine with me." She complained.
"Don't worry Dearie," Gold said sympathetically, "If you arrive before Sauron and throw at on his feet, I'll wager you'll have the distinction of being the very first of his enemies to do that."
If she could have shot him, she would have.
******
When they materialised in the main ward of the fortress city, surrounded by high inner curtain walls and orcs waiting for them appear. To no one's surprise, Sauron was waiting for them and had prepared an appropriate reception committee.
Emma gaped at the creatures that Aragorn and the others had been calling orcs and suddenly understood the fear experienced by the people of Middle Earth. Aside from appearing grotesque, they were savage to look at and Emma felt a surge of anxiety imagining Henry in their clutches. What had Faramir said? Fresh meat?
The expanse of the ward was illuminated by burning torches, giving them a good view of the number rallied against them. There was too much to count. Emma suspected the number would have been more if Sauron hadn't sent the rest of his army towards Gondor to invade the city. Fortunately, these orcs were armed with traditional weapons instead of AK-47s and M-16s. Although right now, she could have done with an assault weapon or two herself.
The ward was as wide as the courtyard in the Tower of Ecthelion in Minas Tirith. On the other side of the wall, she could see the mountains and against the moonlight, the silhouette of the White City separated by a space of land that even now, was being crossed by an invading army.
Sauron was standing in the middle of the ward, his hand held out to stay the orcs who were moving into position around the intruders. None of them would dare attack without order but that did not mean they could not make preparations. Beside him was Regina who was wearing a look of utter astonishment once she realised who the intruders were.
Sauron no longer amiable or charming as he had been when he was playing the part of Stephen in Storybrook. Now that he was back in his place of power, with the One Ring on his finger, he looked every much the Lord of Mordor, clad in dark armour with dark red cloak swirling about his ankles and a sword in its scabbard at the hip. Seeing him like this, Emma could well believe he had spent the best part of three thousand years terrorizing Middle Earth.
"Welcome to Minas Morgul," Sauron greeted them simply. "I would have preferred to welcome you at Bara-dur but I believe I may need to do some reconstruction when I have finished in Minas Tirith." He threw a cold smile at Aragorn as he said that.
"What are all of you doing here?" Regina demanded before the King of Gondor could retort to Sauron’s taunt. Overcoming her astonishment enough to speak, Regina couldn't believe that Emma and Gold had the temerity to come all this way after her! What was she some errant child that had run away from home and needed to be brought back?
"What are we doing here?" Emma stepped forward ahead of them even though she saw Aragorn toss her a warning look to proceed with caution. The king of Gondor was doing nothing to provoke Sauron, at least not yet. Just like David, Emma thought silently. The voice of reason in any situation. Maybe that’s why he was such a good leader.
"What are you doing here?” She asked Regina. “Have you lost your mind? Leaving with him after everything he's done?"
"What he's done?" Regina retaliated, eyes blazing. "What he's done is given me something I could never have in Storybook. Thanks to you, I've lost everything! My son, the man I thought I loved..."
Her words stung but Emma could not be concerned with that now, not when she mentioned Henry. She didn’t know. Regina didn’t know that Henry was here.
"REGINA, HENRY IS HERE!" Emma exploded, furious that the former queen couldn't see it, couldn't guess what would bring them all the way to Middle Earth after her. If this was what Regina wanted and if the guy wasn't a total dark lord dick who was about to bring about the end of the world, Emma would have been happy to throw the bouquet at the wedding but this wasn’t about that.
It was about Henry.
"What?" Regina stared at her in astonishment, her eyes wide with shock.
Once again, Emma felt vindicated at believing that Regina had known nothing about what Sauron had done. Despite their differences, Emma knew Regina would never be a party to Henry being snatched away from everything he loved to be brought here against his will. She only had to look at the woman’s horrified expression to know that the former Evil Queen had no idea that Henry was in Middle Earth.
"My lady," Aragorn spoke up, "What you believe about Sauron is a lie. He has always been the greatest of deceivers. The boy is here."
Sauron shot Aragorn a scathing glare of menace, his blue eyes turning black like obsidian for a moment before he regarded Regina. "I'm afraid Emma is right about Henry,” Sauron admitted, showing no sign of repentance. "It was meant to be a wedding present but now the surprised has been spoiled,” he said tossing an accusatory glance at Emma.
"Henry is here? Where is he?" Regina forgot all about Emma and the others, turning to Sauron, her expression on of demand and fury. Inwardly, she was seething because she shouldn't have been surprised. When he had first offered to take Henry with them back to Middle Earth, Regina had declined. She didn't want to take Henry away from everything that he knew. Sauron also knew how much it would hurt her to leave Henry behind. So, of course, he took her son for her sake.
She could forgive him that.
"In the tower," Sauron answered glancing up the heights of the tall Moon Tower. "He is quite safe but we had business to attend to and I felt it prudent to keep him there until after our work was completed. Orcs and Nazgul are not known for being good nurses." He said without the slightest bit of concern that his actions might have harmed his standing with Regina.
"Well we'll find Henry," Regina spoke unable to meet Emma's gaze, "then you can take him home to Storybook. I won't keep him here when his life is there but I'm still staying behind." She said resolutely, giving Sauron a taut smile. She was angry at his omission of Henry's presence here but she wasn't finished with him. She believed him when they said they had a future together. "We have a future here."
Before Emma could speak, Aragorn interjected, having seen the hesitation in her eyes and hoping that appealing to her conscience might help serve their cause. He did not believe that Sauron would hold back the orcs surrounding them for very much longer and soon or later the foul creatures would attack.
"My lady, this future that Sauron would have you craft at his side will see the annihilation of men in Middle Earth. You do not strike me as having the heart to stand by and watch the slaughter of thousands but that is precisely what will happen if you choose to help him."
"Who is this?" Regina demanded with irritation because this stranger was asking her difficult questions she didn't wish to answer in front of Emma and Gold, to say nothing of the old man who was staring at her with kind eyes that reminded her too much of her father.
"Who are these people?" She asked Sauron brusquely.
"This one is the King of Gondor," Sauron declared turning to Aragorn and eyeing him a look of amusement. "Well, Aragorn, this one encounter that has been long overdue. I had hoped the circumstances of our meeting would have been a little more different but we will have a proper greeting soon enough."
"I have no doubt," Aragorn spoke to him, chin raised, showing the Maiar that he was neither afraid of nor intimidated by the dark lord or his ring. Even now, the Ring of Power glowed with the word engraved on the smooth finish as if it were burning in the coals.
"You heard my new queen,” Sauron snapped at Emma, “She has no desire to return with you to Storybrook. She has made her choice. I will give you safe passage to leave this city with the boy so you can return home. As for you,” he turned to Aragorn with a sneer, “You and I will meet soon enough Aragorn and I assure you the circumstances will not to be your liking, King of Gondor."
He said the title like he was spitting in Aragorn's face.
"We are not leaving Mairon," Gandalf said, finally choosing to make himself heard. His voice was an island of calm in a sea of heated exchanges. "Perhaps you ought to tell the lady why her friends cannot leave."
Sauron bristled, having no wish to be reminded of the days when he was supplicant to Melkor. "I do not hold them back Olorin. They may go as they wish."
"Go to what?" Gold retorted sharply, his voice cold when he snapped at Regina. "You think we care less who you decide to take into your bed? Do you think I would waste my time with this audience if it was just Henry we're after? I could have taken my grandson and be gone before either of you could stop me. You're not important enough for me to go to the effort especially when you're choosing to play house with the evil queen."
"Gold," Emma barked at him and tried to diffuse the situation before it got any worse. "Regina, please listen to us. This isn't just about you and Henry..."
Before she had a chance to say anything further, Sauron lashed out and the ball of energy that came at her was so fast, she had no time to react except to be swatted away like a ragged doll.
"My lady!" Aragorn shouted watching the blond woman fly across the ward.
Emma was vaguely aware of his voice crying out after her before the hard landing muted everything except the pounding in her ears from the pain and the sound of flesh against rock.
Legolas swung into action and shot an arrow from his bow with the speed natural only to elves. The arrow flew through the air, heading directly towards Sauron's head. However, the dark lord's arm jerked up at the last minute and caught the arrow by the shaft.
"Not fast enough, son of Thranduil." With that, he flung the arrow back at Legolas.
It flew back with the same speed and would have struck the elf in the chest if not for Gandalf's swift action. The White Wizard swung out with his shaft and shattered the arrow into a thousand fragments.
Sauron's face twisted into fury and he shouted at the orcs. "Rid me of these trespassers!"
No sooner than he had given the order, the orcs, who had been held back like hungry dogs waiting for their next meal, were unleashed. They rushed in on the intruders who now had other things to concern themselves other than the affairs of his and his queens. Turning to her, he saw Regina's expression was troubled. Once again, he could sense her doubt bubbling to the surface.
"Do not worry you, my queen," he said calmly, "this is a temporary annoyance."
******
“My lady, are you alright?” Aragorn asked rushing to her side second before the orcs were unleashed.
Emma was disorientated from hitting the ground hard but other than that, she was relatively unhurt. The King looked down at her with concern and once again, Emma could see his reputation for being so loved by his people was deserved. He genuinely cared about people, even strangers with an unbelievable story to tell.
“Yeah I’m good,” she assured him as he helped her up to her feet. Her side ached where she had landed but she was not hurt. Emma dusted herself off, feeling the ache in her body from the hard landing and was about to speak further when suddenly, they both heard Sauron’s indignant order to his orcs.
Like the barbarians at the gate, the creatures rushed forward immediately, heading towards Aragorn first since he was the one carrying the sword. They did not seem to be overly threatened by Emma. She watched Aragorn fearlessly meet the onslaught, swinging his blade at the first orc that reached him, spilling out its innards across the stone floor. He fought like a demon and not at all like a king. Not only skilled but with astonishing speed and every time he swung his sword, it killed.
Legolas was also in the thick of it, moving with even greater speed if such a thing was possible. He moved so fast her eyes had trouble keeping up with him. Whether it was with his bow and arrow, or with twin daggers, the elf was like a firefly in the night, a golden warrior moving through the darkness like something out of a fairy tale. Which this all was, she thought ruefully.
As Emma prepared to join him them the fight, she wished Killian was here. She was so used to having him at her side whenever they went off to face whatever, that his absence felt gaping right now. As the orcs prepared to crush them in a ring of steel, Emma saw Legolas continuing to shoot his arrows at the creatures with such skill that it made her stare. He was incredibly fast and distance didn't seem to hinder him one bit.
Suddenly she saw an orc coming at her and without thinking; she pulled out her gun and fired a single bullet. The back of the creature's skull exploded outward, the sound of the weapon made everyone freeze in their tracks as they gaped at her horrified because of the terrible efficiency of it. Blood and viscera splattered across the stone and even the orcs seemed equally shocked by the gun. It was like they were standing in the eye of the storm were for a moment; there was an odd calm over all of them.
"That is what is headed towards my city?" Aragorn finally spoke, realising now the danger that both Legolas and Faramir had warned him off. Seeing for it himself compounded the anxiety he already felt at Sauron’s return as he was horrified by the idea of these weapons being wielded by orcs about to be unleashed upon his city.
"Yes," Sauron declared, triumphant. Seeing Aragorn’s fears was almost like tasting the sweetest wine. "And when they arrive. The orcs will slaughter, every man, woman and child unless you surrender now."
"Aragorn, do not listen to him!" Gandalf shouted as he saw Aragorn storming towards Sauron, Anduril in the king's grip. "We will not let that happen!"
"Who's to stop me?" Sauron crowed. "None of you are any match for me." He challenged Aragorn, perfectly confident that with the One Ring on his finger, the King of Gondor could not yield against him. Just as Elendil had fallen so would this latest son of Numenor.
"Maybe not alone but together," Emma declared determined to stop Sauron before Aragorn reached him. Summoning every ounce of concentration she could muster, she lashed out, hurling all the power of white magic she had at Sauron. The lord of Mordor held up his hand and stopped the ball of energy from hitting him, dissipating in mid-air.
"Stephen stop this!" Regina shouted at Sauron. "Let them take Henry and go! There is no need for this."
"I beg to differ," Gold appeared next to Emma, preparing to provide the united assault he'd been advocating since Storybrook. "Everything is gone. Storybook is gone. There is nothing back there. It was as close to hell as you can imagine. Even if we could take Henry, there is no way I am taking my grandson back to that nightmare."
"What? What do you mean?" Regina turned to Sauron. "What the hell is going on?"
"Don't you understand Regina!" Emma shouted as she saw Aragorn intercepted by an orc on route to Sauron. She wanted to help the King but the need to convince Regina was even more imperative now. "The reason we haven't heard of Middle Earth is that it’s not another world. It’s EARTH! Storybrook is thousands of years in the future! He came forward in time and by going back he's changed everything! Storybrook and everyone in it are gone!"
“Oh my God," Regina felt as if she were going to be sick. Emma didn't have to explain any further because at last, she understood. Sauron had rewritten history by going back in time and he had guns. The war he should have lost would now be won and because of that, everything would change, even the survival of mankind. "You lied to me..." She glared at him.
"Lied to you?" Sauron stared at her with a brow raised. "I never lied to you about anything. I never said I was not from this world. You assumed that I came from some other land and I did nothing to correct that belief. I did not lie to you when I said that we would come here to build a new world, we will. Perhaps the form could use some modification but I never lied."
"You can't think I would be party to the death of billions!" Regina burst out, forgetting everyone else and glaring at Sauron, furious at herself for being so foolishly duped. She was the Evil Queen damn it! She didn’t fall for tricks like this!
"My dear," Sauron sighed as if he were regarding a petulant child. "To get everything you ever wanted, you must be willing to sacrifice everything. Have you ever wondered why you could never defeat this rabble when you were Queen of your land? Did it ever occur to you that victory had to come with the willingness to destroy it all?"
"I sacrificed my own father...!"
"Everything is not one frail life!" Sauron roared and it seemed the sky rumbled with him as he ranted. "I had a dream for this world that would bring order out chaos! I was willing to surrender everything I was to acquire it. My place among the Valar, my body and finally my soul. Everything. In return, I am here. Giving up one life so you can transport your enemies to a distant land is a parlour trick. What I have done is complete and utter control. Until you are willing to do that, you will never know the ecstasy of completely humiliating and destroying your enemy."
He never seemed more terrifying and at the same time magnetic. God help her, she still wanted to remain at his side. He was her soul mate, she was certain of that. However, she couldn't let him do this. She couldn't let them harm her friends. Until this moment, Regina hadn't realised how much they had come to mean to her. Ever since the Saviour had come to town, Emma hadn't just saved Storybrook, she had saved Regina too. Emma had reminded her of the woman she used to be, the one who had saved little Snow’s life, the one Daniel had loved.
And to sacrifice all these people for her own ends, it just wasn't in her any more.
"I can't let you do it," Regina declared, shaking her head as she stepped away from him.
"My lady," Sauron smiled, his eyes flaming, making his grin seem positively Faustian. "You never really had a choice. You had an illusion of free will which I allowed you to have. However, it seems you need to understand your place. Thanks to you, you have awakened in me the desire for a dynasty with you at my side.”
His words were interrupted by the ear-piercing shrill of the returning Nazgul and Regina looked up to see the Nine making their return, astride their winged beasts, swooping down at them in a dive bomb.
Sauron's grin widened as he watched the return of his most loyal servants. Around them, the orcs were doing their best to keep the King of Gondor and his companions busy. When the Nine arrived, the battle would be over.
"In the end," Sauron said the words that stung like a physical blow, "You will be my queen, willingly or not and after I've quickened you with my children, you will barely remember Storybrook or the Enchanted Forest.”
The instant David heard the roar of voices and clanging metal penetrate the walls of the tower, David knew Emma was in trouble.
Everyone froze recognising the din immediately. Only Henry appeared puzzled upon hearing the noise because he didn’t understand its significance. The adults were silent and saw no reason to explain themselves to him even if it was obvious they knew what was happening out there.
The pause lasted no more than a second and when everyone started moving again, their departure from Henry’s hiding place down the staircase, took on a new urgency.
David led the charge, with Killian close behind, keeping Henry trapped between them. Both men were determined to reach Emma and the others before it was too late. With no idea how the battle was raging, the only trump card they had was Henry. They needed to show Regina that Sauron was a liar and a ruthless monster that did not deserve her love or her allegiance.
Emma has her magic and Gold’s with her. The Dark One would protect the Saviour. After all, she was the mother of his grandchild, right? David thought to himself. If he had vocalised his concerns, Killian might have had an entirely different answer.
One could never tell what the Crocodile was thinking. Killian had no doubt he’d save the boy but Emma? That was another thing entirely.
The thoughts of men were abruptly interrupted at a new disturbance that made them all jump with surprise. The sharp, ear-splitting screech that tore through the air and felt like the birth of something terrible into the world sent a chill of terror through every one of them, even they didn’t know why.
Not Faramir however.
The Steward colour seemed to drain from his face. His eyes flooded in recognition before lifting to the ceiling as if he could see through the stone and mortar. His horror caused David’s anxieties for Emma ratcheted up another notch. The piercing cry felt like an ice pick to the brain and David who fought many things in the Enchanted Forest had never heard any creature that could inspire so much fear.
The unearthly wail that frightened Faramir so was one that he would never forget to his dying day. It haunted his nightmares as prolifically as it haunted most of his life until a year ago. Each time Faramir of Gondor stared across the gulf separating Minas Morgul and Minas Tirith, he imagined he could still hear them.
“Faramir, what is it?” David demanded.
Faramir did not answer but had sprinted ahead all of them and as he ran, took on the unmistakable appearance of a man running for his life. The fear in the man’s eyes made his own heart pound louder. Obviously, Faramir recognised the source of that terrifying scream because the Steward was desperate to get to the ground, taking two to three steps at a time to hasten his descent down the staircase.
Faramir realised he forgot about his companions and glanced over his shoulder to holler an answer at them.
“We have to hurry! They’re here!”
"Who's here?" Killian demanded but got no answer.
Like David, Killian’s fears for Emma escalated thanks to Faramir’s panicked reaction. Since their first meeting, the Steward exuded nothing but confidence. He took everything they told him about Sauron and the future in stride. He even took the Crocodile’s ability to teleport without panic. Anything that could terrify him was something they needed to be very worried about.
Faramir leapt off the last few steps and landed on the marble floor with a loud thud, his sword bobbing precariously at his hips as he crossed the hall towards the main doors.
He was out the door first and only after they followed him through, did they understand the reason for his panic.
At the end of the courtyard where the ward overlooked the city gates, a battle was raging the likes of which Killian hadn’t seen since his days in service to his king. His first thought was of where Emma was in that carnage. There were so many of them, Killian thought as they ran to join the battle. He couldn’t even see Emma or any of the others through the orcs and it heightened his worry for her, knowing that if she was in the midst of this battle, she was outnumbered.
His fear for Emma corresponded with his concerns at bringing Henry anywhere near the fighting even though there wasn’t any safe place in the city for the boy to wait out the battle. This dead fortress belonged to Sauron and its inhabitants were loyal to him only. Glancing at David, the two men shared similar thoughts and in that split second, reached an accord that both would keep Henry close no matter what came at them. Henry was safest next to his family and friends who would die to protect him.
Another shrill screech reminded Killian what had caused Faramir so much anxiety.
In the sky, circling the battle like carrion birds, the dark-robed servants of Sauron prepared to attack. Nazgul.
"Those are the bloody things that almost killed me! Don't get too close!" Killian shouted in warning to the others.
It had taken nothing less than true love’s kiss to save him the last time he made the mistake of tackling those creatures unprepared. Killian wasn’t about to tempting fate again nor was he allowing anyone else to fall victim to the Nine.
"Don't intend to," David shouted back.
Killian was hanging on to Henry with his good hand, “Henry, stay close to us, no matter what. I mean it, lad!"
“Do as Hook says!” David reiterated before the first of the orcs rushed up to engage.
*****
It was a sobering thought to see what real evil looked like.
It was a palette cleanser. All these years, she had stared in the mirror and considered herself evil when in truth all she was, really was angry. Rage had driven her vengeance and provided her with the means to heal her broken heart and yet there was always something inside of her that whispered caution. Over the years, it became harder and harder to ignore.
In recent months, her feelings had become so muddled about who she was. Good or evil? Queen or Mayor? Mother or monster? The debacle with Robin and Marion left her fragile and Sauron, with his power and charm made her believe that she was wrong about trying to fight her nature. He appealed to her need for love and a family and now at the beginning of the world it seems, she realised just how expertly she was manipulated.
Ironically, what allowed her to see clearly was his mention of children. It brought up memory so clear, it might have been a moment of time unfolding in front of her eyes.
Henry was a year old. He was trying to walk and Regina remembered crouching on her knees, arms wide, urging him to come to her. He didn’t quite make it and fell on his diapered behind with a soft thud. His small face scrunched up with disappointment, the prelude to a cry of indignation. Before he could though utter a sound, Regina swept him in her arms and promised she would never let anything hurt him.
And even then, his infant mind believed her and he stopped crying.
Henry’s belief in her was all that Regina had left. While she was willing to give him up Emma to live a better life in Storybrook, she was not willing to risk his belief in her. Nothing was worth that. For a moment, Sauron’s charm had made her forget how wonderful his part in her life had been, how precious it was and not worth risking for anything.
As she listened to Sauron, the latest in a long line of people, who decided they knew her, something inside Regina snapped and the woman she was, the woman she wanted to be surfaced with a triumphant roar.
“I wish that everyone would stop telling me what I can be! My mother! Zelena and now you! My free will is MINE!”
The explosion of power that erupted from Regina was so intense it felt as if it carved a hole inside her soul. The force of it was so strong and powerful, not to mention unexpected that Sauron had no time to defend himself against it. The volley struck him head-on and he was hurled across the ward with more force than he experienced since he was struck down by Isildur’s blade at the end of the Second Age.
The attack on their master stunned both the orcs and even the Nazgul in the air.
All eyes turned to the lord of Mordor and his new consort. Not since the War of the Ring, had Sauron been struck down with such humiliation. It served to remind his followers that he was not all-powerful and that on two other occasions, he had been resoundingly defeated. This moment could make or break this battle.
“NOW!”
The words had no more left Gandalf when Gold turned to Sauron who was still stunned and trying to collect himself from the unexpected attack. He flung a ball of magic at the dark lord and saw the white wizard raising his staff to do the same.
Emma saw from a short distance away, the battle unfolding into its final act and knew that it was time for her and Aragorn to get there and finish.
“Come on!” She shouted, taking advantage of the orc’s astonishment at the attack on Sauron.
She needed to add her power to the others in order to weaken Sauron long enough for Aragorn to get the ring. However, once Emma and Aragon started moving, the orcs remembered themselves and quickly moved to intercept their approach to Sauron.
While Aragorn swung his blade, cutting through flesh and bone, Emma was nowhere as patient. Wasting no time, she fired into the first orc she saw, cutting him down quickly, allowing the deafening roar to temporarily scatter them. Even Aragorn seemed to flinch at the harsh, thunderous roar.
The orcs may have been frightened by the sound of the gunfire but the Nazgul certainly was not.
Like the orcs, their shock at seeing their master temporarily weakened came to an end and they swung into action, deducing the strategy at play. Two of them, astride their monstrous reptilian beasts, swooped down towards Emma and Aragorn, their shrill cry almost eclipsing the sound of gunfire.
“Aragorn!” Legolas shouted in warning as the archer raced forward, fighting his way through orcs almost effortlessly. Watching him was like watching some savage ballet, the elf moved with fluid grace and nothing that stood in his way remained so for very long.
One of the Nazgul closed in on Aragorn, its saurian jaws snapping at him. As Aragorn defended himself with Anduril, Legolas armed his bow and fired. The arrow shot across the air and struck the beast where it’s long neck met the base of its skull. The beast reared its head up in pain exposing its neck long enough for Aragorn to slice open the thick hide.
Emma paused to help but Aragorn would hear none of it. “Keep going, my lady! I am behind you!”
“But…” Emma started to protest when suddenly she heard someone else calling her name.
“EMMA!”
Henry! Emma turned to see Henry next to Killian and her dad, running to join the fight. Henry! Henry was safe, she thought with a sense of overwhelming relief. She met her son’s gaze and wanted more than anything to rush to meet him but then she remembered their plan. There would be time for reunions later. For now, it was enough that she knew he was okay. She had to reach the others and help them defeat Sauron so that she could take Henry home to Storybrook.
Dad and Killian will keep him safe, she told herself as she started running towards Gold and the others, hating it that sometimes being the Saviour took the place of being Henry’s mother.
****
Robin was facing the same dilemma.
When Regina finally came into view, he saw her participating in the magical triad that was battling Sauron and almost ran towards her. Then he remembered that the creatures that so terrified Faramir, were circling Emma and the king. The elven archer Legolas, who was astoundingly good, possibly even better than Robin himself, was trying to protect them from the Nazgul but he needed help.
Raising his crossbow to take aim, he recalled Faramir’s warning that the Nazgul couldn’t be killed. Well mate, Robin thought silently, no one said their mounts were invulnerable. Wasting no time, he sent steel bolts flying through the air to strike the flank of the nearest Nazgul mount. The creature let out a braying roar of pain. The Nazgul astride the beast turned towards the direction of the attack while struggling to remain seated.
“Now you’ve done it mate,” Killian declared as the first of the orcs came into view and he brandished his blade to deal with them. “You keep at them! We’ll keep these ugly buggers away from you.”
An orc rushed at them and Killian avoided the opening lunge with a side step and stabbed his blade into the enemy’s flank because the bugger had overextended his reach. Robin left Killian to it, continuing to shoot bolt after bolt into the creatures flying overhead. He saw Legolas glancing his way when he struck another winged beast, offering the elf a nod of acknowledgment.
It was only after Legolas shot an arrow at a Nazgul, did Robin understand the elf was offering him a strategy. He could deal with the winged creatures while Legolas, with his elven blessed arrows, could deal with the Nazgul themselves.
Meanwhile, David was keeping pace with Faramir who was rushing towards the king and Emma. Henry was at his side, while Hook gave Robin the cover he needed to bring down the flying beast.
Henry knew Emma had seen him but instead of coming towards him, she had turned away, rushing to join the wizards battling Sauron instead. Henry understood of course. It was what Emma did, she fought bad guys and Sauron was definitely that.
“Henry, stay close!” David ordered.
“No kidding!” Henry returned, trying not to become overwhelmed by the whole situation. The clanging of swords, the blood and the chaos was frightening and he wished he was able to fight. Making a mental note to get his grandfather to resume teaching him how to use a sword when they got home, Henry kept David in view.
Faramir was only interested in reaching his king. Aragorn was the hope of Gondor and Middle Earth and it was not his fate to die here and now. Besides, while the wizards battled Sauron, who else could take the ring from the enemy’s hand other than Isildur’s heir?
Slashing his way to Aragorn, Faramir was in earshot when he called out to the king.
“My lord, we have the boy!”
Aragorn heard Faramir’s cry and glanced in the direction of the Steward to see for himself a young boy of fourteen years, remaining close to David. Emma was already running towards the wizards and Aragon knew that if they were successful in weakening Sauron than he needed to move now.
Swinging Anduril with savagery, he took off the head of the orc before him, its head tumbling across the floor of the keep as Aragorn shoved its lifeless corpse aside and took up after Emma. He raced across the courtyard, ensuring that any orc standing between him and the wizards met with a grisly end. Above him, he heard the screech of the Nazgul being thrown off his mount as the bolts of Robin’s weapons ended its flight for good.
The Nazgul rolled across the courtyard like a black tumble of sheets before it stood upright, blade in hand and turned towards Aragorn. However, before he could a step further, Faramir had placed himself between the Nazgul and his king, blade raised to attack.
Faramir shouted at Aragorn, “Go, king, go! Your destiny awaits!”
******
Sauron was holding his own, Emma saw when she approached the fighting.
He was battling three powerful wizards and still able to fend them off which only spoke to the power of the One Ring. She hoped her arrival would tip the balance because they needed to weaken him long enough for Aragorn to get the ring. The scale of the battle staggered her though. She’d been in magical combat before but it was nothing like this.
Leading the charge was Regina, who was hurling balls of dark magic at him. Emma thought Regina was beyond using dark magic but then the rage she saw in the former Queen’s eyes spoke volumes. White magic could not come from the place Regina occupied at the moment.
Emma concentrated hard, determined to break the deadlock. Her love for Henry was powerful, the White Wizard had told her. She had to use it.
“I’m disappointed Regina,” Sauron cast a thoughtful look at Regina, still regarding her as a rebellious child who had yet to see the light. “I thought we have settled this matter. You belong to me. It is your destiny.”
“My destiny is what I decide, not you!” Regina snapped back. “Just because you wear a tattoo on your skin doesn’t mean I have to surrender to it!”
“Tattoo?” Gandalf’s eyes narrowed upon hearing the comment and immediately shifted his gaze to study Sauron. “What’s this?” He asked, raising his ivory staff and sanding another surge of power at Sauron. The dark lord took it full in the chest but still remained standing.
Realising that Gandalf may tell Regina the truth, Sauron directed his attack at the old wizard. However, Emma reacted first and sent a surge of white magic at him, driving the Lord of Mordor to his knees.
Sauron cursed furiously as the trio against him became a quartet. For the first time, it occurred to him that he might not be able to withstand all of them and the thought made him burn with hatred. Glaring at the young woman who wielded white magic, one of the most potent forms of primordial power, he uttered a word.
“ATTEND!”
“Attend what?” Emma looked confused and was prepared to attack again while Sauron was struck by a blast of dark magic from Gold. Suddenly that sharp, terrible screeching filled the air and made her flinch. Looking up, she saw the Nazgul breaking off from their battles with Legolas and Robin, swooping towards them.
“INCOMING!” She shouted at Regina, Gold and Gandalf.
******
When Emma shouted her warming, David looked up as he withdrew his sword from the torso of another orc. The creature was a vicious but savagery could not take the place of disciplined combat and he had considerable experience in that regard. The Nazgul, the ones that Robin and Legolas hadn’t downed were heading towards Emma and the wizards, trying to help their surrounded master.
“They’re going after Emma and the others!” David shouted at Killian.
There was all Killian needed to hear to take the head of the creature in front of him. “Robin, Legolas! They’re going after the wizards!”
Legolas lowered his bow and searched for Aragorn who was now fighting his way to the wizards despite the orcs best efforts to stop him. A year as the king had not changed the man’s skill with the blade. The High King of Gondor was still the finest swordsman of his day. Faramir covered his rear, determined to protect his king even if Aragorn did not require it.
It allowed Legolas to concentrate on dealing with the Nazgul who were flocking to disrupt the offensive against Sauron by the wizards. Looking over his shoulder, he saw he only a few arrows left and needed to use them wisely. The other archer’s arrows were iron spikes of some kind which would hurt the Nazgul but not for long. They needed something that would keep them down for some time. Thinking quickly, he drew and arrow and spent a moment preparing the shaft before he firing it at the nearest Nazgul on the ground.
The arrow breathed in flame flew through the air and struck one of the Nazgul in the chest, igniting the dark robes the creature was wearing. It uttered a shriek of terror as the flames caught on and its distress brought the attention of his brothers. Legolas continued to fire his remaining arrows, each flaming at the Nazgul.
Taking advantage of the distraction that Legolas was causing, Killian and Robin fought their way towards the wizards, determined to protect them as they fought Sauron.
****
“Regina!” Sauron shouted as he was assaulted on all sides and saw that his Nazgul were being kept from reaching him. He needed to stall for time. “Don’t do this. You belong with me, you know that! I will love you and cherish you for all time, give you all the things that you want. What are these people to you except those who have taken away everything that you love!”
“You know nothing of the word,” Aragorn Elessar growled as he finally reached former lord of Mordor.
Sauron looked to see Aragorn swinging Anduril at him. The hated blade that took his ring once before was coming at him again and Sauron struck blindly to block the blow. He should be able to swat this insignificant human aside but the drain on his power with the combined strength of four wizards was considerable.
Regina blinked as she saw a stranger engaging Sauron in a sword fight and tried to shake off his words when suddenly she looked up and saw Robin. He was fighting his way to them. His eyes kept darting in their direction and Regina realised he was searching for her. Not just Robin, she realised and her eyes widened in horror as she saw Henry, staying close to David, in the middle of all that violence. Her son!
All thoughts of Sauron or her conflicted emotions were brushed aside at the thought of Henry in danger. Turning to Gold, she called out to the wizard while Gandalf and Emma continued their magical assault on Sauron to give the stranger a fighting chance.
“Gold!” Regina shouted. “Henry needs help!” She gestured to Henry who was clearly frightened but trying not to show it.
With Sauron was temporarily weakened and distracted by the king, the Dark One was able to act. With a snap of his fingers, the orcs on the field were suddenly frozen in place unable to move. The Nazgul required too much power to deal with, especially when their master was still afoot but the orcs could be easily dispatched.
“Your turn Queenie!” he called back.
Regina’s eyes narrowed. It had been some time since she’d done a transmogrification spell but she still remembered how. Concentrating hard, she stared at the orcs and suddenly, puffs of smoke began to engulf the grotesque creatures. One by one, the field became covered in a fine layer of purple smoke before dissipating into nothingness.
All that remained on the ground were the crawling insects she turned them into.
*******
“What will you do son of Arathorn?” Sauron sneered as he swung his own blade at the enemy. “What will you do if you take the ring from me? What makes you think you will fare any better than Isildur?”
Aragorn blocked the blade and shoved Sauron back with one foot. All his life, he imagined Sauron to be some great and terrible monster, capable of levelling mountains and turning seas into blood. He had built the dark lord in his head as some undefeatable monster and now, faced with the creature before him, Aragorn realised Sauron was like any tyrant, strong as long as he had the advantage but pathetic on equal footing.
“I do not want the One Ring!” Aragorn barked back and fury bubbled inside of him when he thought of all those who were destroyed by the One Ring because of its deceptive lure. “I NEVER wanted it!”
Sauron was too accustomed to using his powers to fight that his skill as a swordsman if he ever had them, had atrophied. Aragorn spent the last eighty years doing nothing but fighting for his life. Without power, Sauron was no match for him and Aragorn was about to prove it. With that, he swung once more and this time with precision.
The pain that seared through Sauron’s mind was unlike any he had felt before. It was worse than when Isildur wounded him. It was not simply the physical pain of flesh and bone being sliced but also the agony that came with the One Ring being separated from his body. It felt as if his soul was suddenly ripped away from his flesh and he screamed, possibly for the first time in his wretched life.
The hand that clutched the blade and wore the One Ring tumbled through the air, trailing blood before landing on the courtyard blood with a sickly squelch.
Sauron’s agony was transposed to his Nazgul who also felt their master’s pain and screamed as if the blow had struck them too.
Sauron dropped to his knees, clutching the stump of his wrist, quaking in pain as Aragorn stepped forward quickly and kicked away the bleeding limb towards Emma.
“My lady! Take it.”
Still stunned at how quickly events had unfolded, Emma approached the hand, her face wrinkling in distaste as she saw the limb surrounded in a pool of blood. Picking it up gingerly, she removed the gold ring from one of the slack fingers. Once away from its master, it was a simple gold band but this simple ring had nearly brought a kingdom to its knees.
“NO!” Sauron shouted as she saw her palming the ring in her hand.
“I’ve got it!” Emma ignored him, “Gold, let’s go!”
“Way ahead of you dearie,” Gold retorted and snapped his fingers, disappearing in a puff of dark smoke, taking Emma with him.
Sauron uttered another scream of fury and indignation, his hopes for his new empire vanished with the diminishing smoke.
“Regina,” Sauron looked at the queen. “Don’t let them do this. I never lied about my intentions. I wanted you at my side. What can these people offer you but more heartache? I promised you a dynasty where you will be cherished for all time. We are destined to be together.”
Before she could answer, Robin stepped in between them.
“Regina, don’t listen to him.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Regina let her gaze drift away from Robin, staring instead at Sauron who had made love to her so ardently only a day before. How quickly things had change for them to be in this position. Why did life find it so necessary to keep ruining her happy ending?
“I know,” Robin agreed, “But I came anyway. I had to tell you I love you and Marion being alive doesn’t change that. I still love you and I know things seem messy and complicated right now but we can work it out. We can be together. If I have to choose between you and Marion, Regina there’s only one choice. It's you.”
She looked up at him stunned. “You’re just saying that. You can’t possibly leave your wife and son for me.”
“Yes I would,” Robin confirmed and didn’t realise until this moment how true it was. Since her Marion’s return, he had been thinking about nothing else and for the first time, the decision made wasn’t unimaginable or impossible. Yes, it would be difficult but not as difficult as it would be to lose Regina. “The man who loved Marion has been gone for years and nothing will change my relationship with my son. Whatever happens, when we go back to Storybrooke will not change the fact it is you I love and want to be with. Please, give me another chance.”
“This is rich!” Sauron snapped, “You would say anything to win her back. He lies to you Regina. I bear the mark, I am the one….”
“Any mark he has is false,” Gandalf interrupted. “My lady, Sauron chose his present form because it is the easiest one he could create with his depleted powers. In his original body, he bore no such mark and I would not be surprised if he acquired this tattoo once he learned how much power it has over you. It is not the first time he used his form to deceive others.”
“He speaks the truth, my lady,” Aragorn added. “He led an entire civilisation to ruin because he approached them in a pleasing shape. He is a shapeshifter and in his time, he has worn many guises.”
Regina didn’t know either man but there was no doubting the sincerity in their faces Furthermore, she could not deny how much of her initial reaction to Sauron was due to the tattoo. With Sauron’s abilities, would it be that hard for him to learn about the tattoo and work out how to use it? Still, she had to hear it from him.
“Is it true?” Regina demanded. “Did you trick me with that mark?”
With a sense of impending doom, Sauron realised that time was running out. He was so close but it seemed Eru was working against him. Nevertheless, he would not go down whimpering. He had gambled and lost but before he went into the unknown, he would have this woman know a few truths.
“I tricked you with ridiculous ease,” he managed to say, despite shaking with pain. “Once you saw this tattoo, you were like a sow in heat.”
“You bastard,” Regina hissed, her cheeks burning with humiliation at how easily she was duped. Perhaps she wanted to be tricked by him, wanted to be taken away with his promises of a better life after losing Robin.
“If there is tragedy here Regina, it is that while I lied to you about the mark, I did not lie to you about anything else. I would have given you everything you wanted, cherished you. Together we would have built a dynasty but you my lady,” his face showed his obvious disdain, “are weak and you deserve your fate.”
“No Sauron,” Gandalf spoke instead, seeing the crushing weight of the dark lord’s words upon the lady, “it is you who are weak and deserves what is about to come.”
******
They materialised on a scab of rock overlooking a brilliant amber vein of lava.
Emma stared at the sky and saw they were at the bottom of a crevasse. The stone walls around them were jagged and grey. The sky was a sliver of blue that felt too far away for her liking. The heat from the lava immediately prickled her skin and she felt beads of sweat under her hair. She didn’t like this place but then again, this was exactly where they needed to be.
“This is it?” Emma asked, still clutching the bloodied ring in her palm.
“This is where the White Wizard said to go. The mountain of fire where that damned ring was made in the first place. The only way it can be destroyed.”
Gandalf had told them where to go the instant one of them got their hands on the Ring but as she stood before the fiery pit where it was made, Emma could feel the thing against her skin. Sauron’s life force and everything about him was poured into this ring. She knew he created himself a body by using its power but she wondered what destroying it would do beyond bringing about his end.
“There’s no other way is there?” She asked glumly, reminded again of what she had done to Regina. Now she was going to ruin Regina’s happiness once more by destroying someone who had offered to give the world.
“Dearie this isn’t the time to get sentimental.” Gold warned, seeing that damn heroic compassion in her eyes. In some sense he admired it but Gold was a realist. If it came down to a choice between their survival and Regina’s happiness, there was no question which came first.
“Do it.”
Emma took a deep breath and nodded. Stepping forward to the edge, she tossed the ring into the air and watched it spin before it descended into the fiery chasm below. She was able to see it fall, the golden surface reflecting the glow of lava below. What was only a few seconds of travel, felt like an eternity and she was grateful she would not be present to see the effect of the Ring’s destruction on Sauron or Regina for that matter.
“What a pity,” Gold remarked. “All that power going to waste.”
“Gold…” Emma shot him a look. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of keeping that to myself,” Gold retorted showing no signs of offence at the accusation. It was justified of course. If the Ring was not bound so closely to its master, Gold might have considered keeping it for himself. As it stood, he wanted to get home to Storybrooke, to the world he knew and more importantly, Belle.
Emma watched as the Ring landed on the bed of lava and began to disintegrate. As it dissolved, the walls of the chasm began to shudder as if it could feel the end of something dark and terrible. As the ring’s shape collapsed against the heat, there was the barest outline of a circlet before it disappeared entirely.
“It's gone,” Emma whispered. “It's done.”
The cavern around them trembled even more as if the final end of the One Ring was also the end of the place that gave birth to it. Gold could feel the reverberations around him, the powerful magic that was not going to go so quietly into the night. Stone began to crack, the earth opened up and the last gasp of an end that should have been a year before, began to sound its final death knell.
“We have to leave, right now!”
******
“What’s happening to him?” Regina demanded as Sauron started to scream.
She took a step towards him but Robin held her back. Sauron’s flesh was beginning to fissure and ooze with heat. It felt as if lava was pouring through the cracks of his skin. What was happening to the Ring happening to him? He was no longer aware of her, too gripped in agony to be able to comprehend anything else.
“What’s happening to him?” She demanded of Gandalf again. Even though she knew he had tricked and manipulated her, Regina was not blind to the real affection he had for her. She knew in some way feeling for her had led to his destruction. If he hadn’t taken Henry, the others would not have followed her and she would not have been forced to choose.
“It's done. The One Ring is destroyed.”
“We have to get out of here!” Aragorn exclaimed, recalling all too well what had happened the last time they thought the One Right destroyed. Even as he said those words, the ground beneath them started to quiver and shake. The tower where Henry was imprisoned exploded. Chunks of rock and debris rained over them as large pieces slammed into the courtyard floor. The power of Sauron’s ring was immense and destroying it scattered that power to the winds.
“Mom!” Henry ran to Regina as Killian and David reached them. The Nazgul were also sharing their master’s agony and no longer able to put a fight. Behind them was Legolas and Faramir who immediately went to Aragorn.
“Henry!” Regina exclaimed, forgetting Sauron as she embraced her son. “I swore, I didn’t know he was going to take you!”
“I know mom,” Henry said giving her a smile. “I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“We must go now!” Gandalf urged them, “everyone to the gates! We need to be away from here!”
“What about Emma?” Killian demanded, not seeing her present.
“She’s with Gold!” Robin revealed as the group started to leave the destruction behind.
The lord of Mordor was disintegrating before their eyes and Regina cast a final look of sorrow at him. Whatever he was, whatever he intended. She knew his desire to make her his queen was real. He had cared for her in his way.
Turning away from him, she saw how rapidly the destruction around them was taking place. They’d never clear the city in time.
“WAIT!” Regina ordered sharply, forcing everyone to hold still.
“Mom we have to leave,” Henry said tugging at her sleeve. Around them, the city was crumbling and they were minutes from being buried alive with it. Behind them, the ward was tumbling to the ground below them and it would be a matter of seconds before it gave way completely.
“I know but I need you all to stand still so I can do a teleportation spell!” She barked and at that, received the cooperation she demanded since the others had seen Gold had been able to do.
“Are you sure you can do this, my dear?” Gandalf asked kindly.
His calm was a stark contrast to the urgency of the moment and as Regina stared into his blue eyes, there was something calming about him. He reminded her of Henry’s namesake because he had the same kind eyes.
“I’ll get it done.” She assured him.
Casting a final glance at Sauron, she concentrated and a cloud of purple swirled around them as the spell came into effect. Already the walls of the city were breaking up and the epicentre appeared to be where Sauron continued to kneel. Around him, his disciples were writhing in pain and the last glimpse she had of him before they disappeared from Minas Morgul was his human body exploding into nothingness.
And despite what he had done, Regina knew she would still miss him.
“Emma!”
Emma let out a sigh of relief when she saw Henry running towards her. After destroying the ring in the crevasse that was once Mount Doom, Gold brought them back to the others. They’d materialised a short distance away from where Minas Morgul stood, confronted by the enormous debris pile left in the wake of the city’s destruction.
“Hey, kid!” She crossed the craggy ground and met Henry partway; hugging him so tightly she almost didn’t want to let him go. Her son was safe and back in her arms. After that, everything else was secondary. As it stood, she still felt guilty at not going to him earlier but consoled herself with the knowledge that Henry would understand. He had more faith in her as the Saviour than anyone else and Sauron needed to be stopped.
The others were not far behind Henry and Emma soon found herself exchanging hugs with David and something a little more romantic from Killian. As he kissed her, Emma was reminded again of how close she had come to losing him and that thought left such a well of despair in her heart she was rather stunned by the intensity of it.
“You did it, Swan,” Killian said as he parted from her, savouring the sweet taste of his kiss still lingering on his lips.
“We did it,” she smiled at him before regarding the others with her and then saw Regina, the only one standing apart from them all. Regina’s back was facing them as she stared at the ruins of the fortress and though Robin hovered close, it seemed as if he was keeping his distance. The dismay at having cause Regina more hurt returned once more and Emma wished she could do something to help. However, she was smart enough to keep away for the moment, to avoid provoking another accusation of stealing away a man she cared for.
“You have done this land a great service my dear,” Gandalf declared, able to read the young lady’s face to tell what bothered her. “He is gone for all time. He will never again be able to return from the shadow world to trouble us.”
“Is he dead?” Emma had to ask, subconsciously glancing past his shoulder to see if Regina was listening. The former queen’s gaze continued to remain on the rubble of Minas Morgul.
“No, he is disembodied and powerless. He will never again have the power to affect the world. He is trapped in the Void. It is far better than he deserves.” The wizard concluded.
“What about those bloody Nazgul,” Killian asked, still wishing he had exacted more satisfying revenge on the creatures that almost killed him. “Are they gone too?”
“Yes,” Aragorn nodded. “Without Sauron, they cannot exist in this world. They are bound to him as he was bound to the ring.”
“What about Celene?” Henry asked Faramir, reminding them of the spirit that was trapped in Minas Morgul with the Nazgul. He hated to think that they would break their promise about being able to help them. “We said we would help her.”
“Celene?” Emma glanced at David in question. Had they left people in there?
“They are at peace now,” Faramir assured him and then added for Gandalf’s benefit. “It appeared that not all the souls wandering Minas Morgul were from Sauron’s army. Some were the people who died in the great plague before Morgul claimed the city.”
“Ah,” Gandalf seemed to nod, taking in as he threw a glance at the rubble before placing his hand on the young boy’s shoulder. “Rest assured Henry, with the end of the Minas Morgul, they are no longer bound to this earth and the place of their ending. I sense they are now free to go to their place in the Timeless Halls.”
Aragorn’s patience to let everyone have their reunion soon exhausted itself when he remembered that there was an army still marching towards Minas Tirith, an army carrying deadly weapons.
“We still have to stop Sauron’s army,” Aragorn reminded, turning towards the White City in the distance and the army that was no doubt approaching it.
“He’s right,” David added, “Even without Sauron, that army of his can do a hell of a lot of damage.”
Emma faced Gold because she wasn’t about to approach Regina about this yet. “Can you do something about that? Get rid of their guns?”
“I might be able to manage it with some help,” Gold nodded, having no wish to allow the continued corruption of this timeline to continue. He wanted to go back to the Storybrooke he knew, where Belle and his plans for the future awaited. Not the nightmare they left behind when they were forced to pursue Sauron into this world. “Regina?”
“Leave her alone,” Robin snapped, wishing everyone could see how hurt Regina was and let her be. He should have been jealous about her feelings for Sauron but the situation with Marian blunted his anger somewhat. Even if Sauron tricked Regina into thinking they were destined to be together, Robin knew at the pit of his stomach, what the dark lord offered her was real.
“I’m FINE,” Regina stated and turned around. Her eyes were red and puffy, indicating the tears she shed for the man who made her believe for a time, that a family and a kingdom was possible for her. Perhaps she had outgrown what he wished her to be but Regina did not doubt he wanted to make her happy.
“Let’s get this done.” She said, not looking at any one of them before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
*******
Once Sauron and the Nine were vanquished, it was easy to deal with the army they left behind.
Only their superior weapons made them dangerous and both Regina and Gold were able to do away with them quickly. Upon realising that their master was gone and with the loss of their advantage, the host of Minas Morgul disbanded and headed back to the deep places of the world. While the White City was still recovering from the War of the Ring, it was fortified well enough to ensure that any invading army would have a difficult time breaching its high walls.
Nevertheless, Aragorn swore their time in Middle Earth was done. The first order of business by the Unified Kingdom following the recovery after the war would be to hunt and put down the remaining armies of Mordor once and for all. He wanted to ensure they never amassed again for any leader to use them against the free peoples of Middle Earth.
******
Hours later, Regina stood at the edge of the courtyard in the Tower of Ecthelion, admiring the sister city of Minas Morgul.
When she was with Sauron, she saw this city from a distance and now she was here herself, she was profoundly grateful she hadn’t been party to its destruction. It was exceedingly beautiful and teeming with life in the way she found Minas Morgul lacking. Every terrace, connected by the spiralling street leading to the gates, was filled with people. They went about the business of life, gathering in market places to trade, gossiping in the squares while children played games in courtyards as soldiers patrolled the walls in vigilance.
What struck her most was just how happy they were, content at their lot in life. In all the years that she was Queen in the Enchanted Forest, she never once saw that kind of light in the faces of her subjects. It made her feel ashamed because she squandered the chance to make their lives better, for a personal quest of vengeance that served no one. It was why they loved Snow and Charming so much, just as they had adored Leopold.
“How are you, my lady?”
Regina looked over her shoulder and found herself staring at the White Wizard. The power emanating from him was very different than that possessed by herself and Gold. It was the kind Emma exuded except it seemed ancient and still ageless. Magic wasn’t something he wielded; it was something he was made of, down to every last cell. Just being near him made her feel as if she were staring at the sun.
“I’m fine,” she offered him a faint smile.
“Your son and your friends are worried about you,” he said gesturing to the hall where these visitors from the future were gathering for a meal. “I thought I’d come to see how you were.”
“How I am?” She uttered a humourless laugh, “I am embarrassed, humiliated and frankly tired.”
The old man pulled out a pipe from his white robes and prepared it for smoking.
“That’s not good for you, you know? You’re about a hundred; you should take care of yourself.”
Gandalf laughed. “Oh I rarely smoke but today has been a long day for all of us.”
“Oh I’m sure that’s not true,” Regina remarked out as she saw how expertly he prepared the pipe.
“Perhaps a little untrue,” Gandalf smiled at her, his eyes twinkling before his voice became gentle. “I have known Sauron for a very long time my dear and that you moved him at all, was a credit to you. You must be an extraordinary woman to earn such unwavering belief by your son and love from the man Robin, not to mention Sauron.”
“I’m not,” Regina shook her head and turned away from him, staring into the horizon once more. “I’ve not been a good person and I’m trying to be better but I keep stumbling. I really thought Stephen… I mean Sauron cared for me. I was not stupid enough to think he loved me but I believed he was being sincere about wanting to build something together.”
Gandalf leaned against the edge of the stone wall, smoking his pipe. The grey wisps twisted in the wind and flowed into the air. “I think he was too.”
“You’ve all been telling me what a liar he was,” Regina pointed out. “What makes you think he really cared?”
“I think you gave him something he hasn't had in a long time, not since the earliest days of creation, the desire for something other than his great plan. He wanted to fix the world and his impatience led him to ruin. I think you were the first thing he ever wanted for himself that had nothing to do with that.”
“Well everyone wants to be loved,” Regina said softly, swallowing thickly. “Even the worst of us.”
“Now you must not speak that way young lady,” Gandalf said firmly. “When the time came, you made the right decision. You made your choice for the people you loved and that is nothing to take lightly. Emma tells me you have tried hard to be a better person and that is something most people do not have the courage to do. Have heart, my lady, it seems dark now but there is always hope. You are strong and you have a good heart. Learn to manage your anger and there is nothing that won’t be beyond your reach.”
“I don’t know…” Regina started to say when she saw Robin step out onto the courtyard looking for her.
Gandalf noted Robin’s arrival. “I do know and I have faith in you,” he smiled as he started to draw away.
“You don’t know me.”
“I know your heart and it is a good one. It has just been hurt.”
The old man drifted away, walking past Robin as he gave Regina a parting glance, his blue eyes full of mischief.
Despite herself, Regina found herself smiling too.
Robin was grateful to see the wizard leave because he wanted to speak to Regina alone. He knew that his words at tower earlier might be seen as a last-ditch attempt to turn her against Sauron so he wanted to make himself clear. Robin hadn’t lied about anything he said to Regina, no matter how complicated their situation was.
“Are you alright?” He asked as he leaned against the stone and faced her.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” She eyed him critically. “I’m not fine. I made a fool out of myself. The evil Queen’s equivalent of running away to join the circus.”
“You’re not a fool Regina,” Robin said quickly reaching for her hand and flinching when she pulled it away as if touching him scalded her. However, he was not to give up on her or them. “Regina, I meant what I said. If I have to choose between you and Marian, I’m choosing you. I don’t love her anymore and it’s not fair to Marian to continue pretending that I do. I love you and I want to be with you.”
“What about Roland?” Regina demanded. She wanted to believe Robin. She really did but she was afraid that as soon as he went home, he would see his family and go running back to them.
“Roland will be fine,” Robin stated firmly even if inwardly, he worried about the effect it would have on the boy but he was not going to break Regina’s heart again. Reaching for her hand, he was encouraged by the fact this time, she didn’t pull away.
“We will make it work. Regina if you’re willing to give me a chance, I swear I’ll make it work.”
Regina stared into his eyes and saw the sincerity there, the heart he was wearing on his sleeve by this promise. He was risking everything for her and Regina could not find it in herself to say no to that.
“Alright,” she gave in, at last, her voice full of emotion. Regina was unable to refuse him or her feelings for him. Sauron had given her an easy way out but in her heart, Regina knew she still loved Robin. Perhaps she was being a fool to take the risk but if he was willing to try, she could too.
“I’m going to hold you that outlaw,” she said finally.
Robin grinned as he drew Regina to him, “Likewise, your highness. Likewise”
Whatever would happen would happen, Regina decided. Sauron was gone and the future was now waiting for them.
Gandalf was right. There was always hope.