Chapter 7 – In the Beast's Den

Emma flopped down on her couch, exhausted but incredibly happy. Her mind drifted back to the blissful memories of the evening. Killian confessing that he had feelings for her…. And her finally finding the courage to allow him in as an important part of her life, an important part that she hadn't granted to anyone since… well, she grinned and sighed happily. She thought back to the beginning of their encounters, to the day she woke up in frustration at the fact she couldn't keep him out of her head. The chance meeting at the diner. The walk in the woods. The gunshot. She frowned at that last one. It seemed strange. It hadn't been Smee, and if someone was trying to kill her in a manner as serious as a shooting, it seemed odd that they wouldn't have finished the job. Yet, there had no more attempts on her life. Unless…

"Misfire." She breathed. "It wasn't meant for me. Killian!" she shoved her body up off the sofa and flew through her front door.

Killian leaned once again against his balcony, basking in the cool night air and smiling at the night's events. He would admit, he had thought her agreement to enter a relationship would have been a long shot, but he had been pleasantly surprised at the outcome. He stared at the moon, remembering the amazing walk home, his hand intertwined with hers and her head upon his shoulder. How he felt with his arm around her waist and – a cold stretch of metal pressed against his throat. His eyes flicked down long enough to identify a knife, and thinking it was Cora, laughed.

"You wouldn't kill me, Cora. You need me darling."

"Shut up." A gravelly voice hissed. That's when he tensed. "I'm coming for you Hook. I will kill you. This is just a scare." Then he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head and pain crackled through him as he fell forward and everything went black.

Emma's feet pounded on the pavement as she blew like a whirlwind towards the mansion no one ever approached. But Killian had confided in her, told her it was where he stayed. He'd just warned her to watch out for Cora if she ever did visit, in a mocking tone. He never thought she would be so reckless as to visit. But he was wrong. She vaulted a hedge and tip toed around the back, stepping over branches and gliding soundlessly through the long, overgrowing grass, breathing heavily but desperately trying to mask it. When she was shadowed by a large marble balcony, she looked up and blanched when she saw a finger wearing Hook's ring sticking through the small pillars that help to counter top up of the balcony. A tear rose to her eye in fright and she whirled around… and came face to face with Cora.

"Hello dear." She said, smiling sweetly. Emma's eyes hardened and she opened her mouth to yell, but her yell came out a muffled grunt. Her hands came up in confusion and she felt the felt gag Cora had conjured. She made an indignant sound and clawed at it, but Cora grabbed her arm and dragged her, squirming, through the vast house. She screamed against the material, eyes darting around the room and taking note of the features: the windows, the location of the exits, and her head rang with pain as Cora threw her down some stairs into what looked like a stone basement. It was dark asides from the moonlight flooding in around Cora who stood, silhouetted against the framed sky, laughing.

"Goodnight sweet Emma." She grinned, and slammed the door shut, plunging Emma into darkness.

Killian's eyes opened slowly. He moaned in pain as he tenderly felt the ever rising lump on the back of his head and he slowly pushed up off the ground, standing and grabbing the balcony as an anchor while his head swam and vision blurred. He crumpled against the railing, holding his head in his hand and looked through his fingers into his room. Quiet. Nothing had been left disturbed by his attacker, there were no signs as to anyone ever having being in there. Or was there? He walked slowly, staggered once or twice and entered his room through the open chiffon curtains. His eyes moved around the room, noting every little detail: the placement of his few belongings, searching for anything that might have been out of place. Then something glinting caught his eye. There, underneath the rug was a ring. He bent over and picked it up, lifting it to eye height and examining it closely. He had no idea whose it was. It was small, pure gold and bore an inscription inside it:

"He who fears death fears naught but me."

He frowned and pocketed it, walking out into the hallway and down the steps as a door slammed loudly in the kitchen.

"Cora?" he yelled loudly.

"Hook!" she yelled back, her voice slightly muffled from sounds in the kitchen. He approached through the heavy oak door and hopped up onto a black marble counter, eyeing her wearily.

"What was all that noise about?"

"What noise?" she asked casually, abruptly turning and busying herself with using her magic to wash the dishes.

"The slam of the door earlier." He said cautiously and suspiciously.

"Oh nothing dear boy, the wind blew through the house quite suddenly. It was nothing to worry about." She looked at him and met his eyes, nodding almost imperceptibly. It was a warning, to agree with her story or face her consequences. Killian weighed up his options and blinked.

"Okay." He agreed, not wanting an argument about his suspicions, and too interested to hear what she had to say on his recent attack. He changed the subject. "I was attacked. Here, in my room."

Cora's eyebrow lifted. "I'm sorry?" she asked sceptically. "No-one can get in this house without my knowing about it Hook."

"Yes I know, which is precisely why I'm so interested to find out where you were 30 minutes ago, Cora." He replied tightly. But even as he searched her face for even the smallest sign of recognition, all he could see was anger at his implied accusation and disbelief that someone had managed to sneak past her defences. He looked down as she opened her mouth.

"I was down here; I've been down here all day. Don't accuse me of anything without any good evidence Hook. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to be attending to such as finding out who managed to better me, than being stood here having lies flung at me."

"I never accused you of anything Cora, I just-" he broke off as she'd already left the room, and left through the kitchen door to go and see Emma. At least someone would listen to him. He loved her.

Emma slammed her body weight against the door that lead into the kitchen yet again. She could hear Cora and Hook just outside talking, so why couldn't they hear her persistently trying to break down the door? Of course – Cora had enchanted it. She gave up and sunk down to the ground. Someone had attacked him? She knew it was coming, and she'd hoped she hadn't been too late. Who could it have been? She laid her head against the heavy door and a tear of despair slipped down her cheek, before she angrily swiped it away and headed down the stairs and back into the basement, looking for something to help her open that door.