The sweet smell of peppers, flowers, and grass filled her nose as they stumbled through the portal, her feet meeting the ground as ungracefully as what could have been possible. Emma breathed a deep sigh of relief when she heard Hook's coughing beside her – they were still shrouded in the purple mists of the gateway. Emma still held onto his hand, their palms balmy against the other, and Hook squeezed again.

When it cleared, Emma looked over her shoulder at Hook; his hair was dishevelled and mussed much like her own. She brushed her golden strands away from her face and waved her hand in front of them, sending wisps of purple haze flitting around them. Emma stifled a cough and glanced around, and what her eyes saw was wondrous – it truly was Wonderland. Stepping forward, she was pulled back by Hook, her hand still gripped in his. Emma felt the redness creeping up the sides of her face and she quickly loosened her fingers and their hands fell to their hips.

"Welcome to Wonderland, lass," Hook announced from behind her, and he slipped the gold compass into his pocket. "Now remember this carefully – the number of people who come through the portal must also come out. Don't lose yourself in this land's many wonders."

Emma peeked back at him and all she could manage was a smile. She felt small – all the grass surrounding them towered high above, piercing the blue sky and drawing long, dancing shadows at their feet. She breathed in deep, taking in the different aromas. Everything Emma had seen in the world – none of it compared to this. Her senses were sparked by tantalizing mixtures of different sights, smells, sounds – every one of them unique to Wonderland.

There was a warm breeze that sifted through the air, and music rang in her ears. The tall blades of grass sang playfully in the wind, chiming their own tune. Emma watched them in awe as little crystal droplets fell from their tips and burst as they reached the ground, littering sparkles that glistened under the sun as they passed.

Hook came up beside her and slowed down to her pace. "It truly lives up to its name, does it not, love?" he noted, his voice heavy with admiration. When Emma looked at him, his eyes were locked on her instead, a gentle smile curling at the side of his lip. Her eyes fluttered with her stomach and she immediately turned away, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"So – I – where do we go?" she stammered, and she tried to hide the quavering of her voice – uncertain if it had worked. "For the heart, I mean." She stiffened herself straight and stopped, and Hook bumped into her elbow.

"The Queen's palace." As if this was going to be a simple feat – yeah, because storming Regina's castle without a plan went real well, Emma reflected with a roll of her eyes. "Meaning we must move quickly, lass. We are slaves to time in this realm as well, and if the queen finds us–"

"We're finished." Emma didn't need Hook to tell her – and he nodded.

"Aye… That we are."

"That's great, but wouldn't it be nice, just for once, to have a pl–" She was interrupted with a cough that formed deep in her chest, and Emma panted, trying to catch what breath remained in her lungs. Around her head was a circle of coloured smoke, each ring a different colour, and then –

"Whooo are yooou?"

The pair whirled their heads in the direction of the long, drawling voice, and much to Emma's surprise they found a rather rotund caterpillar perched atop an even larger mushroom. He was puffing the loops of smoke at them through a pipe. Over his eyes, he wore round glasses that hid his obvious stares.

Emma and Hook remained quiet.

"I saaaaiiiid…" the caterpillar went on, his voice growing louder with each painfully enunciated syllable. "Whooo? Are yooou?"

Hook shot Emma a look of desperation and she cleared her throat. "R-Robin," she spoke up finally with a cracked voice. "Robin Hood." She made to pull the hood over her face, but she stopped just short of it and clutched the cloak closer.

"Robiiiinnnn Hoooood?" he echoed. Emma arched a brow at him as more rings of smoke drifted in their direction, creating little o's that took the shape of the caterpillar's oversized mouth.

She nodded slowly and cast a sideways glance at Hook – she could see the wrinkles on his forehead growing deeper, confusion settling on his face that mirrored her own. "Yeah," Emma replied sharply. We don't have time for this. "How do we get to the queen's castle?"

The caterpillar blinked at her several times, not saying a word. Emma shifted her weight from one foot to the other and rested her hands on her waist, fingers drumming impatiently at her hips. He brought the pipe to his mouth and inhaled from it while turning his attention to Hook as if Emma hadn't said anything at all. The colourful ringlets wafted toward Hook and he glowered, coughing them away. "Whoo are yooou?"

For god's sake. Emma stepped in front of Hook and reached her arm out in front of him protectively. The caterpillar seemed affronted by her indignation, but Emma didn't wince. "Can you please just tell us whe-"

"I WAS NOT TALKING TO YOU, MISS!"

They fell back several paces, startled at the caterpillar's low, booming voice. It echoed through the tall blades of grass, rocking them from side to side. His colour faded from green to red and his lips were shaking with rage. Emma's arms fell from the weight of the metal as Hook placed his arm on hers.

"Killian Jones."

Back to green the caterpillar transformed, and he inclined his head. "Ah, I see," he uttered, more to himself than at either Emma or Hook. He tapped the pipe against his pointed chin. "Tell me, Captain…" The pit of Emma's stomach dropped. "Hooow doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail?"

He was humming now, inhaling from his pipe between every breath. Emma's hand clenched into a tight fist and she called up to him again as they quickly lost his attention. "We're looking for the quee–"

"And pour the waters of the Nile?" he interjected, and Emma could feel her knuckles turning white, the blood in her hands quickly leaving and rushing to her cheeks. She stepped forward, ready to draw her bow, but hesitated when Hook blocked her.

"We don't have time for this." Emma was hissing in his ear, her eyes not moving from the caterpillar, who was eyeing them through his dark and round spectacles.

Hook's hand clasped around her arm, and Emma's fist loosened, the muscles in her hand relaxing. "We really must be on our way – we have business with the queen." Hook cracked an awkward smile and pulled Emma forward down the yellow road, exasperated groans and curses uttered under his breath. "Bloody hell, that was more trouble than it's worth. I hate Wonderland."

They could hear him reciting his riddle as they walked away, the distance between them and his mushroom increasing exponentially with every hastened step. It hadn't been long at all, and Emma was already feeling her frustration knot in her gut, and she wondered how many more bothersome characters they were going to meet before they finally reached the queen's castle.

"Any idea what the hell that was about?"

Hook shook his head slowly, not looking over his shoulder. "He was there last I ventured here as well, and he has remained the same."

They continued down the road in almost complete silence – there were still sounds coming from the blades of grass as they swayed; sights that you could hear, smells that you could taste – Wonderland was very aptly named, but Emma was unsure if she had the patience to deal with it much longer. She saw the droplets falling to the ground again, breaking into fireworks under their feet as they passed. Strange creatures circled above their heads, their unfamiliar calls echoed in the purple sky.

Quickly, the grass faded away into shorter pieces before they were soon surrounded by grand spotted mushrooms on either side – much larger than any Emma had ever seen – and she heard her stomach growl at her in desperation. The smell that drifted from them was inviting and the temptation to reach out and break off a piece was rising, but Hook's voice startled her.

"Don't get any ideas now, love," he said with a poorly stifled laugh.

Emma's brows rose, confused. "Why? What's wrong with them?" She stopped as he did, and Emma watched while Hook broke a piece off of one mushroom and turned it over in his head to observe it. "I wasn't going to eat them – they were just a friendly reminder that I'm starving."

With a simple toss, the piece landed at their feet with a quiet thunk and Emma matched Hook's long strides as they carried on. "I've heard gruesome tales of travelers taking but a single bite from these mushrooms," he began to explain, gesturing at the assortment of toadstools big and small.

"What happened to them?" Emma's curiosity was piqued, and she stared at the mushrooms in awe, taking a sudden interest in their magic. What sorts of 'gruesome tales' had formed, she could only imagine.

"Those who ate them grew to be as large as a giant, if not larger."

Emma stood tall on her tiptoes and ripped her own piece off, sniffing it. They smelled normal enough – perhaps that was the point. She frowned down at it before Hook removed it from her fingers, and this piece met the same fate as its predecessor, and hit the ground. "Just from these mushrooms?" It seemed far too strange to believe, but this was Wonderland – Emma needed to remind herself of this – where grass sings, and caterpillars smoke and play you with riddles, and the clouds flutter through a purple sky.

"Aye," Hook replied with a grin. "Well, who's to say what certain mushrooms will do?" His hand found a spot on her shoulder and squeezed. "Who knows, lass? One may turn you into a blossoming flower, or even a swan." He chuckled and Emma could feel the knots in her stomach tightening again.

It wasn't much longer before Emma could finally see an end of sorts in sight – the yellow bricked road's boundary was shrouded in great bushes that weaved left and right amongst themselves. Her breath caught in her throat and she held it there. A maze… Emma knew that this would not be so simple, but this was far from what she had fantasized.

"Well this isn't foreboding at all," she expressed flatly when they arrived at the maze's entrance. Emma extended her hand to touch the leaves, but they shriveled up under her fingers, sending Emma jumping back, stunned.

It was Hook who took the first step inside, and he beckoned her along. "Fear not," he reassured. "So long as we stick together, we should get through and out with relative ease."

Emma sensed the wavering in his brave voice, and his uncertainty made her insides squirm uncomfortably. "You say that with such confidence," she jabbed. She took a deep breath of air before following him through the arch of vines. "You've been through here before?"

There was warmth between Emma's fingers that she quickly latched onto, and she let him drag her inside, leading the way through the shrubs. "Come, let's go."

Left, right, left, right, right. It seemed that Hook's feet were doing the thinking rather than his head, but he trusted them – that was enough for Emma. She pursued not far behind, her steps mirroring his.

She went along for a long time, her feet sore as the clambered over roots and fallen twigs. She felt his pace quickening and slowing now and then and she had a sinking feeling in her gut. Did he even know where he was going? The sky above was darkening now to an almost deep violet, and the birds had ceased flight; it was getting late and they needed to hurry. Emma opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped when her ears caught a rustling overhead.

Pacing along the top of the maze was a cat – a purple and striped cat, whose eyes glowed in the spreading darkness. His paws were light and he made only the most subtle of sounds as he moved, but it was enough to seize Emma's attention.

"Hook?" she whispered, her eyes locked on the cat, who seemed to take an odd interest in them. "Hook, have you seen this cat before?" Emma gave his arm a light tug and he stopped, glancing carefully over his shoulder and past Emma's head.

"Just keep on," he told her, his voice quiet.

Emma couldn't just keep on. As they moved again, so did the striped cat, and there was a wide, toothy grin forming on its face, the glow in its eyes becoming brighter. She could hear it snickering behind them, and Emma grimaced. "Excuse me." The words came out before she could hold them back, and Hook halted immediately to disapprove in her ear.

"Yesss?"

So it does talk.

Emma shook the unsteadiness in her composure and straightened her back. "We're looking for the queen's castle." She saw no harm in asking – there was no way they were going to find Hook's heart before the queen found them, and they needed to speed things up if that was to change. "Can you tell us which way we need to go?"

The cat's smile only broadened. "All ways here you see…" He sprung up thoughtfully, his voice slow and drawn out. Emma's eyes narrowed at them, and then the cat's voice thundered. "ARE THE QUEEN'S WAYS!" He rested his large head on his tiny paws and his tail waved teasingly behind him.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Emma snapped, the same rage she had felt earlier with the caterpillar bubbling its way up into her chest again. Lack of directions seemed to be a growing trend inside Wonderland, and not a single creature was willing to help alleviate that stress.

The cat's arms then twisted around themselves several times, much to Emma's disgust. "Well some go this way, some go that way." His pointed claws poked left and right and he shrugged his shoulders. "As for me, personally, I prefer the shortcut."

Hook was growing agitated as well, and Emma could hear him groaning beside her and he spoke up at last. "The lass asked you for directions, not for more trivial riddles."

"Oh, but this isn't a riddle, captain!" The cat was laughing now, his white teeth gleaming under Wonderland's setting sun. His smile was so wide that his eyes almost disappeared beneath the wrinkles on his striped face.

Hook and Emma exchanged vexed looks with one another. "So then answer her question," Hook demanded, and he pointed his hook at the cat as if to threaten him.

"Every adventure requires a first step," the cat told them, the pitch in his laughter rising. "Trite, but true, even here – in Wonderland." There was a splitting moment when Emma swore she spotted a wink of the cat's eye, but she couldn't be sure.

"So then we'll be taking our first step out of here." Emma pulled gently on Hook's hand and dragged him off, leaving the striped feline behind. This time, he didn't shadow them.

"How fine you look dressed in rage!" he hollered behind them. When they turned to shoot him one last aggravated scowl, he was gone. All that was left were his glowing white eyes, and soon, they vanished into the darkness, his taunting laughter reverberating around them.

Dressed in rage, indeed – Emma was tired. The sun had almost finished setting for the night and neither had an idea of how long the darkness would last in Wonderland, or if there was any sense of time in this world. Her eyes burrowed into the back of Hook's head. His black hair was tousled and tangled from their fall. "So why are you doing this?" she wondered out loud. "Why did you decide that now would be a good time to seek help and take back your heart?"

Hook didn't turn around. Instead, he kept walking, but she could hear his breathing. "If you had lost yours, wouldn't you want it back? The opportunity presented itself…" His voice was barely loud enough to reach Emma's ears, and she had to strain them to listen. "Long ago, there was someone…"

This was certainly more than Emma had expected. "What was her name?"

They had slowed significantly since she had broken the silence. "That's not important," he uttered, and there was a twinge of bleakness.

"Well, it's not like we're getting any further in silence, are we?" Emma's eyes dropped to their hands, and she spotted a tattoo on his right wrist peeking out from under his sleeve. Milah, it said. Across the heart her name was embedded in was a dagger. "Might as well get to know each other a little better, don't you think?"

"Her name was Milah…" Hook finally said after a moment of quiet, still moving forward. Emma figured as much.

Emma tilted her head to the side, and her brows laced together in thought. "Where is she?" She never recalled seeing a woman aboard his ship, or hearing him talk of her. Something had happened, and as much as Emma didn't want to pry, she was curious. This Milah must have a place in Hook's motives – for wanting his heart, for being so desperate to take it back. She remembered being in her own cell, under Regina's castle… It never happened, but there were definite threats. Emma's free hand clutched at her chest, and she felt her heart beating with a liveliness that hadn't been there before – like it was beating for Hook. For Milah – a woman she hadn't known. She was important to him, and Emma tried to ignore the ache in her own chest.

"She's gone." He had said it so suddenly, so abruptly that it made Emma halt in her tracks, making Hook do the same. He spun around and stared hard through his long lashes.

"What happened to her?" Emma prodded some more. It wasn't that she was nosy, no, she genuinely wanted to hear.

Hook's eyes cast downward and Emma's hand fell from his grasp. "She was killed." With a deep breath, he went on. "By the same man who took my hand."

Emma watched his face change from sadness to anger in a matter of seconds. She wanted for an answer, and Hook seemed to sense that.

"Rumplestiltskin."

The name carried a heavy meaning all throughout the kingdoms, and spanning far beyond just theirs. The realm knew of his existence – The Dark One – and he was a man to be feared. Emma had thankfully never crossed paths with him, and she hoped that it remained that way. You never broke a deal with Rumplestiltskin – that much Emma knew.

"So why are you doing this? Won't it bring back all the pain? All the hurt you've felt over the years?"

Hook's voice grew cold and his stare grew colder. "To exact revenge on him. He ripped her heart out in front of me, and he needs to know that I haven't forgotten."

Where is revenge going to get you, you stupid pirate? Other than dead. "What are you going to do after you avenge her? What next?"

He didn't blink once. "That's not important, either," he said with a low grumble. "Why do you want to know this anyway, Swan?" Hook's eyes narrowed at her, and there was a glint in his ocean blue eyes. "Have you ever even been in love?"

"No," Emma proclaimed, the same hardness in her voice as Hook's. A million thoughts raced through her head – images of his smile, his hands, watches, and a jail cell – it always ended with the cell. Her walls went up again – that armour she wore so close to herself stiffening and rebuilding itself. "I have never been in love." Emma stepped past him, the twigs crackling under her feet. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and it felt like it was attempting to break free. She heard Hook follow after her several paces behind, a heavy lull in the space between them. She didn't want to talk about it anymore.

They traveled quietly for a while, neither of them speaking. It was Emma's turn to lead this time – right, left, right, left, left – and there were no objections from Hook, until she stopped at a T in the maze, unsure. "We already took three left turns, and only two right." She glanced over her shoulder at Hook, who tilted his head with a thick brow raised at her.

"That makes this all very, very simple, lass."

"We've made it nowhere." It seemed true; she couldn't keep track of where they had gone, but judging from the sun, it felt as if they had only ventured further in rather than out. "I'd say we've passed this shrub more times than I can count, but… well…" She couldn't – it all looked the same, and that was what made this difficult.

"The Queen of Hearts would not make a surprise arrival at her palace that simple," Hook reminded her. "Nor would she take it well, either, but that's a story for another time." He took the initiative again, advancing ahead of her.

Emma objected with a loud moan. "Fine, but if you're wrong, don't say I didn't tell you so."

"Trust me."

There were those words again. Emma knew she couldn't turn back now; she was in far too deep to get out of this. She had already put all of her faith in him to where they needed to go. Of course, his motivations were a bit on the selfish side, but when she reflected on it, Emma's could have been, too. What were her motives for helping out this stranger? She knew they weren't selfless, but were there underlying reasons as well – intents that even her mind had pushed to its furthest depths into denial? Her thoughts immediately went back to Henry, lying in his bed asleep and at peace.

Or was she so naïve? Was she doing this for her own completely selfish reasons?

"I told you that you could trust me." Hook's voice struck Emma's attention like a bell. She must have been so deep in her own mind that she hadn't noticed they made it out until a warm gust of air brushed past her face, rustling her hair into her eyes. Not far down the road was the palace, grand and magnificent under the pale light of the rising moon.

"What now?" she asked, crossing her arms at Hook.

He slid Emma's hood over her head and did the same with his, shadowing their faces in darkness. "We best hurry, before she discovers we're here." Hook didn't wait for a response – he broke into a sprint and left Emma with no choice but to keep up.

"I have a feeling she might already know," she called out matter-of-factly behind him between breaths. The lights in the palace were illuminated still, flickering behind the stained glass windows, a clear indication that Wonderland was not asleep, despite the looming darkness above. "Let's just get in there, grab what you need, and get out."

"Sounds simple enough when you say it like that, love."

"What's that supposed to mean?" After all of this time of making it sound so easy, that they were going to do just that, and now he insinuates something else? If this "quest" was going to get any harder, Emma was ready to turn around and run back the other way. She was not going to risk being taken again by another queen. It was enough to be imprisoned in her own kingdom, but to be a prisoner in another realm? Emma wasn't afraid of a lot of things, but that was certainly one fear she possessed.

Hook disregarded her question, but his lack of an answer was clearer than any he could have formulated. He kept his pace steady, their hoods billowing over their heads as they ran closer to the castle, and the sheer size of it was impressive and growing quickly. They bounded and sped through the grass, and Emma's legs were losing feeling, with the pain in her chest rising as she tried to keep up. They were so close – just a little further and all of this would be over. Emma had to endure this only a little longer, and then she could go home.

A drab thought coursed through her then – where was home?

They took a moment to catch their breaths, the palace almost within their reach. There was a guard at the front gate pacing, back and forth and back, a long pointed spear slung over his armoured shoulder. Thankfully, he hadn't taken notice to them crouching in the long grass. Hook shot Emma a single glance and she knew what she had to do. She crouched lower, her feet light against the dirt as she weaved, trying her best to stay out of the guard's line of vision. She snuck behind him and then paused, waiting for an opportune moment. It came when he turned his back to her, marching in front of the gate. Emma closed her hand into a tight fist and ran, and in one swift motion, her fist collided with the back of his head and he fell to the ground in silence, landing with a giant thud and several clanks against the gravel. At his waist was a ring, and dangling from it were several odd shaped keys, which Emma only assumed were for the palace doors. Good thinking. She unchained them from his belt and attached them to her own, the keys jingling with each step she made.

"We can't go in through these gates, lass," Hook told her after he had caught up, desperately looking for another entrance. "If we do, it will lead us straight to her, and we cannot afford to be found." He started along the wall, staring up at the top for a different way in. "The only way to avoid being found by the queen and her bloody guards is to keep moving."

"How are you going to know where she hides it?" she asked, not having thought of this prior to their arrival in Wonderland.

"I'll just know," Hook responded, stopping at an oak door twice their size. "If you lose something important – you can feel it. Open this, would you, love?"

Key by key, Emma prodded at the lock. Some were too large, and some were far too small. The ones that did fit didn't turn at all. There were at least fifty keys on this ring, and one of them had to belong to this door. She was nearing the end of the ring when – click! The handle turned under Emma's strength and she and Hook heaved the door open with a grunt and they stepped inside. They went down the corridor to their left, the sound of their footsteps bouncing off of the walls. Emma was quiet, allowing Hook to concentrate on his own instinct.

It felt like hours had passed as they advanced deeper and deeper into the heart of the castle; Emma's mind had gone blank and she had been paying no attention to their directions and what turns Hook had made. Where he moved, she moved, and Emma's footsteps mimicked his – left, right, left, right – it all seemed very redundant after all of the traveling and running, down stairs, around corners, and then down more stairs. It seemed odd to Emma that there had been no guards in passing as they journeyed through the castle – a much different experience than what was presented in Regina's castle. The lack of guards clearly meant something; no queen left her castle vulnerable, especially within, and Emma grew wary, glancing over her shoulder now and then to spot if they were being followed.

She bumped into Hook's back as he stopped – they had come to a dead end, and the bricked wall stared Hook in the face. "Dead end," she pointed out, but Hook didn't turn. Instead, his hand pressed against the wall and he pushed at it with as much strength as he could, but the tiles didn't budge. "Where are we? And that's a wall."

"The basement," he whispered, attempting another idle push. He spun around then, facing Emma with eyes wide and full of hope. "You… of course."

Emma sputtered at him in shock. "Me? What?" She let out a small gasp when Hook grabbed at her wrist and yanked her forward, lunging her at the wall, and he pressed her back against his chest. He was all Emma could smell. No more Wonderland, no more grass or spices – just a pirate. "Hook, what are you-?"

His breathing was rapid and frantic in her ear – Emma knew he could sense something behind the wall. There was a heavy atmosphere lingering over them: tenseness, emotion, magic. It hung there like a heavy weight ready to crash down upon their shoulders. Emma's breath hitched in her throat when she heard something else. Not her breathing, nor Hook's. There was a faint beating on the other side of the wall – a heart. Not just one. "You hear it, don't you?" Hook inquired anxiously.

Emma pursed her lips together and nodded. It frightened her, but she wanted to know more than anything what was happening on the other side of this hidden door. "What do you want me to do?" She tried to isolate the quiver in her voice, but her hand shook violently when Hook grabbed it, her fingers trembling against his.

"You have magic," Hook reminded her. His hand over hers, he pushed them against the wall, pressing Emma's palm against the cold marble slate. She felt something pulsing inside of her, waves of warmth crashing through her entire body, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Hook must have felt it, too – his fingers pet the back of her hand, and the warmth settled in Emma's cheeks.

Without words, without any sort of explanation, there was a loud scraping noise as the wall moved, pieces of rubble and marble falling to the floor as it lifted, allowing them further passage. What awaited them sent shivers up Emma's spine. They were in a circular room, walls and floors made of dark granite, and lined along each and every wall were small chests – hundreds, if not thousands of them, each with their own rhythm.

"Are these all hearts?" Emma gasped in disbelief. She knew hearts could be taken, but she had never been faced with so many in her life. "Wh-whose are these? Who do they belong to?" Her brain couldn't form proper sentences, frozen in shock of her surroundings. They were all beating softly, each one with a different glow. "Do you know which is yours?"

She didn't need an answer. When she turned on her heel, Hook was moving around the room quickly, scanning each column and row for the chest that would be his. He finally stopped after Emma watched him for a while, carefully pulling a chest out from its slot. Hook looked to Emma, their eyes meeting, and she could see that his were awash with fear and confusion. It was as if he was asking her to open it – as if he was afraid of what he would find inside. They stared at one another long and hard, Emma reading the wrinkles forming on his brows and the downward curve of his lips, and she knew.

Emma's shaky hands reached out and gripped the lock on the chest, but she hesitated. "You sure you want me to do this?" she insisted. She didn't want Hook to be as uncertain as he looked – he seemed afraid and conflicted, and Emma didn't want to do anything without his go-ahead. He gave her a small nod, not looking up from her fingers on the box as she clicked open the lock. The creaky lid lifted and inside the box was exactly what both expected to see: a heart, glowing bright and red, and beating. In the middle, however, was a large black spot, dark and ominous in a sea of crimson, breaking the glow like a demon attempting to claw its way out. Emma's eyes were wide when she pulled it out of its box, the throbbing noise it made growing faster and louder in her palm. "Is it…?"

"It is." Hook watched in awe as it pulsed in Emma's hands, the red glare shining off of the beads of sweat rolling down his temple. Emma couldn't help but grin at him – they had made it, it was here, and Hook was only seconds away from getting it back, what was rightfully his. No one should ever have their heart taken away. This had all seemed too easy; the fact that they had found the basement with relative ease, no guards pacing through the castle halls, no sign of the queen and her knowledge of their presence. They needed to move fast; something about this sat wrong in Emma's gut and she wanted to get out.

"Here, let me..." Emma said softly, holding the heart upright in between her fingers delicately. Their breathing calmed and there was stillness between them as Emma held it to Hook's chest. They exchanged a smile, and for a second, Emma felt herself fall. Only for a second. Here she was, in Wonderland, holding this man's heart in the palm of her hands – a thought she never imagined would cross her mind. He looked relieved, but also kind of sad. Hook's fingers wrapped around her wrist and he pulled his heart closer to him, the glow resonating brighter than anything Emma had ever seen. Hook exhaled loudly when Emma hesitated, holding it so close that she could feel the warmth of his body on her hands. "Is this how…?" She blinked at it and held it there carefully, and Hook nodded.

"Aye," he muttered, and stiffened against her knuckles, ready.

"Why, it's so good to see you again, Captain."

Both Emma and Hook jumped in their spots, startled by the sudden voice at the door. They turned and there stood a woman, who Emma could only assume was the queen. In front of her face she held a giant heart-shaped mask, and the could only see the beads of her eyes through the slits. Behind her were more guards than they could see, all of their spears and swords at the ready.

Clutching the heart tightly, Emma slid it behind her back and tucked it safely into the satchel at her side, hoping that the queen wouldn't notice.

Hook raised his head, the fear on his face dissolving quickly. "When something you desire is near, you'll know," he said with an air of cockiness that Emma had grown all too familiar with. "How did you know I had ventured here?"

The queen laughed heartily and removed her mask, revealing her face. She was an older woman, with brown hair streaked with white tied behind her head, curls falling loosely at the sides of her small face. She had deep, amused eyes and her lips were red as blood. "Has it been so long that you've forgotten, Hook?" She stopped just short of the pirate, her face close to his, and she grinned wider. "The queen knows everything in this land." Hook returned a smile to her before she turned to Emma; hood still pulled over her face, and examined her closely. "And who is this dull-looking girl?" she asked Hook.

"Robin Hood," Emma answered immediately, and her hand went for the bow that hung over her shoulder. "We'll be taking our leave now, your majesty."

"A plucky one, she is," the queen hissed through her teeth, her sarcastic vexation getting under Emma's skin. "Not so soon. I'll be taking back what's mine."

Emma's nose scrunched in disgust and her brows creased together. "Yours?" she spat, all forms of conduct having left her the moment the queen opened her mouth. There was something about her that rubbed Emma the wrong way – something other than the fact that she stored thousands of hearts inside of her castle. "Since when were any of these yours?"

Hook was uttering something under his breath in Emma's ear, but she brushed him off. Her face was growing hot and red as the queen crossed in front of her, and they'd begun to stare one another down intensely.

"Since I took them from those who dare cross me," the queen snapped back, spit landing on Emma's face. "You're growing awfully close as well, my dear."

"Try me."

They had come this far, and it was not going to be all for naught. Emma risked her life too many times in these past couple of days to risk it all now, to lose everything they had fought for. Emma had made a deal with the pirate, and she was going to stick to it – she was going to honour her side of the deal so that she could go home. Home, wherever that was. If it had come down to this, Emma would find a way out of it – she always had. And then she felt it – a cold hand, a clenching in her chest, and then a squeeze. Emma's mouth fell open to cry out, but nothing came, just a gasp in pain. Hook was screaming beside her, but was thrown backwards by the guards, who had taken him by both of his arms, reeling him back.

"You foolish girl," the queen was saying, but Emma could barely hear through the loud ringing and the screams in her ear. She blinked the light away from her eyes and the queen's face came back into focus, a cruel smile on her lips as she held onto Emma's heart. Emma could feel her fingers coiling around it, and then she pulled – and again, and again. She could feel her body stopping it, the resistance against the queen's hand as she continued to tug; attempting to rip it from her chest, only Emma's body wouldn't let her.

"What?" The frown that had formed on the queen's face was confused and askew as she pulled harder, and Emma felt as if her chest was about to collapse on itself – the pressure was great and painful, and she groaned in protest. Beside her, Hook was still yelling at things, attempting to break free of the guards that restricted his arms and legs, but Emma stopped listening.

All that Emma could think about in this moment was Henry – how she'd dreamt of his smile and the way he breathed when she saw him sleeping, and if he was happy where he was, if Regina treated him well. It was all that mattered, until images of the sea and ships flashed before her eyes. Her head spun for a second longer before she felt her feet on the ground again, and the queen's hand gripping her heart, still trying to take it from her.

Another wave of warmth coursed through her body before a ripple of light flashed through the room, blinding every man in it – including Emma. They all groaned in distress, shielding their eyes before another, this time sending them all off of their feet and away, Hook going with them. The queen was on the ground at the other end of the room, and she must have hit her head because she didn't move. This was their opportunity. Emma always got out of things in a strange fashion, but at least it worked.

What the hell was that anyway?

"Hook?" Emma shouted amongst the chaos of the scrambling knights, but they'd all fallen over themselves, some even rendered unconscious. She spotted the pirate under a mess of armoured men, stretching his arm to her, and Emma grabbed hold of his hand to pull him out.

"You are bloody brilliant," he said through heavy huffs of breath. He got to his feet and was about to brush the dust from his pants before Emma caught his elbow and pulled him from the room, stepping over the piles of guards and the queen.

"We have to go!" she told him, breaking into a sprint. She didn't care which direction they headed, so long as it got them as far away from the queen as possible, and out of the castle. They needed to get back to the portal.

"What happened back there, Swan?" Hook suddenly asked from behind her as Emma whipped around a corner, her hood flying off her head. "That bit of magic there." He paused to contemplate his next thought. "And your heart…"

"I don't think now's the time, Hook," she interrupted. Her feet were carrying her faster now with each step. "How about we talk about that when we get back to your ship – I promise." There are a lot of things you must know that I don't, pirate. There were a lot of things Emma wanted to know.

Around and through the castle they went, running briskly. After what felt like eternity again, Emma felt a cold wind on her face when they finally reached the outside of the castle, but they didn't stop. Emma could see the maze in the distance underneath the dark sky, the stars glittering endlessly above them. She felt as if her legs were going to fall right from her body, and she could tell that Hook felt the same. When she peered over her shoulder at him, she could see a limp in his sprint, but that didn't hinder him much.

When they had arrived at the maze, Emma reached out and grabbed Hook by his hand and pulled him in. There was no time for navigating – instead, she took the risk of jumping through the leaves. If they were quick about it, they could make it through before they shriveled up and overcome them, so Emma didn't stop. She was dragging Hook through them, their feet leaving the ground in leaps as they bound through one shrub and the next, not stopping to watch as the twigs and leaves seared behind them.

"STOP! THIEVES!" It was the queen, and she was gaining on them fast, bursts of fire emitting from her fingers, blowing away her maze. The bushes burned up and fell away into piles of ashes as she chased after them, almost as if her feet were not touching the ground. She was catching up quickly, and Emma's legs felt like jelly wobbling beneath the weight of her body as they went full speed. There was a burst of hot air as flames zipped past their heads, both of them ducking out of the way just in time before falling through another set of leaves.

"Keep going, Hook," Emma said, almost more to herself than to at the pirate beside her, as if they needed reminding. There was another burst of flames, but this time at their feet, and both had managed to leap over, instead allowing more of the maze to set itself ablaze. There was little of it left, and the smell of smoke settled in Wonderland, and Emma saw large clouds of black mist seeping into the night sky, hiding the glistening stars behind it. Never in her life had Emma wished for her own magic than now. In all of her years, she saw magic as a burden, a curse – but it would have come in handy right about now.

They didn't stop when they broke free of the maze, Hook and Emma shielding their faces with their arms as they fell through, and they were back in the field of mushrooms. They were moving this time; much like the grass was when they'd entered – like they were watching them pass. The queen didn't take her time igniting those as well. The light from the fires lit the air around them in a dangerous orange glow that Emma wished was the sunrise, but there was no sign of the sun in the sky; only the black clouds of smoke rippling against the dark velvet night.

The queen was shouting and groaning in fury as she threw more magic at them: at their feet, their heads, their surroundings, but never them. Either she had bad aim, or meant to miss in order to send them into a panic, but Emma and Hook managed to keep as much stability as they could, despite the mad sprinting. Nevertheless, there were certainly many close calls that alarmed Emma as she ducked her head out of the way. Her hand clutched the strap of her satchel tightly, ensuring that it was still around her shoulders. She could see the mushrooms transform into the grass where the caterpillar sat – he was gone now, an empty mushroom sitting in front of the mirror at the end of the road, its ominous purple glow calling to her.

"Quicker, love," Hook urged her from her side, and he gave her a little nudge in the back with his hook.

"Don't think you'd get away so easy!" the queen yelled as she caught up to them. When Emma glanced over her shoulder, she could see through the side of her eye that she was conjuring something – her hands were out in front of her and then Emma was falling through the mirror.

She outstretched her arm as far as she could in search of Hook's hand, and she saw it. Their fingers grazed one another's but then she slipped away through the portal. "HOOK!" she called, but he didn't answer. The same number of people who go in must come out together. Emma knew that Hook fell through, but together she wasn't certain, an unsettling in her stomach as she plummeted, much like their arrival in Wonderland. Except this time, Emma was alone, and she hoped that the portal would return her to where she came from.

Emma had no idea what sort of magic was done by the queen, but whatever it was, she prayed that it didn't make it through the portal, or that her target wasn't Hook. Emma still had his heart – she grabbed around to ensure that it was still slung over her shoulder before the air was knocked out from her lungs and her vision grew darker and darker before fading to complete darkness.

The pounding in Emma's head was far too much to bear as she blinked her eyes open. All she could see were ripples of sunlight through treetops and it smelled of wet grass. Next to her, there was a stream, the clear water flowing freely over the pebbles and rocks making the sweet familiar sound Emma always heard when she'd awoken in the mornings. She squinted at the sun and looked around – she was surrounded by giant trees on all sides of her, and her belongings were scattered across the mud.

Emma brought herself upright and collected her things, her muddy cloak getting in the way as she plucked her bow and quiver from the ground, slinging it across her shoulder. There seemed to be something missing, though. "Hook?" Emma shouted desperately, spinning on the spot, but there was no sign of the pirate. Surely if he was there, he wouldn't have gotten up and traipsed away – at least, not without his heart; he could have left her with her face in the mud and she wouldn't have been in the least bit surprised or confused. Instead, worry wrenched at her insides as to where he had gone. She had his heart, and he needed it back. Emma still hadn't held up her end of the bargain.

"I beg your pardon," said a polite, low voice behind her.

Out of instinct, Emma immediately drew her bow and whipped around. Her arrow was pointed at a stout, balding man carefully approaching her with both of his hands outstretched in the air, palms facing her. Despite the frantic look on his face, Emma didn't lower her bow. Her fingers wrapped delicately around the feathered end of the arrow just in case, and she took in a deep breath.

"I don't mean to bring any harm if that's what you're afraid of."

I'm not afraid. "Who are you?"

"Just a man who happened to be passing by." That didn't answer the question.

Emma's lips pursed together secretly, her name not wanting to leave her lips. She had no idea how far she was from Regina's kingdom, or if she was in the same world at all – there was no telling with portals. How did this man find her anyway? Her head spun with too many questions that she needed answers to. "How did you find me?"

He seemed confused by her hard inquiries, Emma's stare long and cold. "Well, I saw something falling from this great dark hole above the trees and came out to investigate."

Seemed reasonable enough.

"We should get you to town before the sheriff finds you, milady. Perhaps we can discuss matters further when we do." He beckoned Emma along, clearly still wary of his own movements, stepping on thin ice as Emma held her bow at him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Where am I?" The last and final question that was burning inside of Emma's head; all trees looked the same no matter where she went, but this place felt different. The smells were not the same, nor were the sounds. The way the shadows stretched across the ground was very unfamiliar to her.

"Why, you're in Sherwood Forest, milady. Where else did you think you were?"

Emma lowered her bow to her waist, her jaw falling open. Oh, hell.

A/N: Uh ohhh, looks like Emma might get herself into some trouble~

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who read this. I know it's hard to sometimes get back into things that you haven't read in a long time, and I apologize for taking so long to post. Real life got in the way, and then my muse had a drunken night and disappeared somewhere. I hope you enjoyed, though! I appreciate every single reader of mine! This was my favourite chapter to write, and the one I've been looking forward to writing since I started this. Thank you all so much again, and please if you can, leave a review! Those always motivate me as a writer to write more and do better for you all. Muah! xoxo