{ enchanted forest }

15. { the queen is dead }

"I thought the Wraith had its own domain."

Aurora stares at the hooded figure of Charon. The creature remains still, his voice echoing through the cave as he replies. "The Wraith is native to Tartarus, which is part of the Underworld. Are you sure you are prepared for the horrors facing you down there?"

Mulan was about to intervene, but Aurora takes a brave step forward and straightens her back. She looks up, straight into the darkness of the hood. "I am," she says, no doubt to be found in her words.

The ferryman of the Underworld nods one time. "I'd like to give you a warning, fair princess. Once you have taken your prince you must lead him back to your world without looking at him. If you look upon even a sliver of his skin or a part of his shadow, he will be lost here forever."

Mulan could see Aurora's eyes lighten up in recognition, but she was still left in the dark. "Eurydice-" Aurora mumbles softly below her breath, causing the dark haired warrior to raise an eyebrow at her. "What," she asks, confusion visible on her sharp features. "Like Orpheus and Eurydice.. is it not," the princess asks, directing the last part of her sentence to Charon. The ferryman nods his head once more. "Yes, princess."

Aurora pushes her jaw forward, her lips pursed. 

"I will not change my mind. Sail us to where I can find Phillip and I will take him with me."

●

Baelfire and Henry were chatting as they cross the street, Emma and Gold trailing after them. Neal was leading his son to a local pizza place to give Henry a taste of the famous New York pizza. While they were inside Emma and Gold stayed outside.

Emma asks if they should follow after them, but the Dark One remarks that if they were welcome they would have received an invitation. "It's a sad truth that the people closest to us are the ones capable of causing us the most pain. That's our common ground, Ms. Swan."

Gold attempts to convince her to talk with Neal about coming to Storybrooke with them. Emma reminds him that the favor that she owed him was settled by now. However, Gold says she will do it for her son, or that she may else find him gone one day to travel to New York to see his father, just as he had done before to meet her in Boston.

But just as he was bringing up Ms. Swan's feelings for his son, both Baelfire and Henry got out of the pizzeria. Henry explains that Neal wanted to show him the museum and asks if they can go back to the apartment to get his camera. She agrees and then asks how his pizza is, but the boy retorts with a sneer that it is delicious and does not lie.

The four of them start heading back to Neal's apartment. This time Henry paired up with his newfound grandfather while his mother and father were a few paces behind. Emma brought up Neal coming with them to Storybrooke, but he didn't give a straightforward answer. Before he could admit to the reason Henry interrupted them with a question. By then they had arrived at the apartment building.

Henry and Neal went upstairs to get the camera while Emma and Gold stay downstairs. They were talking when suddenly the door was busted open and Captain Hook ran inside. He pushed Emma to the side and pushes Rumplestiltskin up against the front gate, his hand at the Dark One's throat. 

He plunged his hook into the man's chest and retracts it. Traces of blood were covering the shiny silver. He raises his hook to attack again, but Emma had found her footing and grabbed something heavy. She throws it onto his neck, knocking him out cold. 

Neal and Henry come rushing down again, alarmed by the loud noises. They drag the wounded Mr. Gold up to his apartment and help him lay down on the couch while Emma locks Hook in an abandoned storage unit.