Secrets

Bad Influence

Just as Hook said, minutes later the group found the Merry Men and Regina in the woods. They figured it would be better if all of them talked about the recent occurrences. It didn't take much time for them to realize it was wiser if they all stayed together and for what Snow could see, just the Dark One and the queen had an idea of what was really going on.

"Hey." Emma murmured when finally faced the group of men.

They were sitting on tree trunks, patiently waiting for the group to come closer. Some of them whispered a greeting as reply but most of the Merry Men just nodded. In the minute Emma placed her eyes on the queen, her eyebrows went almost to her forehead.

She had never seen Regina so tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked so pale Emma thought she had been trapped inside Elsa's ice cube again.

"Miss Swan." The queen greeted with a throaty voice.

"Did you have any sleep last night?" The savior asked carefully.

"Where's Rumple?" Regina ignored her question and looked around, seeking her former teacher.

"Right here, dearie." The Dark One replied as his face appeared behind a tree.

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed and ran to the queen.

Regina hugged the boy tightly and kissed his forehead. "Hello, my prince." She murmured with a smile on her face.

As Henry talked to his mother, the rest of the group joined the Merry Men.

"Alright, now that everyone is here can you please stop avoiding questions?" Emma asked, irritated.

"I was attacked." Will answered indifferently. He was resting his back on an old tree as nothing had happened.

"Attacked? Are you alright?" Snow asked, stepping closer.

"You can thank the queen for it." He replied with a small nod.

Robin saw the moment when Regina tensed, the strong set of her jaw indicating how uptight she really was. Her face, though, continued as emotionless as before. The outlaw placed his hands on her lower back in a reassuring gesture. She leaned into his touch slightly before David spoke.

"Tell us exactly what happened." He said.

"Will was guarding the area and the Spectrum showed up. It attacked him hours before we arrived." Robin explained.

"What is exactly a Spectrum?" Belle questioned, curious.

"It's one of the oldest monsters in the book." Regina muttered icily, resting her back against a tree.

"It's believed they come from the deepest places of our land. They crave nothing but darkness." Rumple added.

"What happens to the victim when they attack?" Hook asked, quickly glancing at Will, as did everybody but Regina and Robin.

"From what I know, they put a spell on you." Elsa answered.

"What kind of spell?" Emma questioned.

"One that puts you in a deep slumber while you are literately filled with darkness." Rumple explained. "You see, they are creatures that feed on your energy. If you are familiar with dark magic it's even better for them. They will have more space to work within the victim." He added.

"It's used to corrupt the soul, so the person is tempted to fully embrace darkness." The queen whispered, glancing quickly at Will, who was still facing the ground. "No one really knows to whom they answer to. The rumor is that they serve darkness itself." She muttered.