The Orphans

A Land Without Magic

Hades calmly watched the overworld through Emma's eyesight. How he loved making deals with Miss Swan. While she thought he only wiped their memories with fake ones, he also cast a spell over her so he could see what was happening whenever he pleased. In fact, Geppetto was becoming quite an asset to Hades plan.

While the woodmaker thought he was merely answering random questions, he was actually giving Hades the hero's weaknesses. He turned to the old man once again.

"Tell me more about this woman you sacrificed your life for. Why did you do that? It couldn't have been easy," he asked nonchalantly.

"Before the curse, I made a deal with the Blue Fairy. That I'd only build the wardrobe if Pinocchio could go through it." He angrily kicked the floor. "I shouldn't have been so stupid! I sacrificed myself to make up for my mistake."

Hades nodded his head, thinking long and hard. He knew exactly how to take care of them now. He waited until Geppetto looked at him before he spoke.

"Thank you for your time and patience. You are free to go now." He gestured towards the door leading out of his house.

The instant the door closed and the sound of Geppetto's feet of wood faded away, Hades called upon an old friend. It took her a few seconds before she appeared in the kitchen with Hades. He smiled when he saw her. He updated her on what she'd missed the past few days.

"Emma and Hook are back in the overworld," he started, only to be interrupted.

"You let them leave? Are you a fool, Hades? They'll tell the heroes what to do to stop us." Her voice was full of anger.

"Will you shut up and listen," he retorted. "Miss Swan agreed that she'd help us get what we need. I know you'll say she'll never go through with it," he said, not letting her interrupt him again. "But, I added to the deal that they have false memories. She won't even know she's helping us, when she does," he soothed. "And she swore that they wouldn't help the heroes to stop us. As far as we're concerned, we've already won."

A grin appeared on her face. "Captain Hook and Emma Swan have no clue what they've agreed to."

"I know. So trust me from the start next time, Nemue."

-

A full week had passed and it was another boring Saturday morning. Emma had gotten the job as deputy, and Killian found his ideal job at the library, helping out a woman named Belle. She seemed nice enough to Killian, and she was always so willing to help.

He looked at the alarm clock and inwardly groaned. 8:15am is what the time read. Killian slipped out of bed and put on a grey shirt from the closet. Walking into the kitchen, he brewed himself a cup of coffee and sat on the counter to drink it. While he sipped it, he watched Emma sleep. She looked so peaceful, as if she were having the most calming dream in the world.

Killian never knew why, but watching a full moon over the ocean's waves always calmed him down. Emma always said that being with him calmed her, and it warmed his heart to know that. Not realizing how transfixed he was, he was startled when she suddenly stirred and lifted her head, her emerald gaze briefly filled with panic when she saw that he wasn't still in bed. But when she caught sight of him, her immediately relaxed.

She climbed out of bed and walked over to him, putting on her slippers halfway. He stood up and hugged her, his hands naturally wrapping around her back protectively. He was surprised when he stared at the clock and saw it read 9:00am. Had he really been staring at her for that long, He gently released her and placed a loving kiss on her forehead.

Emma walked towards the coffee maker and brewed her own coffee, and the two just stared at each other for a while, captivated at the brilliance lying just beneath the other's eyes. Killian chuckled, breaking the intense staredown.