Smoke

Chapter 5 Back

"Oh come on, I didn't make that drink so strong that you would be sadder now did I?" Margot asks. "Do you play chess?" Margot points to the white piece next to Tilly's glass. "Umm, yeah, I do," Tilly shrugged.

"You mentioned missing or losing someone, do you want to talk about it?" Margot asks gently. Tilly looked up, prepared to say no, but she saw Margot staring at her and really seeing her. It was the first time Tilly felt seen since she met the first man in the other world. 

Flashback

Neal places a sandwich in front of Alice at the bar. He knows right away that this child is not from here at all. 

"Okay, so, where do you come from?" He smiles gently. "Umm, a flower," Alice shrugs. "Okay?" Neal nods at her. His instincts are correct, this little girl is from the same world he is.

"What do you remember?" he asks. "I was with my Papa, after her got me out of a the tower, and I fell through a hole, well, it pulled me in and Papa tried to hold on," Alice explained.

Neal winces and sighs a bit, "I'm sorry, was that bad?" Alice asks. "No, just sounds really familiar to what happened to me." he admits. "You?" Alice widens her gaze at him.

"The enchanted forest right?" Neal asks. Alice gasps at him. "You said your last name is Jones? Who's your Papa?" Neal asks. 

"Killian Jones, but they call him Captain..." she starts, "Hook," Neal finishes. Alice gasps again. "You know him!?" she lights up, hoping it means he can return her. 

"Yeah, I know him," Neal nods. 

Neal Cassidy, one Baelfire in the Enchanted forest, was not that much younger than Killian Jones himself. Aging back hundreds of years, trapped in Neverland until modern day, then falling back to the real world to age. 

When he met Alice, he was 24 and bartending, and never expected to be faced with the past of his life. His father was the same dark one that Killian had stolen the power from, and the same one who killed Neal's mother for falling for Captain Killian Jones in the first place. 

Through the years Alice was in foster care, never adopted, she would skip off from school and visit Neal, who would give her little items and specifically art. 

Killian and Alice often painted in the tower, and Killian learned his art skills from Milah, Neal's mother in the first place. Neal had the same skill as his mother and on one particular day, the day Alice aged out of the system, he gave her something. 

Alice sulked under the park statue, turning seventeen wasn't really her favorite birthday. "Hey," Neal meets her. "Here, this one took me the longest," he hands her a folded paper. 

Alice opens it and her heart aches. "It's.. Papa," She breathes. "Yeah, I figured he didn't age much since I last saw him and he was with you," Neal mused. "He didn't, this is just what he looked like," Alice forced a smile and felt a tear down her cheek. 

"And umm listen, you're out of the system, but you can come... stay with me, got a little Nook in the corner I can make a bed for you, it's not much but it's got a bathroom and it's safe," Neal offers.

Alice smiles, "I would like that very much," She said. "Good, come on, let's go home," Neal said. 

Neal got Alice a cupcake for her birthday, and she wished again for the same thing she did for seven years, to see her Papa again. 

Present Day - Storybrooke

Tilly opens up to Margot that night at the bar telling her that she misses her father, and Margot shares a similar story. Her father is also gone. 

How Margot's father is gone is a rather sad story. One she isn't even really aware of given the curse taking her memories.

Flashback 

As Killian grew into his power, and lost Alice, he grew desperate. Not just for answers, but for advice from someone who was the dark one a very long time. 

Rumplestiltskin. 

He had destroyed his foe, taking the power of the dark one, but he was now without his child, and unsatisfied. 

The dark one had a way to resurrect a life, but would need to trade another. The life would have to be one of nobility. 

Traipsing through the forest he comes to a wanted sign of a man, skilled in archery, no match for the dark one. Wanted for thieving in the kingdom. One would not assume he was noble, except for the fact his stealing was from the rich to feed the poor. Robin Hood. 

The dark one had no care of killing him, his sights were set. And so he did, unaware that Robin Hood had a daughter, older than Alice, who was left behind. 

Upon bringing Rumple back, Killian trapped him, and kept him there until he could fully cast the curse. 

Killian hid Rumple in a random place in the forest, where no one would go. As he leaves from checking his prisoner, an arrow shoots at him. 

Reflexes of the dark one, he catches the arrow shooting towards him, and throws it down. He smiles. "May I help you?" He grins at the young girl.

"You, you're the dark one, you killed him," She nooses another arrow. "You already know I can stop that arrow lass, I wouldn't waste them," Killian mutters. 

The girl was Robin Hood's daughter. Adopting his name in the Enchanted Forest after he died. She was twenty two now. 

Bravely she steps towards Killian, and puffs herself up. "You killed him, WHY?" she demands. Killian furrows his brows, "There's no use lass dwelling on the past, many people lose their fathers," he said flatly. 

"You don't care about anyone do you?" She snaps. He twitches his head and looks at her, "Not anymore," he utters and poofs away. 

Present Day -- Storybrooke

Margot explains to Tilly her lack of family as well, and Tilly feels close to someone for the first time since she last saw Neal. 

"Hey, you know, I could use a new hobby, why don't you teach me chess?" Margot suggests. "Really?" Tilly asks. "Yeah, gives you something to do otherwise, what do you say?" Margot smiles. 

"I would like that," Tilly nods. 

Meanwhile 

Killian angrily walks around the town, and looks to the clock, that is ticking. "Tick tock you bloody thing, but WHY?" He irks. "It's something with her, but it can't be," he shakes his head. 

"I need to feel, something," He hurries off to the other end of town. 

Knocking on the wooden door, it opens slowly. Welcomed inside, he steps in, and slams it shut. Taking her face in his hands, he pushes her against the wall. 

Receiving him, she opens her mouth, and he savagely puts her lower lip between his teeth. "Mmm, Mayor," she utters catching her breath. 

"Sheriff." he says.