#tzz coming next chapter

[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Extra 7

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Extra: Bai Ming and Zhang Yiqing

After Bai Ming and Zhang Yiqing met, Zhang Yiqing once asked Bai Ming a question. He asked him: "What are your dreams?"

When he heard this question Bai Ming immediately beamed. He met Zhang Yiqing’s eyes and answered earnestly and solemnly, "my dream is you."

At this, Zhang Yiqing was momentarily taken aback.

"I'm seriously asking."

Bai Ming, "and I'm seriously answering."

Bai Ming indeed was serious. Before encountering the doors, he'd already been a fan of Zhang Yiqing, obsessively devoted to that handsome man onscreen.

Bai Ming collected Zhang Yiqing's every movie, every drama, and every commercial. And when he found out that Zhang Yiqing was quitting the silver screen to direct behind-the-scenes instead, Bai Ming went crazy for a good long while.

During that while, nobody in their organization dared to go through doors with him. They all knew Bai Ming was the sort of person capable of doing anything on a bad mood.

Back then, Bai Ming had not yet been the boss of their organization. He had just been a plain and simple door-crosser, though the potential he emanated often gave his fellow door-crossers the sense that he was no small-pond creature.

Bai Ming's family situation was more complicated. He'd lived at an orphanage since youth, and had only been found and brought back home after he turned twelve. Only then did he learn that his father was actually a rich man, and the reason his father brought him back had nothing to do with paternal devotion, but rather because his brother needed a healthy liver.

This sort of bloody melodrama was what befell Bai Ming.

The truth was, prior to actually meeting Zhang Yiqing, the two of them had seen each other once before.

It was at a cocktail party hosted by the Bai family. Bai Ming had stood in a corner, small and thin, and watched as a smiling Zhang Yiqing chatted with his father. Zhang Yiqing had been young back then, and had just recently snagged Best Actor—there was still a touch of youth in his appearance, but the unparalleled splendor of his later years could already be seen.

Bai Ming had stared at him for a long time, many thoughts flashing through his mind. At this point he was already a fan of Zhang Yiqing's movies, but was too nervous to just walk up and start talking to him. He could only gaze from afar.

And later, Bai Ming met the doors, so he'd thought that there was only ever to be the one encounter between he and Zhang Yiqing.

But fate was always an extraordinary thing. After many years of hard work, Bai Ming had staked out quite a position for himself in the world of the doors. One day, a good friend suddenly asked him: "Bai Ming, you like Zhang Yiqing, right?"

Lit cigarette hanging between his lips, Bai Ming vocalized a lazy, "mh."

"He's started entering doors too," his friend told him. "Want to consider taking him on?"

Bai Ming's head twisted to stare at his friend.

"What did you say?"

Looking innocently back at him, his friend repeated himself.

Bai Ming extinguished the cigarette and laughed, "this isn't a joke, is it?"

Of course it wasn't a joke. The moment he saw Zhang Yiqing again, Bai Ming knew that his dream was about to come true.

Zhang Yiqing, who had retreated behind the scenes, was no longer as tender as he'd been in his youth. He was no less handsome, however. Like an aged bottle of wine, he and his charms had not faded with time, in fact had begun to emanate a unique fragrance of maturity.

All competent people have arrogance, and Zhang Yiqing was a proud standout in his industry. He'd taken the laurels for Best Actor four times, not to mention countless other awards, both large and small. The year he turned to directing, the country had even nominated him for Best Director.

The only shame was that after encountering the doors, his fate was forced to take a sharp turn.

"Hello, I'm Bai Ming." The two sat face-to-face, and Bai Ming held a hand out to Zhang Yiqing with a smile. His smile was sincere, and paired with that harmless-looking face, there really was no visible aura of an apex predator about him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Naturally, Zhang Yiqing was fooled by Bai Ming. He took Bai Ming's hand and said, "it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Zhang Yiqing."

"Oh," Bai Ming nodded. "I've seen your movies."

Zhang Yiqing smiled politely. He likely thought Bai Ming was just a normal fan, or perhaps not even that—Bai Ming may just be an audience who had seen his movies in passing. But much later, when Zhang Yiqing saw that room stacked full of his own works, he would finally realize that Bai Ming was nowhere as harmless as he made himself look.

Of course, at this point, Zhang Yiqing was not aware of anything. He saw the headful of natural curls, the unsophisticated grin, and really took Bai Ming for a gentle-natured young man…

At this point Zhang Yiqing even failed to understand why everybody in Bai Ming's organization was so scared of him, to the point where Zhang Yiqing thought there really must be a misunderstanding…

Inside and outside the doors, Bai Ming did not change much. His personality stayed genial. When confronted with malicious words or even malicious people, he was never even vicious in return.

Sometimes, Zhang Yiqing even thought Bai Ming was being too nice, and would step up to protect Bai Ming.

"You're too well-tempered," was something Zhang Yiqing once said. "Nice people get taken advantage of. Harbor no intent to hurt, but preserve all instinct to caution!"[1]

Bai Ming listened to Zhang Yiqing's reprimand and said, beaming, "Zhang-ge's right to scold me."

Zhang Yiqing didn’t know what went through his head then, but seeing Bai Ming's well-behaved smile, he reached out and gave that head a pat. Only after touching Bai Ming did he realize the gesture didn't seem quite right, and so he coughed once, before explaining, "it just looks good to touch."

Bai Ming just blinked his eyes noncommittally.

Bai Ming's hair was extremely fluffy and truly peak touch quality. Just seeing it made people want to pet it. But there really weren't that many people who’d dare to pet a tiger—Zhang Yiqing was one of few, though at that time, he had yet to discover the fact that Bai Ming was a ferocious beast, and not some adorable kitten.

But fake was fake in the end—Zhang Yiqing was no idiot either. By the time he became aware of the incongruities about Bai Ming's person, the two of them had already grown closer.

Zhang Yiqing had noticed the oddity and even joked about it, saying, "Bai Ming, how come I've discovered that anyone who crosses you gets struck with misfortune?"

Bai Ming batted his eyes at this.

"Don't they deserve it?"

At his smile, Zhang Yiqing froze. Zhang Yiqing had only been joking, but after careful thought, a layer of cold sweat began to dot his back. Because as far as he could remember, ever since he and Bai Ming started entering doors together, those who had wronged Bai Ming were not simply "unfortunate," they were all…dead.

That's right, dead. Dead via various odd accidents. Some things may seem accidental on the surface, but—upon multiple occurrences—could no longer be mere coincidence.

Incidental became inescapable after a certain point.

Having realized something, Zhang Yiqing looked once more to Bai Ming, and found that the young man who was once so easy to read now seemed something of a stranger.

The good thing was, that feeling only lasted for a moment, because Bai Ming grinned and scooted closer again.

"Zhang-ge, come get hotpot with me tonight?"

"Sure," Zhang Yiqing agreed.

The relationship between the two of them was still ambiguous at this moment, but one could die at any time inside the doors. Zhang Yiqing saw clearly Bai Ming's devotion to protecting him, and so the two got closer and closer—until one day, when Zhang Yiqing went to a party.

As a heavy hitter in the entertainment industry, there were naturally many people lined up to take a ride on his coattails. That was why that day, a coworker introduced him to a beautiful young woman.

Though Zhang Yiqing rejected her immediately, Bai Ming, who'd come along for fun, still saw everything.

Oddly enough, against Bai Ming's gaze, Zhang Yiqing felt a sense of guilt. The party hadn’t even been over when Bai Ming pulled Zhang Yiqing alone into a break room. Zhang Yiqing wanted to resist at first, but discovered that he wasn't at all Bai Ming's opponent—he was picked up and brought along as if he were a sack of rice.

"Does Zhang-ge have someone he likes?" was what Bai Ming asked him.

Zhang Yiqing said, "no."

"No?" Bai Ming said. "Then what's the deal with her?"

Watching Bai Ming's expression, Zhang Yiqing had the thought that the person before him seemed a bit drunk. He licked his lips, and spoke hoarsely: "I don't like her."

"You don't like her, but you'll still have her?" Bai Ming asked.

Zhang Yiqing opened his mouth, wanting to explain. But when the words got to his lips, the pride in his bones was for some reason set off by Bai Ming's accusatory tone. He lifted his chin and, with a cool expression, forced down the anxiety deep in his chest.

"So what if I will?"

Bai Ming pressed a hand to his lips, got closer, and hummed, "but I'll get angry."

Zhang Yiqing's brow furrowed.

Bai Ming, "I'll get very…very…angry."

Zhang Yiqing was just about to ask and so what if you get angry when Bai Ming shoved him onto the break room sofa. Bai Ming's fingers picked apart the first button on his shirt, and the man looked down at Zhang Yiqing from high above. His voice when he spoke was colder than anything Zhang Yiqing had heard from him.

"I don't want to wait anymore."

Zhang Yiqing's eyes went wide. This was the first time he became aware that Bai Ming and that harmless youth he thought he knew were two completely different people.

"Zhang-ge," Bai Ming said. "I like you. Do you like me?"

Zhang Yiqing swallowed, and he didn't answer Bai Ming's question. He only said, "calm down a second…"

Bai Ming watched him. "You also like me, right? You just don't want to admit it…But even if you don't admit it, that’s alright." He smiled, as handsome as an incubus. "It's fine as long as I like you."

Everything that happened after that was unspeakable.

By the time Zhang Yiqing once again regained consciousness, he was limp all over. Bai Ming had him wrapped up in blanket and was placing him into the car. Seeing him wake, Zhang Yiqing beamed.

"Zhang-ge, you're up? We're headed home now."

Zhang Yiqing wanted to speak, but found his voice nearly gone. He recalled something, and a smudge of red appeared over his cheeks as he grated out: "Animal."

Bai Ming batted his eyes. "Zhang-ge, are you calling me big?"

Zhang Yiqing, "…" He surrendered.

Bai Ming, "no worries, it's only 3AM. There's still plenty of time when we get back."

Zhang Yiqing wanted to retort, so Bai Ming caught him by the lips. Bai Ming's kiss was rough enough to turn his mouth an evocative red.

Zhang Yiqing went dizzy with the kiss. It was only then that he had the faint realization that he…seemed to have caught the attention of someone incredible.

Translator’s Notes:

害人之心不可有，防人之心不可無; idiom that literally means, “you can’t have intent to hurt people, but you can’t not be guarded against people.” The two phrases have parallel rhythms Chinese (note the four middle characters are identical), so coming up with a translation that mirrors that to some degree is both fun and difficult.

[Extra: Twin Lives, Twin Deaths(3)] | [Extra: Tan Zaozao]

#kaleidoscope of death #xi zixu #cnovel #chinese translation #死亡萬花筒 #ugh sorry i got so fucking busy #disregard the tags on my last post TTT #tzz coming next chapter #we'll end as god (xzx) intended #i'm sooooo intrigued by BM and LQS's friendship

[thejacketandthehook]

When Emma Met the Doctor

Title: When Emma Met the Doctor 2/?

Author: thejacketandthehook (aka everystareverywhere)

Summary:  Emma Swan was just living her normal day-to-day life when she suddenly met two time travelers willing to take her anywhere in the universe. And where they land will change Emma’s life forever. Crossover fic.

Rating: General

Word Count:  9874

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Once Upon a Time belongs to ABC and Doctor Who belongs to BBC.

Author’s Notes: Merry Christmas @distant-rose! I am your Captain Swan Secret Santa! (@cssecretsanta) When I noticed that you like Doctor Who and Once Upon a Time, I knew I had to write a Crossover fic (which was something that I had wanted to do for a while, but you gave me the push to do it). I am sorry this is late.

If you’re not familiar with Doctor Who, the first chapter goes into detail about the premise of the show and what exactly it’s about. (Don’t worry, Emma had no idea what was going on either, so everything had to be explained to her). The second chapter is much more set in Once Upon a Time.

I had originally planned on writing only two chapters, but this story is taking on a life of it’s own and now it’s going to be more than two. Hope you enjoy! 

Chapter One 

A30

Emma was lost.

All she was trying to do was find her way back to the T.A.R.D.I.S. But she must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because she could not find her way.  

She spun around, just to see if anything look familiar, but unfortunately she was in a forest. So every tree looked like the one from before. She stayed on the dirt road, hoping that eventually she would just find that blasted time machine, but no big blue box was in view.

Emma continued walking when she bumped into someone. Before Emma clearly knew what was happening, the person grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her off of the "road" and further into the forest. Before she could yell more than a "Hey!" the person, a man, clomped his hand over her mouth and looked with anxious eyes out towards the beaten path.

While he was distracted, Emma started breathing heavily, her blood boiling, her heart pounding. If he didn't let her go within the next five seconds, she would not be held accountable for her actions. Her hands slowly made fists and her brow furrowed. His hand (which was had three heavy rings on it) was covering her mouth, but not to the point that she couldn't move it.

"What the hell?" she asked from beneath his hand. But because it was covered, it sounded more like "Hazz tzz hzz."

The man shushed her. His body was close to hers, to the point that if she moved five inches forward, they would be chest to chest. He was wearing a heavy leather jacket with a red vest underneath. Since he wasn't looking at her, she could only make out his profile which showed a longish nose and a bit of a chin. His hair was much like the Doctor's in its style, but it was much darker. Almost to the point of black. And unlike the Doctor, this man had a nice stumble going on.  

Emma was about to make another comment, this one including some words harsher than "hell" when she heard something she didn't notice before: the sound of horses. They were definitely running, at full gallop she would imagine. Was he running from a stampede? Then she turned her head to see not one, but six horses going by, two of which were pulling a black carriage, while the other four held men completely dressed in black, even their faces.

When they finally passed, the man backed up and let go of her mouth. "Sorry about that, love. But I don't need the Evil Queen finding me." He had a British accent. Of course he did. What was with all the British accents all of a sudden?

Emma stared at the man in shock. First it was because of what he said. Evil Queen? Was he serious? Then it was because of his face. Oh, he was handsome. He had a long, full face, with a pronounced goatee,  and the stumble certainly enhanced his jawline. But what made her really pause was his blue eyes. She was certain that she must have seen eyes that blue before, but she certainly couldn't remember. They were stunning.

And they were currently checking her out.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he smirked.

Emma rolled her eyes. She was no longer intrigued by his appearance (though, hot damn, really). She was now more annoyed. "What we have here is a really pissed off woman. Who was that? Why were you hiding from them? Was that seriously the Evil Queen? Like from Snow White?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "You don't know the Evil Queen? How is that possible?"

Emma gestured to herself. "Do I look like I belong here?"

The man once more looked her up and down. She wasn't exactly upset by that, since she kind of invited him to do so. But he was taking way too much time. "Can't say that you do, love."

Emma knew she stuck out in her leather jacket and tight jeans with boots. She may not have actually seen anyone about, but she knew how people dressed in fairy tales, thanks to the movies. But instead of feeling awkward about it, this man made Emma feel...like she was something of interest. Something exciting. And probably for him living in this forest, Emma's clothes were something interesting.

"Right. So, since I don't belong here, explain to me why you're scared of the Evil Queen."

"I'm not scared of her!" he proclaimed.

Emma folded her arms across her chest and stuck out her chin. "Could of fooled me. You ran when you heard the carriage coming and made sure that neither of us made a peep. I would say that is the actions of a guilty conscience."

"Not a guilty conscience. Just one that owes a lot of debts. And I don't exactly what to pay them back. At least, not until I'm back on my ship."

"Your ship...?" Emma started to ask when she looked down and noticed something very odd indeed. Instead of a left hand, the man had a hook. And honest-to-God silver hook. How had she not noticed that before?

But then it suddenly it came to her. She's in a land full of fairy tale characters. The accent. A ship. His hook. That could only mean..."Oh my God. You're Captain Hook!"

He smirked again. "Ah, you've heard of me."

Emma shook her head. This was getting ridiculous. "I can't believe you're freaking Captain Hook. I mean, they couldn't have been more wrong about your appearance, but still--"

"What, wait? My appearance? They were wrong? Who was wrong?"

"Not important right now. What's important is that I need to find someone. Well, two people actually. And I have no idea where to start."

"Well, I can certainly lend you my talents in finding whoever it may be."

"Aren't you good on water? And running away from a crocodile that ticks like a clock?"

His eyebrows pinched together. "What?"

She waved her hand. "Nevermind. I need to find a man and a woman. Their names are Rose Tyler and the Doctor. Have you heard of them? Or heard anything about them?"

He shook his head. "No, love. Can't say that I have. However, if we stick together we might be able to locate them. As it may be, I know a lot of people on land who might be able to help in the journey."

Emma sighed. "Well, I don't really have a lot of options and I do need to find them so that I can get home. Okay, you can come along as well. I guess."

Hook gave a genuine smile, and Holy. Crap. "It would be my honor." He held out his hand. "I'm Killian Jones, by the way, though people do call me Hook. What's your name, love?"

She took his hand. "Emma Swan."

He gave a small kiss on the knuckles before lowering her hand. "Emma Swan. I liked that."

~*~

"So, Doctor, what exactly are we looking for?" Rose asked, giving a small skip before taking the Doctor's arm and wrapping herself on it.

He simply smiled before saying, "What we always look for, Rose. Adventures."

She smiled as well. "Or trouble, as Mum would say."

"Ah, like I told Jackie, trouble's just the little bits in between. Certainly there would be nothing but peace and quiet in a small fairy tale town."

Rose snorted. "Have you actually read a fairy tale? There's always a witch or warlock or someone who wants power and therefore causes trouble."

"And the brave princess, prince, street rat, what have you, they save everyone. We might not need to do anything."

As appealing as it would be to enjoy the quiet, that actually upset Rose a bit. "Would be nice, to just enjoy the scenery."

The Doctor laughed. "I'm sure someone, somewhere will be having a crisis."

Rose smiled at that. "I'm sure." They were quiet again, when Rose asked, "How do you think Emma's making out? Think she found the T.A.R.D.I.S?"

"Hope so. Can't believe that she didn't want to go exploring."

"Some people can't handle it."

"Like that bloke, Adam was it? Fainted when he realized that he was so far from home."

"Hey! I thought we promised never to mention him again. Big mistake bringing him on board, I get that now."

The Doctor laughed again. Once he quieted down, Rose wondered out loud, "I wonder what Emma's story is. She seemed hesitate about coming on board, but she didn't say anything about a family or even friends. And now she's skittish about being here."

He shrugged. "We could ask her the next we see her."

Rose looked over her shoulder. "Maybe we should go back. Take her home, yeah?"

The Doctor stopped, causing Rose to stop as well. "Yeah, we should."

They turned around and headed back towards the T.A.R.D.I.S.

~*~

"So, where are you from?"

Emma looked over at Hook. She raised an eyebrow. "I don't do small talk."

"Do you talk at all?"

"I'm just focusing on trying to get home."

"And where is that?"

She shook her head. Somehow she knew he wasn't going to let it go. Not giving a direct answer, she simply responded, "It ain't Neverland."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye before responding, "Ah, but an orphan's an orphan, no matter where you're from."

She stopped and looked at him. "Why would you say that?"

"I had been on that island a long time, lass. I've seen the look in the Lost Boys eyes. The look of being betrayed by the ones who are supposed to protect you the most."

"And what, you see that in my eyes? That's bullshit."

He raised an eyebrow. "First the outfit, now the language. Are you sure you're not a pirate in this land you've come from?"

"No, I'm not a pirate." She turned and continued walking. "Where in hell are we?"

"The Enchanted Forest."

"Yeah, no, I got that part. But I mean what part of the Enchanted Forest? I haven't seen anyone else on this path. Where the hell are the villages?"

"You've got a mouth on you, don't you?"

"You have a problem with how I talk?" she turned towards him quickly.

"No, lass," he replied, "I'm simply trying to make out your character."

"And what have you discovered?"

He smirked. "Probably more than you would like. You're a bit of an open book."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "Oh really?"

"Aye."

She crossed her arms. "And just what have you discovered?"

He looked at her before standing up straight and answering, "You're an orphan. Based on how you hold yourself, I'm going to say you were quite young when you were left. Your outfit, though alluring, is meant to keep people away. Like an armor, almost. And you pride yourself on being unreadable, but lass, you should never go up against someone who knows exactly what you've gone through."

"Which is what?"

He shrugged, as though his answer wasn't that big of a deal. "Pain. Abandonment. Betrayal. I could go on, really."

He continued walking as she caught her breath. He was right on the button, actually, and that scared her a bit. How did he know...

That's when she tilted her head to the side a bit before running after him. She forced him to stop by grabbing his arm as she said, "You've been betrayed. That's how you know how it feels."

"I believe the saying is 'Takes one to know one.'"

"Yeah, it is. But what I mean is, you're more than just that pirate on Neverland who wanted to kill Peter Pan. I'll be honest, never quite knew why though. But how were you betrayed? Who hurt you?"

He clicked his tongue before continue to walk. "This isn't about me, love."

"Like hell, it's not," she accused as she walked beside him. "You can read me, but I can't read you? What about 'Takes one to know one'?"

"Fine!" he shouted as he turned towards her. "You want to know about me? I was betrayed, it's true. I know the pain, the heartache. It's not something I wish to go through again. I'm simply trying to make conversation."

"Why? As soon I find the Doctor and Rose, I'm outta here. Why do you care about me?"

He simply looked at her for a moment before asking, "Why do you ask such a question, as though you're not important?"

Her eyes grew large and she was certain her stomach fell. Why indeed.

But before she could respond, they heard a scream. Both of them went running towards the sound, cutting through the forest. Emma was sure that if she wasn't wearing her red leather jacket, she would have certainly scratched up her arms, thanks to all the small branches.

When they finally did make it to another road, all Emma could see was a carriage, a smallish one that was brown and had only one horse driving it. But there was definitely a scream coming from it. As Emma and Hook ran towards it, the carriage took off, as though there was someone driving it. However, except for the screaming woman, Emma did not see another person near that carriage.

"What the hell?" she muttered as she saw something from the corner of her eye. Out from another patch of trees, were the Doctor and Rose, clearly coming when they heard the woman screaming.

"Help me!" the woman screamed. She reached out a hand from between the bars. "Help!"

The four of them chased after the carriage, trying to get as close to it as they could without getting hurt. The Doctor reached out and actually grabbed the woman's hand, but he was no match for the speed, though he was the fastest of the four. The woman's hand slipped out of his and they both screamed, "No!" as the carriage moved faster.

The Doctor collapsed on his knees, taking deep breathes. Emma, Rose, and Hook caught up with him, Rose kneeling beside him. "Doctor? Are you alright?"

The Doctor  shook his head. "Too fast," he muttered. He then opened his hand, and in the middle of his palm laid a ring. Emma picked it up between her fingers to look at it closer. It was a silver ring with a green emerald. It was simple, yet elegant.

"I don't recognize that ring from any story," Rose muttered. Emma put the ring on her finger, to make sure she knew where it was.

"Me either. Hook?"

The man shook his head. The Doctor and Rose both looked at the new addition. Rose's eyes almost bugged out of her head when she got a good look at him.

"Hello! Who's this?" she asked.

"Doctor, Rose, I'd like you to meet Captain Hook. Hook, these are the people I was talking about. The Doctor and Rose."

"Pleasure," Hook said with a small bow.

"All mine, I assure you," Rose grinned. The Doctor huffed before saying, "Yeah. Nice to meet you."

"Wait - You're Captain Hook?" Rose asked. "Like from Peter Pan?"

"Er, aye. I think."

Rose shook her head. "Wow, was your appearance wrong in the movie."

Killian yelled, "What did they get wrong about me appearance?!"

"Pretty much everything," Rose smirked.

"Can we focus, please?" the Doctor asked. "A woman just went missing. Do we have any idea who it might have been?"

"No," Emma answered. "But did anyone else notice that there was no driver?"

The Doctor nodded. "I did notice that. Which means one thing."

"Trouble?" Rose asked with a smirk.

The Doctor gave a small smile. "Well, yes. But also magic."

"I didn't think magic was real," Emma replied.

The Doctor simply waved his hand as he replied, "Magic is different all over. Your magic, for example, is science. You use math and science and you can split the atom. Here, it's a little more complicated than that."

"I assure you, magic here is extremely complicated," Hook said.

"You don't use chemistry or equations?" Emma asked.

Hook raised an eyebrow. "No," he responded, unsure. "People use potions. Spells."

"Spellbook?"

"Aye."

"So magic was pulling that carriage?" Rose asked. When Hook nodded, she continued, "Anyway you could know someone that powerful to kidnap a woman and pull a carriage without being near the site?"

"Just because we didn't see someone doesn't mean they aren't nearby," Emma pointed out.

"Smart lass," Hook muttered. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Swan's right. It could be any number of people. Magic is quite common, unfortunately."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Do you not like magic, Captain?"

"Magic comes with a price," he said, as though he heard that saying many times in the past. "I've learned to just live without it."

"But wasn't there magic on Neverland?" Emma asked. "That's how everyone stayed young."

"Aye. And I paid the price for living with that kind of magic."

"You don't look any worse for wear," Rose flirted. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I've well over two hundred years old," Hook replied.

"Oh, he's got you beat," Rose smirked, tapping the Doctor on the chest. "He's over nine hundred years old."

Emma and Hook looked at the young looking man. "Seriously?" she asked.

"And I didn't have pixie dust," the Doctor joked.                

"We're getting off track," Emma responded, holding up her hands. "We need to find that woman."  

"That carriage is long gone now," Hook pointed out. "I suggest we go into town and see if people there know anything about a missing woman."

They agreed before walking.

~*~

Rose walked up to Emma and gestured to the two men in front of them. "So, how did you two meet? I thought you were going back to the T.A.R.D.I.S.?"

"I was. I got lost. Hook was hiding from the Evil Queen and grabbed me so that I wouldn't be seen either."

"Hmm, romantic," Rose laughed.

"Oh yeah," Emma responded sarcastically. "Definitely the beginning of a love story."

Rose giggled. She quieted down before asking, "So what's your story? You know a bit about mine. From 2006 London. Mum and boyfriend waiting for me back home."

"Yeah, how did you meet the Doctor?"

"He blew up my job."

"Hmm, romantic," Emma joked.

Rose laughed as well before quieting down. "No, but seriously, there was an alien invasion in London in 2005 and he stopped it. I was right beside him, only because our paths kept crossing. Then he told me he could travel anywhere in time and space and...Well, I couldn't say no."

"So how long have you been traveling with him? I mean, I know you travel through time, but...I don't know how to ask this without being confusing."

"I know what you mean. And honestly, I can't tell you. I mean, you lose all sense of time in the T.A.R.D.I.S."

Emma hummed. "Makes sense."

"But you still haven't told me your story."

"Not much to tell," Emma mumbled.

"Oh, come on," Rose urged.

Seeing how there probably wasn't a village for a couple of miles, Emma sighed. "Fine." She was silent, but Rose didn't urge her again. Finally, Emma said, "I was abandoned when I was only a month old. I was found on the side of a road. I was then shipped off to foster house to foster house, never once finding a family that I could call my own. When I was sixteen, I had enough and ran away."

Emma grew silent. Rose asked in a low voice, "Well, since you're obviously not a teenager, what happened next?"

Emma shifted her shoulder, clearly uncomfortable. "What is with the sudden interest in my life?"

Rose held up her hands. "I'm just trying to - "

"Make conversation," they finished together.

Emma shook her head. "You can take a lesson from him," she said, gesturing to Hook.

"Life sucks, I get that," Rose finally said in a low voice. "And, though I had a tough childhood, it was nothing compared to what you've gone through.  And the Doctor and I...we just want to help people. Maybe we can help you locate your parents...?"

"No!" Emma said firmly. "They didn't want me, so why in the world would I go looking for them?"

Rose shrugged. "Aren't you curious about where you came from?"

Of course she was curious, who wouldn't be? But she didn't want to show that vulnerable side, especially to someone she just met. So instead, she shook her head and just said, "No."

After a moment, Rose nodded. "Okay." And she let the conversation drop.

About thirty minutes later, Hook finally yelled, "There's a village up ahead."

The village was something out of movie. It was certainly small, and the buildings were made with either bricks or some sort of clay that looked extremely strong. There were vendors all over the street, urging the four of them (or anyone really) to sample, just sample, the amazing foods they had. Everything they had made Emma's stomach turn and she simply shook her head no.

The four of them did ask people in town if they had heard anything about a missing woman. Though some offered information, it was clearly not someone who went missing recently. Finally, Hook suggested getting some refreshments in the local pub and a beer sounded really good to Emma at that moment.

The four found a table off to the side, and Hook went off to get drinks.

"This is fun!" Rose commented. The Doctor smiled as he took everything in. "Don't really read about pubs in a fairy tale story."

"Too much magic and destruction for the prince to go off and get a pint, huh," Emma observed.

When Hook returned, he gave each a stein before sitting next to Emma and taking a gulp.

The Doctor sniffed his drink before asking, "What's this?"

"Rum," Hook responded.

Emma nodded. "So some stereotypes are true." But needing a drink so badly, Emma picked it up and took a gulp. It's burned going down, but otherwise wasn't too bad.

Rose had just opened her mouth to say something when knights walked in. They were clearly not from the Evil Queen, but rather from the new King and Queen. As Emma had seen before, the knights wore silver garments and a red cloth over it which had a crest on it.

One knight stood forward, and cleared this throat before projecting, "We come with despairing news. The Queen, Her Royal Highness, Snow White of Misthaven, has been taken. Does anyone have any knowledge of this capture?" When no one spoke, the knight continued, "Ten thousand pounds will be given to anyone who has any information in her disappearance." Suddenly at least two dozen people got up and either ran over with information or ran out the door in hopes of finding some information.

The Doctor stood up, "We have some knowledge of what happened."

One knight walked over to them. He was a handsome man, with messed up brown hair and a beard. "Yes?"

The Doctor told the knight about what they saw in the forest. When the knight offered to give him money, the Doctor refused, stating he doesn't want to see a pound. ("Bleeding heroes" Hook muttered). The knight simply nodded before thanking him for the information and leaving.

Once the Doctor sat down, the four of them sat still until the knights left, taking most of the pub with them. Hook looked down at his drink before shaking his head, "Poor lass. Something always happens to her."

"Who? Snow White?" Emma asked. "I know that she ate that poison apple, but then Charming kissed her and everything was right with the world."

"Ah, but if only their story ended there," he replied. "Unfortunately, it did not."

"What happened next?" Rose asked, leaning forward. Even the Doctor settled in, waiting to hear the story.

"Well, I only know a few pieces. Life on the water, I don't always get the full gossip on land, and most times I hear it by accident," Hook informed them before he began. "But I believe I have this right. On the day of their wedding, the Evil Queen barged in and proclaimed that she would cast a curse that would make everyone miserable, except for her. Of course everyone was scared, but Snow and Charming kept their wits about them and within a few months, she was defeated and banished. However, her knights still travel to this part of the realm, mostly so she can get money or other debts back from whoever took from her."

"Like you?" Emma recalled.

"Aye. I do owe her, and I will pay her back, but I haven't been to the Jolly Roger. And now there are more pressing matters," he said with a small wink. Emma tried not to smirk before lightly shaking her head and urging him to continue.

"Well, the story continues that after the Evil Queen was defeated, Snow found out she was pregnant. They were of course so happy at the idea of bringing a new royal into the family and celebrated  every chance they got. But --"

"Someone barged in on their celebrations?" Emma guessed.

He nodded. "Pretty much. Rumplestitskin." Hook shook with anger, and Emma made a note to get back to why the old evil elf made the captain so furious. "He proclaimed that the child would never see the light of day."

"Why did he want the baby?" the Doctor asked. "Isn't that how the fairy tale goes? That he wanted the maiden's child?"

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "But that was somewhat different. That woman married into royal life and she had to guess his name, yeah?"

"Correct," Emma responded. "And she had to have three guesses, or something like that."

Hook raised an eyebrow at the three of them. "What in bloody hell are you talking about?"

"The story of Rumplestitskin," Emma responded.

"Well, my dear, the story with Snow White is quite different. You see, Rumplestitskin is also known as the Dark One."

Rose and the Doctor sat up straighter. "What does that mean?" Rose asked.

"Means he possesses all the dark magic. Nothing is too cruel for him."

"How awful," Emma muttered.

Hook nodded. "You don't know the half of it." It was clear by his tone of voice that there was a deeper meaning in his words, but once more Emma knew now was not the time to get into it. He then gave a small cough and the darkness that was in his eyes disappeared and he became the light Hook she was getting used to. "Anyway, the story goes that Rumplestitskin threaten their child, saying that if their child was born, they would always be a threat to him and therefore he would try to get rid of it."

"Oh my God," Rose gasped. The Doctor looked shocked as well, though he said nothing.

Emma asked, "Did he succeed?"

Hook gave a small shrug. "I believe he somewhat did. You see, the King and Queen had a daughter and had a celebration for her and everything. About a month after her birth, the Queen went to check on the princess during the night and found that she was missing. The entire kingdom went into a panic, and every square foot was looked over three times. But she was never found."

"She's still missing?" Rose asked.

Hook nodded. "Aye."

"What about Rumplestitskin? Did he take her? I mean, were they certain?" Emma asked.

"Well, that's the thing. They checked his quarters again and again and again, but there was no sign that the princess had ever been there. They captured him, I believe, and they have him in a cell. But...the princess is still missing and the King and Queen just never got over that. They still hope that one day their princess will return home.

"What a sad story," Emma remarked.

Rose nodded in agreement before a thought accorded to her. "Wait. You said that Rumplestitskin wanted to get rid of the princess because she was a threat. How could a baby be a threat? Would it be like Harry Potter?"  

Hook tilted his head to the side before replying, "I have no idea who that is. But I can answer your first question. You see, the child was born out of True Love. And there is a theory that a child born from True Love will have magic unlike anyone has ever seen before. The purest of magic, to be exact. And only pure light magic can defeat dark magic."

"Which is why Rumple is shaking in his boots over a baby," Emma added.

Hook nodded. "Aye."

The Doctor finally said, "Well, we must go find Snow White and then maybe we can help find the lost princess."

"And where do you suggest we start, Doctor?" Rose asked.

"Well, we start at the source. Let's find this Rumplestitskin."

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