#thankfully my lovely beta forget-me-not-s encouraged me not to give up haha :D

[trueloveseyeroll]

When The Tide Turns (6/16)

Summary:  The plan was to go to England, finish the case and head back home in a matter of days. Of course, nothing in Emma’s life ever goes according to plan. Not only does she end up travelling across Europe, looking for a Liam Jones in order to finish her case, she ends up travelling with Liam’s brother - an annoyingly handsome Killian Jones. And she doesn’t trust him one bit.

Rating: T, for language and a bit of violence later on

Beta-reader: I would never have finished this without the lovely  @forget-me-not-s :))

Artists: these artists are seriously such talentented and amazing people, and they deserve so much praise!!! @theblacksiren - check out her beautiful artwork for chapter 1 here! @optomisticgirl created the awesome banner - and @fairytalesandtimetravel has created a true masterpiece for a later chapter, and it honestly brings tears to my eyes, it’s so beautiful.

Word count: ~3697 (68k+ in total)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |  Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |  Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 |

AO3

Emma trudged down the hall towards the stairs. Her hair was damp from the shower and her stomach was all but growling at her. She felt kind of pathetic. Already 10 AM, and she’d barely woken up yet - it could have been four in the morning for all she knew.

Emma didn’t get very far down the stairs. A certain Killian blocked her way.

They both stopped in their tracks and the uneasiness Emma had felt since she woke flared as she took him in. Last night had been... well, Emma was half-convinced it was all a dream.

Killian scratched his neck. “Morning, love. I, uh, I’ve already eaten.”

Emma lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, I kinda overslept.” She shrugged and blamed jet lag.

Killian shuffled a bit. He was still blocking the way - the stairs weren’t very wide here. “I just need to retrieve something from my room, but then I’ll join you. If you’d like of course,” he added.

Emma shrugged again. “Sure.”

Killian finally made space, leaving the stairs and going to his room as Emma went to the dining room. The uneasiness was tenfold now. Yesterday morning, she thought of Killian as nothing but trouble. An untrustworthy liar, who may or may not be helpful.

He was still trouble, that much was certain. But... so much of the anger towards him had disappeared. Instead, some sort of understanding was forming.

And Emma didn’t like that one bit.

The dining room was neither empty nor full. A couple sat in the corner, and two different families occupied the larger tables. Emma took a seat at the table farthest from all three, grabbing two pieces of toast, a croissant and a much-needed cup of coffee.

Belle wouldn’t join them today. She was back to working her normal schedule at the library. The plan had never been for Emma and Killian to stay in Valadilene for long after all. They’d only booked two nights and now... well, where the hell were they going to go now?

As Emma stressed over the impossibility of the situation, nibbling at her croissant, Killian made his way over to her table. She avoided meeting his eyes. Avoided looking at him at all, except a first glance.

Killian hesitated before sitting down. Only for a second, but Emma noticed it. She sipped her coffee.

“So,” Killian began. “How’s your hand?”

“It’s fine.” She had swapped his scarf with a proper band-aid before she’d gone to bed last night. She should probably return that scarf to him...

Killian seemed to be in deep thought, internally debating something. Emma couldn’t deny that she was doing the same thing - had been doing it since she woke up. She took it out on her croissant, peeling off the delicate flakes; until she realized she was wasting a pretty good croissant, and decided to change tactics.

“Do you think Liam is in that Neverland-place?”

Her question took Killian by surprise - or perhaps the fact that she’d opened her mouth and said something was a surprise in itself.

“I thought you didn’t believe in Neverland.”

“Of course I don’t believe in Neverland. This Neverland-place is obviously just a nickname or code for some other place. And I guess that if the ‘bedtime stories’ as you call them have been in your family for generations, it would make sense that they once needed a compass and a sextant to find their way. I mean, it’s not like they had a GPS.”

If Emma didn’t know any better, she’d say there was a look of amusement in Killian’s eyes. Except she did know better. And there was amusement in those damned blue eyes of his.

Before he could make some comment, Emma repeated her question. “So do you think Liam’s hiding there?”

Killian thought of it for a moment. “It’s a possibility.”

“So what we really need right now is a map.”

“I would think a map has always been something we could make use of,” Killian said. Emma had half a mind to kick his shin under the table.

“Yes, but now we actually know what we’re looking for on the map.”

“I doubt you’ll find the location of Neverland on a map, love.”

Emma glared at him. “Not on any normal map, no. But your uncle’s office was flooding with all kinds of papers - drawings of boats, sketches of constellations... there’s bound to be a map somewhere in between all that. Or maybe it’s in his house!”

Killian thought of what she said, but he didn’t look like he agreed with her. “You’re suggesting we go back to Willesby and ransack the home of a dead man?”

“You got any better ideas?”

Killian held her stare for a moment. He said nothing. His eyes fell to his hands in his lap. Or rather, the envelopes he held. He revealed them to Emma, placing them on the table in front of him. “I wanted to show you these.”

Emma studied the envelopes, Barrie Jones written on each of them.

Her eyes shot up towards Killian’s. “Are those from-”

“Liam? Aye,” Killian answered before she’d even finished her question. “I found them when I was-”

“Snooping around in Barrie’s office,” Emma finished, narrowing her eyes at him and the envelopes.

Killian only smirked. “I am a pirate after all.”

Emma ignored his joke. “What do they say?��� she nodded at the letters. “Did he write anything about where he is?”

“Oh yes, the exact coordinates - I just thought I’d travel around Europe acting clueless for the fun of it.”

“Alright, stupid question,” Emma admitted. “But is there anything useful in them?”

“Why don’t you read them yourself, love. It’s mostly gibberish, but you did somehow find out about Belle, so perhaps...” Killian trailed off as he handed the letters to Emma.

It seemed so clear now, what he was doing; sharing a piece of his information, so that she felt pressured to tell him how she found out about Belle.

Emma took the letters from his hand, determined not to feel pressured to do anything. Liam’s album of drawings was the only thing she had. Letting Killian know about it would risk him taking it and leaving her stranded with an angry Regina back home. And who knew how Mr. Gold would take it when he learned she’d failed something as simple as a business transaction that had already been mostly finished.

Of course, nothing about the case was simple anymore.

“Germany, Spain, and Norway,” Emma read off the post-stamps. Maybe Germany’s actually Neverland, who knows? She opened Liam’s letter from Germany, noticing the lack of date. Just like his drawings.

The letter was short, Liam’s handwriting hard to read.

Dear uncle,

I shouldn’t have left. I can’t stop reliving it every moment I’m awake and every second I get of sleep. I’m haunted by guilt, don’t you understand? I should never have left Killian. But I know, Neverland has to be hidden. I know. Tell Killian. Killian has to know.

Liam

It took Emma a good long minute to read the few lines of scribbled words. Finally, she looked up at Killian. “Tell you what?”

“I wish I knew. However, my dear uncle never did get around to telling me whatever it was he should have told me.”

“Well, Barrie obviously knew something about Neverland if Liam wrote to him about it.” Emma looked over the letter again, reading one particular line out loud. “’Neverland has to be hidden’. That means hiding the sextant?”

“Aye, that’s what I assume,” Killian nodded.

But why did Neverland have to be hidden? You couldn’t exactly hide a place... Emma chose not to ask Killian though, doubting he had any good answers.

Instead, she opened the letter from Spain. It was easier to read, though Liam’s words were pretty angry. Angry at Barrie for disowning Killian. That was never meant to happen.

When the rest of the letter turned out to be incoherent nonsense - which Killian didn’t believe could be code language - Emma opened the third and final letter.

It’s done. Those two words were followed by a poem.

“It’s our mother’s lullaby,” Killian said as she read the lyrics. It was a nice song. A song of the sea, of course, befitting the Jones family and their obsession with the ocean...

“It’s got to mean something,” Emma wondered out loud. “I mean, the ‘it’s done’ probably means that the sextant was hidden by then - although it doesn’t make sense that he’d write that in a letter from Norway and not France... But what is it about the lullaby and the music boxes and everything?”

“I’m not sure,” Killian answered. “The lullaby shouldn’t mean anything to Barrie - he hardly knew our mother, and the song came from her side of the family. It was always a memory that Liam and I shared of her. I’ve been wondering if, with the instability in Liam’s mind, the lullaby was a way to keep himself grounded. But then he left his music box here, inside a torch of all things, and I can’t help but feel as if he left it there for me. He did write that there was something he wanted me to know, that he shouldn’t have left me. Perhaps...” Killian trailed off, as though he thought he’d said too much.

“You think he left a trail specifically for you?” Emma guessed. “And the sextant is just like... a breadcrumb.”

“Aye. The git just isn’t very good at leaving sensible trails, is he?”

Emma thought of the album of Liam’s drawings lying in her suitcase upstairs. Without it, she would never have found out about Valadilene. Killian would never have found the sextant. She’d wondered why Liam would send a drawing of Belle to his uncle, what it was that made her so important... was this it? Belle was supposed to stand out so Emma would go to Valadilene. Or - of course - not Emma, but Killian.

Still, why send the drawing of Belle to Barrie?

Maybe Jones has got it wrong. The trail isn’t for him, but for Barrie... Emma didn’t like that thought, and tried to deny she’d ever thought of it. Killian’s love for his brother was one of the few things Emma was absolutely certain about. If Liam never meant for Killian to find him, but only for his uncle to find him - the uncle that had disowned Killian - well, that was pretty harsh.

(She tried not to think of how much she didn’t like the thought of Killian being hurt like that.)

When Swan slouched back in her chair, Killian did the same. He hadn’t noticed how much they’d both been leaning in over the table.

Swan finished a piece of toast and sipped her coffee. She held the mug in front of her, cradling it in her hands. Killian wondered what conclusion the turning gears in her head were drawing as she stared at her mug.

He hoped he had made the right decision. Swan finding out about the sextant hadn’t been favourable, but inevitable, he supposed. As long as he kept her in the dark about the spyglass... the less she knew, the better.

Therefore, showing her Liam’s letters may have been stupid. On the other hand, there wasn’t much information for her to gain from them that he hadn’t already told her. Showing her the letters acted to gain her trust. He doubted its efficiency. But if they wanted to find Liam, they would both have to make efforts at trusting each other, even if they didn’t truly trust each other.

“I really think going back to look through Barrie’s stuff is the best idea right now,” Swan broke the silence that had settled between them.

Killian understood her point. Barrie clearly knew a lot about Neverland, if Liam’s letters were to be trusted. But Killian also knew that the spyglass wouldn’t be in Willesby.

“Perhaps we should make sure we’ve exhausted all other options before we head back to Willesby.”

“Jones, we have no other options to exhaust. We’ve hit a dead-end - the best thing to do is go back to the start and look for things we weren’t looking for before.”

“But what if Neverland truly doesn’t exist in any form? You’re looking for a map that might not exist; meanwhile, Liam is somewhere in Italy or who knows where.” In truth, Killian did believe in Neverland’s existence. He just knew that no map of the place existed.

Swan huffed. “What do you wanna do then? Ask Belle one more time if she knows where Liam went?”

Her question - though meant to be spiteful - sparked an idea in Killian’s mind. “Perhaps you’re right Swan. When you encounter a dead-end, going back and looking at everything with new and wiser eyes might help. And I’ve realized that we’ve asked Belle many a question, but never one about Neverland.” He raised an eyebrow, silently asking Swan what she thought.

She said nothing for a few seconds. Then her resolve seemed to wear off. “Fine. We’ll go talk to Belle. But I’ll need another cup of coffee first.”

“Neverland?” Belle repeated. They had found her in one of the aisles, replacing books on the shelves. “Well... he did say something about Neverland once, but it was a joke, really. You see, he wore this ring on a chain around his neck and when I asked him about it, he joked and said he’d gotten it from Neverland.”

A ring? Killian couldn’t remember Liam ever wearing a ring around his neck. He looked at his own bejewelled fingers - rings had always been his thing.

Swan turned her head towards him. “Did Liam have a girlfriend or someone else special?”

“Not that I know of,” Killian answered. Well, he did know of a girl, but not a girlfriend. But that was a secret he wasn’t quite willing to share yet.

Swan turned back to Belle. “You don’t know of any real place that’s sometimes referred to as Neverland, do you?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

The look Swan sent Killian wasn’t subtle in its ‘I told you so’.

“Well, thank you for all your help, Belle. And your patience. I think we’ll be heading back to Willesby today to see if there are any clues there that we’ve missed,” Swan said.

“I’m only sorry I haven’t been of more help,” Belle frowned; then she seemed to remember something. “What about Liam’s drawings? You said on the phone that you found me through one of Liam’s drawings - couldn’t there be other clues in the rest of them?”

Drawings? Had Swan found out about Belle through a drawing?

One look at Swan told Killian she wasn’t happy about Belle mentioning those drawings. But why had she kept them a secret? To have some kind of leverage?

Of course she kept it secret to have leverage. She doesn’t trust you any more than you trust her, Killian thought. And you don’t give away your best source of information to someone you don’t trust. He was following the same tactic after all.

Of course Belle had to go and mention the drawings. Emma tried to mask the irritation she felt, but with Killian looking at her like that, all “you’ve been keeping a secret from me, have you?” it was hard not to feel pissed.

“Um, I think you were the only clue to be found there,” Emma said, not entirely sure if she was lying or not. Finding Belle had been easy - she was the only person Liam had drawn - but how would any of the other drawings help? Going to Paris just because Liam had drawn the Eiffel Tower wasn’t exactly useful.

“Why don’t I have a look at those drawings, Swan? It’s funny you’ve never mentioned them - perhaps I have some knowledge that can help unveil a clue or two.”

Emma gritted her teeth. She knew Killian had a point. She just couldn’t risk him discovering something without telling her, and then leaving as soon as he got the chance. But it seemed the choice wasn’t hers to make anymore. Of course, she could lie and say she hadn’t brought the drawings with her. She doubted Killian would believe it though.

“They’re just drawings of landscapes and different objects,” Emma shrugged. “None of them are dated or titled or anything. Well, except the one of you, Belle.”

Emma really didn’t like the way Killian looked at her. As if he could tell what was really going on in her head, why she was reluctant to show him the drawings.

“It wouldn’t hurt to have a little look? And if there’s no clue to be found, well, it’s good we’ve already got a plan for Willesby then, isn’t it?”

Emma had no way to argue with him. So she gave in, and hoped she was wrong about Killian.

(That small hope didn’t bring her much comfort though.)

Emma let Killian into her room at the inn, though she had debated letting him wait outside while she found the album. It seemed too childish though - even for her.

Killian sat in the armchair leafing through the drawings as Emma surveyed his expressions from the edge of the bed. He never stopped to look at one drawing for long. But there was a constant pensiveness in his eyes, lingering on the surface.

At one drawing, a small grin lit up on Killian’s face. He turned the album towards Emma, showing her the drawing. “Look familiar?”

The sextant with its pegasus on the surface wasn’t something Emma would soon forget.

Killian continued to look through the drawings, past the picture of Belle (“and here’s our resident bookworm”), but he didn’t seem to find any clues.

Until he stopped turning the pages.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him. Killian stared at the picture, then darted a look up at her before looking at the door. Then back at the drawing.

He had found something. Something curious.

“Wait just a minute, love.” And like that, he rose from his seat, putting the album on the nearby dresser and left through the door.

As if.

Emma stood up no more than a second after Killian. She darted a look at the drawing he had singled out before following him out the door and into his room.

Killian went to his satchel, searching its pockets for who-knows-what.

“What’s going on?” Emma asked from the doorway.

Killian pulled the thing he sought out of his satchel, turning towards Emma.

Another letter? she thought, looking at the envelope in his hand.

“I might have found our next clue.” He said no more. Like a man on a mission, he walked right past Emma, and back into her room.

“Are you planning on telling me what it is?” Emma asked, following him again.

Killian stood by the dresser, looking at the picture once more. He didn’t answer her; he seemed to be hesitating. But the doubt was quickly shoved away, and Killian all but ripped open the envelope.

Emma stepped closer to get a look at the paper he unfolded. Another drawing. Emma furrowed her brows and at once she understood why Killian had found the picture in the album curious.

The one he held in his hand was exactly the same. Or well, almost.

Both drawings showed the view from a terrace overlooking a city with mountains in the distance. Two grand staircases led to the terrace on each side of the drawing and two statues stood tall, framing the centre of the drawing. Emma thought of the architecture of ancient Rome, or even Greece with the three white columns in the drawing’s centre, at the foot of the staircase. Or well, in the drawing in the book, there were three columns.

There were four in Killian’s copy.

“Where’d you get that?”

Killian didn’t answer right away. As if he debated telling her the truth or not. When he spoke, Emma was certain he had chosen not to lie though.

“Liam sent it to me.”

“I... when?” The way Emma had understood it, Liam had never contacted Killian.

“Three years ago. On my 27th birthday.”

“Did he write anything with it?”

“Aye. It’s mainly gibberish about Neverland though. About how beautiful it is, but no one should ever go there. It’s how I know Barrie had the compass - he wrote it in the letter, in between various descriptions of how hauntingly beautiful Neverland is.”

Both of them looked at the drawings, going over every detail. They were almost perfect duplicates. Except for the different number of columns.

“So you think this is the clue we’re looking for?” Emma pointed at both drawings with each hand, at the spot where one drawing had a fourth column and the other didn’t.

“I reckon it’s our best bet.”

“Now we just gotta figure out where in the world this is.”

“I’m happy to surprise you there, Swan.” Killian met Emma’s questioning look with a ghost of a smile. “I’ve had this drawing for three years. Do you not think I’ve already riddled out where it’s from?”

He drew out the pause, trying to build the suspense. He only succeeded in building Emma’s annoyance.

“What, you looked at the post-stamp?”

“Alas no, the post-stamp’s from Norway, and this seems a mite too exotic for Norway... it’s Barcelona.”

“Barcelona?”

“Aye. Catalonia’s national museum of art to be precise - also known as the MNAC.” Killian’s small smile turned into a quirked eyebrow and a cocky grin. “What do you say, love - fancy taking this a bit further southward?”

Emma glared at him, unimpressed with the innuendo.

“I could definitely do with some warmer weather,” she answered. She looked at the drawings again, internally questioning how trustworthy a clue this was. “Do you think we’ll find him there? And it’ll turn out that Neverland is actually just the name of a bar or something?”

Killian chuckled. “I don’t know, Swan. Perhaps. Or perhaps all we’ll find is another breadcrumb.”