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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
RACING HEARTS
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SOMETHING WAS SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH EMMA. It was like the darkness inside her was slowly eating away all of her light. Teresa had a feeling that she was going to become the Dark One, she just knew it. She didn't know what Emma was going through, but she could tell it was destroying her soul. She wasn't Emma anymore over the past couple days. Since the ball, Teresa can't remember when she last smiled at Hook, or smiled at all for that matter.

They stood in Emma's room, the blonde Dark One laying still on her bed, clutching Hook's hand. Her eyes were open and would occasionally blink, but it was like she was in shock; she wasn't moving or talking. Teresa could practically feel Henry's concern from where she stood beside him.

"What happened to her?" Snow asked.

"I have no idea. She hasn't said a word," Hook replied.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?"

They all turned around and found David, who Snow had been looking for for a while. "David, where have you been? I was looking all over the castle for you," Snow stressed, as she made her way over to her husband.

When Snow and David's private conversation suddenly got louder, Regina let out a loud sigh. "Hey, not in front of the patient, given the state that she's in, anything could set her off. She needs rest...somewhere quiet and away from prying eyes."

"I know the perfect place," Henry said.

Hook nodded. "Perhaps me and the boy should take her there." He stood and extended his hand toward his love. "Come on, love. Let's sail away.

Emma weakly rose to her feet, her hand gripping Hook's. As Henry passed by Teresa to open the door for his mother and Hook, he made sure to send her a tiny smile, one that which she returned.

Once they were gone, Regina sighed. "Whatever's happening to her, I think she was here for the dagger, so I should probably move it somewhere safer."

"Now, hold on a second. Arthur has a way to use that to help Emma," David said.

"What did I just tell you?" Snow stressed. "We are not giving it to Arthur. Lancelot said he can't be trusted."

Teresa's eyes widened. "Wait, you want to give Arthur the dagger? How are you so sure we can trust him?"

Davie sighed. "And Cora said Lancelot was dead. You can't believe everything you hear, Mary Margaret."

Snow frowned. "You really don't trust Lancelot, do you? He married us. He's our friend."

"That was a long time ago, and where's he been all these years?"

"He didn't say."

"Well, where is he now?" David pressed.

"Hiding. It's not like he's welcome in Camelot!"

"Because he went after Arthur's wife. And he's back. Why? Why's he back?"

Teresa awkwardly shifted in her spot. This would be a first for her, witnessing her best friend and her husband fight.

"I don't know, David! I don't have all the answers!" Realizes that Teresa and Regina are still standing in the room, looking awkward, they sighed. "Teri, Regina, would you mind please giving us a minute?"

Teresa gave a nod before both her and Regina teleported themselves from the room with their magic.

➳

Henry had brought his mother and Hook to the small clearing where he had practiced archery with Teresa. It was a peaceful little area, with a sound of a water stream nearby; he knew his mother would he able to relax some here.

"This is nice," Emma commented, glancing around at the small clearing.

Henry smiled. "A good place to rest. You'll feel better in no time."

"Whereever did you find this little area, lad?" Hook asked.

Henry blushed. "Well, I didn't, Teresa did. I sort of stumbled upon her when she was practicing with her bow."

Hook was now grinning like an idiot. He turned to Emma, who gave him a pointed look, but he was unable to not smile. "Well, I like this tale already."

"I-It's not like that," Henry stuttered.

"Ah, sure it isn't, lad," Hook said, throwing the teenage boy a wink, only further embarrassing him.

"So you two are getting close?" Emma asked.

"N-No," Henry stuttered. "S-She's just teaching me to shoot, that's all."

Suddenly, there was a sound of a twig snapping nearby. Henry's eyes widened as he could see Teresa heading their way, her bow clutched in her hand.

"That's her," Henry said with wide eyes. "Hide. Hide. Go on. Go on.

Emma and Hook — who insisted on sending Henry another wide smirk — quickly rushed over behind some bushes.

Teresa stumbled back in shock when she found Henry standing in the clearing. He gave her a nervous smile. "Henry. What are you doing here? I thought you were taking your mom somewhere?"

"I did," Henry replied. "I was wondering if you'd still be interested in teaching me."

Teresa nodded, a hint of a smile on her face. "Yea...sure, why not? This time, why don't we try actually hunting something? What do you say?"

Henry nodded. "Sure."

"I hope you're ready to get your heart racing, Mills. Hunting can be quite the thrill."

From beyond the bushes, Hook smirked and Emma's eyes widened. They watched as Teresa and Henry shared a smile before leaving together.

Hook was grinning like an idiot as he walked out from behind the bushes. "Well, you can hide buried treasure or a winning poker hand, but you can't hide the bloom of first love. They'll be married in no time."

➳

There was a breeze in the air that blew both their hair every so lightly. Teresa was walking with delicate steps through the woods, and with her, was Henry, who wasn't exactly walking with the most delicate steps.

Teresa smirked when Henry cringed after making a twig snap underneath his shoe.

"Sorry," he apologised.

A breathy chuckle escaped her lips. "It's fine, but maybe try and not scare off that rabbit. Get down," she whispered.

Henry did as instructed, and the two knelt down on the ground, watching as rabbit was hopping around, its little nose twitching.

"Go on," Teresa whispered, leaning closer to Henry so her voice wasn't too loud. Rabbits had great heating, hence the large ears; she didn't want to mess up Henry's first hunt.

Henry moved silently, lifting the bow and setting up an arrow on the strand. He pulled it back, getting into the position that Teresa had taught him. He kept both eyes open as he leaned forward slightly and lined up his shot.

"Calculate the breeze. Every wind, even if a light breeze like this, counts," Teresa advised.

Henry nodded.

"From this distance, you'll want to the raise the bow just a hair, you'll end up shooting into the dirt if not."

Henry have a nod, and after a moment, when he realised Teresa wasn't pointing out anymore flaws, he leased the arrow. It soared through the until hitting its target dead on. The rabbit gave the tiniest of cries before falling back with an arrow lodged through its stomach.

Teresa had been right; your hunt gave was a thrill. Henry's heart was pounding against his rib cage as he rose to his feet with a grin plastered on his face.

"Impressive," Teresa said, rising to her feet. "Only three days of working on your archery skills and you've already made your first kill."

As they made their way toward the rabbit, Henry asked, "When did you make your first kill?"

"About a week into it."

Henry smirked. "A week? So does this mean that I'm a better archer than the infamous Teresa Holmes?"

Teresa hummed, her eyes dancing with amusement as she kicked at the dirt beneath her boots. "Don't get arrogant now, Mills."

Henry grinned as she moved her pace faster, as to walk ahead of him. He watched with a fond expression on his face as she picked up the rabbit and plucked her arrow from its stomach.

"Now comes the hard part," Teresa said as she made her way towards him. She leaned in with a smirk on her lips. "But I'm sure a great archer like yourself can handle it." With that being said, Teresa moved past him, her heart racing as she began heading back toward Camelot's castle.

Henry jogged to catch up with her. "What part is that?"

"Skinning your first kill. You up for that?"

"I uh...I've never skinned anything before," Henry admitted.

"It's easy, I'll show you," Teresa said. She then collapsed onto a fallen log and tossed the rabbit onto the ground. She reached into her boot and pulled out her hunting knife. "Use this, I'll show you where to begin."

Henry gulped, feeling his stomach churn. He wasn't exactly a fan of guts and blood, he knew this wasn't going to end well. It would most likely be embarrassing for him.

"Alright, so you want to start from the rear legsland slowly — slowly — work your way up to the hea eith the skin.

Henry placed her hunting knife to the animals skin, and just as he was going to cure into the rabbit, he let out a heavy smile.

"You can't do it, can you?" Henry shook his head, a sheepish look on his face. "I'ts okay, I'll do it."

Teresa reached forward and took her knife, their fingers brushing, which caused her breath to hitch in her throat. Damn you, Merlin and your soulmate prophecy!

They held eye contact for the longest few moments before Teresa gave him a sheepish smile and looked down at the rabbit. Her blonde hair fell, creating a curtain in between her and Henry, which she was slightly thankful for. She didn't want him to see her grinning like an idiot right now.

A/N: They are so damn adorable! 😍😍😍😍 Any predictions about Violet and what will happen in Camelot?