Chapter Eleven.

As the moon reached its apex, Freya, Lance and Elijah stood around the pool, candles lit.
"Elijah, would it be alright if I channelled you? I'm going to need all the power I can get." Freya asked as she threw the semi-precious stones and the bones into the crystal clear water.
"Of course, my dear." He gave a small smile. "Where would you like me?"
"Not immediately, but when the time comes, I need you to kneel in the pool, right in front of me. Is that okay? I'll buy you a new suit." Freya chuckled.
"I have plenty and it can always be dry cleaned." The Original replied, a wider smile on his face.
Freya nodded, then lit a sage smudge stick, cleansing the room before placing it into the bowl of snake's blood.
"Okay, now." She said.
Elijah stepped into the water and knelt in front of his former love, taking her free hand as she placed the bowl of blood down on the ledge in front of him.
"Ready?" She asked, looking to both Elijah and Lance.
They both nodded.
Freya then closed her eyes, gripping Elijah's hand tightly.
"Vidau pouvwa domini nostri tribum nas ex veras sequitas sanguinum." She chanted over and over again.
Soon, the wind that came through the broken windows of the room began to pick up, blowing Freya's pitch black hair everywhere, which made her look more like Medusa than a Witch.
On the fourth or fifth chant, a bright orange ball of light consumed a meter-wide circle in the pool.
"It's working!" Lance shouted over the noise of the gales. "Keep going!"
Two more chants and the circle had grown so big that if Elijah hadn't jumped out of the pool, he would've been taken as well.
Eventually, the water of the entire pool was orange.
Freya stopped chanting and released Elijah's hand.
She turned to face them and unlatched one of the necklaces she was wearing. Pulling it out from under her shirt, the two male Vampires saw that it was a bronze coloured ring band.
The Heretic clasped it tightly in her hand.
"This is it." She beamed. "I can't thank you both enough."
"No need to thank us, just be happy." Lance smiled, pulling her in for a hug.
"I need you to do one more thing for me." She said to him.
"Anything."
"I need you to go to a town called Storybrooke in Maine. Find Emma and tell her that you're the Vampire her son is going to know until I get there. She'll know what you mean." Freya offered a half smile.
"Of course. I'll protect them both with my life."
Freya nodded, then moved to Elijah.
"Thank you so much, Elijah..." She whispered, hugging his neck.
She instantly felt his large hands snake around her waist.
"If you find a way back, let me know and don't be a stranger. I know my siblings miss you too." He mumbled into her hair.
"I promise." The Heretic nodded.
"Now go, before that thing closes." Elijah chuckled, parting the pair of them.
Freya nodded once more and turned around, picking up her rucksack.
She looked down at the ring in her hand and put it to her lips, kissing it gently.
"Please let this work." She whispered to herself.
After one last look at her boys, she closed her eyes and jumped into the pool.

Flashback.

"With this ring, I promise to love you forever. I thought my heart belonged to the sea, but you have shown me that is simply not the case." Killian smiled, slipping the ring onto Freya's right ring finger. "This may not be a proposal yet, but it's the promise of one and I hope that that's enough."
"It's more than enough, my love. And it's beautiful. I love it." Freya smiled as a tear slipped down her left cheek.
She leaned in a placed a soft but passionate kiss on Killian's lips.

Freya stumbled and fell on the muddy ground of the Enchanted Forest.
She gathered herself and looked around after placing Killian's ring back on its rightful finger.
The Forest looked exactly like she left it, which puzzled her. After all, Regina had told Emma that the Enchanted Forest was destroyed.
She looked around to see if there was anyone around before kneeling down and opening her rucksack to change into more of-the-realm clothing.
Once back in her white undershirt, corset, knee-length leather jacket, leather trousers and boots, she cast a spell to show her where the nearest man made structure was and began to walk.

Eventually, the Heretic reached the Port she had been in when Regina blasted her back to Portland.
Instantly, she went to the docks, but the Jolly Roger was nowhere to be found.
She decided to speak with the Port Master.
"Excuse me?" She grabbed his attention.
"What can I do for you?" The slender middle-aged man asked.
"I was wondering when a ship called the Jolly Roger was last in port. Do you happen to have that on record?" Freya raised an eyebrow.
"Ah yes, the Jolly Roger. No need to look at any record, Hook and his crew were on their way back to the Neverland coast just last week." He smiled proudly.
Freya cursed under her breath.
"Dammit... Okay, is there a way I could get to Neverland?" She squinted impatiently.
The Port Master laughed. "That was your only chance, M'Lady. But not to fret, if you can stick around for a while, they should be back in a month or so to restock on supplies."
Freya sighed deeply. "I'd much rather go out there, myself. But if I must stay here, I suppose I have no other choice."
"There's an Inn above-"
"The Fish and Bird. I'm aware. Thank you for the information." She smiled, bowing her head goodbye.

In the tavern, Freya looked around, recalling seeing a couple of its Patrons from all those years ago.
"Glad to see not much has changed." The Heretic mumbled to herself. "Even if that includes the local alcoholics."
She made her way up to the bar and ordered a cup of rum before going to sit in the darkest corner.
"I wouldn't sit there if I were you, darlin'." A croaky, withered voice said from behind her.
She turned around to see a man whose age she couldn't pinpoint due to his skin being so worn by the sea air. He wore nothing but rags and smelled of rotting fish.
"Why ever not?" Freya asked.
"That there," He replied, pointing a filthy, stumpy finger at the chair. "Is Blackbeard's seat. He don't like people sittin' in his spot."
"Well, I'll be sure to take that up with him when he gets here." Freya gave a sarcastically large, toothy grin before going back to her rum.

Less than an hour later, the infamous Captain Blackbeard did, indeed, show up.
As his crew went to the nearest barmaid, he made his way over to 'his' spot.
"Looky here, lads. It's not my birthday, yet a woman still sits in my chair!" He cried with glee with his posh English accent which Freya, quite frankly, found comical.
"I'm not a bloody prostitute." Freya scoffed.
Blackbeard sat down across from the Heretic, leaning his forearms half way across the small round table.
"Well if you're not here for me, then why are you in my chair?" He raised a thick, bushy, black eyebrow.
"Because I saw a free seat and took it. The last I checked, this tavern doesn't do reservations." Freya shrugged.
Blackbeard's expression turned from amused to a deep frown, which only accentuated his tanned wrinkles.
"You're a feisty one, girly. I like it." The Captain smirked.
"Oh, I'd rather you didn't. I might get some peace and quiet to drink my rum that way." Freya rolled her eyes.
"A rum girl, eh? You'd do well by my side." Blackbeard chuckled.
"Sorry, I'm promised to another pirate." The Heretic shrugged, taking a big gulp from her cup.
"Oh yes? And who might that be?" He seemed genuinely curious all of a sudden.
Freya laughed. "And why should I tell you that?"
At that moment, Blackbeard was handed a stein of ale from one of his crew members.
"Because I want to know what sort of pirate leaves his betrothed drinking alone in a pirate's tavern." He replied, drinking half of the stein in one go.
Freya watched on with a raised eyebrow and arms folded.
"He didn't leave me, we were separated." She huffed. "But if you must know, it's Hook."
Blackbeard burst into an almighty roar of laughter.
"Hook found himself a girl stupid enough to not only willingly get in his bed, unpaid, but also talk back to the likes of me?!" He boomed. "'Ere lads, come and have a laugh at this!"
Freya watched as his crew swarmed the table.
"Come on, dear. Tell us the name of the girl he lured!"
"If I tell you my name, will you leave me to drink in peace?" Freya's eyebrow still raised.
"Oh, if I must." Blackbeard chuckled, calming down from his laughing fit.
"Freya. Lady Freya Klay."
In an instant, all laughter ceased and everyone in the tavern was staring at the Heretic.
"Lady Freya..." Someone in the background whispered in a rather scared tone.
"You're..." Blackbeard was in a state of shock. "You're Lady Freya?"
Freya quickly grew confused.
"Yes... You've heard of me?" She tilted her head slightly.
"Everyone in the Enchanted Forest has heard of you, my Lady." Blackbeard quickly removed his hat, put it to his chest and bowed his head.
"Okay, what is going on? What have you heard?" Freya sat back with a deep set frown.
"Thirteen years ago, you betrayed the Evil Queen and when she came for you, you ripped out the throats of six of her best guards in a single second." Blackbeard's voice almost turned soft.
"I heard it was seven." One of the other patrons called out.
"Na, I heard it was ten!" Another shouted.
"It was seven..." Freya corrected.
"My God, it is you." Blackbeard's eyes grew like saucers. "I've decided you can have my seat, my Lady."
"I decided that a while ago." Freya mumbled into her cup as she finished off her rum.
"However I can be of service to you, my Lady, don't hesitate to ask."
Freya froze for a moment. This was a perfect opportunity.
"Now that you mention it..." She smirked. "There is one thing I need."
"Name it and it is yours." Blackbeard waved his hand.
"I need to get to the coast of Neverland, to Hook. Can you help me with that?" Freya asked.
Blackbeard took a questioning glance to his crew and then returned his gaze to the Heretic.
"I've only heard stories of this place, my Lady. And the coast of an island is usually quite a big place. He could be anywhere."
Freya gave a flirtatious smirk and leaned in closer to him.
"But you're Captain Blackbeard. King of the seas and Prince of the Pirates. I'm sure if anyone in this realm could get me back to my love, it's you. Come on, I wouldn't want to have to do this the hard way. At least this way, you get paid a very handsome fee." She giggled.
Even the Captain, himself, couldn't hide the blood rushing to his cheeks.
"Well, since you put it like that, I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement." He grinned slyly.
Freya chuckled, resting her elbow on the table with her cup in hand.
"Cheers to that." She mumbled before Blackbeard tapped his drink against hers.