Well hello! I am so so sorry that this has taken me so long to get this out to you all. Life has been..a know life and the muse left me for so long. But I'm back and ready to bring you the rest of this story and many more. Since it's been 3 years (jeez) since this story was updated I'll provide a link below so you can get caught up. Also if you would like to be tagged in this and any future works let me know!
AFILAM A03 link = https://archiveofourown.org/works/34290355/chapters/85316980
Killian Jones had a feeling when he woke up that today was going to be a shit day and man did he bloody hate being right. As soon as he walked into headquarters this morning he knew something was very wrong. The lobby had been a flurry of activity with what looked like every single Guard member rushing around the room. When he had spotted his partner David Nolan and made his way over to him, Killian could tell by the look on his face that whatever happened, it was bad. But nothing could have prepared him for the scene he saw in the woods.
Sanctuaries were supposed to be sacred, protected places for outcasts or wayward travels and any violence against one was punishable by death. The building when they had come upon it was completely destroyed with only the outer structure remaining and once they crossed the threshold they saw the massacre that had occurred. Charred bodies littered the floor, unrecognizable except for the occasional fangs, horns and pointed ears to help identify the types of species that had been there. He had been examining one of the bodies when he heard David calling his name from the other side of the room. When Killian reached his partner, what he saw made him stop short.
Laying by what used to be the window was the body of a woman. The body wasn’t what made him stop short, it was the state the body had been in. Unlike the other bodies, this woman had been completely untouched by the fire. Her face was frozen in fear and agony and one of her hands was clutching her chest. Killian looked over at David in disbelief, then the older man pointed to the floor, there next to the body was a symbol traced in the ashes.
When he knelt down to get a better look at the symbol, Killian’s eyes widened, he immediately recognized it. His head snapped up to David’s, his partner's face conveying exactly what he was thinking, that this was worse than they had first thought. That symbol hadn't been seen in over Twenty Years and the individual who used it was long dead. How it ended up here is very troubling and it was for that very reason why David and him were now here at the Mill’s Coven.
Out of all the supernatural beings, he distrusted witches the most. At least with creatures like vampires or demons he knew what they were after, they had a clear goal in mind. With witches though, you could never quite know if they were being truthful or not and it was usually too late before you found out the truth.
That’s why he wasn’t buying the shocked look on the witch sitting across from him face. Witches were loyal to their coven. There was no way that they would say or do anything against one of their own.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean you think someone here had something to do with the murder?” The witch, Emma he believed her name was, said angrily. She was a beautiful woman. He thought so when he first saw her walking toward them earlier, all sweet smiles while welcoming them.
David turned and glared at him for the abruptness of his statement. “What my partner means, Ms. Swan, is we have come into some evidence that someone from this coven could be involved and we would like your input on the matter,” he said, trying to ease the tension he could feel between his partner and the woman in front of him.
Emma threw one last heated glare at the dark haired man before turning her attention back to Guard Member Nolan. “What kind of evidence do you have?”
David reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. Opening it he took out two photographes. "Ms. Swan, can you tell me if you recognize this woman?” he asked, passing her one of the pictures.
When Emma looked at the photo she gasped at the image. “Oh my God! That’s Glinda!” she exclaimed in horror.
“Glinda?” David asked.
“She’s one of our senior witches or she used to be.” Emma whispered, still not believing what she was seeing. “What happened to her?”
“I’m very sorry to say that she was in the sanctuary when it was burned down,” David told her sympathetically.
Emma looked up at him in confusion. “Why would Glina be in a sanctuary? She wasn’t running from anyone.”
David went to respond but was interrupted.
“What do you mean she used to be your most senior witch?” Killian asked sharply.
Emma turned to glare at him. “She left the coven. Relocated back to her hometown,” she responded through clenched teeth.
“When did she leave?” David inquired gently, hoping to put the young witch at ease after his partner's abrasiveness.
“She left about a week ago,” Emma said while still shooting daggers at Jones.
“Did she tell you, or anyone, why she was leaving?”David questioned further.
Emma turned to him and shook her head. “No. She left in a hurry. She didn’t even say goodbye to anyone.”
Killian scoffed.
“Do you have something to say?” Emma demanded.
“Aye. You're telling me that one of the most senior witches of your coven just up and left without any explanation and nobody found that the least bit suspicious. I thought you witch types were supposed to be smarter than that," Killian said harshly.
"Now you wait a damn minute! I don't know who you think you are but you have no right coming into this coven and speaking to me in this manner! I don't give two shits if you are a Guard Member!" Emma yelled, rising to her feet to stand in front of him. She knew she shouldn't be talking to him like this but he was being a dick.
Killian looked up at her speechless. He didn't expect that sort of reaction. She was gorgeous standing before him, blonde hair tousled and green eyes on fire. She was magnificent and if she hadn't been a witch he might have been tempted. Too bad that she was.
“Okay. Why don’t we all just calm down and take a deep breath," David suggested as he quickly rose and stood between them.
"I certainly hope you don't conduct all your investigations like this." Emma seethed All the while narrowing her eyes at Jones, who had the audacity to smirk at her.
"No. You'll have to excuse my partner, it seems he left his manners at home," David said, turning to Killian and silently telling him to shut the hell up. His partner rolled his eyes then gave him a quick nod of his head.
Emma sat back down trying her best not to pay Jones any attention. Taking a deep breath she faced Nolan. "I don't understand, Glinda didn't have any reason to seek shelter in a sanctuary. She wasn't cast out and she certainly didn't abandon us. What was she doing there?" she lamented, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Glinda was dead.
"It might have something to do with this," David said, passing her the other photo. "Does the symbol look familiar to you?"
Emma took the photo and frowned at the image, it was a little hard to make out what with it being traced in what she assumed was ashes. It was a dagger with what looked like a rose wrapped around the blade. "No. I've never seen this before. What is it? " She asked, handing back the photo.
David exchanged a quick glance at Killian silently communicating with his partner before turning back to the witch. "Ms. Swan.." except he didn’t get the chance to finish his question because a voice interrupted him.
“What on earth is going on here?”
All three heads turned toward the sound of the voice to see a dark haired woman walking towards them. She had the air of authority around her and judging by the look on her face, she was not pleased with the situation she walked in on.
“Regina,” Emma said as she hastily rose to her feet and out of the corner of her eye she saw the two men do the same. Her aunt looked as poised as ever but Emma could see a slight bit of nervousness that was uncommon for Regina. "These gentlemen are with the Guard."
"Yes. I know," Regina says matter of factly before turning toward Nolan. "Hello, David," she said in greeting, her tone oddly fond.
"Regina," David says coldly, his demeanor instantly changing in the presence of the woman.
Regina smirked slightly at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu family reunion?"
"We aren't family," David said harshly.
Emma and Killian looked at each other in confusion. Their mutual animosity was forgotten for a moment as they watched.
Killian looked at his partner in shock. "Wait a bloody minute. You know her David?"
“Unfortunately,” David responded.
“Oh! David you wound me,” the dark haired witch said mockingly.
“Enough! Regina we’re here on High Counsel business,” David said firmly
“What kind of business?” Regina asked in an annoyed tone.
“Glinda’s dead, Regina,” Emma informed her gently.
“What,” Regina says, clearly taken aback.
“There was a fire at a sanctuary, it was burned to the ground. Glinda was inside,” Emma explained.
“How do you know it was Glinda?” she asked, with a stricken look on her face.
Killian, having had enough of beating around the bush, grabbed the envelope out of David’s hand. “Because of these,” he said, taking the photos out and tossing them on the table. He watched as Regina took in the images before her. A sense of delight went through him as he saw her eyes widen. “Look familiar?” he asked, gesturing toward the photo of the dagger and rose symbol.
“That symbol has nothing to do with me,” Regina hissed in contempt.
“Regina, do you know what it means?” Emma asked her aunt.
“It’s nothing!” she said dismissively.
“Oh, you know it’s not nothing.” Killian said before turning to Emma. “It’s the insignia of a very dangerous dark magic user, one your aunt knows very well,” he said, throwing a smirk Regina’s way.
“You need to stop talking right now,” Regina said, taking a menacing step toward him.
“It’s the reason that she’s dead. The fire didn’t kill her,” Killian informed them, not backing down.
“What do you mean?” Emma asked.
“Our head healer came to the conclusion that Glinda’s heart was crushed from within,” David informed them while casting a pointed look at Regina.
Emma gasped. “That’s impossible! That’s a dark magic act and it’s been outlawed for centuries.”
“Darling, if you actually believe that, then you are more naive than I thought.” Killian
sneered at her.
Emma could feel herself start to tremble with rage at the man standing across from her. She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what kind of jackass he was but never got the chance because suddenly a loud bang rang out.
All eyes turned toward the sound. David had apparently taken out his sword and slammed it onto the table. “Enough! this isn’t doing us any good!” he said, his voice filled with anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Obviously we aren’t getting anywhere, so for right now we’ll be leaving,” he turned to look at Regina, “but make no mistake. We’ll be back.”
“David you can’t be serious,” Killian said, clearly not happy with his partner's decision.
“Let’s go,” The older man said as he picked his sword and the pictures up off the table.
Killian leveled a glare at the two witches before he turned and followed his partner to the door.
XXX
When they got outside Killian turned to David. “What the hell was that!?” He demanded.
“Not now, Killian,” David said through clenched teeth. He knew that coming here was going to be tough, but he thought he could handle it. He had almost breathed a sigh of relief when instead of Regina another witch had come to greet them. That relief was short lived of course when the woman he hated with every fiber of his being walked into the room. David would normally call himself a pretty level headed and calm person but he knew he had to get out of there before he did something he regretted. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before heading down the path towards their car.
“David. Would you hold on a minute,” Killian said once he caught up to his partner.
“What!” David snapped as he spun around to face the younger man.
Killian stopped in his tracks, slightly taken aback by the older man’s demeanor. “What’s gotten into you, David?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s just get back to the compound,” David said tersely before getting into the car and slamming the driver's side door behind him.
Killian stood there in shock until the sound of the car starting broke him out of it and he quickly got in the car. The drive was quiet, neither man said anything for fear of setting the other off. Killian stared out the window thinking back on the interview. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement and if he were being honest Killian was one of the main reasons why it was. He knew that he let his anger get the better of him and it might hurt the investigation to come.
Killian turned to look at David and a stab of guilt went through him. He owed the man literally everything, Killian would be dead in a ditch somewhere if it wasn’t for David. Before becoming a Guard Member, Killian’s life had been hell. His Mother had died when he was young leaving him and his older brother to be raised by their absentee father. Parenthood didn’t agree with their no good father anymore and after a few years, he left in the middle of the night and then it was just him and Liam on their own until..it was just him.
When David found him he was angry, vengeful and on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid. David had talked him down. He had brought Killian back with him to The Guard Headquarters and since then, David had been his mentor, partner and friend. Becoming a Guard Member had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had found a community of people that he loved and respected including David’s wife Mary Margaret, who welcomed him with open arms.
The car coming to a stop pulled Killain back to the present and saw that they had come to a stop in front of David and Mary Margaret’s house. “Dave. What are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be heading back to headquarters and briefing them on what happened?”
David didn’t look at his partner as he turned off the car, still too angry about everything that happened. If David was being honest he wasn’t really even all that mad at Killian’s behavior tonight. He knew how the younger man felt about witches, so he wasn’t entirely surprised by his reaction. No, David was angry because he had to go and tell his wife everything that happened tonight and he was not looking forward to it. With a deep sigh he opened the door and stepped into the cool night air.
“David what’s going on? Why are we here?” Killian asked again. Concerned about how quiet his partner was being.
David finally turned to look at Killian as the younger man came around the car and stood next to him. “I need to talk to Mary Margaret,” he said wearily.
Killian looked at him in confusion. “About what?”
David sighed and ran his hand over his face in frustration. “About the fact that her half sister might be involved in a murder.”
Well hello! I am so so sorry that this has taken me so long to get this out to you all. Life has been..a know life and the muse left me for so long. But I'm back and ready to bring you the rest of this story and many more. Since it's been 3 years (jeez) since this story was updated I'll provide a link below so you can get caught up. Also if you would like to be tagged in this and any future works let me know!
AFILAM A03 link = https://archiveofourown.org/works/34290355/chapters/85316980
Killian Jones had a feeling when he woke up that today was going to be a shit day and man did he bloody hate being right. As soon as he walked into headquarters this morning he knew something was very wrong. The lobby had been a flurry of activity with what looked like every single Guard member rushing around the room. When he had spotted his partner David Nolan and made his way over to him, Killian could tell by the look on his face that whatever happened, it was bad. But nothing could have prepared him for the scene he saw in the woods.
Sanctuaries were supposed to be sacred, protected places for outcasts or wayward travels and any violence against one was punishable by death. The building when they had come upon it was completely destroyed with only the outer structure remaining and once they crossed the threshold they saw the massacre that had occurred. Charred bodies littered the floor, unrecognizable except for the occasional fangs, horns and pointed ears to help identify the types of species that had been there. He had been examining one of the bodies when he heard David calling his name from the other side of the room. When Killian reached his partner, what he saw made him stop short.
Laying by what used to be the window was the body of a woman. The body wasn’t what made him stop short, it was the state the body had been in. Unlike the other bodies, this woman had been completely untouched by the fire. Her face was frozen in fear and agony and one of her hands was clutching her chest. Killian looked over at David in disbelief, then the older man pointed to the floor, there next to the body was a symbol traced in the ashes.
When he knelt down to get a better look at the symbol, Killian’s eyes widened, he immediately recognized it. His head snapped up to David’s, his partner's face conveying exactly what he was thinking, that this was worse than they had first thought. That symbol hadn't been seen in over Twenty Years and the individual who used it was long dead. How it ended up here is very troubling and it was for that very reason why David and him were now here at the Mill’s Coven.
Out of all the supernatural beings, he distrusted witches the most. At least with creatures like vampires or demons he knew what they were after, they had a clear goal in mind. With witches though, you could never quite know if they were being truthful or not and it was usually too late before you found out the truth.
That’s why he wasn’t buying the shocked look on the witch sitting across from him face. Witches were loyal to their coven. There was no way that they would say or do anything against one of their own.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean you think someone here had something to do with the murder?” The witch, Emma he believed her name was, said angrily. She was a beautiful woman. He thought so when he first saw her walking toward them earlier, all sweet smiles while welcoming them.
David turned and glared at him for the abruptness of his statement. “What my partner means, Ms. Swan, is we have come into some evidence that someone from this coven could be involved and we would like your input on the matter,” he said, trying to ease the tension he could feel between his partner and the woman in front of him.
Emma threw one last heated glare at the dark haired man before turning her attention back to Guard Member Nolan. “What kind of evidence do you have?”
David reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. Opening it he took out two photographes. "Ms. Swan, can you tell me if you recognize this woman?” he asked, passing her one of the pictures.
When Emma looked at the photo she gasped at the image. “Oh my God! That’s Glinda!” she exclaimed in horror.
“Glinda?” David asked.
“She’s one of our senior witches or she used to be.” Emma whispered, still not believing what she was seeing. “What happened to her?”
“I’m very sorry to say that she was in the sanctuary when it was burned down,” David told her sympathetically.
Emma looked up at him in confusion. “Why would Glina be in a sanctuary? She wasn’t running from anyone.”
David went to respond but was interrupted.
“What do you mean she used to be your most senior witch?” Killian asked sharply.
Emma turned to glare at him. “She left the coven. Relocated back to her hometown,” she responded through clenched teeth.
“When did she leave?” David inquired gently, hoping to put the young witch at ease after his partner's abrasiveness.
“She left about a week ago,” Emma said while still shooting daggers at Jones.
“Did she tell you, or anyone, why she was leaving?”David questioned further.
Emma turned to him and shook her head. “No. She left in a hurry. She didn’t even say goodbye to anyone.”
Killian scoffed.
“Do you have something to say?” Emma demanded.
“Aye. You're telling me that one of the most senior witches of your coven just up and left without any explanation and nobody found that the least bit suspicious. I thought you witch types were supposed to be smarter than that," Killian said harshly.
"Now you wait a damn minute! I don't know who you think you are but you have no right coming into this coven and speaking to me in this manner! I don't give two shits if you are a Guard Member!" Emma yelled, rising to her feet to stand in front of him. She knew she shouldn't be talking to him like this but he was being a dick.
Killian looked up at her speechless. He didn't expect that sort of reaction. She was gorgeous standing before him, blonde hair tousled and green eyes on fire. She was magnificent and if she hadn't been a witch he might have been tempted. Too bad that she was.
“Okay. Why don’t we all just calm down and take a deep breath," David suggested as he quickly rose and stood between them.
"I certainly hope you don't conduct all your investigations like this." Emma seethed All the while narrowing her eyes at Jones, who had the audacity to smirk at her.
"No. You'll have to excuse my partner, it seems he left his manners at home," David said, turning to Killian and silently telling him to shut the hell up. His partner rolled his eyes then gave him a quick nod of his head.
Emma sat back down trying her best not to pay Jones any attention. Taking a deep breath she faced Nolan. "I don't understand, Glinda didn't have any reason to seek shelter in a sanctuary. She wasn't cast out and she certainly didn't abandon us. What was she doing there?" she lamented, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Glinda was dead.
"It might have something to do with this," David said, passing her the other photo. "Does the symbol look familiar to you?"
Emma took the photo and frowned at the image, it was a little hard to make out what with it being traced in what she assumed was ashes. It was a dagger with what looked like a rose wrapped around the blade. "No. I've never seen this before. What is it? " She asked, handing back the photo.
David exchanged a quick glance at Killian silently communicating with his partner before turning back to the witch. "Ms. Swan.." except he didn’t get the chance to finish his question because a voice interrupted him.
“What on earth is going on here?”
All three heads turned toward the sound of the voice to see a dark haired woman walking towards them. She had the air of authority around her and judging by the look on her face, she was not pleased with the situation she walked in on.
“Regina,” Emma said as she hastily rose to her feet and out of the corner of her eye she saw the two men do the same. Her aunt looked as poised as ever but Emma could see a slight bit of nervousness that was uncommon for Regina. "These gentlemen are with the Guard."
"Yes. I know," Regina says matter of factly before turning toward Nolan. "Hello, David," she said in greeting, her tone oddly fond.
"Regina," David says coldly, his demeanor instantly changing in the presence of the woman.
Regina smirked slightly at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu family reunion?"
"We aren't family," David said harshly.
Emma and Killian looked at each other in confusion. Their mutual animosity was forgotten for a moment as they watched.
Killian looked at his partner in shock. "Wait a bloody minute. You know her David?"
“Unfortunately,” David responded.
“Oh! David you wound me,” the dark haired witch said mockingly.
“Enough! Regina we’re here on High Counsel business,” David said firmly
“What kind of business?” Regina asked in an annoyed tone.
“Glinda’s dead, Regina,” Emma informed her gently.
“What,” Regina says, clearly taken aback.
“There was a fire at a sanctuary, it was burned to the ground. Glinda was inside,” Emma explained.
“How do you know it was Glinda?” she asked, with a stricken look on her face.
Killian, having had enough of beating around the bush, grabbed the envelope out of David’s hand. “Because of these,” he said, taking the photos out and tossing them on the table. He watched as Regina took in the images before her. A sense of delight went through him as he saw her eyes widen. “Look familiar?” he asked, gesturing toward the photo of the dagger and rose symbol.
“That symbol has nothing to do with me,” Regina hissed in contempt.
“Regina, do you know what it means?” Emma asked her aunt.
“It’s nothing!” she said dismissively.
“Oh, you know it’s not nothing.” Killian said before turning to Emma. “It’s the insignia of a very dangerous dark magic user, one your aunt knows very well,” he said, throwing a smirk Regina’s way.
“You need to stop talking right now,” Regina said, taking a menacing step toward him.
“It’s the reason that she’s dead. The fire didn’t kill her,” Killian informed them, not backing down.
“What do you mean?” Emma asked.
“Our head healer came to the conclusion that Glinda’s heart was crushed from within,” David informed them while casting a pointed look at Regina.
Emma gasped. “That’s impossible! That’s a dark magic act and it’s been outlawed for centuries.”
“Darling, if you actually believe that, then you are more naive than I thought.” Killian
sneered at her.
Emma could feel herself start to tremble with rage at the man standing across from her. She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what kind of jackass he was but never got the chance because suddenly a loud bang rang out.
All eyes turned toward the sound. David had apparently taken out his sword and slammed it onto the table. “Enough! this isn’t doing us any good!” he said, his voice filled with anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Obviously we aren’t getting anywhere, so for right now we’ll be leaving,” he turned to look at Regina, “but make no mistake. We’ll be back.”
“David you can’t be serious,” Killian said, clearly not happy with his partner's decision.
“Let’s go,” The older man said as he picked his sword and the pictures up off the table.
Killian leveled a glare at the two witches before he turned and followed his partner to the door.
XXX
When they got outside Killian turned to David. “What the hell was that!?” He demanded.
“Not now, Killian,” David said through clenched teeth. He knew that coming here was going to be tough, but he thought he could handle it. He had almost breathed a sigh of relief when instead of Regina another witch had come to greet them. That relief was short lived of course when the woman he hated with every fiber of his being walked into the room. David would normally call himself a pretty level headed and calm person but he knew he had to get out of there before he did something he regretted. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before heading down the path towards their car.
“David. Would you hold on a minute,” Killian said once he caught up to his partner.
“What!” David snapped as he spun around to face the younger man.
Killian stopped in his tracks, slightly taken aback by the older man’s demeanor. “What’s gotten into you, David?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s just get back to the compound,” David said tersely before getting into the car and slamming the driver's side door behind him.
Killian stood there in shock until the sound of the car starting broke him out of it and he quickly got in the car. The drive was quiet, neither man said anything for fear of setting the other off. Killian stared out the window thinking back on the interview. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement and if he were being honest Killian was one of the main reasons why it was. He knew that he let his anger get the better of him and it might hurt the investigation to come.
Killian turned to look at David and a stab of guilt went through him. He owed the man literally everything, Killian would be dead in a ditch somewhere if it wasn’t for David. Before becoming a Guard Member, Killian’s life had been hell. His Mother had died when he was young leaving him and his older brother to be raised by their absentee father. Parenthood didn’t agree with their no good father anymore and after a few years, he left in the middle of the night and then it was just him and Liam on their own until..it was just him.
When David found him he was angry, vengeful and on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid. David had talked him down. He had brought Killian back with him to The Guard Headquarters and since then, David had been his mentor, partner and friend. Becoming a Guard Member had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had found a community of people that he loved and respected including David’s wife Mary Margaret, who welcomed him with open arms.
The car coming to a stop pulled Killain back to the present and saw that they had come to a stop in front of David and Mary Margaret’s house. “Dave. What are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be heading back to headquarters and briefing them on what happened?”
David didn’t look at his partner as he turned off the car, still too angry about everything that happened. If David was being honest he wasn’t really even all that mad at Killian’s behavior tonight. He knew how the younger man felt about witches, so he wasn’t entirely surprised by his reaction. No, David was angry because he had to go and tell his wife everything that happened tonight and he was not looking forward to it. With a deep sigh he opened the door and stepped into the cool night air.
“David what’s going on? Why are we here?” Killian asked again. Concerned about how quiet his partner was being.
David finally turned to look at Killian as the younger man came around the car and stood next to him. “I need to talk to Mary Margaret,” he said wearily.
Killian looked at him in confusion. “About what?”
David sighed and ran his hand over his face in frustration. “About the fact that her half sister might be involved in a murder.”
Well hello! I am so so sorry that this has taken me so long to get this out to you all. Life has been..a know life and the muse left me for so long. But I'm back and ready to bring you the rest of this story and many more. Since it's been 3 years (jeez) since this story was updated I'll provide a link below so you can get caught up. Also if you would like to be tagged in this and any future works let me know!
AFILAM A03 link = https://archiveofourown.org/works/34290355/chapters/85316980
Killian Jones had a feeling when he woke up that today was going to be a shit day and man did he bloody hate being right. As soon as he walked into headquarters this morning he knew something was very wrong. The lobby had been a flurry of activity with what looked like every single Guard member rushing around the room. When he had spotted his partner David Nolan and made his way over to him, Killian could tell by the look on his face that whatever happened, it was bad. But nothing could have prepared him for the scene he saw in the woods.
Sanctuaries were supposed to be sacred, protected places for outcasts or wayward travels and any violence against one was punishable by death. The building when they had come upon it was completely destroyed with only the outer structure remaining and once they crossed the threshold they saw the massacre that had occurred. Charred bodies littered the floor, unrecognizable except for the occasional fangs, horns and pointed ears to help identify the types of species that had been there. He had been examining one of the bodies when he heard David calling his name from the other side of the room. When Killian reached his partner, what he saw made him stop short.
Laying by what used to be the window was the body of a woman. The body wasn’t what made him stop short, it was the state the body had been in. Unlike the other bodies, this woman had been completely untouched by the fire. Her face was frozen in fear and agony and one of her hands was clutching her chest. Killian looked over at David in disbelief, then the older man pointed to the floor, there next to the body was a symbol traced in the ashes.
When he knelt down to get a better look at the symbol, Killian’s eyes widened, he immediately recognized it. His head snapped up to David’s, his partner's face conveying exactly what he was thinking, that this was worse than they had first thought. That symbol hadn't been seen in over Twenty Years and the individual who used it was long dead. How it ended up here is very troubling and it was for that very reason why David and him were now here at the Mill’s Coven.
Out of all the supernatural beings, he distrusted witches the most. At least with creatures like vampires or demons he knew what they were after, they had a clear goal in mind. With witches though, you could never quite know if they were being truthful or not and it was usually too late before you found out the truth.
That’s why he wasn’t buying the shocked look on the witch sitting across from him face. Witches were loyal to their coven. There was no way that they would say or do anything against one of their own.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean you think someone here had something to do with the murder?” The witch, Emma he believed her name was, said angrily. She was a beautiful woman. He thought so when he first saw her walking toward them earlier, all sweet smiles while welcoming them.
David turned and glared at him for the abruptness of his statement. “What my partner means, Ms. Swan, is we have come into some evidence that someone from this coven could be involved and we would like your input on the matter,” he said, trying to ease the tension he could feel between his partner and the woman in front of him.
Emma threw one last heated glare at the dark haired man before turning her attention back to Guard Member Nolan. “What kind of evidence do you have?”
David reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. Opening it he took out two photographes. "Ms. Swan, can you tell me if you recognize this woman?” he asked, passing her one of the pictures.
When Emma looked at the photo she gasped at the image. “Oh my God! That’s Glinda!” she exclaimed in horror.
“Glinda?” David asked.
“She’s one of our senior witches or she used to be.” Emma whispered, still not believing what she was seeing. “What happened to her?”
“I’m very sorry to say that she was in the sanctuary when it was burned down,” David told her sympathetically.
Emma looked up at him in confusion. “Why would Glina be in a sanctuary? She wasn’t running from anyone.”
David went to respond but was interrupted.
“What do you mean she used to be your most senior witch?” Killian asked sharply.
Emma turned to glare at him. “She left the coven. Relocated back to her hometown,” she responded through clenched teeth.
“When did she leave?” David inquired gently, hoping to put the young witch at ease after his partner's abrasiveness.
“She left about a week ago,” Emma said while still shooting daggers at Jones.
“Did she tell you, or anyone, why she was leaving?”David questioned further.
Emma turned to him and shook her head. “No. She left in a hurry. She didn’t even say goodbye to anyone.”
Killian scoffed.
“Do you have something to say?” Emma demanded.
“Aye. You're telling me that one of the most senior witches of your coven just up and left without any explanation and nobody found that the least bit suspicious. I thought you witch types were supposed to be smarter than that," Killian said harshly.
"Now you wait a damn minute! I don't know who you think you are but you have no right coming into this coven and speaking to me in this manner! I don't give two shits if you are a Guard Member!" Emma yelled, rising to her feet to stand in front of him. She knew she shouldn't be talking to him like this but he was being a dick.
Killian looked up at her speechless. He didn't expect that sort of reaction. She was gorgeous standing before him, blonde hair tousled and green eyes on fire. She was magnificent and if she hadn't been a witch he might have been tempted. Too bad that she was.
“Okay. Why don’t we all just calm down and take a deep breath," David suggested as he quickly rose and stood between them.
"I certainly hope you don't conduct all your investigations like this." Emma seethed All the while narrowing her eyes at Jones, who had the audacity to smirk at her.
"No. You'll have to excuse my partner, it seems he left his manners at home," David said, turning to Killian and silently telling him to shut the hell up. His partner rolled his eyes then gave him a quick nod of his head.
Emma sat back down trying her best not to pay Jones any attention. Taking a deep breath she faced Nolan. "I don't understand, Glinda didn't have any reason to seek shelter in a sanctuary. She wasn't cast out and she certainly didn't abandon us. What was she doing there?" she lamented, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Glinda was dead.
"It might have something to do with this," David said, passing her the other photo. "Does the symbol look familiar to you?"
Emma took the photo and frowned at the image, it was a little hard to make out what with it being traced in what she assumed was ashes. It was a dagger with what looked like a rose wrapped around the blade. "No. I've never seen this before. What is it? " She asked, handing back the photo.
David exchanged a quick glance at Killian silently communicating with his partner before turning back to the witch. "Ms. Swan.." except he didn’t get the chance to finish his question because a voice interrupted him.
“What on earth is going on here?”
All three heads turned toward the sound of the voice to see a dark haired woman walking towards them. She had the air of authority around her and judging by the look on her face, she was not pleased with the situation she walked in on.
“Regina,” Emma said as she hastily rose to her feet and out of the corner of her eye she saw the two men do the same. Her aunt looked as poised as ever but Emma could see a slight bit of nervousness that was uncommon for Regina. "These gentlemen are with the Guard."
"Yes. I know," Regina says matter of factly before turning toward Nolan. "Hello, David," she said in greeting, her tone oddly fond.
"Regina," David says coldly, his demeanor instantly changing in the presence of the woman.
Regina smirked slightly at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu family reunion?"
"We aren't family," David said harshly.
Emma and Killian looked at each other in confusion. Their mutual animosity was forgotten for a moment as they watched.
Killian looked at his partner in shock. "Wait a bloody minute. You know her David?"
“Unfortunately,” David responded.
“Oh! David you wound me,” the dark haired witch said mockingly.
“Enough! Regina we’re here on High Counsel business,” David said firmly
“What kind of business?” Regina asked in an annoyed tone.
“Glinda’s dead, Regina,” Emma informed her gently.
“What,” Regina says, clearly taken aback.
“There was a fire at a sanctuary, it was burned to the ground. Glinda was inside,” Emma explained.
“How do you know it was Glinda?” she asked, with a stricken look on her face.
Killian, having had enough of beating around the bush, grabbed the envelope out of David’s hand. “Because of these,” he said, taking the photos out and tossing them on the table. He watched as Regina took in the images before her. A sense of delight went through him as he saw her eyes widen. “Look familiar?” he asked, gesturing toward the photo of the dagger and rose symbol.
“That symbol has nothing to do with me,” Regina hissed in contempt.
“Regina, do you know what it means?” Emma asked her aunt.
“It’s nothing!” she said dismissively.
“Oh, you know it’s not nothing.” Killian said before turning to Emma. “It’s the insignia of a very dangerous dark magic user, one your aunt knows very well,” he said, throwing a smirk Regina’s way.
“You need to stop talking right now,” Regina said, taking a menacing step toward him.
“It’s the reason that she’s dead. The fire didn’t kill her,” Killian informed them, not backing down.
“What do you mean?” Emma asked.
“Our head healer came to the conclusion that Glinda’s heart was crushed from within,” David informed them while casting a pointed look at Regina.
Emma gasped. “That’s impossible! That’s a dark magic act and it’s been outlawed for centuries.”
“Darling, if you actually believe that, then you are more naive than I thought.” Killian
sneered at her.
Emma could feel herself start to tremble with rage at the man standing across from her. She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what kind of jackass he was but never got the chance because suddenly a loud bang rang out.
All eyes turned toward the sound. David had apparently taken out his sword and slammed it onto the table. “Enough! this isn’t doing us any good!” he said, his voice filled with anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Obviously we aren’t getting anywhere, so for right now we’ll be leaving,” he turned to look at Regina, “but make no mistake. We’ll be back.”
“David you can’t be serious,” Killian said, clearly not happy with his partner's decision.
“Let’s go,” The older man said as he picked his sword and the pictures up off the table.
Killian leveled a glare at the two witches before he turned and followed his partner to the door.
XXX
When they got outside Killian turned to David. “What the hell was that!?” He demanded.
“Not now, Killian,” David said through clenched teeth. He knew that coming here was going to be tough, but he thought he could handle it. He had almost breathed a sigh of relief when instead of Regina another witch had come to greet them. That relief was short lived of course when the woman he hated with every fiber of his being walked into the room. David would normally call himself a pretty level headed and calm person but he knew he had to get out of there before he did something he regretted. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before heading down the path towards their car.
“David. Would you hold on a minute,” Killian said once he caught up to his partner.
“What!” David snapped as he spun around to face the younger man.
Killian stopped in his tracks, slightly taken aback by the older man’s demeanor. “What’s gotten into you, David?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s just get back to the compound,” David said tersely before getting into the car and slamming the driver's side door behind him.
Killian stood there in shock until the sound of the car starting broke him out of it and he quickly got in the car. The drive was quiet, neither man said anything for fear of setting the other off. Killian stared out the window thinking back on the interview. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement and if he were being honest Killian was one of the main reasons why it was. He knew that he let his anger get the better of him and it might hurt the investigation to come.
Killian turned to look at David and a stab of guilt went through him. He owed the man literally everything, Killian would be dead in a ditch somewhere if it wasn’t for David. Before becoming a Guard Member, Killian’s life had been hell. His Mother had died when he was young leaving him and his older brother to be raised by their absentee father. Parenthood didn’t agree with their no good father anymore and after a few years, he left in the middle of the night and then it was just him and Liam on their own until..it was just him.
When David found him he was angry, vengeful and on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid. David had talked him down. He had brought Killian back with him to The Guard Headquarters and since then, David had been his mentor, partner and friend. Becoming a Guard Member had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had found a community of people that he loved and respected including David’s wife Mary Margaret, who welcomed him with open arms.
The car coming to a stop pulled Killain back to the present and saw that they had come to a stop in front of David and Mary Margaret’s house. “Dave. What are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be heading back to headquarters and briefing them on what happened?”
David didn’t look at his partner as he turned off the car, still too angry about everything that happened. If David was being honest he wasn’t really even all that mad at Killian’s behavior tonight. He knew how the younger man felt about witches, so he wasn’t entirely surprised by his reaction. No, David was angry because he had to go and tell his wife everything that happened tonight and he was not looking forward to it. With a deep sigh he opened the door and stepped into the cool night air.
“David what’s going on? Why are we here?” Killian asked again. Concerned about how quiet his partner was being.
David finally turned to look at Killian as the younger man came around the car and stood next to him. “I need to talk to Mary Margaret,” he said wearily.
Killian looked at him in confusion. “About what?”
David sighed and ran his hand over his face in frustration. “About the fact that her half sister might be involved in a murder.”
Okay so I am posting an old tag list I found in my docs. If you have changed your user name and still would like to be tagged in my stories please let in. Also if you would ssither still liked to be tagged or untagged from my stories also let me know.
So I went back and read through a couple of my WIP and I actually got inspired to start writing on one of them again! The story in question is "All's Fair In Love And Magic." It's about witches, all things supernatural and staring our favorite couple Captain Swan. If you are interested in reading it the link will be below. I was already 3/4 of the way done when the muse left me so hopefully I can maintain my inspirational and finish it soon! Wish me luck! 🤞
Hello! It's been..awhile. Lol. Life's just been, a know. I hope everything is going well with everyone and I do hope to get back to being more involved in Tumblr again. I also have the itch to start writing some Captain Swan fic again so hopefully that comes true soon. So yeah, I'm back. Missed you all!
captain swan is so funny because killian is in the midst of a multi-hundred year revenge plot and then he meets emma and goes "oh. turns out i am still capable of love. yeah im gonna go do that instead"
So this past week I maybe, possibly found my muse again. I have actually been writing a little bit each day and it feels good. I don't want to promise anything because I've don't that before and I haven't followed through but tentatively I may have something new soon.
