A/N: Sorry its been so long here's what's happened in case you forgot
In the present Leopold and Leia have met, Killian stopped one of Leia's friends from beating Leopold up and Emma and Leo have talked in her office about what Leopold thinks happened, she hasn't really explained everything that really happened yet though.
In the past Emma has found out she is pregnant again and she and Killian are headed to Regina's to find out if Zelina's behind it somehow.
Realm- The land of second chances (Storybrooke)
Time- present
It took some convincing but eventually Leopold climbed into Emma's 'Yellow Bug' as she described it. He hadn't yet covered cars in his basic technology class and therefore was wary about getting in the phantom horse's carriage. Emma had laughed when he had called it that and when he looked quizzically at her, was surprised to learn that Captain Jones had almost exactly the same reaction to cars.
When they were both in the bug and had seatbelts on (which was another hassle in itself) Emma drove away from the large car park of the grand castle where he had come through the portal this morning. They drove onto the forest road in silence as they made their decent into town.
Despite the circumstances, the road was like something out of a painting. One of those hanging in the many rooms of his castle, depicting some of the most beautiful places in the kingdom and often given as a gift to the royal family. Trees towered around them, not another thing in sight. Just the trees. It gave the impression that all that existed in this world was them and the road. It was everything he ever wanted as a child. Quiet! Away from the hustle and bustle of all the servants and residents in the palace. So why did it feel so much like he was suffocating? It was probably that he was about to sleep in a house that Jones was also sleeping in. Or that he would have to face Leia again.
True he had had English with her as well as communications but they had been sat on the opposite side of the room from each other. English was awful, as well as having Leia in that class, all her friends were there too. The teacher, a lovely woman called Belle, was an angel about it and carried out his request not to be seated near any of them.
"I ran away because I didn't want to marry a man I didn't love." Emma whispered suddenly causing Leopold to snap his head in her direction surprised. He was so lost in thought that he had almost forgotten about their conversation, almost forgotten she was even in the car. Almost.
What was that supposed to mean anyway? She ran away? Didn't she love Neal? He really shouldn't be that surprised, Emma thought she was in love with Jones and she couldn't exactly love both of them. He still expected her to have loved Neal at some point though, with the way Neal had spoken of her like she was his entire world. He sort of expected Neal to be hers as well, expected that when they found each other again to have another announcement of true love in the kingdom. There would be a ball and a grand celebration. Neal had to be her true love. Didn't he? Maybe he is, maybe he can break whatever spell Jones put on her with true love's kiss!
That's what it had to be. A spell, it had to be. It had to, because if it wasn't, well, he didn't want to think about what that meant.
He knew that's not what she wanted to hear though. So he stayed quiet, while he formed his plan in the back of his head.
Emma took his silence as an opportunity to carry on her tale. "I met Killian and he asked if I wanted to join his crew, I accepted, obviously. At first I told myself it was because I needed to get out of the kingdom and couldn't stay in one place too long, piracy was perfect and it would piss off mother and father so that's an added bonus. However, now I think its because I was drawn to Killian since the day we first met, like it was destiny for us to meet." A wistful smile crossed her face as she thought of her beloved, thought of all the years of adventure they'd had together. She loved him so much and if she lost him now she didn't think she'd be able to cope.
"Shortly after I joined, Blackbeard showed up and made a bet with Killian. Basically they would duel and if Blackbeard won, Killian would surrender his ship and life to Blackbeard and if he won, Blackbeard would release his sister. Naturally he agreed." Leopold was socked at this new information he had always been told Jones was heartless, that he cared for no one. To hear he put his life on the line for his sister was absurd to him. "So there was obviously a fight and the entire crew of both ships ended up being involved. The first time Killian saved my life was during that. Leia kind of saved herself and the two of us became really good friends very quickly."
'The first time.' Did that mean Jones had saved Emma's life on multiple occasions? Leopold ended up chalking it up to the fact that it was probably the spell making her think that. He nodded and said okay, in a voice that suggested that he was still trying to absorb all of the information. Emma waited a minute before continuing her tale.
"I'll admit, I was falling for Killian. Fast. It scared me at first so I ignored it and denied it. He did the same. It would have happened on it's own it just would have taken a long time. Us getting together I mean." Emma added on the end when she saw Leopold was looking a bit lost.
"It didn't happen on its own?" This was the first thing he really said about the story since Emma had told him she and Killian were lovers and she was relived to know he still had the ability to ask questions. She gets it, even she would have been just as shocked in his situation. The things he must've heard about Killian. She only hoped Killian would be his usual loving self so that Leopold knew there was nothing to be frightened of in him. He was really just a big cuddly teddy-bear.
"No it didn't. We were stubborn, refused to accept our feelings. Leia was stubborn too though, she locked us on deck together because she was sick of seeing that we were crazy for each other and not doing anything about it. That's when we started courting." Again all Leopold did was nod and so Emma continued. "We had a plan to go to slip into the Green Flower ball and loot the place. You mentioned he was with a woman," Emma addressed Leopold directly, referring to his version of events and he nodded. "That was me." She confirmed and if he was surprised by this he didn't show it. He was probably expecting it though.
"We didn't know they were gonna be there or we wouldn't have gone" Emma said it so quietly that if he wasn't so intently listening he wouldn't have heard at all. He knew that this is were things went wrong for the pirates, going to that ball. Emma was a part of them now so things that went right for his parents went wrong for his sister. That was just weird. Everything about this is so weird. "They must have been following us since the ball. When Killian lost that fight on the deck of the Roger I was watching through a crack in the door. I couldn't watch him die. I couldn't. I just couldn't" She had to close her eyes and breathe for a second.
Why did you think this was a good conversation to have while driving? Because you want to get home. That's why. You should be home already. You should have driven home with Killian in the passenger seat, the two of you smirking at each other whilst the girls argue over what to put on the radio. But nooooo. Your parents brainwashed your brother against your fiancé and you have to fix it. Thanks a lot mum and dad.
When Emma's internal screaming at herself ceased she realised that she had been gripping the steering wheel incredibly hard and had been silent for some time. Leopold was looking at her confused. First she had seemed close to tears, then she seemed like she was daydreaming then she looked like she was going to kill someone. Now she just looked emotionless. Even her tone was void of emotion when she continued to talk. "I couldn't watch him die, so I gave myself away. I got back to the palace and I was more miserable than I ever was in that birthplace of all hellish nightmares." She paused but only for a second and when she spoke this time, the emotion was back. "When I found out I was pregnant I knew that we needed to get out of there. I was not going to let my child grow up the way I did." That was stranger to him than anything he had heard that day. Why take a child away from its father. Neal would have loved his child so much. Her childhood couldn't have been so bad that she would feel the need to take Neal's child away from him. Could it? "I went to the dungeons in secret and told Killian. We made a plan to get out of there, it was supposed to be flawless. It wasn't. The plan relied on them being hung and not shot but what we hadn't been able to plan for was that the guy who hung people was ill at the last minute so it all had to be changed."
Emma took another pause. Whatever she was about to say was going to be hard. It did sound like she genuinely thought she loved him. This spell was going to be harder to break than he thought.
"We thought they were all going to die. I was, I couldn't, I, I was so distraught that I couldn't think of anything but how I needed him to live. I needed him to survive for me, for Leia, for our child." A single tear dropped onto her cheek and he realised why she so desperately needed to leave. The child wasn't Neal's. It was Jones'.
Everything made a ton more sense now. Some bits were still confusing but things were a bit more obvious. Neal never wanted to talk about how he never got to be a father because he was never going to be one in the first place. He knew. He knew it wasn't his. Did he know about Emma's romance with the Captain as well? No. He couldn't. He was still under the impression when they found her that she was still in love with him. Maybe she will again. Maybe Neal will use true loves kiss to break the spell and they will all live happily ever after. He had to be sure first though. He had to be.
This child. It was Leia, wasn't it? She looked so much like her father except for her eyes. Now he knew why they were so familiar. They were Emma's. He had been staring into his sisters eyes as he spilled his guts to his sisters portrait in his weekly ritual. The one he had been doing since he was six. He should have recognised them instantly. They had a sparkle in real life that the portrait didn't do justice. He wondered if that was even there when the portrait was painted.
He didn't have much time to think anymore of that as Emma blundered on. "He couldn't die. I needed him to live. That's all I could think about. Killian thought he was going to die as well. He saw no way out. I didn't either to be honest. You said earlier that Killian used magic to transport us into the forest somewhere. He didn't. I was the one who used magic." Leopold wasn't as surprised as he should have been. Professor Locksley explained to him his magic came from the true love his parents shared. He didn't know much more about it than that but if he had magic surely Emma did too. That would also explain why she was his sorcery teacher. His parents are going to call him crazy when he tells them.
"I didn't even know I had magic. I think I stopped time, but only in a certain area and not for me or any of the other crew members. A friend of mine explained it to me shortly after we came here. Apparently magic that's been repressed gets less likely to come out after you hit puberty and beyond that point, it must take an incredibly strong emotion to set it free. Mother and father hate magic as you probably know and they told me my whole life to stay away from it and it was evil. That was how they repressed it. In that moment, when Killian was about to die, I felt nothing but despair, it was eating me up inside I felt like it was crushing me. I closed my eyes and flung my hand out in front of me, as if it would shield him, I just wanted it to stop. So I shouted that, stop. Then it did. The time I mean. I let them all go and we ran into the forest and when I got too far away from the area I'd frozen, time started again. To them no time had passed and it looked like we just disappeared. While we were running we heard them behind us right on our tail, Killian got scared that he was going to die before we got to the ship and pulled me behind a tree. Me being me tried to tell him that whatever it was could wait, then he proposed. It was perfect and to be honest perfectly summed up our relationship." Her smile was bright and when Leopold looked at her finger, sure enough there was a gold band with an emerald gem in the middle. The emerald had a strange tint to it and Leopold noticed that it was almost the exact same shade as her eyes. It wasn't a ring suited for a princess, not nearly big enough, nor was it a diamond. Leopold however had a feeling Emma would have hated a large diamond engagement ring and that Jones knew her a lot better than Neal did. After all pirates had a particular eye for the perfect treasure.
Her expression turned melancholic as she thought of the next part of her story, Leia deserved justice and she'd be damned if she didn't do right by her best friend. "When we broke the tree line Leia was waiting for us. I was so ecstatic, I just couldn't wait until we were safe. I just had to tell her right away." Thank goodness she reached the end of their road when she did, she put the car in park outside their house behind Killian's mini-van. Leopold didn't seem to notice they'd even stopped he just watched her intently waiting for the next part of her story. "It's my fault. She was admiring the ring and none of us saw Snow and David break the tree line. She shot Leia. If I'd have just waited then maybe she'd still be with us. I just couldn't wait. It's my fault. My fault. It's all my fault!"
If the car wasn't parked she would have crashed it, she was certain. Why did she have to crack like this in front of him. She wanted to prove she wasn't the weak little princess he thought she was. She needed to stop herself from crying. How she hadn't broken into tears and sobs by now was a mystery. She could cry later, in her room with Killian there to comfort her, or sob with her. Probably both, but right now she needed to put on a smiley face and walk into her house like she hadn't almost lost all control.
"Anyway. Were here, so come on I'll get your things from the back." And with that final thought she hopped out of the car and headed to get his things.
Here goes nothing, Leopold whispered to himself before getting out to follow her.
Realm- The land of second chances (Storybrooke)
Time- 12 years ago
"Yeah, your right it seems really fishy." Regina stated pacing around the room in front of the sofa Emma and Killian were sitting on. "I think its highly probable that Zelina is behind it." She finally stopped pacing and turned to look at them.
"Why would she do that though? I don't understand. Why would she care if we had another child?" Emma asked as Killian squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Also is that all she did or did she do something else." Killian voiced what they were all thinking.
"Stop with the questions would you I'm almost finished." Regina was standing by her 'workspace' now. She told them she would be able to make a potion that would reveal any spells cast on a person in the past three months. Naturally, when Regina turned to them with the vial of purple liquid in her hands, both their chests tightened with anticipation. What if something went wrong? What if Emma was cursed in some way? What if their child was somehow affected?
Regina didn't wait for an invitation, she just poured the liquid straight on Emma. It wasn't sticky or even wet like she expected, it was cold though, it felt like what she thinks ice mist feels like if it was running away from her off of your skin. It rippled off her in bitter waves that nipped at her skin and caused an array of shivers down her spine every time. It almost burned her, but with cold. It was a sensation she didn't really know how to feel about.
She felt Killian's hand squeeze hers tighter in his grip and registered that she couldn't see him. In fact she couldn't see anything. Her eyes fluttered open from whenever she closed them, and saw Regina stood in front of her, eyes also squeezed shut in concentration a purple glow coming from her hands.
When Regina looked at the couple on the sofa once again she had all the answers she needed.
"Well? Did it work?" Killian never let go of Emma's hand and only squeezed it tighter as he awaited the answer to his question.
"Yes." Regina sat in her armchair across from them and held up a finger to silence Killian when he opened his mouth to ask something else. "Zelina cast a spell on you that made you highly fertile." Regina was addressing Emma now. "She made it so that it's almost certain you would be pregnant."
"Is that all." Emma asked when it became apparent Regina was not going to continue.
After a moment of hesitation, Regina answered her "In a way, yes. You know that all magic comes with a price, right?"
"Yes?"
"Well, because your child was conceived under magic, Zelina's dark magic will interfere with the magic of true love that should have been passed on to her."
"What does that mean?" Emma whispered resting a hand on her stomach, in fear for her baby.
"Only that they will not be as powerful. I said Leia would be extremely powerful because she will be the product of two generations true love. This baby should have been only just slightly less powerful but still more powerful than we can know. Now, the child will not have as much magical potential, the baby will still have strong magic it just won't be as strong as it should be. Does that make sense?"
Emma and Killian looked at each other for a second before answering "Yeah" they both said in unison.
"What doesn't make sense is why. Why in all the realms would she want our child?" Killian asked.
"I don't know but I think she did it on purpose. The less powerful thing I mean." At Emma and Killian's confused looks Regina continued. "Think about it, you already have a child, and a young one at that. If she wanted a baby why not take Leia a few days after she got out. No. She needs a child who isn't as powerful as that. For what, I don't know."
Emma and Killian looked at each other in understanding. Then Killian put his hand over Emma's that was still resting on her baby bump.
"Didn't Belle open up that library under the clocktower a month or so ago? She's smart, and seems to know a lot about magic, she certainly has loads of books on it and I trust her. We should get her to have a look and see if she can find anything." Emma suggested seeming happy with Killian and Regina's nods of agreement. "Great we will fill her in on our way home." She directed the last part at her fiancé and they both got up and thanked Regina on their way out. It had been a long day and both of them couldn't wait to get back to the loft and get some sleep.
A/N: I am so sorry, I jinxed myself, oops. I will not abandon this story it its literally my life. I don't really have time to write a proper AN so I don't know when the next chapter will be out but I've planned it and its my favourite chapter so far and I love it.
Bye for now
-A