I can't believe it. The final chapter... *happy but sad tears* I will still have an epilogue and of course and final A/N for this two and a half year journey (it's already in progress), but still. I hope you guys enjoy the final obstacles of Emma and Killian's (alternate) life, and please let me know what you think! I love you all so so much, and I never would have enjoyed writing as much as I do know had it not been for everyone would reads, votes, comments, and supports my books.
I'm getting emotional, I'M SORRY!!! On with the chapter, and enjoy!!!!!!
Also warning!!!, there is a small bit of previously thought of depression mentioned in this, it's nothing big, but just in case you wanted skip over it...
XXX
Emma grabbed Killian's hand, pulling him along quickly towards the end of the dungeon. Though he shivered, his clothes ripped from all the abuse, he gritted his jaw tightly. Charles followed behind them quietly, not even bothering to speak up.
"Killian?" Emma tried to get through to him, make him see past all the blind rage he held towards the Dark One. She wanted him to be rational, to calm down and think about the situation before he rushed into the mess, guns blazing.
It had nothing to do with jealously, Emma could care less that her pirate was still vengeful over his past lover's death. She understood.
It was cruel for the Dark One to murder Milah right in front of Killian. It was wrong for him to make Killian stand and watch.
Hook blamed himself for her death, that much Emma knew for sure. She could see it, straight through his fiery eyes, the way his fingers curled at even the mere memory of what happened on the ship that cool summer afternoon.
He kept walking while ignoring her protests, determination written all over his features. "The Dark One is here for me, Emma." Killian could hear the screams, but tried to keep them out of his head. "He won't leave until I'm dead. He wants to finish the battle."
Emma nearly passed out from all the emotions exploding in her gut. "Just think this through, Killian!"
"There's nothing to consider. If the Dark One wants my life, he shall have it." Killian responded, stepping in a puddle, mud flying up and splattering all over his leather boots.
"And what of me?" Emma suddenly stopped, pulling Killian to an abrupt halt next to her. "Killian, I risked my life to save you. My reputation, my family, my everything. And this is how you're going to repay me! By going on a suicide mission?" A burst of anger flooded her. The emerald eyes on her face lit up to a poisonous green.
"Emma, innocent people are dying!" He reprimanded.
"Killian Jones, I love you!" She shot back. "I can't live without you, I can't watch you waltz out there as the Dark One kills you."
"You can live without me."
She threw her head back, angry tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "No, I can't." She shook her head. "If you let yourself do this, you're no better than Rumpelstiltskin when he killed Milah." Emma scowled.
"I-" Killian gave a sour face, but then his harshness dropped away. He shuddered, and sighed, leaning in to kiss Emma softly.
She tried to stand her ground, but melted immediately, pressing herself closely against Killian's chest. He was cold, and Emma's skin was unexplainably warm. She returned his kiss softly, moaning as his hand trailed down her back.
"I'm sorry, Emma," he whispered quietly against her lips. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me. No one innocent. Not your family, not you..." Killian trailed off, rubbing his fingers through his hair.
Emma grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly as she laced her's through his. His hand held scratches, calluses, bruises from days past, but it suited him. It suited the way he hid his true softness and gentleness behind his rough exterior.
"I hate to break up this moment, but we gotta keep moving," Charles interrupted, causing Emma to suddenly realize that her and Killian and been staring at each other a little too long.
She blushed slightly with a smile, nodding. It was so hard not to get caught up in the ocean that was Killian's eyes.
The pirate smiled, but nodded quickly. "He's right. We can't just wait around down here. We have to do something."
They could still hear the screams outside, but they seemed to be getting louder the longer they waited. It was as if Rumpelstiltskin knew where they were, knew that they were hiding, but it wasn't his style to come after them. He would wait, torture people until he eventually brought them out of their temporary haven.
Emma saw his distraction, and tugged on his sleeve a little, pulling him back to her. He tried to force a smile, just for the princess's sake, but it was nearly impossible in the current situation.
She nodded, as if understanding everything he was thinking. "Come on, we need to go meet up with August and the crew." They walked back towards the direction of the dungeon, away from the chaos outside. Killian shuddered in the cool air.
They walked around for a few minutes, everyone too wrapped up in their own minds to speak. Emma lead the way, the only one who actually knew where she was going. Suddenly, after a while, Emma let out a small scream as the turned the corner.
Her and August collided, and had it not been for them both gripping each other tightly for support, they would have flown backwards across the ground.
"Emma!" August exclaimed in surprise. "Finally, we've been looking for you for ages!"
Killian noticed August and Emma engaged in a conversation, but his attention was drawn to the scraggly looking crew that hovered behind August's shoulder.
His heart raced as he saw them, and a frown came over his face when he noticed how few had made it out alive. Smee, Porter, and Kane were all present, as well as about ten others. Though compared to other dangerous missions they went on, a fair amount had made it out alive, but not as many as Killian had prayed for. He was surprised at how much he felt for them. Not only had he lost faithful followers, but also friends that he hadn't, until this moment, appreciated.
He was a terrible human being, and Killian wasn't sure why that just recently dawned upon him.
Emma's bright green eyes tore him back to reality, a forceful and comforting look plastered on her face. "Killian? Are you..."
He nodded in affirmation, knowing the question she was inevitably going to ask. "I'm ready. Let's get this over with, and get the hell out of this place."
Emma looked a little offended that he had so much disrespect for her ex-home, but it was hard not to... Especially with the Killian and his crew had been treated. It was easy to hate a place where you had been starved, tortured, and nearly killed.
The crew hurrahed, cheering Killian on for a speech. Though he wasn't exactly in the mood for any type of motivation, the fascinated and proud looks of the crew were enough to change his mind.
"Alright," he cleared his throat, but before he could say anything more, he noticed Charles exchanging a few words with Emma. She nodded her head as he turned to leave. Killian could see the underlying worry on her face, but she still nodded to him anyways, so that he could continue.
Killian cleared bis throat again, thinking over what he was going to say. He needed to rally the sailors, his troops. He needed to get ready for a fight.
But then, the more he thought, the more he realized that this was his battle. This was not his crew's, not Charles', and it sure as hell wasn't Emma's...
He had spent nearly his whole life dragging people down with him, spilling their blood, making them fight his wars for him. But no more.
This time, Killian would not go out their with the intention of dying in the process. No, Killian would win this, however much of his life it took. But he would do it alone.
A new determination came through Killian's eyes. No longer did he have a death sentence, no longer was he going on a suicide mission... He was ready to beat the Dark One once and for all.
"Men," he began, looking to each one of the members of his crew. "For three-hundred years I've waited for this moment. For the Crocodile to return. I've spent nearly my whole lifetime tracking down ways to kill him, to avenge Milah."
Killian pulled the vial of Dreamshade out of his pocket, where he kept it safely tucked away in case something like this ever happened. Killian had never been more thankful for that small vial of black poison in his life.
Though, more than once, it had been a threat to him. It would have been so easy just to down that poison and get the pain over with.
But no. Killian was a survivor, a fighter. He always had been, and he would continue to be until the day he died. He had always had something to live for, an endgame. Killian thought that would be killing the Dark One for what he did to Milah.
But now that he had Emma, there was a whole new life in store for him. He had never been so thankful for those three-hundred years in his Neverland. If it hadn't been for that hellish island, he never would have met the love of his life.
The crowd cheered for him, as if expecting a speech from him on how they would all fight as one unit. How wrong they were...
"Which is why," Killian continued after their yells died down, "I must do this alone."
Silence.
Not a sound.
"Captain," Smee finally spoke. "You're crazy if you think we'll let you do this by yourself."
Killian sighed. He knew that this wouldn't go down without a fight, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to it. "Smee, trust me. I've lived a long life, and—"
"I haven't?" He countered. "Porter? Kane?" Smee glanced to the other crew mates. "Cap'n, we've been to Hell together and back again, and you expect us just to let you go out there alone?"
Killian nodded his head. "I don't want any of you to get killed." He answered sincerely, surprised by his own words. Since when had he cared whether his crew lived, died, or sacrificed themselves on his behalf? "Too many of you have passed because of me, I've spilt more blood than you could even imagine."
"I can imagine!" Smee shouted. "I was there!" He shook his head, sighing. "I stuck with you for a reason, Killian. I could have packed my bags and left at any time—"
"You were scared of me," Killian said.
"No. I was scared for you. It wasn't hard to see what you would become. I wanted to help you, and as much as you don't believe it, I am your friend. We all are. Now, Cap'n, you are going to let us come with you, or so help me, I'll kill you myself," Smee said with his dark eyes narrowed.
Killian didn't expect to see so much of a fight. The other pirates rallied, shouted, cheered even. They agreed with Smee, and they wanted to help their Captain.
"Do you really think we would let you do something so stupid alone?" Emma asked, turning his shocked gaze away from Smee. "I don't want you to do this, Killian, but trust me... I would sacrifice everything just to see us all make it out of this alive."
Killian was suddenly filled with a rush of passion for the woman in front of him. Emma was so strong, so beautiful, and she understood.
After sending a nod to his crew, he rushed up to Emma and kissed the hell out of her. It wasn't much, and it didn't nearly last long enough.
But it meant so much for both of them.
"Emma," Killian murmured against her lips, eyes close. "I love you so much, do you understand that?"
Emma began to speak as she nodded, but Killian cut her off.
"So if anything goes wrong here, if you die... I'll never be able to forgive myself. One mistake, Emma, and you run like hell, you hear me? You don't turn around to save me, leave me there." Killian's hands curled around the sword that swung at her hips. He smiled, remembering that day that was really not so long ago.
Emma looked down, seeing how Killian was looking at it. She went to get it off her waist, but he stopped her, pulling her hands away.
"I know it was Milah's," she said quietly. "So why did you give it to me? Especially when she meant so much to you, and I didn't at the time...?"
Killian felt a bit embarrassed, but a small grin played at his lips. "I had a hunch about you," he admitted. "And I was right." He closed his eyes, silently praying to any God that would listen. "That's why I need you to promise
me that you'll stay out of trouble."
Emma sealed her lips together tightly, not saying a word.
Killian's eyes locked with her, pleading with her. "Emma, promise me!"
She took a shaky breath, throwing her arms around him, holding back the tears. She nodded frantically. "I love you, Killian!" Emma pulled away, wiping away the wetness from her face. "I promise."
Killian still felt a bit of unease in his chest, but he didn't let that faze him. He watched as Emma walked back and stood with August. He turned away, not bearing to think that this could be the last time he would see Emma. Thoughts like that would only drag him down.
"Alright," he said with the strongest voice he could muster. "Let's get to it."
Killian led them along quickly, not stopping until he could see the stars shimmering above in the sky. Standing in the gallows, it was almost too iconic, too coincidental.
Already there were so many bodies. Anger, worry, self-loathing welled up in his chest. He had caused this.
Killian had caused this.
It wasn't the first time he had created death, but there certainly was something different about this time. Killian felt guilty, awful even, for bringing about so much destruction to these people.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw him for the first time in years. The Dark One leaned over Charming, his fist curled only inches away from his neck, but Killian could see Emma's father was quickly dying. He had to act fast.
"Give me the pirate!" Rumple screamed into the bloodied face of the King. "Or feel free to join the rest of the bodies!" He gestured to a pile of deceased humans, looking as if they had each been murdered a different way.
Killian felt sick.
Emma tried to pull him back into the shadows, gripping his arm tightly, but he shrugged her off. "You wanted me, Crocodile?" he screamed, and suddenly, the Dark One's head whipped towards him, his reptilian skin glinting in the moonlight.
"Well, well," the Dark One murmured, slithering closely to Killian like a snake. He moved slowly, cautiously, like he was waiting to strike. "Look who we have here..."
Kilian couldn't stop himself from stepping in front of Emma when the Dark One got within distance. It was a quick movement, and had Rumpelstiltskin not been paying close enough attention, he would have missed it.
The smile on his face curled up even more. He giggled wickedly, eyes lighting up with evil glee. "Killian Jones, of all people I didn't expect you to make this mistake again."
It took Killian a minute to realize that he was talking about Emma. His blood ran cold, and the same murderous and vengeful thoughts that plagued him in the time between Emma and Milah returned to him.
"You so much as lay a finger on her–" Killian began, but was quickly interrupted.
"Is that so?" Rumple grinned, his crooked, rotting teeth making Killian sick. "I didn't think you were in any position to stop me."
And before he could say another word, Killian was thrown out of the way, dangling in the air just like he had once before. No, no, no. He couldn't go through this again.
His life flashed before his eyes.
"This is all so very bittersweet, wouldn't you agree, Captain?" Rumple questioned, looking at Emma in a nauseating way.
"Emma!" Killian struggled, but with the iron grip Rumple had around him, the most he could do was breath. "Run, Emma!"
But Emma looked frozen in her tracks. She wasn't scared, really, but she looked back and forth at Killian and Rumple, as if only just remembering what was going on.
"There's nowhere for you to go, dearie. You can run, but you won't get far." Rumple stalked closer.
Emma swallowed, looking over at Killian. Her eyes closed, and she didn't say a word. She tried to steady her shaking breath, because she knew that this was it... This was the end, and there was nothing that she could do about it. The Dark One was too powerful. She couldn't fight, she couldn't run. But if killing her was what the Dark One wanted all this time...
As long as Killian was safe and out of harms way.
"Do it," Emma responded, almost as if daring him. "Kill me."
She could hear Killian's screams. She knew that if she was going to die, she didn't want to listen to Killian's heart shattering for the second time, and she tuned him out.
And right as she thought that the Dark One was going to kill her, that he was going to take her heart and crush it his palm, something happened.
He stopped.
The Dark One turned around, and Emma saw Charles standing there with a determined look on his face. His back was straight and tall, always very much a prince, even in times of trouble.
A flash of recognition went over Rumple's face as he stared into the cerulean blue eyes of the prince. He made a move towards Charles threateningly, but before he could even so much as touch him, Charles spoke.
"Hello, father."
Emma's eyes widened as the Dark One's wicked demeanor started to fall away. He narrowed his eyes curiously, watching him as Charles only stood there blinking nervously.
"Father?" Rumple questioned in confusion. His fingers twitched, almost as if he wanted to reach out to Charles. But instead, a sneer pulled onto his face. "No, my son is dead." He answered in disbelief, stalking towards Charles once again.
Charles stood his ground, not allowing any small amount of fear to enter him. "You're right. One of your sons is dead." A stroke of anger flashed through his eyes. "The other isn't."
The Dark One titled his head in a skeptical matter, his lips pressing together.
"When Milah left you all those years ago," Charles continued, "she was pregnant. I was that baby." He raised an eyebrow. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"
Rumplestiltskin's eyes widened, but there was nothing that hinted that he believed Charles. "If you were that baby you would be dead," he responded. "That was three-hundred years ago."
"I was in Neverland," Charles responded simply. "I met my brother, Baelfire... And then I came back to this world, not that many years ago."
Rumplestiltskin's face softened. "You can't be my son."
Charles's eyes narrowed in anger. "You're right, I'm not your son, and I never will be. By blood, maybe..." He licked his lips. "But you never once looked for me, did you?"
Rumple wanted to protest, but Charles didn't allow him any words.
"I searched for years for you!" He yelled. "I just wanted to find my father, I wanted him to know who I was! But you just hid from me, avoided me. So I gave up. Hell, you're the dark one, why would you ever want to speak to me?" He finished. "I didn't matter to you, even if blood ties were one of the only things that you ever cared about."
"Son," the Dark One spoke.
"Don't call me that." He scowled angrily. "My name is Charles, and you are nothing to me." He pulled out a long, silver gleaming dagger out of his pocket, his fierce eyes illuminating off of it.
The Dark One stiffened, eyes looking back from Charles to the dagger. "So you're the little thief who took my dagger."
It took a moment before Emma realized that Rumpelstiltskin was engraved in the dark silver dagger.
Charles pulled a grim smile onto his face. "No. I just paid someone else to steal it for me. Never thought they'd find it, though." Charles twisted the dagger in his hand, threading it through his fingers. "I never believed that this would even work."
Rumplestiltskin stiffened, not a muscle in his body moving.
"So, according to these rules, I control you," Charles continued. "Which means, you are practically powerless."
Emma felt a wave of relief flush through her as Charles commanded the Dark One to release Killian.
He fell to his knee, sputtering and coughing. Emma ran over to him quickly, helping him up.
"Son–"
"Charles," he bit back harshly, grinding his teeth.
"Charles," Rumple corrected himself. "Why don't we work this out, make a deal?"
The blonde prince almost seemed to be considering it. His blue eyes darted from his father to the dagger, from Emma to Hook.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "No, you're done making deals. Forever." Charles bit sharply, a hard look in his eyes.
It took Rumpelstiltskin a second, but understanding seemed to flash through his features. "You mean to kill me," he answered, a dark laugh coming up from his chest. "You can't kill your own father."
Charles took a step closer, dagger clutched tightly in his fingers. His knuckles turned white. A dark and dangerous look appeared in his eyes. "You are not my father." He hissed sharply. "My dad is kind and caring. He was there for me, he didn't just abandoned me."
"I—"
Charles didn't let the Dark One get a word in edgewise. "He loves me, he took care of me. So you're right. I couldn't just kill my father." Charles took a shaky breath, bringing the dagger to Rumplestiltkin's chest in one swift movement. "But you, I can kill you," he whispered softly under his breath.
Time seemed to fly before Emma's eyes. The dagger was draining the life out of the Dark One, finally killing him once and for all.
Emma thought it was all over. She looked over to Charles and Killian to rejoice, but before she could blink, the sword flew out of Killian's belt.
Their heads both whipped over to see it piercing through Charles's heart, blood pouring from the wound in his flesh.
Emma screamed.
No one was reacting faster than she was.
Frederick and Abigail had been hiding in the castle, but had run out once they saw their son approaching Rumpelstiltskin, they had run out to stop him...
And now he was dead.
Abigail fell to her knees, collapsing in grief. Her lip quivered, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Her eyes filled with tears, and her whole body racked with sobs.
Emma didn't know if they had any idea that their son was 300 years old, and that his father was the Dark One. Did Charles ever bother to tell them?
Frederick wrapped his arms around her, holding her back as Charles and Rumpelstiltskin fell away from each other, their bodies hitting the ground.
Charles was still breathing, and Emma raced towards him.
"No, no, Charles," she cradled his head on her lap as Frederick and Abigail mustered up the strength to come say goodbye to their son. "You can't die on me!" Emma yelled. "You can't! This is all my fault."
Charles's blonde hair fell into his eyes as he shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous," he managed to cough out. "I made my choice a long time ago."
He closed his eyes, breathing only slightly as Abigail grabbed his hand.
Her tears fell onto his chest, staining her son's shirt, turning it a darker shade of red.
"Charles, I'm so–"
He smiled only slightly, his eyes still closed. "Don't apologize for anything, mother," he said, his voice raspy. "You've given me the best life that I could ever have, you and father. So thank you. I want you to know, I love you."
Abigail nodded, a sad smile coming onto her face. Frederick pushed the hair off of his son's forehead. "I'm so proud of you."
Abigail leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Emma went to say goodbye.
Charles only grinned. "Emma, you gave me something to live for. Thank you for giving me your friendship." He turned to Killian, who held Emma softly as she cried. "You take care of her, Hook," he finished.
Killian nodded, his eyes full of grief. "I will, I promise." Though he had only known him in passing, as a prisoner, Killian felt terrible. He had been the cause of all this pain, that start of it...
Emma seemed to notice his struggle, grabbing his hand for comfort. Killian didn't look away from the dying prince, and neither did Emma, but they sat together, drinking up each other's comfort.
Emma had one last fleeting hopeful thought. "How can you–?" She questioned, unable to finish her thought. "You stabbed the Dark One. Shouldn't you be the Dark One?" Wouldn't that make him immortal?
Killian glanced up, thinking the same thing as Emma. He stood, walking up over to Rumplestiltskin, wrapping a hand around the dagger and pulling it out of his chest.
Killian examined it, a sickening feeling welling up in his stomach. "Peter Pan?" Killian muttered, staring at the name on the dagger.
"What's that?" Emma asked, wiping her tears.
"It says Peter Pan," Killian shook his head. "Charles, why does it–"
But the prince, who had his last words muttered under the night sky seemed to understand. He laughed, though unamused, and closed his eyes. "So that's what that son of a bitch did to me."
And then Charles gave one last breath, almost unnoticeable in the chilly dusk.
It was almost scary how quiet it got after that.
XXX
"I don't understand," Abigail said, wiping her eyes. "My son is how old?"
It had been nearly one day since the death of her son, and everyone was having trouble functioning.
It was strange. Emma didn't think that Charles played that much of a role in her life, except for in the past few week. But now that he was gone...
Emma recounted the story back to Abgail and Frederick, telling them all about Charles back in Neverland. It was amazing how little the king and queen knew about their adopted son.
Emma sighed, a hole blooming in her gut. She felt so empty after Charles's death. He did so much for her, and how did she repay him?
Emma didn't know him long enough to really know him, but she knew for sure that he was a good man. He didn't deserve what he got.
After they found the new name on the dagger, Killian (who was now back in the dungeon with the rest of his crew) had discovered that Pan had performed a blood spell on Charles. After he killed the Dark One, the spell created a portal through Charles's body. Since the prince had agreed to it, was pure hearted, and family, just as the spell called for, the magic would go from Charles to Pan. This made it possible for Peter Pan to be the Dark One instead of Charles.
It killed Emma to know that Pan had taken advantage of her friend, all because he was related to the Dark One. Pan couldn't leave Neverland, and he wanted Rumple gone, so he looked to Charles.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her head aching from limited sleep.
Her parents were still upstairs, trying to find a way to bring the kingdom back together. Their castle had become somewhat of a hospital to all the people that had been hurt in the assault by Rumpelstiltskin. Emma hadn't seen them in a few hours.
Abigail asked question after question, though Emma only knew what Killian had told her. She decided not to mention him, since they all but ignored how sorry he was about Charles, and locked him back up.
He may have changed, but in the eyes of everyone around him, he was still a wanted man. Captain Hook was dangerous, and they couldn't just have him walking around alive and freely.
After a few minutes of questioning, weeping, and chatting with Frederick and Abigail, Emma was dismissed.
She walked along the hallways, lonely. If this had been any other day, she would have stopped to talk with Charles in the library, or met him out in the gardens for some lunch.
But now, Emma couldn't do that.
It was funny how quickly things changed.
She walked out to the grand hall, seeing August sitting on the couch, as if waiting for her to come out of the room where the parents of the deceased interrogated her.
Blue eyes met green, and she rushed over collapsing into his arms.
And then she cried.
XXX
Emma's parents didn't believe her at first, when she told them that she was in love with Killian Jones.
He had kidnapped her, held her for ransom, kept her in prison, and God knows what else...
Of course, Charming already knew half the story. She had told him back those few weeks ago on the ship, when he came onto the Jolly Roger, guns blazing.
It just took Snow a while to get a grasp on it.
She didn't understand how she could be in love with a pirate, a wanted criminal. Snow White was used to seeing the good in people, but sometimes, it got a little hard to see past someone's exterior.
She thought Killian had kidnapped her daughter. In the mind of Queen Snow, that was a crime that deserved a punishment worse than death.
Emma spent what seemed like hours in that little room with all the books, just talking to her parents. A fire blazed in the corner of the room, warming them all up. It had been a few days since the deaths, and there had been funerals and all sorts of things to honor the deceased.
A cold front had passed through, and though it was only the ending of Summer, it had already begun to get a little chilly at night.
Emma wasn't sure if it was because of the seasons changing, or the coldness that had started to bloom in her life.
After so many minutes of talking with her parents about the situation, they seemed to come to terms. After all, it was a similar case for the two of them. Snow had been a wanted woman, and Charming had been a betrothed man. In retrospect, it wasn't that different. Sure, maybe Killian's crimes weren't for good reasons, but he had been in a terrible spot for the majority of his life.
He'd lost so, so much. Emma couldn't really blame him. She wasn't sure if she could handle that much tragedy and not go off the edge a little bit.
But even with Killian's haunting past, Emma's parents found a way to accept their relationship. They spoke with Killian for a good long while, asking him question upon question.
Emma had already told them everything, but they just seemed to want to get it twice, just to make sure Killian wasn't a liar or something crazy. It irked Emma off a little bit, but at least her parents were being friendly to the one she loved.
Killian didn't seem to mind the positive attention either.
For a few days, he remained in the dungeon.
Emma begged her mother to let him out, but she had to be reminded that he was still a criminal, and not everyone would see him in the light that she did.
Which led them to an agreement that Emma was sure never would have happened had it not been for her parent's history.
"You can't be serious?" Emma suddenly asked them after they made their suggestions. "I can't just..." She trailed off, not really having a valid argument.
Charming smiled at her loss of words. "Emma, you don't really have much of a choice here. I wish you did, I wish that this was different than it is. Of course, sweetheart, I wish more than anything that you and Killian could stay here for the rest of your lives and I would get to see my beautiful daughter grow up even more than she already has... But Emma that's a fantasy, and you and I both know it. If you wish to be with Killian, you can't stay here." Charming reached toward me her, grief brimming his blue eyes.
Emma nodded sadly, turning her gaze downwards. "So this is goodbye?" Emma stopped for a moment, her heart racing in her chest as tears welled up in her eyes.
Snow's face drew up in a sour frown, her dark eyes welling up with sadness. Snow took a tentative step closer, and wrapped Emma up in a hug. "This is goodbye."
Emma couldn't contain the sorrow that she felt when her mother answered. Her head rested on Snow's shoulder. "But, I don't want to leave you again." Emma began sobbing.
"I know what it's like to be wanted," Snow muttered sympathetically. "But I believe that Killian deserves a second chance, and he can't do that here. If you love him as much as you say you do, then it's clear that he's not the man he used to be. I can see that now, Emma." Snow kissed her forehead. "I trust you, and I trust your judgment. Emma, you are my daughter and I love you. Despite all my previous mistakes as a mother, and what you might think about me, I want what's best for you. I want you to be happy, and clearly the one who makes you the happiest is Killian."
Emma felt tears flowing freely down her cheeks. In that moment, she had forgiven her mother for everything she had done to cause Emma so much pain.
"Thank you, mother." Emma responded, holding her closely, knowing what she would have to do. "And I'm so sorry for disappointing you."
Snow shook her head, running her fingers through Emma's blonde hair. "Don't be ridiculous Emma. I couldn't be more proud of you." She pulled away, holding Emma's face in her hands, and wiping away her tears. "Just promise you'll visit soon."
Emma nodded sadly, and spoke for a moment longer with both her parents, her heart breaking even more with every word the exchanged.
She couldn't believe that she was already leaving again. It didn't feel right, not after she just got back.
XXX
"You going to be okay?" Killian asked Emma as she watched the castle fade into the horizon. The Jolly Roger rocked lightly on the waves as they sailed off to their freedom.
Emma looked over, her bright green eyes misty from the tears she had been shedding.
She nodded, reaching a hand out to grasp Killian.
He walked over, wrapping his arms around her waist with a small smile.
"It's weird, you know." Emma responded, smiling as Killian kissed her on the temple. "I spent so long trying to change my life, and now that I'm finally free of that, of the life that I never wanted..." She sighed.
Killian toyed with the ends of her hair, and his lips rested on her earlobe.
Emma closed her eyes, smiling. "But, yeah. I think I'm going to be okay. As long as I'm with you."
XXX
Aww guys, I hope that you enjoyed it. There will be an Epilogue in about two weeks that will officially end this story, but it will be much shorter than the rest of my chapters.
I love you all so much, and I appreciate all of you still reading my story!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!