A/N: Work has taken over...busy, busy, busy. To make up for not posting for two weeks of Castle's The Rose, I'm posting this little story I made based on the cover picture. I first posted this ficlet in my Tumblr.
They were just celebrating the return of everyone. Normal. It's finally back to normal - the heroes are heroes again and the villains, well, still villains. Yin and yang. Balance. And everyone forgave everyone who erred against them, whether in the fictional or the real story. But darkness sprung upon them abruptly as the dark entity inhabiting Mr Gold's, Rumplestiltskin's, mortal form was freed. The dark entity is no longer tethered to a human body. It escaped the Sorcerer's hat and killed his Apprentice. Our heroes need to defeat it. Perhaps sensing that Regina was The Evil Queen in her enchanted life, it centred on her. The Saviour knew how much Regina had to give up to have her happy ending, with Robin Hood, with Henry, with herself, so she stepped up to let the entity corrupt her. A sacrifice.
"Love!" Killian shouted, beating the forceful winds that surround them to close in on her. "Please don't. There might be another way. Please!"
They finally found their solid ground, like the others have found theirs, and she would do this. Typical of her.
"I have to," she told him, as she closed their gap. "They worked so hard for their happy endings. And I'm the Saviour. I need to."
She took Killian's good hand in hers and placed it over her heart.
"Take care of everyone," she said, tears staining her cheeks. "I love you."
Her parting words. She pushed him away from her; and darkness enveloped her, leaving the dagger of The Dark One behind with her name on it: Emma Swan.
Killian took the dagger and made a promise: I will save her no matter what, if it's the last thing I do. I will go to the ends of the world, through time, space, and magic, for her. There is not a day that I will not stop chasing her. She's my home and happy ending. I am hers.