Why did the baby keep crying?
Emma was babysitting baby Neal while Mary Margaret and David had a date night. Emma kept hearing shriek after shriek and was gonna go insane. Luckily Emma wasn't alone to bare with this torture. Henry sat at the dining table, nose stuck in some new novel.
As Neal threw his bottle across the room Emma sighed.
"Hey kid, you mind putting your uncle to sleep?"
There was a moment of pause and then Henry raised his head from his book and cheered, "Done!"
"You must really like that book. You said you just found it in your bookshelf?"
"Yeah... A bit weird right?"
"No kidding. The last book you found resulted in you looking for your birth mother to end a curse only you believed in."
"You believed in it too. You just didn't know it yet."
Emma smirked and slightly blushed. To this day Emma has no idea how she really felt about Henry when he said all that magic nonsense to her. Was he crazy? Was he telling the truth? Naturally everyone would think he was crazy, but Emma was so indecisive with her feelings.
Henry easily rocked Neal three times and it was as if a sleeping curse was put upon Neal. Henry gently laid him back in his crib.
"How come you're a better mother than me?"
"You never really... It's new to you."
Henry always tries to avoid the fact that Emma gave him up. Even though he has known this for three years, it's still a strain on his mind.
"What was so interesting about this book?"
"It was about a girl named Sarah who wishes for her baby brother to be taken away by the Goblin King. The Goblin King gives her thirteen hours to retrieve her brother from the Goblin King's castle, but has to go through a Labyrinth to get to the castle. If not, her brother turns into a goblin and lives with him forever."
"So I see where the title 'Labyrinth' comes from."
"It's a great book. The only way to defeat the Goblin King was for her to say the words, 'You have no power over me', to the face of the Goblin King once at the castle."
"I kinda wish something will take Neal away. Once you leave in... Five minutes to go to your job at Mr Gold's I'll be alone with him and the crying starts again."
"Don't worry. Killian will stop by won't he?"
Killian. Emma has no idea if he will. He's been at Gold's lately as if finishing some debut he has with the Dark One.
"I hope he comes... I bet he's even a better mother than me."
"Hopefully you both will have your own soon."
Emma was shocked to hear that Henry wanted her to have a child with Hook.
"Hold up, kid. I want to at least get through one night with Neal before getting through thousands more with another baby."
"Okay. I have to go though. Bye Mom."
He grabbed his book bag and rushed out the door.
"Bye Henry!" Emma barely spat out before the door shut.
Instantly, tears started going down Neal's face. Emma started sighing again. Then started the shrieking. Emma picked him up again and started rocking him.
"Please be quiet. I can't deal with anymore crying..."
Emma suddenly pictured herself holding her own child. Hook at her side. Their own house, their own family. Emma started letting tears stream down her face. How could she make that perfect family happen if she can't even handle this baby she's known for almost a year now.
Emma, while rocking Neal, noticed that Henry left his book on the table.
"That kid." Mumbled Emma.
Those little words triggered another scream from Neal.
"Ugh!" Emma responded back.
Even placed Neal in the crib, still wailing, and walked over to grab Henry's book.
"You want to hear a story? About baby brothers that don't behave and what could happen to them?"
Emma opened the book to the end of the first chapter. She went to the part where she noticed the girl, Sarah, yelling at her brother.
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby. And the baby was a spoiled child, and wanted everything to himself, and the young girl was practically a slave. But what no one knew is that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the the girl, and he had given her certain powers. So one night, when the baby had be particularly cruel to her, she called on the goblins for help! 'Say your right words,' the goblins said, 'and we'll take the baby to the castle, and you will be free!' But the girl knew, that the Goblin King would keep the baby in his castle for ever and ever and ever, and turn it into a goblin! And so the girl suffered in silence. Until one day, when she was tired from a day of housework, and she was hurt by the harsh words of her stepmother, and she could no longer stand it..."
Emma stood and held Neal up to the ceiling.
"I can bear it no longer! Goblin King! Goblin King! Wherever you may be take this child of mine far away from me!"
Emma just made the baby cry even more. Suddenly, she was so sick of the baby that she needed some coffee. She placed the baby in the crib and as she about to exit the bedroom she turned around to look at Neal.
"I wish the Goblin King would take you away to relieve me from my headache."
As Emma entered the kitchen and started the kettle, a thunder storm suddenly started outside. Emma ignored it, expecting more crying. It stayed silent. No wail, shriek, or even a burp. Emma turned to the bedroom and then the lights went out. Scared, Emma slowly crept towards the bedroom door. The kettle started ringing. Emma was about to enter the bedroom, a explosion boomed. Emma just and turned around to see the kettle pot splattered all over the kitchen. Emma then turned back to the bedroom and saw Neal missing from the crib. The window was open, letting the cold storm air chill the house. Emma was about to panic when an owl flew into the bedroom through the window. Emma screamed, but in a blink the white owl turned into a man. A medieval, sorcerer looking man. Evil obviously.
"Who are you?"
"Call me your fairy godmother... I just granted your wish. Your brother is now with me."
"You're the Goblin King? You're real too?"
"Be careful the wish you make, wishes are like children. Careful the path they take. My sister told me that quote."
"I don't have time for a poetry lesson you psychotic elf, I'm gonna get my brother. My son told me how to retrieve him."
"One day... One day and Neal is mine..."
The Goblin King disappeared, and as he did the wall of the bedroom where the window was disappeared as well and revealing the Labyrinth below and the castle in the distance.
"Okay Emma. Off to save your brother."
Emma broke out into a run down the slope to get through the only opening of the Labyrinth she saw. Henry just at that second came running into the apartment of the Charming's.
"Emma I forgot my..."
He saw his book left open on the kitchen table and then saw the castle where the bedroom should be. Henry didn't need any proof of where he was. Henry stuffed his book in his backpack and then rushed down the slope behind Emma, still not able to see her. It's kind of ironic that the entrance of the Labyrinth is just the first decision you make. Go left or right. Sadly, Henry goes left and Emma had gone right.
Please review what you thought of this guys! The Goblin King will eventually have chapters dedicated to him on his history. You'll find out who his sister is and also find out what really happened in his encounter with Sarah. Two journeys; Emma and Henry. Who do you think will save Neal? Will Neal be saved? Remember this takes place after the Snow Queen 4A part of OUAT! So please follow to see how this story unfolds! Check out my two other stories which are still both in the process of being completed! Thanks guys! :)