Hey everyone,
It's been a long time since I wrote anything, but I've spent the last little while re-watching Once Upon a Time and reading fanfiction, so needless to say I was feeling a little inspired. I'm not sure how long this will be, but I'm guessing it'll be quite a long story given all the ideas I've got floating around in my head right now. I'm not promising to update everyday, but I will try to have at least one or two new chapters a week depending on how busy I am.
This fic is going to center around the Charming family and it is going to be AU, so be forewarned. Everything that happens prior to the first dark curse being cast, has already happened but everything after will be different. If AU stories and family centered stories aren't your thing, this might not be the story for you. With that said, Snowing will be the main couple at least for most of the story, but I may add couples further down the road depending on how far I take this. I hope you enjoy, and if you could please leave a review, I would be eternally grateful :)
Begin Again
Summary: 4 year old Emma is curious to know about her past and convinces her Daddy to tell her the story of the Dark Curse and the prophecy that says she will break it at 28. Not happy with this, she sets out to prove Rumplestiltskin wrong and get her family back together 24 years early. Is it possible that the Dark One is, in fact, infallible? AU
Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the plot. All characters are property of ABC.
Prologue
Mumbles. That's the first thing Prince David "Charming" can remember hearing as he awakens from what feels like a very long sleep. Looking around he realizes he doesn't recognize anything about where he is. The walls are a beige colour and bare, with the exception of what looks to be a portrait of a mountainous terrain on one wall. He moves his left arm and lets out a grown as he realizes he's attached to something. Instinctively, he pulls his arm once more to free himself from whatever is holding him, but winces in pain. Looking down, he sees a strange looking wire of some sort hooked into his hand and running up his arm, hooked up to some object he can't even begin to comprehend.
"Oh please don't remove that." A woman in a light blue outfit tells him. He notices she's taking what looks to be notes and looking up at him every so often.
"What is this sorcery?" Charming asks as he lets out a groan, wanting to rid himself of whatever this mechanism is.
The woman chuckles. "Sorcery? It's an I.V. Haven't you ever heard of one before? It's to keep you hydrated and nourished."
He stares at the wire again and shakes his head. He realizes this must be Regina's curse. He recognizes nothing and no one. For a land without magic, this realm sure has learned ways to get around it.
"Can I ask where I am?" He asks the woman, and reads what looks to be a nametag of sorts.
The woman sees him trying to read her tag and smiles. "Nurse Jean, but you can just call me Jean. And you are in Memorial Hospital in Boston. You were found a few days ago outside of town, it looked as if you had been dumped on the side of the road."
A few days? It feels like he was asleep for a few hours and it's been days? He wonders where everyone and everything he knows is? Where's Snow and why were they separated? Well that's a stupid question, it's more than obvious this is the curse, so of course Regina would separate him from his love.
"I just need to ask you a few questions if you don't mind, to see what you remember exactly." Jean asks.
He nods. "I'll try my best."
"What's your name?" She asks starting with the most obvious.
David hesitates, something is telling him not to reveal himself as a Prince. He was a Prince back home in his land, but here, he is no different from anyone else.
"D...David." He stumbles over his first name, why he isn't sure.
The nurse nods and jots it down. "And your last name?"
"Last name?" He questions.
She nods, giving him an odd look. He can tell she's suspicious of him.
For some reason the name Nolan is the first thing that pops into his head. He's not even sure where it comes from but he gives her that as an answer and it seems to pacify.
"Mr. Nolan, can you tell me what happened before you arrived here?" She asks. "How did you end up with those injuries?"
"Injuries?"
"Yes, when you were brought in, you had a stab wound to the shoulder and one to the abdomen. We were able to get the bleeding under control and your wounds stitched up, and none of your major organs were touched. You're very lucky." Jean tries to assure him, but it falls on deaf ears.
"Lucky?" He's not sure he would call it that. "I..I don't remember much, I don't know how I ended up on the side of a road and I don't remember how I got hurt."
"What's the last thing you do remember?" Jean asks. He still seems confused, so she tries something. "Do you remember holding a baby?" This seems to catch the man's interest as he gives her his undivided attention.
"Baby?" He asks.
The nurse nods. "When they found you on the side of the road, you had a baby in your arms. She was just fine thanks to you."
"She?"
"Yes your daughter, Emma, I believe was what it said on her blanket."
"Daughter...Emma." And suddenly he is hit with an onslaught of memories, whirling around his mind so fast he can barely keep up. He remembers the moments right before the curse was cast. Snow giving birth to their baby and then begging him to get her to the wardrobe right before kissing their newborn daughter goodbye and handing her to him.
"Goodbye Emma." Those were some of the last words he remembers hearing from his wife before her sobs broke out as he took their daughter from the room. He remembers the fight with the Black Knights, getting stabbed in the shoulder trying to protect his daughter, and then getting her to the wardrobe and deciding at the last possible moment to see if maybe the Blue Fairy was wrong and maybe he could go with his daughter. She was so tiny, if he just kept her close enough, it may just work. He knew it was unfair to his wife, who had desperately hoped to go with their daughter, but he also knew this is something she would have wanted and would have done herself had she been able. His daughter should not be left to fend for herself out there in a world they knew nothing about.
Just as he was about to get into the wardrobe, knights had come in and yet another fight broke out. David fought with all he had, but was stabbed, once again, this tim in the abdomen, but not before hitting the enemy over the head, effectively knocking him out for a long while. Gasping for breath, and holding tight to his abdomen with blood covering his hand, he picked up his infant daughter with his one free arm and attempted to crawl into the wardrobe just as his entire world went black.
"Emma...is she here?" He asked in near desperation, looking around the room for his daughter.
"Ah, so you do remember something."
He nodded. "Yes, my baby. I don't remember much else but I remember holding her, protecting her from something." At least it was partially true. He had a feeling explaining the real events would make him look crazy to the people of this realm. "Please, where is she?"
The nurse placed a hand on his right arm, in an effort to calm him. "Relax, like I said, she's just fine. She's in the NICU. She was a little underweight for her size so she's just being monitored."
"Can I see her?"
Nurse Jean nodded. "In a little while. I just have a few more questions and then the doctor will come in to check on you."
He sighed but gave her the go ahead.
"Where is your wife? Your daughter's mother?" She asked. "She wasn't with you was she?"
He shook his head sadly. "She's gone." Techniquely not a lie. He has no idea where Snow is or what her fate was. He just knows that he and his daughter will find her and break the curse someday. He will see her again.
The nurse gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm very sorry. What happened before? Did it have something to do with your wife?"
He nodded. "Yes. Whoever was after me, they went after my wife as well. She told me to take Emma and go, that's the last thing I remember. I wanted so badly to go back and get her, but I couldn't put our daughter in danger, I know that she wouldn't have wanted that. That's the last thing I remember, leaving so I could get Emma to safety."
"Ok. Well the police will probably want to speak with you eventually, but so long as you feel you and your little girl are safe for the time being, I guess I can just leave it be for now."
He gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you."
The doctor came in and checked him over, giving him a run down of what to watch or feel for in the coming days. He was genuinely surprised to see how fast David's injuries were healing, and he decided to give him the go ahead to see his daughter.
"But I will have a nurse bring her to you. You just woke up after being unconscious for days and you're still healing. You need to stay in bed for now Mr. Nolan."
David nodded as the doctor left the room to instruct one of the nurses to retrieve Emma. He looked around the room trying to take everything in. He noticed all the different things the doctor had referred to as machines. All of them had a specific function and all of them were being used to keep him alive. He knew this realm was going to take some getting used to and if he was going to raise his daughter here, he better get used to it fast in order to blend in. He had no idea where they would go once they left this place, but he knew he had to figure it out soon.
The nurse wheeled in what looked like a crib made of some material he was not familiar with. Inside it, was the tiny, most beautiful and precious thing David had ever laid eyes on, his daughter. Emma was awake, with her big eyes looking at her surroundings curiously. She gave a whimper as the nurse lifted her out of the crib-like-thing and passed her to her father.
David stared down at his tiny princess in awe. He couldn't believe she was here. He couldn't believe he was with her. His last minute idea had actually worked and he was never so glad the Blue Fairy was wrong.
"Hi Emma." He took her tiny hand in his and lifted it to kiss her fingers. The baby turned her head and stared up at her father in wonder. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, despite the fact that he wished his wife was here with them. He could already see so much of Snow in Emma. From her big round eyes that he was sure would eventually turn green, to her heart shaped chin, she was definitely her mother's daughter. "You're so beautiful." He whispered to her.
Emma gurgled and reached up to stroke her father's face, almost as if she was saying hi.
"I love you so much." He whispered into her ear. "I'm so sorry your Mama's not here, I know she wishes she could be, but I promise you we will find her someday. She loves you so much, just as I. I promise I will be there for you no matter what and you can always come to me for anything." He kissed her forehead as she snuggled into his arms, content for the time being.
He just continued to stare at her as he thought of all the thing he needed to do, but right now it was just him and her and that was all that mattered. The two of them against whatever this new life brought on.