Delicate

Hey guys! Coming at you is another half crossover type thing. An AU one shot, set in fairytale land, right after Charming's death in the Great Ogre War. The characters of Once stay the same, but I'm using a bit of the plot of the movie: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which was an amazing movie. Probably going to be a one shot but if I get a good response I might make it a story. The song lyrics are from, Delicate by Damien Rice.

Dedications: You girls know who you are! I can never thank you enough for all your inspiration and kind words. Also to my other readers, or some new readers, thank you so much.

So why do you fill my sorrows

With the words you've borrowed

From the only place you've known

And why do you sing Hallelujah

If it means nothing to you

Why do you sing with me at all?

He had been gone for only one year, and I missed so many things about him. I miss how his eyes crinkle up when he smiles. I miss his blue eyes that would seem to light up at the mere mention of my mother's name. How he spoke my name, Emma, just Emma when he knew I did not want to talk. His care and effort put into every problem for the kingdom, and how he would not rest until everyone was happy. His happiness around my mother, and how he would just reach for her hand when she was upset. The way he looked when he was focused, his lips in a tight line, but his eyes still alight with love. His sandy blonde hair, and how it stuck up slightly at the back. How even though my mother tried to get him to wear fancy king like clothes, he would always wear his leather hunting outfits. The way my mother would have to lead him through the forest whenever we traveled, because she was the only one who knew it better then him. The love he had for my mother, and how you could tell whenever he was around her. His sword, and the way he would protect it with so much love, it was like a child. The way he held me, even though I was getting older, when all I wanted to do was cry. How the thing that made him most nervous was when he talked to me about men. The stubble on his face that showed he was tired, but that he would still try to pretend he wasn't.

He loved so many things, from the little things to people. My mother was obviously at the top of his list, I had never seen a love like theirs. They seemed to understand each other on this level that no one else did, their love made obvious by anyone who was near him. It was also in the little gestures, how they would tease each other or kiss a moment longer then anyone else would. He also loved me, he told me frequently, but the times that were most obvious were small. We would have sword fights, or just stay up and talk for hours on end. My father was my world, and that world was an amazing place to be. He used to tell me about how there was a kingdom, but it floated away and now no one would ever be able to find it. We used to look together when I was young, he would lift me onto his shoulders, and I would be able to touch the treetops, laughing with giddiness at the happiness I felt in those moments. He would look up at me, and I would look down at him, brown eyes locking on blue as I touched the scar on his chin. He would laugh, set me down and then we would run back to the castle. He also loved every single person in our kingdom, and would often spend hours with just one if it meant their problem could be resolved.

He loved little things that only my mother and I knew as well as the people around us. He loved his sword above any other weapon, and polished it frequently. His favorite season was summer, because it was when he met my mother. He loved the sound of the wind whipping around the trees, and closing his eyes and soaking in the sun. He loved when I would come to him first if I had a problem, and loved listening to every word. The way my mother would run her fingers over his scar, and he would catch her hand before she let if fall. He loved journeys, and I would often lead him down forest paths with no way of knowing where we were going. His favorite time of day was night, when he could stare at the stars with my mother. He secretly liked gardening, I saw him once scold his friend Thomas for taking a whack at my mother's roses. His favorite flower was a rose, and he would bring one in for my mother every morning. But his favorite little thing that trumped everything else, but that hardly anyone knew about, was that he loved cinnamon in his hot chocolate.

One day, a bright day last summer, a knight came riding into our castle, screaming into oblivion, with cuts and bleeding scars everywhere. He broke down in tears as he saw my mother's face light up with confusion. I didn't need him to say it, I knew, somehow I knew. I remember practically collapsing onto the carpet, sobs wracking my body as I heard my mother say: "But Sir Phillip, my husband is coming back right? Is the war over?"

"Your Majesty, your husband is gone, and the war is far from over," Sir Phillip hung his head, and that was one of the first times I saw a grown man cry.

"Gone? Did he run off the battle field to help someone?" my mother had a questioning tone, and I think she still did not understand.

Sir Phillip took my mother's hand and let a few more tears slip as he partially whispered: "Your husband is dead, your Majesty. He is gone, and he's never coming back."

I did not even want to see my mother's reaction, instead burying my face in the carpet in our great hall, just outside the door from my mother and Sir Phillip. Sir Phillip's words echoed in my mind: "Your husband is dead, your Majesty. He is gone, and he's never coming back." The words bore into my mind, over and over, until the only two words I could think of amid the chaos were dead and gone. Then only one word: Gone, Gone, Gone. I remembered all the things I would love and miss about him, and the things he had loved.

My world, my rock, my best friend, my shoulder to cry on, my father was gone.

And he was never coming back.

Gone.

Well sorry if that was depressing, I couldn't stop thinking about the movie when I finished it, and thought it would make a great one shot coupled with OUAT. Thanks you for taking the time to read, and please review and tell me your thoughts on this story, leave it or love it?