We're finally back! You didn't think we'd leave you hanging forever, now did you? I don't think we would have been able to live with ourselves if we didn't give these characters and this AU the ending it deserved.
Between school, work, extracurricular activities (and somewhere in there where Madison met Colin and Lana), it's been an adventure (and about three full rewrites) trying to get this thing on track, but here we are!
So buckle your seat belts, we hope you enjoy Days of Future Past: Part Three, the Future!
Chapter One
-Misthaven Castle, West Corridor-
"Kendra, this isn't you. I don't quite understand what you think is going wrong here. Why end things now?" Leif stood in front of Kendra as she paced the halls. Her eyes were fixated on something not there, her walking uneven and shaking.
"Please," her tone was desperate, voice quivering as she stopped moving, her eyes trailing to the ground. "Don't argue this. My magic is far from stable. I should be avoiding any and all emotion."
"Kendra," Leif said, stepping forward.
Kendra flicked her hand, causing the Arendelle prince to go flying backwards into the wall, his hands gripping at his neck. "I said don't," she snapped, refusing to make eye contact.
"Okay," Leif choked out. "Okay. Kendra…you're hurting me. Kendra…" His eyes started rolling back in his head as the last of his air left his lungs. With a concerning ease, Kendra dropped him to the ground, not an ounce of regret showing on her face.
"What happened?!" Emma came running down the hall, looking between the two teenagers.
"It's not her fault. I pushed her," Leif said hoarsely, struggling to his feet.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked, going to try to help him, but he gestured her away.
"I'm fine." He looked at Kendra sorrowfully. "The ship for Arendelle leaves soon and I really should be going. If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me."
Emma draped her hand around the shoulders of her seemingly emotionless daughter, pulling her close as they watched the prince go. "I know you did what you think you had to. We'll teach you to control it, I promise."
"It's not about controlling it." Kendra shrugged away from her mother, folding in on herself as she turned, roaming down the hallway. "My control has never been faithful."
Following after her daughter, Emma said, "What is it about then? I can't help you unless you're willing to tell me."
Shrugging, she shook her head. "I don't know. I just feel…lost. Before I left, everything was certain. I had a life laid out for me. I was to marry Leif, become the future Queen of Arendelle. Things happened in Storybrooke that make me rethink all of that. I had a kingdom that trusted me. Now, everyone in town looks at me like I'll snap their necks any second."
"I know that things may seem a bit bleak now, but give it time. You know what your grandmother would say."
"Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing, I know," Kendra mumbled, annoyed. "I just don't know where to start looking for one."
Emma grabbed Kendra by the shoulder, stopping her. "I have an idea. Why don't we go on a trip for old time's sake? Liam and Colette are getting married soon. A trip will give you, Oliver, and them a little bit of normalcy before that happens."
"You want to be trapped on a ship with the Dark One?" Kendra asked, raising an eyebrow at the thought.
"No. I want to go on a trip with my daughter. Come on, it will be fun."
"Only if we take both the Jolly and the Swan, in case I need to isolate myself. Plus, I need space to roam during the night. I'm still not used to the not sleeping thing."
"Deal. Now, I'll tell Colette and your brother. You get your father and Oliver. If they agree to it, we can head out as quickly as tomorrow morning."
Kendra, allowing herself a brief moment to break the agreement to herself to not have any emotion ran up to give her mother a hug. "Thanks mom."
Embracing her daughter, Emma chuckled. "For what?"
"Just for being there. I know I'm difficult and this whole thing isn't making me any better. I love you."
"I love you too, Kendra."
-Misthaven Castle, Kendra's Room-
What was once a tidy room kept by the castle staff was now torn apart by the two weeks of neglect. No one had dared entered the inflicted princess's room, even to make the bed, after her return, the many tales of the Dark One's wrath warding them off. Drawings littered the floors and tables, maps lay pinned against the walls, opened books sat in high piles in the corners. The scattered thoughts of Kendra's several sleepless nights were depicted everywhere one looked.
Oliver traced the room, smiling as he picked up one drawing of the Savior Swan. He was surprised by the detail on it, unaware that Kendra actually had an artistic bone in her body. The one that had been hidden beneath it caught his eye, and he frowned. It depicted a figure, which he guessed was Kendra, being engulfed, surrounded by shadowy tendrils.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" Kendra snapped as she entered the room, scaring him into dropping the picture.
"Looking for you."
Kendra snatched her pirate coat from the hook next to her door, putting it on as she ground her teeth together. "No one just looks for me anymore."
"Colette's worried about you, and frankly, I can see why. What is all this?" He picked up the dark drawing, showing it to her.
"It's what I see in my head, when I try fighting the Dark One." She ripped the drawing from his hands, crumpling it up in her fist and throwing it behind her. "It feels better to put the images somewhere. Plus, the nights alone get boring."
"Fair enough. Just… just know that I'm here. If you need to talk, or anything, you know." He shuffled some discarded paper with his feet, and then gestured awkwardly towards the door. "I guess I should leave you be then. I'm sorry for barging in." Oliver started walking towards the door hesitantly.
She took a deep breath. "Oliver."
He stopped, and there was a subtle curve at the corner of his mouth as he said "Yes?"
She plastered on a quick smile, trying to look cheerful as she said, "My mother thinks a trip will do me some good, so we're taking the Savior Swan and the Jolly Roger out on the sea. I was wondering if you'd like to join us, like you did when we were younger."
Oliver genuinely smiled. "You know what, Kendra? I'd love to."
"Great," there was a hint of nervousness in her tone. "We leave tomorrow, so if you need to pack your things…"
"I'll get started right away," he nodded to her, pacing backwards a few steps, before exiting the room. "I'll see you then, Captain Jones."
Kendra stood there, looking out the door for a few moments before going to her closet and grabbing what she originally came for. She hoped that hiding her face under a cloak would at least get rid of the village freaking out that she was there, the pointing and whispers enough to make anyone feel like they didn't belong. With a flick of the wrist, navy smoke engulfed Kendra, transporting her from the castle.
-The Jolly Roger-
The Jolly Roger was full of life as its captain commanded the crew around, getting the final remnants of the festival was cleaned from its deck. Even Liam had come down to help out his father, and in the process, had received much unwanted marriage advice from the crew.
He jumped as his sister appeared out of thin air in front of him. "God, Kendra. Don't you ever walk anymore?"
"I've attracted a lot of unwanted attention as of late. Teleporting from one place to another avoids the conflict in between." She looks around the ship as the crew continues their cleaning. Other than a few, weary glances, they keep to their work. "Enjoying helping dad out?"
"Considering it used to be your job…"
"Come on, Liam." She grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him playfully. "Don't be so grumpy."
He couldn't help but smile as Kendra continues toying with him. "You're so bloody annoying."
"I'm your sister, it's my job."
"Kendra! Love, what brings you here?" Killian came running down the steps from the upper deck to greet his daughter.
She gave him a side hug as he kissed the top of her head. "Do I need an excuse for visiting my father and brother?"
"I suppose not, but you haven't left the castle these past few weeks unless you needed something. I certainly like having both my children around. It doesn't seem like I get the pleasure very often anymore with you two growing up so fast."
"I'm not the one getting hitched in a month," Kendra mocked.
"Well, at least I didn't run off and become the Dark One," Liam smarted back, trying to keep his tone light so she would know he was joking.
Kendra didn't know. She lunged at him, hissing "You think I wanted this?!" She said, clenching her fists. Sparks of magic flew off her body like fireworks, attracting the attention of the entire crew.
Killian grabbed Kendra, yanking her to his chest. "We all know you didn't, love. Calm down."
"Kendra, it was a joke," Liam said, his voice softer now and an apology written across his face.
"Swan, he didn't mean to upset you," Killian murmured.
The sparks subsided, Kendra temporarily winning her battle against the darkness. "I know he didn't. It's just…I need some space." She ripped away from her father, going to the upper deck and leaning over the back of the ship. Interacting with people like she used too was going to be harder than she imagined.
That's when the vision popped up again, leaning arrogantly up against the mast of the ship.
"Temper, temper dearie! Can't even take a joke anymore. Tsk tsk tsk." Dark One Rumple wagged his finger like a mother scolding her child. "It'd be easier if you just gave in you know."
Gripping onto the railing of the ship, Kendra screamed, placing her head on her forearms. "Get out of my head!" she bellowed. In the water beside the ship, a maelstrom began to form, its edge growing closer and closer to the Jolly Roger. Liam, Hook, and the crew held on to the nearest part of the ship as she heaved in the troubled water.
"Bloody hell…" Killian said, looking at Liam before rushing up the stairs to his daughter. "Kendra Jones! Make it stop! Don't listen to the voices!" Hearing her father snapped her out of it. What was she doing? She took a deep breath in, and as she exhaled the swirling water ceased. Killian paused as soon as the sea was calm once again, watching as his daughter stood up and ran her hands through her hair.
"I'm a bloody mess, aren't I?" She asked. "No wonder mother wants me away for the kingdom for a while."
"When did she say that?" Killian asked, coming up beside her.
"Today. It's why she sent me down here, because you're right. I haven't left the castle unless I needed to. She wants us to go on a trip like you and her took us on when we were kids. She says it's a last chance before Liam and Colette get married, but I know better."
"Maybe it will be good for you. You've always been at your calmest out on the high seas."
"I have no doubt it will be good for me, but it will be hard to choose where the wind will take us." Kendra opened her hand, a portal dancing in its center. "With all the realms in the palm of my hand, the possibilities are endless."
He pat his daughter on the back. "You better get deciding. I'll have the Jolly Roger ready to go by dawn."
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