It had been a little over a year since the final battle in Storybrooke. Fairytale characters aside, it was the perfect picture of a small town and things were relatively peaceful. Emma and Killian had recently celebrated their first anniversary. The stork hadn't visited them yet, but they looked forward to letting their family grow in the near future. Snow was still teaching and was loved by all her students, David had stepped back a little from his deputy duties to run the farm but still helped once or twice a week. Everyone and everything was well and good until another villain came unlike any other.
A hurricane like storm came out of the blue and luckily Killian was doing paperwork and not out sailing when it hit. Leroy of course announced it to the town and everyone did their best to keep the marina from getting damaged. But their efforts were nothing against a storm clearly created by magic. And of course most of the town's magic-wielders weren't in town.
'Of all the bloody times for Emma, Snow, Regina, Zelena, Belle, and Ashley to go on a weekend getaway.' Killian thought to himself as he ordered people away to safety once it was clear they couldn't stop the impending tidal wave.
He watched from the clock tower with David, Henry, and Leroy as the wave reached land and started flooding everything in sight. But then in the blink of an eye the waters receded and the ocean was calm. The only signs that anything peculiar had happened were a few fish that had washed up on the dock and a mystery ship.
"What the heck?" David thought aloud.
"It's a pirate ship!" Henry pointed out, having taken out the spyglass he'd given him. "Look at the flag."
"Leave it to a pirate to make so much chaos just for a dramatic entrance." Leroy grumbled as he shuffled down the stairs.
"Watch it, dwarf." Killian warned as he descended from the clock tower as well.
After the Crocodile tried to take his heart, he spent as little time up there as possible. It was probably just his imagination but sometimes he thought he felt a phantom pain in his chest. He did when he placed the dreamcatchers there when he was a Dark One. Or maybe it was a bit of guilt then.
"Any idea who it is?" David asked as they began heading towards the docks.
"Afraid not, mate," He shook his head. "However I can tell you it's not Blackbeard. The man doesn't have a ship and never will as he won't settle for anything other than mine. Stubborn fool."
When they reached the docks they saw a man in black wearing a mask with a woman. Killian's first thought was that the pirate had taken her captive. But the lass was right there with him pointing a sword at Mr. Smee. Poor fellow always wound up as someone's easy target.
"Who is the leader of this odd village?" The man in black demanded of Smee as he pointed his sword closer to his former first mate.
"Oi, watch it, mate. I'm the only one who orders my crew around." He warned as he drew his sword, even though it had been some time since he'd had a crew.
"And at the moment we happen to be the leaders of this town so that reinforces what he said. Let Smee go and we'll talk about why you're looking for us. Starting with who you are." David spoke in a calm yet authoritative manner from years of being royalty.
"Alright, but only because I'm here for something that means far more than my reputation." The man in black grumbled as he sheathed his sword and shoved Smee towards them. "I am the dread pirate Roberts and this is my wife."
"No way!" Killian heard Henry whisper in awe behind him. "This is so cool."
"Try a less colorful moniker, mate. We both know you're not really Roberts." He stated with his own sword at his side but still at the ready. He'd met the real Roberts half a century ago while on an errand for Pan and knew the name had been passed on to others since then.
"You're right, my name is Westley and I'm hardly a pirate anymore. But I felt it was necessary to use the name to make sure we get what we're after." Westley answered and put his arm around his wife. Suddenly Killian figured out why Henry was so captivated. Westley, the dread pirate Roberts, and Buttercup were part of one of his and Emma's favorites, The Princess Bride.
"Pirate or not, why should we help you after the panic you just caused?" Leroy budded in.
"Our daughter has been kidnapped. We can't defeat her captor on our own. Please, we've heard of this land and what you've done for others to restore their happy endings. Help us get ours back." Westley's wife, Buttercup, pled with them.
Killian was reminded of Emma's desperateness when Henry was taken to Neverland. Saying no to a mother in search of her child was bad form, but the similarities to Emma made it impossible for Killian to deny her. Plus Westley must have been one hell of a man to earn the title of the dread pirate Roberts and Killian looked forward to working with him.
"Of course we will, lass, you have my word from one old pirate to another. It might not mean much, to some people but…" He assured them and glared at Leroy.
"But there is honor among thieves. Thank you." Westley nodded.
"I'm not sure how you got here but I know travelling through portals isn't easy and it probably goes the same for any other way. How about we find a place for you to rest and we'll talk about what happened and how we can get your daughter back." David suggested and Westley looked like he was about to argue but his wife looked like she could use it so he agreed.
CS
"Thank you," Westley nodded as he took a cup of coffee and sipped. "Now that's how it's supposed to be. In our land it's all wine and brandy. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a decent glass of rum."
"Really, Hook, you put rum in coffee this early?" David asked in disbelief but Killian really didn't know why. He'd been around the family for how long now?
"Pirate." Both he and Westley answered at the same time.
"So where is this land of yours? You're from Florin right? Is that in the Enchanted Forest?" Henry asked with barely contained excitement.
"We live on a secluded island and make voyages every few months to some seaside villages when we need things. It's not part of the Enchanted Forest and we don't have magic. But we do have miracles." Buttercup explained, not at all phased by the stream of questions. "It gave us a chance at family, adventure, and we thought it was the safest from him. I guess we were wrong."
"You mean Prince Humperdink? You think he took your daughter?" David asked as he made himself a fresh coffee, assuming the other was contaminated.
"He's actually king now. But how do you know so much about us already?" Westley told them with wariness in his eye.
"There's a book and a mov…let's just say you have quite the legacy in this land." Henry explained as best he could to those still new to modern contraptions.
"I see." Westley nodded dubiously and Killian couldn't blame him. He remembered all his firsts with new experiences and ways of living in this land.
"Well, at first we thought it was Humperdink." Buttercup brought the subject back. "He married someone else eventually but they never had children, rumors are he is unable to father a child. We thought his motive might be to take our child as his heir but the people would know it wasn't his or think her illegitimate and couldn't take the throne anyway."
"If only we knew who it was then we could do something. But without knowing who we are dealing with…" Westley vented in frustration and only calmed when his wife placed her hand on his shoulder. "We need your help."
"Well, most of the ones with magic around here are out of town and I doubt Rumpelstiltskin will help us. When they come back though…"
"We don't need magic, mate." Killian interrupted David. "They said themselves their land doesn't have magic like ours so we probably won't need it to defeat our foe. We might not have tracking spells or magic mirrors but I'm a pirate with a few tricks up my sleeve. A pirate can get his hands on anything he wants if the prize means enough. And there is nothing greater than a loved one."
Killian was referring to Westley's daughter but truly he was thinking about his own loved ones and that was the passion that fueled his statement. When Swan took on the darkness to save Regina, he couldn't get to her fast enough. He was constantly at odds with the others for taking too long or when they tried to reason with him when all that mattered was Emma. He became a pirate for his brother, determined to find anything to do with the Dark One to avenge Milah, and fought Blackbeard and Lost Boys to get home to Emma when Gideon vanished him.
"I'm game." Henry stated with sincerity and excitement. "The others are on a cruise and having their own adventure. Why shouldn't we do the same?"
"I don't think it'll be quite the same but why not. I don't think I've done anything like this since Hook and I went to get the bean." David quickly agreed.
"Let's hope this adventure doesn't end with a dragon chasing us and falling hundreds of feet." He laughed good-naturedly but honestly did not want to repeat it. Then he turned to Westley. "We'll be ready to sail at first light, mate."
Thank you for reading this first chapter of Home, True Love, Family. Yes, the title is inspired by Anastasia. Though that is not the focus of this story. I got the idea before season 7 premiered to have a story with Emma in the background but not gone altogether. Which is why I tagged her because she will be involved in the 2nd half. It has taken me forever to write but this story is complete so there will be consistent updates once a week. I hope you stick around for the new journey our heroes are about to take. And the chapters will become a little longer as the story goes on.