Quick little AN, the main character's name is pronounced Māra. It sounds similar to "Amara", but without the A. ENJOY!
As often in fairy tales, a handsome and dashing man finds a beautiful and thoughtful woman; together they build a future and a happy ending just as all do. Previously, they go on some wild and bold adventure together, battling against all odds for justice or love for each other or for the people around them. More specifically, our heroes go through poisonous arrows, loss of love, magic-less fairies, a nasty queen, an overprotective father and a teenager with astounding stubbornness and still manage to find each other in the end.
Emma Swan is more commonly known as "the savior" and daughter of Snow White and the Prince. After her son, Henry, came back into her life, a huge weight of burden was carried on her shoulders because she could not raise him the way that she would have wanted to. She was truly lost in her own special way, and there was only one soul who could guide her and himself back into the light.
Killian Jones; aka "Hook" is the most ruthless pirate on the seven seas. He is the most well known and feared captain to ever sail the waters along with his crew on the Jolly Roger. But even cold and ruthless pirates can fall in love every now and then. Captain Jones had a lover; a woman he had stolen from her husband. He called her Milah. To his dismay, the husband returned even more powerful than Hook had expected and killed Milah in front of him. Killian was never the same after that.
It was only until Emma and Killian truly found each other on Neverland when they both finally came out of their misery. When Emma pulled him in closer towards her to kiss him like she had never kissed before, it had sealed their future forever. There was no turning back after that. They both knew it. Once all was said and done and Henry was returned to his home, the pair decided to live on the Jolly Roger while it was in the port of Storybrooke, Maine.
It was only a matter of time before Emma had discovered that she was with child once again. Henry was only 12 years old when he discovered the news of his new brother or sister. She and Killian were married the pirates way; no fancy ceremony, no big reception afterwards, no doves flying and not a white dress in sight.
The rest are just memories; bits and pieces of the story that come together to make a remarkable past, but all the same, just memories.
Emma would remember sitting below deck, the rocking of the ship soothing her troubles as she rubbed her baby bump in circles, remembering the good times before standing up became a struggle. One early evening, Killian came down below to see her with her eyes closed and her head leaned back against the wooden walls, her fingers patting against her stomach.
"All right there, love?" he asked, slowly stepping towards her.
"Killian..." she said sweetly, opening her eyes, "I'm fine. Do I not look okay?"
"You look radiant as ever," he smiled, getting down on one knee as he pressed his hands against his daughter, "has she moved?"
"Well she seems stubborn," Emma teased, "she'll move when she wants to, not when we expect it."
"Just like her mother in that way," he grinned.
"And her dad too," Emma raised her eyebrows and started playing with the tips of her husband's black hair, "Do you think she'll have blonde hair like me or black hair like you?"
He pursed his lips for a moment and then looked up at his wife, "I think either way she'll be the gem of the sea, eh?"
"Good answer, Hook," she said sternly.
From now on, she had only called him "Hook" as a pet name, rather than his actual name. Killian had sounded much more sincere to her and it made him seem more like a person, rather than something to be feared.
The Captain placed both of his hands on his lady's cheeks and placed a very gentle and sweet kiss on her lips that seemed to last longer than it should have. Emma then started to giggle.
"What is it, love?" he asked.
"She moved," she laughed, "Of all times to move, she chooses now."
"Ah, she's a frustrating sneaky one, then," he roared with laughter, touching her stomach and smiling down at her.
"Now we've figured out how she's like her dad," Emma joked.
"Easy there, sweetheart," Killian joked, playfully stroking the rim of his silver hook against her jawline.
Emma admired her husband for just a moment there. His wit, his devilish charm, his blue eyes, the rugged look that suited him perfectly. It made her wonder who her daughter was going to be like. Who was this girl going to become? And then it suddenly hit her.
"We haven't named her..."
Killian sighed, "I thought we were going to, as you say, 'wing it' when we first get to see her."
"But that was a hypothetical..." she groaned, "Let's just go through lists, right now."
"Fine then."
He grabbed a barrel from the corner of the room and sat on it, rubbing his hand against his head.
"Okay, I've come up with three names that I really like," she said, folding her hands together across her stomach, "Mia, Clara and Mary."
"Why Clara?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you have any better ideas?" she sassed.
"As a matter of fact, I do," he said before clearing his throat, "Annika, Marissa, and Scarlett."
"Scarlett?" it was now her turn to raise an eyebrow at him.
"It's a good strong pirate name," he nodded proudly.
"Not in my world it isn't," Emma coughed.
"All right then, why don't we compromise then," he said, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning closer towards her, "Let's both of our favorites and see what we can do."
"Clara," she said, nodding her head.
"Marissa," he said immediately after, "It means 'of the sea'... I want her to know where she comes from."
"So Marissa and Clara," Emma said, biting her lip while thinking, "What about... Mara?"
"Mara?" he asked, taken aback, but pleased at the same time.
Just memories came after that. The baby was born and the pair had agreed to name her Mara. Her full birth name became Mara Emily Jones. Mary-Margaret had always told her husband, David, that their new granddaughter had a name that was unique, special and strong, just like her.
More memories filled in one after the other. Killian taught Mara about defending herself on the sea while Emma taught her how to defend herself on the land. With the help of the garden of magic beans, the Jones family continued to travel back and forth between the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, Maine in order for Mara to have the full family experience she deserves. That was always what her parents wanted for themselves.
12 years later, everything went wrong.