AN: As everyone knows by now I am Cat. I have a fic called the Mermaids Tale which is a dark AU featuring our favorite ship. I encountered a problem trying to write it with the plot that I had originally imagined seeing as though I start fics without really thinking them through so I have decided to plan and rewrite it with a better vision of what I want. I don't think it will be as dark as I originally wanted but I think it will make a lot more sense. That being said, I don't plan to delete the other fic but this will be the one I will be updating (HA! As if I actually update anything!) I had a small break between adulting and my second semester of journalism school to work on this so I decided to just go for it. I know a lot of you are still waiting for other fics to be updated and I really have no clear answer for any of you and probably never will, especially given everything I have on my plate right now. I am just writing however I want and whenever I want. I am just doing me and posting as this little spurts of creativity come to me. Love you guys for the continued support and I hope that my writing doesn't disappoint. -Cat
-The Mermaids Tale Reimagined-
Chapter One
The wood splintered where the swords clashed against one another in the heat of battle, each swipe of the wooden blade clamoring for dominance. Killian spun on the heel of his foot, countering the next blow above his head as his opponent sprung backward spritely onto his feet towering over him.
"You'll never win little brother," Liam sneered from atop the stairs. "I have the high ground," he boasted with a triumphant grin.
Killian sneered at his brother, calculating his next move carefully.
"Besides dear brother, you are too late," he let out a villainous cackle at his expense. A figure dressed in pink emerged from the shadows, her body shifting helplessly under his arm.
"Killian, help me! Please!" she begged, fighting against her captors hold.
Killian swallowed the lump in his throat, resisting the urge to charge at him with a feverish battle cry. "You will rue the day you messed with me! Release her now, or suffer the consequences," he challenged, twirling his sword against the biting wind.
"Oh come on already," the princess rolled her eyes impatiently. The princess stamped one of her delicate heeled feet on her captor's toes and he howled in pain. Her assailant doubled backwards, losing his footing along with the grip on his weapon after a carefully placed elbow to the chest. The princess seized the hilt of the blade in her hand before it hit the ground and placed it at the heart of her attacker. "Any last words," she looked down on him, twisting the blade into his pulsing heart and he winced under its pressure.
"Emma!" Killian groaned in protest as he hurried up the stairs of the courtyard. "You did it again!" He complained, placing a hand on his hip.
"So," she shook her blonde locks at him. "I am tired of always being the damsel in distress. It is unrealistic. I am a better swordsman than both of you put together," she jeered with a confident smile.
"Not all of us have private instructors we have been taking lessons from since they were out of the womb," Killian argued.
"We are also not that kin to the best swordsman in the realm," Liam added from his spot on the ground.
"So what you are saying is that you need the practice?" She curled her lip in amusement.
"Not exactly," Killian said distracting the princess long enough for his brother to once again gain the upper hand.
"Never turn your back on a blade dear princess," the eldest brother reminded the apprehended girl.
Emma whined and crossed her arms in defeat. "Bad form," she stated, narrowing her eyes. "It takes a dirty trick for you to win."
The brothers tried to contain their fits of laughter but it left like spit from their mouths.
"You have never played fair your highness," Killian managed to get out between laughs as Liam coughed and sputtered beside him.
"I have never resorted to such tactics," she asserted with a huff, turning her head away from them in insult.
Princess Snow peered down at the feuding children in the courtyard below from her window, an uneasy expression marring her porcelain face as she looked on. "She is getting too close to them David," she voiced her concern.
"Easy Snow," David warned, pulling her away from the window and leading her toward a small seating area in the middle of the room. "Let her enjoy her life while she still can," he reasoned sweetly.
"I just don't want to see anyone get hurt," she said with remorse. "There are only a few more months left until…"
"I know," he cut her off, his face falling at the reminder. "Don't dwell on it and just enjoy the time we have left with our daughter," he told her solemnly, placing a kiss to her temple.
"Who is to say that something will even happen? The day could come and go with nothing wrong. Maybe… maybe Reginia forgot. Or maybe it isn't what we think at all you never-"
David took both of his wife's hands in his, effectively quieting her. "Whatever happens. We will face it together," he vowed.
"I hope your right."
The royals and new parents smiled proudly over the crowd of friends and loyal subjects gathered in the great hall to witness this important event. David lifted the swaddled infant above his head for all to see.
"It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Princess-"
The doors of the hall burst open suddenly revealing the couple's nemesis- Queen Reginia.
David scooped the baby into his arms and pressed her protectively against his chest.
Regina sneered, twirling around dramatically to face the people of the court who cowered in her presence. "I didn't come for any of you. I wanted to bring a gift to celebrate the arrival of the new princess" she grinned sinisterly. "However, it isn't quite finished yet. No, this gift won't be ready for another 8 years. On the eve of the girl's 8th birthday she will victim to a terrible curse," Reginia explained.
The crowd gasped and she smiled in amusement at their fear. "Enjoy this birthday because everyone that passes from here on out will be closer to her last."
Snow woke with a start, the sheets beneath her soaked with sweat at the distant memory that has haunted her dreams for the last 8 years. Snow swept the covers from her body and rose to her feet in haste.
The date she had been fearing was approaching quickly with no solution in sight. She had seen the faeries that lived in the forest, consorted with healers, and fussed with witches, and none knew the answer to her query. How could this be stopped? She had refused to admit defeat and consulted a wise wizard known only as the Dark One. His dark magic was of legend and was said to have put an end to a once great evil but like all magic came at a great cost; one that they hadn't been able to pay.
"We will find another way Snow," David reasoned with his wife.
"There is no other way… we have to take what we can get," she argued.
"I am not willing to sacrifice another one of our children… even one that has yet to be conceived," David pleaded with her. "We just have to have faith that there is another way…" He gave her a half-hearted smile as he looked down upon her tear stained grief-stricken face.
"We don't even know what this curse is Charming. How are we supposed to prepare for something that we don't know?"
David took his gloved finger, carefully swiping away a tear that had managed to slip from her eye, "We don't…" He choked out sorrowfully.
Snow's face fell in defeat at his words but she knew he was right. It would be something that they would need to be patient and wait out.
"We are true love," he said matter of factly, smiling softly at recalling the memory of their own story. "We can face any curse and any length of time apart because we always find each other," he said causing her to sniffle.
"She will find us," Snow declared absolutely.
"She will find us," he agreed. "True love's kiss will break whatever spell she might be under and she will return to us."
Snow chanced a glimpse at her sleeping husband snoring softly in bed, a grimace forming at her lips at the surge of memories of the last few years. Snow seized her silk dressing robe from the chair nearby and threw it over her shoulders before grabbing the lit candle from the nightstand and bringing it to her line of vision. "I'm sorry Charming," she whispered to his sleeping form.
Snow threw open the doors, dashing down the hallway of the castle with soft footfalls as her robe billowed behind her in the night. She kept a grip on the candle stick and used her other hand to cradle the flame from the chill of the hall as she ran toward her daughter's nursery.
The guard posted at her door afforded her a small smile, the two exchanging a mutual understanding in silence as he allowed her to pass. She had done this several times over the last few years but it had only gotten worse over time. Three months from now she would lose her beloved daughter to a curse and she was helpless to stop it. She had become one of those over baring and over protective mothers she had sworn to herself she would never be but what choice did she have but to hold her daughter close and never let go?
Snow let out a sigh of relief as she rounded the bed to find her daughter asleep under the covers, her soft child-like snores echoing the room. Snow relinquished her hold on the candle stick and placed it at the bedside to ward off anyone who wished to do her child harm before removing her robe and crawling into bed beside the sleeping girl.
Emma stirred, gargling in her sleep as the bed creaked. "Mom?" she questioned groggily.
"Hush now. Go back to sleep." Snow cooed wrapping her arms around her daughter and pulling her sleeping form closer into her tight safe embrace. She held her tightly against her body, crying softly in the child's blonde locks letting the proximity of her daughter loll her back into a restless sleep.
Early the next morning, David crept into the nursery doorway and crossed his arms at the sight of his wife asleep alone in their daughter's bed. He leaned against the doorway causing the door to creak and crossed his arms across his chest.
Snow stirred awake at the sound, stretching her arms over her head and yawning.
"You did again," he tisked with a shake of his head.
Snow's eyes screwed open immediately, placing an outstretched palm out next to her and gripped the cold sheets beside her on the bed. "Emma!" she shouted, alarmed by the vacant spot on the bed.
"Is with Greta in the kitchen getting breakfast," he pushed himself off the door and closed the distance between himself and the bed. "This is the third time this week Snow. You can't keep doing this," he noted, his eyebrows knitting together with concern.
"I know…" she groaned at herself, running her hands down her face with mild embarrassment.
"Do you?" he countered. "You can't keep living like every single day is going to be the last. We agreed to make things as normal for her as possible," he reminded. "This isn't normal Snow. Far from it," he added for good measure.
"I have three months left. Three Charming!" she gripped the sheets beneath her, balling them in her hands as she shouted. "I want to savor every last second with her before she is ripped away from us! From me!" she fought against the tears forming in her eyes.
"I don't want her to see you like this. You are tearing yourself apart with worry. You can't change what is going to happen. You can't save her but you can save her childhood. Don't let her live in a constant state of fear like you are… like you have been for the last few years…" he grimaced, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his wife as she sobbed into his neck.
"Slow down, you!" Midge, the kitchen aid called after the children running through the kitchen in a fit of giggles.
Killian stepped up on his tiptoes, his large blue eyes peering up beneath thick black locks toward the plate of crisp buttery toast sitting on the counter in front of him. He licked his lips and fetched himself a piece into his greedy hands. "Midge?" he asked between bites. "Where is Papa this morning? I didn't see him this morning."
"Your father left late last night on business I'm afraid. He should return later this evening I suspect," she told the boy while vigorously stirring the bowl of batter sitting underneath her arm. "Run along now and get washed up for breakfast," she nodded toward the door.
Killian ran into the kitchen door with the toast sitting half-hazardly in his mouth and the door swung to and frow behind him. He took his toast to the dock, casually eating as his tiny feet swayed back and forth over the edge of the water as he watched the boats in the ocean.
"I should have known you were here…" a small voice said from behind him.
The ten-year-old boy looked up to find his friend Emma, her hair blowing in breeze of the sea, the sun kissing her cheeks as she smiled at him. "Mind if I sit next to you?" she asked, taking a seat beside him on the dock before he could even answer her.
"How did you find me?" he pouted.
"You always come here to wait for your Pa to return when he leaves…" she said looking out into the water, squinting her eyes against the sun blazing down on them.
"Do not!" he denied fiercely, pushing her slightly off balance.
"It isn't nice to hit a lady," she berated him with a slap across the back making him nearly spit out his food.
"You're no lady, your just Emma…" the preteen tossed his hair, shaking the girl off.
"He's coming back you know, he always does." She assured him with her soft childlike voice.
"Just go away Emma…" he shrugged, taking another bite of toast and turning his back away from her.
"Fine. But when you are ready to stop sulking, you know where to find me…"
Killian hadn't returned to the castle all day and when Liam went to search for him and hadn't returned himself, she began to grow restless with worry for the boys she had become quite fund of.
"Mother, have you seen Killian today?" the young princess wondered, tugging on her mother's gown.
"I'm sorry. I haven't seen him dear."
Emma pursed her lips in thought before sprinted from the castle toward the docks just as a ship was loading up with its cargo and its crew. She came to an abrupt halt on the dock as she saw Killian being led away by two men dressed in nautical regalia. "Wait! Killian!"
Killian fought against the males that held him, squirming to reach the young princess who he called friend. "Emma!" he called out to her, grunting as he tried to kick his way through.
"Unhand him!" she charged toward the men, her pink dress spouting out from her as she ran. "My name is Princess Emma and I demand that you unhand him at once!"
The two gap toothed men exchanged confused looks at one another and then at the princess.
"This is no business of yours princess, beat it!" Another man interrupted, getting between her and Killian.
"It is my business. He is my friend and under royal employ," she insisted, trying to pry the men's arms away from Killian.
"Not anymore he ain't," one of the men coughed from beside Killian.
"What do you mean?" She implored, confusion coloring her cheeks.
"He's been sold," the other man spoke up.
"Sold?" She contemplated. "To whom?" She demanded, her brow furrowing.
"To me." The other gentleman crossed in front of the heated exchange with the cross of his arms. "His father sold the lot of them to my charge in order to pay off his gambling debts," the ships supposed captain explained.
"You must let me pay the debt! I have money!" Emma asserted, staring down the men that held her friend's captive. This was far from the game they had played just yesterday, this was real.
The men poked out their chests and laughed at the young princess.
"I'll tell you what. I like your spunk," he teased. "If you manage to return with 200 gold before my ship is set to leave, I will free both the boys," he offered with a sly smile.
"Deal." She nodded her head in determination, extending her hand to shake his in understanding.
Killian stood helplessly wide eyed as he watched the exchange, his brows raised in disbelief. The annoying princess who always followed he and his brother around was bargaining for both their lives. Why?
The man cackled cruelly. "I don't shake. As far as your concerned, your time started two minutes ago…"
Emma's expression widened in fear and she nearly tripped over herself and her dress as she turned on her heels to return to the castle with the funds needed to free them.
The men laughed enthusiastically behind her as she ran back toward the castle and the one in charge gave the order to load up as quickly as they could and if they did they would receive a bonus for their efforts.
The young girl raced through the woods, her determination urging her forward even as her body grew too tired to move. Emma eventually reached the castle grounds, stopping just beyond of the large double doors leading out to the garden where just yesterday they had been playing like the children they were. So much had changed since then.
She didn't have much time to reflect when there was a race against the clock. She paused momentarily to catch her breath before stomping up the stairs and throwing open the doors. "Mom! Dad!" She screamed, catching their attention from down the hall from the landing.
"Emma!" They rushed toward her, their faces agasp with fear as the reached her trembling body.
"What is wrong?" Her mother asked, bending down to her level to look her over. Her dress was torn, her face smudged with dirt, and there was a gash on her knee from one of the tree branches that had caused her to slip and fall.
"I need 200 pieces of gold," she managed to get out, her breath heavy.
"You can have whatever you want sweetie," David assured her. "What on earth do you need it for?" He wondered.
"Liam… Killian… They have Killian!" She cried, unable to hold it back any longer.
"Harriot!" Snow rose to her feet, calling for her handmaid.
Harriot rushed to the woman's side and waited on baited breath for her request.
"Fetch 200 pieces of gold from the royal treasury at once. Be quick about it, there are lives at stake!" Snow told the woman who nodded her confirmation and began barking orders which quickly spread throughout the castle.
Emma threw her arms around her father, crying into his shoulder out of fear for her comrades whose fate was in her incapable hands.
"I could kill him." David gritted through his teeth, referring to the young boy's father.
"They are but boys, David." Snow reminded him, pacing the hallway in wait for the funds. "And to put this responsibility on to a mere girl… our girl…" she amended, putting a hand on her hip.
"Send for my hand and tell him to meet us at the docks." David instructed a nearby guard.
The maid returned with the purse containing 200 gold coins, one hundred coins for each boy, and a very hefty sum and made their way to the docks.
The armored guards galloped toward the guards in haste. Emma rode on her father's saddle, safely contained in his lap while her mother stayed behind.
"Yah! Yah!" He urged it along with the clap of the reins, his feet kicking the side of the horse to move faster.
"Hurry!" Emma said, her hair sticking wildly to her face.
The horse stalled, bucking on its hind legs as they reached the docks, not wanting to go any further. David looked on in horror as the boat pulled away from the docks, the waves crashing along its side and carrying the boat to sea.
"No…" David muttered.
"No!" The young girl screamed, jumping from the horse without warning and falling ungracefully onto the wooden dock.
"Emma…" David reached out for her.
"Killian!" Emma ran the length of the dock, tears falling ceaselessly from her eyes. "Killian!" She called out breathlessly before falling to her knees at the very end of the dock, the boat still in sight but yet so far away. "Killian!" she sobbed, collapsing into a fit of tears into the empty dock. "I tried Killian. I tried. I am so sorry," she spoke to him amidst the tears in an apology he would never hear. "I'm sorry…" she whispered helplessly.
Charming unseated his horse and leapt onto the dock, jogging toward the boat at sea and over to his daughter.
"He's gone Dad," she sniffled, bringing a tear to his eye.
Not even a prince could give his daughter everything she wanted in life. At that moment he felt like a complete failure.
"I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough angel," he apologized, wiping some of the tears from his eyes before she could see them. David bent his knee to the dock and cradled his teary-eyed daughter into his arms. He took her back to the horse and saddled her back for the trip back to the castle.
David carried Emma inside the castle, the girl had cried herself to sleep on the way back. The doors opened to reveal a hopeful Snow, her expression falling when the entered without the boys and a shake of his head to confirm the worst.
"I wasn't fast enough." He told her.
Snow stood before him, stretching her arms around him to encompass her family.
As promised, on the eve of Princess Emma's 8th birthday the curse came for her and everyone in the kingdom. The memories of that day and every day for the last 8 years were erased from their minds. The boys and the ill-fated princess were both lost at sea and it wouldn't be for another twenty years until they would be found.
AN: Sorry if my writing got a little sloppy toward the end. I just wanted to power through it seeing as though this was the first chapter and it was already much longer than I had originally planned it to be. Hope you guys still liked it though. Any thoughts?
P.S. This fic is rated M for later chapters because you know me, it's not one of mine unless there is smut, so not to worry.