Since my muse hasn't abandoned me yet, I asked saraswans for a prompt to help me continue practicing with my writing. And that's what happened.
Emma writhed in her seat, unable to remain still. She was stuck at a bar in the damn Minnesota while she waited for her husband to return from the hotel where they were staying.
It was all his fault, she thought, letting out a sigh of annoyance. If she hadn't accepted his stupid idea... She cursed under her breath, the first traces of regret beginning to appear. Because it all started like this, with a wild idea, in the best style of her husband. As she waited, her mind traveled two weeks back, remembering when this trip was just a project.
After their wedding and the final battle, there was nothing to stop her from being happy. But all happiness comes with a price, at least this was her case. Hers came in the form of her ghosts of the past resurfacing after a long time hidden in a deep corner of her mind.
She wasn't alone this time, though. Killian came up with a suggestion on how to beat the damn ghosts once and for all.
"I've been thinking..." He began to talk casually, downplaying what he was about to say. "Since our honeymoon was rather short and Storybrooke seems to be going through a long period of calm, maybe you and I could embark on another trip."
She tilted her head slightly, an inquiring look on her face, wanting to know what he had in mind this time. "A trip, eh? And what would be our destination? Some idyllic place, set apart from the rest of the world, I hope."
He narrowed one eye and wrinkled his nose as he scratched behind his ear. "Actually, I had thought of something more instructive. Maybe it would be a good idea for us to make a route to the places where you've lived so that we could replace your bad memories of those places by creating new memories on our own." His tentative and somewhat unconcerned tone didn't match his eyes, which couldn't conceal the true meaning of his words.
She refused it, of course. She didn't want to think about walking again the streets of Phoenix or Minnesota or even less Portland. — No way, thank you very much.— But she was tired of struggling and trying to hide her bad experiences, so little by little, Killian's suggestion settled in her head until she finally made the decision. If she could face a damn dragon or countless monsters and villains she could also face her own ghosts from the past.
And that's how they ended up in their first destination. Minnesota. They hadn't even spent one day there and her state of nervousness had already generated, among other things, that Emma had forgotten her cell phone in the hotel bedroom. Killian had kindly offered to fetch it, since, how could he not? He was a gentleman after all. So here she was, waiting for his return in a bar, with a drink in her hand, anxiously watching the time on her watch.
"Emma? Emma Swan?"
She lifted her head, confused to hear her name in a random bar in a city where she hadn't been for an eternity. Following the direction of the sound, she turned her head to meet two women about the same age as her, who were looking at her with surprise expressions.
"Yeah?" She replied still confused.
"Oh my God, so are you!" Both women approached. The moment she could see their features more closely, reality hit her. She knew these two women. Somewhere in her brain, there was a memory of them, although it still appeared rather diffuse.
"I'm Brittany and this is my sister Betsy." The woman who looked older offered her hand, while they both smiled gently. Emma shook their hands in a somewhat hesitant gesture, not yet sure of what was happening. It took her a few seconds to process the information, but after hearing their names, her brain clicked and she finally remembered. They had been schoolmates in the brief time she had lived in the city.
In case she had any doubts, Brittany helped bring back her memories. "Do you remember? We were in the same class for a while, while you lived with that woman. Ingrid was her name?"
Emma froze at that name, but she recovered instantly, nodding, a small smile on her face. The purpose of the trip had been to confront her bad memories of the past, and this would be her first test.
They chatted for a while. The two sisters seemed to have a genuine curiosity about what had been of her life in recent years. Emma found herself quite comfortable talking about her past and pleasantly surprised by the treatment the two women were giving her. In her teenage years, she hadn't bonded with anyone, except perhaps with Lily. She remembered that although these two girls hadn't been close friends, at least they had treated her with respect, something unusual at that time.
A few minutes later, the front door opened, giving way to Killian, finally. She couldn't keep the corners of her lips from rising, drawing a wide smile as she recreated herself for a few seconds in his magnificent appearance before he detected her.
"Oh my god!" Brittany hummed beside her. "The night has just gotten even more interesting. Guys, have you seen that man?"
They turned their gaze to Killian, their faces brightened as they gave him dreamy glances, while both licked their lips in anticipation. She repressed a chuckle as she saw the effect her husband had on other women. Far from feeling jealous, tough, a wave of pride washed over her. That was her man.
"Do you mean that devilishly handsome guy? The one with the leather jacket, looking like a bad boy but with an adorable gaze?" She smiled wickedly just as Killian noticed her. His face lit up the moment their eyes met, his glittering gaze and wide smile directed only at her as he walked, shortening the distance between them.
The two women turned their heads towards her, with a gesture of confusion on their faces. "Do you know him?" Betsy asked, pointing to him.
"Yeah, I'm her boss. I'm the sheriff of a small town and he's my deputy. He happens to be my husband as well." She confessed with poorly concealed pride, her gaze alternating between the two sisters and Killian as he approached.
It was almost comical, the form so similar in which the two sisters reacted. Their eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed, showing a hint of jealousy and finally, they widened again, matching the wide smiles that appeared on their faces. "Oh, man, you are such a lucky girl."
"I know." Just then Killian came to her side and she couldn't resist, welcoming him with a tender kiss. Then she introduced him to the two women. "Hey, Killian, these are Brittany and Betsy. They're old acquaintances of my time in Minnesota, we went to the same high school."
Killian tensed at her side, giving her a scrutinizing glance, trying to decide whether she was okay or whether the encounter with them had caused her some trouble. She smiled back at him, causing him to relax instantly.
The four held a lively chat for a while longer, Killian attentive to any anecdote that the two women could tell about her. The sisters weren't able to hide the expressions of awe each time they addressed him, causing her heart to swell more and more in her chest. They said goodbye a little later, not before sharing their phone numbers and promising that they would be in touch.
As they walked toward the exit, Killian wrapped his arm around her waist, pushing her toward him. "I deduce that your first confrontation with the past has gone well."
She nodded, her nerves gone for the first time since they began their journey. This unexpected encounter had been the easy part. She knew she would still have to deal with much more painful memories. But one thing was certain, with Kilian at her side everything seemed much more bearable. She felt capable of defeating any obstacle that got in the way of her happiness.