All I wanted to do was collapse. I wanted to sleep forever. Just never wake up. I couldn't even look at Henry, let alone my parents. My parents had what I had fought so long for: true love. I didn't want to do it. I really didn't, but the way his eyes pleaded for me to, I couldn't not do it. It was to save everyone; well, everyone but him. But I had to be the one to do it, not anyone else. It wouldn't have been right. No, it had to have been me.
I knew it was true love before this, but I knew the moment that it all clicked. I was choking, losing air. I wouldn't die, but I was suffering. I was begging him with my eyes, help me, please, when I saw it. The tiniest change. His face, his eyes, changing just slightly from anger, full blown rage, to worry, or concern. That's when he called off Nimue. He battled through, for me. Because he loved me. He fought the darkness, and even though it fought back, he won. Kind of.
I took his ring off the chain as it slipped onto my ring finger. I fell to my knees, the tears beginning again, right when I thought I was finished. It didn't feel right. I was in the house he wanted for us. And now we could never have that future. That perfect dream life that we both wanted, that I had wanted all along with him, I just hadn't realized it. Maybe if I had told him sooner...
I forced myself to keep going until I reached the couch, lying flat so the tears streamed down the side of my face. I twisted the ring around and around, feeling every groove with my finger.
I tried not to blink. Any time I did, I saw him. I saw the wound on his neck. I saw his eyes losing their light. I saw him fall to the ground. I felt his body go limp. I could feel my parents restraining me as they covered his head with the sheet, his hand falling from mine as they wheeled him away. I could hear Henry crying. I felt part of my soul die with him.
Then I imagined what it would be like to sleep. The nightmares, the emptiness. Not having him beside me, holding me, telling me he would never leave. I used to believe him. And that's when I heard it. The dagger. Calling me.
Finding out about Gold was like losing Killian all over again. He wanted to die a hero, for the ones he loved, and Gold took that away from him. I was already forming a plan before I realized it. I called a meeting, doing what needed to be done.
When my parents questioned me, I felt like it was absurd. They would do the same thing, and they knew it. Then I came to the realization: if my parents could share a heart, I could certainly share one with my pirate. I looked over to Henry, who wasn't handling the death well at all. He gave me a short nod in support. Even if everyone else thought this idea was stupid, he didn't. Henry had my back in this, and that's what I really cared about.
As we made our way to the lake, I felt something. Hope. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could be happy. All that stood between me and my happy ending was Hell. We've probably dealt with worse.