Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time

AN: Here it is. . . The new story, Lost Souls! A big thank you to GranddaughterOfCaskettAndTivia for all her help. She's absolutely amazing. If you guys get a chance, jump over to her profile to check out her work. I hope everyone enjoys this story! ~ XOXO MAS

Prologue

Sea of Misthaven

Nine-year old Killian Jones blinked his eyes open. The tiny cabin was dark, the lantern having burned out. Swallowing hard, he squinted and glanced across the way at his older brother. "Liam?" He asked. "Liam?" His brother, thirteen-year old Liam didn't move. Killian was convinced the teenager slept like he was dead. "Liam!" He raised his voice.

Liam let out a grunt and rolled over. "What, Killian? It's the middle of the night," he yawned. "Aren't you tired?"

Killian was already shaking his dark head. "No, I'm scared."

Liam sighed and shuffled closer to the wall by his bunk. "C'm here," he slurred out sleepily.

Killian nearly tripped over his nightshirt in his haste to get to his older brother, dragging his blanket after him. He scrambled up in the bed and curled into his brother's side. "Do you think Papa will be back down to check on us soon?" He asked, tucking his head under his brother's arm.

Liam shrugged lazily. "We'll see him in the morning." He yawned again. "Go to sleep, Killian," he urged.

"Alright. Night Liam," Killian murmured, the rocking of the boat and the warmth emanating from Liam finally providing him with the peace he needed to fall asleep.

OUAT

The following morning a loud thud caused Killian to jump out of his skin, toppling out of Liam's bunk and onto the floor. The early morning sun was just peeking in behind the man in the doorway. "Up, ye go, ye sea rats."

Liam let out a grumble. "What time is it, Papa?" He asked groggily.

"It's time to get up, ye have work to do to earn ye keep," the old man sneered at them.

Sitting up, Liam reached down to pull Killian back up on the bed. "Earn our keep?" He asked. "Papa paid for our passage on this ship already."

"Aye, he paid for his escape route," the man agreed. "He sold you two to me. I need bodies to help keep her up. Now, get dressed and report to duty on deck," he ordered sharply.

Killian shook his head. "No! Papa wouldn't leave us, he wouldn't-"

"He left in the middle of the night. He's gone off to escape the law in some other land. All the royals of Misthaven are looking for him. Now, get up and get dressed." He turned, the cabin door slamming shut behind him.

Killian's eyes watered as he looked up at Liam. "Liam, what's going to happen?"

Swallowing hard, Liam nudged Killian up into a standing position. "We get dressed and get up on deck like we were told to. From there, I don't know yet."

Sniffling, Killian nodded. "And Papa?" He asked.

Squaring his shoulders, Liam shrugged. "We move on."

OUAT

Misthaven Two Days Later

Eight-year old Princess Emma bounced up and down on her seat in the carriage. "We're going to have so much fun!" She gushed.

Queen Snow laughed lightly at her daughter. "Yes, we will, Emma, but you should settle down. You're wrinkling your dress with all that movement," she chastised lightly.

"How can I sit still when I'm so excited?" She asked.

Her father, King David, let out a deep chuckle. "It has been awhile since we've been to Arendelle to see Elsa and Anna," he observed. At Snow's disapproving look, he rolled his eyes. "She's eight, Snow," he reminded her.

"Yes, Mama, I'm eight." Emma held up her fingers. "I'm going to be nine soon, though. So perhaps I should sit still," she mused, placing her hands demurely in her lap and trying not to fidget.

Snow snorted, a very unqueenly sound. "As if you could really sit still for longer than five minutes," she teased. She let out an umph as the carriage hit a particular bumpy patch. They were nearly to port, prepared to take a ship to Arendelle to visit King Harald and Queen Gerda and their two daughters Elsa, who was Emma's age, and her younger sister, Anna. Gerda and Snow had grown up together until Snow's father died and Regina took over the kingdom. By then, Gerda and Harald were ruling Arendelle. They'd provided troops to Snow and David to take back Snow's kingdom.

"I can be still," Emma replied, somewhat petulantly, as she forced herself to remain still.

Leaning over, David whispered in his wife's ear, "Very nice parenting, Snow. She can never back down from a challenge. Just like a certain dark-haired queen I know," he teased.

Snow turned her green eyes on her husband. "And here I thought she got that trait from her father." David let out a bit of laughter before drawing Snow's head in for a lingering kiss.

Emma scrunched her face up. "Gross," she complained, turning her head to look out the window instead. Her cheeks flushed at the sound of her parents' laughter across from her.

OUAT

The Sea of Misthaven

Four hours later, The Swan was cutting gracefully through the sea. The ship was christened when Emma was born, named for her. David called her his little Swan from the time she was born. Saying she was beautiful and perfect and graceful.

"How does the weather look?" David asked the captain as he watched over Snow and Emma, both of whom were seated up on deck. Snow was trying to teach Emma to sew, but the young princess was less than interested in the task at hand.

"It looks as though we'll have smooth sailing ahead of us, Your Majesty. Should the weather hold we'll be in Arendelle in just a week's time," he predicted.

David grinned. "Wonderful news. Thank you." He moved away, letting the captain shout out orders to his crew. Instead he picked up a sword for himself and a small cutlass for Emma. "Emma!" He called out. "How about a duel?" He challenged.

Emma beamed at her father, looking up at her mother hopefully. Snow sighed and took her sewing. "Go on, honey. It's hopeless to try to make you into a traditional princes anyhow," she conceded with no fight.

Leaning over, Emma pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "Thank you, Mama."

One of the sailor's paused next to Snow. "If I may, Your Majesty." He bowed slightly, waiting for Snow to nod before he continued. "Princess Emma may not be a traditional princess, but she's one of the most respectful and kind royal youngins I've had the pleasure of knowing. She's even kind to me own kids," he admitted.

Snow beamed up at the sailor. "Thank you. I'm so happy she is so kind. Traditional is overrated anyhow."

"Traditional would've left us under the command of the Evil Queen," the older man stated solemnly. "We're all quite happy to have a bandit queen to serve under." He bowed deeply. "It's an honor, Your Majesty."

Snow flushed lightly. "Believe me, it's all mine." A crack of thunder suddenly sounded off in the distance. "Oh dear, are we headed in that direction?" Snow stood suddenly, beckoning Emma towards her as a fierce wind picked up and rain that blew in out of nowhere began pelting down on them.

"Your Majesties, you should get below deck," the captain advised.

David ushered Snow and Emma below deck. "Can I help, Captain?" He asked. "Or would I simply be in the way?"

A line snapped at that moment and David lunged for it, hanging on for dear life. "King David, I wouldn't want to put you in harm's way." The captain took the wheel, trying to steady the ship.

David tugged at the line with another member of the crew. "I'm staying," he bit out. "You need the extra hands." He tugged harder. "I'll follow your orders, Captain. You're in charge," he assured the man, easily falling into line with the other sailors.

OUAT

Killian slid on the deck of the ship as he lost his footing. The storm had come out of nowhere. One minute it was sunny, the next rain with drops the size of hail was pouring down on them. "Captain!" The man in the crow's nest scrambled down. "There's a ship in the heart of the storm. Looks like a royal one."

The captain nodded grimly. "Get ready, we may have to provide some help," he ordered his crew.

OUAT

The waves crashed over the sides of the ship as the storm picked up. Lightning flashed above them and the captain began preparing the row boat, afraid that if lightning struck the ship the king, queen and princess could all go down with the ship.

Before the crew could even get the ship rigged up to drop into the ocean, the captain's fears came to life. "Get the princess and queen out from below!" He bellowed, his voice barely audible over the storm. "We need to get them off the ship." He latched onto David's arm. "We'll get you out," he promised.

"Just make sure Snow and Emma are safe," David begged as Emma and Snow appeared on deck.

They were instantly drenched through. "Mama! The ship is sinking!" Emma cried out, her eyes landing on the bow of the ship. It wasn't totally obvious yet, but the front end was capsizing slowly as water filled the hull.

"David," Snow, tugged on her husband's arm, keeping on hand grasped in Emma's, "we have to get off this ship."

"The rowboat is ready to go down, Captain!" Another sailor shouted just as another flash of lightening struck the middle of ship, starting a fire that even the rain didn't douse immediately.

"Get the boat down, we need to get you three of the ship now." The captain's eyes widened as the fire spread. It would hit the armory of the ship soon enough, causing the entire ship to blow. "Everyone needs to get off the ship!" He ordered. "Abandon your posts!"

He ordered his men to drop the lifeboat before anyone could even get into it. He was afraid if they took the time it would blow up before it hit the water. "We have to jump, Emma," David told his daughter tersely. "Just hold our hands and jump."

Emma swallowed hard, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the raindrops. She held on tightly and nodded. "Okay, Papa," she agreed.

They hit the water with a splash, sputtering as David urged Emma and Snow to move away from the ship. They'd barely hit the water when the ship exploded. Most of the men had already jumped with them, a few were thrown with the blast. He couldn't find the captain. "Can you get Emma?" He asked Snow, as the three of them treaded in the cool water.

Snow nodded. "Go help," she agreed, knowing that David wanted to move towards a couple of men who looked injured and were barely keeping their heads above water. "Come on, Emma, the rowboat was over here," she murmured.

"Go, sweetheart," David murmured. "I love you."

Emma nodded, keeping her strokes as sure and even as she could. She was an avid swimmer, but she'd only swum in lakes and never with a current like this one. Still, she focused all her energy on getting towards the boat. She couldn't see it, but she was sure her mother was leading her in the right direction. When they reached it, they found two crew members trying to right the small vessel. Sputtering, Snow ordered, "Get Emma to safety. I have to find Charming."

Emma's eyes widened as her mother turned to leave. "Mama!"

"Stay, Emma. I'll be back, darling. I love you," she assured her daughter just as the boat was flipped. Her eyes hardened on the men. "Take care of her," she ordered.

"Of course, Your Majesty." One of the men hauled himself up into the rowboat before reaching down to pull Emma up. "It's okay, Princess Emma, we've got you. You're safe."

OUAT

"Head towards her." The Captain ordered. "You two, prepare space below." He turned to face Liam and Killian. "We'll take in any survivors," he ordered his ship towards the vessel that had just exploded, praying for the lightning to stay away from his ship.

They were nearly to the royal ship when the storm seemed to pass, the current was still strong and it was a fight to stay off course, but the rain had lessened and the lightning was gone, the thunder slowly subsiding. "Captain, there's a small vessel with passengers in the water!" A crew member called out.

"We'll pull up near to her," the captain ordered.

When they were near enough to the rowboat, he called out that they'd seen the fire and to row close to the ship, they would help them. It took nearly thirty minutes to get the rowboat next to the ship and haul her up. The first to debark was Princess Emma. She was shivering and crying.

The captain's eyes widened. "Princess Emma?" He recognized her instantly. Dropping into a bow, he murmured, "Your Highness."

Emma looked up at the sailor's from her crew. "Mama and Papa?" She asked softly.

"We'll send a search party back out, Princess," a sailor answered, "but I'm afraid they may be gone." He straightened. "We need to get her warm."

"Of course, Liam, Killian, show them below," the captain snapped quickly, turning to face the young boys. "Now," he ordered.

Emma gave them a shy nod. "Thank you."

"Of course, Your Highness," Liam replied. "This way."

Emma was given towels and one of Killian's outfits and left alone in the cabin. She shivered as she did her best to undress and dry off. She hoped the men would find her parents, that they were just clinging to bits of the ship and they were alright.

OUAT

Later that evening while Emma sat quietly in the small cabin alone, a knock sounded. "Princess Emma?" One of her parents' sailors entered.

"My parents?" She asked softly.

He hung his head. "I'm afraid they're gone, Your Highness. We're going to sail back to their kingdom. I promise that we'll take care of you," he assured her. When the door closed she burst into tears, clinging to the pillow on the bunk she was sitting on. She cried herself to sleep wondering what would become of her now that her family was gone. She only had one living relative left, her grandfather King George. His kingdom neighbored theirs. She didn't know her grandfather that well. She only knew that he'd disowned her father when he ran off with Snow, but had recently sought to mend their relationship. Her father had hesitantly allowed it, so she'd only met him once or twice. She wondered if she'd be living with him now. That thought provided little comfort as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

OUAT

XOXO

MAS