I JUST POSTED CHAPTER 73 OF 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN A LAND FAR FAR AWAY' FOR ANY READERS WHO READ THAT STORY AND MISSED IT (I KNOW, WHY WOULD YOU CHECK TO SEE IF I'VE UPDATED SINCE IT'S BEEN A MONTH LOL?) YOU'LL BE PROUD OF ME, THOUGH; I FINISHED THAT CHAPTER BEFORE I STARTED WRITING THIS. I INTENDED FOR IT TO BE A ONE-SHOT, BUT AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT, I THINK I CAN DO A SECOND CHAPTER AS A NICE LITTLE WRAP UP TYPE THING THAT TIES MY JUMBLED THOUGHTS TOGETHER. ENJOY AND FEEL FREE TO DROP A COMMENT IF YOU HAVE TIME! *INSERT SMILEY FACE HERE*.
I DO NOT OWN ONCE UPON A TIME OR ITS CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO ABC.
From the moment Snow first told him they were having a child, he couldn't wait to meet him or her. He'd always envisioned himself living on the farm he grew up on with his wife and their little boy (who was spoiled by his grandmother, yet was the sweetest little thing anyone had ever met.) Never once did it cross his mind that he'd be living in a castle with a princess/queen (because Snow's official title was still being decided) as a wife, his beloved mother gone, and a little girl. But that didn't matter. None of that did. All that mattered was the fact that he and the woman he loved were having a baby, one that he already loved more than anything.
He also never thought that his wife and newborn daughter would be stripped away from him.
The wardrobe only takes one. The words echoed in his mind as he sat in the rocking chair in his daughter's nursery, staring at the empty crib. Of course Snow had to go through. It was the only logical solution. They had to get Emma to safety, and she needed someone to guide her on her path to becoming the Savior. He and Snow had decided to wait as long as they could, until either the Curse was coming or Emma was coming, and Snow would go through.
He wouldn't get to meet his baby girl until she was twenty eight years old. Just the mere thought of never getting to hold his daughter was crushing him. All of the things he was going to teach her, like how to wield a sword or ride a horse or how to fight, he'd never get to do. Of course, Snow was more than capable to instruct her in all of those areas, but at twenty eight, what could he teach her? What kind of wisdom or advice could he provide her with when they were practically the same age? Would she even want to know him?
There was no doubt in his mind that Emma would be exactly like her mother, more so now that she would never even know he existed growing up. He knew Snow would tell her stories of the two of them every day and tell her how much he loved her, but that was no substitute for having her father with her every day. Surely she would have her mother's wild black hair, but maybe she would inherit his cerulean eyes. Her personality would be all Snow, he was sure of it. The thought made him smile for the first time in what felt like days. He would have two beautiful, fiery princesses on his hands once the Curse broke.
None of his thinking changed the fact that when Snow walked into the nursery with a forced smile on her face, all he could see in her swollen belly was a twenty eight year old. His twenty eight year old baby girl. He, too, forced a smile on his face, though both knew they weren't fooling the other. It was a sucky plan any way he looked at it, but it was a plan. There was hope. He would keep his daughter safe at all costs, especially if this was the only thing he would ever be able to do for her.
Because at twenty eight, he was certain she wouldn't need him.