As often in modern tales, all good things must come to an end. More often than not, a person's story doesn't end with the phrase "Happily Ever After". Sometimes, their stories continue and grow into something far bigger and far more complicated than they feared. Unfortunately, Mara's story does not end after she released her parent's from their dreadful curse set upon by a man she thought she was in love with. Although she had some time to relax, all good things must come to an end, whether it is desired or not.
The Jolly Roger, in all its might and power, was the most feared vessel upon the seven seas, no matter who or what was upon it. If a skull and cross bones flag was flying in the air, anyone who encountered it knew they had something great to fear. It made a simple Jones family vacation much more enjoyable when no other pirates or thieves crossed their path. It was summer, after all, and they were happy to be able to relax and take a day off. Killian, Emma, and Mara Jones had packed up all their things and isolated themselves to the outskirts of Snow White's kingdom to the summer palace. Mara spent her days occupying herself with new training skills in battle and trying them out on her father while meeting talking animals and fairies every day. Meanwhile, Killian and Emma spent their days occupying each other. It was a blissful vacation, indeed, but all good things must come to an end.
Mara had slightly missed the feeling of sailing after all those weeks in the forest. It was nice to feel drops of the ocean hit her face as she stood on the edge of the ship. She missed the salty smell of the air and the chill that filled her bones followed by the wind, pushing back her long black hair. However, leaving the summer palace wasn't a total loss; they did have a whole other family to return to, after all.
When the boat docked in its home port at Storybrooke, the expected people were there, standing with smiles on their faces as they waved to them happily. Mary-Margaret, David, Henry, and little James, or Jimmy as they call him, clinging to his mother's leg and jumping up and down as quickly as he could.
"Look mommy! Look!" he chanted, "They're back!"
"I see, honey," Mary-Margaret said, picking up the 4 year old in her arms.
Killian hooked the rope onto the metal steps of the dock, but he wasn't quick enough for his high spirited daughter, who swung her way down from a rope onto the concrete ground and threw herself into her older brother's arms.
"Henry!" she cheered, kicking her feet up in the air behind her.
"You haven't changed a bit," he chuckled.
Mara got back down on her feet and sighed, "That's because I stopped aging 3 months ago, silly."
"To be 21 forever," Henry said, shaking his head, "You're so lucky."
"Why? Because I took the de-aging potion faster than you did?" Mara chuckled.
"I don't need the de-aging potion, I'm 22 forever without any fancy liquids," Henry laughed.
"Someday, we really have to figure out what the hell is going on with this aging this around here and why some of us do it and why some of us don't," Mara shrugged.
"Oh sister," he said, wrapping his arm around her and walking towards the rest of their family, "So hung up on the little details of life and not focusing on the big picture."
Mara chuckled and threw her hand into her hair, "Wow… it sorta feels amazing to be back again."
"So now what? You think you got your mojo back so you can kick Tristan's ass?" Henry teased.
"Stop," she joked, pushing Henry's shoulder, "Don't be like that."
"Like what?" Henry said, raising an eyebrow, "I'm honestly curious as to how you're going to react to seeing him after you two called it quits."
"I don't know," she shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest, "I don't necessarily feel good about it, you know? We were together for a LONG time."
"I think a long time would require at LEAST 2 years of dating, you guys were only together for, like 1."
Mara raised her eyebrows at him and suddenly began to feel a weight in her chest that she hadn't felt since she threw it overboard on her way to the summer palace. The sad thing about vacation ending, is that one must return to reality.
"Hey, I'm sorry," Henry said, not waiting for her permission to let him hug her, but instead wrapping his arms around her. She uncomfortably uncrossed her arms to hug him back, "I know you loved him, but sometimes things just don't work out the way you want them to."
"Unfortunately," she said, sadly, "It's a shame too… he was a decent lover."
Henry slowly began to back away from her with a look of suspicion and disgust growing on his face.
"What?" Mara said, "I didn't mean it like that… although-."
"Okay!" Henry protested, covering her mouth with his hand, "That's more than enough information I needed to know about my baby sister."
Henry's dislike of the subject didn't stop Mara from remembering what happened on that night of her 21st birthday. After everything in the party at Granny's had concluded and Henry and Mara cleared off every last chocolate chip off their pancakes, Tristan took Mara back to her brand new apartment which her parents got for her right underneath theirs in the same building. Neither Hook or Emma protest to letting Tristan and Mara go off by themselves at the end of the night, considering that Mara was now a grown woman who could make. So, that night, he got her alone in her apartment and things began to be more heated and more accelerated than Mara had ever dreamed of. It was a night she'd never forget, and that had turned into a negative thing in the more recent days. One things more difficult than falling in love is falling out of love. Of course, she would have to see Tristan and accept him as part of her life, but for now, things would have to stay distant, at least that's what Mara truly hoped.
"Come on, kid," Henry said, wrapping his arm around her as they walked towards the town, "How about we get some chocolate chip pancakes."
"I thought that was only a birthday thing?"
"Well… considering that we're not getting any older, I think we should dine for special occasions, like coming home for the first time in a month. How does that sound?"
"Hey, if there's chocolate involved, who am I to protest?"
He chuckled and the took the usual route from the Jolly Roger all the way to Granny's diner. While eating, Mara relayed the events of her vacation with her parents and the new friends she made while making herself quicker and stronger. Henry wasn't surprised that she'd spend her vacation days making herself a better fighter. After their little breakfast was over, Mara went back to her little apartment just underneath her parents'. It was bittersweet to return back to reality once more. Then again, this was Storybrooke and nothing would ever truly be like reality.
Mara threw herself down on her couch and reached for the black remote control when she heard a knock on the door.
"It's open!" she called. There wasn't anyone in Storybrooke she didn't trust after all this time.
The door opened too fast for Mara so she couldn't even turn on the television by the time the visitor entered the apartment.
"Welcome back, Monster," Tristan's voice came in, laughing.
Ever since they remembered the time when Mara was named "Mara the Monstrous", he had playfully nicknamed her Monster as a small inside joke between the two of them. Mara was glad that he had used the nickname is dissolve some of the tension that would rise when she would see him again.
"Tristan…" she said, getting up off the couch and walking towards him slowly until they awkwardly decided to hug each other, "How was everything while we were gone?"
"Good," he said, removing himself from the hug and taking another step back, "David did most of the sheriff work. I was just the clumsy deputy."
"Thanks for watching after the town," Mara said.
"It's my town too," he added, "I was just doing what needed to be done."
She smiled at that and stared at the blank television screen. The awkward silence gave Tristan enough time to re-examine her apartment. He hadn't been there since their heartbreaking separation. He sighed.
"Do you wanna… maybe… take a walk?" he asked, gesturing towards the door.
The pirate princess looked up at him, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, then nodded, "A walk sounds good…"
Tristan nodded and started to head out the door. When Mara walked to it, she saw him leaning against the door, holding it open for her. She thanked him quietly and the two of them walked in silence until they reached the outdoors.
"So how was your vacation?" he asked.
"It was… refreshing," she sighed, "I needed the time off from everything…"
"Everything…" Tristan repeated quietly, slipping his hands into his jean pockets, "I see… and how did that go for you?"
"It went well," she nodded, "I really got to take my mind off things and spend time with my parents. My mom told me some really good stories about her younger life when she was my age."
He smiled at the pavement, looking at how it moved beneath his feet, "About her life of thievery and crime?"
"You know about that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Neal and Henry told me," he said.
"Ah," she replied, "Yeah, I guess after the last few years, there really wasn't any way to avoid all those stories."
"It's only been 3 since everything kinda went back to normal…"
"HA!" she huffed, "Define normal."
Tristan laughed, trying not to tilt his head to look at her, "I guess you have a point there."
There was a moment of silence as the both of them stared at the ground, walking beside each other and absorbing the awkward silence that lingered between them. All Mara could think about was what could have been if they were still together. The thought ran past Tristan's mind as well. They both imagined a romantic reunion after so much time of separation. Mara would come running from the docks towards the apartment building, but Tristan would already be outside, running to find her once word reached to him that the love of his life had finally returned home. The second they'd see each other, they'd run into each other's arms in a full and powerful embrace that would lift Mara off her feet and cause Tristan to lose his center of gravity. What they had was strong, but not sturdy enough. It would break eventually, like the titanic did. It certainly felt like a giant ship had broken in half and sunk on two separate parts of the ocean when he faced her and told her it was over. Tristan had a lot to apologize for now that he saw her again. Before he had said goodbye to her when she left on vacation, he had told her straight out that being with her felt wrong. That crushed Mara. It was the only thing that could crush her, however, here she was, walking beside him as if the wound was carefully patched up and cleverly hidden from him.
"Mara, about what happened-."
Mara sighed, "I thought we were going to avoid the awkward stuff, but apparently I was wrong."
"Let me just say one thing," he begged, stopping his walk and standing in front of her, "I know you may not want to hear it from me now, but I have to say this, otherwise, I might never forgive myself… I am so sorry for just abandoning you like that and for saying what I said-."
"Don't be," she assured him, "You have the right to feel whatever you want to feel. It's not right for me to keep you from feeling something out of pity. If you didn't feel comfortable around me, then that's okay. I'm not going to force you into anything."
"But that's just it," he spat, "I don't feel uncomfortable around you. I don't know… it just didn't feel right between us anymore… like every cell in my body was telling me know, but my mind was telling me yes."
"No need to explain," she said, turning her head so she wouldn't look at him, "Seriously, you can spare me the details… just know that after all this time, I'm ready to forgive you and move on with my life. I think you and I should be friends again."
"Friends…" he grinned, looking down at the pavement again as he stepped beside her and continued walking, "How refreshing."
"Besides, we looked out for each other even before we started this whole love affair thing," she continued, "I think it'd be nice to keep looking out for each other. We always thought twice as fast when we worked together."
"Yeah, of course," he nodded, "I honestly don't see how we can't stay friends after all the history we have… it's like a reminder to keep protecting you no matter what."
"I couldn't agree more," she replied, picking her head up and looking at the horizon in front of her.
The two newly reunited friends journeyed to the docks, the place that held their fondest of memories, even when they were friends. They would use the boathouse as an obstacle course for their training if ever another threat should find their happy little town. Emma would always send Killian to go and get them whenever it was time for a family dinner, but he couldn't find it in his heart to stop them from having so much fun.
Once Tristan stepped foot on the wood again with Mara by his side, he let out a satisfactory sigh and stretches his arms out, spinning around and taking in the sight around him.
"The fresh air of the sea!" he cried, "It's been forever!"
"When was the last time you were here?"
"About 5 months ago," he said, closing his eyes to avoid the judgemental look on Mara's face.
"That's awful," she gasped.
Tristan opened his eyes just to look at the horizon line of the ocean and admire how the water rocked the boats with the sea breeze. It was time for Tristan to remember who he truly was before he became a part of small-town law enforcement. Tristan was a pirate, first and foremost. It was one of the reasons he was so close to Mara, and why Killian liked him so much. Becoming a pirate also gave him the encouragement he needed and craved when he was younger. If he hadn't set sail that day when he was a child, he would have stayed a parentless and lonely child, forever wandering around the village with nothing to do. He was grateful for the sea, and he was grateful for the people he met.
As he looked further out towards the sea, he saw a ship, bouncing on the water as it turned towards the town. He squinted his eyes and placed his hand on his forehead to block the sun from his eyes. He saw a wooden ship with white sails and a black flag at the top, but he couldn't quite catch what the design was.
"Mara…" he said, "Do you see that?"
"See what?" she asked.
He walked over to her and moved her by her shoulders to where he was standing and pointed to where he was looking.
"I don't see anything…" she shrugged.
Tristan squinted again, but this time saw nothing.
"Strange…" he whispered, "I could've sworn I saw-."
"Saw what?" Mara asked.
"A… A ship," he said hesitantly, "It had white sails with a black flag… I thought I saw it coming this way.
Mara turned around and looked back at the horizon line, squinting her eyes as well as she tried to look for what he had described to her.
"I still don't see anything like that…" she said, this time understanding the curiosity of this event that he had just experienced.
Even though he knew that there was nothing there, he also knew that there was something out in the water when he looked out to sea. For some reason, the image disappeared when Mara looked at it. Either this was a product of magic or madness. In a town like Storybrooke, it can easily be one or the other.