Just a quick ficlet born out of an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. Go on my tumblr at darkcolinodonorgasm to see the aesthetic that goes with the fic ;)
She goes to him out of despair.
The first thing he notices is her skin, how it seems to sparkle beneath the sunlight, as if stardust had settled on it. It's a dead giveaway, he immediately knows who - what - she is, just as she knows who - what - he is.
«Please, help me,» it's her plea, her strong demeanor a mask, an armor, much like the one the dragon behind her wears.
Emma is her name, the last dragon rider to still live. He shudders when flashes of memories that not belong to him fill his mind, a evil, maniac laugh resounding in his ears only.
He can't help, as much as he would like to. His heart is dark, he is the incarnation of darkness, he shouldn't even want to help her without a personal profit.
Yet, it seems that deep down he still is a honourable man. He scoffs at that.
There's not much he can do, the wound too deep and the dragon's delicate condition in the darkness' way.
The dragon - Maleficent, he learns, something akin to a mother to Emma - lays her egg and dies before he can do anything to save her, the black arrow that pierced her with dreamshade. He hopes the child is as strong as its mother: to resist such a deadly poison should be impossible.
Emma is devastated: although a rider could live when its dragon dies, a dragon would die alongside its rider. It doesn't mean, tough, that a rider would still survive their companion.
She cradles the egg in her hands. It's quite small, decidedly premature, but he feels its power beneath the scales covering the shell, he can almost taste it in his mouth. It's very much similar to Emma's but different at the same time, it's not the same light magic he should feel threatened by. Instead, he's fascinated by it.
Drying her tears and letting out a soft hiccup, Emma lifts her green eyes onto him. She gulps audibly. «What… what is your price, Dark One?»
Her question shouldn't hurt him. It does.
«Killian,» he immediately corrects her, dread stiffening his spine. Names have power, names are dangerous, he shouldn't have done that. What he shouldn't have done either was taking out his flask and offering it to her.
Neither of them knows how it happens, how they end up in his bed, a bed he's never slept in, a bed in which he worships her body all night long, making her forget her pain, just for a while as the egg lays in a nest he's conjured.
In the end, Emma never leaves.
Or, rather, she does, but she always comes back.
The cottage she lives in, far, far away from the castle she once inhabited before the war happened and she ceased to be a princess, is too empty without Mal, and she has no idea when the child will be born. So she seeks another companion, a human one. Emma knows he isn't, just like her: two human vessels for two different kind of magic that shouldn't be contained.
Light and Darkness completed each other, intertwining like lovers' limbs, annulling one another so Emma and Killian could be themselves, allowing those lost souls to learn how to love.
Emma doesn't move in, she simply stays at the castle. It's strange to wear dresses again, the last memory of wearing such embellished gowns a distant one, almost fading into a dream.
Having magic is indeed a perk when it comes to dresses, and more than once she lets Killian follow his instincts, smiling widely whenever she sees a new dress waiting for her.
One in particular is her favourite. She doesn't know what fabric it's made of, Emma only knows she loves it. It's silver, shining under the sun and the moon, light as a feather and making her look as if she's covered with scales or an armor. It's not only because of her new wardrobe that she feels like a princess again, but it plays quite the part in her sensations.
And then, as summer fades into winter, Mal's child is born.
They name her Lilith, after Mal's dying wish. Emma knows she won't sully her companion's memory by calling her Lily for short.
Her scales are silver, creating an indescribable effect whenever light washes upon her. It simply takes their breath away, but nothing could describe how they feel when Lily first takes off, flying up in the sky, stumbling a little, like a child taking their first steps.
People talk, and word that the last dragon rider and the Dark One ar together spreads rapidly. There's fear, of course, but the villagers also know the Dark One isn't cruel, not anymore. Alright, perhaps he is, but just a bit, only when what he loves is threatened.
Turns out, the Dark One can be good, and although wary of him and the dragon napping beneath a tree in the large garden, commoners seek his help, knowing he won't trade his favours for deals. Sometimes he requires a payment, something worthless or that he know Emma would secretly like - she would never admit it, but she is indeed like a dragon hoarding nice little things like shiny jewels or beautiful gowns - so they would not take him for granted. After all, he still has a reputation to uphold.
Killian almost faints when Emma tells him she's with child. He's delighted, of course, but he fears the darkness inside him could harm the babe or influence its heart.
«My love,» Emma smiles softly, cupping his cheeks and faintly brushing her thumbs over his cheeks, «I have no doubt that our child will have your good heart. Whatever darkness may seep into them will never take root, because you'll be there to help them keep at bay, much like you do every day. I might have been the cause for your change of heart, but you changed on your own.»
Once upon a time, he would've been ashamed of crying in front of someone, loathing the thought of doing so even in front of Liam. Now he only surges forward, wetly taking her lips with his, the darkness lingering but purring like a cat as the light softly returns its love.
However, it doesn't help when, just a few months later, not only one but two dragons show up at the castle.
Killian knows little of how these tings works, the visions of the past Dark Ones only bad memories in his head and so he has no access to their information.
One look at Emma and her wide eyes and slightly parted lips tells him it's important.
«Oh.»
It's faint, a fleeble sound that should calm him, worrying him instead. Magic prickles beneath his skin as Emma brings her hand over her slightly rounded belly.
Emma turns her gaze on him, a tiny, tearful smile curling her lips. «Well, it appears we will have twins.»
It's only thanks to Lily's presence behind him that allows Killian to not fall on the ground when, this time, he does indeed faint.