Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from OUAT or any other stories that you might recognize. Only the plot and the O.C.s are mine.

2. The Return

Five months later as the tree leaves started to change their colors and the days started to become shorter he found himself sitting at a tavern looking at the white feather in his hand. How odd that he'd be acting this way after knowing the boy for a few hours.

He sighed and twirled the feather in his hand, he found himself doing that a lot especially when he had free time working on the ship, the light from the window shining on it made it seem as though it is glowing.

"You look like a love struck girl the way you sigh and smile a goofy smile over a trinket given to her by her lover." Milah said as she joined him for lunch.

Offended Killian put the feather away, "I am not a love struck girl, but you have never seen magic like I did when Emil left, it was amazing!"

"Yes, yes, he transformed into a white swan and flew away. Personally, I think you imagined it as Emil walked into the woods." In a much quieter tone she added, "You know what the law about magic is here."

"You insult me, lass. I know what I saw and I know the law." He told her as he took a bite out of his food.

"Uh-huh, but he did seemed nice the way he didn't judge papa for making lace. He was a real gentleman."

"Oi, love, I'm always a gentleman."

"You, my dear Killian are more like a bully that pushes his crush around because he doesn't know how to talk to her." Milah snickered.

"Hey I'm not a.." he stopped short as a few people walked into the noisy tavern.

"I want to try some ale!" A little girl said as she walked towards the bar. One of the men next to her dress in a simple traveling tunic and breeches picked her up and headed and towards a table.

"No ale for you take my word for it that is isn't very good, come on let's find some seats while your papa orders."

"Anything in particular that you want, child?" The girl's father asked.

"Nothing with mushrooms, old man." He said as he took a seat and smirked at him.

The older man looked over his shoulder and glared at the young man with his daughter. "If my little Grace didn't like you as much as she did you'd be beaten for that comment, Swan."

Emil snickered as he hid his face behind the girl, "I'm so scared, protect me Gracie. Your papa wants me stop coming to your lovely little tea parties." Grace giggled at him and her father who snorted on his way to the bar.

Grace climbed up onto Emil's lap and started to play with his hair growing hair that he had to brush back and asked, "Emi, why did we come to this town?"

"I told you I found some new friends here and her majesty had me come on an assignment. Don't you like it here?"

The little girl frowned as she laid her head on his shoulder, "This town feels like it's wrong. It's a nice one, but there's something wrong." That was all the confirmation that Emil needed. Queen Odette had asked to reclaim this little sea port town in her name as soon as possible, now all that was left were the right pieces.

"Swan!" The youth looked up to see his new found friend and smiles.

"Jones!" Getting up with Grace still in arms one of them releasing her to grab Killian's arm.

"Emil, it's great to see you again." Milah says from behind Killian.

Nodding at her, "It is great to see you again as well."

Looking at Grace she asked, "When did you become a father. Or is she your sister?" Blushing Emil, "She's..." the reply was cut off abruptly by someone clearing their throat.

"Excuse me, if you don't mind I would like to feed my daughter, Swan set her down on her chair. You look like you want to rush off with her and I am not allowing you to marry her."

To Killian and Milah's surprise Emil only clutched Grace closer and pouted only to respond with, "But I have already chosen our rings and who will be in the wedding. You, by the way, will not be in it."

Killian thought his friend looked rather adorable and quickly shook those thoughts away. Men don't have thoughts about their male friends like that. They especially do not think about their plump kissable lips.

"Oh! No wonder you wouldn't marry me. You already have a sweetheart."

This made Grace's father snorted, "In this brat's dreams, my daughter won't be getting married to the likes of him. Ever."

"You are such a dotting father, Jefferson." Emil said and sat Grace down between them, Killian and Milah took a seat across from them and they ate their lunch together after a brief introduction.

-BREAK-

They had just left Jefferson and Grace at their mushroom stand and it amazed the two to see Emil bargaining with the older man over a few mushrooms. They realized that it was an act to get others interested in Jefferson's wares.

Grace would help too by looking cute and adorable and would tell anyone that would listen that her father was keeping the best mushrooms that had been harvested hidden for the best buyer. People started to surround them as Emil started offering him a low number and Jefferson tried to make it higher.

Grace started attending to customers that wanted to buy some of Jefferson's mushrooms and only added her input when their crazy play started to dwindle down, to keep others interested.

Emil moved and let some other person step in to haggle for mushrooms with Jefferson. Waving to the two as he walked towards Killian and Milah.

"That was amazing mate, where did you learn to do that?"

Emil shrugged, "It's something one picks up when you travel like I do. Ever since I started working Queen Odette has me looking for things that there are times that I don't have enough money to buy my supplies and my royal pass isn't accepted everywhere, so it takes forever to get word to the capital and back even in my swan form."

Killian looked at Milah and gave her a look that said 'I told you so', she scowled at him and walked ahead. Mumbling about needing to buy fruit at the vendor's cart.

Not a second later there was a loud commotion from the direction where Milah had gone, "Hey, that's mine!"

The voice they heard sounded like, "MILAH!" Emil yelled.

They rushed off to help their friend. Once they got close to the crowd they could see that her long brown hair was being pulled by a younger girl with blonde shoulder length braids and freckles across her nose.

She was holding a coin pouch in her left hand and pulling as hard as she could with her right to make Milah release her.

Milah was pulling her by the shirt trying to get her closer even though the pain going through her head was awful, she couldn't loose her money.

They rushed in to separate the girls, Emil grabbed the younger girl's hand squeezing her wrist enough to let go of the fist full of hair and Killian took the blonde girl, who'd dropped the money pouch.

The girl stepped on his instep and jammed her elbow as hard as she could into his stomach, and ran away once she felt him release her, but not before grabbing her hat, which had fallen onto the ground in her fight with Milah. Emil ran after her after making sure his friends were ok.

He followed her through back alley ways and almost lost her a couple of times. It began to seem like hours that he was following her, but he had noticed that the buildings begun to change from little shops, to houses and there were some children playing in the street giving him weird looks as he ran by.

Finally she stopped in front of a gated house and he walked up quietly behind her, he placed a hand on her shoulder making her jump and nearly punch him in the face if he hadn't dodged.

"Who are you?" She demanded, "What do you want?"

"I'm surprised you don't remember me since we saw each other in the market place not to long ago."

The girl paled making her freckles stand out as her sea green colored eyes widened under the brim of her hat. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the house, looking from side to side and behind Emil to make sure no one was paying them any attention. Closing the door behind them with a slam she turned around to look at the young man that had followed her all the way home.

Before she could utter a word someone's voice came from upstairs, "Sister, is that you? Are you going somewhere?"

Footsteps could be heard and soon they saw another young woman walking down the stairs. "Who is this, a suitor?" Asked the young lady who had golden blonde hair and dark blue eyes was a bit taller then both Emil and the girl he had followed, she looked to be about nineteen or so. Her beauty made Emil's breath catch as he thought he was looking at a replica of his Queen.

"That's right!"The younger sister said, "A suitor, why else would he be here?" She laughed nervously and played with her fingers while looking down at the floor.

Emil felt his eye twitch when he saw that the older of the two was not convinced, but smiled pleasantly at him and cocked her head slightly to the side, "Then he should stay for tea."

A/N: Sounds rather ominous doesn't it? Lol anyway let me know what you think