Chapter 1
12 Years Later
"Character is doing what you don't want to do but know you should do."
― Joyce Meyer
"Charming, where is she? Oh I do wish she'd stay here like a good girl."
Charming sighed and looked up from his book to his wife who paced the library furiously, worry in every step. She was wringing her hands together and her curls seemed more messy than usual.
"She's where she always is. Flying."
…
"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Blonde hair whipped around Emma's face as she soared through the air. Wings beat around her viciously, a loud boom happening every few seconds. This is what the princess loved more than anything.
In the air there was nothing tying you down. No obligations, no duties, no rules, nothing.
"You ready Erue?"
"As ready as you are Aer."
Emma smiled as she heard her mate's words in her head and the nickname he had created for her. Erue when he was born called her Aer, the Latin word for air. It was because she loved being in the air so much.
The blonde looked over Erue's wingspan which was huge. With a grin she patted the scaly neck of her mate and put her arms to her side tight.
"GERMINIMO!"
Emma let gravity drop her off of Erue's back and she plummeted through the clouds and sky to the ground.
"HAHA! THIS IS GREAT! WOOOOOHOOOO!"
The princess laughed as Erue came beside her, his wings folded and his head tilted towards her. She grinned and put on her goggles, and allowed her body to dip fully towards the ground her feet above her.
"Do you wish to get on my back once again Aer?"
Emma gave him a pointed look and shook her head, adjusting her body so it fell like a star rather than an arrow.
"As if."
"Your mother is worried. We must head back."
Emma sighed and grabbed onto Erue's wings, pulling herself onto his back as he straightened out, flying normally.
"She always ruins my fun. I just wish for once I didn't have to do those princess duties you know?"
"Indeed. Though it is your responsibility. You are heir to the throne."
"Don't remind me."
The pair sailed through the air, gliding over clouds and through them. A gentle breeze caressed Emma's face and she sighed, resting her body on Erue's neck.
"Do you think they'd let me fly forever Erue?"
"You already know the answer to that Aer."
Emma let her breath go and shut her eyes as Erue began to descend towards the castle.
…
The pair landed on the cobblestone courtyard with a loud boom, and Emma knew her parents would know she had arrived. She slid off of Erue's back and onto the ground, rolling her neck and wincing as the bones cracked.
"You alright?"
"Nothing that a bit of sword fighting can't work out. C'mon. Mom and Dad are waiting."
"Emma!"
Emma groaned as she heard the high pitched voice followed by the sound of pattering feet.
"Neal."
Neal was her brother of 12. He was born a few months after her birthday, with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair. He had their father's chin, but their mother's cheekbones.
He was eccentric and hyper as any little sibling would be. Neal tended to get into mischief, but loved the family dragons more than anything. In fact, he couldn't wait for his hatching ceremony which would be happening in four more years.
"Emma how was flying? Can Erue take me out? Can I go fly? Please please please?"
Emma grabbed her brother's head and turned his body away from her, rolling her eyes and huffing.
"No Neal. Mom and Dad specifically told you no. I don't exactly plan on disobeying them."
"It's not fair that you get to ride as much as you want! You've got chores too!"
Erue chuckled, his laughter rumbling deep in his belly. The blonde gave him a look to which he shrugged and she turned to her brother, crossing her arms.
"I have different chores than you because I'm older. I'm 28 for goodness sake. You're 12."
Neal didn't seem to have a good response to that so he stuck out his tongue and ran off.
"He's such a mature kid."
Erue snorted and the blonde grinned slyly. A loud sound erupted and the pair turned their heads to see Niveus and Venuste standing there tall and proud giving them pointed looks. The princess huffed and began to walk forward, Erue following behind her.
"You parents are worried little one."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"Were you flying again princess?"
Emma looked to Venuste and merely nodded, brushing past the adult dragons to the iron doors that loomed ahead. Soon the young pair arrived and Emma once again sighed (she seemed to do that a lot).
"I'm signing my death when I open these doors."
"I'll be at your funeral."
Emma cast an unamused glance at Erue whose yellow eyes glittered with amusement.
"I'm glad you find my imminent death so assuming."
"You're being over dramatic Aer. Besides you've got your father wrapped around you finger."
The princess tilted her head in agreement and knocked on the doors which opened at her call.
"I'll see you later Erue."
"I will be waiting Aer."
…
Emma walked down the hall, her boots echoing off of the corridor. She ran her hands through her blond locks, which felt incredibly dirty to the touch.
"Ug I need a bath."
The blonde walked the halls alone, taking in comfort of the portraits on the wall and the suits of armour. The dark red carpet led her to her destination, a dark guide.
Soon she arrived at the library and she could hear her mother's voice floating through the door. Even at the age of 28 Emma dreaded being lectured. She was practically an adult.
The blonde knocked and she heard some rustling which caused her to smirk and then a faint come in. She wiped the smirk off her face and opened the door, walking in where both her parents sat in plush chairs with the fire burning between them.
Her mother's attention was on her but her father seemed to be rather intent on reading the book in his lap.
"Charming." Snow hissed. Charming looked up and saw Emma standing there sheepishly and he placed the book on the table beside him, bringing his attention to the situation.
"Emma, dear, did you attend your lesson today?"
"Which one?"
"Don't be smart with me young lady."
Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep a sassy remark from coming out. Her father sighed and he rubbed his temples, knowing that his words would most likely have no effect.
"Emma I understand the love of being with your mate. I do. But you also have a duty as princess and heir to the throne to live up to. You've been flying for years; it's time to put that to rest and embraced your future."
"But what if I don't want this future? What if I want to go travel the world, see what's out there? How come you never asked for my opinion on what I wanted?"
Her parents exchanged a look and Emma put her weight on one hip, her frustration growing evident in her tone.
"Emma, some people are born great, others are chosen to be great and some have greatness thrust upon them. You my dear have it given to you therefore you must live up to what the kingdom expects of you." said her father.
"What about Erue?"
"Your mate will be by your side no matter what but you both must put aside this frivolous activity of your and take up a more prominent role." Spoke Snow.
"I don't want to."
"Sometimes you must sacrifice your passions for the greater good."
Emma pursed her lips and looked away, tears brimming at her eyes. She didn't want this. She didn't fit in the role of a queen. She looked to her parents and shook her head, running out of the room after.
She flew down the corridors with hast, eager to arrive at her mate's side and take in the comfort he would provide.
"Aer, are you alright? I sense your distress."
Emma just kept running through the halls till finally she arrived at her room. She threw opened her door and collapsed onto her bed, letting out whimpers and salty tears. A puff of smoke embraced her face and she turned to see her mate looking at her with concerned yellow eyes.
"Aer? What is wrong?"
"My parents. My obligations. My duties."
"So the usual then? You do seem more distressed this time."
"They've banned us from flying. Told me that I had to accept my fate and move on from the childhood."
"You are 28."
"What I'm doing isn't childish, it's…well…I'm not sure what it is. I'm not even sure of who I am. I'm no princess. I fight people and princesses are supposed to be all proper and lady like. I'm not like that."
"You are different yes, but your spirit is that of conflict. You do not know which world you belong in."
Emma looked to her mate in awe.
""It never ceases to amaze me how you can get my exact thoughts in words so well.
Erue snorted. "I am a flawless beast."
"And now you're fishing for compliments. Great."
The blonde rolled over and shoved her face into her pillows. Erue raised a brow as he lay with his paw crossed in a polite manner. He didn't want to get the rug dirty.
"Stab me."
"And what would that accomplish?"
"It would make my life easier."
"Would it? You'd be dead, your parents distraught, leaving your 12 year old brother, you has the maturity of a 2 year old as the heir and I would no longer have a mate."
Emma pulled her face out and gave Erue an incredulous look.
"You take the fun out of everything. You know that right?"
He snorted again. "Hardly. You're the one feeling sorry for yourself."
The blonde squished her face and stuck out her tongue at her mate, while sitting up and holding onto a pillow. Erue gave her a droll look.
"Mature."
"I try." Emma sighed and looked at the clock on the wall.
"We've got our history lesson to go to and then dinner. Shall we?"
"We shall."
…
"And in the late hundreds, Ouat was heavily involved in the trade of gold, thanks to Aurum as you know and…"
Emma yawned as her eyelids fluttered shut. Erue was asleep in the corner, his massive body all curled up and warm. The princess envied him.
Her tutor kept droning on and on about the history of Ouat which was incredibly boring. Emma shook her head to keep herself from falling asleep. She heard Erue snort and she narrowed her eyes. The dragon opened one, and smirked, closing the eye again. Emma gasped realizing he was faking being asleep just to tease her.
"Miss Charming, do pay attention."
"Of course. Sorry."
A deep chuckle escaped Erue and Emma rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long lesson.
…
The pair walked with tired eyes and yawns to dinner, where they'd join the rest of the family.
"Do you remember anything from the lesson?"
"Not a thing."
"Me neither. The couple looked at each other and grinned.
"We are so screwed."
The knights opened the dining hall doors allowing Emma and Erue to enter. The pair walked to their designated seats and sat down, trying to look inconspicuous but failing. Snow White looked at her daughter with knowing eyes. Neal had a fork and knife in his hands and was demanding the food be served. Emma's father of course was nowhere to be seen. He always tended to be late for meals.
"So Emma and Erue…how was your lesson? What did you learn?"
"Ah well….we learned that…uh…"
Emma looked to Erue for help and he mentally shrugged causing Emma to give him a deadpanned face.
"We learned about Ouat trading gold thanks to Aurum."
"Anything else?"
"Uh…no."
Snow huffed and fiddled with her napkin.
"Emma you need to pay more attention! These lessons are important for when you become queen!"
"Can we please not talk about that? I've already been through enough lecturing today."
"Don't take that tone with me!"
"There's no tone!"
"Of course there is! You always get a tone when you're on the defensive!"
"Well maybe I didn't need to be so defensive if you would just stop bringing up my dooming future."
"Dooming? Is being royalty really that terrible to you Emma?"
"Yes as a matter of fact it is."
Snow pursed her lips and looked to her son who sat on the other side from her. He sunk lower into his seat.
"Well then you can eat later, without the royal family."
"Fine."
Emma got up and slammed her chair into the table, storming away from her family towards the exit. Her father came in and she bumped his shoulder, ignoring his hello and leaving the dining room with haste.
Charming looked to his distressed wife and his hidden son.
"What did I miss?"
…
Emma took a deep breath as she and Erue flew through the air, the sunset being the only light in the sky.
"I wish I could stay up here forever."
"As do I Aer."
Emma leaned once again on her mate as he flew them to a cliff top. There he landed and Emma got off, and sat on the edge to watch the sunset. The pinks, oranges and reds lit up the sky as a dark blue settled over top. It was such an inspiring contrast to Emma.
"Do you think…that things will change for me? That maybe being queen won't be so bad?"
"It will be as anything will be. You will grow into the role as you have grown into others. I remember a time where you were so sure of yourself."
"Your hatching doesn't count."
"Doesn't it? When you saw my egg you knew with all your heart that I would not be a small dragon. You chose me over all the more beautiful eggs. You chose me because you were sure. And our bond has only been growing stronger since."
Emma sighed and leaned her head against Erue's leg.
"I wish I had your confidence."
"You will. One day Aer. One day you will."
Rustling the erupted from the bushes and Emma slowly turned to the sound.
"These mountains are supposed to be abandoned…"
"Apparently not. Quickly, get on my back. We'll go into the treetops."
The blonde scrambled onto her mate's back and he flew them into the forest immediately. He clung onto a sturdy branch that was huge and he folded is wings, hiding Emma in-between them. The princess climber forward to look through the leaves to see what had arrived.
"I can't see anything."
The pair heard voices drifting up through the trees and they froze, not making a sound.
"We need to get down there."
"Indeed we do Aer. Indeed we do."
…
A/N: Soooo what do you guys think? Please review and let me know! In the meantime got vote on my poll for my nest story!
Much love!
~ Ember G.