In the beginning she only visited the enchanted forest when bad things happened. But in the beginning, bad things seemed to happen all of the time.


It became clear as time went on that Emma's life was not going to be one of fortune and favor. She learned from a very young age not to trust. She learned not to have hope, learned to stop counting the days because nothing was ever permanent in her life. There would always be a new home, a new school, a new foster family... but none of that ever lasted, everything always changed. Everything except the Enchanted Forest and the man who waited for her there.

"Ah, we meet again little lass." he greeted as she opened her eyes in the forest again. She was visiting more and more frequently, anytime her despair had been the last thing she'd felt before she closed her eyes, anytime something happened that made her cry herself to sleep. One of these days she would stop crying because she wouldn't have any tears left.

He was the same as ever, even though it had been a few years since her first visit. He was always in his black leather, halfway buttoned vest, and looked as if he'd just rolled out of bed. Once when she was still too young to have any tact she had asked him why he always looked like he'd just woken up, and why he put on makeup. He had just smiled at her with that same smirk and told her that he thought the look suited him. She couldn't disagree, he looked like a pirate - and she'd eventually learn that's just what he was - and the look definitely suited him.

"Good evening, Killian." she replied giving him a low bow, mocking his own greeting from the first time they met. He was amused and she giggled.

"And what brings you to the forest on this lovely day?" he asked her, voice tighter, he knew she only visited when she was upset. She stared at her feet for a long moment before explaining.

She had been expelled today - again - and her foster parents were sending her back to the home - again. She wasn't sad this time, had grown to accept the truth that no one would ever want to keep her. And it was even getting easier to talk about it, to tell Killian what happened, how she felt, and after three years he was the closest thing to a friend she'd ever had.

He looked at her with concern - never pity - and just nodded slowly after a while.

"Did she deserve it?" he asked in a soft voice, reading her like a book even though she hadn't spoken a word of why she had been expelled. She sat down on a nearby log and began picking at the bark that was dying and flaking off of its sides.

"Yes." she said quietly, the girl had deserved it... at least Emma thought she did. She had been bullying her for months now, ever since she had started at this new school. It had been a rough week already, her current foster brother was trying - pretty successfully - to get rid of her, breaking things and lying to the parents to say Emma was the cause. So she had not been in the right mood to handle an ignorant bully, and when the calls of 'hey little orphan girl' and 'can't you afford a bath little orphan?' came floating through the hallway and all the eyes were on her, she felt the rage building up in her chest. It wasn't until she heard the girl mock her about her parents not wanting something as ugly as her that she snapped.

"Yes," she repeated, looking up at Killian and shrugging with some sort of apology "I think she did." He nodded again, and sat across from her on another log. He never judged, never pitied, never lectured. Sometimes she wished he had been her dad, maybe he wouldn't have given her up.

"Killian, do you think I'm ugly?" she asked him, avoiding his eyes and feeling ashamed at how weak her voice sounded. She was 9 years old and she never thought she was ugly, and she never believed the things the girls at school said, but sometimes it was hard to come up with another explanation.

"Why my dear Swan, how could you think that?" he asked sounding genuinely confused. "You have hair like the sun and eyes that remind me of the forest, your smile is the loveliest sight I've seen and I feel lucky every time you feel generous enough to grace me with it." Emma blushed and smiled up at him, happy for the grin he returned to her. "But," he continued, and her smile slipped, "the most beautiful thing about you, Emma, is your heart. Because its strong and full of life even when life doesn't make it easy on you."

She felt herself smiling again, and his eyes looked back to her with a kindness in them she knew she couldn't remember seeing from anyone else in her life. There wasn't a trace of mockery, nor a trace of pity, and she wished she could take him back to her world where they could be a family together.

Reading her again and the mixture of emotions on her face, Killian spoke again.

"You know I can't go back with you, lass. This is my home." he said seriously, an apology in his voice. "But you know, I'll always be here when you need me."

She was comforted, slightly, by his promise.

"I know." she said, hopping up from the log and reaching out for his hand. He placed it in hers and they began to walk through the forest again. "So tell me about yourself!" she said brightly, and he smiled.

They spent the rest of her time in the Enchanted Forest with Killian telling her about his ship and his crew - she had been right about him, he was a pirate (Captain, he corrected and she giggled) - and she hung on every word of adventure and magic and treasure. His prized possession was his ship, and his family was his crew, his home was here in the forest, but also there on the ship and she could see the pride in his eyes when he talked about it.

"Did you ever have a family?" she asked him curiously, as they continued walking hand in hand through the forest where the light never grew dim.

"Aye, lass, I did once." he said solemnly and she waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she just nodded. A story for another time, she thought, thinking maybe when he trusted her more she would learn more about his life. They walked in silence until the world she lived in saw the light of the sun peeking over the horizon, and though she had walked through the forest of her dream world all night she woke up as refreshed as ever.

"Till we meet again." his words echoed in her mind, he had kissed her hand and bowed his flourishing pirate bow just as she had begun to wake up. She smiled now at the memory.

Till we meet again, Captain. She thought as she opened her eyes to begin a new day.