Mia watched the pirate crew out of the corner of her eye, her back beginning to grow stiff from the rigid posture she was keeping. Her fingertips began to ache from the tight hold she kept on the glass, and she opted to set it down before she hurt something. Looking down, she brushed her fingers around her left ring finger, tracing the pattern of a ring.
If she knew anything about pirates, it's that they wanted treasure. And they didn't care who was in the way as long as they got it.
"Mia? Are you serious?" Emma hissed into her ear. Mia sighed deeply. She had been trying to avoid the blonde ever since revealing who the newcomers were, choosing to clean cups and seem busier than she actually was. She had succeeded for a good half an hour, depending on the other sailors to keep Emma busy bartending and not questioning her. But the bar had quieted down a bit, and the rush was winding down as it neared nearly two in the morning. And Emma had wasted no time in seeking out Mia. "That's the Captain Blackbeard?"
"I see you've heard the stories," Mia replied dryly, all of the happiness absent in her voice. She was sure that the light had been snuffed out of her eyes as well, the light that left every time Blackbeard was mentioned or even thought of.
"Who hasn't heard the stories?" Emma whispered back. Mia chose not to respond, and Emma watched her new friend closely, her bottom lip captured between her teeth. Tentatively, she placed her hand on top of Mia's, and the girl shivered from the close and unexpected contact. "Why do I feel like I haven't heard all of them yet though?" Mia squeezed her eyes shut, tears pricking at the corners and threatening to slide beneath her lids and down her cheeks. "Mia, what's wrong?"
Mia's mouth felt dry, and when she opened her mouth to respond, no words came out. Dust seemed to rest under her tongue, down her throat. It was as if she hadn't opened her mouth and used it for years. Her eyes were stinging now from trying to hold in her emotions, and Mia could feel her breathing start to increase, her heart not used to bottling in so much feeling all at once. A tear slipped under her eyelid and trickled down her cheek leaving an ice cold trail in its wake.
"Pardon me, but does anyone know where I can get a glass of rum?" a new voice asked. Emma turned quickly to face the bar, Mia not finding it in herself to move a muscle. It was as if she was frozen in place, the memories and the emotions too much for her to handle right now. She swore to herself that she had moved on, and she knew that she had deep down, but now, of all times, she was wondering if that was even remotely possible. He had ingrained himself in her heart, and then he was cruelly ripped away, and Mia knew exactly who to blame for that.
A man was leaning against the bar, smirking cockily at the two barmaids, even though only one of them was facing him. He had crossed his arms on top of the counter, leaning against them and causing the outline of his defined arms to be seen through the long-sleeved black shirt he wore. His hands peeked out from underneath his arms, just enough to see the many different rings that adorned almost every finger on each hand. He had unruly black hair that stuck up at odd ends in the back and flopped over his forehead lazily, and his eyes were outlined in black, causing the bright blue of his irises to really stand out, his eyes themselves being a great contrast to his otherwise dark and dangerous attire. He shifted restlessly, his blue eyes staring holes into Emma, daring her to come closer.
The girl herself didn't break their stare, not wanting him to feel like he had won anything. Even so, her decision made her want to wrap herself in her arms and hide while at the same time it made her want to walk towards the man and start a conversation.
"Are you going to be the one that fetches me a glass of rum, love?" the man asked, his tongue flitting out to lick his bottom lip, his bright blue eyes watching her from underneath his hooded stare.
She was the first one to break the stare, directing her gaze to the area right next to the man's face. There was a bar fight about to start on the other side of the tavern, but the eyes in front of her held her prisoner behind the bar, not allowing her to move, and seeming to compel her eyes to return to his.
She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, forcing herself to meet his stare defiantly once more. "Are you going to be the one who asks nicely?"
His eyebrow shot up in amusement, and the corner of his lip twitched up in a half-smirk. "Kindness is not a trait found amongst most sailors, lass, especially in this type of environment. How long have you been serving?"
She thought about lying, and, looking back on it, she should have said that she's been here for weeks, months even. But before she could process her thoughts, she was revealing that is was her first night on the job.
The man allowed his smirk to widen, and he leaned forward so that his breath was close to fanning her face. "Exactly as I thought. Now run along and fetch me my drink." When he spoke, she could smell the rum on his breath, and she involuntarily crinkled his nose.
"I don't think you need any more liquor."
She could tell he was growing impatient with her. His smirk fell from his face, and his jaw clenched. He let out a bark of laughter, one that didn't hold any joy and instead managed to make the hairs on the back of Emma's neck stand up. Perhaps she took it too far.
"I think that you should shut that pretty mouth of yours and get the rum before I do something I'll probably regret," he spoke lowly, letting the "t" pop in the last word, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Savvy?" He held up a silver coin and flipped it so that it landed on the counter in between them with a soft clink.
"Please," Emma scoffed before she could stop herself. "You couldn't handle it." She rolled her eyes, reaching for the coin. All she wanted at this point was for the man to leave her alone so that she could go back and talk to Mia about Blackbeard. She glanced at her friend out the corner of her eye; Mia was still cleaning the same glass as before, her eyes burning a hole into the wall at the far end of the tavern.
Emma's concentration was broken, however, when a hand grasped her wrist hard. She turned to look at the man, who was glaring daggers at her, another amused smirk gracing his lips. He tugged her harshly so that she was leaning over the counter, a position that she had found herself in not so long ago. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt her braid fall over one shoulder, the end of her hair getting damp from some spilled water on the counter. She felt something cold underneath her chin, the rings on the man's other hand digging into her tender skin as he pushed her head up to meet his gaze. "Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it," he whispered to her, his tongue darting out once more to meet his lip. He dragged his bottom lip between his teeth, his blue eyes never leaving Emma's, even as she yanked her arm away and stood up with a shaky breath. "The rum, if you please, lass."
Emma didn't hesitate this time to grab a glass from behind her and fill it with the requested liquor. She pushed it towards him harshly, and some of the liquid spilled over the side, coating his hand in the sticky drink. He glared at her once more, all amusement drained from his face, and Emma smiled sweetly in response before turning away and making her way back to Mia.
She didn't realize how nervous she was until she was standing next to her friend. Her throat was suddenly very dry, and her hand shook slightly as she raised one to place over her chest in a feeble attempt to soothe her racing heart. "Do you-. Do you have any idea who that was?" Emma whispered to Mia, her voice refusing to go any louder.
"Jones, I believe is his name. He's been in here quite a bit. Been on Blackbeard's crew for years as far as I can tell," she explained in monotone, her eyes still glued to the wall.
Emma could see Mia was still spaced out, and she nodded, absentmindedly grabbing her bottom lip with her teeth and chewing on it. "He likes rum," she stated.
"Does he?" Mia asked. "They usually do, pirates."
"Mia, if you polish the glass any harder, it will shatter," Emma advised, reaching over and prying the glass and rag from the bartender's hands. A shaky breath followed the loss of her distraction, and Mia hung her head, finally losing her staring contest with the tavern wall. "Mia, maybe you should go sit down. You don't look too well."
"Amelia!" a new voice interrupted them, and Emma glanced up to see Little John making his way towards them. He was trying to keep a calm façade; Emma was familiar with them from years of experiencing her parents work through a war with the Evil Queen. But the tell-tale signs of worry were all too evident in Little John's face: the thin line his mouth was set it, the flashes of fear in his eyes, the tense muscles and brisk walk towards them. Just seeing the carefree man so stressed and nervous made Emma tense. He finally reached the bar, his hand going out to cover Mia's shoulder.
"Ella, do me a favor and take her back to your room for the night. Lock the door and window as well. And Ella," he ordered, leaning in close so that there was a less chance Mia would hear, "stay with her tonight. Don't leave her alone."
All Emma could do was nod, her throat seeming even drier than after her encounter with Jones. She grabbed Mia's arm, and her friend let Emma lead her through the maze of tables until they were outside of the tavern.
Emma welcomed the cool air, letting it wash over her skin and gently comb through the free strands of her hair that had escaped the braid. The air smelled like the sea, and Emma could hear the sounds of the waves crashing to her right and the faint yells of sailors trying to dock their ships. A man stumbled on the opposite side of the street, bellowing a song that Emma didn't recognize. As the women passed him, he tripped over his foot, landing spread-eagle on the ground. His drink splattered over the ground, but the sailor either didn't notice or didn't care, for all he did was roll over onto his back and continue to sing the next verse of the song in a very off-key voice.
Emma tightened her hold around Mia's upper arm, guiding her into the building neighboring the tavern and leading her up the short flight of stairs and down the hallway to where her room was located. As she unlocked the door, it occurred to Emma that she didn't know where Mia lived or if she had any family that she had a home with. She made a mental note to ask her about it. Maybe tomorrow, when Mia was hopefully out of her unresponsive and lifeless mood.
The princess gently set her friend down on the single bed in the room, and Mia allowed Emma to remove her shoes and dirty apron before laying down and curling herself around the pillow, seeking comfort.
Emma sat underneath the window, watching as the stars played hide-and-go-seek in the clouds. She wondered if her mother was watching the same stars as her right now. Surely someone would have noticed she was gone by now; Aria and her had left the castle nearly a day ago, and Aria would have returned by now. Knowing her family though, no one probably suspected a thing. Everyone had most likely finished their hearty dinner and headed off to take care of their own lives. Her mother and father were probably sitting around the circular table, listening to reports from the Blue Fairy, Gepetto, the dwarves, Red and Granny. Snow was also focused on preparing a service for the Huntsman, who was killed during the war by the Evil Queen for protecting Emeline. Emma could imagine her mother pressuring the dwarves to arrange a memorial for her old friend, the seven men final submitting to her wishes, Grumpy grumbling the entire time about her mother's stubbornness.
Baelfire would have taken Emeline far away from the circular table, not wanting her to have to endure so much trauma from reliving the Huntsman's gruesome and unjust death, especially now that she was with child. Perhaps he had distracted her with a midnight stroll through the palace gardens, Emma's gardens. What if Emeline was looking at the stars as well?
No, everyone was far too busy with their own lives to take notice of Emma's.
She leaned her head back, settling into the corner where one wall met the other. It was less comfortable than she was used to, but nothing would compare to the thick mattress and fluffy pillows she left at home. Mia was sprawled over the bed right now, snoring lightly, and Emma didn't have the heart to move her after tonight's ordeal. She sighed deeply, her eyes drifting to the deserted village before roaming up once more. She didn't know how long she stared at the stars before she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
"Emma! Wake up!" Emma felt her eyes flutter open upon hearing the frantic screaming. Mia's face was close to hers, her eyes flashing dangerously. Emma jumped back, startled, causing her head to bang into the wall behind her.
"Mia?" she grumbled, her voice thick with sleep, her hand flying up to cradle her now aching head.
"We have to run. Now," her friend spoke, the slight waver in her voice the only sign Emma caught that something was seriously wrong.
She opened her mouth to argue, to demand that Mia explain why they had to go, but then she heard the screaming. Turning away from Mia, Emma cast a glance outside the window, her eyes widening in unspoken horror. While the stars still managed to light up the night sky, their brightness was rivaled by the fires that now consumed the village below. Townspeople darted between buildings, coughing violently. Children's cries mixed with terrified screaming from both men and women alike, and Emma felt her heart twist painfully.
"Who-?"
"Who would do such a thing? Probably the same men who pillaged and plundered the village seven years ago," Mia spat venomously, grabbing Emma's wrist and yanking the princess to her feet. Once she was stable, Mia released her and raced to the closet, gathering both of their cloaks in her arms.
Emma felt her blood run cold, and she stiffened, her feet stilling themselves in the ground.
"Blackbeard," she answered, her voice nearly a whisper. The name tasted like poison as it rolled off her tongue, staining her cheeks, teeth, and lips along the way.
"Yes. Pirates are a ruthless lot, Princess. But we must hurry if we want safe passage out before the entire village falls."
This time, Emma let Mia tug her out the door and down the hallway. They emerged from the inn, smoke immediately invading Emma's nose and trespassing into her lungs. She let out a violent cough; she could hear Mia doing the same next to her. Together, hand in hand, the two women started to jog towards the tavern, which had not fallen victim to a fire yet.
As they ran towards the shelter, a fire sprouted in front of them with a loud bang, shattering nearby windows and sending Emma and Mia flying backwards onto the hard ground.
Emma groaned, a sharp pain spreading in her palm. She couldn't properly see in the dark, but she was pretty sure she had landed on some stray glass shards. Mia moaned next to her, and Emma struggled to blink away the smoke to see Mia sitting up and clutching her ankle, blood dripping down her hand to settle on her exposed calf.
"Mia?" Emma ventured, but her voice was overpowered by a foreign masculine one calling out her friend's full name. Silhouettes raced towards the two fallen girls through the smoke, and with Mia's injury, Emma could only hope they belonged to friends.
"Amelia!" the voice shouted once more, and two figures emerged from the smoky screen. One of them Emma recognized with relief as Little John, his face coated in soot and his forearm sporting a long scratch, but his eyes still holding the kindness she recognized during their first meeting. The other man Emma didn't recognize, but he had a strong build and a kind face underneath the sweat and soot that now covered it. A quiver of arrows was slung over his shoulder, and a bow was gripped in a very bruised, but otherwise unscathed, hand.
The unknown man automatically dropped down next to Mia, his hand covering hers on her ankle, while Little John held out a hand, which Emma accepted gratefully, ignoring the painful sting from her cuts that the contact issued.
"Robin, my ankle. I think I twisted it," Mia gasped, her voice laced with pain.
The man, who Emma now learned was the infamous Robin Hood that Mia had mentioned before, set his mouth in a thin line, touching Mia's ankle. As he applied more pressure, Mia hissed in pain, clenching her jaw to keep from crying out.
"That's more than a twist, lass," Robin said grimly. "I'd say you sprained it."
"Can she walk?" Little John interrupted.
An explosion sounded right next to them, shattering more glass and sending debris and smoke into the already polluted air.
"We don't have time to try. Little John, can you carry her until we are sheltered by the woods?"
Little John nodded once, bending down to pick Mia up, one arm hooking underneath her knees and the other wrapping around her waist. Once she was secure in his arms and Mia was holding tightly to Little John's shirt, Robin turned towards Emma, drinking her in for the first time.
"You have no weapon?" Emma shook her head in response to Robin's questions, her throat to dry to speak. Robin nodded, reaching for his waist and pulling out a dagger, which he proceeded to hand to her. "Here then. Take this. You'll need it."
Emma tentatively reached forward, grasping the hilt firmly in her good hand, her fingers lightly brushing Robin's in the process. Robin watched her for a minute before turning towards Little John, inclining his head back slightly. "Ready?"
At Little John's concurrence, Robin nocked an arrow in his bow, ready to fire quickly. "Follow me."
Robin darted off into the smoke, and Emma followed hot on his heels. The only way Emma knew Little John was behind her was the sound of his heavy footsteps, and even those were lost in the occasional scream or explosion.
"Right down here. It should be-," Robin started to say. He was interrupted by a battle cry as two men leaped down from the roof, blocking their path. Emma shrieked, the pirates laughing smugly at her fear.
Robin quickly fired an arrow, the point burying itself deeply into one of the men's chest. His smile froze in place, and the two pirates locked eyes before the one fell, dead before he even reached the ground. The other pirate's face contorted into an emotion unknown to Emma, and he bellowed in fury, brandishing his sword menacingly in the air. His yell alerted two more pirates, who rounded the corner and each sported evil grins tainted with anger at the sight of their fallen crewmate.
It was the first time that Ema fought with a weapon of any kind, save for the meager lessons that the Huntsman had offered her during the war. But that had been a time of distress, and the man always let Emma win.
As one of the new pirates lunged at her with his sword, Emma raised her blade, blocking him with a strained effort. The pirate swung at her again, and Emma managed to lock her hilt with his, shoving his weapon away from her before slicing forward and up through the air. She heard the whistle of the blade as it cut through the air between her and her attacker, and if the pirate hadn't jumped back, he would have been sliced across the chest, dead surely.
Emma took his moment of defense as a chance to glance down at her own blade, stunned. She had never fought in a real battle before, but here she was fighting as if she had been a knight for years, trained under the direction of her very own father, who was known to be the best swordsman in the kingdom.
The pirate growled, breaking Emma's train of thought as he swung wildly at her like an animal. She was able to parry the first swing, but she couldn't stop the sword from nicking her arm, a deep scratch glowing red against her fair skin.
Emma hissed, and the pirate took her flash of pain as an opportunity to disarm her, the dagger sprawling across the cobblestones as its wielder was shoved roughly into the wall. The pirate grinned, displayed his yellow, rotting teeth, and Emma felt yet another chill travel up her spine for about the hundredth time since the pirates arrived in port.
Emma pushed against the pirate with as much force as she could muster with her waning strength. She managed to shove him far enough away that she could slip between him and the wall, but before she could make another move, she felt a sharp pain in her cheek as the pirate backhanded her viciously. He pushed her back into the wall, the bricks serving as a rough pillow for the back of her head. He grabbed both of her wrists in his hand, holding them above her head as she weakly struggled to break free of his grasp. He leaned forward, driving his hips into hers, and she whimpered, shivering in complete disgust. He raised his bloodied sword, and Emma fought the urge to squeeze her eyes closed; if she was going to die, then she was going to do so bravely and defiantly.
The blow never came. Instead, the sword clattered to the ground, and the pirate's smile transformed into a surprised "o." He glanced down to see an arrow tip protruding from his gut, his grip on her hands loosening. The sword clattered to the ground next to him, and he fell backwards onto the ground just like his companion, blank eyes staring at the smoky sky.
Emma released a shaky breath, balling her hands into fists to keep them from shaking so much.
"Ella! Grab the sword!" Robin's voice sounded murky and far off. Everything was a blur as she stumbled away from the wall, and she staggered to her right, nearly falling. Her stomach lurched unpleasantly and seemed to roll about five times simultaneously, and Emma collapsed to her knees as the world was tilted upside down. Her hand landed on something warm, and she could just make out the hilt of a sword through her hazy vision.
"Ella!" the voice called out again, sounding a little bit closer this time. Her stomach was still flipping, but through blinking excessively, Emma was able to spot her friends scattered across the alley. Robin stood half-hidden in the shadows, another arrow already notched in his bow, ready to fire at a second's notice, his mouth set in a very firm, thin line. He rushed over to the fallen princess, his arrow never leaving the already dead pirate.
"Are you alright, Ella? Are you hurt?" he fretted, sparing a quick glance back at her. She placed her palms flat against the wall behind her and inched upwards until she was standing, her knees shaking violently but still managing to hold her upright. "Ella," Robin pressed when she didn't answer right away.
"I'm okay," she managed to squeak out, but a yell from Little John drowned out her pathetic excuse at a reassurance. Robin turned on his heel immediately, raising his bow and firing at one of the pirates that was holding a sword above his head in position to taken down Little John from behind. The pirate fell to the ground with an angry yell of anguish.
Emeline watched the exchange with wide eyes, both her arm and her hand starting to sting more with their injuries that she had managed to forget about until now. The sword looked foreign lying on the floor next to her despite the fact that she had held and fought with one just minutes before. Her head swam once more and her heart lodged in her throat when she remembered that this object had almost taken her life.
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and Emma blinked and squinted into the smoky distance. A pirate was slinking across the rooftops of the low buildings, brandishing a sharp dagger in his hand that glinted dangerously in the moonlight. He stopped suddenly, aiming his throw at someone below him. She followed his line of vision and rested her gaze on the target, a distracted Robin who was preparing to loose another arrow at the pirate plaguing Little John.
Without thinking twice, Emma dove forward, crashing into Robin and knocking him off balance just as he let the arrow go. He fell to the floor groaning, and Emma stood frozen in Robin's place, eyes closed and ready for the pain that never came for the second time that night. Instead she felt a harsh shove that sent her tumbling to the side and onto the dirty gravel.
A strangled yell broke her silent reverie, and she heard a commotion before everything was quiet. The skirmish was over, and she was not dead, a fact that she deemed to be quite a miracle.
"Amelia! Amelia, can you hear me?" Robin's voice broke through Emma's thoughts, and she blinked twice, clearing her vision of both smoke and tears. Little John was hunched over a few yards away, one hand gripping the wall of a building while the other was clutching his right calf, which had a bloody arrow sprouting from it. It seemed that Robin's off-target arrow had hit Little John instead of the intended pirate. Dead pirates littered the floor, the swords scattered around the alley and blood staining both the blades and the ground. Smoke still swirled through the night sky, blocking access to the moon and stars, and fires still raged across the village, but the explosions had ceased, and Emma couldn't hear much terrified screaming over the low ring in her ears.
Robin was kneeling on the ground only a few feet away from Ema, a body resting on the floor in front of him. Emma stumbled forward, the few extra feet allowing her to recognize Mia's frizzy brown hair sprawled over Robin's lap. A pool of blood was forming around Mia's chest and arms, staining Robin's pants and hands. The wound originated from a stomach gash marked with a short dagger buried in the girl's body.
"No," Emma mumbled, dropping to her knees once more. "Mia," she managed to say a little louder, her voice shaky as she wrapped her delicate hand around her friend's bloody one.
"Em," she whispered; Emma was sure that she only heard because she was solely focused on hearing Mia's voice, no matter how weak or broken it sounded in this moment.
"We're going to have to take out the blade," Robin spoke up, his voice controlled but his shaking hands revealing just how nervous he was. "I know you're not supposed to, but it's the only way that I'll be able to clean it and stop the bleeding. We can-."
"Robin, stop," Mia said, her soft voice somehow causing Robin's voice to die out midsentence. "It's too late," she whimpered, moving her hand slightly so that it covered more of her wound. Robin frowned, shaking his head as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Mia, stop that. We can-."
"No, Robin. You have to leave me," she gasped, taking deep breaths as her eyes began to flutter. "But you have to promise me to keep her safe."
"Of course, Mia. Of course," Robin consented, sparing a quick glance at Emma as Mia drew in a shaky breath.
"Keep Roland safe too. Make sure no harm comes to him. And Robin, please, let me go. Not just physically, but emotionally. Let yourself love again. Don't let this stop you."
"Amelia-," Robin trailed off, a single tear escaping and making its way slowly down his cheek.
"I never thought I'd be able to find love again, not after Blackbeard came last time and killed Nottingham. I've felt his ring on my finger for years as a reminder to close myself off, but somehow you managed to find your way into my heart. Don't close yourself off to love like I did."
Mia's eyes fluttered, and she closed them, her chest rising slowly from the shallow breaths. With a great effort that had Emma whimpering for her friend, Mia managed to open her eyes one more time to gaze into Robin's.
"Amelia Marian, I love you," Robin whispered, his voice cracking as more tears slid down his face. He drew in a deep, shaky breath, letting his hand caress Mia's face as she moved to lean into his palm.
"I love you too, Robin Hood. Tell Roland the same." Robin nodded wildly, and he bent down, pressing a deep kiss to Mia's chapped lips. He broke apart gently, fighting the urge to let out a great sob as his hands ran across her cheeks and pushed stray hairs back into place.
"Ella," Mia's voice was nearly a whisper as she addressed the princess, and Emma had to lean in to hear her, squeezing Mia's hand the process to let her friend know she was there. "You must get out of here. Robin will protect you and bring you to the forest with the Merry Men. But you must get far away from this village! If those pirates find out who you are-," Mia trailed off, but Emma knew what she wanted to say. "Take care of yourself. I know I've only known you for a day, but you're a wonderful friend, and an even better person." Mia used what little strength she had to pull Emma's hand closer, and Emma leaned forward until her ear was right next to Mia's mouth, Emma's golden hair shielding their faces from Robin and Little John. "It was an honor to be your friend, Princess. You'll make a great queen one day."
Emma pulled back with a wavering breath, gulping down a sob as her eyes welled with tears. "Thank you, Mia. For everything."
Mia squeezed her hand gently and took a single deep breath before letting her eyes flutter closed. Her hand grew limp in Emma's hand, and the princess let out a loud sob, not wanting to believe what just happened. Her head was swimming once more, and her vision was clouded by the leftover smoke and her new tears.
She didn't know how long she sat there, clutching Mia's cold hand in both of hers, but eventually she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up with a tearstained face to meet an equally upset Little John. He had ripped off the sleeves of his tunic and used the cloth as a makeshift bandage to wrap around his calf. He held out a hand to her, and Emma reluctantly let go of Mia's hand, folding both of them delicately over her friend's stomach. As soon as she was standing, Little John handed her a sword, and Emma heart leapt into her throat as she recognized it as the one she had been battling with earlier. She gazed fearfully at Little John, who nodded at her, holding the sword closer to her. With a trembling hand, Emeline grasped the hilt, relieving Little John of its weight. She stared at it, letting the memories of recent flash threw her mind before she closed her eyes, sheathing the sword with a deep breath.
"Here," Robin's voice broke through her reverie, and she turned, opening her eyes to see Robin holding out a wet blade to her. "Mia would have wanted you to have it. She would have wanted to make sure you were well protected."
It took Emma a moment, but when she realized where the blade had come from, she blanched, backing up until she collided with Little John, who wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. Emma shook her head wildly, a frantic look taking over her eyes. "No! I don't want that cursed blade!"
"Ella-."
"No! It killed Mia! It killed my friend! I don't want it!"
"Ella, listen! Mia sacrificed herself for you, and I won't have her die in vain because you weren't adequately armed to defend yourself. Take the dagger. Hide it. It will be an emergency blade," Robin compromised, his tone defiant. Emma was ready to refuse once more until she met Robin's eyes. They were fierce, defiance coating the outside like a wall. But all walls have cracks, and through these walls, Emma could see pain, love, and sadness. Robin just lost his love, and here he was, trying to stay strong for the sake of trying to protect Emma and get her and Little John to safety. Without another argument, Emma took the recently cleaned dagger from Robin, trying to ignore its history as she stuffed it into her boot so that no one would see it.
"Ready then? Let's sneak around the edges of the buildings. I'm not sure if the pirates have retreated yet, but just in case they're still pillaging the village, it'll be in our best interest to stay in the shadows until we reach the forest."
Little John and Emma nodded silently at Robin's plan, and soon the three of them were jogging away, leaving the dead pirates and Mia in the alley. Emma kept glancing back until her friend could no longer be seen due to the thick fog. Once she was no longer visible, the princess found it impossible to keep in the sob that had been building up for the past few minutes. She wiped her cheeks violently, wishing that she could stop crying for one moment as it was very hard to run and keep up with the men with her limited vision.
"She was a good person, Mia was," Little John spoke quietly beside her as the three stopped jogging and proceeded to walk carefully in the shadows the buildings provided. "She was a hardworking girl, very dedicated to her job and always upbeat and optimistic. Nothing ever seemed to get her down. The only time I saw her lose herself was seven years ago when Blackbeard attacked the village."
"What happened then? She didn't look well when his crew entered the tavern last night."
"Mia was in love with the sheriff of the village back then. He had just proposed to her a month before the village was attacked, and Mia couldn't be any happier even if she tried. When the village was raised, the pirates wanted to take away Mia, along with some of the other girls of the village, but the sheriff wasn't having any of that, and so he challenged Blackbeard himself to a duel. The sheriff was winning, surprisingly enough, until one of the crewmen snuck behind Mia and held a knife to her throat. The duel stopped, and the sheriff pleaded his life for Mia's, which Blackbeard was all too willing to take. He killed the sheriff right in front of Mia, and then proceeded to try to kidnap her and the other girls. Pirates are never ones to honor their agreements, lass," Little John said wistfully. "Robin heard the commotion, and he ended up gathering some Merry Men to engage the pirates in a duel. There were some casualties on both sides, and some of the girls were taken, regretfully, but Robin was able to free the majority of them, including Mia. They did steal most of the womens' jewels though, including Mia's engagement ring. It was a lovely thing too. It was a simple gold band with a small diamond in the center that Nottingham had managed to buy from one of the dwarves in the mines."
"When did she and Robin fall in love?" she asked, her eyes trained on Robin Hood, who was walking a few paces in front of them, his head bent low, but his shoulders squared, his bow loaded and ready to fight.
"A couple of years ago. Mia wasn't herself for years after the attack. She rarely smiled, never laughed. We were lucky if she got out of her bed some days. But she had a friend up at the palace who had heard what happened and came down to visit often. I remember she came to me one day and asked if Mia could have a job at the tavern in order to keep her mind off Nottingham and the raid. I agreed immediately, but the hard part was convincing Mia to come and work. Eventually, she did, and she grew to love being a barmaid. She became herself again, and I know that she never forgot Nottingham or the trauma that she went through during the raid, but it was a start. Robin didn't meet Mia until nearly a year after she started working. He had been on a mission with the Merry Men for the King and Queen at the time, and so I was left in charge of the inn and tavern. They became good friends right away, and Mia finally let Robin into her heart a couple years ago. They always discussed marriage, but Robin never proposed, and there was never any time to really between the war with the Evil Queen and Mia's pregnancy with their son, Roland."
"Mia has a son?" Emma asked, her heart breaking for the child who would never see his mother again.
"Yes. He's nearly a year and a half by now. Robin's adamant that he be taught how to use a bow and arrow soon, but Mia was always chiding him and saying he could barely run, let alone shoot an arrow," Little John chuckled, his eyes glazed by memories. "It's such a shame that this happened to her again. She deserved a happy ending, one with marriage and a family and no pirate raids."
Emma nodded, lowering her head. "This was my fault."
"What?" Little John asked, and Emma could feel his eyes burning holes in the side of her head even though she refused to look at him. "She died because of me. She pushed me out of the way so that the dagger wouldn't hit me." The blade in her boot suddenly weighed about a million pounds, and she could feel its cold metal rubbing against her skin with the image of it buried in Mia's stomach burning behind her eyes.
"No, it wasn't your fault," Robin interrupted their conversation, falling into step with Emma and Little John. "If I recall, you pushed me out of the way to save my life, and if it weren't for you, I'd be dead. So, I thank you immensely for that. If you weren't there, Roland would possibly be growing up without his father or mother."
"But Mia died. She died saving me. I've only known her one day, and she'd been so kind to me unconditionally. She took me shopping, she provided me with shelter and food, and she found me a job! I wasn't worth saving, but she did so anyway."
"If there were two things Mia excelled at, it was being an excellent judge of character and being loyal to her friends. There was something in you that Mia saw saving, and that something was important enough for her to trade her life for," Robin consoled, smiling softly at Emma as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Mia didn't die for nothing."
Little John limped beside her, and he shot her a comforting smile as well before turning to look at their path. It was the early hours of morning, and the sun hadn't risen yet, so Emma didn't see how Little John was able to tell that the forest was straight ahead; she was fighting to see through the smoke and the darkness.
"It's not that far, lass. Once we reach the forest, our campsite is only another mile or so," Little John reassured her.
"Stop," Robin commanded suddenly, grabbing ahold of Emma's arm to keep her from walking. "Something's not right. I thought I heard a noise."
The words had barely left Robin's mouth before a flash of metal caught Emma's eye, and then Robin was groaning in pain. His bow fell to the ground as he gripped his right arm with his left hand, blood quickly coating his hand and tunic. The three of them all whipped around to see half of Blackbeard's crew facing them, twisted grins on their faces and weapons raised. Blackbeard stood in the center of the group, his mouth forming an evil grin as he pointed his bloodied broadsword at the trio.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here, mates."