Hello friends! Thanks for the positive response to Chapter 3. Fair warning: this chapter gets a little dark. There is no explicit violence, but George definitely displays his cruelty. There will be more fluff in the next chapter.
Chapter 4
As she watched Killian walk away, Emma silently berated her behavior. What had she been thinking? She knew her attraction to him was dangerous. Even so, she'd ignored everything and indulged in flirting with him! Her heart was still fluttering from the thought that he had nearly kissed her. The stirrings of arousal began as her mind drifted to how it might feel to have his lips on hers and his hand roving over her body.
She was eternally grateful that Mr. Smee had appeared when he did. She knew now that she had made a desperate move when she booked passage on this ship. She should have better evaluated her options before putting all her trust in the notorious Captain Hook. Her penance for her hasty decision was this torturous passion that she could never act on. If her mission was successful, she imagined she would reunite with Neal. While he did not ignite feelings of this sort within her, he was a perfectly genial man and was father to her child. Their marriage, while forced, had been legal. She saw no way to escape that union.
But what if they weren't successful? What then? Could she run away with Killian? Sail the high seas as a pirate? Raise her child amongst a band of thieves? That hardly seemed a fitting upbringing for her little prince or princess, but she couldn't deny the temptation this alternate reality presented. She wouldn't have to perform any royal duties. She could spend her life having adventures, side-by-side with Killian.
She permitted herself a moment to mourn for this future that could never be, and then attempted to refocus her mind. Emma had tried to keep herself open to love, but now she could not afford it. The skeptical nature she inherited from her father had helped shut out suitors in the past. She would find the man's flaws and focus on those. Killian most certainly had flaws, but try as she might, Emma could not focus on them. She needed to guard her heart. She had to build her walls higher, so he couldn't scale them with his soft words and longing looks. But how could she do that when she was confined in such close proximity to this man and had put so much of her faith in him?
Emma watched as the sun finished rising and then headed down to the galley for some breakfast. After gathering a simple meal of bread and water (her sensitive stomach not able to handle much more) she decided to retreat to her cabin and rest for a while. Her sleepless night was catching up to her.
But sleep was not easy to capture. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind was again flooded with intimate thoughts of Killian. Frustrated, she decided to read some of her correspondence with Neal. She had kept every one of his letters, hidden in a false panel in her cloak. Reading them had provided her much solace for the four months between their first meeting and their wedding day. As a wedding gift, Neal had given her the letters she had written in response, telling her they could be bound together and read as a story one day. She hoped returning to the letters now might remind her of the man she had married.
Neal,
Thank you for your letter. You are right that this is a harrowing situation, and it is nice to have a friend in the midst of it.
I must say that I am more than intrigued by your story. If you spent time away from the Enchanted Forest, where were you? Camelot? Arendelle? Some other far off land? I have never ventured beyond this kingdom. I would love to hear about your travel experiences. I love Misthaven and can't mourn my limited travel experience, but I would like to see more of the world.
I guess I will see Anwalt soon. I hear it is a hard and unforgiving land. Much like its king, I suppose. It is hard for me to believe my Papa lived there, let alone that he was heir to the kingdom. I don't mean to disparage your future inheritance, but it just seems so incongruent with what I know of Papa. He was a shepherd before George adopted him and his brother James. After James died suddenly, Papa was made heir, but I don't think he ever wanted the throne. Even now, he is (or, rather, was) happy to leave most of the governing to Mama. Papa was a fine ruler, but he preferred to rule like a shepherd, out among his flock, as it were. He never cared for audience days.
Can you tell me about your Papa? How did you come to reunite with him? Are you still in contact, or has George separated you from your family as well?
I appreciate your kind words about our pending marriage. I hope you don't take offense to this, but I wish there was a way to stop the wedding. I am sure you are a nice man, and I would be glad for a chance to get to know you in a traditional manner. But forcing marriage is such a cruel thing. George tried to do that with Papa, arranging a marriage for him with King Midas' daughter, Abigail. But she had her own love, Frederick, who was under a terrible curse. Papa helped to free Frederick, and when Abigail was reunited with her love, Midas called off the marriage. Papa was delighted because he had already met Mama and hoped to marry her. But that was when Mama was in exile, and George refused the alliance. Mama had no riches and George did not want to cross Regina. After Papa defied George again and ran off to be with Mama, he was disowned. He has told me several times that he does not regret a moment. He says that he would not trade his love with Mama for all the treasure in the world.
I must confess that I always hoped I would find a love like that. When I convinced Mama and Papa to accept Regina's deal, I was only thinking of stopping the war and saving the people I loved. Now that I am living with the consequences of that choice, I can't help but regret the feeling that I might never get a chance to find my own True Love. Can you understand that?
I hope I have not offended you with my words. I am so happy to have a confidante that I think I am saying too much. Please know that I am so grateful for your offer of friendship and I do sincerely hope you are not hurt by this missive.
-Emma
Emma,
I'm so glad you wrote me back. It makes me happy to know that my letter gave you some reassurance.
I won't lie to you. It stung a little reading your words, but no lasting damage was done. I get it. You don't know me, have hardly been allowed to talk to me, and are being forced to marry me. I don't blame you for wishing we could call off the wedding. But it seems like you have already decided that you can't find True Love with me. Can you give me a chance? I might surprise you.
Anwalt isn't a bad place. It's very mountainous, and it doesn't have the thick forests like Misthaven. And, of course, there's not much magic there. But the views are incredible. In the morning the clouds settle low and you can climb above them. It feels like you're walking into the heavens.
I've only been back in this realm for two years. My papa is another thing I'd rather wait to tell you about when we can talk in person. It's complicated.
Before I came back, I was living in a land without magic in a city called New York. It was pretty incredible. They don't have magic, but they have created so many wonderful things to work around it. They have cars, which are like carriages, but don't need horses and they go so much faster than even a carriage pulled by a team of six. There were so many great things there. I could have stayed forever, but I got pulled back into this realm, and I don't think there is a way for me to get back to NY.
I do get to see my Papa pretty regularly. We were separated for a long time, so it is nice to see him again. It's not the same, though. He's changed a lot. I guess I have too, but I still miss the Papa I had when I was little.
Thank you for telling me about your Papa. He sounds like a great guy. I wish I could have met him. Maybe someday I will.
I can't wait until we have a chance to speak face to face. But until then, I look forward to your next letter.
-Neal
The correspondence between Emma and Neal continued regularly up until the day of their wedding. After these two letters, they kept the discourse light. Emma didn't broach the subject of True Love again. She felt a bit sorry for the situation. Neal seemed so hopeful that they could be happy together, but Emma knew he was not her True Love. She knew because she had the ability to see True Love.
Not many people in Misthaven could hear the trees sing, but Emma could. Her mother told her that she had magic inside because of the True Love her parents shared. This magic gave her the ability to commune with the forest, connecting with the life force that made Misthaven enchanted. This magic also gave her a few other innate abilities. She could tell when someone was lying. She saw the tells in even the most skilled of charlatans. And she knew True Love. She could see when a couple was in love. She saw the aura that surrounded them. She knew when two people's auras were compatible, and when they were not. And she saw Neal's aura and knew that it was not compatible with hers.
She did not reveal her magical ability to Neal in their letters. Emma had been born to be a Savior, and had almost been called upon in the fight with Regina. Regina was set to cast a curse that would have sent them all someplace horrible. In the end, she did not cast the curse and instead fled from the kingdom and went into hiding. Emma's parents didn't know why, but Snow counted it as a blessing, saying that she would rather her daughter have a happy and safe upbringing than be called upon to be the Savior.
Her father said that she had been given this magic to help in her role as the Savior. Because she wasn't needed in that role, her parents felt there was no reason to develop it. The kingdom was wary of magic from Regina's abuse, which had relied heavily on the dark arts. In addition, Queen Snow often intoned that "all magic comes with a price." Snow felt that the price of Emma's magic would be her daughter's happiness and well-being. But now that she and her brother were captives and their parents were in exile, Emma desperately wished she had developed her magical abilities. As it stood now, Regina was an extremely strong magic wielder, and Emma had no hope of defeating her with an undeveloped power.
On the morning of her wedding, Emma woke with a deep feeling of dread that she could not shake. This was more than just the nerves and fear that accompanied her forced marriage. The dread she felt was related to, but not centered on, Neal. The main cause of this terrible, sinking feeling was George. Emma could see his aura, and it was menacing. Normally she only saw auras related to love, but George's aura was bright red and pulsing. It looked almost tangible. Emma knew in her gut that George had something more dastardly in mind that just forcing her to wed a man she hardly knew, but she could not figure out what it was.
Following the ceremony, Emma and Neal were led into the grand banquet hall. She recognized very few people there. There were a few Misthaven nobles, who had never truly accepted her parent's rule and must have always been loyal to Regina. She also saw a handful of nobles from Camelot, looking awfully out of place. They must have been pressured to attend so George could say the match was sanctioned by three kingdoms. The remainder of the hall consisted almost entirely of George's sycophantic subjects. Emma had never felt more alone, and found herself almost trembling. She looked for Leo, but did not see him.
Regina took pity on Emma and told her that Leo was tired after a long day and had gone to lay down. Emma couldn't stop a lone tear from trailing down her cheek as she realized she had absolutely no family by her side on her wedding day. She suddenly felt someone squeeze her hand and looked down to see Neal entwining his fingers with hers. She lifted her eyes and gave him a grateful smile.
Just then, George's voice boomed out through the hall. "Friends, people of Misthaven, Camelot, and Anwalt. Thank you for attending this joyous occasion as we wed the former Princess Emma of Misthaven to my heir, Lord Cassidy of Anwalt!"
A polite round of applause rang through the hall, though it seemed more out of deference to George than to this being a 'joyous occasion.'
"We will begin the grand feast shortly, after the happy new couple adjourns to the wedding chamber to consummate their vows."
"What?!" Emma exclaimed, not realizing how loud she was and how her voice carried through the hall.
George merely laughed. "Princess Emma…surely you have heard of this tradition? We need to ensure that the marriage is legally binding."
Not bothering to moderate her tone, Emma said "I have heard of that, but it is a barbarous tradition that hasn't been practiced for centuries!"
George's face adopted a look of amusement. "Surely you know that you have duties now, as a wife?"
Emma's cheeks flushed a deep red. Was she really discussing this in the grand hall in front of all these people?
"Marital duties are a private matter and should not be subject to scrutiny from anyone outside the marriage."
"Except when evidence of the performance of such duties is necessary to ensure a marriage contract is fully binding."
Emma looked at Neal and saw deep shame on his face. Did he know about this?! As embarrassed as he looked, he said nothing. She turned back to George.
"What are you saying?" She asked in a lower tone.
George's response rang out among the entire hall. "I will explain this plainly, princess. You will remove from this hall with your husband and a servant to the wedding chamber. You will consummate the marriage with your husband, and then the servant will alert my doctor so that you might be examined to ensure that said consummation was completed adequately. Should the doctor confirm as such, you will be permitted to re-enter this hall and partake of the feast. If the doctor does not confirm, you and your husband will be required to remain in the chamber until you meet these requirements. Understood?"
Emma stood, horrified at what she was hearing. Not only was she going to have an audience as she left for her deflowering, but she would also have a doctor confirm it and report back to George before she could leave the chamber? She looked around her for Regina. Emma knew there was no love lost between the Evil Queen and herself, but surely Regina would not stand for such egregiousness against a fellow woman. But Regina was nowhere to be found. Likely she had known about George's nefarious plan, and had elected to remove herself rather than bear witness to it.
Her eyes fell on Neal again and she saw that he was trembling with rage and had tears in his eyes. He was obviously just as angered by this requirement as she was, but he still did not say anything. No one else at the hall would make eye contact with her. The awkwardness had permeated the room and no one seemed to want to remain here. It seemed that George's ruthlessness knew no bounds. She looked back to George.
"You are my grandfather," she said, simply. "You would submit your own family to this humiliation?"
"You are not of my flesh and blood!" was George's angry retort. "Your father was a bastard shepherd boy who squandered the opportunities I gave him. He is lucky he escaped this war with his life."
Emma seethed, but would not respond.
George began again. "There will be consequences if you do not comply with these demands."
He gave a signal and a door at the back of the hall was opened and a bound and gagged figure was forced through. Emma recognized her Aunt Ruby, whom she had not seen since the siege on the castle began.
"Ruby!" she called out, before she could stop herself. Ruby stood tall and proud, but there was fear in her eyes. George walked up to her, and Emma saw the glint of a dagger in his hand. He dragged the dagger slowly across Ruby's cheek, leaving a shallow cut.
"I think this fair maiden has one too many ears. Wouldn't you agree, princess?" George said as he poised the dagger behind Ruby's neck. Emma watched as the dagger drew closer and saw a slow trickle of crimson blood slide down Ruby's neck.
"Stop!" Emma cried out, before the cut went too deep. "Leave her alone. I will do what you ask."
Emma heard the muffled cries of Ruby's protest through the gag. But Emma could not let George hurt anyone else she loved. He walked over to Emma and Neal, dagger still in hand.
"I think," he said, "I will accompany you to the wedding chambers for this first time. Make sure my investment pays off."
Investment? First time? His words confused Emma. Was she expected to continually subject herself to this kind of humiliation?
Although still riddled with fear, Emma looked bravely at George. "What are you trying to achieve?"
"Why, making sure you have a son, my dear."
"For. What. End?" Emma spat out.
"That is my business, princess. Now let's hurry along before your friend over there loses a few fingers." He sighed. "Oh, if only I could control you the way I can control your new husband." He said, waving the dagger in Emma's face. She felt Neal tense at her side. Looking at the dagger, Emma saw that the blade was wavy with dark engravings. The metal was also inscribed with a name. An old name. One no one dared to speak aloud.
Rumpelstiltskin.
