Day 2
"Morning, Hook," David greeted and set a cup of coffee out for him.
"Thanks, mate." He nodded in appreciation and situated Kelly on his left hip so he could hold the mug. "Are there any plans for the day?"
"Wells, it's Saturday. Usually I give Emma the day off and she, Henry, and Kelly spend the day at the park or on your ship. As for finding Emma, I'll stop by and see Belle on the way to the station and find out if she found anything in the library. I know that lake, I just don't know how."
"Perhaps it was some place Snow hid while she was on the run from Regina and she showed you." He suggested to him.
"No, I'd definitely remember that." Dave shook his head. "Speaking of Snow, she's planning on bringing some of your things that Emma boxed up over here. Unless you want to stay on your ship or at your place. But you're welcome here until we find Emma."
"I believe I'll stay here if it wouldn't be too imposing. I want to be close to Kelly but I don't think I'm ready to take care of her on my own yet."
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. And Emma will be back before we know it." He assured him.
"Aye, I hope so." He sighed as David took Kelly from him and placed her in the high chair.
"Morning guys," Henry cheerfully greeted them as he came through the door.
"And where were you off to so early?" David questioned him.
"I got a text from Violet and we went and got donuts from Granny's." The lad replied. "Don't worry, I told Grandma where I was going before she got in the shower."
"Did someone say my name?" Snow asked as she stepped out of the bathroom trying to smooth back her still wet hair.
"Henry was just telling us that he let you know where he went." David replied after giving his wife a quick peck on the lips. Oh, how he wished Emma was here so he could share a moment like that with her right now. "And thanks, Henry, I know you're old enough to take care of yourself but…"
"You don't want anyone else to go missing. I know." Henry finished for him.
"Speaking of missing, where's Neal? He's usually begging for chocolate milk in his cereal by now." Snow asked.
"He's still sleeping. I think he's finally catching on to the concept of sleeping in on weekends." David commented then proceeded to cook breakfast and his wife just laughed as she went to wake their son
CS
"Good girl, Kelly!" Snow praised her granddaughter when she'd finished her yogurt, which took quite a bit of coaxing. And he didn't blame her, he didn't care for the stuff much himself after finding out it was made from fermented milk, but he didn't voice that opinion. "Now, let's get you cleaned up."
"Jaw-ey!" His little lass squealed in delight as Snow began wiping her face with a cloth.
"That's right you little pirate. Henry's gonna take you to the Jolly Roger." Snow said cheerfully as she removed her from the high chair.
"She really is a smart lass isn't she?" Killian thought aloud.
"Yeah, she probably knows the daily routine better than Mom does." Henry chuckled. "You wanna come with us?"
"Of course, lad." He nodded. "It's been far too long and the last few times weren't the most pleasant. But we'll make up for that today I'm sure."
So forty-five minutes, a diaper and outfit change, a packed diaper bag, information on what was in said bag, instructions on how to unfold the stroller once they were downstairs, and several other warning and bits of advice later from Snow, they were finally off.
"You take your sister to see the Jolly quite often I hear." Killian said to get the conversation started once they were walking down the street.
"Yeah, every Saturday. At first I would just go there on my own and try to keep up on things that you'd shown me. I always asked Mom if she wanted to come but she always had an excuse not to. Then one morning she wasn't home. Grandpa and I searched and found her asleep in your cabin. She'd been going there all along whenever she couldn't sleep but was always back before anyone noticed. After that the three of us started keeping up on the Jolly together and even sailed her few times."
"I appreciate that, lad. And I'll have to thank Emma when we get her back as well as David for their help too. I'm sure the Jolly is in better condition than I left her in." He told him, knowing that the lad had done a fine job with everything he'd taught him.
"I don't know about that." He shook his head in denial. "But it was fun and nice to spend time together. And it was a good way to remember you. When Mom got closer to having the baby Grandpa worked more so it was just the two of us but then it was the three of us again when Kelly came. She was born on a Tuesday and her very first Saturday we took her to the ship. Mom and Grandpa are usually on duty opposite weekends and sometimes they both have to work but I always make sure Kelly comes for at least a little bit.
"Thank you again, Henry. I never dreamed it would be anything like this if I ever came back but I'm glad you've done for Kelly what I couldn't. I can see you've done an incredible job." He stated, more grateful than he could ever say.
"Hey, that's what big brothers are for, right?" Henry shrugged as if it was no big deal but he was glad to do it. "And now you can; now all of us can sail together when Mom comes home."
Killian was about to reply that they definitely would when their attention was suddenly on his crying daughter.
"What's wrong, lass?" He asked calmly as he knelt in front of the stroller. He told himself there was nothing to panic about and that it was just like comforting Emma when she needed it.
"Oh, I know. We just passed the cemetery." Henry answered as Killian undid the restraint so he could hold and comfort his little lass.
"Is she afraid of it?"
"No, she's just used to stopping there. I don't think she understands completely but she knows Mom would go there to see you sort of. She always made sure your flask was full." He explained to him.
"I see. Guess that also explains the flowers." He nodded and then turned his attention to Kelly who was no longer crying but was still upset. "I'm not over there anymore, lass. I'm right here and I'm never leaving you again my little rose of the sea. Except perhaps while Granny looks after you so I can find your mother."
"What did you call her?" Henry asked curiously.
"Rosemary means dew of the sea or bitter rose. But there's nothing bitter about this little angel is there? So I thought rose of the sea was a fitting nickname."
"I bet Mom will like that when she hears it." He commented. "Hey, you said something about her leaving flowers? She never brought any. She thought you'd appreciate the flask more. What kind of flowers were they?"
"White ones, just off to the side." He replied with a shrug, not seeing what was so important.
"Hey, uh…I'll be right back." Henry said then took off towards the cemetery.
"Henry! Wait, lad!" Killian called out and followed him as quickly as he could without jostling Kelly too much and deciding to leave the stroller behind completely.
"What is it, lad?" He asked when he finally caught up and found Henry staring intently at the small bouquet of flowers. Upon closer inspection he realized there was a white feather in the midst of them which was odd.
"These flowers, I can't remember what they're called but they only grow in the Enchanted Forest. And these weren't here the other day. This must be what Bart Redmond used when he took Mom. Come on, we have to tell the others!"
CS
"So, Emma was taken by Redmond while she was…visiting me?" Killian asked Henry once he convinced the lad to walk at a reasonable pace and retrieved the stroller which Kelly was happily napping in.
"Yeah, it was the anniversary of your death actually. Or technically the day she came back from the Underworld without you. I was in my room doing homework when suddenly I felt the urge to write in the storybook. Bart showed up while she was there. He said he wanted to pay respects then suddenly confronted her about being in love with a dead man. They argued about Mom not giving him a chance. Then he said if she wouldn't give him her love he'd take it from her. I'm not exactly sure what that meant though. Then there was a white flash and they were gone."
"Bloody hell," He sighed when Henry was finished. He was glad that Emma still loved him and refused to consider another man. But he felt guilty that it was because of her love for him that she was taken away. "Belle and these flowers, better be able to tell us something."
"They will. I think Bart brought them as part of the act of paying respects. Maybe Regina will be able to tell if there's some sort of magic connected to them." Henry theorized as they arrived at the library.
"Hey, we found something!" "Belle found something!" Henry announced as he burst in at the same time as Snow. It appeared the over-excitement ran in the family.
"Why don't we let Henry go first since mine includes a bit of boring history." Belle kindly suggested and everyone agreed.
"Okay, so we found this bouquet in the cemetery but Mom never brought flowers and she was the last person to go there. I think Bart brought them and that's how he opened the portal."
"And people think magic slippers are a ridiculous." Zelena mumbled which earned her quite the, pun intended, evil look from Regina.
"Henry's idea isn't ridiculous." Regina stated in her son's defense. "I sense some magic, but it's not from the flowers. It's from the feather."
"That's a swan feather." David told them. "I used to collect them as a kid. There was a large bevy of swans where I grew up."
"So, Bart used a magic swan feather hidden in a bunch of flowers to open a portal?" Snow clarified a bit skeptically and he agreed. He'd heard of a lot of things but never that one before.
"Actually that fits with what I found." Belle spoke up. "In the Enchanted Forest there's a lake deep in the woods that few have ever found. But legends say that it has magic and that it's protected somehow. That's why most people that search for it usually end up lost."
"Like Lake Nostos?" He asked her remembering the power of the lake when he'd been there with Cora.
"Not exactly." She shook her head. "Its magic is connected to the swans that live there. So, no swans on the lake means there's no magic."
"Now I know why I recognized the lake." David stated and temporarily hid his face in his hands. "As a boy my mother told me stories of a secret lake and that's where swans went when the other birds migrated to the southern kingdoms. I had a book about it with pictures and everything. I treated it like Kelly does her special blanket."
"So what was the story?" Henry asked him and David told the tale with a reminiscent smile.
"One day a male swan was shot and killed by a hunter, leaving behind a mate and three cygnets. Now, when swans mate, it's for life. So when his mate realized he was dead she was devastated and her tears formed a lake. And because the two swans were true love there was magic in the lake and the dead swan was brought back to life. The family of swans lived peacefully by the lake until one day another hunter came and nearly killed one of the cygnets before he was drowned by magic. After that the trees in the forest grew thinker and the only ones that can pass through and find the lake, are ones that have known true love."
"That sounds a lot like you and Mom. Except you only have two kids, not three, and obviously you are not real sw..." Henry pointed out to him then stopped and smacked himself on the forehead. Face-palm he believed he once heard it termed as. "How did I not figure this out sooner?"
"Henry, you can't blame yourself for not having all the answers all at once." Regina told him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Now, what did you figure out?"
"It's 'Swan Lake'. That's Bart Redmond's story. He's Rothbart and Mom is probably his Odette." The lad stated emphatically. Killian himself wasn't familiar with this story but he already didn't like wherever it was going.
"No! No, Emma is not Odette." Snow stated and the anger in her voice was just as clear as the fear on her face. "She either dies at the end of the story or is cursed to remain a swan forever. It's bad enough that she's missing now but I will not let that happen to my daughter."
"Snow, calm down. Those aren't the only endings to the stories. There are ones where they live happily ever…" David began to comfort his wife but she wasn't having it.
"Charming, that only happens in the kid's movies and we all know how accurate those are!" She yelled at him.
"Snow, our lives don't have to follow any version of any story. We make own, just ask Henry. So when I say that we'll save our daughter, believe that we will save her. This family has never failed at finding each other and we won't start now." He told her.
"But what if I'm tired of finding her? We've lost her to curses, to the darkness, and now this. I want our family to be together not constantly searching for each other. Just when we're happy something rips her away from us. We'll find her this time but then what? What about the time after that?" She demanded.
"Enough!" Regina shouted, sounding very much like the old Evil Queen. "I have known you for a very long time. Most of that time, I hated you. And followed the saying of 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer' so I know you about as well as I know myself. And I know that this isn't coming from Snow White, it's coming from weak and scared Mary Margaret."
"Regina!" David hissed at her.
"What? We don't have time for this, we had this same talk in the Underworld. If there's anything I've learned from you and your annoying, ever-present optimism is that now is not the time to lose hope. Thanks to Henry, we're one step closer to finding Emma which is a step closer to this family being together. You of all people should have more hope than ever. And with Guyliner back I'd be willing to bet that nothing ever happens to her again."
"Aye, love," Killian nodded. "I assure you that once we have Emma back I won't take my eyes of her for a bloody moment."
"I know I just…the thought of Emma with Odette's fate…" She trailed off but then shook her head. "But you're right. So where do we start?"
David expertly divided them up into groups though everyone pretty much knew the routine by now. Henry and Belle were on research, Regina was studying the feather to see if she could recreate the spell Rothbart had used, and Snow was to watch the children. But this time there a slight exception, Ashley babysat while Snow was out with Granny having target practice. If there was a fight, and there most likely would be. What better defense than the renowned Snow White at the top of her game?
Finally a few answers for you. As you can see it's loosely inspired by Swan Lake mixed with my own imagination. And there are more answers to come, especially when the next chapter is from Emma's POV. So keep reading and thank you for the reviews. I can't believe there are over ten in just three chapters. It's insane and you readers and reviewers are awesome!
