Emma quickly settled back into life at camp and before she knew it, a month had passed. She still continued her normal lessons, the only difference being that she sometimes practiced her sword with Killian rather than Jack.
She was wandering over the beach in her spare time when she saw him, staring at the sea like it had all the answers. She sat herself next to him, deliberately scattering sand.
"Oi, Swan, I'm water resistant not sand resistant."
"Don't get greedy with your abilities, Killian, it's not 'good form."
By his groan, he was not impressed by her mimicry of his accent, "Terrible, lass, I sound nothing like that."
She simply laughed and he soon joined in and it felt so natural to be two teenagers enjoying each other's company outside their magical camp.
"How did you end up with that accent anyway?" When she saw him stiffen, she quickly continued, "I don't mean to pry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
He shook his head ruefully, "It's not a big secret, Swan, I just haven't spoken about it in awhile. My Mum was in American for work, that's when she met Poseidon, and they had a brief relationship before she went back to Ireland. We stayed in Ireland for a couple of years, but there wasn't enough work for her to support two kids –"
"Two kids? You have a sibling?" Emma cut in eagerly.
"Liam, uh, was my older brother." Before she could offer her sympathies or whatever she was supposed to, he affixed a fake smile to his face, "Now are you going to let me tell the story, lass?"
Emma nodded and shifted to a more comfortable position in the sand.
"We eventually moved to England so she could get better work and Liam eventually joined the Navy. It worked for us, for a time, before she got sick and she died." This time Emma did shuffle over and placed her hand on her arm, eyes asking him to continue.
"Liam looked after me then, but before Mum died, she told me the truth about my parentage and asked me to come to America, to camp. She apparently knew who Poseidon was the whole time and only left because she had left Liam with a friend while she was working and had to get back to him." He began drawing circles in the sand with his left hand, forcing his gaze on the repetitive motion. "So, Liam and I packed up our lives and made our way here, only to find out the camp was cursed. I am a powerful half-blood so there were some monster attacks but the camp gave us some celestial bronze weapons, and in his only act as a parent, Poseidon gave me Riptide and we made it work. For a time, at least."
Killian looked down at her and Emma was again taken aback by how blue his eyes were, especially in the fading light.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't know what else there is to say."
Killian shrugged and Emma removed her hand from his arm, "There is nothing to say, Emma, you seem to know that."
Emma bit her lip, considering. It would be so easy to run, listen to what survival instincts peaceful life in the camp hadn't worn down, but she was tired of being alone and going by that look in his eyes, Killian understood.
"I was found on the side of the road, in a tree actually, left with nothing but a baby blanket. Then I spent my life shifting around foster homes until now. I've never wanted to stay in one place more than I want to stay here and it terrifies me that I might have to leave. And it terrifies me how much I want to stay." Emma shrugged, "That made more sense in my head."
Killian grasped her hand and her skin tingled at the contact, "I know the feeling, Emma."
They sat like that, in a comfortable silence, watching the sun move down the horizon until the horn sounded for dinner and the moment broke, leaving them both making awkward jokes about how hungry they were.
"Emma, it's time to get up."
Emma rolled over and pulled the pillow over her ear, attempting to block out Belle's voice.
"Just five more minutes," she mumbled.
"I gave you ten minutes already. Inspection's going to be soon and Mary Margaret's on duty today, you know she likes things to be neat."
She groaned and sat up in her bunk, running her hands through her hair as she yawned.
"Fine, I'm up, I'm up."
Belle was moving around the room, tidying up as she went as Emma made her bed.
"Emma," Belle's voice called out, "Do you still want this backpack?"
She held up the bag Emma had travelled to camp with, an adventure that seemed like a lifetime ago, her baby blanket sticking out.
"It's a cute blanket," Belle said as she passed the bag over.
Emma accepted it, "It's just the same as yours, isn't it?"
Belle frowned, "I don't think children of Athena come with matching blankets."
Emma pulled her blanket out and stroked her name in the corner, "I thought this was from Athena, that it came with me when I... You know, sort of magically appeared."
Her sister shook her head, "You'd be the first to come with a baby blanket, it must have been from your father."
"But that doesn't make any sense," she protested, "Why would he go to the trouble of getting me a blanket if he was just going to leave me on the side of the road?"
Belle squeezed her shoulder gently, "We're not going to find the answer here, Emma, but maybe we can do some digging into your past, see what we can find. But for now, we have an inspection to prepare for." She gave her another pat and moved away, leaving Emma holding her blanket and wondering if she truly would ever find out where she came from, and when she'd abandon the hope that she'd been loved.
Emma was apologising to Aurora between laughter, both in a fit of giggles over their last capture the flag game. It was a fortnightly tradition in Camp Half-Blood, the winning team – or group of cabins – being able to assign chore duties and the shower schedule. This week, Athena was allied with Ares, Apollo and Poseidon against Hermes, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Hephaestus and Demeter. The other team may have had greater numbers but this week Emma was aligned with the more effective fighters which helped them win the day. She did unfortunately get into a bit of a scuffle with Aurora, but they had both began laughing about it as soon as the horn sounded – signally her team's victory.
"After all I've done for you," Aurora tried to say indignantly, but the effect was ruined by her giggles, "You go and knock me down."
"Can't help it I'm so amazing with the sword," Emma sang.
"There's Mary Margaret," Aurora pointed through the trees, "Come on, I want to commiserate our defeat with her."
Emma's gaze followed Aurora's finger and she saw Mary Margaret through the woods, in a discussion with Keith, as they made their way over, their words drifted through the trees.
"It's just a game, Keith, no need to get so worked up," Mary Margaret was saying.
"Sure it's just a game now, but whenever we can leave this stupid camp, it'll be our lives and I do not want to end up a bead around someone else's neck."
Mary Margaret grabbed her own necklace, "That's hardly fair."
Keith gestured wildly, "None of this is fair. It's not fair that we're stuck here, especially when you're the only one who deserves the punishment."
Aurora rushed forward, standing beside the stunned Mary Margaret and she clicked her fingers in front of Keith's face, "Enough, Keith, sleep."
Keith fell in a heap on the forest floor as Emma made her way to the girls' side. She nudged him with her boot, "Is he okay?"
A loud snore answered that question and Emma looked up at her friends, noting Aurora's concerned expression and Mary Margaret's hurt look.
"How'd you do that?"
"Some people can control water, some people can control plants, I can put people to sleep... Sometimes. Works better on myself."
"That's still pretty cool," Emma insisted and Aurora blushed.
"Will," Aurora shouted suddenly to the boy who was walking past them, "Keith's gone and knocked himself out, help me take him back to camp, will you?"
"The man's a bloody menace and now I have to carry him. Bloody hell," Will muttered and the two of them picked up Keith under his armpits and dragged him along, Aurora shooting her a 'go talk to Mary Margaret' look.
"Mary Margaret," she said and the girl blinked at her, as if just realising she was there, "You want to talk about it?"
Mary Margaret sighed and sat down next to a tree, Emma copying her movements.
"Did anyone ever tell you about Regina before she cast the curse?"
"Just what you said, she was bitter about her place in the camp."
"I suppose that is true, but there is so much more to her than that. I came here when I was eleven, my Dad had just died – bitten by a snake on one of his business trips if you can believe it – and I was just readjusting to this new identity I had. Regina had already been at the camp a year so she welcomed me, helped me settle in and just helped me grieve. She and Daniel both supported me so much. We spent three years together and yes, she became bitter than her mother wasn't recognised as a major God and that Daniel was still undetermined but the joy she found in the camp balanced it. We were still friends ever after I was determined."
She sighed and began playing with her bow, "I got to go on my first mission three years later. It was supposed to be simple, an easy first-go and I had both Regina and Daniel supporting me so I didn't think there was anything to worry about. I still don't know what went wrong to this day, but we were attacked by a group of Laistrygonian Giants and I froze. I froze and Daniel moved to defend me, exposing himself and he died for it. Regina hated me from that day on – rightly so – and a year later she cursed all of us."
"That doesn't make it your fault," Emma argued.
"Doesn't it? I've had four very long years to think about it Emma. Daniel died because of me and Regina cursed all the campers to being stuck here as a consequence."
"We'll break it."
Mary Margaret gave a wry smile, "I thought you didn't believe in the prophecy."
"Still don't, it's a load of incomplete rubbish."
"You believe in us." Mary Margaret's eyes were shining and Emma looked away uncomfortably.
"You welcomed me here, helped me find my place and I can't lose that, so, yes, we're going to break the curse because I won't lose my family."
"Family," Mary Margaret breathed the word like it was something sacred and before Emma knew it, she was pulled into a fierce hug. Almost without meaning to, her own arms wrapped around Mary Margaret and she held on just as tight.
Emma threw her pen down onto the table, "This is so frustrating."
"I know, but the answer has to be here somewhere," Belle replied, rubbing her temples.
They were working in the Athena cabin, going over the all the information they could get on magic and prophecies and all other manner of topic with little luck.
"Let's recap what we know," Emma decided, before looking over to Belle, "What do we know?"
"Well, I have been thinking – and the research supports this – that to maintain the curse, Regina would have to contain it in something. Keeping a spell active for four years should have killed her, but if she found some sort of magical object to house it..."
"She could keep it going indefinitely," Emma finished, "Excellent."
"But if we could destroy the container, we could probably break the curse."
"That's wonderful, Belle," Emma cried, "We're getting there!"
Belle gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Maybe, but the container could be anything and she could keep it anywhere. And what's to stop her from cursing us again?"
"We are," Emma said sternly.
Belle gave an actual smile at that and tapped her lips thoughtfully, "I suppose that a curse like the one Regina cast would require powerful ingredients, so maybe she won't be able to cast it again."
A knock on their open door interrupted their discussion and Killian stood on the precipice, "I'm not interrupting am I?"
Emma shook her head, "Belle and I are just working to save the day. What are you doing here?"
"Offering my help with any translating or research you may need, as I have many times before."
She glanced at the clock in their cabin and stood from her seat, "You can take my spot, Tinker Bell wanted to talk with me now anyway."
"Have you gotten yourself into trouble, Swan?"
Emma rolled her eyes, "No, I'm not you, Jones. Belle, why don't you fill Killian in on your new theory and we'll see if he has anything useful to offer, maybe he's got more than seaweed in his brain."
"Oi," Killian spluttered, "Not everyone can be a wise girl."
She laughed at that and made her way out of the cabin, soaking in the sunlight before she made her way to the Big House, or as she preferred to call it, Tinker Bell's Headquarters.
She was able to greet all the campers by name now and could avoid the weed traps set by the Demeter twins, although, by the way they were being scolded by Marion, someone else wasn't as lucky. She knew to get out of Jefferson's way when he was walking because he was thinking about his current project and not where he was going and she waved to Mary Margaret's siblings – Ashley, Billy and Astrid – as they chatted with the naiads near the lake.
Tinker Bell was waiting for her on the porch, dressed in a Greek chiton today and she gestured Emma to come inside.
"Can I get you a drink, Emma?"
"Do you have any hot chocolate?"
Tinker Bell smiled and gestured for her to sit on the couch, "You relax here, I'll get you some chocolate."
Emma looked around the room curiously, she never had much of a reason to come into the Big House, Tinker Bell was usually flittering around outside if you wanted to talk with her and only cabin leaders came in for meetings. Two couches sat in the centre of this room and the wall to her left was covered with photographs and sketches.
She stood and moved to the wall, the presence of black and white photos and sketches of other half-bloods made Emma feel like she was a part of something. Something that had value and history, and the idea was both terrifying and exciting.
One image caught her eye as she recognised a younger Mary Margaret, long hair tied up as she proudly stood between two teenagers. One of the teenagers was male, with brown hair and laughing blue eyes and the other was female, with long black hair and regal eyes. With a chill, Emma realised she was looking at a younger Regina.
"I never could bring myself to take it down," Tinker Bell said from behind her, placing the drinks on the table, "So much has happen, and I still recall that young girl who helped so much around the camp."
Emma sat down and took a sip of her drink, appreciating it all the same without her usual sprinkling of cinnamon, "What did you want to see me about, Tink?"
"You've been here over a month now Emma, I just wanted to make sure you were settling in."
Emma shrugged, "It had its moments, but I'm fine now."
"You never did ask how we covered your absence in the mortal world."
Emma was stumped, "I guess I never really thought about it."
Tink sighed, "I suppose running away from your foster home does leave little thought about the consequences." She waved an arm dismissively, "The mortals are convinced you're in a nice home now, they do so like to accept the solution that fits in with their pre-existing views."
"Thank you for doing that."
"It's not the first time and I doubt it'll be the last," Tinker Bell regarded her over the rim of her mug, "But that's not why I asked you to come here, I simply want the truth of how you found your way to camp."
"I told you," Emma said, trying to calm her racing heart, "I was chased by a monster."
"That's not the whole truth, Emma, I would like it, and your trust."
Emma took another sip to avoid answering but deciding to tell the truth came easier to her than she thought, "I was lead here by a bird. An owl. It only made sense after I was determined."
"You're mother lead you here?"
Emma nodded, "It seems that way." Emma had considered her mother's actions over the past month and tried to ignore the warm glow the idea of her mother caring for her brought.
"There is change on the winds and I do not know if it is for good or bad. Maybe my campers will finally be free..."
"How long would have you gone on? Done the same activities every day while the campers grew older?"
Tinker Bell shrugged, "For however long I needed to."
"You never thought to lead the satyrs or the dryads or something?" Emma asked, ignoring the fact she was probably being disrespectful.
Tinker Bell didn't seem to mind her tone, in fact, she smiled indulgently, "You haven't been paying attention in your classes, have you?" She laughed at Emma's blush, "If you had listened, you would know that satyrs aren't the best fighters and that dryads cannot move far from the plant they inhabit."
"Then how can you move around camp?"
"You could call it my own personal curse," Tinker Bell said, smoothing out her dress, "I was very temperamental when I was younger and I held very long grudges. It's funny how insignificant things become when you have perspective, I can't even remember why I was holding a grudge against half-bloods, but I did and my grudge cost a half-blood their life. My work here started off as a punishment, I am to train half-bloods until I am no longer needed and the camp is my new boundary."
"That's terrible," Emma managed to say, "You did one bad thing and now you have to stay at camp forever? That hardly seems fair."
"I have had a very long time to come to terms with it, Emma. I refused to help a half-blood and to balance that, I need to help them until the end of days. But I have found my peace and happiness here, and I hope you can do the same. Know this," Tinker Bell said fiercely, holding Emma's gaze, "I consider every camper here to be under my protection, I would do anything for them and that includes you now, Emma."
Emma cleared her throat, "Thank you, Tinker Bell. And thank you for the hot chocolate." She placed her drink on the table and left, pausing only when she reached the porch. She gazed over the camp, taking in the strawberry fields, the canoe lake and all the campers walking through it. She breathed in the fresh scents and smiled, accepting that just maybe, the lost girl might find home after all.