That very same night, when Emma had kissed Killian, The Evil Queen had died from the poison. Emma should have been overjoyed by this news; she was queen now. She could do whatever she wanted and no one would stand in her way. She could imprison as many people as she wanted, fight as many kingdoms as she pleased, create an army bigger than one has ever seen.
But overjoyed was the last thing she would call herself.
Emma, the new queen of Misthaven, was broken.
Her entire life had been a lie. She'd been under the effects of a potion for so many years that now that it was gone it left her empty. She was just a shell, nothing left but emptiness. Who was she? Was Emma even her real name? Was she kind-hearted? Or was she really a monster? How should she know?
All Emma knew right now was that she was alone. Her 'mother' was dead, and although she had an entire castle of guards, servants and her prisoner, all she could feel was loneliness. It was just like the emptiness she felt, only more painful.
The longer Emma stared at the wall, the less sense her life made, and the more pain would enter her body. It was mostly guilt for everything she'd done. She could blame it on the potion, but she knew that if she'd been stronger she could have fought it. But she didn't, so it was all her fault, she was the only one to blame. Because of this guilt she let the Captain go. She'd tortured him long enough, he deserved his freedom.
It was still dark outside and in her bedroom, but the darkness didn't scare her. She'd been the darkness for so long that, it surprised her it hasn't fled from her. She would have fled if she had the chance, but again, she was to weak, too young to even know what was right and wrong. So now, the darkness embraced her, sucking her in. She'd done it do the darkness for so many years, why not return the favour?
Emma closed her eyes. In the end, there was nothing left but darkness. Close a box and darkness will fill it. Blow out a candle, the light was merely a illusion. Everything that once was light end up dark, no matter how hard you try. Some just go faster than others.
When you're born the first thing you see is light, but when you die the darkness comes back for you.
It's an endless circle. The only choice you have in this, is if you're going to let the darkness just take you or if you let the light of the next day, the hope of a new sunrise, guide you as far away from it as possible. You may never outrun it, but you might as well enjoy the moments without it.
"Life is made out of moments, and you my Little Princess, are one of our happiest," a kind male voice said as he cradled his new-born in his arms, rocking her from side to side. The Little Princess' eyes started to drop as the sound of her father's voice made her feel safe, warm and loved. The lullaby caused the Princess to close her emerald eyes.
Only to open them again in a world where her father could never rock her to sleep again.
Killian stared for a while at the open cell door. The Princess, Emma, had let him go. She even let guards bring him some clean clothing. He'd put that on the moment they handed it to him, and just when he was ready to leave this sickening place, he hesitated.
The kiss he shared with Emma was much more than he thought it would be. He knew she experienced the same, but it had broken her. The moment she pulled away from him he knew something was wrong. The evil, the demon behind her eyes was gone. But the girl wasn't behind it, like he had hoped.
No.
There was just nothing there.
The Princess was an empty shell. Now that whatever evil that had been rooted inside her was gone, there was nothing left. The evil must have been such a big part of her that there hadn't been anything of the real Emma in her actions. Maybe this should have scared Killian away, should have set him running right out of this place now that he still had the chance, but it didn't.
Killian stood from his cot, knowing what he was going to do. He wasn't going to run. He'd been running for most of his life. Running and searching, not knowing where he belonged. He knew the empty and lonely feeling it gave you, he didn't want that for Emma. She may have tortured him, hurt him, maybe even scarred him for life.
But that wasn't her.
That was the demon inside her, and now that it was gone, the real Emma was there. She must feel so alone right now, so confused, and so empty. He didn't want that for her, no one deserved that feeling. It was the worst torture in the world. He wouldn't even wish it to his worst enemies.
So with these thoughts, Killian walked out of his cell, out of the dungeons and looked everywhere for Emma. She wasn't hard to find; her chambers were close to the dungeons and torture chambers. Killian carefully opened the door, seeing her sitting in a corner in the complete dark, her eyes closed. His chest ached for her as he stepped inside. She didn't open her eyes, didn't look up. She just sat there, unmoving. The only movement about her was the singe tear that fell down her cheek until it hit the cold floor.
Killian kneeled down beside her, reaching out to wipe the new tear away. He smiled when she slowly opened her eyes, turning her head to look at him. He opened his mouth to say something but she spoke before any sound could leave him.
"You should have gone," she said quietly. "why haven't you run the moment I let you go?"
"I'm not leaving you to figure this out on your own," he told her. She smiled sadly at him, looking down.
"You don't know me, I don't even know me."
"Then let me help you find yourself." Emma looked up at him again, her eyes full of pain, regret and just emptiness.
"I don't know if I can live with myself," she admitted, more tears leaving her eyes. "everything I've done, the people that I've hurt. I could never forgive myself, especially not after what I did to you."
"I forgive you," Killian cups her cheek, brushing away the new tears with his thumb. "that wasn't you. That demon is gone now, and I forgive you."
"How can you forgive me?" she asked him unbelieving.
Killian smiled at her, taking her hand in his free one and squeezing it. "I've been looking for something for a very long time, and if it wasn't for you I would never have found it. Believe me Emma, you saved me from myself, so I'm going to return the favour."
Emma looked at him, her eyes still filled with tears. "I'm so tired."
"I know," he said softly, sitting down beside her and pulling her closer to him. "try to rest, love. tomorrow everything will look better."
She didn't respond, only burring her face deeper in his chest. It felt good to have her in his arms. It felt like he could protect her this way against the world. He really wished he could protect her that well, but there was one demon she still had to face on her own before she could fully let him help her.
Herself.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. reviews are always welcome! :) they make me update quicker
