"You… you care," Emma said. "I'm just not… I guess I'm just not used to someone putting me first."
Mary-Margaret smiled, pulling her close. "Well, get used to it."
Emma rested against her shoulder, head dropping onto it. "Thank you… and for understanding why I want to do this spell thing…"
Her mother stroked her cheek. "You're an adult now Emma. I can't very well demand you do this or that… because I know you won't exactly listen to me."
Emma laughed a little. "Yeah yeah," she mumbled, wiping the tears out of her eyes that had suddenly appeared. God, she never thought she would have something like this happen in her life.
Both of them looked up at the sound of footsteps, noticing Ariel and Eric standing in the doorway, their faces unreadable.
"We need to make camp, Snow," Ariel said. "There are ogres about."
She still couldn't believe this was real. Any of it, but especially the ogres. They seemed to be bad, if they had her mother, Ariel and Eric on edge.
Her mother nodded, pulling away slightly. "We'll stay here tonight then." Her voice seemed happy about it, but her face remained still. Emma wasn't sure what to think about it, staying in the castle that she was born in, that she could only spend a few moments in before she was forced away from her parents.
A tree crashed down somewhere outside, and Emma jumped. Melody began to cry in fear, and Ariel and Eric quickly began singing to her. Emma ran to the window, looking out. She would have grown up with an incredible view of the kingdom, but right now, she stared at the... things that were lumbering around in the forest.
No wonder they were all terrified of them.
"Oh my God," she murmured.
Her mother went to the window, watching. "Yep… Four wars and countless other skirmishes…" she sighed. "Hopefully when we go back we won't have to deal with them too…" She looked around the room, looking for Ariel or Eric to confirm or deny what she'd said, but they were off taking care of Melody. "They shouldn't bother us now though… not since Melody seems to have calmed down, and if we don't make too much noise."
Emma hoped that was true.
A.P.O.V
"Shh Melody, it's okay. No one will hurt us," she murmured softly to the eight month old, who still looked terrified, though had stopped crying. "I've got you, and Daddy's here too. We'll keep you safe and sound."
Melody curled tight into Ariel's chest as Eric put his hand on Melody's back, a silent gesture telling her that he was there, to protect her from everything out in the world.
They sat in one of the many guest bedrooms in the castle, on a bed that was in shockingly good condition, despite the curse ripping through the entire palace.
Melody babbled softly, looking up at her mother, who looked back at her with identical eyes. It pained Ariel to know that Snow never got moments like these with Emma. Ariel forced a smile on her face. "It's okay darling, I promise you."
Her child closed her eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Ariel smiled, carefully laying her on the bed. Eric's arms wrapped around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I love you," he murmured in her ear.
"I love you too," she replied, just gazing at her child.
"Can't believe you're willing to go through the pain of labor again. You are the most amazing woman in the world."
"It's not like I have a choice, Eric. I made that deal with him."
Eric nodded, his face suddenly turning serious. "But what will be your price? All magic comes with a price… and he created that so…"
"So anything could happen to me. I know," Ariel said, biting her lip. "Believe me Eric, I thought about not telling them, but Snow… she just seemed so desperate to have those years back with Emma, and Emma seems so hardened from whatever it was she went through before she found Storybook or whatever it's called. She deserves to be happy with her parents."
Eric nodded. "I'm worried about you though. About what it could mean for us."
"He said we would bring back the happy endings… so that should mean that we won't go through anything bad," Ariel murmured.
"Gods willing," Eric replied, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Ariel sighed. "Yes."
It was a terrifying thought, what could happen when she cast it. She didn't want to let Snow down, but she also didn't want something awful to happen to the family she herself had worked hard and fought for to get.
She didn't want to lose it.
"Let's just… go to bed. We can talk about this in the morning," Ariel murmured, laying down on the bed, wanting to sleep.
Eric sighed, but nodded. Neither of them were in the right mood to talk about something like this, not now.
Ariel curled tightly into her husband's chest, much like her daughter had to her earlier, the rhythmic feeling of his heartbeat lulling her to sleep.
Snow P.O.V
She'd left the decision up to Emma, about where she wanted to sleep tonight. Emma had decided on sleeping in the nursery, as emotional as it'd made both of them.
Emma was asleep, her fingers brushing against the teddy bear Snow had lifted up earlier that evening. One that Ella had made for her upon hearing the news of her pregnancy.
No matter how hard she tried, however, Snow found herself unable to sleep. Being here, in this room, was too much for the princess to bear. She wanted Emma to be small enough to fit in that crib Gepetto and Pinocchio had slaved over for months before Emma's arrival.
Speaking of… Snow wasn't sure how to feel about them right now, nor about the Blue Fairy. Pinocchio had abandoned Emma, made her feel like she had no one in that other world, and it made Snow sick. Even if the wardrobe had been able to hold two, Snow still could have gone with her, and if Emma hadn't come early, she and David never would have been parted and gone through that absolute hell that had been the life of 'Mary-Margaret Blanchard' and 'David Nolan'.
What would they do about Gepetto? He'd lied, saved his own child, which Snow could understand very well, but…
That child had left her own alone, growing up to be so harsh, so serious, so… cold. Walls had built up around Emma. She could only imagine what Emma would've been like if August hadn't left her, or if she and James would've been able to go with her. Emma would've been happy, free, and probably with someone she really loved.
And dear Henry would have been able to be raised by his mother. His real mother. Not someone like Regina, who'd ruined their lives, tormented all of them for years, and years.
As much as Snow wanted to believe she could have changed, it was clear that Regina wouldn't. Snow sighed, feeling her eyes droop, and she let them close, feeling herself pulled into dreams she'd always had.
Ones of her family.
R.P.O.V
Weeks had passed, and the imp grinned as he gazed at the potion in the flask. This would work, he knew it. This would allow him to contact the woman he needed to contact. Perfect.
Carefully, he poured a little bit of it over the shell, watching as it glowed. Belle stood next to him, the man having been coaxed into telling her what exactly it was he'd been doing down in the basement, or in his shop. It was only fair, after all she'd been through, partially because of him.
"Did it… work?" she murmured.
"Let's find out Belle, shall we?" he replied, lifting the shell carefully in his hand. "Ariel? Ariel, can you hear me?"
A.P.O.V
They'd reached their castle yesterday, but it hadn't been an easy feat. They'd been slowed by ogres, having to wait a few days until they'd moved on… something had been quite difficult with a baby. Even so, they'd managed to do it, and thank the Gods they had. Emma and Snow were starting to get anxious, and Ariel could understand. They wanted it done before Emma changed her mind, and Ariel wanted to get it done before she changed hers.
"Princess Ariel, if you can hear me, say something."
Her eyes shot open, wide with shock. That voice… it sounded so much like his, but it couldn't have been. He was still trapped in that other world, right? The land without magic.
Where was that voice coming from?
She looked around, and spotted the fragment of her grandfather's shell that she'd kept glowing.
Grasping the blanket, Ariel draped it over herself, somehow not waking Eric, who was asleep next to her, and went to the shell, which was sitting on her vanity.
"R-Rumpelstiltskin?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Ah, dearie, you can hear me. Good."
"H-how are you doing this?" she asked. "I-I thought that land didn't have magic."
"It didn't. But I brought it. I thought it would help us… escape from this world, but it hasn't. Now… do you still have that spell?"
Ariel almost nodded, but instead she spoke. "Yes. I do."
"Do you know where Snow White and Emma are?"
"Asleep in another room. They're with us."
"Ah, excellent. Where are you?"
"Eric's palace."
Eric had awoken, and was sitting up in bed, watching. Ariel saw he was awake, and took the shell over to him, sitting next to him, his arm wrapping around him.
"Good. Cast that spell."
"We can't yet," Ariel said. "Emma and Snow aren't awake. And there's something I need to know Rumpelstiltskin…"
"Are we making another deal, dearie?"
"No. This is something you should have told me before we made our original one."
"And that is?"
"What is my price for casting this?"
Rumpelstiltskin went silent, and it made Ariel's heart sink.
"Tell us, imp!" Eric said. "Will we lose each other? Will she die?"
"No. Neither of those."
"Then what is it, Rumpelstiltskin?" Ariel asked, not wanting Eric to explode.
"You will lose your magic."
