Title: A Family's Faith
Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time and its characters belong to Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. Not Mine!
Warning: K+ (Fights with swords and guns- minor violence)
Author's Note: Chapter 9! Told you it would be soon! My sister is currently in Poland and she just sent me pictures of a castle she went to. I love castles! :) Hope you like it! :) Let me know what you think thus far! Enjoy! :)
Castle
Snow woke up feeling relaxed, yet somewhat sad. As she opened her eyes, she remembered that she had just seen her husband and had a pretty good conversation with him. They had a lead on a possible way home and although, things could go wrong, Snow was hopeful that it would work. The only reason she was sad was because she had to leave him again.
"I was wondering when you would wake up." Blue said as she realized her friend was finally awake again.
"Yeah, I saw him. He and Emma had a possible way home." Snow told Blue about the dragon and the ring as she sat up in bed. "What time is it?" Snow asked wondering how long she was asleep.
"It's 1:15am. You were asleep for a couple of hours." Blue said quietly. "I probably should head out. I am glad that it worked and I hope that they get the ring."
"Thanks for everything, Blue. I'll walk you out." Snow said as she started to get out of bed.
"It's alright, I can see myself out. You still look tired." Blue said gently.
"Ok, thanks Blue." Snow said sincerely and once Blue had left she laid back down.
Her family was safe and would be together once again. She felt more relaxed then she had felt in a long time. She drifted off to sleep thinking of the reunion they would have once her daughter and husband returned.
***ENCHANTED FOREST***
Emma slowly woke up, feeling confused about where she was. The bed felt weird, nothing like her bed at home. She could feel the sun shining on her face and wondered how late she would be to work. She had to of slept in, maybe she fell asleep on the couch again. Although, it didn't feel like the couch, it was more comfortable than the couch. She couldn't put it off any longer, her dad was probably already at the station. She slowly opened her eyes and murmured, "oh yeah." Then she shut her eyes again with a groan.
Charming had seen that Emma was waking up and was wondering what was going through her head as she slowly began to wake up. She had moved her head slowly back and forth and shifted in bed for the last 10 minutes. "What are you 'oh yeahing' to?" Charming said with a chuckle.
Emma opened her eyes again and looked around to find where David was in the cabin. "I forgot we were here." Emma said sheepishly as she sat up in the bed. She still felt a little tired, but was feeling so much better than the day before.
Charming chuckled to himself. "Well hopefully after we get this ring we will be home again." Charming said confidently.
Emma looked skeptically at her father wondering why he looked so confident. Not that he wasn't normally full of faith that they would find their family, but today he seemed relaxed unlike the days before. "Why are you so…confident? Did something happen when I was asleep?" Emma asked, truly curious at why her father seemed so relaxed.
"As a matter of fact something did happen. I must have slept really hard last night because I went to the fiery room in my dreams. And you will never guess who was there?" Charming said with a smile.
"Well it could only be two other people and my guess would be your wife." Emma said as she put the pieces together. He had a cheesy smile on that meant he was thinking about his wife that he was head over heels for.
"Yes, it was Snow. I told her our plans and we are planning on meeting again in the fiery room if for some reason we aren't able to get the ring, but I am pretty confident that we will get it." Charming informed Emma.
Emma nodded. She wished she could have the same confidence as her father had, but her past experiences had made her skeptical. "Are they okay?" Emma asked.
"Yes, they all are. They just miss us." Charming reassured his daughter.
Emma faced relaxed as she heard her father's answer. She was worried that King George may have tried something after they went through the portal. "You didn't tell her about all this did you?" Emma asked referring to her injuries.
"I tried to keep it from her, but she ended up pulling it out of me." Charming admitted.
"Oh dear." Emma said with a smile at the thought of her mother freaking about her being injured and sick.
"I told her that you were alright now, but I think she may kill me if you get injured again." Charming said with a chuckle.
Emma rolled her eyes. "What? Did she threaten you?" Emma asked, just imagining what her mother's reaction to her being hurt would have been. Also the thought of her parents talking about her made her feel slightly uncomfortable, but yet it was very parent-like thing for them to do.
"Pretty much….maybe you shouldn't help me with the dragon…" Charming said half-joking and half serious.
Emma could tell that he was somewhat serious. "Uh, I am helping. We have a better chance of getting the ring if we work together." Emma argued. She really was excited about fighting a dragon along side her dad.
Charming could see that Emma was actually excited about fighting the dragon and couldn't help, but feel proud of her. He could also tell that she wasn't going to back down from a fight. He didn't really like the idea of her fighting a dragon, but he did like the idea of sharing the experience with his daughter. He would be there to protect her if she needed it. "Ok. Ok." Charming relented with a chuckle. "Well if we are going to be heading out today, we better get ready." Charming stated.
***ENCHANTED FOREST***
Emma felt gross after being sick and stuck in the Enchanted Forest without the luxury of showers. She was glad that David had thought ahead to fix her a bath the 'old fashion way' as Emma called it. He even heated up water so it wouldn't be cold. She was impressed. Although, she preferred showers to old fashion baths, she did feel so much better after it.
About an hour later, Emma and Charming were just about ready to leave for their castle. All there was left to do was to say goodbye to the Merry men.
"Are you feeling okay?' Charming asked as they walked to the Merry men.
"Yes, I'm fine." Emma snapped back.
Charming gave her disapproving look, without even thinking about it, because of the tone of her voice.
Emma gulped and looked straight ahead at the men they were approaching.
"Are you heading out?" Adam asked as he saw David and his daughter, Emma, coming up to them.
"Yes, we were just coming to say goodbye and thank you for letting us stay with you and your men." Charming replied in a friendly tone.
"It was our pleasure." Adam replied then turned to look at Emma. "I hope you are feeling better. I am sorry that Richard got to you." Adam said apologetically.
"I am and it was nothing I couldn't handle." Emma replied a bit defensively. She didn't like to be thought of a damsel in distress. She could take care of herself, thank you very much.
Charming tried to hide his smile at his daughter's stubbornness.
"Well, I am glad you are all right. We didn't find him so I would watch out for him in case he hasn't given up." Adam replied kindly.
"Thanks, we will." Charming answered.
"And we thought this would help your with your journey." Adam said as one of his men lead a horse to the group. "There is some supplies in the saddlebags as well."
"Thanks. That is really kind of you." Charming replied as he took the reins of the horse. It would definitely help if they both had a horse to ride, but he wasn't sure how Emma would feel about riding by herself.
"It is no problem." Adam replied.
"Well we should be going, thanks again for everything." Charming said kindly.
Adam nodded with a smile.
Charming and Emma went back to where their other horse was tied up. Emma looked hesitant as they got closer to the horse. She wasn't sure about riding alone.
"Are you ready?" Charming asked seeing that Emma looked a little worried as they came to the other horse.
Emma nodded, not wanting to show her true feelings.
"Here, I'll help you up." Charming said as he gently guided Emma over to the new horse.
Charming helped her up and then patted her knee. "Just remember what I taught you the other day. You can do it and we don't have to go fast." Charming said in a kind tone.
Emma nodded again faking a little bit of confidence that she didn't have at the moment.
Charming could see through Emma's façade, but didn't point it out. He instead gave her a soft smile before turning to get on the other horse. "Ready?" Charming asked as he looked over at Emma.
"Yes." Emma said. She was ready to get on with this journey and get back to their family.
Charming and Emma set off on their way to Snow and Charming's old castle. Slowly at first, but as Emma got more comfortable with the horse they went a little faster. She was actually a natural at riding horses and Charming could tell that she was enjoying it. She was just a little unsure about the horse still, but that was because she hadn't been around horses like she should have been.
After about two hours of riding, Emma was ready to be at the castle even though riding on the horse was fun and she even was getting use to it. The only problem was that it got to be a little comfortable after a while especially because she wasn't use to riding horses for long periods of times, let alone riding them at all. She was following her father who she could tell was a very skilled rider, which wasn't a surprise to her since he grew up around horses. Despite having a slight headache and being a little tired, Emma was feeling pretty good compared to the last two days. David, her father, had been so patient, for the most part, and caring with her. She wasn't exactly the best patient ever when she was sick or injured.
Emma was so lost in her thought that when a man jumped out of tree and tackled her dad off of his horse to the ground she was caught off guard and just barely screamed out, "DAVID!"
She sat stunned on her horse for a moment before jumping off and grabbing the sword that she just realized was on the horse. Emma started to run over to where her father was now fighting the man with his own sword, but when another man appeared that she recognized as Richard, she started to fight with him using her sword.
As Charming was fighting his man, he saw that Richard had come out of nowhere and was fighting his daughter. Emma was a scrappy kind of fighter. She had some natural skill with a blade, but she didn't always have the greatest form. She would also interchange using her sword with punching and kicking her opponent which would be amusing to him if this man wasn't trying to hurt or possible kidnap his daughter. He did have to give her credit for her fighting skills because she could definitely hold her own in a fight. He was proud to call her his daughter. He continued to fight his man until the man realized that Richard and him were going to lose this fight. He ran off after Charming managed to get one blow to his opponent.
"Richard, let's go!" The man yelled as he ran off into the woods.
As Richard heard his companion, he ran off leaving Emma alone. Charming ran over to Emma and looked her up and down to make sure she was okay.
"Are you okay?" Charming asked after he didn't see any injuries.
"Yeah, are you?" Emma asked, a little out of breath from her fight.
"Yeah. Looks like Richard has a partner in crime." Charming said as he looked towards where the pair had ran into the forest.
Emma nodded. "Hopefully they don't try again." Emma said thoughtfully, but thought they probably hadn't seen the last of Richard and his friend.
"Hopefully, but we better keep a look out for them anyway." Charming said as he lightly touched Emma's arm. "Let's get going again. We have about an hour left of riding. Are you sure you are okay?"
"Yes. I am fine." Emma said a little annoyed at her father's worry.
Charming narrowed his eyes slightly at Emma's response trying to gage whether she was telling the truth. Besides looking tired, she seemed okay so he let it go. Charming nodded his head before heading back to his horse.
Emma put her sword back in the sheath and climbed back on the horse.
Charming waited for Emma to ride her horse beside his horse before they continued on their way. He was going to keep watch on her in case Richard and his friend tried to come after them again.
***ENCHANTED FOREST***
"There it is." Charming said as he looked at the castle as he slowed down to let Emma catch up with him. "I actually didn't live here very long, but it was home. But then again anywhere with your mother is home to me." Charming said fondly as he looked at the castle longingly. He missed living in the Enchanted Forest and he missed all the dreams that he had hoped for his family.
"What are we waiting for?" Emma asked with a small grin. She knew that her father was excited to see the castle and a small part of her was excited as well. What girl didn't dream of living in a castle at one point or another? While Mary Margaret and David had been back in the Enchanted Forest they had actually been living at Regina's castle because it hadn't been affected by the curse. Emma had seen what the castle had looked like after the curse and it was pretty bad.
They continued to ride towards the castle as the sun was starting to set which made the view look beautiful. The sky behind the castle was lovely shades of orange, yellow, and pink. As they got closer, Emma began to think about what her father said about his home always being where Snow was. She never really thought about home being where a person was, but she always just thought of it as a building where she slept and ate. How does one really define home? Emma wasn't sure, but it sounded like her father defined home differently than she ever had thought of it to be.
Charming rode his horse around the castle to the back where the stables were located. He jumped off his horse and grabbed the reins before looking back at Emma who just got down from her horse. She seemed like she was lost in thought and he wondered what she was thinking about.
Emma walked her horse up beside Charming's horse. Charming handed Emma his reins before he went to open the door to the stables. Charming looked around the stables to notice that it was pretty much the same as before besides that it had been unused for the last 30 years. He turned back around and grabbed both of the reins of the horses from Emma. He led the horses into stalls and then showed Emma how you properly take care of your horse.
Emma grinned slowly as her dad started to explain everything a horse rider should do for their steed. He was in his teaching/Dad mode where he explained things in great length. After a good amount of time, she was beginning to wonder when this lesson would be over for the night. She was exhausted and they hadn't even gotten into the castle yet.
After Charming found some food for the horses and he turned to Emma. "I think that should do it. Now, let's head inside." Charming said as he directed Emma by placing his hand at the small of Emma's back.
"Yes." Emma said with a relieved smile.
Charming directed her to a door in the back of building. He handed her the sword that she had used, she hadn't even realized that he had grabbed it before they left the stables. His sword was at his side like it normally was. Charming opened the door. "This was the servant entrance, but we used it as much as they did." Charming said as they walked into the castle.
They walked down a hallway that leads into the kitchen. Emma could definitely get lost in a place like this if she was on her own. She continued to walk with her father as he directed her through the castle commenting on things every once in a while as he went through the different rooms on the main floor. "The stairs are just over here." Charming informed Emma.
Ugh, Stairs. Emma thought, just the thing she wanted after riding on a horse for a couple of hours. She remembered these stairs from when she was here before. There were a million of them. She thought they would never reach the top as she made her legs climb up them. As they trudged up the stairs, Emma asked, "So when you were here last year, did you guys make it over here?" Emma knew that they didn't stay at this castle, but they stayed at Regina's castle instead.
"We came once after we got settled at Regina's and before we started having too much trouble with Zelena. It was a little after your mother told me about being pregnant. I wanted to see it again and see if it could be rebuilt. We both loved this castle and although Regina's castle was nice, we preferred this one. Unfortunately, we only came that once because Zelena and her flying monkeys were tormenting everyone and things were starting to get worse." Charming answered with a grimace.
"Were you guys going to rebuild it?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, we decided that it would be worth it and after looking at it we realized that the whole castle wasn't affected. It would have taken a lot of work, but at least it wasn't as bad as we had originally believed." Charming said.
Emma nodded her head slowly as she thought about what her father was telling her. They were wanting to live in this castle again with her brother. She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about that yet. Possibly, a little left out considering she was in the real world at the time not that they could have helped that.
Emma continued to walk with her father through a maze of hallways that were upstairs and she wondered how in the world they remembered where everything was. She wasn't sure where he was leading them, but when it became a little more familiar she began to have an idea of where they might be going.
Please Review!
(I have the next chapter almost ready, so let me know if you want me to put it up today…the more reviews=the better chance I'll get it done today :) Hint Hint)
