The Magic Within

By Schroederplayspiano

Chapter 11: If You Believe In Magic

The grandfather clock in the hall seemed louder than usual. Its chimes ticked through the seconds until the Charming Family regained the ability to speak again. Emma, who regretted her declaration as soon as it was spoken, ignored the heartbeats echoing through her head and searched desperately through her family's reactions. To Henry, his mom was like a small puppy that knew they had done something wrong and begged for forgiveness through its abnormally large eyes. Snow noticed Henry's demeanor and recognized a familiar quality in it. David showed no reaction to his daughter's declaration apart from shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Emma grew to fear his the most.

Henry spoke first. Though some of his child innocence had started to fade in his teenage years, it protruded through his whisper. "Why were you using a magic mirror?"

Emma no longer needed to crouch down to reach her son's eye level. "I was trying to help protect our home, Henry."

"Through a magic mirror?"

"I-" Emma started, but Snow's movement towards her ceased all thoughts.

"What were you thinking?" Emma watched Snow's limbs stiffen, adding a harshness to her voice Emma only half-expected. Deep down, Emma must have predicted her mother's disapproval; why else would she have kept it from her?

"I told you there was a way I could help." Emma defended her actions.

Snow raised her flatten palms. "Wait," Her face scrunched up and forced her eyes shut. "Rumpelstiltskin?" Snow now stared at her daughter. "Rumpelstiltskin taught you how to use a magic mirror." Emma sighed and unconsciously fell back a step. "You said Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't help us with Robin Hood's army. Did he refuse because he wanted you to instead?"

There weren't many times in their relationship that Snow transformed solely into a mother figure for Emma. There were even fewer times where her disapproval felt heavier simply because Snow was the mother and Emma was the daughter.

Emma bowed her head, letting her silence confirm her mother's doubts.

"Did Rumpelstiltskin teach you to use a magic mirror?"

All Snow had to do was put a voice to her fears and Emma's subtle reaction turned them into a reality. Snow released her arms with force and let them thud against her thighs. "Is this punishment for us giving you space and time to adjust?"

"What?" Burst out of Emma. She looked as if the idea was, well, as outer-worldly as the fact that fairytale creatures truly existed. "Of course not!"

Snow took a deep breath, but it did not aid in calming her down. She turned to Henry. "We need to speak to your mother alone."

"What?" Henry protested. "No! I am not going! I am just as appalled as you are."

"Henry." There was no plea in Emma's voice. It was firm and detached. "Go. Now."

And he did, although he stomped all the way to the door. He managed to yell out, "Magic mirrors are evil!" before slamming the door behind him.

Instead of confronting Emma again, Snow turned to her husband. "David?" He finally engaged with her, looking up from the floor and reaching out to her. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I-" He looked from Snow to Emma and was torn between them. "I-I," he fixed on Snow. "I thought you had it pretty well handled."

Snow scrutinized him, knowing he was holding back something. Rather than forcing it out of him, she took her original course of action. "Emma, I understand you may be curious about what our land has to offer and that's wonderful. I am so glad you are because it offers so much. I also understand that your magical abilities are something new and exciting to you – and to us, and being who you are it makes sense that you would want to explore them especially if you have been bored here. And that's my fault, as your mother, for not recognizing the signs-"

"Stop." Emma demanded.

Snow ignored her. "But I thought by now the price of magic would be clear to you." Snow released her tension and her voice crack a little. "Magic mirrors, really? They are used to spy on people, to take away basic privacy rights. They're the reason I could never be free from Regina-"

"I am not using them like she did!" Emma spoke over her mother.

"I don't care!" Snow matched Emma's raised volume. "You are not to use them at all! Your actions are despicable, Emma."

A distressed silence filled the Charmings' bedroom. One that even a cold gust of wind could not shake. Emma raised her eyebrows at Snow and repeated, "Despicable?" softly.

David stepped between his wife and his daughter, hesitating before raising his palms. "Let's not let things get out of control here."

The mother and daughter stared at each other through David. Both headstrong women, David knew he did not have much of a chance to make peace. He tried, however, and turned to Emma. By softening his expression, David somehow communicated how much she owed her mother an explanation.

Emma lost her confrontational stance. "I knew magic mirrors were a sensitive issue for our family," she said. "But I have the skills to use mirrors in a way so that I can protect it. It was important to me to help in someway. Given that I found where the imminent attack is coming from, I'd hope you be able to overlook how or what I used to discover it."

"Overlook it?" Snow scoffed.

"Snow…" David warned.

"I am sorry I didn't trust you guys to tell you I was developing my magical skills. Maybe I should have. I just felt like there would be concern or interest in it and I didn't want your input. You know, before I came to Storybrooke, I was quite a private person, and I needed something that was just for me. I need to figure out who I am here if I am going to survive. So," Emma took a deep breath and regrouped herself. "I'm sorry I kept sensitive information from you. But I am not sorry for finding Robin Hood's location or developing my magical skills to a level where I could be able to do so." Emma finished speaking and waited for either parent to show a sign of relaxing. When they held their positions, she continued. "You know Regina might as well still be here, the way you guys treat your history with her. Rumpelstiltskin and I talked about how magic mirrors don't have a history of evil. Regina gave them that reputation."

Snow held her position. Emma felt a spark, however, when David unlocked his knees. His tone seemed to plead with his wife. "Snow…"

She shook off his touch. Emma and David watched her gaze keep to the hem of her dress as she sunk into the depth of her thoughts. After a few moments, she spoke. "I do support you discovering and developing your inner talents, Emma. I am just worried that as you approached a line you should not cross, you will be too distracted to see it."

A wave of relief washed over Emma. She reached for her mother. "We – I have been very careful, I promise. That line has always been something I've been very aware of."

Snow stood straighter. "You have?"

Emma rushed to close their embrace. She rested her chin on her mother's shoulder and rubbed her back. "Of course I have! It's a line I have never want to cross."

"Oh, Emma," Snow tightened her hold around her daughter. "Thank you for being careful."

Laughing a little, Emma squeezed her back before stepping back. "Thank you," she whisper and held her mother's gaze for a moment more.

David reached for her too, and squeezed his daughter's shoulder. As Emma turned to him, a serious thought erased his joyful features. "Emma, Robin Hood is in Bee's Forest? With his whole army?"

"Yeah…"

"That's twenty miles from us!"

"I know. That's what I said. If we weren't stuck on our little diversion here, you would have-"

David grabbed Emma's wrist and started dragging her from the room. "We need to go. We need to warn our army and prepare and raise our defenses around the Kingdom. We need to take care of this all by tonight too, before guests start to arrive for the ball." As they rounder the corner and David lead her in a jog down the hall, he called out. "Snow! We need you! This is your home kingdom. You'll know it better than anyone!"

Emma then noticed footsteps and dress tussles as Snow started to follow them and transformed into combat mode. She placed her hand on the small of Emma's back to encourage her and the three of them started down the stone stairs together. It wasn't long before another pair of footsteps was heard on the stairs. When they turned around, each could not help but laugh when Henry was spotted sneaking out to follow them.

"It's about time we defended our home as a family," Snow said as she offered Henry the space ahead of her between Emma and herself.

A/N: So nice to hear from guest readers! Thank you for taking the time to review! I don't know if the Charmings heading out to lead their kingdom to battle is the smartest or safest decision, but they are not ones to stand on the sidelines, are they?