AN: Thank you guys so much for keeping up with the story!
Don't forget to take the survey at the bottom of the chapter if you haven't yet!
ENJOY!
"Henry!" Mara cheered as threw herself towards the new and improved muscle man that was her step-brother, Henry Mills, "It's been years! I've missed you so much!"
Henry chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mara very tightly, nearly lifting her off the ground, "I missed you too."
"Look at you!" she said, feeling his thick arms, "I always knew you were my big brother, but I had no idea how big. You're a giant!"
He blushed, "It's nothing a few sports workouts and a lot of dedicated time at the gym can't do."
"How old are you?" she asked.
"18," he answered, "I'm in my senior year of high school and I'm feeling good."
"That's so good," she said, giving him another big hug, resting her head very safely on his shoulder.
"So what's up with you?" he asked.
Killian laughed, "How much time do you have?"
Henry chuckled and looked at Mara as she rolled her eyes at him.
"It's a long story… one that I can tell you when we bring you guys back to Storybrooke," Mara said excitedly.
"Go back?" Henry asked, "Why?"
"Well why not?" she asked, "I know you miss it."
"Why don't you just tell us why you're really here, okay?" Neal asked angrily.
Mara sighed and separated herself from Henry, going back to her father's side.
"Henry…" Mara sighed, "Something has happened… 4 years ago I thought that my parents left me on a ship alone because I needed to learn to grow up… but it turns out they were captured-."
"By who?" Henry interjected.
"That doesn't matter," Mara ignored his question while Killian chuckled at her response, "What matters is that we've reached my father, obviously, and I've freed him from his paralyzing curse, but now we've managed to find mom-."
"Where is she?" Henry asked abruptly.
"Can I finish please?" Mara asked irritated.
"Sorry," Henry sighed, "Continue."
"Thank you," Mara nodded, "Anyway, mom is trapped in her own paralyzing spell in the mines of Storybrooke. I tried to free her with my own magic, but I couldn't. Rumple couldn't either. It's because magic dying in Storybrooke."
"Magic?" he asked, "I haven't thought about that in forever…"
"Yes, and the reason why it's dying is because the heart of the truest believer isn't in Storybrooke anymore," Rumple said, getting up from the sofa, "The distance between you and the town is causing the magic to weaken."
"The only way to restore it is to take you back to Storybrooke and make you believe again," Mara said hopefully.
Henry's face went sour as he stared back at the floor. Everything he had tried to let go of was all coming back to him again. Mara was more perfect now than ever, at least she looked it. To him, it looked as though they didn't really need his help and they just came to rub it in his face. Everything that Neal had told him about Storybrooke not needing him anymore seemed to be nearly true at this point.
"I'm sorry, Mara," Henry breathed, "but that's not an option."
He turned to leave the room, but Mara went after him.
"What?" Mara asked, "I thought you missed us and Storybrooke."
"I do," he said, not turning around, "but I just can't go back there."
"Why not?" Mara asked again.
"It's not important," he protested.
"Yes it is!" she insisted.
"Not to me."
"What about your family? Grandma, grandpa? Red, Granny? Grumpy? Tinkerbell? Do any of them matter to you anymore?"
"Mara-."
"No!" she shouted, "I'm not letting you abandon me AGAIN after all this time! Why did you shut me out!? Why did you shut EVERYONE out from your life when all they wanted to do was accept you!?"
"I'm not even sure I believe in magic anymore, okay!?" he boomed, causing a great silence to fall over the room.
There was not sound that mattered around the people who stood there, staring at Henry. Rumple with shock, Killian with disappointment, Mara with hurt, and Neal with guilt. Henry started to breathe heavily now as if the last few years had come crashing down on him all over again. He couldn't bear to see those wondering eyes pressuring him any longer and so he opened up the window and exiled himself onto the fire escape. Nobody followed him, but they just watched him shut the window leaving everyone else to just wonder how to get to him. Mara was used to that after all this time.
The town had seemed empty when everyone simply sat indoors in anticipation for Killian, Mara, and Rumple's return. Life couldn't just go back to the way it was before because one large act like sealing Emma in the mines is enough to shut down the entire town. Tristan didn't notice. All he did was sit in the mines and watch over Emma's body. After watching over her all this time, he began to notice the similarities between her and Mara. She had her nose and mouth and bone structure, not to mention she definitely had her eyes. All Mara really had from Killian was her luxurious black hair that complemented her so nicely.
Mara leaving early in the morning without saying goodbye was understandable. She never did want love to get in the way of her missions, which he understood. Mara was driven and the last thing he wanted to do was stand in her way.
"Mara is like her mother that way," Mary-Margaret said, carrying a sweatshirt in her arms, David following closely behind her.
"In what way?" Tristan asked.
"You know, how Mara puts off her decision between you and Pan to make sure her mother is okay first," David said, taking a seat on the rock next to Tristan.
"How did you know-?"
"It's not difficult," Mary-Margaret reassured him, sitting on the other side of him, "We all see how you look at her, but then we all see how confused she is when either of you are mentioned in conversation."
"For all we know, she either loves you both or hates you both for making this so difficult," David chuckled.
"But I'm trying not to make it difficult for her," he argued, "It wouldn't be difficult if Pan hadn't kissed her like that before we left Neverland."
"Maybe he just wanted to get his feelings out in the open," David said.
"It's better for her to know than to not know," Mary-Margaret added.
Tristan sighed and looked at the ground, "Can I ask you guys something?"
"Yes?" Mary-Margaret answered.
"Do you think Mara and I are true love?" Tristan asked.
"If you have to ask… maybe you're not," David answered, "However, that doesn't mean that you'll never be true love."
"He's right, you know," Mary-Margaret said, "True love doesn't just happen, it has to be felt by both people, otherwise, it isn't love at all, let alone true love."
"That's the thing," Tristan said, "If Mara could allow herself to love me, then I know we can be true love. I mean, from the moment I first saw her up on the rooftop of that bakery in the village… I didn't know what it was, but it wasn't love, it was admiration, and I've always known that. I had never seen a woman fight like that before and it amazed me. What made me think more of her as a person is how she let me stay on her ship, it wasn't that she let me on in the first place, but that she let me stay after our bargain was up. I was only supposed to be there for a few weeks, but I ended up staying by her side for 4 years."
"That means loyalty, yes," Mary-Margaret responded, "but does that mean true love? For all we know you could be her brother."
Tristan shook his head, "I realize that… but you have to understand how much more there is between us. There are moments… stories… adventures…"
"Care to tell us any of them?" David asked.
"They help me sleep better when I think about them," he grinned, "There was the time we visited the Spanish Countryside… now that was a trip I'll never forget… we had gotten into a battle with another pirate ship, we were barely going to escape with our lives. Mara was surrounded by a thousand men who had no intention of killing her… I surrendered myself in exchange for her. They saw me as stronger, sturdier, more persuasive… so they took me instead. I'll never forget the look on her face when they took her back to the Jolly Roger… I saved her life and yet I made her feel miserable at the same time. During the night, I escaped the ship, but then Mara was there as well, waiting for me. We took out the entire crew, just the two of us. The entire port in the Spanish Countryside knew Mara and I as the greatest pirate duo who's ever lived. We danced the night away that night. The music, the food, the dancing, the people, and Mara… it was one of the best night's of my life. Mara and I danced without getting tired until the sun came up…"
"What a story..." Mary-Margaret said softly.
"And there's more," Tristan said excitedly, "The moment I fell in love with her-."
"You mean you didn't fall in love with her in the Spanish Countryside?" David asked.
"I had some kind of feeling for her," he argued, "but it wasn't quite love yet. Mara had always kept to herself from me for 3 years. She shut doors in my face, never told me anything when she was upset or scared and I wasn't in love with her, so I was okay with that and I was willing to be there with open arms until she was ready… she never let anyone see her cry or get scared. She had to be the strongest one of the crew… she had to be perfect… one night after a peaceful day with no battles or raides or anything like that… she sat with me on the deck before sundown and told me everything as we watched the sunset… she told me how she was upset about her parents leaving her, how she was afraid of her life every single battle… and it was then, on the day she stopped being perfect… that's when I fell in love with her."
"That's beautiful," Mary-Margaret reacted with a smile.
"You love her for all her imperfections," David nodded.
Mary-Margaret stood up and then kneeled in front of Tristan, who still hung his head low.
"Look," she assured him, "Pan has done too much wrong to do right and I believe in second chances, but do you see Pan here now? No. He didn't go the extra mile to leave his comfort zone and come here. You left your home the moment you met her knowing that something wonderful was going to happen, that alone says something. I'm not going to tell you who Mara should be with, I'm not going to tell Pan or you which one of you I prefer… I'm going to let Mara make the decision from here but just know that you have done all you can to let her know that you love her… now all you need to do is have hope and you need to hold onto it in case it's not you she picks."
He nodded. After some time, David let Mary-Margaret and Tristan back outside of the mines. Tristan saw the sun setting on the other side of town and then he continued to do what he's done for the last year and a half ever since he truly appreciated the sunset. Wait.
Henry started to really feel the cool wind hit his face as morning was about to come upon the city. Everyone was still inside, sleeping on the couch, trying to relax before figuring out what to do next. He had been up a little earlier than everyone else just to think. Neal came out the window first and leaned up against the railing, looking his son in the eye.
"You okay, kid?" he asked.
Henry shook his head, "You said they didn't want anything to do with me anymore? Why would you lie?"
"I didn't… I didn't totally lie," Neal said, "I mean, they need you to keep magic alive, but that's it. They don't REALLY need you."
"Then why did Mara look so upset when I slammed the window in her face?" he asked, "She practically begged me not to shut her out again. What do you mean again? I thought they shut me out first?"
"They did!"
"Then why are they back here?" Henry asked, "What are you hiding from me, dad? I'm tired of you making this look like we're here for me!"
"Alright," Neal said, "So maybe I was tired of seeing Hook and your mom having the perfect family and the perfect child. So what? We have a better life here!"
"You do! I don't!" Henry argued, "For years I've battled with myself on whether or not I should leave all of my childhood behind me or not and it's killing me!"
"So what do you want then!?" Neal yelled, "Where do you want to go? Who do you trust more!? The pirate your mother left us for!? or your own father?"
Henry opened his mouth to argue as the sun came down under the horizon line and the moon began to rise. A flash out light came from inside the apartment. It was almost blinding. Killian and Rumple both stood up, covering their eyes from the light coming from the couch. Henry opened up the window and ran inside immediately once he realized who had been sitting there before.
"Mara!" Henry yelled, running straight into the light.
The light faded away very slowly. What was left on the couch caused everyone's jaws to drop three stories down from where they were standing.
"D-Dad?" Mara asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Henry picked up a standing mirror and held it in front of Mara.
Her skin had turned white to the point of it not being skin at all, but feathers, white feathers. Her luxurious black hair was gone and was replaced with a luxurious long white neck. Her arms were no longer arms, but wings, and her feet were webbed.
Mara let out a loud shriek which faded into a quack of some sort.
"Mara, dear," Killian answered, "You're a swan…"
www . survey monkey (.com) / s/NXN9CJW (remove all the spaces)
