thank you so much everyone for your continued interest in this little story, I'm thinking of rapping things up in the next chapter, but for now I leave you with this :)
Disclaimer: I don't own once or its characters.
Chapter 11: All that remains
She remains there long after her tears have cease to fall. The sobs that wracked her exhausted frame reduced to nothing more than quiet whimpers. If much time had passed she was unaware of it. It is only as she begins to feel numbness spread through her limbs that she brings herself to move. Using the dresser beside the door she summons up what little strength she has left. Pulling herself from the cold tile of the hospital floor.
She leans against the solid object for a moment, greatful of its presence. Her gaze settles on the bed and the woman that lies opposite. Guilt, a feeling that has become all too familiar of late begins to consume her. Staggering towards the bed she pauses beside Emma's sleeping form, she can't help but notice how the savior appears younger than her years, lost amongst the blankets and wires.
She takes the blondes hand, holding it in her own. Working quickly to remove first one restraint then moving to the next. She would not allow Emma to awaken whilst confine like some violent criminal. she may be unable to heal what remained of the saviors injuries but this small comfort, this she could give her. She turns to the table positioned at the end of the bed to find a clear plastic envelope. Reaching out she lifts it from its resting place, cataloguing the contents.
Enclosed is the sheriff's badge that usually sat at the blondes hip. Two necklaces that held a near permanent place around the younger womans neck. She studies the swan insignia closely, unsure of the story behind it. In the time that she had known the other women she had only noticed her without it for a brief time. With the loss of Henry's birth father the necklace made a return to its former home, though quite possibly for a different reason then it remain originally.
Her attention turns to the final item inside, a brown leather bootlace, worn from age. The story behind this is one she knew all too well, the Huntsman. Graham. On the list of her misdeeds he ranked higher than most. With her free hand she began to delicately trace each item with her fingertips. Whale's words beginning to form a clear picture in her mind. What were just mere trinkets to anyone else, these items held great significance for the savior. Each holding their own memories of Emma's life.
She stares at them with a new understanding, these were no longer simple objects. They were each in their own way a piece of Emma Swan. She grips the envelope tight against her chest. Should the blonde have perished today at the hands of the Chernabog, she would be clinging to these tokens for another reason entirely. Tearing at the seal she removes them, returning each to their rightful place. She saves the badge for last, placing it in the blondes hand before closing her fist around it.
This is all her fault, none of this would have happened if she hadn't used the dark ones dagger to free the fairies from that damned hat. She should have known better, all magic comes with a price and today Emma was paying for it. 'Why didn't it follow?' she wonders aloud, her vision drifts to her hand intertwined with the younger womans.
'Because, it wasn't after you...' Emma's voice, a muffled whisper answers the question she was never meant to hear. Squeezing her hand tighter in response, an elated cry erupts from the former queen throat. She was awake. Emma was awake. Barely having a moment to enjoy this new development, the door behind her swings open. The room around them filling quickly with the blondes family. Breaking contact she steps aside allowing her parents and the pirate to gather at Emma's bedside. After some reassurance that she is fine Henry soon follows. She stands alone in the doorway watching the scene before her.