The mountains of Arendelle were far more beautiful than Emma had ever imagined. The view from the top was entirely worth the long and exhausting walk to the top, especially as Anna and Kristoff were regaling her with stories of her father that were making her laugh. Her parents before they met each other was one of her favourite things to hear about, especially as this was before her father even became a prince.

Sometimes, Emma thought that it would have been nice if her father had stayed a peasant boy and her mother had met him while she was fleeing from Regina and they had just given up on the idea of winning the kingdom back and lived as farm people and had Emma. Their lives would have been totally different. Of course, that would never have happened. Her parents had too much determination, too much of a sense of rightdoing to ever give up on their kingdom.

"This is always my favourite part of visiting other kingdoms," Anna said with a sigh, digging into their picnic basket. "I love seeing different landscapes and exploring. I'd leave all the political stuff and just do that if I could."

Emma smiled a bit weakly. It was like Anna could read her mind. She, too, was enjoying this far more than any of the political discussions they had been having since her arrival. She always felt like she was floundering in those, though she felt confident in having negotiated a few deals for the things that her parents had suggested they needed. The main part of this visit, however, was to guarantee an alliance and friendship was Emma's only real way of knowing how to do that.

But she didn't have to think about trade or armies or economies for this day that they had designated for friendship only, for climbing Arendelle's mountains and eating together and getting away from being royals, just for the day.

"Of course," Kristoff said, sitting down beside his wife, "the potential allies are not usually so nice as you two." Emma laughed slightly, glancing at Killian who winked at her.

"I suppose that is because you have not been raised to be a snooty royal," Anna said, a sparkle in her eye. Emma snorted.

"You can say that again."

"What was it like in the Land Without Magic?" Anna asked eagerly. She poured some water into four mugs and passed them around.

"Oh," Emma said, eyes widening. She glanced at Killian, who shrugged. She supposed that he hadn't actually spent very much time in the Land Without Magic. "Well- you know, it was home."

Anna smiled encouragingly. "Of course," she said, nodding. "It must have been very hard for you to come here, to leave all you've ever known."

Emma furrowed her brow slightly, training her eyes on the ground. Other than Killian, Anna was the first person to actually acknowledge how difficult this was for her. Tears pricked the back of her eyes, slightly overwhelmed for a moment. She had no idea what to say. Part of her wanted to explode and scream and say that she hated all of this, that she wanted to go back home, that this was not what she signed up for. And another part, the part that saw the way Killian was on the waves, the way Henry loved his princely life, the way the people adored her parents, that part wanted to sigh and give herself up to this life, to start to adjust and be happy here.

She smiled. "It was hard. It's been an adjustment," she said diplomatically, ignoring the amused glint in Killian's eyes.

Anna leaned forward. "Next time you visit, you will have to bring Henry and Liam."

Emma appreciated the change in subject. She smiled, meeting Killian's eyes. "Certainly," he agreed easily. "It is difficult to be away from them."

"I'm sure," Anna said sympathetically. "Will you have more children?"

Emma laughed, slightly in surprise. Anna's questions had the tendency to be personal but Emma thought that it simply meant that they were friends. "We might," she said, glancing again at her husband, who only winked at her.

"I can just imagine you with a little girl," Anna enthused. "Your hair and Killian's eyes." The image appeared behind Emma's eyes and her heart did a sort of leap before settling back down into a cozy place. She could have another baby. It would be easier, too. Killian would be at her side and he wanted it too, she knew. They would have help from her parents and friends. And it would be nice for Liam to have a brother or sister to grow up with.

"I can imagine that too," Emma said quietly, meeting Anna's eyes. Anna beamed and then dove headfirst into a new topic, making Emma feel slightly whiplashed. She found Kristoff watching his wife fondly and, turning, she saw the same look on Killian's face towards her.

XXX

"You could be away from your kingdom for so long?" Emma said in shock. Her request had been tentative and ready to be denied, but encouraged by Killian. She had fully expected Elsa to either spend perhaps an hour with her or to refuse altogether, but here she was, suggesting that they go up into the woods of Arendelle for a week and train Emma to use her magic.

Elsa hummed. "Yes, Anna and Kristoff are very able. We can add it to our treaty," she teased. Emma smiled. The treaty was one of friendship and trade. Emma was sure that her parents would happily allow her to add training in magic as one of the requirements on Elsa's side. Emma knew that she would give Arendelle much in recompense.

"Emma," Elsa said, watching her process this idea, "your magic is part of you. When you can control it, you will learn to love it." Emma looked up blankly. She did not hate her magic, not at all, but she did not love it. "I will teach you and you will learn."

So, Emma agreed and, that very evening, they headed out into the woods together.

The training was harder than Emma had anticipated. Elsa drilled her like any brutal training master, despite her generally soft demeanour. The first night, she told Emma to make herself a fire if she wanted to get any rest without freezing to death. It had taken hours and hours but Emma had managed it, eventually, after staring at the ground, trying to will it into flames.

Emotions were the key. Where Regina had used hate and anger to fuel her magic, Emma used her love. It was not quite so simple as that but that was the basis of it. Once Emma had learned to summon it, she was away.

Elsa taught her to use her magic to hunt, to cook, to make things grow. She flew through the trees by controlling the way that the air moved beneath her. They duelled all day one day, until blasts of power flew from Emma's hands as easily as words came from her mouth. She learned, too, to throw objects and to block with them too, during a battle. It was like a crash-training course in how to be a magical warrior princess.

On the last day of their retreat, Emma and Elsa mounted their horses to return. Emma was missing Killian and she was eager to return to him. "Do you ever wish you could just run around doing all of this?" Emma asked the monarch as they trotted out of the woods. Elsa turned curiously to her. Emma extrapolated. "I mean, you spend so much time running the country. Do you never just want to run away?"

Elsa smiled serenely. "Emma, at least once a week, I make sure that I have a whole day to myself. What do you think I do? I don't sit around in my bedroom. I come here, to the woods, and throw ice at trees and run through the air. But no, I could never run away. Arendelle is my home. Its people are my people. They are my responsibility. One day you will feel the same way about Misthaven."

Emma sighed. "I really hope so, Elsa."

"For now, though," Elsa said, as she spurred her horse into a canter, "you can enjoy yourself." Emma laughed as Elsa whipped away, her horse driving its hooves faster and faster. Using her mediocre but growing horse skills, Emma sped up to catch up to the queen. Elsa was right. Emma could enjoy herself for as long as she would allow herself to. One day, Elsa would be proven right and she would feel that care and responsibility to Misthaven's people. But, for now, she was free of that and she could enjoy her life.

XXX

They left Arendelle a few days later. Elsa and Anna escorted them to the docks, their guard surrounding them and citizens of Arendelle behind those. Emma thought that this must be how celebrities felt on the red carpet. She supposed that royals were the equivalent to celebrities in the Enchanted Forest.

"So, we will see you in a year?" Anna said, reaching out to take Emma's hand. Emma smiled genuinely and nodded, swallowing her sadness at leaving them. It shocked her, nowadays, how quickly she could make friends, when she had spent most of her life alone.

"In a year," Emma promised, squeezing Anna's hand back.

"And you'll bring the children?"

"Liam, definitely, and Henry, if he's free."

Anna and Elsa both nodded happily, their smiles reminding Emma that she was leaving somewhere where she was comfortable. At least she had a while before she arrived back in Misthaven and her time on the Jolly Roger was her happiest. "And this one," Elsa said knowingly, nodding to Emma's stomach. Emma's eyes widened and she turned to Hook, who was merrily speaking with Kristoff and didn't notice.

"Shush," Emma said half-heartedly. With a few more hugs and goodbyes, Emma retreated away from her new friends, with her husband and their crew. They boarded their ship and watched Elsa and Anna until they were small specks against the horizon.

XXX

They flew from the water as though they were birds, somersaulting in the air, weapons drawn, and then falling back into the ocean with a mighty splash. There were more of them than Emma could count, their fins blue and green and purple, their hair free and flowing. And the ocean around them was murky, as though somebody had spilled oil.

"Mermaid battle," Killian said grimly from beside her. Emma blinked. The idea that mermaids fought one another was something that had been missing from the Little Mermaid and similar films. Battles, between mermaids, with tridents and short swords.

"The oil," Emma muttered, "it's their blood."

Killian nodded. "Mermaids' blood is a valuable commodity. Righteous sellers collect it after battles."

"Less righteous ones just kill them, I presume," Emma said without expecting an answer. "What do we do?"

Killian sighed. "There isn't much we can do, love. This is mermaid business."

"But they're slaughtering one another." On a rock, in the distance, Emma could see a blue-tailed, blonde-haired mermaid lying, another one just pulling herself up onto it. She wondered if the first one was dead.

"We're going to retreat," Killian said quietly, "before they notice us. Then we'll come back and see if there's anything we can do, Swan, but we do not want to be seen as a threat when their blood's up. Trust me."

Emma did trust him. His experience was far greater than hers. So they retreated far away, where all they could see was the occasional speck flying from the sea into the sky and then diving back in. "You've come across a lot of mermaids?" she asked her husband, distracted.

"Hmm," Killian agreed. "There's a mermaid lagoon in Neverland."

Emma chuckled. "Of course."

"And Ariel, of course." Emma listened carefully as he described what had passed between him and Ariel while she had been in New York. Afterwards, she said nothing, only reaching over to squeeze his hand.

A few moments later, she asked, "Where is she now?"

Killian sighed. "I don't know. Still searching for Eric, I presume."

"Perhaps we should go and find her. Do the aquatic kingdoms a favour."

"Lass, there are as many kingdoms below the sea as there are above it, more even. Ariel is princess of Atlantica."

"Just like in the movie." Emma thought of that movie and the fact that her child would never see it. She turned to Killian and he raised his brows at her. Just as she opened her mouth, however, there was a call from one of the crew - the battle was over and they could approach.

They collected the blood. Killian said it was far too valuable to waste, despite Emma feeling rather squeamish about collecting blood. And, while the crew did that, Emma asked her husband to take them to the rock, where three mermaids now lay.

There was not much that Emma could do for one of them. She used her magic in the best way that she could, though she had not received much healing training. She wondered if she could travel somewhere in the kingdoms to learn that. A princess who could heal would be a valuable resource to her kingdom.

Even so, she created a sling for a broken arm and she bandaged up a pierced fin. The final one, she cleaned as well as she could and then watched as the other mermaids pushed her softly back into the ocean, with a murmured prayer in a foreign tongue.

By the time all of that was over, Killian's crew were finished and they returned to collect her. "Thank you, maid," the blonde mermaid said, nodding her head at her and patting her slinged arm.

Emma half-smiled. "You're welcome."

She returned to the ship. Killian greeted her with a kiss and they went below, leaving the crew to run the ship and steer them towards home. They still had a week's journey remaining.

Emma sat herself down on Killian's bed, knees tucked up to her chin. He sat beside her, legs not quite on the bed. "You might not care much about Misthaven," Killian commented softly, "but you care deeply for others, love."

"I'm not sure that's enough for my parents, for my people."

Killian's lips quirked. "Your people," he repeated.

Emma flushed. "You know-"

"I know," he said, leaning down and kissing her. "What were you going to say earlier, love, before we were interrupted?"

Emma smiled and lowered her legs so that she could pull Killian's hand down to rest on her stomach. "We're going to have another one to add to our people," she said with her tongue between her teeth. Killian's face transformed into utter joy, making Emma's heart leap.

"Another babe?" he asked in awe.

"Mmhmm. Hopefully a girl to balance things out around here."

Killian chuckled, moving closer and kissing her. "A girl sounds wonderful."