Chapter Three: Parade

While Emma didn't see her departure as a big deal to anyone except her family, she was very wrong because the minute the more she walked from the estate towards the lake, the group is flocked by different people from the kingdom ready to see off the princess. Even though her parents did not call themselves royalty, the people still saw them as such and treated them to gifts and things that the family did not necessarily need. Some of the citizens, particularly the mothers, are trying to give Emma wrapped packages of food or woven blankets, all gifts to take on her journey. She politely declines all of them and insists they keep such things for their families or give them to someone who needs them more.

"Why is everyone thinking that I'm going on some kind of journey around the world?" Emma asks. "I'll only be gone a few days."

"Emma," Belle says. "While your parents don't consider themselves royalty, they're still the leaders of the kingdom and this by default makes you the heir to said leadership, so of course they're going to treat you with the respect and reverence they give your parents."

"They really shouldn't," the blonde groans. She knows that her scandal as a teenager had sullied her name and reputation. While she never regretted having Henry, she knew that there were some people out there who considered her a harlot and not worthy of such honours. She also felt personally that she was never the ruling type, despite what everyone said.

"Well, they do. I'll see you at the docks, I have to go get Gideon from Crystal,"

The beauty then vanishes into the crowds.

A coach pulls up next to them and stops. Three people emerge, three familiar faces.

"Good luck Emma," Ella calls out.

The young queen Ella comes over with her teenaged son, Chadwick, Chad for short, and young daughter Alexandra. Ella had been friends with the Saviour's parents for years and along with her husband, King Thomas had allied with the family during the battles against Regina and King George.

"Emma!" little Alexandra utters, waving happily. At only three, she was as charming as her father and as sweet as her mother.

Her son Chad, however, is currently going through a rough patch and is a different story altogether. He was the same age as Simon and Whitney, so that meant he was in his rebellious teenager phase. He also had a very spoiled attitude that made him not the greatest person to be around. Ella blames herself, but the blame should go mainly on her stepmother Lady Tremaine. Due to the boy being born during the wars, Thomas and Ella sent their son to live with the queen's stepfamily until the conflict was resolved. While Lady Tremaine had been cruel and mean for a long time, she and her stepdaughter had made some kind of peace with each other for a time, and it was enough to take in the boy who was technically her grandson to keep him safe. However, like Anastasia and Drizella before, the woman spoiled the boy and gave him whatever he wanted and set an example of doing whatever he wanted. Even when the kingdom was created and Chad was with his parents again, Lady Tremaine still manipulated Ella and Thomas to send they're to her every summer. That was stopped when the parents saw how horrible and entitled their son had become when he bullied a few kids and threw tantrums when he didn't get his way. While he had been humbled and taught to be better, now in his teen years, the behaviour had resurfaced, but fortunately not as severely. One could also credit that to the birth of his baby sister, whom he did dote on and took care of on occasion. The wicked influence now lived alone, her daughters had also left and started their own families.

"Thank you, Ella and Alexandra," Emma says, going to hug the Queen. The blonde even leaned down and tickled the little one to make her smile.

"Good luck," Chad says in a rather emotionless voice, obviously not happy to be there.

"Thank you, Chad," the Saviour says, standing up.

"And say hi to Whitney for me."

That comment made everyone's stomach twist. While Chad's personality was questionable, he was incredibly charming like his father and attracted girls to him. Fortunately, Whitney had not fallen for his tricks, but several other girls had. There was never any doubt that the boy had several girlfriends at once, but they knew it would catch up to him and he'd learn the hard way about how not to treat a woman.

"Sure," Emma says flatly, and the family moves on.

A few more greetings come from people they know, including Granny, Ruby's grandmother, Jiminy cricket, some of the fairies, and Anna and Elsa of Arendelle, two women who were Emma's best friends due to her spending the first few years of her life in the Kingdom of the North with her parents when they were hiding from Regina. Both women wish her well and hope for her safe return

Finally, after what seems like an endless parade of people, the family reaches the armoury, knowing that Graham was training with Simon.

When they enter the main facility, they see the famous Robin Hood and his son Roland practicing shooting with moving targets that swung down from the ceiling.

Robin Hood had met Snow and David during their battle against Regina and King George. Like her mother, he too was a bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and was more than willing to assist in fighting for freedom. Also, like Snow White, Robin was the best archer in the land… the best male archer as Snow White was the best female. He was a widower having lost his wife Maid Marian in an ambush by the king and left him with a son to raise and a need to keep the child safe. However, the greatest surprise came when Regina ended up falling in love with him. He was her soulmate and was the only one who could heal those last few wounds she carried. She eagerly adopted Roland as her own and alongside her daughter, they had become a happy family. The queen and outlaw had been happily married for years now and truly seemed to be soulmates.

The group watches as another knight flips a switch and another target swings down. Roland aims and hits the target, just not at the centre as he desired. The kid was almost an adult now and was preparing to become part of the Kingdom guard. He was a gifted as his father at archery but still had far to go.

The kid curses under his breath and prepares to try again. Robin pats his son on the back and gives him words of encouragement.

"When it comes in too fast, and you know the direction…"

"Estimate and tilt, I know," Roland sighs.

A grin spreads across Snow's face and despite being pregnant, quietly goes and grabs a quiver and a bow. David wants to protest but knows that nothing would ever stop his wife

"Ready," Robin calls to the knight to reset the target.

As silent as ever, Snow shoots the target in the bullseye before Roland can even release his bowstring.

Both Hoods turn in surprise.

"How was that?" Snow asks with a smile.

"Great as ever my lady," Robin says,

"Robin, for the thousandth time, call me Snow. We are technically related you know."

"My apologies," the archer smiles. He turns to his son. "Let's take a break."

"Hi Aunt Snow," Roland says.

"Hi, Roland. Don't beat yourself up Honey, you're doing a great job. Fast attacks like that are not easy."

"Easy for you," he grumbles, putting down his quiver.

"I've had many more years of practice," she says.

"Kid, you're going to do great," Emma chimes in. "You're one of the best archers in the kingdom."

"I second that," David adds.

"I third it!" Henry smiles. He then goes to hug Roland, considering the son of Robin Hood would be teaching the little ten-year-old archery very soon.

"Hey, Robin?" Emma says.

The archer turns to the Saviour.

"Have you seen my dear brother?"

"Yes, he's out in the courtyard with Graham."

The man then notices the satchel strap over Emma's shoulder and becomes aware of what is about to happen.

"Has the time come already?"

"Afraid so," David says.

"I thought it wasn't for another few weeks. I do wish Regina could train you instead," Robin adds.

Emma rolls her eyes, everyone sounded like an echo at this point.

"Well, apparently it has to be the Dark One," she shrugs and goes to find her brother.

Simon, the older of Emma's twin siblings, was the definition of a "knight in shining armour" despite his young age. Simon took after his father's appearance in many ways including being tall, sporting a strapping physique and bright blue eyes, but his hair was dark like his mother's. Both twins seemed to have inherited their mother's ebony locks while Emma was blonde like her father. It would be a question of what colour hair the youngest would have when he was born. The current only boy of the Charming family was certainly considered a catch to any girl who ended up falling in love with him. He was athletic and skilled in all forms of combat, though sword fighting was his best. But beneath the prowess for physical tasks, Simon was a sensitive, intelligent, and passionate kid. He cared very deeply for his family and friends and would do anything to protect them. He was outspoken and had a very bubbly personality, meaning he talked non-stop with never an end in sight. No matter the conversation, he had to get a word in or make his voice known. The problem with this was that sometimes his constant chatter got him into trouble. Matched with his opinionated/honest statements, he could be considered rude and rather impulsive at times. Nevertheless, he always did his best to make amends if he spoke out of term and he attempted to channel his passion towards justified causes.

The Saviour finds the young teen outside, duelling with Graham using swords and shields. Graham was one of the family's personal protectors and the head of Misthaven's Royal Guard, specifically, her parents. He had once been hired by Regina to kill Snow White but he couldn't bring himself to do it and spared her life. As a consequence, Regina made him her slave and stole his heart to make him do her bidding. He was forced to help the Queen in every battle but after Regina's change of heart, he regained his own and stepped in as one of the head guards. All the Charming siblings owed their existence to Graham, and they looked upon him as an uncle. He was once a huntsman and had a loyal wolf companion, Arawn, who was also fiercely protective of the family.

Said wolf was sitting obediently and watching his master duel as Emma and Henry approached. The young child leans down and begins hugging the majestic creature. Emma gives him a scratch behind the ears too. Arawn licks their faces and hands with delight and was ever so gentle.

The clashing of swords rings through the air as Graham and Simon's trade blows. The family could tell that Simon is watching his footing and attempting to predict his opponent's next move. Graham was a skilled swordsman in his own right and enjoyed teaching the teenager how to improve his technique.

"Hold the shield up higher," the huntsman instructs through his helmet. "Otherwise ye leave yer chest open to attack."

Simon does a quick maneuver, and the swords collide again.

Henry is watching intently the entire time. He can imagine himself being a warrior like them and can't wait for that to happen.

When he sees an opening, he leaps from his spot next to Arawn.

"Sneak attack!" Henry calls, jumping and clinging to his uncle's leg.

Simon is surprised and steps back, nearly falling over completely.

"What are you doing Squirt?"

He can't separate his nephew from his leg, and he even tries to move around a bit more to shake him loose but to no avail.

"Opponent is incapacitated," Emma calls out. "Graham wins."

"Hell no," Simon shouts. He glares as his older sister comes over. "I was distracted by your son."

"Doesn't matter, Graham wins," Emma chuckles smugly. "If you can't shake a ten-year-old off your leg, you don't claim victory."

Both warriors remove their helmets, revealing sweat-damp hair and shiny faces.

"It's not my fault he has a hell of a grip," the teen moans, stabbing his sword into the ground and trying to pry Henry off of him with his hands.

"Best in the kingdom," the kid smiles.

"For God's sake Em, help me remove the Squirt."

"He's your nephew and this isn't the first time he's done this."

"He's your son and I wish you would tell him to stop."

"I can't control what he does."

"Yes, you can, but you just let him run wild when you want to ruin my training."

"You know me so well dear brother,"

The siblings' banter amuses Graham immensely and goes to help Simon. He grabs Henry and lifts him to his feet. He then offers the kid a ride on his back, which he happily accepts. The two begin to run around, laughing with each other.

Snow, David, Robin, and Roland appear to see the scene. Arawn greets the heavily pregnant Snow and licks her hand for attention. Whenever the wolf was in the presence of the fairest one of all, he was extra protective. Perhaps due to her condition or perhaps of his master's loyalty to the gentle woman.

"I don't really see any training going on here," Robin muses.

"I am. I'm trainin' to be a horse apparently," Graham says, bringing Henry over and letting him down.

Simon looks at Emma and notices the bag. Immediately the arguing and teasing cease and he swallows. He pulls his sister into a hug and refuses to let go, despite being in armour and crushing her against him.

"Please don't go," he whispers.

"You know I have to," she responds, breathing through the pain of the hug.

"No, you don't, you always have a choice."

Emma finally manages to free herself from her brother's bone-crushing hug and looks into his blue eyes that went from cheerful/frustrated to sad in an instant.

"But choices aren't going to fulfill prophecies."

"Can't we just reinterpret the prophecy? Split fate three ways, make it easier?" he cracks with a smile.

"If only," she smiles. Simon never failed to make her smile and she hugs him again.

"I won't be gone long," she promises. "And I'll be safe."

"Don't make promises like that," Simon says. "Because they're hardly ever kept."

Emma says nothing and just holds her brother.

Eventually, Graham and Simon change out of their armour and join the group as they go to the stables to gather the final member of the Charming family, Whitney.

Henry runs ahead of them and finds Queen Regina brushing her horse while it drinks from a nearby trough.

The woman known as the Evil Queen had been morphed by anger and grief and driven by revenge against Snow White. She had once been the most feared ruler (aside from King George and her own mother) but those days were far behind her; she had changed and given up these traits to become a better person. While she had waged war against many kingdoms, including her stepdaughter and David, both parties had buried the hatchet and created a bond that was so strong that all the latter's children all called her "Aunt Regina." It seemed like the most impossible thing that the bitter woman could heal and mend what had been shattered years before due to a secret told by a ten-year-old Snow. Fortunately, love had won out in the end and Regina was more than willing to fill the role of queen when Snow and David refused to be seen as royalty. The woman was a natural leader and when surrounded by love, she was just and fair. The people who cared for her prevented her from living the rest of her days as a hated villain.

"Hey Aunt Regina," Henry says.

"Slow down there Henry," the woman warns. "Remember what we said about horses."

The kid slows down and then gently pats the mane of the creature.

"Especially Fawkes here, he's very jumpy and sensitive."

"Sorry Fawkes, Sorry Aunt Regina, but I wanted to know if Aunt Whitney is with you?"

"She'll be along soon. She, Mal and Evie took the long route home."

Queen Regina, while considered royalty and enjoyed the jewels, gowns and finery that came with such a position, still liked being outdoors and spending time with animals, specifically horses. She had always been her father's daughter and their love of riding had been what made their bond so special. This also allowed her to feel free with the wind in her hair and "run" to forget her troubles. She is so happy that she was able to share the love of horses and animals with her daughter, Evie.

Evie... Regina's pride and joy... the light of her life. Her daughter had been the product of a brief love affair with a nobleman, whom the Evil Queen had oddly grown to care for. While the attraction never went beyond admiration and trust, Regina had allowed their relationship to become intimate. Sadly, King George's army eventually killed the nobleman, leaving the Queen devastated once again. However, despite the pain of another loss, she had managed to conceive a child with him and eventually gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whom she named Evie.

She was the apple of her mother's eye and healed some of the many wounds that Regina bore for a very long time. Her father, also named Henry was there too and helped his daughter care for the little one. It had even been the man's hope that this little girl could save her mother from remaining a villain forever.

His hopes were subsequently dashed… for a time. While the birth of her daughter was an absolute joy and something worth celebrating, it could not have come at the worst time because soon after, Regina learned the location of Snow, David, and little Emma and she dropped everything to go to Arendelle to get her revenge. She ended up failing and the kingdoms that sided with the Charmings declared war on her. This was followed by an attempted invasion by King George and created a place extremely dangerous for a baby. Motherhood and battle strategies do not bode well with one another, and Regina became stressed to the point of becoming more bitter and ruthless.

Fearing for his granddaughter's safety, Henry vanished from the castle one day and had taken Evie with him. He left a note saying that until this war was over, he thought it was for the best to take his granddaughter away from the fighting into the countryside. While she was enraged that he hadn't discussed it with her first, Regina was glad that her child and father, the two people whom she loved the most in the world, were away and protected. She continued her wars, refusing alliance with George who tried to use her hatred for Snow and her family against her, but Regina had her own agenda and saw him as insignificant.

However, she learned much later that her father had fled to ally with the Charming family. He knew that they were the only ones who would be able to breach the Queen's castle and possibly get through to her. He knew there was still good in Regina, Evie was proof of that and only Snow and David were the only ones ever willing to give the Evil Queen a second chance.

When the armies had infiltrated the castle and Snow, David, Henry, and several others confronted Regina, but it wasn't them who caused everything to cease. It had been the sight of a tiny child, who stopped everything with a single word: "Mama." The sight of her daughter and the thought of what the little girl would think of her mother if she continued to murder, caused the Queen to bring everything to a standstill. She'd broken down and wept, cradling her daughter, wanting all of this to end so that Evie and every child like her could be safe. She realized how selfish she'd been, putting revenge before her child and vowed to stop all this for her daughter's sake.

It took a while and with a shaky truce between her former enemies, Regina began to change and become better. It helped that her soulmate Robin Hood was there every step of the way and when the kingdoms were able to be hidden from the outside world thanks to her magic, she was regarded as a person who was trying to change and became someone that Evie could be proud of.

And it had worked.

Evie loved her mother and looked up to her, hoping to become a queen someday and do good things for the world. When it came to Evie, the apple did not fall far from the tree in terms of appearance with dark eyes and bold hair (which had been dyed blue due to the teenager's desire to be different). Also, like her mother, the girl was an independent thinker and very driven. While the teen enjoyed riding horses and getting dirty like her mother, she also liked the "girly girl" things like gowns, jewels, and balls Evie had begun working to design and create ballgowns. It made Regina happy that her daughter was so strong and intelligent, running her own sewing business out of their castle. She also made sure that her daughter wanted for nothing in terms of love but did her best not to spoil her little princess as that was just as much of corrupting influence as anger and revenge were. Evie was very down-to-earth, humble, and kind to everyone, with a little bit of sass thrown in there too.

Regina knows the reason for the group's sudden appearance at the stables and stops the care for Fawkes to come over to Emma.

She places and a hand on the Saviour's shoulder and gazes into her eyes. Regina appears to be apologetic but says nothing.

The two share a silent moment when the galloping of the horses is heard, and they see the three girls on their horses approach the stables.

Whitney, the youngest of the Charming daughters and younger of the twins, was the definition of beauty, poise, and grace. She inherited her mother's fair looks and the aforementioned ebony hair. She enjoyed the fine things that came with being considered unofficial "royalty" including gowns and tiaras, but she was far from simply being a pretty face or a delicate princess. Whitney was extremely intelligent and like her siblings trained in various forms of combat to be able to protect herself. She excelled specifically in jousting, but she also had a keen eye for archery. Whitney was an extremely compassionate person with a strong love for all animals, specifically horses. Her love and care for these great creatures are what made her strong in jousting and other tasks. Her knowledge allowed her to know which steeds were best suited for speed, strength, distance etc. This passion for horses also allowed her to bond very closely with her Aunt Regina. The two spent a lot of time together caring and riding the animals.

The young teen pulls her horse up and dismounts to greet her family and everyone else.

Evie hops off her horse and guides it into the stables to care for it.

Mal brings up the rear. While riding was never her favourite (considering she could fly), she tolerated it to be closer to her best friends, Whitney, and Evie. Mal was the youngest daughter of Maleficent; the one is known as the mistress of all Evil… or rather she used to be. Like Regina, the wicked fairy had long since retired from villainy and that was due to the birth of her daughters Lilith and Mallory. Mal is a spunky teenager with quite a rebellious streak and a short temper. She cares for her friends and boyfriend but was never above pulling pranks to shake things up for herself. She certainly took after her mother in terms of being more devious, but the love and support she received allowed her to be a hero at heart.

She too dismounts her horse and goes to join the crowd of people.

Whitney's face fell when she realized what Emma's appearance meant.

"It can't be time already," she gasps.

She lets go of her horse and embraces her sister tightly. While Emma appreciates the love and sentiment, the hugs are going to break her bones before she even gets down to the shore. She knows immediately that Whitney has broken down in tears when the soft sobs are heard.

"Please…" she whimpers.

"It won't be long," the blonde says. "I'll be back before you know it."

Whitney says nothing more and just cries, wanting to savour the moment with her big sister.

Evie and Mal know how hard this is on their friend, so they grab the girl's horse and take it into the stables for her.

When they return, they approach the two sisters.

"We are going to miss you, Emma," Evie says.

"Definitely," Mal agrees. "But you're going to nail it."

"Thank you," Emma says politely. She offers for the girls to join the hug, which they do.

After a lengthened silence, David clears his throat.

"We have to get there before sunset, otherwise it will be too dangerous to cross in the dark."

Emma sucks in a deep breath and breaks from her sister's grasp. She readjusts herself accordingly and faces towards the horizon.

The thick enchanted fog was almost beckoning her, like a siren. Perhaps she would sink or perhaps she would swim, it was up to her.

Grabbing her son's hand, she begins to walk towards the docks.

A/N: Sorry if this is a lot for a chapter. Let me know what you think