Murphy's Law
by: just-a-story
~ Chapter VI ~
Follow Me Into The Dark (Pt 2)
"We all have titles. Some are just nicer sounding than others."
"Oh you have got to be joking." Emma said as she looked up the ill-lit staircase.
Henry stopped and turned in his tracks as he looked back to face the princess. "If you don't come with me, it'll be too late."
Emma looked at the small child as she caught her breath. "Why should I trust you? What's so important that you can't tell me?"
"We need to keep Arthur from leaving."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "Keep him from leaving? I thought we just had to find him?"
"Yes, but we need to stop him."
The princess took a small step back and sighed. "Kid, you got problems."
"Yup. And you're going to fix them." He told her causing Emma to raise both brows. "You're the queen. It's your job to fix our problems."
"Our problems?" Emma asked being to feel overwhelmed.
"Just follow me." Henry told her.
Emma shook her head. "No."
"Please." Henry begged.
"No." Emma said again as she backed away. "I can't...fix your problems."
"Fine." The boy began in a different, calmer tone. "You don't have to fix them." Emma looked back at the child who stepped up onto a stair and held out his hand. "You just have to know of them."
She took in a breath as she took the child's hand. Together, with him in front, they walked up the staircase slowly. Allowing her free hand to slide up the wooden railing. She listened as the stairs creaked beneath her heels, which triggered a shiver up her spine. "How do you know where you're going?" Henry didn't respond as he then tugged her hand to the left as they reached the top. She followed him until he got to a wooden door. She looked down at the small brown haired boy and followed his eye that looked at the door. She took in a breath and knocked.
Nothing happened; only an echo filled the hall.
"Try again." The small boy commanded.
So she did. She lifted her first and knocked once more. She didn't say anything; instead she placed her hand on the doorknob. With her fingers wrapped around the cold sphere, she turned the door open. It let out a small creak as the hinges turned. While walking forward she heard the small steps of the boy behind her. "What is all this?" She asked as she lifted her head toward the ceiling. "Shouldn't they all be in the armory?"
"They aren't for fighting." Henry told her.
Emma walked over to the table and laid her fingers across the cold steel. "They're swords." She said as she continued to look around.
"What do you notice about them?" Henry asked her as she walked around.
"They all look the same."
"Exactly." Henry told her as she walked in from the doorway. "Arthur needs a certain sword."
She turned towards the small boy with a confused look. "Why not one of these? My father has a million swords. Why does Arthur need a certain one?"
"He need's Excalibur." Henry continued, "If he doesn't have it, then he can't rule." He watched as Emma continued walking around the circular room.
"Are one of these them?" She asked looking at the swords that hung on the wall.
Henry shook his head. "He doesn't know where it is. It's all in the prophecy."
The princess turned back around to face the small brown haired boy. "There's a prophecy?"
Henry nodded. "It states that a boy, being Arthur, will be the one true king. Who makes peace with all the other kingdoms." He paused as he watched Emma touch the pommel of one sword. "But to do that he has to find Excalibur. It's hidden in the woods, locked in a stone." He paused once more expecting Emma to turn in his direction. "And if he doesn't find it, the court will reject him as their king. He won't be able to rule."
As if on cue, Emma quickly turned around. "He can't rule?" She asked in a louder tone. "You're telling me that there is a sword, stuck in a rock, that no one can find, yet it is the key to Arthur's reign?"
"Yup."
"Then why make all these?" Emma asked motioning to the walls. "Why spend his time in here and not out there, looking for it?"
"Who are you?"
The princess quickly turned around to see a dark haired man standing in the doorway where Henry once stood. "No ones allowed up here." He said as he tilted his head to the side.
She looked at him as the muscles in her face relaxed. "No one but you?" She asked with a small raise of her eyebrows. Despite a small ounce of nerves boiling in her stomach she remained calm.
"You aren't supposed to be up here." He told her.
Emma looked at him and titled her head a little higher. "And you are?" She paused, waiting for him to say something, yet he remained silent. "Who are you?"
He shook his head. "It's not important."
The princess grabbed the grip of the sword in front of her. "You will tell me your name, sir."
"Sir." He laughed. "That's more formal than what I'm used to." He looked over at the sword in her hand. "If you ask questions, with a grip like that, you won't ever get answers." He paused, waiting for her to speak but she didn't. "I'll tell you what, love." He said as he placed his right hand on the pommel of his sword. "If you tell me who you are, then I will tell you who I am."
Emma didn't say anything.
"Alright then." He sighed. "Killian Jones. Son of-"
"You're a bastard, aren't you?" Emma said cutting him off.
Killian's smile dropped. "And you?"
"Emma. Princess of the Enchants."
He took in a breath as he heard his mother's words echo in his ear. "You're here to marry my brother."
Emma nodded.
"And what is my brother's fiancé doing in a tower of such weapons?" He asked moving his hand onto the grip of his sword. "Is the lady trying to practice?" He asked looking down at the sword in her hand. "Do you think you have to protect yourself, Emma?"
"It's your highness." She corrected him.
Killian took in a breath. "Well I think that if one day we are going to be family, we should learn to call each other by our first names. Don't you think?"
"We are not family, you're a bastard."
"And you're a princess." He told her. "We all have titles. Some are just nicer sounding than others."
