Disclaimer for this chapter, and every chapter that follows: I don't own, nor do I profit, from the wonderful worlds that I borrowed. Emma Winter is my creation.
This story is the sequel to Tabula Rasa that you can find on my page. However, this story can stand alone.
I plan to post a chapter at least once a week, sometimes more. Thank you for reading :)
Incessant bird chirping was the first thing Emma heard when she woke up. The witch grumbled in protest, grabbed her pillow and placed it on top of her head to muffle out the persistent sound of the birds singing outside. The witch tried to muffle out the sounds, but when Emma heard Logan chuckling next to her, she knew that sleep would not come to her again. It was springtime; that much was evident by the birds that woke up before the crack of dawn in search of mates.
"Good morning, darlin'," Logan said next to her before he grinned humorously at Emma's theatrics. His wife had never been a morning person, while he, on the other hand, usually woke up before sunrise. The mutant had learned to treasure the moments while his wife slept when he could rest peacefully next to his mate and enjoy gazing upon her peaceful face as she slept.
"Morning," Emma's barely audible voice sounded from under the pillow before throwing it away and smiling sleepily at her husband. His powerful arms wrapped firmly around her, and Logan gave Emma a gentle kiss on the lips before rubbing his beard on her soft cheeks.
Emma chuckled before kissing him back, slowly at first and then with increasing enthusiasm as desire awoke in her body at her husband's gentle touches.
"See, it's not that bad to wake up early if I get this kinda reaction from you," Logan murmured into her ear, and his hands roamed down to her hips before he pulled her even closer to his body.
"You are far too merry for my liking," Emma mumbled, a smile pulling at her lips before she kissed him again with passion. Logan's chest rumbled with laughter before he got down to the serious business of seducing his beautiful wife.
Later their naked bodies were entwined, and the couple relaxed in each other's arms. Logan's fingers stroked her back, creating invisible patterns with his fingertips. The cinnamon scent in his nose had warmed his heart ever since the first day the mutant had met Emma. The smell was connected to the magic in her; the more emotion she felt, the scent increased. Logan sometimes enjoyed riling her up to get an increased scent flowing over his senses. Emma knew that and was always amused by his antics.
"Can't we just stay in bed all day and forget about the world," Emma whispered longingly to her husband even though she knew it couldn't happen. It was simply wishful thinking as she was deliriously happy, happier than she ever thought possible.
"I wish we could darlin', but we have a little monster waking up soon to demand her Sunday pancakes," Logan said, grinning widely at Emma, whose brown, wavy hair blocked his view of half of her face.
Her dark eyes held his for a moment before the witch laughed with delight, "I think she's not the only one that likes Sunday breakfast."
"It's all your fault; you wake me up and make me exercise on an empty stomach. I have worked up an appetite," Logan said, smiling down at her just before she gave him one last lingering kiss before getting up.
"Can't have my family say I starve them; I'll get on it. Will Victor be joining us today?" Emma asked before squeaking as her feet touched the cold floor of their cabin in the woods; it was too early to be getting out of bed.
"Not in the morning; he's finishing a job but will probably come for dinner," Logan said warmly. He was thankful for how Emma had brought peace between the brothers. Rebuilding the broken connection had been surprisingly easy for the two brothers; their bond had become increasingly more substantial over the years, and a routine had been formed. Every Sunday, Victor would stop by, if he could, to share a meal with his family and tease the little one that he adored so much.
"I'm glad, it's been a few weeks, and it will be good to see him," Emma said smiling as she dressed warmly; the mornings were still a bit too cold for her, even if Logan didn't feel it as much. His mutation protected him from the elements, which was a plus in the rough Canadian winters.
Logan stretched his naked body and grinned when he noticed his wife looking at him with appreciation. There were no mind games or deceit, just honesty and love. The witch could never hide her emotions well, and she never tried with him. What he saw was what he got with her, and Logan loved her even more for it.
"See anything you like?" the mutant asked teasingly as the young woman blushed brightly at his words. Even after sleeping naked side by side for five years, Emma constantly felt as if she was in a dream and feared she would be awoken soon.
Her life had been marked with personal losses and tragedies. A dark side of her always assumed that such happiness couldn't possibly last a lifetime. It was a dread that the witch had never hidden from her husband. The mutant has done his best over the years to make sure that Emma would feel his love every day.
"You know I do," Emma admitted before walking to his side of the bed and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. The witch had never imagined that such love could exist between two people or that she would ever be lucky enough to find it, let alone in where she had least expected it. Plans to have their second child had been discussed a few days earlier, and Logan was already planning on building a little nursery for the child that had not been conceived yet. The witch thought he was jinxing it by planning it too early. Still, the mutant had reminded her just how quickly she had gotten pregnant with Victoria and wanted the nursery done before winter so it would be ready whenever they needed it.
"Now go. Otherwise, I will go for another round," Logan laughed and smacked her behind with one hand. The witch laughed before heading reluctantly out of the bedroom to start the day.
"Tonight?" she offered in the doorway with a wicked smile that suggested promises for another steamy evening for the two of them after their daughter would be sound asleep.
"I'll hold you to it, darlin'", Logan called after her and heard her laughter echo in the hallway as she walked to the kitchen to start her morning routine.
A screech and high-pitched laughter were heard from their daughter's bedroom half an hour later. Every morning Logan would wake up their daughter, and the fun would begin in their little cottage. They had their routines set in place; Logan would wake Victoria up in the morning, and Emma would escort her to bed in the evenings. That way, both got a little time alone with her, and Emma had found that Victoria responded very well to routines in her life.
"Daddy, no!" Victoria laughed as her father threw her upon his shoulder and ran to the kitchen, where Emma was busy making pancakes. To hear the two she loved the most laughing so merrily was something Emma looked forward to every morning.
"Good morning, Victoria," Emma said, amused when the duo entered the kitchen and walked over to Logan to kiss the cheeks of her daughter, who hung upside down on from her father's shoulders.
"Good morning, mummy, help me," the little one gasped with laughter.
"Is he being terribly wicked?" Emma whispered in a conspiracy tone to her daughter, whose laughter blended in with her father's, who had already had the nerve to steal a pancake.
"His beard tickles!" Victoria said, smiling as her father put her down by the kitchen table.
Emma grinned at Logan, who dared to wink at her, reminding her that Emma had made a similar complaint earlier that morning.
"Isn't he just the worst?" Emma whispered before bending down and kissing her daughter's soft curly hair.
They all sat down and had their breakfast. Logan wolfed down most of it, clearly not joking when he had said he was hungry. Emma looked at her family and smiled gently; her heart was full listening to the two squabbling over who would get the last pancake. Finally, they reached an agreement, and Logan cut the pancake in half.
"Eat up kid; we're going shopping for your mommy in half an hour," Logan said before raising one eyebrow at Emma, who looked very curious.
"Yes, daddy," the little one said, almost inhaling her food and then running to her bedroom.
"You can pick what you want to wear after washing your hands!" Emma called after her daughter, that was so full of life and action.
Logan reached over the table and touched her cheek gently.
"So a secret shopping tour with Victoria, and I'm not invited," Emma said, feigning insult. She loved that Logan took Victoria out on adventures alone. It strengthened their bond and allowed Emma to get a little time to herself.
"I want an afternoon with her doing what we love to do, making you happy," Logan murmured before pulling Emma out of her seat onto his lap and kissing her fervently.
"You two always make me happy, Logan," Emma replied bashfully and affectionately pulled on his dog tags. It was true, and she had never imagined that such happiness could exist for her. The peaceful haven they had created was the most crucial thing in the world to her.
"I want to wear this!" Victoria called from the kitchen door holding up a green dress that her parents had given her. It was a forest green silk dress that had cost a small fortune, but Emma had relented when she realized that the dress was made from the same material as the lining on her beloved cloak. It had hit a very sentimental spot in Emma's heart that her daughter wanted to wear something that reminded Victoria of her mother.
"Are you sure, Victoria? It's still a little cold to be wearing it outside," Emma said sceptically, even though she knew that Victoria, like her father, could tolerate the elements much better than Emma could.
"It's not cold," father and daughter said simultaneously and then looked startled at each other as Emma laughed. The two were so similar that Emma suspected that the little one would become a feral just like her father and her uncle one day. So far, there had been no magical signs from Victoria, so chances were that she would take after her father's side of the family.
"Wear it, my sweet," Emma approved and then helped her daughter change and got her ready for her adventure with her father.
A while later, she helped Victoria get into the backseat of Logan's pickup truck. It had been updated to suit the needs of a child, including a child seat.
"Listen to your daddy, do what he tells you," Emma said while she fastened the seat belt and smiled warmly down at her daughter. Many things could be said about Logan, but he was a nurturing and loving father that doted on his daughter.
"Daddy said he's going to buy me ice cream," Victoria whispered in a conspiracy tone which, like her mother, had a significant sugar tooth.
"Hey, it was supposed to be a secret," Logan growled outside the car, making Emma laugh in earnest.
"Goodbye, my darling, see you in the afternoon. Have fun with your daddy," Emma kissed the little one, and her heart melted when Victoria wrapped her chubby little arms tightly around her mother's neck for a split second.
"Bye mummy," Victoria said, her eyes lit up in anticipation of the adventure at hand, as the child loved adventures just like her parents. Emma closed the door and turned towards Logan who was looking at her with a warm smile on his face.
"Don't give her too many sweets," Emma said, knowing Logan would as he loved to pamper his daughter.
Logan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace, "Don't worry darlin', I won't ruin her appetite or mine."
"You are incorrigible," Emma laughed and gave him a quick but fiery kiss on the lips. As the kiss ended, Logan gave her a smug grin when he sensed his wife's want in the air.
"When will you two be back?" the witch asked curiously as Logan let her go and opened his car door.
"We should be back around two, I think, no later than that," Logan replied and sat into the car. His heavy weight with the adamantium making the car groan.
"Have a great day, you two, and I'm looking forward to your return," Emma said, smiling as Logan closed the door and started the car.
Father and daughter gave her broad smiles, and Victoria waved as the car left the driveway and drove down the path into the forest. Emma stood watching them leave until the car disappeared from view.
In the late afternoon, Emma had started anxiously waiting for her little family to return. Father and daughter needed their own time to further grow the strong bond between them, but the witch missed them. As a way to distract herself, she had changed into a long dress she had bought the last time she had been to Hogsmeade Village with her family.
Emma's upbringing had been at Hogwarts within the magical community, reflected in her choice of attire. Usually, she wore simple dresses in the little forest and her beloved cloak that Dumbledore had given her years before. After all, Emma was a witch, and it showed both in her behaviour and attire.
Finally, the witch could hear a car in the distance; Emma grabbed her wand and tucked it into the sleeve of her dress before hurrying to put her cloak on. It was still early spring, and the weather was relatively fresh even though it was getting warmer with every week that passed.
As the witch hurried out of the cottage, she could see Logan's car moving slowly up the driveway; her husband and small daughter smiled brightly at her before stopping the vehicle close to Emma.
"Hey, darlin'," Logan said as he opened the door and smiled widely at Emma before throwing her a large bag of candies as he stepped out of the car. The witch laughed; sweets were always brought back to Emma as she enjoyed few things more than sugar that seemed to feed her magic to new heights.
"I missed you both," Emma exclaimed and kissed her husband before hugging her daughter tightly. That was before she noticed that Victoria was covered in chocolate ice cream that had stained her new green dress, and the witch sighed dramatically. The brand-new dress that her daughter loved had large smears of brown on the front where ice cream had dripped down to her chest.
"I see your father gave you ice cream," Emma said teasingly at Victoria, who was running into the forest chasing one of the bunnies that roamed free in the forest. Victoria laughed and ran after the bunny with such joy that Emma couldn't help laughing with humour. Logan grinned at his wife; he couldn't say no to his young daughter. The mutant would always allow Victoria to have ice cream, no matter how frustrated his wife would get.
"You know I can't say no to either of you," Logan said without guilt, and his wife rolled her eyes at him even if a smile pulled at her lips. They were beyond ecstatic with the thought of perhaps having another little one in the following year. Emma knew that Logan was beyond happy with his little family in the forest, everything they had dreamed of when at Xavier's had come true.
"What did you two buy for me?" Emma asked curiously as Victoria ran out of sight into the forest, her laughter echoing in the woods around. Their daughter loved the forest, the peace and the animals surrounding them. It had given Emma great joy to see that Victoria seemed just as happy in the woods as her parents.
"I didn't buy it; Victoria did," Logan said, and Emma opened the bag curiously. The witch always felt like a small child when her family brought her sweets, the joy she felt that her family had thought of her always made her exceedingly happy. It was a wonderful feeling that she had been on their minds, even when they were away having fun. A few packs of chocolate frogs were inside, and the witch stared at her husband wide-eyed in surprise.
"Where on earth did you find a magical store?" Emma asked startled. She had never seen magical folk in the little town by the forest's border. Usually, if she needed any magical supplies, the witch disapparated to Hogsmeade Village, where she knew every nook and cranny.
"Victoria noticed it; I have never seen it before. She was thrilled to be able to buy the candies for you," Logan said, and Emma nodded pensively. Muggle repellent charm might have been enough to keep Logan away, but clearly, Victoria noticed the store. An owl might appear in the forest in a few years, beckoning Victoria to her studies at the closest magical school. The thought warmed Emma's heart immensely, and she gave her husband a soft-hearted smile at the thought of not being the only witch in the family.
"Victoria also found some pretty necklace on the ground outside the store. I think she's playing with it now," Logan said and looked worried at his wife when Emma froze in her tracks, her dark eyes looking desperately towards the direction where she had last seen her daughter.
"What necklace?" Emma asked quietly, her mind reeling with the possibilities of their daughter playing with an object that might injure her somehow. Finally, the witch yelled desperately, "VICTORIA COME HERE!"
Her daughter didn't answer, and Emma felt dread settle in her soul before instinct took over, and she hissed at her husband, "it might be dangerous. We have to check on her!"
The witch didn't wait for her husband but ran as fast as she could towards her daughter, her cloak billowing behind her as she ran, despair pulling at her heart. Whatever might happen was terrible beyond words. A small child, possibly finding a magical item on the street and not knowing what she had brought back with her. Touching an unknown magical object could mean a complete disaster for Victoria or even death. Logan gasped in horror when he saw the pure terror that rolled off his wife in waves before she ran with such despair.
"VICTORIA," Logan roared in alarm as he sped past Emma towards a clearing where their daughter was playing with the necklace.
"Don't put it on," Emma screeched as Victoria put the necklace chain around her neck. In the child's little hands, the witch could see a Time-Turner spinning wildly and faster than she had ever seen before. Victoria didn't listen and started to fade from sight as her parents ran in panic toward their child.
Logan managed to grab Victoria into his arms before she faded from sight, and Emma held tightly onto the necklace to not lose sight of her family, no matter where they would end up. It didn't matter where they would go, and if they were together, the witch knew she would find some way of getting them back.
The three were engulfed in bright light, and then they were gone from the clearing as they flew through a great wind tunnel. Victoria was sobbing desperately while her father held her tightly to his chest to protect her the best he could from the relentless magic that surrounded them. Faster and faster, they all twirled in circles, and Emma felt her grip on the necklace slipping with each spin they took. The witch knew she was hanging by a weak thread, the chain was so thin, but Emma knew she would never let go until the magic would spit them out. Whatever Victoria had done to the Time-Turner hadn't only moved time, but they were shifting over land and sea away from their beloved Canadian forest.
As one hand lost grip on the thin chain, Emma felt Logan grabbing her cloak tightly.
"Hang on!" her husband roared as they spun endlessly, Victoria's violent sobs echoing in the tunnel as the family turned in endless circles. Emma's eyes went to her family, and the witch was terrified for the ones she loved. The Time-Turner had been spun into chaos by their child, and Emma had no idea where they would end up.
Finally, what Emma had dreaded happened. The necklace snapped and flew in one direction away from the little family, and Victoria sobbed inconsolably on her father's shoulder. At the same time, Logan tried to hold onto his daughter and wife, but the wind current pulled powerfully onto the witch. The forceful gust had ripped Emma out of her cloak in a second. The mutant roared in horror when he saw his sobbing wife being thrown in another direction away from her family. Logan still held tightly onto his daughter and his wife's cloak as the two twirled endlessly down the tunnel, entirely out of control.
The last thing Emma saw of her beloved family was that they twirled without the Time-Turner into the endless vortex, but that was not Emma's fate as she was thrown violently out of the tunnel. The last thing Emma heard was Logan roaring her name before she lost consciousness. A little while later, her body crashed down on the ground in an unknown place, and then there was nothing but silence.
In another time, an elf woke up from his slumber after a vision had come to him. His mind was filled with images of a human family living happily in a forest but had been separated due to powerful magic. The family had felt much happier than most humans that the golden elf had met in his life. Usually, humans didn't marry for love in Middle Earth, as family alliances and power structure were considered more important than matters of the heart.
Glorfindel had never been known for showing much interest in humans; he was wary of their fickle minds and quick decisions that usually brought destruction to those around them. Most elves thought the same; that humans were complex and shouldn't be trusted.
However, Glorfindel felt something stir in his chest thinking of the little family. The humans lived in a small house in the middle of a forest and seemed very content there. There were certain signs they were not of Middle Earth like the metal vehicle that the burly man had driven at such ease, but the desperate circumstance still occupied his mind. The parents had fought so desperately to save their daughter, but eventually, the woman had been separated from her family.
It had been heartbreaking to watch, and the golden elf wondered if the family had ever been reunited after their tragic separation. Also, Glorfindel wondered why the Valar had shown him a glimpse into another world.
In an unusual circumstance, Glorfindel decided to rise and speak to his old friend Elrond, the lord of Rivendell, and tell him of the vision he had of the little family. The twice-born elf wanted the elves to keep an eye out if they would ever stumble across members of the human family that had been separated so tragically. The grief-stricken face of the young woman had buried itself deep in his mind, and Glorfindel knew he would never forget the dark-eyed woman that had so desperately tried to hang on to her family, but to no avail.