It had been a good six weeks since Baelfire had seen Emma.
Baelfire didn't mean to worry. He knew Emma would tease him terribly if she caught wind of how anxious her absence made him. He couldn't help it. Four months prior, she'd changed his life in a wild dance during the Winter Festival. She had been in disguise back then, a tattered cloak and peasant clothes…but nothing could hide her gorgeous eyes. They'd fallen in love almost instantly.
She should've contacted him by now. Sent a dove, sent a raven, anything. They were supposed to run away together. They were supposed to share an adventure and take care of each other. But…Baelfire knew she was a princess. Had she changed her mind? Had she realized how lowly he was, how she could do so much better? Their nights of passion had never left his thoughts…but had she forgotten him?
"Bae," Rumplestiltskin interrupted his mind's rambling. "Are you all right?"
He snapped to attention, looking at his father's amused smile across the breakfast table.
"Yes, papa," He cleared his throat. "Just fine."
"Are you sure?" Rumplestiltskin persisted. "You've been strangely quiet lately. Restless. I'd be happy to listen, if you wish to talk."
Baelfire sighed. His father, though a naturally kind, honest soul—was timid, afraid of his own shadow. Baelfire was fairly certain the spinner had never even been in love—his parents' marriage had been clearly arranged, abruptly ending when Milah had decided to run off with a pirate.
"You're restless, son," Rumplestiltskin tried, pouring them both a cup of tea. "What do you think of…of me seeing about getting you a wife? There are a lot of decent girls about who'd make you a fine wife…we don't have much, but you've looks and strength. I could ask the matchmaker to cut us a good deal."
Baelfire shook his head briskly. "No, papa," He said firmly. "No arranged marriage. I want to—I want to marry for love."
Before Rumplestiltskin could respond, there was a pounding on the door. Baelfire jumped, watching his father spill his tea, before nervously standing and edging towards the door. He opened the door a crack and was abruptly shoved to the side, four soldiers storming inside.
"What—" Baelfire snarled angrily. "How dare you! What do you want?!" He ran to his father, helping him stand. His eyes widened when one more man entered their little shack, his eyes flashing.
It was their king. King Charming.
There was a long pause as Baelfire gaped at their sovereign, his thoughts swarming. Charming glared at him.
"Are you Baelfire?" He demanded. "Son of the spinner?"
Rumplestiltskin attempted to stand in front of his son. "What do you want with him?" He begged pleadingly. "We've done nothing to warrant this assault!"
"I wouldn't say that," Charming snarled back. "One more time. Are you the spinner's son, called Baelfire?"
Baelfire clasped his father's trembling arm, squeezing it in comfort. "I am," He said coldly. "What do you want?"
"You're going to come with me," Charming pronounced. Two soldiers grabbed Baelfire's upper arms and Rumplestiltskin cried out in anguish.
"But why?" He scrambled towards his only son, desperately trying to reach him. "What has he done?"
"This is about Emma," Baelfire said quietly. "Isn't it?"
A hush fell over the room and Rumplestiltskin stared at his son in disbelief.
"Th-the princess Emma?" He said hoarsely and Charming nodded at one of his soldiers. They hustled Baelfire outside, Rumplestiltskin stumbling after them.
"You can't take him away!" He cried out. "Please! I'll do anything—take me instead!"
"Spinner, this has nothing to do with you," Charming said icily. "This concerns Baelfire and my only child. Stay here. Your son will not be hurt."
Rumplestiltskin's eyes flickered back and forth and Baelfire wondered if cowardice would prevail. But the spinner shook his head fiercely.
"Where you take my son, I will go too," His voice trembled and Charming nodded. They hoisted the two men on old nags, leaving the little shack behind them.
Baelfire had never before visited the royal city. It was a glorious place, full of chatter and bustle, the air thick with spices and smoke. He wished he had time to enjoy it properly, but his mind weighed heavily.
They must've found out about their plans of elopement. Perhaps Emma had written a letter to him and someone had found it and alerted the king and queen. But if that were so, why drag him away? Why treat him like a common criminal, instead of ripping up the letter, barring Emma from seeing him, and let him believe that she'd forgotten him?
Rumplestiltskin looked terrified and Baelfire wished he could reach over wrap an arm about his father's shoulders, offering him comfort. As far as he was aware, Rumplestiltskin had never been this far away from their homeland, and being in the company of so many knights and the king himself—he looked as though he might faint at any moment.
When they reached the castle courtyard, Baelfire swallowed, trying to ignore the dark stares and suspicious gazes. Suddenly, he heard a voice cry out:
"Baelfire!"
He whirled around to see Emma standing on the steps to the courtyard. She looked unnaturally pale, but her smile brightened as she took him in, running as fast as she could. She fairly leapt into his arms and he embraced her fiercely, memorizing the scent of her hair. He didn't know what was going to happen, but Emma was here, she was in his arms, and he was more than relieved.
Baelfire could feel his father staring at him in fascinated horror. He cleared his throat awkwardly, ignoring the piercing glare from their monarch.
"I'm so glad you're here," Emma whispered. "Everything will be all right, I promise!"
"Emma."
They turned, and Baelfire inhaled sharply. A beautiful woman with long raven hair, wearing a cream colored gown looked severely at them. The fairest in the land, their own Queen Snow White.
"Emma, I told you to wait in your room," The queen said sternly. "We will deal with this privately."
"No, you will not!" Emma fired back, wrapping an arm around Baelfire protectively. "This has more to do with me and Baelfire than any of you!"
"Emma, do as your mother says!" Charming said angrily. "Go back to your room!"
"I will not!" Emma stamped a foot and Baelfire glanced between them nervously, trying to stay calm for the sake of his father. "Besides. We're all family now, we may as well act like one."
Rumplestiltskin grew very still and Baelfire hadn't a clue what Emma was talking about. He glanced at his beloved and she smiled at him shyly.
"Baelfire," She hugged him. "We're—we're going to have a child."
Rumplestiltskin was not sure what it felt like to have a heart attack, but he was fairly certain he was close to it.
The spinner was not a man who expected much out of life. He'd been dealt bad hands for the majority of his years—his wife gone when Baelfire was only a babe, he'd been wounded in the Ogre Wars, crippling him permanently. But nevertheless, he'd been content. He'd had his son, he'd had his pitiful living, and that was all he needed. He'd given up wishing and hoping and settled for living complacently, hoping that by hiding in the shadows, the gods might ignore his existence.
More the fool him.
The king had led them to a private parlor, barring the door and ordering no one to enter. He looked ready to kill Baelfire, who seemed defiant albeit stunned. Charming glowered at the both of them, pacing next to the fireplace. The queen looked composed, though a little shaken, focusing on fixing tea or coffee. Rumplestiltskin's head was spinning as he tried to make sense of everything, sitting on a hard chair across from the princess and his son.
The princess and his son.
"When—" Rumplestiltskin cleared his hoarse throat. "When did this happen?
"I'll be asking the questions," Charming snarled at him, silencing the spinner.
"Don't talk to my father that way," Baelfire snapped. "Papa. I met her at the winter festival. And we—we met a few times after that. We fell in love."
There was a long pause as Emma's parents and Rumplestiltskin processed this.
Snow White exhaled, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Emma," She said quietly. "This will cause—a scandal."
"I don't care," Emma said stubbornly.
"You should care," Snow White fired back. "This is your kingdom. If the people don't trust you, if they think your morality is in question, they will turn against you."
"My morality is not in question!" Emma said angrily. "I was with the man I love and we're going to have a baby! What's so wrong with that?!"
"The people will not see it that way," Snow White said tiredly.
Charming rounded on Baelfire. "And what did you think?" He growled. "Did you think it'd be a prize? To seduce the princess? Some kind of sick conquest?"
"No!" Rumplestiltskin burst out, standing in front of the king. He wasn't sure where this burst of courage came from, but he couldn't allow their king to think that way.
"Baelfire is a good boy," He quailed against Charming's steely glare. "He would never have—if the lad says he loves her, well then…" He trailed off, cringing as the king looked on contemptuously.
"Loves her," Charming said sarcastically. "Let's get one thing straight, spinner. You two aren't entitled to anything. You'll have no money, no treasure—you'll have banishment if I have anything to say about it—"
"Stop it, Daddy," Emma ordered sharply, gripping Baelfire's hand tightly. "If you banish him, you banish me. We're in love and we're going to be together whether you like it or not. I know—I know getting pregnant was a surprise—but it doesn't change how we feel about each other."
"I think Emma is right."
There was a pregnant pause at the queen's pronouncement and everyone turned to gape.
"You—you do?" Emma blinked.
"I do," Snow White said quietly. "I think a marriage is the best way to fix this."
"Out of the question," Charming blustered. "Him? Marry her? She's a princess for God's sake!"
"So was I," Snow White retorted. "Darling, I think you've forgotten who you were before all this. Twenty years ago, it could very easily have been us in this situation."
There was an awkward pause and Emma wrinkled in disgust. Rumplestiltskin attempted to process what was happening. His boy—was going to marry a princess?!
"But we haven't announced Emma as engaged," Charming began to pace again, running his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "The people will be suspicious if we just announce a wedding date."
"We will say they were married privately, due to the Princess' overwhelming shyness," Snow White said decidedly, ignoring Emma's decided snort. "We will plan a large celebration to introduce her husband in a month—which will give us some time."
"Some time to do what?" Charming folded his arms over his chest.
"Some time for a little subterfuge," Snow White replied calmly. "We'll issue a lordship for the spinner as well as his son. Some land a little ways from here, a few titles—"
"Don't we have any say in this?" Emma burst out but Snow White ignored her.
"No one will believe those two are nobility," Charming said flatly. "Someone will find out."
"You learned well enough how to be noble, once upon a time," Snow White said crisply. "Baelfire and—and his father will learn too." Rumplestiltskin felt a slight stab of annoyance that the queen apparently didn't know his name. More than anything else, he longed to take his boy away from this cold parlor and frigid castle and get back to their real lives. With every passing moment, all semblances of peace and safety were disappearing.
"As for someone finding out," Snow White sighed. "We will just have to be careful. Tell only a few trusted advisors of Emma's situation and the truth about Baelfire and his father. In fact, I know the perfect person to teach them what they need to know. The Merchant King's daughter."
Charming snorted. "Why her?"
"She has a lot of sense," Snow White answered impatiently. "And I've never known a cleverer ruler—everyone knows she runs her father's enterprise, not Maurice. She'll be perfect. I'll send a dove for her at once."
Rumplestiltskin cleared his throat awkwardly. "I—I don't—your majesties, please…I don't even know how to read. I can't be taken for some lord in a month, it's impossible…" Baelfire glanced at his father reproachfully, squeezing the princess' hand, but Rumplestiltskin did not recant the statement. He was not upper class, he couldn't pretend to be something he was not, and no one could teach him any different. He'd learned long ago that he was useless. Worthless.
"This is the best option," Snow White said kindly, but in a voice that brooked no argument. "And best for all parties. Baelfire and Emma will marry, the unborn child will have two legitimate parents, and we will avoid a scandal that could tear the kingdom apart. This is a good plan for you, spinner. You will have lands and titles and a royal grandchild."
She smiled at him but Rumplestiltskin did not smile back.