Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or the characters or settings therein. This is a work of fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made from this story.
A/N: Borrowing a plot device from the television mini-series "The Tenth Kingdom" with respect and love.
Also, if you want to know who I've mentally cast as some of the supporting characters, I've cast Dianna Agron to play to play Princess Alexandra. As Roland, I've cast Diego Boneta. And if you want to see a 47-year-old (Cinder)Ella, look no farther than the incomparable Emma Thompson.
Chapter 15: Forward Momentum
Killian stepped outside the commonhouse and took a moment to just enjoy a deep breath of summer night air, thick and balmy with the tang of balsam from the conifers surrounding the village and the sweet watery scent that drifted up from the mill pond at the edge of the village. He heard footsteps behind him and found almost the entire party from the war room, though only Henry had the excited light of comprehension in his eyes.
"Are you going to call for the fairies?" the boy asked.
"The Rhue Goram's secretary did say she would assist us when we were ready to attack the Queen," Killian said. "Time to find out if it was an empty promise."
"When did you make contact with the fairies?" Grumpy asked.
"It was on the way to find my mom," Henry explained, smiling up at her.
Killian met Emma's eyes for a second, her eagerness and hope a mirror of her son's. She watched him with wide eyes and almost on her toes in anticipation. If he failed at this…well, he couldn't fail. Killian licked his lips and turned his attention to the sky.
A high wind and favorable weather meant that the sky was clear, and a hundred million stars arched overhead in the Night Bridge that spanned the darkness and the thousands and thousands of outlier stars nearer the horizon. It was a peaceful sort of chaos, and on another night, Killian would have loved to stand on the deck of the Jolly Roger and gaze out into the dazzling darkness. But now, he the heavy dread that he would disappoint his on-lookers—Emma and Henry most prominently—pressed on his chest, and he had to force in a deep breath.
That night in the woods when he and Henry had just set out on their quest, the thick snow-filled clouds had obscured most of the sky, only revealing the area that housed the fairies' stars. Not so, tonight. Tonight there were so many stars visible that he did not know to which he should direct his plea. A bubble of panic lifted from his stomach, and he feared he could stand there all night and not find the one he wanted.
"Which one was it?" Henry asked, coming to stand beside him and craning his neck up to search.
"I, uh…" he fumbled, his hand suddenly up at his neck, his finger itching behind his ear in what he knew was his worst tell. He forced his hand back down to his side and cleared his throat.
"It was something of a fluke that we found the star in the first place," he admitted. And worse yet, "I don't recall where the Blue Star might be."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Emma come stand beside him as he kept his eyes on the heavens. She said nothing, but when he glanced over, her face was tilted toward the sky, and her brow was creased. A moment after, Henry joined them so that the three of them stood in a line.
"Let's retrace our steps," Henry suggested. "What were we doing right before the fairy showed up?"
"It had been snowing," he recalled. "We hunkered down to wait it out, and you suggested we try wishing hard, even without the stars visible."
Henry nodded, his face pensive. "So I started wishing that the Blue Fairy would come and help us find the missing Princess." He looked up at Killian. "What did you wish for?"
He thought back to that night in the woods, to the biting cold, the wet snow, the two of them huddled under the hanging boughs of a tall pine. Henry had squished his eyes shut, wishing as hard as he could, and Killian had…Killian had thought back to a time when he had been worthy of a fairy's aid. He swallowed now, wishing anew that his life had been different. Perhaps if his father had not abandoned him, or if Liam had listened to his warnings about the dreamshade, or if he had stayed aboard ship with Milah when they made port in Hamlin, his life would have continued on with honor or at least with hope.
He flicked a glance at Emma standing beside him, the soft light of the fire from inside the commonhouse casting her face into shadows except where the starlight and a slim crescent moon highlighted her cheekbones, forehead, and pale lashes.
In the weeks since that night in the snow-covered forest, he had found the Princess, defeated a contingent of Black Knights, and ultimately decided to dedicate himself to the defeat of a powerful and malevolent enemy, delaying his revenge in favor of helping Emma. Was this not, at the very least, a small step back toward honor? And hadn't the fairy suggested that such a thing was possible?
Turning his eyes back to the sky, it seemed impossible that he had missed the sparkling lavender star glittering overhead, shining from a shadow in the Night Bridge. Unlike before, he did not close his eyes but kept them open and focused on that light. He wished with a surprising ache of longing that Nova's insight was true, and the man of honor he had been was still inside him, able to reemerge.
A soft hum and the sound of tinkling chimes filled the air, and a bright ball of pale purple light bobbed down from the heavens as if a star had in truth decided to descend. Killian felt a smile pull his mouth wide, and a knot that had wound around his lungs released, allowing him to breathe deeply.
"Hello again," he greeted the fairy as soon as she was visible inside her ball of light.
"Hello to you, too!" she said, smiling. "I knew you'd call me again. I might not be much of a fairy, but I'm getting better at picking out the people who just need a nudge in the right direction from the true lost causes—and you are no lost cause!"
He felt his cheeks heat in the cool night air, and he was glad for the darkness that hid the color as he itched the shell of his ear. "Thank you for that, I suppose," he muttered. "I called to ask you if you still intend to help us defeat the Evil Queen. As you can see, we found the Lost Princess." He gestured to Emma, who came forward to meet the fairy.
"Pleased to meet you," Emma said.
"Oh, Princess, we've already met!" Nova gushed. "You don't remember, of course. You were only a baby, after all. But we did meet, and I tried to give you a gift—I mean, it was your naming ceremony, it's traditional—but Blue stopped me. Probably a good thing or I might have turned you into a bed-knob, or a broomstick, or a cat. What I mean is, it would have probably ended badly. I'm glad to see you again, though!"
"And mostly human," Killian couldn't help adding, earning him a sharp glance from Emma.
"Well!" Nova chirped. "A promise is a promise. I can have the fairies ready to fight in a day or so. I already have the Blue Fairy's approval. We're forbidden to use lethal magic, of course, but we can use our magic to send our enemies to sleep for a few hours or to relocate them deep into the Infinite Forest. That should buy you some time. Just tell me where we need to be, and we'll be there."
"We're hoping to head out in soon," Emma explained. "If Regina is in Castle Sainte-George, we should be ready to attack in three or four days. If she's back in her palace in the north, it will be a few more, but no longer than a week. I want this over."
Nova nodded, bobbing up and down in the air as she hovered, and the crystalline aerials in her hair jiggling with her movement. "Good! That-that…woman-of-questionable-virtue-and-parentage has had her comeuppance, well, coming for a very long time!" The light around her seemed to strobe with excitement, little sparks of purple and white floating around her like dust in a sunbeam. "The fairies will be ready and waiting for your signal."
"Great!" Henry exclaimed, bouncing. He seemed almost as excited as Nova. "So what's the signal?"
Nova's face fell, clearly having forgotten that part, and Killian could see Emma roll her lips together as she flicked her gaze to the ground, trying to contain a laugh. He covered a short of his own with a cough behind his fist, and then cleared his throat.
"We're trying for subtlety, so it will have to be something discreet."
"What if we just chose a time of night and coordinated the attack then?" Emma suggested. "Say, nine 'o'clock? I know Castle Sainte-George has a bell tower that chimes the hours, and I'm sure the Dark Palace will have a similar method of marking time."
"Ahhh," Henry cooed, nodding sagely. "Using the enemy's tools against them. I like it."
"Nine 'o'clock it is!" Nova concurred.
The sound of shuffling came from behind them, and Killian and Emma both turned to find Grumpy walking forward with halting steps, placing each foot carefully on the ground before him as if it were ice, and he was afraid he would fall through. His hat was in his hands being wrung out of shape. And on his face was the softest, most open expression Killian had ever seen on the surly dwarf.
"Hello, Nova," Grumpy said, his voice as hesitant as his step, but filled with an aching wonder, and Killian had a sudden insight into the heart of Emma's gruff "uncle."
"Hello, Dreamy," Nova responded, her high voice almost a whisper, her excited violet dust turning silver and falling from her like snow.
Dreamy? Killian mused, forehead creasing as he looked at the dwarf. He had heard that dwarves took their names from their dominant characteristics, but he could not imagine a more inappropriate designation.
"It's Grumpy now," the Dwarf replied in a tone that was sweeter and softer than Killian had imagined it was possible for the abrasive dwarf to produce. "I'm glad to see you've kept out of the reach of the Queen and the Dark One. I…I worried about you."
For a moment the glow around the fairy brightened, illuminating the entire street with light that mimicked the sun, causing Killian to squint. When he could see past the dancing spots in his vision, Nova was human-sized, her wings nowhere in sight. Her eyes were too wide and innocent for Killian's taste, but he acknowledged that she was lovely. And the expression on her face when she looked at Grumpy was every bit as tender as the dwarf's.
"I've worried about you, too," she admitted. "It's good to see you again."
Grumpy stepped forward, licking his lips before rolling them between his teeth. "Can we talk?" he asked, and then glared at the crowd of onlookers. "Alone?"
"I'd like that," Nova said, smiling as she nodded.
The dwarf straightened his shoulders and tugged his hat back onto his head. He offered the dainty fairy his arm, and the two of them strolled down the road in the dark, murmuring intently to one another.
"Huh…" Emma mused. When he looked over, she was shaking her head and staring off after her uncle and his lady, shaking her head. "I always knew he became Grumpy because of a broken heart. Never thought I'd meet the girl."
"A broken heart makes everyone grumpy," Killian joked. "But I'll take this as a good sign. Not only do we have the support of the fairies in our fight, leveling the field in terms of magic; we've also witnessed what I hope is the first of many happy endings returned to the land."
"Hey!" Henry exclaimed, grabbing his mother's hand as he looked up at her. "Hook's right. That's the first one! I mean, aside from me finding you, that is."
Emma chuckled, running her free hand over Henry's hair to cup the back of his head. "I didn't actually do anything. Grumpy's doing all the hard work."
"You made it possible," Henry insisted.
"Think about it," Killian prompted. "If Henry had not recruited me into his quest, then we would not have met the Lady Nova, who answered my call. She agreed to help us should we find you and mount an attack on the Queen. And without her guidance, we would not have set out to find the Dark One, who then directed us into the very valley in which your godmother's pack lived. We were only able to contact the wolves because we ran into your father on the way to the Dark One's castle. Red knew where the dwarves were hiding out, and found them in time to help us rescue Henry from the Black Knights. And now that you have agreed to fight for your throne, we've called the fairies in to help, unintentionally reuniting two lost lovers. Quite a string of coincidences, Swan."
"If you say so," she murmured, shifting her shoulders and frowning.
He had to smile at how uncomfortable she appeared with her role as Savior. It was amazing how little Emma seemed to want her various roles, taking so many of them on under duress—princess, commander, savior, returner of happy endings. The only one she embraced was that of mother. He could not decide whether he found that charming or irritating. Her stubbornness continuously caused him to want to shake her, especially since she had proven over and over how amazingly capable and competent she was when she finally did accept her calling.
"Well," David interrupted, causing Killian to start and finally stop staring at Emma, which he realized belatedly that he had been doing. "Looks like we have our army. And tomorrow, after you fly reconnaissance for us, we'll know where we need to attack."
"What about the curse, though?" Emma worried. "What if defeating Regina doesn't break it? What then? Am I going to change into a swan every day for the rest of my life?"
"You could start a new fashion, Swan," he teased her. "You could turn your court completely nocturnal."
David and Emma shot identical glares at him, and he grinned.
"Yeah, because that would go over really well," Emma muttered.
David wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulders, pulling her toward him in a side-hug. "If your curse isn't lifted, then we'll think of something else to break it. If nothing else, we can capture Regina again, and this time Snow's not here to stop me from doing what needs to be done," he concluded with a hard, look in his eye that promised violence to the woman who had torn his family apart.
Killian always knew he liked the shepherd.
Emma sighed. "Mother wouldn't condone torture," she insisted. "I can't start…my reign with unnecessary violence." Then she muttered, "That doesn't mean we can't kill her and search her library, though."
"Wait," Henry said, stepping away from their huddle. "You don't really mean you're going to kill her, do you?"
Killian winced. Apparently the boy had a different interpretation of the word "defeat" than the adults did. He had always assumed that their coup would result in Regina's death, but clearly Henry was shocked at the notion.
"I would have thought you would want her gone, with the way you talk of your upbringing, lad," he said.
Henry shook his head violently. "I want her to stop hurting people, but I didn't…I don't want her to die. Heroes don't kill."
"Henry," Emma murmured, crouching before him and holding his smaller hands in hers. "Regina is very powerful, and even if we manage a sneak attack, we're still going into a battle. Anything could happen. Anyone could get hurt or killed." She rubbed her hand up and down the boy's arm to comfort him when his breath hitched. "This isn't like your stories. This is real. The odds that Regina will allow herself to be captured alive are pretty slim."
All true. No need to point out that when a magician died, unless he or she was very powerful or unless the magic was anchored somehow, the magician's spells would end.
"But…" Henry protested, his forehead creased and every muscle in his thin body strung tight in anguish. "But can't we at least give her a chance to change?"
"Henry," David sighed, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your grandmother tried that once. Regina turned on her within seconds of being released from her cell and tried to kill Snow again, this time with a dagger to the ribs. I'm sorry, but she will never change."
"Remember, Henry, she's not known as the Evil Queen for nothing," Emma said. "Even if we captured her alive, she would be tried for treason and the murder of countless people. The penalty for that would be death."
Henry looked completely crestfallen. "Even so… it has to be a fair trial. You have to do this the right way. You can't just kill her. That would be murder, too."
Killian watched Emma close her eyes and take a deep breath. "We'll do what we can to give her a chance, but I won't make any promises to you, Henry," Emma said. "I'm sorry."
She sighed, looking up at her father and Killian as if they had answers. Killian deeply wished he did, but the only one he could provide would come from centuries of anger and hatred for his own enemy, and that called for death. Regina's execution would solve a multitude of problems, personal and political, but Killian doubted Henry, with his pure young heart, would see it that way. After witnessing the destruction Regina created in that little village, he knew that the woman was a villain, and there was only one way for the coming battle to end.
Not receiving whatever comfort or backup she was looking for, Emma stood up and tried to smile at Henry. She wrapped her arm around the boy's shoulder much the way David had held her own moments ago, and said, "Come on. I'll take you to bed. I'll have to leave early tomorrow. If you want to be awake to see me off, you'll need to get some sleep."
Killian ran a hand through his hair as he watched Henry and Emma go. After all of the things that Henry had said about Regina, he was somewhat surprised that he had defended the woman, but perhaps it was more than that. Perhaps it was Emma and her status as Savior and a hero in his eyes that Henry wanted to save. Heroes don't kill people, he had said. Heroes don't murder.
What did the lad call war, then? What did he call the slaying of dragons or Black Knights or trolls? But Killian knew that if Regina died by assassination, Henry would never forgive Emma. In that light, Killian was willing to kill Regina himself so that Emma could honestly tell Henry that she had nothing to do with it. He had no illusions about his own heroic status.
Emma flew out the next morning as soon as the spell took hold of her. She was gone for a full day, and every second she was out of his sight, Killian felt his stomach coil tighter in fear. He had to stop every hour to calm his racing heart. He went from menial task to menial task, packing his satchel, cleaning his weapons, unpacking it to make sure he had everything, running practice drills, repacking his bag, over and over simply to keep his mind off all the terrifying possibilities that could have befallen Emma in her swan form as she scouted the Queen's whereabouts. His only comfort was that David and Henry were just as distracted. They each caught the other staring at the sky throughout the day, searching for an incoming speck on the horizon, and gently guided the other to some new chore to keep his mind off the wait.
The night she did not return was one of the longest of Killian's life. Sleep evaded him entirely as he sat on the edge of his bed in the cottage he had claimed, and he cursed himself repeatedly that he had emptied the last of his rum over Emma's hand to clean her wound. A thousand scenarios played in his head as he waited for the sun to rise.
Finally, just after noon the next day, the loud trumpet of a swan echoed through the trees. Killian stopped in the middle of a practice lunge at one of the army volunteers and turned to scan the sky. When he saw the flash of a white wing, he bolted down the dirt road toward the mill pond. Within moments, he was joined by most of the village, everyone cheering as Emma came in for a wet landing, her wings beating furiously over the water as she settled in.
He joined David and Henry as they approached the side of the pond, and grinned when David scolded her, his hands on his hips. "As soon as you are back in human form, you are going to explain why you're home so late, young lady."
The swan honked in reply and ruffled her feathers at him, craning her neck up in indignation—completely feigned, Killian was sure. Even in swan form, Killian could see the sparkle of humor in her eyes.
"Glad to see you back safely, Swan," he told her, and finally returned to his cottage to sleep away the rest of the afternoon.
Henry ran in to wake him as soon as the sun set, and Killian joined the war council in the commonhouse as soon as he'd wiped the sleep from his eyes and splashed cold water on his face.
"I stayed with Ella yesterday," Emma was explaining when he walked in. "Once I confirmed that Regina is still at Castle Sainte-George, I stuck around to count the number of knights and any new fortifications she added to the castle. I mistimed my return, and the sun was setting before I could get back. Ella's estate was close, and she allowed me to stay with her for the day."
"How is she?" David asked.
"Well enough," Emma reported. "And better yet, when I told her what's going on, she said she would help. Ella offered her estate as a staging point for our invasion." Emma pulled one of the ubiquitous maps strewn across the table toward her and pointed to an area the Eastern Kingdom shares a border with Sainte-George. "There's a magical shortcut from the forest around Ella's home to a point only a mile away from Castle Sainte-George."
One of the dwarves—Doc, Killian thought—leaned over the map and drew his finger along the mountains that separated their village from the estate of Princess Ella. "There's a loop here, too. If we go through this pass, here, the loop should let us out almost on the Princess's doorstep."
"Then I say we have a plan," David concurred. "We can leave the village tonight and break into smaller parties as we head down the mountains. We'll be less conspicuous that way. Then we can all meet up at the manor house to regroup. Robin, you can head one group?"
The thief nodded, planting his hands flat on the table as he studied the map.
"Good. Grumpy, you can lead the dwarves and a group of the villagers?"
The dwarf snorted. "Can a duck swim?" Then he glanced at Emma. "No offence."
She rolled her eyes.
David divided up the rest of the group, naming leaders and who would travel when. Killian would stay with David, Henry, and Emma. As soon as everyone knew their routes and who they would lead, David nodded. "Let's get this moving. I want us out of this village by midnight. No more waiting."
The men and women needed no more direction. They broke and strode out the door, calling to the make-shift militia that had amassed in the last few weeks. Killian stayed behind only long enough to fall into step with Emma as she and Henry made their way outside.
"You know, Swan," Killian mused. "Ever since finding you, we've all become semi-nocturnal. I don't think it would be as much of a challenge for your future courtiers as you think."
"Shut up, Hook."
Even leaving at midnight, the magic of the forest deposited them within sight of a palatial manor house before dawn. Killian found he was not even surprised that they covered hundreds of miles in hours. Henry had insisted that good magic existed to counterbalance the dark magic of Rumpelstiltskin and the Evil Queen, and indeed, since Emma appeared to have some power of her own, Killian was finding it easier and easier to believe that such a thing did exist. They reached the stately home built of warm honey-colored stone with a multitude of high windows and several chimneys just as the sky was turning pink. Killian's group, led by Emma and David, the latter carrying a sleeping Henry, had rejoined Robin, Roland, and the Merry Men an hour before. Together, they trooped down the long lane that lead to grand double wooden doors.
Lamps were already lit inside, and before they reached the gravel courtyard, two women strode out to meet them. They were already dressed for the day in high-necked pastel gowns, relatively simple in comparison to some of the ball gowns Killian recalled from his days in the navy. As they approached, Killian saw the resemblance between them that marked the two as mother and daughter. Though the older of the two had delicate lines on her face and wore an expression of chronic anxiety, both were fair-haired and slim. Each had an oval face with a straight nose and a stubborn chin. As they got close, the younger woman grinned, picked up her skirts, and ran to meet Emma. Emma broke from their group and jogged forward to meet her. They threw their arms around each other when they met in the middle.
"Emma! Oh, Emma, it is you!" the woman exclaimed, rocking the two of them back and forth.
"Lexa!" Emma greeted her. "How have you been?"
Roland leaned over to murmur to Killian, who was staring at Emma and her friend, as well, "Two beautiful women embracing… I'm glad we decided to join you lot, or I'd have missed out."
Killian snorted. He had been thinking something along the same lines himself. Almost simultaneously, the looked at the older men like naughty boys worried about being caught by their fathers.
"Fine, I'm fine," Lexa said. "Well, comparatively, I'm sure." She pulled back and looked at Emma, searching her friend's face. "Mother told me you stayed here with her years ago. Why didn't you send word? I would have come."
Emma shrugged one shoulder and ducked her head. "I knew things were tense between you and your grandfather. I didn't want to add to the strain. And with Regina looking for any excuse to attack my parents' allies, it was too dangerous. I'm sorry."
The two women continued talking, and Killian leaned toward David to ask, "Old friends, I take it?"
"Mm," David hummed in confirmation. "Emma and Princess Alexandra were born within a few weeks of one another. They've been good friends since they were little girls."
By then, the older woman, Princess Ella, had reached them, her hands outstretched in welcome. She greeted David with a smile that lit up her face, although the lines of strain between her brows remained. When she spoke, her voice was melodic and smooth. "David…I can't believe it. I was so pleased when Emma told me you were alive and you had found her."
David took Ella's hands and bowed over it briefly before reaching out to squeeze her shoulder gently. It was hardly the warm embrace he had shared with Red, but it was far from the distant pleasantries he might have expected. Killian made a note of it and wondered if all royalty knew one another, or if there were something special about these two kingdoms that had made them so close.
"Ella, it's wonderful to see you again," David said. "And I'm incredibly grateful that you've opened your home to let us launch our battle from here."
"Of course!" Ella assured him. "Emma was right when she said that Regina looks for the smallest reason to attack her neighbors. My father-in-law has been able to keep her at bay so far, but I live in constant fear that one day it won't be enough. I don't want my daughter to have to deal with the aftermath."
Emma and her friend finally rejoined the group, though they kept their arms entwined and leaned into one another as if they each drew strength from the contact. Emma turned to her friend when she heard Ella's remarks, and frowned. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but how did you know to be here at all? I just left here yesterday."
"It was the Dark One," she admitted, with a glance at her mother.
"What?!" Ella gasped. "You didn't say. Alexandra, are you—?"
"He didn't hurt me, or threaten me," she reassured her. "He just said that if I ever wanted a chance at meeting my father in this lifetime, I would make sure to come and bring something that will help Emma get into Castle Saint-George unseen."
She slid her arm from out of Emma's and maneuvered her bag into her hands. She untied the ribbons of her purse and pulled the mouth of the bag wide so that she could reach in. From the bag, the Princess lifted a pair of transparent glass dancing slippers by hooking her fingers into the toes of the shoes.
"The Dark One enchanted them so that when you put them on, they turn the wearer invisible. It's how I got out of the palace to come here, so I know they work," she confessed with a proud smile. "They can also hide someone who is holding onto the wearer—but only one or two people at most."
"Did you test that, too?" Emma asked.
The Princess shrugged. "I wasn't going to travel through the forest alone. I brought a pair of guards with me."
"Even one or two extra people our enemies don't know about will be helpful," David said.
"Though it's a touch worrisome that the Crocodile is offering his help," Killian muttered.
"He did say he'd nudge from behind the scenes if we could get ourselves here," the shepherd pointed out.
"Pardon me," Roland said to Lexa. "Did you say, if you wanted to meet your father?"
She nodded, sharing a sad look with her mother, explaining, "He was taken from us before I was born."
"I'm sorry," Roland said. "My mother was taken from us by Regina before I could make any real memories of her. I would give anything to see her again."
"They say that you can't miss what you never had," the Princess said. "But those that say it have probably never felt the longing for something that was stolen from them before they knew the value of it. I've missed my father my whole life."
"I've thought the same thing myself, many times," Roland commiserated.
The two shared a look of sympathy, and Killian felt the rise in tension prickle across his neck and politely looked away. Ah, that first moment of attraction and understanding. The truest magic Killian had ever experienced.
He caught Emma's eye, and they both raised a brow in silent comment on the new development. But before he could make a no-doubt witty comment, a bird perched on one of the eves of the manor began to sing. Only then did he realize how light the world had gotten, the shadows of night retreating around them.
"The sun is nearly up any moment," Killian observed.
Emma heaved a sigh and stepped away from the group. "I guess I'll see you all tonight."
"Remember," David said, "we'll be setting out this afternoon, and we'll infiltrate at dusk. You come in from the air at the castle, then transform and meet us inside."
"I remember," she said, waving them off. She bent down to kiss Henry's head, and then the sun came up. As soon as the first golden ray appeared above the horizon, swirling purple mist surrounded her, and when it cleared she had returned to swan shape. Emma shook her feathers, flapping her wings for a moment before resettling them along her back.
"Emma, your place at the pond is waiting for you," Lady Ella told her. "I already had fresh straw added, and a bowl of grain and greens is waiting for you. And I'm sure the rest of you are tired as well. Please, come in. I have the men here on the lookout for the rest of your people to arrive throughout the day."
Killian followed the Princesses inside the manor, looking forward to a soft bed. But he looked back, watching Emma waddle away toward a glimmer of light on water to the west of the house, feeling let down that he would not be within sight of Emma for most of the day. Even so, the excited itch of anticipation for the upcoming battle prickled under his skin, and he pushed aside his loneliness and went to find his bed.
Post-Chapter Note: I know, I'm a horrible author for leaving you hanging for so long. Summer was rough. But I'm hopeful to get off my keester and finish posting sooner rather than later. I can't believe I started posting a year ago!
Also, remember back in chapter 13 when I posted that big warning about Regina? Yeah, go back and read that. Things don't get any better for anyone from here on out. Except maybe for Alexandra and Roland. Yes, I have just founded the RoLex ship, always assuming it didn't exist before now.
