~Day 6~

It was well past midnight when Dylan, the last bachelor to leave, finally left. It was officially over.

Dylan had given Emma a kiss to her knuckles, bidding her a good night. He could definitely be a candidate in her eyes. There was chemistry. He knew what it would take to rule. He'd do much for her kingdom. She just couldn't feel what Chio was talking about. There was no click, no sizzle. But a fine companion he would make, and she could do worse.

She had noticed when Hook had left. The number of guests had dwindled to about a dozen, and she was in the middle of listening to Dylan telling a particularly funny story. She'd caught sight of the pirate as he, and all his leather, vanished out one of the side doors. She had immediately felt a pang of regret for not spending more time with him, gotten a third dance at least. But she had to worry about the remaining guests, two of which were potential suitors.

At that point, the King and Queen had long since retired, and Emma felt alone until she saw Belle dancing with a tall, dark, and handsome man who she'd completely forgotten the name of. He was one of the first men the butterfly had ruled out. At least someone was having a good time.

With Dylan gone, the event was officially over, and Belle threw her arms around her new friend, much too excited to go to bed despite the time.

"What do we do now?" She asked exuberantly, letting go of the hug.

"Food. Now." Was all Emma could muster, beat after the long night. She chewed on the last piece of dried fruit, looked coyly at her friend. Shaking her head, she said, "So. Hyper."

"I may have met someone. But that can wait. I'm starving!"

Being so close to the bubbly brunette rubbed off on Emma, causing her to stand up a little straighter and the fatigue was starting to ebb.

"Oh no, you have to stop, you're infecting me with your energy!"

"Race you to the kitchen!" Both girls giggled, staring at each other and then, they were off. Sprinting down halls, through rooms, and sliding across floors. They made it, at the shock of one very confused kitchen maid cleaning up for the night. All she could see were two out of breath, giggly girls, each with messy, out of place hair.

"Oh, Mary! I'm so sorry, we didn't mean to startle you."

"We didn't know anyone would be here."

"We just came for something to eat, but we will clean up after ourselves," Emma elbowed Belle.

"Right, absolutely."

The girl smiled wide. "Here, we have some left over chicken." The younger blond moved to the ice box, removing half a bird, placing it in front of them, causing Emma to explain to Belle that the icebox had been spelled as a gift from Queen Elsa. Another Royal she had yet to meet. "Don't worry about the mess, Mistress Emma. Enjoy."

"I will absolutely worry about it." Emma said before taking a bite, and immediately shut up, only making happy noises at the taste and the fact that she was finally eating. Belle wasn't too far behind, and in just a moment, they were giggling like children for absolutely no reason.

"I haven't had this much fun in a very long time, Emma, thank you for inviting me."

"Don't even. The only way I survived was by looking over and seeing that smile on your face, so I should be thanking you."

"Don't pretend, I saw that slow dance with Captain Charm. You were trying so hard not to set your head down on his chest, weren't you?"

Emma bit her lip. "That is a distinct possibility, one which I shall neither confirm nor deny. I was tired. But I keep thinking that the man I see isn't really who he is because... I know he hurt you, and I feel like there's so much to his back story, I don't even know if there's time to learn it all."

"The man I saw tonight was not the same man I met back then. Tonight I didn't see a villain. I saw a man in love. Emma, you don't need to learn his entire backstory to learn who he is now. That's what's important."

Emma eyed her new friend, realizing she was right. She changed the subject. "Enough about me, who did you meet?"

Belle let out a breath, contemplating if she should allow her friend to get out of it that easily. She finally chose to give in. "I feel awkward talking about it, he did come here with hopes to court you, after all."

"Is it Dylan?"

"No."

"Then I don't care. Dylan is the only man with a formal invitation that I would consider choosing, so spill."

"Formal invitation? Does that mean you're thinking of another?" Emma eyed her, refusing to answer. "Okay, fine. Do you remember Jorie?"

Emma had to think for a moment. "Yes! I thought he was one of the top three most handsome men here. Uhm. Lancelot and Mulan's son, right?"

"I believe so. We didn't talk about parents."

Emma felt giddy. And ridiculous for feeling that way. But she'd never had a female friend before, so she figured why not roll with it. "I don't think I danced with him. Did you get to him first?"

"I think I might have. He was the first one who asked me to dance. But we danced four times."

"That has to be a good sign!"

"I never thought I could feel so excited about, well, practically a stranger."

"And since he danced with you, not me, it's a logical thing to say he isn't interested in me anymore."

"You're not mad?"

"Please, I should get you a gift for taking one off my dance card." She sighed, content. "I am so grateful for the clouds."

"I don't think I would have made it down those ridiculous stairs without that enchantment." Belle agreed.

They finished the chicken, talking about the men they had met, who had stepped on their toes, and who would likely be the best kisser out of the group.

"I'm thinking it would be someone... exotic. Like Altair." Emma said, trying not to smile at the thought.

"Aladdin's son?" Emma nodded. "Honestly, I have to bet on your Captain."

"What? Why?" Emma tried not to remember their kiss the day they met. She failed.

"Have you never heard the rumor? He's been living for centuries. A man like that, living for that long, has had lots of practice to perfect his trade."

"Nope, I'm much too exhausted to consider him being even a decade older than me."

"I lived with The Dark One, Emma. Hook was mentioned, more than once. I never got an exact age, of either man, but it was in the hundreds, and I believe the two are fairly close to the same age, especially when you consider how long that really is."

Understanding began to dawn on the young princess. "How old do you think Rumplestiltskin is?"

"I know he was human during the first Ogre Wars."

"No. That would mean Captain Jones would be nearly three centuries. How could he even be human?"

"I couldn't say."

Emma no longer wanted to dwell on that thought. "Did you have a chance to read that book?"

"Yes, but nothing felt relevant. Three sisters, called the Moirai, are basically in control of fate and destiny, going as far as who is born, how we live, and how and when we die. It's really quite interesting. They use a spindle. The one that's in the drawing, I presume."

Things started clicking for Emma. "I briefly saw that drawing."

"So, the strands represent each human life. One of the sisters weaves out the strands, deciding who is even born and what their destiny will be, then another sister measures the strand determining the length of that life, and the last one makes the decisions about a person's deaths. The how, why, when, where."

Emma was shocked. She remembered the first day Regina had shown up, warning them that fate was realigning itself because she didn't cast the curse. She had never imagined that fate could be a person, or in this case, three people.

"Emma? Are you okay?"

"Fate. That's the witch. The witch who took that day from us, she's a fate. But why take our memories?"

"The book was in your room, though. Emma, we must have learned something that led us to it."

"Hook thinks Neal was either here, or close to here when it happened because of how close he was when he woke up, and the people we sent to find him are also missing a day."

"But if Neal was here, and he was a puppet for fate… Emma, what could she have had him do here?"

"I don't know." And that was the scariest bit.