A/N: Hope's birthday party, a bit of a mixed setting, grand and royally glorious but still a bit more down to earth. Big royal garden party if you will. I really hope you like the idea I have with this story. Thanks again to Hookedonapirate for beta reading for me.
Chapter 10: RuebenThe grand and majestic castle in Royal City was bustling with activity; large tents were erected on the grassy area leading down to the Royal docks close to the castle. The water in the bay area was calm and the sun glinted in the tiny waves, adding a magical touch to the backdrop of the year's grandest party. Inside the tents, long tables were brimming with food and delicacies from around the United Realms. Guests from far and wide were gathering around in small groups, all shifting their gazes toward the grand marbled stairs leading up to the castle. Everyone was waiting for the royal birthday girl to appear.
Rueben tugged at his collar, his fingers adjusting the clasp on his bolo tie. The wait for Hope was unbearable; he shifted uneasily on his feet while searching the large plaza above the marble stairs. He knew Hope would join the party along with her family from those stairs. This was a royal affair, yet the setting was a bit more down to earth than what was normally done. He imagined Hope had had some things to say in regards to what would happen. He was buzzing with excitement as he looked back over the large grassy area; he could see the docks, where her father's ship was moored. It too was decorated for the occasion, flags and streamers hanging from the rigging and flower ornaments wrapping around the railings. He imagined the age old ship had never looked this decorative, ever. The area around the docks was filled with carnival booths of any imaginable kind.
Suddenly, he spotted Hope's father talking with a dark blond girl. Curiously, he walked closer. Hope had told him her family would walk outside with her to announce the beginning of the party.
"Mr. Jones?" Rueben began, then willed himself to stay calm; the man with the hook still intimidated him. "Where's Hope? I thought you would be with her."
The man spun around in surprise and tilted his head, eyebrows pinched in puzzlement. "Have we met before?" He flicked his thumb at the woman next to him, "This is my daughter - Alice."
"What… I… eh… sorry." Rueben shook his head in confusion. What the hell? "What?"
"Papa, you're confusing the poor man." The woman placed a hand on her father's arm, shaking her wavy, blond hair. Then her large curious eyes moved to Rueben's. "Who are you?"
"I'm… eh… I thought." Rueben dragged a hand over his face and mumbled, "What the hell is going on here?"
"I do love a good puzzle," she grinned and pointed between the three of them, "and I believe this right here is a puzzle." She practically bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped a few times.
Rueben blinked a few times at this obvious over-exuberant display of excitement over a mere misunderstanding. "Eh, I'm Rueben" He pointed at the man who looked uncanningly like Hope's father. "I just thought this was Killian Jones." He rubbed his neck and tried to calm himself.
"Oh, oh I know, you're Hope's boyfriend, yeah?" The woman guessed in excitement. "So nice to meet you Mr. Rueben." She reached out her hand, and Rueben took it as she kept talking. "I'm Alice, by the way." She rolled her eyes. "Forgot my manners there for a sec."
"No worries. Nice to meet you, Alice," Rueben said with a genuine smile, then glanced at the man who was not Hope's father.
Apparently Alice remembered her manners, because she finally introduced the man next to her. "This is my Papa. We call him Rogers, so people don't confuse him with his counterpart."
Rueben was still very confused, and Alice clearly saw this.
"You've heard of the Wish Realm?"
Rueben nodded.
Alice grinned. "My Pappa is the Wish Real version of Killian Jones."
"Oh," Reuben said, thinking to himself, great, there's two Hooks? He glanced down at Roger's right hand and sighed in relief. There was a prosthetic hand instead of a hook - less scary.
Rogers grinned. "Yeah, I never really used the hook." He shrugged then looked around them, "It's quite a birthday party we've come to here, eh?"
"Yeah," Rueben grinned, "I'm really sorry for the confusion. When I saw you, I really thought you were Hope's father."
"You're not the first, but look a bit closer." He pointed to his hair. "Slightly more greys up here."
Rueben lifted his eyes to study the top of Rogers' head. Rogers' hair was indeed a bit more salt and pepper than Killian's.
"Ah I see," Rueben nodded and brought his eyes back to the man's face. "Well, it was nice to meet you both."
"Likewise," Alice piped up and grabbed her father's arm. "Papa, we need to find my Robin; she seems to have gone missing." She looked at Rueben with a wide smile. "Another puzzle for me to solve today." As she dragged her father along with her, Rogers turned and waved a farewell.
Rueben tried to get his bearings again. Well, that was an awkward start to his girlfriend's party. He wondered how many more times he would embarrass himself while interacting with Hope's family. Still in a slightly confused daze, he walked back to his own group -his parents and friends. His mother was engaged in a conversation with a petite black-haired woman, her long, braided hair draped over her shoulders. Moving closer, he recognized the woman as Tiger Lily, who'd become a great friend of his mother since they'd moved to Royal City.
When a collective gasp was heard throughout the crowd, he whipped his head around, and his eyes immediately sought out the pretty blond girl walking through the plaza above the grand marbled stairs. Hope wore an ocean blue gown, the skirt made from some sort of sheer material. It looked airy and light, and the bottom layer of the skirt was a darker shade of blue. The most striking part of the dress was the off-the-shoulder bodice, embroidered with an intricate silver design.
Running his hand over his mouth in pure awe he ignored some racy comments from Damien and William who stood with their arms wrapped around their own princesses. Blinking a few times, he watched as Hope gracefully walked down the steps, her arm linked with her father's, her mother and brother walking behind them. Queen Regina was last to walk down the stairs; she stopped before reaching the grass.
Everyone waited for the formal welcome speech from their queen. Hope stood off to the side, her eyes scanning the area, a huge smile on her face. When her eyes landed on Rueben, he felt his heart skip a beat. She shifted a little on her feet as if she were impatient. Had he been closer, he imagined he would see annoyance in her blue eyes. But this was a formal royal affair, so some things needed to be kept as protocol dictated.
"Friends and family," Regina began in a resonant voice, "I welcome you all to celebrate my great granddaughter's 21st birthday. It's a big day for her, and I'm happy to see so many of our friends and family were able to share this special day with her." Their queen swept her hands toward the area behind the crowd. "There will be food served in the tents, and tables are set up for you to enjoy your food wherever you wish. Further down by the docks, the carnival area has been set up for everyone - children and adults alike." Regina walked over to Hope and drew her into a hug, then nodded toward the crowd.
Hope took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Welcome," her voice wavered slightly, clasping her hands in front of her she continued, "I'm so happy to share this day with you all, I hope you will enjoy the food and entertainment. Though I think my grandmother might have overdone it a little." She shrugged and paused to let the crowd chuckle at her joke. "But I do appreciate all the work she put into all of this." Hope walked over to a woman with dark pixie-cut hair, and gave her a hug. Rueben knew it was Snow-White.
His eyes shifted over everyone up there; each person was part of Hope's family. He gulped down; it was slightly nerve wracking to think about meeting all these royal personas he'd only heard about.
Hope turned to the crowd once again. "Again, welcome and enjoy." Everyone erupted into cheers as Hope began walking toward Rueben with purposeful strides.
Rueben noticed she wore a pair of white, ballerina flats, which were practical but still very elegant. When she was closer to him, he grinned and moved toward her. He rubbed his neck feeling the less than subtle glances from everyone around them. She was the birthday girl everyone wanted to interact with, and right now she strode toward him. He wasn't sure who, outside her family and their group of friends, knew she was dating him. Well now everyone would know, because he would never be able to resist the urge to touch her when she looked so stunningly beautiful in that dress.
"Rueben," she breathed out as she took a step closer and beamed up at him, eyes shining with love and mischief.
"Hope." Grinning, he took the final step toward her, closing the distance between them. He reached up and cupped her face in his hand. "Happy birthday." He ignored the world around them and leaned down, giving her a chaste kiss on her rosy lips. She hummed in return, and he felt her hands wrap around his neck. He clenched his free hand, trying to refrain from touching her further. It would not be wise to kick off the party by groping her in front of all her guests.
She pulled back, her hands sliding down to his chest. "You seem tense." She smirked.
"Yeah," he rubbed his neck, trying to ease the tension there, "but I guess it's because pretty much everyone here is staring at us right now."
Hope's laughter filled the air around them. "I bet there will be some gossip going on, but you know what? I don't bloody care."
Rueben grinned and took her hand in his. "I'll be alright, I trust you'll show me the ropes on how one does this huge birthday bash the royal way," he said, waving toward the tents and carnival area.
Hope linked her arm with his, and they walked over to his parents, both expressing how happy they were about being there.
"I'm happy you could be here," Hope said to them. "Come meet my parents. They really want to meet you."
The group walked over to Hope's parents, who were engaged in a conversation with their queen. Rueben gulped, hoping he wouldn't make a fool of himself.
"Hello, Rueben," Emma stepped forward and hugged him.
It surprised him how at ease they all seemed to be, even dressed up in their finest.
When she stepped back, Rueben gave her a smile and said, "Good afternoon, your… eh Emma."
She nodded in approval.
Okay, no formal titles then.
Rueben greeted Killian, who gave his arm a gentle pat with his hooked arm. "Good to see you, lad."
"Likewise." He felt Hope's fingers wrap around his as she pulled him further into the group of her family.
Liam nodded in greeting but didn't look as if he had time to chat; he was rubbing his hands against his thighs while scanning the area behind them. Hope stepped up to him and whispered, "Go to your friends. You don't need to be up here." Liam looked at his sister in surprise then grinned and barely took the time to say thanks.
"That boy's got it bad," Rueben mused, shaking his head.
"Yeah," Hope agreed. "Come on, I have some more people I want you to meet." She pulled him along. "Auntie Gina," Hope greeted as she approached her aunt, or great-grandmother, to be specific. She hugged the queen. "I want you to meet Rueben."
Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to meet the queen of the United Realms. Regina smiled at him as she approached him and reached out her hand toward him.
Remembering his manners, he clasped her hand in his while bowing slightly. "Your Majesty." Then he stepped back.
"Rueben," Regina said in a calm, poised tone.
He looked up at her and found her smiling knowingly at him. He shifted uneasily on his feet as Hope stepped up next to him.
"You know I train with Regina," Hope said, and when Rueben merely nodded, she continued. "I've talked to her about how my magic seems to shift whenever we're together. Like how the colors change."
"Hmm." Rueben rubbed his neck, not sure where she was going with this.
"She thinks we have this special connection that binds us together." Hope shrugged.
"Yeah?" Rueben looked at Regina.
"My great-grandchild is special," Regina boasted proudly. "She is the second generation of the product of true love. And having magic on top of that is something very powerful."
Rueben looked slightly alarmed by this. "Oh."
"Auntie Gina, please don't scare him," Hope chastised, squeezing his hand in reassurance.
"I'm not scared," Rueben straightened up a little and said to their queen, "I know Hope is special. I will do my best to help her through whatever comes her way."
"Good," Regina said. "Now excuse me, I want to catch up on some old friends." With a swish of her voluminous skirt, she walked away.
Hope smiled up at him. "Ease up a little. My family won't bite ya'"
Rueben nodded in agreement and followed her toward a brown-haired man standing next to a woman and a young woman some years older than Hope.
"Henry!" Hope beamed as she flung herself into his arms, then shifted to the woman. "Jacinda, so happy you guys could come."
"Happy birthday, baby sister," Henry said and wrapped his arm around his wife.
Hope had told Rueben a few tales about her older brother and how he'd met his wife and daughter on one of his first quests. It was quite a fairytale. Rueben greeted the family, shaking hands with them all.
"Shut up, I'm no baby." Hope stuck out her tongue at her brother, making the young woman giggle.
"Yeah, Auntie, you're no baby," the young woman piped up.
"Shut up, Lucy," Hope huffed, then smiled. "I'm going to show off my boyfriend to some more people."
Rueben could feel the heat rise in his face as they all chuckled around him, "Yeah." He waved goodbye to the king of Camelot, his mind trying to keep up with all the royals he greeted during the next half hour. He met her grandparents, Mary Margaret and David/Charming, and their son, Leo - Hope's uncle.
Walking over the lawn, he suddenly spotted Liam with a group of young teenagers. He had no idea who everyone was. But one young woman stood out, her long, dark red hair hanging loosely down her back, a single hair clip keeping it away from her face.
Remembering something from the evening he'd met her parents for the first time, he pointed toward the group, "Look! Think your brother will have any success charming the young lady he's pining over."
"Not if he keeps goofing around with his mates." Hope sighed, shaking her head as she pointed out, "Look, the wee bugger is throwing cake at his friends."
Rueben watched as the throwing of cake evolved into a scuffle among the young men, some jumping upon the other's backs, giving noogies to the ones on the bottom and messing up their hairdos. Shaking his head, Rueben looked over at the group of girls, some laughing hysterically at the boy's antics. But a smaller group, which included the red-head, stood a little further away, huddled together, obviously appalled by what went on in front of them.
"Are they all his friends from school?" Rueben asked.
"Yeah pretty much. A few are from other highschools than Storybrooke High," Hope explained and took his hand. "Not sure my brother will manage to woo Thea like that."
"Nope." Rueben shook his head. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "I could talk to him, I mean give him a few tips on how to properly pursue a lady."
Hope snorted. "Good luck with that." Wrapping her arm around his waist she looked up at him with a smirk on her lips. "So the first rule is to have your lady knock you out with magic?"
"Ha, Ha," Rueben fake laughed. Then in a more serious tone he said, "Our story might not be the ordinary way to do things, but I might be able to help him a bit."
"Yeah, well he's still young, and with a reputation of our father biting at his heels all the time, I guess he's struggling to find his own way." Hope shrugged and placed her hand on his chest, fiddling mindlessly with the ends of his bolo tie.
"I'm sure he will." Rueben placed his hand over hers; the way her fingers were skimming over his shirt was beginning to affect him. When she looked up at him, he asked, "So does he have magic, too?"
"Nope, it doesn't seem so." Hope shrugged.
"Oh, how is he dealing with that?" Rueben wondered.
"He seems pretty cool with it. He claims he loves teasing me with how I mess up my magic all the time." She pursed her lips in thought. "But deep down I think it bothers him a little."
"Good thing magic is not needed to win in love," Rueben mused, nodding ahead of them to silently ask if they should proceed.
"It sort of helped me, didn't it?" Hope winked up at him and followed him.
"It did." Rueben laughed and glanced one last time over his shoulder at the group of teenagers. Their rowdiness seemed to have cooled down, and they'd gathered around a few tables, hanging out. "I'll talk to him. It might help if it's not your father giving advice."
"Yeah. he might even listen to you."
"I'll catch him some other time when he's not around all his friends." Rueben decided and tugged Hope closer to his body.
She nodded and rested her head on his arm while they walked further on. Guests still came to greet the birthday girl, and each time Rueben was introduced as her boyfriend, people congratulated them both on this big news. He began feeling more and more at ease being here with Hope, even if so much attention was on her and them as a couple.
Finally Hope ended their tour by the food tent, where they found their group of friends. They joined them and picked out some food to eat. It was a bit more relaxing to sit here and eat with his friends like this. If only he could ignore the fact that everyone wore some sort of formal wear, he could forget they were at a royal gathering. Most were wearing more modern versions of ball gowns, including Hope, and the men were in formal tuxes or fancy dress shirts, including himself.
Letting his hand shift over the clasp at his bolo tie, he gazed at Hope who was sitting next to him. She was engaged in a deep discussion about something with Rose and Gloria. He had his arm resting around her back and was itching to do what he'd thought about doing the moment he saw her walking down from the plaza. Lifting his hand, he let his fingers brush over her shoulder; her hair was pulled up into an intricate hairdo, showing off her slender neck. Watching her skin rise in goose pimples, he grinned when she shifted in her seat but kept talking with her friends. Leaning in a bit closer, he let his lips touch her shoulder in a tiny butterfly kiss. This made her react.
"Rue?" Her eyes found his, and when she saw the grin on his face, she shook her head. "What are you doing?"
"Distracting you." He waggled his eyebrows, ignoring the catcalls from his friends. "Did it work?"
"Yeah it might've." Hope leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.
"Eh, not sure what the protocol is regarding gifts?" He nervously touched his tie again, her eyes following his fingers.
"Oh, what a beautiful clasp," she exclaimed and reached over to touch the silver eagle. "Is it turquoise?" She touched the small green gemstone on the eagle's chest.
"Yeah, it's a gift from my grandfather." Rueben cleared his throat; all he really wanted was to give her his gift.
"Nice. I really like it." She glanced up at him and leaned in closer, whispering, "It suits you." She placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him. When she pulled back, she grinned, "You said something about a gift?"
"I did, eh… could we maybe go somewhere a bit more private?"
Hope leaped from her seat and pulled him toward the back of the tent they sat next to; it was less crowded back there. She clasped her hands in front of her, looking at him with a huge smile on her face.
"So yeah, I found this… it's not much… but when I saw it, I felt compelled to buy it." Rueben pulled out the small square box from his pants pocket. When her eyes went huge, he quickly added, "Nope I'm not proposing to you… not yet?"
"Wasn't even thinking that. I'm just curious what you found."
Rueben gave her the box, and she gently peeled away the ribbon and opened it. When a small gasp was the only sound she made, he was worried the gift was all wrong. Then he looked at her awed eyes as she gazed at the pendant that was nestled in the black velvet box.
"Oh, Rue, this is beautiful." Her voice was shaking as she touched the butterfly pendant; it was old silver, shaped into the most intricate butterfly wings. The body of the butterfly was a bluish turquoise, and matching turquoise chips adorned the wings. Her fingers followed the contours of the wings, her eyes wide as she touched the gemstone. Her fingers clenched as they'd done so many times when her magic was acting up.
"What is happening?" Rue asked in concern; when he could see some sort of confusion written all over her face, it worried him.
"My magic!" Hope shook her head in amazement. "It reacted to the gemstone. I felt it flow through me like never before." Her blue eyes looked up at him in wonderment, and also a sliver of trepidation was detected.
"Oh really?" Rueben wasn't sure what he could say right now.
"Yeah." She touched the pendant again. "Where did you find this?"
"This old trinket shop down Main Street. I have no idea why I went in there." Rueben rubbed his neck nervously. "The owner is this old codger who sells pretty much everything. When I walked around the shop, I saw it catch a shimmer of sunlight from the windows." He shrugged. "It was rather strange."
"Oh, oh." Her eyes were now wide with excitement. "You told me you have this connection with nature."
"Yeah?"
"This stone it's, you know, nature," she said, as if what she was currently saying made perfect sense, but right now, nothing made sense to Rueben.
Lifting a curious eyebrow, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"The stone spoke to you." She placed her hand over his heart, "Don't you see? This was destined to be found by you."
"You really think so?"
"Yup." She nodded. "I really think you should attempt to tap into this nature-power you have. You might be surprised by what it can do for you."
Rueben had never thought his connection with nature was anything special at all, but thinking back to how compelled he'd felt to buy this pendant, he realized there might be some truth to what she was saying.
"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged and picked up the pendant. "May I?"
Hope nodded, her eyes brimming with happy tears as she turned around so he could fasten the clasp. His fingers grazed over her skin, and he leaned down and kissed her shoulder. "Looks good on you."
"I love this." Her fingers touched the butterfly wings.
Rueben watched as a few sparks of magic passed over her fingers.
She looked down and gasped. "My magic is really doing some strange things tonight."
Rueben turned her around so she was facing him again. "Yeah it does, but you've been practicing a lot, so it makes sense. And you're turning 21 today. Maybe that is significant?"
"I have no idea." She released the pendant and let her hands slide over his white dress shirt. Her fingers wrapped around his bolo tie, and she used it to pull him down for a kiss. Her other hand slid behind his neck, holding him close. He had his hair tied back with a thick leather strap, so she couldn't run her fingers through his long hair. She did find the small hairs at his nape, her fingertips caressing his skin. He closed the gap between them and kissed her.
She groaned in response, quickly opening up her mouth to let her tongue seek out his. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. The noises from the party happening on the other side of the tent were just a low hum in the background. The combined beating of their hearts was the only noise they heard.
She let go of his tie and wrapped both her arms around him, rising up on her tiptoes, their bodies now flush against the other. Rueben let his hands glide over her back and up her sides, the material of her gown sliding easily under his fingers. His fingers found the slight plunging back side of her dress. He felt her shiver when he traced the contours of her shoulders.
Suddenly, he felt her jerk in his arms, and he pulled back in alarm, looking down at her huge eyes as she blinked up at him in wonder. Something fizzled in the air around them, crackling much more than it did when she exploded the lamp posts. A bluish shimmer hovered around them, but it didn't scare him.
"What?" He hoped he hadn't done anything wrong with the way he kissed. It felt so perfect and good.
"I… my… my magic."
"Yeah?"
"It's stronger!"