Pure

Rose Red was a bundle of nerves as she waited for the sun to rise. Her cousin, Snow White, had come to visit, to spend her birthday with her cousin. It was her first birthday after she had gotten a new mother and, as it drew nearer, Snow hadn't felt ready to celebrate such an important day with the woman just yet. Especially given how her first mother had died so close to her birthday, there was also a lingering fear that her new mother might fall ill and pass as well, that her birthday was somehow cursed now. To avoid all of that, she had begged her father to spend it with her Aunt and Uncle and cousin in their kingdom. Leopold hadn't been pleased with the thought of missing his daughter's birthday, but he could never deny his daughter anything if it would make her happy. He did, though, plan for an extravagant party when she returned to surprise her, though Snow was not to know, as Rose's father had told her, and so she wouldn't say a word.

Snow had arrived late last night, some delays on the road there, a fallen tree that had to be moved out of the way. She had been so tired she'd only managed a few bites of a small supper the kitchens prepared before going right to bed. And while Rose knew her cousin must be exhausted, she was just too excited to wait very much longer. She had the best, the BEST, present planned for her cousin and she and Snow would have to start early in order for her to get it with enough time to go back to the castle for supper.

She had it all planned out, they would go to the kitchens for a very quick breakfast where one of the cooks would have a small basket of food prepared for a picnic. She would lead Snow through the woods to the spot she'd found, set up for a picnic and make her think that was the present, a lovely little picnic, just the two of them. And then she would casually mention the song she was working on and ask if her cousin might listen and tell her what she thought…and then the surprise! Oh Snow was going to love it, she just knew it in her heart and soul, Snow would absolutely adore the surprise.

She just…she just had to get Snow there first and as much as she wanted to go right that very second, her father had made her promise to wait at least till the sun was awake too before waking her cousin.

She may or may not have contemplated whether her magic and her music was strong enough to make the sun rise faster.

And she may or may not have tried it.

It didn't work.

So now she was standing on her tip toes at the window of her room, bouncing on her toes as she watched the horizon. She probably should have slept, her magic was never as good, her focus never as sharp, when she was tired, but she was sure she wouldn't have that problem today. She was far, FAR too excited about giving Snow her present. She felt her only issue would be trying to play the song she'd made slower than her excitement would call for, she didn't want to speed through it and risk that it wouldn't work. She had gone to her secret spot every day for the past week, trying the song in different ways, different keys, different speeds, and she was quite sure she'd finally gotten it right.

Ooh, she wished the sun would wake up faster! This really was a cruel torture to make her wait to give her cousin the very best gift she would ever get in her life, she was sure of it.

She let out a little gasp when she saw the barest sliver of light starting to peek out in the distance, a teeny tiny streak of reddish-yellow that signaled the dawn was coming.

Well, that was good enough for her!

She did a little hop in place before she turned and ran to her door, tugging it open and hurrying down the hall where Snow's designated room was. It was a room she knew her parents had set aside for other children they might have, it was just…none came after her. Her mother had mentioned to her once that Sirens could sometimes take a very long while to create a baby, but that they came very fast after that, faster than humans did at least. Her parents weren't overly concerned that they'd only had one heir and a girl no less, her father adored her and he had told her often enough that he would be happy if they had another child or happy if they didn't, so long as his family was safe and healthy. One child was more than enough for him and as for being a girl? He would only smile at her mother fondly and remark about the strength and wisdom of women and how he had no doubts she'd make a fine Queen in her own right.

If she was being honest, she preferred not to have a sibling, not yet at least. She had Snow, and her cousin was more like a sister to her anyway, she wasn't ready to share her cousin or her parents with anyone else

She shook her head from her thoughts as she reached Snow's door and shoved it open, momentarily huffing that Snow hadn't even shut the door all the way in the first place. The halls could get a bit chilly at night and it would defeat the purpose of building a fire or using blankets if the chill crept in anyway.

Honestly, her cousin took SO much looking after and she was supposed to be the oldest!

But as soon as she saw Snow curled up on her bed in a nest of pillows, her blankets around her like a cocoon, she squealed and raced over to the bed, "Snow!" she shouted, before launching herself onto the bed, causing it to bounce and Snow to groan at the jarring sensation.

Snow must have truly been tired for normally the girl would leap up on the bed with a gasp whenever Rose would do that. Instead she'd only rolled onto her back and huffed about it, "Rosie," Snow moaned, "It's not even dawn!"

"It is so," Rose argued, scrambling off the other side of the bed to the curtains and pulling one to the side, "See, Frosty? Sunlight!"

Snow peeked her head out from her blankets, cracking one eye open and rolling it, "That's a streak of sunlight, not the sun itself."

"It can't be sunlight without the sun," Rose argued, moving back to the bed and climbing on a bit more gently than before, sitting on the edge of it with one leg dangling off the side, "Come on, Snow!" she urged, trying to tug the blanket from her cousin but this was the part where Snow being older came into play, she was a little stronger and bigger and had a much better hold on it than Rose could get.

"Rose, I love you, but I'm tired," Snow grumbled, tugging the blanket from her grip and throwing it over her head now that the curtains weren't in place to block out the rising sun.

"But Snow…"

"WHY are you even awake?" Snow continued, her voice muffled from the blanket, sounding half a whine, "Normally you're the one I can never get out of bed, not the other way around."

Rose crossed her arms, rolling her eyes because that was completely and utterly…true, unfortunately. She normally did have trouble waking up, but only sometimes! And it was usually when there were people in the castle she wasn't familiar with. She would hear their songs drifting up and it would keep her from sleeping and then she'd notice all the other natural noises around, ones she wouldn't normally pay mind to but couldn't ignore because now she was actively hearing it. She wouldn't fall asleep till very late and it made waking up hard.

"I WAS going to give you your birthday present," Rose muttered, "But if you don't want it…" she moved to get off the bed, or at least made a show of it, until Snow threw the covers off her head and sat up, beaming, just as Rose knew she would.

"A present?" Snow asked, her eyes wide.

Rose giggled, "Mhmm, it's a surprise."

"Oh, come on, Rose, give me a hint?" Snow pressed, jutting out her lip and quivering it while opening her eyes wide.

"It's in the woods," was all Rose offered, "So it will take a while to walk to, which is why I wanted to wake you early, so we could be back in time for supper."

Snow blinked at her, "It's going to take that long?"

Rose chuckled, "You always get distracted in the forest!" she defended, "I thought I should give more time just in case."

Snow's eyes narrowed, but she couldn't argue, she DID tend to get distracted in the woods. It was just…there were so many pretty flowers and such large trees and the cutest little animals and how was someone supposed to just trek through it and not appreciate nature?

"So come on," Rose smiled, patting Snow's knee, "Get dressed and meet me at the kitchens."

Snow sighed but nodded, "This better be worth it, Rose," she threated as much as she ever could threaten her cousin, it always came out more teasing than anything. Even if the surprise was horrible, she'd still enjoy the time spent with the girl anyway so it would always be worth it.

"It will," Rose promised, beaming as she hopped off the bed and scurried to the door to get ready herself.

~8~

"You should be nicer to them, you know," Snow remarked as she and Rose walked through the halls of the castle, having just left the kitchens and their quick breakfast, carrying a large wicker basket between them.

"Who?" Rose asked.

"The cooks," she said, "You're always playing tricks on them, maybe that's why they're not so polite to you."

Rose scoffed, "They're mean to me because they don't like me, Snow, not because of the tricks. And I only play the tricks on them when they're mean to me. If they were nice, I'd stop."

Snow frowned at that, "What do you mean, they're mean to you?"

Rose looked away at that, she hadn't meant for Snow to pick up on that, she'd hoped her cousin would just brush it aside with a remark that she should 'be the better person' and 'be nice first' and things. She sighed, "They…say things. Sometimes. That's all."

Snow stopped just as they reached the courtyard, forcing her to stop and face her too, "What things? What do they say?"

"It's nothing, Snow…"

"It's not," Snow insisted, "If you're playing tricks because of it, then it's not nothing. It's upset you."

"I don't want to ruin your birthday."

"It'll be ruined if I don't know what's hurting my cousin."

Rose sighed, "They just…talk, about me and mother, what we are. They don't think I hear them, because they're in their own little room in the kitchens. But I do."

Snow frowned even more, sensing and hearing in her tone that she didn't want to repeat what exactly the women said and that wasn't right. She wasn't even hesitating because it was her birthday, Rose was keeping quiet because she didn't want to say the words aloud, to repeat them, to hear them again. She heard the cooks in her own castle gossiping at times, she knew they often talked of their employers, of her and her father, of her old mother and new mother, but they always had the nicest things to say.

It was jarring to know that people working for her uncle would not be kind to the man's daughter or wife.

Well, she'd just have to talk to her Uncle Ethan about it.

"They don't know you, Rose," Snow said instead, starting to walk once more, "If they knew you, they'd be kinder. Your tricks probably don't help."

Rose gave her a small smile for letting it go, "No more talk about that, I have a surprise for you!" she perked up, "We need to get started or we won't make it there by lunch."

Snow chuckled, "Lead the way."

~8~

It really had taken them half the morning to reach the spot Rose had picked out, exactly as she thought it would. Every time they came to any area that had some lovely flowers growing wildly around, Snow would stop and pick some, a gift for her aunt on their return. Whenever they spotted a chipmunk or a squirrel, Snow would squeal and try to get close to it, to feed it some bread from their basket and beam delightedly when, once or twice, she managed to do it before the animal scurried off. And each time they neared an enormous tree so thick around it would take four of them to circle it, Snow would walk right up close and stare up at the leaves and the sunlight just barely making it through the thick branches.

All in all, Rose was truly surprised they made it to the spot before nightfall. It was a good thing that she had plotted this path, a little less direct than it could have been, but bypassing the small pond the other path would take. Snow would probably try to wade into it and see if there were any fish and then she'd try to collect water to feed to any animals on the way. It also bypassed the very large meadow filled with beautiful flowers, more than they'd passed so far. The last thing she wanted, even though this was Snow's day, was for her cousin to get distracted making her a flower crown to wear. She always felt like bees came to her more when she wore them and she was not in the mood to be stung seven times...again.

"We're here!" she declared as she hurried over to a very large oak tree. It was a smaller meadow, more like a somewhat circular space between the trees and bushes about the size of her chambers at the castle. So not as wide and open as it could be, but it was safe and tucked away, spacious enough for what she had planned. It was also sunny and beautiful with majestic trees and a small stream tricking off to the side.

"What's the surprise?" Snow asked immediately, rushing after her as she set the basket down.

Rose chuckled, "Patience, Snow," she teased, before pulling the blanket out of the pack at her side and spreading it out on the floor so their clothes wouldn't get dirty or stained. She gestured for Snow to sit and moved to kneel beside the basket herself, starting to pull out the various foods she'd requested, all of Snow's favorite things to eat, and set them down on the blanket. She smiled as she saw Snow's growing delight at all the choices and that they were all the ones she would love to eat. She waited till it was all finished before she plopped down to face her cousin, "Go on," she nodded.

Snow immediately lunged for the piece of cake sitting on a plate, grabbing a fork to take a big bite of it. Rose laughed at the sight, the girl who was always the proper princess and doing the right thing forgoing her favorite fruits and meats to eat the dessert first. Well, it WAS her birthday, she was entitled to eat anything she wanted in any order she chose.

"Is this the surprise?" Snow smiled at her, "I love it!"

Rose looked down with a small smile on her face, pleased to hear it. Her cousin really was so simple and easy to please, something like this would be a delight to her.

"No," Rose told her, "No, it's only PART of your surprise."

"There's more?!" Snow's gaze drifted to the basket, as though wondering if something else had been snuck in there that she hadn't seen when the basket was put together while they broke their fast.

"I um…" Rose shifted where she sat, picking up a small grape and munching on it for something to distract her. She was suddenly so nervous that this wasn't going to work, "I wrote a song."

"Really?" Snow's eyes were wide, her fork halfway to her mouth as she froze before setting it down, entirely focused on her cousin, "Let me hear it! Please! Please, Rosie? It's my birthday!'

Rose shook her head at her cousin's antics, truly unsure if Snow was genuinely that excited to hear it or was just being kind and supportive. Snow knew how much she struggled with her magic, her songs, her lessons that her mother gave her for what she was and how to control it all. Snow knew she was also very hesitant about anyone hearing her practicing or playing besides her mother and father, and sometimes Snow. Whenever Snow was around, sometimes she would play less and skip on her lessons and practice. Because with Snow there, there was the chance to not be a Siren-in-training but just a girl, a person playing and spending time with her family, normal. For her to offer to play something, and not just practice or something she'd been taught, but a song she'd written herself…it was something she knew Snow would encourage.

She just hadn't expected the girl to be so enthusiastic about it.

Most people got very still and tense whenever she would even hum around them, to have someone actually WANT to hear her play was refreshing…and made her even more nervous because if this didn't work, well, at least the song would be nice, but she wanted this to work so badly, so Snow could have a wonderful gift. Because Snow was a wonderful gift herself.

"Ok," Rose cleared her throat and reached into the small pack she'd brought with her, to where she'd placed a small playing pipe at the bottom of it. She'd tried this song on a few other instruments, the flute, a panpipe, with just her voice, and it worked best with this simple little pipe, "Um…" she frowned a moment, "I have to turn around," she told Snow, "It…I've never played it in front of anyone before. It shouldn't affect you, but…"

"Whatever you need to do," Snow urged her, completely understanding and growing more curious by the second. She'd thought it was just a simple song, but if Rose was worried about it affecting her, then it was going to be a magic song! Oh she loved seeing Rose working on that, having magic and learning how to use it. She hated when the girl struggled but loved it when she got something right and just beamed.

Rose nodded and wiggled on her seat to turn and face the clearing. She took a breath, trying to still her shaking hands and racing heart, she really really wanted this to work for Snow.

She closed her eyes and took another breath, using that to focus, she had to make this work and for it to work she had to be calm. She lifted the pipe to her lips and began to play the melody that had become so familiar to her over the last few days. She kept her eyes closed, focusing on the tune, on the notes, on the magic she could feel bubbling inside her, always keeping in mind that this was for Snow, this was a gift for her…

She only opened her eyes when she heard Snow gasp behind her and fought off the smile threatening to ruin the last part of the song when she saw it had worked!

There, just on the other side of the small hollow, were two unicorns!

There was an older one and a small one, likely mother and child, that had wandered in, their heads tilting as they looked at her, drawn there by her magic and her song, calm and unafraid, feeling safe. Rose let out a little breath as she song faded away, slowly lowering her pipe and looking back at Snow, the girl sitting there on her knees, with wide eyes, her hands over her mouth, completely stunned and so incredibly happy.

"Rose…" she breathed, beaming as she lowered her hands, "It's unicorns!"

"Happy Birthday, Snow," Rose offered.

Snow looked at her, almost surprised but slowly catching up on what had happened, "You did this for me?" she asked, tears in her eyes now, happy ones.

"You've been so sad and so afraid the closer it got to your birthday," Rose shrugged simply, "I wanted to make you happy. Are you happy?"

"I'm thrilled!" Snow laughed, looking between her and the unicorns which had wandered over to the stream to drink, "Do you think I could touch one?"

Rose had to think about that a moment, "I never tried, but I was working on the song so…" she shrugged again.

"I'm gonna try it," Snow declared, leaning forward to grab a few chopped pieces of carrot off a plate and got up, slowly approaching the unicorns with the treat.

Rose remained by the blanket, watching, her pipe clutched in her hand as she kept it ready incase the unicorns needed to be startled into fleeing or distracted if they tried to hurt Snow. But she shouldn't have been so nervous, her cousin radiated purity and goodness and the unicorns seemed to sense that, wandering over to her as she approached, curious about this human girl and the food she had.

Rose smiled, watching as Snow held out the carrot to the little unicorn, giggling when it ate it fight out of her palm before she offered the bigger stick to the mother, using her now-free hand to pet the side of it and seeming to bop in place when the unicorn allowed it.

"Rose!" Snow shouted over to her, continuing to pet the unicorn with one hand and eagerly gesturing her over with the other, "Come here! Come pet them!"

Rose nodded, setting the pipe aside, seeing it was safe, and got up, hurrying over and stopping short when the mother unicorn gave a warning snort and backed away.

"Shh, shh," Snow soothed it, stepping over and petting it again, glancing at her, "You need to approach slower," she reminded her cousin.

Rose nodded and waited a moment for the unicorn to calm more before she slowly began to shuffle nearer, trying her hand with the baby, reaching out for it carefully, frowning as the baby stamped its foot, huffing, and stepping in place like it wasn't sure what to do. Just as her hand nearly reached the baby's snout, the mother gave a more forceful whinny, rearing up on her hind legs a moment, moving backwards as she came down, turning and bolting out of the hollow with her baby, fleeing.

Rose remained frozen, her hand still halfway up, before she lowered it, bowing her head, "My apologies, Snow," she murmured, "I didn't mean to ruin your surprise…"

Snow merely moved over to her and hugged her tight, "It was a wonderful surprise," she told her cousin, pulling away slightly to smile at her, "I love it. I got to pet a unicorn!" she cheered.

"And then they ran away," Rose reminded her, "Because of me," she sighed, "I…the song is pure enough to attract them, but…I'm not pure enough to touch them."

"Don't say something like that, Rose," Snow frowned.

"It's true though," Rose shrugged, turning to go sit back on the blanket, more than a little dejected, "They…they must have sensed I'm not human."

"You ARE human," Snow moved to sit beside her, taking her hand.

"I'm HALF human."

"Still human," Snow nudged her, "Still my cousin. Still wonderful enough to call them here in the first place."

Rose was quiet a long while, enough that it made Snow frown to see the tears prickling at the corner of her cousin's eyes, "What's wrong, Rosie?" she asked gently, reaching out with her other hand to hold Rose's in both of hers.

Rose sniffed, "Apologies," she repeated, "I'm just ruining everything."

"That's not true," Snow shook her head, "You made a great picnic and a beautiful song and you got a unicorn to appear! So what if they scurried off? I scared away dozens of chipmunks!"

"Because you're bigger than them, Frosty," Rose reminded her, "Not because you're…you're too dark or inhuman…"

"Rose, stop saying that!" Snow huffed, "It's not true!"

"It IS though," Rose turned to her, sniffling again, "I just…I wanted to call the unicorns because…because you'd love them and…and if I COULD…then…then maybe I'm not such a dark-creature like the cooks say and…"

"Is that what they say about you?" Snow frowned, "They call you a creature?"

She sounded so offended that Rose cracked a small smile, "They aren't wrong," she sighed, "My mother is a Siren," she recited, a lesson she had heard far too many times in too many forms, "Sirens are dark creatures. I am half a Siren, therefore I am half a dark creature…"

"Rose…"

"It's not up for debate, Snow, it's a fact," Rose looked at her, "It's what I am, it's how I was born. I can't help that. I…I CAN help what I do with it," Rose looked down at the pipe, using her other hand to fiddle with it, "I have dark magic…but…that doesn't mean I have to use it just for dark things, right?" she looked out at the trees, at where the unicorns had been, "Light magic can be used to hurt people, like…like if you use it to lift up a rock and crush someone," Snow winced at the thought, "So…so why can't dark magic be used to help people?" she looked at Snow, "I can use my magic, my dark magic, to call a unicorn and make my cousin smile, that's good right? That's light?"

"It is," Snow nodded, smiling softly, understanding, "It's very light."

Rose nodded as well, "Then what else can I use it for? I've been thinking about it a lot," she admitted, "I…I don't want to be a villain, Snow, just because of how I was born."

She swallowed hard, just barely managing not to flinch. Seeing the Blue Fairy again when Aunt Eva died…she'd been unable to help thinking about it all again, what the woman had said, the warning she'd given.

"I can use my magic to…to take away pain," Rose offered, "Or…help people sleep. Or calm someone down when they're angry. I can use it to make people stop hurting other people or…or make people feel braver when they need to be. Can't I? Can't I still be good even though I'm dark?"

Snow leaned in and pulled her cousin into a tight hug, "You can be," she promised the girl, understanding even more now about why this was upsetting her so much. It went beyond just a 'ruined surprise.' It hit too close to home.

To have a unicorn, the most pure, light, magical being in the realms shy away from her, be afraid of her, not want her to touch it…it would be upsetting to anyone. But her cousin struggled so much, with not being as dark as true Sirens were, with not letting her instincts get the better of her, with not scaring other people with how she viewed the world. She tried so hard to be herself but be a better version of herself, more than just her creature half, that to be reminded of it, that all her efforts still hadn't amounted to anything? It hurt.

"I'll help you, Rose," Snow added, pulling back, "I'll think of more things you can use your magic for and more ways you can help people. Just you watch," she reached out to wipe the tears off Rose's face, "People will see, they'll see how you really are and they'll love you as much as I do. Half-Siren and all."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Snow nodded, "Look at what you did here," she gestured not just to the stream and the trees but the picnic, "A bad person wouldn't have done this much just to make me smile," she smiled widely for more effect.

"Many thanks, Snow," Rose smiled in return, taking a breath and nodded, "You're right," she declared, "I can be more than what I am."

"Exactly!"

"But, what I am, is also very hungry," she admitted with a laugh, eager to change the subject from what happened and keep that smile on Snow's face, "Luring unicorns takes a lot out of you!"

"I imagine," Snow laughed, "Come on, there's SO much food!"

She remained sitting beside Rose there rest of their picnic, eating all her favorite foods, with a few more animals lured in by Rose humming so that she could feed more chipmunks and squirrels and even a baby deer!

And when they returned to the castle for supper…she had a few words with the cooking staff about how to be polite to another human being, emphasizing HUMAN being.

That ought to put them in their place.

A/N: Oh Snow, it certainly won't put them in their place :(

I felt like with how much conflict we've had between Snow and Piper, we needed a little reminder of the bond they used to have :( I also liked the irony here, that theme of using dark for good and light for bad, that possibility. Like with Emma and Gold and how they used the Dark One's magic to help people, and how Blue and other heroes can use their light magic to harm people :(

For a very long time Piper really struggled with her Siren side, we see her embrace it and use it so much as an adult, but being a child and having someone like Snow White as a cousin, it sort of makes you seem darker in comparison just existing :( I also wanted to touch on this thought of Rose growing up to be more than what she is, which is true, she very much does, but not in the way she or Snow ever expected. And also to touch on that intrinsic and biological darkness in Piper, even something like a unicorn can sense it in her. Even if she's not fully dark then, she's still a little girl, she hasn't done anything...it still can't stand being near her because of that natural darkness, which also doesn't help :(

In the show, I feel like there are some characters where they are set up and the way their story goes it sort of leaves them little room to ever become anything different than a hero or villain. Like there's just no room for them to become something else, everything is pushing them down the one road and only that road. Like Regina, having Cora as a mother, Blue turn her back on helping her, Rumpelstiltskin as a mentor, could she really have been anything else but the Evil Queen? Or Snow, with her loving parents, supportive family, adoring kingdom, friends found in exile, true love willing to fight beside her, could she have ever been a villain?

It's sort of like that for Piper, she really had next to no chance to really be a hero or even somewhat light with events and situations like this :( Every turn of her life is a reminder that she was born dark, that she's not human and half creature and how people view that :( Even with Snow there as a figure to look to, we saw the beginnings of Piper going down a darker path as she grew older, despite Snow being a constant presence in her life :(

I also felt like this is something we've seen a lot, Rose reminding Snow that she's not fully human and she's part Siren. And Snow's automatic response is 'but you're not!' or 'you're half HUMAN too!' and 'you can be better!' Which is sort of telling that, even back then, as children, Snow did love her cousin, but on some level only really accepted the human part of her and, in her own way, gave signals that Rose should try and push down the non-human part of her. She says she accepts Rose, even being what she is, and maybe she truly believes that. But some of her actions and words are telling, and maybe she doesn't even realize it can come across like that :(

I know unicorns in the show can show someone the future, but that's if the horn is touched and here Snow just pets it and doesn't touch the horn ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I can say we will definitely see a Piper-Milah confrontation before this story ends };)

I didn't get why they went for Hook and not other people they lost :/ I took it as they didn't know they could retrieve anyone until Hook sort of opened that path to the Underworld and sparked the idea :/ In this story, it's more Emma's guilt over what she did, putting that on Hook, testing him, and then forcing him into a position where he had to die to stop him, and her sort of holding onto their potential future with a death grip that's guiding her quest :/ She does care about him and love him in the story, but she also doesn't know how their relationship would go and she's sick and tired of supernatural things being the reason why she misses out on love, like Graham having his heart crushed or Walsh turning into a flying monkey, or Neal dying because of magic and so on. If a relationship is going to fail she wants to know it's just because it wouldn't work and not because it was torn away from her :( Emma may still come to that realization that she and Hook aren't right for each other, but she wants the chance to find that out and not have it taken from her. But I agree, I would have rather Bae been saved than Hook. But I can say we might see Bae again in some way before the series is over ;)

Piper is about 21 weeks along by this point. She was around 17-18 weeks when they arrived in Storybrooke from Camelot, and I think I read somewhere that the Dark Swan in Storybrooke was about 3 weeks. So she's a little more than 5 months along, in human terms. Not even she's sure where she stands in terms of how her Siren biology might affect the pregnancy as they are shorter than human ones, so we'll have to wait and see for that ;) But I don't think it's bad at all, I think Milah deserves a bit of a kicking ;)