Too close

The window asked for a oneshot of Emma being 15 and in the EF with her parents. She gets scared at night and crawls into bed with her parents to sleep between them.

Snowing had made it their mission since the birth of their firstborn that they would be protected from the enemies that had tried to hurt them so many times. They did their best to give their children normal childhoods, balanced with protecting them from the dangers being the children of Snow White and Prince Charming brought up. They thought they were doing a fairly good job of getting the balance right for all their children…that was until the Falling Leaves Ball that was held every year at the three quarter sun. Right in their own home.

Some of George's still loyal knights had used the mascaraed theme of the Ball to sneak into Snow and Charming's palace undetected by their own guards. Along with them, they had brought a new recruit. A new recruit who had magical powers. They used the new recruit to create a scene. While he was escorted to the dungeon, two of the other followers of George had snapped a magic preventing cuff on Emma and held a sword to her throat. It was only through the intensive training that Snow and Charming's knights went through (along with assistance from a fuming Charming) that they were able to get the young princess back relatively unharmed. She was severely shaken after the incident, understandably. It had been the first time Emma had realised how much of a target was on her back. She of course knew of all the enemies her parents had gathered, but she hadn't thought about the risk to her and her siblings until now.

It had taken Snow and Charming well over an hour to convince Emma that she was safe to sleep that night. Extra guards were posted all around the castle, particularly outside the bedrooms of the young royals. Blue had also cast extra magical protection over the whole palace and its grounds. Even still, Emma's sleep was riddled with nightmares and flashbacks. She didn't know how long she'd been tossing and turning for when yet another nightmare struck her where George's knights had been able to take her away to George's dungeon. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't be alone tonight. She didn't feel safe, and there was only two people who would be able to make her feel safe. Emma got out of her bed, wrapping her dressing gown around her quickly to chase off the early morning chill. She slipped her feet into her slippers and shuffled to the doorway, carefully opening the door.

"Your Highness?" Emma jumped at the quiet voice. She turned to the direction of the voice and saw a now startled looking member of the guard. "I'm sorry for frightening you. I should have been more thoughtful after last night's events…do you require to go to the washroom? Do you wish me to find a female member of the guard…"

"No thank you." Emma interrupted him. "I do not need to visit the washroom. I'm going to see my parents." The guard seemed hesitant.

"Aren't your parents likely to be asleep at this hour, Princess Emma?" He said gently.

"I know." Emma said quietly. "I just…need to speak with them." The guard knew Emma wasn't being entirely truthful, but he also sympathised. He had a young daughter of his own, and he couldn't imagine her having to go through the scare the princess had just been through.

"Come on." He said gently. "I shall escort you to their quarters." Emma smiled gratefully, allowing the guard to take her through the corridors to her parents' room. He said something discreetly to the guard in charge of her parents' room that night before opening the door for her.

"Thank you." Emma said gratefully.

"Any time." The guard whispered back, before closing the door behind her. Emma allowed herself a moment to gather her thoughts before walking up to her mother's side of the bed.

"Mama?" Emma whispered, gently shaking her mother's shoulder. "Mama? Are you awake?" Snow's eyes opened. She turned to face Emma. She sat up when, in the pale moonlight, she could see how bloodshot her eyes were.

"Oh sweetheart." Snow murmured, sitting up. She took Emma's hand and guided her to sit beside her, before pulling Emma into her arms. Charming awoke at the small commotion. He saw their eldest being comforted by Snow and understood. He sat up and began rubbing circles on Emma's back. The siege had been hard for them too, after all, it forced them to realise that their children were still vulnerable, no matter how much protection they had in place. They could only imagine how Emma was feeling.

"You're safe." Charming reminded her. "We're not going to let anybody hurt you again. We'll look after you, baby." Emma nodded, resting her head on her mom's shoulder. Snow gently guided Emma so that she was lying down in the middle of their bed. If Snow and Charming were honest, they were kind of relieved that Emma had come through to them. Neither were sleeping well with Emma through in her room by herself, but they thought being fifteen she would be completely against coming in with them. It was just so clear that Emma had been the target. So clear they had wanted to take their baby girl.

Snow wrapped one arm loosely around Emma's waist, the contact instantly making the mother feel more secure knowing her baby was definitely out of harm's way when she was with them. Charming then pulled both Snow and Emma closer to him, keeping them safe. True, they had four other children they were worried about, but that night, Emma was the concern, it was Emma who needed to know she was safe that night, and so it was Emma they would hold through the night.