If the last chapter was the calm before the storm, this is the tsunami…
Chapter Nineteen: Losing Her Again
Snow was so happy to see August and Emma reunited. There was no doubting that her daughter just seemed happier now that she could talk to her brother whenever she wanted. The bond between them was so special and it wasn't something that she wanted to see disappear ever again. She just hoped that when Emma found out the truth-whatever it was-about Derek, that it only brought them closer together rather than tear them apart.
A few days after the reunion, Jefferson called the Charming family to his home. He had been seen out for the first time since anyone could remember, Grace never far from his side. The two were so happy together and it brought joy to everyone. The curse had stolen so much from people, it was good to see that a lot of it could be remedied. He said he had a gift for them all.
"I really don't need a reward," Emma tried to tell him once they arrived at his mansion.
He simply gave her a smile. "It's not just for you, it's for the town. You see, while we were all cursed, I tried desperately to get back to our land. I figured it'd be the one way to get Gracie to remember who she really was." He looked over at his daughter, who matched his smile. "But, since the land had no magic, none of my attempts worked."
"You made portals in our land, didn't you?" Charming asked as he tried to remember the little he had found out about him since the met.
Jefferson nodded. "I did. With these." He held up a top hat. "Even when magic returned, I couldn't get it to work. But with Emma's magic, I bet we could get it to work."
Emma beamed, taking it into her hand. "Do you think this could be enough to carry all of the residents?"
"I'm not sure about that. Most of my hats got destroyed recently, I suspect that Zelena had something to do with that, she broke into my shop the other day." He sighed but then quickly recovered. "I do have another one, though." He held up an identical hat. "This should be enough to transport everyone who wants to go back home."
Emma looked from the hats to her parents with nothing but joy on her face. The had similar looks. Finally, they could do it. They knew it was only the beginning of some problems, like where Emma would live, but it was something they were ready to deal with together. As a family.
"We cannot thank you enough for this, Jefferson," Charming said, shaking hands with him.
"It's no trouble. I'm going to try to make more, just to be on the safe side."
"We'll hold a meeting so everyone can be prepared," Snow decided, going into planning mode. She turned to August. "Do you think you could get everyone at town hall by this afternoon?"
"Definitely. I'll get Papa to help me out," he agreed.
The rest of the morning was pretty busy. Charming went to talk with Graham about logistics of making sure the town was safe to go and Snow decided to give Regina a heads up about all of this. She wasn't quite sure how her step-mother would react to all of this. Emma was with August for the most part as they went around town to get people to go to the last-minute meeting. Eventually though, August had to run back and get Jiminy. He didn't like leaving Emma alone, but figured that Snow and Charming would be arriving soon.
As it became time for the meeting, Charming, Snow and August were still nowhere to be seen. Jefferson stood beside Emma as the crowd grew restless in front of them. Among the people in the front included the dwarves, Blue and Geppetto. Emma shifted from one foot to another, feeling a little anxious. She still hated speaking in front of groups.
"Maybe we should just get started," Jefferson muttered into her ear.
"But Snow and Charming aren't here, they're the king and queen."
"You're the princess and the savior," he pointed out. "I'll help you explain it. They already know what's going on. Just get on with it."
Emma looked out into the crowd, feeling a little sick to her stomach. She managed to shake it off and put on a smile as she stepped up to the mic.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Storybrooke, I'd like to thank you for coming to this meeting. I know it was very short notice but I have some exciting news. We have found a way to go back home," she announced.
Chatter picked up among the crowd again. Many looked suspicious. As happy as they were to have a chance to go back home, they knew how hard portal jumping was. Blue, especially, didn't look trusting of them.
"I'm sure many of you have questions," Emma attempted to speak above the crowd. "I'd be happy to answer what I can, plus Jefferson here, he's the one who made the hats that will transport us so he can be of some assistance as well."
Jefferson seemed to be the saving grace. A lot of the citizens recognized him and knew of his reputation. There were lots of questions coming left and right, Emma and Jefferson did their best to answer them all. Little by little, people seemed to be feeling a lot better about everything. Emma smiled widely. This was working, maybe she could make it as their princess when they returned home.
Suddenly the door opened. Emma expected to see her family, but instead caught glimpse of Rumpelstiltskin. She had thought it was odd when he didn't show up to the meeting in the first place. Slowly but surely, he made his way through the crowd.
"So, I heard that you have a way for us to get back home," he said.
Emma nodded. "That's right."
"Those two hats are the way, I presume?"
"Yes."
Rumple looked over at Jefferson and gave him a small smile, they had done work together back in the Enchanted Forest. "If I recall correctly, those hats aren't meant to transport too many people."
"That's why we have two," she explained. "It should be just about enough, plus Jefferson is going to work on making more."
"Well, that'd work out, if you had two."
Emma's brows furrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"We had a deal, Princess," he told her, stepping onto the stage and crossing to her. "I help you, you owe me a favor."
A small gasp fell across the crowd, which only further confused Emma. She didn't know just how dangerous it was to make a deal with him, not yet anyway. Suddenly, one of the hats she was holding, was in his hand.
"Hey!" She exclaimed.
"I'm cashing in my favor."
Her eyes widened upon realization.
"Wait," she tried to take it back, but he was too quick. "We're using this hat to go back, isn't that what you want?"
"I want to find my son and I know for a fact that he's nowhere in the Enchanted Forest. I'll be using this to find him."
Emma felt her stomach sink. On the one hand, of course she understood his side of things. She had stopped at nothing to come to this land and break the curse. She could've endangered people in what she had done and had left her older sister to worry. On the other, this felt wrong. This affected so many others. Yet, she knew she had no one to blame but herself. Rumple had every right to cash on in his deal. Even if it meant that all of them were screwed.
"Please," she pleaded. "Please don't do this."
"I'm sorry," he replied and for a minute, he almost sounded sincere. "Best of luck." He snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of red smoke.
She didn't want to turn back to face the crowd, she felt that she couldn't. All the eyes were on her. They were silent for the moment and it felt so uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face them all. She was right, no one looked pleased.
Grumpy was the first to speak. "You made a deal with him?"
"I…I didn't know much about him," Emma tried to defend herself. "When I got here, I just wanted to find my parents. So…so I could break the curse!"
"You made a deal practically with the devil himself! How stupid could you be!"
It felt like a smack to the face from her would-be godfather. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"We thought we could trust you, savior," Blue let out a tsk. "You let us all down."
The room erupted into everyone speaking at once. They were all talking about how they were all stuck again, how they blamed Emma. The people that had been praising her just moments earlier for finding a way, were now angry with her. Some were saying some pretty nasty things, using words that Emma would never have repeated herself. At first, she felt the heat go to her cheeks, but then anger built up inside of her. She had only made the deal with Rumple for the good of them all. She didn't know what he was planning, how could she have? She was only one person, a teenager at that! She didn't know what she was doing! It was upon hearing Blue mutter "Some savior she is", that Emma snapped.
"Shut up!" She shouted into the mic. That shut everyone up. It was at that moment that Snow, Charming and August entered through the back with Jiminy and Graham. "I have been trying! For all of you! In between getting to know my family and stopping Zelena from killing you all, I have been working on getting us home! That all started with me breaking the curse! I did what any one of you would've done and this is how you repaid me? I'm only one person!"
Snow didn't know what had caused her daughter's sudden outburst but she recognized that look on her face. She had felt the same way when her father had gone out of the kingdom, leaving her and Regina alone to rule. Everyone turned to her for answers and she didn't have any. How could she have? She was just a child, just as Emma was. She rushed to the stage, her husband and August following close behind, ready to comfort Emma.
"I didn't have to come here!" Emma continued her rant. "I had another life, it was a good one! But I did it, for people I barely knew! Because I thought it was the right thing. Now I realize how stupid I was. You wanna know what? All of you are on your own! I'm using this hat to go back to where I came from!"
She threw the mic to Jefferson and stormed down the steps, out of the building. Snow looked out at everyone, who was understandably shell shocked by Emma standing up for herself. Everyone was quiet now, Blue and Grumpy themselves were especially tight lipped now that the princess' parents were there.
"What just happened?" Snow asked. When no one responded, she turned to Jefferson. "Why is my daughter so upset?!"
As soon as he explained it, Snow felt her blood boil. She looked out in disgust at the crowd. She expected this from some of them, Blue especially. But Grumpy? Yes, he could be outspoken, but she was meant to be her friend. Had they gotten a chance to raise Emma, he was going to be her godfather (with Red serving as godmother, though she and Granny hadn't been there, they had to run the diner). She was so disappointed in him.
There was no time for that, though. Instead, she just raced out of there. She would be damned if she lost her daughter for a second time. Charming and August followed behind once they had glared at the crowd. They would have a talking with them as soon as all of this was sorted. No one hurt their little girl in such a way.
Emma sped down the sidewalk, the remaining hat gripped in her hands. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just had to get out of there. She was tired of all of it. All she had done since she showed up was try to help these people and this was how they repaid her? If she hadn't made the damn deal with Rumpelstiltskin in the first place, then she wouldn't have broken the curse. They didn't see that though; they just saw her as some magic vessel. She was done, so done.
"Emma!" Charming's voice hit her, but she didn't stop.
"Emma, stop!" Snow was with him.
"This is ridiculous." August had joined them. "They were wrong to talk to you like that!"
Emma turned around to face her family. "I did what I had to do!"
"We know that," Snow's face was soft. She couldn't be mad at Emma; she had done what she thought was best. She didn't know Rumpelstiltskin at the time, she didn't know how tricky his deals could be. "They'll see that too. Maybe Jefferson can work on another hat."
"You heard him! He spent so long trying to get one to find Grace and he couldn't!"
"We'll find another way," her mother replied, her voice soft. "The hat thing was probably a risk anyway, both hats might not have been enough for everyone…"
Emma shook her head, tears burning her eyes. "I can't…I can't do this anymore!"
"You have to, Emma," August said, stepping forward.
"Why?!"
"Because everyone needs you!"
"I don't want them to need me!" Emma screamed. Snow and Charming froze in their spot, but August just kept moving forward, his face serious.
"Well that's too bad because we all do," he told her, his voice low. It was a tone she had never heard before and she didn't like it. It wasn't helping the thoughts that had invaded her brain.
"Ever since I found that damn letter, you've been telling me that I'm responsible for everyone's happiness! That's crap! I didn't ask for this! I don't want it!" Emma didn't realize it until she felt her cheeks getting wet, but she was crying.
Snow bit down on her lip, tears of her own threatening to fall down her face. She knew that being the savior was hard for Emma, she knew the price she had always paid to have magic. Even so, she had never seen her so lost, so upset. She was only 16, the weight of an entire kingdom on her shoulders. Charming slipped his hand into hers, thinking the same thing. After James died, he felt so overwhelmed by the responsibilities of running a kingdom. All of that didn't compare to what Emma was going through. The people were always going to be hard on her, expect impossible things to come from her and not just because she was a princess, but because she was the savior. Before any of them could talk, August did.
"I know," his voice had changed and it caused Emma to look back up at him. He had that same face on, the one he always had when she got upset, it brought her comfort and let her know that she wasn't alone. "I more than anyone understand this."
Emma wiped her tears away, but more just came in their place. "August…"
"I don't regret it and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I do understand. It sucks, you didn't have a choice. None of us did in this situation," August gestured to her parents standing behind him. "We haven't handled it perfectly. We can help you, as much as we can, just like we have been. But it doesn't change what you are and you can't run from that just because people are assholes."
Emma stared at the three of them before glancing back down at the hat in her hand.
"It gets easier," Charming said, stepping forward. "I know it's not the same, but when I had to take over for James…everyone acted the same way and they didn't even know who I was. People can be terrible Emma, but you're not alone in this. We'll talk to them; we'll help you find a way home. Please…just don't leave."
"And if you do, let us come with you," Snow added. Charming smiled in agreement, putting his arm around his wife.
Emma sniffled, using the back of her hand to clear up the tears. Slowly the deep breath she had been holding back escaped from her lips, making her feel a million pounds lighter. Her parents stepped forward, each placing a hand on her arm, August doing this same with his and her back.
"Okay," she whispered.
Snow smiled, kissing her forehead. "Come on, we'll go home and figure something out."
"I have something to do first," Emma told them.
Their brows furrowed as she pulled away and they quickly followed her down the sidewalk. This time, she didn't try to run or lose them, she didn't care if they came.
"Where are you going?" August asked.
"You were right; I can't change what I am. Which means I'm just going to use it to my advantage."
"What does that even mean?"
Emma didn't respond and soon, they were in front of Gold's Pawnshop. She burst through the door, everyone following behind her. Rumple looked up from where he and Belle had been gathering items to make their trip to wherever Baelfire was easier.
"We're closed," Rumple told her, as if it was obvious.
"Give me the hat back," Emma demanded.
"Not how it works, dearie. We had a deal, you owed me a favor and I'm cashing it in."
"If you give it to me, I will help you find a way to Baelfire once we're home!"
"Right, because I should trust you."
"I understand that you want your son back," Emma's voice returned to normal volume. "I do. I'll help you do it, but not like this. We have to use that to get back home…"
"I have no interest in helping Regina do anything," Rumple told her. He looked back at Belle, who was looking between her boyfriend and the Charmings and August. "Not after what she did to Belle."
"I understand, she hurt my family too, but you tricked me," Emma reminded him. "Yet here I am, willing to help you."
"The answer's no, dearie. Now, if you excuse me, we have to go."
Before Emma could say anything else, Rumple focused his magic on the hat and it glowed, taking over the area where they stood. By instinct, Charming pulled his daughter back and watched as the couple jumped into the swirling vortex. Emma just stood there as it slowly flickered out, bringing the hat with it. She looked down at the remaining one in her hand and chucked it at the wall. Before it could hit though, it stopped midair. That definitely caught her attention, it caught all of theirs. They turned to the door and found Zelena standing there, her trademark smirk on her face. Charming went to step in front of his family but Zelena was too quick, she moved her hand towards him, sending him into the wall. Snow helped him up as fast as she could, luckily it didn't seem to have damaged him any.
Emma stepped forward, ready to blast Zelena with her own magic and the witch just laughed. She grabbed hold of Emma's arm.
"Let my daughter go!" Snow growled, stepping forward with August and Charming. Zelena's hand rose again to freeze them in place. Snow tried to break out of it, but her feet were practically glued to the floor, feeling complete terror with the witch's hand on her daughter's.
Zelena reached into her pocket producing a wand, grabbing the hat from its place as well. "Your daughter is coming with me." Emma tried to fight back, but Zelena just froze her too. She could see the pain in her parents' eyes as Zelena used her wand on the hat, opening the portal. With her grip on the still frozen Emma, she pulled her through the glowing vortex.
The freezing spell didn't come off until after the hat had disappeared. Charming and August stared at terror where Emma had once stood while tears prickled Snow's eyes.
They had lost her…again.
Sooo….that just happened. I'm gonna fix it…eventually. I promise. In the meantime, let me know what you think and what you want to see. Until next time friends. =)