And now, we have reached the end of the story, but I'm not ready to say goodbye. At the same time, I'm excited to share the epilogue with you all. Thanks to each and every person who has favorited, followed, and commented on this story. I also want to reiterate my thanks to the admin and mods of the captainswanbigbang for organizing the event. I would never have finished this story if not for the Big Bang. My betas thegladelf and mryddinwilt deserve all the credit for helping me elevate this fic. And last, but not least, all my gratitude to captainswanandclintasha for all the detailed pic-sets and art she made for this story. Check-out the beautiful edit by captainswanandclintasha for Chapter 15 on tumblr. And please don't forget to check out the other stories from this year's Big Bang, if you haven't already. I know I have a lot of catching up to do!

Epilogue

Emma and Mary Margaret exchanged the name of Blanchard for that of Jones and Spencer respectively in a double-wedding ceremony in September, Revered Hopper officiating. Lady Spencer gave her blessing to the union of her stepson with Mary Margaret with more alacrity than either of them had anticipated, and with great generosity, settled twelve thousand pounds on David. To be sure, she had at first renewed her attempts to get David interested in Miss Midas, but she gave up on realizing that David's new-found firmness of purpose was not a passing phase. Miss Abigail Midas, far from being heartbroken that neither David nor Walsh Spencer had wanted to marry her, eloped with the son of her father's steward soon after.

Lady Spencer and Walsh reconciled after a proper period of groveling from his wife. Walsh and Kelly were so extravagant in their "improvements" of Spencer Hall in the first year of their married life, especially with the added purchase of several exotic birds and animals to populate the park, that Lady Spencer was obliged to step in and discharge their debts. A period of forced retrenchment followed, with Walsh and Kelly moving in with her ladyship in London and testing the maternal bond further. Mrs. Kelly Spencer's petty satisfaction from knowing that her income was improved by having exchanged the elder brother for the younger was additionally marred when David acquired the Storybrooke living upon the retirement of Reverend Hopper some years later. She consoled herself, however, with the knowledge that she did not have to contend with the toils of parish duties and farm management.

Regina was more or less resigned to David and Mary Margaret's union, though she could never quite forgive Mary Margaret for falling in love with her stepbrother while under her roof. As for Emma, her great increase in wealth and status was a constant subject of irritation to Regina, especially given her husband's satisfaction over it. Robin was delighted with Emma's marriage to Captain Jones. Even if he had fixed on the wrong sister to matchmake, he could not help taking some credit for promoting the match by his inclusion of the captain in several of their London engagements.

Robin's satisfaction in the event was eclipsed by that of Mrs. Lucas, who, perhaps, had greater justification in taking some credit for bringing Emma and the captain together. To add to her overall happiness, the Whales soon purchased an estate in Misthaven, and split their time between London and the country from then on. It is to be hoped that the kindly old matron will be around to plan matches between her own great-grandchildren and the children of the Joneses and the Spencers.

Ingrid could not be happier that her cousins, whom she had grown to love very much, remained in Misthaven after their marriages. Emma and Mary Margaret continued to turn to their cousin for advice and counsel, and on Gerda's death the following year, Ingrid acquired two young nieces—Elsa and Anna—to get to know and make much of.

1816 turned out to be a bad year for harvest, with incessant rains, gales and unseasonal frost lasting all through the summer. Killian and Emma took leadership in administering poor relief to those hard hit by the weather. They had several willing helpers among their family and friends, including David and Mary Margaret, Mrs. Lucas, and the Whales. Michael Zimmer was given a permanent position at Misthaven Abbey, and Emma continued to take personal interest in the education and upbringing of Ava and Nicholas.

The severity of the following two winters and the inability of many farmers to pay rent served as an unwitting test of the moral character of the landed gentry in many counties across the kingdom. Sir Arthur was among those unwilling to offer much abatement, and thereby lost much of his popularity and support in the neighborhood. That, combined with the death of his wife a few years later, pushed him into giving up his magisterial position. He thereafter retired from public life and focused on breeding horses.

Wendy Jones married an enterprising industrialist from America and settled down to a peaceful life across the Atlantic. Killian and Emma took in her son, Henry, and brought him up as their own child, together with the girl and boy they were blessed with. It is to be hoped that little Liam will grow up to be as loving and generous as his parents and join with his father in breaking the entail over Misthaven Abbey for better provision of his siblings.

Neal Cassidy was mortified on hearing of Emma's marriage to Captain Jones. Even though it was an event he had been expecting, it did not make it easier to bear and he fell back into gaming to overcome his disappointment. That he did not fritter away his wife's wealth was solely on account of the ironclad nature of her marriage settlements. He attempted to make use of his stepmother's good offices in becoming a part of his son's life. For, Belle, who tended to be soft-hearted, forgave her stepson on observing his desire to make amends to the child. Captain Jones was initially adamant in refusing him any contact with Henry. However, Emma, whose own happiness had softened her anger and disgust at Neal, gently persuaded her husband to let Henry spend some time each year in the company of his natural father. When Neal died some years later, he bequeathed his Somersetshire estate to Henry.

Mr. Scarlett stayed on as curate in Misthaven and assisted David in his parish duties, which was invaluable when the Storybrooke parish was added to David's purview. He and Belle made a match of it, much to the satisfaction of their mutual friends.

After returning from a mission that took him to sea for several months, Killian resigned his commission from the navy, not wishing to miss any more time with his growing family. But he did not retire from public service. He took on the mantle of the justice of peace from Sir Arthur, and played an active part in the reformation of the punitive laws governing capital punishment.

A warm spring morning in 1822.

Emma sat at her pianoforte, playing the same sonata that had first directed her husband's attention to her all those years ago. As she sang, a second, tenor voice joined her soprano. Killian Jones slid into the seat beside her and they completed the song as a duet.

"Good morning, my love," said Emma, and pressed a kiss on her husband's lips.

"Mmm..." responded Killian, wrapping himself around his wife in a warm embrace.

"You need to get ready for church, Killian," admonished Emma.

"Five more minutes, Swan" mumbled Killian, tightening his embrace.

"You sound just like Eva," Emma laughed into her husband's shoulder.

As if on cue, the door opened, and in tumbled three children, ranging in ages from six to two, followed by their hassled nursery maid, Miss Bell.

"Mama! Papa!" yelled the sweet, shrill voices, demanding the attention of their parents, which Emma and Killian willingly gave. Their daughter, who was now four years old, scrambled up to sit on her mother's lap and started pressing some keys.

"Like this, Eva-love," said Emma, and directed her daughter's fingers.

After another hour of wrangling, the Jones family were safely packed into the carriage and driven to church. At the church premises, the Joneses were greeted by David in his clerical garb and Mary Margaret. The Spencers' three little ones ran up to join their cousins on catching sight of them.

"Where is Cousin Ingrid?" Emma asked Mary Margaret.

"She's with Elsa and Anna in the anteroom. They're waiting for us to join them," Mary Margaret replied.

The sisters smiled at each other and left in search of the bride. Killian and David joined Admiral Nemo, who stood by the altar, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Music began to play, and Ingrid White walked in through the door, followed by her four bridesmaids—Emma, Mary Margaret, Elsa, and Anna. When they reached the altar, Mary Margaret and Emma lifted the veil covering Ingrid's face and placed her hand in Admiral Nemo's.

"'Dearly beloved'," began David, reading from the Book of Common Prayer, "'we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate, instituted of God in the time of man's innocence, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church; which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee…'."

After the bride and groom had exchanged their vows and rings, and David had pronounced them Man and Wife, Nemo and Ingrid drove off in their carriage to the "huzzahs" and cheers of their family and friends.

Emma joined Mary Margaret at the church door. "Kent seems too far away," she said wistfully.

Her sister agreed with her, adding, "They'll be back with us at Christmas. And, perhaps we can persuade the admiral to look into country estates around Devonshire."

Emma smiled. After a pause, she said, "Misthaven seems more like home than Locksley now. Is that wrong?"

Mary Margaret thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I do not think so. I feel the same way. I think it's because Mama and Papa were gone when we left Locksley."

"And living with Robin and Regina wasn't any too comfortable," finished Emma, giving a sideways smile.

The sisters stood in silence for some moments thinking back to the time when they had just lost their parents and Ingrid had invited them to Misthaven. They had come a long way since then. They had faced heartbreak and pain, to be sure, but they had also found love, family, and lasting friendships. Not the least of their blessings, perhaps, was that the sisters lived within a mile of each other and were closer than ever.

Killian came up to his wife and twined his hand with hers. "Ready to go home, love?"

Emma smiled up at him. "Yes. We're only waiting for David to finish up."

"Good," replied Killian and returned Emma's smile.

Soon, the Joneses and the Spencers got into their respective carriages and made their way to Misthaven Abbey to spend the rest of the day as they had done many times before—in the cheerful company of the people they loved.

FINIS

Hope you enjoyed this story! I loved sharing it with you all.