See chapter 1 for summary. Thanks for all the amazing reviews! Keep them coming! Sorry the update on this one took so long. Please review and let me know what you think! Here's individual responses:
Grace5231973: Yep, Belle is free so it definitely changes things even more. Emma is adorable and I think you'll be surprised by Bae's appearance in this universe. :)
Sexystarwarsloer: Yep, Emma is both. Glad you liked that twist. Yep, in this instance, Rumple has to make sure Snowing stays with Emma. Yep, they found and freed Belle. Kurt and Owen have been reunited and the Charmings are safe for now. Glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer Baratta: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Sarah Zitter: I'm glad you like it. I don't know what you have against Snowing having more kids though and I hope you can still enjoy, but there are more Snowing children that appear in this chapter.
Ghostwriter: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it so much!
AnonSnowing: I know, I never understood why she would want to separate families and never understood how the fandom always gave her a pass for it all, like her victims deserved it or something, because she was the great Regina. Yep, they found Belle and Kurt. Yep, Regina is still free, but they got away for now. Little baby mermaid Emma is adorable. Glad you're enjoying it! :)
Mysterious Fathoms Below
Chapter 7: Freedom in Love
The years passed quickly and the Charmings traveled the realms, visiting various lands that weren't frozen by the curse. They were incredibly happy and enjoyed watching their baby grow together. They had quickly learned that being mermaids had slowed their aging down to almost nothing though, as while Emma grew, they didn't change much. The other mermaids that were still around told them this was common, as full grown mermaids aged much slower than humans did.
As one might imagine, Snow and David soon found themselves with child when Emma was still quite young and their son, Ben, was born when his sister was only two. But they didn't stop there and Snow gave birth to twins when Emma was five and Ben was three. They named their youngest, a boy and a girl, Hunter and Rose.
It was quickly determined that, like Emma, their other children had the ability to phase between mermaid and human. Ben's tail was white like his mother's, while Hunter's was crimson, darker than his father's, and Rose's was red like her name and a bit brighter red than her brother's.
Today they were enjoying the beauty of Mermaid Cove in Neverland. They were here often and careful to avoid Pan. Mermaid Cove wasn't a place that he ventured to and the other mermaids had warned them to avoid Pan's island at all costs. They followed that advice, though they loathed that he seemed to lure lost children to his island.
Their children were not lost though and never heard Pan's call or the supposed crying that the other mermaids told them that went on at night. It tore at Snow and Charming's hearts, but they were warned harshly against interfering with Pan. The other mermaids had been clear on that. If they did choose to confront him, then their children would end up being orphans.
Today though, Neverland was just a rest point. They had just returned from the Land Without Magic, visiting various cities in their human forms. They were debating whether or not to take human form again with more permanence and send the children school. But they were leery and also enjoyed the freedom they had in this form. Their children liked this life too and Snow was educating them on all lands, including the Land Without Magic, from all the books they had acquired.
Atlantica was also an option as well. They had been invited by Ariel and it wasn't frozen by the curse like many other lands. It would allow them to keep the freedom they enjoyed as well, rather than putting down ties in the Land Without Magic, which came with its own set of dangers. For today though, they were enjoying a bit of rest in Mermaid cove.
The twins giggled, as Charming waded into the shallow part of the lagoon and put them down. Their tails changed to legs upon contact with the sand and they ran to their mother, who was lounging on the beach in her human form. He was very much enjoying the white colored swim attire she was wearing that she had picked up in the Land Without Magic. A bikini was what it was called if he remembered correctly.
"Mama...daddy found us again!" Rose announced.
"Well of course he did. Daddy is very good at finding the people he loves," Snow said, as she met her husband's gaze. He smiled and put his necklace on, transforming his red tail into legs and he joined her on the beach.
"Can we go back in the water?" Hunter asked.
"Sure, but don't go too far and stay where we can see you," David said, as he sat down beside his wife and leaned over to kiss her. Ben was still out in the water and they knew he'd keep an eye on them too.
David kissed her tenderly and caressed her face, as he pulled back, gazing at her with awe.
"What?" she asked under his gaze.
"You are so beautiful…" he replied, making her smile shyly.
"I think you're a bit biased, Prince Charming," she teased.
"Nah...you are Snow White. You are the fairest in all the lands," he teased back and she smacked his arm playfully. He pulled her close and she gently caressed his face this time. He kissed her again and they basked together under the sun's rays.
"Where's Emma?" he asked.
"I let her swim further into the cove for some of those berries we all like so much. She should be back soon," Snow assured.
Emma gathered the berries in her satchel and prepared to head back to the cove when she heard someone cry out in distress. She looked out into the open waters and saw a pirate ship. Her parents had warned her against going anywhere near any ships, but she gasped, as she saw a boy being tossed into the dangerous waters. Immediately, she ran into the water and her legs transformed into her tail automatically. She swam as fast as she could and gasped, as she saw Pan's shadow looming above him. She dove and snapped him up, carrying him away from the shadow. And strangely, she saw the shadow abandon his pursuit of the boy and return to Pan's island. It wasn't like him to let a lost boy go so easily, but she didn't worry about that now and quickly deposited the boy on the shore.
He coughed and looked at her in amazement.
"It's okay...I'm not going to hurt you," Emma said.
"You're...you're a mermaid. But a young one," the boy mentioned. She smiled and stepped onto the shore, allowing her tail to disappear and her legs to reappear. His eyes widened again.
"I am...but I'm also like you. It's a long story. Who are you?" she asked.
"My...my name is Baelfire. Thanks for saving me," he replied. She smiled.
"You're welcome. I'm Emma, but you can't stay on Pan's island if he's after you," she said.
"I have no way of going anywhere else," he replied. She smiled and put her hand out.
"Come with me to mermaid cove. I know my parents won't mind," she said. He looked at her and then took her hand. He yelped, as she pulled him back into the water with her.
"Don't worry...we can swim there slowly," she promised, as she pulled him along.
"Why did you let him go?" Felix questioned.
"Oh, I never intended to keep Baelfire here forever. He has a destiny beyond Neverland and it looks like he has just met it," Pan responded cryptically. The other boy didn't understand, but no one questioned Pan.
"Baelfire's path is beyond this place. Trust me...my survival means letting him go with his beautiful little mermaid friend," Pan added, as he smirked smugly.
Emma pulled him along into the semi-private cove where her family frequented and lived while in Neverland. She saw her brothers and sister playing together in the lagoon, close enough to shore and her parents were on the beach, being their romantic, gooey selves.
"Mom! Dad!" she called, as her tail became legs once she got close enough to the shore.
"Hey sweetie…" Snow said, as she took the berries that her daughter had gathered in her satchel.
"Who is this?" she asked, curiously noticing the boy coming ashore.
"Oh...this is Baelfire. I saved him from Pan's shadow," Emma said.
"You were near Pan's shadow?" Charming asked in alarm.
"Relax Daddy...I'm fine. The shadow flew away when it saw me," she chided. Snow smirked playfully at her husband and nudged him with her elbow.
"Yeah...relax daddy," she teased him. He shook his head in amusement at them.
"It's nice to meet you, Baelfire. Would you like to join us for dinner? Charming and I are going to go catch some game, but you can help Emma get the fire ready and wash the fruit if you'd like," Snow said, as she and Charming stood up.
"Sure...thank you," he said in surprise. Snow smiled and took her husband's hand.
"We'll be back in a bit. Keep an eye on Ben and the twins, honey," Snow called, as she grabbed her bow and Charming sheathed his sword, as they set off into the jungle to catch some game.
"They're your parents?" Baelfire asked. She nodded.
"It's a long story, but we can actually tell you all about it," Emma replied, as she looked at her brother.
"Ben...where is your book?" she asked. He smiled and dug it out of his satchel, before handing it to her.
"Wow...this is an incredible book. Where did you get it?" he asked. She shrugged.
"We're not really sure. One day Mom mentioned to Daddy that she wanted to write down their stories and the stories of their friends since they'll all be trapped by a curse now," Emma explained.
"A curse?" he asked. She nodded.
"When she woke up the next morning, this book had just appeared and it is a chronicle of my parent's story and many of their friends from the Enchanted Forest," she replied.
"The Enchanted Forest?" Baelfire asked, hoping that she didn't hear the quiver in his voice. She nodded.
"Mmm...go ahead and read. It might explain things better than I can," she suggested, as he flipped through it and landed on the page depicting a man he hadn't seen in almost two hundred years and the two people Emma said were her parents.
"Oh, that part happened in a place called Storybrooke. It's the town in the Land Without Magic that the curse took everyone. My parents went there when I was just a baby to help a boy they met in the Land Without Magic. He lost his father and the Queen had him locked up. But my parents rescued him with the help of Rumpelstiltskin," she explained.
"Wait...Rumpelstiltskin helped them?" he asked with wide eyes. She nodded.
"Yeah...here, I'll read it to you," she replied, as she flipped back and started with the beginning of her parent's story while Baelfire listened with rapt attention.
Snow smirked and shook her head in amusement, as her distracted husband kept looking back over his shoulder, until she finally took pity on him.
"Baby...she's fine," she assured and he sighed in defeat.
"I know...it just worries me a bit. Pan hates mermaids and I don't want Emma anywhere near that little demon or his shadow," he replied.
"I know, but Emma is like us...she'd never refuse to help someone that needed help and if we saved just one boy from the clutches of that evil boy...then that's a good thing," she said. He nodded, as they proceeded to hunt some game and were successful in snagging some, before returning to the lagoon.
They found Emma reading to her new friend and they smiled, until they noticed the pale look on the boy's face.
"Is something wrong?" Snow asked. He swallowed.
"You're going to hate me," Baelfire replied.
"They won't hate you...trust me," Emma prodded.
"I'm the reason for the curse...I'm the reason that Rumpelstiltskin wanted the Evil Queen to cast it for him," he admitted.
"You? But you're just a boy," Snow said.
"I've been here in Neverland for a couple hundred years. He's been looking for me...I'm his son," he announced.
"Well...that would make sense then. I knew he wasn't telling us something," David said.
"Well...that's great. We can help you get back to him," Snow said.
"No!" he exclaimed and they were taken aback.
"Why not?" Emma asked.
"Because he abandoned me...and I want nothing to do with him!" Baelfire replied, as he got up.
"I'm sorry...I have to go," he said, as he ran off into the jungle.
"Wait!" Emma called, but he didn't stop and her shoulders slumped forward. Snow gently put her arms around her daughter.
"Oh honey...it's okay. We'll find him," she assured. She sniffed.
"We will?" she asked. David smiled and hugged her, as he cradled her head.
"Of course we will...he needs help, even if he doesn't know it. And he may be angry with his father, but I'm sure he still loves him and though Rumpelstiltskin has done things we don't agree with...he deserves to be reunited with his child," he reasoned.
"Your father is right...and who knows, maybe reuniting him with his father will be the key to ending the curse faster and defeating Regina," Snow added.
"He did say it would be on Emma's twenty-eighth birthday though," David reminded her.
"Perhaps, but somehow, I don't think he foresaw us finding his son for him. This may change things," she reasoned. He nodded.
"Let's eat and then we'll look for him first thing in the morning, princess," he promised. She nodded and helped her parents get their meal ready. She could only hope they found him tomorrow...