The notion had been discussed, speculated on, dismissed as impossible by some and hoped for by others. There were long standing bets, old wives' tales and bed times stories about it.
Would a child produced by the truest of True Love couples exhibit the rarest of the rare; light magic?
Every man, woman or creature within a twenty mile radius who possessed even a grain of magic, felt the answer to that question when a burst of the purest white light burst forth from the hands of the terror stricken, Emma, daughter of the most well known True Love pairing in the Enchanted Forest. Desperate to save Killian from his fall into the savage jaws of the ravening dogs, her fear-driven emotions triggered the latent magic in her soul.
The little girl didn't know what it was. No-one had ever mentioned it to her and, in her current state of extreme emotional distress, she was too worked up to have remembered even if they had. The magic manifested as a wave of cushioning light that held Killian safely aloft with his limbs all akimbo. Both children froze; too shocked to twitch a muscle. Emma just stared at her friend suspended in mid air. Her mouth hung open in a perfect 'O' while she kept her arms extended towards him. Deep within her she felt the hum of the magic; understood that she was what had saved Killian, but she had no clue how to manage it.
Seeing their prey hovering above them just out of reach, drove the dogs into hysteria. They jumped up, colliding with each other, snarling and barking and frantic to rip and rend anything they could get hold of. The black one caught Emma's scent on Henry and turned its attention on the toy. It snatched up the soft duckling and shook it violently before dropping its head to get a paw on it to hold it down while its jaws tore it to shreds.
Emma was sobbing; her small body heaving with the effort. She was too afraid to drop her hands and wipe her eyes in case the magic stopped and Killian fell. Her tears blurred her vision and her arms ached in their extended position but she stayed locked in place.
Killian didn't know what to do. He could see the magical light emanating from Emma's open palms and guessed if she dropped her hands, then he would fall and the dogs would be on him in a flash.
"Emma, did you know you have magic? Please don't drop me!" He said, knowing it was not the most helpful plea, but the words were out of his mouth of their own volition.
Emma was too terrified to even shake her head. The abrupt manifestation of her magic, the flood of adrenaline, the run to the oak, the sustained state of fright and the drain of the untrained magic on her small body was too much for one little girl to handle.
"Killian! Help me!" Emma pleaded. Her head swam and she began to get confused. All she could hear was the snarling of the dogs and her magic humming under her skin. "Mama? Help me! Killian?"
Killian could see she was fading. The white light sustaining him wavered and he dropped a few inches. "Emma? Please hold on! Please?"
"Can't see. So tired," Emma said. She swayed forward as several things happened at once.
Emma lost consciousness, her hands dropped and her magic cut out and then Killian thought he was going to fall, but as the white light vanished it was replaced by a blue one which gently lowered him to the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the dogs teeth to close on him, but the attack never came.
"It's safe now. You can open your eyes," said a soft voice in his right ear.
Looking around him, Killian saw the dogs were fast asleep, their coats glittering with a sparkling dusty substance. Emma was still in the tree, laying across the branch. Hovering over the little girl and all about the clearing in which the oak stood, was a multitude of tiny women and each one was held aloft by a pair of fluttering, delicate wings. Emma had wanted to find the fairies, instead, they'd come to her. A yellow and a pink fairy were bathing Emma in a rosy glow as they stroked her hair. Her furrowed brow and the tension in her face, relaxed under the fairies' gentle ministrations.
"We felt the magic. Rare magic," the fairy by his ear told him. She was dressed in a bright blue, and it was her light that had enveloped and saved him.
"It was Emma, um, the Princess. She was amazing! She saved me!" Killian exclaimed.
"Yes, I know who Emma is, but we didn't know if she would truly have magic. She's so very young I thought it was too early to tell. It appears that it was triggered because she was very, very frightened," the fairy said. She flew around so she could look him in the eye. "She was very frightened for you. I could feel it through her magic. No child should ever have to be so afraid. Who are you?"
"Killian Jones, Milady," Killian said, and gave a short bow.
"What a lovely name. You may call me, 'Blue'. Tell me, then, Killian, what are you and Emma doing out in the forest so late at night? I am quite sure Emma's parents wouldn't allow such a venture," Blue said, raising an eyebrow.
"Blue! We found you!" Emma called out. She had come to, and found herself surrounded by glowing fairies. Her hands trembled as she started to climb down. A fairy wearing green waved the tiny wand she held and Emma was carried on a shimmering green light to stand next to Killian. The two children threw their arms around each other and hugged tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Killian. This is my fault. The doggies nearly bit you," Emma said, tears forming in her eyes.
"But you saved me! You were amazing," Killian told her as he pulled back from the hug. "You're magic is brilliant!"
Emma bit her lip and looked down at her boots. "I didn't know I could do magic. Nobody told me."
"No-one knew for certain that you could, Emma. But Killian is right. It is quite amazing. It's because your Mama and Papa have such a strong love between them and that love has been passed on to you as light magic," Blue explained.
"I don't understand. Do Mama and Papa know they gave me magic?" Emma asked, looking up.
"It's very hard to explain. It will be easier for you to understand when you're a little older," Blue said. "And I still want to know why you are out here. It isn't safe. You are lucky that we were so close to come and help you."
Killian swallowed hard and cast an eye at the dogs. "Will they wake up soon?"
"Not for a little while. Don't worry, we will keep you safe. Now, please answer my question," Blue said, her tone getting a tad firmer.
"I wanted to ask you for a wish 'cos it's the last full moon of summer," Emma began to explain, and then it occurred to her to look around. She took in the remains of the sack and the cake and the devastation that had been wrought upon her toy duck and she burst into tears. "But, but, now I can't because Henry is all broken and you won't want him, and he was my greatest treasure. And the cake is all gone, too, so I can't give you that to say, 'thank you', like Mama taught me." She rubbed furiously at her eyes.
"Please don't cry. You were brilliant," Killian assured her, and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "You found your magic."
Emma turned huge red rimmed eyes on Killian and blinked some more tears away. "But I won't get my baby brother and I want one so much," she explained.
"I still have my treasure," Killian looked over at the Blue fairy. "If I give you my treasure could I wish for something for Emma?"
"But that's not fair. It's yours. You should get to wish for what you want. I can't take your wish," Emma said, completely awestruck that he would make such an offer.
"I'll get by. Liam says I should forget about Da, like he forgot about us. I'd rather help you," Killian said, managing a bright smile for the princess. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief that Emma had given him when he rescued her from the coal heap. He used it to blot her cheeks dry before holding it out to Blue.
"Your treasure is my hanky?" Emma asked, eyes wide.
The tips of Killian's ears went pink as he nodded shyly.
The fairies watched the gentle exchange between the children with full hearts and big smiles. The only thing that made fairies happier than such a display of selfless affection was discovering a True Love or a soul mate pairing.
"Killian, wanting to give up your treasure for the Princess to have her wish is a wonderful and kind gesture, but I must tell you that you have been misled. We don't grant wishes in that way, nor would we take someone's most precious belonging," Blue said, softly. "It is just a story that people tell."
"So, no wish?" Killian asked, sadly. He looked at the mess the dogs had made and felt very deflated. "I'm sorry, Emma. You'd be a brilliant older sister."
Emma sniffled and Killian gave her the hanky so she could blow her nose.
The green fairy flew over to Blue and whispered in her ear. "That's an excellent idea, Green," Blue said. "Emma, we can't give you a baby brother, but we can give second chances and, we can give you something that will help you practice being responsible in the way of a big sister." She nodded to the green fairy who had flown over to the sleeping dogs. The green fairy waved her wand and a bright green light covered the dogs and grew brighter until Killian and Emma had to look away. When the light faded they looked to see the dogs had been aged backwards into puppies. All the cruel scars were gone.
"These little souls were treated badly by their first owners and they ran away. That's why they were so mean to you. If you look after them properly and give them lots of love, then they will grow up to be the nice dogs they should have had the chance to be before," Blue explained.
The puppies looked a little bewildered at first, but when they spotted the children they bounded over on wobbly legs with their tales wagging vigorously.
"What do you say, Emma? Will you give them a true home and look after them?" Blue asked.
The puppies were adorable and Emma's fingers itched to cuddle them, but they weren't a baby brother. Still, she temporised, if she got puppies and Mama and Papa saw how well she looked after them, maybe she could still get the brother she wanted. The matter was definitively decided as soon as the brindle puppy sat back on its hindquarters and licked her hand. Emma nodded to the Blue fairy then she dropped to her knees and tried to gather both wriggling puppies into her arms at once.
Blue and Green smiled knowingly at each other.
"Milady, Blue? Is there anything you can do to fix Henry?" Killian whispered, and pointed to the shredded remains that looked so forlorn lying in the dirt.
"It looks like he fought bravely. We'll see what we can do to repair the fallen hero," Blue said, kindly. "Now, children, it is very late and I can see you both fighting back yawns. I sent a message to your parents as soon as I felt your magic, Emma, but it will still be a little while before they get here. We're going to make you as comfortable as we can and I want you both to get some sleep. We will wait and protect you, you'll both be safe." Blue waved her wand towards the base of the oak and thick green grass pushed its way up from the ground and wove itself into two springy mats.
Emma and Killian settled themselves down on the grassy beds, each holding a puppy, and, exhausted by the events of the night, fell asleep almost as soon as their eyes closed.
A/N: I'm so sorry if I worried you that something bad would happen to Killian . . .and permanently to Henry. Hopefully you will approve of how they were saved. Can't believe the muses helped me get this chapter done so quickly but 'gift horses' and all that! Happy New Year to you all. Thank you to all for being so kind.