Two weeks and my revenge is complete; snow will finally pay for her indiscretion, in the end she'll help me destroy her own happiness…hers, her dear charming's and poor Emma's as well. It's almost sad to think that in wanting to get rid of me they'll only lose their kingdom and themselves. Almost.
Now the only thing that is left to do is get my naval forces to defeat theirs, have them reach port before the two weeks are up and have them storm the castle. While their busy securing it…I'll have a little chat with the dear charming family and I shall have my vengeance at last, once and for all.
"What do you mean? How am I supposed to do that? I don't understand, I thought…I don't know what I thought"
"I'm sorry. But that's what the blue fairy told us; you have to believe in yourself"
"Believe in what exactly?"
"…your magic…yourself, according to blue"
"And how am I going to do that?"
"Not sure but maybe talking will help"
"Talking? Are you serious?"
"Aye that I am lass"
For almost the entire night we spoke, a complete gentleman from the start, taking my hand and leading me to the base of a tree but keeping a distance between us, talking about "good form" and all that. He's so…different and I knew from the start that he was going to be the one asking the questions but I never anticipated him to comfort me whenever I got to the hard parts about living alone for all these years. I told him about how it was when I was a child, how Regina raised me with distance but kindness – she used to send me sweets and would poof in a few animals to keep me company. He almost choked at that, thinking that it must have been my imagination because he swore the Evil Queen would do no such thing – then again she was lonely. So was i. As I revealed to him that it wasn't until my 12th birthday that she became cruel and placed the curse on me, all I could see in those blue eyes of his was understanding; I didn't understand that until he spoke to me about his own misgivings.
My voice must have been shaking but I kept my eyes locked on hers as I told her about my family. The way my mother got sick and passed away, how my father left me one day aboard a ship only to discover that he was running from the law. We had a connection, I know she felt it too, both of us left on our own for the longest time, feeling abandoned by the world and although we had a few bright spots we were alone for most of it. I didn't tell her, she would've laughed at me or felt betrayed since she had 18 years of loneliness while I had the fortune of being with Liam once more and becoming someone but I did tell her that "wounds that were made while we were young tend to linger" of course she just smiled and looked towards the lake. But we made progress and i could tell she opened herself a lot more now than she wanted. When our conversation came to end (me yawning and her moving away – I guess so that i won't freak out when a swan is suddenly by my side in the morning) before the sun arose, I couldn't help myself but say the words that have been in my head the entire time we talked.
"You're beautiful "
"Uhhh thank you, I suppose, but you must meet plenty of beauty at court"
"No. you surpass all of them. But not just with those lovely eyes of yours or your golden locks but also because of your character. You see everyone as equals, you're rational yet you do all in your power to get the best outcome as a solution. You're a survivor. A powerful, stubborn princess"
"Hmmm why thank you lieutenant. I'm at a loss for words and I am no princess"
"Oh yes you are – believe me, Emma, all that I have told you is true"
"Goodnight killian"
"Goodnight Emma"
With that she took a step back, still facing me and gave me the most beautiful smile, I could tell she was blushing. But what placed a smirk on my own mouth was the little red spark that was being emitted from her chest – bright enough for me to see but small enough for her to not get scared of it- the red light faded but I knew what it was and I think she does too. Magic is breaking through. I didn't see Emma after that, I took leave deeper into the trees and made my camp and quickly fell asleep only to be haunted by those piercing green eyes.
For the next two nights, Emma spoke more about her childhood, what she feared and her dreams while killian told her about the lands he visited and what he has seen. On both nights, Emma's red sparks glowed brighter and brighter, but it wasn't enough but neither lost hope not when there has been progress, Emma now acknowledge it and she wasn't going to give up not now when they have a chance to get rid of the curse and defeat Regina. As the sun was beginning to rise on the third day, they both came to terms that he will return to the kingdom and tell her parents of how close they are at breaking it and to get more details on the plan to get rid of the threat. Before Killian left her once more, he couldn't resist himself and spoke from the heart "you are beautiful Emma" "you've said that" "I know and not to be bold but i shall say it any chance i get. for now and forever" and with those words he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before crawling to the other side and leaving behind a blushing Princess behind.
Placing her hand on her cheek, Emma could still feel the ghost of the kiss and she couldn't help but smile at the moment that passed between them only a few moments ago. The sun was rising but she did not want the moment to end, she wanted this moment of bliss and peace but it ended as soon as the sun had risen and the light touched her skin, transforming her once more into a swan. But once she was flying, feeling the wind hit her wings and watching the castle from far, she could feel a strange pull on the underside of her left wing. And when she looked towards it, a single white feather fell from her wing and slowly made its way down to the ground. For the remainder of the day her feathers slowly fell from her avian form and she flew down due to the lack of feathers and her inability to fly any longer; in the end she began to feel exhausted, lacked some strength and so she crawled her way to the lake and saw her reflection. She was human. In the light of day. She had done it without even noticing or thinking, Emma thought it was perhaps the progress that they have done the nights before have finally taken effect, when in reality it was the series of thoughts that kept invading her mind when she flew, thoughts of the blue-eyed man that had kissed her goodbye, the way he smiled, laughed, raised his brow and the way he looked at her as if she was the sun to him.
Once arriving at the castle, snow requested an immediate audience with him in the council room, charming had gone to gather the troops and so snow was left to tell everything they were planning on how to attack and win.
"Are you sure?!"
"I am…uh snow"
"Good. But we still need her to break it but this is good we can focus more on finishing the plan of attack and thank you killian for not being so formal"
"What's the plan so far? Emma asked me to come back with more information"
"Is she alright?"
"She's fine but we need to let her on how exactly the attack is going to happen"
"Well we have most of it already planned but we just need a way to get the castle protected that way when she attacks the people will be safe"
"What about the fairies?"
"They're going to be going against Regina soldiers on land and sea, there aren't many of them"
"Emma…she could do it, when she breaks her curse she can leave and then she can place a protection spell"
"You think she can do it?"
"Aye, i do. She's very strong, your daughter, and beautiful too"
"…you care for her…love her maybe"
"Your majes-"
"the plan is this - when Emma comes back, there is no doubt that regina will know immediately and when she comes to confront us, we'll fight her all at once and when she's distracted the blue fairy will use fairy dust to trap her and will place her in a cell – the same one as the one we built for the dark one"
"Sounds simple enough"
"It does but the fight will be something else – go to her now, will need all the help we can get"
"Of course…snow"
"Oh and killian…true love isn't easy but it must be fought for because once you find it there is no replacing it"
With an awkward bow and shy smile, killian left the room and made his way once more to his horse and back to Emma, to someone he knows he loves, to someone he hopes feels as strong as he does about her.