Queen
Hook and Robin planed her birthday. She knew they were trying to be sneaky, but she could tell they were up to something. So when her birthday came around, and Hook wanted to take her horseback riding, Emma gave in. She loved riding her horse. She had decided to call her steed Buttercup. Hook and Emma set off through the forest, and they ended up at an unusually quiet camp that belongs to the good old Merry Men. They dismounted their horses and walked in to be welcomed by multiple people yelling surprise.
They did it; they were celebrating her birthday and not just any birthday. It was one of her milestone birthdays, and she couldn't be happier. Roland ran from his spot by his father, launching himself into Emma's arms for a hug. This little boy made her long for the day when she is a mother. Emma Swan was sitting in the Merry Men's camp with the Merry Men, their leader Robin Hood, his son Roland and, a very dashing version of Captain Hook all of which was in a land called the Enchanted Forest. If someone told her she would be celebrating her 18th birthday this way she would have called them insane, just like Emma did Ingrid when she talked about magic. It seems Ingrid was right; she did have magic.
"Ingrid was right!" Emma thought, but she didn't realize she said it until Roland ask who that was.
"Em. Who is Ingrid?" Roland asked, but Hook and Robin both looked at her with curiosity. She told them a few things about her life, but it could be described in one word; Lonely.
"She was a lady who was going to adopt me. We spent the day at the fair, and I saw papers in her bag. I immediately thought she was sending me back to the system, but she told me we were going to be a family because she was going to adopt me." Emma said smiling through that pleasant memory. Then she continued. "We were celebrating. After thirteen years of being alone, I was going to be adopted. Then she started to tell me I was special and all this other stuff. The next thing I knew I was in the middle of the road with an oncoming car headed straight for us. Um, a car is a carriage just without horses. Anyway, she was telling me to stop it with magic. I ran away and was sent to another foster home." Emma said.
"That sounds horrible," Robin said.
"It was, but in some twisted way, I was used to disappointment. I guess it took me falling into the Enchanted Forest to believe that magic was real and that I possess it."
"Well, you are now a believer. So this lady knew you had magic. I wonder how she knew, you both were from the land without magic." Hook asked.
"No clue," Emma said trying to end the conversation. They seemed to get the hint and got her back into celebrating. They gave her gifts: Hook gave her a cutlass, Robin gave her a bow and arrow, and Roland gave her a necklace with a swan on the pendant. Only a hand full of people knew her name was Emma; those who didn't know her name called her by her last name.
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Emma decided to stay at the camp to have a sleepover with Roland. He wanted to know more about the land without magic, so she came up with stories of different things, but it was hard to explain what the television was, or even what technology was. But he ended up telling her stories of his father. Roland ended up falling asleep, and she stepped outside the tent to watch the fire dance in the darkness.
"Happy birthday, Emma. I hope you enjoyed your day." Robin said coming up behind her.
"It was great! Best birthday in a long time. Roland was telling me stories of you. He is proud to be your son. And he is lucky to have you to have you as a father." Emma smiled while watching the flames.
"Roland is my pride and joy. Marian almost died while was pregnant with Roland. To save her, I snuck into the Dark One's castle to steal a wand that would heal her. He caught me, and put me in his dungeon and proceeded to torture me. The Dark One's maid let me go, and I was able to take the wand and saved Marian. When she was healed, her carriage was hit by an arrow. I was too far away, but I knew it was him, but he never bothered us after that." Robin said with longing in his voice.
"I am sorry. Marian sounds like a wonderful lady. I am sorry she wasn't able to be a mother to Roland, but you are doing a great job as his father."
"Emma. You sure are bright for your age. I am sorry about the life you were dealt. If only your parents could see you now."
"I wish I could have met them. I don't know the circumstances on why I was abandoned, but I decided a long time ago that they had to do what they felt was the best for me." Emma said finally looking up from the flames to look at Robin. Emma and Robin spent a few more moments by the fire before she went back to her tent. Without waking Roland, she got ready for bed, and she fell in a peaceful slumber.
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Emma woke up to the sounds of the Merry Men at work. While she got dressed, she could hear Hook's voice which wasn't unusual since he said he would come to get her in the morning but she also recognized the voices of Aurora, Mulan, Philip and, Lancelot. She grabbed her bow and went to meet up with Roland for a little target practice. They spent a good amount of the morning shooting their arrows into the nearby tree that was made into a target. They were too distracted to see the group of people leave Robin's tent to look at her in awe. Emma was a different woman from when she landed in the Enchanted Forest nearly eight months ago.
"Emma," Robin called getting her attention and then continued. "Can you come with us, there is something we would like to discuss with you."
Emma gave Roland a quick hug before walking over to the group of people who tried to get her home when she first arrived. Upon entering Robin's tent, Emma felt a feeling of dread come upon her. Even though they were all smiling and looking at her with awe, she had the same feeling every time she was being sent back into the system. Emma refused to cry, she sat down and stared at them. Before allowing them to start talking she had to get it off of her chest. "I can leave. I didn't want to be a burden to any of you. I am sorry I landed in here. I'll just take Buttercup and ride through the forest. I am pretty adept in the woods, plus I have magic. Who knows? Maybe I will find a magic bean in one of the homes abandoned by the curse then I really would be out of the way." Emma stood up not looking at anyone she made her way over to the exit. "I am just going to say goodbye to Roland; then you won't even remembered what I was here." Emma ran out of the tent before she started to cry. She didn't even hear her them calling her until Hook grabbed her arm.
"Emma? What are you talking about? Why would you leave?" He asked with hurt in his eyes.
"I have been through this before, Jones. I get input into good homes, and then the family no longer wants me. I could see happiness in all of your eyes but... It will just be easier if I leave before you get rid of me."
"Emma we were going to get rid of you. Mulan, Aurora, Phillip and, Lancelot came to tell us something big. But it is good news, and it has to do with you." Robin said coming up behind Hook.
"You're not getting rid of me?" She asked, and they both shook their heads. They lead her back into the tent. She sat back down in the tent and let them speak.
"Emma. We want you to be our Queen." Aurora said with a straight face. That was a complete one-eighty from what she thought a few minutes ago. And this was coming from a princess. If anyone had the reason to be queen, it would be Aurora.
"Pardon. Did you just... Did I hear you correctly?" Emma asked in disbelief.
"Yes. You did. For a while now the people of the Safe Haven want to form their own kingdom. We don't know if the others will come back, but we held off because we didn't have anyone to rule us, plus we had the issue with Cora." Mulan said smiling.
"Aurora and Phillip they could rule. I mean Aurora is a princess." Emma countered.
"Yes, I am, but not everyone is from my kingdom. Many are from other kingdoms, and it would be unfair to make them part of mine. But if everyone came together in a new kingdom with a new ruler, it would give everyone a fresh start. Plus we all agree you would be the best fit for the job." Aurora said looking directly at Emma.
"I mean. I don't understand. You all want me to become Queen of the Safe Haven. I mean I just turned eighteen last night. I never even seen a castle let alone ruled over people. I come from a land that broke away from the monarch. How would I be the best fit for being Queen?" Emma said trying to comprehend what was going on.
"Everyone was in awe of how easily you defeated Cora. You said you were only practicing your magic for a few months whereas Cora had decades of practice. I mean even Regina nor the Dark One were able to stop Cora, and they were some of the most powerful wielders of magic ever. Until you." Lancelot said trying to plead with her.
"Plus, it wouldn't be over the Safe Haven. We want to leave and create a new Kingdom in our own section of this land. After you defeated Cora, everyone wanted to know who our guardian angel was. Everyone we talked to wanted you to become our ruler. We want you to become our Queen. You will become known as the Light Queen. You have brought lightness to this land after the darkness many have experienced under the Evil Queen and King George's rule." Phillip added. Emma looked to Hook and Robin, and they seemed happy for her. The whole conversion was surreal. They wanted her to become a Queen. Not just any queen by the Light Queen someone who could fix the land after what Regina and King George put them all through. It sounded absurd, but they were all telling her the truth. It's not that she doesn't want to accept their offer, she just couldn't believe what they were telling her.
They all spent the entire morning and afternoon trying to convince her to become their ruler. Frankly, the longer they spoke, the more she longed to agree and become their queen. It seemed too good to be true. She knew she was going to accept but Emma still didn't see how this whole thing was going to work but she was going to agree.
"Okay. I will do it. I will become the Queen of the people of the Safe Haven. I agree with Philip; this new kingdom should be over someplace new. If the curse breaks and everyone comes back, I don't want to be sitting on someone else's throne." Emma stated. Everyone smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"To Queen Emma." Hook cheered along with Robin.
"The Light Queen. Those people need hope. Some of them were ruled by the Evil Queen what better way to establish joy than with a light queen." Emma countered, and they all agree. Emma was going to be known as the Light Queen; the Guardian Angel of the Safe Haven and, the ruler of the new kingdom of the Enchanted Forest.
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Two weeks have passed since she agreed to become the new kingdom's queen. The first thing they all decided to was the location of the kingdom. Hook provided maps with all the borders of the previous kingdoms, and there was perfect empty part of the land that was between Snow White's kingdom and that of King Midas, plus it would have a port for the navy they all agreed to form.
The next thing was the name of the kingdom. Emma was in the Safe Haven when Mulan announced Emma accepted the role of being their queen. The camp cheered with excitement, much more than Emma was expecting. So she gave them a chance to help name the kingdom.
"Phillip said I would be known as the Light Queen. And to say I was shocked by this opportunity would be an understatement. We have found some unoccupied land that we can use to form the kingdom, but we need a name for it. I will be making plans to check over the land, and when I come back in a weeks time we will go over the names you all selected, and we will pick the one that is the most popular." Emma said, and everyone cheered. She heard 'To the Light Queen' and 'All hail the Light Queen.' It was beautiful. She did as she said. Hook, Phillip, and Lancelot went with her to look over the land, and it was all in order.
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She used her magic to construct a castle and then in the surrounding village she created homes suitable for families of all shapes and sizes. The construction was partially done by the time the week was over, but she needed to come back. She was to be crowned queen on the anniversary of landing in the Enchanted Forest, and that would be in four months.
When she returned, the people of the Safe Haven were all getting ready to move their lives to a new part of the land. They all agree on the name. The name brought tears to her eyes; it made her feel that they genuinely accepted her. The new kingdom that Emma would rule over would be known as the Cygnus Kingdom; inspired by her last name Swan. The next months were going to be hectic, but she wasn't doing it alone she was going to be with people who loved her and the people she loved.