I feel as if I should make this clearer upfront. This will be a Dark!SwanQueen/Dark!SwanMills (family) story. It's almost an inversion of character roles. "Good becomes bad, bad becomes good, etc." Emma isn't the Savior nor does she want to be. And Regina is tired of pretending to be something she isn't. Henry's just along for the ride, as long as his Mom is happy and safe.
"Snow, we don't have another option. We cannot allow the Evil Queen to win," David said. He looked down at the bundle resting against Snow's chest and added, "Our child is to become the Savior, which means she has to live to break the curse. Without the wardrobe, our only choices are the ships. Take her to the docks, bribe the men if you must, but get her out of the realm before it's too late."
David kissed her forehead and stepped back, motioning to the guard.
"Wait -
The carriage lurched as it sped away from the castle, the purple cloud looming in the distance yet another reminder of what was coming. Snow turned and watched David run back into the castle, and she prayed that he lived to see their future together. Snow glanced down at the baby in her arms as the carriage raced through the trees toward the water. She had no idea if the idea would even work, but they were out of options. Geppetto screwed them over by sending his son through the wardrobe first. The magic was only enough for one trip, and Blue couldn't promise that sending Emma through would work.
David was the one who suggested the seas, as the merchant ships who traveled to and from the kingdom were all capable of coming and going from different realms. Blue said yes, and Snow reluctantly agreed, if only for the better of the kingdom. The Evil Queen's curse would be broken, and the Savior would right the balance between good and evil. They had to trust those words. The carriage reached the docks, and there was chaos. Every ship was preparing to leave, and Snow jumped out. She went to each person, begging for their help, but none paid her any mind. But finally -
"Are you in need of help, ma'am?"
Snow turned and froze at the man in front of her. He was well put together with a long, black, and healthy beard that reached his chest. His eyes were a beautiful green, and he was dressed like a merchant. Snow looked behind him at the ship idling near the dock, and she relaxed when she saw it was a merchant's ship. The man seemed to startle, and he bowed quickly at the waist.
"Oh, forgive me, your Majesty, I was unaware-"
"It's fine," she said quickly. "You are merchants, yes? And your ship allows you to travel from realm to realm?"
"Aye, that be the case, your Majesty."
"I need you to take her with you."
The man frowned in confusion until he saw the bundle against her chest, and several emotions crossed his face before he settled on hesitation.
"Your Majesty, I cannot-
"Look, all you have to do is take her to Agrabah. Tell the Sultan I sent you. And here," Snow tugged out a small bag of gold coins, "this is all that I have left. I beg of you, sir, take her with you."
The man stroked his beard, and behind them, the curse grew closer. Snow pushed the baby into his arms with tear-filled eyes.
"Please," she whispered. "Save her, so that she may one day save us."
The man carefully took the baby and the gold before turning around. He didn't spare Snow another word as he walked toward the ship, and Snow collapsed into tears amid the chaos. As more and more ships left the dock, Snow only had eyes for one. The man walked up the ramp and stopped on the deck. He held the baby to his chest and looked over his shoulder.
Snow's relief was short-lived as the man smiled wickedly. He raised his free hand to his heart and tapped it twice, and his clothes washed away into black leather. His pupils turned dark, and symbols of a cursed man littered his skin. The flag hanging on the mast transformed, and a black flag with a dancing devil stabbing a heart took its place. Several men cut the ropes that kept the ship docked, and a slow display of magic revealed the ship's true nature.
Black. Rotted. Cursed.
It was the Queen Anne's Revenge.
Snow paled, and she began sprinting toward the ship. The man gave a sarcastic salute as a portal opened just ahead of it. Snow had to stop at the edge of the docks, and she watched the ship disappear as the curse enveloped her.
What had she done?
Blackbeard held the newborn to his chest as their ship disappeared and reappeared in new waters, destined for The Southern Isles.
"Sir?"
Blackbeard hummed and looked at his first mate, Tobias. Though barely legal, Tobias had been the most loyal of the crew, and he treated him with far more respect than the others.
"Is that a babe?" he asked.
"Aye."
"Why - uh, why do ya have one?"
"Because, Tobias, a man of my," he paused, "reputation needs a legacy to leave behind. And to be lucky enough to cross paths with a desperate Snow White, it be Fate's hand that guides us now."
"Of course, sir. What's the babe's name?"
Blackbeard adjusted the blanket around the child, glimpsing the name stitched into the fabric, and he said, "Emma, it would seem." Then he paused and grimaced. "But we might be needing a bit of help with this one."
"Direct my hands, sir. They be yours as needed."
"Change our course for home," he ordered. "The Prince can wait another week before his delivery."
"Home, sir?"
Blackbeard smirked at Tobias' wariness, and he said, "Yes, Tobias. Home."
"Aye, sir," he said, his voice cracking.
Tobias ran off to shout orders, and Blackbeard glanced once again at the child in his arms. Not once has she cried. She watched him as he watched her, curious yet wary, but not quite afraid. Blackbeard lifted a shaking hand and caressed her cheek with his finger.
"I vow to you now that your blood shall never spill, as it will be by your hands that men shall know death. You shall be my legacy. You shall bear my namesake. I swear it be from here on."
A small symbol appeared on Emma's forehead, right between her eyes, before it vanished, and dark magic almost as old as time itself formed between them.
In a small cottage by the sea, a woman moved around the kitchen with a child in her arms. At the window, Blackbeard watched the waves.
"You kidnapped a child."
"She was given to me," he said.
"You and I both know Snow White would never willingly give her child to a pirate, let alone to the pirate that once terrorized her father until he released your crew from the dungeons."
"It wasn't even him who signed the order. The Queen did."
"That explains why you were given free rein over the seas after Leopold died. Fancy the Evil Queen?"
"She is an ally, and a great one to have. If it were not for her, I would have been swept up into her curse with the others."
"Yet you conveniently forgot to tell my husband about it."
"He was already on the ship home when I found out."
"Yes, and you are lucky he arrived this morning."
"I would have saved him," he grumbled.
The woman shot him a look, and he chuckled.
"After I let him suffer a bit."
"Exactly."
Blackbeard pushed off the wall and approached the woman. As his eldest daughter, Angelica was often given more liberties than the rest. Which was why he had no issue handing his prodigy over to her. A mother of two boys, a wife to a good, if not insufferable, man, and the one person Blackbeard trusted to raise Emma until she was old enough for the ship.
"Where's Yosiah?" he asked.
"Out back," she said distractedly, searching for something to feed Emma. "He is preparing the bags for when we leave."
"Leave?"
"Only for the night. A storm's coming, and I would rather not risk anything. Especially since I have a newborn to care for."
"So you will do it?"
"Aye, if only because you haven't been this smitten since I was a child."
Blackbeard grunted and kissed the top of her head.
"Ten years," he said.
"Am I telling her the truth or your version of it?"
"She is mine," he said matter-of-factly.
"By default," she reminded. "But you are lucky I have love for you and know that in the darkest, deepest parts of your heart, you can be decent enough. Nevertheless, family is family. No matter if they were kidnapped or abandoned."
Blackbeard shrugged and placed his hand on top of Emma's head. Green eyes latched onto him, and Angelica looked between them curiously.
"You bonded with her."
"As I said. She is mine."
Blackbeard bowed before he strolled out of the house. As he walked toward the rowboat waiting for him, Angelica watched him from the window and lifted Emma to see as well.
"You see that man, pretty one," she said softly. "He is an evil, cold-hearted, and brutal killer. He is a savage. Yet I have never wanted. I have never hurt. And I have never lost. He will care for you always. Never forget that."