Trails of Tradition
Chapter Two: An Open Mind
She couldn't explain why she had acted as she did, and it seemed Mary Margret did not accept that explanation at all. Emma simply had a feeling, a strong winding pull that shaped her words and actions without her notice. It was the kind of thing that she would have called instinct, except she very well knew it wasn't.
Emma had simply followed the prompts in her head. As if she were reciting a script she had learned long ago. It wasn't trust or belief or anything more than that, at least, not at first.
She had spent the hours they traveled quizzing the supposed 'Wise One' on everything she could think of. It ranged from foods owl's enjoyed to nestlings and mates. Emma had asked Tawny to lie to her on occasion while the owl told her tales, and Emma was surprised to learn her super-power worked on the owl just as well as it had on anyone else.
And other than her requested falsehoods, the owl hadn't lied to her. Tawny truly believed in what she was saying, and even more, the owl was completely convinced that a greater force existed in this realm called the Tradition.
Mary Margret simply denied the possibility entirely. To her, if there had been any force that pushed her fate it had to have been Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, not this previously unknown, never-heard-of Tradition. Emma wanted to believe her mother, she really did, but lack of proof was no longer equal to non-existence, not since she had used that excuse for Henry's curse, and had proved to her desperately doubtful self very, very wrong.
And that set a just reason to at least listen to the owl.
Maybe Mary Margret was stubborn. Emma had to have gotten that from somewhere, right?
Right, well she didn't need much more to believe in the Tradition. If Mary Margret would listen, she'd have all the proof she needed. After all, something had literally used Mary Margret to force the three of them on a quest to destroy a Wraith. Something had started them moving...whichever way they were moving...without even knowing anything about where or why they were going...
And lastly, perhaps even most importantly, Emma had talked to an owl and it talked back. While they were on a quest.
If that wasn't enough, well she had a feeling more proof would come soon.
By some 'twist of fate' the three women and owl stumbled upon a cabin in the woods. It was empty of people, and had been for twenty-eight years. It was not empty of weapons. In fact, hanging on the wall was a finely made bow perfect for Snow White, and plenty of arrows fit snugly in its accompanying quiver.
Surprise, surprise there were also a few daggers ineptly hidden along the shelves and an old, but well cared for sword hanging atop the fireplace.
It was all very convenient and it just allowed Emma to believe in the Tradition that much more.
(All of which probably belonged to a kindly old widow and her young son, who would have, if not for the curse, taken his father's sword and saved some kingdom and married a princess.)
Emma didn't bother questioning the Tradition's way of arming them. She simply took the daggers and stowed them away with ease, grabbed the sword and hung it on her hip, and thrust the quiver and bow into her mother's shocked hands. All while Tawny looked on with knowing amusement.
Mary Margret looked on warily. "Are you sure we should just take these?" She asked slowly.
"We need them, and they're here," Emma explained. "So yes, we should take them. The food, not so much."
Nodding, Mulan looked at the moldy porridge, very, very moldy porridge set at the table. "Obviously who ever lived here was taken by the curse. They won't need the weapons, but you do. Take this as the blessing it is."
"It's just too convenient," she huffed.
'It's the Tradition helping us,' she wanted to say, but then Emma saw the look on her mother's face and bit her tongue. She knew exactly why Mary Margret refused to believe in the Tradition, even if she was wrong.
In fact it was the same reason she had dismissed Henry's curse as a simple boyhood fantasy. Mary Mar- no Snow White had grown up in the Enchanted Forest without knowing about the Tradition. Just as Emma grew up in a magicless world without really believing in the possibility of magic. They were adults, and they believed they knew everything their worlds had to offer them and it shouldn't change.
And they were very stubborn about it. She shouldn't, couldn't forget that.
Even if just yesterday Emma's world view had shattered and now she was trying to put the pieces back together with an open mind. Well, a slightly less closed off and set mind.
Emma was only open to listening, learning because she needed to be. Snow White wasn't because she was home.
Home, the thought of that single word wretched in her gut. She had never really had a place to call home, not until Henry brought her to Storybrooke. She should be working on a way to get back to him, and her father...and probably the town.
She turned away from her mother and looked outside. Emma noticed the shadows growing longer, she wondered if it was safe to stay in the cabin. With so little people left behind by the curse it should have been a no brainer, but it would be better to ask someone who would really know...
"Do you think it'd be okay if we stayed here for the night?" She asked Mulan. "I mean no one lives here anymore and it is going to be dark soon."
Mulan nodded at Tawny, "What does the bird say?"
The owl huffed at being called a bird. She was more than a simple bird. "It is up to you. Traditionally you wouldn't want to, as the occupant would be returning at dusk and put you to work or something, but the curse has skewed things enough so that nothing should disturb you."
"I still don't believe it, I don't believe you," she muttered with a tinge of jealousy. "If the Tradition existed, why haven't I heard of it? The fairies should have told us!"
"This again?" Emma whined.
"Yes, Emma, this again," Snow snapped. "I can't believe you! You, who has walls so high you barely trust me with small glimpses of your heart, you're just trusting everything this owl is telling you!"
She wasn't. Emma wasn't trusting Tawny. She was believing her, because so far the owl had not lied. Sure, her truest most basic instinct told her to trust and listen, but she knew better. Emma needed to trust in her lie detector to help her learn and survive.
The owl truly believed the Tradition was a real thing. Emma decided not to completely dismiss it.
That was all!
Tawny jumped off her shoulder and took a perch on one of the chairs. She pulled herself up straight and puffed out her chest. Tawny took no offense, which filled Emma with relief.
Because to her knowledge, ignoring an animal on a quest was stupid. Offending the one trying to help you led to your doom.
Then Tawny spoke directly to all of them. "No being in the Enchanted Forest, nor in any of its minor kingdoms was allowed to know of the Tradition as long as the Dark One walked upon its sovereignty," Tawny's voice was forced and heavy with warning. "The Dark One is to never learn of the Tradition."
It must have been actually hearing the wise-ness of Tawny's voice, but for the first time since they met, Snow actually stopped to listen. "Then you aren't from the Forest?"
"I am," Tawny spoke dismissively, once again through Emma. "I've only awakened recently, but the soul of a Wise One is always connected to the Tradition."
There was a break in conversation, as they decided to settle in for the night. While Snow and Mulan went out to hunt for dinner, Emma tried to figure out how to work with the Enchanted Forest's less modern equipment.
She managed to get a fire going easily enough, although she did have Tawny check to see if anything nested in the chimney first. The table was cleaned off with nearby well water and set with clean plates and cutlery. The sun had reached the horizon and the forest was quiet.
Emma frowned. The forest was eerily quiet.
She paced in her stillroom with resigned practicality. She was prepared, she knew it. She usually was. Elena the Rose Fairy was perhaps most well known for her preparedness. She almost always had enough magic for the great works, because she rarely used any of her magic for needless things.
She was prepared, and she was stalling. She had sent out missives to many other Godmothers about her journey, in reply she got many a "good luck," and plenty of dismissive approval. So now Elena had to go, because, as predicted, not one Godmother volunteered.
A sigh escaped her lips, but she said nothing. The pull of the Tradition was weak, something she could easily ignore, but Randolf had premonitions very rarely, and the last time he had premonitory feelings, he forged a path for her to be with Alexander.
"A family affair, huh?" She muttered with a small laugh. Maybe it would be better is her husband was at her side, but why would the mirror-servant want Elena to take her daughter?
Well, it's not like the Tradition had any interest in the child of a Godmother and her Champion. No roles for them to follow in the slightest. Her Celeste would be able to live as simply or grandly as she chose, so why in the world would she risk taking her two year old?
Then again, her daughter was the reason she was still stalling. And she could hardly survive a night away from her little fairy, she couldn't bear a month, even if she had complete faith in Lily's tending.
With a sigh, she gathered her things and went to find her family. It was time for a trip to the Enchanted Forest.
A loud call of a horse drifted through the Enchanted Forest. It was followed by a sharp, happy giggle and the creaking of an old carriage. Emma looked out past the stretching shadows of the tall trees, squinting and stretching her vision, and yet saw nothing.
Then she looked up.
An elegant black stallion, draped in a gold and rose colored harness, pulled an opalescent white and gold carriage through the sky. The horse lacked wings of any kind, and there didn't seem to be a driver.
Faced with this, Emma could only gape. Seriously, she thought she was okay with magic already, then shit like this happens.
"Oh this is strange," Tawny spoke with a twist of her head. "I'll go take a peek at who's inside!"
Before Emma could stop her, Tawny was flying away, and within minutes of the owl's departure, the carriage descended onto the cottage path.
Emma shifted uncertainly, her fingers tracing her gun. She trusted Tawny enough not to fall into sheriff-mode, but it never hurt to be cautious. The carriage door opened and Tawny flew out quickly.
Landing on Emma's shoulder, she said, "Be courteous, this is a Fairy Godmother from one of the other kingdoms." As soon as she finished her warning, a man stepped out of the carriage.
He had long, dark hair, probably brown, that he wore just above his shoulders. The man was clean-shaven with a hard jaw that gave way to a soft smile. His attire lacked any hint of shiny baubles or ostentatious ornamentations which let Emma breathe that much easier. She didn't really know what to do with nobility or royals in her world, how would have to behave if she met one of those types here?
Noticing Emma, he gave her the tiniest of bows, and turned to offer his hand to the remaining passengers.
A nicely dressed young woman disembarked without fanfare, keeping hold of a sleepy toddler. "Ah, hello," she greeted warmly, handing her girl to the man. "I am Godmother Elena, the Rose Fairy. This is my husband Champion Alexander, Grand Master of the Order of Glass Mountain, and our daughter Celeste. And this fellow is Nightsong," she patted the stallion without really looking at him, and smiled. "We've come to teach."
"I'm Emma Swan," she spoke in forced calm. "Would you like to come inside?" Elena nodded and allowed Emma to lead the way in. "I'm sorry I can't offer any food, my companions haven't come back with any yet."
Alexander grinned, "Don't be so nervous. Elena isn't one to just curse people."
That remark brought a smile to the Godmother's face, it was fondly far away and only highlighted her beauty. "I've brought some provisions, don't you worry. One of the things Godmothers do is prepare food for the deserving, usually in disguise, but I'm not here to guide you."
Elena began throwing her magic about with little care. The Tradition was so thick in this kingdom that she supposed sorcerers probably didn't bother going through the rituals to sense magic and just used it.
"So," Emma began uneasily. The sight of magic disturbed her greatly. She had accepted it existed, but so far all the magic she had experienced had been bad, dark, evil. This? This magic was different. "You said you came here to teach. Teach what exactly?"
Celeste babbled sleepily against her father's soft cloak, and Elena conjured a crib to put her in. "One of your companions is a Champion, a born Champion who has been recognized by the Tradition," Alexander spoke softly. "I'm here to teach her the skills of a Champion. The magic part of it."
"Oh yes, and we've brought some dragon's blood for her. Champions are required to help anyone that asks," Elena explained. "It helps if they understand what they are asked."
"Is there enough for two?" Emma asked, wanting to stop being Tawny's translator.
"There is," the Godmother replied slowly, "but you don't need it, and I do not recommend it at all. Dragon's blood is very nasty."
"It's not for her," Tawny fluttered her wings. "Princess Emma has already tasted dragon's blood."
Alexander and Elena shared a look. "Princess?"
"Only technically," Emma replied sourly. "I wasn't raised as one." Her tone clearly told them just how much she did not want to talk about it.
"A lost princess...well, that complicates things."
Snow White and Mulan returned to the cottage shortly after the sun had set. The two of them had a small string of herbs, rabbits and squirrels. It was more than enough for the three of them, and Mulan was grateful for her companion's skill with a bow and knowledge of the forest. They had started towards friendship, and that was why when they saw the beautiful carriage outside the cottage they sprinted for the door.
"Emma!" Snow White called out, her bow at the ready.
"Whoa," Emma responded quickly as Celeste broke out a whimper. "Mary Margret, calm down."
Snow pulled up her best queenly demeanor and asked, "Emma, who are these people?"
"Well, you know how Tawny said someone would show up by dark?" Emma laughed nervously. "Surprise."
"Manners," Tawny warned.
"Right," Emma agreed instantly. The introductions were awkward, as Emma stuttered over what to call her mother. Instinctively, she used Mary Margret, but when it came to actually introducing her, she didn't know. "This is Godmother Elena and her husband Champion Alexander. Godmother, this is Mulan, the...um...Champion, and my mother..."
"Snow White," Emma's mother supplied easily. "I'd prefer if you called me Snow." Her tone was soft, and Emma realized she spoke to her, and not the others.
Emma also realized the 'but I really want to be called mom,' had been crushed under the weight of not-pushing the relationship.
It was then that a strangely reverent tone graced one so usually serious. "You're Snow White?" Mulan asked startling the two year old awake.
There was a rush of movement. Elena swept up her daughter and began to hum, as she never sang unless she needed something. Snow looked on longingly at the mother-daughter bonding and glanced at Emma with a painful apology.
The whole thing made Emma uncomfortable, so instead she answered. "Yes, she's Snow White, I'm her daughter, the Savior, with a capital 'S.'" Her tone was sardonically petulant, which earned her a small smile from her mother...although that just might have been the acknowledgement of being her daughter.
"My apologies," Mulan bowed, "I have been treating you unfairly."
"Tell the silly one to get up," Tawny told Alexander privately. She turned to Emma and continued. "Also you might want to work on dinner. The Godmother seems occupied."
"I'll get dinner ready," Snow promised, and was absolutely delighted when Emma volunteered to help.
After dinner was settled and Celeste was once again abed, Elena pulled out a vail of a menacingly viscous fluid that she proclaimed to be dragon's blood. She, at both Emma's and Snow's request, divided the blood evenly in to two of their borrowed glasses.
Alexander prepared two glasses other of very tart, very pungent wine with a wince. Elena watched with a learned detachment as the two brunettes downed their blood just as she told them to.
"Toss it back and swallow. Don't spit it out."
Emma shuddered at the expressions on their faces. They got to wash away the taste with something other than suppressed bile. She remembered the vehemently violent urge to expel the blood that coursed through her entire body, causing so much pain as she squashed it down. Knowing that if she started throwing up, she wouldn't be able to stop.
It was unpleasant and painful, even as just a memory.
Once that was all over, Elena announced she and Alexander would begin teaching them tomorrow, and they would have to discuss what Emma's role in all this would be. "But for now, let us sleep."
Snow couldn't sleep. Something had been bothering her since the owl had actually spoke to her. She needed to know, why the fairies didn't know of the Tradition, how this owl did, why her and not someone else.
She approached the owl, who vigilantly watched over Emma.
"What did you mean? By awaken?" Snow asked once she was sure her daughter was sound asleep.
Tawny blinked, before remembering their earlier conversation. Then she nodded, "One night I was just an owl, no brighter than the rest of my kin. I hunted and ate and slept until dusk. I was flying over a moonlit field in search of a stray mouse when something washed over me and I just knew.
"It was hard to keep flying for quite some time. Memories and ideas not my own settled inside my skull. I could barely see enough to land. Then I slept until dawn," there was a hint of disgruntlement. "Now I wake in the morn and sleep at night. I can no longer hunt properly, but that is the sacrifice of a Wise One."
"So it wasn't something like the dragon's blood? Just random?" Snow inquired.
"Yes, it was very much by chance," Tawny replied. "You still have trouble believing. You accept it, but do not believe."
Snow sighed. "It's just. I know the Dark One. And I know you said he shouldn't ever learn of the Tradition, but for all my life he and the Blue fairy have been the best people to turn to when magic is involved."
"That does not change," Tawny supplied. "Magic and the Tradition are not the same. Yes, Godmothers and Wizards, Sorcerers and many others use the Tradition as a source of magic, but others can use the magic of the earth or of themselves."
"Like fairy dust?" Snow asked with a small smile.
Tawny nodded. "Just like. Magic can take a mage through many different paths, the Tradition is just the one that is the most common." The owl paused and stared straight into Snow White's eyes. "There is one more thing. When I said the Tradition guides the fate of kingdoms, you mistook my words to mean the Tradition is fate itself."
Snow hesitated, "Was I wrong?"
"Very much so," Tawny agreed. "The Tradition does not write the fate of every child born. It only guides the fates of those special few who will one day guide the kingdom.
"The Tradition cares nothing for the lives effected by its dogged nature. It only pushes its pets, its pawns until it finds the right 'happily ever after.' Because stories are lessons that need to be learned, and what better way to teach the people than to make them live the stories themselves."
"So let there be a wise and humble king and a kind and honest queen to guide their kingdom into an age of peace and prosperity," Snow recited softly.
"Exactly that," Tawny crooned wearily. "Exactly that."
Snow stood up and bowed slightly. "Thank you for helping me understand. May I ask why the Tradition does not want the Dark One to learn of it?"
Tawny turned away. "No matter how human the Dark One's host may be now, one day he will fall and the Dark One will be reborn in another." Again, her amber eyes locked on Snow's, and her voice grew to barely a whisper. "The Dark One retains all knowledge learned in all lives, and for the first few decades in its new host, it is firmly in control. If it learns of the Tradition, it will never forget. And the Dark One, will twist the Tradition to cause misery, because that is where it gains the most power."
She let the words wash over her and finally allowed herself to understand. This knowledge was dangerous, but it was real. Or at least real enough that a family traveled so far from home just to meet with them.
To teach them.
With a new resolve and understanding set in her mind, Snow found enough peace to fall asleep.
A/N: Okay, so this is not my best work, but it's what I had to do to make everything fit. I think this crossover is perfect, but I'm not the best at juggling the ways of two worlds.
Let me know what you liked and what you didn't! Thank you for reading!