Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. Oh wait, that's not right. I do own some of them. You know which ones.

A/N: I personally hate it when people stop their stories without finishing them, but I may become a hypocrite, because I really have no other thoughts about where I am going with this. But I will finish it, I promise. It just may be a really bad ending. Also, I know that Emma technically would not be their aunt, but I just want them to call her that, so they are.

Chapter 18

Rose

I stared at the person in front of me. He didn't appear to be hurt at all, but he was just frozen. Not literally, as in encased in ice, but he was just still, as if his life had been paused.

"Is he still alive?" I asked Rumplestiltskin. He looked up from where he was observing the man and then nodded.

"He's alive and perfectly well, but this spell will be hard to break unless it is broken by the person who cast it," He said.

"Can you tell who it was?" Auntie Emma asked. Rumplestiltskin shook his head.

"Often when someone does magic it leaves a trace, but this person took precautions to ensure that no one could tell who it was." He explained. I bit my lip and tried to remember if Killian or my parents had ever told me about a criminal who had done this.

A brief memory, something Killian had mentioned when we were making out, surfaced and I gasped.

"I may know who has done this," I announced. Both my father and Aunt Emma turned to look at me quickly. "But first I need to check with Killian," I said, both because I really did want to make sure that I had the right person and because I wanted to see his gorgeous face again. I spun on my heel and started walking towards the diner where I knew Killian was. I couldn't tell you how exactly I knew, but I guessed it was either a magic thing or a True Love thing.

I was vaguely aware of Auntie Emma, Mason, and Rumplestiltskin following after me, but it all seemed vague and unimportant in the excitement of seeing Killian again. I pushed open the door of the diner and waltzed over to where Killian was sitting at the table closest to the door.

"Hi," I greeted him, smiling brightly. He looked up and smiled that crooked smile that made my heart go crazy.

"Hello," He said. "What has brought you to my company?"

"A question," I announced. I was about to share said question but was interrupted by my older brother coming towards me.

"You're up!" He said jovially. He looked older, strangely enough. I surmised it was because he had been away from his family so long. He always looked haggard whenever he was away from Henry, Aunt Emma, and Janet.

"I'm up," I agreed. My hand went absently to the wrist that the manacle had been around and then I remembered that he didn't even know me right now. "I'm Rose, by the way." I introduced myself, offering my hand. He shook it and then turned it over, observing my ring.

"You're married?" He asked.

"Engaged," I said happily. It still made me ecstatic whenever I realized once again that I was going to get married to Killian. I wasn't sure how I had managed to get so lucky as to be engaged to someone so beautiful.

"Aren't you a bit young for that?" He asked, his voice oddly protective. I thought it was kind of amusing that all the people didn't know me and yet still felt emotions for me. Perhaps some emotions were simply wired into your genetic coding and who you love was destined from the beginning. In regards to Bae's question, I shrugged.

"I'm eighteen," I said. "Plus, age is nothing in the face of True Love."

"Very true," Bae said, his voice hinting that he was thinking of the age gap between him and his true love.

The door dinged and Auntie Emma and Rumplestiltskin finally joined us. Bae's face light up. It was entirely endearing and I was just about to devise a system, to move their getting back together a little quicker, but was interrupted by a finger tapping my shoulder.

"And who might you be?" A voice drawled. I turned around.

The Evil Queen.