CHAPTER ONE – The Enchanted Forest, 17 years later
"You sure you're parents are fine with us going out to sea alone? I mean, usually we have Liam or Oliver with us."
"It's perfectly fine," Kendra replied breezily, "I've been sailing for sixteen years, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon. Poor Liam always gets sea sick, and Oliver would rather be in the forest shooting his bow or saving the poor or something." She adjusted the sail, and once more took her place at the helm, the place she and her father had always felt most at home. Killian had given his daughter her very own ship, The Savior Swan, for her thirteenth birthday, and now she hardly stepped foot on land except when forced to for royal duties. Ugh.
Colette sat primly on the steps leading on to the deck, once more absorbed in her book. She was much more of a princess than Kendra ever wanted to be, but her mother had passed on her sense of adventure to her proper daughter, so the two often sailed together.
Kendra glanced down at her first mate. "Not mooning over Liam again, are you? You know he is my brother after all. It's a bit awkward when you do that 'round me."
"NO, I was just…wishing he was here, I suppose…"
"Ha, I knew it! You can get back to courting when I return you to the castle. No doubt he's staring out a window doing the same thing." Colette blushed at this remark, but silently agreed that Liam would be worried about them until they returned home.
After a brief stretch of silence, Colette thought it might be the proper time to approach Kendra about her offer again. "You know, Rumplestiltskin says he's completely willing to teach you still, if you want. I know you don't, but he's been a great teacher to me and I know he can help you control your powers!"
Colette had been taking magic lessons from Rumplestiltskin since she discovered her own magic. He didn't usually give lessons to students in other forms of magic other than the dark arts, but he made an exception since, according to her mother, Rumplestiltskin would always do her mother's bidding. She never explained why to Colette. It was a puzzle why her mother seemed to hate him so while still wanting her daughter to be acquainted with him.
Kendra glowered down at her friends from her position behind the wheel. "Honestly, Gold, I don't need magic lessons. How many times do I have to tell you? I. don't. need. Them."
"But then you could control where you teleport to! Think about it, no more accidently ending up in a mud puddle, or accidentally visiting Arendelle while you sleep…"
"Don't bring Leif into this! And that was one time! As long as I stay concentrated, I'm fine."
"Please, Kendra, see reason…"
"NO!"
With that, a flash of light and a deafening bang rocked the entire ship. Kendra and Colette, knocked over by the blast, unsteadily regained their balance and looked out onto the deck to see what happened. As the smoke cleared, they could start to make out four figures in the smoke. One had dark hair and was yelling at the others, another was looking around the deck for the books she dropped in the confusion, and then the blonde woman in the red leather jacket was checking up on the pirate with the hook.
"Oh no…."
"Kendra, what have you done?"