Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorite/followed this story! This was the furthest I got in pre-writing for the story so, just as a warning, it'll be a few weeks before Chapter 2 goes up! Huge, huge, huge thanks to phiralovesloki for all her help with this!

As always, enjoy, and reviews feed the muse!

Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time...

Long ago in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful Queen with hair as dark as the raven and skin as white as snow. She was known throughout the realm as Snow White and was loved by all her subjects. The only daughter of the dearly departed King Leopold, she was kind and generous, a firm believer of hope who sought to see the best in everyone and standing by her side was her husband, the charming King David. Although not born into royalty he was a brave and courageous warrior, a heroic champion of all things good. Their love was the truest of all love, born in the silence of the forest as his mother's ring slipped onto Snow White's finger for the first time and confirmed when the then Prince awoke the future Queen from a sleeping curse with True Love's Kiss. Together they ruled over the kingdom of Misthaven fairly and justly.

All was not peaceful, however.

The Evil Queen Regina, Snow White's step-mother, had long sought to hold her step-daughter's heart in her hand for telling a secret many years ago that had cost Regina her first love. She vowed to end Snow and David's happiness no matter the cost and turned to the Dark One for assistance. Her mentor in magic, Rumplestiltskin gave the Evil Queen a curse that would ravage Misthaven, transporting its inhabitants to another land without their memories and leaving them slaves to Regina's will. Knowing they could not stop the Dark Curse from being cast Snow and David sought the all-knowing Blue Fairy who told them that the child Snow was carrying would be their only hope, the Savior born to break the Dark Curse in twenty-eight years time. She advised the King and Queen to create a magical wardrobe from the last enchanted tree so that Snow, while pregnant, could escape the curse safely and keep their child out of the Evil Queen's reach.

Unknown to them as they began preparations to build the wardrobe Regina encountered the famed Robin Hood and true love began to bloom between the black-hearted Queen and the honorable thief. Her heart once again filled with love, the Evil Queen ended her decades long vendetta against Snow White and refused to cast the curse but before she could return the Dark Curse to Rumplestiltskin her half-sister, Zelena, stole it. Angry that their mother had abandoned her as an infant but raised Regina and jealous that Rumplestiltskin favored her sister, Zelena cast the curse, sacrificing the heart of the only person she could love to do so.

In the same moment that Zelena cast the curse Snow White went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl. Realising the wardrobe could only transport one person, Snow pleaded with her husband to take their daughter and put her into it, knowing the child would be safe and one day break the curse to reunite them. With the cloud of purple smoke that marked the impending curse barreling toward the castle David gathered his newborn daughter into his arms and rushed from the room. He could hear the anguished cries of his wife as he entered the nursery their child would never sleep in, and gently placed her within the magical wardrobe. Tears of anger and frustration spilled down his cheeks as he placed the softest of kisses to his daughter's head before shutting the wardrobe door.

And then the curse struck...

"If you keep eating that you're going to spoil your dinner."

Emma Swan looked up from the piece of hard candy she had been about to pop into her mouth and narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the woman standing in front of her.

"How do you know I'm eating it if you aren't even looking at me?"

Ingrid Swan glanced over her shoulder with a small smile. "Because I know you, Emma. Every time Mr. Smee brings candy on his way back from town, you gobble it up before the poor man has even had time to reach his own farm. Besides," she continued, turning and wiping her hands on the dingy apron that hung about her waist, "I'm a mother. We have eyes in the back of our heads."

Emma rolled her eyes at the remark she had been hearing since she was six. "It's not my fault it tastes good," she countered, popping the candy in her mouth and smiling widely.

Ingrid chuckled as she reached for the carrots that had been picked fresh from their garden that morning. "Indeed. I suspect that's why Mr. Smee continues to buy them for you. Instead of continuing to ruin your dinner how about you go out to the barn and feed the horses? Supper should be ready by the time you and the boys get back."

Ever the dutiful daughter, Emma stood and retrieved her shawl to ward off the evening chill before exiting the farmhouse, a triumphant smile pulling at her lips as she patted the pocket of her apron where two pieces of candy were covertly hidden. They might ruin her dinner, but the hard sweets were well worth the lack of substantial food she'd eat later. Making her way down the dirt path that led to the barn she let her mind wander as the delicious candy continued to melt in her mouth.

Although sometimes overbearing in her protectiveness Ingrid was a wonderful mother, the best a girl could ask for considering she hadn't given birth to her. Ingrid's husband had found Emma on a forest path twenty-two years ago while heading to the nearest town. She had been wrapped in a white knitted blanket with her name stitched into its fabric, abandoned by her parents only hours after being born. The Swans, unable to have children of their own, had taken her in and raised her as if she were their own blood, giving her everything their small farmland allowed them to. She had known from an early age that she had been adopted and although she was initially sad at discovering her biological parents hadn't wanted her, that pain had been carefully and lovingly eased by Ingrid and her husband through the years.

Entering the barn, she quickly began the process of feeding their seven horses, taking her time at each stall to run her hand along their graceful necks and talk to them in a soothing tone. Her father had always loved horses and had instilled in her a deep affection and respect for the magnificent creatures throughout her childhood. A hardworking man, he was always up before the first rooster had crowed and never stopped until sundown, content to plow at fields or herd sheep if it meant putting food on the table and giving Ingrid and Emma a roof over their heads. His hands were always calloused and more than once she had watched him working with some alignment - a broken finger, deep cuts, a cough rattling his chest - but he never stopped until the fever two winters ago had left him bedridden and eventually taken him from them…

"Emma?"

Pulled from the memories of her father, Emma quickly swiped at her wet eyes before turning to see Liam Jones walking into the barn. Liam and his younger brother, Killian, had been living with them since Emma was five; their mother having died not long after Killian had been born and their father abandoning them a few years later. Ingrid had stumbled upon the pair while shopping for supplies in town and had immediately taken the half-starving boys in. They had lived on the farm ever since, helping her father and taking over the vast majority of the chores when he passed.

"Everything okay?" Liam asked worriedly as he moved toward her. He was no longer the scrawny pre-teen that had refused to leave his brother's side when he came to live with them but a young man who was approaching his twenty-ninth birthday in just a few weeks.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she replied as Liam reached out to touch her arm. "I was… I was just thinking about my father."

Understanding dawned in Liam's eyes and he gave her a comforting smile. "We all miss him."

Emma nodded, her hands tightening on the bucket that held the horse's feed. Liam and Killian had become like sons to her father and she knew they felt his death almost as strongly as she and Ingrid did.

"I know you do." Sighing deeply and willing the tears away she asked, "How were the fields today?"

"Fruitful."

Emma instantly blushed at the sound of the other man's voice and cursed herself internally as Killian, who had made his way into the barn unnoticed while she talked to Liam, came to stand next to his brother. While the two Jones brother shared a few physical characteristics - their blue eyes, the cut of their jaws, their smiles - everything else about them was like night and day. Whereas Liam's hair was curly and of a chestnut coloring Killian's was straight, a swatch of it forever falling across his forehead and black as the raven's wing. His build was slimmer, more lean than the hefty bulk his older brother had and whereas Liam had facial hair and Killian always kept his shaved.

She wished she could control her reaction when she was around Killian but that had become impossible over the past few years. It was silly, really. The two of them had been raised alongside her like brothers and that was certainly how she felt towards Liam. So why did she feel differently about Killian? Why did her heart race whenever she thought of him or threaten to escape her chest when he was in her presence? Why had she begun to entertain fantasies of dramatic declarations of love falling from his lips?

Realizing both men were staring at her and that it had been too long since anyone had spoken, Emma cleared her throat nervously.

"Good," she quickly responded, busying herself with straightening her shawl so she didn't have to look into Killian's eyes for longer than necessary. "Winter will be upon us before we know it and we need all the crops we can harvest before it arrives."

"Should be a bountiful harvest this year," Liam commented with a smile. "Anything we can help with?"

"I'm just feeding the horses before supper. You should head to the house and clean up, you've both been in the field all day."

"And you've helped us finish our work out there more than once to get us home in time for supper," Liam remarked with a knowing look. "Let us help you, Emma. You can't tell me you aren't dying to get back there and raid more of the candy Smee bought before Ingrid finds out just how much you've consumed."

Emma rolled her eyes at him, knowing it was futile to try to argue with him when he was in big brother mode.

"If you insist," she said with an exaggerated sigh. "I haven't filled their water troughs yet."

Liam nodded. "Consider it taken care of."

Her and Killian were left alone as Liam headed towards the back of the barn to retrieve the bucket they used to fetch water with. He studied her in that way only he could, like he could see into her very soul and read the thoughts she never spoke aloud. Butterflies fluttered within her stomach at just how handsome he looked in the pre-dusk light as the sweat of the day dried on his tanned skin. Shaking her head against the thought - it did her no good to let her mind wander down that path - she turned towards the horse she had been feeding before Liam arrived and scooped a generous amount of feed into its stall.

"Killian, can you brush the horses?"

"As you wish."

There they were again. Pausing mid-step on her way to the next stall, Emma looked over her shoulder to watch Killian walk towards the far wall where the brushes were kept.

For as long as she could remember he had replied with those three words every time she asked him to do something - fetch clean water to wash dinner dishes with, hold her cloak while she ran after a wayward goat, let her sleep in for five minutes longer - and she could never understand why. He never said it to Ingrid or Liam when they asked him to do something, only her. Before she had been unable to control how she reacted to him it had never bothered her, something she had accepted as a normal part of everyday life. It was a quirky thing he did to get her to laugh or smile but over the last few months she had begun to question his motives behind saying it. Was he mocking her? Teasing her? Was it his way of showing how much he valued their friendship?

It was a mystery and one she didn't have a ready answer for.

Later that evening, after the horses had been fed, watered, and brushed and they had consumed supper, he did it again when she asked him to fetch more firewood from the stockpile. Once his bundled form had left the house she turned to her mother. Ingrid was knitting in her favorite rocker, humming quietly as the sounds of Liam getting ready for bed drifted from upstairs.

"Why does he do that?"

"Do what, dear?"

"Why does Killian respond to every request I make with 'as you wish?'"

"You know why," Ingrid replied, never looking up from the blanket she was steadily working on.

Emma frowned. "No I don't."

Pausing in her knitting, Ingrid gave her a knowing look. "Yes, you do."

"I really don't, Mom. All I know is he only does it when I ask him to do something. He doesn't say it to you or Liam, ever. Is it… Is he being mean when he does it?"

"Of course not," Ingrid instantly responded but upon seeing the obvious worry on Emma's face she sighed heavily. "It's his way of telling you how he feels about you."

Her brows furrowed in confusion at that. "How he feels about me as a friend?"

"Emma, that boy has been in love with you since he first laid eyes on you."

Emma's jaw dropped at her mother's revelation. "What?!" she quietly shrieked, mindful not to be too loud and alert Liam to their conversation. "That can't - mother, you're mistaken!"

"Mothers are never mistaken when it comes to matters of the heart," the older woman replied casually as she went back to her knitting. "Killian loves you and his little 'as you wish' is his way of telling you that - has been since he was nine and you were five."

Emma continued to stare in shock as Ingrid fell silent, clearly having said all she needed to on the subject. Killian couldn't be in love with her! It just wasn't possible… was it? He had never shown any outward signs of feeling that way toward her and he certainly never acted like he saw her as more than a friend. But if her mother was right he had been doing just that all along without her ever realizing it. She tried to think of a time when he hadn't responded to a request she'd given him with those three words and found herself unable to. She could even recall an incident from his very first night with them when her five-year-old self asked him to hand her his dirty plate and he had responded with 'as you wish'.

That didn't mean he was in love with her though.

Shaking her head against the outlandish thought Emma scoffed quietly. "You're wrong, mother."

"I'm not wrong, Emma. I know how he feels about you just as I'm certain you're in love with him," her mother replied evenly, eyes trained on the swift movement of the needle in her hand.

Emma's eyes widened. "I - I'm not in love -"

"Emma, don't lie your to mother - the Gods frown upon it."

Before she could form a rebuttal to her mother's words - because they certainly were not true - Killian entered the house with a stack of firewood in his arms. Bidding both of them good-night and ignoring the knowing smirk that pulled at her mother's lips Emma quickly headed to her room.

There was no way Killian Jones was in love with her.

But over the next few weeks she couldn't help but notice things she had never paid attention to before. Like how he always made sure her plate was full before he took his own dinner, even if that meant he was the last one to begin eating. Or when rain soaked the dirt of their farm and he handed her an extra pair of socks - one of his own - to ensure her feet stayed as dry as possible. He also offered her the waterskin filled with fresh water as they tilled the soil on a hot day before he took a sip himself and she was almost certain he was moving her cloak closer to the fire so the fabric was warm when she placed it around her shoulders in the morning. The more she observed those little things he did for her the more she couldn't help but think that maybe her mother was right - maybe Killian did love her.

It was almost a month after learning what those three words meant that she finally admitted her mother had also been right on her other observation.

She was helping Killian mend the fence one afternoon after the winds from the previous night's storm had knocked a few of the boards loose. Both of them worked quietly and diligently with him holding the larger pieces of wood up so she could hammer fresh nails into them. Wilby the family dog had come to investigate their work and as Emma turned to get more nails the dog went under her feet and sent her tumbling to the ground below. She cried out as her hands slid along the dirt path, unsuccessfully trying to break her fall, and a sharp pain shot through her left hand.

"Emma! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she groaned, grimacing when she tried to put weight onto her left hand. Seconds later Killian was by her side, his strong hands helping her to stand on slightly unsteady feet.

"Are you positive?" he asked again, turning her towards him. The concern and fear she saw in his wide eyes made her heart thump loudly against her chest and it took a few seconds for her to answer him.

"Yeah… my hand just hurts."

Looking down at the hand she was holding between them, she could see a deep gash across it. The cut ran diagonally almost the entire length of her palm and a fair amount of blood poured from it. She heard Killian's breath hitch as he saw the wound, his own hands coming up to gently cradle her injured one as he inspected the damage with a critical gaze.

"It doesn't look too deep, Swan. You probably caught it on a sharp rock or something when you fell."

Emma could hear him speaking but she couldn't focus on his words, not when little jolts of electricity were racing up her arm from their point of contact and the warmth from his hands sent those ever present butterflies in her stomach to fluttering. They hadn't touched like this since they were children, him chasing her around the field of pink middlemist flowers that grew an acre away, their physical contact over the last ten years restricted to the occasional brush of an arm or a helping hand. But this was something more, something intimate, and that was when she realised she was in love with him. She had been for some time if she were being honest with herself, her uncontrollable reactions when he was around the physical mark of those feelings.

She loved Killian Jones and he was in love with her.

"I'll need to disinfect the wound before I put a bandage on it just to be safe. Can you stay still while I pour some rum on it?"

Blinking against the onslaught of emotions running through her Emma looked up from their joined hands to see Killian reaching into the pouch that hung around his waist, no doubt in search of the small flask he kept on hand for just such an occasion. It was in that moment as she watched him search for the flask of rum, his right hand still gently cradling her throbbing left one, that she knew there was only response to his question.

"As you wish."

Kilian instantly ceased searching for his flask at her words, his head snapping up to look at her with wide eyes. "What did you say?" he whispered, surprise and hope hanging heavy in his voice.

The sounds of the farm faded to a dull murmur as she stared into his eyes, unable to look away with the weight of the moment hanging between them. This was it. This was when everything would change between them. "As… you wish," she repeated breathlessly, heart beating frantically against her chest as she waited for his reaction.

A few heartbeats passed before a wide grin spread across Killian's face, his joyous laughter ringing loudly in the afternoon air. Emma smiled at the sound as her heart overflowed with love and adoration for the man standing before her. Still smiling and with tears of happiness turning his eyes the palest of blue Killian released her injured hand and carefully moved forward to cup her face, his thumbs tenderly caressing her cheeks before he leaned in to kiss her.

As their lips touched -

"Papa!"

Killian looked up from the book he had been reading to see Liam giving him an exasperated look, one eyebrow raised in a gesture that he knew the little boy had inherited from him.

"Aye?"

"You said this wasn't a kissing book!"

"Did I?"

Liam rolled his eyes in that way Emma frequently did.

"Papa… You said there was no kissing."

"I spoke a little too soon, lad. Besides, it's a fairy tale - there is always kissing in those stories to break some evil curse. Don't you remember the story of Snow White and Prince Charming or of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip?"

"Yeah, but I don't like those parts," Liam huffed, looking as disgruntled as a five year old dressed in plaid pajamas could. "Kissing is disgusting."

Killian chuckled. "You won't always think that, lad. Now… May I continue or would you rather me stop and let you go to bed?" He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as Liam sighed heavily, clearly intent on getting through the kissing part if it meant he could stay up.

"Okay," the little boy conceded, once again making himself comfortable amid his large blue comforter. "But don't prolong my torture too long, Papa."

Killian raised an eyebrow of his own at his son's slightly dramatic response. Seeing that the lad was once again listening, he cleared his throat and searched for where he had left off.

"As their lips touched, Emma felt a powerful wave of energy pulse from their joined lips and something deep within her stirred at the sensation, as if a part of her was calling to the energy…"

Breaking apart with a gasp, Emma and Killian stared at each other in amazement as the rainbow light that had originated from their kiss swept across the land. They had both heard the tale of a far away Prince who had awoken his sleeping Princess decades before with a magical kiss and it was obvious to them they had just shared that same thing. True Love's Kiss - the purest of emotions and the most powerful magic known in any realm.

From that day forward they were inseparable. They were always within reach of each other and stealing kisses whenever they could, even sometimes when they shouldn't, such as the time supper had been mildly burnt because the two of them had gotten lost in kissing each other. He would take her to the field of middlemist flowers they use to play in as children and pluck flowers for her to wear in her hair. It wasn't long before she had over a dozen of the pink petaled flowers pressed into her favorite book, one Killian had given her years ago as a present for Yule. They spent many nights lying on a blanket beneath the stars as Killian told her stories of his youth and pointed out the constellations to her. Over the next six months their love blossomed and then one night, in the field of pink flowers with the stars shining upon them, Killian dropped to his knee. As the ruby stone from the ring he held glittered in the starlight he asked her to be his forever and she happily said yes.

Their joyous news was cut short by a messenger the next day - war had broken out between their kingdom and a neighboring island, and King Arthur was calling on all able-bodied men to join in the fighting.

Standing in front of the house, Emma watched Killian adjust the pack on his shoulder. Her heart was heavy with sadness but there was nothing they could do to stop the separation, not when their King was making the call to arms. Once he was content with the placement of his pack Killian looked to her.

"It won't be for long, Swan," he reassured her, smiling softly to try to ease some of her sorrow. "Camelot has a great army and Arendelle's forces don't stand a chance against us. I'll be back to say my vows to you amid the middlemist flowers before you know it."

Emma returned his smile, her hand coming up to rest over his heart. "Please be careful, Killian."

Taking her hand in his own, Killian kissed the back of it gently. "Not a day will go by that I won't think of you, my love."

Fighting back a fresh wave of tears, Emma laughed quietly. "Good," she whispered, rising to her toes to kiss him. Liam came out of the farmhouse then with his own pack slung over his shoulder and a teary eyed Ingrid following him.

"You ready, little brother?"

"Younger brother," Killian immediately corrected as he pulled away from Emma, shoving his brother playfully before moving to embrace Ingrid in a tight hug. Liam came to stand in front of Emma with a small smile on his lips.

"I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid while we're gone," he murmured in assurance and Emma knew he meant it as strongly as he would the vow of fealty he would soon give to King Arthur. Throwing her arms around his broad shoulders she hugged him with every ounce of love she had for him, both as her adopted brother and future brother-in-law.

"Bring him back to me, Liam," she whispered into his shoulder, a lone tear racing down her cheek to soak into the material of his shirt.

"I will, Emma. I promise."

After one last lingering kiss from Killian she stood in the doorway of the farmhouse with her mother and watched the two men hop into the wagon Arthur had sent, her eyes never leaving Killian's form until the wagon disappeared around the bend.

Over the next few months, she kept herself as busy as she could to keep her mind occupied from the piece of her heart that was missing. Ingrid, having practically raised the Jones brothers, felt their absence just as strongly and it became an unspoken agreement between mother and daughter to spend the hours they weren't working the farm on other projects. Letters from Killian and Liam came frequently, Killian's steadily growing penmanship describing their time at sea and the things he had seen while professing his undying love for her, always ending his letters with the promise that he would see her soon. They were a small comfort to her, the only link she had to him now and she reread them every night until the parchment began to split on the sides and the ink smudged in some areas.

But then the letters began to not come as often. Weeks would go by before they even received one and Emma found herself lingering near the farmhouse more, her heart sinking every night when a letter had not arrived. She knew the fighting had started in earnest, that Killian's time was spent defending Camelot's honor but she needed those pieces of parchment to know he was okay, that he was still coming back to her.

Four months after the boys had left Emma and Ingrid were sitting at the kitchen table going over the supply list when there was a knock at the farmhouse door.

"Who on Earth could that be at this time of morning?" Ingrid murmured, setting her quill to the side and standing. Emma followed her mother, her mind still on calculating the poundage of flour and bread they would need for the next few weeks as her mother opened the door.

"Mrs. Swan?"

Pulled from her internal mathematics at the authoritative sounding voice, Emma focused on the man currently standing on their stoop. He was dressed in official court clothes, King Arthur's insignia resting like a badge of honor on his left breast and a large hat with an oversized white feather in his hands.

"That would be me," Ingrid responded, wiping her hands on the apron forever around her waist. "How can I help you?"

"Are you the family of Liam and Killian Jones?"

Emma's heart dropped at the man's words, her stomach turning as dread began to settle into her very bones. There was only one reason an official court messenger arrived at someone's door in a time of war…

"We are," Ingrid confirmed, her hand reaching out to grasp Emma's tightly. "Do you have word about our boys?"

The court messenger nodded. "We received word a few days ago that the ship Liam and Killian Jones were on was attacked by the notorious Captain Hook. I'm sorry, Mrs. Swan, but the ship was sunk with all souls on board."

Emma felt a deep chasm open within her as the meaning of the message hit her with the force of being thrown from a horse. Through the rushing in her ears she could hear herself say no over and over again, her voice desperate and breaking as the man in front of her continued to stand still, an unwavering and physical reminder that this wasn't a dream. Tears burned her eyes and her heart felt as if it it were breaking into a million pieces to fall into the depthless chasm, forever lost. This can't be real. A scream of absolute heartbreak ripped from her throat at the same time her legs gave out, her body crumpling to the ground along with the shattered remnants of the life they were suppose to build together.

Killian...

He was gone. They both were, killed in service to their kingdom and at the bottom of the ocean. The love of her life and the man who had become her brother were gone forever. She would never see him again, never feel the touch of his hand or hear his voice, his blue eyes only a memory now.

He was never coming back to her.

The Enchanted Forest

"You don't have to do this, Your Majesty."

Looking up from the unfamiliar map he had been studying, King David found the eyes of Robin Hood staring back at him from the other side of his desk. In another lifetime he would have found the fact that a former thief was trying to persuade him not to enter into a crime laughable. That lifetime was long gone however, taken from him in the swirl of purple smoke and shattered glass. Now all he had was a kingdom still recovering from a two decades long curse, a wife who would barely speak to him, and an empty, desolate nursery that his daughter never had the chance to sleep in.

"Yes, Robin, I do," he replied before looking down at the map.

Six years ago the curse that had forced him to send his newborn daughter away had been broken somehow and it was instantly clear something had went wrong with the casting of it. Instead of transporting the residents of Misthaven to another world they had remained in their own land, frozen physically as time ceased moving within the kingdom. Upon waking from the deep like slumber David had torn the kingdom apart looking for his daughter. Regina, still reformed through Robin's love, had been an integral part of the search and had used every piece of magical knowledge she had learned from Rumplestiltskin to do so. She had even assured him that if Zelena's inexperience with casting the curse had caused them to remain in Misthaven rather than be taken somewhere else, then the wardrobe would have simply transported Emma to another kingdom outside the reach of the curse and not another realm entirely.

Despite the magical aide of a former Evil Queen the Princess of Misthaven was never found and as the search continued year after year, David had begun to withdraw into himself. The hope that had kept him searching through every mile of forest and knocking on doors dwindled until nothing remained but despair and anger. He became consumed with the need to see Zelena pay for what she had done and had spent the last three years searching for the woman who destroyed his life. Unfortunately like his daughter Zelena was nowhere to be found in Misthaven or any of the surrounding kingdoms, seemingly having vanished without a trace once the curse was broken. In a final, desperate attempt to fulfil his revenge David had sought the one person who could possibly help him locate her - even if the information came with a price to his morality.

Which was why he was currently in his study, alone except for the quiet and non-judgemental presence of a former thief, and looking at a map of Camelot.

"Are the provisions for our journey ready?" David asked without looking up from the drawn lines that made up King Arthur's kingdom on the parchment.

"They are. Granny saw to it herself that the packs were filled with enough sustenance to last us an entire winter and Dopey is preparing the horses as we speak. Do you still want to ride at dusk?"

David nodded. "We'll draw less attention to ourselves if we do most of our traveling by night, although we'll traverse the marshes to the East of Camelot by daylight. I wouldn't want to end at the bottom of a sinkhole in the dark."

"It would be a dreadful way to go, your majesty."

Chuckling at the former thief's dry attempt at humor, David looked up to see Robin still standing on the other side of his desk with his arms crossed casually over his chest. He hadn't known the founder of the Merry Men before the curse hit but in the six years since the honorable thief had become a close friend and an invaluable advisor, one David leaned on far more than his actual court advisors. Robin was smart and had a way of defusing any situation with a witty remark and smile, a trait that had served him well in being the True Love of the sometimes impatient and temperamental Regina. Despite his previous lifestyle of being a thief Robin was an honorable man who held himself to a higher code than most of David's knights did, and the King knew the deal he had struck weighed heavily on the former thief's mind.

David laced his fingers together atop the parchment map. "I know you have your reservations about all of this…"

"Any sane man would have reservations," Robin interrupted before sighing heavily. "I understand what drove you to do it, you know that I do, but I still question if a deal with the Dark One was the wisest course of action."

David nodded, more than understanding what Robin meant. Deals with Rumplestiltskin notoriously always ended badly for the other party involved - he had seen that firsthand with the one Cinderella had made years before - but Rumplestiltskin had practically begged him to take the deal, an act that spoke to the Dark One having a personal gain in David's revenge against Zelena.

"It was the only course of action, Robin. Without the Dark One's help there would be no chance of me finding Zelena and she would never answer for what she did to me and Snow."

"But what does King Arthur's fiancee have to do with it and why did he ask you to kidnap her?"

"I'm not sure," David replied with a shrug. "All Rumplestiltskin said was that if I kidnapped the future Queen of Camelot and brought her to him that he would give me the means to find Zelena."

Robin gave him an incredulous look. "Is he going to become a farmer and grow a magic bean in that cell you put him in before the curse was cast?" Before David could respond the former thief held up his hands in defeat. "I know, I know. How he gets you to Zelena isn't the issue, just that he does it."

"Precisely. He could sprout Pegasus wings and take me there himself for all I care."

"But is this a path you really want to go down?" Robin asked, taking a step closer to David's desk. "You will be kidnapping an innocent woman and handing her over to the Dark One for Gods only know what reason and for what - a few seconds of triumph when your sword somehow finds Zelena's heart? Is the potential blood of an innocent really worth making the witch pay for something that can never be undone? I've seen many a man in my line of work taken down this road by his vengeance and lose what he holds dear, I don't want to see the same thing happen to you, my friend."

Sighing once again, David brought his right hand up to run through his hair.

It wasn't the first time the former thief had brought up this concern, nor was he the first person to do so. Snow had never approved of his need to make Zelena pay for what she had done and it created a rift between the couple, David falling more and more into the darkness of revenge as Snow held onto hope that they would one day find their daughter. But none of them - not Snow, Blue, Granny, Grumpy, or even Regina - could understand why he had to follow this path, the consequences to his own soul be damned. They hadn't placed their newborn child into a wardrobe and sent her to an unknown realm, defenseless and at the whim of whoever found her - if anyone had.

That thought alone had haunted him every night for the past six years.

"I'm fully aware of the path I intend to walk, Robin," he said at length, both hands once again resting on the large oak desk as he looked to the former thief. "And whatever comes from this journey, I'm willing to deal with it, so long as Zelena pays for what she did to my daughter. What she did to… us. Now, I ask you: will you be able to do this? If not, I completely understand but I must have someone by my side that is in this plan wholly and completely."

The two men stared at each other for a long minute before Robin finally bowed his head. "I will follow you wherever you need to go, Your Majesty. I just wanted to voice my concerns one final time before we reached the point of no return."

David nodded, knowing very well the former thief had no plans to drop the subject any time soon. "Were you able to find someone to guide us through the countryside surrounding Camelot?"

"I did, yes - one of Regina's old acquaintances. He knows the lay of the land and can get us out before Arthur even realises his intended is missing. Regina did warn me he's a bit… odd and probably more than a little insane but he knows Camelot like the back of his hand."

Raising an eyebrow David asked, "Was he driven insane by her?"

Robin shook his head. "No. According to Regina he had a run in with Zelena years before the curse was cast and she sent him to Wonderland where he slowly began to lose his mind. He'll apparently jump at the chance to help anyone who wishes her harm. She sent word to him a few days ago and he should meet us on the outskirts of Camelot."

It was still unnerving at times to have the woman who had wanted him and Snow dead for so many years helping them. Regina had proven herself to be a valuable ally though, even going so far as to warn him about making deals with the Dark One. "Thank you, Robin. Finalize our departure plans with Dopey and I'll meet you at the stables in an hour."

Once the former thief had left David pulled open the top drawer of his desk and looked at the amulet lying within it. With the realization that twenty-two years had passed in the kingdoms not affected by the curse Regina had used a blood enchantment on two amulets - one for him and one for Snow - that would glow in the presence of their daughter. He had worn his every day as he searched for his missing daughter but the more his hope had waned the less he had put it on, eventually confining the piece of jewelry that had never glowed to his desk drawer. Picking the amulet up, he took in the oval pearl that was surrounded by sterling silver filigree as it caught the setting sun's rays, the stone shimmering a myriad of colors in the palm of his hand. The part of him that lay buried beneath his anger and revenge urged him to done it again, to briefly consider giving hope another chance. They had searched most of Camelot for her years ago but not every piece of land had been covered before Arthur refused to let the search parties continue. What if this time he did find her?

Finding Emma would solve so many problems. Not only would he have his little girl back, but his marriage could begin to heal. There had been so many fights between him and Snow over the years as he began to lose hope in finding their daughter, the once unshakeable couple growing further and further apart until he barely recognized them. His deal with the DarK One had been the final straw for the Queen who still held hope in her heart and she hadn't spoken a word to him in the five months since he had made it. If he found Emma while on this journey Snow would smile again, a real smile like he hadn't seen on her beautiful face since the curse was broken. He could forget about his deal with Rumplestiltskin and not compromise his morality by kidnapping an innocent woman. His need for revenge would slip from his shoulders the second he had her in his arms, the constant nightmares that plagued him quieted with knowing she was safe and sound. He could hold her, tell her how much he loved her and that he was sorry…

Shaking his head against the moment of weakness he had allowed himself to have, he tossed the amulet back into the drawer and shut it with a resounding crack.

There was no place for hope anymore and he had a deal to uphold.