SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!
DON'T OWN IT.
Everyone was up before lunch the next morning. As promised, Graham helped Henry make chocolate chip pancakes.
"You're up early." Snow smiled at her daughter.
"I- yeah. I slept good." Emma returned it. "Is Graham in the kitchen?"
"Yes, making chocolate chip pancakes with Henry." James answered, putting down the newspaper. Without another word she went in and hugged Graham and Henry.
"Is this how you got him to go to bed early?"
"Yeah, but Em, it's not a big deal. He'll have strawberries at lunch." Graham explained.
"I'm not mad." She smiled, giving him a quick kiss. "The kid deserves it after living with Regina." They served the pancakes and began engaging in the typical morning chatter.
"And then this dragon came and ate the evil troll." Henry finished recalling his dream.
"That was… vivid." Snow said.
"It was weird." The boy shuddered.
"So, about the wedding, I was thinking when the whole 'Regina thing' blows over we could start planning it." Emma said, earning shocked stairs from her family. James almost choked on his juice; he still wasn't too keen on his little girl getting married. "What?" She asked.
"We can start now!" Snow was excited.
"But Regina's-"
"Taken care of. Besides, there's so much to do. We need to pick a date to give the kingdom plenty of notice-"
"The kingdom!"
"Yes, Honey. It's a royal wedding." The brunette said as if it was obvious.
"Can we not invite them?"
"Unfortunately, no. But it'll be fine, Emma." James assured her.
"Graham." She groaned.
"If it makes you feel better, I'm just as nervous as you are." He said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
"This is gonna be fun!" Henry announced.
"First you need to pick out a dress." Snow said while gesturing to many of them at the local shop. "If you don't like any of these, we can make a custom one. What color? White is typical, but red's your signature, although that isn't very wedding-y. I think we should go with white, but it's your decision. Emma, are you paying attention?"
"Yes, Mom. White's fine." The blonde replied with a hint of annoyance.
"Great! That narrows it down a tiny bit. So now we should figure out the shape…" She began pulling out every single one on the rack. "Do you want the bottom to be wavy or form-fitting?" Emma could feel a headache coming on.
"Um… Wavy bottom, tight middle, low cut top." She said. This earned her a glare.
"Emma, getting married is sacred. You're not a stripper."
"But it's my wedding!" She whined.
"Fine, but if your father doesn't approve then you can't tell him I didn't warn you."
"What about this one?" Emma held one up. It was long enough that it would hide her feet, and the back would trail behind her. It had a floral pattern in sequins on the middle, and the top had a v-cut.
"That is… beautiful. It doesn't look like you but then again you always manage to surprise us. Let's try it on." Snow said. When she tried following her into the dressing room, Emma held up a hand.
"I can get in a dress by myself." She said, and Snow pouted. "Fine." She sighed. "Get in here." How many people does it take to get into a wedding dress? Apparently more than two because by the time they finally got it on her, the store owner knocked on the door.
"Is everything okay, Your Highnesses?" He asked timidly.
"Yup!" Emma answered. She came out, followed by Snow to get look at it in better lighting.
"You're breathtaking, Emma. Please tell me someone has told you that and meant it." Snow said, unable to take her eyes off her daughter. The blonde blushed.
"Graham has."
"Queen Snow is right." The man said.
"I'm not-"
"Yes, you are. Regina resigned half an hour ago, publically."
"She what? That means that James let her go... Emma, we need to get you out of that right now!" She all but shoved her back in the room. Getting out was considerably easier, and soon the two were on their way to the castle, large bag in tow. "James!"
"Snow, Regina just-" He said, hugging her.
"I know."
"I'm sorry about letting her go, she just seemed so sincere. She hugged me, and then this… I think she really has changed."
"I'm not mad."
"She found Daniel." Emma said. "Graham was returned to me when I got back here, because I did the right thing, so maybe she…"
"This day couldn't get any better!" Snow squealed, hugging her daughter. "We have to go address the kingdom. Unfortunately, Emma, you and Graham get to practice all eyes being on you."
"It's okay, you guys just go. We'll watch Henry." Emma said, desperately thinking of a way out of it.
"Oh no, we're going!" Henry said excitedly.
"Aww…" The blonde cooed, taking in the sight of her son. He was wearing a mini tuxedo and he looked adorable. Graham came down, too, looking a whole different kind of adorable.
"Go change!" James urged.
"I only have my pink one from Boston. I don't think it's appropriate."
"Of course it is! It's a dress. Hurry up!" Ten minutes later, she came back down.
"I'm the luckiest guy on the planet." Graham said.
"Stop undressing her in your mind." James commanded, and the brunette turned I bright shade of pink. Emma smirked.
"Dad…" They hopped in the carriage and went to the center of town where most of their citizens would be. James had to drag Emma out of the carriage and steer her to her seat. They sat in this order: James, Snow, Emma, Graham, Henry. She reached over to Snow and grabbed her hand. Regina stood off to the side with a man only Snow had seen, unable to look away from Henry. A priest walked up to the podium.
"As you all know," His voice boomed. "Former Queen Regina resigned from the throne this morning unexpectedly. The heir to this kingdom is Snow White, and by marriage, James… something. Snow and James stood up as if they've been waiting their whole lives for this. Emma realizes that they have. He tapped Snow's shoulders with a sword a couple times, and the blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He did the same to James. In unison, crowns were placed on their heads. "I now give you, Queen Snow White and King James… something. "Princess Emma Swan, please come forward." James and Snow turned back to look at her, their smiles comforting and urging her to get up. She stood awkwardly behind them, and Snow pulled her between them. The priest tapped her shoulders and she kept her eyes trained on the sword, fully expecting him to cut her with it. "Should something happen to the King and Queen, she is the rightful heir. Princess Emma's fiancée, Graham, please come forward." He did the same thing to the huntsman, and it felt so foreign to him. "Their son, Prince Henry, please come forward." Henry leapt off the seat and smiled at Regina, who gave him an encouraging nod. "Should anything happen to all of them, he is the rightful heir regardless of his age." He tapped his shoulders and turned to face the crowd. "I present to you, the Royal Family!" The crowd roared.
"Now what?" Emma whispered.
"Just keep smiling." Snow answered, her lips barely moving. When the crowd quieted down they took their seats. "Think of something to say, cause you're giving a speech after Charming and I." With that, she got back up to deliver hers. Emma's face grew considerable paler, and even took on a shade of green. "Hello, everyone." How the woman's face didn't stick in a smile, the blonde could never figure out. "I can't tell you how happy I am to be your Queen. I am going to do everything I can to make up for what you lost, but I know that that can never truly be enough. Some of you have lost years off of time you could spend with your child. Remember, though, that time seemingly didn't pass in that respect, at least for you. A lot of you must blame Regina, and I can understand why. I am asking you not to. It's my fault." She paused, and gasps could be heard. "I won't go into details because that is between Regina and I. All I have to say, is that I'm sorry."
"No!" Regina yelled, cutting off Snow as she made her way back to the throne. "Don't blame her! It's my fault! I'm the one who enacted the curse, who wanted it, everything! Snow, it's not your fault." She pleaded. "You were just a child. I should have been the adult, and I should have stood up to my mother but I didn't. I blamed your for all those years, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all of you!" Someone from security dragged her away from the microphone, but her screams and frantic pleas still echoed. James got up and laughed awkwardly.
"So… Hi. I wasn't born into this kingdom, but I am excited to set forth new chapters and beginnings. You know what they say about things, right? Short and sweet. So, uh, this is short, and I thought it was pretty sweet. Bye." He gave a short wave and left. Snow smirked, and laughed under her breath.
"It was charming." She said. "Emma, go." The blonde stayed glued to her seat, looking out at the crowd that seemed to go on for miles.
"Mom, you can do it!" Hearing that one voice was that had every faith in her was enough to get her to go.
"There's a lot more of you than there was at the sheriff's debate." She said nervously. "My son, he um, he tells me not to tell stories, but to tell truth. So, I guess that's what I'll do. I um, I guess you guys know who I am. I don't know the first thing about being a princess. Growing up, dreamed of it. I grew up all across America. That's the country Storybrooke was in. Uh, I thought it would be the most amazing thing ever. I just, I didn't like the fairytales, though. I never understood why the men were perfect, because where I was most of them weren't. And, I think the thing that bugged me the most, was that the princess always waited for their prince to come save her! Once I figured that out, I gave up on fairytales. That is, until a little boy showed up at my apartment claiming to be my son. Henry told me something that I wish I'd believed sooner: that they're real, and that I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. I like this version much better. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll do the best I can, but I don't know what I'm doing. It's a good day if I remember that Tylenol will help with my son's headache. I mean, this morning I let him, or more specifically Graham, let him have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I don't know if that's good or bad, and I just went along with it. Running a kingdom is a lot like being a first-time parent, and that's something most of us can relate to. So if my parents keel over within the next few years, you're all screwed." August would've been proud of that speech, she thought, as she made her way back to her seat. She doesn't think about him often. James has men looking for him, but he could be anywhere and it's a really big kingdom. She nudges Graham up there.
"Hello! I wasn't born into royalty or anything. I don't have much to say, I think the other three pretty much covered it. Um, but I'm happy to announce that Emma and I are already planning the wedding, and you're all invited!" He all but ran back to his seat. The priest lowers the microphone for Henry, but he can't be seen over the podium. Regina smiles fondly.
"I know you all want to blame Regina, but revenge has already hurt all of us. Can we just forget about it? She did some really horrible things, but nobody's perfect – and she's far from it- and her true love got his heart ripped out right in front of her. That really screwed her up and was really traumatic so I'm just asking if we can all have a clean slate. Thanks." Before going back to Graham, he gives Regina a quick hug. It's enough to make her cry, and Daniel hugs her after he leaves. On their way back to the carriage, Regina intercepts the Royal Family.
"No, Regina, you can't have him back." Emma snapped.
"It's called shared custody, Ms. Swan." Regina said. Normally she'd roll her eyes, but she's changed. It didn't make her any less annoyed with the blonde, though.
"Go have your own kid, then! He's my son."
"Guys, not in front of Henry." Snow said, gesturing to the boy. He was leaning on Graham, turned away from his mother… or mothers.
"Go home, I'll walk back." Emma said.
"We're not leaving." James declared.
"By the time you get home and James rides back with a horse, this thing will be done, one way or the other."
"No." Snow's voice was commanding and still surprised Emma every time she used it. "I don't trust you not to do something to her." She wasn't worried so much for Emma's safety than for Regina's. Emma could hold her own against almost anyone, and without magic and vengeance, Regina had no assets or ability. Daniel had gone back to the house he was renovating for him and Regina, so he wasn't there to help her.
"Your mom's right, Emma. Graham will go back to the castle with Henry, but we're staying."
"What about what I want!" The boy yelled. "I want to live with Emma, but that doesn't mean I don't care about Regina, too! Maybe I can spend every Wednesday with her?"
"That sounds fair." Emma grit out through clenched teeth.
"Okay." Regina smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she left, and the quartet plus one headed back to the castle.
"I'm proud of you, Kid." The blonde said after a few minutes. "For doing what you did. That doesn't mean you can yell at adults, but it makes me feel better knowing that you stand up for yourself."
"Thanks." He smiled. "Hey, can I make tacos for lunch?"
"No, Henry. I don't want you growing up too fast." For the first time ever, Emma realized that the idea of giving Henry a sibling, or siblings, wouldn't be such a bad idea.
DON'T WORRY, THE DAY OF THE WEDDING I WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE DRESS LOOKS LIKE IN MORE DETAIL.