Again sorry for the delayed update - these will probably be sporadic, but I hope they will get better once school has ended. This one is a bit shorter but you get some Snow/Emma. And I promise there will be some Snow/Emma and James/Emma in the next chapter So enjoy for now!
"Emma." Snow's head popped into Emma's room.
Emma looked up from her perch on the window seat where she was writing in her journal. "Yes?"
"The seamstress has finished a few outfits for you. I know she already finished one dress for you and it fit, but I thought you might like to see the finished products. She has some tunic and riding pants for you too."
"Oh that wasn't necessary…" Emma stopped short when she saw how excited Snow seemed. "I mean… sure I have nothing else to right now."
"Perfect." Snow smiled she held up a light purple dress with a corseted top and long sleeves. "I think this one would look absolutely lovely on you."
"Ok." Emma took the dress from Snow and slipped into her closet. She emerged a few minutes later, nervously adjusting the dress. Emma cleared her throat and Snow turned around.
"Oh Emma." Snow's smile grew. "You look absolutely gorgeous." Snow looked over her daughter. "And this fits you beautifully."
"Yes well it is tailored perfectly to my body." Emma shrugged. "It's a lovely color. You did a good job picking out the fabric."
"The seamstress did most of it." Snow shrugged. "But at least you have a little more of a wardrobe to choose from."
"I don't need many clothes." Emma shrugged, she saw Snow's face fall a little. "But thank you for going through the effort. It was very thoughtful of you."
"It's no trouble." Snow shrugged. "I like being able to do things for you again. So… Red told me the two of you talked yesterday. That you asked her what you were like when you were younger."
"Is nothing secret around here?" Emma faked exasperation. And fell onto the padded chest in front of her bed.
"Not particularly, no." Snow laughed. "She's my best friend. We talk about everything."
"I'll have to remember that for the future." Emma mused. "I'm sorry if I broke any rules yesterday by leaving the castle grounds without anyone. We just thought because you said we could do as we pleased…"
"No." Snow held up a hand. "It's quite all right. We didn't quite tell you to not to. We just want to know where you are and for you to have someone with you that we know can protect you."
"I am pretty capable of protecting myself you know." Emma pointed out.
"I've heard you are pretty skilled with a sword." Snow smoothed a wrinkle in Emma's dress. "But you do not understand the dangers that are out there."
"I've faced some pretty dangerous things." Emma said.
"I'm sure you have." Snow took a deep breath and took Emma's hand into hers. "But sweetheart you have to understand that there are people who want to hurt us, who want to hurt you because you are important to us. Your father and I have enemies, powerful enemies who want to see us in pain. The easiest way to do that is to destroy the things we love, our family, you. Emma you do not know these dangers. The guards do. So please, let them protect you."
Emma shifted uncomfortably under her mother's gaze. "Ok." She relented. "Fine, but not too many."
"I'll keep it to a minimum." Snow promised.
"My definition of a minimum." Emma prompted.
"Your definition of a minimum is none at all." Snow said pointedly. Emma simply shrugged, causing Snow to laugh. "I'll consult your father, he might be slightly more reasonable than I am, but don't count on it. You're still his little girl."
"Well I'm sorry again for breaking the rules." Emma repeated.
"It's ok, you were unaware. You always hated breaking the rules when you were little." Snow smiled fondly. "Almost every time you broke a rule and we got upset with you, you were absolutely devastated. You would sob and apologize and it broke our hearts. We could never stay mad at you for long. Your punishments did not last long either. You would do whatever we asked; sometimes you would even punish yourself. And sometimes when you knew you were breaking a rule but did it anyway you would sound so grown up when you told us you wanted to do it and you had fun but you were sorry for breaking the rules and would accept your punishment. Needless to say you were never in bad standing with us for long."
Emma knew it made her mother happy to reminisce, and part of her liked hearing about her past life. But something made her feel uncomfortable as her mother continued. "And it certainly helped your cause that you had your father wrapped around your finger. When you did something wrong he would take one look at your little tear stained face and just melt. He could rarely punish you, which meant the burden fell to me, the traitor."
Emma laughed. "It sounds nice. The past."
"It was." Snow smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry I can't remember it." Emma said guiltily.
"Oh sweetheart." Snow said sadly. "It doesn't matter to us if you remember or not."
"Doesn't it though?" Emma looked at Snow. "I mean I can see in your eyes how much you want me to remember, to be the girl I was. But I don't and I might never remember. And I'm not sure if that's something you can accept. I don't mean to speak out of place but I will never be that six-year-old girl again. It's just not possible. And I might never be who you want me to be, who you hoped I would be. My life took a different path than I'm sure anyone imagined and I'm different as a result. I just want to make sure you can accept me as me, and not who you want me to be."
"Emma." Snow looked at her daughter seriously. "I love you for exactly who you are. I would be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that wanted you to remember, that wishes I had gotten to watch you grow into the beautiful young woman you are today. But I am so glad to have you here with me now. I love you more than anything Emma, for exactly who you are. Nothing could ever change that."
"Nothing?" Emma asked.
Snow cupped her daughter's chin. "Absolutely. Nothing you could do would make me love you any less. I promise you that Emma."
"Right." Emma shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't so sure she believed Snow entirely. If Snow knew what she had done, who she really was, maybe she wouldn't feel that way.
"So I heard you're a pretty good aim." Snow tried to pick a lighter topic.
"Hm?" Emma looked up.
"With a bow and arrow." Snow elaborated. "Red told me you shot a bird through the eye that even she couldn't see. That is quite impressive."
"Lucky I guess." Emma shrugged.
"Red told me it wasn't luck." Snow said. "She said you weren't even surprised you hit it through the eye. It was like you knew you would."
"I've had a lot of practice." Emma explained. This wasn't a topic she wanted to explore in depth. There was a reason she knew she would hit that bird straight through the eye. She could hit anything, she was that well trained.
"Well if you want, I would love to go shooting with you sometime." Snow suggested hopefully. "I could show you the range were you learned."
"I learned before?" Emma raised her eyebrows.
"A little." Snow nodded. "You were just beginning to learn but you showed a lot of promise."
"Yea." Emma nodded. "That sounds nice. We should go."
"I look forward to it." Snow squeezed her daughter's hand and stood up. "I should go. I have some work that needs to get done before dinner."
"Ok." Emma stood too. "I'll see you in the dining room."
"Can you find your way?" Snow teased.
"I think I'm starting to get this place figured out." Emma gave a small smile.
"Excellent I look forward to tomorrow." Snow smiled at her daughter one last time before taking her leave.
"What's tomorrow?" Daniel appeared on Emma's balcony causing her to jump.
"Oh my word Daniel you nearly scared me half to death." Emma put her hand over her chest.
"Oh my word?" Daniel raised an eyebrow as he entered into Emma's bedchamber. "Who are you and what have you done with my best friend."
"What do you mean?" Emma raised an eyebrow.
"You're speaking properly all of a sudden, like a member of the royal court." Daniel explained as he dropped down into one of the many chairs in Emma's chamber. "And look at the way you are dressed. I've seen you in a dress before for festival days and that one time you were forced to wear one to meet foreign dignitaries but I still have never seen you in one quite like this, especially voluntarily."
"I did it to make Snow happy." Emma shrugged. "Besides Daniel, this dress is no different from the others I have worn."
"Emma this one is beautiful. Look at the lace work, the details, the luxury of the fabrics." Daniel fingered the material of Emma's dress.
Emma turned to Daniel, a shocked look on her face. "Luxury of the fabric? Lace work? Who the hell are you?"
"There's the Emma I know and love." Daniel smiled. "Are you going to change before dinner?"
"I think I'll leave it on," Emma said. "For James and Snow's sake."
"Doing things to please others?" Daniel feigned shock.
"We please others all the time in our line of work." Emma pointed out.
"Yes." Daniel nodded. "But you are known for, while being a good ambassador for our land, not bending to the will of others or compromising what you want for the sake of others."
"I'm not…." Emma protested. "I don't know what I'm doing Daniel. This whole thing has me so confused."
"I'm aware." Daniel nodded. "You have been so far from yourself these past few days."
"I'm sorry Daniel." Emma apologized.
"It's not your fault." Daniel said. "You've been dealing with a lot lately."
"I'll say." Emma rolled her eyes. She stood up and walked over to one of the many windows in her room. She gazed out over the sparkling blue waters to the majestic mountains with snowy peaks beyond. She turned back and took in the elaborate room that suddenly belonged to her. "This is all so insane. Just a few weeks ago I was a normal teenager, well as normal as you can be in Altair. But now I'm a princess with subjects and guards and responsibilities. I can have anything I want just by asking for it. There are individuals whose entire job is to cater to my every whim. And the expectations, how to act, what to wear, where to be, they're endless. I don't know how to act like a proper member of the royal court. It's all so overwhelming."
"For what it's worth I believe you are handling this all very well." Daniel offered. "You haven't seriously offended anyone yet."
"Yet?" Emma looked offended.
"Give it time." Daniel grinned cheekily. "I believe in you."
"Shut up." Emma narrowed her eyes."
"As I was saying." Daniel ignored Emma. "You're learning quickly. You're a natural at all of this Emma. You know how to woo people."
"Woo people?" Emma raised her eyebrows. "I am not a people person."
"You can be if you want to be." Daniel pointed out. "Emma what you don't see is that you were meant for this world. It doesn't mean you must live this life, but you can if you wish. You were born as one of these people, if you wanted to you could easily be one. It's happening already Emma, don't you see it."
"I am not becoming one of them." Emma snapped. "I am an Altarian. I may not be one by birth, but I am one by destiny. It is who I was meant to be, someone who is powerful, someone who knows what is means to work for what you have. I understand that life is not fair and that sometimes horrible things happen to good people. I would not have learned any of that here. I would have grown up spoiled and entitled just like William. I would not have known the value of hard work. I would have been sheltered and innocent to the world. I would not have known the cruelty the world can cast upon the innocent. I would not have seen the cruelty of humanity."
"And would that have been such a bad thing?" Daniel asked.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked.
"If you had never known the evil the world could be capable of, that men could be capable of, would you really be that worse off?" Daniel clarified.
"I would be naïve." Emma said firmly. "I would be unaware of the world."
"But you would have had a childhood Emma." Daniel said gently. "That is something you did not have in Altair."
"Do you speak ill of our homeland?" Emma's voice was hard. "Daniel how can you. It is the place that has given us refuge for our entire lives. It is the place that gave us a home when others would not. It sheltered us and taught us how to use our powers, how to become the individuals we were destined to be. It taught us how to become great Daniel."
"Yes but it is also a place that has turned us into soldiers Emma." Daniel reminded her. "It has made you do things I do not think you would have chosen to do freely. At least I know I would not have chosen them left to my own devices. But we have done them because that is what our society mandates, because it is how we become powerful and well-respected Altarians. I love our land more than anything Emma, but that does not mean I agree with all of its doctrine."
"If Madame could hear you now." Emma started.
"But she can not." Daniel finished. "Emma I am not telling you to abandon that life. I would never suggest that. It is our home. But I am asking you to think about what it has cost you, about what it is costing you. We have all paid a dear price for that life. I always believed it was worth it."
"But you don't now?" Emma seemed confused.
"I never really knew any different." Daniel admitted. "I mean yes we saw other lands and studied other cultures, but we never really got to truly experience them. Being here has showed me there is another option for people like us. We don't need magical parents to accept us. There may not be another option for me, but Emma there is another option for you, one that I want to make sure you do not miss out on just because you refuse take the time to consider it. Emma this life could have offered things you will never receive in Altair."
"Like what?" Emma scoffed.
"Love." Daniel said honestly. "I see the way your mother and father look at you. It is as if there is nothing more precious in the world. They want you to have the world because, to have every opportunity you could ever want because that is how much they love you. They would be willing to die for you Emma. They see your life as more important than their own. That's not something you get in Altair. Yes we care deeply for each other, but I don't know many people who would be willing to die for someone because of how much they care for them. Maybe our group of friends would die for each other, but our friendship is unusual in Altair, you know that. Maybe some of the higher ups would give their lives for yours because of how special you are. But those are all exceptions. Emma, what you have here, it is real and true. They would die for you not because of your powers or your abilities, but because of how much they love you just for who you are. That is not something I will ever have a chance at.
"You could find someone to love you like that in Altair Daniel." Emma said. "You could fall in love, have a family. People do it all the time."
"Yes, romantic love." Daniel emphasized. "But there is a difference between romantic love and the love of a parent for a child. It is a love that is equally strong if not stronger. It is a force of nature that is hard to explain, it is true, unconditional love at first site. You did not have to do anything to earn it but simply be. You are a symbol of their love. A love so powerful it's easy to see the source of your magic. You are a product of the most powerful kind of love, a love they harbor for you."
"Then why did I run away?" Emma snapped. "If all they say is true, if all you see is true, if my life was so wonderful and their love was so pure, why did I leave? Why did I tell Serafine they neither loved nor cared for me? That they viewed my magical being as evil?"
"I can't speak on the past Emma." Daniel said simply. "I can only speak on what I see now and that is two people who love you and want desperately for you to return that love."
"With the past hanging over me as a constant reminder I don't know how I can." Emma crossed her arms.
"It is something you must figure out on your own Emma." Daniel said. "Unlock your memories, that is where the answers you seek lie."
"And how do I do that?" Emma asked in exasperation.
"How should I know?" Daniel shrugged. "You are the farther advanced one when it comes to magic. If anyone can do it, it would be you."
"Daniel even I do not know how to do that. And even if I did I don't know what memory I would be searching for."
"Don't look for a memory Emma." Daniel offered. "Those won't be within your reach. Search for a feeling- a feeling you once associated with these individuals. Follow that feeling and you will find your memories."
"When did you become so wise?" Emma shook her head.
"I have always been wise." Daniel shrugged. "You've just always been so sure of yourself you've never needed it before."
"Well I guess it's a good thing I have you now." Emma cracked a small smile.
"Always Emma." Daniel smiled. Emma came towards him and he wrapped his arms around her. Affection wasn't usually something anyone in Altair showed. Sure they all cared deeply for one another, but strength was a highly valued quality and Emma seemed to be the strongest of them all. "I will support you in whatever you choose. Whether it is the life you could have here, or the life you do have at home, our life. I will always support you Emma."