So I have a little DaddyCharming moment for you which I know we all know and love and a pretty big revelation for Snow and Charming. I hope you like it. As you will soon see, you all still have a say in who Emma ends up with. so let me know what you think
If you have any questions PLEASE ask
James wandered into the kitchen, trying to find a late night snack before he finally retired to bed. He was surprised when he found his daughter sitting at the table, sipping something from a mug. "Hey Em. What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep." Emma shrugged.
He raised his eyebrows when he smelled the familiar black liquid. "Is that coffee?"
Emma looked somewhat guilty. "No?"
"Trying to stay up huh?" James said knowingly.
"Why would I do that?" Emma asked.
"Still worried about those nightmares?" James asked.
"How did you…?" Emma started.
"It's a dad thing." James shrugged. "And I may check on you every now and then, but that is also a dad thing so…"
"Creepy." Emma shook her head. "Sweet, but creepy. Anyway it's not a big deal. They're just nightmares, I'm not worried."
"Em." James looked at her, signaling he knew she was lying.
"Ok maybe a little…" Emma admitted. "It's not that I'm worried about the nightmares, they're just dreams and when I wake up their over but…"
"When you wake up they're not over." James finished.
"Yea." Emma nodded, staring into the liquid swirling in her cup. "There are all these possibilities, people dying, war, it never seemed to bother me this badly before but now…. It's people I care about, a kingdom that I'm supposed to inherit. I wasn't trained to deal with this kind of emotion."
"You can't teach someone to not feel emotion Emma." James said gently. "It's part of who we are as humans. It's something you have to feel."
Emma took a deep shaky breath, studying the warp of the wood in front of her intently. He father watched her carefully, trying to get a read on what she was thinking. It wasn't as easy as it had been ten years ago. She had been decent at hiding things but he had always been able to read his little girl's emotions, her fears. It used to be enough for just his presence, his voice to calm her down and give her a sense of security. But she was not a little girl anymore. She was old enough to know that his presence didn't guarantee her safety. "Em, please help me understand what is going on in that head of yours.
Emma didn't look up, her voice sounding distant as she spoke. "Do you remember those nightmares I use to have when I was little?"
"The one's you would get when you were sick." James nodding, remembering the nights he would lie awake when his little girl was ill, waiting for a cry that would send him running to soothe her fears. The dreams almost always had to do with him and it had gotten to a point where Emma had needed to see her father was safe before she could fall back to sleep in the comfort of his arms.
"Yea." Emma nodded slowly.
There was silence as James began to piece together what she was trying to say. "You're having them again?"
"Only this time I've realized they're not dreams." Emma finally looked up at her father, her eyes filled with concern and reservation. "They have not yet occurred but they are always the same. I could not have known then that this war would occur, that I would have this responsibility. I wouldn't have been able to picture everyone as they look now."
"Your nightmares were about this?" James asked slowly, fear in his voice. "The people you know now were the ones in the dreams?"
"I knew who you were, but you were fighting someone I did not recognize. I did not know Angharad when I was little; at least not well enough to be able to recognize his sigil and armor in battle. I didn't know Orrin would grow up to look like he does now, I just saw a young man's horrific death. I had know clue I would look like this or who Mohrion was but…" Emma swallowed thickly.
James voice came out low as he slowly finished where his daughter had left off. "The girl's death you always dreamt about."
Emma shook her head, her eyes shining. Her voice came out more helpless than she would have liked. "How was I supposed to know I was seeing me?"
"You don't think they were dreams?" James's statement wasn't really a question.
"How could they have been?" Emma asked hopelessly. "Except for you I didn't know any of this, what would happen, what I was, what we would look like. It's not something I could have made up."
"And they're the same now." James said slowly. "You think you were seeing the future."
"Prophecy has never been a gift of mine." Emma looked back down at the table. "But it's also never been one that I have explored. If I am supposedly so powerful it's not a far assumption to think I might have the ability to see the future, or at least versions of it."
"But your magic didn't manifest until your sixth birthday." James pointed out.
"Gifts can show signs earlier than that in the truly powerful." Emma explained. "It's not a hard and fast rule that it appears when you're six, that's just when you're made aware of its presence within you. There's no way I dreamt those things on my own without knowing something."
James closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You fear your dreams are fortelling what is to come."
"Don't you?" Emma asked without looking up.
"All my fatherly instincts advise me against saying this but you have had enough life experience to know things do not always work out they way you would hope. Terrible things happen to good people. If I fully gave into the fear I have, for my kingdom, for my family, for you, it would be paralyzing." James reached over and took his daughter's hand, coaxing her into looking up at him. "We all have fear, it is whether we choose to ignore it or let it control us that defines us. I have seen terrible things occur, but I have also witnessed incredible joys. You are one of those joys and so if your brother. I choose to focus on the positive, on what I do have and could have, because that is what gives me the strength to keep going and to believe that we can win."
"I'm scared." Emma admitted quietly.
"Well don't be." James squeezed her hand, a simple promise of protection and comfort. "Because I'm going to be right by your side through all of this. You said it yourself, it could just be versions of the future. You can change it. Orrin is safe and in Altair, he's not here where he can be killed in battle. That already contradicts your dreams. Other things can be wrong as well. When you go to sleep tonight, I'll be just down the hall if you need me. Now maybe lose the java and try some cocoa so you can get some sleep? You're not going to be much good to anyone if you're exhausted."
Emma smiled and gratefully took the mug he slid toward her. "Trying to get me to sleep?"
"It worked when you were little." James shrugged with a smile.
"I was also five." Emma laughed.
"I still say cocoa has magical properties." James said. "Even if you know what real magic is."
"Well if I didn't, I would agree with you." Emma smiled. "Thank you, for everything. Even when I was abrasive and didn't remember you or want your help… you stuck through it."
"I would do anything for you." James promised.
"I know." Emma nodded. "You're a fantastic father, I don't know how I got so lucky."
"I'm the lucky one." James tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I mean look at you, you're beautiful and brave and strong. You're intelligent and funny and have determination like no one I've ever known. You put other's before yourself and unfortunately inherited your mother's need to do the right thing no matter the consequence."
"Plus I'm a bad ass with a sword." Emma joked. "And other weapons."
"That you are." James nodded. "I wish you hadn't been in any war but… under the circumstances I could not be more proud that someone so accomplished and skilled is my daughter."
Emma smiled softly. "I love you."
"I love you too Emma." James replied reverently. "So incredibly much."
Things in the war room were at a standstill. Every battle strategy one of Eirians' generals brought up Daniel and Emma shot down as being too risky with Mohrion's involvement. Frustration was at an all time high between the inhabitants of the room.
"Look." Mark, one of the generals, turned an annoyed eye to Emma and Daniel. "I understand you've been taught about these things in classrooms but that doesn't exactly make two teenagers experts on the art of war."
"It's more than classroom experience." Emma was fed up with the disdain that was being directed their way solely because of their age. "How many wars have you been in again?"
"I have more years of experience than you." Mark spoke disdainfully.
"Yes well quantity does not trump quality." Daniel came to Emma's defense. "We've been learning about these types of things for ten years, and not one battle strategy, but strategies of every realm. We've been actively successful in it for the past two years. We can be of service if you would just listen to us."
"But you've never learned about this worlds battle strategy." Lancelot said gently. "Regina is different. We've battled her many times before, successfully I might add, despite her magical abilities."
"I know you are familiar with Regina's battle strategy." Emma turned to the friendlier side of the table. "All I'm saying is that it's going to be affected by the fact that she has a powerful magical being at her back. It'll change the way she attacks. Mohrion never lets anything occur unless he is in complete control, even if those he's working with do not understand that."
"He actually works best when others mistakenly think they are control." Daniel added. "It's part of what makes him such a formidable opponent."
"So how does this creature fight?" Mark asked.
"Hey." Emma snapped, turning her glare back to him.
"What?" Mark held up his hands in defense.
"Don't label him a creature just because he's a magical. You can label him a monster because he's evil," Emma held up her hands, seeing his objection coming. "but that's not the train of thought you were using."
Mark looked at her in shock, a slight fear in his eyes. "Can you read minds too?"
Emma rolled her eyes at the naivety of the advisor. "I'm just perceptive."
Red sent a warning look at Mark, telling him to back off her goddaughter before turning back to Emma. "So what strategy does Mohrion use?"
Emma let out a breath, sending a nervous look to Daniel before looking back at the inhabitants of the room. "We don't exactly know."
"What does that mean?" Evander asked carefully.
"He's unpredictable at best." Daniel elaborated. "He's a brilliant strategist and adept at winning wars. You never know what strategy he is going to take until after the fact."
"So there's no way to tell what he wants or what strategy he'll use." Evander leaned against the back of a chair, shaking his head in frustration. "It's hopeless."
"Well not entirely." Daniel said slowly, looking around the room. "This is actually the most opaque he's ever been in a war."
James sat up straighter, suddenly interested. "What do you mean?"
Emma shot a burning glare at her friend. "Daniel."
Daniel ignored the death stare being shot his way and addressed the room that was watching them intently. "We do know what he wants."
"And what would that be?" Snow prompted.
"Daniel." Emma hissed in warning.
Daniel glanced over, unphased by a glare he had many times been on the receiving end of. He looked at her apologetically. "Em, you've kind of run out of time on making this call on your own."
"What time?" Snow looked between the two teenagers. "What does he want?"
Emma sighed, shooting Daniel one last look before slowly turning to face the remainder of the room. She closed her eyes, knowing her revelation would send major shockwaves through the room. "Me."
James's eyes widened in shock, not wanting to believe what he had just heard come out of his daughter's mouth. "You?"
"I thought he wanted land?" Evander sounded confused.
"He has enough power to get land without using Regina as a proxy." Emma shook her head. "No one with any knowledge of Mohrion would ever believe that was his reasoning. There's only one thing in this land that he wants." Emma looked at her parents. "Me."
"Well someone thinks highly of themselves." Mark scoffed.
Snow shot Mark a scorching look, reminding him of his place before turning back to Emma. "As disrespectful as that was he does make a point. How do you know he wants you?"
"There's a…" Emma tried to figure out how to put everything she had learned into words. It was difficult enough to process with her knowledge of a magical world. She couldn't imagine how her parents would take learning their daughter was meant to be a sacrifice for every realm. "A prophecy about it, about me. It's all very complicated and it involves a lot of magical lore but what it boils down to is he wants me… he wants to kill me."
"To kill you?" James straightened in shock as his wife grabbed his hand. Both of them visibly paled at the revelation. "And you think we're going to let you willfully put your life at risk when we know what his purpose here is?"
"Yes." Emma nodded.
"Why in the world would we do that?" Snow looked bewildered. "If anything this just supplies more reason to keep you far away from all of this."
"Because if you don't you will all die." Emma said sharply. She didn't mean for it to come off so harsh, but she needed to find a way to override their parental instincts to protect her and get them to understand why her involvement was necessary. Her voice softened as she continued. "Even if you hide me away from this war he will kill everyone in his path, everyone I care about until he gets to me, and he will get to me regardless of what you do because he is the most powerful being in existence. He thinks it's my destiny to eclipse his power. That's what the prophecy is about, that's why he is here. He doesn't stop until he gets what he desires. So by trying to protect me you're just postponing the inevitable and causing a lot pain and death. That can all be prevented if you just let me help."
"Nice Emma." Daniel rolled his eyes. "I thought you were going to ease them into accepting it."
"Come on Daniel you kind of blew that door open with your little bombshell." Emma crossed her arms. "We both know there's no world in which they would ever warm up to this idea."
"Wait." By the look on James's face he was still attempting to process what Emma had just said. "What exactly does this prophecy say?"
"It's all very long and complicated." Emma shrugged. "But basically it fortells that my power will be enough to overcome him and I will be the one who puts an end to his reign."
"And these prophecies are usually correct?" Snow asked quietly.
"I've never known one to be incorrect." Emma assured her.
"Only interpreted incorrectly." Daniel muttered so low only Emma could here him, earning him a sharp jab to his side.
There was silence in the room as everyone took in how Emma's role changed everything they were looking at. The guards stared at the war map, Red and her father were looking at the window, but Snow's gaze rested firmly on Emma. Finally Red found the courage to speak. "So there's no other way?"
"No." Emma whispered apologetically. "I need to do this, for everyone." She turned to her parents. "I know you don't like this and that everything in you is telling you not to let me do this, but you have to. You taught me that rulers put the good of the kingdom first, that is what I'm doing. I know you don't want to put the good of the kingdom before your daughter, that's where the conflict comes in. But no one else can do this for me. I know you're scared, I am too. But I need you to believe I can do this."
"We do believe in you." Snow promised her daughter, reaching out and taking her hand. "We just don't want to have to. We want to be able to protect you, like normal parents should. "
"Well nothing about has ever been normal." Emma gave a small laugh. She looked up at her father who was looking at her with a mix of fear and regret. "Will you trust me to do this?"
James's heart tore as he looked at his daughter. Everything in him wanted to take her far away from this to protect her, hide her from the world. But she was asking him to believe in her, to support her, and as a father it was something he had to do. Taking a deep breath he nodded his head. "Yes, I believe in you. I believe you can do this."
"Good." Emma nodded as she looked between her parents, trying to keep her concern from showing.
"So what do you need from us?" Evander asked, pulling everyone's attention back to the table.
Emma glanced at the war map, looking carefully for the right site. Finally she found it. It was a hilltop clearing close to where she had been found by Serafine ten years prior. It was the part of the Enchanted Forest where the veil between realms was thinnest. "I need you keep the fight away from this area. It won't be safe for others, not with that much magic around."
"So that's how you're going to settle it?" Lancelot asked. "With magic?"
"Mohrion's not exactly renowned for his swordsmanship." Emma shrugged.
"I thought you said you'd never taken a life with magic before." Evander pointed out. "That its impossible for your magic to kill."
"I haven't." Emma admitted. "And it is… or it was."
"Then how exactly do you plan to defeat him?" Lancelot raised an eyebrow.
Emma took a deep breath. "It's a fair question. I've never taken a life with magic before and pure magic isn't supposed to be able to take life. But if I am doing it to protect those that I love, it will protect me, even if that means taking the life of another. If it is the only way I can take a life with it. I honestly cannot tell you how this is going to play out. I just have to trust my instincts."
Snow glanced up, finally realizing why the area felt so familiar. "That's where you disappeared that night."
Emma was surprised her mother noticed it. "It is… how did you?"
"I used to go there all the time." Snow admitted quietly. "It was the only way I knew how to be close to you after…"
The room fell quiet as a somber mood overtook them all. Finally Emma spoke up. "Well that's the place where he will feel my presence the most. I'll need a small group just in case I run into any unexpected complications. Daniel will come, he understands magic and he knows my fighting style. I could use another Altarian. It is likely that our mentor Evan will be stationed in Eirian. If he and two of your men who understand Regina's war tactics were to also come that would be enough."
"I'll go with you." James spoke quickly.
"No." Emma shook her head quickly. "You need to be at the war front with your men, just as Thomas and Eric and the other ruler's will be leading theirs. They need to see you, to believe in you. You need to win your part of this war so I can win mine. I'm counting on you to keep the fighting focused outside of this zone."
"I'll go." Evander offered to take his king's place. "It's always been my job to protect Emma, this is part of that job."
"I'm going too." Red insisted. "In wolf's form I'm as good as five men. There's no way I'm letting you do this on your own."
"Ok." Emma nodded. She glanced over at her mother. "I suppose I already know your argument."
"I've left you before and it killed me." Snow began, tears pooling in her eyes. "I won't make that mistake again. I need to be with you. Even if it's the end, I want to be there, for you. Please let me do that."
Emma was surprised by how her mother's short speech was able to choke her up. She swallowed hard, fighting the emotion that threatened to show on her face. She strengthened her resolve and looked back at the map. "Well then its settled. That's the five I'll take. Altair will be sending other soldiers. I don't know how many, they disperse based on necessity. I'll let you know where to factor them in, but you can count on them to be solid warriors who will do exactly as they're asked. They are lethal with or without magic and they will not fail you."
"How exactly do you plan to get Mohrion to come to you?" Evander asked.
"When I call, he will come." Emma tightened her hands. "He knows my magical mark. He's been searching for it for sixteen years. A display of it will act as a calling card and he'll know it's meant for him. When I get to that hilltop I need the five of you to stay away. I know you're going to want to protect me. For all of you it's been your duty as long as you've known me. But when the time comes I need you to fight that instinct, because he will use you to hurt me. Evan and Daniel can protect the three of you. If I have to worry about all of you I will never be able to do what need to be done. You need to promise me."
"I…" Snow sighed, unsure if she would be able to fight her maternal instincts to protect her daughter.
"I promise." Daniel cut in. "When the time comes, we'll stay away, and I'll protect them."
"Thank you." Emma turned to Evander, Red, and her mother. "I need you to promise me. The best way to keep me safe is to stay out of the way."
With a sigh Evander nodded. After moment Red closed her eyes and gave her reluctant affirmation. All eyes turned to Snow. Finally she held her hands up. "Fine. I'll stay clear."
"All right." James put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. "Well I think we've all had a lot to take in. Why don't we adjourn for a short while before regrouping."
"As you wish." Lancelot nodded, dispersing with the rest of the guard. Emma noticed her mother staring intently at the map, her eyes unable to move elsewhere. She could feel the pain radiating from her mother. Slowly she slid her hand over her mother's, finally causing her to look up.
"I'm sorry." Snow whispered. "It's just a little hard to accept the fact that I might lose you again."
"You won't." Emma promised.
"But if I do…" Snow bit her lip, trying not to cry. "It will be my fault for not protecting you again. I can't let you down again, a can't lose you, not after I just got you back."
Emma sighed and took the seat next to her mother. "All of this has been in play for a long time. They have been searching for me since before my birth. Rumplestiltskin found me, he brought them to me."
"So he's the one who tore our family apart." James said bitterly.
"No." Emma looked u at her father. "As much as I know you hate him, he saved me." She glanced back at her mother. "They all did. If I had remained here after my power had manifested Mohrion would have found me and taken my life ten years ago. They hid me, trained me, they saved my life so that I could still have one with you now. But to do that they had to make sure I would leave, they had to do things that would distance me from you. They put that thought in your head, the one about leaving me that night. They turned your attention towards Will, making you think he wasn't safe. It wasn't your fault that you made the decision to leave me."
Snow looked up at her daughter. There was a sadness in her eyes. She was touched that her daughter was trying to give her an out for the terrible decision she had made that night, but she could not accept it. "It doesn't matter what anyone made me think or worry about. I still made the decision to leave you, that is on me."
"But they preyed on your instincts as a mother." Emma continued. "That's not fair."
"I ignored my instincts towards you." Snow said firmly. "That's not something I can put on someone else."
"I'm trying to forgive you here." Emma squeezed her mother's hand.
"And I appreciate that." Snow assured her daughter. "I really do. But I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for failing you."
Daniel noticed the uncomfortable silence between the too. He could see Emma was struggling for something to say to her mother. Finally he spoke up, gently putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Em we should probably get going. We need to go talk to…"
"Right." Emma nodded. She knew Daniel was being efficient but he was also trying to give her an out from this conversation. "We're going to meet Julian, he's one of our commanding generals. We will bring him back here to discuss the soldier situation from Altair."
"Thank you." James smiled at his daughter. "Be safe, take a guard."
"We will." Emma promised.
"No you won't." James replied knowingly. "Just please let us know when you return."
"Now that I can promise." Emma grinned as she and Daniel took their leave.
Daniel glanced over his shoulder, making sure they had put enough distance between themselves and the war room and that the hallway was clear before he looked back at Emma. "You lied to them."
"How so?" Emma asked.
"You told them the prophecy said you will kill him." Daniel pointed out, shocked by her seeming nonchalance to the entire situation at hand. He knew Emma was good at hiding things, but this seemed to be something else entirely.
"It does say that." Emma shrugged.
"Yes but it also says that there is a good chance you could die." Daniel reminded her sharply.
"They didn't need to know that." Emma looked at Daniel firmly. "And you won't tell them. That kind of information would only cause them pain. It will make what I have to do that much more difficult."
Daniel pulled Emma to a stop. "Don't you think they deserve the chance to say goodbye to their daughter? They just got you back. It's not fair for them to lose you a second time without warning."
Emma's brow furrowed, shocked by the unspoken admission in Daniel's comment. "You think I'm going to die?"
"Don't you?" Daniel asked gently.
Emma pulled her arm away roughly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"That's not what I mean." Daniel said hurriedly. "I believe in your power but we both know that Mohrion has more magic than anything we've ever experienced, and he has years of understanding how to use it, how to manipulate the world to his will. There's no guarantee that you're going to come out of this alive and I know you are terrified by that thought. Honestly Em, I just know I would be heartbroken if I didn't have the chance to say goodbye to you."
"Yes but you understand the need for me to do this. Your thought process isn't blinded by your love for me." Emma pointed out. "They won't understand if I tell them. All they will hear is that there is a good chance I won't come back and they will put everything at risk to try to protect me. If that happens so many unnecessary lives will be lost."
"Your life isn't a necessary loss." Daniel said softly.
Emma regarded her best friend for a moment. What she had to say next terrified even her. "Maybe it is. If I can save this world, even if it costs me my life, the lives saved will be worth more than my own. I'm sorry Daniel but I have to do this and I've chosen to do it this way. Do not tell them the rest of that prophecy, you will only be causing them pain. You've been tasked with looking out for my best interest, and right now that is being able to focus on what needs to be done, not how I'm hurting them. Now come, we need to go met Julian."
Emma turned, signaling the conversation was over. As she walked purposefully away Daniel swallowed hard. Emma was wise beyond her years and for the most part could be counted on to make sound judgments but as the words she had just uttered replayed in his mind, about her saving her family pain, about his love for her, he knew in his heart that for once in her life, she could not be more wrong.