Ch. 13

A/N: This chapter follows the letter. Don't worry there will be more of our beloved OTP in the next chapter to come very soon. Some of the secrets will been revealed. Thanks for taking time to let me know what you think. You guys are awesome!

August heard a lot of whispering on the ship about hunting down the band of pirates who killed the princess. It was interesting that they just assumed she was dead. There was no talk of ransom for her. There was also no mention of her boy Henry. He listened intently to their conversations and pretended to be interested so he could throw them off track. He'd heard about a possible bounty for a man in a red knit cap and the band of thieves who robbed the carriage. There was no mention about a reward for finding the princess or safely returning her to her husband.

It was as if they just expected her to be dead and that the men were to seek out revenge or capture the men responsible. He'd witnessed that she was perfectly fine and wasn't harmed at all. Every now and then he swore he could feel eyes burning into him but there was never anyone around. He decided to just retire to his bunk and wait out the journey. He was probably just being paranoid. No one knew what he was doing or could know.

He'd heard about the Princess many times from Ruby. All she could talk about was how much the Queen worried for her daughter. Emma was unable to visit them and they couldn't go see her or their grandson Henry. The Queen cursed herself for ever allowing the match to begin with. Ruby told her at times that the Queen wouldn't leave her bed chamber because she was so sad about the fact that her daughter lived so far away.

From what Ruby said the King was no better. He would spend hours a day out in the forest hunting and riding. He did anything he could keep his mind busy. It took its toll on him over the years as well. He felt bad for the King and Queen when he heard their stories. It made him that much more thankful when he was able to visit with his Papa.

He'd met Emma a few times at the castle when he was still a wooden puppet. When he finally became a real boy Emma was already a grown independent woman and rarely around when he and his Papa were doing work at the castle. He heard her parents talk about how unique she was and that they would be lucky to find someone who was worthy of Emma.

When August arrived at the Inn he found Ruby right away and discreetly pulled her into the storage room in the back. It was not unusual for them to heat things up back there when he was in town but she was more than eager than usual.

"August, I'm glad to see you're back. Will you be staying long?"asked Ruby.

He closed the door behind them.

"Ooh, my kind of visit." Said Ruby.

She was immediately on top of him and kissing him hard rubbing her body against him. He almost forgot why he was there. He pushed her back gently and she looked at him with her brows furrowed. He held his finger to his lips to keep her quiet.

"What? No love for Ruby today?"she asked with a pout.

"Ruby, I need your help. I have a message that I need you to deliver to the King." Said August.

"Auggie what have you gotten yourself into this time? Your Papa is not going to be happy with you." She said.

"No, it's something good this time. This letter is about the princess. Can you take it to him?" he asked.

She looked at him alarmed and held her hands up in protest.

"Please don't tell me you are mixed up in that." Said Ruby.

"No, she is fine. I swear. I saw her with my own eyes. I can't answer any questions just please take this letter to the King and hurry." Said August.

He could swear that someone was watching him again. He looked around the room and there was no one in there with them. He needed to get rid of this letter and stop being paranoid.

"You must know how worried sick they are about Emma. I swear to Gods, Auggie if you get me mixed up into something I will find you. You know I can." She said wrinkling her nose.

"Oh, I know darling. I'll be here waiting for you when you get back. Be careful and only give the letter to the king. NO ONE ELSE. There seems to be a bounty for the band of thieves that killed the Princess. To be honest I'll be happy to be rid of it." He emphasized.

"You said she wasn't dead!"said Ruby.

"She isn't but let's continue to pretend we know nothing about it. I think it would be better for us if we have no knowledge of Emma's whereabouts." said August.

"Gotcha! You know how I feel about that louse Neal. Charming gets the letter, no one else." said Ruby.

"Right, now get going so you can hurry back. I've missed you Ruby. I'll get us a room." Said August.

"Ooh, ask for number 5. I just cleaned it." Said Ruby.

He swatted her behind as she pulled on the door handle. She threw him a smile and blew him a kiss over her shoulder as she left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~E&K~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby made it to the castle. She learned that Snow was in her room and hadn't come down in three days. She found David sitting in Emma's old room. He was holding a stuffed lamb when she walked in. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

He turned to her and she could see his eyes were swollen and red.

"Ruby, I'm glad you're here. Maybe you can talk to Snow. She could really use a friend right now." Said Charming.

She rushed forward to greet him so he wouldn't get up. She could see he was tired and she hoped whatever was in this letter would help both of them.

"I have a letter for you. I believe its good news about Emma." Said Ruby.

He dropped the lamb and jumped up towards her.

"Where did the letter come from?" asked Charming.

Ruby pulled the letter from her bag and handed it to him. The seal had been intact and she had trouble making out the insignia. She had this sudden weird feeling come over her like someone was watching her. She looked around but there didn't appear to be anyone else present or near them.

"I'll leave you so you can read it. This was handled with extreme care and secrecy. No one knows I'm here. The person who gave this to me was asked to keep his quest a secret." Said Ruby.

Charming hugged her.

"Please go and get my wife. Ask her to come down and meet me here? Don't let anyone else in the palace know about this. I think it as smart of you to keep this to yourself." Said Charming.

"Ok, I will." Said Ruby.

He pushed the door shut when she left and sat down at the desk in the room. He rubbed his finger over the seal. It was the letter J. He cracked the seal and opened the scroll. There were two letters nestled together. He read the interior letter first.

Father:

I hope this letter reaches you under the best circumstances. I want you to know that I am alive and well.

Charming felt relief wash over his body and he wiped the tears from his eyes.

I am being well treated. I am not being held against my will, which is more than I can say of my marriage to Neal these last ten years. I have much to discuss with you when we meet. I'm starting to feel like my old self, if that means anything to you. I'm on my way to the Enchanted Forest by ship. Please do not send word to Neal or tell anyone in the palace about this meeting or my letter. I am worried for Henry. I was uncertain if Neal would tell you about what happened at all. He's been so cruel to me. I know he loves Henry but I'm afraid of him. I can't go back to him. I need your help. Please meet me at the docks by the water in two days. Come alone and I will find you.

David felt the tears pooling in his eyes. He should have known. He should have helped her.

I love you both.

Emma

He pulled the second letter forward.

Your Majesty King Charming:

Emma is unaware that I have included this letter. We have not had the pleasure of meeting. I want you to know that no harm will come to your daughter while she is in my care. I will protect her with my life. It's unfortunate as to how we met but this happy accident may have saved her life. When she arrived I learned of the harm she had been put through by her husband's hands.

I've made secret arrangements for our meeting. I will bring her to meet with you myself and ensure her safety. There is a little cottage near the docks that is hidden from plain view. The sign in front of the cottage says For the Love of the Sea. The owner is an old friend of my family and will happily lend it to me for our meeting. Please tell no one of this or of Emma's state of being. I fear that there are dark forces that may be out to get her. It may be better to pretend the rumors are true.

I look forward to our meeting.

Your humble servant,

Captain Killian Jones

Snow came rushing into the room.

"Is it true?" she asked.

He shut the door behind her, tucked the additional letter behind Emma's and hugged his wife as tight as he could.

"She's alive and being protected." He breathed into his wife's hair.

Snow broke down in sobs of relief.

"Oh thank Gods." She said.

"Snow we have to be quiet about this and not for the reasons you think." Said Charming.

"So, it's not a ransom then?"she asked.

"No, she's not being held prisoner. In fact it's quite the opposite. This man, Captain Killian Jones, he's keeping Emma safe. He said she needed to be rescued from Neal. It seems he's been quite cruel to her." Said Charming.

Snow gasped and tears started pooling in her eyes.

"I just knew it. I knew something wasn't right. Why didn't she tell us?"asked Snow.

Charming pulled her close.

"I knew something too. I just didn't know how to fix it. We should have done something." said Charming.

"We'll just keep quiet about this. Everyone is starting to think she is dead. Maybe she needs to be dead so that she can live." Said Snow.

"Well, at least until we can sort this out. We need to find a way to get them away from Neal." Said Charming.

"We both know how powerful his father is. Gods, do you think he found out Emma was missing? I hope he doesn't try to find her. "said Snow.

"She won't be able to fight him without magic. Thanks to Regina she'll be trapped forever if he finds her. She's powerless under that curse." said Charming.

"We should have told her. We should have given her a chance. We took the easy way out and now she's suffered because of it." Said Snow.

"Fate has dealt us a new hand. Perhaps Captain Jones can help us. If our daughter feels safe with him maybe we can trust him too. I will be going alone to meet them. You need to stay here and keep up the ruse." Said Charming.

"Be Careful. I'll continue to play the grieving mother. I don't want to raise any suspicion that we know where she is." Said Snow.

"That sounds like a good plan. What about Ruby?"asked Charming.

"She won't tell anyone. She had a hot date with August back at the inn." said Snow.

"The wood carver's son?" asked Charming.

"Yes. I suspect he may have been the messenger." Said Snow.

She held onto her husband and sighed against him.

"Thank Gods." she whispered into his chest.

"I know, let's not waste our second chance with her." Said Charming.

He kissed his wife on top of her head.