Chapter 6: Cave of Treasures

Emma stood on the outside of a small cave. It had taken a while to get so deep in the forest. It hadn't helped matters that Mary Margaret had insisted that they stop by the diner and pick up take out. Then they had to stop at the toll bridge and leave the food, along with a blanket on a rock by the river. David had murmured something about a new father raccoon.

"There is nothing in there," She gritted her teeth as she peered into an empty cave.

"Look again, but you have to really look this time." The man she knew as David Nolan, but who thought of himself as her father, instructed.

She looked again and this time she could see the edges of the cave, but it was as if a fog had lifted. Shimmering shapes started to form and she could barely believe her eyes. The cave was filled with gold, silver, gems and cases of paper that looked like stocks and bonds.

Snow White was holding onto her husband's arm when she saw the change sweep over her daughter.

"How did you manage this?" Snow asked in amazement. She gave her husband an adoring smile that made him want to grab her and kiss her until she squealed.

Charming was thoroughly enjoying surprising both his wife and daughter went on to explain. He turned to Emma.

"The original idea was to send Snow through the wardrobe before she gave birth. She would have raised you for 28 years alone." He swallowed hard at the thought of being without his daughter and wife for all those years.

"There was little I could do to protect the two of you in this land, I was determined to make sure you were taken care off anyway. Even though the wardrobe was finished minutes before your birth, I had the fairies start sending through the treasure beforehand."

Emma was looking at the stocks and bonds. "That doesn't explain these though. These are shares in Facebook, Twitter and Apple," Her eyes grew big.

Charming shrugged, "I guess the Mother Superior has been liquidating some of the treasure and buying stocks."

Snow moved to look at the pieces of paper. "Twitter sounds like something birds do, so we will keep those. Facebook sounds like a something Regina would be behind and I hate Apples, so we will have to get rid of those." She had started to make two piles.

"Are they worth anything?" Charming asked Emma.

She was too stunned to answer for a moment and then it was as if she had been brought back to reality. At least some warped version of reality. "They are worth a lot and they seem to be in my name," Her voice had risen to a shocked tempo.

"I guess since you were the one here, she figured it would be safest to put them in your name. You are pretty wealthy," Charming informed her.

Those stocks were worth more money than Emma had seen in her entire life.

"Even if those are real, which will be easy enough to find out, I can't possible keep them," She reluctantly admitted.

"Of course you can keep them, them of them as your inheritance," Snow White informed her daughter.

"Cool, if I had known about this, I never would have stolen that credit card."

They heard a young voice behind them and turned to see Henry standing at the mouth of the cave.

"Henry, what are you doing out of the hospital. You were nearly poisoned dead yesterday," Emma scolded.

Henry gave his mother an innocent look, "You said you would come back to the hospital after you dealt with that police matter. I got tired of waiting and besides I wasn't really poisoned. It was a magic poisoning. That is different." Henry looked to Snow White for confirmation.

She shrugged, "I was planning a battle a couple of hours after I was awoken from my poisoned apple induced sleep."

"Henry, you should not be wandering around the woods alone, it isn't safe," Charming replied with a protective note in his voice. He could not forget the way Regina had followed and spied on him and Snow the day before.

"He isn't alone," Came the voice of Red. "Did you really think that I would let him go off on his own?"

She was dressed in red, but her skirt was longer and she wore less make-up than Emma had ever seen her wear. To Snow, she looked like her old self. Confidant and brave and the best partner in crime the Princess would ever find. She was so happy to have her friend back. She ran to her and they hugged tightly.

When the two old friends broke the embrace, Charming gave her a brotherly hug as well.

"It is almost lunch time, I need to get back to the diner and help Granny with the noon crowd," Red informed her friends. "I just wanted to make sure that Henry was safe."

A look of guilt crossed the face of Snow," We are so sorry about last night." Sincere embarrassment was in her voice.

Red took both of her friend's hands in her own and gave her an understanding smile.

"You have nothing to apologize for. After everything that the two of you have been through, you deserve your happiness." There was a bit of sadness in her eyes.

"You deserve to be happy as well," Snow informed her friend. "And you will be someday." She let out a confident breath.

"Right now, I have to get back to the diner before Granny has a meltdown."

"If either of you need anything, do not hesitate to ask," Charming informed her.

Snow watched her go with a hint of sadness in her eyes," Life is not fair!" She said sorrowfully.

Charming hugged her tightly, "Red will be fine. In fact she is probably happier today than she was last week. At least she knows who she is and she knows that there are people around her who truly care for her."

Henry was walking around looking at the treasure with a gleam in his eyes. Looked like King Louie from the "Jungle Book."

He had on a crown and had jewels draped around him. He was having fun, which was all that Emma was concerned about.

Charming picked up the crown and examined it.

"This is the crown that King Midas gave me when I was engaged to marry Abigail. Snow, would you mind if I give this to Fredrick and Abigail?" There was caution in his voice. He didn't want to upset her in any way.

"Not at all," She replied casually. "Shall I start making a distribution list?" She pulled a piece of paper out of her purse.

"That can wait for the time being," Charming had started to pace and Snow recognized that he was now in full "Ruler of the Kingdom" mode.

"We should check on Sean and Ashley and make sure they have everything they need," He continued.

Emma just gawked at them wondered if this pair was for real? She had to admit they seemed like different people than they had been a week ago. Emma could not remember ever seeing her roommate so self-assured and David no longer seemed to be walking around in a confused daze. He also seemed to respect the dark haired woman standing before them. He was treating her as his equal partner.

"We should also make sure and set something aside for the battle," Snow remarked. "Battles are always expensive" She was making notes on the paper.

He nodded his head in agreement and smiled at his wife, "I love it when you read my mind." He bent over and kissed her quickly. Snow smiled at him.

Emma sighed, "How did I know there was going to be a mention of a battle? You two are obsessed with battles."

"Emma dear, we have enemies and they are not sitting still," Snow scolded lightly. "Did you talk to Mr. Gold this morning about the break in?"

"No, his assistant called to report the disturbance," Emma admitted.

"Since when does he have an assistant?" Charming wondered.

"Have you seen Regina today?" Snow asked.

"No, but she has to show up for a custody hearing with Judge Spencer next week."

"Albert Spencer? I thought he was the DA?" Snow asked with agitation.

"Regina appointed him to the bench so he could preside over the custody hearing."

"How can she do that?" Snow asked through gritted teeth

"She's the mayor, she runs this town she can do what she wants to do," Emma shrugged.

But he hates us," Snow insisted in a defeated tone.

"Who is Albert Spencer?" Charming asked a little bit irritated. He was starting to feel as if he had missed something very important.

At the same time both Emma and Snow answered.

"District Attorney Spencer is the one who reviewed the murder case against Mary Margaret." Emma answered.

"He is really King George!" Snow asserted loudly.

"That's impossible!" Charming countered with shock in his voice. "I saw the dragon attack King George, there was no way to save him and there was no way he could have escaped. If there had been any way to save him, I would have done so." He shook his head sadly.

"I know you tired your best to save him, but maybe your efforts were not in vain. Your father is alive and kicking in Storybrooke." Snow reluctantly informed her husband.

"He is your father?" Emma asked trying to keep up with all the twists that were being thrown her way.

"It is complicated," Charming sighed.

"Not really, King George raised Charming's twin brother as his son, Prince James. Only the prince was killed by a Behmoth…"

"Excuse me, he was killed by what?" Emma asked dumbfound

"You really should read the book," Henry scolded.

"The King needed someone to fill in and marry King Mida's daughter. Luckily, your father was available to take his brothers place at the altar," Snow told Emma in a matter of fact way.

Her husband was speechless for a few moments. Finally he was able to ask, "How do you know all that, I never told you about my past," A look of shame crossed his face.

"Your mother told me when I visited her right before I took the potion to forget all about you," Snow shrugged her shoulders.

"You saw my mother?"

"Of course I met your mother. Do you think I would marry a man without first meeting his mother? You could have had a stepmother who Regina look like the Blue Fair,." She gave him a skeptical look.

"How did you find her?" Charming asked astonished.

"I had the help of someone who is a really good tracker," Snow admitted

"Was it the huntsman?" He was clearly jealous.

"Who is the huntsman?" Emma asked, the headache was returning.

"You knew him as Sheriff Graham," Charming answered through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Emma answered cautiously.

"No, it wasn't him. It was Red if you must know," Snow rolled her eyes

"Good" He said under his breath.

"Why are you so insecure about him any way?" Snow gave her husband a puzzled look.

"He had a thing for you," Charming said under his breath.

"What, he was in love with you and he hit on me? Gross!" Emma shook her head in disgust.

"He wasn't in love with me. Your father is imagining things," She threw her husband a disappointed look.

"Yeah, right!" Charming insisted.

"Are you two fighting or is this just foreplay?" Emma rolled her eyes

"What's foreplay?" Henry asked as he walked up.

"Something to do with golf." Charming answered with out missing a beat.

"Can we get back to the topic of his mother?" Emma asked. Let me get this straight, you tracked down his mother found out he was a great guy and then took a potion to forget him?" Emma gave her mother a skeptical look.

"She took the potion because her heart was broken because we could not be together," Charming pointed out.

"Not exactly," Snow told her shocked husband and daughter. Even Henry stopped what he was doing to listen. This was a part of the story he had not heard

"Do you really think believed for one moment that I had really lost you for good?"

There was distant look in Snow's eyes that made her husband uncomfortable.

"Actually, that is exactly why I thought you took the potion because you could not stand to live without me." Tears welled up in his eyes.

Emma rolled her eyes. If he started to cry she would probably smack him.

Snow took a deep breath, "I knew you were not going to marry Abigail, you had already made that clear. King George had threatened to kill you and I am sure he had threatened to kill your mother."

Charming nodded in agreement, "That is exactly what he had threatened and he was going to burn the farm to the ground." He winched at the memory.

"I had to convince the King that I had never loved you and I was giving you up so you could marry Midas's daughter." Snow bit her bottom lip.

"You certainly convinced me," Charming's voice was almost a whisper.

"I always knew you would find me."

"Always," Her husband vowed. "As long as I draw breath."

"I had to keep you safe until you could get away. The two of us would have never made it out of there together alive that night. One man had already died trying to leave. I was not willing to risk your life. King George knew you wanted to leave with me, he was on alert."

Snow gave her husband a loving look and continued, "On my way out, I overheard some of the solders talking about the death of the Real Prince James and how you had been brought in to replace him. They seemed pretty impressed by your dragon slaying skills, considering the fact that you were raised as a shepherd."

"You knew the whole time?" He whispered.

"After I knew that you had a mother, she was not very hard to find. I went to the nearest village and found out that you had lived there with her for years."

Snow bit her bottom lip and waited for some reaction from her husband. It was their daughter who reacted.

"So, his mother told you his life story and it was so horrible, that you took the potion to forget?" Emma asked sarcastically.

"No, she told me his name and I took the potion to forget that piece of information."

Snow White stated simply.

Charming gave her a wounded look, "There is nothing wrong with my name. In fact, I am going to tell Emma and Henry what it is right now."

"No! You cannot say your name out loud we will lose our power over the Dark One!" Snow cried out in alarm.

"You and your mother know and that is two people too many." She pleaded.

Charming gave her a look of disbelief, "You know as well, you told me that my mother told you."

"I do not remember your name and it has to stay that way in order to protect you. He knows my name, thanks to the Queen and her smear campaign and he knows Emma's name. That was inevitable the moment Granny started to knit her the baby blanket. He has never known you true name and as long as it stays that way, he can never have complete power over us."

Emma stared at her in disbelief and then turned to Henry.

"Is that true, is his real name not mentioned in the book?"

Henry rolled his eyes.

"I know, I really should read the book. I promise I will read it starting tomorrow, just answer my question!" She gave him an exasperated look.

"His real name is not in the book. I am going to call him grandpa though." He smiled.

Charming just shrugged.

Emma narrowed her eyes at her mother. "How did you know that you wouldn't remember his name when he broke the spell however he did that"?

"True love's kiss."

Her father reminded her.

"His name was the one thing that I truly wanted to forget. Unfortunately, I had no idea that the side affects of the potion would be a complete personality change."

Snow sighed.

"All magic has a price."

Charming stated naturally as if he were repeating the family motto.

"I nearly paid with my soul." A distant look appeared in Snow's eyes.

She was visiting that dark place in her mind where Charming was always afraid that she partially believed that she deserved all the bad things that had happened in her life.

"Snow, look at me," He gave her an intense, loving look and held both her hands in his own, I would have never let that happen."

Emma shook her head in bewilderment, "Are you two for real? "Now I see why I outgrew fairytales."

Snow turned to her daughter and gave her a scolding look.

"What a horrible thing to say!" Snow winched as if she were in pain.

Emma watched them in amazement. They appeared to love each other with such intensity that she found herself slightly feeling jealous. That same intensity permeated every aspect of their lives. Snow White was her mother and Prince Charming was her father. It was the trust that they shared that most amazed her. They trusted each other completely. The concept of blind trust was foreign to Emma.

Emma turned to her mother, "How could you stand beside him in battle, marry him and have a child with him and you don't even know his name?"

"Because, in the long run, none of that is important and I explained why we have to keep his name a secret. Whether you like it or not, there will be a battle. We have to trust each other and we have to stand together because that is the only way that we will survive. There is magic here now and our enemies will use it." Snow looked towards her husband for his support.

"As usual, your mother is right."

Charming gave his wife and encouraging smile.

"Then you have already lost. I know enough about fairytales to know that Snow White and Prince Charming do not have magic powers."

Charming laughed, "Then you are operating from the same misconception as our enemies. We have the most powerful magic in this land our any other. We have love and that can beat back any spells cast our thrown our way."

"Which reminds me," Snow said. "I think we have an appointment at the principles office."

"Please don't," Emma pleaded. "You can have full run of the apartment for the rest of the day. All I ask is that you don't do anything on any surface that I have to eat off." She sighed wearily.

Henry walked up at that moment and asked, "School is out for summer. Why do you need to go see the principle?"

Emma turned to her parents, "I take it there are a few things that were left out of the book?"

Charming laughed and Snow blushed.

"There is a lot that was left out of that book."

He gave his wife a licentious look.

Emma turned to Henry "Come on kid, let's go see a movie and have dinner at the diner." She took the gold and jewels and put them back in the cave. "Somehow, I suspect that these will be safe here.

Snow and Charming left Emma and Henry off at the movie theater and went back to the apartment. He was sitting on the couch trying to figure out what they should watch on TV and she was making popcorn.

She placed the bowl of popcorn on the couch between them, sat down and leaned her head on her husbands shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tightly against his chest.

"It is nice to be here with you, to not have to sneak around and pretend that I am not desperately, hopelessly head over heels in love with you." He kissed her quickly on the lips.

"We never did this as David and Mary Margaret," Snow lamented.

"No, we were always in such a hurry to get to the good stuff before we were caught." Charming gave her a salacious look.

"Look, "Twin Peaks" is on, we can see what Emma was talking about." Snow was looking at the schedule and pretending to ignore the singles her husband was sending. She was able to keep up the act for about 30 seconds.

The opening credits started, they both reached into the bowl of popcorn, their hands touched, sparks actually flew, they locked eyes, and then lips as passion erupted.

Several minutes later they broke the kiss, gasping for breath.

"Does Emma eat on the couch?" Charming asked between kisses.

"Sometimes," Snow answered as she started to unbutton his shirt and slide it off of his shoulders. "But she never eats on the floor," She said breathlessly.

Charming laughed as they slid to the floor. Popcorn was everywhere, but they took no notice. They were completely captivated with each other.

Next: The first battle.