Dead Reckoning

Chapter Fifteen

When the men rushed out of the diner, Violet looked over at her father as if wondering if he was going to help them fight against the invaders to save their friend, but when she saw he wasn't planning to move, she turned and stormed out the back door. Sir Morgan quickly turned his head to Regina and with only a simple nod of her head, the former knight understood he really needed to have a talk with his daughter. He knew that his sixteen year old girl was disappointed in him because she had begun to see him as a coward. Henry had started to go until Regina laid a hand on his shoulder as Morgan left to do so himself.

He finally found her at the stables where they kept her horse a short time later, knowing it was the one place she loved most in both Storybrooke and back when they were still living in Camelot. She loved her horse more than anything and simply being near him was usually the only thing that could cheer her up until her boyfriend came into her life. Sir Morgan realized it's been a long time since he's been the one to be able to be that for her.

He made sure that Violet knew he was there as he approached her so he wouldn't startle her, then he spoke up saying, "I'm sorry, Violet. I know you've been disappointed with me for a long time now."

Without turning around to look at him while she brushed and stroked Nicodemus, she quietly replied, "I'm not disappointed in you, daddy. I'm just disappointed. I know how much losing Mom hurt you and I understand that you blame magic, which is why you had begun to turn your back on being a knight of Camelot. Why you've been wanting to return home in Connecticut. But I really love it here. And I still think magic is beautiful. Or at least it can be."

"But do you know what's bothering me the most?" she continued when she finally did turn around to face him. "It's that you fear of magic prevented you from going after the others to help one of our friends. A man who nearly died once today trying to protect me and you haven't even taken a moment to thank him yet. You might not even get the chance to now."

"You're absolutely right," the knight responded sadly, reaching out his hand beneath the horse's head to feed him an apple that Morgan had pulled out from his coat pocket. "I do owe Hook my gratitude and more. I don't know what I would have done if I ever lost you. And while you were threatened because of another villain rising up to take all the others' place, I also realize now that I can't keep blaming what I fear on our friends, in the world we live in, or even on magic itself. We only have the right to blame those who are threatening us. You helped me to see that, Violet. Thank you."

She smiled at him sadly as she answered, "That's great, but we're still moving. Aren't we? Just because there's no magic in Connecticut, it doesn't mean something bad won't happen to me."

He sighed and then replied, "I told you I was still considering it. Would moving away really be so bad?"

"You said it yourself, you didn't like it before you found yourself in Camelot," the teenager responded in frustration. "You said it was boring, which is why you dreamed of having your own adventure. And you found it, daddy. But now it's my time to have my own adventure and I think I'm old enough to seek it out. I might not find it here in Storybrooke, or if I were to return to Camelot. However, I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to find it in a land without magic either. Staying here for now is the best chance that I'm going to have to find what I'm looking for. Besides, I don't want to leave school and especially not Henry. I know you want what's best for me, but please… don't let your fear prevent me from my own adventure."

"Forgive me, Sir… Violet…" Henry then uttered after he cleared his throat when he walked into the stable. "I don't mean to interfere. It's just that I think I might have some advice that might help you both when you finally decide what's right for you. Actually, it's not my advice, or even given to me. It was Hook's, to my mom. I read about all about their adventure into the past in their story in the storybook. It was back when we were all still cursed without our memories of the missing year I told you about some time ago, except for them of course. Mom really struggled with wanting to stay here with all the magic and evils that exist here. She wanted to move back to New York. Is it all right if I explain?"

Sir Morgan smiled at the Author as he answered, "I'd be honored to listen to any advice you have to offer, young knight."

Henry nodded and went on to share the advice Emma had shared with him after she heard it from Killian, who once told her with sincerity, "Magic is a part of you, Swan. Don't forget… I was there when Cora tried to steal your heart. I saw the power inside of you. It's about time you embraced it. It's what makes you the Savior."

"I'm not embracing anything," Emma defiantly replied. "I need to learn magic to defeat Zelena and make sure everyone here is safe. After that, I'm done."

"Done with what, exactly?" he asked in confusion.

She quickly looked back at Henry, then turned to Killian again while she responded, "He doesn't belong here… Not anymore. He belongs in the real world, in New York, and the life that he remembers. It was good. And it didn't involve vile villains."

Hook looked at the woman he loved strangely as he asked curtly, "What about the life you remember? You can't just pretend like this never happened. Trust me. I spent the last year trying to do just that… Return to the person I used to be… And it didn't work."

"Why?" the Savior questioned. "What happened over the last year that you're not telling me?"

"It matters not," he quickly answered. "Just take it from me just this once. No matter how much you wish you could go back to your old life… You can't."

Henry paused a moment before continuing on as he added, "My mom wasn't ready to accept his advice just yet. She was too stubborn and she also denied her feelings for Killian even longer than my grandparents denied their own feelings towards one another. But then she finally understood what he was trying to say after they both became stuck in the past and had to fight to bring Snow White and Prince Charming back together again."

The seventeen year old went on again as he talked about part of the conversation between Emma and Killian when they had been trapped down in the vault beneath Rumplestiltskin's castle as Emma tried to deny she could get them home until Killian retorted, "But you can. All he said we need is magic. You're the Savior, Swan. You can do it."

"Not anymore," she replied in frustration. "I lost it."

"When Zelena died, all of her spells were undone," he responded more sternly. "Your powers should've been restored."

Emma stated him angrily, "Believe me, if I could make it work, I would. You think I'm faking it?"

Hook answered brusquely, "I think not having magic makes it a hell of a lot of easier for you to run back to New York and pretend to be somebody else. But listen to me, Swan. You're not. It's time to stop running."

"You think I don't know that?" she asked in frustration. "Yes, I run away. That's how I always survived. But believe me, I want this to work. I want to go back. I want to stop running."

"What's changed your mind?" the Captain questioned strangely, as he didn't understand her sudden change of heart.

The Savior softened as she looked at Killian sadly while she replied, "Watching my mother die. Thinking she was dead… You saw what happened. I was so relieved when she was okay. And I hugged her. And you know what I saw in her eyes? Nothing."

Emma's voice broke as she continued on, "She didn't know who I was. I had saved her and lost her, too. And that's what I've been doing to her since I met her. It's got to stop. When Henry brought me to Storybrooke, he told me I was the Savior. I didn't see what he was really doing. He was not bringing me back to break a curse. He was bringing me home."

"What are you saying?" Sir Morgan asked when Henry then finished.

"I think that what I'm trying to say is, Mom didn't allow her fear determine her life for her any longer and Killian helped her to see that," Henry responded confidently. "It's a big reason why she loves him so much. If you really want to know what's right for you… If you no longer want to allow fear to stand in your way of living the life you are meant to live, then trust in your heart and in the people around you who love you. Ask them advice on how they cope with the struggles that come with living here surrounded by magic and danger. Maybe Storybrooke isn't the right place for you and if it isn't, then go out in the world to find it. You'd be amazed what you discover about yourself along the way."

Violet leaned forward and kissed Henry's cheek as she answered, "That's really good advice, Henry. Thank you."

Sir Morgan smiled, then added, "Very good advice indeed. You are very wise, Henry."