"Back away from my daughter!" Snow White pulled an arrow from her quiver, took aim and let it fly, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction when she hit her mark and the ogre tumbled to the ground.
Moments before, still gathering firewood, she'd heard the beast's roar, and her maternal instincts, which had lain dormant for twenty-eight years, suddenly flared to life. She'd rushed to the scene, her fear spiking as she saw the ogre towering over Emma, who was laying prone on the ground.
She hadn't taken the time to think, to wonder if she was capable, to be concerned for her own safety. Her daughter was in danger, and she would do anything to save her.
Snow looked down at the dead ogre for a moment before retrieving the arrow from his eye. Beyond her, Emma got slowly to her feet, her mouth hanging open in wonder.
"You have to shoot them in the eye," Snow said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Emma's eyes were still wide when she stepped over to Snow. "When was the last time you shot an arrow?"
"Twenty-eight years ago. I guess it's like riding a bike," she said simply.
"Yeah, but how did you know you could hit that?" Emma persisted.
"I didn't," she shrugged. It was true. She hadn't known she could still hit the eye of an ogre, but instinct had taken over, and with it the resolve and confidence Snow White had developed as an outlaw on the run. "Next time listen to me? That kind of thing isn't going to work here."
Emma looked down at the gun she'd retrieved and then back at Snow before nodding slowly. "Yeah."
With a smile, Snow led Emma away from the clearing. She wanted to get back to David and Henry; of course she did, but there was something right and rejuvenating about being back in the Enchanted Forest. For twenty-eight years, she was trapped in the life of Mary Margaret, a woman who was unsure of herself, a woman who had no real roots and no confidence in her abilities. Here, she was once again Snow White. She knew who she was, and she knew what she wanted, and she would do whatever it took to get it.
Here she was a mother, and here, finally, she was able to be the mother she'd always wanted to be; the woman who would guide and protect her child from any dangers that might come her way.
Here, Emma needed her.
No, things weren't perfect; they never were, it seemed, but here she'd found herself again, and that renewed her hope that they would get their family back together, and this time, she'd never let her family go again.