#Swanfire fanfiction

[swanfireprincessmydear]

Poor Form

After being captured by Pan, Emma learns new information about Neal’s past as a Lost Boy.

Wishing you a very very Happy Birthday @themeepyfreak! I hope that you have had the most wonderful day! You are so helpful and I always love talking to you about Swanfire and our other interests 💚

This fic is based on a writing prompt given to me by @themeepyfreak: Emma learns about Hook and Neal’s past either in Neverland or post-Neverland and breaks it off with Hook.

[mariaalrox-blog]

Finally! This is the fanfic I supposedly want to write for christmas. But many things happened since then. It's not exactly what I thought at first but as I said, so much time had passed. Though I want to publish it even if it's not perfect.

[inuyashaeienni]

As a Swanfire shipper, I want to know if there are any amazing fanfics that I can read? Would love to start reading some!

[mystical-flute]

Take My Hand and Whisper 'Run'! Chapter 4: Growing Roots

Also on AO3 || Buy me a Ko-Fi

Something wasn’t right.

Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter was in Storybrooke, as had been foretold. The clock tower was moving, and people weren’t doing exactly what they’d been for the past… well, he couldn’t be sure how many years it had been. All he knew for sure it hadn’t been twenty-eight. Emma had looked far, far too young. But it had to be her, he knew it.

His curse wouldn’t have broken otherwise.

Then why? How?

Rumplestiltskin’s fingers drummed unconsciously against his cane. There had been a woman with Emma. Old enough to be some sort of guardian, but that didn’t explain exactly how someone from the Land Without Magic got into Storybrooke. His curse had ensured that. Even that odd father and son duo had been caught up in the curse as it had been forming the town, from what he’d been able to deduce.

What unlucky souls.

Then what had prompted Emma to show up to Storybrooke so early? She was still rather young too, so perhaps it wouldn’t hurt him to nudge her in her mother’s direction and out of Regina’s claws.

He would have to figure out what was going on with them though. How they got to Storybrooke, who they were working for (because surely, this couldn’t be good), or what they knew about the curse. It really was the only explanation, that the older blonde with her was from The Enchanted Forest or one of the other realms instead of being from The Land Without Magic.

But for now, he would continue to pretend everything was as it should be, especially when it came to Regina. It would be one thing if Emma was an adult, she would be able to handle  Regina with no magic, he was sure, but a teenager? A teenager stood no chance against Regina in any realm.

On the upside, Emma being here early meant there would be more time for him to figure out where his son was, and the less time apart he was from Baelfire, the better. Three-hundred years had already felt like an eternity.

Rumplestiltskin moved throughout the shop, making sure there was nothing he wouldn’t want out. The curse had left little hints toward its victims, and Rumplestiltskin didn’t want Regina to realize it. Many of the trinkets in his shop were from the ordinary citizens of Misthaven, but some, like the chess set that had belonged to Snow White’s father or Jefferson’s hat box, were tucked away in the back room Storybrooke’s citizens knew never to go near. He was not going to tip his hand to Regina. Not now.

Once he made sure his shop was as conspicuous as ever, he moved to the box of all his clients, beginning to go through them for some sort of hint as to who could have gotten someone out of the Enchanted Forest before Regina’s curse hit. Though there was the matter of how, he just wanted to know the who, for now.

Princess Jasmine? No - her husband had set their genie free only days before the curse. Surely there wouldn’t have been time for them to escape.

King Stefan? Of course not. They would have needed Maleficent to escape.

Alma Madrigal… her family had magic, that son of hers had prophetic abilities, so realistically, the family could see the curse coming but to find an escape route? He wasn’t sure. Still, he turned the card sideways, just in case.

He continued to flip through the cards, and while it was tempting to stop on Blue or any of the fairies, Rumplestiltskin knew that they’d all been busy working on trying to mitigate the curse to the best of their abilities, It couldn’t have been them.

Then who? How had this random person gotten the Savior into Storybrooke?

Or worse, why?

Rumplestiltskin didn’t exactly care, but even though she was without magic, he knew Regina had a temper and enough control over the town that she could make things very difficult for the newcomers. As easy as it would be to just let her do what she wanted, Emma was here, and she was the key to all of this, so he couldn’t just let anything happen to her. She’d be much less willing to work with him if her friend was dead.

So he would do what he did best if things got dicey - try to gain control from the shadows.

He shut the box when he saw the woman from last night approach the shop.

“Good morning,” he greeted with a tight smile when she entered. “Is there anything I can help you find?”

“Answers, I hope,” she replied. She was nervous, he could tell, and he could easily take advantage of that. A desperate soul was a desperate soul, no matter what realm they were in, after all. And if it helped him, well… he was all for it.

“I would be happy to provide those, if I can. But if it’s a map of Storybrooke you’re looking for, I’m afraid mine are all outdated and vintage,” he quipped with a twitch of his lips. “I do believe the library or welcome center should have some up-to-date ones.”

“Not a map… historical information about Storybrooke, like how it came to be and stuff like that.”

Rumplestiltskin raised a brow. Ah. He knew what she was getting at now. Both of them were holding something back - their identities, for one - and he leaned against the counter with a small smirk on his face. “I see. And what makes you think I can help you with that?”

“Because I’ve heard stories. Stories that you like to make deals.”

Ah… interesting. So this woman was perhaps from the Enchanted Forest instead.

“I do like to make deals, but it takes a specific sort of person to get me to make a deal.”

“A desperate soul?”

He smirked a little. “Yes, exactly that. However, since I have questions for you, I am considering this to be a mutual favor instead. Now… what is your name?”

The woman leaned closer to him (careful. That was good, especially if she was going to be an asset). “My name is Tinkerbell.”

Aha, a fairy. That made sense now. A fairy must have managed to make it out of the Enchanted Forest before the curse hit and cared for The Savior. But that didn’t answer all of the questions.

“And why did you bring the Savior here a decade before the curse is due to break?”

Tinkerbell frowned, face showing genuine confusion. “What are you talking about? What curse?”

Well, that wasn’t what he expected to hear. The fact that there were any fairies out there that didn’t know about the curse was a bit of a surprise to him - those winged insects had been at the front of Snow and Charming’s attempts to delay or stop the curse. So why hadn’t this one been?

“Regina cast a curse on our world… were you not part of the fairy brigade that was trying to stop her?” he questioned.

“I was banished from the Enchanted Forest,” she replied. “I don’t know how long I was gone for but… clearly long enough for Regina to go completely out of her mind…”

Rumplestiltskin frowned. He didn’t like the thought of working with a fairy to break the curse, but if she had also been scorned by Regina and was the only other person in the town who knew about the Enchanted Forest, it seemed he had little choice.

“Alright dearie, I believe you,” he said, clasping his hands on top of the handle of his cane. “Why don’t you tell me where you came from? Where were you banished to?”

“Neverland.”

Ah… that made sense. Banished to a realm notoriously difficult to get to, that was hostile, and that had no sense of time. Even though she was a fairy, he felt a little sorry for her. “I understand now. So… what is it you wish to ask me?”

“Everyone here… they’re from the Enchanted Forest? But how?”

He gestured for her to step behind the counter, not wanting Regina to pop in for a surprise inspection. If this fairy knew Regina had already run into her once here, there was no telling what she would think if she saw the two of them talking.

“Regina cast a curse. The Dark Curse,” he said, leading her to the back room where he kept extra merchandise and his spinning wheel. “It was to get revenge on Snow White for being manipulated by Regina’s mother.” Sure, technically Snow had been the one to tell Cora about Daniel, but realistically, there’d have been no way for Regina and her stable boy to run away and live happily ever after. Not while Cora still breathed anyway.

Tragically, for all the known realms, Cora still did.

Or at least, as far as he knew. He didn’t know what had become of the Enchanted Forest in the past fourteen years, but if anyone was still there, he had no doubt Cora had wormed her way in to take advantage of the situation.

Tinkerbell frowned a little. “I see… and how is the curse supposed to break?”

“The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, Emma, is the Savior. She is the girl you came here with, isn’t she?”

Tinkerbell’s eyes widened. “How - how could you possibly know that?”

He smirked. “I’m the Dark One, dearie. I saw this coming. Well, not precisely this, but I did know the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming was going to be the one to break the curse. And then last night when I heard her name, the curse on me broke.”

“But just on you.”

“Indeed. Too many of us who are freed from the curse before we truly know how to defeat Regina will only serve to make Regina angrier and more paranoid than she has a tendency to be,” he explained. “But doing it all at once…”

“We could get her contained without worry. Even without magic.”

He nodded.

Tinkerbell sighed. “But how do we even do this? Emma… she hasn’t had the best start in life. She believes her parents abandoned her. She understands that Neverland is real but… I don’t know, I think this might be too much for her.”

Rumplestiltskin couldn’t say he was surprised. He’d thought at least one of the Charmings had escaped, but knowing both of them were in town, it was a miracle that Emma had survived at all, and begged the question of what exactly happened to make her come to the Land Without Magic all alone.

“We should work together… to try and help the people here,” Tinkerbell said.

That was a sentence Rumplestiltskin was hoping wouldn’t come, but he knew, with things being so early, he would need help with this. 

Even if it meant working with a fairy.

“Fine, fine. Where are you staying?”

“The Bed and Breakfast… Granny said we can stay as long as we earn our keep.”

Hmm… he wasn’t sure he trusted Granny, well, actually, his concern was more on Regina manipulating the poor plebs of the town into doing her bidding. On the other hand, if he jumped too far in helping to set Tinkerbell and Emma up in town, Regina would absolutely question what his goal was.

He tapped his fingers against an empty shelf as he pondered what to do, before he steeled his resolve and moved to the safe - Mr. Gold had more money than he knew what to do with, and subconsciously, Rumplestiltskin supposed that was because of the life he’d lived in the Enchanted Forest. He could part with some of it though, if it meant keeping the Savior safe until they figured out how to break the curse on the rest of the town. Swiftly, he placed the money in a little keepsake box that had come with the curse (it belonged to Snow White, if he remembered correctly), and handed it to the fairy.

“What’s this?”

He smirked a little. “Consider it a nest egg. Save it for a rainy day.”

Emma let out a sigh and took a seat behind the counter. The lunch rush was over, and now there was going to be a lull before the dinner rush began.

But something had been bothering Emma since she’d gotten here. It was nice to feel settled (even if they were living in a hotel and only had a few pieces of clothing each), but there had been so many kids like her that hadn’t been so lucky. So many kids were still stuck in horrible places, unable to escape, or ready to be thrown out on their asses when they turned eighteen.

She repressed a shudder at the thought. No, her life wasn’t exactly great, but at least she hadn’t been tossed on her ass at eighteen. She had people she cared about now. People who would fight for her, and whom she would fight for… and even though they were in this small town where strangers looked at them like they were outsiders, she was not going to go back to Minnesota. Not for all the money in the world.

“Emma? Not that I’m upset that you’re taking some of the load off here, but does Rosetta intend to enroll you in school? The year started a few weeks ago but I’m sure you’d be able to catch up no problem,” Ruby said, breaking Emma from her thoughts by leaning against the counter next to her.

Emma blinked, unsure of what the answer was supposed to even be. Probably yes, right? Considering she was from the Land Without Magic (which was a joke since Peter Pan was able to infiltrate this place and take kids away), and had been to school in the past but… Tink wasn’t technically her legal guardian, and she had no idea if her old school even had her records anymore. How was she supposed to start at a normal school after being in Neverland for months? This wasn’t like when she had bounced from home to home… but on the other hand, she had liked school in the past. She had liked learning, for the most part, even if making friends had never been her priority (and how could it have been, when she’d lived in group homes for years and either bounced around or lived with too many other kids the last thing she wanted to do was be around more of them?).

Now that she had Bae and Tink though, Emma felt that she almost wanted to go to school.

How Bae was supposed to deal with school though… she had no idea.

“Oh - uh, yeah, maybe. I’ll have to talk to her when she gets back, but since we’ve got plans to settle down here, I should probably be in school, right?” Emma laughed lightly and adjusted a haphazard napkin holder in front of her. “What’s school even like here anyway?”

Ruby shrugged. “It’s school. Gross food, gym class that teaches nothing except how annoying running is, boys who like to show off cars in the parking lot that they say are theirs, but totally belong to their dads, itchy uniforms…”

“Uniforms? I’ve never heard of a public school having uniforms before,” Emma frowned. She’d gone to a Catholic school once - the uniforms were itchy and annoying then, and she doubted it’d be any better here. She’d seen kids walking around with uniforms here, but she had assumed they had been from a private school.

But if she was going to go to school here, she’d put up with the uniform if she had to.

“That was the worst part,” Ruby continued. “I couldn’t even have my red streaks. Can you imagine me without them?”

She giggled. “No, I really can’t.” Ruby with just plain black hair was a little strange of a mental image, she had to admit.

Ruby smiled a little. “But it’s really not so bad. You don’t have to spend money on a uniform at least, because they’re free, and actually, you’ve seen a lot of the teachers come in here for their morning dose of caffeine. Most of them have been teaching there for as long as I can remember…”

There was something odd about her tone, wistful and far away, like Ruby couldn’t exactly remember what she was talking about, so Emma cleared her throat before speaking again.

“Is Granny going to be okay with that? I mean, part of us staying here was that we worked to earn our keep,” she said, biting her lip. “We don’t have enough to get a place of our own yet.”

Ruby waved her hand. “It’ll be fine, I promise.”

Emma gave her a weak smile and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Ruby, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, any time,” Ruby replied with a grin. “If you do end up at school and they give you any shit, don’t be afraid to tell them who you’re staying with. I’ll deal with it.”

Emma’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Ruby to be that friendly toward her, but she couldn’t say she was mad. “Wow, thank you Ruby, that’s really nice of you. I will, for sure.”

People in this town were so friendly. Almost a little too friendly, if she was being honest with herself, but they were staying here, so she supposed this was something Emma was just going to have to get used to.

Emma wasn’t sure if Storybrooke just wasn’t used to new people or not, but getting enrolled in school had been unnervingly easy. Her records had been sent from her old school, the principal - Mr. Lafayette - had a uniform ready for her and had been willing to meet with them on a weekend, of all things.

But Emma was set for her first day of a proper high school, after managing to splurge on some back to school clearance supplies, and to her great surprise, they were better quality school supplies than she’d ever had, despite them being the last of the season. She even managed to score a pair of black shoes and some new, warm socks, as was part of the uniform for Storybrooke. Having all these new things was certainly a new experience for her, overwhelming, in a way. She couldn’t remember the last time she had new clothes.

And now here she was, new uniform, backpack, and freshly showered, with food in her stomach and more in her backpack for lunch. The food was threatening to come back out though, because of how nervous she was as she stepped into her home room classroom.

“Ah! You must be Emma Swan, our new student,” the teacher, Mrs. Haddad said with a bright smile. “Come in. Everyone, I know you like to blow this class off but I need you to listen! We have a new student joining us today. This is Emma Swan. I expect you all to be kind and make her feel welcome.”

The grumbling from her classmates wasn’t unexpected, so Emma didn’t react to it, instead turning to Mrs. Haddad when she addressed her directly.

“Emma, you can have a seat next to Adeline, alright?” Mrs. Haddad said, gesturing to where a red-haired girl was sitting, who gave her a bored wave.

Emma shuffled her way over to the desk and took a seat, and the din of the classroom began again.

“So you’re new, huh? We’ve never had a new kid before,” Adeline said with a small grin. “Where are you from then?”

“Minnesota,” Emma said with a small smile. “My cousin got me out of a bad situation and we ended up here.”

Adeline rested her chin in her hand. “Really? That’s super interesting. Where are you living then?”

“Oh - just at Granny’s, for now. We’re trying to find a cute apartment or something but we don’t really know the layout of the town and let’s face it, this place isn’t exactly a real estate hub.”

Adeline snorted. “This place isn’t a hub for anything. But listen, I work for Sinclair Designs after school, just answering phones and whatever. Estella has a couple of properties around town that Mr. Gold hasn’t been able to pry out of her hands yet. I could probably set your cousin up with her to talk, if you want. Oh, but if I manage to get that connection, there’s something you should know.”

“What’s that?”

“If you have a dog, don’t let Ms. SInclair see it. She gets a little squirrely about dogs.”

Emma blinked. “Oh - we don’t have a dog, no.” A dog - or any pet - would just mean another mouth to feed, and they still couldn’t afford that.

Adeline grinned. “Great, then you should be fine. I’ll try to set something up. Give me your number so I can call you.”

The meeting was set up, and Tink, having wanted to go alone, did so, leaving Emma alone in the hotel room to do homework while Bae was down at the diner working. The concept of having a place to call home - that wasn’t a bed and breakfast room - was a tempting one, but Emma couldn’t help but think about her old foster sister, the one that had been taken away and sent to a mental hospital.

She had the phone number… and she was alone in the room, so…

Emma grabbed the phone and dialed. “Hi, I’m Emma Swan, and I was hoping to speak to Miss Duval, please.”

“One moment please, I’ll see if she’s available.”

Emma bit her lip, pencil tapping against the table as she waited.

Finally, the line reconnected.

“Emma?”

Emma smiled in relief. “Hi Uma.”

[cs-rylie]

Nails on ao3 - OS - 985 words

If you dislike Neal, and wanna see Emma walking away from that relationship quite intentionally, I have a short OS that seems to be upsetting the SF community.. oops?

For years, I've heard some quote about how.. if you don't have haters, you aren't doing it right? Measuring success by how many people hate you? Something like that. Well, looks like I'm a step up on the ladder of success!

Honestly, I don't enjoy angering or upsetting people, but as a stoic, I find the silver lining. I must be a better writer than I give myself credit for, since I can apparently elicit such negative feelings. And it does seem to be true, the most successful people have haters and lovers in equal measure.

So, thank you for hating me. I don't hate you, if that matters at all. I hope you have wonderful days, weeks.. lives. Everything your hearts desire, is all I want for you 😘

[swanfireprincessmydear]

So sorry, I actually have more to say on this topic.

I think this kind of shows too why Emma is so quick to “move on” or kiss H00k in the episode prior. It’s because she’s trying to distract herself, she’s trying to push those emotions down and away and pretend they don’t exist. Not because that’s “healthy” but because it’s “easy.”

It’s not actually just as long as Neal’s alive, Emma will never “move on.”

It’s Emma will never move on. Period. She will never love anyone like she loves Neal. He’s the love of her life.

Him being dead only makes it easier to pretend like she can move on. It is the easy way out.

Swanfire Month Day 18 | Scene that broke your heart the most

There are so many but I already see posts discussing Neal’s death and the town line…so I’m going to go with 3x06.

If you’ve followed me for a bit, you know I will defend this scene until the day I die. It’s often used as “proof” that Emma doesn’t love Neal when in fact it’s the opposite. It’s also one of the most heartbreaking scenes.

Emma doesn’t want to tell Neal her secret. In spite of all he’s done, she’d do anything to protect him from this truth that will break his heart.

Neal telling her “It’s okay, you can tell me anything.” already gets the tears flowing. He has always loved her for who she is. There is nothing she can’t tell him.

Emma’s monologue here reminds you of just how much she has been through. She’s lost Neal a few times and has to wrestle with her feelings for him.

“From the moment I saw you in New York, from the instant you stepped back into my life, I knew. I knew I’d never stopped loving you.”

The heartbreaking smile that comes next.

“I love you. I probably always will…But my secret is that I was hoping this was a trick. I was hoping you were dead. Because it would be easier to put you behind me than to face all the pain that we went through all over again.”

It’s interesting that Emma says “we” and not “I” in this part. She is acknowledging for the first time that this did not only hurt her. It hurt Neal to leave her. He mourned her too. And because she knows that, because she knows they love each other, she is vulnerable once more.

This breaks me because both have been through so much pain. They love one another. They know this. But for so long, both refused to accept it (Neal rebuffs Rumple’s notion that he still loves her in S2). Now here they are, laying it out on the table. For Emma, it’s easier if he’s dead because then she can’t hurt anymore. She doesn’t have to face more pain. He doesn’t have to face any more pain.

Neal instantly hugging her once the cage melts away seals the deal for me. He later tells her she doesn’t have to apologize for how she feels. Once again, he loves her, he accepts her. He knows her feelings are valid. He hurt her and there is no ignoring that.

I know many love their fight at the bar in Manhattan-as do I-but this is more powerful, more heartbreaking in my opinion.

I think it may not hit as hard anymore if I didn’t know their future. If maybe they could work on these feelings, the pain, find their way back so loving each other didn’t hurt.

But no, he’s dead. There’s no chance for closure or reconciliation. The writers don’t even show her mourning Neal or dealing with these feelings. He’s dead. He’s at peace.

But a part of Emma will never be until she sees him again.

[mysteryandnonstopfun]

Swanfire AU 

Emma Swan is a famous thriller author known by her pen name, "Christian Swan." She has to disguise herself on a field mostly dominated by men so her books will sell well.

At the moment, Emma is facing terrible writer’s block while trying to finish the final book of her recent series, "The mystery of the eyes." Her editor, Regina, suggests taking a break and maybe trying something out of her comfort zone.

Regina’s plan is easy. Emma will collaborate with "LunAnne Henderson," a famous romance writer, on a book of short stories to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the editorial. Regina is willing to give them her beach house in Tallahassee, so the book will be ready in six months.

Emma accepts even though isn’t so sure about it. What she never expects is that "LunAnne Handerson" is also a pen name, and the person behind all of those romance books isn't anyone other than her ex-elementary school best friend Neal Cassidy, with whom she hasn’t spoken in ages.

[once28]

This is a formal request for more lighthearted Swanfire fics. I’m tired of being sad, this shit is exhausting 😭😫

[sassyandclassy94]

Now that I changed my profile picture to Don I don’t recognize my own blog🥴 it’s been SwanFire for SIX years….

[victoriously-regal]

oh my god I was reading a swanqueen fanfic (Down East Decisions. If you've read the fic this rant will make a whole lot more sense) and my friend who got me into Once texted me as I was reading. I was like 'dude you caught me at the worst time the protagonists in the book im reading are having their breakup moment and I'm dying rn'. She asked me what book I'm reading and because she mostly ships captainswan and swanfire (as do I, but SQ and OQ are my ride-or-die couples) I just said it was a random online e-book I found. She asked me how bad the breakup scene was, so I copy, pasted, and then texted the breakup chapter to her but changed the names of Emma, Regina and Henry to Mike, Hailey, and Ryan before sending it to her.

GUESS WHAT THIS BITCH (i say affectionately) REPLIED WITH?

'wait they kinda remind me of Emma and Neal.'

I was so impressed that she was able to make the connection to Once even after I changed the names and a bit of the context, but I had to play dumb and was like 'omg you're kinda right wtf'.

THEN GUESS WHAT SHE SAID?

'Kinda like Neal hiding the whole story world away from Emma for her safety with August. Also if you just replace Ryan with Henry it makes even more sense.'

I wanted to scream, how tf did she clock that!?!?!?! I'm actually so impressed with her for that.

[shamelessrumbellefan]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan Characters: Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time) Additional Tags: Queen/Swan/Fire, Polyamory, Co-Parenting, The Evil Queen in love, SwanFire and Swan Queen together, QueenSwanFire, Fluff, romantic Summary:

To co-parent Henry successfully a unique arrangement is made.

[swanfireprincessmydear]

Does anyone wanna give me a Swanfire fic prompt?

[swanfireprincessmydear]

CAN’T WAIT TO READ IT!!!

So.., I have this new fanfic. 😁

[shikoslady]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan Characters: Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time) Additional Tags: Queen/Swan/Fire, Polyamory, Co-Parenting, The Evil Queen in love, SwanFire and Swan Queen together Summary:

To co-parent Henry successfully a unique arrangement is made.

[mystical-flute]

Moments: Swanfire Week Day 2

Also on AO3

Prompt: Neal and Emma spend the night on the perfect hill for stargazing.

Summary: On Princess Emma's eighteenth birthday, the dashing rogue Baelfire shows her a place to relax after the celebratory ball.

Misthaven Kingdom was finally in an era of peace. No longer did they have to worry about Regina gathering followers to rise up against them. No longer did they have to worry about Emma being swayed by dark magic, with it threatening to swallow her whole. No longer did they have to worry about her younger siblings being kidnapped, threatening to be sacrificed because a witch wanted to go back and change the past.

No, now, the world was quiet and peaceful. Even the Dark Ones had finally been tamed, after a hard-fought battle between love and darkness. She never would have thought that Rumplestiltskin had a son, and that said son would be so forgiving after everything he’d told her about his childhood.

“Emma, come on, it’s time to get ready for the ball!” her mother called, and she groaned a little, rolling her eyes. As much as she liked attending balls, the process of getting ready for said balls could be… a lot, and rather annoying with everyone fluttering around her, making sure she was perfectly presentable, even though many of the invitees had seen her bloody and bruised on the battlefield during the war.

Oh well.

Snow White practically fluttered into the room, much like the birds she so loved to care for, followed by Emma’s personal stylist carrying the dress she’d picked out ages ago. 

She was eighteen now, and this ball was a birthday party doubled as her big debut to the eligible bachelors in the area. She wasn’t forced into a betrothal, thank goodness, but her parents wanted her to begin looking for suitors.

Ugh.

She sat comfortably in front of the mirror, hands folded in front of her as her mother set a small flower crown on top with a smile.

“No royal jewels tonight, mother?” Emma asked with a curious look. “With tonight being for me to find a husband I would have thought…”

Her mother shook her head. “I thought this would go better with your dress.”

Emma couldn’t deny that, and she smiled. “I’m glad we got here, and that Regina and Zelena aren’t issues for us anymore.”

“I am too. Now then, your father has a special gift to give to you. Come in, Charming.”

Her father entered then, dressed in a deep blue outfit and holding a small box in his hand. “Emma… you look beautiful. Are you ready for tonight?”

She nodded. “I get to celebrate my birthday. What could be better than that?”

He laughed a little. “Yeah, of course. I just wanted to give you one more gift before we go downstairs and greet our guests.”

Emma took the box into her hands and pulled it open, finding a small pendant inside. It was less spectacular than most of her jewelry, but she honestly loved that. It looked almost homemade or at the very least, not made by one of the royal jewelers.

“It’s beautiful, father… where did you get it?”

“It belonged to my mother. Your grandmother.”

Emma’s eyes widened. She knew her paternal grandmother had been killed by King George before she’d been born, but she didn’t know her father had kept this necklace. “I love it even more, knowing it belonged to her,” she said with a smile. “Mother, can you put it on me?”

Her mother nodded, carefully doing so. “You know, Emma, this pendant is enchanted by magic. If you hold it above your hand it’ll tell you the gender of your firstborn child.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know if that’s true. It was wrong for your mother,” her father replied as they left the room and started making their way to the staircase, where they were announced as the royal family and joined the party below.

Her mother rolled her eyes and shook her head as she leaned to whisper in Emma’s ear. “It was right, I just let him think it was wrong. North to south is a boy, east to west for a girl.”

Emma concealed a giggle behind her hand as the family was finally introduced to the rest of the hall.

Emma took a deep breath and tried to put on a brave face as she danced with one potential suitor after another. Prince Philip the Second, Prince Ali of Agrabah, Prince Jack of Tintagel… all of them were nice, she supposed, but she just wasn’t sure. So, once dinner was over and the dancing wore on, Emma stepped outside for some fresh air.

“I’m surprised to see the birthday girl out here all by herself,” a voice said.

She looked over in surprise. “Bae! I was wondering if you were here!”

Bae stepped out from behind a statue. “Of course I’m here. I couldn’t let you celebrate your birthday without me, right?” he teased with a grin. “Papa and Belle are here too, with Gideon. Don’t worry, you won’t have to worry about being set up with him, he’s too young.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, I know. He’s only five. Eva though…”

Neal threw his head back and laughed as well. “So why is the birthday girl all alone? One of your suitors couldn’t keep you company?”

“I don’t want them to, ugh. And they aren’t suitors… just potential suitors,” she replied with a frown. “I just needed some space to breathe, that’s all.”

He hummed. “Ah, I see. And the ball’s still going for a few hours, right?”

Emma nodded.

“I think I can help you. I know a great place to watch the stars. Once the ball is over, meet me outside the palace gates and I’ll take you there.”

Emma could only grin. “It better be worth it.”

“Oh, trust me, it will be.”

She grinned, and felt her heart skip a beat, anticipation rising in her, but renewed with energy to see the ball through so she could see what he meant.

When the ball concluded, Emma sneaked through the servant’s quarters - an old trick she’d learned long ago as a way to sneak through the castle to avoid her parents, and made her way outside, cloaked and dressed in riding gear. Baelfire met her outside the gates as he said, with his horse, and she climbed on behind him, before they galloped away, to a large hill overlooking Mishaven’s largest village of Grimsund.

The stars were bright and clear, the only trees were behind them, the rest of the hill full of tall wildflowers and grasses.

“Oh wow…” she whispered. “What a beautiful area. How did you even find this place?”

Bae laid out a blanket on the ground, taking a seat on it and staring out at the stars above them. “This was the area where I grew up, before your ancestor’s managed to take it over from the corrupt officials. It’s the only thing that hasn’t changed in three-hundred years.”

Emma took a seat next to him. “Oh, wow… so you probably come here a lot, huh?”

“I used to, when I first came back from the Land Without Magic. It was the only place that felt familiar enough,” he said with a frown. “But now I think I’m getting used to all the changes that have happened.”

“I’m glad,” she said with a smile. “What was it like? The Land Without Magic?”

He smiled a little. “It was… amazing. There was a giant sundial - no, wait, Wendy called it a clock - there to help the whole city tell time. And there were so many people, not like in these little villages too. The clothes were a little more comfortable too, honestly. And so were the people there.” He had a faraway look in his eye that made her a little sad.

“That’s good, I suppose.”

“Yeah, it was good,” he agreed. “So where’d you get that necklace? It’s enchanted, isn’t it?”

Emma blinked in surprise, one hand coming up to grasp the pendant. “Father gave it to me for my birthday. It was my grandmother’s. How’d you guess it was enchanted?”

“Papa taught me to sense enchanted objects,” he said with a shrug. “What’s it do?”

“It tells you the sex of your firstborn child.”

“Did you do it?”

Emma snorted. “Of course not! I’m not thinking of having a kid yet!”

He wrapped an arm around her, and she almost instinctively leaned into him. “Yea, of course not. You only just started getting suitors after all. Did you find your one true love tonight?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. No, not out of the guys that were there tonight, I don’t think,” she sighed, looking up at the sky.

“You don’t think?” he asked with a raised brow.

Emma shrugged. “I like spending time with you, y’know?”

He grinned down at her. “I like spending time with you too. But are you sure it’s a good idea for you to catch feelings for me? I mean, I’m not a prince.”

“That didn’t stop my mom,” she said with a smirk.

He leaned closer, lips brushing against hers. “Mm, that’s very true.” 

And with that, he swept her into a kiss, under Misthaven’s starlit sky.

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One: The Delicacies of Time

Chapter 4: The End

Tug. Go back.

Refuse.

The smell of roses. Something familiar. Hands he knows. Touch me!

Blackness.

Headache. Quiet.

Belle.

Belle. It's so good to see you!

He loved Belle. He trusted Belle.

Trust Belle.

Time.

Days.

Emma.

Yellow bug over the town line…nothing.

When had that happened? Where was Henry?

Henry…Henry's here!

And Emma.

My Dad's back? He's so real it's like I can hear him.

Hear him?

That must be why!

Hear.

But I just watched him die!

Not dead, just blind!

Bound!

Like I can hear him…my head…my hand!

Hand?

What about a hand?

What symbol?

What's it mean?

Belle. Belle can figure it out.

Belle can figure anything out.

I need a minute alone.

Never alone.

Always here. Always watching. Always listening.

Machines beeping.

Belle. She can fix it. Together we can get Henry back, to remember me.

Belle.

She can do it.

I trust you with my life.

I trust you with my life.

What was happening? Who did he trust? Why was it dark? Why did this hurt? Why was he blind? Why was he deaf?

Gotta get outta here. Gotta do something. Can't lay here anymore! My son needs me!

What was that about a green blob?

Why was it so quiet?

Emma and Hook.

Embrace.

Embrace? Why would he embrace Hook? Why would Hook embrace him? The information came in snippets, only in feelings, never words.

Ten minutes? Why was that significant?

Gold. Where was Gold?

He was Gold. He was Gold, but where was he? Why was it so quiet! He wanted to scream! He needed to scream!

Scream.

NO!

He needed control!

No! No! I had it!

Splitting. Splitting. His head was splitting!

His knees were wet! Where was he?

Where are we?

Woods.

The Witch calls to us!

Refuse!

Refuse! Can't refuse!

I can!

Control! He needed to maintain control.

Spinning helps!

No wheel in sight!

Find a wheel!

Return!

Refuse!

What was happening?

What was he thinking?

Gold!

He was Gold.

We are gold?

You all right?

Emma! It's Emma! She wants to help!

No!

No, no, no, not all right!

Not all right!

Quiet!

Focus! Tell Emma! Let me see Emma!

"I can't quiet the voices."

We know you were held captive by the witch.

Wicked Witch of the West!

Zelena. How did she know about Zelena?

I think…I think I told her!

How?!

Let me out, I want to talk to her!

Do you know where she is?

Bitch with the dagger? We always know where she is!

Yeah, she's…

Stop!

Sorry!

Stop! There's no room! No room!

There's too many voices!

Too many voices!

We got to get him out of here.

Get out of here!

Who's we?

That's a mistake, Emma's here!

The pain will stop when we're away from her!

Screech!

A creature! A beast! She'll find us!

Run!

Run. He was barely aware of his two legs under him. Barely aware of the pains in his body. He was barely aware.

Barely aware.

Stop!

We can't get too far from Emma.

She makes it worse!

Spinning helps!

No wheel! No room! No room for you!

Emma!

No room. No room for Rumpelstiltskin. Quiet.

Emma.

We?

Confusion.

Darkness.

Peace.

Deafness.

New York. Henry. Belle.

Belle. He loved Belle. He wanted Belle just as much as Bae wanted Emma. Emma…

He remembered Emma. He remembered the motel and Tallahassee. He remembered the voices fighting over her.

Where were the voices?

Here.

Here!

Still here!

No! I can do this!

Can't do this!

What's happening?!

Gold inside.

He was inside? How? What was he doing inside?

Our inside.

No room.

Help.

Separate.

No! He choked down the voices. It was wrong! Something was wrong! He was supposed to remember something! Separate but don't!

Ready!

Ready. But don't. What was he supposed to remember?

Free us!

Don't.

Do it!

You'll die!

No! No, Neal couldn't die! There was a reason. There was a reason for the reason! No!

Understanding.

No!

Willingness.

NO!

Yes!

Sacrifice.

For Henry.

Do it!

It's okay, Papa…don't fight it.

The world came back into focus with a flash of light that was blinding. He felt like he'd run a marathon. He felt like he'd endured hell.

He had.

He came back to the world on his knees in a forest that smelled like Storybrooke. The voices in his head cheered and celebrated, back in their proper place. The ground was wet. It had soaked through his clothes to his knees. Magic, Light Magic, still hummed in his palms, tingling like a burn where he was touching…

Emma.

Emma Swan. Brief glimpses and flashes of memory set a panic into his chest as her eyes widened and then…

"Neal!" she screamed, crawling away from him. "Neal, are you okay?"

Reason…there was a reason they'd been like this….that. He couldn't remember what it was, but he knew the consequences of being this way, and he wouldn't have done it unless he had a reason.

Reason…like the one he saw on Neal's hand, a scar in a shape he recognized.

The deadly key to the Dark One Vault…

Neal had used it? Was that how he was still here? Here again? Still breathing?

Did it matter?

"What have you done?" he breathed in Emma's direction. She didn't know. She didn't know what she'd done, what they'd done!

"It's okay, Papa…I told her to."

It's okay, Papa…don't fight it.

Don't fight it. Pretty words to say now that he was outside of him, and his heart was slowing.

"But why?"

"So you can tell her who the witch is, so you can defeat her…"

That was all? That was all!

He just needed to deliver a message! Just a few moments of clarity to deliver the message. And then he could take him back! When they defeated Zelena, they'd help Neal too. And him. They'd fix this once whatever curse broke Zelena held over their memories. They'd understand what this was, how it had happened, why he wasn't dead anymore...

And they'd fix it.

"Zelena," he growled. She was the villain.

"What?" Emma questioned.

"Zelena," he responded again.

"She's the witch? What does she want?"

He knew this answer. It was a hazy memory, filled with voices and images that were not his own, but he'd asked. He'd focused. There was something about appearances, and then…

Just exactly what is it you want?

"What I'm after, Rumple…is something you've spent a lifetime seeking. Something that goes against your very nature, something that I can't afford to wait that long for."

"What she doesn't have," he answered.

Belle would kill him. He heard the riddle in it himself, and he knew it benefited him not to speak in such a way, but he had no further information. A riddle for an answer was all he could give to her riddle. As far as he knew, it had been years since he'd last seen Oz's Wicked Witch of the West. How she'd gotten the dagger, how he'd come to be with her, what she was planning…it was missing. Not a blur, just gone. His last memory was standing on Main Street, hugging his father, saying goodbye, and accepting the pain of death that was coming after him. And then there was just the cage, voices…the nightmare. This nightmare.

"There has to be some way you can save him, right?" Emma questioned.

Him? Save him? He felt a tug on his heart, something that had him standing. A suggestion but not a command from the dagger.

Refuse…

No…that power was gone. That blessing had come from Baelfire. Baelfire, whose heart was rapidly slowing because the key he'd apparently used to summon him, was cursed. He might be able to help him, but not without his full power.

Baelfire was dying.

"It's too late, Emma," he whispered as she cradled him.

It's okay, Papa…don't fight it.

Oh, how he wanted to fight it!

Another tug. Zelena's desire for him to return was strong. It turned his body, nearly had him going, but still…no command.

Refuse.

It was working for now, but only because Zelena didn't yet know that he could respond to commands again. The second she realized he could...

"Just hang in there, please. You never even had a chance to see Henry…for him to remember you."

He felt tears drip down his cheeks. Another son left fatherless, his own son leaving his grandson…all because of him.

"It's okay. He doesn't need to. He just needs to know that, in the end, I was a good father."

Sacrifice. He'd heard that word in his head as he'd begged them not to be separated. He hadn't known the meaning of the word until now. If he had, he'd have let go of that fucking dagger eons ago and disappeared into a portal to an unknown world with his own son. He'd have ended the cycle himself instead of-

Instead of this…

"I saved this for you, to give to you again. Take it," he turned his back on the witch and watched his son pull a necklace from his pocket, one he'd seen around Emma's neck plenty of times but hadn't realized she was missing until now. It had been in his pocket, along with-

"Go find Tallahassee…even if it's without me."

"Neal…" Emma cried as she took it.

"Hey, I'll be watching over you guys from somewhere. Promise me…just prom-promise me you'll both be happy."

"I promise! I promise!"

"No!"

Emma may have been willing to give in easily, but he wasn't. He couldn't. Time. He could buy time; it didn't have to be like this. It wasn't pleasant, and he'd be useless against Zelena, but putting him back in his body meant that they could preserve him until there was an answer. Neal was willing to sacrifice himself for Henry, he was willing to sacrifice his mind for them.

"No, no, no, I can fix this!" he stated as he sank down next to them, ignoring yet another tug. It would be difficult without the dagger in his possession, without all of his magic on his side and in his power, but he had to at least try to-

"No, you can't!" Bae insisted as he reached for his hands and found his son fighting against him.

It's okay, Papa…don't fight it.

Don't fight it, Rumpelstiltskin.

"You can't!" And suddenly, instead of pushing his hands away, he grabbed them and held them in his own just as tight as he had when he was learning to walk. "Thank you, Papa, for showing me what it means to make a true sacrifice."

A sacrifice? He'd shown him that? He'd never even taught him to shave.

"It's about saving the ones that you love."

"No," he shook his head. It wasn't right.

"It's my turn now."

"No."

His heart was dangerously slow. His hand went slack, and he reached out to force it over his own. He could do something. He could try. He could bring him back inside. Inside he was strong!

"I don't want to let you go."

"I need you to," he whispered as his skin paled. "Please…let go."

It's okay, Papa…don't fight it.

"I love you, son!"

"I…" Bae gasped, his back arched as if he was fighting for air. "I love you, Papa," Baelfire declared with his dying breath.