#so the increased safety precautions banished me to the back seat for years

[anneslifeinchrist]

British Friend: What do you plan to do about your election? Me: Move to Europe. British Friend: Fair.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

The Princess and the Pirate, chapter 2

Rating: T

Pairing: Captain Duckling

Summary:  When the Black Fairy finds a way back from the Dark Realm where she’s been banished, Snow and Charming fear for their daughter, Emma’s life.  They turn to the infamous Captain Hook to take their daughter to safety before the Black Fairy is able to start the “final battle” she’d threatened just after Emma’s birth.

Missed the beginning: (1)

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The Dark Realm, a few months later

Fiona paced her throne room in agitation.  Thwarted again!  Would she never find a way to leave this cursed land?  

It had been months of trying, months of scheming, months of trying everything she could imagine to get back to the Enchanted Forest, retrieve her wand , and make every last person, fairy and dwarf pay for her banishment.  But it had all been for naught.  She was stuck in this gods-forsaken land alone, with no access to magic.

To be sure, the last few months had not been a total loss.  She’d discovered a mine full to the brim with black diamonds, containing the most powerful dark fairy dust known to her kind.  She’d spent long hours devising a simply brilliant plan to use the fairy dust on her enemies, cast a curse, and then kill the savior once and for all.  

But it was useless to her at the moment.  Without her magic, she’d be forced to endure back-breaking labor to retrieve and process the dust, and even then she had no way to use it.  She was well and truly stuck in this land.

She had but one option left. It was risky, one could never be sure how spectacularly it might backfire, but she was out of options.

She had to summon him.

Taking a deep breath, Fiona did what needed to be done.

“Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin,” she called in a loud, commanding voice.

Nothing happened.

“Rumplestiltskin!  I command you to appear!” Fiona screamed in frustration.  Would nothing ever go her way?

“No need to shout, Dearie, I heard you the first time,” the Dark One said with a giggle, “and I hardly think you’re in any position to ‘demand’ anything of me.”

Fiona spun on her heel until she found the sparkly golden imp himself, seated lazily on her throne, his fingers steepled below his chin.

“Dark One,” Fiona said, “I have summoned you to ask you to…”

“Yes, yes,” he said with a dismissive wave of the hand, “I know exactly what you want.  You want a way back to the Enchanted Forest and a way to kill the savior.”

“Exactly!” Fiona said, breathing a sigh of relief.  If anyone in the known realms was powerful enough to help her it was the Dark One.  “So you’ll help me?  You’ll get me back to the Enchanted Forest”

He giggled, that particular high pitch, slightly manic sound that set Fiona’s teeth on edge.  “Oh I’m afraid that’s quite impossible.”

“But you’re the Dark One! You have the most powerful magic in all the realms!”

“That I do, dearie,” he said with a smirk, “but when you marked Princess Emma as your adversary, you made her the savior.  You protected her from, well, you. Couldn’t break through the protection spell if I wanted to.  Sorry to disappoint, but you did this to yourself.”

Fiona stamped her foot and screamed every obscenity she knew.  “What use are you Dark One?  What use!”

The grin slid from Rumplestiltskin’s face, and he got menacingly to his feet.  For a moment, Fiona stepped back, sudden fear replacing the fury.  “Careful,” Rumple growled.  “Continue that line of thought and things will get very, very unpleasant for you.”

“I apologize,” Fiona said, eyes downcast, hands folded submissively, “my frustration got the better of me when you refused to help.”

“Who says I refuse?” Rumple said, with a flourish of his hand.

“But you just said…”

“I said that she’s protected,” Rumple said with another giggle, “but I didn’t say she was protected forever.  When a savior turns 28, she reaches her full savior potential.  It’s when the final battle can begin!  In short, upon Princess Emma’s 28th birthday, she will be ready to meet you in battle and the shield blocking your return will be removed.”

“So I can return to the Enchanted Forest on her birthday?” Fiona asked.

Rumple giggled again. Fiona was beginning to really, really hate that sound.  “Well, of course not.  You, dearie managed to piss off nearly everyone in the kingdom, and you’ve got far more than a Savior protection spell to deal with.”

Fiona frowned.  “Enough with the riddles Dark one!  How do I return to the Enchanted Forest?”

“You must use the magic of your wand to create the portal you need.”

“And how am I to do so?” Fiona asked, pacing restlessly.  “Blue stole my wand and the king and queen have it under lock and key.”

Rumple sighed dramatically. “Not a brain in that evil head of yours is there?  I can tell you precisely what you must do…for a price.”

“And that price is?” Fiona asked warily.

“Freedom and total immunity in the new world you create upon the smoking ruins of the Enchanted Forest after you defeat the Charmings and their precious daughter.”

Fiona extended her hand. “It would seem, Dark One, that we have an accord.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The Enchanted Forest, 27 ½ years later.

Princess Emma of Misthaven woke suddenly as she felt someone lean down and place a gentle kiss on her forehead.  Opening her eyes, she found herself gazing into the smiling face of her mother.

“Happy birthday, Sweetheart,” Snow White said, brushing a messy lock of blonde hair off of Emma’s forehead.  “Your father and I love you so very, very much.”

Emma smiled, sat up quickly and wrapped her mother in a hug.  “I love you too, mother.  You and papa.”

Snow White kissed her once more, and then rose regally to her feet.  “I’ll have the maids draw you a nice hot bath, and then you can join your father and me for breakfast.”

“Sounds wonderful, Mother.”

Emma watched her mother leave the room, and then she snuggled back into her soft bedding. There was no reason to get up before the maids prepared her bath, after all.

It had been a tradition for as long as Emma could remember for her mother to wake her on the morning of her birthday with a kiss at precisely 8:15 am, the minute she was born. She supposed she was growing rather old for the tradition, but her parents seemed to still view her as their baby rather than their 28-year-old adult daughter.  She expected the birth-minute kiss tradition would continue indefinitely.

At least until Emma finally did her civic duty and chose a man to marry so that she could produce heirs to the throne.

Emma groaned inwardly, not wishing to think about her duty as future queen.  Her parents had gently pushed her toward a few neighboring princes, a wealthy duke or two, but she’d found no one that didn’t bore her to tears. The thought of spending the rest of her life with, say, Lord Archibald Hopper, made her shudder.

Not that there was anything wrong with Lord Archibald Hopper, but the thought of marrying him, spending the rest of her life with him, producing heirs with him…it was not something she wanted to contemplate.

She didn’t want staid and dependable and proper.  She wanted adventure, excitement, a chance to see the world and truly make a difference within it.

Not that she had any real complaints about her life.  It had been picture perfect.  She’d grown up the pampered daughter of two parents who loved her with every fiber of their being.  And she loved them too, so very, very much.  

Her mother had always, always been there to bandage her childhood cuts and scrapes, to soothe her fevers, to listen to her problems.  And her father, well, her father was her best friend.

She knew how very, very blessed she was, and she wouldn’t trade a minute with her family and with the kingdom that loved her, but…her life could sometimes be boring.

She understood why her parents were so very protective.  She’d heard the story of the Black Fairy and her threats ever since she was tiny.  She was grateful that her parents and their knights had worked so tirelessly to protect her, but she wasn’t a delicate flower that needed protecting.  Her mother had taught her archery, her father had taught her swordsmanship, and her mother’s most trusted soldier, Graham, had taught her about tracking and hunting.

She could take care of herself, and more than anything she wanted a chance to try.

One day, she’d overheard her father discussing the increasing threat of pirates to their realm.   They sounded dangerous…and exciting, and, well free.  Sometimes Emma wished for a chance to meet a pirate, to join his crew, oh not forever, of course, and she had no desire to cause trouble for her own kingdom, but maybe for just a journey or two.  

“Your highness?” her maid, Grace, said softly, pulling Emma from her thoughts.  “Your bath is prepared.  Shall I choose a gown for the day?”

Emma sighed, and then arranged her features into a pleasant smile.  “That would be just fine, Grace.  Thank you.”

The maid curtsied.  “You’re welcome, your highness, and if I may, happy birthday.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Charming wrapped an arm around his wife, as together they looked over to the dais where Emma was receiving well wishes from her birthday guests.

“She’s happy, isn’t she, David?” Snow asked, a note of anxiety in her voice.  I know all of our safety precautions have been difficult for Emma, but she’s not unhappy here is she?”

Charming hugged Snow to him and turned to kiss her softly on the forehead.  “She is happy Snow.  She understands the measures we’ve taken.”

He didn’t know who he was trying to convince, his wife or himself.  Charming knew his little girl.  He could tell she was happy—for the most part.  Every now and then he saw a look in her eyes, a desire for something more. She had a brave and adventurous spirit, and the restrictions they’d placed on her, for her own good, had to have grated on her.  She was her parents’ daughter after all.

“I know she understands,” Snow said, worry still present in her voice, “but, David did we do the right thing?  The Black Fairy has been gone for 28 years, gone without a trace.  Maybe the measures Blue took really did contain her.  Have we clipped our little bird’s wings for nothing?”

Charming eyed his daughter as the dwarfs each stepped up to the dais and presented a gift in turn. She laughed, joking with each of them as she shook the packages, making guesses as to their contents.  After a moment he sighed and then wrapped Snow in his arms.

“We’ve done our best for her, Snow,” he said, “given her the best life we could.  Our daughter is kind and spirited and resilient.  She loves with everything in her, and she’s generous.  Clearly we haven’t made a total mess of parenting her.  Maybe we haven’t been perfect, but we can’t second guess the decisions we’ve made through the years.”

Snow nodded against his chest.  “You’re right, but maybe it’s time we let go a bit.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s twenty-eight years old, David,” Snow said, “and we haven’t heard so much as a rumor of a threat from the Black Fairy in all that time.  Maybe it’s time we open the cage and let our little dove stretch her wings.”

“Maybe so,” David agreed as Emma got to her feet and walked to the table where a spectacular 3-tiered birthday cake awaited her.

“Make a wish, Your Highness,” Grumpy said, striking a match and lighting the candle on top of the cake.

Emma looked around the assembly, smiling gently.  “I don’t need to.  I already have everything I need right here.”

But she didn’t.  Snow was right.  It was time to give their daughter a bit of freedom, time to let her chase her own adventures.  It was time to accept that the threat facing their kingdom was truly over.

Emma closed her eyes and blew out the candle and a tremendous cheer went up throughout all the assembly.

Suddenly the great hall door burst open and Graham came running through, face white as a sheet. Snow stepped forward.  “Graham!  What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s gone,” he said, breathing hard from exertion.

“What’s gone,” Charming asked, hand instinctively going to the hilt of his sword at the panicked look on his guard’s face.  

“The Black Fairy’s wand. It’s been stolen!”

 Notes:

--Quick note on a few changes from canon.  The Black Fairy and Rumplestiltskin are not related.  Gideon will factor into this story as well in coming chapters, but he is also not related to the Black Fairy or Rumplestiltskin. Neal exists in this AU world, but he doesn’t play a factor in this story.  As in canon, he went through a portal when he was still a child, and thus Emma’s never met him.  (Which, of course, also means no Henry, which is kind of a bummer, but it is what it is.)

--Up next: We learn how the Black Fairy managed to steal her wand back.  In the Enchanted Forest, Emma comes face to face with the Black Fairy for the first time since she was a week old.