Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: Thanks to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, and to @kmomof4 for the amazing work you have done bringing this fic up to scratch. Once again, not sorry about the cliff-hanger last week, but there’s some nice stuff in this one to make up for it, among other things and Emma’s time with Pam begins. Link to AO3 is down there somewhere!
“Swan, get below, now!” he ordered, but before she could reply, obey, or even think about moving, a piece of his ship knocked her off balance. He was reaching for her as she stumbled, but then a wave had him gripping the helm like his life depended on it and he could do nothing but watch as she was pressed back against the side of the ship and scream as she fell overboard.
“EMMA!” he bellowed, his voice laced with panic.
He didn’t even think as he ripped off his coat, stuffing it down the hatch into his cabin as the sound of her scream cut off abruptly but before she’d even hit the water.
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: Thanks to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, and to @kmomof4 for the amazing work you have done bringing this fic up to scratch. I’m not sorry for last weeks cliffhanger at all, but I’d love to hear what you this about this weeks chapter! Link to AO3 is down there somewhere!
The door crept slowly open with barely a squeak of its well oiled hinges.
The footsteps on the wooden floorboards were barely audible over the swell of the sea around the hull.
The figure navigated around the sloppily discarded clothing and towards the bed where the blankets lay over a sleeping body.
Slowly, quietly, the figure drew a knife from the inside of its cloak, and surveyed the sleeping captain with curiosity.
He leaned over and brought the knife up under the captain’s chin, pointing the dutifully cared for blade at the pirate’s throat.
He would end this insanity once and for all, and he would do it now, while everyone else was asleep. And before anyone realised what had happened, it would all be over.
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: A huge, huge thank you to @kmomof4 for betaing this for me, and for being super supportive while I’ve been tearing my hair out over this. Thank you to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, I have had so much fun writing this! I won’t be posting whole chapters on tumblr because they are so damn long… but there’s a link to the full chapter on AO3!
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance.
For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: A huge, huge thank you to @kmomof4 for betaing this for me, and for being super supportive while I’ve been tearing my hair out over this. Thank you to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, I have had so much fun writing this! I won’t be posting whole chapters on tumblr because they are so damn long… but there’s a link to the full chapter on AO3! I know you probably don’t believe at this point, but there is a happy ending, I promise!
The next morning, Emma was awoken by a knock on the door. The night before, she’d sat in the library, alone with her thoughts, until the flames had dimmed to embers and then she’d made her way through the dark castle to her chambers. She didn’t feel like she’d had any sleep, but she forced herself to call out and accept the intrusion into her solitude.
Her maid came in wearing a gentle smile as she set the tray on the dressing table and moved to open the drapes as Emma rolled out of bed and saw to business behind the screen before returning to bed and sitting up against the pillows.
“Her majesty thought you might not want to attend breakfast with everyone else this morning,” she said as she brought the tray over to the bed.
Normally, unmarried young ladies were expected to attend breakfast with everyone else. It was only once you were married you had the right to breakfast in bed. She’d never minded having to rise to join the household, but Emma would never get that post-marriage luxury, and apparently Snow realised this concession- just this once- was more than earned.
“Thank you, Delilah,” she said quietly as she surveyed the spread in front of her. She started to pick at it as the maid moved around the room, getting out the items they were going to need to get her ready, checking what was to go in the last trunk. They’d had things packed for weeks, clothes that Snow had custom ordered for her daughter that were more practical than anything Emma tended to wear on a day to day basis.
Thick breeches and tall boots, comfortable shirts that would fit under an over corset that fastened just at the front. Emma was going to have to get used to dressing herself, doing her own hair. Delilah had been giving her lessons for the last couple of months at Emma’s request, too. Tailored jackets that would keep out whatever weather Emma was going to encounter. Layers had been the name of the game; life at sea meant swinging between harsh winds and burning sunshine and they didn’t want her to get caught unprepared. No expense had been spared- Emma would still look more than a commoner, but she would be dressed practically for life on a ship…
After today at least.
Today was another matter entirely. Emma was not looking forward to putting on the dress they’d designed for today.
It wasn’t even in the room yet and Emma could feel the weight of it pressing down on her. The people were going to be lining the streets to see her today and her parents had insisted that she was going to look her best. The only thing she’d be missing was a tiara, there was no point in taking a tiara to Neverland. She wouldn’t be attending any balls there, she was sure.
When Emma had eaten as much as she could, Delilah took the tray away and told Emma her bath would be ready for her. Moving like one facing a firing squad, Emma crossed her room and opened the door to her bathroom. The room was full of scented steam and she lowered herself into the tub with a sigh. She didn’t know what the bathing facilities would be like on the ship so having a good bath now was probably the best idea they’d had. She reclined in the hot water and let her worries seep out with the steam for a moment before Delilah came back in. She washed her body and hair, and stepped into the towel that was held up for her, drying herself quickly and putting on her robe.
In the short time she’d been out of her room, it had transformed into a bustling hive of activity. Final packing took place as she was dressed in the appropriate undergarments before the two largest trunks were whisked from the room. She sat in the chair in front of her mirror and for the last time in her life, she let the servants get to work on her appearance, nodding in agreement at suggestions and turning her head when she was directed.
Emma watched as the exhaustion from her lack of sleep disappeared beneath powders and potions carefully applied to highlight her features. Her hair was dried and curled, twisted and pinned up onto her head. Regal and youthful but with the sea wind taken into account for later, flowers took the place of a tiara, the variety of middlemist that had been created for her birth following the evil queen’s defeat.
From the neck up, she looked every inch the princess she’d been born as, just as her people would expect to see.
They cleared everything away, the items she would be taking with her packed into the last case that remained and then it, too, was taken out of the room to join the rest on the cart that Roland was taking down to the docks.
Most of the maids left, and when the door opened again, her mother was standing there, dressed demurely but regally. She would not be making the trip down to the docks. Behind her, the dress Emma was to wear was being carried by three maids.
Emma swallowed and stood up, dipping her head as she dipped her knees in deference to her queen.
“You look beautiful, darling,” Snow said softly, her hand ghosting across Emma’s cheek. She wanted to turn into it, to let the emotions out and sob and beg her mother not to make her go.
But she didn’t. The time for all that had passed long ago. Now she could only move forward, accepting her fate.
Snow waved her hand and the dress came in. Emma stepped into stockings, riding breeches and boots. She lifted her arms for her corset to be put on, letting them lace it up and squeeze the breath out of her. And then came the actual dress.
It was a mountain of ivory tulle with gold embroidery. The family crest was mixed in with middlemist and buttercups and twisting vines over the layers of ruching and poof. It had an off the shoulder neckline without sleeves and Emma was handed sheer gloves that had been endowed with a warming charm to keep off the chill. They added jewellery, dangling earrings and a heavy necklace.
When Emma finally looked up at her mother, Snow had tears in her eyes, and held her hand delicately in front of her face, lost for words.
Emma realised now that this was how Queen Snow had hoped to see her on her wedding day. That this was the one chance they were both going to get to see her like this.
She stepped forward and took both her hands, looking her in the eyes as she spoke. Eyes that were so alike in colour and how they showed just a slice of their hearts.
“I am unspeakably proud of you, Emma. You are so much more than I ever could have dreamed, and I promise that this kingdom is never going to forget what you’re doing for us today,” she vowed, her voice tight and her eyes swimming with tears.
Emma didn’t hesitate to believe her mother. How could she do anything but? This was the woman who had defeated the evil queen by refusing to stoop to her level. If there was anyother way out of this, Snow White and Prince Charming would have taken it.
But there wasn’t.
Emma squeezed her mother’s hands and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
Snow turned and looked at them in the mirror in front of Emma. The only thing she was missing was a veil, but that would have been too much, too poignant.
Snow pressed a kiss to her temple and released her hands.
“I’ll see you downstairs,” she murmured quietly, leaving Emma alone.
She just needed a minute, a minute to take this in, the last time she was really going to look like a princess.
She’d been stupid to allow even a sliver of hope that something would happen to stop this to take root, and now she was going to have to let that hope break her heart with every step towards that damn pirate ship.
Summary: Emma is cursed with a Wakeful Curse, and needs True Love’s Kiss to save her life. When Killian tries, and the kiss doesn’t work, all hope seems lost. Or is it? CS (True Love story, s3B canon divergence-ish) oneshot
a/n: This is set during s3B, but doesn’t follow canon much. Don’t worry too much about the plot that brought them here, because I didn’t. xD
It just had to be a Wakeful Curse, didn’t it?
Killian was out of breath, lungs burning, chest tight as he ran.
Zelena had wanted Emma out of the way, but couldn't kill her, for whatever reason. So, instead, the witch decided to curse her, and send her somewhere she coined whereno one loves you, and no one can save you, so you understand what it’s like to be me, and pushed Emma through a portal back to the Enchanted Forest. Killian had barely made it to her in time to jump into the portal as well.
And the bloody witch had been right about her threat, because they might be in the Enchanted Forest, but they were in the bloody middle of nowhere, nothing but trees and trees and trees, not even a person or a hut to be found, not even after over a day of searching. Emma hasn’t slept in over forty hours, and Killian had only allowed himself four, falling asleep in exhaustion riddled with nightmares, of losing her before he even got her.
And all he could think above his panic as he ran back to her, his heart constricted because he’d left to find help and there was no help to find, was the moment they had gotten here, the moment all of his hopes and his only desire ever since he’d bloody fallen in love with her, had died.
They landed hard on the forest floor, and Killian coughed hard, immediately getting himself off the ground, to her.
She was lifting herself painfully up, and he helped her, holding her even after she was on her feet, keeping her steady, keeping him steady. “Love,” he gasped. “Are you… are you all right?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
Zelena had hit her with the curse, a Wakeful Curse, she’d called it, because she’d needed Emma dead, not asleep, the moment before sending Emma through the portal. And thank the bloody gods he’d found her before the portal had closed.
“I didn’t know they made ‘wakeful’ curses,” said Emma nervously, brows furrowed, like she was trying to feel if something inside her was wrong.
“Nor did I,” said Killian honestly. “Emma, if you can’t sleep…” his voice trailed off, panic shaking it.
