Finding You Always

Interlude

Chapter 186: Interlude

Snow hummed contently, as he kissed her deeply. She lay sated atop his bare chest, after a passionate bout of morning lovemaking. It had been a week since they returned to Storybrooke and it had been pure bliss. They had done everything they promised to do in that short week. They had picnics in the woods where they pretended to get lost for hours, made love on their picnic blanket down by the Toll Bridge, spent some much needed downtime with their children and family in the form of dinners at Granny's, barbecues in their backyard, and trips to the reserve.

They had also tended to business by telling their friends and family of their upcoming undertaking. The uniting of the realms. It took a bit for Granny, the Dwarves, and James and Aphrodite to get their heads around it, but when the Goddess revealed the all the realms had once been one, nearly three thousand years ago during and when the Crystal Kingdom had both existed and been in its prime, everyone easily got on board.

Next, in a Town Hall meeting, Snow revealed the idea to the residents of Storybrooke. She and David answered their concerns, which included things like crowding, increased crime, and just general fear of change. Snow assured them that a good curse, as she had coined it, would expand the land that Storybrooke occupied and the magic of the chalice would keep them concealed. Aphrodite described it as sort of a pocket dimension and Snow continued by assuring that all the Kingdoms or realms would still have clear borders and each would still have an independent leader responsible for governing their realm. Regina chimed in to assure they she and Snow would provide those leaders with guidance and support. Then came the question of security to which Snow answered that David would be hiring many more deputies and they would work in conjunction with other Kingdoms to train their Knights and peace keepers for a new type of policing. She had already appointed her husband as Supreme Sheriff, General of their police and Knights and essentially King to her Queen. David promised that Emma would take up the full mantle as Sheriff of Storybrooke as well and that James would have an integral role in training new Knights and deputies. Xander would join them as well and they would be hiring many more deputies, with the dwarves returning to their roles as Royal Guard.

For the most part, most seemed to accept this new undertaking, though it was not without scrutiny or even fear of the unknown. But that was to be expected. And now that they had rested for a few days and declared their intentions to their people, Snow and David prepared to begin their journey around the realms with their idea. They would be starting with Agrabah and then traveling to the other Kingdoms in the Enchanted Forest. They had enlisted Hyde to travel back to the Land of Untold Stories to inform any left behind that had not arrived with him aboard the dirigible years ago.

After they had visited the necessary Kingdoms in the Enchanted Forest, they would journey to Oz to speak to Glinda and the other witches, then Neverland to visit the Immortal Tribe. They decided they would enlist Whale to travel to the Land Without Color since so little was known about it to them and magic was a bit of a hard sell there.

Then Olympus would be the final visit and they would journey there with Aphrodite to speak to Zeus. They were a tad worried about that one, but Aphrodite assured them that even if Zeus was against it that they could count on her, Hermes, and Poseidon's support for sure. And she was certain Zeus could be convinced.

This was quite possibly the largest undertaking they had ever attempted, but they did not fear it, for they were going to do it as they did everything. Together.

She mewled and bit her bottom lip, as she felt her husband's lips skim her neck and his hands roam with passionate intent.

"We need to get up, my love. We have quite the journey ahead," she reminded. He sighed and pecked her on the lips.