Operation Cobra (Book Two of The Savior Fables)

Chapter Thirteen: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Charming tells his story, and it turns out that when his family starts to plan to break the Dark Curse, it's much easier to believe another town resident when his memories start to surface. The million-dollar question of the day, though . . . is that enough to change his fate?

***

The passage of time didn't matter in the slightest to Emma as she curled up on Queenie's bed, still clutched in David's tight embrace. She didn't care about the grip he held on her, for she clung to him just as tightly. She had always been the parent giving hugs to her child, or the younger sibling receiving one from her elder ones. It felt so good to be the child on the receiving end of a hug this time, even if her father appeared to be the same age as her.

But that was just a fleeting thought, as David didn't seem to care at all that she was the same age as he. All he did was stroke her hair as he hugged her close, his hands faintly trembling as if he couldn't believe she was there. Emma couldn't blame him, because if everything in Henry's storybook was true . . . he had been cursed for twenty-seven years and had waited that long for her.

Yeah, screw time. Emma was just grateful she had her father back.

"How did you find us?" David whispered, as if afraid speaking louder would break the moment.

"Henry found me," Emma admitted, shifting to rest her head on his shoulder. "He stole Mary Margaret's credit card and took a bus to Queenie's bakery. He got there when we were closing for the night. I had to drive him back." She shrugged. "He convinced me to stay."

"I'm glad you did," David smiled. "He's a smart kid."

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "He is." They sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds, then Emma took a deep breath and sat upright, tucking her feet under her so she sat cross-legged. "Dad - " Oh, saying that was going to take some getting used to. "How did this happen?"

David sighed and looked down at his hands. "How much do you know?" he asked.

"Only that there's a curse and I'm the one who's meant to break it," Emma answered sheepishly. "I, uh . . . didn't believe a lot of what Henry said in the beginning. This curse is nothing like I've ever learned about."

David nodded and reached for her hands. Emma let him take them, which seemed to give David confidence to speak. "When I married Snow, Regina arrived and promised she would destroy our happiness if it was the last thing she did. Snow thought about it every day, and when she was pregnant with you, she decided she wanted to ask someone what she meant. When we visited Rumplestiltskin, he told us the Queen meant to curse us into a place where time would stop, where we would have everything we love ripped away from us. The only happy ending in existence would be hers."

Emma swallowed hard. "That's why we look the same age."

"Yeah," David nodded with a weak chuckle. "A little odd, but I think I can get used to it. I remember what happened in the Enchanted Forest like it just happened yesterday."

"Well," Emma gestured pointedly to him.

David's laugh was more genuine that time as he nodded. "Rumplestiltskin told us that our only hope was you, that we had to send you somewhere safe. By your twenty-eighth birthday, you would find us and break the curse. The Blue Fairy found an enchanted tree that, when fashioned into an appropriate vessel, could send someone to another world. Geppetto and Pinocchio turned it into a wardrobe . . . but the wardrobe could only protect one." Emma's heart dropped into her stomach, and David swallowed. "We planned to send Snow through before you were born . . . but she went into labor the day the wardrobe was completed. That was the same day Regina cast her curse . . . and Snow couldn't be moved."