The Dark Princess {OUAT AU}

Chapter 25

"It was... It was Rumplestiltskin." He admits. She almost tightens her hold but remembers that it's her son in her arms and she stops herself, focusing on her breathing.

"You let him heal me? That's... You..." She can't form a coherent sentence, her disbelief making her brain short-circuit slightly.

"I didn't know what else to do. You were going to die..." Killian he says. "Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. I am thankful I'm alive. And so is Mason. We don't need to bother with that." She says but then her mind reels. "What did you offer him in return?"

"He did it for nothing." She scoffs.

"He never does anything without a price." Valerie tells him but then she remembers their conversation when she wasn't fully conscious.

"For once, he made an exception." Killian shrugs.

"I guess so." Valerie says quietly, and ignores that bad feeling in the back of her mind.

~~~

For the first week after she wakes back up they won't let her leave the bed except to go to the washroom. Killian only leaves her side when he's forced too and Mason is never a few feet from her. Their perfect son only cries when he is hungry or needs a diaper change. The moment he was set in her arms she realized she loved him more than anything else in the world. His lovely blue-green eyes stare up at Valerie whenever she holds him and he captures her heart every time. Killian watches Valerie and Mason together and he realizes she was meant to be a mother. She talks to Mason with the softest voice, her touch is gentle and caring, and her eyes light up when she looks at him. Valerie ignores her royal duties for some time until she is told she needs to pay attention to paperwork or else the kingdom will fail. Valerie does love her title and her people so she allows a middle-aged nurse to watch Mason while she and Killian go through work together.

This is how time passes for a long while. Killian and Valerie spend plenty of time together, and their bond grows stronger. Mason is their perfect little boy and they spoil him rotten. Valerie spends the right amount of time tending to the kingdom with her husband and then the rest with her family. Months go by and Mason grows bigger and bigger as time passes. The couple can't believe how adorable and precious their son is to them. The news of the birth of the royal baby spread quicker than gossip in the land and there was nothing but joy. He was nothing but perfect in their eyes and he didn't cause anyone problems. 

One day when Valerie had just finished her royal duties and went to Mason's nursery to play with him, she stopped in her room to change into some casual slacks and a blouse. She grabs out some thick wool socks and then walks over to the bedside table where a glass of water sits. Valerie takes a sip and then sets the glass back down, hitting a pen. It rolls off the table and then lands on the floor. She bends down and lays on her stomach to reach under the bed. After she grabs the pen she spots a glass vial on the floor, tucked behind the bed post. She snatches it and holds it up in the light, the green liquid inside sloshing around. Her eyebrows draw together in confusion and she stalks out of her room. Valerie finds Killian playing with Mason and when he sees her he gives her a warm smile. Instead of returning it, she holds up the vial and waves it in the air. Killian looks confused and then his eyes widen before he tries to appear nonchalant. 

"What's that love?" He asks, picking Mason up and setting him in his crib. 

"I think you know what it is. I found it behind the bed post. Why was it there?" She questions him, her voice hard. 

"Okay, please don't get mad-" He starts, holding his hands up and Valerie narrows her eyes at him.

"That's never a good way to start." She says.