The Swan Princess

-14-

Sunlight crept in slowly through the small window and Eva's eyes opened slowly. In a chair at the opposite side of the room sat her older brother, staring out into the trees, smiling. 

"Henry?" she yawned, sitting up. "What are you doing?" 

The young man turned to her, and his voice was barely audible. "Our mother came home." At once, Eva was out of bed and running towards her door, Henry not far behind her. The sound of two pairs of thudding feet echoed in the hallway as the two raced towards the living room. They could hear the fireplace crackling and voices, and then a woman laughed.

All eyes turned to the little princess when she finally entered the room. First the looked to her father, whose eyes were still filled with tears of joy. Then, she turned to face her brother again, and he nodded happily. When she finally looked again, the green eyes of her mother were locked with hers. Emma smiled almost shyly. This was her daughter, and still a complete stranger to her.

"H-hi, Eva." she began quietly. "I know... I know you probably don't really remember me, but... Uh, I'm your mother." Ten years of preparing for the day when they would finally be reunited, and in the moment, Emma was terrified. She barely had time to register what was happening when Eva dove across the room and pulled her mother into a bear hug.

"I-I'm your mother." Emma whispered again, and then she buried her face into the blonde hair her child had inherited from her. "I'm your mother." 

"I love you, mom." Eva smiled as she pulled away from their embrace.

"I love you too, kid." Emma wiped a tear away from her eye and the door of the cottage swung open.

"I found these berries outside while I was looking for food and I was wondering if they're edi---" Zephyra's voice was cut off by Henry's harsh gasp. 

"Why is she here?" he growled, stepping instinctively in front of Eva, who pushed him to the side.

"I'm sorry I ran off like that. I didn't mean to worry you." she said apologetically, and Henry was shocked. "I was just frustrated. I hope you can forgive me." Everyone in the house was at a standstill. Zephyra was the most shocked, and she placed the berries on the table next to her.

"You--- wait a minute, what?" 

"I'm sorry." Eva said again, and she walked over to the Queen. "Please forgive me." She pulled her adoptive mother into a hug, and Zephyra looked around the room, her eyes begging for answers. All she got were confused stares back. 

"Eva, she tortured you for years." Henry said again, softer as he spoke to his sister instead of the woman who had held him captive for the last decade. 

"She's different now. I can see it." Eva muttered, tilting her head slightly and furrowing her brow. "Is she going to stay with us?" The princess turned to her parents, who looked at each other frantically. 

"Um, yeah, I guess so." Emma shrugged, and when Hook didn't object, she nodded quickly to the Queen who sighed with relief. 

"Good." the princess beamed. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

********************** 

"So what did you have in mind exactly?" Emma laughed, questioning her daughter's motives for bringing her out into the depths of the forest without letting anyone else come.

"I wanted to show you something. Something special. Something for us to have together." was the reply. Finally they stopped, and Eva turned to her mother. They were in a clearing, with autumn leaves scattered all around them. 

"Okay. Here goes." Eva took a deep breath, and several leaves floated up and whirled around her head. They hovered momentarily before dropping to the ground. 

Emma was silent, and Eva was worried she'd disappointed her mother in some way. Whether it was for having powers or having the audacity to show them off, she lowered her head in shame for her transgression. Only when the leaves flew up and danced around the two of them did she look up again. Emma was beaming at her, and she put her arms around her daughter, squeezing her tightly. 

"I think it's great." she said quietly. "And I don't think you have any reason to be embarrassed." 

That was all Eva needed. For the next hour, the forest was filled with the sound of laughter and piles of leaves hitting bodies like an autumn snowball fight. When the two finally returned to the cottage, they were greeted by several gasps and bickering over who was going to sweep up the pile of leaves that had entered with them. 

A/N: Hi. Yeah. So it's been a month and I actually know where I'm going with this story so HOPEFULLY (aaaand I jinxed myself) I will update soon. My life has been consumed by countless numbers of fandoms thanks to Netflix and I have been forgetting about Wattpad. Sorry, I will try to be a better person, and I love you guys. XO