A Lieutenant Duckling Story

Until I Met You

Emma and Ariel were packing the princess' bags in silence.

When they were finished, Emma said, "Well, that's everything."

She hadn't given Ariel the details about what had happened with Killian, but based on Emma's quiet mood, the queen could tell it hadn't gone well.

Ariel then quietly said, "I'm sorry things didn't go as you had hoped with Lieutenant Jones, Emma."

"It's alright. Killian's reaction didn't exactly surprise me," Emma began – after she thought for a moment, she continued, "But he still doesn't really know how deep my feelings for him actually are," as she sighed and sat on the bed.

After a moment, Ariel spoke up, "Which is why you can't give up," as she sat down beside Emma.

Emma faced her godmother as she said, "I'm not giving up. I just...don't know what to do next." Ariel smiled at Emma before she got up to leave the room as she said, "Well, I know you'll figure it out. You just have to have hope." Emma only smiled in response.

When Ariel was gone, Emma went over to the vanity and grabbed the letter from her parents. It contained instructions from the Blue Fairy about how to draw the enchantment from the lake to make the trip home. To Emma's relief, the Blue Fairy had anticipated the fact that the princess wouldn't have time to perform the necessary spell the morning of the trip back. So, the fairy also included a guide for Emma to retain enough magic in the pendant for the voyage back to Misthaven as well as the night before the journey. Emma folded the letter and held it tightly in her hand as she walked through the door and down the stairs to make her way to the lake.

As Emma traipsed through the forest, she thought of all of the times she and Killian had walked through these trees. So much had happened between them in the past month and a half. She was still trying to wrap her head around it – despite the fact that she got next to zero sleep the night before thinking about just that. When she stopped to focus on the reason she had come out here in the first place, she realized she was at the lake.

She walked over to the pair of rocks that sat at the edge of the lake in order to perform the necessary spell. She unfolded the paper in her hand, and focused on the words on the page – ingraining them in her memory. When she was ready, she placed her hands out in front of her, and focused on the task ahead of her – which was difficult to say the least. However, Emma managed to clear her head of distractions and recited the spell.

She watched as the pendant – the one she had tossed in the water her first night here – rose from beneath the crystal clear lake and became engulfed with a white light. The lake itself was glowing with the enchantment. Once the light and the glow had faded, Emma was able to transport the necklace the short distance into her hand. She then slipped the crystal around her neck. As she raised her head back up, she caught sight of the field of wildflowers between the trees.

Yet, Emma's mind didn't have a chance to wander to Killian before she felt drops of rain. Within minutes, she was caught in a downpour.

"Really?" Emma said as she covered her head with the hood that was on her cloak. She decided to wait out the storm in a cave that she knew about that was in the woods to the right of the lake.

Before she could even make it out of the clearing, though, she heard a familiar male voice calling her name. She turned to see Killian walking toward her. The princess, however, didn't give him chance to talk as she said, "Let's get out of this rain."

The lieutenant nodded as he followed her toward the cave. When they arrived and walked inside the cave – which was a bit smaller than Emma had remembered – she asked, "Were you looking for me?" as she turned to face Killian.