Roni

Chapter One

"Mom? You got a package," her daughter, Ella, calls out from downstairs. "I'm leaving for school."

"Bye sweetie, I'll see you tonight," Emma shouts from the bathroom as she finishes pulling her hair back into a low, lazy ponytail.

She takes one last glance in the mirror, her eyes sweeping over her face before she shrugs her shoulders and breathes out a heavy sigh.

Storybrooke's magic maintains all the adults youthful beauty, but she knows how old she truly is. More importantly she knows how old Henry is and that breaks her heart every damn day. She hasn't heard from her son or Regina in thirteen years and that only leaves a big gaping hole in her heart. A big part of her is missing.

Henry has missed out on his baby sister growing up and he certainly hasn't been apart of this new family. She doesn't even know where he is...let's be honest, she doesn't even know who he is anymore. When her days drag on as sheriff of the most boring town known to mankind, she imagines what her son looks like now as a grown man. He could be married for all she knows. At least there's some comfort, knowing that Regina is right there with him every step of the way, but she should be there too.

Despite every struggle, every fight, every disagreement, Regina had become her best friend. But now she's gone, Ruby's gone and that doesn't leave too many other options for the role of her best friend, besides her mother. She loves her mother, she really does, but sometimes Snow can be...trying. So, Emma has become closer with Belle by process of elimination, but sometimes the librarian can be so...agreeable. She misses the back and forth banter with Regina, always keeping her on her toes.

"Love? You ready for work?" Killian yells up the stairs, breaking Emma from her wandering thoughts once again.

She sighs heavily, taking in one more glimpse of her pale complexion and shallow eyes, that just don't seem to hold the same light they once used to and trudges down the stairs for yet another dull day as sheriff.

Storybrooke has been nothing but boring since the day Henry left. He brought back everyone's happy endings. Regina and Rumple placed a protection spell around the town, keeping any unwanted villains out while the townspeople were still allowed to come and go as they please. This town is...well, normal. Emma never thought in a million years that she would miss all those adventures, after all those times she wished upon a star for a normal life. After thirteen years of mundane routine, she's praying for a beast to come storming in town, breathing fire and knocking down their famous clock tower.

"Coffee?" Killian offers the hot beverage while leaning in to kiss her cheek like he does every morning.

His dark scruff that usually covered his face is no longer there, leaving a nice clean shave behind. Nothing like when she first met him. It's a small thing, nothing really worth mentioning, but that scruff made him Hook. So, again, she blinks away her disappointment.

"Where's the package Ella was yelling about?"

"Aye," Killian reaches behind his back and smirks, shaking the small little box creating a little jingle.

Immediately, Emma panics thinking that whatever is inside is now broken from Killian's careless action. She hastily yanks the little brown box from Killian's hand and stomps over to the kitchen counter. The sheriff pulls out a knife and slices through the thin piece of tape with ease. She tosses the knife aside and pries open the cardboard flaps, her heart rate thumping a little faster with anticipation.

Once her eyes land upon the old silver metal she gasps in pure shock. "No!" Emma snatches up the small familiar keychain, her finger tracing over the molded swan with her heart fluttering away. So many lovely images of her past come flooding back as though she's been living without her memories for too many years to count.