"Secrets, Lies, and Blessings" (A SwanFire FanFic)

Chapter VIII

~Present Day~

       "I had no idea they were actually bringing him HERE," Emma exclaimed as she quickly went down the stairs, heading for the castle's entrance. "I thought they were just gonna talk to him and that was it!"

       Ava followed close behind her. "I thought you weren't feeling well," she said as struggled to keep up with her sister. Goodness! For a girl who's feeling ill, she can move FAST! She thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

       The girls came to a halt when they came to the entrance. Emma was staring at the door, waiting for it to open. Ava noticed that she was fidgeting with her hands and biting her bottom lip, a sure sign that Emma was anxious.  She quickly smoothed out her skirt and combed her fingers through her hair, trying to get it to fall correctly. She took a deep breath and as she exhaled, she placed her hand on her upset stomach, as if that might settle it. Even though she had desperately wanted to see Baelfire, for some reason she was now feeling nervous about it. She continued to stare at the door for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, it began to open and there was Baelfire, looking as nervous as ever, while being closely followed by Charming and Snow. The three of them barely got through the door before Emma ran up to Baelfire.

       "Bae!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. "I've missed you so much." She whispered in his ear.

       Baelfire returned her embrace, lifting her slightly off the ground as he did so, then pulled away, gently holding her shoulders. "Is it true?" he asked as he looked down at her stomach before looking back up at her eyes.

       "Mhm," she nodded her head. "We - we're gonna have a baby ..." She looked in his eyes, hoping to somehow figure out what he was thinking. He didn't say anything to her, he just pulled her into another embrace, causing Emma to let out a sigh of relief. She began to tear up again.

       "A WHAT??" Ava exclaimed, her brown eyes wide with disbelief.

       "Shh!" Snow hushed her young daughter. "We'll talk about it later."

       "No," Ava protested. "Emma's not married! How can she be having a baby?"

       "Ava!" Snow snapped. "I said we'll talk it about it later, okay?"

       Reluctantly, Ava held her tongue and retreated back upstairs, leaving her parents to talk with her sister. She was glad she wasn't Emma at the moment.

       Once Ava was out of sight, Charming cleared his throat. "Okay," he began as he grabbed Baelfire by the back of his shirt and roughly yanked him away from Emma. "That is enough of that!" He noticed Emma shooting him a venomous glare. He quickly brushed her look from his mind. "First things first," he crossed his arms as he looked down on Baelfire. "Today you'll just be getting used to things. Shown where everything is. Where you'll be sleeping, when meal times are, what time you'll be getting up, what'll be expected out of you, all that good stuff. Tomorrow, your Royal training begins, and the first thing we're doing, is taking care of that mop you call hair and-"

       "And WHAT is wrong with his hair?" Emma angrily interrupted.

       "What's wrong with it? Where do I even begin?!" Charming bellowed. "Its awful! He looks like an eighteen-year-old ragamuffin! His hair is practically falling in his eyes. I've seen sheepdogs less shaggy than him! And combing it the way he does? Its gotta go!"

       "But nothing's wrong with his hair! I like it the way it is." Emma protested. She felt her anger rising. She thought her father was being such a jerk.

       "I'm sorry, but if he's going to be a Royal now, he has to look and dress the part." He really wasn't sorry at all. He HATED how Baelfire's hair looked right now. He switched his eye contact back to Bae. "Tomorrow we are cutting your hair. And we're changing your wardrobe. Understand?"