Queen of Nothing

Chapter 10

                It feels a bit weird to be on the Jolly Roger when no one of the crew knows who I am. I should probably talk to my father, explaining a bit more the situation. After all, it may be the last time I see him. I'm not afraid to die, at least not right now, but I'm afraid of leaving him without saying anything. I want to talk to him, to explain him what's happening, to tell him that I love him.

"Don't think too hard, you're going to hurt yourself."

"Very funny, Talia."

"You said you were going to explain what was your deal with the Dark One."

"In fact, I hoped you'd forget about that."

"We're friends, Emily. I left my father and my brother to come with you to Neverland where I could possibly die."

"You wanted to come, I never forced you to come with me. I believe I told you it was not a good idea."

"I'm not here to argue about whether it's a good idea or not. Since we met in the prison, you should have known I'll follow you until I know the end of this story. And by the way, I still have the cuff to take from you. We're friends now, maybe best friends. Well, I think you're my only friend, at least before I met Ben and the other lost boys. What I want to say Emily, is that you can trust me. I'm with you until the end."

"Do you trust me?"

"It's about the cuff, isn't it? You think I don't trust you because you still have that."

"Everything that happens is my fault. Peter and Chris cast this curse because of me, everyone is sad because of me. But I can't do anything if I don't have my magic. If you trust me, take the cuff off."

"Maybe you should start by trusting yourself. You broke out of jail, you saved Henry, you saved the lost boys, you brought Regina to my father, and you brought Emma and Regina to their son. Now, you're on your father's ship, even if he doesn't remember you, to go on Neverland when you don't know what you're going to find there."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"That you're a hero, Emily."

I look at Talia and she smiles at me, her hand on my wrist. The cuff is just beneath her hand, she could take it off, but she just looks in my eyes. I feel her nails go under the cuff and grab it. She lays a kiss on my forehead and finally take it off. A big wave of magic makes me glow a little green and shakes the ship. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. For the first time, I really feel the heart of Neverland in my chest. I can also hear the heartbeat of the lost boys on board. I can't explain how, but I'm connected to them. I'll probably feel the same for Peter once we're on the island. For now, I open my eyes again and smile widely at Talia.

"Thank you."

"I trust you too, Emily. And I think now is a good time to have your powers back."

"You don't understand how good I feel now."

"I hope it's good enough to break the curse."

"I've never had that much power, I'm ready for everything."

She laughs with me and I hug her really tight. Around us, the lost boys gather around us, smiling too. Everyone probably felt the wave of magic when Talia took the cuff off, but I don't know if it was different for them. The magic in me, it's the magic of Neverland. Most of them have lived there for ages and it's Neverland's magic who keeps them young forever, even under the curse. Oliver comes over us and extends his arms at me so I carry him.

"What happened?"

"Talia took the cuff from me. I can do magic again."

"Is it a great new?"