A/N: Happy hiatus, everybody! Oh, wait, you all don't enjoy immense amounts of pain and OUAT withdrawal? My bad! I guess it's not a very happy hiatus after all…Anyway, you know what they say, "A fanfic a day keeps the painful feels away!" (or something like that). In any case, I don't own OUAT because I am incapable of the cruelty and the genius that are Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
P.S.-bonus points to those who get the literary reference in the first sentence!
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a 'peaceful day in Storybrooke' never truly ends up being peaceful. Our story, however, begins some three hundred years with Milah standing in the Captain's quarters of the Jolly Roger, contemplating a mirror she had recently purchased on her and Killian's travels. It was worn yet ornate, crafted of what appeared to be mahogany, and if the shopkeeper was to be believed, imbued with magical qualities. What these qualities were, exactly, neither she nor the shopkeeper were exactly sure, and Milah doubted that they even existed, and the seller had simply been looking for an increased retail price. The mirror did, however, fit in quite nicely with Killian's décor, and the asking price was not ludicrous, so she went ahead and made the purchase regardless. As she stood admiringly in front of the mirror, the sun rose to its peak at high noon, and a particularly rough wave happened to send her flying into said mirror.
In present day Storybrooke, the mirror sat quietly in the back corner of Mr. Gold's pawn shop, as it had for the past thirty years and counting. Killian had sold it in one of his moods many years earlier; in his anger over Milah's death and lack of success in killing his crocodile, he had sold many of the trinkets Milah had bought over the years to random dealers in exchange for rum. Rumplestiltskin bought the mirror, having heard of the mirror and its rumored magical properties, but not long after, he met Belle and the mirror lay in a corner of Dark Castle, completely forgotten.
Until, of course, Milah came flying through the mirror and into Mr. Gold's shop. Rumple was manning the front desk and Belle was keeping him company, sitting next to the cash register and swinging her legs back and forth, chatting away about the latest book she had read. When they heard the monumental crash coming from the back room, they both froze abruptly, and watched as Milah stumbled into the room. "What-" she began, however, upon catching sight of Rumplestiltskin, she went as stiff as a board. Her eyes filled with malice and her nose turned up in the air. "What are you doing here, coward?" she sneered, not appearing to be cognizant of the fact that Rumple appeared much different from the coward husband she had once known.
Mr. Gold liked to think that he was a reasonable man-being reunited with his beloved Belle had certainly done wonders for his temperament, as had being given a chance at redemption with Baelfire. Nevertheless, when he saw his ex-wife, whose heart he had ripped out and crushed, no less, calling him a coward, he felt the urge to do it again, redemption be damned. And from the look of fury descending upon Belle's angelic face, she wasn't going to be the one to hold him back.
In fact, it was Belle who stormed in front of him and began yelling, "Who exactly-" Rumple, surprisingly, put a calming hand on her elbow, "Belle, sweetheart," he murmured into her ear, in an attempt to quell her righteous rage. Belle, however, would not be deterred. "Who is this woman Rumple?!" she seethed, furious at the thought that after all Rumple had done in the name of redemption, this woman had the audacity to throw the word 'coward' in his face. With a rather resigned expression on his face, Rumple said, "Belle, this is Milah…my ex-wife."
Meanwhile, on the Jolly Roger, Killian Jones, better known in days gone by as Captain Hook, paced up and down the decks with enough force to make the heavily laden table beside him shudder. 'Everything must be perfect. Everything must be perfect,' he mentally chanted as though it were a mantra. He wrung both his hands (oh, yes, he had gotten his hand back from Rumplestiltskin and Belle on one of Belle's 'redemption' missions-but that is a story for another time), and counted down the minutes until she would arrive.
"Killian, where are you?!" he heard her voice calling out, and he stopped pacing abruptly. "In the back, love!" he yelled out, and in a moment she appeared before him. Emma Swan. She was brave, she was intelligent, and she was his, for the rest of their lives, if she'd have him. Well, the matter of the rest of their lives would be settled, at any rate, if all went as planned. "After you, milady," he said, pulling out her chair at the table with a flourish and gesturing for her to sit. Emma raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly at his chivalry, as she always did.
She slid into her chair, as did he, and let the conversation flow as they enjoyed Granny's scrumptious creations. He asked how Henry's day was, she replied with a quip about how he'd be better if he hadn't taken 'Flirting 101' from Killian, as she was sure Jefferson was about to hunt the kid down any day now, and their easy flow of chatter continued in this manner. His plan was working well, Killian thought, as Emma appeared to have no idea that there was a black velvet box in his pocket seemingly burning a hole through his jacket.
(In order to spare Mr. Gold any further discomfort, we should probably re-direct our attention towards him)
At the mention of Milah, Belle's face became even redder, because this was the woman who had convinced her Rumple that he was a worthless coward, that he needed to drown himself in the darkness in order to mean anything, and wait—"Isn't she dead?" she hissed into Rumple's ear. Before he had a chance to respond, Milah herself cut in. "You've told her who I am, but I do not believe I have had the pleasure of making her acquaintance," she practically sneered, disgusted that a girl who could so obviously do better in life was standing up for such a sniveling coward. "Milah, this is Belle, my wife" Rumple introduced, shockingly appearing to be the only one in the room capable of keeping his cool. Perhaps he and Belle were more similar than they cared to admit when someone threatened or ridiculed their true love. Milah laughed disbelievingly, as though the idea of a girl as beautiful as Belle loving a man like Rumple was ludicrous.
Before Belle could respond to the woman, Milah scoffed, "No matter, it is of little to no consequence to me if you choose to waste your life with him. However, I must inquire as to where there is a dock in this….where am I?" Rumplestiltskin replied with barely concealed distemper, "Storybrooke. You are in Storybrooke, Maine, although I imagine that means very little to you…The docks are in that direction," he said, motioning with his hand, "but I do believe…" Milah didn't even let him finish his warning before she swept out of the shop.
It took asking a few people for directions along the way, but Milah eventually managed to make it to the docks. A grin split across her face as she saw the Jolly Roger sitting in the port, and was about to begin wondering how the hell the ship could be sitting in the port when she'd been on it a few hours ago, when she heard Killian's voice. He sounded just as he had that morning, deep and seductive, and if she strained her ears, she could just make out what he was saying. "I know that we've only been together for five hundred and ninety-seven days, love, but they have genuinely been the best five hundred and ninety-seven days of my live. Would you make this the happiest one of the lot by agreeing to be my wife?" Milah didn't have to strain her ears at all to hear the resounding screams of "YES!" throughout the ship. She moved closer in time to see him sliding a ring onto the girl's finger. As they leaned in to kiss, she decided she'd seen enough and screeched, "KILLAN!"
A/N: Not sure if that was even a legit cliffhanger…oh, well better luck next chapter. Anyway, the next bit is going to be a little tedious so you don't really need to read it unless you want justification for the actions of the characters. Mr. Gold: His lack of vengeance may be a bit surprising, but I truly think that after two years with Belle, and getting another chance with Baelfire, his resentment towards Milah has probably decreased, because he probably never would have met Belle if Milah hadn't left. Belle: Belle, however, knows Milah as the woman who bent and broke her true love, and made him feel worthless and cowardly, so she probably wouldn't be so forgiving. We've never seen too much of furious Belle, but if someone like Milah were to appear, I think we'd see the more aggressive, protective side of her, because it's definitely there. Milah: She has no idea where she is, and she doesn't know Rumple is the Dark One, so her rude levels are definitely going to be sky high, as both a defense mechanism against her confusion and genuine disdain for Rumple. Killian: Yeaaaah, I gave him back his hand. I just think that it's something Belle would like Rumple to do, and also something that Rumple would do to pay back the debt he owes Killian for saving Henry. And yeah, Killian and Emma have been going out for a little over two years now. I didn't really focus on the actual proposal so much as Killian's feelings for Emma, because that's more or less the main point. So, yeah bonus points to those who made it all the way through this massive author's note. Review por favor!