Pages to happy endings (swanqueen)

Chapter 16

Emma wandered through the castle, not sure what she wanted to find. She entered a room she hadn't been in before, and her eyes widened as she saw the tall bookshelves. She had found the library. Emma walked around the library, not recognizing any of the books, but something in there was calling for her.

The lights dimmed as Emma searched deeper. She heard a whisper from behind the bookshelf in front of her. Emma looked behind it to see one of the books glowing in the dark. She took the book into her hands. It was black and decorated with silver. Emma opened the book to see a page that showed a curvy dagger. The title of it was "The Dark One". Emma looked through the page and took in as much information as possible in the dim light. Before she could get to the end of the page, she heard a voice from the other side of the room and decided to hide the text inside her dress. 

Emma left the library and teleported to her room when she didn't see anyone in the hall. While in her room, Emma glanced at her desk, which was still empty. She pulled out the book and opened it. The first few pages were just symbols Emma didn't recognize, but something was written on one of the pages. Emma rotated the book so she could read the text. The ink had been slightly smushed, but she could still make out the word. "Rumplestiltskin," Emma whispered.

Something in the air changed. The energy of the room felt icy and evil. "What are you doing with that book, my dear?" A familiar male voice said behind her. Emma jumped and turned around to face Rumple. "I- I found this at the library" Emma's voice shivered. She had met Rumple once, but being alone with him made her skin crawl. "No need to be scared, dear" Rumple smiled. "Are you the dark one?" The question slipped out of Emma's mouth. "Indeed I am" Rumple said and bowed. 

"This book says that you can see the future. That you know about things others don't. Is that right?" Emma asked, showing him the page with the dagger. "It is, but it doesn't work like you think it does" Rumple replied. "Can you tell me who my parents are?" Emma asked and took a step closer to him. A cruel smile rose to Rumple's face. He definitely knew something Emma didn't. "I knew you'd ask. , he almost laughed. "How much is this information worth to you?" he continued. "I'll do anything you want," Emma replied faster than she could think. "Good to know. I'll come back when I need something from you Miss Swan", Rumple said and vanished into thin air, his words echoing in the room seconds after he was gone.

The sunset painted her room pink as Emma had sat on the floor for hours reading the book she found. It had a lot of spells and some language she did not understand. "Are you coming to dinner?" Emma heard Regina's voice in the mirror. "Be there in a second", Emma replied. She closed the book and put it on the desk before teleporting to the dining hall.

"I haven't seen you the whole day. Where have you been?" Regina asked her plate already full. "I've just had some alone time in the library I found today,"Emma said. It wasn't fully a lie, but she could imagine what Regina would do if she knew about the book she had found and the conversation with Rumple. "You just found it?" Regina raised her eyebrow. "Ye,", Emma said, not sure what Regina had meant. "It's the biggest place in the castle, and you've just now found it? You have been here for almost a month." Regina laughed and took a sip of the blood-red wine she always drank. Emma didn't respond. Had it really been a month already? It didn't feel like that. 

"Will we keep training tomorrow?" Emma asked, changing the subject. "I hope so", Regina replied quietly. "What have you been up to today?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer. "Nothing you should worry about," Regina said. She got up from her chair and walked out of the dining hall without a word. 

Emma returned to her room and glanced at the desk like always, but now it wasn't empty. A small white dove with a scroll on its leg stood in the middle of the dark table. Snow had finally replied to her letter.