Not Your Average Princess

by Kylee Kosoff

  Henri and I had written our own vows for this one.

  She smiled as she began to speak, “When I was little, I used to dream of my prince. There was a time that I thought you were my prince charming, but I was a little girl who didn’t understand love. I didn’t understand heartache. You taught me both, but I wouldn’t change how our story was written. Because it might not be a perfect fairytale, and I might not be the princess you deserved, but you are everything and more than I ever dreamed about.”

  “You think that you didn’t deserve me?” I asked. “Henri, I never deserved you. I was as cursed as they come inside and out. I had sworn off love and hardened my heart. All because I was afraid of feeling again. I could have loved you when I came back and found you, but I denied it. I ran away and broke both of us in the process, and I thought that I had lost you. I for one am beyond thrilled that you are not your average princess. For you see, my first love was an average princess. Perfect...beautiful...kind... But not real. You’re real. There isn’t a sight that I find more adorable than your nose stuck up a book. And I laugh every time you sing in the shower! I’ll never deserve you, Henri; but I will never stop trying. I love you so much!”

  She practically launched herself into my arms, and for the millionth time that day we kissed in a way that I swear no prince and princess have ever kissed before.

  Henri hugged her grandfather goodbye, and we swam back to land. Once on the sand our tails turned to feet.

  We said our goodbyes to our friends and family.

  It was extremely emotional, but the crux of it all was joy. Pure joy.

  “You made it,” Grim said coming up to me.

  “Huh?”

  “You found your happily ever after, Hook.”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “Well, you are a villain after all.”

  I grinned. “I’m a pirate.”

  “Be happy,” She whispered. “Don’t take it for granted.”

  “This is goodbye?”

  “For now, but the author never leaves the story. At least not really.”

  “Then I expect to see you again.”

  Grim didn’t reply because she had disappeared.

  I’d miss that annoying writer.

  She’d changed my story completely, and I’d always owe her for it.

  Taking Henri’s hand, we got into a rowboat and I began to row back to the Jolly Roger.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “We, my darling, are going on an adventure.”

  “For our honeymoon?”

  “Why of course!”

  “We can’t be gone that long we have responsibilities.”

  “Our kingdom can survive a few weeks without us.” Once we were aboard my ship, I wrapped my arms around my blushing bride.

  “Are you ready for this adventure?” I asked.

  “You won’t tell me what it is.” She pointed out.

  “I thought it was obvious that I was speaking of our adventure, together.”

  “I am. You’ve become quite dear to me rogue and all.”

  “Good, because I’ll always be a pirate.”

  “And I’ll always be a princess,” She whispered.

  “Not any more; you’re a queen.”

  “I can’t believe how much I’ve changed.”

  “How so?”

  “I was just Rumple Stilskin’s adopted daughter: an orphan surrounded by villains. Then all of a sudden, I was a princess, and now I’m a mermaid queen and a pirate! And a wife.”

  “I love you,” I told her.

  “And I love you!”

  “Good, because I’ll never let you go,” I told her wrapping my arms around her.

  She was right.

  Everything had changed.

  But for me the change had begun with her. I guess we were each other’s catalysts. It was crazy how a ruthless pirate became a king and husband. But as Henri wrapped her arms around me; I had a feeling that this was just the beginning. I pressed my mouth against hers. And finally there was a lot of uninterrupted kissing.

  And they lived Happily Ever After!

  Chapter 26: After Happily Ever After

  HENRI

  My honeymoon lasted several months. We sailed to places that I didn’t even know existed.

  Hook took me to his favorite islands where we dug up some buried treasure, danced under starlight, and kissed until I forgot how to breathe. Our love just continued to expand. It wasn’t always easy. We were both too stubborn for our own good, but we both fought for each other.

  When we returned to the Dark Forest Republic, we were shocked to find that the villains had constructed a castle for us. It fit into our unusual fairytale surprisingly well. Dark, creepy, and very versatile. It even had a huge blue hole that led into the ocean. Perfect for mermaids!

  Atlantis was being prepared, but not by magic. Rather by getting our hands dirty, but it was starting to heal. It took time.

  Before I knew it, I realized that Hook and I had almost been married for a year.

  He was a wonderful husband, but more than that he was my best friend.

  We escaped as often as we could to the Jolly Roger because I knew that Hook belonged there.

  He played the role of king well, but he was born to be a pirate. He had always been a leader, and being king was no exception. His patience and wit solved problems for villains and mermaids.

  The villains were thriving in a way that they had never had before. In fact there was so much growth, that the United States of Happily Ever After became concerned. They were sending diplomats to meet with us and discuss their terms.

  “This is ridiculous!” I exclaimed.

  Hook and I were sitting in the throne room waiting for their arrival.

  I was sitting on his lap, and his arms were entwined around me.

  “I agree that it’s annoying, but I think you’re being a little melodramatic.” He rubbed my back soothingly.

  Finally, the trumpet sounded and the doors opened.

  Stepping through the doors was a man and a woman clearly a king and queen. He was a tall man with graying black hair, bright green eyes, and a tentative smile. She was a short redhead, with the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen, and a smile that looked like home. For some reason they looked so familiar...

  “Presenting King Eric and Queen Arial.”

  I gasped. No wonder they were so familiar—they were my parents!

  Hook’s grip tightened around me, and I could tell that he was worried about me. Pressing his mouth against my ear, he whispered, “Are you ok?”

  Queen Arial had dropped to her knees before us. “I barely dared to hope, but it’s true. You’re alive!” she exclaimed. “My little Hali is alive—” she was crying.

  King Eric placed his hand on her shoulder and looked up at me. There was so much hope in their eyes.

  “My name is Henri,” I said mustering on the strength of my identity. “I was found by Rumple Stilskin. I was loved by all of the villains. They’ve been my family for as long as I can remember, and it’s because of them that I have become the person that I am today. I understand that you were my parents, but your roles were filled. I have the best father anyone could ask for. He has always loved me no matter what I dreamed to be, and I have two stepmothers who were always there for me. It’s not that I’m rejecting you, but the time when I needed you is past. I’m not a child anymore, and even if I were, I couldn’t live with myself if I replaced my family—”

  “My darling, the last thing Arial and I want is to replace your family. We just simply want to know you.”

  HOOK

  Henri trembled against me, and I wished somehow that I could save her from this.

  “When we heard that the Queen of the Seven Seas had taken her place, we knew that it had to be you,” Arial said. “We’d given up hope that we would ever find you, but here you are!”

  Hesitantly, Henri approached them. Her parents enveloped her into their arms, and my lost
princess was found.

  Henri pulled back first, and I opened up my arms for her.

  Her mother smiled softly watching us.

  “Are you the representatives for the United States of Happily Ever After?” I asked.

  King Eric nodded. “Yes, the states hold a lot of concern toward well this.” He gestured to us.

  “Concern?” Henri asked.

  “You two were born heroes. A prince and a princess, yet you’ve morphed into villains. The Dark Forest Republic started as something small, but it has grown into something that could very well endanger our happily ever afters. This is not my own belief, but rather what the majority of the states believe.”

  “I understand, and I hope you can calm their fears. The villains want nothing to do with the heroes. We are very content in the Dark Forest. We’ve made our own happily ever afters; and despite our history, we no longer want revenge.”

  “I will pass this along,” Eric assured me. “But I worry that it will not be enough for them.”

  I worried that he was correct, but for now I shook the dark thoughts away.

  Eric and Arial stayed a few weeks with us. It was awkward at first. They didn’t know how to act, but they both invested in getting to know Henri.

  I couldn’t help but be pleased becuase Henri had everything that she needed.

  She no longer had to wonder about what had never been, and she did not have to give anything up.

  Henri

  Today my parents were leaving for the United States of Happily Ever After. It was time, as much as I had enjoyed getting to know my parents, I was ready for our lives to go back to normal.

  Hook and Eric were discussing options to keep the peace while Arial and I were strolling along the beach. The fresh air did wonders, and I breathed deeply. I had been feeling unwell for almost two weeks.

  Arial smiled. “I knew this would help,” she said.

  “Huh?” I asked blinking rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the bright sun.

  “The ocean breeze always calmed my morning sickness when I was pregnant with you.”

  “You think I’m—”

  “I suspect,” she replied.

  I heard Hook call out. He and Eric were walking toward us. Grinning at me, he held up Mayfly who was chewing on his hook.

  “Get this little beastie off of me?” he asked.

  I giggled.

  Mayfly and Hook had a relationship of abhorrence.

  Rolling my eyes, I pried her off.

  She perched on my shoulder and glared at Hook.

  I knew it was time, so I hugged Arial and Eric tightly for a moment.

  “We love you!” Eric promised.

  “And we’ll visit again! Perhaps even in nine months.” The last part was whispered in my ear by Arial.

  Hook pressed a kiss against my brow. “A little bat told me that Dwarf has prepared sea-salt-cotton candy ice cream.”

  I grinned. “Oh really?”

  “Of course he knows it’s your favorite when you’re sad.”

  “You know it actually sounds wonderful; I’m going to go get some.” And visit stepmother, I thought.

  Hook nodded, but he wasn’t paying much attention. He was standing in the waves. “I think I’ll go for a swim.”

  I nodded smiling as he took off his shirt.

  HOOK

  It was dark as I surfaced through the blue hole. I hadn’t meant to stay out so long, but I had gotten distracted by helping repair Atlantis. Manual labor was something that I found necessary to think at times. That and I loved the ocean floor there was something so calming about it. I slipped on some pants and a black shirt before heading in the direction of our room. I suspected that Henri was already sleeping.

  She had been so tired lately.

  I quietly slipped into the room, and grinned as I saw my wife cuddling that stupid dragon. Gently, I lay on the bed trying to keep Henri from waking, but the beastie started hissing at me.

  “Shh!”

  “Hook?” Henri asked yawning.

  “Yes, go back to sleep; I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  She curled closer to me. “It’s ok, I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “What about?”

  “Are you happy?” She asked.

  “More so than I ever thought possible.”

  “Is there anything else that you want?”

  “You with no clothes?” I waggled my eyebrows.

  She chuckled. “I’m being serious.”

  She sat up and looked into my eyes. I loved her beautiful brown eyes.“Is there anything else that you want?” She asked.

  “Love, I have everything I’ll ever need. I have you,” I told her leaning forward and kissing her.

  “Do you want anything in the future, though?”

  I wondered what she was trying to get at. “You?”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “Really, that’s it?”

  So, for a moment, I was silent as I considered what I wanted. “One day I suppose, I should like to have a handful of little princes and princesses running around causing mischief.”

  Henri smiled. “How many is a handful?”

  “I would say about five.”

  She laughed. “That’s doable.”

  I pulled her onto my lap. “What’s all this about, Henri?”

  “Can’t you guess?” She asked picking up my hand and pressing it against her flat stomach.

  I gasped. “You’re not—are you?”

  “Pregnant,” she breathed.

  I tightened my arms around her, “I love you! I love you so much. Both of you—you’re my world.”

  HENRI

  As the months passed, we grew even more excited to meet our baby.

  The villains shared our joy as well. They were ecstatic.

  Dr. Frankenstein and Queen Grimhilde had declared themselves to be my personal physicians.

  Hook insisted that Butch be added to the team.

  I didn’t care for doctor appointments very much, but I loved the Mirror on the Wall Ultrasound. Nothing is more precious than seeing the life growing withing you.

  Hook and I planned for boy and girl names.

  Leviathan James was his favorite.

  I liked Elizabeth Silver and Victoria Jack.

  The last name we came up with was David Will.

  “I like them all!” I sighed.

  “Well, we are planning on having five,” he drawled.

  “That’s only four,” I pointed out.

  “Teuta Queen—that’s five.”

  I smiled. “That’s pretty. Does it have any significance?”

  “Queen Teuta of Illyria was the first pirate queen.” He kissed my neck and rested his hand against my stomach.

  “That’s five,” I whispered.

  In that moment, something perfect happened. I felt the oddest flutter inside and a little nudge right against Hook’s hand.

  “Henri,” Hook whispered.

  “Yes?” I asked my voice shaking.

  “That’s our baby.” Awe filled his voice.

  HOOK

  Henri screamed, and I bit my lip so hard I drew blood. Her pain was killing me. It had been going on for hours—

  “Hook!”

  I rushed back to her side and did the only thing that I could: I held her hand.

  “You’re doing great.”

  “It hurts,” she whimpered.

  “I know, but it’s almost over. You can do this.”

  “Just one more push, Henri,” Queen Grimhilde promised.

  Her grip tightened on mine and with a final scream Leviathan James was born.

  “It’s a boy!”

  I heard the exclamations, and I heard the scream that my son gave. But I was entirely focused on his exhausted mother.

  “See, I told you, you could do it.” I kissed her hand.

  She just smiled at me. “I love you,” she whispered.

  Levi was placed in his mother’s arms.
Henri enveloped him into her arms and adjusted to feeding him. I had never seen a more beautiful nor natural sight.

  “Hello, my little rotten apple,” she whispered. “I’m so happy that you’re finally here.” She dressed him in a tiny white onesie and placed him in my arms. “He’s perfect, Hook”

  “Of course he is. I made him!”

  “You’re doing it again!”

  “What?”

  “Ruining the moment.”

  Arial, Queen Grimhilde, and Lady Tremaine helped Henri get cleaned and changed while the servants neatened up our room.

  I took Levi to visit his grandparents. Rumple held the little boy in his arms, and I knew that they would have a very close bond.

  It wasn’t long until I took Levi back to his mother.

  Henri was lying down on the bed sound asleep, so I lay next to her and placed Levi between us.

  “You’re going to be a pirate aren’t you, son?” I asked.

  Levi didn’t listen though he was already asleep.

  Chapter 27: Our Five

  HENRI

  Levi loved the beach from his very first trip. He was such a joyful baby, and he absolutely loved his daddy.

  Hook was the best father. He took Levi with him everywhere and only shared with me and Dad.

  Levi’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and I knew that he would be a troublemaker just like his father. He was almost two when we found out that he would be a big brother.

  We were both surprised that we were having twins.

  But Hook had wished for a handful. He was terrified when he realized that we were having two little girls all at once. He was determined to keep princes away from his little princesses.

  Elizabeth Silver and Victoria Jack were definitely a handful.

  Three years later, David Will joined us. He and I had a very special bond. We loved to read. He was shy, but he yearned for adventure. I only hoped that he wouldn’t wander far.

  And finally, Teuta Queen was born with fiery red hair. She loved the sea almost as much as Hook.

  He took her out on the Jolly Roger as often as he could.

  Rumple loved his grandchildren and took them off of our hands whenever we would allow it. Just like with me, he and the villains taught them everything about how to be a proper villain.