As the two fairies left the cottage, Tiger Lily couldn't help looking back. What would become of her godson now?
"Do you think it's safe, leaving him there?" Tiger Lily asked. "You saw how his father hates him now."
"He is grieving," Blue answered briefly. "He wouldn't harm his own son. His grief will pass."
"But- you saw the hate in him. Fiona's son-"
"Is no longer the Savior," Blue said, forcefully and coldly.
"We don't know that," Tiger Lily told her. "His future is changed, but isn't he still the same baby he was before? He still has incredible light magic. And no matter what he's still just a baby- and my godson, Savior or not. I've held that baby in my arms! We're supposed to protect children."
"A job at which you failed," Blue told her. "His future is destroyed because you failed to stop his mother from changing it."
Tiger Lily was quiet before answering.
"Fiona was wrong, but I understand her reasoning. It wouldn't have been easy for me, watching him grow up only to know he had to die. And I'm not even his mother."
"This discussion is over," Blue said. "You are not to interfere in that child's life again. If you do, you will lose your wings and your magic, and you will be banished from the realm of the Fae."
Tiger Lily froze. This was wrong. This was as wrong as it could be. A fairy being punished for protecting a child? That was against everything fairies stood for!
"Take my wings then!" Tiger Lily told her. "I will protect my godson. He will need love, and someone to teach him to use his magic properly. His father certainly won't. Those powers are part of him. They aren't just going to go away. You know with them he could-" a terrible thought struck Tiger Lily then. Rumple could rival even the Fae, even Blue herself. Was that why Blue didn't want him to be cared for and learn? Now that he wasn't fated to die, he could use those powers for anything. Did Blue fear that? Tiger Lily tried to push that thought aside, but it still nagged at the back of her mind.
In a flash, Tiger Lily's wings were gone.
"You've got what you wanted," Blue told her. "And you've lost all you had. Go ahead and live among humans. But your sacrifice is for nothing. His father would have cared for him. Now, this is your last chance to change your mind and get your wings back. Will you stop this foolishness and come home?"
Tiger Lily shook her head. "I'm going to my godson." With that, she turned away. She had lost everything, but she was still a fairy, wings or no wings. She also felt sure her godson was still special, his fate changed or not. She would help him somehow. Until she went back into the Stiltskin home, she had no idea how badly that help was needed.
"Shut up! Shut up you spineless, useless little worm! Stop that cowardly crying! This is your own fault!" Malcolm screamed at the helpless, crying baby. Tiger Lily arrived just in time to see him raise his hand, ready to strike.
"Malcolm!"
Malcolm dropped his hand, terrified at what he'd been caught doing.
"Tiger Lily! I-"
"Was just about to hit a crying baby?" She glared, stepping closer. She might not have magic any more, but Malcolm didn't know that. "You claim to grieve for your wife. If Fiona saw you about to hit her baby what would she say?"
"Well she'll never say anything again, will she?" he burst out in anger, forgetting who Tiger Lily was for a moment. She raised her hands as if about to cast a spell, then paused as if deciding against it. He cowered back in fear.
"That baby is coming with me. No one who would strike a child, especially an innocent baby not even old enough to understand, is entitled to one."
"Take him then" Malcolm told her. "I was never meant to be a father anyway."
"One thing we can agree on," Tiger Lily told him. With that, she picked up the baby, and grabbed a few of his things before leaving the house. Only then did it hit her that she was a woman with no way to support herself and a baby to care for. How was she even to survive? The baby shifted closer to her, quiet and content now that he was away from his father. Tiger Lily sighed and held him closer still. This child was under her care. He always had been. She would find a way somehow.
"I'm here, Rumple," she told him. "You're not alone. Maybe I can't give you much, but I can at least give you that." Holding him so close, she felt as rush of the love Fiona had once felt. Fairies weren't meant to love. They were only supposed to watch over and protect. But could love really be avoided while doing that? Besides, she wasn't truly a fairy anymore. There were no restrictions now. She was free to love, and free to raise this child. In that moment, fear seemed to vanish and she was sure what she'd lost was worth what she had gained.