This is the first fanfic that I've published in almost five years, I mostly prefer to work on original stuff but this was just begging to be written. It hasn't been beta read, if you see any really horrible grammar mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them ASAP. I have the whole story tentatively mapped out in my head and I'm working on chapter two right now, let me know if its worth my time to keep going. The response to it will decide whether I should keep writing it or go back to focusing solely on original work.

The past

A sudden storm had blown in and delayed the Kings trip back home to his family. The storm, if did not clear up soon, would cause him to miss his eldest daughters eighth birthday and his mood had become as foul as the weather. Anyone who knew the King knew how much he valued his family, he placed them above anything else in his life and had never missed a birthday or holiday. Except apparently, till now. Lost in his own dark thoughts, he didn't see the young woman enter his tent with a tray of food, covered by a cloth. Any small noise she might have made was drowned out by the heavy sound of rain outside. She gently sent down the tray, walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. The King jumped and reached for his sword causing the woman to take a step back and put her hands up.

"Calm down David, its just me." She said with a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eye. David's posture relaxed and he moved his hand away from his sword.

"Gods be damned Red! How many have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?!" He snapped and her gaze turned frosty at his sharp words. David deflated under her gaze. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you like that" Red walked forward and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"The storm will clear up in time for us to make it back for Emma's birthday. Even if it doesn't, she's a smart child and she will understand" David sighed heavily and nodded.

"I know, I just want to be there"

"I know, I do too but there is nothing we can do about it right now." She took the cloth off the tray she had carried in to reveal an assortment of fruit and dried meat. "and you haven't eaten all day. Snow would kill us both if she found out, so come and eat dinner with me."
Now

Now

She was very beautiful, no one would deny that but if the people in this bar knew who she really was there would probably be no one in the bar left, let alone trying to buy her drinks. She was known throughout the enchanted forest simply as 'The Swan' and only a handful of people could claim to know her real name. She chose that name for herself many years previously, she had always been fascinated by Swans. She had been in love with them since she was a young girl, they were at the center of many myths and stories that her parents had told her as a child. They were gorgeous, elegant creatures but extremely vicious and protective. In that way they reminded her of herself, so she named herself after them.

She had started bounty hunting as a way to earn a living. Swan had never thought she would do it for as long as she had but found that she had a real talent for finding people. As her reputation grew, people began to start seeking her out to find people for them. Such was the reason she was sitting by herself sipping on her third mug of beer waiting for her mark to walk though the door. His name was Andrew, he was the youngest son of a minor lord but because of the severity of his crime, it would do nothing to protect him. He stood accused of raping and impregnating a young peasant girl who later killed herself and took the fetus inside of her with her. When the allegations came out, he disappeared like the coward he is. She was a well liked and loved girl and the villagers pooled together some coin to pay Swan to find him, alive if she could but not necessarily. Is was very small mount of coin much less then Swan would typically ask for but, if she was being completely honest with herself, she would probably would have done this one for free.

She allowed herself a small smirk as she saw him walk in like he owned the place, a laugh on his lips and not a care in the world. She was going to enjoy taking this one down.

The Past

They made it, barely but they made it. He saw them before they saw him. The heavy rain from the day before had cleared up and Snow had taken their daughters outside to play in the garden. It was Emma's birthday and there was nothing that she loved more then being outside playing in the dirt. Something that took a couple ruined gowns before her parents figured that out. Ruth, who was three months shy of her second birthday already idolized her big sister and attempted to follow her around the garden on unsteady feet. He watched as Emma attempted and failed to show her little sister how to make a mud pie and Snow looked on with a content smile on her face.

Emma was the first one to notice him and the way her face lit up as she ran towards him yelling 'Daddy' over and over again. The sound and sight made his heart swell. He had been gone for almost two weeks growing more and more unpleasant with each passing day he was away from his family. He swept up his eldest into his arms when she reached him and swung her around as they both laughed.

"You made for my party!"

"Oh, little one, the Gods themselves couldn't keep me away from attending your party" Charming set Emma back on the ground as Snow walked over with Ruth in her arms and smiled up at her husband as the kissed.

"Ewwww" Emma cried out as she slapped her hands across her face. Snow rolled her eyes as Charming gave the young Princess an indulgent smile.

"Missed you"

"Missed you more." He was back with his family and all was right with the world again.

Now

He tried to put up a fight and his foolishness cost him his life. He was no different then most of the men that Swan had to deal with. Cocky, arrogant and he under estimated her. She always gives them a chance but they always choose to try to fight her because she is young and blond and a women. Swan had yet to meet one man who could match her fighting prowess. She sighed as she finished trying his body to the back of her horse. She hated killing another human being, no matter how horrible their crimes. She hated the way it made her feel and she hated the nightmares that always accompanied the deed, sometimes for weeks at a time. It made her feel like an animal, like less then a person. Yet this was the life she chose to lead and she wondered, not for the first time what time, what kind of person that made her.

Swan was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of fighting and the screams of a young women. Swan hesitated but when she heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a girls cry of pain, she grabbed her sword and ran in the direction of the sound. What she saw made her blood go cold with fury. There were three men and one young girl with blond hair only a couple shades darker then Swan's. The girls dress was ready ripped and hanging off one her shoulders while one of them men held her tightly against him while the other two leered at her. Swan didn't hesitate, she slipped a dagger out of her sleeve and threw it with deadly accuracy, hitting the man who was holding the girl right between the eyes. The other two froze as their friend fell to the ground and turned toward Swan.

"Okay boys, lets not do anything dumb. I'll just take the girl and-oh what the hell! Seriously!" One of them men decided to charge at her with a club and Swan effortlessly disarmed and slashed his across his stomach. He fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath him. She turned to the last remaining man. "You going to try something too? Because I wouldn't recommend it." She had never seen a person run so fast before.

At some point during the fight, the girl had allowed herself to fall to the ground and was curled into a tight little ball. Swan walked over, knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, its okay. They're gone. They can't hurt you anymore." The girl peaked her head out and Swan was taken over by a sudden jolt of familiarity.

"Did you kill them"

"Two of them, the other one ran off. He's probably already telling stories about how his friends were killed by twenty armed men and how he barely made it out alive." Swan looked up horizon and then back down at the girl. "Can you walk? Its going to be dark in another couple hours and we shouldn't stay here. I can take you back to your home if you like?"

"I don't live around here, I was just passing through"

"Well, you can travel with me for a couple days if you like, I have business at a village just north of here. I can take you as far as there" Swan had no idea what was compelling her to make this offer. She didn't even make the choice consciously, the words simply came out of her mouth unbidden. She hated traveling companions. She was loner by nature and they always slowed her down. The girl studied her underneath long dark lashes then finally nodded, so Swan helped her to her feet.

The Past

The party was over. However the true test of parenthood was just beginning.

"But I'm not tired!" Emma wailed as her Father tried to coax her into her bed.

"I know kid but why don't you lay down and if you're still awake in an hour you can get out of bed"

"One hour?"

"One hour"

"Okay" Emma paused and turned her bright green eyes up at her father "Can I say goodnight to Ruth? I didn't get to say goodnight before Uncle Grumpy took her to bed" "She's already sleeping Emma, you'll see your sister in the morning. If you go see her now, you will just wake her up." Any objection that Emma may have raised was interrupted by a large yawn and Charming smiled down at her in amusement. He picked her up and swung her into her bed, causing Emma to start giggling. He tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight little one"

"Goodnight Daddy. I love you"

"I love you too" He blew out the candles and gently closed her door. That when he heard it, a muffled wail coming from his youngest daughters room. He sighed and shook his head with an amused smile and started towards Ruth's nursery. The smile fell from his face when he saw the flickering light under the door. The Blue Fairy had given them a light glob when Emma had been born as a gift and when Ruth had been born, Emma allowed them to use it for her. Is was meant for young children so they didn't have to sleep in complete darkness. Candles were too dangerous to leave burning all night in the same room as an infant. Light globs however did not flicker, only candle light did that and Grumpy knew better to leave any burning while Ruth was sleeping. His every instant was telling him something was wrong, so he gently pushed open the door and peaked in. What he saw made his blood run cold. Grumpy was laying on the floor a deep gash visible on his forehead and Ruth was standing up in her crib, wailing her eyes out.

Charming didn't hesitate after that, he ran into the room and over to Grumpy and checked if he was breathing. He was, thank the Gods. Snow appeared at the doorway, her eyes wild. She bolted over to the crib, picked up Ruth and held her close while whispering assurances in her daughters ear despite the fact that she herself was close to tears.

Before any questions could be asked, screaming could be heard from down the hall. It was Emma and they could hear her yelling "no" repeatedly. Charming didn't even spare his wife and daughter another look, he bolted out of the nursery and down the hall to Emma's room. The yelling stopped right before he pushed open the door and it opened to show an empty room. Emma was gone.

Now

"Is that a dead body?" Swan looked at her temporary traveling partner in amusement.

"We've been traveling together for three hours and you're just asking me this now?" The young girl turned red and began to talk really fast.

"I just realized that I don't know anything about you, I don't even know your name and you came out of no where and offered to take me to the another village and I don't even know why I agreed because I don't know you and you killed those men back there and you might be transporting a dead body and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down kid. I'm a bounty hunter and this one put up a fight, tried to kill me. I have to bring the body to the people who hired me in order to receive my payment. I killed those men back there to stop them from raping you and my name is Swan. I give you my word that I don't intend you any harm."

"But why did you bother saving me? It had nothing to do with you. Why did you invite me to come with you? You could have just left me there." The girl cocked her head to the side and gave Swan a puzzled look. "And what kind of name is Swan?" Swan rolled her eye when the last question came out of her mouth.

"You sure like to ask allot of questions don't you?" Swan sighed and turn her attention away from the fire she was trying to build and focused her attention completely on the young girl. "I saved you because what those men where about to do is probably the worst thing you can do to another person. I invited you to come with me because it didn't seem right to just leave you there. Swan is a name and its mine. Now, I have a question of my own: what is a pampered noble doing hanging around a pub on the outskirts of a poor fishing village?" The girls eyes widened in fear and started to dart around as if to look for an escape. "Don't run kid, even if you managed to get away, you don't know where you are and you wouldn't survive the night. Don't try to deny it you're nobility, your hands gave you away. They're much too soft and clean, if you were just another peasant girl, they would be calloused and chapped." Swan continued to stare at her as she looked everywhere but at the women across from her. Finally her eyes settled on a spot in the dirt.

"My parents were talking about arranging a marriage for me, so I ran away." Her voice had taken on meek quivering tone as if she was about to cry. Something like this would usually annoy Swan, she hated crying but instead she felt something rise up inside of her. A fierce urge to protect this young girl, to wrap her up and hide her away from the dangers of the world. Swan mentally shook off the feeling and turned back to the fire.

"Don't worry, I won't return you to your parents if you don't wan to go back. However if we're going to be traveling together, I should know who you are" The girl was silent for almost five minutes and Swan did not attempt to push her.

"Ruth" she finally said and Swan felt her heart skip a beat at that one word. There was no way, it wasn't possible "My name is Ruth" and all the pieces fell into place. After years of running, Swan's past had finally caught up to her because the young girl sitting across from her was her baby sister.