For all the Days of my Life
Chapter I
Author: ScarletBloodDoll
Editor: SwansAndQueens, WinterBlazes
Dates written: May 13th, 2012
Status: In-progress
Series: Once Upon a Time
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Regina Mills | Emma Swan (Swan Queen)
Warnings: Not applicable
Distribution: Do not archive without author's permission.
Disclaimer: The characters and premise of Once Upon a Time belong to ABC Studios, Adam Horowitz, and Edward Kitsis. Any and all other copyright material mentioned subsequently belong to their respective owner(s). This work is a non-profit effort and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's note: Reviews are greatly appreciated.
For what seemed to be the hundredth occurrence in the last hour alone for her Royal Highness Princess Emma Swan-Mills…Mills-Swan…White (and honestly, it depended on who exactly you decided to speak to) sighed in blatant irritation. When her one true love had asked of her this task, she was more than content to happily nod and not breathe an utterance of complaint. Yet when her mother had asked of her this task, to her utter humiliation in front of her Queen's guards whom had accompanied her on the journey, it was of no surprise to the usually stoic regiment to find their reigning monarch throwing a fit – a fit worthy of a princess.
Here she now stood in what was deemed her fitting room in the White Palace, and boredom had settled in long ago. Unfortunately, she stood too far away from the massive fireplace to at least enjoy its warmth to enjoy the winter scenery. Every few minutes she would feel herself jostled this way and that, as well as being poked, prodded, and pulled every which way by an older seamstress mage who was a bit rough around the edges. The mage's accompanying sewing fairies seemed quite content to flutter around the princess, cooing and quite enthralled with her beauty.
A sort of calm feeling had rested over the room, the rustling yards of fabric and the steady thump of fluttering wings caused her head to tiredly roll upon her shoulder, fighting the pull of unconsciousness. Yet in an instant the mood was shattered upon a disembodied voice floating down from above her left shoulder, causing the fairies to drop the fabric they held to shriek in surprise, while the seamstress mage began turning every which way, unsure of the proper course of action.
"Your Grace?" The young blonde woman secretly smiled as bright emerald eyes searched for what reflective surface the being decided to use to come to life. The large mirror that hung precariously over the massive fireplace crackled to life in a mirage of lime green flames.
"Enter!" the princess called out, much to the horror of the room's occupants; the mage voiced a particularly displeased noise, whether it be due to the mirror hosting a magical being or the fact that the princess stood on a dressing platform, shoulders bare, undergarments and petticoats well on display, was not clear.
Emma held out a hand in perhaps one of the most demanding fashions to date, and as a silk robe was placed within her fingers, she watched amusedly as the mirror seemed to rise from the murky shadows of the underworld, the face of her Queen's most loyal pet springing to life.
"Leave us!" The princess commanded, knowing she would not have much time – there was no doubt in her mind that the seamstress mage and her fairies would head down the multiple flights of stairs and through the vast hallways in search of the King and Queen themselves. Glancing out of the corner of her eye she ensured that the former occupants had all vacated and with a wave of her hand, slid the lock into place and cast a simple sticking spell, hoping it would ensure her any time she needed.
"Tell me, mirror, what is it?" Gathering her petticoats in one hand, she stepped off the dressing platform and slipped on the silk robe as she drew closer to the mirror.
When true love's kiss had broken the curse and the world of Storybrooke, Maine had all but faded away into a distant memory, the Fairytale world and its inhabitants had been returned to their former glory. The journey home had not been particularly kind to the women known as the Evil Queen and the Savoir. Emma had longed for the comforts of the only world she knew, but for the sake of the love of her life she tried to fit in here – wearing ten petticoats in addition to a heavily jeweled outer layer was no different than learning how to properly wield a sword. Regina, on the other hand, had not cared within what world she awoke, but was instead concerned only with the love of her life and their son – it was a far more trying effort to deal with the ramifications of a curse she had aided in casting than dealing with the extraneous effort to deal with forces beyond her control, namely the reigning King and Queen of the White Kingdom who were attempting to take what she held dear, again.
"Your Majesty, I ask of your forgiveness for my rude interruption, but our Queen has been reported as missing." An invisible weight settled over the princess's being as she blood drained out of her face.
Fortunately while his old Storybrooke counterpart had been an annoying travesty to deal with, the former Sidney Glass (affectionately known to Henry as 'the looking glass') was a worthwhile acquaintance to have. For a time, the White Princess and the mirror had been on terse ground. She had taken to finding every item of clothing that was in the palace and throwing it over any and all reflective surfaces, only to have him thwart her every move with a laugh.
Their argument came to a head one afternoon in autumn when the mirror had made a suggestive comment about their queen, only to have the princess begin to angrily toss out any reflective surface he appeared in. It wasn't until a flying teacup met air and at perhaps the right angle, shattered over their Queen's head while she tended to her orchard that the loud "Oof!" had caused them both to stop and cautiously peer out the window.
"Enough!" Regina had called up to the pair, rubbing her head. From that day forward the two had come to a tentative truce, and it had only grown when it became the sole form of rapid and secretive communication between the Queen and her Princess when her parents had forced them apart.
"What do you mean missing?" she hissed.
"The Sargent's head of her escorting regiment was delivered to the palace last night." It was as if an invisible weight had taken a spear to her gut upon hearing the mirror's words. "I accompanied the guards that were sent out this morning on a recovery mission." Emma squeezed her eyes closed as a shuddering breath escaped her lips. "The guards accompanying the Queen were found mauled, her carriage in shambles, and while all horses were recovered; only five pulling her carriage were accounted for."
"Five?" Emma looked up from her hands.
"Five." The mirror confirmed.
"Regina?" she dared to ask.
"Her traveling cloak was left behind," the mirror grew quiet.
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked. Her fingers itched to take hold of the edges of the mirror and throttle the being.
"There was a copious amount of blood leading away from the site along with hoof prints." Emma couldn't stop her horrified gasp. "The blood and prints vanished once they reached Lake Nostos."
"Let me guess, the carriage was found straddling the borders of the White Kingdom and the territory of the Enchanted Forest that holds Lake Nostos?" Emma turned and made her way to the large wardrobe that sat in a corner of the room.
"You would be correct," the mirror called to her back, watching as the princess began to angrily throw every garment that had been sewn for her in the favor of her mother, in his direction.
"If I may inquire, your highness?" Emma roughly pulled at a false back, nearly splitting the wardrobe in two. "Just how do you know of the exact location the carriage was ambushed?" Pushing on a hidden golden lever, the closet revealed a rack of outfits spun with magic and brought to life by the former Evil Queen. Grabbing one of the many knives she was looked down upon for carrying, she quickly slit through the various ribbons and ties encasing her in a poorly constructed corset and petticoat skirts. The mirror quickly hid itself with its own depths, content not to be punished over such a minor infraction as seeing his Queen's one true love in such a state.
"The White Kingdom's power can only stretch so far," Emma began the tedious process of pouring herself into a layer of dragon hide undergarments followed by the thinnest layer of magicked armor she had ever seen. "Even with the other kingdoms are her disposal, my mother hasn't exactly liked the fact that not only is Regina one good terms with most of the rulers of the Safelands, she rules Lake Nostos which stands at our borders."
"You may appear," she said once Regina's favorite emerald and coal corseted dress was in place. Of course she would have preferred any leather jacket and pant outfit, but they just so happened to be strictly forbidden to her within this kingdom.
"Regina had mentioned in passing that Snow had drawn up an agreement for partial control of Lake Nostros but she said nothing more."
The mirror fell into a thoughtful silence for a moment as she finished lacing up her favorite riding boots and began the process of hiding artillery within the confines of her outfit.
"I regret to inform you; the King and Queen have been found and alerted. They are currently leaving the throne room with a handful of guards." The mirror voiced his disdain, allowing the dying green flames to suddenly burst to life. Emma momentarily panicked, looking between the bay windows that happened to be many stories from the ground and the closed door which would possibly diminish her chances of actually leaving the confines of the palace.
"Take Queen Belle's magic mirror!" the mirror hissed as he vanished into the realm of reflections. Emma growled, feeling time slipping through her fingers, but quickly found the golden trunk which housed not only the magic mirror but a sword which had been given to her as a wedding present from Maleficent.
Snatching a thick fur traveling cloak and throwing open the dressing room doors she could hear the commotion only a few floors below and realized she had no choice but to force her way through it. It wouldn't be the smartest thing to jump several stories to her death. Calmly she began the trek, the golden tiara on her head clearly forgotten as the servants she passed could only do a double take.
Upon reaching the main floor, her mission came to a screeching halt. Obviously her mother counted on the fact that she would have no choice but to come down the grand staircase in her journey, she just hadn't counted on the fact that she would look so angry. Her father on the other hand, was animatedly whispering in her ear, but stopped when the hustle and bustle around them immediately stilled upon their daughter's entrance.
"Where do you think you are going?" Queen Snow White drew herself up to her full height; upon their return she had allowed herself to be consumed by revenge only to have it sated upon realizing the Evil Queen was truly in love with her only daughter, and figured her plans for revenge could best be done quietly.
"Out," Emma stated curtly. For all intents and purposes, it seemed as if her mother was determined to drive a wedge between the former Evil Queen and the White Knight. If anything with more than a day's head start, she was sure her father and mother had known of the massacre that had occurred on the borders of their lands.
"You will take a carriage and number of guards," Emma watched as Snow White's eyes narrowed at her dark outfit and the sword at her hip. "You will also return within the hour, no excuses."
It was as if she knew. In that moment, Emma faltered. This was not where she wanted to be, this was not where she was meant to be, and Snow White and Prince Charming were two of the last people she wanted to be on the other side of the battlefield against.
"She needs you!" a voice murmured, the mirror that was pressed against her side, vibrated with energy.
"Forgive me, Mother," she said. "I am needed somewhere else." With that Emma quickly side stepped her mother, her shoulder brushing against the chest plate of a guard. It was now or never.
"If you think you have a better chance of finding her than Red Riding Hood, you thought wrong." Emma stopped, eyed widening.
"You knew."
Snow White said nothing and David sighed, knowing full well of the disastrous consequences. Perhaps they should have fear their own daughter, not the woman she was choosing to spend her life with.
"Red Riding Hood searched the area and found no survivors."
"I also know that the group of soldiers escorting my queen were found mauled to death, and all of a sudden Red Riding Hood is looking and found no survivors?" she angrily turned, her coal skirt twirling dramatically. Snow White's eyes widened as the air seem to cackle with energy.
"So help me, Mother," she spat, marching up to the woman and causing the guards to warily move aside. "If I find a body, there will be a price to pay. If I find out this was a stunt meant to provoke my Queen into a war over land, you will indeed find your hands full with war."