10-year-old Regina ran around the rose garden, her fingers and face sticky from picking and eating berries all day. She knew her mother would be furious once she saw the condition her new dress was in. Regina had begged her to wear it this morning, despite her mother wanting to save it for the ball later that night. It didn't take much to persuade her, and soon the girl was running outside to the courtyard with a promise she would keep her dress in pristine condition like a good princess does.
"Regina!" The girl froze as she heard her name being called. She darted around the corner only to run into Zelena. Her 12-year-old sister gasped as she saw the blue and magenta stains on her sparkling pink gown. "Mother is going to be upset! You know better than running around the courtyard in your new dress, Regina." She scolded her.
"Zelena!" Regina fought against her as the older girl started dragging her back to the castle. Her sister was significantly stronger than her being two years older, and she succeeded in getting her inside. "Mother!" The red-head called out, going to the throne room where she knew their mother would be.
Cora stood up from her throne, dismissing the staff. "Girls, can't you see that I'm busy? I am planning the ball for tonight and- Regina, what happened to your dress?"
Zelena pushed her forward, a smirk on her face. Her sister always enjoyed getting her into trouble, knowing that she was Cora's favorite. She always rubbed that fact in her face whenever she could. "I caught her running around the garden, Mother." Zelena answered. "What did I say about keeping your dress clean? The servants won't be able to get those stains out of your dress by the time the ball starts." Cora said.
"I'm sorry, Mother." Regina mumbled. "If your father were here I would make him deal with you. But it seems I'm going to have to punish you myself." Cora said, taking her arm and leading her upstairs. Regina bit her lip to try and hold back tears. Her father loved her dearly and had never laid a hand on her or Zelena their entire lives.
They would get a stern talking to and a time-out before the kind-hearted man would make them hot cocoa or tea to cheer them up. Cora on the other hand… she was not a gentle soul. At least not to Regina anyway. Her punishments included a hard hand or a whip. Zelena was the perfect daughter, the perfect princess. She was next in line to inherit the throne so Regina was often left on the sidelines.
It didn't help that Regina was curious and adventurous, she often explored in the forest or was found burying her nose in a fairytale book rather than refining her dancing skills or doing other things a princess does. To be honest, Regina didn't enjoy being a princess. She would be perfectly happy being a common villager; peasants, as her mother called them. "Filthy, disgusting brutes." She would say.
Cora entered her room and went to her closet, grabbing the leather whip that she used on the horses at the stables. Regina got into position at the end of the bed, laying herself over the cedar chest at the end and gripping the bed skirt tightly in her clenched hands. She had been under Cora's cruel hand more times than she had actually bonded with her.
"I'd say 50 strokes is fair, wouldn't you agree, Regina?" Her mother asked. "Yes, ma'am." Regina answered quietly. Too quietly, as she felt the familiar sting of the whip on her backside. "A princess speaks up so she is heard, dear." Cora reminded her. Tears stung the little girl's eyes as her mother mercilessly hit her over and over. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in another life, a place where she had a loving family that didn't worry about wealth or appearances. The only person that cared for her now was her father. But being the kind and fair king he was, he was always off in another land making alliances or trying to help out the needy.
There was only one kingdom in which King Henry would never try to ally with. That was the land in which Prince James and Snow White ruled, which wasn't too far from their kingdom. The young prince had taken over his father's throne when King George had passed quite some time ago. King George and King Henry's kingdoms had fought for generations, so when Henry had inherited the crown he acknowledged the fact that the two families were enemies and always would be.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" Cora's voice broke Regina out of her thoughts. She had learned to shut herself down a long time ago so she didn't suffer during her punishment. The burning on her backside proved her otherwise, and as she stood up straight she knew she wouldn't be able to sit down right for a while.
"I'm very sorry, Mother. I won't do it again." She answered, keeping the tears at bay. Crying was weakness in her mother's eyes, and Regina knew she would be punished even harder if she broke down in front of her. "Good girl." Cora set down the whip and cupped the girl's face in her hands. "I think you are going to spend the night in your room tonight instead of going to the ball. Only well-behaved princesses get to earn that privilege."
On the outside, Regina pouted and tried to look upset. On the inside, she silently cheered. She hated going to the balls in the kingdom. Her mother often forced her to go to keep up appearances, but otherwise payed no attention to her. Zelena was the important one. The Queen-to-be was the center of attention and the highlight of the occasion. No one would miss little Regina fallen into her sister's shadow.
Cora sent her off to her room where a servant was waiting for her. "Good day, Princess Regina." The young woman curtsied as the little girl entered. "Hello, Isabella." Regina greeted her, happy to see her favorite helper. Isabella was put in charge of taking care of Regina and making sure her specific needs were attended to.
Regina loved the woman even more than her mother. She took great care of her and actually listened to Regina when she needed someone to talk to. "You've been out in the rose garden again, haven't you?" The woman sighed and started to help her out of the ruined dress. "Mother forbid me from going to the ball." Regina answered. "Such a shame." Isabella said with a smile on her face.
She knew how much Regina detested going to royal ceremonies. "Let's get you cleaned up. Then we'll have a nice dinner up here for just the two of us." Isabella said, leading her to the bathing area. "May we have a tea party?" Regina asked hopefully. "I suppose so." The young woman answered, running a bath for her.
After dinner, Isabella read her a goodnight story and tucked her in for the night. "Can't you stay with me a little while longer?" Regina pleaded. "I wish I could. I have to go help serve the guests at the ball. Just read your book and stay out of trouble." Isabella said, kissing the girl's forehead. "Sweet dreams."
As soon as Isabella was gone, Regina hopped out of bed and changed into her play dress, wrapping her purple cloak around herself before grabbing her satchel and climbing out the window and sneaking through the courtyard to the forest beyond.
10-year-old Emma Nolan snuck away from the nanny that was supposed to be watching her and Neal. She was much too old for the baby games she played with them that delighted her 4-year-old little brother. Instead she slipped into the room in which her father kept his weapons and armor. The two guards standing in front of the main entrance chatted quietly among themselves.
The little girl used the back entrance she had mistakenly discovered while exploring. She grabbed the sword that was her father's favorite and swung it around a few times, trying to keep quiet. She would be in big trouble if her parents caught her, especially Snow. The woman loved dressing Emma up in frilly gowns and teaching her the proper ways of a royal princess, and swordplay wasn't part of that category.
Emma was more interested in the stories of fighting dragons and soldiers in coats of armor. Being a princess wasn't the greatest bestowment in the world, despite what the stories say. There were too many rules and everything had to be done just so. Emma would much rather prefer to wear pants and run around in the forest in search of danger.
She was a lot like her father in that way. She definitely was a Daddy's girl, and when he would come back from another land she loved hearing the stories of his adventures. Yes, she would rather grow up to be a soldier than a Queen, but her mother didn't quite agree with that.
Although she was not even a teen yet, her parents had already been searching for a family to marry her into. In the royal order, Neal was to take over her father's place when he became of age, and Emma was to be married off into another royal lineage. Her mother always talked about finding Emma the perfect prince and tried to excite her about the idea, but her daughter wasn't having it.
As she lunged forward to stab an invisible assailant, the heavy sword slipped from her hands and clattered to the ground. Emma stepped backwards to escape but landed on the ground in a heap of metal armor and sparkly gown. The door opened and David rushed in with Snow behind him. "Emma Ruth Nolan what do you think you're doing?" Snow asked.
David knelt down and lifted the heavy armor off of her. Her dress was ripped and her knee was bleeding from being scraped against the stone floor. "I was just sword fighting." Emma mumbled, standing up. "We've told you time and time again not to come in here. Swords and armor aren't meant for beautiful princesses like you." Snow said. "I know." Emma pouted.
Her mother led her upstairs to her room and sat her on down on the window seat, inspecting her knee. "Just a scrape." Snow put a band aid on her before kissing it gently. Normally that would make Emma feel better, but as she looked out the window to see Neal playing with James in the courtyard and swinging a wooden sword around, she felt worse.
Snow sighed as she noticed her daughter's sullen expression. "You're a lot like your father, do you know that?" She asked, running her fingers through the girl's hair. Emma shrugged in answer. "I know you want to fight dragons and explore unknown lands sweetie, but that's just not how it works."
Emma knew this was a part of her punishment. Snow would give her a stern lecture on the rules of being a princess, and then she would leave her to think about what she did. Her parents were kind and gentle with their children, but Emma just didn't feel like she belonged in this kingdom. Sometimes she wished she weren't royal.
If she were just a normal girl her parents probably wouldn't think twice about letting her explore and learn new skills. Here in the kingdom however, the royals were catered to. Everything was handed to them on a silver platter. Literally.
Emma wanted to be independent and travel across different lands, meet new people and actually live, not cooped up inside a castle where she was safe and secure. "We love you very much, Emma. You're beautiful and smart and you have so much potential. You'll be a great Queen one day." Snow kissed her forehead and left her alone.
A maid came in soon after, making Emma's bed and gathering up her clothes she had strewn about all over the floor. "Why the long face, Little Swan?" She asked, using the nickname she had used since the girl was a baby. Emma tore her gaze away from the window. "It's just not fair, Millie. I don't want to be a princess. I don't want to get married and be Queen."
Millie chuckled and took a seat next to her. "We don't always get what we want, my dear. I never thought I would become a servant to the royal family. I always thought I would marry young and have a family of my own."
"What happened?" The little girl asked curiously. "Things just didn't work out that way. But I'll tell you something. Your mother and father will love you no matter what. You're young yet; go out and explore. Have fun, make friends, be a child while you still can. But also, listen to your parents. You can't escape the royal part of you. Sooner or later, you will end up ruling a kingdom. But right now you don't need to worry about such things. Okay?"
Emma nodded and hugged the woman. Millie was almost like a second mom to her. She told her how things were, but encouraged her to dream too. "Let's get you cleaned up for supper."
Emma was the last to the dinner table, taking her time coming downstairs. "There she is! Beautiful princess." David spun her around lightly before setting her on her feet and helping her into her chair. Neal held out his fork, waving it towards Emma. The girl grinned and grabbed her own fork, playing with him.
"Kids." Snow lightly scolded them. Emma began to eat obediently, wanting to make up for earlier today. "Do you want to hear about my last adventure?" David asked. Emma nodded and leaned forward excitedly. "I was on the way back home making camp in the middle of the forest with my men when all of a sudden we were attacked by this huge creature!" He said animatedly.
"Was it bigger than you, Daddy?" Neal asked. "It was bigger than my whole army! It had long teeth and razor sharp claws. Its coat was black as night and its eyes were blood red."
"How did you defeat it, Dad?" Emma asked. "It pinned me down to the forest floor. I barely had time to grab my sword. It dug its claws deep into my skin and I pierced it right through the heart. I even have the scratches to prove it." Her father answered, showing them his shoulder.
"Wow." Emma breathed, staring at the claw marks. Her father was the bravest man she knew. "I wanna go fight monsters too!" Neal piped up. "We'll have to wait a few years for that, buddy." David chuckled, ruffling his hair. Emma frowned and stared down at her food.
"Emma, are you not hungry?" Snow asked. "Not really." She answered. "Are you still upset about earlier?" Her mother pressed. "It's just you let Neal go explore and sword fight and do normal things. It's not fair that all I have to do is study and do princess things."
"You can go explore and play too, Emma. You just have more responsibility because you're older. You have to set an example for your brother." Snow said. "One day you'll make a wonderful Queen." David added. "I don't want to be Queen!" Emma yelled, slamming her fork down on the table. "I hate being a princess! I hate it!"
"Emma Ruth Nolan you can go to your room until you are done speaking to us this way." David scolded her. "Fine!" Emma yelled and pushed away from the table, running up to her room and slamming the door. She grabbed her satchel, making sure she grabbed the dagger she had swiped from her father's study. Then she slipped out the door and headed out into the forest.
Regina walked for what felt like miles, going deeper and deeper into the heart of the forest. The sky slowly began to darken, and she increasingly became more nervous. She had never ventured this far from home before. A wolf howled nearby, and a twig snapped a few feet away.
The girl began to run, looking back behind her to make sure nothing was following. All of a sudden she connected with something hard, and she fell backwards to the ground, the contents of her satchel spilling everywhere. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you." A little girl with light blonde hair said.
"That's okay." Regina answered. She studied the girl for a minute. She had never seen her before in the kingdom. "I'm Emma." The little girl pulled her to her feet. "Regina." She answered, shaking her hand. "Are you lost?" Emma asked. Regina shook her head. "I'm running away."
"Me too!" The blonde smiled. Regina smiled back. This girl seemed pretty nice. "Do you want to run away together?" Regina asked her. "Sure." Emma took her hand and together they went deeper into the forest.