Introduction
The hat began to spin rapidly, creating a whirling mass of purple. Regina stood frozen in fear in front of the wraith while the vortex swirled bigger and bigger behind her. The wraith hovered closer with its arms outstretched towards her. It was going to take her soul.
Though everyone knew Emma did not like Regina, she knew how upset Henry would be if she didn't try to save her. With all of her force, Emma pushed Regina out of the way, letting herself fall into the enlarged opening of the hat instead of her. Lying on the floor, Regina looked up in worry to see what had happened.
"Emma!" Snow and Kaitlyn both yelled out as they jumped in after her, neither knowing what they had done or where that hat lead. The vortex closed before Charming could jump in after them to save his wife, daughter, and friend. He frantically patted the floor and the hat in desperation to find the entrance that had disappeared. But the hat was just a hat now, nothing more.
Inside the portal, Emma, Snow, and Kaitlyn fell to what seemed like a bottomless pit; never ending. The dark mass of magic continued to swirl and twist, making them all sick. Regina and Jefferson had said something about it leading to the other worlds. But which one? And was it even still there or would they be falling forever? If they did land, how would they survive and more importantly, how would they get back to Storybrooke? Suddenly, it ended with a crash.
After a few minutes of stillness, Emma slowly struggled to push the large pieces of rubble off of her. It was heavy and she was sure she had injured at least a few things. "Mary-Margaret! Kaitlyn!" She searched around, as she grudgingly came to her feet.
"Who are you?" A strong woman's voice rang out. Before finding anything, Emma spun around to see a Chinese warrior standing with another woman in a flowing gown who looked consumed with rage.
The two women took the three of them hostage. The one warrior was capable enough to control and drag them along like proper prisoner, while the other stood guard and glared at them the whole way, making snide comments as they went. To Emma's surprise she had heard of the two women. Their captor was Mulan. She was dressed in the full Chinese warrior's uniform. And definitely had the presence of an honored and esteemed warrior. She held the three of them by a rope around their wrists, while she walked ahead. The other woman was Princess Aurora. She was beautiful in her lavender draped gown and a shawl that was feathered on the inside, sticking out like a collar. She was steaming with anger because the mess of rubble that the three of them landed in had crushed her love, Phillip.
This was their old world, Snow's home, The Enchanted Forest; or what was left of it. It looked very different from what Snow remembered. A majority of the forest was gone and she could see her old castle in the distance. It had turned to mere rubble; nothing more than an outline of what it once was. Snow covered the sinking feeling that came over her and forced it out of her mind. She had to focus on the task at hand, whatever that was.
Mulan and Aurora had taken them to the underground prison in their survivor camp that they called The Pit, as punishment for killing Phillip, being strangers in their territory, and attempting a few escapes. Emma, Snow, and Kaitlyn stumbled as they were pushed through the large wooden door that shut loudly behind them. Snow had been pushed to the ground. "Hey! Be careful!" Emma shouted to the guards that threw them in there. Kaitlyn quickly knelt to see if she was okay.
"Do you need help?" A woman from the shadows asked. Emma and Kaitlyn looked up cautiously.
"Who are you?" Emma asked.
"A friend." The woman said, slowly coming out of the shadows. She was dressed too nicely to be a normal prisoner. She had a formal, royal blue gown on that had jeweled embellishes embroidered on the hems, but covered herself with a brown wool shawl. She smiled. "My name's Cora."
Snow was still slightly unconscious from the guard's rough treatment. "Will she be okay?" Emma asked as Cora took a quick look.
"She'll be fine."
"Why are you here?" Kaitlyn asked trying not to sound too suspicious of this woman.
She took in a deep breath, hesitant to answer. "I'm here because of something my daughter did. The curse that ravaged this land, she cast it." Cora said glancing between the both of them.
"Regina? You're Regina's mother?" Kaitlyn clarified.
"Yes." She said with a sigh. "But you have nothing to fear from me. The apple fell very far from the tree." She stared for a few seconds longer at Kaitlyn with an almost analyzing look on her face, and then switched her attention to Emma. "You're from over there, aren't you? How'd you get back?" She asked as Snow slowly came to her feet.
"Emma." Snow said sternly. "No." She whispered to herself.
"Oh, Snow. You're awake. I'm so relieved." Cora attempted to comfort.
Snow stood in front of her daughter, guarding the conversation from Cora. "As bad as you think Regina is," She said in another whisper, "this woman is worse."
"Oh, Snow." Cora pleaded. Snow swung herself around and put her hands out behind her, guarding Emma. Kaitlyn remained in the background, watching and observing. "Sweet Snow. Please believe me. Whatever she told you. Isn't true."
"Let's hear her out." Emma whispered cautiously to Snow.
"Emma." She said once again, more sternly.
"Okay. Right now we are at the bottom of a hole with no other options and Henry is back in Storybrooke with Regina."
"Who's Henry?" Cora asked curiously.
"He's my son. I kind of share him with Regina. It's complicated." She began rambling.
Snow once again flipped back to Emma and grabbed her arms. "Don't talk to her."
"I'm going to have to agree." Kaitlyn added, meekly offering her two cents. "We can't trust her."
"How do you know?" Emma questioned, becoming slightly fed up with their distrust. "Do you remember something? Do you remember her?"
Kaitlyn glanced over to Cora, not wanting her to hear her answer. "Well, no, but…"
"Then you don't know." She decided officially.
"Enough!" A guard's voice demanded, stopping their argument as a rope fell down from the opening in ceiling. "Our leader requests an audience." The three of them climbed up the knotted rope and out into the village. "Wait here."
Emma and Snow continued their argument and reasons why they were hear. Kaitlyn should have been listening but all she could think of was the reminder that Emma gave her. She was the only one from Storybrooke that was still under the curse. Why couldn't she remember anything or anyone? It frustrated her. She remembered the confusion she felt when she watched everyone being lifted and reuniting with each other and the happiness that they celebrated. It hurt deeply that she didn't get to experience that with them. If it weren't for every single person in town remembering, she wouldn't even believe the whole thing. She remembered Henry explaining the logic behind it; the reasons why no one ever left, no one ever came, and the correlations between the two lives everyone had. But Kaitlyn didn't apply. No one seemed to remember her old life or who she really was. She was just Kaitlyn, the bartender. Not even Regina seemed to know who she was. Emma, Henry, the whole Charming family, and a few others have been trying to find clues to who she might be, but she hasn't seen much progress. She was beginning to lose hope and maybe even coming to terms with accepting that she's just Kaitlyn. Nothing special.
"Lancelot?" Snow said, interrupting her thoughts and keeping her from becoming depressed.
A tall, dark man, in rusted and dirty, but still shining armor began to walk towards them. "Snow." The man said in disbelief. The two of them embraced in an obviously warm friendship reunion. "If I had known you were the prisoners Mulan had brought back, I would have never locked you away. Please, forgive me." He said in all sincerity.
"Of course."
"Lancelot? Really?" Emma said, also in disbelief.
"He's an old friend. We can trust him."
"Please." Lancelot began. "Come, eat." He motioned to a table that was being set up with food. "It's the least I can do to repay you." They pleasantly obliged and followed him to the table.
"What is that?" Kaitlyn asked, eying the food on the center plate, almost fearful of the answer.
"That is Chimera." Lancelot answered. "An acquired taste but that's all our hunting party could bring back. One part lion, one part serpent, one part goat." He said, acknowledging the fact that he knew it was not appetizing.
"I don't understand." Snow began, keeping everyone on task. "We were told this land didn't even exist anymore. How did you all escape the curse?"
"It is a mystery. The curse struck and when the smoke cleared most of us had been torn from this land, but some of us here in this particular reason were left behind. We don't know how and we don't know why." He said with concern. "Finding this safe haven wasn't easy. It took some spilt blood. But worry not. You're safe here."
"We can't stay." Snow said in apology. "My husband's back there, Emma's son, my grandson. We have to get back there. Can you help us find a portal?"
"Leaving is unwise. The Enchanted Forest is not as you remember it. The ogres have returned."
"Ogres?" Emma asked in surprise. "As in 'fie fi foe fum'?"
"Those would be the giants." Snow quietly corrected.
"Ogres are far worse. That's why we live here on this island where it's safe. Please Snow. Stay here. There are no more portals left."
"I might know of one."
"You do? Where?" A young woman who had been fixing the food on the table and listening in asked excitedly. She was tall with long caramel brown hair that hung straight down to her waist and big brown eyes to match. She instantly gave a friendly impression, but Snow wasn't going to let down her cautious walls on just that.
"Continue with your work." He warned, gently telling her not to eavesdrop. Stubbornly, she obeyed and took some left over plates to the washing station inside the cabin. "You know of a portal?" He redirected back to Snow.
She sighed and looked around nervously. "Cora's near. I don't feel comfortable voicing my plans. She's powerful."
"She was, but not anymore. The curse weakened her powers. She's not even close to being as strong as she was, but given her reputation, we've kept her locked up as a precaution."
"Never the less, I'm not taking chances. Just trust me. I may have a way. Let us go." She asked, in her gentle manner.
Because of their history, Lancelot owed her at least that. "I'll allow it." He said uneasily. "On one condition: take my bravest warrior with you. Allow Mulan to defend you."
"We can defend ourselves." Emma interjected.
"Deal." Snow decided. "Thank you, Lancelot, for always looking out for me."
He smiled and excused them to go prepare.
This is just the introduction to show you where the characters are and introduce a few people. The story will probably start getting to the romance in the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think so far. Thank you.