After the death of her father, King Henry, Princess Regina balks under the rule of her mother, Cora, and her step-father, Leopold. In a fit of rage, Regina rides out to clear her head only to be saved by a mercenary knight who will change her life forever.
AU, Fairytale Land with Magic. SwanQueen. Rated M for later chapters. Language, Sex, Violence.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters
Chapter One:
Regina was in trouble. Gods she was in trouble. Damn that horse. When Regina had entered the stables this morning she was informed that her own horse Svoboda had thrown a shoe. And the royal ferrier was currently swamped with the recent influx of cavalry. So instead of her charger, she was given one of the royal horses.
"Never ride another man's horse into unknown territory. If you haven't trained the horse yourself, you never know how they will react. And if you can't trust your horse, you can't trust anything."
Regina smiled sadly as she heard her fathers voice in her head.
She knew it had been a stupid move but she was desperate to get out of the castle and away from her mother's new husband, Leopold. It had only been two years since her own father had passed away of a sudden heart attack. Regina and Cora had been devastated. Henry had always been the buffer between the two of them and his death had just created more strain on their already tenuous relationship. Regina had no idea what had pushed her mother into a new marriage, but Leopold had been the last straw, and now, Regina and Cora could barely be in the same room without some sort of conflict.
Looking down, Regina tried to see a way out of this. She had been riding through the woods when a tree had come crashing down right beside the trail. Despite her excellent seat, she had been thrown from the unfamiliar horse and had landed hard and heard an ominous pop come from her right leg. And to make matters worse, it had begun to rain only minutes after the sounds of the borrowed horse had faded into the distance.
Cold, muddy and injured, there was nothing she could do but scoot off to the side of the trail and pray someone came along. And while she cringed at the thought of someone finding her, the princess, covered in dirt and with tear stained cheeks, the alternative was even more frightening. To be alone and injured in the enchanted forest was almost suicidal. She was regretting her insistence that no guard accompanied her.
"Pride before the fall I suppose," she thought, a small smile gracing her lips at her own joke. However, it was quickly replaced with a scowl. The light had begun to fade and her chances of being found were fading.
Time passes. The sun has gone down and a chill has settled and with it, a more intense ache has begun to emanate from her leg. She started to wonder how long it would take for the search party that her mother had no doubt sent out to find her. If they found her. Glancing around, Regina shivered long and hard. Her cloak was soaked through and fear had begun to creep into her. The woods were quiet. Except… what was that? Regina stiffened. Something was close by. Something was snuffling in the dirt. She could hear it. Quickly she scrambled for the small dagger in her boot. "If I get out of this alive, I will not be denied sword lessons again" She cursed angrily. Her mother had been insistent that a lady should never have to defend herself. "Damn you and your princess lessons mother."
It was getting closer. Adrenaline was pounding through her veins. She would survive. She has to survive.
Suddenly a mud stained, white muzzle appeared through the bush right beside her. Regina stifled the scream that had begun to fill her mouth.
"Oh Gods. Just a dog. Just a dog." She relaxed and was surprised when a tongue slipped out and licked away some of the tears she hadn't realized were there. "A nice dog. What's your name darling?" She asked quietly running her hands over the soaked but enthusiastic border collie.
"Vira."
The voice rang out from the path. So relieved that it had only been a dog, Regina had missed the telltale sounds of a horse and a rider. Jumping back, she yanked her knife out and cringed away from the voice.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Vira likes you and she doesn't like anyone. Good enough judge of character for me. Are you alright?"
A kind face of a girl, no a woman, with long curled blonde hair appeared out of the darkness.
"You look like you are frozen solid. Here. Let me help you up. What happened? Can I take you somewhere?" She said while extending a hand. Unwilling to look weak, Regina began to push herself up by herself and as she did she realized that just above the hand, the woman's arm was covered by an intricate bracer.
"You're a knight." A surprised Regina stated.
"Yes, I'm on my way to Castle Ryzi. Do you know it?"
"Oh thank the Gods." However,as Regina stood and stepped forward to explain who she was, her injured leg gave out and her eyes rolled back as the pain overwhelmed her.
Leaping forward, the blond rushed to catch the falling woman and as her arm's connected with the brunette, a flash of white light exploded out.
Emma was lost. And she hated to ask for directions. The rain and the dark really hadn't helped either. And Vira, wonderful as she was, did not know how to read a map.
Damn. What she would give for a map right now. Wait. What she would give for a bath and a warm bed right now. And food. Emma groaned. She should not have thought about food. It had been three days since she had last passed through a town and she was tired of the bread and was almost graceful she had ran out. But that was yesterday evening and she had planned on having passed through another town by now. She frowned. This forest was making her skin crawl. Hopefully this trail she was own would get her out of here, and, she prayed, would lead to food.
Glancing around, Emma realized she had been so lost in her thoughts she now realized that she hadn't seen her collie in a while.
"Vira?" She called softly. There were things in these woods that were best left sleeping and undisturbed. Pulling Brouk to a halt, she slipped down his long withers and stepped onto the muddy ground. She winced. Despite how many years she had spent on a horse, she still managed to be stiff after such a long ride. Glancing around, she tried to spot the black and white dog in the dim surroundings.
"So help me, if I have to go tromping through this creepy forest looking for you, I will feed you to the next pack of ogres I find." She hissed as she peered around her.
However, her fears were quieted when she heard a voice whisper, "A nice dog. What's your name darling?"
Emma spotted a wagging tail standing protectively next to a huddled figure by the side of the trail. "Odd." She thought. "Since when did Vira make friends quickly?" She hadn't seen the dog react so positively to another person since… well, forever.
"Vira." She stated, answering the question.
A shocked face looked up and quickly drew back, while defensively raising a dagger. Emma could have cursed herself. She had startled her.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Vira likes you and she doesn't like anyone. Good enough judge of character for me. Are you alright?"
Leaning forward Emma was surprised to see beautiful brown eyes looking out from drenched brown hair. Emma suddenly wondered if she had died and gone to heaven. But surely it wouldn't be quite so wet and cold in heaven. However, the woman on the ground before her was gorgeous. And shaking.
"You look like you are frozen solid. Here. Let me help you up. What happened? Can I take you somewhere?"
Emma hesitantly extended a hand, but was surprised as a flash of pride swept over the other womans face, who stubbornly pushed herself up despite favoring her right leg.
"You're a knight." The woman stated as she swayed to her feet.
Startled by the abrupt statement, Emma responded that yes, she was and that she was looking for the Castle Ryzi. Relief spread over the woman's face and she stepped forward, only to collapse in pain as her obviously injured leg gave beneath her. As Emma sprang forward to catch her before she fell, she had a feeling of premonition. That this moment was supposed to happen. This thought was met with a blinding white light as the brunette fell into her arms.