"Alright", Snow said. "Regina, you can have the kingdom.

And so it began. Emma grew up with the tale; the day her mother and father gave the kingdom to the Evil Queen. The kingdom did okay, though not as well as it would have under them. The only lives drastically changed were those of Snow White, Prince Charming, and the dwarves. And Emma.

"Emma, you're a princess", Snow always told her, as long as she could remember. "A true princess." But Emma didn't feel like a princess. She was a bandit, like Mommy and Daddy. And they lived in a small bandit camp with the dwarves and Robin Hood and his merry men. Emma loved her life, but certainly, she did not think of herself as a princess. When Emma was 2, little Neal came into her life. When she was 5, there was Nancy. When she was 8, Tommy was born. But it was when she was 16 that her life changed forever.

"Quickly, Emma, quickly!", Nancy yelled, her 11-year-old self much faster than the slightly preoccupied 16-year-old.

"Nancy, I'm coming!", Emma yelled back. She wasn't going fast because she was distracted thinking about a boy she had met yesterday, Bae. They had spoken only for a couple of moments, but Emma had found herself attracted to him. Nancy ran off farther, into the woods, and Emma couldn't see her anymore. "Nancy? Nancy?"

Suddenely, she heard her sister scream.

Emma was in the forest in seconds, running to Nancy. "Nancy?!"

"Emma!" Emma sighed with relief. Nancy had just tripped over a log.

"Nancy, are you okay?"

"No, I think I broke my ankle", Nancy said.

Emma looked. "You did... I'll have to carry you then."

Suddenely a crackling noise made both girls turn their heads, and a woman came out in a black gown. "Who are you?", Nancy asked.

"I'm Regina", the woman said. Regina... it was her. A young boy walked out of the woods.

"Who's this?", Emma asked.

"Please!", the boy said, "She's trying to take me!"

"You can't do that!", Emma yelled, grabbing the boy and putting him behind her. He ran away.

"You'll pay for that", Regina said. She raised her hands, all set to shoot magic at Nancy, but Emma stood in the way just in time. The spell struck her , and she collapsed, unconscious.

Emma woke up groggily back at the camp, with her mother above her. "Mom! What -"

Snow silenced her daughter. "Em, Neal was walking and he heard Nancy calling for help so he and Robin went out and brought you girls in. You're okay."

"Regina, she -"

"I know, Emma. She was trying to hit Nancy's head, but when you stood in front of it, it only managed to redirect a bit and got you in the stomach, so you lived."

"Barely", Emma muttered.

"Emma, you were a hero."

"Well that has to stop."

"What?"

"I nearly died, and worse, nearly lost Nancy, trying to help that little boy. Nancy almost got hurt, because I involved someone I cared about in doing the right thing. I have to separate those, for my sake, and for my family's."

"What does that even mean?"

"From now on, I don't do what's right because I care. If I care, people get hurt. From now on, doing the right thing is simply my job."