Prologue

Emma sat in the kitchen of Mary Margret's apartment; her blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail and her tired hazel eyes stared at the piece of chocolate cake in front of her. It was one o'clock in the morning and she had slowly been picking at the piece of cake for close to twenty minutes and was barely half way finished with it, her fork rested on the side of the plate. The chocolate cake wasn't the issue; Emma always loved the cake ever since she first tried it after Cora made it when the woman moved in. It hadn't really surprised anyone that Cora was a gifted chef; she made the best food especially Italian food, just like her daughter.

Regina… Emma thought to herself with a flinch. It had been almost a year since anyone had last seen the former Queen, and even though the last meeting with the woman had ended with her accepting Snow as her daughter and being reunited with her lost loved ones, it had still hurt everyone at the knowledge that they would never see her again. Emma wished that in her last moments she had been given to talk with the woman that she hadn't been so caught up in being dumbstruck and had actually spoken with her. There were so many things she had wanted to say to Regina, she wanted to thank Regina for raising Henry so well, for saving her life not once but twice, for saving Henry's life, and most of all for proving everyone wrong and becoming a hero. But she hadn't and now she couldn't, and it had been bugging her for months.

"Can't sleep?" A voice asked from behind Emma causing the blonde to turn around in her seat and stare at the tall older woman standing behind her.

"Yeah, sorry. I hope I didn't wake you Cora." Emma said and watched the woman walk over and pull the stool out beside Emma and take a seat.

Cora looked at the piece of cake in front of Emma and then at Emma herself. "No dear you didn't, I've been awake." She sighed and continued. "In all honesty I don't get much sleep these days."

Emma looked at the woman with longish brown hair and tired eyes. "Yeah, Mary Margret told me Regina's departure was bugging you." She said.

Cora stared at Emma but Emma couldn't help but feel like the stare was going through her and off into some faraway place. "For the longest time I had no idea how blessed I was. I had my daughter and I had everything I always wanted, but I lacked the love to appreciate it all. I gave up my heart because I thought it was a weakness, but in the process I gave up the life I could have had with my daughter as well." Cora shook her head slightly. "I hurt her so much, I took Daniel from her and forced her to marry a man she didn't love… and still she didn't kill me when she so easily could have, instead she gave me my heart and a new chance at being a part of something wonderful. She was always so good; it was because of me that she became the Evil Queen."

Emma could only imagine the hell Cora was going through. The woman had been without her heart for so long and done so many vile things in that time, and now she had it back and had to deal with all the pain of her past. "She loved you Cora, and now you're a part of our family." Emma said looking at the woman with a small smile. "I know Henry loves that you hang out with him, and Snow loves having you around the house."

Cora returned the small smile and put her hand on Emma's arm, "Thank you Emma." She said and then they both turned their seats back facing the counter.

Suddenly there was a frantic knocking at the door which caused Emma and Cora to both jump in surprise. Emma quickly got to her feet and looked questioningly at Cora, "Who the hell could that be at this hour?" She asked.

Cora shrugged and the two women walked over to the door. Quickly but cautiously Emma opened the door and she and Cora both gasped at the sight in front of them. Right in front of them dressed in white clothes stained crimson by blood and leaning against the door frame just barely able to keep himself upright was Daniel. "Oh my god!" Emma gasped and raced forward gripping the supposedly deceased man.

"Daniel!" Cora said and looked at the man, racing over to get under his other arm to help Emma get him inside. Once they got him onto the couch Cora began to try and get to his injuries.

"Where is Regina?" Emma asked as she stood looking at the man.

Daniel looked at her with tired, pained, guilt filled eyes. He parted his lips slightly and managed to force out one word, "Taken…"

Alright people! I'm back with a sequel to "The Queen Is Dead", this story will take place in some new places and we will meet some new people. And yes, this time I promise there will be Rumpelstiltskin. Please read and review, I will update as fast as I can. I do not own Once Upon A Time or it's characters!