Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters etc
AN: This is SwanQueen fic and rated M for a reason. You have been warned.
Set in a world where Snow sent Emma through the wardrobe but Regina failed to complete the curse requirements. Regina's army still attacked Snow and Charming's palace and captured them. When they realised they had lost their daughter through their own fear and because they trusted Rumplestiltskin, their hearts broke and Regina was able to place them under a sleeping spell. Rumplestiltskin was right though, Emma would return on her 28th birthday and she would bring Baelfire (and Pinocchio) back with her.
It was good to be the Queen. Since taking power nearly 28 years earlier and finally defeating the woman who had caused her so much pain, Regina had finally begun to understand that there were rules to being Queen. If she wanted to remain in power she needed a loyal army, not just a group of heartless soldiers she could control completely. The people needed to see that she could help make their lives better and at the same time stop them from rising up against her.
She created her personal guard from men who swore a magically-binding oath to follow and protect her. They would be unable to lie and try to break the oath once taken, if they tried they would be forced to try and rip out their own heart. It had been tested only twice in all those years. In exchange, the guards received a generous salary and the promise that if they were killed, the person responsible would be brought before the Queen. The murderer would face two options: replace the guard by swearing the same oath, or the most painful death the Queen chose for them. Most of the guard had applied during the year the crops failed as the only way to save their families. Regina had been generous, using her magic to grow food for those she believed to be loyal to her. Eventually she was persuaded to share the food with the starving children and poorer citizens.
The people watched her change and began desperately to hope that it was real. They had no other choice.
Emma ran out of the tavern, trying to keep up with August and Neal. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that their fairy tales were true and they just abandoned her as soon as they arrived by getting into a fight. She had no idea why the guards wanted to start a fight with them, just because they drank a toast to the people they said were her parents.
Her parents! She might finally have a chance to meet them!
The guards were dragging her only two friends – well, the only two people she actually knew in this whole crazy land – out into the middle of the street and calling for their friends that they had arrested some troublemakers. Emma waited at the edge of the crowd, she knew Neal could take care of himself. Eventually they would break free and make a run for it and she wanted to be ready. She switched between watching Neal and August, certain they would work together to get themselves out of trouble.
They had tried apologising and pretending to be really drunk, but when the guards refused to release them they finally fought back. The guards yelled out a warning, reminding them about the Queen's Law, whatever that was, but they didn't listen. They demanded to see the Queen, Snow White, and when that didn't loosen the guards grip they asked to speak to King Charming or the Blue Fairy. The guards just laughed. Emma saw Neal and August become worried then. Neal grabbed a sword from one of the guards and began waving it around. He looked like he knew what he was doing. Emma wondered if his stories about Neverland were true. She saw the moment he struck a killing blow on one of the guards, saw a cloud of purple smoke gathering and ran towards him.
For a few seconds she was lost in the smoke, she felt someone push past her, then something grabbed at her shoulders and spun her sideways. The smoke began to clear and she found herself kneeling on a white marble floor with the dead guard in front of her. Neal was nowhere to be seen.