Once Upon a Time...
It was the day before her fourteenth birthday and yet it felt like any other day. Still, tomorrow everything was going to change. Not because it was her birthday but because it was they day she left and never looked back. There was enough money for a bus ticket now and she was headed anywhere. No more foster homes or group homes. She was sick of the system and she was ready to leave.
Rose sighed as she closed the notebook she had been writing in and rolled over on the bed, ending up side to side with her sister. They didn't technically have to share a bed, but they had gotten to a point that any time they weren't sleeping, just stuck in their room, they would sit or lay on the same bed doing their own activities.
"Emma, where are we going to go?" she asked as though she had been preparing to take the world by the horns since birth.
Still, Emma had always been the harder sister. She was tougher than Rose in many ways. Emma didn't stop and cry, she fought, but in the end that made Rose an easier target. That's not to say Rose didn't put up a fight of her own, but she always avoided hurting people as much as possible, no matter how bad they treated her. It wasn't easy for her to fight back for herself, but God help anyone who messed with her sister when she was around.
"North, maybe? Or maybe to New York. Lots of people in New York, easy to hide in plain sight."
Emma never took her eyes off her book as she spoke, her wavy blond hair scattered on the pillow with Rose's own dark curls. Their hair was the biggest difference between the two of them, the only other difference was their eyes. Rose's were such a dark piercing hazel, the completely contrasted Emma' bluish green orbs. Sometimes it was hard to believe they were twins, until someone actually got to know them.
"I want to leave already," Rose exclaimed pumping her fists into the air and then letting it turn into a stretch for her shoulders.
Emma looked at her watch as she continued to hold the book. "Two more hours. Then we're out. Now quit getting antsy or someone will ask questions."
Taking a lock of her own hair in her fingers, Rose twisted it and put it between her lips. Patience was not a virtue Rose had ever been familiar with. Emma was at least good at pretending she's patient. She could occupy her mind with books or music, Rose struggled with that. Her mind was difficult to keep on a single task once she was focused on something else.
"It's already dark, we should just leave now! They won't notice," Rose whined making her sister roll her eyes and close the book.
"You're a pain in my ass," she muttered but grabbed for her backpack anyway. Rose grinned in victory and snatched her own bag out from the other side of the bed.
"But I'm motivational!" Rose countered earning a snort from her sister.
It was only eleven-thirty and Emma really hated the fact they didn't wait until their planned time. The foster home they were currently staying at wasn't over crowded like most others. In fact, for that moment it had been just them. There were no other kids to rat them out for sneaking out the window in the middle of the night.
The walk to the bus stop was a long one, but one they had prepared for with comfortable shoes and jackets that kept them fairly warm against the brisk air. They stayed close to each other, both too stubborn to admit that they were nervous about the journey ahead.
It was nearly three in the morning when they reached the next town's bus station. Emma walked up to the ticket booth as Rose hung back staring at the quiet scene that surrounded her. Things were really about to change for them. They were going to be on their own, taking care of themselves. They didn't have to worry about drawing the wrong card when it came to foster homes, or being separated because twins were just too much to handle. No. They were together now, until they said otherwise.
Suddenly, a chill crept over Rose and it felt like her world slowed down for a moment. The sounds of the bus engines humming silenced along with the rest of the world. Rose looked around nervously, noticing Emma talking to the ticket booth woman. Their mouths were moving my her world was still completely silent.
Maine.
The voice was small, but Rose was sure she had heard it. In the silence it almost sounded like a echo in her brain.
Maine. North to Maine.
It was safe to say Rose was terrified by the foreign voice whispering ideas in her mind. "Maine?" she whispered, not sure if it was to the voice in her mind or just to see if she could hear her own voice.
Go to Maine, my Rose.
The world suddenly began again. The sounds of the streets and muffled conversations of the people around her started back up as quickly as they had disappeared.
Her heart was thudding hard in her chest, but Rose knew she couldn't ignore the feeling her body was telling her. She had to listen to the voice.
"Two to New-" Emma began as Rose dashed to the ticket window and nearly right into her sister.
"Maine. To Maine. Anywhere in Maine," Rose forced out of her mouth. There was a sudden since of relief as Emma looked at her sister like she was crazy. The gray haired woman behind the glass looked at Emma who held the money.
"Uhh, I guess two tickets to Maine," Emma confirmed still staring at her sister like she had lost her marbles.
"You better hurry then. The bus is boarding now." The woman said, her bored tone never changing.
Rose grabbed her sister's wrist as soon as the tickets were placed in her hands before darting to the bus. It was like Rose was being pulled in a direction, like her body was telling her where she needed to go.
Almost as soon as they snagged two empty seats together Emma jerked her arm away from her sister. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Rose didn't answer her, just took a few deep breaths. It made her body relax to know it was headed in the right direction.
"Rose! Answer me! What the hell is going on with you?" Emma snapped again, this time pulling her sister's arm to get her attention.
There were so few times that they ever questioned each other. They knew that they had their own reasons behind their actions and no matter how crazy they were, they would support each other. But this time it was different. Emma was frightened by her sister's out of character behavior.
Rose met Emma's gaze with a soberness her sister has never seen before. "I need you to trust me."
The seriousness in her sister's voice kept Emma from arguing, but Rose was having an internal battle. Where were all these feeling coming from? It was she was a magnet and there was something pulling her so firmly to Maine that it scared her.
Emma had fallen asleep not long after the trip began, but Rose couldn't. She felt so uneasy. She couldn't rest until they got to Maine.
Many years ago in the Kingdom of the Enchanted Forest...
Snow was giddy as she nearly skipped down the hallway of the castle, knowing just where to find her husband. Her dark curls were fallen over her shoulders as her hazel eyes glittered with happiness. They were going to have a family. Her and Charming were going to be parents and she simply could not contain her joy from the news Doc had given her only minutes before.
"Charming!" she called through the castle, giving up her original plan of surprise and unable to keep the news to herself for a minute longer. "Charming!"
Now she was darting down the halls of the castle calling out for her husband, half dancing she glanced in every doorway.
Hearing her calls, the King appeared in the hallway. At first he had been concerned by his wife's calls but when he saw her sprinting toward him, smiling so wide that it made his own heart swell, his worry ceased.
Snow giggled as she crashed into her husband's body and wrapped her arms around his neck. He beamed at her through her hard kiss on his lips.
"You seem happy," he stated, allowing her joy to consume him as well.
"Twins, Charming," she said between heavy breaths from her running. "We're having twins..."
The bus came to a hard stop and Emma jumped awake. Rose grabbed her bag from above her seat and looked at her sister. "This is our stop."
Emma looked out the window. They were at a three way stop and there was nothing but forest for as long as she could see on either side. She was about to argue when she remembered what her sister said. It wasn't often that they asked for each other's trust, but Emma certainly was not going to deny her sister such things.
As they climbed off the bus, Emma watched as the bus puttered away, as though it was their only chance at making it anywhere. Then she looked at her sister that was staring in the opposite direction of where the bus went. "This way," Rose said with certainty, tightening her grip on her backpack's straps and taking strong steps toward very possibly the middle of nowhere.
Emma sighed, but followed behind her sister. No matter how much she was trying to trust her sister, she couldn't help but think of how bad of an idea this was.
They walked for miles. Every time Emma would open her mouth to say something, she would quickly shut it again. Rose had never questioned her and she shouldn't question her own sister either.
As the forest continued it's never ending path along both sides of the road, Emma decided to watch her feet as she walked instead. The endless depths of the forest intimidated her and her sister acting like someone that was not her sister was not very comforting either.
There was a gasp from Rose, but before Emma could look up, she rammed right into her sister's small frame. "What?" Emma grumbled as she sister seemed to not even notice the collision.
When there wasn't an immediate reply, Emma glanced around her sister to a large sign on the side of the road that read "Welcome to Storybrooke". A feeling of relief swept over Emma as she threw her arm around her sister's shoulders.
"Let's hope this place has somewhere to eat," Emma said happily skipping on ahead with new found energy.
But Rose's heart was pounding again as she followed her sister passed the sign and into the town. Her body was telling her that something was off. Not really wrong, but different.
Mr. Gold smiles as he feels the shift in the town. Regina, who was standing in his shop arguing with him only a moment before, stops in mid sentence and looks around, also feeling the change.
"What is that?" she snarled as Gold continues to smirk. Their earlier conversation completely forgotten by the unknown force that was powerful enough to earn both of their attention.
Gold turns around and looks at a small empty globe that sat on the shelf behind the counter. The fogged glass wasn't it's dull, colorless self as it had been only moments ago. Instead there was a soft purple glow inside of it now.
"Gold, what is it?" Regina demanded again, this time with more force.
The curse was coming to the end of its days now, the countdown had begun and there was nothing any of them could do about it anymore. But there was something more than that. Gold put his hand on the globe and the purple fog morphed into the image of two girls. One blonde, one brunette.
Gold chuckled to himself as he slowly turned around to Regina. They had finally arrived. These children were going to change everything. They had no idea of how much power they had. Not only would they break the curse, but they had magic. They had magic in a land of no magic, and they didn't even know it!
The sinister chuckle erupted from Gold's lips as he peered at Regina with evil in his eyes. "That's change, dearie."