Alllright! This is the sister story to Swan-Princess. It explains what happened to Emma in full detail. Hope you enjoy!
Where the Wild Things Are
Chapter 1- Into the Woods
"It is of utmost importance that we do not scare her. She is known for her ability to hide when she wishes." The Evil Queen warned. The Dark One and the Huntsman nodded.
Regina motioned for them to follow her for the first time into the woods. They all thought along the lines of how the shadows were thick but small, yet sunlight was scarce.
This never-ending wood (quite literally) was the perfect place for a little girl to hide herself for years on end. Which was what she was currently doing.
Right when Rumplestiltskin opened his mouth to make a remark about how looooong this was taking, a little girl shot out of the thick undergrowth, blond tresses flowing behind her like a waterfall. The Queen and the little girl locked eyes and the girl did a perfect curtsey, whispering, "While your very pretty, Your Highness, the two things that are true here is that the beautiful creatures are deadly, and the wild things worse." As she said that, her gaze shifted to Rumpletstiltskin and she gave him a quick grin before she was disappeared back into the welcoming arms of the trees without a whisper of sound or leaving a trace of any kind.
"We won't be able to find her today." The Huntsman spoke everyone's minds. Regina gritted her teeth and the threesome disappeared with a cloud of dark purple smoke.
Three Years Earlier...
Emma's POV
A cry flew out of my open lips as the weak wood collapsed. The greedy flames lapped at the supple wood, devouring Geppetto's wooden works of love. My heart shattered as his pleas for help stuttered to a stop. Icy tears slipped over my cheeks rapidly, a shower of diamonds falling to the ground. Even I couldn't cry enough to stop the flames leaping joyfully through my house.
'What am I supposed to do?' I wondered in the midst of my heartbreak. I had no idea where Pinocchio was. Papa- Geppetto- was dead. I had no *living* relatives.
My tears screeched to a stop as I cut off my sorrow, furiously thinking that there would be both a time and a place for grieving later. The only place I could go would be back to the forest- and my swan lake. The swans liked me the best and I knew my way around the forest.
The fire roared and cracked its teeth together. I smirked and kissed the ground softly as the only sign of respect I could offer at this time
'Well,' I thought somewhat amusedly to myself, 'you did always crave adventure. Though most 7-year olds don't get their wish quite so soon.
I turned to the forest and started walking.
Three hours later, I still hadn't looked back.
The iridescent water shimmered with the reflection of glitzy dragonflies showing off their shiny wings and bright colors, hovering for a few seconds to check their reflection before zipping off to the newest clear spot. Above the lake their was the hustle of bustle of the insects' life, but when night fell and the insects disappeared, the lone disturbance of the lake were the misty swans that ghosted over the surface of the mirror-like lake, giving the appearance of floating an inch above the water.
I kicked off my shoes and placed them inside my satchel, careful to not jumble its contents and fit them snugly together. My toes dug into the sand as a knee-jerk reaction when the cold water lapped at the sooty flesh. I walked into the lake up to my mid-thigh, the cold not bothering me, watching with a detached interest as creases flew across the flat fabric of the water. I traced the shapes of animals and beasts that not many had seen and lived to tell the tale, but they skittered away and chased each other before I could finish them.
I waded a little further into the water, the rim of my pants dampening. The cool water was refreshing and cleansing and all of a sudden my senses sharpened and all I could smell was the smoke emanating off my skin and the feel of smoke sliding through my fingers. Without a second thought, which my panicking mind was barely capable of, I dove under the cool water, swimming just like August taught me to- hands by my side fluttering to help propel me, 'dolphin diving' until I reached the silty lake floor. My fingers clawed in the silt and mud, struggling for grips, and I pulled every now and then to give myself an extra push. Geppetto called me his 'Mermaid of the Lake', which was funny because there actually WAS a mermaid in this lake. His reasoning was that since I swam with my legs locked together and pushed them up and down- like a mermaid.
I craned my neck up to do the same thing I always did- watch the sunlight. Sunlight shone brightly down at first, then dimmed and struggled to merely brush the bottom of the lake, the rays twisted, bent and pushed around. My hair fanned out like a yellow halo, the sunlight weakly stroking the loose strands. Thank God I could hold my breath for over an hour (LOTS of practice) or I would never be able to do this.
I could easily stay down here until nightfall. My satchel has watertight thread woven in- courtesy of me- and the flap wasn't open so my extra pair of clothes, my special box, and my nightmare and dream journals would be fine.
Something coils around my leg and I look down to see a black, green and white striped settling on my lower thigh. Even if he decides to bite me, which he wouldn't because all the animals here have an odd love for me, it isn't poisonous.
My attention was stolen when I caught a fleeting image of a friend of mine in my peripheral. My moodsoared as I recognized her and I swam after the mermaid, catching up to her swiftly. I grabbed the edge of her tail and she spun around, baring her teeth when she saw me. She grinned and grabbed me, greeting me, "Emma!" her voice resonated in my mind.
'Chelle.' I responded. Échelle slowly swam towards the underwater cave where she and her sisters lived- Échelle herself, Coquille, Sirène, Ariel, and Bulle. I followed slightly behind her, figuring this was the perfect way to burn time.
The underwater cave was were I learned to swim, ironically. Mostly because I was drowning and the mermaids saved me. Mermaids are notorious for being the drowners. Not the people who save you. But, they did and they brought me to the underwater cave. The cave is filled halfway with water, then there is a stone bank of sorts and vine like flowers that grow on the walls and ceiling and brush the water.
There were a few rocks that jutted over the surface of the water, perfect for sitting on. That's were Sirène and Coquille were. They really liked brushing there hair, while Ariel was probably out looking for more knick-knacks to fill the cave and Bulle was either asleep or following Ariel. Bulle was really clumsy and we all call her Flounder- because she flounders around.
Sirène noticed me first, "EMMA!" She shrieked and lunged for me, wrapping me in a crushing hug. I grimaced as Coquille joined the hug and I tried to get away from them.
"Don't do hugs, remember?" Ariel's head popped up out of nowhere, Bulle following closely behind. She scoffed, "'don't do hugs'. Yeah, right, of COURSE you do hugs!" She and Bulle joined the one-sided group hug.
I wriggled as they crushed me. "Uh- guys- I-*huff*- can't-*gasp*- breath!" I was almost immediately released and they grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry!" Bulle squeaked. She was the youngest and most innocent, having never drowned someone before. Mermaids have an… odd… definition of 'innocent'.
I smiled weakly, today's events catching up with me. I was seven. My Papa just died and Pinocchio was missing. Even though I knew they weren't my blood family, they were as real as any family could be to me. I hovered anxiously on the brink of tears, my stubbornness and pride rearing up and refusing to cry in front of my friends, but I also really, really needed a good cry. Of course, pride won out and I swallowed those pesky tears and sniffled a little. Ariel, the oldest, swam over and wrapped her pale arms around me, her worried face framed by the fiery red hair.
All of the 'sisters' knew what it was like to lose their family, because each had lost someone. Ariel used to be a princess, but an stray sea witch in training went into a fit of rage over something her sisters had said and everyone died except for Ariel. Bulle was abandoned, Coquille's family was caught up in a fishing net, and Sirène was captured by pirates and managed to escape with her sister, Fantôme, but Fantôme died a year ago from some sickness. Somehow, each of the mermaids managed to make it to this lake (more like a landlocked sea, it was a least a thousand miles across) from the sea.
"Emma," Coquille prodded gently, "What happened?" I pulled myself nimbly onto the rock in the middle of the water and the other mermaids followed suite.
"Well…"
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