A/N: Well, here it goes. Hi everyone! My name is GreyShadows, although you can call me Kai if you like. This is my first Once Upon a Time fanfic that I've ever written, but it's not the first fanfiction in general that I've created. It's just the first on this website. This is going to be a multi-chapter fanfic, and I plan to update every day for about the first week and then change to updating once or twice a week once the storyline picks up. I have the first couple chapters all ready written out and only needing to be edited, so they will out relatively quick, and most will be longer than this one. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and please follow, favorite, and review. It would mean the world to me. I'll see you guys again tomorrow!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only my OC. All rights go to the creators of Once Upon A Time. All mistakes are my own.

Warnings: This chapter contains a small mention of abuse in the first couple of lines.


Bare feet caused slight creaks in the wooden floorboards as a young girl crept slowly towards the door, Converse clutched tightly in one hand. She reached the front door, struggling to open it without making a sound or disturbing the marks left from her most recent "attitude adjustment."

It felt like hours, but finally, the door opened just enough for her to fit through and she carefully wedged it shut behind her.

Waiting for a couple of moments to make sure that no one had noticed her absence she pulled the hood of her blue sweatshirt over dark brown hair to hide her face and the bruising that surrounded it. She could only hope that she would find cover before the sun rose in about three hours and she was spotted by some random passerby.

The girl, Emeline Johnson, walked for a couple of more minutes in the blackness, the hard pavement scratching lightly at her feet before finally stopped, after ten minutes, to put on socks and her black converse before continuing on.


Emmie was exhausted by the time the sun started to rise. She hadn't really gotten much sleep the past couple of nights for fear of someone learning of her plan. She also didn't have much to her name, and she had brought even less with her, but hopefully, when she got to where she was going she would be able to replace the things that she had lost. Everything the brunette had consisted of what was in the well-worn JanSport backpack thumping rhythmically against her back and shoulders in time with her steps. The only things in there were some clothes, her birth certificate, and of course, her most prized possession: the Eeyore stuffed animal that she had gotten in one of her better foster homes.


The sun was well in the sky, about eleven or twelve in the afternoon, when Emmie stopped. She was in front of a small little train station, and while she knew she had a little money to spend on a ticket, she couldn't afford to get both the ticket and food. Obviously, the ticket was more important, despite the rumbling in the little girl's stomach that was trying to persuade her otherwise.

Emmie sighed sadly, glancing back at the small café tucked into the corner before stepping up to the ticket booth. "One ticket to Maine, please."

Her voice came out slightly hoarse from lack of use over the past few days, and it caused the lady running the stand to look up from her screen and at her. "Where are your parents?" the blonde asked, very evidently more out of duty than concern.

"Oh, um," the blue-eyed girl stumbled for a response. "Back there," she pointed to a couple about to board a train. "They went ahead while I got a snack from the café."

The ticket lady shrugged uncaringly. "Ok. It will be $5."

Emeline handed over the money before slowly walking past the ticket booth and into the open room. She had never been in a train station before, and she had no clue what to do. The girl could only hope that she found the right train and got on it before it left the station without her. Looking around, she started her search for the train that would take her ever more closer to her destination.


Hours later, Emeline awoke with a start, mentally scolding herself for nodding off. She looked up, noticing that the train-car was being quickly evacuated and she stood, stretching lightly. This was it. The last leg of her journey. She had no clue what time it was, but when the blue-eyed girl stepped outside, the sun was almost completely set.

Quickly combing her fingers through her medium length brown hair and rubbing her eyes, she set off once again, glancing down at the paper map of Maine that she had printed at the public library one day after school. Her destination wasn't marked in any form on the map, but she had a faint idea of where it was, though she couldn't explain why.

After about an hour more of walking the girl was convinced that she was completely lost. She was no longer in the big city, but rather in a woodsy area. Or at least, she thought she was until she saw a sign marking the side of the road.

Welcome to Storybrooke.