Summary: Emma opens the first and only gift she's ever gotten, The Lament Configuration. It was given to her from her first abusive household. Who is this Emma Swan?
AN: I do not own the rights to Hellraiser or OUAT. I am just a fan, and I hope you enjoy this one shot! :)
I was scared. Hooked to machines, trapped within white walls, a tube down my throat, and my wrists restrained to the bed I was in. Panic sits within and I start to pull on the restraints, the beeping of the machines gets louder and strangers rush into my room.
One of the lady strangers, who smells of wintergreen and had a tone to her voice that soothed. "Relax. It's okay, you're okay." My eyes focus onto hers and I could sense the truth to her words. I cease to struggle. I'm still scared, fear of the unknown, I still don't know where I am. My thoughts begin to race, one after the other, my mind and memory is a mess of tangled emotions and memory. What was real? Was any of it real?
I remember my new older brother of 2 months, he's sixteen, I'm not even ten yet, he made me play doctor with him again. I didn't want to, it felt weird, wrong. He touched me and made me touch him as well. I remember his Dad came into his room unannounced, and found me playing doctor to his son... I remember him screaming "Harlot!" and then don't remember much after that, just pain and then darkness.
"Honey. Honey." I felt The Wintergreen lady's hand gently going over my forehead, her voice pulls me back from my jumbled thoughts. "Do you know where you are?"
I slowly shake my head no. The fear in my eyes are back, 'Where am I?' I start to panic all over again, starting to pull on my restraints again. 'I need to get out. Where's my new Dad?' My throat starts to get tight and I can feel my body start to panic.
"Your family is here, they're in the waiting room right now. You were found by your father in the park. You were injured pretty bad. I don't know what you were doing outside in your home after it had gone dark. You should know better then that, don't you listen to your parents?" Her voice drifted into the haze I didn't pay attention too.
'I don't want to go back home!' My eyes glaze over while the stranger kept talking, I thought I would be able to trust her. No, she didn't even realize how crazy that sounded? Me outside after dark? Just listen to yourself lady, why would you believe that? My heart, I could feel it, it was getting numb growing darker, 'humanity sucks.' "I'm tired." I tried to whisper out, the tube in my throat blocking my voice, just noise escaped.
Wintergreen probably had experience understanding what was said through grunts and groans for she said, "Go on and rest honey." So I did.
When I woke up next I didn't have tubes in my mouth and my wrists were no longer tied down. I felt groggy though, my whole body hurt. I wiggled my toes, and then slowly started to move other parts of my body, trying to see if all of me was intact and working.
I didn't notice the presence next to me until a shuffle made me halt my movements. I turned my head to see my 'Mother' next to me. Her sharp voice had my heart racing. "Here" She handed me a strange cube like puzzle. "Get well soon." A thought went through my head that maybe she wasn't so bad, but it was quickly crushed by the next words out of her mouth. "As soon as you're fine to go home, we're taking you back to the group home. We didn't realize we were looking after a trouble maker." She then pursed her lips into a straight line, got up and left my room.
I didn't see any more of my 'family' after that visit from 'Mother'. My strength had returned and I was able to walk around the hospital grounds after a few days upon waking. Four days I was playing with the only gift I had ever gotten, the puzzle. I was in my room playing with it, when it finally 'clicked', and when it did it got cold.
I thought I knew what cold felt like, it was nothing like this. I felt it in my blood, into my heart and I swear I felt a shiver run down my soul. The power flickered crazily for a few seconds then it went dark. Complete isolation. Fear. I thought I knew fear before, but that emotion was nothing compared to this darkness that held me.
A movement to my side caught my attention and I breathed out, I hadn't realized I wasn't breathing. This pale man stood, staring at me. How can someone so scary looking, look so regal and poised? Dressed in leather, pale face, eyes darker than the blackest night and pins all over his head and face. His dark eyes caught mine and I was trapped. He was looking into my soul, I felt it. I knew I was going to die. I was never good enough, my life may have been short, I was nine after all, but it was an eternity all the same. Oddly, I was okay, knowing my life would end. I knew he was my judge and jury, maybe life after this one would be better? I was roused out of my thoughts by this beings' voice.
"You opened the box, you're now damned to come with me. Your soul will now be ours to torment, to pain and pleasure." His voice was oddly soothing. Despite the darkness that rolled off him and his voice in waves it calmed me.
"I thought I was okay with dying, but honestly I don't want to die! My life sucks, but I am too young. Please, please let me live." I couldn't believe I was begging this being, this demon. I really didn't want to die. "Can't we make a deal or something?"
The demon was quiet. Thinking, calculating. She could see it in his eyes, the word 'Deal', did something to him. After a moment he spoke, "We the Cenobites don't normally make deals. The soul that opens that box you just opened, we take them. What do you have that you could possibly give me?"
"Could... could I perhaps barter a different soul than mine?" I was scared. If I didn't say what he wanted to hear, or to please him I would die. "I am just nine years old sir. I haven't done anything wrong, other than being born. I was left on the side of a road hours after I was born. Please, if there's anyone who deserves to die, it's my 'Family' that I am with. Please, spare my soul and retrieve theirs. It's three souls to my one." I finished speaking all that I could. I wasn't going to cry, I would make my case and hopefully he'll listen. My foster family deserved to die, not me.
The man, demon, tilted his head a fraction of a second and then he spoke with a nod to his head, "That would do. I need to let you know though, that your soul is tied to this box. I will be with you until I can take you away. If you find yourself opening this box again, and you will, your soul will belong to me, and I will have it."
I had to grow up fast, and mostly on my own. I would read, or I was out in the streets surviving, even when I was with a family. I learned quickly. I'm not cocky, but for a nine year old I am smarter than most teenagers. I had to be. I am a surviver. Another thought crossed my mind and I was speaking it before the thoughts could process what it was that I said, "What if I can help you, if you help me? That can be our deal. I keep my soul and I help you out."
"Oh? How is that?" I could feel the amusement rolling off of him, a nine year old bartering with him.
"If you could train me, to help protect myself I can lead you to more souls that deserve to be punished. I already know I'm going to be going back to the foster group home. It means I'll get sent to another family eventually. Most aren't good people. If I get sent to nasty family's I could free you from your box for the souls you need. I don't die, and you get more than one soul, and even if I get sent to a single parent household, I'm sure that soul you would love more than mine to consume."
The tall cenobite in front of her blinked, then bent down to her level. He wasn't someone who normally got surprised but this kid, this child made a nice little deal. "I can see you are meant for a purpose. You will become a strong being. You'll do great things, terrible things, maybe. Great things, definitely." He then stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I will be your Guardian. You will not live with me, for if you do your soul will be mine. You will continue to live on this world, with these people but I see a strength in you, a greater purpose than even I. I will give you a gift, use this wisely. Magic is not meant to be here in this world. I see you're magical but you will learn that later, eventually. My gift to you is my sight."
My new Guardian then put his hands over my eyes and a felt a tingling sensation. My thoughts were racing. I can't believe it! He's not only going to do our deal, but he's going to look after me? My eyes, I could feel the stinging of tears being held back. I do not want to cry in front of this man, this Guardian of mine. His voice brought me out of my thoughts.
"I can already see that you can tell if someone is lying to you. I gave you the Soul Sight. You may look into a person's eyes and see their intentions. Use it well." He then smiled and as quick as he got here, he disappeared and the power was back on. Suddenly it was chaos around her, it was like while he was here time had stopped, but now continued where it had left off.
A smile was on her face. She slipped into bed, knowing that her life had changed and she can't wait to see how it turns out. Life is good.
The next day Wintergreen showed up, a grim look upon her face. "Honey." She paused, composing herself, "I have some bad news."
"What is it?" She sat up in her bed a worried expression on her face, a smile in her heart.
"Your family was found this morning, dead."
"What?" She gasped, her hands covering her face. "What happened?"
"I don't know if I should tell you the details, the police should be the ones to let you know that. I'm sorry dear." She put her hand on the young girl's arm, then walked out of the room.
A few moments later, police came inside to give her the news. Her family was found brutally murdered, No clues were found yet on who had done it. Her family was ripped apart. Her brother, split open from throat to naval and his boy parts missing. Her mother, eyes gouged out and tongue ripped out. Her father... Chains were used to break and mangle him beyond recognition. Blood was everywhere. It was the most brutish murders this town has seen.
I was happy. Is it bad that I found happiness in my tormentor's deaths? If it is, then I'm proud to be bad. No other kid would have to go through the Hell she lived in living there. I was looking at my two possessions on my hospital bed. The police brought me my blanket, and then my puzzle box. I turned it around in my hands looking at it. 'Life is good, life is great. I may have lived in Hell for the first part of it, but I'll avenge it during this second part.'
"I am Emma Swan." I spoke into the empty hospital room. Turning around I left my past and walked into my future.
AN2: This is a one shot piece. I might continue writing this as a multi-chapter story, but that won't happen until I have most chapters complete. Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading this.
