The red silk tight against my skin felt magical. I was never into the whole 'girly princess-dress' thing every girl seemed to love. However, this night is an exception. After weeks of searching for something to wear to the ball I started giving up. That is until I found a red dress being hung up to dry in the rich part of the ball, which I may or may not have even been invited to, is about to start. I look in the puddle which lays outside the castle walls and check to make sure everything is perfect. With the red silk, the glittery line circling my collar, my blonde hair in a fancy bun, and my lips as red as the dress itself, I am ready to finally go inside.
On the inside of the castle, the brick walls turn a much cleaner and lighter color and the grass and mud turn into marble floor. Walking through the palace doors makes me wish I was one of those 'girly princess-dress' girls. I would enjoy this moment even more than I am now if I had been. As everyone walks through the doors they all go to King Midas. I head to him as well, that way I can hopefully blend in. With King Midas in his all gold uniform, he greets me, "Greetings. I am King Midas, father of the bride. Who do I have the honor to welcome into my home?" I almost freeze there on the spot. If I say nothing, he will know something is wrong and send me straight to the dungeon and if I tell the truth and he find out I was never allowed to be here, he will send me to the dungeon, and have my family to be sent there as well. I put a big smile on my face and tell him, "I'm Princess Leia." As I bow to the king, he bows as well. "What an honor to meet you." I leave to blend in with the crowd.
In the middle there are people dancing, near the tables people are eating food and talking, and everywhere else people are talking. Looks like I'm going to have to start talking in order to blend in. Just as I started walking towards someone who isn't talking to anyone at the moment, I hear a big whoosh. Everyone turns and sees a woman dressed in all black standing in the middle of the doorway. I know exactly who she is. The Evil Queen.
The Evil Queen walks in with poise and collection. King Midas looks worried and tries to talk to the queen. She's having none of it but still acts polite. All her guards walk in behind her and form a specific pattern around her. I hadn't even realized but somehow I had gotten in the middle of the crowd. The queen looks right into my eyes. My stomach churns and makes me feel all sorts of things. I sputter out, "Regina I-" The Evil Queen made her voice low and captivating. "That's a bit informal, wouldn't you say? Show some respect. It's 'Your Majesty'." Two guards by my side take my arms. I groan as I try to get loose. "Unh-unh. You're not going anywhere. Your night has just begun. Take her away." The guards walk me out, holding onto my arms so hard I can't move them. They take my down so many flights of stairs I can't even count. Once we get down to the bottom of the castle, they throw me into a metal cage. The ground is wet and covered in dirt. There I some light but not enough to see clearly.
It feels as though days have passed since I was last in a ball covered by a red dress. Now, I am lying on a cold stone floor staring at a puddle. Gods, why did I have to go to that damn ball? Doors creak open and when it closes again, it echoes so loud it almost hurts. Three guards walk in and stare at me. One of them walks forward and opens my cell. I gasp and spring right up. "I-I'm free?" The guards all laugh at the sound of my exasperation. "No. You have a lifetime to pay back what you did to your majesty."
Two of the guards take my arms and pull me through the hallway and up the stairs. We have been walking so much my legs feel numb. I can't walk anymore I just can't. I stop and the guard slaps me across the face. "Ow! Shit!" I yell. "We were told strictly not to hurt her! You probably just cost us our lives!" The doors ahead of us fly open and there, the Evil Queen stands before me again. "What did I say? Do not touch her." She hold up her arm, twists her hands, and I hear three loud cracks. The two guards who were holding me fell to the floor and so did the one standing behind me. I want to scream, run, and cry, but I will not do that. Not right now at least. I need to survive and in order to do that I need to be strong.
"Hi.."
"Emma. Emma Swan."
"Em-ma. I like that. Now you have a job to do. You called me Regina in front of thousands of people who fear me. Because of that, you shall become someone who works with me the most. You will look after me, clean my rooms, make sure everyone in this castle is doing their tasks correctly, and most importantly, always be there for me. Now, this job may sound easy compared to what you did to me, but I assure you it won't be. You will clean up all the messes I make and make sure everyone follows my direct orders." She then laughed. She actually laughed. "By messes do you mean..?" "Yes, you will clean up all the dead bodies and everything else that happens by me in this castle."