Another lazy morning in the town of Storybrook. It was yesterday that all the heroes celebrated their victory over the Black Fairy at Granny's and no one could be happier. Newly married Emma and Killian headed back to their home and spent their wedding night without any interruption this time. It was Emma's best night ever. After all these separations and curses they were ready to expose their love to each other. The morning had come. Emma woke up tangled with the blue sheets of their bed and for her surprise Killian wasn't next to her. As she was starting to worry about an upcoming crisis she suddenly looked at her nightstand and saw a disk full of tasty food and of course her usual grilled cheese served on a plate. She smiled when Killian came into the room. He was only wearing his unbuttoned shirt this time.
"Good morning, love. Did you have a good sleep?" Killian said and they kissed.
"The best. What's all this?" Emma asked
"Your breakfast, love" He said
"And I brought you something to read while I will be doing some work in the station with your father" He said as his hand touched her cheek while passing her the Storybook in her arms.
"Thank you. You shouldn't have done all this I…" She said but he interrupted her.
"Hey, is it too bad that I want to please my lovely wife after our wedding night? We both know you've had enough those past two days, it's the least I can do" He said and Emma smiled.
"Killian, how can you love me so?" She asked
"Because I do. I've always have and I'll always will" He gave her one last kiss.
"Now, eat your breakfast, love. It will get cold" He said before leaving. Emma wanted to say him something too. But the words never came out from her mouth. God, after all this time she was still a coward at this. She could fight millions of monsters but couldn't express her feelings completely to the one she loves. Her walls were down but still there was something behind of them. She bent down to the disk and took a bite from the grilled cheese as she opened slowly Storybook. As she was leafing through the pages she suddenly noticed one page that she hadn't seen before. It was illustrated. It pictured Killian at his quarters. He was sat down on his desk writing something…
"Wait, how…" Emma said and touched the page. Suddenly, magic came from the book taking her with it. Inside the page and its story….
Emma woke up on the ground. The earth which she was upon was wet and had the smell of the trees on it. That place was definitely Enchanted Forest. When her eyes started to open, she felt a tightness on her stomach. She looked down and saw that she was wearing the wench dress and rags she had worn in their time travel adventure. Her gloves and her cape were now in place. Emma stood up, her hand resting on her stomach trying to breathe through the corset and she saw that she was in the middle of the forest. The book had brought her there. But why? The book did not use unreasonable magic before. It did what it did for some reason. Appearing where somebody needed him the most. Being didactic when it was needed. Maybe this time had its reasons too to send her here. Her skin was tight and freezing from the cold, her lips were red and her green eyes had a little fear in them. She put her cape on and raised her head. She was going to figure everything out. Her boots started to move rhythmically going where her instinct told her. She was walking for hours but finally she took a path where it led her to the village. Everything was dark from the clouds. She could barely distinguish the people moving around doing their normal jobs. She decided to take the matter in her hands.
"Excuse me, do you know where I am exactly?" She asked one passer-by who was carrying groceries with his carriage. But he just ignored her. She tried to speak to other people but they all seemed to be focused on their work. Others carrying food, others feeding their horses, until she saw something. An old woman being tortured by two men because she owed some money. Emma couldn't stand watching this. So she stepped forward.
"Hey, leave her alone!" She said. The two men looked at her angrily.
"Step aside, girl!" They said and pushed her to the ground.
"It's over, Barbara! I'll be waiting for my money at the end of the week" They said and left. The woman helped Emma stood up.
"Oh my god, girl! Are you hurt?" She said.
"No, It's okay. I am fine. Are you?" She asked.
"I've used to it. These men are torturing me for months. I will find a way to deal with them in the end. Thank you for saving me" She said.
"It's kind of what I do" Emma smiled.
"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" She said and the old woman nodded. She had dark hair mixed up with white and she was wearing a dark blue dress with a matching cloak.
"Where am I?" Emma said
"In the Enchanted Forest of course, in the heart of the village" She responded.
"Thanks. You are the only one to respond me. Everyone seems to be so busy" She said
"That's because they are in a hurry. These people are slaves" She said
"Slaves to who?" Emma asked
"Queens, Dukes, Barons. They work really hard to keep the titles someone else brings up to. Welcome to the slam of the Enchanted Forest. Are you a passenger?" She said
"Kind of…" Emma said but before she could finish her sentence…
"Do you have a shelter?" She said
"No, actually no" Emma said
"You should find one. A storm is coming. Come with me. You saved me and the only thing I can do to repay you is to offer you a roof for now"
"My name is Barbara" The woman said.
"Emma" She smiled.
"Emma. What a wonderful name please come this way…" The woman said leading Emma to her home. It was just a small hut at the end of the village ,away from all the other houses.
"There we are. It's nothing big but it has the best fireplace of the village" She said and led Emma inside.
"Come on, I will light some fire" The woman said. After an hour, everything was settled. The fire was lighted. Emma was standing in front of it trying to warm herself. The woman sat next to her.
"Thank you, for your hospitality. I would be dead under that storm" Emma said and Barbara nodded.
"Tell me, what a young woman like you is doing in this filthy neighborhood?" She said
"I have no idea. But I think that I was sent here for a reason" She said as the woman passed some tea to her.
"Everyone has a reason in their lives. Look at me, working like a dog every day at the tavern and not having a single day off , it's harsh" She said
"But I thought the Enchanted Forest was like a happy place with Princesses and all?" Emma raised her eyebrow.
"Everything has another side as well. We were like this once. When our princess ruled , you could see happy faces everywhere. Our dear Snow white cared for us. But life took what she loved most. Her daughter was taken away by a curse for 28 years. We haven't seen her ever since nor our Princess" She said
"Yeah, I know" Emma said with a sad voice.
"She was a bandit for a long time and she was helping us. Always helping in a bad circumstance like you although she was a fugitive" The woman said.
"What about you?" She said and Emma opened her mouth to talk but suddenly the door opened. It was an old man.
"James, you're back" The old woman got up and Emma did too.
"Ah, this is Emma. She saved me from Lewis and Carl this morning, I promised her shelter in return" The woman said and Emma smiled.
"Thank you, lass. Nice to meet you" The man said and they shook hands. When suddenly the man started looking her weirdly.
"Barbara, do you know who that woman is?" He said. Emma froze like glass.
"She's the woman Captain Hook is looking for" He said and Emma's eyes got wilder.