Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of their characters.

Prologue

Emma scanned the streets of Storybrooke, taking in the sights one last time. She tried memorizing the streets, shops, and that infamous clocktower from which their spell spilled. And she tried to keep out the screams of the terrified residents that fled the Dark One.

She instinctively held on to Killian, who had wrapped his arms around her as they watched their work envelop the town.

They would not inflict the Dark One's vengeance on the Land-Without-Magic.

She looked around one last time in Killian's arms and saw a stonefaced Henry, clutching his author's pen and storybook, Regina at his side. Next to them, her heavily pregnant mother clutched her little brother, Neal, while her father holding them as tightly as he could with a face daring anyone to try tearing them apart.

But this spell was on their terms, not his. They would defeat him back in their world, and shut him off from ever being released into the real world. Or at least, what she had always known as the real world.

Emma was leaving the world she had loved for so long, possibly forever. A sinking feeling in her stomach at the uncertainty they faced settled in. The purple smoke began to fill in her lungs and she shut her eyes tightly, pressing her face into Killian's leather.

A fraction of a second later she heard a bird chirping and opened her eyes. The smoke was just clearing, revealing a lush wooded area. And in the distance a somewhat familiar sight poked above the trees. Her family's castle, her new home, awaited.

She heard Killian sigh as he said as enthusiastically as he could, "Welcome back to the Enchanted Forest, love."

18 Years Later

The waves crashed against the castle walls as the small boat carrying a young woman crept towards the secret dock. She had found the passage as she had explored the castle years as a small child. As far as she knew, very few knew of its existence. It was pitch black outside, but for the lantern that she held up as she simultaneously threw the rope to tie her small coracle to the dock.

Taking care to not make a sound, lest to alert the guards, she expertly tied off her boat and began walking through the passage. Her feet tread lightly on the cobblestone as she took a winding staircase up to the gardens. It was around twilight and she would be in quite a bit of trouble roaming the grounds at this hour. She rolled her eyes at the memory of the lecture her mother had given her the last time she was caught. Quietly she blew out the candle in the lantern and gingerly set it at the entrance to the passage. The garden would be awash with moonlight, plus the lantern would make her far too easy to identify. She had no desire to work another week in the kitchens cleaning all the royal family's dishes.

As the young woman snuck across the grounds, she noticed a dark figure pass between two columns in the entrance to the castle. A guard, she thought at first, but as she tried to go the other direction, the figure approached her. And he wasn't wearing armor, he didn't make any noise as he moved. Apprehension creeped into her as she could sense the darkness emanating from the figure. She had never felt something so evil in her life.

It was a man, she could tell. He was shorter than her and as he approached even faster, she could see an odd glint coming from his face and hands, almost as if they were glittery. Suddenly his face was revealed by the moonlight and fear gripped the young girl.

The short and thin man had evil dark eyes and odd skin that looked as if it were leathery. Like a crocodile, like the man her parents had told her about. Rumplestiltskin.

Rumplestilskin had disappeared after the Battle of the Great Return. After they reached the Enchanted Forest and got a hold of the Dark One dagger, Rumple was commanded to never perform evil and to live out his own perpetual existence in silence and solitary.

Obviously, he somehow broke the hold, because there he stood.

Before she could sound the alarm, the Dark One had magically gripped her throat and slowly lifted her from the ground as he began squeezing the life out of her.

"Hey!" A familiar voice echoed through the courtyard, "Let her go!"

She turned and saw a tall figure running towards them, sword brandished. It was King David, going straight for Rumple who instantly let the girl fall to the ground as he met the king head on.

As soon as she hit the ground, she drew her sword that she kept at her side, a beautiful and perfectly balanced blade her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday a few days before. Except now she was in a real combat situation, and all she could feel was fear.

But Rumple was not paying any attention to the girl.

"So we meet again, Charming," the Dark One spat, "but this time, you will not escape with your life."

"How are you back, Gold?" Charming asked, sounding just as confident, "because if I remember correctly, I have the dagger somewhere very special. And since it is still in my possession, you can't hurt me.

Rumplestiltskin giggled, "You mean," he pulled out a thin object, "this dagger?"

In an instant, the king's expression changed, "Go," he said in a controlled, commanding tone, "Elizabeth, get out of here now! Run! Sound the alarm."

Heeding his words, she tried to run, only to feel herself lifted into the air and thrown backwards, facing the night sky. Pain shot through her body as she hit her head and hear herself cry out.

"No!" David yelled and he tried to reach her but he was too slow. Rumplestiltskin grabbed the girl, roughly pulled her to her feet, and held the dagger to her throat.

Facing the king, she saw great fear in his eyes that broke her heart.

"Don't, don't hurt the girl," David said slowly, "Please." He gingerly laid down his sword in front of him and put his hands up as she struggled, shaking her head bravely. "Please," he repeated, "no one has to get hurt."

Again, the Dark One giggled like a child, "Agree to disagree."

In a flash, Rumple standing in front of her with the king's sword in his hand. In the few seconds it took Charming to realize what was happening, Rumple swung his arm back and cleanly ran the monarch through with his own blade.

She screamed in terror as the imp withdrew the bloody sword and watched the beloved Charming collapse.

She ran to his side and fell on her knees, taking his head in her lap. She saw his eyes were open, he was still alive, eyes wide with the shock running through his veins from the trauma.

"Stay alive," she said as forcefully as possible, trying not to cry, "w-we need you. I'm so s-sorry. It's all my fault."

"No," Charming shook his head as he fought the darkness overtaking him, "don't blame yourse…" and suddenly his eyes grew wider as he saw something behind her and strong hands yanked her away. "NO," she screamed, trying to struggle.

For a moment, she caught eyes with David, laying so very still, and the next second she was in a dark stone room, alone. She turned towards the only light which came out of a small window a few feet above her.

She heard a swivel of a door, the Dark One was standing in the room's only doorway. "Now you all begin paying that price," he said evilly and with that he walked out, the door magically swinging itself shut behind him.

And Elizabeth, Princess of the Second Kingdom, was left alone.

Any thoughts? Feel free to review/PM. All questions will be answered in chapters ahead. Who is Elizabeth? What is the Second Kingdom? Did I really just kill Charming off in the first chapter? I guess you're going to have to see...