Song of the Dragon
Chapter One

Disclaimers: I do not own OUAT or it's characters. Just my colorful imagination. I got inspired to try something different this time…

A/N; Just a heads up, I had bronchitis for the past two weeks. But now I'm feeling better. Best of all, I just got a new iPad yay! Now I can write more and will get to my older stories and finish them. In the meantime, I also have three new stories in the works.

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Snow White was pacing back and forth in the foyer of the great room, wringing her hands and shaking her head fervently as David tried to calm his wife down enough just so he could get a word in. "Please Snow. Tell me what happened. What did Emma do now?"

That was the common mantra these days. If Snow was upset, it was something Emma did to upset the Queen of the White Kingdom.

"She humiliated me! In front of everyone no less! Sir Killian came to meet our daughter before he could begin his courtship of Emma. We were to begin our talks when Emma stormed out of there. I did not raise her to behave like a scoundrel! She wants to behave unladylike and I told her we will have the doctor come make sure she is ready to be Sir Killian's bride. But first she needs to lose that… that abhorrent thing between her legs! She needs to be a lady in every sense of the word and I won't rest until she gets that done with."

David sighed as he nodded. "I will see to it that he is here first thing in the morning to perform the surgery and then we will give her time to heal and during that time she will see we have her best interests at heart and then we will let Killian court our daughter." He promised as he took his wife into his arms and hugged her, kissing her gently.

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Emma had a scowl on her face as she listened to her parents planning her surgery and future. Why couldn't they accept her as she was? She did not want anyone coming within a hundred feet from her. She most certainly did not want anybody touching her or taking what she had been born with. For as long as she could remember, her parents had been ashamed of her, ashamed of what she had between her legs. They wanted a daughter. A princess to dress in ball gowns. Not a freak like her. They wanted to wed her off saying they would find a poor young girl who got pregnant, take her in, and once the baby was born, they would pass it off as Emma and Killian's child. To be the next heir. They didn't want Emma to get pregnant with another child like her, an abnormally in their kingdom.

Emma swore right then and there, they would never get the chance to do this to her. She was going to run away tonight and she would never look back again. She would wait until past midnight to make her escape. She'd planned this for some time now. There was no escaping the inevitable. It had to happen tonight.

After packing a few belongings, she snuck down to the kitchen knowing Granny would be there. If there was anyone she'd trusted, it was Granny and her granddaughter, Ruby. They knew what it was like to be outcasts. When Emma was growing up, Granny sometimes acted as her nanny, but she was so much more than that. She was family. When it came to her parents, she never felt that way with them. She remembered a time when Granny said should Emma ever decide to leave, she would have something very important to tell her. Something she had sworn to the Queen that she wouldn't.

Granny always seemed to have a penchant of knowing when Emma was near. She found her easily and dragged her quickly to where they could have some privacy. She locked the door and hugged Emma tightly. Her eyes misty with unshed tears. "Snow came to see me not so long ago. She reprimanded me for helping you and standing by you. She demanded my loyalty or Ruby and I would be banished. She's angry enough as is for Ruby refusing to speak to her ever since Ruby told her off for the way she was treating you. "Oh Emma! Promise me, when you leave, don't look back. When you find your place… should you ever reclaim your birthright, when you find what you're looking for, we will stand behind you every step of the way."

Emma nodded. "I promise. Was… is there anything I need to know? Since I'm leaving and never coming back… what was it that you wanted to tell me? You said my mother made you promise not to tell me." She whispered knowing time was fleeting and she wanted to know what her mother was keeping from her.

Granny moved closer and murmured into her ear. "The Evil Queen… Nothing is as it seems. Find her and give this to her. Don't give it to anyone else." She put a little parcel inside Emma's cloak into her pocket. "The Charmings never deserved to keep you. They had no rights to you at all. You have no idea what you really are… your powers they…" There was a sound coming from outside their locked room. Granny tried to tell Emma more. "Your parents… they're not your flesh and blood…" *clank clank* "You're so much more powerful and your blood is different… your scent… Ruby and I, we knew and…" The clanking sounds got closer to where they were speaking in hushed tones. Granny cursed under her breath. "Take this… get out of here and quickly!" Granny gave Emma some food for her travel and ushered Emma out a side door. "Ruby is at the stables. Go now!"

Emma was reeling from everything she heard Granny say. She tried to make sense out of what she had learned. She didn't have time to think about it now. She needed to focus on making her escape. She ran quickly, keeping to the shadows towards the stables. She would figure out everything once she was safely away from the White kingdom.
Emma found Ruby where Granny said she would be. The brunette smiled when she saw her and moved to hug her tightly. A few tears escaped from Ruby's eyes.

"Emma, this is it." She smiled sadly, knowing she was going to miss Emma like crazy. She loved the blonde as if she were her own sister. "I switched horses for you. Got one from town earlier when I took your horse to be fitted with new horseshoes and to be prepared for your travels. Got you some supplies and new weapons. I told Tobin to take your prized horse ahead and meet you on the edge of this kingdom with horse feed as well as apples and carrots for him so you're all set. Got you this disguise." She helped Emma to get into those clothes so the soldiers would not recognize their princess and stop her from getting away.

Emma was starting to get nervous. Not because she was about to face a risky road ahead of her. But because there was still so much she wanted to ask Granny. She and Ruby had been a part of her life for so long. A part of her wished Ruby would take the trip with her. But she knew Granny needed her more than she did. She had so many unanswered questions now. She got on the horse after hugging Ruby again. "Thanks Rubes. I need to do this." She chuckled when the other girl didn't want to let go of her.

Ruby let go of her and stepped back as soon as she made sure Emma was disguised enough to make her getaway. As soon as Emma took off, she murmured. "Go get them you beast." It was something she called Emma as long as she could remember.

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Emma rode fast and hard as long as she could, wanting to put as much distance as she could as far as possible from those people who called themselves her parents. She sighed with relief when she rode through the gates. Nobody had recognized her at all. As she rode, she thought about everything Granny had shared with her. She was not their flesh and blood?! She couldn't understand why Granny would tell her something like that. If Granny knew, wouldn't Ruby have known too? Emma had so many questions running through her head. But the source of her answers were getting further and further away. If they were not her parents, who gave birth to her? Did her parents get rid of her for being born a freak? Did they not want her? Did they even regret getting rid of her? Did they think about her at all? If she did not belong to the Charmings, why had they kept her if they didn't like what she had between her legs? So many thoughts were running through her mind as she rode.

Soon, Emma felt her horse starting to get tired. She stopped at a creek and allowed her ride to rest and drink some water. She made sure he ate some feed and gave him an apple afterwards. She sat down under a tree and ate some of the food Granny had packed for her. She saved some for later should she get hungry again. They rested for a short time and soon she got back on the horse and they headed deeper into the woods, entering the area that the Charmings had warned her to stay away from which was not far from the edge of their kingdom.

When they finally reached their destination, Emma smiled when she saw her prized steed waiting for her. He was a very handsome horse, she had trained him herself. Originally, her parents had wanted her to get a different horse, but she had chosen this one. After much pleading and more begging, they had relented. Emma never expected much from her parents, but this time, they had given her what she had wanted. They thoughtEmma would give up and then go for the other horse they had picked out for her. But they were surprised when Emma didn't give up. She had actually trained this horse and it was surprisingly a good match for Emma. With Emma getting what she wanted, it was a rare occurrence. They made sure she took lessons ranging from mathematics to history, science and learning different lessons. David had made sure Emma had trained to fight, making sure she would be able to defend herself considering she was different. Of course Snow had not liked it when Emma trained to fight. But she had proved to be the best fighter in their kingdom. Emma smiled as she got off the horse she'd been riding and moved up to her horse, she then patted and rubbed his shoulder. "Drake, you handsome devil. You're happy to see me. Yes you are boy." She chuckled when he nickered happily. She remembered when her "mother" had hated the name she'd given him.

"It's still a very odd name for that colt. If it were me…" she'd trailed off.

But Emma had stood firm. "He's my horse. I get to call him whatever I want to."

Emma smiled at the memories and thanked Tobin for taking care of Drake. She was so happy to have made it this far.

"Anything for you Milady." Tobin took his hat off and bowed his head respectively. "Good luck." He moved to take care of his horse after they moved the supplies over to Drake.

Emma then got on and smiled atTobin again, thanking him once more before she crossed the boundary over to the Evil Queen's domain. There was no turning back now. She'd crossed the point of no return and she wasn't looking back.