A/N: Quick warning: this fic will contain elements of dubious consent, and possible mild violence. Not necessarily in this chapter, but at some point.
It's not going to be that dark or heavy or anything, but I still think I should warn you.
This is my first fic in FTL, so wish me luck!
One minute, Emma was standing in Gold's Pawn Shop, and the next...
She materialises into thin air, and thanks to gravity, slams onto the floor. She lands on her back, the force of the impact knocking the air out of her so that she struggles to catch her breath. All she can do is lie on the cold, hard ground and look up at the cloudy sky, wondering why bad things happened to good people.
But then she hears the groans of pain from around her, coming from the three unfortunate souls who had been standing around her when she made her colossal mistake. Emma forces herself to lift her head off the ground and look at Killian, who has landed a few feet away from her. He's already sitting up, dusting off his leather jacket and looking around at the forest on either side of him with a look of utter confusion.
Emma turns her head the other way, seeing Mary Margaret and David untangling themselves from each other. They had been standing too close to each other before the transportation, so had somehow managed to land on top of one another. David is mumbling something about how Snow's elbow had hit one of his ribs and it may or may not be broken.
Emma closes her eyes and drops her head back down, making it hit the ground with a thud. She was already in pain from landing heavily on her back, and hitting her head on the ground doesn't help matters, but she can't help it. She's tired of all this magical bullshit.
They had been standing in Gold's shop, looking for a birthday present for Henry, and now they're... God knows where. All Emma knows is that they are lying on a dirty path, the air is cold, trees surround them on either side, and she doesn't recognise the location.
"Honey, are you okay?" When Emma opens her eyes, Snow is suddenly hovering above her, looking at her with motherly concern.
"I'm fine." Emma assures her, forcing herself to sit up and wincing in pain when her back puts up a protest.
"Good, we all landed in one piece." Mary Margaret says positively. "But, Emma... what the hell did you do?"
Emma's eyes widen as she watches Snow's face go from worry, to relief, to anger, in a matter of seconds. She looks behind her mother at Killian and David, who are now standing up and looking at her in an accusatory manner. "I didn't do anything!" Emma insists. "I just picked up that old pocket-watch, and then... poof."
She wasn't lying. That's all that she had done. She had been looking around the pawn shop when she had seen an old, dusty pocket watch. It looked fancy and expensive, something an aristocrat might pull out of his suit pocket and gaze at through a monocle. She wanted to give it a closer look, so she picked it up. The next thing she knew, she was crashing onto the ground in a whole different place.
"Don't you know by now that you shouldn't just touch things in Gold's shop? That stuff is dangerous, Emma, and most of it contains magic. You touch the wrong thing in Gold's shop, and... well, now look where we are." Snow sweeps an arm around at the surroundings.
"Where are we?" Emma asks. She feels stupid for asking, but she really has no idea.
"The Enchanted Forest." Snow informs her, folding her arms across her chest.
Emma's mouth drops open. The Enchanted Forest? All she had done was pick up a pocket watch! How the hell did they end up crossing realms?
"Bloody hell, Swan." Killian mutters, shaking his head.
He walks over to her and offers his good hand to help her up. She accepts and stands, looking around at the land that she really doesn't want to be in. She has been to the Enchanted Forest a few times before and has discovered that she's less than fond of the place. Ogres? Witches? And, oh God, the chimera.
"We need to find a way home." Emma states immediately, not even entertaining the thought that they stay for a second longer than absolutely necessary.
"You think?" Killian says.
"Uh... Guys?" David's nervous voice sounds from a few steps away. They all look over at him. He has his back to them, looking at something in his hands that they can't see. "That may be harder than you think."
The tone of his voice makes Emma worry, and she's suddenly dreading hearing the news that David is going to say. "Why? What have you got there?"
David turns around, revealing a piece of paper that he's holding. He stares at it for a second, looking worried, then holds it up for the other three members of the party to see. That's when Emma understands that it really will be harder for them to return to Storybrooke than she had initially imagined...
On the piece of paper are the words 'WANTED for crimes against the Queen: MURDER, TREASON, TREACHERY.' And in the middle, an extremely realistic drawing of Snow White.
Not only are they in the Enchanted Forest, but Snow White is a wanted woman, which must mean...
"We're in the past." Mary Margaret breathes, looking like she's about to faint.
"Bloody hell, Swan." Killian says again, moving to stand next to Emma. "How the hell did you manage this?"
That's when more accusatory looks are cast in Emma's direction, and she looks at them in disbelief. They're looking at her like she did this on purpose; like she intentionally took them back in time. This was a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes! Sure, they usually aren't as big as this one, but still...
"I just picked up a pocket watch." Emma mumbles, looking down guiltily.
"And now we're in the past." David says, looking back at his wife's 'wanted' poster, then throwing it to the ground. "How are we going to get back to Storybrooke?"
"We can't panic." Snow says decisively. "If we panic, then we won't think clearly." She's already starting to pace, which makes Emma think that she's breaking her own 'don't panic' rule, but she doesn't say anything. She's done enough for today. "The pocket-watch was in Gold's shop, and everything in Gold's shop comes from the Enchanted Forest, which means that the pocket watch should be here somewhere. If the watch brought us here, then it'll be able to take us back. So, all we need to do is find the watch."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Killian asks.
"As much as I hate to say it, our best bet is Rumpelstiltskin's castle." David says. "We should go there first."
"Great, but does anyone know how we get there? Or where we are, for that matter?" Emma says, looking around at their surroundings with a frown. She sure as hell doesn't. "We're in the middle of a nondescript forest. How the hell are we supposed to find Rumpelstiltskin's castle?"
"Honey, you forget that your mother used to be a bandit." Snow says, looking strangely proud of herself. "I know this forest like the back of my hand. If we are where I think we are, then we should head East."
Emma nods her head and turns... then realises that she doesn't know which way East is, so continues to turn until she's rotated in a slow 360 degree circle. When she's facing Snow again, the pixie-haired woman points behind her and they start to walk in that direction.
But they only make it a couple of steps before David runs in front of them and cuts them off. "We need to remember that we're in the past now." He says urgently. "No one can see us here. With the way that we look, we'll stick out like sore thumbs, and people will know that something's not right about us. And, of course, Mary Margaret, Killian and I already exist in this realm. If we see people that we know... that could be trouble. Especially if Snow gets seen, because she'll be arrested."
"You're right, we should get off this path." Mary Margaret says, already looking at the forest for an alternative route.
"And the most important thing," David says, his voice deadly serious. "We can't change anything. If we change the past, then we'll alter the future, and that can't happen."
Emma lifts a shoulder in a way that is far too casual for what the situation commands. But, at this point, they've broken a curse; defeated Peter Pan, the Snow Queen, the Wicked Witch of the West and countless other villains; been to hell and back; survived a trip to Neverland; travelled to Camelot; Emma and Killian have survived being the Dark One. Finding a pocket-watch in the Enchanted Forest so that they can return to Storybrooke seems like a bit of a walk in the park in comparison.
"Alright. We travel through the forest, we go unnoticed, we don't change anything." Emma lists tiredly. "We get it. Let's just go."
Sometimes, Emma feels like some greater force is out to get her. Like something out there is constantly trying to sabotage her. This is one of those times. Right after she has dismissed David's worries and assumed that their return to Storybrooke will be a piece of cake, they hear something coming towards them. It sounds like a horse, and it's coming quickly.
The group look at each other in alarm, then dive into the surrounding foliage. They move quickly, David and Hook hiding behind trees, and Snow and Emma lying behind a bush. They hope that they are out of sight and haven't been noticed by whoever is on the horse, because it could be trouble if they get seen.
Of course they were seen.
The horse slows to a stop on the path, right near where they are hiding. All is quiet for a moment, then a voice calls out: "Show yourselves!"
Emma closes her eyes and tries her hardest to be silent. Why is she always the one to do stupid things? Only she would transport her family back in time to the Enchanted Forest, where her mother is a Wanted woman. If they get seen by anyone, then they're in big trouble. Snow could be arrested and executed, and it would be all Emma's fault.
"I said: show yourselves!" A deep voice bellows. "I know you're hiding in there."
Emma listens as the man dismounts the horse and begins walking towards their hiding spots. No! They can't all get caught! She moves to stand up so that she can go and talk to the man, but Snow grabs her wrist and shoots her a stern look.
"It'll be OK." Emma assures her mother. "I'll get rid of him. I don't exist yet, remember? No one knows me."
Before Snow can argue, Emma pulls her wrist free and jumps through the bush, appearing on the path a few steps away from the man.
Guard would be a more accurate description. He's dressed in all black armour, and his face is covered. Emma recognises the armour immediately and knows just whose guard he is. The Evil Queen's. Emma swallows, suddenly more nervous and more convinced that his person can not lay eyes on Snow.
As soon as the guard sees Emma, he draws his sword and points it at her, head tilted warily. "Who are you?"
Emma raises her hands, showing that she isn't a threat. "Just a traveller." Emma says. "I don't mean any harm."
"You're trespassing on the Queen's land." The guard says sternly.
Emma's mouth forms an 'o' shape. She hadn't known she was on the Queen's land. The Evil Queen's land. That's one person whose land that you don't want to trespass on. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"How can you not know? How did you get here, peasant?"
Emma swallows, knowing that she can't tell the truth. Time travel doesn't seem an acceptable answer. Neither does teleportation. He probably wouldn't believe her anyway, and then who knows what trouble she'd get into. So, she doesn't say anything, reasoning that she'd probably cause less trouble by keeping her mouth shut.
"You're breaking the law, girl." The guard spits. "What are you doing on the Queen's land?"
"Travelling." Emma says with a shrug. "I didn't know that this was the Queen's land. I'm not from around here. I'll leave right now, I swear." Emma starts to back up. For all she knows, she could just be going further onto the Queen's land, but she needs to try and get away from this man.
"Stop!" He shouts, and she freezes where she is. "You're not going anywhere." He walks towards her, his sword pointed at her chest the entire time. "You've broken the law. I must take you to the Queen so that she can give you a suitable punishment."
Emma's eyes widen and she shakes her head vehemently. "That's really not necessary. I promise, I didn't know that I was trespassing. I'll leave right away and never come back. Please, don't take me to the Queen. Please." The begging is really bad for her ego, but she doesn't care right now. There are more important matters at hand.
"You're going to the Queen." The guard says, showing no room for argument.
He roughly grabs Emma's wrist and spins her so that her arm is behind her back. She tries to tug it free, but the guard is too strong. In a seemingly effortless manoeuvre, the guard uses one hand to take both of Emma's wrists, then sheaths his sword and uses the now-free hand to put shackles on Emma's wrists.
The next thing she knows, she's being dragged towards the horse to be taken to the Queen's castle.
This is bad. If the Evil Queen, a.k.a Regina, sees Emma now, then that will surely change the future. Emma and Regina were supposed to meet for the first time on Emma's 28th birthday. Not now, not here. If Regina sees Emma today, then she will recognise her when Emma brings Henry back from Boston on her birthday. That can't happen. That will change everything.
Emma looks frantically at the bushes that she knows contain her parents and boyfriend. She can't see them, but she still mouths 'help me!' in their general direction.
They don't help her, and she's transported to the Queen's castle.
A/N: Who's interested in reading where this will go?
Next chapter up soon, then if it gets enough interest, I'll continue.
