A/N: This story takes place in the Fairy Tale Universe only. There will be no Henry. I love the kid, but he doesn't fit the story, so don't expect him to pop up anywhere. This is only the prologue, a taste of what this story will be about. And as a warning, my pre-1800s knowledge is not the best, so if I make any stupid mistakes for the time period, I apologize.

Emma's POV.

She clung to the darkness, hiding in the shadows as she slipped through the empty corridors of the castle. In the past eight years, she had learned how to hide and how to disappear, but this was the point of no return. She had a feeling that being among people again put her life at great risk. There was a bounty on her head, she was nearly sure of that, but she had to take this chance. She didn't fight through years in the wilderness, just so she could give into fear when she was so close to getting home again.

Being back within these walls almost made it seem as though the past eight years had lived only in her imagination. She could feel that she had changed, but this place took her back to that time in her life when she had been happiest. Those few months had been the only time when she had actually had hope for the future. In her darkest hours, in the moments when she was sure that she would not live to see the next sunrise, she clung fast to those few months of happiness, willing them to pull her through. Willing her love to keep her alive.

Hearing a voice down the hallway, she pulled back towards the wall, trying to make herself as invisible as possible. The voice was familiar. Was it- James? She strained to listen, but just as it was coming closer, almost too close, it faded away. It had been James, she was sure of it. Knowing that he was there comforted her. Snow White couldn't be far off then.

She pushed forward, taking quiet, deliberate steps. She knew there was no real fear in getting caught within these walls- it was the outside world where the true danger lay- but she had to see Snow first. She had to get to her before she saw anyone else. Being away from people for so long and then suddenly being surrounded by a castle full of them made her nervous.

The door to Snow's chambers was just around the corner. She hoped she would find her cousin there. She looked down the hallway in the direction she had just came from, and then back to the path that lay before her, finally glancing around the corner to the door she was searching for. The steps were few, but they seemed to take forever. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and breathed out a sigh of relief. Snow was sitting at a desk beneath a large window, writing on a piece of parchment. Emma quietly shut the door behind her and pushed the hood of her cloak off her head, finally exposing her face to the light.

"Snow," she whispered.

Snow's head shot up and she quickly turned around. Her eyes went wide. "Emma?"

She moved further into the room, trying desperately to remember the last time she had spoken to another human being. "Hello." The word felt heavy on her tongue, as though it were made of lead. She watched carefully as Snow stood up and walked over to her, stopping just a few feet in front of her.

"I thought you were dead."

Dead? She knew that people would be wondering where she had vanished to, but she never thought anyone would take her for dead. "No," she said slowly, trying to comprehend the implications behind Snow's words. Did Regina think that as well?

"Where have you been? What happened to you?" Snow asked, suddenly clutching both of Emma's hands in her own, pulling her closer. Emma shifted, uncomfortable with being so near to another human being again, even though it was her best friend. Snow's eyes squinted in concern.

"Regina... where is Regina?" She didn't want to answer any questions, not just yet. She needed to know that her beloved was alright. She watched Snow's eyes harden, her lips tighten.

"She's at her palace."

"And her father?"

Snow's head tilted at her question. "He's dead. He died not long after you disappeared." Emma couldn't believe it. All of this time he had been dead? "Emma, where have you been all of these years?"

"Regina thinks I'm dead?"

"Yes." Snow nodded.

"I have to go to her." She started to pull away from Snow, but her cousin pulled her back.

"Emma, you shouldn't see her."

"Why not?"

"Regina... she isn't the same woman you used to know. She's changed." Snow said reluctantly.

"She thinks I'm dead. Of course she's changed." She said more harshly than she thought she was capable of. It had been so long since she had to control her emotions. She wasn't sure that she knew how to anymore.

"No, not like that-"

"What would you be like if James died? You'd change. You'd change a lot. That's all that's happened to Regina." She refused to believe anything but that. If she had lost Regina, really lost her for good, she knows she would be permanently destroyed, unable to ever recover.

"It's worse than that."

"I have to see her."

"She's evil now, Emma. You can't go to her."

She drew in a sharp breath of air. Evil? Her Regina? It didn't seem possible. Regina would never hurt anyone, she was sure of that. "No. No, she's not. Don't say something like that." She pulled away from Snow, taking a few steps backwards.

"It's true, Emma. She tried to kill me. Twice."

"No!" Her sudden exclamation surprised even her. Snow stared at her with wide eyes. "Regina would never do something like that."

"Emma-"

"Stop it! Just fucking stop it!" She yelled at her cousin, causing Snow to reflexively take a step backwards. A few long moments later, the door opened behind her, interrupting the silence. She turned quickly on her heel, prepared for a fight. James stood in the doorway, staring at her, mouth agape.

"Emma?" He asked in disbelief.

"I have to go."

Before she knew what she was doing, she was running past James, down the corridors and out the back entrance of the palace. She could hear voices calling after her for a while, but then silence surrounded her. All she could hear was the fast thump-thumping of her heart, in time with the slapping of her footsteps on the cold stone. Once outside, she ran as far as she could stomach then found solace behind a barn. She bent over in pain, suddenly aware of the sharp stabbing in her side. A few moments later, she threw up the small breakfast she had consumed a few hours ago.

Leaning heavily against the small structure, she thought back on what Snow had said. She thought Regina was evil, but that couldn't be true. Regina could never be evil. Regina would certainly never try to kill Snow; Snow was her best friend. She knew that there was no chance that Regina would ever put Snow's life in danger. She shook her head in protest to no one. It was impossible. Snow had to be wrong.

Snow had said that she shouldn't go to Regina, so it was clear that Snow wasn't going to help her get to Regina's palace. She had thought that coming to her cousin was her best chance to get to her beloved, but apparently she had been wrong. She had to do this on her own. On foot, Regina's palace was days away, but after the hell that she had endured in the last eight years, a few days' painful travel would be nothing. Especially compared to what was waiting for her at the end of her journey.

After eight years apart, she was finally going to see her beloved again.