A/N: Hello and welcome! This is my first attempt at showing my writing to the world, so I hope you like it! Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or Anastasia, and I have used (and will continue to use) direct quotes from both the TV show and the movie. The song 'Once Upon a December' is also taken directly from the movie. Cheers, and enjoy!
CHAPTER 1
ONCE UPON A time, the princess outlaw Snow White was woken by true love's kiss. She lived happily, in an enchanted world of elegant palaces and grand parties. When she gave birth to her first child, a beautiful girl named Emma, the entire kingdom rejoiced. They spent six glorious years together, as a family, and there was peace in the land.
Soon enough, however, that peace was shattered by dark forces, and their family was torn apart. This is not the story of a happily ever after.
THE ENTIRE CASTLE glowed with the light of a thousand candles. Guests from all across the realm were invited to celebrate the 6th annual ball celebrating the end of the Evil Queen's rule. Nobles, workers and beings of all kinds came together, all notions of rank forgotten in the joy of the evening. And that night, no star burned brighter than that of the Princess Emma.
She was a sweet child, beloved by all who saw her, and with a mischievous streak a mile long. The palace was constantly abuzz with talk of what her next game would be, and how well her last joke had been received. Her favourite target, by far, was her Uncle Grumpy. She delighted in the way she could bring a smile to his face, and he was very fond of the girl.
There was only one thing dampening Emma's spirits that night; her parents impending journey to Arendelle. She knew, young as she was, that she would not be allowed on the journey, and she also knew that it was vital her parents begin negotiations with Arendelle's King and Queen. There were rumors of a new evil rising, and Snow and Charming needed all the help they could get.
She begged her parents not to go, to stay by her side. To soothe her, they had a special gift made for her. It was a small silver box, edged with light blue crystals. On its lid, a small lake had been painted in a shimmering glaze, and a regal swan sat poised in its center. The King and Queen presented their daughter with the gift that night.
"For me?" Emma asked, and her parents smiled. "Is it a jewellery box?"
Her parents reply was cut off by a commotion behind them, as a complaining boy was hauled away from the food table by his older brother. "Come on, Killian, you've eaten enough for an army!"
The royals laughed together, muffling their chuckles so as not to interrupt the quarrelling brothers, then turned back to Emma.
"Look." Snow spoke softly, so that only her daughter could hear above the noise of the ball. She pulled a necklace out from the bodice of her dress, and placed it in an indent on the box. With a gentle twist she span the pendant three times, and the top of the lid rose to reveal a spinning ballerina. She was dressed all in white feathers, to look like a swan, and her stage was as blue as the lake on the lid. A soft melody played from somewhere within the box. Emma gasped in recognition.
"It plays our lullaby!" She cried, swaying in time to the music.
"You can play it at night, when we're gone, to send you off to sleep with our love." Charming said with a smile.
"On the wind, 'cross the sea, hear this song and remember,
Soon you'll be home with me, once upon a December." The music box sang, and the royal family sang with it.
Snow White handed her daughter the necklace, and Emma inspected the pendant. It was silver, a blob of metal pressed like candle wax with the image of a swan.
"Read what it says." The queen encouraged. Emma squinted at the tiny engraving on the back of the pendant.
"We will always find you. Oh, Mama, Papa!" They hugged, and in that moment everything was perfect.
But it was not meant to last. The rumors of rising dark forces were true, but this was not a new evil terrorising the land; it was a familiar old one.
The ballroom doors slammed open, and a lithe figure dressed in a black dress strode through the hall. Immediately, all music and merriment halted, and many people gasped.
"Sorry I'm late." The woman said, strolling leisurely through the terrified crowd, tossing any guards who came to stop her with a sweep of her hand.
"It's the Queen, run!" One of the royal advisors shouted, but nobody moved.
"She's not a Queen anymore." Snow replied, pulling her husband's sword from his scabbard and clutching the trembling Emma to her. "She's nothing more than an evil witch."
Charming carefully took his sword back from his wife. "No, don't stoop to her level. There's no need." Snow nodded, and pulled Emma closer. The young girl buried her fists into her mother's dress, but could not look away. Charming turned back to Regina. "You're wasting your time. You've already lost, and I will not let you ruin this celebration."
"Ah, yes, the ball celebrating the end of my reign. How delightful." She shot a distasteful glare around her, then smiled. "Not to worry, though. I haven't come here to ruin anything. On the contrary, dear, I've come to give you a gift."
"We want nothing from you." Snow interrupted, and Regina laughed.
"Oh, but you shall have it." She began to stroll around the royals, circling them as a wolf might circle its prey. "My gift to you is this happy, happy day. For tomorrow my real work begins." She paused in front of Emma, bending down to peer into the girl's eyes. "Soon everything you love, everything all of you love will be taken from you forever." Emma whimpered and buried further into Snow's side. Regina span to face the room once more. "And out of your suffering will rise my victory. I will not rest until I have seen the end of your happiness."
With that, she stalked back out of the room. As she approached the door, Charming yelled "Hey!" and threw his sword directly at her heart. But before the sword could reach the witch, she vanished in a cloud of smoke, taking the King's blade with her.
FROM THAT MOMENT on, the spark of unhappiness in the Enchanted Forest was fanned into a flame that would soon destroy everyone's lives forever. Meetings were held and councils formed to determine the truth in the Evil Queen's threat, to no avail. The King and Queen were forced to abandon their trip to Arendelle indefinitely, in order to find a way to stop Regina. Soon, the preparations for an attack were completed, and all they could do was wait for a sign that the Evil Queen was advancing.
They didn't have to wait long. Not three weeks after the ball, a large purple cloud descended on the castle. It moved slowly enough for an evacuation, but not everyone was fast enough to escape the Evil Queen's army that advanced ahead of the cloud.
"Quickly, Emma! We must hurry!" Snow urged her daughter towards the end of the hall, where David was already ushering the staff out of the castle.
"My music box!" Emma cried, and twisted out of her mother's grip. The young girl sprinted back towards her playroom, as fast as her dress would allow. Her mother sprinted after her, as did her father.
"Emma!" David cried when he and Snow reached the room, watching as their daughter pulled the music box out of her secret cubby. "We have to go! Quickly!"
The sound of the Evil Queen's guards reached them from the hallway, and Emma's parents drew their swords. Emma backed towards the wall, only to feel it shift against her hand. Her cry made the King and Queen turn in surprise, to see a boy barely older than Emma gesture for them to follow him.
"This way, out the servant's quarters!" He spoke quickly and quietly, grabbing Emma's hand to pull her along. The music box slipped out of her grasp.
"My music box…" She started, but Snow hurried her along down the tunnel. David followed close behind, and the boy paused to grab the small box before closing the tunnel entrance.
"Killian! Where did you go?" The agitated whisper echoed through the tunnels, and a shaggy-haired youth crept around the corner. He froze when he saw the royals, eyes going wide, then turned to glare at his brother. "We were supposed to stick together! Hurry up, the ships are about to sail!"
The group raced down the tunnels at full speed, David picking up Killian and Snow hauling Emma onto her back when the children began to tire. The tunnels led them directly to the docks, where two ships were left. The curse was almost upon them.
The children got down to run the rest of the way, Killian and his brother splitting off to board the first ship, the 'Jewel of the Realm'. Snow and David were recognised, and pulled towards the other ship. Emma, who was nearly falling down from exhaustion by this point, lagged behind.
The King and Queen, busy making sure everyone got out okay, assuming that their brave little princess had followed them onto the ship, didn't see her trip and fall head-first into a pile of supplies. They didn't notice at first when the supplies were lifted and carried onto the Jewel of the Realm. It wasn't until the ships had set sail, outrunning the curse by a mere minute, that they realised that their daughter was not with them.
"Emma!" Snow cried, watching as the purple cloud swallowed the docks and paused on the edge of the sea. The Queen tried to dive off the boat, crown and all, but she was held back by at least eight pairs of hands. Weeping, she sank to the deck, burying her head into David's shoulder when he crouched down to comfort her.
"We'll find her." He promised. "She must be on the other ship."
"And what if she's not?" Snow cried, turning to the docks. "What if she's trapped in that?"
"Then we will find where that curse took her and bring her home. We will find her, Snow. We will always find her."
THE SUPPLIES IN which a princess lay, knocked out cold when she fell, were not destined to go to the rendezvous port. Shortly after outrunning the curse, the Jewel of the Realm met up with a trade ship headed for the Maritime Kingdom. They traded the crate, Emma still inside, for supplies that the newly-homeless immigrants would need, for their joint journey to Arendelle. Its King and Queen had responded to their call for aid warmly, with an invitation to house the refugees for as long as they required.
Snow and Charming searched every inch of every ship at the rendezvous, questioned every passenger. But no one had seen the princess. She was lost.
When Emma finally did wake up, her head aching something terrible, it was to the cross face of the ship's captain. He did not take well to stowaways, especially those who claimed to have no memories of who they are. He carried the burden of the small girl unwillingly, handing her over to the first orphanage he found, in the Maritime Kingdom.
Princess Emma of Misthaven, heir to the throne of the United Kingdoms, Daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, the product of true love, became Emma Swan; the orphan with the funny necklace, the girl without a past.