They travelled for over a day without really knowing the direction they needed, and along the way, Aurora discovered that a bumpy ride in a carriage for hours on end wasn't boding well with her current condition. The only thing that could really distract her was her own thoughts.

However, those all concerned Mulan and their possible future together. In her heart, she knew that True Love conquered all, but if Mulan didn't want her because of the pregnancy, then there was no coming back from that. The princess couldn't live with out the warrior, but the baby still came first.

Those thoughts became too hard to bear, so she looked out of the window only to see her once glorious and powerful realm falling to waste thanks to the local ogre population being driven out of their territory due to a recent bout of brushfires.

The further they went, the more death, mass graves and ruined villages they ecountered. As the reigning royal, Aurora knew that her people would look to her for answers and guidance, but so far, she was failing them.

All she really wanted to do was escape with Mulan and the baby to the land that Emma, Mary Margaret and Neal all hailed from.

What was it called, again?

Storybrooke?


"Oof!"

The carriage had come to a sudden halt, causing Aurora to slide to the floor and as she dusted herself off and checked on the baby, she heard the shouts of her men as they engaged in combat with what sounded like an angry mob.

Next thing she knew, the carriage door was being yanked open and one of her knights, no older than herself, was pulling her with him into the forest.

"Langston, what's happening?" Aurora panted when they stopped to catch their breath, hidden from the main road. "Who has attacked us?"

"Peasants, from the look of it, princess. Not everybody is pleased by your progress - or lackthereof - as far as the ogre population is concerned."

Normally, Aurora would scold the young knight for speaking so frankly to her, but she just let it go.

"I am well aware that things are slow going, thank you very much, but running a dying realm is difficult. How could anybody know that I was even gone, unless..."

Dawning comprehension hit Aurora, and she forced herself to take deep breaths.

"Unless they were already on the way to the palace to assassinate me? Oh, my gods..."

"You must stay here and out of sight." Langston urged her. "I will come back for you."

The second the young man was gone, Aurora made camp in a bush alcove and settled in to wait. There was no doubt that fear was beginning to grip her insides as the distant sounds of the fight caught her attention, but she was distracted when she felt her child move inside her. In quiet tones because she didn't to get caught, she spoke words of comfort and reassurance to her little son or daughter.

"I'm so very sorry that things are going this way. Everything will be okay soon because Langston will come back and protect us. All we have to do right now is wait."

The fight went long than Aurora expected, but when an abrupt silence fell, a chill creeped through her veins and she just knew that the fight hadn't ended in her people's favor. The chill grew when she heard snapping twigs and unfamiliar voices nearby.

"Where did that wench vanish to?" came one voice. "I saw her heading in this direction with one of her knights!"

"Let's just keep looking." a second voice growled. "This way."

To Aurora's horror, a breeze blew a cloud of pollen off a nearby wildflower bed and spread through the air causing Aurora to let out a string of unctrollable sneezes. The two peasants heard her, spotted her and hauled her to her feet, refusing to let go and only tightening their holds when she tried to escape.

"Let me go!" Aurora ordered. "I am the princess, and you have no right to do this to me!"

"Then why, Your Majesty," demanded the first peasant. "Are you out on the road when you should be fixing the ogre issue? Did you know that whole villages, mine included, have been burned to the ground or wiped out by those creatures of the devil?"

Aurora felt her stomach churn, although she wasn't sure if it was due to the baby or the newest development.

"Please let me go!" she tried again. "I'm pregnant!"

The second peasant leered at her and started running his free hand in places too intimate for Aurora's comfort. She shut down almost immediately, trying to comprehend that she was being touched in such a manner against her will and that the man's companion was actually joining in. They pushed back her cloak and pulled down her sleeves, but the first peasant was way stronger than the second one pulled her close to him so that her back was to his front and then laughed as Aurora squirmed at the feeling of something long and hard poking her lower back.

Just when Aurora thought things couldn't get any worse, the man pulled out a knife and held the blade to her throat, teasing her with it.

"So you're with child, are you? One swift slice of this blade, and both you and your heir to the throne will be gone for good, leaving the control of the realm up to the people who will be glad to run it the way it should be run!"

Aurora's tears became real now, but she thought that if she stayed put, it would all end quickly.

Suddenly, both of her assaultors fell away - an arrow had come whizzing through the air, missing them all narrowly and landing in the trunk of a tree just three feet to the right. A booming voice called out from behind them.

"LEAVE HER ALONE, OR I WILL FIRE CLOSER THAN THE TREE!"

Both peasants took off running faster than Aurora knew that anybody could move. When they were gone, all of her emotions came crashing down at once and she began crying over what had almost happened while struggling to make herself look decent in front of a stranger.

Speaking of whom, when he crouched down in front of her, Aurora was taken aback when to see that he had the same complexion as Mulan - coppery skin, a round face and set of ears with and elongated nose and almond-shaped brown eyes. His trousers and shoes had clearly seen better days and his body was covered in different battle scars, old and new alike, including a fresh one on his uper left arm. If he had a shirt, it was nowhere to be seen, but when Aurora spotted the quiver of bows on his back and the bow beside him on the ground, she felt safer already.

"Those two men are gone. Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"No, but thank you."

"Will you at least tell me your name? I apologize for not knowing, but I'm not even from this land."

"I accept your apology, kind sir. My name is Aurora, and I am princess over this realm."

The newcomer seemed a few years older than her, but the kindless in his eyes made him appear timeless.

"Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty." even in his position, he still managed a bow of respect for her. "My name is Wu Shang."