Song of the Dragon

Chapter 2

Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or it's characters, just my colorful imagination. Emma has made her escape and now is entering the Evil Queen's domain. What will happen to Granny or Ruby next? Will the Charmings find out they helped Emma to escape? How will the Evil Queen's Soldiers welcome Emma into the kingdom? How will Regina react to meeting the daughter of the Charmings? That is… will Emma or someone else reveal who she is? Lol let's find out.

A/N: so glad everyone is enjoying this story so far. :) Time for a different setting lol

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As Emma continued deeper into the Dark kingdom, she could see the villagers hard at work. They stopped whatever they'd been doing, just to stare at the stranger riding into their town, their curiosity piqued. They couldn't help but to notice she rode with the posture of someone royal, yet at the same time, this person didn't want to be recognized. The whispering started as Emma continued into the village just outside the Dark Kingdom. Emma tried not to let it get to her. She continued forward, but still the rumor mill was starting to spin.

She nudged Drake to move faster, wanting to reach the castle before anyone else could stop her. She needed to see the Queen and fast. After all, she had a message for her from Granny. But that wasn't the only reason she wanted to see her. She also wanted to offer her services one way or another. She did not want anyone else to figure out who she was first before having a chance to talk with Regina and explain her circumstances. She no longer saw herself as part of the White Kingdom. Not after what her so-called parents put her through. And ever since Granny hinted to her that she really wasn't their blood daughter, it left her feeling like she needed to find her own place in this world. Emma needed to find out where she belonged and who her real parents were. She needed answers. She didn't want the Queen to think she was actually the daughter of her sworn enemies.

They moved quickly, heading straight for the castle. But then she noticed some of the dark knights forming into a group ahead of her. She cursed under her breath, determination set in as she continued forward. She made sure her parcel from Granny was safely hidden in case they tried something. She tucked it into her boot before the knights could see what she was doing. She wasn't afraid of them. She was more than capable of defending herself. So much more than those approaching men realized. She had a smirk on her face. They had no idea what she was capable of. It was something that set her apart from her former father's best warriors. It had also frightened the Charmings and those who were close to them. Emma had always known she was different from them all. Whenever they tried to make her do something she didn't want to do, she would use it to her advantage. Of all their talk of wanting to fix Emma, this was something they would never be able to fix. They even went so far to trying to rid her of the darkness she had growing inside her. They thought they had succeeded, but Emma knew better. She could feel it deep inside her. In fact, people were warned to stay away from her. That is… until Killian came into the picture. He was probably the only one brave enough to try courting her. Emma suspected he had ulterior motivation for doing that. She didn't trust him. Not one bit.

Emma looked ahead, seeing the knights forming a line ahead of her as they got closer. They had then formed three rows of men to block her entrance to the castle grounds. She chuckled softly as she approached the rest of the way. "All for me?" She smirked. "Take me to your Queen."

"First get off your horse and take your cloak off and give me your weapons." Two men moved closer to take Emma's belongings, another man approached Drake who was not about to let him get closer. He reared up and lashed out with his hoofs.

Emma chuckled as she got off and shook her head. "I will take him to the stables and get him settled in. And then I will go with you to see the Queen. He doesn't trust anyone else to get close to him except those he is familiar with."

The captain rolled his eyes. "Your weapons first or I will take you to the dungeons."

Emma smiled as she stared him down. "Feeling threatened by me boys? I have a message for the Queen. Now if she finds out you boys are preventing me from delivering a very important message to her highness, what will she do to you? I wonder." She noticed they shared nervous glances with each other. "I'll tell you what, take me to the Queen and I will leave my weapons with you outside her room. I deliver her the message. Whatever she decides to do afterwards is her decision. As I see it, it's a win-win for everyone."

The captain stared hard at her, trying to decide if she would be a danger to their Queen. There was something off about this stranger. The way she held herself, the way she spoke… his palms were itching to take the sword and thrust it into her. But then she did say she had a message for his Queen. He still bore the scar on his face from the last time he had incurred her wrath when he prevented someone important from getting. He was blind in one eye as a result. He nodded. "Alright. We'll take you to the Queen. But if you try something, I will take your head off."

Emma wasn't deterred. She smiled at him and nodded. "Lead the way." *buffoon* She led Drake toward the stables first and made sure he was comfortable and fed. She then allowed the knights to take her to the castle. She couldn't help but to be amused at how many of them needed to take her to the castle. There looked to be at least thirty-five knights.

Soon, she found herself inside the home of the Queen. She made sure not to seem too interested in her surroundings lest those presumably less than intelligent knights would assume she was a spy.

They led her to where Regina was in a meeting with some important people. They had made an announcement that this stranger needed to meet with their Queen. Emma then left her weapons with them before entering the room.

Brown eyes met blue/green and it was as if everything stilled for Emma. Her jaw dropped as she gaped at this beautiful woman. She then closed her mouth when she remembered herself. She chuckled softly. "Hi… I'm Emma…" she pushed her hood down so she could make herself more presentable. "I have a message for you… um… I'm sorry… it's in my boot. I promise nothing sharp…"

Regina watched the blonde, intrigued by this new person. She felt a smile tugging at the corners of her sensually plumb lips. She looked at the others in the room. "Please leave us."

"Your Majesty, I don't think it is wise to…" The royal guard spoke up.

Regina turned to glare at her royal guard. "Have you forgotten who I am? What I am capable of? Leave us alone."

The Royal guard bowed his head and stepped out. He refused to look at anyone as he left.

Emma smiled at Regina once they were alone. She then took out the parcel from her boot and then handed it over to Regina. "This is from Eugenia Lucas. Or as everyone calls her… "Gr…"

"Granny, yes." The queen spoke with a fond smile on her face. "How is she and her granddaughter?"

Before Emma could answer her question, and before Regina could finish opening the parcel, a bluish light glowed from her mirror and the face of a man could be seen gazing at them.

Emma gasped, this being her first time seeing something like this sort of magic at work. "What is this?" She asked out of curiosity.

"What do you want? Do. You. Realize. You are interrupting a very important…" Regina started, annoyed with be interfered at a time like this.

The man in the mirror rolled his eyes and stopped her from speaking more. "Do you realize who you are in company of? This is Snow White's daughter!" He sneered at Emma with disgust, fully expecting his Queen to be grateful that he interrupted their meeting.

Chocolate eyes grew darker as they turned to look at Emma. She wondered why Emma White would want to come into her presence if her parents hated her that bad. She almost called out to the guards to take the blonde down to the dungeons.

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Maybe I was, once upon a time. But I'm not anymore. I escaped the White Kingdom and brought this parcel to the Queen for Granny after she told me the truth about those Charmings. That they lied to everyone about me. I am not their daughter and I never will be!" She growled as her eyes flashed darkly. "I want nothing to do with them ever again!"

"You're lying! You will say anything just to spy on my Queen!" The man spoke.

Emma chuckled darkly. "Am I really? It was Granny who advised me to seek the Queen out and to give this to her. Said that nothing is as it seems. Why don't you let your Queen receive her message? If she wants me to go, I will but only because she asked me to."

The man in the mirror was about to reply to what Emma just said when Regina stopped him. "That's enough from you. Unless you want to lose your tongue?" She eyed Emma, knowing they shared a common friend in Granny. She wanted to know the whole story from Emma, but first, she wanted to see what Granny had sent to her. She opened it, seeing whatever it was had also come with a letter. She saw three items. One, some sort of a baby rattle. She frowned, wondering why Granny had sent it to her. There was also a necklace. Included was a cloth with a cross stitch design on it showing a black and a white swan. The white swan was wearing a crown while the black swan was holding a branch with a red apple in its beak. Regina hummed with approval as she smiled. "Granny always knew I liked swans." She chuckled, curious at the meaning of the black swan. "I also love apples. In fact, I have an apple tree planted in my garden." She then proceeded to read the letter from Granny, recognizing her handwriting.

"Dearest Regina,

I trust this parcel has arrived safely in your hands and that you have welcomed Emma. I sent her to you, knowing you would be more than happy to help her. I know how much you despise Snow White and her Shepherd as you call him. My granddaughter and I had a falling out with those Charmings. They showed their true colors from the very start of sweet Emma's life. I was there when they brought her home. There is so much more to that child than you realize. But that is besides the point. When they unwrapped her, these items fell. The necklace and the baby rattle are hers. When I saw them, I hid them for Emma, knowing one day, she would need them. Maybe they would help her to find out where she came from. The Charmings never said where they got her from. But Ruby and I knew that she wasn't theirs. I overheard Snow talking about how they were glad they stole her from her mother, saying the bitch did not deserve to be a mother. Emma is very special like you are. Maybe someday she will trust you enough to share who she is with you, and what makes her special. She has incredible power inside her, that one does. Please help her. I hope one day she will be reunited with her family. She means a lot to me. And she is like a sister to Ruby. I made this design for you. I know you have a fondness for swans. That's something you will find you have in common with our Emma. I am sure you'll find a way to let me know Emma Is safe. Protect her please.

Much love,

Eugenia"

Regina was surprised to learn that those Charmings had somehow stolen Emma from her own family and passed her off as theirs. She vowed right then and there, that she would use everything she had in her power to help Emma find out who she is and where she came from. She was intrigued to find out she had powers and that she also liked swans like she did. She looked at the items again as she strode over to where Emma was standing. "Have you ever seen these?" She asked as she showed her the necklace and rattle.

Emma eyed them with interest. When she took the into her hands, she gasped, feeling power coming from the necklace. It had a crescent moon pendant. It glowed the moment she touched it. She saw a blonde woman holding it and chanting as she poured power into the necklace. She also saw the same woman look over at what appeared to be a nest holding two eggs. She held out two necklaces, one with the moon, one with the star as she allowed the necklaces to be absorbed into the huge eggs with magic along with two baby rattles. She spoke of how much she loved them, how much she couldn't wait to hold them in her arms. She sang to them. Emma had tears falling down her cheeks as she felt her mother's love coming from her necklace, washing over her as it appeared around her neck with magic. The baby rattle was glowing as well. She dropped it in surprise when she felt it's heat, as if it were almost alive.

"Emma?" Regina moved to touch her shoulder. "Why don't I get a room set up for you…"

The man in the mirror got upset. "Your majesty… you can't she's…"

"You will not finish that sentence Sidney. Or I will banish you for good. She will stay as long as she wants. She's under my protection now. She spoke true. Those Charmings are not her real parents." Regina spoke with a finality, indicating the conversation was over and that he should not revisit the topic anymore.