Every now and then, Emma Swan wouldn't be afraid to open the window and let some fresh air into the little room. It was always a risk; looking into the outside world. Often times, as a child, she would open the window and see the birds, the trees, the cloudless sky, and the bright sun. It usually lead to her trying to find a way to escape, only each time she tried, she would be caught by her mother and locked in her room for the rest of the day. By the time she turned 18 and she still wasn't granted her freedom, she decided it was time to give up and stay inside. One particular morning, she looked out into the outside world, wide-eyed at what kind of life she could have if she were "normal".

"Oh no…" Emma told herself (something she resorted to doing since she was up there all on her own), "I don't think so. I like it in here. It's not so bad."

In fact, sometimes it wasn't so bad. On the days when Emma was feeling particularly bored, she would do every chore imaginable in a matter of minutes, then resort to finding all kinds of activities to do. Not to mention, she had to brush her insanely long and tedious hair that she carried everywhere she went. But when she wasn't doing any of that, she would sit with a quill and ink and parchment, writing down every fantasy and idea she had in her head. There were stories of monsters guarding princesses in locked towers and how they used a magical sword to free herself from the clutches of the ferocious beast. Other times, she'd write about the swashbuckling tales of pirates aboard ships and on land, stealing whatever they can get their hands on, running from guards and riding horses through forests and sailing through waves.

While those stories existed in her imagination, they weren't entirely fiction. On the roof of the palace in the kingdom ruled by the sad king and queen, a thief and a pirate sailed to the kingdom in search of treasure, hearing of a priceless tiara that was kept in an empty locked room in the palace. For days, they had spent time thinking of their plan and finally, today was the day to execute their genius plan.

The notorious team known as "Hood and Hook" slid down the side of a roof, ducking behind tall arches and towers to hide from the patrolling guards down below. Captain Hook, head of this particular operation, looked out at the brilliant view of the sea next to the forest and mountains ahead of them.

"Bloody hell…" he whispered, "I could get used to a view like this… in a castle… or maybe a big glorious ship on the high seas."

Robin Hood, who was opening a panel on the glass roof of the room with the tiara, looked over his shoulder and saw his distracted friend.

"Hook," Robin called.

"Aye, I'm used to it," Hook sighed, "Robin, I want a castle AND a ship."

Robin rolled his eyes. "With the money we'll make from this, you can easily buy yourself both, now come on, then."

Robin lowered Hook down on a rope into the room, which was heavily decorated with flags sporting the kingdom insignia. There were only two guards standing by the door. It would only be a matter of time before they would notice the crown was gone. Killian picked up the crown and was brought back up to the roof. The pair quickly jumped down and ran to the nearest dock with a little ship waiting for them.

"Just sail a little ways away and we're home free," Hook cheered.

When they stepped onto the pier, they were immediately met by the swords of the royal guards and the head of the guard himself, Graham. All of them were standing in front of the boat in Hook and Hood's way.

"New plan," Robin nodded, "We run."

Being chased after by guards not too far behind them, Robin and Hook dashed across the bridge and into the thick and dark Enchanted Forest.

"Okay, okay, don't panic," Emma told herself from the tower in the thick and dark Enchanted Forest. She was standing above the hidden trap door that was placed used just in case Regina ever needed it. It was covered up by a small carpet, but Emma had just uncovered it, seeing her ticket to her dream, "Just send mother on a little trip, get out, and get back in before she could even notice. It's brilliant. I think."

"Emma!" Regina called from below, "I'm coming up!"

Emma panicked and threw her hair over the trap door to cover up her discovery. Regina suddenly poofed into the room in a cloud of purple smoke, appearing looking a little bit more grey haired than she would prefer to be.

"Hello, darling," Regina said with a grin, walking up and stroking Emma's hair.

"Hello, mother," Emma said, "I would like to ask a favor of you-."

"Oh!" Regina cried, looking at herself in the mirror, "Would you look at that?"

"What?" Emma asked, coming up next to her mother.

"See there? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady…" Regina cooed, making Emma smile, "Oh look! You're here too!" Regina burst into giggles and retorted with her usual, "Oh darling, I'm only teasing!" Line.

"Right…" Emma sighed, "but I wanted to ask you-."

"Not yet," Regina rejected, retiring to her rocking chair by the fireplace, "I don't think I can take any more of this until you sing to me."

"That can be arranged!" Emma said, pulling out her stool as usual and quickly starting to sing her incantation, causing Regina to panic as she grabbed the brush in her hand and brushed her hair quickly, the magic quickly making her young again, but when she blinked twice and looked at the corner of the room, she saw the carpet pushed away and the trap door revealed.

"Emma," Regina scolded, "You were NOT planning ANOTHER escape attempt, were you?"

"What?" Emma asked, looking from the door to her mother with an innocent smile on her face, "Of course not-."

"Emma, how many times do I have to tell you!" Regina groaned, "You want to go outside, but that is a foolish idea."

"It's only for one day," Emma begged, "One day out in the kingdom together and then we can go right back home. I just want to see what it's like outside of this place."

"You are as delicate as a flower. Much too weak for a world filled with dangerous things. Like ruffians, thieves, pirates, disease, cannibals, men with pointy teeth, poison ivy-."

"I understand, mother," Emma sighed.

"No, I don't think you do understand," Regina snapped, "Because this keeps happening, but you need to get it through your head that what I'm doing is for the best. I've spent too long asking for a miracle like you to come into my life and I am not about to lose you because of your incompetence. You are much too… gullible, naive, sloppy, and quite frankly, a bit too chubby to survive out there in that cruel, disgusting outside world."

Emma slumped back down in her chair, resting her head on her hand. She knew better by now. Verbal reasoning was something that never ever worked for Regina. She was just as stubborn as Emma was. Like mother like daughter. Soon, after a while, Regina kissed the top of Emma's head then stood in the center of the room, putting her cloak back on.

"I'm off to get some food for dinner," Regina said, basket in hand, "I'll see you in a bit."

She threw her hands up and disappeared again in a cloud of smoke.

"You know where to find me…" Emma said quietly, pacing about by herself once again like ever other useless day of her miserable life.