A/N Glad to hear that you're liking the story so far. This chapter is rather short, but I'm headed on a road trip tomorrow with a friend and won't have any time to write in the next two days at least. Since everyone seems eager to know what happens I decided to go ahead and post what I have. Just know that my updating speed is super fast compared to my usual, but that's just because my muse has been with me lately.
Do enjoy and please review!
By the time Emma awoke it was in the middle of the night. This new cycle of sleep was throwing her off. It was little surprise to see the tavern more packed than ever as she descended the stairs. Making sure her hood was up, regardless of what the brunette had told her, she slipped past the drunken men and into the cool night.
Her heart sank down when she found that her horse was missing. She raised her arms to the sky protesting to great extents. Now how was she supposed to get around? This place was home to thieves. If you leave something behind just for a split second, don't expect it to be there when you turn back around. If Emma had known this she would have found the stables and asked them to hold Selene for her…unfortunately that wouldn't have worked out anyways without any gold to offer.
Dirt scattered as her boot scuffed the ground. Letting out an aggravated sigh, she ran her hands through her gold locks to calm herself down and proceeded down through town. As she walked, she pulled out a piece of fruit from her bag. At least she remembered a bit of food.
Thoughts had never ceased, but for now they were a murmur in the back of her head. Would she miss her home? Would they give up looking? Blonde hair bounced as she shook her head. Stop. I'm here. None of that matters anymore. But of course it did. However, it was the only thing she could tell herself to keep her senses in check.
Her feet led her around a bend where she could hear small chatter of a few men and when she glanced up she saw their black armor shining under the moonlight. The armor was instantly recognizable; she clearly remembered one seeing one of them in the throne room relaying a message from the Evil Queen. Quickening her pace, she looked straight forward as to not draw any attention to herself, but just as she passed their murmuring stopped.
"What do we have here?" said the voice of one of the men.
Without a chance to escape, she felt the hand of one of them grabbing her and turning her around.
"I haven't seen you around before. Have you?" he asked the second.
"I don't believe I have. Hey now!" the second one shouted as she instantly pulled away from them, her hand flying to her sword, "We're not going to hurt you."
Before she had time to wield her weapon, she was surrounded by the three men. The third one who had yet to say a word grabbed her from behind and yanked down her hood down revealing waves of gold, hazel eyes, and pale skin.
"Ah, she's a pretty one!"
"Definitely one that even the Queen would approve of."
"Get your hands off me!" Emma growled, trying to pull away but the soldier's grip was too strong.
When that didn't work she kicked as hard as she could at the man in front of her. He dropped to the ground with a wailing cry, clutching at his groins. In the midst of his cursing, she took her elbow and jarred it into the man behind her, his grip loosening just for a moment but enough for her to slip out.
"Get the bitch!" one of them yelled and the last guard went after her.
Suddenly her face met the ground with a thundering thud and she groaned. There was a weight on top of her, one hand pressing into her back as another forced her face into the dirt.
"You think you're fucking tough, girl?"
The unexpected throw down had her head spinning; she was at a loss. She had roughed housed with the boys before, but never like this. If she was in her right mind she would have knocked him in the jaw before he saw it coming, but this time she had no time to engage her mind with her body and now she was pressed into the dirt.
Her sight was restricted, but she could hear the sound of boots coming up towards her. They stopped right in front of her as the tip of a blade was pressed to her throat.
"No one would even know you were gone," he said with what sounded like a grin.
"Let's get our rounds first," the one holding her down said.
They all let out a sinister laugh. Emma could feel grimy hands pulling at her. In the midst of the commotion, there was a loud growl and the man beside her pointed out his sword towards an oncoming invader. The weight that had been pinning her down rapidly rolled off of her and for a second the blonde swore she saw a black wolf out of the corner of her eye, but when she finally was able to stand to her feet there was that same woman from the tavern being surrounded by the Queen's men, her eyes growing a haunting yellow.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Red snarled with her teeth bared like a wild animal.
"Run off, pup. This is none of your concern."
The red cloaked woman walked over and defensively stood in front of Emma, pressing the blonde back when she tried to step forward.
"This is every bit of my concern. Leave her be."
The tallest of the guards stepped forward towards her, and pointed his sword Red's chest. When she didn't budge, he leaned in and snarled into her face, "Just because you're one of the queens dogs doesn't mean you have reign over us."
Red's nostrils flared at being called a dog and she nearly jumped forward at him, but kept her heels glued to the ground.
"We'll see about that," she replied, "Do you really want to explain to the Queen why you weren't manning your posts in the first place?"
"I'll simply tell her that this little whore," her nodded towards the blonde, "was giving us trouble."
Red shrugged.
"Your word against mine. We'll see who wins at that." She smirked when the man's cocky grin began to falter as the realization of what she was saying came together.
"Just let it go, Draven," one of the others called from behind, "She's on our side. We'll all be in deep shit if we fuck with the Queen's most prized possessions."
During the entire dispute, Emma listened intently back and forth trying to piece together their words. Was Red a soldier as well? She sure as hell didn't look like one. Her eyes fell upon the intricate embroidery on the back of the cloak that looked like an apple with black thorns wrapped around it. Whoever did the needlework had acute skill.
The man named Draven sighed tensely and sheathed his weapon. His dark eyes met the blonde's as he spoke even though he was talking to the brunette.
"You'll find your place one day."
Spinning around, he grouped back together with the other men and off they went back to their posts.
When the brunette turned around her eyes had faded back to green which made Emma question if what she had seen was just an affect of the cruel event.
"Are you alright?"
There were a few pulsing areas where bruises were surely forming, but other than the adrenaline rush and the subsiding fright, she was fine.
"I'm fine. Uh," she teetered on her feet, "Thank you for that."
"No problem, Emma." The blonde froze in place at the sound of her name. She hadn't told Red her name, so how did she know? A sly smirk slid across the brunette's face as she patted the princess's shoulder. "You're secret is safe with me, princess."
She made a motion to follow and she started to walk, but the blonde remained glued in place utterly stricken by her words. ...What? Running forward to catch up with the brunette, she caught her arm and pulled her to a stop.
"…How?"
"How do I know who you are?" she let out a laugh that brightened the night, "Calm down. You're not that identifiable. I happen to be more observant than most since I—"
"—you travel a lot."
"Exactly," she offered her new friend a smile and hooked her arm through Emma's, taking the blonde by surprise, "Come, I'll introduce you to the rest of the pack."
The blonde's brow creased in confusion. Pup. Dog. Yellow eyes. Pack. She shook her head. No, that's crazy. Pushing the racing thoughts to the back of her mind, she followed like a lost puppy.
