A/N: Hey everyone! I'm posting a day early than i normally do because tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This chapter is shorter than the last but i hope you enjoy it. Again just as a reminder this is rated M for violence and abuse not just for sex. I'm not sure how i feel about this chapter it gave me some trouble. Again not beta'ed, so all mistakes are mine. Please review. If you have any questions PM me and i will answer the best i can.

Disclaimer: I own nothing...sadly

****Chapter 4****

The Evil Queen walked into her parlor her long flowing black dress pooled around her feet as she glided into the room, as she reached her Mirror on the wall.

"Mirror!" she says sternly calling him forward.

"Yes my Queen?" his face appears out of a blue puff of smoke.

"Have the soldiers obtained new slaves for the games yet?" she asks impatiently.

"Yes my Queen they will be here soon." his face faded away to show the Queen, her men headed toward the castle in a large carriage.

"Good!" she says with an evil laugh. "Make sure everything is ready, the Kings will be here soon and we do not want to disappoint them. Also make sure Graham knows what to do with the new ones."

"Yes my Queen," the Mirror says as he fades away in a puff of blue smoke.

"Regina, my daughter," her Father says as he walks into the room.

"Yes, Daddy?" Regina turns to face him.

"Don't you think these games have gone on long enough?" he searches her face hoping to find the woman he once knew.

"Why would you say that Daddy?" the Queen asks as she sits down in her chair next to the roaring fireplace.

"They are not needed, my child...the Kingdom has enough money to do as we please for many years to come."

"Daddy these games are not about money, they are about power...My power, they will not defy me Daddy!" she says loudly as she looks up at him.

"My dear child, Snow is locked up. You have won... When will your revenge be over? When will you let yourself be happy again?" he asks as an edge of sadness enters his voice.

"I had my chances, Once with Daniel...Then with Her...and both times they were ripped away from me!" She stands as she yells at her Father, not wanting to have this conversation again. She had not enacted the curse wasn't that enough?

"My child, please..." he pleaded with her.

"Fine Daddy! After these Games I will stop them! They will be the final Games and the best ever!" she says as she walks out of the room angrily.

He watches his daughter leave the room, shaking his head slightly as he remembers how devastated she was when Sheleft, with no word. He wished he could take away her pain, but knew only one person could do that. Little did he know that one person was on her way towards the castle at that very moment.

*****SQSQSQSQSQ*****

Emma jumps as she feels the ice cold water thrown over her broken body. She yelps loudly as she feels the painful reminder of her ribs being kicked in. Groaning as she pulls herself up leaning on the wall behind her. She feels the cold iron around her wrist.

"Wake up woman!" a large guard yells, laughing as he walks away from the broken woman.

"Fuck..." She groans as she puts her hand to her face as feels her broken nose which means she more than likely has two black eyes, with her hand she feels the area around her eyes, feeling the swollen angry skin. Her head pounds with a force she has never felt before, as if someone was taking one of her forging hammers to her brain.

"Let me help" says a woman next to her.

Emma looks over to see a woman with black hair sitting next to her, she is dressed like a warrior but is shackled like Emma herself. She is a slave as well, a prisoner to the Queen. She takes in her appearance smooth olive toned skin, almond shaped eyes. She knows she is not from around this part of the realm.

"Sure" Emma says to the woman.

The woman reaches over with and unshackled hand, pulling Emma slightly towards her as she uses her other hand to hold the blonde's jaw. Looking into dark brown eyes she quickly inhales as the woman re-alignes her nose with a satisfying crunch. Emma has bite her lip hard to keep her from calling out attracting attention to them. She can breath a lot better through her nose now though.

"Thank you" she says to the woman next to her panting heavily as she tries to deal with the pain coursing through her body. "How long have I been out?"

"A few days, I am called Mulan," the woman says as she extends her forearm to the blonde.

Emma gladly takes it giving her a firm but quick shake as they clasp forearms "Emma. My name is Emma."

"Where are we headed?" Emma asks the black haired woman next to her.

"The castle, we are cattle for the Queen's games," Mulan says bitterly as she looks to her left checking for any guards.

They are in a large wooden covered carriage; their left wrists are shackled with iron cuffs to the boards at the bottom of the wagon. One guard is sitting at the front, while another walks back and forth in the small space. Emma believes the one walking is the same one who threw freezing water on her. She makes a mental note of his face so she can remember him later.

"The Queen's games?"

"Have you not heard?" Mulan asks in a loud surprised whisper.

"I heard she takes slaves, freepeople from their homes, but I merely thought it to be a rumor?" Emma says as she tries to readjust herself trying to take some of her body weight off her angry swollen ribs.

"No, its all true! She holds games to gamble on. Her kingdom has become very rich because of it. There are rumors that King Midas will be at these. He plans to ask the Queen to marry him to unite their kingdoms." Mulan begins to pull out some fabric out of her leg pocket and a small tin can of some sort.

Emma felt her stomach roll as soon as she heard the King trying to marry herQueen. She quickly pushes away the feelings that swell up inside her. Not wanting to think of the Queen right now.

"So they are all true then?" she feels a wave of nausea run through her body. She isn't sure if her stomach can take any more truth.

Mulan hands her the tin can, "Its a working salve for your cuts. There is not much I can do for your ribs till we are unchained." Mulan says sympathetically.

"This will be good. Thank you Mulan" Emma says as she begins to add the salve to her wounds as best as she can. She sighs in relief as she feels the throbbing around her nose lessin.

"Listen up Slaves!" one of the guards bellows loudly, "We are near the camp where you will be held, you will be unchained and sent to the baths for a scrubbing. If one you give us any trouble everyone will pay. Is that understood?" He asks looking over at the slaves cowering down some in fear, some in disgust.

Emma looks over at Mulan as they both make a small silent pact to stay together. The guard begins to unchain them one at a time. As he reaches Emma a little grin crosses his face as he whispers in her ear "You can act up if you like sweet thing, I'd be happy to help break such a sweet face like yours" he says as his putrid breath showers her.

Emma turns her face, trying to get away from the rotten smell of his body. She forces herself not to answer. He laughs a little as he moves on to Mulan making another crude comment to her. She sees Mulan turn a shade of red in anger. She yells loudly in her head praying to the gods that Mulan doesn't do anything stupid. Emma releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding as the guard moves to the next slave. She rubs her wrist trying to get some feeling back into her hand, as she gives it a small shake. With Mulans help she stands, as all the slaves lineup when the carriage comes to a stop. Once again they are chained to each other. as they walk the iron chain makes a small clicking sound that makes Emma clench her teeth hard.

They are slowly ushered like livestock into a small area where they give their names to a clerk. Emma makes sure to only give her first name, most common people do not have a sir name. They move into a large room where they are ordered to remove their clothing. One by one they are unchained and stripped naked. Both men and women leave their clothes in large piles by the door as they are hit with a large water cannon, then scrubbed by large wire brushes with some sort of strange horrible smelling soap, leaving their skin red and angry. Emma and Mulan move slowly into their line as the blacked haired woman helps Emma undress. They both see the dark purple and black bruises that cover Emma's ribs and chest. The blonde winces in pain as she raises her arms to pull the rest of her shirt off. Mulan's tan skin is on display as well as Emma's milky white one. The Guards snarl and catcall at the woman, making both woman shiver in disgust.

"My bracelet, I can't take it off my boy gave it to me," Emma whispers to Mulan.

"Give it here," Mulan says as she holds her hand out.

Emma hesitates for a moment before handing it over to the other woman, she sees the woman hide it, somehow twisting it into her hair. Emma gives her a thankful smile that Mulan quickly returns. As they make their way in front of the cannon. Emma feels the blast of the powerful cannon and is almost knocks her backward from the sheer raw force of the water. She whimpers softly as her ribs throb sending pain up and down her torso. Mulan is able to catch her before she stumbles and falls.

"Hold still girl!" a guard yells at her as he begins to scrub her body, not taking any care with her broken body. Tears sting Emma's eyes as the pain becomes unbearable. She bites her bottom lip hard drawing blood to keep from yelling out, she refuses to give the guards any satisfaction in her pain. Her friend is given the same treatment, but is able to stand it better simply because her body is not broken like Emma's.

They are moved to another area where they are given thin tiny robes made of rough cotton or wool; they are hideous in every sense of the word. Their ugly brown color reminds Emma of horse manure. They smell like a wet dog that hasn't bathed in ages. They dress getting back only a small amount of their dignity seeing as they have no under clothes.

Next they are taken to a dark, hot stuffy room the only light that emanates in the room is a large fire pit in the middle with small iron rods laying in the fire. Emma knows this heat, it's the same heat that comes from her small hut back home where she forges her steel. The screams that pierce the room are strong enough to peel paint off brick, and send fear into any warrior. The smell of death is so close she can almost taste it with each breath she takes. Her heart begins to pound in her chest as she moves one step closer to her fate. Emma looks over at Mulan in fear of what is to happen next. Her fight or flight reflexes kick in and she wants to run, run so far away to find her boy and her wonderful kind, beautiful girlfriend. Yet she can't, she can't will her feet to move away. She can't leave her new friend, she knows there is no way she can fight through the many guards that cover the room or camp. So she waits and the wait is torture on her soul as she waits for the markthey will bestow on her.

Mulan is in front of her, they clasp hands in comfort as they slowly move forward. Their iron chains clink as they walk, the blonde can feel the sway of the metal added weight as they move forward. Emma's head is spinning and knows there is not much more her body can take. Every fiber of her being is in throbbing pain. This will be too much for her and she knows blacked-haired woman is unlocked and taken into position. Emma watches in terror as Mulan is faced away from her, her robe is yanked down. The blacksmith slowly picks up a hot poker, he looks at her with a bright smile plastered on his horribly misshapen face as he slams the rod into her friends lower back. The scream that pierces the air, sends shivers down everyones back as the woman nearly passes out of the pain. The air has a faint smell of cooked meat and it turns Emma's stomach in every way possible, turning to the side she loses all the context of her belly on to the blood and tear stained dirt at her feet.

A guard pushes her towards the waiting blacksmith, after removing the iron from her wrists. She is flipped to face the fire, the back of the robe is pushed down exposing her to the room. She feels the blacksmith's large dirty hand caress her spine as he gets closer to her. Emma clenches her teeth and closes her eyes, as soon as she does she sees sweet honey brown eyes that she remembers so well, a wave of comfort flows through her body as she remember that beautiful smile she is at peace for a moment. Then Emma feels the heat become stronger on her lower back before a hot white pain shoots through her body, she doesn't even recognize her own scream as it is ripped from her lungs. The last thing she thinks before she blacks out falling to the dirty floor is 'I love you'.

*****SQSQSQSQ*****

Looking at her books she reads the prophecy again, she know this will all happen in time. She knows it was all meant to happen. It was fate or destiny, maybe a little of both. Looking one more time she reads it aloud to the room of the High Council.

Light and Dark touch as the Champion saves her Queen

Her heart Broken, her light stolen for all to see

With a simple kiss shall the mending begin.

A mark is so deep no magic can heal,

A brand for the world to see,

Through this union a child will be born of True Love of the purest kind.

A gift to the land whose heart is filled with the strongest magic of all.

The Daughter's of Light and Dark will unite against the evil

As the White Knight saves The Princess of Hearts.

It was a little prophecy that was set in riddles, but after time each word had played out. They were at first unsure of who it belonged to until the day Snow betrayed Regina did the last line write itself. The Blue Fairy now knew who it belonged to, or at least the Dark part and until Emma was born did she know who the Light was. She was there that night, that fateful night when mother was ripped away from child. When True love was ripped apart. She tried to help, but it was forbidden. Thats when she cast the spell on the whole castle to prevent anyone from aging. It was her way to help. The only way she could at the time.

The Blue Fairy had watched from the side lines, watching Emma grow up until she became a young woman. When she had met Regina by chance near the river. It was all set into motion. The two women quickly fell in love then they did something she never knew they would do. The Queen had been changing her ways until the day when it went so wrong, ripping the two apart once again. The Queen was plunged into darkness, without her White Knight to keep her afloat and with that the Games were born.

Her heart hurt for them, but she knew she must wait. All of this she had to stand by and watch until she could help again. She looked at each of the High Council members, they were the elders of all magical creatures, she waited. One by one they nodded, giving her a blessing to act. Her heart soared as all 13 members gave a simple nod, now she could help. All players were in place, the final battle was ready and she would make sure they would get their chance at their Happy Ending.

TBC

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