Heyy y'all! That's fancy talk for 'you all' :L

Moving on... Hooray for the new followers! Welcome to my story, hope you're having fun!

Again I would like to say a quick thank you to the people who followed/favourite/reviewed. So here it is: Thank you!

The song for this chapter is... Drum roll...

Gregory and the Hawk - Boats and Birds

Warning: If you read this chapter while listening to this song, you will cry. This is the saddest song ever and if you imagine Emma Swan's life with it then BOOM you got yourself a sobbing party right there.

I think I'm talking bullshit by saying I'll update every Thursday when I've been doing it for like 3 days straight so I think I'll just try and do it when I get the O.U.A.T. fever... Which is always :P

Anyway enjoy!

Emma was running around the castle looking for a good hiding place. Her father had kept his end of the deal by getting Snow and convincing her to have a family game of hide-and-seek but that just meant more boring princess lessons tomorrow but that didn't bother her as her mind was too busy thinking of places to hide. She finally found a good place under the stairway. When she was comfortable in her hiding place a gust of strong wind hit her which was odd as she was indoors but she never thought anything of it.

She had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the giggles when she heard footsteps come and go. There felt like a shake in the ground but Emma just assumed it was from the people outside.

It had been an hour and still no one had came to look for her.

Emma huffed in annoyance and crawled out of under the stairs. She was hungry and smelled the cook's delicious food baking away in the oven. Getting excited over dinner, Emma ran up the stairs and into the dining room where she found her mom and dad already eating. Her plate wasn't set like it usually was.

"Where were you guys? I was hiding under the stairs for like an hour!" She giggled at her parents shocked expressions. They must have never thought to check under the stairway. It was a little weird how they didn't call her for dinner though.

"Guards! Why is this peasant child next to us?" Her mom said to one of the guards standing at the door. Snow gave her a glare the likes of which Emma had never seen before, it scared her.

She looked down at her dress and seen it had been ripped and covered in mud while she was outside playing. Her dress must have ripped on one the branches and she always got in trouble for getting her clothes dirty so her mom shouldn't have been this surprised at seeing it.

"I am truly sorry, your majesty, I have no idea how she got in here. Rest assured it wont happen again." The guard bowed respectfully and walked over to Emma, grabbed her arm roughly then practically dragged out away.

"Good, I hate seeing children." Snow muttered darkly.

Emma struggled trying to get away from the mean man trying to take her away and turned to her parents.

"Its me, Emma! I'm your daughter! We were playing hide-and-seek then..." She froze when her father slammed his fist on the table and gave her the coldest look she had ever received.

"We don't have any children!" He bellowed. "Get her out of my sight! Make sure she doesn't get back in or somebody's fired!"

The guard raised her up and put her over his shoulder so he could take her away faster. She was pounding on his back but her efforts were useless.

He dropped her (literally) outside the castle gate then walked back inside to close it. The gate hasn't been closed since Regina was in charge, Snow and Charming always wanted the villagers to feel welcome in their home.

Something very odd was going on and Emma was going to find out what.

The Evil Queen was watching Emma's misery through her magic mirror with an evil smirk.

She cackled wickedly when one of the castle guards literally threw the little girl out of the castle.

Regina had been watching Emma for a while now. It started when she went to Wonderland with the Mad Hatter to try and revive her father then take him home with her but her plans were foiled when a stupid black and white cat jumped through the portal just as she was about to step out of it, her father was left behind as well as the foolish hatter. She jumped out and ran after the little furball out of total rage but it had vanished in thin air.

She was furious that a simple house pet had bested her so stormed back to her pathetic little cottage she was hiding in and tracked the cat down using her magic mirror. Regina knew she was over reacting but it wasn't like she had anything better to do than sit and plan her revenge for Snow White and her perfect life.

What she seen in the mirror was not was she expected at all: She seen the cat on Emma's window and heard it speak to her.

So it's a magic furball, I should've known. After all, it did come from Wonderland.

When Regina witnessed the little girl and cat (now known as 'Cheshire', what kind of name is that?) snuggling in bed she was almost sick and ready to dismiss the image from the mirror but froze once seen flowers blossom outside in the castle near Emma's room. She was aware that the child was rather different from others but she had no idea she was magic... This could be of use to her.

And it was.

Regina successful stolen Emma's cat and left her mother a little warning as she knew Emma herself wouldn't understand it.

That was just a little warm up because her next plan took a few years to complete.

The Evil Queen managed to erase the King and Queen's memories of having a baby girl and replaced them with Snow having a miscarriage and because they never experienced the joys of having and raising a child they could never love any which just made them grow cold to the villagers and close themselves off from the world.

Now Emma was homeless, the royal couple were miserable and Regina was growing closer to her revenge.

Everything was perfect.

It had been six years since Emma had been kicked out of her home.

The memories she had of the exact day were still fuzzy because being ten was one of those weird ages where you knew about what happened when you were that age but you didn't fully understand it so the details were a little fuzzy. All she knew was that she was forced to live out on the streets without so much as a single friend to stand by her.

No one in the kingdom recognised her as a princess which just made her think if she imagined the whole thing. Maybe her life was so shit she created an alternate universe where she was a princess raised by loving parents in her mind.

She had just learn to forget about those painful memories by pushing them in the back of her mind. All Emma focused on now was food and shelter.

When she was ten a fairly young couple had seen her sitting outside in the pouring rain trying to hide from it using some leaves she had picked up from the ground. They had let her stay with them and treated her as if she were their own daughter, she even kept their last name.

Emma was starting to love again.

That is, until they found out the excellent news they were having a child of their own. That just meant she was out on the streets again but at least they gave her some food and money to last her the week. She still kept their last name as a permanent reminder that she will never have parents that will love her, she has to take care of herself from now on.

One day Emma was feeling particular rebellious and felt an urge to steal a carriage and maybe explore other kingdoms instead of being stuck in this one where the air was filled with hate and fear. She found one unattended (the owner probably went to the bathroom) and jumped at her chance. Emma jumped on the horse and guided it ungracefully away a few miles. The horse never had a saddle or reins so she kept slipping and bouncing around. Thank god no one was around to se-

"You could have just asked me for the saddle." A young, attractive man poked his head out of the drivers window in the carriage holding the saddle for the horse she needed. Emma's eyes practically popped out of her head as she tried to stay focused on keeping the horse on the path she was following. She can't believe she got caught... Maybe she should stop.

"Just keep riding, its fine." He said nonchalantly. If Emma didn't know any better she would say she heard a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I just stole your carriage, your life could be in danger." She said through panicked breaths. The guy could probably sense her anxiety so he quickly introduced himself.

"Neal Cassidy." He said with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yeah I'm not telling you my name."

"Well I don't need to have you arrested about your robbery." She glanced at him to see his smug little face light up at her annoyance of him.

"Emma.. Swan." This was the first time she had introduced herself to someone using her full name, it was foreign to her lips but it felt right.

"Good name, it suits you." Neal said with another smile.

Is he flirting with me? After I stole his carriage?

"So do you just live in here or are you just waiting for your carriage to be stolen?" She said with a curious voice. Maybe he was homeless like her and he went through the same struggles she did. Maybe she finally met somebody who she could finally relate to.

"Why don't I tell over drinks?"

Okay maybe not.

She couldn't deny how unbelievably sexy that line was coming out of his mouth (probably because she's never been asked out for drinks before) and she also couldn't deny that he seemed like a fun person but come on, would you trust an easy-going guy making casual conversation with the person that just stole his carriage? Didn't think so.

"Excuse me?" She turned around to face him to see if he was joking or not she missed the fact she just sped past one of the castle guards.

"Hey! Eyes on the trail." He pointed at it as if she didn't know where it was. She turned back around and slowed the horse down a little.

"I am not having drinks with you, you might be a pervert." Emma said trying convince herself more than him. She was just scared to let someone else in her life.

"I might be a pervert but you're definitely a carriage thief."

"I said I was sorry." She replied stubbornly.

"You didn't actually."

His playful banter almost made Emma laugh but she bottled it up. She didn't know why she did that but she was just so used to keeping her emotions in check. There was no time to think about it because she was being chased by a guard on a horse. She threw a panicked look over her shoulder at Neal.

"That's why I said eyes on the trail..." He muttered under his breath and tried to keep calm.

Emma stopped the horse and climbed into the carriage while Neal was quickly taking her place on top of the horse. Since Regina's ruling things had been better for the woman in the kingdom as they weren't seen as objects quite as often as they used to be but there are still sexist laws that stop woman from doing things; one of which being riding a horse alone.

The guard stopped his white horse next to Neal's midnight black one and started questioning him.

"Do you realise you are riding without a saddle, sir? And with a lady in the back of the carriage. Do you know what dangers you are putting yourself and her through?" The guard questioned him with a monotonous voice like he had said the same line over and over since the day of his birth.

"Yes I was aware of that but I was kind of in a rush because me and my girlfriend were having a romantic night in the woods," Neal raised his eyebrows suggestively while Emma just rolled her eyes playfully in the carriage. "but she needed to go to the bathroom, unfortunately Miss Madam back there refuses to go in the woods so I want to find the nearest rest stop as fast as I can so I can resume our earlier activities. woman... Am I right?" He scoffed in disbelief of the gender and the guard nodded in agreement.

"Alright Ill let you off the hook this time but just remember to ride safely." The guard winked playfully then rode his horse away. Neal cracked up with laughter.

"Wow that was a fast excuse. Do you often cover for girls stealing your carriage?" She said with sarcasm practically oozing from her mouth. She got back up on the horse behind Neal.

"You're welcome. Let's go, we got lucky." He said, the last part more to himself. Emma was securing her arms around his waist so she wouldn't fall when realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

"We? This isn't your carriage either, is it?"

"Hmm?" He pretending he didn't hear her because of the wind but she knew perfectly well what had happened here and she almost couldn't believe her own bad luck.

"I stole a stolen carriage..."

He tossed a grin over his shoulder.

"Now how bout that drink?"

Emma and Neal had been stealing together (and dating) for about four years now.

At the start of the relationship Emma tried not to act so smitten around him but she couldn't help it, his silly grin was so comforting. It reminded her of an old friend.

It was the same with Neal. Emma was one of the most interesting girls he had ever met. She was independent, she was smart, she was tough, she had the beauty of a princess and she was just so cute when she got flustered. The first time it happened was when he got her a locket with a swan carved into it. He didn't even steal it! He bought it with stolen money... However that's only a minor detail.

Basically they were in love but neither had the courage to admit it.

One day they had been stealing their weekly shop when Neal had seen a WANTED picture of himself on the door and they sprinted out. He explained to her that he stole some gold from a blacksmith he used to work for then hid it near a tavern that just happened to always be filled with people dirt poor enough to trade him in for the reward.

Emma was determined for them to travel across worlds together and start a family to let something small like a WANTED poster to get in the way of that. She offered to get the gold herself and though Neal was reluctant at first he agreed soon before Emma blurted out she loved him. He was so happy all he could whisper was,

"I love you too."

When Emma had successfully got the box of gold and returned to Neal he dug at the bottom of box to pick out a gold bracelet and tie it around her wrist, whispering sweet nothings in her ear with doing so. Everything that came out of his mouth was just pure bliss to her ears. She was finally getting the fairytale she felt like she was born to live.

It wasn't until she was standing in a shady looking part of the forest waiting for Neal to show up when a guard dressed all in black (definitely not one of Snow and Charming's) telling her that her boyfriend was probably three kingdoms away by now that she knew she wasn't meant to live a fairytale.

Her life sucked so much ass.

The guard tied her hands together and took her into a carriage of his own but his was completely black and smelled like death. It was like the grim reaper was coming for her and taking her to hell in this.

The guy that took her in sat her in-between two other guards dressed similar to him then hoped on the horse and rode away. Emma just sat quietly trying to process what just happened.

How could he do this to me? Did he actually love me or did he just say that because I said it first? Did those four years mean nothing to him?

For the first time in a while, Emma started to cry. Silently of course. She tried to keep her head down to hide the fact she was showing weakness. Outside it suddenly started raining heavily. One of the guards on her left seen a tear roll down her face and felt the need to comfort her.

"What's your name?" He asked kindly. She just continued staring at the ground like it was the best creation since sliced bread.

"Since you're here arresting me I'm sure you already know it." Emma was trying to keep her voice cold but it cracked with sadness at the word 'arresting'. Neal screwed her big time and not in the way she likes either!

"You're right about that, I know quite a bit about you. Let's see, you were born in an orphanage feeling alone in the world, you left early because either no one wanted to adopt you or someone already did but they broke your heart so bad you couldn't stand going back to that place and have it happening again, after that you started living out on the street and stealing for a living. You met Neal Cassidy who was also a thief and you instantly bonded with him because he was in the same situation as you were and he understood what you were going through when no on else could. Am I close?" She looked up at his dark brown eyes that were filled with so much compassion. He reminded her of Neal and how he used to look at her, like she was special.

"You left out the part he abandoned me to rot in a jail cell the rest of my life while he goes and live the life we were supposed to have..."

"Seeing as that happened just a few minutes ago I didn't think you needed reminding." He gave her a cute little half-smile that actually made her forget about her situation. He didn't seem like the guards she's ever met before, he was actually nice to her. Because he was being so nice she felt it was only polite to give him a small quirk of the lip (her version of a smile now apparently).

"My name's Emma Swan."

"Graham Humbert. Nice to meet you Emma." He wiped away some of the tear stains she had on her face. Most of the rain went away, it was just some drizzle now. The contact Graham was giving her was too close, she didn't want him touching her. She flinched away from him and started to stare at the floor once again. Graham seen the guard on the other side of her giving him a short nod as if to say 'good work'.

Regina was practically giddy.

Her plan had taken 20 years to get this far but after all, patience is a virtue and this would all be over soon enough.

As you can guess the Evil Queen was constantly spying on Emma (it was nauseating to see her that happy and in love) to find the perfect moment to capture the princess but those two were never apart for more than a couple of seconds. Just when Regina was about to give up and just to them and snatch her up herself, the Gods above answered her prayers when Emma was offering to go pick up her boyfriend's stolen gold and when she did, Neal planted evidence on her wrist as some sort of romantic gesture.

Which was weird, she always thought Emma hated gold.

The witch was almost in tears from laughing so hard at the look on Emma's face when one of her guards told her that Neal fled the kingdom. The best part of it was that she had nothing to do with that! He actually did leave her standing there herself but he didn't know that Emma was going to be arrested and taken to the Evil Queen herself.

You're probably wondering how she still has guards because she is no longer Queen and she is hiding out in some broken down redneck cottage. The truth is that she only had those three as she had taken their hearts when she was in charge.

Before they had left to capture the princess she had informed them of Emma's magical abilities that she probably couldn't even remember she had (the fact that she was questioning her own sanity when it came to her parents was just the cherry on the cake) so if there was any unnatural occurrences it was before of her emotions and they needed to calm her down.

Regina seen the carriage pull up next to her cottage. She smirked and left her temporary home then stepped in the carriage, sitting across from Emma. She gracefully put on leg over the other, sitting in a very lady-like fashion and called directions to the guard riding the horse.

The blonde was still looking at the floor in pure concentration when the Queen cleared her throat loudly. Emma was snapped out of her trance and looked up at the source of noise. She paused before saying anything.

"Hi." She smiled nervously. Regina just continued observing her with a self-satisfied smile.

"Are you aware of curses, my dear?" She asking in her sickly sweet voice.

"Umm.. I know about them but I've never really seen one before." Emma answered, getting more and more freaked out by this woman.

"In that case, let me tell you a little story. It's a story of a girl in love with a simple stable boy. The young and very, very beautiful girl had an overprotective mother that wanted the best things for her. Unfortunately the girl didn't want her mother to choose what was right and wrong but her mother had magic so most of the time she just took away her will-power and forced her to agree with whatever she had planned. That is why she kept courting the stable boy in secret and often sneaked away to see him.

One day while the girl was out seeing the stable boy an out of control horse ran by with a little screaming girl on top of it so the beautiful girl done the heroic thing and hopped on her own horse and chased the wild horse down. She rescued the little girl and checked to see if she was okay, she was. The little girl thanked her for her services and promised she wouldn't ride again but the beautiful girl told her the only way to overcome fear was to face it.

They introduced themselves and became fast friends. That was until she found out the little girl was a princess and her overprotective mother was trying to set her up with the king, the little girl's father. Long story short: The beautiful girl tried to run away with her stable boy but the little traitor princess told her mother so her mother ripped out the stable boy's heart and crushed it in front of the girl's eyes. That was the day that beautiful girl became a beautiful woman as she learned the most important lesson in life: Love is weakness." She said with a distant look in her eyes, only showing emotion when she growled out 'little traitor princess' rather aggressively.

"Why are you telling me this?" Emma asked feeling more worried for her safety. This woman was a freaking psychopath.

"Because you need to know I am not the villain in this story." Regina stated softly. There was an awkward silence in the carriage, well awkward for Emma. Regina and Graham seemed to be having the best time of their lives undressing each other with their eyes.

The carriage stopped next to a freaky looking tree that reached higher than the clouds.

"Welcome to the beanstalk, Miss Swan, I trust this is your first seeing one?"

Emma just nodded dumbly trying to see the top of it.

The Queen stepped out of her carriage and Emma was just simply pushed out.

"This shall be your new prison, Miss Swan."

Regina grabbed her arm and both of them disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.