Rags to Royals

Happy you all seemed to love the date! More fluff moments to come, but first. An Enemy returns!

Chapter 8

It's been a week since Regina and Emma's first date. Things have been going surprisingly well for the young blonde. She and Regina were growing closer with each passing day. At night, Regina would even help Emma with some of her studies and they would quiz each other. Regina still has her moments of sarcasms, but Emma's learned that she wouldn't really be Regina without. Most of the servants have become used to Emma and found her easy to chat with when passing by her during their daily routines. She and Red have especially become good friends. All in all, things have been great! But, Emma should have known it wouldn't last, nothing good in her life has ever lasted for long.

She was at the stables one late afternoon while Regina was at her lessons with Belle. Secretly, Emma has been trying to get over her fear of horses. She remembered Regina telling her that brushing a horse can create a bond between the rider and horse. So, she's been coming to the stables, brushing Regina's horse. It's been surprisingly relaxing for the young girl. She hasn't just been brushing Regina's horse though, she been doing it for all the horses. It'll be Regina's birthday tomorrow, Cora mentioned that Regina would be turning 18. Emma thought about surprising Regina with the gift she bought on their first date, it would be perfect. Tomorrow morning, she would ask Regina to teach her how to ride a horse; though still somewhat nervous, she knows she can trust Regina. She's even asked Belle and Cora to let the girls have a free day from their studies. Emma laughs to herself, shaking her head, it's been a long time since she's been able to trust anyone.

Once done with the daily brushing Emma sighs in relief. The tormenting memories have become less and less since she started brushing the horses, but it still wasn't 100% easy on the girl. Emma thinks that after the riding lessons she'll finally tell Regina why she has such a deadly fear of them, and not just because she's afraid of falling off of them.

"Emma"

A voice causes Emma to jump, she had been so deep in thought she hadn't heard anyone coming into the stables. She turns from Rocinante; once she sees who called for her, her eyes widen for a moment, only to harden as they stare at the boy. "Daniel, what are you doing here? Do you have a death wish?" She tosses the brush to the side and quickly gets into a fighting stance. Rocinante makes an agitated noise from behind her.

Daniel rolls his eyes. "Shut up. Because of you my life is ruined! My family no longer wants anything to do with me now that I'm not with the princess anymore. They wanted me to marry her so that my family could live in the nice castle with us, we could finally have the life that we deserve. Now I'm worthless to them"

"I didn't do anything. Even if I hadn't come along, your little fairytale wasn't going to happen Daniel. Cora would have never let you into her home as her son-in-law" Emma knows she should feel sorry for him. She knows what it's like to have a family see you as nothing. But, every-time she tries to feel sorry for him, she remembers seeing him pinning Regina with the intent to rape her. Instantly any ounce of sympathy fades away.

"You think you're so special! You're nothing but a peasant too, what you and Regina have isn't even real"

"Regina and I are friends. We know that, but at least I would never try to force myself onto her like you. How could you even say what you had was real when you were so willing to rape her!?" Emma uses her words like a weapon.

"Yeah, well, I wonder how much she'll care if you were to die hmm?" A snarky smile slowly makes its appearance across his face. Daniel quickly makes a grab for Emma, pulling her out of the horse's stable, kicking the door closed behind him. Rocinante makes a whine, as do the other horses, feeling something is wrong. Emma does her best to fight back, it doesn't help that he has height over her, damn him. He somehow manages to pin her to the ground.

"Let me go, idiot!" Emma practically growls.

"Shut up and stay still woman" Daniel pulls a small potion bottle out from his back pocket. "This should make you feel somewhat out of sorts, it'll slowly kill you too. It'll appear as though you just have a cold at first, by the time anyone figures out what's wrong with you it'll most likely be too late to help you. Also, you won't remember how you became sick; so, Regina won't even know I was here"

Emma heart is pounding loudly against her chest, but she refuses to show any fear to this bastard. This bastard that had Regina's love and then tossed it away like it was nothing. She glares up at him, and even wears a taunting ghost like smile. "That's a pretty heavy gamble your risking there, how can you be so sure I won't remember?"

"For the prices I paid for this potion, I have no doubt it'll work. Once you're out of the way, I'll make my way slowly back into Regina's heart. Heck, maybe I can even comfort Cora while she morns over you and get into her good graces for once. I honestly don't get what she saw in you that made her think you could be good enough for Regina"

"Clearly more than anything she ever saw you" Emma taunts back.

Of course, a comment like that only made Daniel even more angry. He opens the potion and forces into Emma's mouth. She tried to resist swallowing it, but he was forceful and determined. Emma closes her eyes as she tries to stop a pathetic whimper from escaping. Once she had finished drinking the green liquid he pulls the bottle from her mouth and looks down at her triumphantly as Emma gasped for much needed air.

"Once you pass out, you'll forget about my encounter" He laughs while he finally stands himself up off of her. She struggles but manages to sit herself up. She was already feeling light headed, damn. "It's not worth fighting it, trust me. The potion lady said fighting the sleep would only make you feel more pain. Oh, and before I leave" He suddenly strikes a hard powerful kick right into Emma's stomach, causing her to cough and gasp from the wind being knocked out of her. She hunches over in pain. "Bye Emma, it was nice meeting you one last time" He waves before finally taking his leave.

It takes a few seconds before Emma is able to regain her normal breathing. She needed to get back to the castle before she passes out. Ignoring the pain, she crawls over to a stable door to help pull herself up. The effort alone was exhausting her energy to the max. Rocinante makes a sound, causing Emma to look over at the horse. "Don't worry boy, I won't let that bastard win" Emma pets the horse before finally slowly make her way outside. She had to stay awake! She has her arms wrapped around her waist, she's almost certain he broke a few ribs with that kick. Each step felt like hell, but she just had to make it. She couldn't forget.

When she makes it to the back entrance of the castle, guards instantly rush over to her aid. Questioning what happened. Emma wanted to tell them everything, but it was all too much. Her head hurt so bad it felt like it was burning every ounce of her recent memories. Instead she could only whisper out one name before passing out and letting a guard catch her before she falls. "Daniel" Unfortunately, her efforts had been futile. Despite, having revealing Daniel's name before passing out, her voice had been too soft for the guards to hear.

To Be Continued!