A/N: Apologies in advance for the short length of this portion. It's more of an "interlude" than a chapter; think of it as a bonus! I'm hard at work on the next (real) chapter.

Continuing thanks to textbookone for her beta and advice!

Hours after they'd set out, our young heroes trudged on in silence. Bae led the way, beating back the brush with a stick he'd scooped up. Though little had been said, Emma had gathered from his purposeful strides that he had a destination in mind. So long as she was deep in the woods and hidden from Cora, she wasn't terribly concerned about the destination, so she'd tried to quell the rising feeling of curiosity and place some trust in the boy who'd dropped his own life to protect her - again.

The silence served them well. Tired, cold and hungry, Emma found herself short of temper. Particularly when - try as she might to ignore it - she couldn't quite keep her thoughts from drifting back to the moment of their escape. Whatever had happened there, Bae seemed utterly unaffected, and that only served as greater cause for her to fixate on the situation. Had he felt it too? But then again, what was there to feel? A fleeting moment with emotions running high - absolutely nothing, Emma. Absolutely nothing.

Emma was distracted from her own thoughts when she found her stomach growling. She fished around in her bag, finally coming up with one of the oranges she'd persuaded Bae to let her keep.

"Really?"

Bae's voice broke her out of her reverie and she looked up to find him stopped in front of her, a strangely critical look upon his face. "What?" she replied, bristling at the criticism even without knowing its basis.

"You're eating? Again?"

"I'm hungry!"

"Uh huh." He shook his head. "Emma, it's the third piece of fruit you've gone for, and we've only barely just started our trek. Have you stopped to think about what we'll do once the food we've brought runs out? Perhaps considered rationing the meager supply?"

"You're the one who said to leave the bananas behind!"

Rolling his eyes, he ignored her protest. "Emma, you have got to think about this. This isn't some madcap jaunt to a nearby castle where the staff will take care of you. We are out here in the forest, no shelter, no source of food or protection - or of anything, really. We've no clue how long we'll be out here. If you're not prepared for the reality of that, we'd be better off turning back and seeking protection from my father."

Emma glowered at him. At first she said nothing, instead shoving the orange back into her satchel. But then she began walking again, snatching the stick from Bae and taking her frustration out on the bushes. As she passed, he heard her mutter - something about her mother.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I said," she said, turning briefly to face him, "If my mother can make it out here, so I can I."

He sent her a confused look. "Your mother's running too? Why not go together?"

"Not now." She rolled her eyes. "Many years ago she lived as a bandit, hiding from Cora's daughter. Ironic. Seems it's a family trait." Cracking a wry smile, she continued. "At least I can take solace in the fact that I won't be passing the trait down to my children."

"Why's that?" Bae asked, confused. "Has this Cora character run out of relatives to send after your family?"

"No," she replied, spinning back to face him. "It's more a matter that unless we find a way out of the situation so kindly bestowed on us by your father, there won't be any children to maintain the legacy. Or any legacy, really. Pity. At least from the standpoint of the monarchy. Oh well... I'm sure there's a cousin somewhere who will be happy to succeed me."

They walked in silence for a minute before Bae replied. "Are you okay with that?"

"The cousin? I'll be gone, why should I care?"

He frowned. "The lack of children."

Emma offered an indifferent shrug. "I mean, I was raised knowing I was expected to produce an heir. Responsibility to the kingdom and all. But I was also raised being told that my parents hoped I'd marry for love. They knew the latter wasn't a possibility, so why should I be held to the former?" She shrugged again, the conversation a bit too philosophical for her sleep-deprived brain. "You?"

He studied her for a long moment, contemplating his answer. Finally, he offered her his own shrug and began walking again. "Doesn't really matter much now, does it?"

She murmured her agreement and they walked on, plodding westward. At least, she thought it was westward, as the first rays of the morning had begun creeping over the horizon directly behind them. Like so many other things, she realized, it suddenly didn't matter much. Who she was - what her life was - weeks or days or even just hours prior, those things were gone and from the uncertainty of a loveless marriage to the terror of a psychotic sorceress, her lot in life at the moment was to simply exist.