DISCLAIMER:: do not own
A/N:: anyone been wondering what emma was up to those four months between the breaking of the curse and when she meets regina again at the ball? well that's what the next few chapters will be about: things from emma's side. it gives you a little insight into her dealings with the exiled wolf as well as her deal with rumpelstiltskin and what drove her to it. these have been some of my favorite chapters to write for this story and i hope everyone likes them. that being said, enjoy and review.
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What was this pounding in her head? Where was she? She had told Regina not to let her drink anymore. She tried to move her hand to rub her temple and found her arm restricted. The space she was sitting in was small, just big enough for her to sit up without bumping her head. It was too dark to see anything. She reached out her hands and they slid across sanded wood. She was in a box of some sorts. She continued to slide her hands around, feeling out her prison. She felt no rush of wind, no break in the wood that would indicate how to escape. She beat against the walls, kicking and hitting to no avail at the smooth surface. She thrashed and then, her head slammed hard against the wood and she sank back into blackness.
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"It has to be her, Charming. A mother knows these things."
"But you said she claimed Emma had died."
"Maybe she doesn't even know Emma's alive. Maybe she believes she's dead. Maybe Emma was supposed to die but the magic of the tree saved her again. I don't know what happened, all I know is that is our daughter."
Emma's eyes slid open at the voices. She was in a bed she'd never been in before, even fancier than Regina's and that was saying something. Sheer curtains hung down from a canopy over her head, making everything beyond them look hazy but still visible. Two figures were standing off to her right. One was a woman with long black hair and the other looked suspiciously like David, but there was something off about him. She narrowed her eyes to get a better look at them and it caused a pain to shoot up her head. She groaned.
The curtains were pushed aside and Mary Margaret was leaning over her. No, not Mary Margaret, Snow White.
"Emma, darling, I'm here."
Emma managed a small smile. "Hey… mom." The word seemed foreign on her tongue but the look that lit up Snow White's face was worth it. She looked so happy.
"You remember me?"
"Of course I do."
Tears broke free from the corner of Snow White's eyes. "I knew you'd find a way back to us." She pulled Emma up into her arms and hugged her hard. Emma was weak, but she managed a small hug back. Finally, she'd come home to the parents she'd always longed for. And yet… something was missing. Regina.
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She stared into the mirror. The dress was beautiful. It was light blue, long sleeved and a very basic cut. She looked like the Princess they kept claiming she was. It had been three days since she woke up and she had been able to glean information off the guards about what had transpired once the curse broke. Regina had gone back to her castle. Emma had tried to get the location from them, but no one seemed to know where it was.
There was only one thing left for her to do. Unfortunately, it was the one thing she really didn't want to do.
"You look beautiful."
Emma turned to find Snow White in her doorway.
"I really wish you would let us throw a ball in your honor. It'd be a way to introduce you to all the people who've been waiting for your arrival, all the people you saved."
Emma smiled. "I already know them; they just don't remember."
"You seem sad. Do you miss it?"
Emma shrugged. "That world was an unforgiving place. There were a lot of hardships. But there was also a lot of good. I had someone there, someone who cared about me. I had… love."
"And this love of yours… he's still back there?"
"She. No, she came through too." Emma turned away.
Snow White smiled. "Well, we must summon her here. I just want you to be happy Emma. Who is she?"
"Regina."
Snow White's expression of joy crumbled instantly. "Emma, darling, no. She's evil. She bewitched you, don't you see? You mustn't believe any lie she told you. She's infamous for her trickery."
"You're wrong about her. Her soul, if you just take the time to look, it's beautiful."
Snow shook her head. "Good does not love evil Emma. We cannot allow this." With that, Snow left.
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She was just as gorgeous as ever. She stepped out of the carriage and Emma's breath caught. She put a hand to the glass and stared down at Regina, willing her to just look up. Today, she'd sign the treaty. She still believed Emma was dead; Snow and James had made sure that she believed Emma gone. Knowledge of her existence was magically prevented from falling into evil hands, thanks to a complicated spell by the fairies. Even Sidney, though that wasn't his name here, was unable to see her. Once they had her signature on that parchment, Regina would leave this half of the realm forever. Emma couldn't let that happen.
She turned from the window and ran to the door. She threw it open and was confronted by a solid wall of body as two guards barred her from exiting. Emma, never one to take containment lightly, brought her boot straight up into the crotch of the right guard and socked the left one square in the jaw. Both men stumbled back in surprise and she seized the opportunity. She ran out and down the corridor. She could hear the guards behind her as they recovered from the surprise attack. She tore around a corner and down a set of stairs. She just had to make it to Regina. As long as Regina saw her and knew she was alive, she would do everything in her power to get to Emma. The only thing keeping them apart now was Regina's belief that she was still back in the other world.
She rounded the final corner and made a mad dash into the conference style room that served as the castle's meeting chambers. All the people in the room turned their eyes to her, including Regina.
She smiled. She'd made it. But then she realized Regina's expression didn't mirror her own. Regina was looking at her with… was that disappointment?
"I told you she'd try and get to her. You don't mess with true love." Snow looked at James.
James sighed and shook his head. He waved his hand at a man standing silently in the corner and the man stepped forward and mumbled a few words and Regina disappeared. Standing in her place was Red.
The young woman shrugged apologetically. "I'm so sorry Emma."
Emma looked between all the faces in the room, finally settling on her mother's. "You tricked me?" The betrayal cut like a knife, nearly causing her to lose the contents of her stomach on the floor. She felt sick.
Snow must have seen the hurt in her eyes because she stepped forward, reaching out for her daughter.
Emma flinched away out of her touch.
"Emma, we just had to be sure that if we risked bringing her here to sign the treaty, you wouldn't try and get to her. Now we know that we have to meet her somewhere else."
"This is my life! You have no right to interfere with my decisions!"
James stepped forward. "We are your parents! You don't know of what she's done! She is evil and I love you too much to let you walk willingly into her trap! I will always protect you."
"I think you're a little more concerned with protecting your reputation than you are with protecting me! You have no idea what I've suffered in my life!" Emma's venomous tone was reminiscent of a certain mayor's.
"Don't speak to me that way! I am your father!"
"You have a funny way of showing it." Emma shook her head and took a step back. "I can't even look at you." She glanced briefly at Snow, her frown only deepening. "Either of you." She turned and ran from the room, not paying attention to where she was going. She just knew she couldn't stop running.
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It was nearly an hour later when she collapsed, exhausted on the edge of a small lake. Tears flowed freely from her eyes though she hadn't remembered when they started falling. They'd come after her, she knew. Snow would give her a little bit of a head start, enough space that she wouldn't feel smothered, and then she'd send them to retrieve her. She stared at her reflection on the surface of the water. The face looking back at her seemed so sad. She had dull eyes and pale skin. Her hair was done up in a style that she didn't recognize as being truly her. This was Princess Emma, and she was unhappy.
And then another face was staring back at her. She fell back a little in shock. But after a moment of surprise, she realized it was Sidney staring back at her from the surface of the water, or what could be Sidney's twin. He wasn't clean shaven like the former newspaper editor was, but she recognized his face.
"I thought evil beings were magically prevented from knowing of my existence."
The face frowned. "I am neither good nor evil Princess. I'm neutral; I choose no side. I'm merely an observer in the service of the Queen."
"But you can't tell her you saw me here, can you?"
"No, I'm afraid their little spell prevents me from confirming that you are alive."
Emma nodded, biting her lip. "Is she okay?"
"Would you like to see for yourself?"
Emma nodded and Sidney's face disappeared, replaced at once by a view of a stone room. It was very Regina, colorless except for a splash of crimson here and there. But it was the woman in the room that most garnered her attention. She looked just as Emma felt, empty somehow though she was back where she belonged, or at least where society deemed she belonged. Her hair was up, but Emma could tell that it would be long if let down. She seemed restless and Emma's arms ached to reach out and hold her.
"Will you show me the way to her castle?"
Sidney's face reappeared. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. She, like your parents, has put a spell on me to prevent me from showing anyone, good or evil, the way to the castle without her expressed permission. And I cannot ask her permission without revealing that you are alive, which I am also unable to do. Magic has rendered me incapable of giving either of you what you most desire: each other."
She could hear the hoof beats approaching. She didn't have much time. "If I return tomorrow, will you show me her again?"
The head bobbed in agreement. "That, Princess, is fully in my power. I may not be able to bring you together, but I can give you that much. Return to the lake and call upon me, and I will come"
Emma smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time since she'd awakened in this world.