Thanks for your patience for this chapter! turned out to be a pretty long one and I wanted it to make sense! Thanks for reading :)
"There are no secrets that time does not reveal."
Chapter 9: Secrets
Emma peeled her eyes open to an early and unwelcome dawn rising through her window. The cracks and groans of her body as she yawned wide and stretched were a stark reminder that it had been way too long since she had a restful night's sleep. Waves of anxiety kept her up night after night, and last night as her eyes felt ever so heavy, her thoughts replayed every moment she found herself in the dirt while training with Lancelot. Every blow of a wooden sword that painted her body with bruises, and every crash to the ground that shook her to her core. And though every hit made her tough, winning was rare, and she felt grossly incapable of winning today's competition. To keep her lead today, she needed third place, however, the thought of taking out two of her competitors seemed like a long shot.
A quick splash of chilled water sent a cool shiver down her spine and dribbled down her chin. As she stared at the dark circles under her eyes, she knew that more than cool water was going to wake her up enough for today. She buttoned up her freshly washed white as snow blouse, and pulled a thin vest over her shoulders. Her boots fit as perfectly as they were measured, but even as she laced them up she felt the morning hadn't quite welcomed her. Not even the birds woke with her to sing her a morning tune.
Her wooden door thudded shut as she entered into the dim light of her hallway. She peered down further into the darkness where a burnt out stick hung slightly crooked above her parents room. She wondered if they slept any worse than her, knowing just as much as she did that they were hidden by only a thin coat of lies. How she'd made it this far with no one figuring out who she was was like a plague hanging over their heads, waiting for a moment to drop and wipe them out. If this didn't play out the way it had to, their family's reputation could be completely ruined.
For a second, the thought of turning around and running to her parents and pleading with them to accept her apology and drop out as if nothing had happened pushed through her mind. She would tell them she was being foolish. She would tell them this was all just the dreams of a spoiled girl who had too much time on her hands. There were plenty of knights here from their kingdom that would be happy to take her place. No one would even notice. She would drop to her knees in tears and they would accept her. Her mother would wrap her in a hug and tell her how much she loved her and she believed Emma would find exactly what she was looking for back home. However, there was something holding Emma back as she searched the darkness of the hall. Maybe it was the fresh scent of a morning going to waste, or maybe instead, the scent of perfume wafting from the shoulders of a beautiful woman, teasing her senses. Warm hands intertwining with hers, or bodies inches apart as they danced through an evening of music and fire warmth. She shook the thought from her head, though it never would truly go away. She knew she was marked.
The cool morning breeze snuck up the sleeves of her shirt as she strolled out to the stables. The horses stirred at her presence but seemed to have as much trouble waking up as Emma. Her own mare's head bobbed as she approached her pin and Emma patted her cheek with a thin smile and planted a small kiss on her nose.
"If only I was as easily amused as you. Then where would we be, huh?"
The mare bobbed her head, pleading for more of Emma's touch and Emma laughed.
"Alright, I know you're hungry. Here." Emma picked up a pale of oats and hooked it on the inside of the pin's gate and her mare ducked her head in immediately. Emma watched how content her horse was. More content than any animal on the planet if Emma was ever asked. Tough as nails, but also definitely just here for the food.
Suddenly a shuffle from the entrance to the barn near her caused her to jump, momentarily disrupting her mare's breakfast. Emma gathered herself as the noises continued, and she stepped carefully to the entrance. As she poked her head through the wide open door, a young girl screamed out, tossing up the bucket and brushes she was holding, splashing freezing water all over Emma. That's one way to wake up on a slow morning.
"Oh no! Sir, I do apologize, you scared me! I had no idea anyone was out here!" The young girl thrashed around for a dry towel, immediately throwing herself into Emma to try and dry her off. "You must be freezing now!" She rubbed the towel down Emma's chest and Emma backed away quickly.
"No, no. Please. Allow me." She reached out for the towel with a dripping hand and the girl nervously gave it to her. The girl then cupped her mouth, but not before Emma made out a faint smile.
"This is funny to you?" Emma rubbed the towel over her arms and chest but couldn't contain her own amusement. Their predicament was quite funny.
The girl coughed out a laugh. "I am so so sorry, sir. I'm not used to anyone being out here so early."
"That goes for both of us I guess." Emma's shirt stuck to every curve of her body but the towel, now soaked, was doing more harm than good and so she hung it on a nearby post. She fanned the loose shirt at her stomach, hoping the rest of it would air dry before she caught a chill. "So, I guess now that we've been improperly introduced, what's your name?" Emma smiled up as she hung over to try and keep her shirt from sticking to her stomach.
"Oh, Katheryn." The young girl stuck out her hand matter of factly. Her blonde curls bounced behind her in her pulled up ponytail, and she smiled big.
"Rowland." Emma shook it quickly. "It seems you were about to…"
"Brush down the horses, yes." She chuckled.
"Great. Since we are both out here then, and I definitely came out here to avoid the castle, how about I help? It's the least I could do after scaring you." Emma stood straighter, easing herself into the cold touch of her shirt.
Katheryn raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"You'd rather not have help?" Emma questioned.
"No, sir. Sorry, I just… yes. I'll grab another bucket of water if you want to collect the brushes and meet me inside.
Emma smiled. "Great!"
The girl carried in two buckets of water and set one down next to Emma who had taken up shop in her own mare's pin. Katheryn took the pin next to her, a large black stallion with a mane to match, bobbed his head in anticipation of his own oats. Katheryn set the bucket up casually and then set to brushing him down. Emma followed suit, her mare's skin flinching at the cool water, but made no motion to deny the first bath she'd had since they began their journey to the Enchanted Kingdom.
Emma found herself in a bit of a trance as she brushed the thin hairs of her mare, dirt spilling off of her and her fresh blonde color coming through.
The young girl's voice brought her back. "Congratulations by the way."
Emma brought her bucket to the other side of her horse. "For what?"
The girl laughed. "For winning the competition yesterday." The girl paused her work a moment to turn to Emma. "You're strange." She dunked her brush back into her bucket.
Emma smiled a little. "Why do you say that?"
Katheryn shook her head. "You're not like the others."
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment then." Emma grunted, picking up her bucket and heading to the next stall. A small dark brand on the back right side of the horse's thigh showed a muddied crest of what looked like the Scarlett family seal. This must be William's horse. Beautiful creature for such a dull personality, Emma thought. "And what about you?"
"What about me?" Katheryn pinned the latch back on the gate to the black stallion's stall and joined Emma with Scarlett's horse and started on the opposite side.
"Your name being Katheryn can't be the only notable thing about you. How'd you end up here?"
Katheryn paused a moment, realizing not many people had ever been interested enough to ask her this type of question. Matter of fact, she might know only one other person that even knew her name. "Uh, well, I was an orphan and the King took me in."
"Is that all?"
Katheryn furrowed her brows.
"Come on," Emma stopped brushing and looked at Katheryn intently. "There is one hundred percent more to that story."
Katheryn scoffed. "Okay, as far as I've ever been told, I was dropped off at the church when I was a few months old, taken in by the nuns. I worked at the church until I was about seven and then we were tasked with the Queen's funeral. One day the King and Regina came to visit to make preparations and I found Regina crying in one of our bathrooms. I sat with her a while and we have been friends ever since. A few weeks after the funeral, the King came by the church and asked that I come live with them. It was a bit of a shock but I think the nuns were getting a bit tired of my… youthfulness anyway."
Emma laughed. "Is that code for trouble-maker?"
"If trouble-maker translates to not wanting to be a nun, then yes."
The two women laughed and finished up Scarlett's horse, moving over to the next stall. This one had a large piercing in it's nose and jeweled eyebrows which left no doubt in Emma's mind that this one must belong to Ababwa.
"So, is this what the Queen's friends normally do so early in the morning?"
"It's not what you think. Regina is more than caring to me. We've been friends for so long now, but I couldn't just come waltzing in and mooch off of her. I wanted to be helpful. So, I do things around the palace and she lets me live here."
"Who's getting the better end of that deal?" Emma joked.
"It's really not like that."
"Right." Emma's smile thinned.
Katheryn could hear the skepticism in her tone. "And what about you? You had dinner with her last night, what are your first impressions?"
Emma sighed heavily as a lump in her chest grew at the thought of sitting at the table eating and talking of adventures with Regina the night before. The wafting of her perfume, the warmth of her hands. "It was fine." She lied.
Katheryn's brush thudded into her bucket. "Fine?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, it was dinner. I can't imagine learning much of anyone from one…"
"With the Queen. Dinner with the Queen." Katheryn shot back, annoyance in her voice.
Emma picked up her bucket and headed out to get some fresh water, Katheryn following close behind but leaving her own work equipment behind.
"I don't see what the big deal is."
"The big… are you dull?"
"I think it's fair to say we know enough about each other already to know that's not true." Emma raised an eyebrow. She set her bucket down and began to pump fresh water into it. The trickle came out much slower than she would have liked.
"You do realize that she went out on a limb to make that dinner happen. Do you know how hard it is to make a one on one dinner with a QUEEN happen? You should count yourself lucky, especially since you are only a knight." Katheryn was practically screaming.
"Well if you think it's so grand then why don't you have dinner with her next time. It's the least she could do for all this work you seem to do as a friend."
Katheryn huffed. "You…"
Emma cut her off. "Look…" Emma dropped her now full bucket of water next to another pin and lifted a full bucket of oats to the next horse. "I know you care about your friend. I didn't not have a good time, but when someone just runs out on you in the middle of the evening, it doesn't leave you with the warm fuzzy feelings you seem to think I was supposed to have." Emma could feel the lump growing as her words could never have been more wrong as she tried to keep her cool and not give herself away.
Katheryn paused. Her eyes searching Emma for any sign that she might be making this up because she had a slight inclination to believe there was something she was hiding.
"What?" Emma shook her head and sighed.
"She… ran out?"
"Well I mean she didn't physically run, but pretty much yeah. We started dancing and she just… left. In a dignified queenly way I suppose. Actually running would be a little dramatic…"
Katheryn raised up a hand and stopped her. "I… I have some other duties I need to attend to. You can finish up here right?" The woman turned on her heels as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Ummm…" Emma raised her hands in defeat, looking down the line of four more horses that needed to be bathed. "I guess so."
As rows and rows of books lined the walls around Regina, she sat comfortably in her velvet cushioned chair, as she did every morning before the sun rose, with her head buried in her favorite book and a small flame rising from the central fireplace. Her favorite book probably wasn't on the list of normal appropriate queen literature, but nevertheless, Regina couldn't pull herself away from a good adventure story. This morning though, she was struggling to focus on the words across the page and found her mind wandering to other, more real, situations. Particularly, her evening with Rowland the night before. In fact, her sleepless night was almost completely dedicated to replaying her awful behavior over and over in her head.
Growing up, Regina saw that love between two persons wasn't something you chased or ever truly found in the world of alliances and politics. That was a thing for stories and common people who had time and energy to devote to one another, not for those who were responsible for the business of running a kingdom. Her father and mother made sure to keep their relationship professional, all business, as they ruled with an iron thumb. Her mother allowed that professionalism to spill over into her relationship with Regina, straining what little relationship they pretended to have, however her father was not so easily able to hide his love for Regina. His only child. His only daughter. His only love.
When it came time to find Regina a suitable husband, and the kingdom a faithful King, it was a difficult decision. Regina's mother was quick to pass her off to the most wealthy of princes, but her father was harder to please. And yet when the time came to give her away, he put his duty above all else. The law of the land would always stand firm. Her mother's sudden death however put a strain on every relationship she'd ever had, even her own marriage.
This library was as much a refuge for her father as it was now for her. The night she was pledged to her future husband, a rightfully emotional evening, her father asked her to his library. It was so soon after her mother's funeral that she was still required to be in her mourning garb. It was like time made no sense to her father when she died and all he could do was sink himself in his work, his duty, to run the kingdom and continue his line with marriage to his only daughter. But Regina could tell, he did not like any of it.
She had only been in his library a handful of times with a tutor when she was a girl, but according to tradition, libraries were not usually for women, and long term education was also out of the question. Her father disagreed, and from that day until his death he taught Regina to love books, to love their stories, to love how it felt to read them and imagine far off lands and love people she had never even met. And while she took time to read the great artists and philosophers that had come before her in order to try and understand the complexities of human nature, she always found time to feel like a child again, seeking adventure with the one person she had ever experienced true love with, her father.
A clank of silver metal startled Regina from her thoughts.
"So sorry, your majesty. I didn't mean to startle you." Katheryn giggled.
"It's quite alright, dear. I just wasn't expecting you so soon."
"So soon? It's quite after sunrise. How long have you been in here?"
Regina inspected the almost nonexistent candle next to her and shook her head. "Far too long it seems." She blew out the candle, the light outside from a risen sun was now enough to light the room. After pouring them both a small cup of tea, Katheryn sat excitedly across from Regina and blew on her tea impatiently. She stared at Regina.
"What?" Regina smirked, taking a small sip of her tea, letting the warm liquid heat her chilled body.
"I was out washing the horses this morning and I became curious how your night went last night… with Rowland." Katheryn barely even paid attention to her tea, watching Regina's reaction to her question carefully.
Regina tensed up and avoided her friend's eye contact as the evening flashed through her brain yet again. How embarrassed she felt for allowing herself to become so vulnerable, and then to just leave him in there and run away.
Katheryn finally picked up her tea. "Come on. I need all the details." Katheryn crossed her legs impatiently and slurped her tea.
"It was really nothing to get all out of sorts about. Honestly, it was fine."
Katheryn huffed back. "It was fine." She murmured under her breath and rolled her eyes.
"What's with the morning attitude?" Regina raised an eyebrow and added another cube
of sugar to her tea. One more than she usually took in the morning.
Katheryn clanked her fingernails on her cup. "I just find it hard to believe that an evening like that was just fine."
"Actually…" Regina started, biting her lip nervously. "In the spirit of being honest, I think I messed up last night." She admitted to her friend.
Katheryn sat up quickly. "Details! Now!"
"Katheryn you really shouldn't bother yourself with all this. It was just…"
"Regina. Tell me what happened." Katheryn's tone was flat and demanding.
Regina sat her half drunk cup of tea down on the table. "I don't know how to describe it…"
"Try! I'm dying over here. You know how I feel about all this."
Regina rolled her eyes. "It won't really matter how either of us feel about it in the long run if he doesn't win the competition."
"Don't be so depressing! Fate has a funny thing about working things out. Now, enough deflection. What happened?"
Regina sighed in defeat. "He's definitely different. He doesn't seem to see the world the way everyone else does. We enjoyed ourselves while we ate and we just talked."
Katheryn nodded understandingly. "And what did the two of you talk about?"
Regina laughed a little. "War."
Katheryn's head fell back in disgust. "Ugh!"
"It wasn't as bad as it seemed. It wasn't like we were talking about strategy. Just necessity and what life is really about."
"That's… a little better I guess. Heavy topics for a first date."
Regina scoffed. "I wouldn't call it a date."
Katheryn scoffed back. "You know you added that perk because you wanted him to win."
"Hardly." Regina poured herself a fresh cup of tea.
"You told me as much!" Katheryn said excitedly.
"In not quite so many words, dear. I was just intrigued by him is all. He's not like the others."
"I'll say." Katheryn rolled her eyes, finally taking a sip of her now cold tea.
Regina eyed her suspiciously. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Katheryn's eyes went wide for a moment and she buried her face in her tea quickly turning the subject back to Regina. "Just tell me what else happened!"
"We danced and I left." Regina rose to put her book back on the shelf, hoping to avoid the look of shock on Katheryn's face.
"You… left. That's it?"
"I excused myself quickly, yes." Regina waved the comment away.
Katheryn mouthed Regina's words.
"Look it wasn't all dramatic. I just… got nervous?" Regina played with the word in her mouth, wondering if that was really what she felt or what she was trying to convince herself that's what she felt, instead of something more real, and more terrifying. Regina leaned up against her desk, her head falling and staring at her bare feet. She still couldn't figure out the answer to that question, even when it kept her up all night.
"Regina." Katheryn rose up from her chair, a small smile fighting it's way through the concern on her face. "Do you have feelings for him?"
Regina clicked her tongue. "I hardly know him, Katheryn. One dinner is not enough to cause me to fall head over heels for someone. You know me better than that." She nervously picked at a feather pen on her desk. Katheryn remained quiet, allowing Regina to process and hopefully give her more information.
She couldn't wait very long. "I do know you better than that, which is exactly why..." She paused for dramatic affect. "I know you are lying."
Regina pinched the bridge of her nose. "Katheryn, I really don't have time for this. I need to get ready for breakfast." Regina tried to push her way by her friend but Katheryn grabbed her and turned her back to face her.
"Regina, when was the last time you have really allowed yourself to have feelings for someone?" Katheryn's concern now took full control of her.
Regina mulled over her question but avoided Katheryn's knowing eyes and muttered, "It's been a while."
"If ever." Katheryn reiterated.
"What's your point? Other than reminding me that my life has been one depressing arranged marriage." Regina spoke back shortly.
"Regina, my point is that things happen in their own time. Maybe this is your time."
"With Rowland?" Regina put her attention back on the feathered pen.
"With whoever you want. For the first time in quite possibly your whole life you have some control over your decision to love someone. And… yes, maybe with Rowland. You said yourself he seems different. Maybe he's just different enough."
Regina sighed. "Yes, except that I am still Queen and have a duty to my kingdom. And I have to marry who they tell me to marry so that I can continue to be Queen. That's my only option. That doesn't really give me much room to love who I want to love."
"Is it though?" Katheryn continued.
Now pacing, Regina's temper began to rise. "Katheryn, this isn't some story in a book. We drown ourselves in these stories to make our dull and void lives seem better. I wasn't destined to marry for love. My story has been written for me."
Katheryn frowned. "I don't think that's what you truly believe, Regina." She laid a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "Everyone deserves a chance. Even you."
Before Regina could protest, Katheryn scooped up their empty tea cups and headed out the door. Head low, she sunk into her desk chair. It wasn't like this duty to be Queen didn't fight every instinct she had, but this was what she was raised in and to try and do anything except what her father had taught her felt like she was betraying him. He wanted nothing but this life for her, but did he know how unhappy she would be in it?
The Great Hall was already teaming with life when Emma entered to find her family. After her eventful evening and her unexpected chore list this morning, she had just enough time to get back to her room to clean up in time for breakfast. Her father and mother were already seated and both gave her a reassuring nod as she entered and took her place next to them. Even her mother seemed to have some weight lifted off of her shoulder. Maybe her win the day before was better than she imagined. For all of them.
She was the last competitor to arrive, and though there were plenty of people in the room, Emma felt an absence around them, like the party wasn't complete. She eyed the room realizing Regina was not yet at the table and she frowned inwardly. Had their exchanges last night been so bad that Regina had to rethink even attending breakfast? Maybe she truly went too far asking her to dance.
Suddenly an unwelcome voice boomed across the table.
"Well would you look at this, lads." Prince Leroy's voice slurred in drunkenness. "The little knight has finally decided to grace us with… with his presence." Leroy choked back another swig of rum. "Not tired of playing dress up yet?" He questioned and his booming drawn out laugh deafened the room.
"Don't you think you had quite enough to drink there, Leroy? I'd hate to see you make a fool of yourself, again." Jones laughed with the few of his men sitting around him.
"I'll stop drinking when… when I get what is owed to me." Leroy punched back, slamming his chubby hand down on the table.
"And what exactly do you think is owed to you?" Ababwa chimed in taking a delicate bite of meat from his fork, half interested in the conversation.
Leroy slammed his cup into the table and rose from his chair, mind you, it wasn't far at all for him to rise. "I should be King! Not sullying my name with the likes of you dumb arses. I've more than earned the right to be given such an honor." He fell back heavily into his chair, his eyeballs half rolling back in his head.
Jones and Ababwa laughed at the man's state.
"Mate, I think the only thing you're owed right now is another cup of rum. Servant, he'll take another." Jones raised his hook and motioned for one of the servants to fill Leroy's cup. Leroy did not protest, but raised the cup to his lips almost before the servant could pull away without spilling the dark liquid.
Emma stayed quiet and tried to keep her head down, but it seems when you win the first challenge of the competition, privacy is not one of the rewards but instead a target on your back.
"Aye though, he has a point, let's be honest. Little prince got lucky yesterday. We'll see what he is made of in a real fight." Jones raised an eyebrow and his flask at Emma.
"Yes, we shall see." Emma raised her own glass, and a low anticipatory grumble spread across the table.
"Rowalnd, it seems we all know more about each other than we know about you. Do tell us how you ended up in such a prestigious position, yet wholly unknown to the common world." Ababwa shifted his focus entirely to Emma, who's heart sank immediately at the question. She eyeballed the table as conversations grew quiet around her to listen. Even William Scarlett, who had been unphased by the drunken rowdiness of his neighbor at the table, seemed to be listening.
"I guess you could say I proved my worth. Lancelot himself chose me out of the group to represent the kingdom, I think that says a lot." Emma defended herself.
"You mean the knight that let his entire camp be burned to the ground?" Ababwa laughed. "I'd hardly consider him to be someone to vouch for me." Ababwa commented, causing a small laughter to spread down the table.
Emma, wide eyed, shot a glance over at her father, expecting him to come to Lancelot's defense, but he looked engrossed in another side conversation and not even paying attention.
Ababwa continued his attack on Lancelot's character. "If he was my knight, I'd have his head for losing that much of my money. Do you know how much it costs to rebuild an entire camp, in the middle of a war? I bet he was with some woman. Serves him right to lose his leg."
"Those are some big words for someone who has to bring a parade of animals just to show off. Must be compensating for something." Emma shot back. Jones lost his mind in laughter as Ababwa's cheeks went scarlet red. Even William cracked a smile.
"How was that elephant ride from… where the hell are you from any way?" Leroy teased him, through belly laughs.
Ababwa slammed down his cup, rising to point an aggressive finger in Emma's direction. "How dare you… you are nothing! This Hall is lesser for you being in it with your shit stained boots."
In a sudden burst of anger, Charming rose from his chair and slammed a dagger into the wooden table in front of Emma. "Silence your tongue, snake!"
Ababwa sat immediately. Emma turned to see the hot cheeks of her father. A side of him he very rarely allowed take over.
"The honor of my house will not be tarnished by the likes of you. Sir Rowland has more honor in his finger than you do in your entire existence, and Sir Lancelot is more a man with one less leg than you would be with ten. So I suggest you prove yourself in the arena this afternoon to save any sense of respect you have left." He pulled the sunken knife out of the table and replaced it back in his belt. The table remained quiet save for a few murmurs around Ababwa trying to calm him down.
Leroy suddenly rose up shakely, taking yet another giant gulp of rum, some of the red liquid leaking out of the corner of his mouth. "I… propose a… toast." He fell back in his chair. "To…"
"The Queen!" Jones stood immediately raising his glass as everyone turned to see that Regina had entered the room. The rest of the table stood and toasted together to the Queen's entrance into breakfast. Emma's eyes drew immediately to the woman, forgetting everything that had just transpired between the competitors. As if the two of them were the only two people in the world. Even Charming's face instantly lost some of it's redness as he calmed himself.
She looked just as beautiful as the evening before. Regina flashed a regal smile at the families around the table, all except Emma.
Emma's heart sank as Regina didn't even seem to acknowledge her. Not even a side glance from her. When Regina sat at her usual head of the table, everyone followed suit. Emma suddenly felt like the smallest person in the room and she frowned and picked at the rest of her breakfast, glancing up at Regina as often as she could to see if she could read anything from her face. Emma began to question every word she had chosen to speak the night before, dissecting the events that led up to Regina leaving trying to figure out how everything ended so wrong. It curdled her stomach to think about it.
As if the rest of the morning turned into a complete blur, Emma suddenly found herself armored up and waiting nervously down below the kingdom's colosseum. According to the rules of today's competition, there was only one rule… don't kill each other. It would be in bad form to kill a prince in friendly competition, and though Emma wouldn't mind showing Ababwa a thing or two about how the world would be a better place without him, she would refrain as much as possible today.
"Aye, drink?" Emma turned to see Jones holding his flask out to her, but she hesitated. "Liquid courage, mate. You'll need it." The corner of his mouth rose in a smirk.
Emma took the flask thankfully and took a long swig.
"You know, I give you credit for putting Ababwa in his place this morning. But, it doesn't mean I'm going to take it easy on you in there." He drank and shoved the flask back in his jacket. "You're still my competition."
Emma nodded understandably. "I wouldn't expect any less of you."
Jones laid a heavy hand on his shoulder with a clank.
"You're a good man, Rowland. But you're too nice." He smiled and walked off.
The small, dirt floored, bunker-like room they waited impatiently in smelled like a mixture of animal and blood. Two things that turned courageous men into cowards, and for those who frequented this room, was the last thing they smelled before their death. Emma almost felt like she was disrespecting those who had walked this dirt before her, bled on this dirt before all of them, and gave their life for the entertainment of others. How would they feel knowing the five of them gave nothing up but a little comfort to be here and play games.
The other four competitors busied themselves preparing the final touches of their armored uniforms and weapons, and striking up conversations as they all waited impatiently for the arena to be set up. All weapons were provided for them and personal weapons were not allowed. Though the weapons provided were quite real, they had been dulled to avoid major injury if one happened to strike something soft, like bare skin. This didn't make Emma feel any better. Whereas she may not lose her life today, a finger was still on the table, and Emma quite liked all ten of her fingers.
Considering how heated breakfast had been, all five of them together now was a fairly quiet affair.
"Damned be the lot of you!" Except Leroy, who to no surprise of anyone, was still absurdly drunk. "There's not a one man who can put on armor correctly. Tighter you swine!" He swatted at the young boy helping him with the finishing touches of his outfit.
Jones and Ababwa had stationed themselves in quiet conversation in the corner while Leroy fussed. William had one assistant who was efficient and quiet. Emma examined the mystery that continued to be William Scarlet, even after she had apparently stumbled upon one of his bigger secrets the night before in the garden. How he remained so calm after seeing her was beyond her. He hadn't even attempted to address the situation, which made Emma even more nervous. He seemed so calm, cool, and collected all the time that she wondered if inside he was a complete mess, just like her. Wouldn't she like to be a fly on the inside of his brain.
Suddenly, they locked eyes. And for a moment Emma couldn't pull away from his stare, and she saw a cool, thin smile rise on his lips. Was he teasing her? It was obvious he knew she saw him in the garden, but is he really okay with that? An angry voice behind her pulled her attention away before she could find any answers.
"Little prince!" Leroy yelled. "You ready for the arse kicking of your life?" He stumbled over to Emma, almost falling directly into her and the stench of rotten breath attacked her instantly. "Just know Row boy, I'm coming for you first…" He hiccuped. "So, you better run." He made his way to the door as the crowd above them grew rowdy and a muffled announcer called attention to the beginning of the competition.
Piercing light sprung from the hinged door of their bunker and one by one the competitors were announced and emerged into the sunny afternoon. Emma, as the winner of the previous competition, was announced last and welcomed into the colosseum with enthusiastic applause and cheers from the crowd. It seemed more people were enjoying the underdog story.
The competitors lined up at an appropriate distance from one another, shoulder to shoulder down below the center of the seats. Queen Regina sat under a shaded cover as Sir Graham, her head of security, stepped up to review the rules of the competition.
"Ladies and gentleman it is with great honor that we are here today to see these fine gentlemen compete. Today is not only a test of brawn and strength but also strategy and courage. To win the competition today, you must eliminate your fellow competitors by either a surrender or a knockout. May you fight with honor, strength, and courage as you battle one another. Good Luck."
Each corner of the colosseum was decorated in formal fashion with the house colors of each competitor. Emma made her way to her starting podium, glancing up at her parents. Charming sat up confidently, however even with Snow's seemingly upbeat attitude at breakfast this morning, she seemed terribly nervous now.
Emma stepped up on her podium, her knees shaky, she eyed the other competitors as they took their spots beneath their families colors. Leroy would most likely be her first opponent if in fact he remembered at all that he had just challenged her. If she remembered the code of honor correctly, the other three would allow him at her first after their conversation below. She wasn't necessarily worried about the drunk, it was the others that she wasn't looking forward to challenging. They were all after her blood.
Regina stood from her chair and with less than enthusiastic movements, she rang the starting bell for competition to begin. As expected, Leroy, like a bear protecting its cubs, came barreling in her direction. The crowd loved the instant action, however, in one smooth motion, Emma easily dodged his charge and he went immediately into the wall behind her. Knocking him out cold in an instant. Emma stared in disbelief as the crowd oohed at the sound of his metal helmet hitting the rock wall. Shame.
She spun around, realizing she was now someone else's next target. She was already sweating under her armor from the high sun, and through the slit in her helmet she could barely see the other competitors. Ababwa and Jones were squared off on the other side of the ring. She guessed their seemingly friendly conversation wasn't enough to keep them from trying to take each other out. That left William, who for the moment was nowhere to be found.
Emma double checked Leroy behind her to make sure he was truly out and not faking it, and when she was satisfied, she set out to find William. The clanks of Ababwa and Jones seemed to take the crowd's attention off of her as she searched. There were obstacles set up in their circled ring, but she was quite impressed that he managed to disappear in the relatively small space that contained them. Where the hell could he be?
Then as if a magical answer to her question, Emma found herself at the end of a heavy, dull sword slamming into her chest and back on the ground. The dusty ground was no soft blanket to land on as the wind was sucked from her lungs, and the sword bent her armor across her chest. The crowd jumped with enthusiasm.
Emma coughed heavily in her helmet, trying to suck in air into her shocked lungs. Gripping her sword until her knuckles were white she hustled off the ground, finding Williams thin stature, even in armor, circling her calmly. He advanced swiftly and Emma matched him easily at first but quickly grew tired swinging her heavy sword until he landed a blow to her knee causing her to stumble back. His movements flowed so well, unmatched by anyone she'd ever fought against, possibly even Lancelot himself. He was a fine tuned machine.
As her frustration mounted, Emma advanced at him this time, attempting a very complicated move but as her feet tangled below her, William's sword rang through her helmet as it connected, leaving another sizable dent just at her temple. Now unable to see through the slit, she ripped the helmet off leaving her head now exposed to any blow he might sneak through. She felt a cool drip down her cheek and reached up to find a gash where the dented helmet created a sharp point that tore open her eyebrow.
William advanced again before she was ready but somehow Emma was able to tangle up his sword, their faces now inches apart. A smile crept across his lips. "Come on, princess, I don't have all day."
Terror ripped through Emma, but she barely had time to process it before her feet left the ground from under her and William's small frame slammed her down to the ground, his sword inches from her cheek. Her lungs burned from the constant barrage on her chest and the weight of his body pushing her bent chest plate into her.
"Looks like we are even now. You know my secret, and I know yours." He raised up the butt of his sword, but before he could land it, a heavy clank rocked his head forward and he fell over, knocked out cold next to Emma. Over her stood Ababwa, having looked like he went through a complete ordeal with Jones, yet somehow managed to overcome him.
He breathed heavily. "You're mine now." A hunger burned behind his eyes.
With the little strength Emma had retained she whipped herself from the ground. Over to the left side of the colosseum she could see Jones splayed out on his stomach, and barely breathing from what it looked like.
"It's just you and me little prince. I've been waiting for this." Ababwa lunged at Emma and in one swift motion she batted away his sword. Clank after clank after clank until Emma's muscles ached and groaned. He swung his blade high, sparking off the rock wall behind Emma. She lunged and rolled, finally getting some distance from him. Her muscles shook under the now almost unmanageable weight of her sword.
"You can't defeat me!" He rose his hands up, asking for her to attack him, but Emma was smarter than to take the bait. "You aren't like us, little prince. You show up here, thinking you can just dine with princes as if we would ever accept you as a fair competitor. You think the Queen of this kingdom would ever bat an eye at you? You think she would stoop so low as to marry you? Pitiful." He advanced on her again, jabbing straight toward her abdomen, but Emma spun out of the attack swinging her sword with her and connecting heavily with the back of his armor, sprawling him forward and causing his helmet to go rolling off his head. His face was red and dripping with sweat, and if she thought he was an animal before, he had officially gone into predator mode.
"Why won't you just lose already!" Ababwa screamed out in frustration, and then, from a hidden location in his suit, he pulled out a sharpened knife. Emma's eyes widened in fear. "This ends right now."
With Emma's life truly now in danger, she felt a sudden burst of adrenaline and with every ounce of energy she focused on dodging the knife. His dull sword landed blow after blow, yet his swings came up empty with his knife, but nevertheless close. Emma searched around for anyone to notice, and for the guards to see he had an illegal weapon, but everyone seemed so engrossed in the battle that it phased no one that he was carrying a second much more deadly device.
In a moment of weakness, Emma let him get too close and his knife connected with her left arm, a patch of blood quickly formed and soaked her sleeve inside her armor. It was only then that an observant onlooker from the crowd noticed Ababwa was carrying a different weapon.
"He's got a knife!" The onlooker screamed out.
Both Emma and Ababwa reacted to the scream, and in a flash Regina was ordering her men and Graham onto the colosseum floor to intervene. Emma relaxed, finally hoping the competition was over, but in doing so, she broke rule number one. Never let your guard down.
Ababwa's knife sunk into Emma's rib cage between the ties in her chest and back plates. She instantly turned to see his seething eyes inches from her. Ababwa breathed on her neck as he pushed the blade as deep as it could go. "You should have never challenged me."
Emma fell to her knees, gripping the gaping wound on her side, blood already running down the side of her leg and through her fingers. Ababwa kneeled next to her, bringing the bloodied knife close to her neck and grabbing her hair to pull her face up to his.
"Nobody disrespects me, and now everyone will know that I am untouchable." He pushed the knife closer to her neck, enough to break the skin. A sudden thud tore Ababwa and his blood curdling screams away from Emma and she fell completely to the ground, her side almost completely soaked through in blood and her vision fading fast.
Graham threw down his bow that he had used to sink an arrow into Ababwa's knee and tackled him, pulling his arms behind him and locking chains around them. He then descended on Emma, examining her wound and rapidly declining consciousness. Charming quickly joined him and in one swift motion, swept her up and headed for the castle.
"Absolutely unacceptable!" Regina slammed down her hand on her throne. Ababwa, still in chains and down on his knees below her kept his head low. His aging parents stood, just as shocked as everyone else had been, pleading for mercy.
"Please, your majesty. We had no knowledge of this and swift action will be taken... "
"You're lucky I'm not asking for his head. This is practically treason. As of today, he is banished from my kingdom. If I see his face here again, I promise it will be the last time."
The room was silent at Regina's threat. Ababwa's parents bowed respectfully, understanding the seriousness of what their son had done and quickly dismissed themselves from the room. Ababwa was led out by guards, who would accompany him out of Regina's kingdom the next day.
"Glass!" Regina shouted, and her spindly assistant came trotting to the base of her throne and bowed respectfully. "I want every record of that man to reflect what he has done. If I see or hear his name before this competition is over, I will personally have you thrown out with the horses." She spoke through gritted teeth and in his shaking boots, Glass bowed and practically stumbled out of the room.
"Don't you think you are being a little hard on everyone?" Graham stepped up to the throne when Glass had completely exited the room.
Regina shot him an angry glance. "Are you questioning me?"
Swallowing his pride, Graham straightened himself back up and replied coldly. "No, your majesty."
"Good, because the last thing I need, after the disaster that was today, is to hear from another man that my decisions and ability to rule is in question!" She shouted raising from her throne and exiting the room, leaving Graham behind.
As soon as Regina made it to the hallway, she felt like she could release the breath she had been holding in since the competition. The last thing she needed was for someone to get hurt during this ridiculous competition, and she felt even worse that it was Rowland. If she didn't know any better, she could almost feel herself get emotional, but she knew better. She took a deep breath and headed to the one place she could think… the library.
Charming set Emma down on the infirmary bed as people swirled around them and the doctor shouted instructions. The world around her was chaos as Emma all but had completely lost consciousness, and as she faded in and out she could feel tears wet the sides of her cheeks. The loss of blood left her with barely enough strength to even raise an arm, let alone cry out from the pain. The knife had gone deep, but there was no telling how deep until they could at least stop the bleeding.
"Your majesty I'm going to need you to give us some space so we can work!" The doctor motioned for the nurses to take Charming away from the bed and set up the sheet so they could work in private. Another nurse checked her vitals as the doctor furiously worked to untie Emma's armor.
"I'm not leaving! Let me help!"
"Your majesty, please!" The doctor shouted at Charming before helping his nurse pull off the chest plate. Her blood had already stained the bed, but truthfully not as much as anyone would have liked. She was quickly running out of blood.
Snow came running in soon after as the nurse finally got Charming far enough away from the bed to really get busy.
"Charming, please tell me she'll be okay!" Snow cried into his arm. Charming and the nurse pulling a curtain around the bed made eye contact, both clearly hearing the words that escaped Snow's lips. The nurse disappeared quickly behind the curtain and a guard appeared behind Charming and Snow to direct them back to the door to wait.
Emma's cries could have been heard down almost every corridor as the doctor worked as fast as he could to stop the bleeding and make sure no infection took hold. Charming and Snow waited for what felt like hours. Snow's tear streaked eyes were buried in her hands until there was nothing left to escape her eyes. Her eyes burned with every blink. Every once in a while, a new, hot tear fell down her cheek. Charming paced muttering to himself.
"That bastard… I'm going… no… she'll be fine… that bastard!" His heels clicked rhythmically in front of Snow.
Both of them looked up instantly as the doctor appeared before them, a clean apron strung over his shoulders and a pair of fresh gloves on his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was scare them at the sight of the blood Emma had lost.
"Doctor Whale? Is she alive?" Charming approached him in one giant step, Snow close behind him and clutching her husband's arm, almost cutting off the circulation as they awaited their daughters fate.
"Yes…" Doctor Whale sighed. "She is." He emphasized the word. Charming wrapped Snow in a powerful hug, his eyes fixed on the doctor, knowing that their secret was out. The doctor cleared his throat. "We need to talk."