Snow's POV)

A pain shot up my arm as I collided onto the hard ground. I winced and brushed away the crackling leafy debris to reveal a set of thick tree roots. I tried to stand up when I heard a thump a few metres from me. I looked up and saw my daughter on the ground. "Emma!" I stood up and rushed towards her, helping her up. "Emma, are you alright?"

She grunted and looked around slowly, "Where are we? Where did the hat send us?"

For the first time, I looked around the maze of trees and the realisation instantly hit me. "We're in the Enchanted Forest." Then, I put a hand on Emma's back and reassured her, "It's fine, I know my way around here. Did you forget that your mother has spent half her lifetime running through these forests?"

Emma raised her eyebrow and said worriedly, "Henry and Daniella must be here. Can you...well, do you know where to start? Perhaps we could enlist the help of someone..."

I frowned and answered slowly, "I'm afraid the people I know would have been taken to Storybrooke by the curse. However, I can certainly take us to a village nearby. Hopefully, there will be people willing to help us." Then, I started walking out of the trees towards the main road in the middle of the forest. I waved Emma over and said, "We'll have to walk a little bit further down here so that I can orientate ourselves."

Emma glanced at me and said simply, "Let's go and get Henry and Daniella out of here."

I nodded, "Agreed, although, it'll be nice to come back here."

Emma gave me a strange expression, "You mean, to the Enchanted Forest?"

I sighed, "It's where we're all from, including you. Storybrooke isn't our home, it's the product of a curse that wrongfully took us to a different land and separated us from each other."

There was an uncomfortable look on Emma's face. I reached around to hug her and whispered, "I'm so sorry Emma, I really wish that I could have been with you."

"I know, Mary Margaret." Then, Emma walked away, leaving me with a hollow feeling in my stomach.

For perhaps an hour, we walked down the road in silence. I tried to blink the tears in my eyes away but ended up silently spilling them instead. Thankfully, we soon approached a village as I saw that the thick maze of trees had begun to thin out. Emma was the first to speak as she called out to me, "Hey, is that a town over there?"

I nodded but something jolted a wave of fear in my heart. Even after all these years, there was a particular sound that I could never forget. My body tensed and I glanced at Emma. She stepped onto the middle of the road to see what it was, but I quickly pulled her back into the safety of forest cover. As soon as we got down, a group of black knights rushed past us. The thuds of their horses trembled the moist soil beneath our feet. When they passed, Emma whispered, "What the hell was that?"

I frowned and hoped that this was all my imagination and not actually reality. My silence prompted Emma to ask again, "Mary Margaret? What was that?"

My mouth dried up as I replied, "They were Regina's black knights."

"Regina's black knights?"

"I believe so..."

"Then how are they still here?"

I swallowed and glanced around the forest before replying, "Because I don't think the curse has happened yet."

"What?!" Emma paused and then continued, "So you think we're stuck in the past? Is that even possible?"

"I didn't think so but now, I'm not sure. If we are, unfortunately I'm still unable to tell what year we are in, and at which point of Regina's reign. If its towards the end, we're in luck. If at the beginning, not so much."

Emma nodded slowly and took a breath. Then, she said quickly, "I'll go into the village and find out for you, stay here until I come back."

I grabbed Emma's arm as she stood up, "No! It's not safe!"

"It's not safe for you either, especially if Regina's trying to kill you at the moment."

I sighed. "Alright, but look out for yourself and don't under any circumstances, interact with Regina's knights. They'll bring you more trouble than we have already found ourselves in."

Emma nodded and weaved through the trees in the direction of the village. When I was left alone, I hoped that Henry and Daniella were fine. A small part of me now regretted that Daniella had no magic to protect herself and my grandson.


When Emma came back, she seemed almost guilty. I quickly stood up from behind the tree and came up to her in worry. "Are you alright? How did it go?"

Emma started, "We're in the eighth year of Regina's reign, and she's been pretty dormant these past few weeks so I guess we're in luck."

I frowned, "How on earth did you manage to get so much detail? You haven't revealed too much to anybody have you?"

That's when Emma looked uncomfortable. She replied slowly, "Maybe-"

"Who?"

Emma glanced behind her and replied, "They're a little way through these trees. I was just wondering if you think it'd be a good idea for us to go to them for help."

I shrugged, "If they're willing, why wouldn't it be a good idea?" However, there was a pounding anxiety in my heart as I asked the question.

Emma gave me a half smile and took my hand. Then, she lead me past some trees towards where a couple was sitting on a log facing away from us. There was just something too familiar about them...

They turned around and I had no idea who was the most surprised amongst us, for I was looking at the younger version of myself and my husband.

We gaped at each other for several seconds before my past self exclaimed, "Who are you?!"

I turned to Emma and whispered, "We weren't supposed to change the past!"

Charming stood up with his hand on the hilt of his sword. He questioned, "The past? What is that supposed to mean? Now, tell me who you really are."

I sighed and stated, "Look, I know you'll find it hard to believe but trust me." I paused and continued under my past self's confused gaze. "I'm from the future, and I'm well...I'm you."

Charming glanced at his girlfriend and asked me, "How is that possible? Emma told us that she was leading us to her mother. That's not right...you two look the same age!"

Emma cut in, "It was the curse-"

I turned Emma to face me quickly and whispered, "Shouldn't we be keeping quiet about the future?"

My past self muttered, "Curse?"

I looked at her before turning back to Emma who replied to me, "We have to tell them the truth! If we don't, they won't believe us. Besides, it won't change anything unless they actually manage to stop Regina."

I sighed but before I could explain to Charming and my past self, he questioned me, "You mentioned the Queen. Is she going to cast a curse?"

Reluctantly, I nodded and quickly added, "But she is defeated in the end, don't worry about what she's doing now. It won't last forever."

My past self let her shoulder's drop in relief. However, I knew that the threat of Regina would still be a burden to her. To my surprise, she spoke up with a different topic, "Emma told me that she was trying to find her son but was unsuccessful. How did you lose him? Well, how did you even find yourselves in the past?"

Emma gave me a look before answering, "Henry got pulled into a portal and when Regina opened another portal to find him, Mary Margaret and I fell in before she could follow. So, I guess we're stuck here without any magic to find my son."

Charming raised his eyebrows and clarified, "The Queen helped you? Why?"

Emma replied, "Because Daniella fell into the portal with Henry."

My past self looked confused for a second. Then, she looked at me with a frown on her face as she slowly began, "Daniella?"

I nodded and replied softly, "She's one of the reasons why Regina hated me." I paused to reconsider the answer. "Hated us."

My past self stepped up to me and questioned, "But...she's dead isn't she? Daniella's dead!"

Charming quickly cut in, "Who are you talking about?"

His girlfriend answered unsurely, "My little sister."

Whilst Charming was processing the information, I started cautiously, "Actually...she isn't exactly our sister."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I glanced at Emma before continuing, "She's Daniel's."

My past self's eyes widened. "Daniel's? As in..."

I nodded, whilst contemplating whether or not I should reveal any more details to the past versions of us.

"So she never died..."

I shook my head, "No, but because of us, Regina lost her."

As my past self was letting this sink in, Charming questioned, "So you had a sister, who really wasn't your sister...and she's Regina's daughter?"

I nodded as he added, "And she was also sucked into the portal with Henry."

Emma replied in a tired voice, "That's it."

My past self looked worriedly at me, "Does Daniella have magic like her mother's?"

"Yes. She had. We've managed to restrict both of their magic in our land."

Charming put an arm around his girlfriend's back and remarked, "You have?"

I nodded, "-which is the problem. I would be less worried for Henry if I knew that Daniella had magic to protect them both. The Enchanted Forest at this time certainly isn't a safe place for two kids to roam-" Before I could finish, there was a glowing speck of light that floated down between our circle. Realising what it was, I stepped back and allowed the fairy to transform into our size.

As she glanced around us, she immediately caught the gazes of Emma and I. Whilst I didn't know how to explain our situation again, Emma's face seemed to reflect awe. Ohhh, right. She's never seen a fairy before. However, it surprised me when the fairy remarked, "You two are from the future."

Emma stuttered, "Um, yes...how do you know?"

"Because I'm fairly certain the new addition to the Queen's family does not come from our time."

Before the fairy continued, I quickly asked, "Sorry to interupt, but who are you?"

The fairy smiled and introduced herself. "I'm Tiger Lily. Blue's assistant. In fact, I've come to bring you grave news about her."

Charming worriedly asked, "What is it? This doesn't have anything to do with the Queen does it?"

Tiger Lily wrung her hands together and said solemnly, "Yes I'm afraid it does. Blue has been captured by the Evil Queen." She continued speaking whilst my past self put a hand to her mouth in shock and horror. "Blue's magic has been taken away by the Queen and we're working on safely getting her out of the dungeons. However, the Queen must have cast a spell as I've tried to enter the underground tunnels but have been repelled by an invisible barrier."

Emma spoke up all of a sudden, "Wait a second. I'm sorry to hear about Blue and all, but we need your help. This concerns Daniella and my son, Henry."

Tiger Lily turned to Emma and nodded, "Yes, we'll do all we can to help you return to your timeline. I can't imagine what meddling with the past will do to our own futures. I have to admit, it's my first time hearing about Henry but as for Daniella, I'm afraid there might be some complications."

Emma frowned, "Complications? Like what? How is she?"

"I've been observing her from the magic waters of the lake that runs beside the Village of Colta. She seems to be completely under the influence of her mother right now. Not only that, but she looks content as well."

"She's with Regina?!"

The fairy nodded and replied, "Yes, but Henry's nowhere to be seen...well, I don't know what he looks like but I haven't seen a boy of Daniella's age accompanying her."

I looked to Emma as she continued speaking, "Was Daniella unhappy in your realm?"

After a moment of silence, I answered, "I know that she's been missing her mother."

"Missing?"

I whispered, "We've separated them for a few days now." Emma came over and rubbed my back, whispering, "It's fine Mary Margaret. It's not your fault that this situation is complicated. We'll get her back to our land somehow."

Tiger Lily added, "I believe that we will. It'll be hard since Blue's loss of magic has given Daniella her own powers back. Besides, she's always by the Evil Queen's side. That being said, I believe we have to find Henry first."

Emma quickly responded, "Henry, do you have any idea where the kid might be?"

The fairy nodded and looked amongst us all. Then, she explained, "I'm going to cast a locator spell but I need three hairs from three different relatives of Henry."

We looked between each other and Charming, Emma and I plucked a hair each from our heads. Then, we handed it to Tiger Lily who waved her hand over the strands. A trail lit up on the ground before us.

My past self gestured the path and said, "So do we follow it?"

"We do," the fairy replied as she transformed back into her small size. Then, she led the way, flying in the direction of the glowing trail.


(Daniella's POV)

"What did that boy say to you?"

I slowly looked up at my mother and sniffled, "What do you mean?"

When I caught her glance, I gently pushed away her hand from my shoulder and replied, "The usual." After a brief pause, I continued, "But you don't have to worry about him now. He's not going to stay in the palace anymore."

I looked nervously at my mother and watched her expression carefully. However, without frowning or any angry expression at all, she questioned, "The boy called you evil. Why? I thought he was your friend."

"I-" As we turned around the corner, a knight who walked past bowed. When the sound of his footsteps subsided, I sighed and began unsurely, "If I tell you everything about Henry; the truth about him, will you promise me that you won't kill him?"

Mother looked down and without losing her composure, exclaimed, "Firefly, you're making me worried. Who is he?"

"Please Mama?Just promise me first, and then I'll tell you."

She sighed and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. "Alright, I promise that I won't harm him. Now, who is he?"

"My brother."

Mother's pace slowed down a little and she murmured, "I have a son?"

Feeling bad that I was about to let her hopes down, I quietly explained, "Technically you adopted him because umm, due to circumstances, we were seperated for a long period of time."

"Separated again?! How, my dear?"

I replied quickly, "Doesn't really matter. What matters is that Henry doesn't really like either of us." My cheeks burned as I added this comment. It probably wasn't the best to throw at my mother.

The curiosity was therefore evident, "And my future self? Did I love Henry?"

"With all your heart. But you never told him who you were so he didn't take it well when he found out."

"You mean when he found out that I was a Queen?" Mother paused before continuing, "How could he not have known?"

"Nobody knew. In the curse, nobody remembered who they were. That was the whole point. Hasn't Rumple already given the curse to you?"

At the mention of the imp, my mother's interest perked. "Rumpelstiltskin hasn't given me the curse yet. I'm assuming that he will do so soon?"

"Uhh, perhaps in a couple of years then, but that's beside the point."

Mother chuckled, "Yes, we were talking about your brother...my son, who apparently dislikes both of us."

I replied quietly, "He's convinced that we're both villains with the sole purpose of destroying people's lives."

A pair of servants bowed when they passed. Afterwards, they hastily scuttled away. Mother asked, "Does Henry know about Snow White and what she has done to me?"

I nodded, "He should. It's in his book of fairytales but the book is biased. It doesn't mention anything about the times Snow or the King almost had me killed."

"What book are you talking about, dear?"

I ignored the underlying tone of anger in my mother's voice and explained, "A book containing all of the stories of the Enchanted Forest appeared out of nowhere and it was given to Henry by his teacher. That's how he found out about the truth. The truth about the town, you, and his family."

"His family? Do you mean, he knows who his real parents are?"

I flexed my hands nervously on my sides and confirmed, "You promised me that you won't kill him alright?"

"Daniella, I value promises as you probably already know."

I bit my lip and looked away. "Henry's the son of Emma Swan. Emma, who for the time being hasn't been born yet, but is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming."

"Excuse me?!"

I looked up, expecting to face an angry fire spitting version of the Evil Queen but instead, there was mainly just surprise in my mother's eyes. I held my breath but it made me giggle a bit when she asked with a frown, "How old am I in your time?"

"Not looking a day older than when you cast the curse. I think you were thirty three? Time stopped in the twenty eighteen years of the curse. However, Emma didn't grow up with her parents so that's why she aged and had Henry when she was eighteen. You were the same age when you were pregnant with me right?"

Before mother could reply, there was a heavy patter of footsteps that interrupted us. A guard came running down the hallway. He bowed hastily and spoke, "Your majesty, your highness, I've received word that Snow White has been sighted in the Village of Colta."

Mother replied, "At Colta? That's hardly an hour's ride from here."

The guard nodded as she continued with a wide grin, "At last, this will be Snow's downfall. Tell your commander to gather a group of men to accompany me to the village. I'll be leaving shortly.

The guard bowed and left the way he came. Then, mother said quickly, "I'll have to pay the village a little visit. Are you fine to stay here in the palace whilst I'm gone?"

I nodded until I realised that we were in the past, and it probably isn't a good idea to change any events. I gripped mother's arm before she could raise it to teleport. "Mama, but you can't! If you do end up killing Snow, the future will change!"

"It'll change for the better, wouldn't it dear?"

I reflected for a moment. "Maybe...but I'm not sure what will happen to me after you kill Snow."

Mother waved her hand around to take us to her chambers. When we set foot on the soft carpet of her dressing room, she replied, "If I am correct, the 'past' version of you is currently in Wonderland."

I frowned and replied slowly, "Yeah..."

"So even if I kill Snow right now, I will still be able to rescue you from a horrible past in Wonderland. You wouldn't have to endure years in an orphanage, or be scared of showing your magic."

My heart pounded as I whispered in realisation, "...and I won't remember the curse, because it wouldn't have existed in my life!"

Mother nodded and confirmed, "When I kill Snow, everything will change. That includes your future. I'll be able to give you, to give us, a better life."

I grinned as a maid came into the room to assist mother as she dressed. The plan sounds great but...

"Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, I know that all of this mess will be erased in the end, but I'm confused. Where will I go when Snow is dead? Will I remain, or disappear?"

Behind the dressing screen, mother answered, "I'm fairly certain that you'd disappear back to the new version of the future. That's because you don't belong in this timeline. Daniella of this timeline is in Wonderland and she'll soon get to live the life you should have lived."

I played with the clothes strung on the racks lining the room as mother changed. When she was almost done, I asked quietly, "Can I come with you? Please?"

There was a pause. The maid whispered something to my mother and after their interaction, she questioned, "What was that, dear?"

I asked quickly in one breath, "Can I come with you now? I've never been to Colta before."

"Alright, but we'll be riding there instead of taking the carriage. Going by horse in a small group attracts less attention. It'll allow me to give darling Snowflake a lovely surprise."

I smiled as she continued, "I will help you prepare after I'm done. You don't mind if I use a little bit of magic do you? I would like to set off as soon as possible. That girl will take her last breath today."

I shook my head, "I don't mind...I like it when you use your magic to get ready. It's really pretty."

I giggled at the raised eyebrow as mother mused, "Oh really?"

"In the past I remember watching you get ready with magic. It's beautiful, watching your hair arrange itself."

"Would you like me to do that for you today, dear?"

I grinned sheepishly when mother stepped out from behind the screen. She was wearing a purple riding jacket with long black lace ruffle sleeves. It looked really beautiful, especially the diamond studs on the lace. I commented, "The clothes are so different and simple in Storybrooke, I wish that you would wear these outfits everyday instead."

The servant bowed and left whilst mother fixed her coat in the floor length mirror. "What did I wear instead?"

"Uh, a shirt, jacket and pants." I looked around the clothing racks, trying to find something that resembled clothes in Storybrooke but found none.

Mother replied, "I'm curious to see what my future self looks like. But anyway, come! I'm going to make sure that you look stunning too."

She beckoned me towards her side and when I gazed at myself in the mirror, she waved her hand. A cloud of shimmery purple smoke surrounded me. When it cleared, I was dressed in a navy blue outfit. My hair was plaited in a loose braid over my shoulder with a ribbon woven between.

"Daniella dear, turn around."

I faced mother and my eyes travelled up to her hands as she placed a tiara on my head. Whilst she did so, she whispered, "Let's go get our happy ending, my little firefly."


Author's note:

Sorry for the inactivity! This story is actually available on Wattpad (under the same name), so you'll find a lot more chapters there! That being said, I'm slowly copying chapters over here to so that readers here may enjoy the story too! Please be patient...