Part Two: The Enchanted Forest

Chapter 7

"Tell me the story of The Sleeping Lady again!" Princess Emma said, as she crawled into her large bed.

"Again? Didn't I tell you that story last night?" Queen Snow asked her five year old daughter.

"Yeah! It's my favorite story EVER!" The little girl said, a wide smile on her face.

"Alright." Snow smiled, tucking Emma in. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young woman, who loved to ride horses. One day while she was out riding, she discovered a young girl who's horse had gone wild."

"That little girl was you, right Mommy?" Emma asked, her smile growing wider.

"That's right, Princess. That was me." Snow smiled, brushing a lock of stray blonde hair away from Emma's face. "My horse had gone wild and was running, with me holding on for dear life. The young woman chased after the horse and once she caught up, she pulled me onto her saddle, saving my life."

"That was very nice of her." Emma said.

"It was extremely nice of her." Snow smiled. "It was so nice of her, that my daddy, your grandfather, decided he should marry her and make her the Queen, to say thank you."

"But she didn't want to be Queen, did she?" Emma asked.

"No, she didn't. She didn't want to marry my daddy. She wanted to marry someone else. And she asked me to keep that a secret, because she didn't want anyone to know that she was going to run away with the man she wanted to marry." Snow said.

"But you didn't, Mommy. You told The Sleeping Lady's mommy." Emma said, telling the story.

"That's right. I betrayed her trust. I told her mommy about the other man, and because of it, she made that man go away so The Sleeping Lady couldn't marry him." Snow explained.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Mommy." Emma said, a scowl on her face.

"No. It wasn't very nice at all." Snow frowned. "But I was very young, and I thought I was helping her."

"She married your daddy anyway, after the man left, right?" Emma asked.

"She did. She was my step-mother for a long time." Snow said. "But she was very sad the whole time. And she was very very angry, mostly at me, for taking the other man away from her."

"Was she mean to you?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.

"She was. She was mean to everyone because she was so sad." Snow explained.

"But it was your fault she was so sad." Emma said, with confidence.

"That's right, it was. That's why I ran away after my daddy died. And even when I was gone, she was mean to me, with good reason." Snow explained.

"Then what happened?" Emma asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"Then, one day, she asked me to meet her at her old house, where she lived before she married my daddy. When I met her, she told me that we had been fighting for so long and she wanted to stop. She told me that one day I would have a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes." Snow explained.

"That's ME!" Emma said, bouncing in her bed with excitement.

"That's right, Princess. She was talking about you. Somehow, she knew that you would be my little girl. She said she needed to protect you, to keep you safe. And the only way she could do that was to put herself to sleep by using something called a Sleeping Curse." Snow explained.

"And that's where she is now? She's still sleeping?" Emma asked.

"That's right. She's been sleeping for a long time already. And she'll probably stay sleeping forever, because we know the only way to wake someone up from a sleeping curse is…" Snow said, instantly being interrupted by Emma.

"True Love's Kiss!" Emma smiled.

"That's right!" Snow said, kissing Emma's head.

"Where is she now, Mommy? Where is she sleeping?" Emma asked.

"That, my little Princess, is a secret that I intend on keeping safe." Snow smiled. "And now it's time for you to go to sleep." Snow smiled, tucking Emma in again.

"Will you kiss me to wake me up tomorrow?" Emma asked, her little face yawning wide.

"Of course I will! I will always kiss you awake." Snow smiled, tickling the tired girl.

"Night night, Mommy." Emma yawned again, her eyes closing slowly. She was sound asleep before Snow made it out of the room.


"Emma! Wait up!" King David called ahead, urging his horse to gallop faster.

"Keep up slow poke!" Twelve year old Princess Emma yelled over her shoulder to her father, who was slowly gaining on her.

"How did you learn to ride so fast?" David asked, once he caught up with his daughter by the side of the lake.

"Years of practice." Emma smiled, dismounting from her horse, leading her over to the water to allow her to drink.

"I'm glad we came out here today." David said, taking a sip of water from his skin, moving to sit next to his daughter on a large piece of driftwood that had washed up onto the shore. "I feel like we don't get to spend a lot of time together anymore. You're growing up so fast, I feel like I'm missing everything." David said.

"You're not going to start crying, are you?" Emma laughed, nudging David's shoulder.

"No…" David said, turning his head to quickly wipe the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"If the kingdom could see you now." Emma laughed. "Their King getting misty eyed talking to his daughter."

"Don't tell anyone." David laughed.

"Your secret is safe with me." Emma laughed, her expression changing suddenly. "Can I ask you something, Dad?"

"Of course. You can talk to me about anything." David said, gently resting his hand on his daughter's arm.

"Do you remember that story Mom used to tell me when I was younger? The one about The Sleeping Lady?" Emma asked.

"Yes. How could I forget? You made us tell you that story everyday for almost ten years." David laughed.

"It's true right? The story, it's all true, right?" Emma asked.

"Yes. We left a lot of it out, but yes, it's all true." David said, looking confused. "Why the sudden interest in the story?"

"I was just curious, that's all." Emma said, her gaze shifting towards the sand at her feet. "Did you know her too?"

"Yeah…I knew her…" David said, remembering his brief time as Regina's prisoner.

"What was she like?" Emma asked.

"She was…tough…" David said, trying not to reveal too much to his daughter. "By the time I knew her, she was already pretty…mean."

"Yeah, but it wasn't her fault, right? I mean she was forced to get married, and the man who she Loved left because of Mom. Those are all pretty bad things." Emma said, recounting the story she had heard hundreds of times growing up.

"Yeah. Something like that." David said, his voice sounding uncertain.

"What? It wasn't?" Emma asked.

"For the most part it was. But, the man she Loved, he didn't run away. He was killed. In front of her, right before they were about to leave together." David explained.

"That's even worse." Emma said, her heart hurting suddenly.

"Yes. But it doesn't excuse what she did. To your mom and I." David said. "She tried to hurt us both. A lot." David said, suddenly realizing he probably has already said too much.

"Yeah, but in the end she changed, right? She said she did what she did to protect everyone from her, right?" Emma asked, insistence in her voice.

"Well, I think her exact words were that she needed to protect you from her. She kept telling your mom that we needed to protect you and Love you the way you deserve to be Loved." David said, taking another sip of water, already regretting saying too much.

"Me, why me? I wasn't even born yet. Why did she care so much about someone who didn't even exist yet?" Emma asked.

"I don't know. Your mom said she wasn't making much sense at the end. Like something changed inside her all of a sudden and she was acting completely different. Somehow she did know that we would have a daughter with blonde hair and green eyes." David said. "I really shouldn't be talking to you about this. Your mother is going to kill me." David laughed, hoping to change the subject.

"Is she still sleeping? Do you know where she is now?" Emma asked, firing questions.

"Yes, she is still sleeping, where I expect she will be for a very long time. And no, I'm not going to tell you where she is." David answered, trying to put a stop to this conversation.

"What's her name?" Emma asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not telling you, Emma. Let's drop this subject before we both get into trouble." David said, standing suddenly.

"Please, Dad? Just tell me her name?" Emma pleaded.

"No, drop it." David said, reaching to help Emma up. "What's with this obsession all of a sudden?"

"I was just curious." Emma lied, as she followed her father back to their horses.

"Come on, we should be getting back before your mother sends out a search party for us." David laughed, as he climbed back onto his horse. "You'll have to give me a head start though, just so I have a fighting chance of keeping up with you." David laughed, as he took off towards their castle. Emma gave him a few minutes head start, and still managed to beat him to the castle.


"Happy birthday, Your Highness." The last guest bowed as they left the ball.

"Thank you very much for celebrating my sixteenth birthday with me." Princess Emma smiled, relieved that this evening was finally over.

"Did you have a good time?" Queen Snow asked, as she walked through the castle with her husband and daughter, making their way towards their bedchambers for the night.

"It was lovely, thanks Mom." Emma said, smiling her best fake smile. "But it wasn't necessary, you know that."

"I know. But you're the Princess, and you only turn sixteen once." Snow said, linking arms with her daughter.

"Did you happen to meet anyone you liked tonight?" King David asked, winking at his daughter.

"Eww, dad! No!" Emma said, swatting at her father. "Besides, all the kids my age are so…dull and boring. I want to be with someone exciting." Emma laughed, as they arrived at the doors of her bedchamber.

"Goodnight, Sweetie." Snow said, hugging Emma tight.

"Sleep well." David said, taking his turn hugging Emma.

"Goodnight. I'll see you both in the morning." Emma said. "Thanks again for the party." Emma added, before entering her bedchambers, closing the door quickly behind her.

There was a fire burning in the fireplace, and Emma could instantly feel the warmth that radiated from it. Even with the fire burning, the room still had a faint chill in the air that reminded her that winter was right around the corner. She sat down on one of the couches that created a small circle around the fireplace in a very unladylike position, her eyes fixed on the flickering flames, as her mind wandered a mile a minute. She wasn't lying when she told her father that most of the kids her own age were dull and boring. But that wasn't the reason she didn't want to be more than friends with them. There was always something standing in the way of her heart, preventing her from feeling anything towards them. The more she thought about it, the less she understood.

She sat on the couch for a while, mesmerized by the flames when a large yawn broke her free from her thoughts. She jumped off the couch and quickly began to undress, pulling her dress off as fast as she could, tossing it on the floor, before a sudden wave of consciousness caused her to pick it up and hang it up in her wardrobe. Emma hated balls and parties and just about everything that required her to wear huge dresses that were hard to breathe in and shoes that made her feet throb. She sighed a happy smile when she pulled on her linen sleeping clothes and climbed into her huge bed, sitting up with a huff when she realized she forgot to undo her long blonde hair that was pinned on the top of her head. A few minutes later, she finally laid down, her hair freed and flowing free around her head. She stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, the fire casting shadows across the walls, until her eyes slowly closed from exhaustion.

Emma walked down an unfamiliar road. The road was unlike any that she had ever seen in her life. It was smooth and black without any dirt or stones in sight. She looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was. There were buildings on either side of the road, larger than any homes she had ever seen. Light shone down from the top of large poles, but there were no fires casting shadows. The lights were still and bright. Emma took a tentative step forward, gaining the courage to explore her new surroundings. In the distance her eyes caught sight of a large building with a clock on the top, reading "eight-fifteen". As if by instinct, Emma began walking towards the large clock, her strange shoes making almost no sound as she walked down the street. As the tower came into focus, Emma realized there was someone standing beneath it, their back turned towards her. Emma picked up the pace as she ran towards the stranger, ready to ask questions.

"Hey, hello! Can you hear me?" Emma asked, once she was just a few paces away from the stranger. Emma froze instantly as the stranger turned around slowly.

Standing in front of her was the most beautiful woman Emma had ever seen in all sixteen years of her life. Her hair was short and curly and fell just below her earlobes, revealing the small dangling earring. Her deep purple coat fell down past her knees, the skirt that she wore matched the coat perfectly. Her gloved hands futzed nervously with the white scarf she wore around her neck as Emma approached her. She smiled with her whole face when she turned around and saw Emma, as if she had been standing there waiting for a long time.

"Where are we?" Emma asked, as she closed the gap between her and the woman.

The woman didn't say a word, just pointed to the sign behind her.

"Storybrooke Public Library?" Emma asked, even more confused than before. "We're in a place called Storybrooke?"

The woman nodded, her smile widening at Emma's proximity.

"Do you know who I am?" Emma asked.

The woman nodded again, her eyes wide.

"You feel very familiar, like we've met before. Do I know you?" Emma asked after a few moments.

The woman continued to nod, but still never said a word.

"Who are you?" Emma asked.

The woman stopped nodding, her mouth opening as if she was trying to say something, but nothing came out.

"Can you speak?" Emma asked, as she watched the woman struggle to speak.

The woman tried a few more times, each time failing. Eventually she gave up, shaking her head.

"This is going to sound crazy…but…" Emma started to say, knowing what she was about to say really was crazy. "Are you…are you The Sleeping Lady?"

The woman's eyes seemed to shine at Emma's words, her expression bright as she nodded her head wildly.

"Am I in your dream?" Emma asked, realizing that she could only ask the woman yes and no questions.

The woman continued to nod.

"Have you been here the whole time? Ever since you ate the poisoned apple?" Emma asked.

The woman nodded.

"Did you…" Emma started to ask, tears welling in her eyes. "Did you really do it to protect me?"

The woman nodded. Emma could see her eyes filling with tears as well.

"Why? I've never met you. I wasn't even alive when you went to sleep. Why?" Emma asked, forgetting the woman couldn't speak.

The woman looked at her, tears falling from her eyes as she struggled to figure out a way to nonverbally communicate. After a few minutes, she raised her gloved hands to her chest, placing them over her heart.

"I don't understand." Emma said.

The woman pulled off her black gloves, tossing them on the ground, as she took a few steps closer. She was standing so close that Emma could smell her perfume. There was a faintest hint of apples behind the woman's scent. The woman reached down and grabbed Emma's right hand, placing it on her chest where her own hands had been just moments ago, holding it in place. Emma could feel the woman's heart beating inside her chest, as tears continued to fall from her eyes. After a moment, she placed her own hand on Emma's chest, over Emma's heart. Her touch was soft and her hand felt warm against Emma's chest. Just as Emma placed her hand on top of the hand that was gently pressing against her own chest, the scene faded.

The room was flooded with light as Emma shot up in bed, gasping for breath. She reached down to the place where the woman's hand had just been in her dream, her skin still warm from the woman's touch.


Every night for the next six months, Emma had the exact same dream. She was always walking down the same strange road, in the same strange town called Storybrooke. Always walking towards the same woman standing underneath the clock that always reads eight-fifteen. Her dreams always ended with them holding their hands over each other's hearts, their fingers grazing over the other's. Emma woke each morning with the lingering feeling of the woman's hand on her chest, a wide smile on her face.

Emma climbed into bed that night, her mind racing, as she willed sleep to come, eager to dream once again.

Emma looked around at the strange town. She had walked these strange streets over one hundred times already, and yet something felt different this time as she made her way towards the clocktower, where she knew The Sleeping Lady would be waiting for her. As soon as she saw Emma approaching, the woman ran towards her, the sound of her heels against the ground echoing off the buildings around them.

"Emma…" The woman said, her face bright, as she ran towards Emma.

Emma froze in place as she heard her name escape the previously silent woman. "Did you…did you just say my name?" She asked, as the woman stopped in front of her.

"Emma…" She said again. Emma's heart pounded as she heard the woman's voice for the second time.

"What's going on? You can talk now?" Emma asked, looking at the woman who was standing so close to her. "What's your name? Please, tell me your name."

"Shhhh…" The woman whispered, placing her finger over Emma's lips. After a moment, she raised her hands to gently cup Emma's face, her hands warm against her skin. "Come find me…"

A sudden flash caused the world to disappear. Emma could still feel the woman's hands on her face, but she couldn't see her anymore. Instead, Emma was standing behind a wooden door in a dark hallway. She looked around to try to figure out where she was, searching for something familiar. A painting at the end of the hall told her exactly where she was, a forgotten wing in the castle she had grown up in. She discovered that hallway when she was ten, and was instantly told never to go down there again. Now she understood why.

Another flash brought her back to the streets of Storybrooke. The woman's hands were still gently cupping her face, tears falling over the wide smile on her face.

"Come find me, Emma." She whispered.

"I know where you are." Emma said, gently placing her hands over the woman's. "I'll find you." Emma whispered.

The woman stroked her thumbs under her eyes, wiping away the tears that Emma didn't even know were there, as the scene faded away once again.

Emma shot up in bed the moment her eyes opened, her hands instantly touching her face. She could still feel the woman's touch as she felt her warm skin, moist from her tears. The room was dark, the only light coming from the full moon outside the window.

"I know where she is." Emma said out loud, as she detangled herself from the blankets, jumping out of bed, running towards the door the moment her feet hit the floor.

Emma ran down the halls of the silent castle, her bare feet slapping against the cold floor as she ran. Suddenly, she was standing in front of a small door, the same door she had seen in her dream moments before. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The hinges groaned as the door slowly opened, revealing a small room. The light of the full moon shone through the small window, illuminating the only object in the room, a glass box. Emma took a few shaky steps into the room, walking slowly towards the glass box in the middle of the room, her breath catching in her chest when she looked down at the person laying inside.

It was the woman from her dreams.

Her hair was much longer, falling along one side of body. Her clothes were very different, instead of the deep purple coat and matching skirt, she wore a light teal dress, flowing down to her bare feet. No scarf covered her long and slender neck, and her hands were clasped over her abdomen, just below her breasts. Her face looked so peaceful as she slept in her glass coffin, her skin free of makeup. Despite the differences, there was no denying it. It was the woman from Emma's dreams. The woman she had been dreaming about for the past six months. The same woman she had been obsessed with for almost sixteen years.

"I told you I would find you." Emma whispered, as she traced the woman's face over the glass.