Chapter Two: A Normal Day

13 Years Ago

Emma sat alone in her nursery. She was meant to be playing with her dolls while her mommy and daddy spoke with Lord Rogers, but she was frightened. She hadn't meant to break the chandelier, she was just reaching for her dinner roll when sparks came flying from her hand and made it come crashing down in the middle of the table. Mommy and Daddy had screamed, Alise looked on the verge of tears, the only calm person had been August, as if he expected all of this. Emma had been told she wasn't in trouble, but she was then ushered off to her room. That only happened when she needed "a break" as her mommy would call it. She didn't like it when her mommy and daddy were mad at her, it meant no playing or cuddles.

There was a knock at the door and she perked up, thinking it was them, but instead August walked in. "Hey Em."

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?"

"They're still talking with Lord Rogers."

"They're mad."

"No, no, they're just worried," August told her. He had his hands behind his back and Emma partially smiled. Sometimes her brother would do this to cheer her up.

"What do you have?"

August grinned and put both enclosed fists in front of him. "Which one do you think the treasure is in?"

Emma thought about it before pointing to his left one. August opened it to reveal a handful of chocolate squares. Her little green eyes lit up. "Thank you, Auggie!" She took them and began to nibble on them.

August sat beside her and stroked her hair. "You're welcome."

"Mommy and Daddy still love me?"

"Of course they do. I do, too. And so does Ally." Emma held out a hand, offering her brother a chocolate. He smiled and accepted it. "Thank you."

"You'll always be my big brother?"

"Of course! It's my job to protect you."

Another knock at the door and Alise walked in, one of her favorite dolls in her arms. She was 12 now, so she didn't exactly play with them anymore. Still, she never let her little sister touch them. That day was a special occasion. Emma had always admired that one the most on her sister's shelf.

"Hey Emmy," Alise sat on the other side of her baby sister. "I was thinking, maybe you could look over Maia for me."

Emma looked up, wide eyed. "Really?"

"Yeah. I have a lot of lessons the next few days and she's my youngest doll. I think you could be her babysitter." She noticed the chocolate smudged on Emma's hands. "Though, you should wipe your hands first."

August reached into satchel and removed a rag, wiping his baby sister's hands. Alise placed the doll in her arms and Emma cuddled it close. The older girl used one hand to stroke her hair and reached over to squeeze August's hand.

"No matter what, we'll always be brother and sisters," she promised them. "We're always here for you, Emmy."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Meanwhile, Odette and Derek sat in one of the meeting rooms. Well, the queen was sitting, her husband was pacing.

"So, where did these powers come from? Was she cursed?" Derek asked.

"No, from what August has told me, Emma is the product of true love." As Derek's confidant, Lord Rogers was one of the few in the kingdom who knew the truth of the princess' lineage. Everyone else was simply told that Odette had concealed her pregnancy in case of a miscarriage and that Emma was a welcome surprise, that Derek had discovered August not long after in the woods. They hated lying to their kingdom, but they could not risk anyone telling Emma the truth someday. The Lord continued, trying to ease the fears of his friends. "Her magic can be controlled. I know of a few people who can help."

"They cannot know that she's adopted," Odette said, quietly. She never wanted to keep the secret from her daughter, however since Derek did and they had already explained to Emma that she had grown in her tummy while Alise and August had grown in her heart, it was too late. At least until she was a little older. It wasn't fair for people to know her daughter's story when she didn't.

"They won't. You and Derek are true loves, since everyone believes her to be a product of you, all will be okay."

Derek walked over, squeezing Odette's shoulders. She reached up, taking his hand, smiling faintly.

"Thank you, Lord," Derek told his friend, indicating he could leave.

"I will go talk to the right people to train her." And with that, he was gone.

"Let's go talk to our little girl," the king said. Odette nodded and stood up, silently following him up to the nursery. They quietly pushed open the door to find Alise and August sitting with their youngest, playing and talking. The pair smiled, fully.

"She's going to be okay," Odette whispered.

"Of course she is," Derek replied, wrapping an arm around her waist. "She'll always know how loved she truly is."

Present Day

Emma woke up the following morning (or to be more accurate, later that morning) and got out of bed. She walked to her wardrobe, passing her shelf that contained still contained Maia the doll. Ever since her parents' death, she had denied a maiden to help her getting dressed. She could dress herself after all. She bathed and did her own hair, slipping on a simple blue dress and matching shoes before heading down to the dining room for breakfast. Hank was the only one there, sipping his coffee.

"Good morning, Emma," he said, kindly. Emma partially smiled in return. She didn't mind Hank, he was a nice guy. He had been a prince of a nearby kingdom and while his marriage to Alise hadn't been arranged, it was made quite clear that their parents were pleased she didn't show interest in a non-royal. He had been an only child, so it was a little odd to be thrust into the family, but he was adjusting. The only thing Emma didn't like was how he tried to act like a father to her. He wasn't. He was merely her brother-in-law.

"Morning Hank." She slid into her usual spot and watched as a maid poured her some juice.

"Feeling better?" Hank asked, with a wink.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Miraculous recovery."

"Suspected as much. August saved you some cake."

"Something tells me Alise won't be allowing me to have it for breakfast."

"You would be right in that guess," Alise said as she entered the room. She kissed the top of her sister's head before doing the same to her husband's lips. Emma rolled her eyes and tucked into her eggs.

August was next. "Sorry I'm late everyone, had to make sure all of the knights knew what their jobs were for today," he explained, taking the seat next to Emma. He had been knighted at 16 and was now the head of them.

"Hope you told them where they can all stick their swords if they try to follow me around today," Emma said.

"Emma!" Alise scolded while August laughed. "That's just great August, encourage her."

"Oh, come on, Ally. Don't be such a hard ass. I seem to remember a time that you used to be fun," her brother pointed out.

"I am the queen. I do not have time for games or crude humor." She took her seat, gently placing her napkin in her lap. "Hank and I are in meetings all day, we're trying to work on trade between Agrabah and here. Emma, are you attending your lessons?"

"No," the princess replied, spreading some jam onto her roll. She saw her sister wincing. Despite her sister's magic being under control, she couldn't help but worry each time she touched bread that the chandelier would fall. Sometimes Emma was just tempted to make it fall from the ceiling, but she wasn't that mean.

"How about you come with me?" August offered. "I need to sharpen the blades of the swords." Emma seemed to brighten up at that idea. Yes, they could send them out to be done by blacksmiths, but August preferred to do it on his own. He had begun teaching his sister shortly before their parents died how to do it as well.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Hank spoke up.

"Is it any of your concern?" Emma replied. Alise gave her a look. "What? He's your husband, not my father."

"He's also the king, show some respect."

"It's quite alright honey," Hank replied. He didn't want to upset Emma, she had been through enough. Alise just counted back from 10 and ate her breakfast.

Once they were done, the king went off to prepare for the meetings while Alise pulled August to the side.

"I'm going to keep the royals from Agrabah in the meeting halls or at least attempt to. Do not bring Emma by, I don't need her kicking up a stink and embarrassing us, like she did last time."

August shook his head. "She's going through a lot."

"I know. And I'm trying to help her. But I won't be able to if they don't think I can handle being queen."

"Being queen doesn't mean that you can be so pompous. I understand that you have to take some things seriously, but was your little lecture at breakfast necessary? She was just joking and it was only us in the room."

"You say I baby her, look at you. Constantly excusing her behavior."

"No, I'm just staying true to who I am. You're letting power go to your head. You said yesterday how Mom and Dad would feel about Emma's attitude, well they weren't exactly ruling like this."

Before his sister could go any further, August turned on his heel and exited the dining room. Emma was waiting in the hall for him.

"Alright, let's go. I was thinking we could do it outside, it's such a beautiful day."

Emma nodded and followed him to grab the swords before going out into the garden. They got to it, working in silence for a bit. August soon began humming, it was a song his papa used to hum when he would do his woodwork. 16 years later and it still stayed with him.

"You always hum that song," Emma pointed out as she focused on the sword she was working on.

"It's just one I learned as a boy."

"From your papa?"

August nodded. He always had to be so careful with what he told Emma. She knew that he had once been made of wood and was turned into a real boy by a fairy, but that was the extent of it. "Yes, he did woodwork. Made chairs, clocks, wardrobes…"

"Must have been weird to go from that to living in a palace."

"You get used to it."

"Is that why you insist on doing so much yourself?"

"I guess. Dad never argued with me on it."

"I miss your red hair."

August smiled. His red curls had subsided over the years and between haircuts and puberty, the curls were gone and he was left with straight light brown hair instead.

"Yeah, I do too sometimes."

"Do you ever think about looking for your papa? You told me once that he wasn't dead, that he had to give you up for your best chance."

"One day, maybe I'll go searching." With your help, of course.

Emma paused, looking up at him with a frown.

"But why? Weren't Mom and Dad enough?"

August sighed, lowering his own sharpener. "I love Mom and Dad, I always will. But, sometimes you can have more than one set of parents and love them." How badly he wanted to tell Emma everything, the truth she deserved.

"I guess I'll just never get it," Emma admitted. "I'm not adopted."

August didn't say anything. He never lied to Emma, he never could. Not without turning back to who he once was. "Here, I carved you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny wooden knight. "For your birthday. I know you're 16, but I used to make these for you when you were little. Figured it could go with your collection."

Emma smiled, taking the small figure into her hand. "It's perfect."

"You sure?"

"You made it. It's better than the other presents I'm sure I received. I mean really, how many strands of pearls does a princess need?"

August laughed. "You're Mom's daughter, but you're nothing alike."

"Yeah, I don't know where I get my unmaterialistic side from."

Once the swords were sharpened, Emma's mood had improved. She was feeling better than she had before. She needed more days like that. Days where there was no pressure to act perfect or like nothing was wrong. Days when she could just hang out with her big brother and relax.

She headed up to her chambers to clean up. After she did, she spotted the box on her nightstand, the one Alise had given her the night before. It was one last gift from the mother. Typically, every year she got a mound of presents from her parents. This year, just one, meant to be given probably around this time with some others. It was a very beautiful box and over the years, she had perfected an opening spell.

She moved her hand, thinking the spell in her head. The box glowed and the lid flipped open. Inside was a picture and a scroll beside it. She lifted up the picture first, it was a very realistic portrait of a couple, one she didn't recognize. They were wearing royal wedding costumes, the woman had very pale skin and dark hair, the man had blonde locks and deep blue eyes. Both were smiling, happily. Emma was a little confused. Why would her mother want her to have a picture of this couple? She had seen portraits of her grandparents, neither ever looked anything like that.

Next, she lifted up the scroll and began to read it, something she would soon wish she never had….

My dearest Emma,

I love you more than you will ever realize. All children hopefully know that their parents love them, but one cannot understand exactly how deep the love is until they have one themselves. My mother always told me just how much she loved me and I didn't understand until Alise came into my life what she meant. A mother's love for their child is unconditional. It's forever. I'm sure you always told me telling Alise and August that they didn't grow in my stomach but rather my heart, that it didn't make me love them any less. That is the truth and you can take that to the bank.

As happy as I have been these years with you, I have been burdened by a heavy secret, one I never wanted to keep from you. Please do not be angry with your father, he really just wanted to protect you, he never wanted you to once think you weren't loved or wanted. Even so, we shouldn't have lied to you. We should have celebrated this about you rather than hide it. We never once hid it about Alise or August, you deserved the same.

My dear, sweet, baby girl this does not change how much I love you and it doesn't take back all the wonderful memories you may have. But you did not grow in my stomach, like your siblings, you grew in my heart. 16 years ago, when we discovered August in the woods, he wasn't alone. You were with him, wrapped in only your baby blanket. You were always a princess, even before coming with us. You were born to Snow White and her "prince charming" as she would call him. Your land was threatened by an evil queen and she was going to curse it. Your natural parents were lied to by August's natural father, he had built a magical wardrobe to protect two people from the curse. It was meant to carry you and one of your natural parents or both of them if you weren't born before it was enacted. However, Geppetto deceived them and sent August so he would not be cursed. Your natural parents sent you through. I do honestly believe they were making the only choice they could, I would have done the same with any of you. Snow, the prince, almost all of the kingdom was transported to an unknown land. They have been cursed, stuck in time, with no memory of their true selves.

You see Emma, your magic is more than you think. You are the product of true love. I knew Snow and her husband, they were madly, deeply in love. But you were also born to be the savior. On your 28th birthday, you are supposed to break the curse. Your father and I never wanted that for you, we felt it was too much of a burden. However, the more I reflect on it, the more I realize…if it were me, I would hope that you would come for us.

I've written this down because I've tried to find the words so many times over the years. I can't say there's a day I won't regret having kept this secret from you. I can only beg of your forgiveness, though I know I am not deserving of it. Just know, this does not change our love for you. You will forever be my baby girl. When you are ready to talk, if you have questions, of course come to us. We are here for you, forever and always.

Love, Mama

Mary Margaret made her way down the hospital corridor on her usual rounds. Despite teaching all day, she never minded dropping by to lend a hand. She loved helping people. She paused outside a door, reading the name card outside it.

John Doe

She let out a deep breath. For as long as she could remember, that name had been there. No one had ever come to claim this man who never woke. Dr. Whale never seemed to have any information on his condition, if it'd ever get better or worse. The poor thing, it was almost like he was frozen inside.

Mary Margaret walked inside and sat beside the bed, smiling at the man. "Hello, still sleeping, I see." She reached into her bag and pulled out a book, one that seemed to just appear out of nowhere in her closet while she did some spring cleaning. "Don't you worry, I'm sure one day your family will find you. It's what loved ones do, they find each other."

Little did she or this "John Doe" know, they had already found one another. And that was about to lead them to the one part of them that had been missing for 16 years.

Hope you all are enjoying this! Of course, let me know what you want to see happen!