AN: I love all these awesome reviews. Your feedback really helps keep me going. Another chapter down, hope you enjoy.
Emma was thrown to the stone floor in front of an older-looking brunette who sat sternly atop her throne. She hit the ground with a reverberating smack and an "oof" managed to escape her lips. She cautioned a look up at the figure in front of her who sat still, but gazed down upon her with a look of curiosity. Her fingers drummed on the armrest at her side. Emma had no idea who this figure was, or what was going on here, but something whispered to her not to stand in the presence of the queen. A rush of breath escaped her, as she tried to contain a laugh at the ridiculousness of that thought. Queens didn't exist anymore, they never had in America, and this woman in front of her certainly wasn't the Queen of England.
She studied the figure in front of her, waiting for something to happen, she wasn't sure how to proceed, but she drank in the details, unsure of what may happen later. The queen sat perfectly upright, wearing a red dress, definitely looking regal and commanding in her presence. Her hair was pinned back but one strand framed her face, accentuating her makeup nicely. Her lips were a bright red; Emma thought a shade not many would be able to pull off. She could play the part of a stern grandmother without a doubt, and Emma wondered if she ruled by fear alone.
"What have we here?"
One of the guards spoke up behind her, "She was found trying to enter the kingdom, she does not belong to our land, your Majesty."
"So, she is still living? How did she find us?"
"She followed in Scarlet. She's one of Gold's."
The Queen's eyes flared at hearing this information. "Where is he?" She demanded and Emma stayed quiet not knowing who she was referring to and hoping that the guard would continue to answer for her.
The Queen demanded again, "Where is Scarlet!" This time she had lost her previously calm demeanor and Emma swore she could see the flames in her eyes. She thought the guard would answer as they had kept her from following Will further. Emma cautiously looked back to the guard standing behind her, imploring them to answer.
The Queen wasted no time waiting for a reply, "Bring him to me!" She banged her fist on the armrest of her throne and this time there really was a fire in her eyes.
The guards tripped over themselves trying to leave the room, seeming as though neither could escape fast enough to please the queen before them. One stammered out "Y-yes your Majesty" as he fell to the ground preferring to crawl his way out.
Now that the room was empty save for Emma and the queen herself, her gaze softened as she adjusted her focus to the blonde cowering before her, "You tracked Will here?"
"Y-yes," Emma paused before adding "your Majesty". She wasn't sure what she should do in this situation but did not wish to irk the queen further, lest those flames be directed at her next.
This seemed to please the queen as she smiled and stood, making her way towards Emma, the train of dress stretching out behind her. Her heels clicked on the stone floor, measuring her long, slow steps. She spoke again, "What is it that you want with him that you would come all the way into the territory of the Queen of Hearts to get?"
Emma kept her eyes on the floor as the woman neared her, she could swear she felt fingertips brush against her back as the queen passed her. "I was sent by death to retrieve lost souls. My first mission was to catch Will Scarlet and turn him in, he has evaded death's reach for too long."
The Queen of Hearts seemed to latch onto this bit of information and her eyes lit up as a predatory smile overtook her face. "Your first mission for death? Oh Gold must be getting desperate now to catch him if he's resorted to using the living. Very well, I will make you a deal, you can have your prey if you agree to leave my kingdom and all of us alone. He's of no use to me now anyways."
Emma wasn't sure if this was a trap, this seemed all too easy for her given the fear the queen seemed to strike into her guards and wait, she said Queen of Hearts? Like Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts? Emma had to keep the shock off her face, she couldn't believe she'd fallen into Wonderland, she'd just walked through a wall after all.
"No use?"
"He's led you straight to us, I can't have him running around putting the rest of us at risk. Your issue lies with him, not the rest of my kingdom; I can always replace him if I have use of another."
The guards burst in, two of them restraining a struggling Will Scarlet. The hall filled with his screams and his struggling increased as he saw Emma kneeling before the queen. She once again looked down at Emma, ignoring the intrusion before them. "He is yours, my guards will escort you back to your land, please refrain from taking him until you have returned to where you came from. I don't want Gold's men here more than necessary. You are dismissed."
She turned her back on the group and returned to her spot on her throne. Emma took this as her cue and followed the guards holding their prisoner. They showed her to a doorway and handed Will over before standing back to the side. Emma grabbed hold of his arms and pushed him through.
They emerged on the other side of the brick wall, unnoticed by the surrounding population. Emma reached for her cuffs, not wanting a repeat of the chase from earlier. Who knows where she'd end up this time. Though there was still one question burning for an answer, and with only a moment's hesitation, she asked. "How'd you know?"
He let out a short laugh, "Know what?"
Emma shoved him into a wall, she didn't have time for these games, "You know what."
Will had winced at the contact his front had made with the brick wall, a gasp of pain escaped his lips and he said, "You really don't know? You should really learn to hide your smell. Most normal people won't notice it, but those of us who exist because we can't be found, we've learned. You smell a bit earthy after death, it's like the smell of the forest after a fresh rainstorm, clean but dirty."
There was a far off look in his eyes as he finished the last part Emma couldn't help but notice, it was like a memory for him, a memory that was out of place, as if it reminded him of a person it once belonged to. There was almost a peace that he showed, one that had been missing. Maybe this was who he really was and not the person she'd seen before. Emma took this moment to slip the cuffs on him without his notice, his attempts at breaking free had stopped with his last answer.
The skies darkened overhead as she clicked the cuff closed around his wrist. It was an unearthly bluish gray, lightning streaked its way through the clouds, a hole opening up above them. The sun had disappeared entirely, making the day as dark as night. The clouds began swirling as shadows began moving, pouring out of the hole they created. Emma blinked and found herself surrounded, shadows clung to the walls, darting in and out of sight, claws scratching on the asphalt below. She could feel their breath, hot on her neck, tongue grazing her skin. It stopped as suddenly as it started, Graham walking down the alleyway, calling the spirits back to him.
"We are only here for the male. You may claim him as you will, but she is already ours."
Emma was no longer reassured by his presence as he stepped up to her, taking hold of Will. He was still dressed as she had seen him before, and he sent her a gentle smile before disappearing in a flash of lightning.
Emma blinked, temporarily blinded from the flash that appeared right in front of her. Everything was back to normal, or she suspected had always been normal for everyone else. She stepped back out into the street, not sure what to make of the events that had just transpired.