A/N: I am super duper sorry about the huge, long wait! I had 2 camps back to back, so that was two weeks away from my computer, and now I am grounded from all my electronics just for when I go to bed at night. I am SO SORRY! I tried typing during the day, but I didn't have enough time. Now I finally had enough time during the day to work on this :) I will try to get the next chapter completed much faster this time!
"So who exactly is Cora?" The silence was broken when Emma asked her parents as the three of them were being led to where they were supposed to meet the leader of the small island they were on.
"Well, to you, she is your great step-grandmother." David spoke up. Emma looked to him, suddenly interested in the reasoning behind the huge feud between her family and Cora's. "I've only met her once, but Snow told me a lot about her and Regina back before the curse."
Snow finally realized that David had just called her by her real name again. She looked up and smiled, but said nothing about it. Instead, she continued for him.
"I'm not sure if you've read Henry's book yet, but did you know that Regina wasn't always evil?" Snow asked Emma. Emma's eyebrows shot straight up at the thought.
"Are you serious? Regina? Good?"
David chuckled quietly at the thought as well, but he's heard the story. Snow continued.
"Yes, Regina was actually good, just like us, but that was before she met Rumplestiltskin."
It took Emma longer than it should have to realize she meant Mr. Gold. Of course it had something to do with him.
"In fact, Regina had even fallen in love with the stableboy, but neither Cora nor Henry - Regina's father - knew about their secret relationship. One day, when I was very little, around 7 or 8 years old, I had been traveling with my family in search of a stepmother, since my mother had recently died from a sickness that I still don't know what it was. Anyway, that day, my steed was suddenly scared of something and took off running through the fields with me on it, and a stranger saw me in need of help and followed to help me off my horse before I fell. Guess who that stranger was."
Emma thought for a second. Well, this story is apparently about either Regina or Cora...
"Um... Regina?" Emma guessed. Snow nodded slowly, then continued while they were still walking to the main village.
"That's right. That is how I met Regina. Then-"
"Wait a second..." Emma interrupted. "Why does she hate you and David so much now, if she actually saved you?"
Snow looked at Emma. "I'll get to that part if you let me finish..."
"Sorry."
"As I was saying... my father, King Leopold, heard about the rescue, and proposed to Regina. Of course she did not want to marry my father, but Cora wanted her to be mannerly, which Regina did not. So Cora answered for her. I had followed Regina to the stables to tell her how happy I was that she, the kind woman who once saved my life, was going to be apart of my family, but I then saw Regina with the stableboy. I of course, because of how young I was, didn't understand love or any of that, so I tried to run back and tell my father about her and the stableboy, but they both saw me and Regina explained and told me not to tell anyone of it..."
"So..." Emma took the opportunity of Snow's pause in the story to talk. "With all the hatred she now has toward all of us, I'm assuming you told someone?"
Snow sighed. David grabbed Snow's hand in reassurance as they continued walking.
"Yes... I- I was little; I didn't know any better, and Cora told me one day that she would do anything to make Regina happy. Like, anything. So I told her about Regina and the stableboy. I thought Cora would just call off the wedding and let Regina be happy with the stableboy, but apparently, that's not what Regina told me what happened..."
Snow faded off. Emma wanted to know what that cruel woman did so bad that made Regina so mad to hate Snow so much. "So... what did Regina say that happened?"
"Regina told me... she said that- that Cora literally ripped out the stableboy's heart, and crushed it right in front of her, and forced her to marry my father..."
Emma's eyes widened.
"And it was all my fault..." Snow continued, blaming herself. David squeezed Snow's hand. She looked up at him and David saw that she had tears forming in her eyes.
"No, it wasn't your fault," David tried to help. "Cora would've found out anyway."
"Regina also told me that- that she was also about to run off with him, before I tattled on them, and- and they were already engaged, and I just ruined it by blabbing off to Cora about them, just thinking it would make it better and help Regina get what she wanted!"
"Shh..." David soothed, running his hand up and down her back, trying to calm her. Emma just walked along beside them, unsure of what to do. "You were too young. And didn't you say that Cora told you that she would do anything to make Regina happy? Isn't that why you told her?"
"Well, yes, but I just..." Snow mumbled off. She took a deep breath, trying to get control of herself before she broke down in tears as they were walking into a full village of curse-survivors. The man who was leading them back to the village stopped.
"Wait here." He ordered as he left. A minute later, Snow was dry of tears from David calming her in his arms. From a hut in front of them, Snow recognized a tall man step outside and turn to the three of them waiting. She turned to David, who also apparently recognized the man.
"Snow? James?" The man stepped to the ground, approaching them. Emma was obviously confused.
"Lancelot?" Snow asked as she and David went up and embraced their old friend from all those years ago.
They stepped back. Lancelot held his arms out in front of him. "Where have you been? What happened? How did you get back here?"
Emma stepped up, interrupting. "Uh, hey, I'm Emma," she turned to her parents. "We can trust him, right...? I just want to make sure."
Snow chuckled. "Yes, we can finally trust someone here."
David turned to Emma. "Emma, this is Lancelot, the man who officially married Snow and me," then he turned to him. "Lancelot, this is our daughter, Emma."
Emma smiled shyly. Then something stuck to her about who David introduced him as. "Official wedding"? Was there more than one? Before she got to ask about that, Snow had already started talking, so she tuned in on what she was telling him.
"...Emma through the wardrobe and I found David on the ground, dying, and before I knew it, the next time I saw him as my Charming was in the middle of the street right after the curse was broken by my daughter, who is the savior. Then we get caught in a portal, sending a wraith here. We all thought the Enchanted Forest was ripped away because of the curse. Emma's son, Henry is back in Storybrooke, and now that we know this land is still here, I think it may be possible to go back."
"Henry..." Lancelot pondered, turning to Emma. "How'd you name him that?"
Emma looked confused. "Uh... I didn't. It's a long story, but I kinda share him with Regina. He's legally hers by adoption."
Lancelot took all that in. Then he spoke up again. "Well, who's hungry?"
