And back again with this story!

We have the official intro of an important character and the plot truly begins.

I hope everyone enjoys this.

Emma made her way closer to the carriage, flinching at the charred and blackened state it was in. Thankfully it seemed that the horses were taken away before the fire started, and perhaps anyone accompanying the carriage. Now she just had to hope that whoever was in it wasn't dead.

Although Emma's status as a thief might make it seem villainous, she was far from it. She always made sure her targets were rich enough that they could survive losing the money, and she never went out with the intention of hurting anyone. Now if any idiots got in her way, she knew just how to deal with them, hence why she carried her bow and arrows, as well as a motley of knives hidden away. But Emma was proud to say she had never killed anyone, nor would she ever.

Once she found the door, she saw with a pang that the handle was broken, and the glass window wasn't wide enough to pass a human through it. But air was a necessity. Emma tried to peer inside, but only saw darkness. The thief hoped that the victim wasn't near the door as she elbowed the glass in.

It shattered instantly on contact, and Emma relaxed a bit knowing that at least air was getting in there. She groped around for the inner door handle, and found it missing too. Trying to budge the door with her bare hands had no success, the Ne'er-Do-Well gang must've done everything to ensure whoever was in there couldn't open the door by any means.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Emma tentatively called to the dark depths inside the carriage. She got no response.

She reached around and grabbed one of her arrows from her quiver, and wedged it in the doorjamb. Emma hoped that her arrow wouldn't snap, and started to apply pressure, hoping the door's lock was flimsy.

It was. With a crack and a snap, the door opened, and her arrow split in half. She had plenty of other arrows so she just dropped the broken one and glanced inside. There. An unconscious figure draped in black was lying on the floor. Emma scrambled to get the figure out of the vehicle and on the ground to inspect them better.

Wow. That was the first thought that came to Emma as she saw the gorgeous figure she was holding properly in the sunlight. Silky dark brown hair and flawless skin, this woman must be one hell of a queen to be looking so luscious. Or maybe this woman was an angel. The dark and revealing fancy dress shot that last idea down, but Emma was fascinated. So much so that she nearly forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Checking to see if she was alive. Right.

The green-clad thief quickly put the woman gently on the ground, using a fallen trunk as a pillow to prop the woman up on. She checked her pulse and was relieved to find out that her mysterious royal was still alive. She didn't appear to be injured, but her wrists were tied together behind her. Emma reached towards the dagger by her boot and slashed the rope open. As soon as the royal's hands were free, Emma made sure the brunette woman was lying comfortably before she refocused on her surroundings.

The royal would need water when she woke up after inhaling so much smoke, and Emma's canteen was inside one of Ban's pouches, probably back in Storybrooke Village by now. Looking around, she saw a pile of contents lying just outside of the circle of fire-ravaged forest. Upon closer inspection, Emma recognized the things as Neal's. The sword was definitely his, he must've dropped everything when he rushed into the fire to try and rescue whoever this woman was. She thanked her lucky stars as she spotted a canteen among the contents Neal had brought. Also there was a small pouch of gold and his cloak.

Emma attached the sheathed sword to her belt and gathered everything else in her arms, taking it closer to the woman on the ground, who was just now waking up. She made sure her hood was up properly and prepared herself.

The first thing Regina noticed was the smell of smoke. Before she had even opened her eyes, the smell of burnt wood attacked her senses, disorienting her. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in the Enchanted Forest, and the trees around her were charred.

Then she remembered. Her guards stopping at the blockade of thieves, the sea of arrows on fire, the manacle, her hands tied up, being shoved into her carriage and then locked in. Trying to open the door by any means possible. Choking on smoke. A final plea of desperation. Please...anyone.

She cleared her throat, that moment of weakness would stay hidden until her dying day.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, your Highness." Regina jumped at hearing the voice speak, and for a chilling moment, she thought that the thieves were still here. But this was the voice of a woman. The gang of bandits before had all been men. She turned her head and her heart sunk.

The figure a little ways from where she was lying was clad in green, a sword by her hip, a bow and another sword strapped to her back, arrows peeking out from the quiver. Her face was shrouded in darkness due to the hood, which made Regina antsy. This woman was clearly a thief. She must've been more out of it than she thought, as she usually kept her face an impassive mask, only breaking to show anger. Never happiness, or even more rarely, fear. But right now, her face betrayed her apprehension.

The thief must've noticed her expression and brought her hands up in a placating gesture, leather-glove clad hands trying to calm the royal. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Regina scoffed, making a move to retort with a biting response, but her words got caught in her throat as she coughed, probably from the smoke still in her lungs that she had inhaled.

"Oh right, here drink this." The thief held out a canteen towards her, but Regina eyed it warily. Sensing the mistrust, the other woman sighed, bringing the canteen to her face, but rose it a bit further so that the water was visibly cascading into her mouth. Once a bit of the water was swallowed, she turned back to look at the royal, once more holding it out. "See? Not poisoned."

Regina finally relented, taking a hearty swig from the offered canteen. After she finally felt that her voice was back, she said, "I hope you're not expecting some reward for this, thief." The last word was said with a sneer and a glare to the mysterious figure crouching by her side.

But the thief merely smirked. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice, your Highness."

That was something Regina never did, and especially refused to do, seeing the self-righteous smirk in her saviour. "And whyever would I want to say such a thing?"

"Because I saved your life."

"I beg to differ. I was doing quite fine without your meddling."

Regina heard a scoff and it made her blood boil. How dare this woman not treat her with respect. Or even cower at her feet. "Of course your Highness, I hadn't realized that collapsing from the smoke inside your carriage with your hands bound behind your back was part of your plan."

The royal glared, getting the thief to smirk even more. Oh how she wanted to wipe that smirk off of her face. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I'm assuming you are some sort of queen or royal. The forest isn't exactly privy to all the comings and goings of high life gossip, so forgive me if you're supposed to be this intimidating figure in your land."

Regina had had enough of this farce. She stood up, fists clenching, glaring down at the still crouching thief.

After a beat, the thief stood, the figure was slightly taller than she was, and with the smirk still in place, she crossed her arms. Neither woman said anything for a while, but Regina would not relent.

"If you know what's good for you, thief, you'll wipe that smirk off your face or..." Turning her arm towards her chest, she went to make the familiar movement to call up a fireball, but was met with nothing but air on her clawed hand.

"...Or you'll offer your hand to me?" The smirk grew even wider if possible, and Regina swore she heard a chuckle. "I'm flattered your Highness. Perhaps we should start making our way to your land before dusk falls?"

Regina looked down at her hand, wondering why her magic was failing her. It was then she realized she still had the manacle on. The one that supposedly took away her ability to do magic. She had felt weaker once that disgusting bandit had slapped it on her, though she had spat in his face as retribution. She didn't want to admit to this woman about the manacle, the thief would surely take advantage of it. Besides, she'd be leaving her in a bit. "And what makes you think you'll be accompanying me anywhere? I can handle myself just fine, thief."

"But the woods aren't safe, your Highness."

"I can take care of myself."

"Without so much as a weapon? I doubt it."

Regina realized, though she'd never admit it out loud, the thief was right. She had no magic, and she had no weapons at her disposal. Her skills with a sword were rusty at best, some key lessons still in her mind from the long-past days spent with her father, where he indulged her in some fencing lessons. "You don't know me, I don't need a weapon to help me."

"Forgive me, your Highness, but I don't believe you."

Regina didn't even deign to respond, making her way out of the charred area of the forest, heading in the way that the carriage was facing, which clearly had to be the direction her kingdom was located.

After a few paces, she heard a voice call to her. "Forgive me your Highness, but you're headed in the direction of King Leo's kingdom. To the best of my knowledge, King Leo is a man, and an unmarried one at that, so would I be wrong in assuming you have no idea where you are going?"

Regina whipped back to face the thief. She stomped back to where the insufferable woman stood, all the while trying to channel all her malice and Evil Queen elegance she could muster. She unconsciously started to make a gesture to call up rocks ready to pelt the woman as a threat, but once more nothing came, not that she noticed it at first. "If you are trying to trick or deceive me, thief I swear-"

"Yes yes I know, you'll do some vague hand movement that is meant to be threatening." Regina could hear the sarcasm in the response, which only made the queen purse her lips even more, and narrow her eyes as if glaring could intimidate the thief. "But really, what possible reason could I have for trying to deceive you?"

The other woman clearly must think her a fool. "You jest. Do you really think of me as that stupid? You are a thief and I am a royal, stranded in a forest, why wouldn't you deceive me?"

"Well, your Highness, I believe you just answered your query. You are stranded in the Enchanted Forest, and you should know that us thieves don't just steal, we help those who need it." Regina saw that the smirk had morphed into a smile, the thief seeming friendlier just like that.

"And what makes you think I need help?"

There was a groan, and Regina was sure that, if she could have seen the woman's eyes, she'd be rolling them. "It won't kill you to admit it, you know?"

Regina didn't answer, for what could she say? She was completely lost, though her stubbornness would never let her admit that, and denying it further would just prompt the thief to keep goading her until she did. So she did the next best thing, and started to walk away in another direction. She had a general knowledge of where her kingdom was located in relation to King Leo's, and headed in the direction she believed her kingdom was located.

Of course the thief followed her. Regina couldn't hear their footfalls, she supposed the thief was an expert on not making any noise, but the queen could tell there was a presence trailing behind her.

"If it makes you feel better," the thief piped up after a few minutes of silent walking, "You can always just say that I wouldn't stop bugging you or leaving you alone and kept you company."

Regina stopped walking and turned once more to face the mysterious thief, finally finding a reason to smirk herself. "Is that not what you are doing regardless?"

"Touché." The thief bowed her head a little bit in recognition that she had been outwitted. "Am I to take this to mean I am indeed accompanying you to your kingdom?"

"Do I have a choice?"

The plot thickens! Well not really, it was more conversation that anything, I just couldn't resist the snarkfest between these two.

So Emma and Regina have met! What do you think?

Next up will be the travel and adventures through the forest, including a sleepover [oooooh~]

What is next in terms of stories? Well I'll be uploading Date in the Name of the Law, as well as adding a new chapter.

Then I'll be tackling a NEW story [yes I have a problem with starting too many stories] which will be an Enchanted AU like you've never seen it before.

And yes I mean Enchanted as in the Disney movie that I'm pretty sure in some way or form must've inspired this show in some level [alongside Fables of course].

Also I've got a tumblr! Link is on my profile, so you're more than welcome to check it out!