[A/N] Thanks to everyone who left me a review! I appreciate your feedback.
Chapter 6
What sort of awful place is this?
(Enchanted)
I cannot move. My body is strapped flat to a narrow table. Some sort of mask is pressed against my nose and mouth.
Every few seconds a shrill beeping horn is blown.
"65 to 90"
"Only two more blocks until we are there."
"I hate these suicide attempting teenagers."
Something sharp pokes my arm. It's followed by a warm, numbing sensation.
I feel exhausted, like suddenly every bone inside my body is sleepy.
My eyelids are too heavy to keep them open.
xxx
Someone tugs on my shoulder. I groan. I am still so tired.
ΓΌ
A bright light is shone into my left eye. It's coming from a small, flameless candle.
"Pupil reaction, left side, normal."
The candlestick flashes up in front of my right eye now. I try to smell the flame. There is none!
"Pupil reaction, right side, normal."
I blink. The strange, bright light made my eyes water.
A man dressed in a white coat sits on a chair next to me. He smiles.
"Hello there. I am Dr. Whale. Can you tell me your name?"
"Princess Emma."
He chuckles. I watch him write down something with a small wooden stick.
"We need your real name, Princess."
I think of Regina. I think of how I could still be with her if I wasn't who I am. Why can't I be? Just...
"Swan."
Doctor Whale smiles again.
"See? It's not that hard, girl."
His hand is cold when his fingers touch my wrist.
My heart beats and the longest one of them moves a bit right.
What kind of weird magic is this?
"Where am I?"
His lips curl upwards again.
"At the hospital, Miss Swan. You are at the hospital."
I try to sit up but my arms are shackled. It hurts when I pull harder.
"Untie me."
"Breathe, girl, breathe. Everything is fine."
How can he say it was fine to keep me imobile? Was I his prisoner? Why?
"You have no right to keep me here against my will."
He coughed.
"The law requests 24 hours supervision after suicide attempts."
What law? Why would I consider a suicide? Where am I?
Again my arm is being poked. It feels like I'm being poisoned.
It's like death like sleep is crawling through my veins.
A buzzing sound comes out of Dr. Whales coat. He fishes out a small silver colored box and holds it to his ear.
"Manhattan psychiatric center. You are speaking to Dr. Whale."
This time my sleep is restless but long. I dream. I hear voices calling my name. Even Rumplestiltskin's moronic giggle is there.
I see Regina riding the strange saddle in her chambers.
She moans my name.
I wake up sweating.
The whole night is a constant change between dream-filled sleep and being awake tied up in a dark cell.
I can hear some of the other prisoners scream.
Eventually a bright light ball is light up on the ceiling. What kind of magic is this?
I try to blow it out but don't succeed.
Maybe this is another Realm?
One of Regina's books mentioned about how magic is different in different places.
With teary eyes I blink into a bald man's face. He introduces himself as Doctor Adams.
A woman with an odd looking bonnet on her head is with him.
"Emma Swan, attempted suicide."
He doesn't smile when he looks up from the notes in his hands.
"You're not going to give us any problems, are you?"
The woman unties me and helps me to sit up.
"I wish to leave, now."
"And I wish for Prince Charming to come along on his white horse and rescue me."
She giggles.
"Prince Charming is already married to my mother." I tell her.
"Of course. You are Snow White's daughter, aren't you?"
Now, both of them are laughing.
"I am Princess Emma of the Enchanted Forest."
The doctor rolls his eyes.
"I told you, Gracie, this city turns everyone crazy."
She places a pile of clothing next to me on the bed.
"Get dressed, Princess."
I hold up the strange blue pants. Where is the corset? Where the undergarments?
There is a tiny triangle shaped thing.
"What in heaven's name is this?"
Gracie shakes her head and laughs.
"Come on, sweetie pie, let's get you dressed. I help you."
The doctor leaves me alone with Gracie.
My face is beet red when she makes me put on the strange triangle thing as an undergarment. The blue pants are strangely tight around my thighs and calves
The fabric of the white shirt that's been put above my head is soft and smells perfumed.
Gracie hands me a red leather jacket.
"Can I leave now?"
"It would be better for you to stay awhile."
"I want to go home."
"Fine then. Doctor Adams has already signed your release papers. We need your signature here...and down here."
Emma Swan is printed below a dotted line.
I scribble down the name Emma Swan twice.
Deep inside my head Rumple laughs.
xxx
This world is insane! It reeked of sweet and spicy foods and of their strange horseless carriages.
When I jumped in front of one to cross the street, it made an ear-splitting noise!
There are countless people. Everyone is rushing, trying to push themselves through the crowd.
I don't know where to go. For lack of a destination I wander around.
I walk over a huge bridge and admire curious huge houses around me.
A stand with newspapers and books showing pictures covered with mirror sharp images catches my attention.
I take a step to the right and someone curses out loud.
"Are you fucking stupid or what?"
The woman who bumped into me looks pissed. She rubs her leg. Next to her is a puddle of a steaming brown liquid
The smell is not unpleasant.
"You made me fall."
I apologize to her but she is still mad. I don't quite get why. She doesn't seem hurt.
"You ruined-"
"You ruined my 6 bucks Latte Macchiato that I had to wait in line for 20 minutes."
The dark-haired man tugs on his scarf.
"She apologized, so don't make a big thing out of nothing."
He helps her up and I can see how her pissy facial expression transforms into a sugary smile.
"Thank you for helping me. I'm Tamara."
"No big deal."
He is about to turn around and walk off again when she stops him.
"Do we want to exchange numbers?"
"No offense but you're not exactly my type."
Her black eyes narrow. She exhales another curse word through her lips and stomps off.
He frowns.
"You offended her."
"She's a hysterical person. I can't stand women like that."
His lower lip curls into a polite smile.
"Hi, I'm Neal."
I don't know which name to give him. Princess...Swan...Emma...
"Emma Swan." I whisper, using the name given to me at the hospital.
His skin ashens.
When he speaks up again his voice is cracked.
"I knew you were coming for me. I knew that he'd send you here."
Neal grabs my wrist and pulls me into a side street.
I try to free my arm from his grip. He seems panicked. We run through a labyrinth of houses until he finally stops in front of one.
The room he pulls me into is tiny. There are clothes everywhere and empty boxes that smell of cheese and old bread.
Finally, he lets go.
I grap the knife from the dirty counter and hiss through my front teeth.
"Don't touch me, again."
He raises both hands in an apologetic way. Then he bows his head. The movement is linkish, like he hasn't done it in a long time.
"Princess Emma."
"You know who I am?"
Neal nods.
"You and I...we came from the same place.
He talks. Lots and hard to keep up with.
I learn that his real name is Baelfire. He's Rumplestiltskin's son. A magic bean brought him to this world.
I can sympathize his urge to run away from the life he had back home. It must be hard being the Dark One's son.
It sure is hard to be a heroes offspring too. I tell Neal that I run from home because my parents tried to marry me off. I manage to leave out all too personal and intimate parts when I tell him on how I ended up in Regina's dungeons.
"She taught me magic."
"This is a land without magic."
He also tells me there is no way back to the Enchanted forest.
"There has to be!"
I am terrified of staying in this bizzare world full of Doctors and rude Tamaras. This world with flameless light and without magic.
"I want to go home."
I try not to cry in front of him. Instead I move around, looking for something helpful in the chaos around us.
My eyes look down at the blade of the knife.
I drop it when I see Regina's brown eyes stare back at me.
Neal picks up the knife. He looks at it for a second. Then he tosses it into a metal bowl filled with dirty dishes.
"Did you see Regina too?"
"Not her, but my father. I assume they're all together now. Your parents, the Evil Queen and my father."
"You assume?"
Neal pushes a pile of clothing to the side to make enough room for both of us to sit down on the couch.
He pours us a drink. The liquid is brown and full of little bubbles. I wait for him to drink first before I lift the glass to my lips.
To my surprise I find the drink to be most delicious. It's sweet and tiny air bubbles tickle my throat as I swallow more.
"This is tasty."
"It's called a Coke. Are you hungry? I can get us a pizza."
What in heaven's name is a pizza?
I shake my head. My stomach is in a tight knot. I don't feel like putting anything in it.
"Pizza is good. One of the best foods around in this world."
"Alright, let's have some...Pizza."
I will need all my strength and for that I have to eat.
"I know you must be frightened," he states
"At least you have me to explain how things work around here. I was all alone."
Neal explains to me that magic is basically non existent in this realm.
They have their own kind of "magic". It's called "technology" and "science".
He turns on a box called tv for me before he heads out to get the pizza for us.
I flip through a series of music and people on the tv thing. The 'wand' changes them whenever I press a certain arrow-shaped button.
I drink some more Coke and watch a funny colored series of pictures on my mothers life.
The dwarfs look hideous. I wish Sleepy could see this!
I miss home. I miss home even more because it's uncertain if I shall ever return there.
Regina is in the pictures too. Dark and beautiful and angry.
I know it's a mask. That behind her anger is a kind heart that hardened too much.
She makes my soul shake and my heart beat hard in my chest.
I am in love.
And I know it's wrong to be.
Firstly because she and I are both women.
Secondly because after all, Regina is still a villain.
Everyone knows that villains are not to have happy endings.
Ever