Regina walked towards the girl, gesturing her to come close. Sky lowered her weapon, feeling exposed. She went into a deep bow and apologized. "Your Majesties, I am so sorry for the intrusion. I thought you were some creature out to get me and I reacted that way. I am also sorry for listening in onto such a private conversation."
"Sky, relax, I am not mad at you. I think you have a lot of questions that you want answered."
"Emma, there are so many things that I want to know, but can this wait until tomorrow? I would like to get some sleep, but I will be up at sunrise if you would like to speak."
"How are you up that early!? I can barely get up when Regina opens all the blinds and drags me out of bed."
"It was just the way I always lived. Is there anything that I need to know about tomorrow?"
"No. Just get some sleep and we will answer all your questions. I also want to say that we are your parents and we are both women, madly in love with one another. Your name is Emily, but I can call you Sky until you feel comfortable. I hope that is okay."
"That was never a problem to me. I am happy that you look so content together. I just think that you wouldn't understand what I feel because you have your whole family, but I didn't. I don't know so much about my past and I wish I did."
"Actually, I do know what you feel. My parents sent me through a portal when I was an infant. I was on my own and in a new world for 28 years. I was finally reunited with them and with my son. He believed in something and got me to believe. I still had my walls up, so my parents had a hard time getting to know me. So I mean it when I say I know what you feel. Now go to the barracks, you have some hard core training."
"Okay, good-night Emma and Regina."
"Night," both women said in unison. They saw Sky run off. They knew that this is going to be a very long journey, but the have to act quickly. The ring that Sky is wearing is projecting magical properties and 'it' will be able to sense what it is. They were worried about her well-being, but knew better than to push her. She is their daughter after all. 'It' would be coming back soon and no one wanted to be near it when it did. This mysterious creature has been tracking the being with the most natural, pure soul that contains the most power. Emily had that power and did extraordinary things before birth, but her power caused another creature to emerge into their world. The name is miasma. This takes the fears of this person and turns them into an unnatural, dark soul that corrupts all around them. The target was always Emily and now it was imperative that she remained safe.
Sky was in the barracks with everyone else and went to sleep. She remained in a peaceful state, until her dream was taken over by a nightmare. Sky was being engulfed by some black and purple smoke and she could hear two figures yelling for her. She could tell that she was in trouble and there was something that she needed to do. She tried to fight, but the smoke was intoxicating and then her vision went back. When she could finally see, she was surrounded by all these stars and frames. She looked at the frames and saw that all of them had different things and most were nice. She then saw a frame of Regina, Emma, and some boy. They all were posed together and looked as happy as ever. She was about to get a more detailed look, when the smoke returned. She then fought it, but it engulfed her and she then saw all this darkness. She could see all the lives lost; she could hear all the screams of pain; and she felt all the agony. She was writhing in pain. What she didn't notice was, in the living world, she was thrashing and everyone was trying to wake her up. All the people within a 100 foot radius could hear her screams. The queens soon ran in to see what had the guards so worked up. They then saw the sight of Sky kicking and screaming. Regina knew that something was doing this. She also knew that she can't pull her out of the dream realm, but she could help.
She sat on the bed right next to Sky and started to caress her head. She then cast a spell and she was teleported into the young girl's mind. She then saw what was going on. The miasma had found Emily and started to plague her dreams. She could see the pain and knew that this was not meant for the innocent child. She went closer to the smoke and yelled for Emily. "Emily, you need to fight this. You can do it. I believe in you."
"I can't. It hurts."
"I know, sweetie, but we need you. The pain will end if you fight and come to me."
Sky dug into her emotions. She then remembered that she could have a family that would love her if she succeeded. She thought about the joy and love she would have and then used that to get the darkness away. She got an opening and saw her mother. She ran to her and both of them were pulled from the dream realm. They woke and saw lots of people looking at them. Emma and Snow had most of the guards away, but there were a few lingering and wondering why a recruit was getting so much attention from a bad dream.
"Are you guys okay?"
"Emma, we're fine. Sky did great."
"Emily. My name is Emily."
Regina looked over at her daughter and wore a megawatt smile. She didn't know she would accept this so easily and quickly. She then pulled Emily into her arms. They both hugged together. The soldiers decided that this no longer concerned them and left for breakfast. The three queens and the lost princess sat in the barracks. They all sat together in silence. Emily was the one to break the pleasant silence. "Um... There are a lot of questions that seem to be floating around my head. I want to know what is happening currently? How this effects me? What is going to happen to me? And what can I do to help?"
"I can see you have my directness. Well, what is happening is, you summoned a magical being from another land when you were still developing and it is after your soul to corrupt. This is bad because if it succeeds, the world will fall into eternal darkness. We need you to come learn how to use magic, so you know how to control your strong powers. I also need you to stay out of trouble and danger. I am also going to have either myself or someone responsible be with you at all times," Regina responded.
"So, I am the target of a being that can corrupt my would and cause eternal pain because I got it here before I was born. You also want me to have a guard with me at all times, even though you know I am more than capable of keeping myself safe."
"Exactly. Are there any questions?"
"How do you know I am your daughter? There are hundreds of girls that look like me."
"The ring on you finger. I used magic and it leads back to the owner. It is my own enchantment and I know it works. If you want real proof I could do a blood test and see if your DNA is like mine and Emma's."
"I think I am fine with the ring-Wait. I didn't know I was wearing a ring."
"You have been preoccupied. I guess you didn't notice something on your hand. Yes, you have a ring. Any other questions?"
"Do I have to learn to be a ruler and stuff? I would be fine with it, but it seems like I have a while to wait for the throne if I even wanted it. I am guessing that Neal doesn't want to be king, but maybe my brother."
"How do you know about Henry? We never mentioned him. You know us."
"Not exactly. The place we were in is called the celestial plane of existence. I saw a frame with you, Emma, and a young boy. I am only assuming he is my brother. I am really hoping that is my brother because that would be awesome."
"You would be right. If that is everything, I must take you to the castle. To answer your questions, no, you do not need to learn to be a 'ruler and stuff' as you so elegantly put it. You can help if you would like, but most of it deal with people. From what I can gather, you inherited my dislike for people and Emma's kind personality. Come along dear, we have much to discuss."
All the women walked back to the castle. Emily walked in and did not know what she was expecting. It was so large, so grand, so regal. It was magnificent. The other women could sense that this would be overwhelming, so decided not to ask any questions yet. They all continued to walk, until Emily got curious and pulled a candle. She heard a rumble and everyone stopped. They then saw the wall open up.
"Emily, what the hell did you do? You shouldn't touch things on the wall. Wait, there is an opening in the wall. I have lived in this castle for a long time and I have never seen that. I have even tried finding secret passages. I think I should have noticed this. Have you, Snow?"
"No, but now I am confused. I have pulled on that candle since I was a child. That has never happened. I was always looking for somewhere to hide from the maids."
"I think it is some magical barrier. Only some people can open it," Emily suggested.
"Sounds plausible. Then why wasn't I able to open this secret passage. Forget it, I think we should go in," Regina said.
The four women walked through and were led into an open room. It had a couch, a bed, a small library, a table, a desk, a fireplace, and a TV? That was weird. This world didn't have technology, so who made the TV and why? Questions for later. They sat on the couch and bed and talked about everything. Emily questioned all the people around her for family details. She found out everything there is to know. She was then questioned about her life. She started with the basic, she was abandoned and a werewolf found her and took her home. The wolf protected her like one of her own, but was very overprotective. This werewolf also had a granddaughter that she looked after as well. The other wolf was more like the cool aunt or something and they became social with one another. She began to learn the forest and was used to help with hunting. She only killed what was absolutely necessary for survival because if she killed more there would not be enough for that other animals. She was trained and when she was drafted and the rest is already out in the open. Emily could tell that she hit a nerve when she spoke about being left. She went and gave a hug to each woman in the room. She knows how much this hurt her, but how would the parents feel about giving away their child to protect the next generation. She honestly has never felt more at home in the arms of these women.
They sat for hours just talking. They mostly talked about personal things and Snow kept hinting that lots of the soldiers had a cush on Emily. Emma smirked and Regina gawked, while Emily blushed at the idea. Emily was not allowed to interact with the other villagers, unless it was for getting supplies or doing her moral duty. There was so much that needed to discuss and before they knew it, dinner was being served. They all headed out of the secret room and agreed to give Emily a room in the castle that is close to Regina. They all walked to dinner and Emily was about to meet the rest of her family. Emily was in a total panic attack. She never had to worry about people not liking her because she didn't care, now she had people that care and that scares the shut out of her. She managed to calm down enough to not fugit every five seconds. This wouldn't be bad, right?