Chapter 3 - Across the town line and what Emma found there
Word Count: 2,666
"Princess!" Emma cried. She had been chasing after her black cat since they crossed the border into Storybrooke and her cat would not slow. It was pitch dark on the road. No lights, no inhabitants, it was almost like the town of Storybrooke was invisible. "Princess!" She shouted again as they came upon a bridge. Princess jumped from the bridge and ran into the woods. Emma could barely see the shape of her cat as she escaped out of sight. A loud howl echoed through the woods just as Emma reached the toll bridge. "Red." Emma gasped fear and excitement in her voice. She leapt off the bridge and dashed into the woods seeking her cats yellow eyes from the trees. "Come on Princess, stop playing games."
The deeper Emma went into the woods the more scared she felt. Goosebumps traveled down her arms and a shiver ran up her spine. A brush of leaves from behind startled her; she turned to see two glowing eyes from the bush. These eyes were not the feline eyes of her cat but of something much more rabid. Emma took a step backwards as the wolf came out of the brush. Red growled and bared her fangs. Emma couldn't help but feel excitement coursing through her; this was the first person she met from her world. Though her parents were always honest about the curse, they had always omitted their true location. Emma had learned over the years that they were no longer in the Enchanted Kingdom, it was too hard to hide a castle and Emma had searched far and wide never finding even the slightest hint of a fortress, "I'm a friend." Emma said scared, "My mom is Sno-" Red lunged forward and Emma stumbled backwards onto the forest's floor. She held her hands up to defend herself but a low growling caught her attention.
Princess had returned from the trees and pounced in front of Emma; her back was arched and her tail twitched in anger. She growled and hissed at the wolf. Red snapped her jaws at the cat and inched forward. Princess swiped her paw catching Red on the nose, her claws tearing the flesh on her snout. A whimper came from Red as she lifted a paw to rest upon the scratch.
Emma stood, "It is okay Princess." She said to her cat as she slowly stepped forward. "It's okay." Princess relaxed her stance and sat on the ground. Emma took a deep breath as she reached Red. "I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming." She said standing slightly taller, with Princess by her side she felt a little braver. "I'm a friend." Emma reached her hand out; Red flared her gums just as Emma's hand hovered over her nose. "Don't be scared," Emma stroked Red's nose taking care not to touch the scratch marks. She lifted her hand higher touching the top of the wolf's head. "See, that wasn't so bad." Red sat on her hind legs. "Let's get you cleaned up." Emma closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest before turning to her right. She glanced behind her to see Red and Princess glaring at each other, "Come on you two." Slowly Red turned and followed Emma with Princess trailing behind.
The sounds of a river got louder as Emma broke past the branches leading to the steady stream. She tore a piece of cloth from the shirt she wore under her leather jerkin and dipped it into the water. Red took a seat by Emma, "This might sting a little." Emma said as she wiped the wet cloth along the scratches on Red's snout. A low howl escaped the large wolf; Emma ran her other hand along Red's fur, "Sorry that Princess scratched you. She's very protective of me and you were being rather frightening." Emma rolled her pant legs up and removed her shoes, Red and Princess watched as she carefully walked across the river to an aloe plant. Emma broke a few of the plants stems and returned to Red. "This should help." She squeezed the aloe's juices from the plant and rubbed it on Red's nose with her finger. "There." Emma smiled, "All better."
Emma took a seat next to Red; the large wolf lies down and rests her head in the young girls lap. She smiled as she stroked Red's soft fur. "I must admit you did scare me at first Red." Emma smiled, "But I just knew you wouldn't hurt me." Princess meowed and rubbed her head against Emma's arm, "And you were there to protect me too Princess." Emma sat in silence with Red and Princess for awhile longer before a yawn overcame her. This was the first time she had been out this late, the furthest she had been from home, it was definitely the first time she was around another human granted Red was technically a wolf but Emma knew this was a part of Red's curse. "Well Red, I shouldn't worry Mother and Father more than I already have, but I promise I will be back." Emma shifted to her knees causing Red to change her posture as well. Emma lifted her arms around the big wolf and gave her a hug. "Come on Princess." Emma said as she slipped on her shoes and stood, as Emma and Princess darted off the way they came Emma glanced over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't just imagined it all, there was still a large wolf behind her watching her run away and Emma could've sworn she even saw Red wink.
"Emma!" Snow shouted holding a lantern in one hand. She heard rustling behind her and turned to see James, "Have you found her?" Snow asked but he shook his head. "Where could she be James? What if this has to do with Regina you don't think she could've found us do you?"
James took the lantern from Snow and clasped her other hand with his own, "I promise Snow. I will find her." He smiled at his wife, after 14 years in this world they both had finally started showing signs of old age; small wrinkles in the corner of their eyes, gray hairs; but James thought she still looked beautiful. "I will find her, just as I found you." He cupped her chin and kissed her lips. Laughter separated them.
Emma stumbled through the trees after Princess in a fit of giggles, she clutched her chest and bent forward trying to catch her breath, "I swear I'm going to win next time Princess!"
"Oh Emma!" Snow cried pulling away from James and rushing to her daughter scooping her up into her arms, "I was so worried!"
Gasping for breath in her mother's arms Emma wondered if her parents knew about her venture into Storybrooke but assumed if they had she'd already be getting lectured for potentially breaking the curse too soon. "Sorry Mom, Princess and I lost track of time,"
Snow released Emma and smiled tucking her daughters blond hair behind her ears, "That's alright dear, let's get you inside supper is getting cold." James and Snow led Emma back to their cottage but Princess didn't seem eager to go inside.
"Can we let Princess stay out longer? We can crack my window open in case she wants to come back inside." Emma suggested.
James looked to Emma and then to Princess, "I don't see why not, I'm sure Princess would enjoy a night to hunt some field mice."
Emma smiled and followed her parents inside, "For my lesson's tomorrow mom can we go over all of your friends again?"
Snow was taken aback; it had been awhile since they had looked at the pictures she drew. There was a hole in Snow's heart that ached for Red, Ella, Grumpy—she missed them and it hurt even more to know that they were only just half way through the wait until Emma broke the curse. "Of course Emma."
Cleopatra ran through the forest tracking her way back to Storybrooke. She was still in the form of a black cat but she couldn't wait until she could morph back to her true self and really get to stretch her legs. She wasn't sure where to start looking for Blue when she ran further into the town. A sheriff's station, a bed and breakfast, none of things reminded her of her former fairy acquaintance. A bell rang in the distance signifying it was midnight; a church bell.
The street was empty and Cleo had no problem returning to her human form. She reached above her stretching her back, tilting her neck to the side she felt a crack, the stretches she could do when she was a cat were nothing like the ones she needed when she was a human.
She made her way to the church and knocked loudly, she thought of the similarities between a nun and a fairy and laughed; if Blue hadn't planned it whoever set that up had a sense of humor. "Hello?" She heard looking up to see Blue life size and sans wings. "Can I help you?"
Cleo nodded, "I'm here to help you remember." She removed a small vial from around her neck and sprinkled the contents into her palm. Cleopatra pursed her lips and blew the fairy dust in Blue's face. A stunned look over came her and then she fainted.
Cleopatra was leaned back in her chair as Blue finally started to awake. Blue glanced around her surrounding until she finally caught sight of Cleo, "Is the curse broken?" She questioned rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"The Savior, Emma, is 14, we came to Storybrooke for the first time tonight and I'm sure that Emma will be a frequent visitor to this town." Cleopatra was filing her nails, she had already showered and shaved while waiting for Blue to awake, living as a cat for 14 years was nowhere near as cleanly as she would've liked.
"And Snow and her Prince? How are they?"
"They don't expect I'm me if that's what you're asking but they are good, showing signs of age unlike you."
"It's a part of the curse, time has stopped here." Blue sat up "How long was I out for?"
"After I blew the fairy dust in your face, a few hours." Cleo stood, "So Blue what's the next part of the plan? I've been with Emma for years now, she is strong, fast, and she's a warrior. I've woken you from your cursed sleep, what do we do now?"
Blue smiled, "It sounds like you love this little girl, like you care for her."
Cleo shifted her eyes so she didn't have to look at Blue's. "I've grown to care for her yes, you'll be glad to hear my vengeance against Regina is price enough for living as a cat for years and that it finally feels like I have a family."
"I like this new Cleo." Blue laughed as Cleo rolled her eyes, "The next part of the plan is you bring Emma back here, she needs to meet the people of this world. If she doesn't get a chance to know us like her parents did, she won't feel as strongly about fighting for us and being the savior. Return to her and be by her side in her next endeavors, you know where to find me."
The next morning Snow had pulled out the pictures she drew of her friends. She started with Red and Emma studied the picture. Long flowing dark brown hair with tufts of fabric holding two braids together, strong green eyes, high cheekbones. Emma took in every bit of this picture, she had seen Red as a wolf but now she needed to see her as a human. What if it wasn't real? What if it was all a dream? What if Storybrooke wouldn't be there when she tried to go back? Emma took a deep breath and listened to her Mom talk about the first time she had met Red.
"Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"Do you think they're happy?"
Snow sighed, "They're cursed Emma, I'm not even sure they know who they really are. They could have new memories, new thoughts. They could be living a lie and not even know it."
Emma frowned, "Could I take a day off today Mom? Go out in the woods for a bit?"
Snow nodded, "Sure Emma. Be careful and don't lose track of time tonight." Emma smiled and wrapped her arms around her mom, "And don't forget your cloak."
Emma dashed from the room grabbing her cloak off the bed. She was gone from the house in a flash Princess trailing at her heels. The trees and the wind all blurred together, the sting of the cold against her face and the leaves brushing against her skin. Emma didn't slow as she jumped over roots and hurdled herself off of stumps. She had been to the road that led to Storybrooke twice now, once on her way there, once on her way back; but already she could've drawn a map to it. She came to a slow as she dashed into the clearing. A loud honking scared her as another large object zoomed past her. She saw a sticker on the back, 'How's my driving? Call –' she couldn't read the rest. Emma dashed across the street before another one of those giant monsters could zoom past her again.
Emma was exhausted when she finally reached the toll bridge, she had ran the entire way and was pleased when this time Princess stayed with her instead of dashing off into the woods. Emma slowed her pace, she had plenty of time it was still before noon and she didn't have to worry about making it home until a little after nightfall. A large mansion slowly appeared as Emma made her way over a small hill. It was the first thing she could see in this town that wasn't a bridge or the woods, she felt like she had been walking so long she wasn't sure she was even in Storybrooke anymore, maybe she had walked right through it. Emma walked up the steps to the mansion, if she hadn't seen pictures of the Enchanted Kingdom she would've confused this for a castle but it was simply just an oversized house. She knocked on the door and saw a shuffling behind the window, a man peaked through the curtains. He shook his head and waved his hands she wasn't sure but thought she heard him say, "I can't open the door." She knocked again pounding even louder when she heard a click and the man uttered the word 'door' again in shock.
He stood looking at the door knob and glancing back at the girl, "Who are you?"
Emma smiled, "I'm Emma, my mom is Snow and my dad is Prince James I'm looking for Storybooke."
The man furrowed his brow in confusion looking at the girl again, "Snow and James. Of course. Please, come in."
Emma walked in taking a glance at her surroundings; this was the first house she had even walked into that hadn't been built by her father. The ceiling went so high, she could see the second floor from where she stood, the room next to her had a large dining table, it was already placed with glass cups and plates painted with flowers, it was all so amazing.
"You should be a little bit more cautious Emma." The man said behind her as he closed his door leaving Princess on the doorstep. "You can never be sure who you'll run into in this town." He lifted a hat from his table and placed it upon his head. She turned to see him removing a scarf around his neck the glimpse of a scar barely visible by the collar of his shirt.