A/N: To my knowledge, Idera, New Hampshire is a town made-up entirely by myself. However, if it is real and anything I write about it offends you, feel free to let me know! Thanks for the reviews and follows in such a short amount of time! Encouragement like that keeps me writing. Once again, as always, I do not own the characters of OUAT. All others, however, do belong to me. Read and hopefully enjoy!
The smell of moss and dirt filled her lungs as she gasped for breath on a forest floor. The journey had been timeless—it had seemed both unbearably long and shockingly short, and it very well could have been since she had no idea where she was. Snow looked around tentatively. The snow had reminded her of the Enchanted Forest at first, but as her senses returned to her, she began to hear noises and see things that dispelled her theory.
Loud, honking noises, like the sound of geese, filled the air beyond the small, wooded area and through the trees she could just make out the slightly blurred shapes of speeding metal beasts. Trembling slightly and clutching her stomach, she stumbled through the underbrush in that direction. She only realized now that she was wearing her nightgown and house slippers—not exactly fit for being outside—but that was the very least of her worries, even as branches snagged the bottom of her gown, tearing holes and piercing her legs. It was day time here, unlike at home, and she was comforted to see that in this world there weren't two suns or bright pink skies. If she only looked up, she could almost pretend she was trekking through the Enchanted Forest. A faint smile formed on her face as lifted her face upward as she walked, soaking in the warmth of the sun and the light breeze that brushed her dark locks into her face.
And then, without warning, she was lying on her back still looking up at the sky, with a daze expression instead of a smile. She blinked and sat up, wincing at the slight pain in her back. She looked around to find what she had bumped into, or what had bumped into her, and was pleased to find a woman staring down at her. Even if that woman did wear a scowl and a bright pink outfit that looked as if it were made from wool. Thin, white snake-like things were stuck into each of her ears and blasted some sort of music that Snow didn't recognize. As Snow stared at her, the woman plucked one of the white snakes from her ear and held out a hand toward her. Snow took it and lifted herself to her feet.
"Thank you." She said sincerely, smiling at the woman, the first person she'd met in this new world. "I'm sorry if I bumped into you."
"Yeah, well," the woman sniffed. "Watch where you're going." Her eyes traveled the length of Snow White, taking her in, and Snow could feel her cheeks heat. What must this woman think of her, stumbling out of the woods in only a nightgown? Her eyes flickered back to Snow's rounded stomach and her demeanor softened. "God, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were pregnant."
Snow's eyes narrowed warily and she put a protective hand over her belly. She felt suddenly exposed. Exposed and alone and tired. It may have been the day time here, but it was the middle of the night back home and all she wanted was to wake up from this nightmare warm in Charming's arms. Her eyes began to tear as she thought of her home and her husband who had been disarmed and surrounded by guards and an Evil Queen when she'd last seen him.
"Where am I?" She asked the woman wearily, blinking back the rest of the tears that threatened to escape her.
"Right now? Just off the road in Idera, New Hampshire."
"New Hampshire," Snow tested out the foreign words. "Is that what this world is called?"
The woman frowned and glanced at the pocket watch attached to her wrist. "Look, I'm sorry for bumping into you and everything, but I don't have time for crazy first thing in the morning." Snow opened her mouth to protest—she wasn't crazy!—but before she could, the woman stuck the white snake back into her ear and ran awkwardly away. Her blonde ponytail swung as if to wave goodbye until she disappeared from sight.
Snow sighed. Now she really was alone, with only the noise of woodland animals at her back and the noise of the honking metal beasts in front of her. Emma moved around inside of her, beginning to grow restless no doubt, agitated at their strange new environment.
"Me, too, Emma. Me, too."